Latest On Carlos Boozer
The Knicks, Rockets and Mavericks continue to have interest in signing Carlos Boozer, league sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). Scotto first identified the Knicks as among the teams eyeing the Rob Pelinka client earlier this month, though Marc Berman of the New York Post reported soon thereafter that the Knicks had engaged in internal conversations about him but hadn’t made a formal pursuit. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com pegged the Mavs and Rockets as among the teams in on Boozer just before free agency began, while Broussard later heard that the Mavs were one of four teams in talks with the former All-Star.
The Knicks and Mavericks have access to the $2.814MM room exception. The Rockets are in a tough spot, since they only have roughly $2.3MM left on their mid-level exception to spend but would trigger a hard cap if they gave any of it to Boozer. Houston also has No. 32 pick Montrezl Harrell who remains unsigned.
Several other teams, including the Clippers, Spurs, Raptors, Pelicans, Nuggets, Nets, Lakers and Heat, have reportedly been interested in Boozer over the last month, but it’s unclear if any of them remain in the mix. Boozer and the Clippers reportedly had mutual interest.
Pacers Re-Sign Lavoy Allen
JULY 27TH, 2:17pm: The signing is official, the Pacers announced.
“We think he’s ready to step in and play more minutes at two different positions,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. “This is a great opportunity for him to play night in and night out at a high level.”
9:22pm: Allen’s deal will be worth a total of approximately $12MM, Spears tweets.
JULY 2ND, 7:12pm: The Pacers and free agent Lavoy Allen have reached an agreement on a multiyear deal, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The pact is for three years, and includes a team option for the final season, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). The Clippers were also reportedly interested in the 26-year-old’s services.
In 63 appearances for Indiana last season, Allen averaged 5.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, with a slash line of .472/.000/.702. His career numbers are 5.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.0 APG. His career shooting numbers are .459/.143/.702.
Allen was the 50th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The 6’9″ forward began his career with the Sixers before being included in the deal that brought Evan Turner to the Pacers.
Clippers To Bring Yanick Moreira To Camp
The Clippers have an agreement with undrafted center Yanick Moreira for training camp, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia first reported and as Fiba.com confirms. Moreira said last week during a press conference in his native Angola that he wouldn’t play for the national team this summer, and Angola’s coach indicated that his decision came because of the opportunity to play in the NBA, as Fiba.com details. It’s a partially guaranteed arrangement, according to Carchia, and it has to be for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Clippers have to give.
Moreira, who attended SMU, was the 95th-best prospect in this year’s draft class, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked them, but he was unranked on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider listings. The Clippers weren’t among a group of teams reported to have worked him out prior to the draft, one that was composed of the Celtics, Jazz, Suns and Nets, but he was a starter on the Clippers summer league team, averaging 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game.
The Clippers have a fairly uncluttered roster, with 13 full guarantees and Jordan Hamilton‘s non-guaranteed salary. That would seemingly give Moreira, who turns 24 this week, a better shot than most camp invitees to make it to opening night, though the team will surely make other signings between now and the start of camp.
Do you think Moreira will see regular season action in the NBA at some point, either with the Clippers or some other team? Leave a comment to let us know.
Western Notes: Mejri, Asik, Jordan, Suns
The Mavericks have made a three-year offer to Tunisian center Salah Mejri, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 7’1″ Mejri didn’t see much playing time last season with Real Madrid, but Dallas wants to find out if he can succeed at the NBA level. Mejri has the physical tools, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com, who cites his energy, mobility and “giraffe length” (Twitter link). Mejri was recently released by Real Madrid and is reportedly leaning toward trying the NBA.
There’s more news from the Western Conference:
- Back spasms will prevent the Pelicans‘ Omer Asik from competing for the Turkish team in Eurobasket 2015, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. Even though he has to miss the September competition, there are no worries that the back problem will affect Asik when the Pelicans open camp. The center recently signed a five-year, $58MM deal to remain in New Orleans, although only the first four seasons are guaranteed at nearly $45MM.
- The Clippers‘ DeAndre Jordan knows it will take time for the controversy surrounding his free agency change of heart to die down, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Jordan, who committed to the Mavericks before staying in Los Angeles, understands the hard feelings in Dallas. “It’s absolutely not behind me,” he said. “I think over time, it will be. Just, there are people making this out like I committed some huge crime, like I’m an enemy of the state.” Jordan said he chose the Clippers because he wants to be associated with just one team during his NBA career.
- The Suns‘ offseason moves could make them a dark horse playoff contender in the West, according to Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. The addition of Tyson Chandler gives the team a rim protector and a veteran leader, Taylor writes. Also, the trade that sent Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to the Pistons cleared more than $8MM in cap room and created more playing time for T.J. Warren and Archie Goodwin, who both were impressive in summer league play.
Pacific Notes: James, Rivers, Lakers, Kings
Summer league point guard Mike James impressed the Suns, but the team doesn’t seem to have a need for another point guard, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Multiple teams are in pursuit, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link), but he’s under contract with Laboral Kuxta Vitoria in Spain, Coro points out, suggesting that it would likely require a guaranteed deal with an NBA team to make it worthwhile for him to exercise his buyout clause. James, who’s not to be confused with the 12-year veteran by the same name, is inclined to play one more season in Spain, Charania adds.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Austin Rivers‘ brief tenure with Relativity Sports has met an end, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. Rivers joined the agency after splitting with David Falk this past season. Relativity represented him as he came to a two-year deal for nearly $6.455MM to stay with father Doc Rivers and the Clippers.
- The deals that Caron Butler, Quincy Acy, and Seth Curry agreed to with the Kings are all two-year, minimum salary arrangements that are fully guaranteed the first year and include player options for the second season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The performance of the Lakers‘ Summer League squad was underwhelming, leaving some around the league skeptical of the long-term future of a number of the team’s younger prospects, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “You don’t want to draw any conclusions from a few summer games obviously,” one league executive told Deveney. “But I think in general, the way to put it is that they probably value their assets more than the rest of the league values them. Everyone gambles on young guys. You just don’t know. For [the Lakers], they could all turn out to be fine, but they’re a long way from that now.”
- The new Kings arena cleared another legal hurdle Friday, as a judge issued a ruling in favor of the city of Sacramento and against plaintiffs who asserted that the team and the city struck a side deal, writes Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee. The arena is already under construction.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 7/23/15
Last season’s version of the Clippers secured the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs with an overall record of 56-26, despite playing with what could be considered a flawed roster. Los Angeles lacked a productive starting small forward, a reliable backup to Chris Paul at the point, as well as depth at center behind DeAndre Jordan. The Clippers fell in the second round of the playoffs to the Rockets in seven games, thanks in large part to the previously mentioned holes in the team’s rotation. One of the biggest miscalculations made by coach/executive Doc Rivers last season was his decision to ink Spencer Hawes to a four-year, $23MM pact instead of addressing the team’s other glaring needs. Hawes didn’t provide much production, and it can be argued that if Rivers had instead signed a wing player who could provide offense and stretch the floor, someone like a Paul Pierce, the team may have advanced deeper into the postseason.
Well, Rivers apparently agreed, judging by the franchise’s offseason moves thus far. Gone is Hawes, and in comes Pierce, as well as the wildcard that is Lance Stephenson, to provide some needed scoring and production from the wing. The team didn’t stop there with the overhaul with Rivers also adding veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni to backup Paul, Josh Smith to provide frontcourt depth and matchup options, and retained both J.J. Redick and Austin Rivers, not to mention staving off the Mavericks and re-signing Jordan.
This brings us to the topic of the day: What are your predictions for the Clippers’ 2015/16 campaign?
Have the Clippers improved enough that they are the team to beat in the West? Or do you think the team merely kept pace with the other conference contenders this Summer? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts, opinions, and predictions. Are any of you ready to crown them the preseason favorites in the West, or do you sense a backslide is in the cards for the franchise? How big an impact will the new additions have? If you believe the team still has holes, then what can be done to plug them? We look forward to what you have to say.
Pacific Notes: Lee, Stephenson, Pierce
The Celtics agreed to take David Lee from the Warriors in exchange for Gerald Wallace more than two weeks ago, but the move has still yet to officially take place. That should change by Monday, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link), and the Celtics sent a press release detailing an introduction of “offseason additions” scheduled for that day. While we continue to wait for the formal trade, here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- Duje Dukan‘s deal with the Kings is for two years, with the first season being fully guaranteed and year two carrying a partial guarantee, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
- Clippers swingman Lance Stephenson said that nagging injuries and his game being too similar to Kemba Walker‘s were contributing factors to his down season with the Hornets last year, and led to him being dealt to Los Angeles, Jared Zwerling of BleacherReport writes. When asked why he was traded, Stephenson told Zwerling, “It just didn’t work. I felt like me and Kemba do the same type of stuff, and it just didn’t click. Kemba is like a smaller me. He dominates the ball and he’s a playmaker. And then my jump shot wasn’t falling, so it was a tough season. I had toe and groin injuries. I’m telling you, this was worse than my rookie year when I didn’t even play. I was really mentally down. I was trying everything to try to figure out what I can do to help this squad.“
- Veteran forward Paul Pierce said he chose to sign with the Clippers because he wanted another shot at winning a title, and wants to end his career playing in Los Angeles, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays. “I’m at the point in my career where it’s winding down,” said Pierce. “I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted another opportunity to win a championship. I thought just being here would be a great fit. I’m a veteran. I could be another voice in the locker room and I can just pretty much fill any role that they need me to play. If I didn’t think the Clippers were close then, no matter home or not, I probably wouldn’t have made this decision. “
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Smith, Hibbert
New Lakers Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass had an incredulous silence when asked in a press conference today whether they’d heard from new teammate Kobe Bryant, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com shows via Instagram. Indeed, none of the three have heard from or touched base with the Lakers star, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Forward Josh Smith said that he considered joining the Clippers last season after he was waived by the Pistons, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes. “It was an option,” Smith said. “It was a definite thought process and conversation I had with my family.” Smith instead signed with the Rockets, but now comes to Los Angeles on a one-year, minimum salary arrangement.
- When asked why he chose to sign with the Clippers, Smith indicated that it came down to having a defined role, something he didn’t feel that he had in Houston, Melissa Rohlin of The Los Angeles Times relays. “We did some special things in Houston but it was more of a visual, concrete type of situation-scenario for me here,” Smith said. “When you have vision and it’s not kind of foggy on what’s your role and your purpose on the team, you got to make a decision you feel is best. My whole thing was I was looking at scenarios more so than being wowed by red-carpet layouts.”
- New Lakers center Hibbert waived part of his 15% trade kicker to join the team, a move he considered a “no brainer” because the franchise made it known that they wanted him, something the Pacers did not do, Medina tweets. The big man gave back all but $78,185 of what otherwise would have been a $2.3MM payout for being dealt. Hibbert had moved to Los Angeles at the end of last season, knowing he would likely be dealt away from Indiana, though he didn’t know it would be to the Lakers, Oram adds (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Contract Details, Chandler
The Clippers‘ offseason moves, which include re-signing DeAndre Jordan, signing unrestricted free agent Paul Pierce, and acquiring swingman Lance Stephenson, have added needed versatility to the team’s roster, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. With Stephenson, Pierce and Wesley Johnson joining the roster, the Clippers have more skill, length, defense and versatility on the perimeter than they did last season, Blancarte opines. The addition of forward Josh Smith also gives coach Doc Rivers some needed rotation flexibility in the frontcourt, notes Blancarte.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The four-year deal that Kosta Koufos signed with the Kings is worth precisely $32.879MM, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals (Twitter link). Marco Belinelli is getting $1 less than $19MM in his new three-year deal, Pincus adds. Sacramento gave Omri Casspi exactly $5.8MM on his two-year deal, Pincus also reports, adding that the James Anderson‘s contract is for two years at the minimum salary with a player option on year two.
- Tyson Chandler‘s four-year deal with the Suns will pay him $13MM this coming season, $12.415MM in 2016/17, $13MM in 2017/18, and $13.585MM the final season, tweets Pincus. Brandon Knight‘s five-year pact will see him earn $13.5MM in 2015/16, then pull down salaries of $12,606.250, $13,618,750, $14,631,250, and $15,643,750, Pincus notes.
- Instead of lamenting the Suns‘ signing of Chandler, who will be the team’s starting center, Alex Len is looking forward to learning from the veteran, Michael Lee of The Washington Post relays. “He’s one of the best defensive bigs in the league. The way he blocks shots, the way he communicates. I think I can learn just from watching, just from being around him, add it to my game. I think it’s going to be great,” Len said. “He’s a great leader. We needed a veteran last year. Somebody in the locker room, on the court, somebody we can look up to. So, I think it’s great for the team.” Len, 22, started 44 games for Phoenix during the 2014/15 campaign.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Clippers Notes: Griffin, Jordan, Pierce, Smith
Blake Griffin was amused by what he labeled as false reports of the Clippers’ rendezvous with DeAndre Jordan in the hours leading up to the end of the July Moratorium, as the forward made clear in The Players’ Tribune. Griffin penned his own account of what took place when Jordan reneged his Mavs deal to instead re-sign with the Clippers.
“By Tuesday morning [July 7th], I knew he was really struggling with it,” Griffin wrote in part about Jordan. “He really didn’t want to disappoint people, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. We text every day. It’s not always about basketball. Mostly it’s about life. I’m his friend above all else. I stuffed some clothes into a bag, ran through LAX and got on the first flight to Houston. My intention wasn’t to go down and sell DeAndre on the Clippers. We promised each other a long time ago that we’d never do that stuff. I just wanted to be there for my friend and hear him out.”
We passed along some highlights of Jordan’s first-person story about the affair earlier today, and he said in a press conference this afternoon that he didn’t intend the “fiasco” that took place, notes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Here’s more from Clipperland:
- Paul Pierce, who inked a three-year deal with the Clippers this month, signaled that he intends to retire with the team, as Woike and Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com relay (Twitter links). “This will probably be the last ride of my career,” Pierce said. “I think this is where I’m going to end it. I’m going to go all in.”
- The Clippers are only shelling out the minimum to Josh Smith on his one-year deal, and Smith said today to reporters, including Woike (Twitter link), that the roughly $5MM he still has coming his way from his old Pistons contract gave him the security to sign at a bargain rate in L.A. Still, he said he’ll look for a long-term deal next summer, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
- The offseason for the Clippers has come a long way from the F-minus grade that J.J. Redick gave it before Jordan broke his deal with the Mavs, writes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders, who adds that the Clippers are nonetheless lacking a true backup point guard.