Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucher On Granger, CP3, Raptors, Cavs, McGuire

December 18th, 2012 at 4:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game is covering the Warriors these days, but the former ESPN reporter still comes across plenty of leaguewide news, as he did with his story today on the Magic, who are in no hurry to trade J.J. Redick, as Bucher reports. He shared a few more tidbits in a chat for CSNBayArea.com, and we'll round up the highlights:

The Pacers "desperately" want Paul George to emerge as their No. 1 option so they can trade Danny Granger, who's out for the first half of the season. The problem is George hasn't exactly distinguished himself as such this year. Many of his numbers are up, but that's partly because of his increased responsibilties with Granger out. George's field goal percentage is down, as are his win shares per 48 minutes, while his PER is up only slightly, to 16.7 from 16.5 last season. Granger is due about $13MM this year and $14MM for the final year of his deal in 2013/14.
Executives on teams other than the Clippers have told Bucher that Chris Paul isn't as satisfied in L.A., or playing with Blake Griffin, as he seems, though Bucher isn't sure whether the executives might be spinning that information in the hopes Paul will turn his attention elsewhere in free agency next summer.
The Raptors and Cavs are eager to make a trade, according to Bucher, who adds that he thinks at least one deal will get done either this month or next. Aside from that, most teams are playing it cool with still more than two months to go before the trade deadline.
Dominic McGuire signed with the Hornets this weekend, but Bucher says he really wanted to go back to the Warriors, for whom he played last season. Golden State, off to a 16-8 start, is content with its roster, which is at the 15-player limit.

Western Notes: Billups, Nuggets, Lakers, Suns

December 17th, 2012 at 4:54pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest rumblings from around the Western Conference:

Chauncey Billups thinks the Pistons might still be an elite team if they hadn't traded him to the Nuggets four years ago, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News documents. "I still had some great, great years left," the point guard said. "I never wanted to leave, even though I was home (Denver) and it was good to be home, I always wanted to be a Piston. I wanted to retire a Piston."
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets that Nuggets coach George Karl wants to coach in Europe again one day, with his son, Coby Karl, as an assistant.
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes that JaVale McGee is becoming more efficient for the Nuggets.
Paul Coro of USA Today points out that the Suns own the Lakers' 2013 first-round draft pick as part of the Steve Nash trade, meaning they could benefit if the Lakers continue to struggle.

Lowe On Clippers, Celtics, Bledsoe, Jazz, Mozgov

December 17th, 2012 at 10:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Grantland's Zach Lowe looked at several players who became eligible to be traded this weekend, and shares a litany of observations based on his analysis and what he's heard from around the league. Here's a look at some of his rumors:

Ryan Hollins has fallen behind Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf in the Clippers rotation, and he might be available for a team looking for cheap interior players, suggesting the Celtics, for whom Hollins played last season, as a potential suitor.
Though Odom and Turiaf are ahead of Hollins, they're still "limited players," according to Lowe, who believes the Clippers could look to upgrade their frontcourt.
An Eric Bledsoe trade "feels almost inevitable," though it doesn't have to happen this season.
Lowe expects the Jazz would be more willing to trade Paul Millsap than Al Jefferson, and believes that might make them a fit with the Lakers in a potential Pau Gasol deal, piggybacking on an idea advanced by ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh (Insider only).
Echoing a Friday report by Mark J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Lowe hears Timofey Mozgov is "among the most available players in the league."
Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas are the only pieces the Knicks have who are both "useful and tradeable," Lowe contends, adding that the Knicks would be reluctant to unload any of their backlog of bigs onto Eastern Conference rivals.

Odds & Ends: Nash, Bynum, Len

December 16th, 2012 at 7:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Sunday night linkage from around the Association..

The HoopsWorld staff held a roundtable to weigh in on which injured player has been missed most by their respective team, and Lakers summer acquisition Steve Nash was Alex Kennedy’s choice. John Wall, Landry Fields, Dirk Nowitzski, and Derrick Rose were also among those receiving votes, but Sixers big man Andrew Bynum was noticeably absent from the list.
Chris Walker of The Baltimore Sun looks at Maryland sophomore center Alex Len, who is positioning himself as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 Draft. This year’s class has gotten less-than-stellar reviews from talent evaluators, but there is optimism about the 19-year-old Ukranian.
Former Sonics forward Mickael Gelabale has officially signed with Spain’s Valencia, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Gelabale wasn’t asked back beyond his second year in Seattle after tearing his ACL mid-season.

Lawrence On Horford, Dwight, Thibodeau, Paul

December 15th, 2012 at 2:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News examines the fast starts of the Knicks, Warriors, and Hawks, but believes the script could have been drastically different for Atlanta this season. Here's a roundup of a few rumors he's sharing.

The Hawks offered up Al Horford as part of a strong push to acquire Dwight Howard in August, according to Lawrence, who notes the Hawks will have enough cap flexibility to pursue the Atlanta native when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
Tom Thibodeau and Bulls management are waging a "cold war" over the coach's heavy minutes for his starters this season, Lawrence hears. Thibodeau offered his side of the argument to reporters yesterday, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago documented.
Chris Paul, a free agent next summer, had been privately griping about Blake Griffin's play, but has ceased doing so amid an eight-game winning streak for the Clippers, Lawrence writes.

Odds & Ends: Terry, Mayo, Belinelli, Crawford

December 11th, 2012 at 11:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

We heard earlier today that Mavs owner Mark Cuban would have liked to have kept Jason Terry, who signed with the Celtics. Terry said he was disappointed that the first call he fielded this summer wasn't from the Mavs, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. Cuban also claims that he vetoed a deal former Mavs coach Don Nelson had set up during the 2004/05 season that would have sent Terry to the Jazz for Raul Lopez, Price notes. That one seems far-fetched, but if it's true, you'd have to give Cuban credit for quite a save. Here's the rest from a busy day and night in the NBA.

O.J. Mayo can opt out of his contract this summer, but Cuban hopes he'll stay with the Mavs even longer than the eight years Terry was around, Price tweets.
Chris Paul and former Hornets teammate Marco Belinelli are close friends, but Paul didn't recruit Belinelli to join the Clippers this summer because he thought the Bulls would be a better fit for the Italian sharpshooter, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune observes (Sulia link).
The Bulls went hard after Jamal Crawford before last season, but wound up giving the money they had set aside for him to Richard Hamilton instead, according to Johnson (Sulia link).
Though Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo was telling reporters Monday that coach Dwane Casey's job is not in jeopardy, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun wonders whether that will be Colangelo's call to make, surmising everyone in the organization except Jonas Valanciunas shouldn't get too cozy.
Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times corrects his earlier statement about the draft pick the Lakers owe the Suns, detailing the protections on that and other draft picks that will prevent L.A. from drafting in the first round next June.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News gauges the early returns on the rookie-scale extensions handed out before the season, and believes Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan are the steals of the bunch.
SB Nation's Tom Ziller goes in depth on the Maloof family dynamics at play as the fate of the Kings, the team they own, hangs in the balance.

Odds & Ends: Williams, T’Wolves, Mirotic, Gasol

December 10th, 2012 at 10:07pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 1995, the (Vancouver) Grizzlies lost to the Raptors 93-81 in the first ever meeting between Canadian NBA franchises. That Grizzlies squad went 15-67 on the year and finished 14-68 in their sophomore campaign. Today, they play 2,500 miles away from Vancouver and are lightyears ahead of where they once were as they boast the third-best record in the Western Conference. Here's more from around the Association..

T'Wolves forward Derrick Williams says that president David Kahn hasn't mentioned talk of a Pau Gasol trade to him, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. "I don’t think we necessarily need to talk like that. Myself and [Nikola Pekovic] are big part of the team," said Williams.
The Bulls should make Nikola Mirotic untouchable as one NBA front office source says that he is the best prospect still playing in Europe, writes Nick Gibson of Sheridan Hoops. The Hornets have so far rejected the idea of parting with 24-year-old Ryan Anderson and Gibson opines that Chicago should take the same stance on the Real Madrid star.
Kyrie Irving will have a greater impact for the Cavs upon his return than Pau Gasol will for the Lakers, opines Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops. GM Mitch Kupchak recently told Gasol's representatives that he will be forced to explore a trade if things do not improve for the forward and the team as a whole.
The Lakers are playing about as well as they can given what they have available, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.

Odds & Ends: D-League, Odom, World Peace

December 9th, 2012 at 5:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld spoke with Dan Reed, the president of the NBA's developmental league, and heard that there is growing interest from several NBA teams in either purchasing or having a joint affiliation with a team in the NBDL. According to Reed, Koutropis notes that with an increase in the assignments of young players from the NBA to the D-League, it will make for a great opportunity for developmental affiliates to market themselves with some of the NBA's top young talent. Here are more of today's odds and ends from the Association:

Lamar Odom is starting to get in shape and is displaying flashes of his old Sixth Man of the Year form, as Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News observes.
The Lakers' decision not to amnesty Metta World Peace before last season is paying off, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that this summer's discovery and treatment of a nerve issue that had been bothering World Peace for four years has reinvigorated his play.
Nuggets guard Ty Lawson admits he can do better than his slumping performance this season, and Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post outlines what the point guard must do to return to the form that netted him a four-year, $48MM extension in October.
Despite GM David Kahn's denial of Pau Gasol trade rumors, the Timberwolves "would love" to acquire the big man and play him at center, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
Finnan also hears from sources within the ranks of media, agents, assistant coaches, GMs and scouts who tell him they are convinced LeBron James will opt out of his contract in 2014.
Center Solomon Alabi is close to a deal with a Chinese club, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The 7'1" Alabi was let go by the Hornets at the end of training camp. He spent the last two seasons with the Raptors, but saw little playing time, averaging 1.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 7.0 minutes a game over 26 total contests.

Stein On Gasol, Harden, Lin, Bobcats

December 7th, 2012 at 6:46pm CST by Zachary Links

In the weekend version of his column, ESPN.com's Marc Stein wonders if any of the four teams involved in the Dwight Howard blockbuster can call themselves the winner. Right now, it would seem that the Magic are the only club that can claim to feel any sort of satisfaction with its current state of affairs. Coach Jacque Vaughn has looked like a smart hire, center Nikola Vucevic is producing consistently, and last week's win over the Lakers should keep Orlando fans happy for a good while. Stein also checked in with a group of league scouts at the quarter-mark of the year to get their thoughts on this summer's player movement and moves that could be around the bend. Let's take a look..

An Eastern Conference scout believes that Steve Nash can fix the Lakers' problem upon his return. Nash can obviously run Mike D'Antoni's offense, but Pau Gasol doesn't seem to be the power forward the club needs to make everything work. Even though Gasol has helped the Lakers to two NBA titles, the scout believes they will ultimately trade him.
After seeing the way the Thunder have played without James Harden, an Eastern Conference scout says that he can understand why they opted to keep Serge Ibaka instead. Kevin Martin has played well in the No. 3 role and will be a major asset in the playoffs if he can help pull defensive attention away from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. With the aforementioned stars both being capable of closing out games, the scout picks Oklahoma City to win the West.
A Western Conference scout gave a less-than-stellar appraisal of Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin. "On an average team, he can be a starter. On a good team, he's going to have to be a backup," said the scout.
The Bobcats may not be able to keep up this level of play all season long but new coach Mike Dunlap is showing that he can get a great deal out of his players, according to one Western Conference scout. The scout notes that Brendan Haywood is taking charges and diving after loose balls more than he was for the Mavs' championship team.
Stein hears that the Clippers' new director of basketball administration Eric Miller is being groomed for a larger role in the Clips' decision-making hierarchy.

Odds & Ends: Kobe, Wizards, Draft, Bledsoe

December 7th, 2012 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Kobe Bryant continues to make a run at Michael Jordan's number of championship rings and career points, but he doesn't expect to follow in Jordan's footsteps in another area. In a video interview with Bloomberg.com (hat tip to SI.com's Ben Golliver), Kobe said he couldn't see himself owning an NBA team after his playing career is over.

"I’d go crazy," Bryant said. "If a player misses a game because he has a broken fingernail, I’d lose my mind. I wouldn’t be able to take it."

While ownership may not be for him, Bryant did say he hopes to stay around the game after he retires as a player. Here are a few other odds and ends from around the NBA:

The Wizards have gotten off to an awful start this season, but team president Ernie Grunfeld is still focusing on the big picture, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes.
NBA scouts and general managers are starting to consider options beyond Nerlens Noel, Cody Zeller, and Shabazz Muhammad as No. 1 picks in the 2013 draft, says ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link). Ford identifies Alex Poythress, Alex Len, and Rudy Gobert as three other possible top picks.
Even though Eric Bledsoe isn't eligible for restricted free agency until 2014, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com is already wondering if Bledsoe will eventually become to the Clippers what James Harden was to the Thunder — a star-in-waiting that the team may not be able to afford.
On the heels of last night's big win in Miami, Tyson Chandler praised the moves Knicks GM Glen Grunwald made over the summer, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
According to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, while the Grizzlies won't discuss it openly, the absence of O.J. Mayo this year has made the team's offense and locker room happier places.
David Mayo of MLive.com tries his hand at picking out a few free agents the Pistons could target next summer.