Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Back Off Interest In Jordan Farmar

January 19th, 2015 at 5:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 5:07pm: The Cavs won’t pursue Farmar beyond their initial inquiry, Haynes tweets.

FRIDAY, 3:59pm: The Cavaliers have made inquiries about point guard Jordan Farmar, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. The talks were classified as a “feeling out process,” according to Haynes’ sources. Farmar reached a buyout agreement with the Clippers earlier today, and barring the unlikely event that another team claims him off waivers, then Farmar could sign a deal with a new team as early as Sunday. The Cavs have also been mentioned in connection with free agent Nate Robinson, who reached a buyout agreement of his own with the Celtics recently.

Cleveland is seeking to add a backup point guard, Haynes reports. A.J. Price, who was the team’s third point guard on its depth chart, was waived earlier this month, leaving Matthew Dellavedova the lone backup on the team. The Cavs roster currently stands at 14 players, which means no corresponding roster move would be needed in order to sign another player. “We’re at 14. We’d like to address something there at that position,” Cavs GM David Griffin said. The Cavaliers are not in a rush to fill that last roster spot, but at the opportune time, they plan to snag another playmaker, Haynes adds. According to Haynes’ sources, Cleveland will be extensively evaluating point guards who are on the verge of being waived or bought out.

Farmar, 28, has career averages of 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists over 490 games. His career shooting numbers are .423/.374/.734. In 36 appearances for the Clippers this season, he has logged 4.6 PPG and 1.9 APG in a career-low 14.7 minutes per game.

California Notes: Kobe, Green, Craft, Rivers

January 18th, 2015 at 3:22pm CST by Charlie Adams

Although Kobe Bryant contends he’ll likely play through his current contract, which expires after the 2015/16 season, he admits that he’s at least considered hanging it up at the end of this year, relays Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. “I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Bryant said of retiring. “Right now I doubt it … but anything’s possible… You have to find new challenges, not playing for a championship, it’s pretty tough.” The Lakers sit near the bottom of the Western Conference at 12-29, but Bryant says the team would never consider tanking, going as far as to call the practice “sacrilegious,” notes Plaschke.

There’s more form the California-based teams:

Lessons that the Warriors‘ Draymond Green learned at Michigan State are going to lead to a huge contract this summer, suggests Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group. A second-round pick three years ago, Green has blossomed into one of Golden State’s leaders and will be a restricted free agent this summer. “The guy really is a coach’s dream,” said Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry. “You can’t place a value on that. Use every cliché you can. His teams always win. The squad you put him on in a scrimmage, his team is going to win.”
Aaron Craft has generated a positive buzz as a result of his performance at the D-League showcase, observes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, who adds that the 23-year-old guard out of Ohio State is on NBA teams’ radars (Twitter link). Craft was cut from the Warriors out of training camp and currently suits up for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s D-League affiliate.
The Clippers‘ Doc Rivers and Austin Rivers are trying to downplay their father/son and coach/player relationship, reports Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “I’m over it,” Austin Rivers said. “[Friday] night was about the son thing and I’m done with that. Now it’s basketball for me.” Los Angeles acquired Rivers from the Celtics Thursday in a three-team deal involving the Suns. The younger Rivers “jumped at the opportunity” to join L.A., as he tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Multiple Teams Eyeing Damion James

January 18th, 2015 at 1:50pm CST by Charlie Adams

At least four teams are considering bringing aboard former Nets and Spurs forward Damion James, according to Shams Charania of RealGM, who identifies the Bulls, Pistons, Wizards, and Clippers among the teams with interest (Twitter link). The former 24th overall pick has put up impressive numbers for the Texas Legends of the D-League this season after failing to make Washington’s roster out of training camp.

James, 27, appeared in five contests for the Spurs last season. He signed a 10-day deal with San Antonio in April and inked a pact that covered the remainder of the season once his first contract was up. The 6’7″ Texas alum hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in the NBA after four strong years playing for the Longhorns.

An earlier report indicated that the Wizards have been keeping an eye on James. Washington’s roster stands at 14 players, one short of the league maximum, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team ink James to a 10-day contract. He was reportedly a better bet to make the team than Rasual Butler out of training camp before the veteran guard impressed Washington brass.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Embiid, Celtics, Nets

January 18th, 2015 at 11:47am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers may be dreaming of the top selection in June’s draft, but Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes that picking Jahlil Okafor could lead to other problems. The Duke center is the consensus choice to be the first player chosen, but Philadelphia already has injured rookie Joel Embiid and second-year big man Nerlens Noel, both of whom are low-post players. “I don’t think they can play together,” an unidentified NBA source said of Okafor and Embiid. “They’re both low-post centers. It doesn’t make sense.” He later added, “The combination of Noel and either one of them doesn’t make sense.” The Sixers currently occupy the third spot in Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Embiid now weighs nearly 300 pounds and the Sixers are displeased with his commitment to conditioning, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He reportedly clashed with assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis and was sent home early from a recent West Coast trip. Embiid is still recovering from foot surgery he had before last year’s draft, and his workouts are limited to things such as an antigravity treadmill and long walks to stimulate his heart rate. An unidentified source claims the rookie has skipped some conditioning drills.
Another team looking to rebuild through the draft is Boston, which could have five first-round picks in June, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. In addition to their own selection, the Celtics have a top 12 protected pick from the Timberwolves, a top 14 protected choice from the Sixers, the Clippers’ pick that came as compensation for coach Doc Rivers and a top 4-14 protected pick from the Mavericks in the Rajon Rondo deal. In 2016, Boston has the rights to two more first-round selections, along with its own. “Draft picks are always tradable; players are not,” said Celtics president Danny Ainge. “Draft picks are always assets.”
Steven A. Cohen has decided not to make a bid for the Nets, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News (Twitter link). The billionaire hedge fund manager reportedly had meetings with the group handling the sale, but elected not to pursue the team. Cohen has a net worth of approximately $10 billion, but recently pleaded guilty to insider trading charges. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has claimed he hired a group called Evercore simply to assess the team’s value, but many believe he would sell at the right price.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Suns, Clippers, Lakers

January 17th, 2015 at 10:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

A month after the Kings shocked the league by firing coach Mike Malone, the move remains puzzling, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Interim coach Ty Corbin has been tasked with changing the team’s style of play midseason and players feel the strategy is unusual. “With Avery, P.J. pretty much stuck to the script, stuck to what we had been doing—nothing really changed a lot,” said veteran Reggie Evans, who experienced a midseason coaching change earlier in his career while playing for the Nets. “This year is different. We are changing some things and that’s the different part. We have to make it work to the best of our ability. I was surprised when Avery got fired, and I was surprised with this situation, too.” Sacramento is 16-23, which puts the team in danger of missing the postseason for the ninth straight season.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

New addition Reggie Bullock should find himself in a good situation on the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The team certainly believes he can become a contributor. “He’s a young player who has shooting ability, who has good size and length,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “It’s going to be hard in the middle of the season to get him acclimated to everything, but he seems like a smart kid, and I think he’ll pick up things fast just like Brandan (Wright) did.” Bullock was acquired from the Clippers in a three team trade earlier this week.
The Clippers waived Jordan Farmar with the future in mind, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “We think this will be another buyout season for a lot of guys,” coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said. “You want to have flexibility and it gives us that.” After its recent moves, the team is left with a 13-man roster.
The Lakers might be in better position to land Kevin Love in free agency than originally anticipated when the forward was dealt to the Cavs in August, speculates Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Pincus cites the Cavs struggles this season as a reason that Love could move on from the team when given the opportunity either this summer or next. Love reportedly plans to opt in and remain in Cleveland through the 2015/16 season. That will be the same offseason that Kobe Bryant‘s extension, worth $25MM in the final year of the deal, comes off the books for Los Angeles, which could allow the Lakers to have cap space for two maximum-salaried players.

Kings Sign Quincy Miller To 10-Day Deal

January 17th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

10:30pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s twitter feed.

SATURDAY, 1:42pm: The Kings will sign Quincy Miller to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). With Sacramento’s current roster count sitting at 14 players, no corresponding roster move will be needed to add Miller. Multiple teams were reportedly interested in signing Miller, including the Clippers, Pacers, Hawks, Thunder, and Spurs.

Miller had been playing with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate. In 14 D-League appearances this season Miller had averaged an impressive 26.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He was shooting 52.2% from the field, and a solid 35.6% from three-point range.

The 22-year-old Miller was selected No. 38 overall in the 2012 NBA draft, and then spent two seasons with the Nuggets. Miller attended training camp with Denver this season, but was waived back in October. His career NBA averages are 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists. His slash line is .366/.316/.702.

The Kings have reportedly been seeking to add a stretch four as well as a wing defender, and have recently made rookie Nik Stauskas available in trade discussions. It’s unclear if signing Miller is related to this talk, seeing as he’s not necessarily known as a shut-down defender, and despite being 6’9″, Miller isn’t strong enough to guard most NBA power forwards.

Clippers Notes: Prince, Rivers, Jordan

January 17th, 2015 at 7:13pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers have been active recently with the intent of improving their roster. They acquired guard Austin Rivers from the Celtics earlier in the week and earlier, it was reported that they had interest in small forward Tayshaun Prince. The team currently has the fifth best offense in the league, scoring 106.6 points per game, and resides in sixth place in the Western Conference with a record of 26-14.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Coach Doc Rivers believes his son will find success on the Clippers this season, writes Beth Harris of the Star Tribune. “He fits our team,” Doc said. “My job is to do what is best for the team. He’s young. That’s one of the reasons we wanted him.” In his debut for Los Angeles on Friday, Austin Rivers played 11 minutes and missed all four of his shots from the field.
DeAndre Jordan understands the next contract he signs could last him until he is 30 years old and he wants to be a different player at that point in his career, as he tells Ben Golliver of SI.com in an interview. “I want to be a better player. I want to be more rounded. Defense and rebounding is something that I’m known for. When you get older, you want to expand your game, become an offensive player and threat for your team. Whenever and however old I am, whenever [my contract is] up again, I want to be more of a threat offensively for the team that I’m playing for,” Jordan said. The seven-footer will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2014/15 season.
Jordan doesn’t believe he will take a short-term contract in order to maximize the benefits from the anticipated rise in cap during the 2016/17 season, Golliver writes in the same piece. “I don’t want to a free agent [over and over]. All of this stuff could be taken away in one second [with an injury]. When you have the opportunity, I feel like you need to do it, get it done, get it over with, so it’s not another year [of the same]. People say they don’t think about it, but in the back of your mind, you kind of think about it. I’d rather not stress two summers in a row,” Jordan said.

Mutual Interest Between Clippers, Prince

January 17th, 2015 at 5:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 5:50pm: The Clippers’ preferred method of acquiring the small forward would be a free agent signing after he agrees to a buyout with the Celtics, rather than a trade with Boston, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

FRIDAY, 9:00am: It doesn’t appear a foregone conclusion that the Celtics will unload recent trade acquisition Tayshaun Prince, but there’s already mutual interest between the 13th-year veteran and the Clippers, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reports within his Open Floor column. The Clippers are the front-runners to land Prince, according to Mannix, who expects the Clips to aggressively seek bench help over the next month.

The Austin Rivers trade left the Clippers with an open roster spot, and it appears the team is angling to fill it with Nate Robinson. The Clippers are also reportedly working toward a buyout with Jordan Farmar, and Dahntay Jones occupies one of their roster spots on a 10-day contract, so the team is poised to have as many as three spots available soon.

The Celtics haven’t decided whether to pursue a buyout deal with Prince, trade him, or keep him, though the forward will meet soon with Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to discuss all of those options, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reported Thursday. Prince, who turns 35 next month, is due to make nearly $7.708MM this season in the final year of his contract. Prior to Monday’s trade that sent him from Memphis to Boston, he was seeing his fewest minutes per game since his rookie season, and his PER of 8.7 over the past season and a half is indicative of a sharp decline.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Lopez, Knicks

January 17th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have made a total of nine trades so far this season. This has meant that a lot of new players needed to be acclimated to Boston’s locker room and culture. Celtics coach Brad Stevens credits veteran Gerald Wallace for keeping the team together amid all of the changes, Julian Edlow of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “I’m not too worried about chemistry in the locker room, and large credit for that goes to Gerald Wallace,” Stevens said. “Because of the way he, at his age, has accepted his role and how he talks to the young guys. It kind of makes everybody else say ‘I’m going to do what I can the right way every time.’ So I give him a lot of credit for that.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Stevens isn’t sure what will become of the newly acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I have not heard or gotten a final word one way or another on CDR,” Stevens said. It had been reported that Douglas-Roberts was expected to be waived in the wake of the trade with the Clippers.
Nets center Brook Lopez was convinced he was on his way to the Thunder on Thursday night, Robert Windrem of Nets Daily tweets. The trade rumors regarding him have reportedly upset the big man.
The Knicks‘ lack of experience within their front office is a potential issue in making trades, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. Team president Phil Jackson appears to have little interest in networking with executives around the league. That means New York doesn’t have anyone who regularly calls around the NBA to gauge the value of players, which can lead to missed opportunities, Beck notes.

Multiple Teams Eyeing Quincy Miller

January 17th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 12:49pm: The Clippers are also interested in Miller, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Los Angeles has a meeting with the player scheduled for Sunday morning, Spears notes. The Clippers currently have two open roster spots.

FRIDAY, 3:25pm: Former Nuggets small forward Quincy Miller is meeting with the Pacers, Hawks, Thunder and Spurs at this weekend’s D-League showcase, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Miller has been playing for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate for the past month after the Nuggets waived him before opening night.

The 22-year-old is averaging 25.6 points in 29.0 minutes per game with the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, though the team’s lightning-fast pace no doubt benefits his scoring. He possesses plenty of talent, having been the fifth-rated prospect coming out of high school, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, but he’s been slow to recover his form after tearing his left ACL as a high school senior. The Lakers were reportedly chief among several teams interested in him shortly after his release from the Nuggets, a group that also apparently included the Rockets and Pacers, but he went without a deal before joining the D-League in early December.

Indiana appears to have the most persistent interest, having been linked to the Dwon Clifton client earlier in the season, but the Pacers, like Atlanta, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, would have to clear a roster spot, since they’re carrying 15 players who are signed for the rest of the season. The Pacers have the most financial flexibility thanks to their $5.305MM disabled player exception for Paul George, but it seems unlikely that Miller would receive any more than the minimum salary this season.