Deandre Jordan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Rivers, Stan Van Gundy, Jazz

October 17th, 2013 at 11:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Clippers coach Doc Rivers sits down with Harvey Araton of the New York Times to discuss the scrutiny that accompanied his exit from Boston and his willingness to accept the responsibility if things don’t go well in Los Angeles: “But when (the opportunity to coach the Clippers) presented itself, I thought, ‘Wow, this would be a unique situation for me…If there’s a mistake, it’s my fault. I don’t want to blame someone else. I want to blame me.”

Rivers also commented on how the free throw shooting struggles of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin has been somewhat of an achilles’ heel for the team in the past: “Blake and D. J., they missed a couple, and their whole game changed…Blake would stop driving, stop attacking, because he didn’t want to get fouled. D. J. didn’t even want to touch the ball. Then he would take all that defensive energy he had and throw it out of the game.”

Here are the rest of tonight’s miscellaneous links:

Despite the tumultuous way in which their working relationship ended in Orlando, former coach Stan Van Gundy still thinks that the Magic should retire Dwight Howard‘s number, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel (Subscribers only).
Jazz camp hopeful Lester Hudson values his opportunity to stick in the NBA after being a career journeyman since entering the league (Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune). In another Utah-related piece, John Lucas III talks about being fueled to secure his NBA future after his international and D-League experiences: “Every time I step on the court, (I think), ‘I don’t want to go back to Italy. I don’t want to go back to Spain. Don’t want to go back to China (or the) D-League…I feel like I’m at home. I just have that in the back of my head all the time, so when I step on that court I give it everything I have” (Jody Genessy of the Deseret News).
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston answered a few questions from his readers in his newest edition of “Celtics Mailbag.”
Bucks head coach Larry Drew spoke about the importance of having a veteran like Zaza Pachulia around the team, especially with their familiarity together stemming from their history in Atlanta (Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel).

Western Rumors: Rivers, Jordan, McNeal, Blazers

October 5th, 2013 at 3:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was an oft-repeated story this summer that Doc Rivers didn't want the Clippers to part with Eric Bledsoe as the team negotiated with the Celtics to bring Rivers to L.A. The Clippers wound up trading Bledsoe to the Suns in a separate deal, and now Rivers says he was worried that another Clipper would wind up in Boston. The coach wanted to bring Kevin Garnett with him to L.A., but not if it meant giving up DeAndre Jordan, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. There's more on Rivers and Jordan as we look at the latest from the Western Conference:

Rivers sees Jordan as a defensive player of the year candidate, as Markazi notes in the same piece. "[Jordan] is just too young and too gifted to let walk out your door, bottom line," Rivers said. "He's a game changer defensively. He can single-handedly change a game with his defense. There's five guys, and that number maybe too high, that can do that single-handedly with their size and athleticism and he's one of them. When you have one of those guys, you want to keep them."
Former Jazz shooting guard Jerel McNeal has signed with the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls in China, reports Kenya Brown of NiuBBall.com. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last month that McNeal had an agreement with a Chinese team, but it was unclear whether it was with the Golden Bulls or the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions.
The Trail Blazers have announced the hirings of Rob Werdann and Zendon Hamilton as assistant coaches for the Idaho Stampede. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com first reported the story (Twitter link). The Blazers control the basketball operations for the Stampede, who have a one-to-one affiliation with Portland.

Western Notes: Camby, O’Neal, Jordan, Pekovic

July 24th, 2013 at 7:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Western Conference

According to a tweet from the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, Marcus Camby's agent insists that the Rockets are atop his list of teams to play for next season.
New Warriors center Jermaine O'Neal says he is ready to help his new team in any role, any way he can, writes the San Francisco Chronicle's Rusty Simmons.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan found himself in a major trade rumor earlier this summer, with constant speculation of him being involved in a deal to the Celtics. Today, Jordan says he looks at those rumors as a sign of respect, according to RealGM's Shams Charania.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders will fly to New York City early next week to sit down with restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic's agent with hopes to finalize a contract in the area of four years and $50MM, according to the Star Tribune's Kent Youngblood.

Western Links: Brown, Mavericks, Clippers

June 29th, 2013 at 9:39pm CST by Spencer Lund

The deadline for the Suns to waive Shannon Brown in order to pay half of his $3.5MM salary for the 2013/14 season has passed, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter). Brown was re-signed to a two-year deal worth $7MM with excess Suns' cap room in July of 2012.

The Suns could waive Brown and only eat half of his $3.5MM contract if they did so before whichever occurred first: 36 hours after 11:59 pm the day of the 2013 NBA Draft, or June 30th. That first deadline has passed, so now the Suns are on the hook for the full amount.

Here are some more notes on the Western Conference, including Kobe Bryant's thoughts on Dwight Howard's free agency:

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes that no matter when the Mavericks see Howard, they'll have a captive audience.
But fellow Dallas Morning News columnist, George Diaz, wants his Mavs readers to remember that Howard cherishes fun over titles.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that the Mavs don't expect to hear from Shawn Marion today, since they'll only be notified if he elects to opt out of the final of his contract, and they expect the deadline to pass quietly. Marion has an early termination option for the last year of a deal that will pay him $9.32MM next season (w/ some performance bonus'). SI's Chris Mannix confirms he's not going to opt-out (Twitter).
According to Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune, DeMarre Carroll is hoping to get a longer stay with the Jazz.
ESPNLosAngeles.com writers Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi debate whether the addition of Doc Rivers makes the Clippers championship contenders.
Shelburne also says the Clippers are taking their time before making any moves after bringing on Doc Rivers (Twitter), so they're going to take their time with possible Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan moves.
Dan McCarney of the Express-News checks in with the Spurs' Euro stash.
Mike Trudell of Lakers.com spoke with the Lakers' Kobe Bryant about Dwight Howard's impending free agency, and sent out a few tweets with Kobe's answers.

Clippers, Blazers Discussed DeAndre Jordan

June 26th, 2013 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Before Doc Rivers was hired by the Clippers, the team discussed a possible DeAndre Jordan deal with the Trail Blazers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). With Rivers now involved in the Clippers' basketball decision-making, it's not clear what Jordan's value is or whether Portland still has interest, says Wojnarowski.

It makes sense that the Blazers would have some interest in Jordan, since the club will be looking to add a rim-protecting center this summer. And with a Kevin Garnett deal no longer on the table for the Clippers, Los Angeles is free to explore other possible deals involving Jordan. I would assume that even if the Clippers and Blazers were to continue discussing Jordan, a deal wouldn't happen before July, since the Blazers will be able to take advantage of its potential cap space at that point.

Jordan is currently projected to earn $10,986,550 next season, a figure that would increase if he were moved, due to his 15% trade kicker. So any deal would have to involve significant salary coming back to L.A. or a suitor with significant cap room to take on Jordan's salary.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Suns, Jordan

June 25th, 2013 at 8:32pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the league's Pacific Division.

Lakers.com reporter Mike Trudell sat down with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to discuss how the team is attacking the offseason. When asked about Dwight Howard, Kupchak called the free agent center "our future."
According to a tweet from SI.com's Chris Mannix, the Suns have officially added Jerry Sichting, Mike Longabardi, Kenny Gattison, and Mark West to head coach Jeff Hornacek's coaching staff.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was rumored to be headed to the Celtics in exchange for Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett last week. Now that the NBA has made such a deal impossible, Jordan says he hopes Rivers accepts him as his center instead of Garnett, tweets Los Angeles Times scribe Brad Turner.

Kyler On Paul, Pierce, Garnett, Bledsoe, Jordan

June 24th, 2013 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

While replacing Vinny Del Negro with Doc Rivers on the bench may be worth a first-round draft pick on its own, the Clippers' decision to send the Celtics an unprotected 2015 pick was also closely tied to Chris Paul's future in Los Angeles. As Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes in today's NBA AM piece, the Clippers hiring Rivers virtually cements Paul re-signing long-term with the club when free agency begins next month.

The NBA still has to approve the Rivers transaction, but that shouldn't be a problem now that Kevin Garnett and other players aren't involved in the deal, so Kyler takes a look at the next steps for both the Celtics and Clippers once Doc officially changes addresses:

The Cavaliers have expressed "serious interest" in acquiring Paul Pierce, but according to Kyler, they're offering a pair of early second-round picks, while the Celtics are reportedly seeking a first-rounder. Kyler echoes what we heard last night, suggesting that Boston isn't averse to keeping Pierce beyond June 30th, guaranteed his full $15MM+ salary, since the team still feels he could be traded for good value later on.
According to Kyler, there have been reports indicating the Timberwolves have interest in re-acquiring Garnett. I'm not sure exactly which reports Kyler is referring to — Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities speculated about the idea earlier this month, but said his sources shot it down. And Adrian Wojnarowski indicated last night that a reunion between Garnett and the Wolves could happen eventually, but in an off-court, ownership capacity.
In any case, Kyler points out that trading KG still makes sense for the Celtics, and with the NBA unlikely to approve a move to the Clippers, other suitors like the Wolves could get involved (though I think Minnesota is far from Garnett's likeliest destination).
The Clippers have long been reluctant to move Eric Bledsoe until they can officially lock up Paul long-term. Now that CP3 appears to be a lock to re-sign, L.A. may begin shopping Bledsoe in earnest. According to Kyler, there has been no shortage of suitors with offers for the young point guard.
Sources tell Kyler that the team isn't worried about bringing back DeAndre Jordan after he was at the center of trade rumors, feeling that Rivers will be able to mend that fence. However, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter), there's still a belief that Jordan will be moved. It may not happen right away though, as the Clippers take time to consider their options.

Latest On Celtics/Clippers Talks

June 22nd, 2013 at 1:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Yesterday we heard that the Celtics/Clippers deal involving Doc Rivers was dead, only to later come across reports that such trade talks would continue. More continues to come in about the on-again, off-again saga, much of it courtesy Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald and Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Here’s what we know:

A source tells Murphy that the deal is dead, despite insistence from the Clippers camp that it will be revived. Discussion about a Kevin Garnett-for-DeAndre Jordan trade is probably dead as well, Murphy writes.
Rivers is still in contact with Danny Ainge and deliberating over whether he’ll return to Boston for next season, and the decision is not necessarily tied to whether the Celtics will rebuild, Murphy says.
The Celtics postponed Friday’s press conference with Rivers and Ainge until Monday because the Clippers wanted to discuss a deal again, according to Holmes.
Holmes hears that Rivers wants to continue coaching in the NBA, despite his well-documented misgivings about doing so with a rebuilding team. Yet sources tell Holmes that Rivers could wind up returning to broadcasting, where his salary would not match what he could get as a coach, because it might be too awkward to go back to the Boston bench at this point. Even so, Celtics management maintains that they would welcome him back.
As Holmes points out, the Clippers were prepared to give up a first-round pick for Rivers earlier this week when it appeared there was a second, separate deal involving Garnett. Now that the two sides have pushed the Garnett talk to the backburner under pressure from the league, the Clippers only seem willing to relinquish a second-rounder for Rivers.
Holmes hears from sources who believe the Clippers never intended to pull of a deal with the C’s, and were merely trying to make it seem as though they were to appease Chris Paul.
A source tells Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com that Rivers and Rajon Rondo had a locker-room altercation that nearly turned into a physical confrontation. “An intense dislike” for Rondo is part of Rivers’ motivation for leaving the Celtics, Sheridan writes. Rich Levine of CSNNE.com tweets his doubts that such an incident took place, and believes that if it did, it may have happened as far back as 2010.
In a separate piece, Holmes notes that Celtics assistant coach Mike Longabardi has accepted a position on Jeff Hornacek‘s coaching staff with the Suns. He’s the only Celtics assistant to have depared the team this offseason.

Latest On Clippers/Celtics Negotiations

June 21st, 2013 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

3:22pm: The Celtics and Rivers' camp are "rapidly" coming to believe that no deal is going to be reached with the Clippers, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

2:59pm: Although the Clippers raised the idea of sending Boston a second-round pick as compensation for Rivers, the Celtics are holding out for a first-rounder, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That would suggest that perhaps the 2015 first-rounder mentioned below hasn't officially been put on the table yet. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides aren't making much progress at this point.

12:47pm: The ongoing saga involving the Clippers, the Celtics, Doc Rivers, and Kevin Garnett took another odd twist this morning, when the Celtics sent out a press release announcing that Rivers and GM Danny Ainge would speak to the media today. Shortly after that announcement, the Celtics postponed the press conference until Monday, tentatively at noon eastern, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (via Twitter).

As Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe notes (via Twitter), the unusual move by the Celtics may have been designed to push the Clippers into action. The Clips had previously been unwilling to give up first-round draft picks as compensation for Rivers, but the threat of a press conference in Boston (perhaps to announce that Rivers would be returning) may have changed that, says Holmes.

Hall of Fame scribe Mark Heisler confirms as much, reporting (via Twitter) that the Clippers have now offered a protected 2015 first-round pick for Rivers. If the two sides can reach an agreement on compensation for Rivers, a Doc deal could be completed today, according to Heisler (Twitter link). However, he adds that the same can't be said for a trade involving Garnett. Due to CBA rules, the NBA has essentially insisted that Rivers and KG would have to be moved in separate, unrelated transactions.

To clarify that last point: Because NBA head coaches can't officially be traded, the Celtics aren't allowed to include Rivers in a Garnett deal. Instead, they'd have to release Rivers from his contract, allowing him to sign with the Clippers, making a potential KG/DeAndre Jordan swap an entirely separate transaction.

But the CBA also doesn't allow teams to make two separate moves that are contingent on one another, so the Clippers have shifted their focus to Rivers for now, in hopes of hiring him and then pursuing Garnett at a later date. If the Clips were to land Rivers and agree to acquire Garnett later, they'd have to convince the NBA that the two moves were made independently of one another.

For more details on how these negotiations have played out, check out our posts rounding up the updates from Wednesday and from Thursday.

Clippers Targeting Rivers First; KG, Pierce Later

June 20th, 2013 at 7:28pm CST by Luke Adams

7:28pm: Dan Woike of the OC Register tweets that Los Angeles isn't optimistic that the league will ever allow them to acquire both Garnett and Rivers.

7:10pm: ESPN's Ramona Shelburne tweets that the Clippers are in no rush to get something done, knowing that two of the three candidates they've interviewed will be available for a while.

7:00pm: Rivers is said to be growing frustrated by the lack of closure on the deal and could take himself out of it if things aren't resolved by tomorrow morning, writes Bulpett. Though another source tells Bulpett that process has come too far along to turn away now.

6:21pm: Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (via Twitter) says that there was no deal presented to the league today because the Clippers have yet to meet the Celtics' asking price.

4:43pm: According to Wojnarowski, the Celtics would just want one first-round pick as compensation for releasing Rivers from his contract. If the two sides eventually returned to talks involving Garnett, the Celtics would want another first-rounder along with Jordan, says Wojnarowski.

However, the Clippers still haven't extended an offer of compensation to Boston, and there's concern from people involved in the talks that L.A.'s front office doesn't have the authority to meet the Celtics' request. Clippers management had privately insisted to people they were waiting on Donald Sterling's approval for the draft-pick compensation.

4:07pm: Although the Clippers want to set aside the Garnett discussions for now, they haven't shown a willingness to offer even one first-round pick for the rights to Rivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski adds that talks are going nowhere until the Clippers relent on at least one pick (Twitter links).

Since it was previously reported that the deal for Garnett and Rivers would include two first-rounders along with Jordan, this new information is a little confusing. Obviously, the Clippers wouldn't give up two first-round picks and Jordan for Garnett alone, so it had appeared the team was willing to give up a first-rounder or two for Rivers.

The equation has likely changed now for one of two reasons: If the Clippers reach an agreement for Doc first, there's no guarantee they'll be able to work out a separate deal for KG later, so the team may be unwilling to part with first-round picks for just a coach, rather than the duo as a package. The Clippers also may feel they've regained some leverage, since Stern's public comments today suggested the NBA was uneasy about attaching significant trade value to head coaches. Both of those theories are my own speculation though.