The Clippers announced that they have re-signed free agent forward Bobby Simmons, whose second ten-day contract expired on March 18. Los Angeles decided to make the commitment after an MRI on Mo Williams' injured big toe ruled him out for Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.
Simmons, 31, has averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest in 13 games for the Clippers this season.
The defending Southwest Division champs met the defending NBA champs tonight, with the first-place Spurs coming away with a 104-87 win, padding their lead as they seek a second straight division title. Here's more on two of the Southwest's top teams:
Jason Smith's flagrant foul on Blake Griffin last night didn't sit well with the Clippers and will almost certainly result in a suspension for the Hornets big man. However, ESPN.com's Marc Stein writes that the Clippers might owe Smith a thank you for his role in December's Chris Paul saga.
According to Stein, Smith rejected a sign-and-trade offer that would have made him part of the original three-way Paul trade between the Hornets, Rockets, and Lakers for salary purposes. While David Stern could have ultimately nixed the proposed Paul-to-the-Lakers deal regardless of Smith's involvement, the 26-year-old may have played a small part in Paul eventually heading to L.A.'s other team.
Here are a few more Friday odds and ends out of the Pacific Division:
We've got plenty of rumors and notes today involving coaches, GMs, and team presidents, so let's round them all up in one place:
Grantland's Bill Simmons tweeted last night that Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro "is on super-thin, could-go-any-day ice" in Los Angeles, and a report by ESPN.com's Chris Broussard seems to corroborate that suggestion. According to Broussard, tensions are high in the Clippers' locker room, with many players believing that it's time for a change.
"Vinny has lost the team," one source told Broussard. "They don't want to play hard for him."
According to Broussard's sources, Del Negro's inconsistent rotation and his tendency to play favorites when handing out criticism are factors in the players' growing unease. After a hot start, the Clippers have gone 11-13 since Chauncey Billups' season-ending achilles injury, including 6-8 this month. Heading into tonight's action, the Clips hold just a two-game lead on ninth-place Utah.
2011/12 is the final guaranteed year on Del Negro's contract, as the Clippers hold a team option for next season.
The Pacific Division was turned upside down last night, as the division's three playoff contenders all lost, while the last-place Kings topped Memphis behind 31 points from Marcus Thornton and Jason Thompson's fourth consecutive double-double. As the Lakers, Clippers, and Suns look to get back in the win column tonight, let's round up the latest updates on the Pacific's top three squads….
After Derek Fisher and the Rockets reached an agreement on a buyout this weekend, Fisher's business manager Jamie Mior released a statement explaining the decision:
"After much discussion and expressing their desire to welcome Derek to their team this season as well as the 2012-2013 season, the Houston Rockets and Derek have negotiated a buyout. Derek's desire to win a sixth championship is what drives him and will continue to drive him as he moves forward. We thank the Houston Rockets front office for their interest, time and their absolute professionalism. There will be no further comment at this time."
While we wait to see if Fisher clears waivers this Wednesday, rumors about which teams are interested in signing him have already surfaced. Let's round up a few of them….
After the flurry of trades, signings, and releases around the league in the last week, it's gotten challenging to keep track which clubs still have the flexibility to make roster moves. To make things a little easier, here's our list of teams who currently have fewer than the maximum 15 players on their rosters, and could add a player without releasing anyone:
Note: The Nets currently have 15 players on their roster, but will open up a spot when Jerry Smith's 10-day contract expires.
MONDAY, 8:14am: Markazi has updated his story, saying that the Clippers will take the rest of the week to decide whether to sign Simmons for the remainder of the season. Coach Vinny Del Negro initially said the team would keep the forward, but according to Markazi, it became clear after yesterday's game that the team needed more time to decide whether to commit its final roster spot to Simmons.
SUNDAY, 4:00pm: According to ESPNLA.com's Arash Markazi, the Clippers will keep forward Bobby Simmons for the rest of the season. Simmons is currently on the final day of a second 10-day contract, which he signed on March 9th.
The 2004 Most Improved Player of the Year has averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 12 games with the Clippers this season. A nine-year veteran, he was originally called up after averaging 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 21 games for the Reno Bighorns of the D-League earlier this season.
There were several components to yesterday's three-team deal between the Clippers, Nuggets and Wizards, but each team seems pleased with the centerpieces of the swap.
The Clippers are welcoming Nick Young with open arms as they plan to slide him into the starting shooting guard spot after last night's embarrassing loss to a Suns team that was without Steve Nash and Grant Hill. GM Neil Olshey had been working on the deal for 10 days but didn't expect it to happen, as he told Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.
“I was actually surprised," Olshey said. "I didn’t think there was any way we would be able to acquire a player like Nick Young for a future second round pick.”
To be precise, the Clippers sent Brian Cook to Washington as well as a 2015 second-rounder.
One part of the deal amounted to an exchange of big men, with Nene going to Washington and JaVale McGee heading to Denver. Both sides were apparently glad to get rid of them, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix (All Twitter links).
Mannix says several Nuggets were upset about Nene's contract negotiations, which dragged on past the start of the truncated training camp this year, and felt they contributed to what's been an off year for him so far. Yesterday, Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post also cited Nene's lack of readiness for the season. After signing a five-year, $65MM deal, injuries limited Nene to playing in just 28 of Denver's 43 games prior to the trade. He averaged 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, numbers that were fairly similar to last year's 14.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG, but his 16.8 PER was significantly lower than the 20.4 he posted in 2010/11. Mannix also heard that the move was in part prompted by the play of rookie Kenneth Faried, who has taken advantage of the absense of Nene and others and averaged 10.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG in March.
The Wizards, meanwhile, were "thrilled" to get rid of McGee, Mannix notes, before having to worry about re-signing the restricted free agent in the summer. McGee reportedly said he plans to ask for $14MM a year.