Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Coaching Rumors: Karl, JVG, Clips, Hollins, Nets

June 3rd, 2013 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After we heard yesterday that there are some question marks surrounding George Karl's future in Denver, TNT's David Aldridge echoes that report, writing that the head coach is "antsy" about his current situation. According to Aldridge, the Nuggets don't plan to exercise the 2014/15 option on Karl's contract, which means he'll be on an expiring contract in '13/14.

"They want to play it out and see where they're at," one league source tells Aldridge. "And they're not going to budge on that."

As Aldridge notes, the Nuggets don't appear to actively be seeking a replacement for Karl, but if he wants to leave for a more lucrative opportunity when his current deal runs out, the team may not be inclined to stop him.

Here are a few more of the latest coaching-related rumblings from around the league:

Jeff Van Gundy and the Clippers talked multiple times about the team's head coaching job, but discussions are now dormant, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Van Gundy was reportedly at or near the top of L.A.'s wish list, but it doesn't sound as if he's a serious candidate at this point.
Two of the Nets' top coaching targets may become available for interviews within the next few days, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes, pointing to Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw. In fact, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter), the Nets formally requested permission today to interview Hollins.
The newly-retired Jason Kidd has interest in coaching, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Vitaly Potapenko, who was a Cavaliers lottery pick way back in 1996, will return to Cleveland as an assistant coach to Mike Brown, tweets Wojnarowski.

Grant Hill Announces Retirement

June 1st, 2013 at 7:15pm CST by Spencer Lund

NBA veteran Grant Hill has decided to call it quits, announcing on TNT tonight that he's retiring from the NBA after 19 seasons. The announcement came before the start of game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The 40-year-old Hill has been one of the most respected players in the league for almost two decades with career averages of 16.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG in 33.9 minutes per game.

Said Hill during the announcement: "I’m glad to say, I’m done. I’m officially retired. Moving on from playing. I had a great run. I’m announcing it now. I’ve been hinting at it the last few years, you get to a point where you just don’t want to do it any more. But I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve loved it.”

Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Gary Sacks thanked Hill for his time in the league, and congratulated him for his career in a press release confirming the retirement.

“The entire Clippers organization wants to congratulate Grant on an incredible career. For 19 years, Grant has always been the embodiment of class, a true professional and not only one of the best players – but one of the finest individuals I have been around. We were fortunate to have Grant with us last season, and we wish him all the best in his next endeavor.”

The Sporting News' Sean Deveney had more from Hill on his decision to retire (via Twitter links):

"On one hand, I’m 40 and in great physical condition. My body tells me that I can continue playing. On the other hand I'm 40, and in great physical condition–a rare parting gift in this sport."

Eric Pincus from the Los Angeles Times, astutely points out (via Twitter) how Hill's retirement will shed the 2.045MM towards the Clippers' 2013/14 salary cap, and how that will help them avoid the luxury tax if they sign Chris Paul this offseason.

Pacific Rumors: Clippers, Paul, Warriors, Kings

June 1st, 2013 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Jackson, having just completed his second year on the Warriors' bench, is the longest-tenured coach in the Pacific Division. Mike D'Antoni, whom the Lakers hired at midseason, is next, while the division's other three teams are making offseason changes. Jeff Hornacek is the new Suns coach, and Michael Malone is poised to take over the bench in Sacramento. It's unclear who'll lead the Clippers, but there's news on that among the items out of the Pacific this evening:

Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game counts Alvin Gentry and Jeff Van Gundy as the leading candidates for the Clippers coaching job. A source tells Bucher that Nate McMillan and Byron Scott probably won't end up with the gig. The Clippers want a proven head coach, making Brian Shaw another unlikely choice, particularly given his reputation for interviewing poorly (Sulia link).
The idea that Chris Paul didn't have anything to do with Vinny Del Negro's ouster as Clippers coach is preposterous, according to Bucher, who hears that Paul is telling team management who he wouldn't want to have as the next coach, rather than giving them his preferred choices. That way he can retain an air of removal from the team's decisions, as Bucher explains (Sulia link).
Michael Malone, set to become head coach of the Kings, might not be the only Warriors assistant coach headed out of town. Bob Beyer is a candidate to wind up on Malone's staff or with new Bobcats coach Steve Clifford, Bucher reports (Sulia link). The Warriors might not rush to fill those vacancies, Bucher says, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes that the W's have prior interest in 'Cats assistant Stephen Silas (Twitter link).
With Malone perhaps just the first of many Warriors to make the jump up the road to Sacramento, the new Kings owners are concerned about the perception they're poaching from Golden State, tweets USA Today's Sam Amick. Sacramento principal owner Vivek Ranadive has yet to formally divest himself of his Warriors share.

Atlantic Rumors: Robinson, Pierce, Bargnani

June 1st, 2013 at 1:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nate Robinson's first priority will be to re-sign with the Bulls, though he wouldn't mind another stint with the Knicks, agent Aaron Goodwin tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Both Chicago and New York are taxpaying teams, so it'll be difficult for either to fit in Robinson, who'll likely command more than the minimum salary he made this year. Goodwin's statement is a familiar one for agents this time of year, as Grantland's Zach Lowe points out via Twitter, so there's no reason to count Robinson as either a Bull or a Knick just yet. Here's more from the Atlantic:

Teams around the league have a "healthy interest" in Paul Pierce, but the Celtics aren't about to just give him away, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Even if the C's can find the right deal and start over with younger players, the money tied up in Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and Jason Terry would be a major obstacle to a rebuild, a general manager tells Bulpett.
The Raptors will reportedly be aggressive in their attempts to trade Andrea Bargnani, and one possible destination could be Golden State, since, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, the Warriors have long been intrigued by him (Twitter link).
Eric Koreen of the National Post outlines the five most important items on the to-do list for new Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, figuring that an amnesty of Bargnani is most likely the club's next step with the former No. 1 overall pick.
Center A.J. Matthews played his college ball at Division III Farmingdale State and didn't receive an invitation to the league's pre-draft combine in Chicago, but he wowed teams at recent Nets-hosted combine. The Knicks are one of about a half dozen teams bringing the Arn Tellem client in for workouts, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Knicks are zeroing in on point guards with the 24th overall pick, and though they don't have a second-rounder, Berman expects them to acquire one via trade in return for cash.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explains the reasons why Chris Paul signing with the Knicks is but a pipe-dream for New York fans.

Clippers Rumors: Del Negro, CP3, Scott

May 31st, 2013 at 8:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Paul is reportedly upset about the perception that he engineered the ouster of coach Vinny Del Negro, but the former Clippers coach and the team agree that CP3 wasn't involved. We've got more details on that, as well as the latest on a search for Del Negro's replacement:

Clippers vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks tells Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com that the dismissal of Del Negro was "an organizational decision from the top down." Sacks confirmed to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that he, Sterling, team president Andy Roeser, and director of basketball operations Eric Miller all agreed that Del Negro should go.
Del Negro echoed those comments, telling Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld that Clippers owner Donald Sterling was the one who made the final decision to part ways with him. Del Negro will probably take next season off, but remains open to coaching again.
Sacks tried to make it clear that he doesn't believe players should have power when it comes to major decisions for the team. "I don't think players should be consulted on any decisions personnel-wise once we decide on something," Sacks said to Turner. "Do we, in the course of talking to our players, get some input? Sure. But all decisions are made strictly by us — 100%. There's no wavering. There's no gray area there."
If Paul had gone to the team's brass to lobby for Del Negro to keep his job, management would have tried to change his mind on the issue, a source tells Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, furthering the point that the decision wasn't in CP3's hands (Twitter links).
Turner adds Byron Scott to the list of coaching candidates with whom the team has had preliminary discussions, one that already included Brian Shaw, Jeff Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry.

Los Angeles Notes: Howard, Paul, Lakers

May 31st, 2013 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

According to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, Chris Paul is upset that he’s being blamed for the firing of Vinny Del Negro. If he leaves, however, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM says that it won't be because owner Donald Sterling has kept mum on the situation, it'll be because he found a better situation for himself. Ultimately, if CP3 thinks Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are a championship-caliber frontline, he’ll get over the talk about him being behind Del Negro getting axed, Tjarks reasons. Here's the latest out of the Staples Center..

Sam Amico of FOX Sports (via Twitter) has a hard time dismissing the possibility that Paul and Dwight Howard could go to the Hawks. NBA players are fond of Atlanta and Amico notes (link) that a lack of fan enthusiasm didn't stop LeBron James and Chris Bosh from heading to Miami.
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) believes that Howard would be the first All-Star player to ever take a pay cut to leave the Lakers. There's no telling how things could work out with DH, but the Rockets are increasingly hopeful that they can ink the big man.
Del Negro isn't out of L.A. because of Paul, he's gone because he's not a great coach, and the Clippers need a great coach to win a championship, opines Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).

Coaching Rumors: Clippers, Shaw, Nets, Hollins

May 31st, 2013 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

Although there are still a handful of NBA head coaching jobs available, the openings in Brooklyn and Los Angeles stand out, based on the regular-season success the Nets and Clippers had this past season. Neither team appears to have made significant progress in its search so far, but that could change soon. Here's the latest on the Nets' and Clippers' respective searches:

The Clippers have reached out to Brian Shaw and Jeff Van Gundy, who are reportedly atop the team's wish list, and both men appear to have interest in the job, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
According to Turner, Alvin Gentry has also been in touch with the Clippers and expressed interest in the job. Jerry Sloan's representatives called the Clips as well, but he has since "backed away" from pursuing the opening, says Turner.
All the Clippers' discussions so far have been preliminary, with no formal interviews set up yet, writes Turner.
Neither the Clippers or Nets seem to be making any headway with Lionel Hollins. Turner reports that L.A. has yet to speak to the Grizzlies coach, while Fred Kerber of the New York Post says Hollins isn't necessarily the odds-on favorite for Brooklyn.
The Nets aren't among the teams who have called the Pacers about Shaw, according to Kerber, who hears from a source that Brooklyn may be inclined to favor a candidate with previous head coaching experience. "I think they have high regard for [Shaw]," the source said. "But with that roster and owner, my gut says they would want an established guy."

Chris Paul Angry With Clippers?

May 30th, 2013 at 11:53pm CST by Ryan Raroque

ESPN's Chris Broussard cites a source who tells him that Chris Paul is angry with the Clippers because he is being blamed for the firing of Vinny Del Negro. The former head coach was relieved from his duties about ten days ago, amidst chatter that Paul "wasn't a fan" of Del Negro and didn't endorse him while speaking with management after the season ended. While it isn't clear on how much this will impact the free agent point guard's decision to remain with the franchise, Broussard's source intimated that it could lead Paul to consider looking elsewhere. Should the six-time All-Star decide to leave L.A., Broussard won't rule out the Hawks as a possible landing spot, making note that Atlanta is in the position to offer max contracts to both Paul and Dwight Howard.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Clippers owner Donald Sterling hinted that Paul was among those on the team who played a role in Del Negro's firing. When asked if the players were now calling the shots, Sterling responded:

"This is a players' league, and, unfortunately, if you want to win you have to make the players happy…If you have special players, and special players think that they know the best opportunity to win, you have to support them."

In an interview on the Dan Patrick Show (hat tip to Zach Harper of CBS Sports), Del Negro implied that Paul was the reason why he was let go:

"Well, Chris is a free agent…They were compelled to make a decision. He's entitled to his opinion. He's a free agent and he's going to have a lot of say on a lot of things as he did in the previous summer when we put the team together."

Despite those implications, Broussard credits a source with knowledge of the situation that the superstar guard had made it clear to the organization that he wanted nothing to do with the decision making regarding Del Negro's future, and that Blake Griffin did not play a role either. The source also said that the front office had long been at odds with the coach, claiming that Del Negro had been the one to initiate trade calls with the Celtics involving DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe for Kevin Garnett – something that the front office was strongly against. In general, Broussard relays the notion that the tension between Del Negro and team brass had been so high that the players wouldn't have had to be involved in his ouster.

According to another of Broussard's sources, Paul is not involved in the team's current head coaching search. Should the six-time All-Star decide to leave L.A., there are a handful of teams who could make a viable contract offer in addition to the potential route of joining another team via sign-and-trade. Broussard won't rule out the Hawks as a possible landing spot, making note that Atlanta is in the position to offer max contracts to both Paul and Howard.

Odds & Ends: Wizards, Orton, 76ers

May 30th, 2013 at 11:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here's more of tonight's miscellaneous links:

J. Michael of CSN Washington hears that despite the Wizards owning three draft picks next month, the team doesn't want to add three rookies and will try to at least deal one pick (or possibly both second rounders) in a package to land a veteran player.
As much as Thunder big man Daniel Orton enjoys being on a championship contender, he tells John Rohde of NewsOK that he's open to a change of scenery if it provides an opportunity for more playing time. Orton has two more non-guaranteed years with Oklahoma City.
Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com wonders why 76ers GM Sam Hinkie hasn't hired a coach yet, making the argument that it will be counterproductive if they wait to name a coach after significant roster decisions – such as selecting a player in the draft – have been made.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio took to Twitter to have a brief chat with readers, noting that there "absolutely" is interest in Rockets forward Thomas Robinson, the Cavaliers might be able to consider Danny Granger a real possibility as a trade target, Byron Scott looks to be the leading candidate for the Clippers head coaching job, and that the Celtics may go after Josh Smith if Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are done in Boston (All Twitter links here). Interestingly, Amico also tweets that Beantown could be in play for Andrew Bynum if they decide to gut the roster.
Though he had originally been disappointed that he didn't land with the Knicks on draft night four years ago, Warriors star Stephen Curry now happily has the keys to the city in Golden State and wouldn't have it any other way (Will Leitch of Sports On Earth).
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles points out that not only was Michael Malone the only coaching candidate being considered by Vivek Ranadive, but notes that Jerry West – currently a consultant for the Warriors – has been counseling Ranadive throughout the hiring process.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside notes that D-League guard Tony Taylor Jr. has an opportunity-laced summer to catch the attention of NBA executives, as the young guard will participate in a free agent camp for the Magic before joining the Thunder and Heat at separate times on their respective summer league teams.
Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that Chris Paul makes much more sense for the Mavericks than Dwight Howard.

Jeff Van Gundy, Brian Shaw Atop Clippers’ List?

May 30th, 2013 at 8:15pm CST by Luke Adams

8:15PM: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reports that the Clippers have reached out to Jeff Van Gundy in order to gauge his interest in the job. There was neither a discussion about setting up a possible interview nor any indication of whether or not Van Gundy is actually interested.

8:47AM: On Tuesday, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com reported that the Clippers had their eye on big-name coaching candidates as they search for Vinny Del Negro's replacement. And according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, two candidates in particular seem to be atop the team's wishlist: Jeff Van Gundy and Brian Shaw. Both Van Gundy and Shaw are being "strongly considered" by the Clips, says Woike.

In addition to Van Gundy and Shaw, the Clippers are said to be eyeing current Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, as well as former NBA head coaches Alvin Gentry, Byron Scott, and Nate McMillan. According to Woike, interviews for the open coaching position could begin as soon as this week.

While his brother doesn't intend to coach next season, Van Gundy hasn't given any indication recently on whether he's open to returning to an NBA bench. However, back in January, Sam Amick of USA Today reported that Van Gundy missed coaching and was expected to explore potential opportunities beginning this summer.

As for Shaw, reports have suggested that he and the Pacers are turning down any and all interview requests until after the team's playoff run is over. So the Clippers will have to wait at least a few more days to speak to Shaw, and perhaps longer than that, if the Pacers manage to upset the Heat.