Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Two Cavaliers Trade Exceptions Expire

January 9th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

Two traded player exceptions created by the Cavaliers in last January’s acquisition of Kyle Korver expired this week, as expected. One of those two trade exceptions was already utilized by the Cavs in the offseason, and the amount left on it made it virtually impossible to use again. However, the other one, worth about $4.84MM, wasn’t used at all.

[RELATED: Outstanding NBA Trade Exceptions]

Despite letting those two trade exceptions expire, the Cavs remain well-stocked with TPEs in the event that they need one to make a deal at next month’s deadline. Most notably, they hold one worth approximately $5.81MM, which will be available until late August.

The following trade exceptions around the NBA will also expire if they’re not used by the February 8 trade deadline:

Milwaukee Bucks: $5,000,000
New Orleans Pelicans: $3,517,200
Chicago Bulls: $1,589,480
Dallas Mavericks: $1,514,160
Milwaukee Bucks: $1,151,241 (expires on February 2)
Cleveland Cavaliers: $980,431
Dallas Mavericks: $621,362
Washington Wizards: $425,973
Portland Trail Blazers: $407,210
Toronto Raptors: $328,000

While they won’t expire until sometime in the offseason, the Trail Blazers ($12.97MM), Raptors ($11.8MM), and Clippers ($7.27MM) also have sizable trade exceptions worth keeping an eye on. Still, all three of those clubs have potential luxury tax concerns, so they’re unlikely to take on big salaries at the deadline without sending out any money.

For more information on how trade exceptions work, be sure to check out our glossary entry on the subject.

Lakers To Sign Jamil Wilson To 10-Day Deal

January 8th, 2018 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

4:14pm: Wilson will sign a 10-day contract with the Lakers, Wojnarowski tweets. He’s expected to sign Wednesday and play Thursday, the tweet adds.

JANUARY 8th, 10:18am: After being waived by the Clippers on Saturday, rookie forward Jamil Wilson may not have to leave town to continue his NBA career. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Lakers are the strong frontrunners to sign Wilson to a 10-day contract, assuming he clears waivers later today.

Wilson, 27, spent time in training camps with the Suns and Mavericks in past years, but had never appeared in a regular season NBA game until 2017/18. The former Marquette standout inked a two-way contract with the Clippers and appeared in 15 games (10 starts) for the club, averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG with solid shooting numbers (.469 FG%, .429 3PT%).

Although Wilson was solid for the Clippers, his 45 NBA days were running out, and the club needed some additional backcourt depth. Los Angeles waived Wilson in order to sign Tyrone Wallace to a two-way contract on Saturday, and now the former Clipper could join the NBA’s other L.A. team.

Assuming Wilson goes unclaimed on waivers and joins the Lakers, no corresponding roster move would be required. The Lakers waived veteran center Andrew Bogut on Saturday before his salary became fully guaranteed, so the club has an open roster spot.

Latest On DeAndre Jordan

January 8th, 2018 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

The 17-21 Clippers continue to linger on the outskirts of the postseason race in the Western Conference, and the team’s play over the next month may dictate whether or not DeAndre Jordan remains in Los Angeles through the February 8 trade deadline.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA’s trade market as a whole has been moving slowly so far, and the “sluggish pursuit” of Jordan around the league reflects that relative inactivity. The Clippers have yet to receive many serious offers for their standout center, Wojnarowski writes.

“He’s a difference-maker, but I’m not sure anyone thinks he puts you over the top,” one GM said of Jordan, per ESPN.

So far, potential suitors for Jordan have been content to see which other centers may surface on the trade market before the deadline, rather than rushing to offer up trade assets to the Clippers right away. For their part, the Clips aren’t set on trading Jordan at any cost, so if they only receive offers featuring mediocre draft picks and players, they may simply hang onto the 29-year-old and try to extend him in the offseason, according to Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski adds that teams around the league believe Jordan would be willing to re-sign with a team that trades for him if that club is ready to pony up big money for a long-term extension. However, while a player of Jordan’s caliber might have yielded multiple first-round picks a few years ago, teams are hanging onto those picks tighter than ever these days, with one Eastern Conference GM telling Woj that no club wants to end up “embarrassed like the Nets were” in their infamous trade with Boston.

Besides Jordan, Lou Williams also figures to be a valuable trade chip for the Clippers at the deadline if they do become sellers, Wojnarowski notes. Williams has an affordable expiring contract and is having the best offensive season of his career, with 21.9 PPG and 4.9 APG, plus a .445/.406/.900 shooting line.

Return Timeline Uncertain For Milos Teodosic

January 7th, 2018 at 11:11pm CST by Austin Kent

There’s no exact timetable for Milos Teodosic‘s return, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. The seasoned Clippers rookie is making progress after missing Saturday’s contest but remains sidelined with the same injury that plagued him earlier this season.

Teodosic missed 22 games with the plantar fascia injury from October to mid-December but managed to work his way back into a significant role in the Clippers rotation.

On the season, Teodosic has averaged 8.4 points and 5.2 assists in 24.4 minutes per game for the Clippers.

Cavaliers Notes: Jordan, Rose, Thomas, Crowder

January 7th, 2018 at 12:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trading for Clippers center DeAndre Jordan might be the answer to the Cavaliers’ defensive woes, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Although they have a 26-13 record, defense has been a problem all season for Cleveland, which is allowing 107.2 points per game and ranks 28th in the league in defensive efficiency. One of the issues is the lack of a shot blocker in the middle, which Jordan would immediately solve.

There were reports last month that the Cavs “quietly explored” the possibility of trading for Jordan, who has spent the past decade with the Clippers. He has a player option worth slightly more than $24MM for next year, and L.A. may want to get some value for him now rather than risk losing him in free agency.

Pluto notes that Tristan Thompson at $16.4MM and Channing Frye at $7.4MM would provide a workable salary match for Jordan, and said sources have told him the Clippers would “strongly consider” the deal if Cleveland includes the Nets’ unprotected first-rounder for this year’s draft. However, the Cavs don’t plan to part with that asset given LeBron James‘ uncertain future. Pluto suggests an offer of Thompson, Frye and the Cavs’ draft pick, which falls at No. 25 in our latest Reverse Standings.

There’s more today out of Cleveland:

Depth at point guard is the most valuable thing Derrick Rose will provide when he returns from his ankle injury, Pluto adds in the same story. Coach Tyronn Lue would like to reduce the minutes for Dwyane Wade, and Rose may take some of his playing time.
In just two games since returning from a hip injury, Isaiah Thomas is having a profound effect on the Cavaliers’ offense, notes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Thomas came off the bench Tuesday, scoring 17 points in 19 minutes, then added 19 points in 22 minutes in his first start with the team Saturday as Cleveland scored a season-high 131 points in a win at Orlando. “I’m able to push the pace a little more, get the ball out of Bron’s hands and show the defense something different that they haven’t seen all year,” Thomas said. “I think with me being out there it definitely gives us another level that we can reach.”
After being acquired as part of the Kyrie Irving trade, Jae Crowder is enjoying his surroundings with older, more accomplished teammates in Cleveland, relays Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe [subscription account].

Clippers Sign Tyrone Wallace, Waive Jamil Wilson

January 6th, 2018 at 4:15pm CST by Austin Kent

JANUARY 6, 4:15pm: Wallace’s signing is official, according to Real GM’s transactions report.

JANUARY 5, 4:58pm: The Clippers will sign Tyrone Wallace and waive Jamil Wilson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Wallace’s deal with the club will be a two-way pact, as was Wilson’s.

Wojnarowski adds that despite his release, Wilson had looked like a serviceable NBA player during his stint with the Clippers; the organization simply needed backcourt help at this point in the season.

With both Austin Rivers and Patrick Beverley on the sidelines, the Clippers have lacked guard depth behind sixth man Lou Williams. Wallace, the final pick of the 2016 NBA draft, will look to bring some of the skills he’s flashed with Los Angeles’ G League affiliate now that he’s been called up to the big league club.

In 23 contests with the Agua Caliente Clippers, a team he’ll continue to play for intermittently due to the two-way deal, Wallace has averaged 22.8 points and 5.4 assists per game. His ability to score the ball will be much appreciated by the team currently getting just 13.7 points per game out of the starting backcourt of Milos Teodosic and C.J. Williams.

As Wojnarowski mentioned in his tweet, Wilson had played well for the Clips, averaging 7.0 points per game in 18.3 minutes. He started 10 of his 15 games with the big league franchise and played five more in the G League.

Austin Rivers To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks

January 4th, 2018 at 8:18pm CST by Austin Kent

A foot injury suffered last week has kept Austin Rivers out of action for the Clippers. Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets that the guard has undergone testing and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Clippers Rumors: Williams, Austin Rivers, Doc

January 3rd, 2018 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Swingman C.J. Williams is nearing the end of his 45-day limit with the Clippers and admits the situation weighs on him, as he told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Williams scored a career-high 18 points on Tuesday in his 37th day with the club. Once he reaches the limit, he’ll either have to spend the rest of the season in the G League or receive a standard contract. The Clippers do have an open roster spot, as Turner notes. “It’s hard not to think about it,” Williams told Turner. “But once the game comes, I’m focused on the game, focused on what I’m doing. I can’t really think about what’s going to happen in the future.”

In other developments involving the team:

Austin Rivers has missed the last two games with a sore right Achilles tendon. The combo guard is listed as questionable to play on Thursday. The club sent him to another specialist just to make sure the injury is not more serious than the original diagnosis, Turner writes in a separate story. “I know he was working out the last couple of days and had some discomfort. So they’re going to reevaluate his foot again,” coach and father Doc Rivers said. “I think they are going to send him to another guy and see what’s going on.”
The Clippers have managed to hang around in the playoff race despite injuries to several key players. That’s made this a rewarding season thus far for Doc Rivers. “I just love coaching this team,” he told Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. “There are so many reasons we could have thrown in the towel. [Sunday], we had four of our top six scorers out. We have it over and over again and somebody else steps up. This team is a resilient team.”
Earlier today, we asked you for your predictions on how the rest of the Clippers’ 2017/18 season will play out. Join our discussion right here.

Community Shootaround: Clippers’ 2017/18 Outlook

January 3rd, 2018 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As recently as mid-December, many NBA observers were preparing obituaries for the Clippers’ 2017/18 season and proposing trade scenarios involving potential 2018 free agent DeAndre Jordan. Within the last two weeks though, the Clips have dug themselves out of an early-season hole, winning six of seven contests and pulling to within a game of a playoff spot in the West.

The Clippers’ recent success can be attributed at least partially to improving health. Noteworthy offseason acquisition Danilo Gallinari remains on the shelf, but Blake Griffin is back in the lineup, as is first-year point guard Milos Teodosic. While Teodosic’s numbers (8.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, .343/.310/.786 shooting line) are modest, L.A. seems to be a better team when he’s in the rotation — the club is 9-3 when Teodosic plays, and just 8-16 when he doesn’t.

Lou Williams, acquired in June’s blockbuster Chris Paul trade, has also been a key part of the Clippers’ latest winning streak. Since the start of December, Williams has been one of the NBA’s top scorers, pouring in 25.7 PPG and chipping in 5.8 APG.

The new-look Clippers are playing like the team that many fans and experts envisioned heading into the season, one that was expected to compete for a back-end playoff spot in the Western Conference. Still, while the Clips are getting closer to the top eight in the West, they’re still just 17-19 overall, and they’ve been streaky all season — another string of losses before next month’s deadline could once again alter the team’s short-term outlook.

How do you expect the rest of the Clippers’ 2017/18 season to play out? Will they continue to play well and move into playoff position? Will they slip in the standings and seriously entertain the idea of moving Jordan before the trade deadline? Or will they ultimately hang right around where they are now, not quite good enough to make the playoffs, but not quite bad enough to become trade-deadline sellers?

Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Clippers Notes: Williams, Rivers, Evans, Wilson

January 1st, 2018 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers now have a formidable 1-2 offensive punch in power forward Blake Griffin and combo guard Lou Williams, Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register writes. Franchise player Griffin pumped in 24 points on Friday after missing 14 games with a knee injury. Williams, who became the team’s top scorer in his absence, poured in 40 points off the bench on Sunday as the Clippers won their third straight. “He’s been unbelievable for us,” Griffin told Teaford and other media members. “I knew he could score and all that, but he’s been better than advertised in my opinion.” Williams, 31, is averaging a career-high 21.4 PPG and 4.8 APG.

In other developments concerning the Clippers:

The team was relieved that Austin Rivers’ right Achilles tendon injury wasn’t serious, Teaford reports in a separate story. Rivers was injured on Friday but an MRI revealed no structural damage and he could return to action on Wednesday. “I didn’t see it,” coach and father Doc Rivers said. “I just saw him lying on the ground. My nerves came from our trainer’s look when he pointed to his Achilles. Whenever someone points to an Achilles we’ve been conditioned to think like Pavlov’s dog, ‘Oh my.’ Talking to Austin, he was scared and I think that probably played into it, as well. He’s good now.”
Rookie guard Jawun Evans made his first NBA start on Sunday in place of Rivers, as Teaford notes. Evans, who is averaging 5.4 PPG and 1.9 APG, has made a strong impression on Doc Rivers. “Jawun has been way more effective than I ever thought,” he said. “We didn’t know we were going to play Jawun and we were getting him ready for the G League. He’s had an impact in games.”
Forward Jamil Wilson, who is on a two-way contract, didn’t think he’d get a chance to play in the NBA until the Clippers gave him a shot on their summer-league team, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times reports. Wilson, 27, thought he’d spend the rest of his career overseas. “I’m not going to lie about it. When I was in Italy, it was a crossing point for me,” he told Woelfel. “I wasn’t seeing any real NBA interest and I decided if nothing happened I’d continue my career over there. I could play in Europe until I was 38 or 39. As long as you can shoot the ball, you can play over there. I thought I’d be over there a while.’’