Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Smith, Motiejunas, Ross

August 9th, 2014 at 10:21am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons are in advanced talks with Otis Smith to coach their NBA D-League team, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Smith was the GM of the Magic during Stan Van Gundy‘s coaching tenure with Orlando, and had stepped down from his position in May of 2012, on the same day Van Gundy was fired as head coach of the team, notes Stein. This continues Van Gundy’s trend of hiring his former associates and players. Tim Hardaway was already brought in as an assistant coach, and Quentin Richardson was hired as director of player development.

Here’s more from around the league:

Chaz Williams has signed with Oline Edirne Basketball of the Turkish League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 5’9″ point guard went undrafted this year out of Massachusetts, after averaging 15.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 6.9 APG as a senior. Williams had worked out most recently for the Wizards, with hopes of securing a training camp invite from the team.
During an interview with Zip FM radio, Donatas Motiejunas was asked where he’d like to play if he were to leave the Rockets, and his preference was the Lakers, the Basketball Insiders article notes (hat tip to Talkbasket.net). Motiejunas said, “Most likely in Los Angeles because there are no serious bigs and I would likely get chances to play. I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers.“
Former Ohio State forward LaQuinton Ross has signed with Consultinvest Pesaro of the Italian League, the team reported via their Facebook page (translation by Carchia). Ross went undrafted after averaging 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds as a junior. Ross had been projected as a possible second-round draft pick this year, but showed up 15 lbs. overweight to the scouting combine, and didn’t perform especially well. He played for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League, but only appeared in three games, and totaled just nine points, six rebounds and four turnovers in 31 minutes.

And-Ones: Gay, Clippers, Monroe, Rogers

August 8th, 2014 at 6:48pm CST by Alex Lee

It’s been a rough week for Team USA following the gruesome injury sustained by Paul George and the subsequent withdrawal of Kevin Durant. However, help is on the way in the form of Kings forward Rudy Gay, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Gay was a reserve on USA’s 2010 title squad and joins Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward this time around as the team’s only true small forwards. At tonight’s Hall of Fame ceremony, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told NBA.com’s David Aldridge that a repeat gold medal performance this summer would be the “sweetest win because of the circumstances.” (via Marc Stein on Twitter).

Here is what else is happening around the league on Friday night:

The official transfer of the Clippers could happen at any moment, as attorneys for Donald Sterling claimed in a request for a stay of a probate court decision that affirms Shelly Sterling’s right to sell the team to Steve Ballmer, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The judge in the probate trial signed the final statement of decision Thursday, clearing the way for Donald Sterling to file the request, as Fenno explains. The sale may proceed once the judge issues a final order, which could come at any time, Fenno adds.
There is a very good likelihood that Greg Monroe is in a Pistons uniform next season according to David Mayo of MLive.com (via Twitter), who puts the chances at 85 to 90 percent. With the sign-and-trade market for Monroe now essentially non-existent, Mayo believes the sides will either come to an agreement on a longer-term deal or that Monroe will sign his one-year qualifying offer. Monroe would become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he chooses the latter route.
The Wizards have added Roy Rogers as an assistant coach, the team announced on their website today. Rogers has six years experience as an NBA assistant under his belt, previously working with the Nets (twice), the Celtics and the Pistons. Prior to reaching the NBA ranks, Rogers coached in the D-League for four years after a seven-year playing career. He joins fellow assistant David Atkins, hired in July, as a newcomer on the staff of head coach Randy Wittman.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Sixers, Seattle

August 5th, 2014 at 5:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The relationship between the Suns and Eric Bledsoe continues to sour, and as it does, it’s looking like he’ll end up taking Phoenix’s one-year qualifying offer, worth about $3.7MM, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. That route would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency by next summer, but it would also represent a severe discount, not only on the maximum salary that Bledsoe has been seeking, but also from the four-year, $48MM offer the Suns have reportedly made. It’d be a surprising move if he ends up taking the QO, but it doesn’t seem as though the Rich Paul client is any closer to another deal. There’s more on Bledsoe amid the latest from around the league:

Four NBA executives and two agents who spoke with Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic believe that the four-year, $48MM offer the Suns reportedly made to Bledsoe is fair and don’t think that the 24-year-old point guard has merited the maximum salary. “I’m surprised that they would offer him that much,” one of the executives said. “They don’t need to. It is really fair and, in fact, generous. He is talented, but he has never put it together very long, and he hasn’t been healthy. It’s hard to turn your team over to him.”
The possibility that the Sixers could acquire Anthony Bennett and give up Thaddeus Young as the third team in a Kevin Love trade, one that Brian Windhorst of ESPN raised in a radio interview Monday, would be difficult to comprehend, argues Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Philadelphia’s purge of existing talent has been so profound that such a swap would seem like piling on, Lynam posits.
Coming up short in bids for the Bucks and Kings prompted Steve Ballmer to pounce on the chance to strike a deal to buy the Clippers and abandon his dream of bringing the NBA back to Seattle, as he tells Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. The former Microsoft CEO said he hopes Seattle ends up with a team eventually, though he reiterated that he has no intention of moving the Clippers.

Clippers To Audition Bynum, Oden, Okafor

August 5th, 2014 at 12:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:11pm: Andy Miller, the agent for Blatche, disputes the report, telling Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that his client has no workout scheduled with the Clippers (Twitter link).

8:45am: The Clippers are set to work out free agent centers this week, with Andray Blatche, Andrew Bynum, Greg Oden and Emeka Okafor among those on the docket as the team seeks depth, reports Jorge Sedano of ESPN Radio (Twitter link). The inclusion of Bynum’s name is surprising, since last month he was giving serious thought to sitting out the season. There have been widespread questions about Okafor’s health, too, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote at the bottom of one of his pieces from last month.

Blatche was the most productive of the quartet last season, averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game for the Nets. Bynum appeared in only 26 games because of his persistent knee trouble, while Oden, mostly healthy over the course of a full season for the first time in his career, appeared in only 23 contests as a deep reserve for a Finals-bound Heat team. Okafor missed the entire season because of a herniated disk in his neck.

The hard-capped Clippers can only offer the minimum to anyone they sign. Oden, who has six years of official experience, is the only one among the four named in Sedano’s report who could receive a multiyear contract from the team. One-year deals for the minimum salary only count against a team’s cap for the two-year veteran’s minimum, so that would allow the team to ink deals with Blatche, Bynum and Okafor, each of whom has a minimum salary that exceeds the roughly $1.149MM that the Clippers have left under their hard cap. The team has only 12 players on its roster, so it will have to add another player eventually to reach the 13-man regular season minimum.

Ray Allen Not Leaning Toward Cavs

August 4th, 2014 at 7:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Ray Allen has ruled out a return to the Heat, but says he hasn’t been leaning toward playing for the Cavs, as had been reported, as Allen tells Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Allen is still considering retirement, of course, it sounds like he may have some reservations about playing for an NBA neophyte like Cavs coach David Blatt.

“It will require a perfect storm scenario for me,” said Allen. “I’m in great shape, and I’ll continue to be in great shape, but I don’t want to go to a situation where I don’t understand the rhythm of how a coach coaches. He has to be a great coach, a veteran coach.”

While Allen is good friends with LeBron James and James Jones, he insists that his former Miami teammates haven’t tried to push him to Cleveland. James and Allen vacationed together in the Bahamas, but that was before James made The Decision 2.0.

Of course, there are other suitors out there for one of the league’s best-known long distance shooters. The veteran has also heard from his former coach Doc Rivers who would like him to come join forces with the Clippers. Still, the 39-year-old won’ t necessarily play for cheap, if he plays at all.

“A lot of teams want to be able to get me at the veteran’s minimum. I still have an ego, too. I still have a service to provide, and teams still have to pay me what I feel my presence is worth. I have to take that into consideration, if it’s worth putting my body through what it will take over 82 games.”

And-Ones: Wiggins, Cavs, Murry, George

August 3rd, 2014 at 10:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft is in a weird spot, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Andrew Wiggins has been heavily connected to a possible Kevin Love deal between the Wolves and Cavs and on top of that, it turns out that he hasn’t even chatted with LeBron James since the game’s top player announced in Sports Illustrated that he was going back to Cleveland. “No. I’m sure he’s busy,” Wiggins said. “I feel like I’m busy, so I am sure he’s busy.” More from around the NBA..

Toure’ Murry still has interest from the Heat, Jazz, and Clippers and a return to the Knicks remains a possibility, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
Paul George‘s injury isn’t just a loss for the Pacers, it’s a loss for all of basketball, writes Candace Buckner of the Indy Star. It has been noted that in 1985, when quarterback Joe Theismann suffered a similar horrific fracture, the injury forced him into retirement at age 36. However, Buckner notes that George has the advancements of modern medicine on his side as well as his youth.
Italian team Ferentino is eyeing former D-League guard Chris Roberts, sources tell Paolo DePersis of Sportando. The swingman spent last season in Serie A with Caserta averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG.

Western Notes: Cuban, Pleiss, Sterling

August 3rd, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of Paul George‘s terrible injury Friday night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blasted the IOC, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA (International Federal Basketball Association). We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

Here’s more from out west:

Thunder 2010 draft-and-stash pick Tibor Pleiss is expected to sign a two-year deal with Barcelona, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Oklahoma City had made an attempt to bring the German big man to the NBA this season but his buyout amount became an issue, but the team was still hoping to work out a deal for the 2015/16 campaign. Details of Pleiss’ potential deal with Barcelona and buyout amount haven’t yet been announced.
Sam Cassell is leaving the Wizards to join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff with the Clippers, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Los Angeles’ bench had recently lost Tyronn Lue to the Cavs and Alvin Gentry to the Warriors.
Donald Sterling built an empire but words were his undoing, write Nathan Fenno, Kim Christensen, and James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times. The trio profile the seemingly soon-to-be former Clippers owner’s rise and fall.

Several NBA Teams Eyeing Dahntay Jones

August 1st, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 1ST: The Wizards were indeed present at the workout, but they don’t have interest in signing Jones, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

JULY 30TH: The Kings, Cavs, Spurs, Thunder and Wizards were all in attendance at a workout that Jones held today in Las Vegas, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Between 15 and 20 NBA clubs were set to take a look at him this week, as Kennedy reported earlier this month.

JULY 21ST: Ten-year NBA veteran Dahntay Jones is set to work out for the Knicks and Sixers this week, and in addition to a reported meeting with the Clippers earlier this month, he also worked out for that team, too, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports. The shooting guard and Mark Bartelstein client is close with former Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony, though New York’s addition of Jones would only add to a logjam at the two-guard that Knicks GM Steve Mills has already publicly acknowledged.

The Knicks are apparently discussing trades involving J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to clear up that position, as we noted Sunday. New York also worked out Jones this past February, seemingly the closest brush that the now 33-year-old had with the NBA last season after the Bulls waived him early in the preseason. Still, that was before the arrival of Knicks team president Phil Jackson, and what attracts the team to Jones now is his competitiveness and leadership, according to Isola.

The Knicks, now as they were in February, are limited to the minimum salary, and the Clippers are similarly hamstrung. The Sixers have ample cap room to use on Jones, but it’s nonetheless unlikely that he’ll warrant any better than a guaranteed minimum-salary contract. He’s averaged 5.6 points in 16.3 minutes per game over his career, and put up 3.4 PPG in 13.0 MPG in 2012/13, his last NBA season.

Western Notes: Clippers, Henry, Grizzlies

July 29th, 2014 at 12:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Attorneys for Donald Sterling plan to ask an appellate court for permission to appeal Monday’s probate court decision, even though the ruling doesn’t allow Sterling to seek a court order stopping the sale of the Clippers as he appeals, according to Brian Melley of The Associated Press. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register details three ways that Sterling can still prevent wife Shelly Sterling from completing the $2 billion sale of the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Monday’s ruling left Donald Sterling unbowed, as his attorney Bobby Samini said to reporters, including Woike.

“His reaction was very calm,” Samini said. “He didn’t see this as the final battleground. This is one stage of a long war. This is one battle. We had hoped for a different result, but this is not the end.”

There’s more on the Sterling saga amid the latest from around the Western Conference:

Judge Michael Levanas accepted the contention of Shelly Sterling’s lawyers that it was unlikely that anyone would match Ballmer’s $2 billion bid for the Clippers, as Melley notes in his piece. “Ballmer paid an amazing price that cannot be explained by the market,” Levanas said.
Xavier Henry‘s one-year contract with the Lakers isn’t a minimum-salary arrangement, as first believed, and is instead worth the $1.082MM leftover portion of the team’s room exception, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The other part of the room exception went to Ryan Kelly.
Joe Abadi, a lawyer for Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, conducted the team’s interviews with candidates for the front office job that Ed Stefanski will fill, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Abadi has taken on a larger role in the organization while Pera has marginalized minority owners Stephen Kaplan and Daniel E. Straus, as Stein details.

Judge Rules In Favor Of Shelly Sterling

July 28th, 2014 at 5:20pm CST by Zachary Links

5:20pm: NBA Executive Vice President Mike Bass issued a statement on today’s ruling (via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports on Twitter):

“We are pleased that the court has affirmed Shelly Sterling’s right to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer. We look forward to the transaction closing as soon as possible.”

4:45pm: The judge in the trial between Donald and Shelly Sterling ruled in favor of the embattled owner’s wife today, saying she had “reasonable” belief Donald authorized her to sell the Clippers and that her testimony was “far and away” more credible than Donald’s, tweets Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. Most importantly, the judge also made a ruling under 1310(b) of California Probate Code, according to Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles (on Twitter), and that essentially makes the decision “appeal-proof“.

The move seemingly seals the deal for former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to officially complete his purchase of the Clippers. If this is indeed the end of the Sterling saga, it will be a great relief to the league office as well as many members of the Clippers. Matt Barnes was the latest Clipper to raise the specter of a boycott if Donald Sterling remains, as we noted earlier. Coach/president Doc Rivers and star guard Chris Paul were also among those who have been considering drastic measures if Sterling was not ousted by the start of the 2014/15 campaign.

Last week, Clippers interim CEO Dick Parsons testified that if Sterling stayed and Rivers were to leave, it would spell doom for the franchise.

“If Doc were to leave, that would be a disaster,” Parsons said, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne. “Doc is the father figure of the team. Chris [Paul] is the on-court captain of the team. But Doc is really the guy who leads the effort. He’s the coach, the grown-up, he’s a man of character and ability — not just in a basketball sense, but in the ability to connect with people and gain their trust. The team believes in him and admires and loves him. If he were to bail, with all the other circumstances, it would accelerate the death spiral.”

Today’s clean sweep ruling should be the final step towards making Ballmer’s $2 billion purchase official, but Donald Sterling has a long history of dragging things out in court. The NBA certainly hopes that this will be the end of what has been a bizarre and ugly series of events for the league.