Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Glen Davis, Danny Granger To Hit Free Agency

June 20th, 2014 at 1:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Glen Davis and Danny Granger are set to opt out of their contracts with the Clippers and become free agents next month, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Granger has interest in returning, Turner tweets, though it’s not immediately clear if Davis feels the same way. Davis and Granger signed minimum-salary pacts in the middle of the season shortly after they secured their releases from the Magic and Sixers, respectively.

Both helped deepen coach Doc Rivers‘ bench late in the season, but neither played an outsized role. Davis averaged 12.2 minutes per game in the playoffs and Granger just 10.3. It was a particular comedown for Granger, just two seasons removed from having been the leading scorer for the Pacers. Indiana shipped him to Philadelphia at the trade deadline as he failed to return to form after missing all but five games with injury in 2012/13. Davis started in 43 of his 45 appearances for the Magic this year, but rebuilding Orlando agreed to let the 28-year-old out of his deal, which was to have cost the Magic $6.4MM this year and $6.6MM next season. It’s unclear how much Davis and Granger had to give back to get out of their respective contracts at midseason.

The opt-outs do little to help the Clippers’ books, as they have enough in guaranteed salary to put them over the cap to begin next month. Davis, a client of John Hamilton, and Granger, a client of Aaron Mintz, will probably be able to find deals for more than the minimum on the market. The Clippers would likely have to dip into their mid-level exception to keep one or both of them, since they only have Non-Bird rights on the pair.

Cavs Offer Head Coaching Job To Blatt

June 19th, 2014 at 10:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:56pm: The Cavs want to add Tyronn Lue as an assistant to Blatt’s coaching staff, but there’s a slim chance of Lue leaving Doc Rivers’ staff in Los Angeles at this point, tweets Wojnarowski.

10:19pm: According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard and the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, the Cavaliers will virtually eliminate any chance of bringing LeBron James back to Cleveland if they finalize a deal with Blatt (Twitter links).

10:11pm: A source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that an announcement of a deal could come as early as tomorrow morning.

8:39pm: The two sides have “a long way to go” in these contract talks, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).

8:06pm: An NBA source tells Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer that the Cavs and Blatt are currently in negotiations.

6:52pm: A Cavs source insists that the team has not yet offered the job to Blatt, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.

6:38pm: Per league sources, the Cavaliers have offered Blatt their head coaching job, reports Wojnarowski. The two sides are reportedly in the process of negotiating terms of a deal, but no agreement has been reached.

6:10pm: Eurobasket.com’s David Pick hears from Blatt himself that “a decision is coming soon” (Twitter link).

3:54pm: The Cavs have not made a formal offer to Blatt, but resolution could come as early as tonight, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

3:35pm: The Cavs have identified Blatt as their choice and are expected to begin discussions about a deal soon, Wojnarowski reports. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that approval from owner Dan Gilbert is the final remaining obstacle (Twitter link).

2:59pm: Blatt is the strong favorite for the Cavs job, and an offer is imminent, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

1:37pm: The Cavs are believed to be deciding between Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt for their head coaching vacancy, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That means that fellow Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, who like Lue received a second interview, is apparently out of the running.

Blatt received his first face-to-face interview with the Cavs this week after having earlier spoken with GM David Griffin via telephone about the job. He’s also a candidate for an assistant coaching gig in Golden State, and people close to him have advised him to take the Warriors gig rather than go straight into head coaching for his first-ever NBA job, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Cleveland is still trying to gather information about the Massachusetts native who played under Pete Carril at Princeton, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

The Cavs apparently are high on Lue because of his ability to connect with young players, Windhorst notes in his full story, and that would be a commodity on an already youthful roster that’s poised to add the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s draft. A report earlier this week indicated the team was quietly continuing to pursue marquee college coaches, and Nate McMillan‘s name surfaced last week as a latecomer to the race, but it sounds at this point like the team’s focus is narrowing.

Warriors, Gentry Reach Agreement In Principle

June 19th, 2014 at 10:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

10:47pm: Agent Warren LeGarie tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that Gentry has agreed in principle to join the Warriors’ coaching staff. The deal will run for three seasons (Twitter links).

9:36pm: Gentry’s choice will ultimately come down to money and security, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who adds that Gentry had a deal in place with the Lakers last summer before the Clippers offered him more money.

8:25pm: The Warriors are expected to make a lucrative offer to convince Alvin Gentry to leave the Clippers and become a highly-paid associate head coach in Golden State, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Gentry served the same role under Doc Rivers in Los Angeles last season.

Earlier tonight, David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter) heard that Gentry would be heading to Golden State as an assistant. The 59-year-old coach has been a target for a few head coaching vacancies around the league recently, garnering consideration from the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Jazz. Earlier this month, we relayed the Warriors’ interest in hiring Gentry as an associate head coach.

It’s worth noting that the Warriors had previously targeted David Blatt for an assistant role on Steve Kerr’s staff; though now with Golden State reportedly zooming in on Gentry, it seems clearer that Blatt is currently deep in the process of becoming the next head coach in Cleveland while the Warriors have moved on to plan B.

Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay

June 19th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.

Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Embiid, Exum, McDermott, Stauskas

June 19th, 2014 at 12:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joel Embiid has suffered a right foot injury, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and there’s fear that it’s broken, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs discovered the injury during his physical exam with the team, it’s prompted Cleveland to want to work out Dante Exum, Wojnarowski says (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem tells fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford that Embiid probably won’t be doing any more workouts before the draft (Twitter link). He was to have auditioned for the Bucks later this week, Goodman notes on Twitter, though the Bucks haven’t heard from Embiid’s camp about whether the workout is canceled or not, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). Tellem told Andy Katz of ESPN.com that he’ll know more about the injury on Friday, as Goodman notes in his piece, so while the top of the draft hinges on tomorrow’s news on Embiid’s foot, here’s more on the wider field of prospects:

Representatives from the Kings, Nuggets, Wolves and Warriors observed Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas work out Wednesday in Chicago, Ford tweets.
C.J. Fair will audition Monday for the Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
The Magic are bringing Kendrick Perry in for a second workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Perry will also audition Saturday for the Wolves, along with Roscoe Smith, Joe Jackson and Taylor Braun, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
Isaiah Austin, Aaron Craft, T.J. Bray, Eric Moreland and Daniel Miller are the previously unreported prospects who are showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced via press release. Austin is fresh off an audition on Wednesday for the Clippers, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
Jabari Brown, Markel Brown, Devin Oliver, Khyle Marshall and Xavier Munford are among those working out for the Celtics today, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Oliver reportedly auditioned for the Celtics last week, too.
The Kings will audition Michael Dixon on Monday, Scotto tweets.

Draft Notes: Randle, Payne, Tavares, Grizz, Suns

June 18th, 2014 at 10:22pm CST by Alex Lee

With the draft only eight days away, we should expect a steady stream of updates leading up to next Thursday night’s festivities in Brooklyn. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders profiles prospects whose stock is on the rise; a list that includes Doug McDermott, Elfrid Payton, Rodney Hood, T.J. Warren, Zach LaVine, Jarnell Stokes, Rodney Hood, Shabazz Napier and Mitch McGary. In addition, here are some more team-specific draft notes from Wednesday:

Duke’s Andre Dawkins will work out with the Pistons, Mavericks and Magic after Friday’s session with the Wizards, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.
The Clippers worked out C.J. Fair, Glenn Robinson III, Cleanthony Early and Jakarr Sampson on Wednesday, adds Zagoria via Twitter.
Zagoria also tweets that the Pacers will work out Ohio guard Nick Kellogg next Monday and the Nets will work out Fair next Wednesday (Twitter links).
The Jazz got a revealing look at Noah Vonleh in Monday’s six-man workout, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Many draftniks foresee Vonleh going to Utah at No. 5.
In an Insider Only piece, ESPN’s David Thorpe outlines a handful of pre-NBA similarities between Syracuse product Jerami Grant and current NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.

Earlier updates:

Working out for the Cavaliers today, Andrew Wiggins looked “very good” according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (via Twitter). Amico adds that Cleveland’s first overall selection remains wide open.
Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe profiles Australian backcourt prospect Dante Exum. Meanwhile, NBA.com offers their pre-draft breakdown of Clemson product K.J. McDaniels.
The Kings, who pick 8th, will work out Hood, LaVine, Sim Bhullar, Nick Johnson, Elijah Pittman and RIchard Solomon on Friday, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that LaVine has fans in the Sacramento front office (Twitter links are here).
With concerns about his right foot in the air, Julius Randle impressed in his workout with the Jazz today, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. As he has since the original report, Randle maintained today in Utah that he does not need surgery.
The Bulls will work out Michigan State’s Adreian Payne on Monday, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. Owners of the 16th and 19th selections, Chicago figures to be in the market for outside shooting, making Payne a realistic possibility.
The Celtics brought 7-foot-3 prospect Walter Tavares in for a workout on Thursday, reports Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. As Scotto notes, Tavares seems to be making a late push up draft boards.
The Grizzlies will host Napier, Jordan Clarkson, Jerami Grant, P.J. Hairston, LaQuinton Ross and C.J Wilcox on Thursday, the team announced.
Michael Cohen of The Commercial Appeal profiles Grant and Hairston along with Payne and Hood in his examination of which players may slip to Memphis at pick 22.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo will work out for the Spurs, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (via Twitter). As Zillgitt points out, Antetokounmpo’s talent, bloodlines and the fact that he will have worked out for nearly half the league by next Thursday make him an intriguing prospect.
Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek considers smarts nearly as valuable as athleticism when evaluating draft prospects, writes Matt Petersen of Suns.com, who points to Gerald Green as an elite athlete who thrived in Phoenix after showing signs of basketball I.Q. despite a rocky start to his career.

Draft Notes: Clippers, Vonleh, Hornets, Hairston

June 17th, 2014 at 8:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers are interested in trading up from pick No. 28, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s piece centers on a profile of former University of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who can’t work out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL. Dinwiddie’s nonetheless had meetings with the Bucks, Wizards, Bulls and Celtics, and he’s scheduled interviews and physicals with the Clippers, Heat, Hawks and Thunder, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also says that he’ll interview and take a physical for the Jazz, advancing an earlier report that he was set to interview with the team. Here’s more on the draft:

Julius Randle is set to work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Utah’s radio announcer David Locke.
Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton are expected to work out for the Lakers on Friday for the second time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports Spears advises his readers to “keep an eye” on Payton (via Twitter) in light of the second workout.
Nik Stauskas is expected in for his first workout with the Lakers, who have struggled to get Stauskas in, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
Rodney Hood had to sit out most of his Hornets workout today due to illness, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Gary Harris and Zach LaVine will work out for the Hornets tomorrow, tweets Bonnell, who adds Charlotte’s other new workout appointees in a separate tweet: Rion Brown; Ronald Roberts Jr.; and Markel Brown, who missed an earlier workout due to travel issues.
The Rockets worked out Shabazz Napier, Xavier Thames, Patric Young, Nick Russell, and Kadeem Coleby, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
Sim Bhullar, Earnest Ross, Ian Chiles, Cameron Clark, Philipp Neumann, and Jordan Bachynski will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.

Earlier updates:

Noah Vonleh will work out for the Sixers on Thursday, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Elfrid Payton, Josh Huestis, James Bell and Jordan Clarkson are the previously unreported prospects performing for the Hornets today, as Chris Littmann of The Sporting News tweets.
P.J. Hairston will audition for the Hawks, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who also reports that Hairston will show off for the Grizzlies, Lakers and Bulls (Twitter links).
Kyle Anderson will work out for the Suns, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, as well as the Grizzlies, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links). A previous report indicated that the Suns were set to audition Anderson a week ago, so this appears to be his second workout with Phoenix.
Anderson will also perform for the Bulls, as will Clint Capela and DeAndre Daniels, Zagoria tweets.
Jordan Adams, Devyn Marble, Sean Kilpatrick, C.J. Wilcox and Jarnell Stokes are working out for the Raptors today, the team announced. A report from last month indicated that Stokes had already worked out for Toronto, but given that the dispatch came in the middle of the draft combine, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually an interview between Stokes and the club, rather than a workout.
The Wizards are auditioning Semaj Christon, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, Alec Brown and Khem Birch today, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).

And-Ones: Draft, Spurs, Hornets, Hollins, Wolves

June 17th, 2014 at 4:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jarnell Stokes‘ representatives are excited about his performance against Adreian Payne in a workout for the Raptors today, with auditions for the Spurs and Clippers still to come, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter links). Zach also hears that Rodney Hood has rescheduled workouts with the Wolves and Kings this week after withdrawing from earlier auditions for the teams (Twitter link). Justin Jackson showed off twice for the Hornets last week, with the Hawks, Heat and Suns on his upcoming workout agenda, Zach also tweets. Here’s more from around the league:

A Western Conference executive who spoke with Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News suggests that teams will be wary of the poor performance that soon-to-be free agent Boris Diaw turned in for Charlotte preceding his tenure with the Spurs. Monroe also hears doubt from an exec about Patty Mills‘ ability to succeed outside of San Antonio.
The Hornets are interviewing Blazers director of college scouting Chad Buchanan for their assistant GM post, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The assistant GM will serve under GM Rich Cho, who gained full control of the front office when president of basketball operations Rod Higgins resigned last week.
The Rockets are aggressively seeking Lionel Hollins to serve as an assistant coach even though they know it will be difficult to land him as he seeks head coaching jobs, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Hollins has interviewed to become the head man for the Cavs and Lakers.
The Timberwolves named Sam Mitchell an assistant coach today, the team announced (on Twitter). Mitchell interviewed for the head coaching job and was reportedly a favorite of owner Glen Taylor.

And-Ones: Leonard, Wallace, LeBron, Randle

June 16th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like the Spurs will be able to get the band back together when it comes to the core, but they will have to tackle Kawhi Leonard‘s extension this summer, writes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. Leonard is eligible for an extension starting July 1st and it’s obviously in their best interests to lock up the Finals MVP. Koutroupis believes that a five-year, deal in the neighborhood of $78.8MM would get it done. Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA..

Chris Wallace is in charge of basketball operations on an interim basis for the Grizzlies but when it comes to the draft, it’s a collaborative effort involving coach Dave Joerger and owner Robert Pera, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal.
LeBron James joining the Clippers makes sense to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Between Dwayne Wade being over the hill and the deterioration of Chris Bosh‘s shooting, Blakely believes that James will seek greener pastures.
The Lakers will work out Julius Randle tomorrow, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Randle will complete an individual workout, unlike the Lakers’ first pre-draft workout that put a dozen prospects up against each other.
Darnell Mayberry and Anthony Slater debated the odds of Thabo Sefolosha returning to the Thunder next season. Mayberry says there’s no shot while Slater thinks there’s a slim chance he could return. It would probably be in OKC’s best interest to let Sefolosha walk, Slater writes, but there’s a small chance he stays since his asking price is so low.
With assistant Kevin Eastman moving up from the Clippers‘ bench to the front office and assistants Tyronn Lue and Alvin Gentry both up for head coaching jobs elsewhere, there could be more changes on the way, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The Clippers are giving some thought to hiring Lawrence Frank as an assistant coach, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Frank was the Nets’ lead assistant last season until he was reassigned by Jason Kidd. Frank and Clips coach Doc Rivers previously worked together in Boston.

Clippers Hire Dave Wohl As GM

June 16th, 2014 at 5:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Clippers have reorganized their front office, pushing Gary Sacks out of his position as General Manager, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter links). Dave Wohl, a longtime league exec and assistant coach, will take over as GM with Sacks being bumped down to assistant GM.

In other changes, Doc Rivers has ascended from senior VP of basketball operations to president of basketball operations. Kevin Eastman, an assistant on Rivers’ staff, will move into the VP of basketball ops role. Rivers has had final say on personnel say on personnel matters since he was hired last summer in his coach/executive role and while it’s not explicitly outlined in the press release, that will presumably stay the same.

“I am extremely excited to work closely with Kevin, Dave and Gary in their new roles as we continue to move the culture of the Clippers forward,” Rivers said in the press release. “Our goals are not only to become a championship team, but a championship organization as well. I feel with the new structure of the Basketball Operations Department, we have taken a positive step in that direction.”

Wohl becomes General Manager of the Clippers after working as the team’s Director of Professional Scouting last season. Wohl has more than four decades of NBA experience under his belt, including a stint as an assistant coach for the Wolves from 2009-2011 and serving as the Assistant GM of the Celtics from 2007-2009. He has also worked in various capacities for Orlando, Miami, Sacramento and the Lakers in addition to serving as the head coach of the Nets from 1985-1988.