Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers To Pick Up Sam Dekker’s Fourth-Year Option

October 31st, 2017 at 5:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers will pick up Sam Dekker‘s team option for the 2018/19 season, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). As a result, the Wisconsin product will make slightly over $2.76MM next season

Dekker came to Los Angeles as part of the Chris Paul trade. He hasn’t been a major cog in the Clippers system this season, earning a total of 32 minutes over his five games played with the club. The combo forward has made 41.7% of his shots this season while sporting a player efficiency rating of 11.6.

Dekker has played a total of 89 games in his career, which includes four postseason contests with Houston last season. He was the No. 18 overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Clippers Notes: Offseason Moves, Jordan, Redick

October 30th, 2017 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

When Chris Paul was set to leave the Clippers this offseason, letting Blake Griffin walk as well and bottoming out as part of a rebuild would have been one option for the club, but it wasn’t one that management seriously considered, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN. Without all their future draft picks in hand, the Clippers weren’t well positioned for a rebuild, and the idea went against owner Steve Ballmer‘s philosophy for the franchise.

“You consider all your options,” Ballmer said. “But I don’t want to lose. I like winning. Winning is good. Losing is bad. We think we have a unique opportunity to be a free-agent destination. If you want that, you have to be doing your best every year.”

Lowe’s deep dive into the Clippers includes several more noteworthy tidbits and is worth reading in full. Here are a few of the highlights:

DeAndre Jordan‘s future looms large for the Clippers, since he’s eligible for free agency next summer. According to Lowe, Los Angeles has explored trading Jordan, but the only time the team “gained semiserious traction” on anything was at the 2017 deadline. That proposed deal would have sent Jordan to the Rockets in exchange for Clint Capela, players, and picks.
The Clippers have discussed a possible contract extension with Jordan, but those talks have stalled for now, says Lowe. Jordan, who is currently negotiating without an agent, remains extension-eligible all the way up until June 30, but would be eligible for a bigger payday if he becomes a free agent next July.
Although the Clippers weren’t looking to part ways with Paul this offseason, they embraced the opportunity for a “fresh start” when he decided to leave. Players say the culture wasn’t as toxic as it may have seemed, but Doc Rivers acknowledges – without referring specifically to CP3 – “don’t want to be coached by you anymore.”
Rivers suggests that J.J. Redick was “begging to come back” to the Clippers as a free agent, a claim that Redick disputes. “There was never any indication from my agent that I wanted to go back,” Redick said to Lowe. “I didn’t beg to come back. I didn’t want to come back.”
Rivers also disputed reports that the Clippers could have traded Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford for Carmelo Anthony earlier this year, calling that idea a “complete joke.” However, Lowe suggests that Rivers may be playing a “game of semantics,” noting that such a package could have been viable if Crawford was sent to a third team instead of New York.

Clippers Notes: Griffin, Teodosic, Backcourt, Defense

October 28th, 2017 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Blake Griffin credits NBA legend Jerry West with influencing his decision to remain with the Clippers, writes Shams Charania of The Vertical. Griffin opted out of his contract over the summer, but elected to re-sign with L.A. before talking to any other teams. The new five-year deal, coupled with the trade of Chris Paul, makes Griffin the team’s clear on-court leader.

Griffin was “captivated” by West’s presence at a meeting just before the July 1 start of free agency, according to Charania. The Hall of Famer left the Warriors after last season and joined the Clippers as a special consultant.

“Jerry had a major voice to me, and he’s had an influence in coming and working on the culture here,” Griffin said. “This franchise had unfinished business, and I had unfinished business here. We had unfinished business together and I valued that. We laid it out there that no matter what was going on around us, both sides hadn’t accomplished what we set out for. I couldn’t abandon this now.”

There’s more Clippers news out of Los Angeles:

Coach Doc Rivers offered a health update today on Milos Teodosic, saying he was able to ride a stationary bike but there’s no timetable for him to play again, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Teodosic is out indefinitely after leaving last Saturday’s game with a plantar fascia injury.
Rivers is trying not to overtax his backcourt with the loss of Teodosic, relays Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register. The Clippers have just three healthy, experienced guards currently available, and Rivers admits he has been asking them to do too much. “Too many minutes,” he said after this week’s win over Utah. “I didn’t like the minutes. That’ll change. It’s just got to expand it. What we’ve got to figure out is giving Patrick [Beverley] and Austin [Rivers] rest, playing Lou [Williams] and Sindarius [Thornwell], but making sure we have Blake or [Danilo Gallinari] with them.”
One key to the Clippers’ 4-0 start has been a significant improvement on defense, Turner writes in an L.A. Times story. The addition of Beverley, who was acquired from Houston in the Chris Paul trade, provides defensive pressure in the backcourt and shot-blocker DeAndre Jordan erases mistakes in the middle. “They want to play ‘D’, which is nice,” Rivers said. “I think they all are on the same page. We have DJ at the basket and Pat on the ball. That’s a great combination.”

Latest On Eric Bledsoe

October 26th, 2017 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Eric Bledsoe continues to sit out games for the Suns and, after a disastrous start to the season, the club has actually looked better with a new starting point guard — and a new head coach. Since Jay Triano replaced Earl Watson on the bench and Mike James replaced Bledsoe in the starting lineup, the Suns have won consecutive games at home, beating the Kings and Jazz.

As the Suns look to build on their recent success, here’s the latest on Bledsoe, from Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times:

NBA sources tell Woelfel that if the Bucks and Suns were to make a deal involving Bledsoe, Phoenix would likely ask for Malcolm Brogdon, plus either John Henson or Mirza Teletovic. Milwaukee has had interest in Bledsoe over the last few years, but is reluctant to part with Brogdon, the reigning Rookie of the Year, per Woelfel.
According to Woelfel, the Bucks are – for now – dangling Matthew Dellavedova, but he’s not of much interest to the Suns — Phoenix remains focused on Brogdon.
The Suns are eyeing young guards, and are also intrigued by Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay. According to two NBA officials, the Nuggets and Bucks are viewed as “the leaders in the Bledsoe sweepstakes,” writes Woelfel.
Those same two sources tell Woelfel that a number of other teams have internally discussed the idea of making a play for Bledsoe, including the Clippers, Celtics, and Heat.

Clippers Still Have Room To Improve

October 25th, 2017 at 7:27pm CST by clarkcrum

Suns rookie Josh Jackson was fined $35K for making a “menacing” gesture towards a Los Angeles Clippers fan this past weekend, it was announced yesterday by NBA executive Kiki VanDeWeghe. While it appeared that Jackson was mimicking a gun with his hand gesture toward the fan, he explained that was not the case, but rather that he a“kind of wanted to put up the middle finger to him but … didn’t do that because I felt like I was … being watched, so I kind of halfway did it.” Clearly, the NBA didn’t buy his explanation.

Despite losing perennial All-Star Chris Paul this offseason, the Clippers are off to a fast start and have no intention of letting up anytime soon, reports Elliott Teaford of The Daily Breeze. In fact, according to head coach Doc Rivers, his team still has a ton of room for improvement. “We aren’t even close to as good as I think we can be,” Rivers said.

Suns Notes: Bledsoe, Chandler, Watson, Okur

October 24th, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Suns have been exploring trade options involving disgruntled point guard Eric Bledsoe, the team will likely have to lower its asking price if it hopes to get anything done, one general manager tells Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. While the Bucks, Nuggets, Knicks, and Clippers have all expressed interest in Bledsoe, according to Amico’s sources, that general manager believes Phoenix’s asking price is unrealistic.

“Right now, it’s borderline preposterous,” the GM tells Amico. “It should come down eventually. It has to.”

Bledsoe and his agent Rich Paul expressed a desire for a trade during the offseason, but the Suns have ramped up their efforts this week, with the Nuggets and Bucks among the most viable potential landing spots, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Trade scenarios are still evolving, and it’s not clear how long it will take for Phoenix to find a satisfactory deal, according to Kyler, who adds that the club appears to be looking into moving Tyson Chandler too, perhaps in the same trade.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN chimes in on Bledsoe as well, tweeting that the Suns’ goal of landing a high-upside young player in any deal has been an impediment, since Bledsoe’s value isn’t exactly at its peak.

Here’s more on the Suns:

In the wake of the Suns’ horrible start to the season and Earl Watson‘s dismissal, Greg Moore of AZCentral.com wonders why owner Robert Sarver hasn’t made any public comments about the team’s situation.
In a separate piece for Basketball Insiders, Kyler wonders whether Watson was essentially set up to fail in Phoenix as the club struggles through a rebuilding process.
Shortly after Watson was fired, Dan Majerle became the subject of speculation as a possible target for the Suns, but the team hasn’t contacted the Grand Canyon University coach, writes Richard Obert of AZCentral.com. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic, who tweets that the Suns haven’t contacted anyone, with Jay Triano expected to run the show for the rest of the season.
Ken Berger of Bleacher Report takes a deep dive into the Suns’ situation and passes along a few interesting tidbits. Among them: James Jones, who joined the franchise this offseason as an executive, figures to have “significant input” when Phoenix decides on a permanent head coach.
Former NBA big man Mehmet Okur, who was one of multiple assistants let go along with Watson, became the second member of the organization to direct a less-than-flattering social media post at the Suns this week. Chris Cole of AZCentral.com has the details, along with a screenshot of Okur’s since-deleted Instagram post.
Speaking of assistants, the Suns have called up multiple coaches from their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, to fill out their NBA coaching staff, per Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Northern Arizona head coach Ty Ellis is among the coaches headed to Phoenix.

Austin Rivers Suggests Clips Better Without Paul

October 23rd, 2017 at 8:57pm CST by Jeff Kasler

Austin Rivers proffered that the Clippers are a better team without Chris Paul. While careful to note that Paul is a great player, Rivers said that the team has improved its cohesion and competitiveness. “I think we have more talent this year,” Rivers said, per Elliott Teaford of The Daily Breeze. “Look how many pieces we got for one guy. We got a defensive dog (Patrick Beverley). We drafted well.”

Suns Trying To Trade Eric Bledsoe

October 23rd, 2017 at 2:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:40pm: Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) hears that the Knicks have indeed contacted the Suns about a Bledsoe deal and Phoenix wants No. 8 overall pick Frank Ntilikina and Willy Hernangomez in exchange for the veteran point guard.

1:35pm: Add the Bucks to the list of teams that have expressed interest in Bledsoe, Marc Stein of the New York Times relays (Twitter link). According to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, the Clippers and Blazers may also have interest in the point guard.

12:49pm: The Knicks are among the teams that have contacted the Suns about a Bledsoe deal, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley.

12:34pm: The Suns are involved in trade talks with several teams regarding Bledsoe, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Teams know Bledsoe is available and something should happen soon, adds John Gambadoro of ArizonaSports, who states that Bledsoe believes he has played his last game with Phoenix.

12:16pm: Eric Bledsoe‘s dispute with the Suns continues to escalate as he will be held out of tonight’s home game with the Kings, tweets Chris Hayes of ESPN. Bledose met with team officials this morning and was subsequently sent home.

Bledsoe has become increasingly more open about his dissatisfaction in Phoenix, culminating with a tweet yesterday that stated “I Dont wanna be here.” That was posted roughly an hour before the team announced the firing of coach Earl Watson.

Bledose isn’t happy to be on a losing team in the prime of his career and he has lingering bitterness with the organization over shutting him down in March of last season because of soreness in his knees. A report earlier today said Bledsoe was “depressed” after a rumored deal fell through that would have sent him to Cleveland as part of the package for Kyrie Irving.

Bledsoe, 27, has spent the past four seasons in Phoenix after being acquired from the Clippers in a 2013 trade. He had his best year in 2016/17, averaging career highs in points (21.1 per game) and assists (6.3).

Milos Teodosic Out Indefinitely

October 22nd, 2017 at 5:46pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers will be without their 30-year-old rookie indefinitely, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN writes. Guard Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in a Saturday night contest against the Suns and did not return to action.

As we wrote earlier today, Teodosic had to be carried off the floor by his teammates in the second quarter of their blowout victory over the Suns but x-rays after the fact came back negative.

In his first taste of NBA action during L.A.’s season opener, Teodosic posted six points and six assists. He had five points and two assists in 11 minutes before falling to the foot injury.

L.A. Notes: Teodosic, Gallinari, Randle, Deng

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:11am CST by Arthur Hill

Milos Teodosic, the Clippers‘ 30-year-old rookie out of Serbia, will have an MRI on his left foot today after injuring it Saturday night, according to ESPN.com. X-rays on the foot were negative after Teodosic had to be carried off the court, but he was on crutches after the game. “I just saw him laying down,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I didn’t see what happened. He said that he felt something in his foot. So it’s definitely a foot injury. But we don’t know what it is.” Rookie guard Jawun Evans will be activated while Teodosic is out, and Austin Rivers is expected to take his place in the starting lineup.

There’s more this morning out of Los Angeles:

Free agent addition Danilo Gallinari is still trying to get used to his new Clippers teammates after an injury wiped out most of his preseason, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Gallinari, who spent the past six and a half years with the Nuggets, strained his left foot in the second exhibition game and wasn’t able to practice until last Sunday. That didn’t keep him from earning a starting role, and now he has to adapt to playing alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in the frontcourt. “I think we did a pretty good job as far as chemistry with us three,” Gallinari said. “But everybody is trying to learn how to play with each other. Everybody is new so it’s going to take a while. It’s going to be a learning process the whole season.”
The Lakers are concerned about Julius Randle‘s reaction to the loss of his starting job, reports Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Coach Luke Walton said he decided to make Larry Nance Jr. the starting power forward because he was playing better with the first team, while Randle fit in well with the reserves. But Walton didn’t like Randle’s effort in the season opener and quickly pulled him from the game. “When he stepped on the court for whatever reason he wasn’t ready to go,” Walton said, “like he has been for the past week [of practices]. So I pulled him out to tell him about it. I know he wasn’t happy with me but that’s my job.” Adding to Randle’s frustrations is the team’s decision not to offer him a rookie scale contract extension this week. He will be a restricted free agent next summer and may be nearing the end of his time with the Lakers.
After starting Thursday’s game, Lakers forward Luol Deng was inactive Friday as Corey Brewer took his place, notes Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Deng still has two more seasons and $36.81MM left on his contract.