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C.J. Wilcox

Clippers Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Marble, Redick

July 15th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Arthur Hill

Trading away Blake Griffin would mean a sharp change of direction for the Clippers, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Rumors of a possible Griffin deal surfaced Thursday when Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported that the Celtics have targeted him and that there’s a feeling around the league that Boston is ready to make a major move. Deveney cited a possible three-team trade that would send Griffin to the Celtics and Rudy Gay from the Kings to the Clippers, but Woike sees a team built around Gay, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan as less likely than the current roster to be a contender in the West. Griffin has two seasons and about $41.5MM left on his contract.

There’s more news out of Los Angeles:

  • The Clippers made a much-needed move to clear some cap space Thursday when they traded C.J. Wilcox to Orlando, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. Wilcox played just 268 minutes in his two seasons with Los Angeles and was owed more than $1.2MM next season with a $2,183,328 team option for 2017/18. In return, the Clippers received a second-round draft pick in 2020 and Devyn Marble, whose contract is non-guaranteed until today at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Waiving Marble would open up money to sign Raymond Felton, who agreed to terms with L.A. on Thursday.
  • The Clippers are right against the luxury tax line with 13 players on guaranteed contracts, tweets Bobby Marks of The Vertical.
  • Clippers guard J.J. Redick responded to Commissioner Adam Silver’s warning about “super teams” being bad for the league, writes Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com. In a series of tweets, Redick notes that five teams have won titles since LeBron James joined the Heat in 2010, that the Celtics formed their dominant team through trades and that free agents have earned the right to decide where they want to play. Redick, who has been with the Clippers since 2013, is entering the final season of his contract.
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Magic, Clippers Swap Marble, Wilcox

July 15th, 2016 at 11:14am CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 15th, 11:14pm: The trade is official, the Magic announced.

JULY 14th, 7:44pm: The Magic and the Clippers are finalizing a trade that would send Devyn Marble and a 2020 second round pick to the Clippers for C.J. Wilcox and cash considerations, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports (via Twitter). It’s unclear if any protections will be attached to the second-rounder.

Orlando was reportedly set to waive Marble today, but the opportunity to work out a swap with Los Angeles popped up, and the Magic will be able to extract some value for the player. Marble appeared in 28 games for the Magic this past season and averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 8.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .296/.250/.417. He will earn $980,431 if he remains on the Clippers roster past Friday.

Wilcox, 25, recently underwent surgery to repair a broken right hand and he is expected to be out of action for four-to-six weeks. He is set to earn $1,209,600 next season and has a team option worth $2,183,328 for 2017/18. The guard appeared in 23 games for the Clippers this past season, averaging 3.0 points in 7.3 minutes of action per outing, while shooting .394/.391/.750 from the field.

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And-Ones: Calderon, Davis, Sullinger

July 7th, 2016 at 12:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks big man Kyle O’Quinn says the team’s offseason moves should translate into a playoff berth in 2016/17, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I’m excited about every year, but this year it looks so clear,’’ O’Quinn told Berman. “A lot of people will put us in there. It’ll be a different element in training camp instead of being a startup trying to shock the world. We made a lot of changes and it looks like the playoffs, but you got to put the work in.”

Here’s the latest from around the NBA:

  • The Bulls and Sixers had discussions about Philly acquiring Jose Calderon, but the two sides were unable to reach a deal and the point guard was traded to the Lakers instead, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
  • Several teams are looking to clear cap room to make a run at Bucks restricted free agent Miles Plumlee, Aldridge tweets.
  • Unrestricted free agent Glen Davis, who sat out last season after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments, a cyst, and bone spurs in his left ankle, has resumed basketball activities and is looking to catch on with an NBA club, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets.
  • The Celtics face a tough decision regarding restricted free agent Jared Sullinger, with the team in need of his rebounding, but not in the position to match a large offer sheet by another team, were the big man to sign one this offseason, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com.
  • The Hawks are still actively trying to improve the team and are looking to add another frontcourt player and a point guard, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution notes. One big man option for Atlanta could be Kris Humphries, who expressed a desire to return during his exit interview with the team, Vivlamore adds.
  • Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox will have surgery to repair a broken right hand on Friday, the team announced. Wilcox was given a timeline of four-to-six weeks before he will be able to return to basketball-related activities, according to the team.
  • The Lakers are pleased with what they have seen in summer league play from 2016 lottery pick Brandon Ingram, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com writes. “I’m very excited about what he can do,” coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously he’s young and there’ s a lot of work to do. This is a grown man’s league. But as far as knowing how to play the game and the skill set of being able to handle the ball, bring it up, post up, his defense — he’s been all over the place defensively, getting deflections for us — I’m very excited about the way he’s played so far.”
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Clippers To Pitch “Big Four” Scenario To Durant

June 30th, 2016 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers will be one of the first teams to sit down with Kevin Durant on his free agent tour, with KD on track to meet with the Clippers and Warriors on Friday. And according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register and Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, the Clippers will attempt to sell Durant on a scenario that would see him playing alongside Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles, creating a “big four.”

[RELATED: Kevin Durant’s schedule for FA meetings]

It has long been assumed that, if they were to land Durant, the Clippers would have to jettison one of their top three players for cap purposes. However, Los Angeles is exploring scenarios that would allow the team to keep Paul, Griffin, and Jordan, while adding Durant. Per ESPN’s report, all three players have been invited to the Clips’ meeting with Durant in The Hamptons, which will be led by owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers.

Selling Durant on such a scenario may not be easy, and it won’t be simple to actually execute either. Even if the Clippers were able to trade J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce, C.J. Wilcox, and the rights to Brice Johnson without taking any salary back, and renounced all their pending free agents, the team wouldn’t have enough cap room to offer Durant a maximum-salary contract. By my count, Durant would have to start at around $23.5MM in that scenario, and the Clippers would be left with only the $2.898MM room exception – and minimum-salary deals – to fill out their roster around their “big four.” A max salary for Durant is expected to start at approximately $26.6MM.

As the Clippers prepare their pitch to Durant, the Thunder’s brass is meeting with the former MVP today. However, since teams aren’t permitted to discuss contract parameters prior to July 1st, Oklahoma City is seeking a second meeting with Durant in The Hamptons next week, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). Those contract discussions likely wouldn’t take long – there’s little doubt the Thunder would offer a full, five-year max – but a second meeting would allow the team to get the final word after Durant has heard pitches from all his other suitors.

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And-Ones: Lawson, Thompson, Bacon

March 28th, 2016 at 9:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers point guard Ty Lawson feels he was used improperly by the Rockets during his stint with them this season, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Lawson felt Houston interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff erred by playing him off the ball instead of making him the primary ballhandler. “I just know I was a better player than what I was showing there,” Lawson told Feigen, while adding he harbors no resentment toward the organization. “I wasn’t being used the right way. I’m not a space player. I like to have the ball in my hands.” Bickerstaff acknowledged in the story that he could have utilized Lawson differently. The Pacers signed Lawson earlier this month after he reached a buyout arrangement with the Rockets and cleared waivers. “I don’t know if it was just the early transition of him learning to play without the ball, the limited opportunity he got,” Bickerstaff said. “That may be some of my responsibility because he didn’t get the opportunity he was accustomed to. For whatever reason, it didn’t work and I was sad to see him go.”

In other news around the league:

  • Ohio State 6’11” sophomore center Trevor Thompson will declare for the draft but not hire an agent, he told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. Thompson posted modest numbers as a sophomore, averaging 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game. Thompson has a long climb ahead of him to make himself a draft-worthy prospect, as he’s not currently among the Top 100 prospects listed by either Chad Ford of ESPN.com or Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
  • Florida State freshman small forward Dwayne Bacon has decided to return to school for another season, according to both Goodman and CBSSports.com’s Jon Rothstein (Twitter links). Rothstein reported last week that Bacon intended to enter the draft but not hire an agent. The 6’7” Bacon was ranked as the No. 72 overall prospect by Ford and No. 74 by Givony. Bacon had a strong freshman campaign, averaging 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Seminoles.
  • The Clippers recalled C.J. Wilcox from the D-League’s Canton Charge, the team announced. Wilcox averaged 21.7 points in three games during his latest assignment and has appeared in 14 games for the Charge. He’s also played 14 games for the Clippers, averaging 1.6 points in 4.4 minutes.
  • The Hawks assigned swingman Lamar Patterson to the D-League’s Austin Spurs, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Patterson has played in a combined 16 games for Austin and the Canton Charge under the league’s flexible assignment rule. Patterson has also appeared in 35 games with the Hawks, averaging 2.4 points in 11.3 minutes.
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Pacific Notes: Cauley-Stein, Williams, Wilcox

March 22nd, 2016 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein takes umbrage with those who label him as strictly a defensive player, noting that he has a complete set of skills, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays. “I’m a hooper. I do everything – I do it all,” Cauley-Stein said. “So when that stipulation leaves, it’s going to be cool where you’re just not [a defender], but I don’t think it ever will. People don’t want to see that. People ain’t ready for that. They want it to be, ‘You’re a defensive stopper.’ Well, I’m a defensive stopper, and I’ll go get 20 on you if I get the chance. I haven’t got the chance thus far in my career, but I’ve got it in me. I’ve got a lot of different things. Just waiting on the time to do them or having the green light to just hoop. But that comes; I’m a rookie. I kind of have to just wait and perfect it in practice.” The 22-year-old is averaging 6.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 block per game to go along with a slash line of .592/.000/.622.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Alan Williams‘ multiyear deal with the Suns calls for him to earn $875K next season and that amount is non-guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link). It looks like Pincus is rounding up from the one-year veteran’s minimum salary of $874,636.
  • Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes is eligible to become a restricted free agent this offseason and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes that he’ll command an average salary of around $20MM per year on his next deal and that the player will receive multiple free agent offers, as he told 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). Golden State, provided it submits a qualifying offer worth $5,194,227, will have the right to match any offer sheet that Barnes signs.
  • The Clippers have assigned shooting guard C.J. Wilcox to the D-League, the team announced. Wilcox, who is making his fourth trek to the D-League on the campaign, will report to the Canton Charge as part of the league’s flexible assignment rule, since L.A. does not have its own affiliate.
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And-Ones: Roberts, Lin, Ejim

March 16th, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Executive Director of the NBPA Michele Roberts is working to shift the perception that players make too much money, something that will likely be expressed once negotiations begin with team owners over their respective stakes in the league’s basketball related income, as she tells Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports on his podcast (h/t RealGM Wiretap). Roberts believes the amount of money owners make is not being discussed enough.

“We read just recently that the value of these teams, thank you Donald Sterling, we know what a team can make on the open market,” Roberts said. ” If the reality is that as the game is growing financial, owners are holding onto those teams for a reason. There is a great deal of value. And there’s a long line of folks that would love to buy a basketball team.”

Here’s more from around the league:

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And-Ones: Anthony, Marks, Lucas, Tavares

March 6th, 2016 at 11:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Five years later, no clear-cut winner exists in the blockbuster trade that sent Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets to the Knicks, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The teams have combined to win just one playoff series since the 12-player deal, Bondy notes, when New York defeated the Celtics in 2013. The Knicks got the superstar they wanted, but Denver wound up with two young but frequently injured players in Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. The Sixers benefited, as the Knicks’ first-rounder was sent to Denver, which later traded it to the Magic, which dealt it to Philadelphia, which ended up with the rights to Dario Saric.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Sean Marks, whom the Nets hired as GM last month, said he has tried to learn something important during every stop in his NBA career, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. As a player, Marks spent two seasons under current Heat president Pat Riley from 2001 to 2003. “The vision of it’s not about me,” Marks said. “Pat Riley’s, ‘The disease of me,’ I’ve obviously taken that from him.”
  • John Lucas III, who played briefly with the Pistons last season, has been waived by the Pacers affiliate in the D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor. The move took place because he has plans to sign with an overseas team, Reichert hears.
  • The Hawks sent center Edy Tavares to the Austin Spurs in the D-League, the team announced today. Tavares has appeared in 12 games with Austin this season, but also two with Canton and two with Bakersfield because the Hawks don’t have a direct affiliate. He is averaging 9.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in D-League play.
  • The Clippers have assigned guard C.J. Wilcox to the Cavs affiliate in the D-League. The Clippers also don’t have a direct affiliate, so Wilcox has played for Canton and Bakersfield in two prior D-League stints this season. His D-League averages are 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 15 games.
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Clippers Notes: Wilcox, Pick, Stephenson

February 21st, 2016 at 12:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers and Bulls discussed a C.J. Wilcox for Tony Snell swap that would have also cost Los Angeles a second round pick, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports. The Magic also reached out to the team, offering point guard Shabazz Napier in exchange for Wilcox, Woike adds. The Clippers declined both deals and the team believes that the shooting guard can be a contributor down the road.

“I think [Wilcox] can play. He has a lot of guys in front of him,” executive/coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s a great kid, a high-character kid. He works hard at it and I think that’s a kid that you hang on to.”

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

  • Rivers didn’t hesitate to deal away the Clippers‘ 2019 first-round pick because of the protections they had agreed to place on the pick, Woike relays in the same piece. “If we’re bad enough to be a lottery team, we get the pick,” Rivers said. “That wasn’t that awful for us.” 
  • The Clippers had nothing but praise for Lance Stephenson, who was dealt to Memphis in the Jeff Green trade, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com writes. “He was different than what I expected from afar,” Jamal Crawford said. “You see the blowing in the ear and stuff from a distance, and you’re like, ‘Oh, man.’ But when you get him, he’s a fun-loving guy. He’s always having fun, high energy. He was great.”
  • Rivers spoke highly of Stephenson as a person, but admitted he was a poor fit from a basketball standpoint, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays via Twitter.
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Pacific Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Frye

February 18th, 2016 at 7:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Clippers power forward Blake Griffin will face extra scrutiny for his role in an off the court incident involving a member of the team’s training staff when he returns from injury and his four-game suspension, Michael Lee of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. Griffin has come under fire before for his physical style of play and there is a strong chance that other players will attempt to test Griffin’s response to aggressive play against him, Lee adds, though coach/executive Doc Rivers doesn’t think it will be an issue for his player. “Listen, he’s tested every night,” Rivers told Lee. “Blake gets hit, chipped more than any player in the league. He’s already been tested.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Clippers turned down four deals that involved shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). The 25-year-old has only appeared in eight contests this season, averaging 0.8 points in 2.9 of action per game.
  • Despite their wealth of talent, the Warriors did not receive one trade inquiry prior to today’s deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
  • The Clippers passed on the chance to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic because the team preferred Jeff Green, whom it landed from Memphis in exchange for Lance Stephenson, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
  • Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t want to discuss the future of Byron Scott and indicated that the coach’s status with the organization hasn’t changed, Jovan Buva of ESPN.com notes. “Byron is under contract, and until that changes, or if that changes, I’ll let you know,” Kupchak said. “Once again, I don’t want to get into a Byron discussion right now,” Kupchak continued. “So I’m not going to really answer any more questions about Byron, because I’m concerned that one question will lead to another, and if his status changes, I will let you know.“
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