Hall of Famer Kundla dies at 101:
Free agent Derrick Rose reportedly agreed Monday to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Rose, a former league MVP who has battled knee injuries, is expected to receive a one-year contract at the veteran’s minimum of $2.1 million. The team has not announced the agreement.
Rose, 28, averaged 18 points and 4.4 assists for the Knicks last season, his eighth since being drafted first overall by Chicago in 2008. He was named the league MVP in 2011 while with the Bulls. Rose sat out the entire 2012-13 season following knee surgery.
His role with the Cavs is still to be determined. He could be used as a backup or start depending on what the team does with All-Star Kyrie Irving, who recently asked for a trade.
Rose drew interest from other teams. He met with Cleveland’s front office Monday, when the team promoted Koby Altman to fulltime general manager after he had served as the interim GM since mid-June. Altman, 34, takes over after David Griffin parted with the club.
Because the Cavs are so far over the salary cap, they could only offer Rose a oneyear deal. But the possibility of playing alongside LeBron James and contending for a title will offset any financial concerns for Rose.
Before Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, before Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown, before Red Auerbach, there was John Kundla.
Kundla, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, died Sunday. He was 101. Son Tom Kundla said his father died at an assisted living facility in Minneapolis that he had called home for years.
With George Mikan in the middle and Kundla the calm, steady hand directing the team, the Lakers won the 1949 championship in the BAA — the league that preceded the NBA — and NBA titles in 1950 and 1952-54, cementing the franchise’s place as the league’s first true dynasty. The Lakers also won an NBL title in 1948, but the NBL marks are not included in the NBA’s records.
Kundla was the oldest living Hall of Famer in any of the four major pro sports. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. A year later, he was named one of the league’s 10 greatest coaches as part of the league’s “NBA at 50” celebration.
He was hired at 31 and resigned at 42 with a career record of 423-302. He was known for his understated sideline demeanor, which was unique compared to the drill sergeants of the era.
“John wasn’t a screamer and was very mild-mannered, but he’d let loose when we deserved it, and usually I was the first one he bawled out,” Mikan once told Sports Illustrated. “The message he sent was that no one on the team was above criticism.”
Kundla stepped down in 1959 to coach at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, before the Lakers moved to Los Angeles.
“We played team ball,” Kundla told NBA.com. “We didn’t try to (run up) the score. We played defense. We didn’t try to make the other team look bad. But the players were a real good group together.”