Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sasha Vujacic Signs To Play In Italy

March 25th, 2014 at 8:03am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Lakers, Nets and Clippers shooting guard Sasha Vujacic has signed with Reyer Venezia of Italy, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Massimo Oriani of La Gazzetta dello Sport originally reported the deal. The contract covers the rest of the season for the 30-year-old, who had briefly returned to the NBA last month on a 10-day contract with the Clippers. Doc Rivers said shortly after the deal expired that the club might re-sign Vujacic at some point this season if there was a roster spot available, and though the Clippers have just 14 players at this point, it looks like a reunion won’t materialize.

Vujacic spent most of this season attempting to revive his NBA career, which had been dormant since 2010/11, but his recent decision to join the Interperformances agency might have signaled a shift in plans. He spent 2011/12 and 2012/13 playing for Anadolu Efes in Turkey.

The Slovenian native last played in Italy before the Lakers drafted him 27th overall in 2004. He won a pair of championships with the purple-and-gold, but in parts of eight NBA seasons, he’s never averaged more than 9.8 points per game. He set that career high with the Nets in 2010/11, the only year he averaged as many as 20 minutes per contest.

Western Notes: Westbrook, Jazz, Davis

March 22nd, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Cray Allred

While a lot of attention has shifted from the NBA to March Madness this weekend, there are still plenty of good games and intriguing stories around the league. Let’s take a look out West:

Today’s MRI and exam of Thunder star Russell Westbrook‘s knee following last night’s collision revealed no issues of concern, per Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Royce Young of Daily Thunder adds that Westbrook won’t miss any time from the injury, outside of the pre-existing plan of rest for back-to-backs.
Glen Davis is still getting acclimated to the Clippers style of play, telling Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times that he’s still trying to get a feel for his new teammates. “I’m not looking to get a real groove, as far as thinking without thinking kind of method, until the playoffs. So every day is a grind and just a way to get to know everybody,” says Davis. “What Chris Paul wants. How he wants it done. What Blake [Griffin] wants. How I should play with Blake, because he’s usually playing with a guy who’s above the rim all the time. So it’s easy for him. I’m different. I’m a different player. I’m below the rim. I’m different from DeAndre [Jordan]. So it’s learning that system and just knowing the guys on the floor.”
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune that he wants to see maximum effort from his young roster as the season closes, even though Utah is well out of contention. “The fans deserve to see our best effort,” Corbin said. “I want us to play hard and do this thing the right way. We’ve got to play hard and play well and be professional.” There are plenty of Jazz players with incentive to impress; Utah has nine players that will either be free agents next year or working on non-guaranteed deals heading into 2014/15.

Western Notes: Lakers, Suns, Lowry, Jordan

March 19th, 2014 at 9:57pm CST by Alex Lee

The NBA has parameters in place to ensure the relationship between Lakers president Jeanie Buss and now-Knicks president Phil Jackson doesn’t become an issue, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Shelburne the following: “The Knicks’ hiring of Phil Jackson is subject to the league’s conflict of interest rules. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict, we have addressed the issue with the Knicks and Lakers to ensure that the relationship between Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson will not affect how the teams operate.”

We heard yesterday that Buss recently met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on this very topic. Shelburne followed up on Twitter, adding that Buss and Silver had similar conversations last year when Jackson considered working for Toronto or a new Seattle franchise. In short, because Buss’ role with the Lakers is on the business side, the league approves, Shelburne says, an explanation that agrees with what we heard from Buss earlier today.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on out west:

In an interview with Zach Lowe of Grantland, Goran Dragic conceded that he was baffled this offseason when he heard the Suns acquired Eric Bledsoe, but his agent and Suns’ management swiftly assured him that the team envisioned an all-point guard backcourt not unlike the early ’90s Phoenix duo of Kevin Johnson and (current head coach) Jeff Hornacek.
Two seasons after shipping him to Toronto, Daryl Morey unsuccessfully attempted to bring Kyle Lowry back to the Rockets at the trade deadline, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Villanova product, who also nearly ended up in New York, is playing his way into a big-time contract this summer, when Lowry becomes a free agent. We heard earlier tonight that he could be a fit in Dallas.
A lot of the credit for DeAndre Jordan‘s progression with the Clippers should go to Doc Rivers, writes Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated. Rivers, in his first year with the Clips, did his homework on the talented but underacheiving center prior to arriving in Los Angeles, and the results have been more than encouraging.

And-Ones: Rookie Scale, Griffin, Coaches

March 18th, 2014 at 4:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson and the Knicks have dominated headlines today, but that’s not the only story in the NBA. Here’s the latest from around the league, with four weeks and a day to go before the end of the regular season:

Grantland’s Zach Lowe noted earlier that there are several draft-related ideas the league is kicking around to remove the incentive teams have to tank, and another is increasing rookie scale salaries, Lowe adds via Twitter.
Everyone who signed with the Clippers this year was banking on Blake Griffin developing into a top-five player, and Griffin has been validating their decisions, as Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins writes.
Precisely half of the league’s head coaches played primarily at point guard in the NBA, college or both, while three more played both guard positions, notes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who examines why this is so.
Warriors coach Mark Jackson is vilified for some of the same coaching traits that Phil Jackson drew adulation for, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher opines.
The Warriors have recalled Nemanja Nedovic and Ognjen Kuzmic from the D-League, the team announced via press release. Nedovic was in the D-League for the past six days, but Kuzmic returns after a stint that began February 21st.
The Cavs have recalled Sergey Karasev from the D-League’s Canton Charge, the Charge announced via Twitter. The 19th overall pick in the 2013 draft has appeared in 18 D-League games this year, almost as many as the 20 he’s played for Cleveland.

Darius Morris To Play In D-League

March 17th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Darius Morris has been acquired off waivers by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The 23-year-old guard has played for three NBA teams already this season. He last played for Memphis on a 10-day contract that expired back on February 13th. He’s still free to sign with any NBA team that comes calling.

This season, Morris appeared in 10 games for the Clippers and averaged 0.9 PPG in 5.4 MPG. He then played in 12 games for the Sixers and averaged 6.9 PPG, and 2.6 APG in 16.1 MPG. His last action was with the Grizzlies where in five games he put up 3.0 PPG, and 1.6 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest.

Morris’ last stint in the D-League was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in two games for Los Angeles, and he averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 5.5 APG in 35.0 minutes per contest.

Los Angeles Notes: Bazemore, Jackson, Gasol

March 11th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Kent Bazemore played sparingly during his stint on the Warriors, averaging 4.4 MPG as a rookie in 2012/13 and 6.1 MPG in 44 games this season. After being dealt to the Lakers a few weeks ago, the 24-year-old guard is now seeing 29.8 MPG and has made quite an impression thus far. With 14.6 PPG on 45.9% shooting overall and 40.4% from long distance over his last 10 games, Bazemore may not only resemble a potential piece for L.A.’s future, but a possible free agency target for other teams as well.

With that being said, Bazemore wants to remain with the Lakers long-term, and his camp is confident that if he continues to play as he has so far for the team, L.A. will tender a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent this summer, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.

Here’s more out of Los Angeles this evening:

Phil Jackson has been recently linked to a few front office opportunities around the league, and despite his lack of experience as an executive, the Lakers – with a dire need for stability and direction – can ill afford to let him get away again, opines Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
Though Pau Gasol‘s frustration for most of this season implies an infinitesimal chance that he re-ups with the purple and gold beyond this year, it could still be mutually beneficial for Gasol and the team if he were to return, explains Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. One idea involves re-signing the Spanish big man to a gargantuan one-year deal for next season, which would allow L.A. to eventually clear Gasol and Steve Nash‘s contracts at the same time and thus have ample cap space for 2015.
In the above piece, Bucher also shares a list of players who Kobe Bryant said he envisions returning after this season, including Jordan Hill, Chris Kaman, Jordan Farmar, and Wesley Johnson.
During a recent interview with Kustoo.com, Bryant admitted that he has been frustrated with the slow recovery process from his knee injury (hat tip to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times): “It’s progressing slowly. It really tests my patience…There’s only so much you can do, so I find myself relegated to riding the bike.”
Former Clippers swingman Sasha Vujacic has signed on with basketball agency Interperformances, according to Sportando (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Gortat, Pacers, Rondo

March 10th, 2014 at 2:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony‘s camp leaked the information about Joakim Noah‘s All-Star break recruiting pitch, and the Knicks have been open about their pursuit of Phil Jackson, observes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Deveney concludes the whispers from both sides are intended as posturing for ‘Melo’s free agency decision this summer. While we wait to see how the latest ‘Melo-drama will play out, here’s the latest from the rest of the Eastern Conference:

Marcin Gortat says the strength of a team’s point guard and its coaching staff will be two qualities he’ll consider when he assesses suitors in free agency this summer, as he tells Kyle Weidie of ESPN.com. Gortat is high on re-signing with the Wizards, though his comments suggest he isn’t interested in signing an extension, reportedly one of Washington’s goals.
The Pacers were concerned that Danny Granger had slacked off on the daily rehab regimen that was to help him regain his form after he missed almost all of last season with injuries, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That helped precipitate the deadline deal that brought Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen to Indiana, but Kyler wonders if the departure of the longtime Pacer did irreparable damage to the team’s chemistry.
Danny Ainge embraces Rajon Rondo, stubbornness and all, as the Celtics president of basketball operations tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe for a piece that examines Rondo’s nuanced personality.

Western Notes: Bledsoe, Daniels, Mekel

March 9th, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns guard Eric Bledsoe is expected to make his return from injury Wednesday night against the Cavs. His minutes will be limited at first, but the player is ready to go “full-throttle”, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. How Bledsoe performs the rest of the season will have a huge impact on his next deal, writes Coro. Before he went down with an injury, the future restricted free agent averaged 18.0 PPG and 5.8 APG. After starting the season 19-11, the team has cooled slightly and gone 17-14 without Bledsoe.

Knicks Notes: Jackson, James, Dolan

March 9th, 2014 at 8:42am CST by Eddie Scarito

With all the speculation regarding where Carmelo Anthony will end up next season, it’s removing a bit of the focus from what LeBron James intends to do this summer. Sam Smith of of Bulls.com thinks that James will end up in New York alongside ‘Melo. Smith cites LeBron’s desire to solidify his legacy, which winning in New York would greatly enhance. The article also breaks down potential superstar running mates for James, and Anthony makes the most sense, according to Smith. The need for LeBron to find a new running mate is due to Dwyane Wade‘s declining health, and the likelihood that Chris Bosh will sign elsewhere after the season, opines Smith. To make this pairing happen, LeBron would have to stay in Miami for one more season, then jump to the Knicks in 2015 when they will have enough free cap space to sign him.

More out of New York:

Phil Jackson is being touted as the Knicks’ next franchise savior. He should think twice before accepting the job, writes Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News. Lupica cites owner James Dolan’s unwillingness to step back and allow his basketball people to do their job unhindered. The article illustrates this trend by examining the tenure of Donnie Walsh, who was also hailed as being the one to turn around the Knicks fortunes. Walsh left the team after being frustrated by Dolan’s constant interference.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com looks at why it would be better for the Knicks if Jackson didn’t return to coaching and limited his involvement to the front office.
Quite a few people believe that Phil Jackson shouldn’t return to the sidelines, and Charley Rosen of Sheridan Hoops is one of them. Rosen believes the Knicks might be Jackson’s best opportunity to return to the game, but also thinks his ideal situation would be to hold out for a similar front office position with the Clippers, especially if the team disappoints in this year’s playoffs.

Clippers Interested In Bobby Brown

March 8th, 2014 at 2:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

According to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link), the Clippers have expressed interest in signing Bobby Brown. Brown was previously linked to the team, but this was when Chris Paul was out with an injury. He would not be allowed to sign an agreement with an NBA team until his team is eliminated from the Chinese league, but it’s on the verge of elimination, Amick tweets. The Clippers have one spot left on their 15-man roster.

He has had two previous NBA stints. In 2008/09 he appeared in 68 games for the Timberwolves where he averaged 5.31 PPG, 0.76 RPG, and 1.72 APG. Then in 2009/10, Brown played in 45 games for the Clippers, and averaged 4.78 PPG, 0.84 RPG, and 1.96 APG.

Brown is averaging 30.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.8 APG, and 1.6 SPG for Dongguan this season. His slash line is .439/.324/.799.