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Negotiations Between Celtics, Clippers End Again

June 21st, 2013 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

7:00pm: Rivers and Ainge will talk through the weekend, with plans to have a resolution by Monday on Rivers' future as Celtics coach, Wojnarowski reports, adding that Rivers told the Clippers on Friday that he's no longer interested in coaching their team (Twitter links).

6:39pm: Talks won't start up again tonight, but the Clippers believe discussions will resume at some point, and until the team hires a coach other than Rivers, he remains their target, according to Shelburne and ESPN.com colleague Marc Stein. Their report also indicates that one of the Clippers' other coaching candidates told ESPN's Chris Broussard that owner Donald Sterling will take the weekend to ponder whether to move on from Rivers.

4:27pm: Chris Paul "badly" wanted Rivers as his coach and pushed the Clippers to make a deal to get him from the Celtics, according to Wojnarowski. Rivers isn't going after the Clippers job anymore, as his choices for next season appear to be down to coaching for the Celtics or returning to broadcasting, Wojnarowski hears.

4:23pm: A source close to Rivers tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he believes Rivers will be coaching somewhere next year, in spite of Rivers' frustration with the current situation. Meanwhile, the Clippers had intended to negotiate through the weekend with the Celtics before talks broke down today, Shelburne reports (Twitter links).

3:50pm: The NBA's on-again, off-again deal of the summer appears to be off again, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Murphy reports that negotations between the Clippers and Celtics have ended again, and while there's a possibility they could re-open for a third time, both sides seemed to acknowledge today that nothing could be gained.

"The Celtics' price (for Rivers) was a first round pick, and the Clippers weren't willing to do that," a source told Murphy, which echoes an earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who said L.A. had only put a second-round pick on the table. Wojnarowski has since backed up Murphy's report, tweeting that Rivers is no longer expected to pursue the Clippers' job after talks failed again today.

After the Celtics cancelled a press conference this morning, it was presumed that the Clippers had sweetened their offer, or at least come back to the table to continue discussing potential compensation for Rivers. However, according to Murphy, today's presser wasn't cancelled due to negotiations, but rather due to the fact that Rivers needed more time to ponder his future. Rivers and GM Danny Ainge are now tentatively scheduled to address the media on Monday.

Latest On Clippers/Celtics Negotiations

June 21st, 2013 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

3:22pm: The Celtics and Rivers' camp are "rapidly" coming to believe that no deal is going to be reached with the Clippers, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

2:59pm: Although the Clippers raised the idea of sending Boston a second-round pick as compensation for Rivers, the Celtics are holding out for a first-rounder, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That would suggest that perhaps the 2015 first-rounder mentioned below hasn't officially been put on the table yet. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides aren't making much progress at this point.

12:47pm: The ongoing saga involving the Clippers, the Celtics, Doc Rivers, and Kevin Garnett took another odd twist this morning, when the Celtics sent out a press release announcing that Rivers and GM Danny Ainge would speak to the media today. Shortly after that announcement, the Celtics postponed the press conference until Monday, tentatively at noon eastern, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (via Twitter).

As Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe notes (via Twitter), the unusual move by the Celtics may have been designed to push the Clippers into action. The Clips had previously been unwilling to give up first-round draft picks as compensation for Rivers, but the threat of a press conference in Boston (perhaps to announce that Rivers would be returning) may have changed that, says Holmes.

Hall of Fame scribe Mark Heisler confirms as much, reporting (via Twitter) that the Clippers have now offered a protected 2015 first-round pick for Rivers. If the two sides can reach an agreement on compensation for Rivers, a Doc deal could be completed today, according to Heisler (Twitter link). However, he adds that the same can't be said for a trade involving Garnett. Due to CBA rules, the NBA has essentially insisted that Rivers and KG would have to be moved in separate, unrelated transactions.

To clarify that last point: Because NBA head coaches can't officially be traded, the Celtics aren't allowed to include Rivers in a Garnett deal. Instead, they'd have to release Rivers from his contract, allowing him to sign with the Clippers, making a potential KG/DeAndre Jordan swap an entirely separate transaction.

But the CBA also doesn't allow teams to make two separate moves that are contingent on one another, so the Clippers have shifted their focus to Rivers for now, in hopes of hiring him and then pursuing Garnett at a later date. If the Clips were to land Rivers and agree to acquire Garnett later, they'd have to convince the NBA that the two moves were made independently of one another.

For more details on how these negotiations have played out, check out our posts rounding up the updates from Wednesday and from Thursday.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Rivers, Raps, Nets, 76ers

June 21st, 2013 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics sent out a press release this morning announcing that GM Danny Ainge and head coach Doc Rivers would address the media at 12:00 eastern time today, but Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald tweets that the presser has been postponed until Monday. It's not known whether Ainge and Rivers were ready to make an announcement today, but with no press conference scheduled until Monday now, it appears the team will still have a few more days to negotiate a potential deal with the Clippers. Here's more from around the Atlantic Division:

The Clippers still want to land Rivers, but they believe the Celtics are the team with a timetable looming, and are in no hurry to complete a deal, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star is hearing there will likely be some turnover for the Raptors' coaching staff, with assistants Johnny Davis, Scott Roth, and Tom Sterner not expected to return.
Noting that multiple mock drafts have the 76ers drafting Steven Adams, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders whether the Pittsburgh big man is the best target for the Sixers. Our own mock draft has Philadelphia selecting Cody Zeller at No. 11, with Adams going a pick later.
With C.J. Watson opting out of his contract, the Nets will need a new backup point guard, and may target Isaiah Canaan in the draft, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes.

Western Notes: Suns, Mavericks, Jazz

June 20th, 2013 at 11:33pm CST by Ryan Raroque

A well-deserved congratulations to the Heat for winning the NBA Championship as well as the Spurs for putting up a hard fought series. As we wrap up one of the more memorable Finals matchups in recent history, here are some of tonight's news and notes out of the Western Conference:

Paul Coro of AZ Central says that Suns GM Ryan McDonough could use one of his three draft picks on an international player under contract and keep him overseas for more seasoning before bringing him over. Coro adds that if Phoenix doesn't select a center with their fifth overall pick, it could certainly be a targeted position with their 30th.
Given their draft history, Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW thinks that the Mavericks will either trade this year's pick or draft an international player with the intent of keeping him overseas as to not take up any of this summer's salary cap space. If they do keep the pick, Sefko thinks that they'll look at either Michael Carter-Williams or Dennis Schroeder. In a separate piece, Sefko boldly predicts that the Mavs will wind up with Dwight Howard this offseason.
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is excited to have Jerry Sloan involved with the franchise again, writes Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times thinks that the Clippers going after Doc Rivers at the expense of a first round pick is a no-brainer.

Draft Notes: Jazz, Noel, Cavs, Suns, Blazers

June 20th, 2013 at 10:22pm CST by Luke Adams

We unveiled the first edition of Hoops Rumors' 2013 mock draft earlier today, as our own Alex Lee ran through picks one through 30. We'll have our second and final mock up next week, just in time for Thursday night's draft, and given the lack of consensus on this year's class, it wouldn't be a surprise to see major changes to our board over the next several days. Here are the latest draft-related notes and rumors:

The Clippers worked out E.J. Singler, Carrick Felix, Alex Oriakhi, and Jackie Carmichael at their Playa Vista training center this morning (Clippers.com).
Among those who will participate in a pre-draft workout with the Wizards tomorrow include Keith Clanton, D.J. Cooper, Joffrey Lauvergne, Korie Lucious, Nicolo Melli, and Maurice Sutton, according to the team's official website.
The Timberwolves will host Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk, Christian Watford, and Colton Iverson tomorrow, as per the team's official PR Twitter account.

Earlier updates:

Today's NBA AM piece from Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld is heavy on draft content, including an interview with Nerlens Noel and updates on Alex Len, the Jazz, and possible draft-and-stash candidates.
Sources within the Cavaliers organization seem somewhat "cool" on Noel, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Still, Lloyd says the Cavs continue to prioritize long-term results rather than a short-term desire to make the playoffs, so Noel's inability to make an immediate impact likely wouldn't be a significant factor in the club's decision at No. 1.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider-only link) has unveiled his annual tiered rankings of the draft class, and none of this year's prospects qualified for either the first or second tier.
While most of the focus among Suns fans figures to be on the team's fifth overall pick, Phoenix also has the 30th and 57th selections. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the names of the candidates for those picks who worked out for the team today, including Jeff Withey and Deshaun Thomas (Twitter link).
Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, and Ricky Ledo are among the prospects working out for the Trail Blazers today, and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com believes one of them could end up being the No. 10 pick (Twitter links).

Clippers Targeting Rivers First; KG, Pierce Later

June 20th, 2013 at 7:28pm CST by Luke Adams

7:28pm: Dan Woike of the OC Register tweets that Los Angeles isn't optimistic that the league will ever allow them to acquire both Garnett and Rivers.

7:10pm: ESPN's Ramona Shelburne tweets that the Clippers are in no rush to get something done, knowing that two of the three candidates they've interviewed will be available for a while.

7:00pm: Rivers is said to be growing frustrated by the lack of closure on the deal and could take himself out of it if things aren't resolved by tomorrow morning, writes Bulpett. Though another source tells Bulpett that process has come too far along to turn away now.

6:21pm: Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (via Twitter) says that there was no deal presented to the league today because the Clippers have yet to meet the Celtics' asking price.

4:43pm: According to Wojnarowski, the Celtics would just want one first-round pick as compensation for releasing Rivers from his contract. If the two sides eventually returned to talks involving Garnett, the Celtics would want another first-rounder along with Jordan, says Wojnarowski.

However, the Clippers still haven't extended an offer of compensation to Boston, and there's concern from people involved in the talks that L.A.'s front office doesn't have the authority to meet the Celtics' request. Clippers management had privately insisted to people they were waiting on Donald Sterling's approval for the draft-pick compensation.

4:07pm: Although the Clippers want to set aside the Garnett discussions for now, they haven't shown a willingness to offer even one first-round pick for the rights to Rivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski adds that talks are going nowhere until the Clippers relent on at least one pick (Twitter links).

Since it was previously reported that the deal for Garnett and Rivers would include two first-rounders along with Jordan, this new information is a little confusing. Obviously, the Clippers wouldn't give up two first-round picks and Jordan for Garnett alone, so it had appeared the team was willing to give up a first-rounder or two for Rivers.

The equation has likely changed now for one of two reasons: If the Clippers reach an agreement for Doc first, there's no guarantee they'll be able to work out a separate deal for KG later, so the team may be unwilling to part with first-round picks for just a coach, rather than the duo as a package. The Clippers also may feel they've regained some leverage, since Stern's public comments today suggested the NBA was uneasy about attaching significant trade value to head coaches. Both of those theories are my own speculation though.

Western Links: Clippers, Kirilenko, Spurs, Nuggets

June 20th, 2013 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

DeAndre Jordan told Yahoo! Sports Radio (link via WEEI.com) today that he'd be happy playing for either the Clippers or Celtics next season, and Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld took a detailed look at what L.A.'s cap situation would look like if the team were to acquire Kevin Garnett in exchange for Jordan. But the long-rumored deal that would send Garnett and Doc Rivers to the Clippers appears to be in trouble, as the latest reports suggest the NBA has serious misgivings about approving a move that wouldn't be in accordance with the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

As we wait to see whether the two teams will be able to come up with a solution that satisfies the NBA, let's check out a few more items from around the Western Conference:

A decision on Andrei Kirilenko's 2013/14 player option is due by June 29th, but the T-Wolves forward tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that he doesn't expect to make a decision until after next Thursday's draft. Whether Kirilenko opts in or out will have a significant impact on Minnesota's cap situation, considering the option is worth $10MM+.
Responding to a report indicating that DeMarcus Cousins could ask to be traded if he doesn't receive a maximum-salary extension from the Kings this offseason, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders whether it's possible for the Mavericks to trade for Cousins.
As we prepare for what should be an exciting Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Jay Caplan of NBA.com breaks down quotes from Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Gregg Popovich, wondering if this could be the last run for the Spurs as we know them.
During his introductory press conference today, new Nuggets GM Tim Connelly told reporters, including Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post, that he's eager to get to work with CEO Josh Kroenke on the team's roster and that he's optimistic about re-signing Andre Iguodala. As Dempsey writes in a separate piece, the Nuggets seem to be targeting shooters in the draft, based on their latest workouts.

Clippers/Celtics Updates: Thursday

June 20th, 2013 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

3:12pm: The Clippers and Celtics haven't talked for several hours, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). However, Wojnarowski reports that the Clips would still like to get the deal done and are working on ways to satisfy the league's concerns.

1:00pm: Sam Amick of USA Today suggests that for the deal to be completed, one of two adjustments may have to be made. The Celtics may have to give up something more in the deal along with Garnett, most likely draft picks; or the Clippers may be able to give up slightly less.

According to Amick, the NBA believes that the "mere appearance that there is value being attached to Rivers" is not in accordance with the CBA, so it's Garnett's trade value that should be at the center of the discussion, rather than Rivers' value.

12:52pm: The league's primary concern with the proposed Celtics/Clippers deal is that the CBA doesn't allow coaches to be traded, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. Breaking it up into two separate moves would still be frowned upon by the NBA, a source tells Turner, since the Clippers are trying to get Rivers more than anything else.

The league has told the two teams for "several days" that the deal as currently constructed isn't legitamite, so the two sides are working to come up with an alternate solution, according to Turner.

12:26pm: Appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio today (video link), commissioner David Stern confirmed that the NBA wants to ensure the Celtics and Clippers aren't violating the CBA by including a head coach in a trade or by making two separate deals that are contingent on one another.

"If we know that what the parties really wanted to do is one [deal] they're going to break into two for purposes of trying to avoid the restrictions that the Collective Bargaining Agreement places on it, we know how to deal with that," Stern said.

11:36am: Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Celtics and Clippers have begun discussing new trade scenarios in an attempt to satisfy the league's misgivings about the two deals.

Clippers, Celtics Re-Engage On Trade Talks

June 19th, 2013 at 10:44pm CST by Luke Adams

UPDATE 10:44pm: We suddenly have a number of late-night updates, courtesy of Shelburne, who reports that the Clippers have backed off their refusal to include two first round draft picks in the deal. She also reports that the deal should get done by Thursday, and the Clippers believe it will ensure that Paul re-signs with the team on July 1 rather than becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Because coaches cannot be traded, the deal must consist of two separate transactions – first a swap of Jordan for Garnett and then a transmission of the two drafts picks from L.A. to Boston as compensation for the release of Rivers from his contract. Because of this, Shelburne says that the teams will have to then convince the NBA that the two deals are not contigent on each other and that they are, in fact, separate transactions in order to meet the standards of the league's CBA.

8:28pm: A deal will not be finalized tonight, tweets Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The talks that resumed today will pick back up tomorrow morning.

6:53pm: Per Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne on Twitter, one source close to the trade talks expressed optimism that the teams could come to terms tonight.

5:56pm: Merely a day after both sides suggested the deal was dead, the Clippers and Celtics have re-opened trade discussions involving Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). While they appeared to be moving on with their coaching search, the Clippers reached out to the Celtics today to resume dialogue and according to Wojnarowski, Chris Paul's insistence was a big reason why. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets that the Clips are now determined to get a deal done, which could lead to a sweetener in the deal for the Celtics.

We know that Rivers was set to meet with C's GM Danny Ainge today. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles tweets that that meeting has officially ended, curiously at about the same time we heard that talked had been reignited. Citing a source close to Rivers, Shelburne writes that Rivers does want to coach next season but would like another shot at a championship, which he knows will not happen if Boston chooses to rebuild. Washburn also tweets if the C's lose Rivers, expect Ainge to look for a younger replacement like Brian Shaw or Heat assistant David Fizdale.

Meanwhile, sources tell ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that the meeting between Clippers owner Donald Sterling and head coaching candidate Byron Scott went "very well," yesterday. Shaw, who was scheduled to meet with Sterling today, is currently at the Clippers' office, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.

Talks between the two sides reportedly ended yesterday when the Clippers refused to include a second first-round draft pick in an offer that included DeAndre Jordan and one first-rounder. Jordan's $3MM trade kicker and the potential inclusion of Courtney Lee's or Jason Terry's contract were also believed to possible points of contention. There are a ton of balls in the air for both teams in this situation. Stay tuned.

Kobe Thinks Howard, Paul Stay Put

June 19th, 2013 at 7:28pm CST by Alex Lee

In an interview on 710 ESPN Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant said he expects Dwight Howard to stay with the Lakers and Chris Paul to stay with the Clippers, writes Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times. Bryant, citing the franchise's past success with centers, said the Lakers have to find a way to retain Howard, who Bryant fully expects to meet with other teams.

From Bryant: "Those guys are hard to find, they don't grow on trees. When you have someone like that with his talent level, you have to be able to keep him and lock him in with this franchise."

Bryant called the Lakers the "perfect spot" for Howard, and said that he would have been a "fool" to leave L.A. in 2004 when he had a chance to become a free agent himself. Despite the recent migration of superstars, Bryant, when asked about Howard and Paul, seemed to think that there wouldn't be a ton of movement this offseason:

"There's always so much talk going on, especially with big-name guys going here, going there, but that happens once in a blue moon. I think at the end of the day, everybody stays."

Meanwhile, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com gives his take on the four realistic summer options for the Lakers that revolve around Howard and his frontcourt mate Pau Gasol.