D’Angelo Russell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Rumors: Bryant, Scott, Clarkson, Young

April 14th, 2016 at 7:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

After Kobe Bryant gave the NBA an unforgettable 60-point sendoff Wednesday, the Lakers faced the first day of the post-Kobe era, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “Sometimes you cannot help but think about it,” coach Byron Scott said of his 17-65 team. “When you have the type of season that you have, changes will be made.” The changes may start with Scott, who has one year left on his contract, although Medina says the organization recognizes the difficult position he faced with trying to balance a young roster and Bryant’s retirement tour.

The Lakers will have an estimated $55MM in cap space this summer, with much of that being opened by the end of Bryant’s $25MM contract and the expiration of Roy Hibbert‘s $15.5MM deal. The only guaranteed contracts for next year belong to D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., Anthony Brown, Nick Young and Lou Williams. The Lakers would like to keep restricted free agent Jordan Clarkson, and Brandon Bass may be back with a $3.1MM player option. More difficult decisions surround Hibbert, Metta World Peace, Marcelo Huertas, Tarik Black, Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre.

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Clarkson believes he will be a Laker again next season, Medina tweets. Clarkson made $845,059 this year, and L.A. must make a $3.2MM qualifying offer to retain the right to match competing bids through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. “I feel confident I’ll be back here,” Clarkson said in today’s exit interview. “I want to be here.”
Two other free agents also prefer to remain Lakers, Medina relays on Twitter. “This is a great place for me and I love it here,” said Sacre, who made $981,348 this season in the final year of his contract (link). “I’d love to be a part of this process of flipping it around,” said Kelly, who earned more than $1.724MM this season. “But we’ll see (link).”
Young may not be brought back despite having two years and more than $11MM left on his contract, but he understands the need for changes, Medina writes in a separate story. “You never know what’s gonna happen, but you know something’s got to happen,” Young said. “I know the Lakers are gonna make decisions for the Lakers. We did win 17 games after all.” L.A. expected to try to deal Young in the offseason and may seek to negotiate a buyout if trade talks are unsuccessful.

Western Notes: Gentry, Nowitzki, Huestis

April 2nd, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have been hit hard by injuries this season and currently have seven players who are out for the season. As a result, the team has been forced to cycle through players inked to 10-day deals, a difficult coaching task that Alvin Gentry has handled well, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. “I know what they’re going through,” point guard Toney Douglas said. “Always night in, night out, you’ve got to prove yourself. But Coach Gentry, man, he did a great job of bringing these guys in and making them feel comfortable. Because sometimes you come in on a 10-day and you’re all, ‘Oh, I’ve got to put pressure on myself and do something.’ But here it’s not the case. Be who you are within the system, play freely.”

The decision to hire Gentry, as well as his job future, were reportedly called into question earlier this week, though GM Dell Demps later denied that the front office had lost its confidence in the coach. Here’s more from out West:

Both Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell are under contract for the Lakers next season and coach Byron Scott noted that the pair coexisting for another year shouldn’t be an issue despite the current tension, Jovan Buha of ESPN.com relays. “At the end of the day, we’re all grown men in here,” Scott said. “People make mistakes and you have to understand that and you have to just kind of move on. Now, will they ever be buddy-buddy again? I don’t know. But they do have to coexist as long as they’re both here, and I think they can.“
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has failed Dirk Nowitzki and has not rewarded the power forward’s willingness to accept a below-market deal by surrounding him with championship-caliber players, Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News writes. The scribe also opines that Nowitzki couldn’t be faulted if he declined his player option worth $8,692,184 for 2016/17 in order to latch on with a contending team this summer.
The Thunder recalled small forward Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This concludes Huestis’ 15th assignment this season to the Blue. He has appeared in 25 games and is averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.44 blocks in 32.1 minutes.

And-Ones: Terry, Russell, Allen, Rodriguez

April 1st, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jason Terry has confirmed that he talked to Alabama-Birmingham about its coaching vacancy, but he cautions that doesn’t mean his NBA career is over, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. The Rockets‘ veteran point guard interviewed with UAB on Thursday in Houston, where school officials are gathered for the Final Four. The 38-year-old said the interview doesn’t mean he’s decided to retire when this season is over. “No, I’m focused on the playoffs, and there has been no offer made,” he said, “but I have to keep all my options open when it comes to my post-playing career.” Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com tweets that Terry wants to play two more seasons if UAB doesn’t hire him.

There’s more news from the basketball world:

Some in the Lakers organization fear that the video controversy surrouding D’Angelo Russell will obstruct the team’s efforts in free agency this summer, writes Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, though a prominent agent who spoke with Sean Deveney of The Sporting News scoffed at that notion.
Stanford small forward Rosco Allen will enter this year’s draft but won’t immediately hire an agent, according to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The school and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress list him as a senior, but his Stanford bio also notes that he received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA for the 2013/14 season, so presumably he has a year of eligibility remaining. He’d get to use that year if he pulls out of the draft by May 25th and doesn’t hire an agent. Givony lists Allen as 69th-best among seniors, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him outside his rankings.
Four-year NBA veteran Sergio Rodriguez is again considering a return to the league, as international journalist David Pick hears (Twitter link). The point guard was thinking along those lines last year, when he ultimately wound up staying with Real Madrid, the Spanish team he’s played for since his NBA tenure ended in 2010. Conversely, Rodriguez’s Madrid teammate, Rockets draft-and-stash player Sergio Llull, isn’t giving any thought to joining the NBA, as he said in an appearance on Radio Marca (translation via HoopsHype).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Rumors: Russell, Young, Scott, Bryant

March 31st, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

The video controversy involving D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young was an inevitable result of their flawed personalities, contends Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Ding says Russell’s immaturity and Young’s desire for a celebrity lifestyle combined to create the incident, which reportedly has led to deep rifts in the locker room. The columnist adds that many in the Lakers’ front office are angry at Russell for bringing this distraction to the team and are worried that it may turn off potential free agent targets. However, the Lakers recognize Russell’s unique talents and aren’t likely to deal him away over a misguided prank.

There’s more Lakers news from Los Angeles:

The Russell-Young story is making waves throughout the league, writes David Mayo of MLive. Pistons power forward Marcus Morris said he probably won’t speak to Russell again, adding, “That’s something you don’t want to see in the NBA.” Detroit teammate Stanley Johnson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, says being a rookie doesn’t excuse what he did, and coach/executive Stan Van Gundy agreed with Lakers’ coach Byron Scott that the incident shouldn’t have become public knowledge. “This should be one of those situations where whatever is said in there stays in there,” Van Gundy said, referring to the locker room.
Kobe Bryant received an offer last summer to play for Barcelona, according to the Spanish website mundodeportivo.com (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com). The offer called for Bryant to appear only in Euroleague games, which feature the most successful teams from each participating nation. Because Bryant is making $25MM this year in his final season with the Lakers, it’s likely that the Barcelona offer was for next season. Bryant reportedly turned it down, saying he wasn’t physically able to handle the competition.
Scott hasn’t provided the smooth transition into the post-Kobe era that the franchise was counting on, but Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders believes the team has a young core that will eventually turn the Lakers into winners again. Despite his off-court faux pas, Russell has shown himself to be an exceptional talent, and Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. also provide hope for the future, either as part of the resurgence or as trade pieces to bring in veteran talent.

Rift Develops Between D’Angelo Russell, Teammates

March 30th, 2016 at 11:58am CST by Chuck Myron

11:58am: Russell didn’t mean for the video to become public, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) and Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding (video link). Russell posted the video to Snapchat and quickly deleted it, thinking no one would ever see it, according to Ding, but sources tell Kennedy that Russell’s Snapchat account was hacked.

8:44am: Lakers players are furious with D’Angelo Russell over what one team insider described as a prank gone wrong, report Baxter Holmes and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Teammates are ostracizing Russell, who recorded a private conversation in which Nick Young spoke about being with women other than his fiancee, the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, according to Holmes and Stein. It’s a disconcerting situation that builds on existing trust issues within the locker room, a team source told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com for the story.

Some within Lakers brass are upset with Russell, too, but they’ve left the matter to the players thus far, Holmes and Stein write. Coach Byron Scott has notoriously harped on Russell’s maturity, work ethic and attitude, and several team sources who spoke with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News levied the same criticisms even before the video. Team officials see the video controversy as an example of the 20-year-old rookie’s immaturity, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, though a source told Bresnahan that Lakers players have been pulling pranks on each other throughout the season. Russell shot the video a couple of months ago, Bresnahan hears, but it didn’t surface publicly until the gossip website Fameolous.com posted it a few days ago.

Young and Russell were friends, with the swingman at times publicly sticking up for last year’s No. 2 overall pick, but sources who spoke with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News believe the now-strained friendship is beyond repair. Young went out of his way to avoid crossing Russell’s path at Staples Center before Friday’s game, according to Medina. No Lakers would sit with Russell for a recent breakfast meeting, Holmes and Stein hear. Another time, Lou Williams stood up and walked away when Russell sat next to him in the locker room, according to Holmes and Stein.

Young hasn’t played in the last 10 Lakers games, though the two most recent absences were because he was suffering from gastroenteritis. The first eight were coach’s decisions, with the ninth-year veteran suffering through a career-worst season. He’s under contract through 2017/18, though he can opt out in the summer of 2017. Russell is in the first season of a four-year rookie scale deal.

Nuggets Rumors: Nurkic, Mudiay, Jokic, Gallinari

March 20th, 2016 at 4:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic is trying to pick up the pieces of an injury-plagued second season in the NBA, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. After earning second-team all-rookie honors in 2014/15, Nurkic has seen his playing time and effectiveness limited by an aching left knee. He had surgery during the offseason to repair a partially torn patellar tendon, but the knee hasn’t responded the way he hoped it would. He is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 23 games. “I can’t control this stuff,” Nurkic said. “When I hear my name I go in. I haven’t heard it a lot this season for some reason, but I will be a professional until the end and try to finish the season the right way.” In October, Denver picked up his option for 2016/17 at $1,921,320. He also has a team option for 2017/18 at $2,947,305.

There’s more news today out of Denver:

Both Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic have strong cases to be first-team choices on this season’s all-rookie team, Dempsey contends in a separate story. Mudiay, the seventh player selected in the 2015 draft, leads NBA rookies in assists with 5.7 per game and is fourth in scoring average at 12.3 points per night. His main competition for first-team honors in the backcourt will come from the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell and the Suns’ Devin Booker, Dempsey believes. Jokic was a second-round pick in 2014 who played in the Adriatic and Serbian leagues before coming to the NBA. He ranks second among rookies behind the Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns in player efficiency rating and is fourth in rebounding and eighth in scoring.
The Nuggets don’t know if Danilo Gallinari will play again this season, but the injured small forward plans to be part of the Italian team in the Summer Olympics, according to Marco “Barzo” Barzizza of Eurosport [hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando]. Gallinari suffered two torn ligaments in his right ankle during a late February game. The injury was expected to keep him out of action for about a month, but the Nuggets may shut him down for the season even if he does recover. “I don’t know if I’ll be back before the end of the season,” Gallinari said. “I am very happy to be in Denver and before thinking about new teams I hope to win something here and to play for the Denver Nuggets for many years.”

And-Ones: Lakers, Kilpatrick, Meeks

March 14th, 2016 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Point guard D’Angelo Russell has star potential, but rival executives have doubts about power forward Julius Randle’s ceiling, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. Polling a dozen front office executives, Berger found that Russell is the more highly regarded of the Lakers’ duo. Randle, their 2014 lottery pick, is viewed more as a piece to the puzzle or an energy guy, Berger continues. It’s conceivable the Lakers deal one or both for a proven star, Berger adds, but a lot of the their decision-making this offseason is contingent on whether they keep their lottery pick. They must convey their pick to the Sixers if they fall out of the top three.

Nets shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick, who has signed two 10-day contracts, hopes he can stick around for the remainder of the season and beyond, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes. Kilpatrick is averaging 13.6 points in his last five games with the club. “I’ve been living out of a suitcase I would say for the past six months. It’s crazy, man,” Kilpatrick told Mazzeo. “That’s why when you ask, ‘Do I want to be here?’ Like, I’m tired of living out of a suitcase.”
Shooting guard Jodie Meeks is back in uniform but will have a tough time cracking the Pistons rotation, according to David Mayo of MLive. Meeks broke his right foot in the team’s home opener and required a lengthy recovery. Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy prefers to utilize no more than nine players, and swingman Stanley Johnson and power forward Anthony Tolliver have recently returned to the rotation after recovering from injuries. “I can’t control that,” Meeks told Mayo. “So whenever my number’s called, I’ll be ready.”
The Celtics recalled rookie power forward Jordan Mickey from their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team tweets. Mickey has made 11 appearances with Boston this season.
The Thunder assigned small forward Josh Huestis to their D-League team, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the Thunder’s website. Huestis has already started 19 games for the Blue this season, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per contest.

Pacific Notes: Jones, Russell, Chalmers, Grizzlies

March 14th, 2016 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tyus Jones has already played in more games since the All-Star break than he played before it, as the Timberwolves have decided it’s time to let last year’s 24th overall pick learn on the court. Ricky Rubio, a subject of deadline trade talk whom Jones is trying to eventually replace as Minnesota’s starting point guard, sees “great things” ahead for the rookie, observes Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune.

“He can really score the ball. I think he’s learning how to control, and play in this league,” Rubio said. “It’s not like college. He’s learning how to play and he’s not afraid. That’s one of the main things you ask of a rookie. Don’t be afraid.”

See more from the Western Conference:

Much consternation has surrounded the limited playing time Lakers coach Byron Scott has given No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell this season, but the combo guard is seeing 31.4 minutes per game since the All-Star break compared to 27.1 minutes per game before it, and he’s upbeat about the future, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “It’s all about the opportunity,” Russell said. “Everybody has a different route toward reaching their potential. Some people bloom early and some people bloom late. If I’m a late bloomer and I’m around this league for a long time, I would prefer that.”
Mario Chalmers was popular within the Grizzlies organization, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal, who believes his early-season acquisition was a plus for the team, writes in his Pick-and-Pop column. Chalmers cleared waivers after tearing his Achilles tendon last week.
The Grizzlies have filled gaps in their roster with such wizened veterans as Gilbert Arenas, Jason Williams and Keyon Dooling in past years, so the recent signings of Ray McCallum, Alex Stepheson and Briante Weber represent a shrewd pivot toward finding stopgaps with potential future value, Herrington argues in the same piece.

Western Notes: Russell, Gasol, Freeland

March 10th, 2016 at 8:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Spanish national team coach Sergio Scariolo believes there is still a chance that Grizzlies center Marc Gasol will play in this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, as he told the Spanish media outlet ACB.com (translation via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype). “Marc is hoping to be there, but health comes first and the main thing is he recovers 100%,” Scariolo said. “When the time comes, he will tell us what’s his situation and his club’s opinion because with Marc there’s a lot of factors at play. I wish it was only up to him to make the decision.” While Scariolo’s comments were likely tinged with a dose of optimism, the mere possibility of Gasol being able to suit up and play this summer bodes well for the big man being able to be on the court for Memphis come opening night next season. Gasol is out for the remainder of the 2015/16 after undergoing surgery in February to repair damage to his broken right foot.

Here’s more from out West:

D’Angelo Russell tries not to think about the implications his performance could have for the future of the Lakers, but he believes that as he, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle play better, it helps the team’s case for free agents this summer, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “If we keep playing at a high level, the sky is the limit,” Russell said. “That could dictate who wants to come here and who feels like we don’t need to bring this guy here because we have such and such. We can play a certain part.”
Joel Freeland, who signed a two-year deal with the Russian club CSKA Moscow this past summer, said he had a number of NBA offers, including one from the Mavericks, but chose to head overseas because of the playing time that doing so would provide, Mark Woods of MVP247.com relays. “I wanted to play. I probably had four or five offers from the NBA, but at the end of the day, nobody would guarantee me minutes,” Freeland told Woods. “And I never knew what my situation was going to be, going to those teams. So I felt like this was my best option, especially coming to a team with a great heritage, a great organization and a team that’s hopefully going to be fighting for championships.” Freeland became a free agent last offseason after his rookie deal expired and the Trail Blazers declined to submit a qualifying offer to him.
The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Huestis has appeared in 18 games with the Blue this season, averaging 11.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per night, while McGary has made 19 appearances and is averaging 15.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 25.6 minutes per contest.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers

February 21st, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.