Dion Waiters Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Irving, Heat, Scott, Perkins

March 16th, 2015 at 4:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reports last season that made claims of a rift between Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters and alleged that Irving wanted to leave the Cavaliers put a strain on the point guard, as he tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Irving silenced much of the chatter when he agreed to a five-year extension with Cleveland on the first day he could this past July.

“It really got to me,” Irving said of the rumors. “I’m not a big Twitter person and I don’t tweet a lot of my emotions, but last year I was clarifying because there were so many sources. I’m dealing with people coming at my character. Saying I’m detrimental to my teammates and I’m like, ‘Man, that’s not even close to who I am at all.’ It started to get to me because once people start to question the things that you’re doing, and you know you’re not doing them, then it starts to get to you.”

There’s more on the Cavs amid the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

Dwyane Wade believes Goran Dragic is a fit for the Heat, but even if he re-signs and Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts return healthy for next season, Wade thinks the team would still need to add more to return to contention, as he told Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.
Mike Scott is expected to miss four to six weeks with his broken left big toe, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Hawks signed Austin Daye on Saturday to a 10-day contract to help offset the loss. The regular season ends four weeks from this coming Wednesday.
Kendrick Perkins is enthusiastic about the way he’s fit in with the Cavs and the warm reception his new teammates have given him, as he tells Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Perkins, who nonetheless added that he misses his former Thunder teammates, will once more hit free agency in the summer.
Public funding for pro sports facilities is coming under fire from President Obama, who’s proposed eliminating the ability for states and cities to use bonds that are exempt from federal taxes to raise money for construction, reports Elaine S. Povich of Stateline (USA Today link). It’s unclear whether that would affect the Bucks‘ plan, which is based on a “jock tax” that draws from players.

Aldridge’s Latest: Thunder, Lopez, Jackson

February 23rd, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder aren’t making moves simply out of fear that Kevin Durant will jump ship in 2016 and Russell Westbrook will follow suit the next year, a league source tells TNT’s David Aldridge for his Morning Tip column on NBA.com. Still, it’s been an active season for GM Sam Presti, who went over the tax line to acquire Dion Waiters and stayed above it after Thursday’s swap that sent out Reggie Jackson and brought in Enes Kanter. Aldridge has much more in his column, and we’ll hit the highlights, many of which are Thunder-related:

The Thunder let the Nets know they wouldn’t do the proposed Jackson/Brook Lopez trade just 15 minutes before the deadline, Aldridge reports. The Nets likely would have dealt Jarrett Jack to the Wizards if they’d done that deal, Aldridge adds.
The concern that Arron Afflalo would turn down his player option and hit the open market dissuaded the Thunder from trading for him, as Aldridge explains.
The Rockets preferred Goran Dragic to Jackson and the Celtics weren’t willing to trade young players for the then-Thunder guard, Aldridge writes.
The Thunder didn’t have plans to re-sign Kendrick Perkins in the summer even before they traded him at the deadline, according to Aldridge.

Western Notes: Young, Clippers, Lin, Waiters

January 21st, 2015 at 12:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nick Young wants to help the Lakers recruit marquee free agents this summer, but he was worried that there wouldn’t have been room for the club to re-sign him this past offseason if the Lakers had landed a star then, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Young said. “I was nervous and scared. I wanted to be here, but I kept hearing all the Carmelo [Anthony] rumors and Kobe [Bryant] having dinner with Carmelo. I knew once they paid him all that money, there would be none for me.”

Young, who inked a four-year, $21.326MM deal with the Lakers in July, told Medina that the Pelicans, Mavs and Bulls also had interest in him, and agent Mark Bartelstein told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com this summer that there had been contact with the Hawks. There’s more from L.A. amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers expects to use his pair of open roster spots on veterans next month, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, suggesting that the team will again target the post-buyout market as it did last year.
Dion Waiters, who’s up for a rookie scale extension this summer, says he “couldn’t ask for a better situation” than the one he finds himself in since the trade that sent him to the Thunder, as he tells The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. “They brought me in since Day One with love,” Waiters said of his new teammates. “It seems like I’ve been here forever. It seems like I’ve been playing with them forever, too. When I came here, we clicked right away.”
Jeremy Lin has his moments for the Lakers, but he continues to struggle to live up to the backloaded three-year, $25.124MM deal he signed with the Rockets in 2012, much less his dazzling “Lin-sanity” run with the Knicks, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register examines. Lin is set for free agency this summer.

Lakers Ask Pistons About Monroe, Jennings

January 12th, 2015 at 5:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have asked the Pistons about Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings in the past month, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). They also inquired about Dion Waiters, Shelburne adds, presumably indicating that the Lakers contacted Cleveland before the Cavs shipped him to Oklahoma City a week ago.

Monroe has a de facto no-trade clause because he signed his qualifying offer from the Pistons this past offseason, and he and agent David Falk have let it be known they don’t want a trade this year. The big man would forfeit his Bird rights if he were to approve a trade, but the Lakers, with only about $35.1MM in cap flexibility for 2015/16, are set to have enough cap flexibility to sign him using cap space. The Lakers were reportedly uninterested in signing Monroe this past summer.

There have been conflicting reports about whether the Pistons were shopping Jennings, though the most recent dispatch indicates that Detroit is at least open to the idea of letting him go. Jennings makes $8MM this year and nearly $8.345MM in 2015/16, but his contract comes off the books in advance of the heavily anticipated summer of 2016, when the salary cap is set to surge. Monroe’s qualifying offer gives him almost $5.48MM this season, a bargain price, but he’s due for a significant raise in unrestricted free agency this coming summer.

Waiters is on a rookie scale contract and will be extension-eligible this summer before the deal runs out after next season. Still, it seems unlikely the Thunder would part with him so quickly after his acquisition. The Pistons, 8-1 since waiving Josh Smith, probably aren’t inclined to make a move right now, either, but the interest from the Lakers signals that L.A. isn’t content to languish at the bottom of the standings to protect its draft position. The team owes its first-round draft pick to the Suns if it doesn’t fall within the top five selections, and the Lakers are currently fourth in the Reverse Standings.

Western Notes: Brooks, Clippers, Waiters

January 10th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Though he’s unlikely to be fired mid-season, Thunder coach Scott Brooks‘ job is definitely on the line this year, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Tramel cites the Thunder’s disappointing record, and how the team has regressed even after getting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook back from injuries, as major reasons why Brooks’ days in OKC could be numbered.

Here’s the latest out of the Western Conference:

Toure’ Murry, who was waived by the Jazz earlier this month, was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, the team announced. Rio Grande Valley is the D-League affiliate of the Rockets.
The Warriors were one of the Wolves‘ most aggressive suitors for Kevin Love prior to him being dealt to Cleveland, but Love still isn’t sure how close he was to heading to Oakland, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle writes. “I know that they were a team that was in talks,” Love said. “But that’s really as far as it got.” Love definitely appreciates just how talented a squad Golden State has, Simmons adds. “They’re a great team,” Love said. “They’re a fun team to watch. They get up and down the floor. They shoot the three ball really well. They have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things.”
Dion Waiters said that he learned that he had been traded to the Thunder after the starting lineup had been announced and the Cavs’ game against the Sixers was just about to begin, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports notes (Twitter link). Waiters still wanted to play in the game, but wasn’t permitted to for obvious reasons, Spears adds.
In light of president of basketball operations Neil Olshey‘s brand new contract extension, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders looks at the success that Olshey has had during his tenure with the Blazers.
The Clippers sent $300K to the Sixers as part of the Jared Cunningham deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger isn’t happy that trade talks have leaked to the media, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal tweets. “It’s a major distraction,” Joerger said. “Things like that should be kept behind closed doors. It ticks me off.“

Western Notes: Nuggets, Lakers, Young

January 8th, 2015 at 8:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nuggets, who finally decided to trade Timofey Mozgov, are realistic about their season being at a crossroads, Mark Kizsla of The Denver Post writes. “We came into this season expecting to be a playoff team,” GM Tim Connelly said. “At this point, we’re on the outside, looking in. We probably have a couple weeks to change that, be relevant and view ourselves as a playoff-caliber team. I’m hopeful that’s the case. But I’m also realistic to know, and honest enough with our team internally, to say: If in a couple weeks, if that’s not the case, then we have a new reality. It’s now or never. The disappointment is real with where we stand. We’ll have all we need to know about this present roster within a few weeks.”

Here’s more from the West:

Fans of the Lakers and the Knicks shouldn’t get their hopes up that either team will be able to sign Rajon Rondo when he hits free agency this summer, since he’s unlikely to leave the Mavs, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “Dallas will throw money at him and has a better chance at winning than the other two teams [Knicks and Lakers],” an Eastern Conference scout told Scotto.
Nick Young,who was a member of the Clippers for part of the 2011/12 season, said that his experience with the Lakers thus far has been the superior one of his time spent in Los Angeles, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes. “Being a Laker, there’s nothing like it,” Young said. “I think I learn more just being here and being around an atmosphere of winning, toughness and learning how to play under a great player like Kobe Bryant.”
When asked about the declaration that the team would contend for a title within three years made by Lakers executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss, coach Byron Scott was non-committal about the probability of that becoming a reality, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “Our plan, when you talk about the organization, is to win the championship, that’s the bottom line,” Scott said. “I don’t know what the time frame is right now. Jeanie [Buss] and Jim, obviously that’s between them. I’ll let you know in September. That’s when training camp will start next year. We’ll have our free agents, our draft picks. I’ll get a pretty good idea of what we have at that particular time and let you know.“

Cavs GM On Trades, Future, Waiters, More

January 8th, 2015 at 12:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets got an “unbelievably good” return in the Timofey Mozgov trade, Cavs GM David Griffin told reporters, including Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick, after giving up a pair of first-round picks to net the rim protector the team had sorely lacked. Still, Griffin is confident that he hasn’t given up on the future at the expense of the present, as he explained amid his chat with the media in the wake of the team’s second major trade in two days. Griffin spoke shortly before the trades, too, as we passed along, so it’s interesting to compare his remarks then to what he’s saying now. Skolnick as well as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com and Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group round up Griffin’s post-trade comments, and we’ll share a few highlights here:

On balancing the present with the future:

“What I’m most proud of, and our front office staff is most excited about, is that we’ve put together a team that we believe can compete at the highest level. And we feel like we’ve done it without completely mortgaging the future. People look at the number of picks we’ve given away and everybody thinks, ‘Oh, my goodness, they’ve given away the farm!’ Well, we had an unbelievable farm, so we were putting it to work and we’re really pleased with where we are now. We’re going to make a first-round pick this year and we feel good about the situation we’re in.”

On the timing of the moves:

“We would have done all of these things much sooner if we could’ve. We’re fortunate that 35 games in for us, and 30-40 in for everybody else, people have now gotten to the point where they recognize the team they’re going to be. If we could have done this in training camp, we would have done the same thing.”

On relinquishing Dion Waiters to the Thunder:

“We liked Dion a great deal. I think what ended up happening for us is we got to a point where the fit of all the pieces we had, in terms of ball dominance, wasn’t as good as what we hope this trio can be. And moving forward, the fit of this group that we just got paired with what we had should be good enough, in terms of how they meld together.”

On his expectations in the wake of the trades:

“We want to win games. Nobody in this organization is satisfied with not winning. When I come up here and preach patience, I’m not saying let’s accept losing. That’s absolutely not what we’re doing. But in terms of being the best team we’re going to be, we have to acknowledge that it’s going to take some time for all of those things to jell and to be the best we can be. But we better be a [expletive] sight better than we’ve been right out of the chute. That’s what we expect to be. We’re not here to get to say we played. We’re here to win games. But to say that’s it’s got to look like a certain thing by a certain time, it’s just not fair.”

Western Notes: Thunder, Lakers, Buss

January 7th, 2015 at 9:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder sent $550K in cash to the Hawks in the Thabo Sefolosha sign-and-trade this past summer, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That helped convince Atlanta to make the deal a sign-and-trade instead of a straight signing, a move that allowed Oklahoma City to create the trade exception it used for Dion Waiters, as Pincus confirms and as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors explained earlier this week. The Thunder also created a $915,243 trade exception for Lance Thomas, Pincus notes (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Despite the Lakers‘ struggles this season, team president Jeanie Buss is satisfied with the job that coach Byron Scott is doing, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “Our record doesn’t show what we’d like it to be. But I like what coach Byron Scott is doing and establishing,” Buss said. “I believe in what he’s trying to do and I see improvement all the time. I support our front office. I support our coach. I support our players.”
Buss also believes that the Lakers will be contending in three years time, something that her brother, vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss, predicted, Medina notes. “By three years, we will be where we should be in terms of the Western Conference,” Buss added. “That’s a challenge he [Jim Buss] presented to himself. Given all the resources that we have, our legacy and who our head coach is and who our front office is, I don’t see any problem progressing to where we need to be. We’ll be in the Western Conference finals in three years. As long as you have Kobe Bryant on your team, anything can happen in the playoffs.”
Now that the trade market has ramped up, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders continues his look at players who might be dealt prior to the February trade deadline. Some of the players whom Kennedy opines may be on the move include Reggie Jackson [Thunder], Jordan Hill [Lakers], Kosta Koufos [Grizzlies], and Jason Thompson [Kings].

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Sanders, Dawkins, Waiters

January 7th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Larry Sanders wouldn’t delve into specifics about his absence, but he denied Tuesday that he’s thinking about retirement, as he told reporters, including Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com. The Bucks center hasn’t played since December 23rd, but he sat on the bench with the team for Tuesday’s game, a first since he took his leave, and he said he’s ready to start working toward a return to the court. “I haven’t said anything like that,” Sanders said of the notion he would retire. “I figure with the absence, something was going to come out like that. It’s not true. What is true is I’m in the process of trying to do what’s best for my psyche and my physical health.”

Here’s more out of the East:

The Heat waived guard Andre Dawkins so that the team could retain some measure of roster flexibility heading forward, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida writes. “We liked ‘Doc’ and the development he was making,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Right now it makes more sense for us to have some flexibility.” When asked if any players were being looked at to fill Dawkins’ roster spot on a 10-day contract, Spoelstra said, “It could be filled at any time, that’s the whole point, but nothing is imminent.”
In the moments after he was informed that he had been dealt to the Thunder, Dion Waiters said he felt “bitter” toward the Cavs, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. But once he settled down and thought about his destination he felt much better about his situation, Slater adds. “I’m just happy they sent me here to another great organization where I get the chance to play with another great player,” Waiters said. “I feel I’m in a win-win situation. So I take it as a positive thing. I get a chance to grow and learn from these guys.”
Waiters was also asked about the Cavs‘ disappointing start to the season, Slater notes. Waiters responded by saying, “Uhh, we never really played together. Of course I’d played with Kyrie [Irving], but I’d never played with Kevin [Love] or LeBron [James] or those type of guys who dominated on their opposing teams. So for them to come to Cleveland, we all had to change our game for the better of the team. Like, for instance, my scoring went down. Ky, he’s used to having the ball, but with LeBron, he’s a guy that needs the ball to facilitate and make plays. It was a chemistry thing that we was still building. Like they said, Rome wasn’t built in one day. We had to continue to figure it out day by day.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Jackson, Ledo, Lakers

January 6th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder guard Reggie Jackson was under the impression that he was headed to the Knicks in Monday night’s deal, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes. “I thought I was traded,” Jackson said. “I was just thinking I was going to go home and pack and that was it.” Jackson had heard all the rumors, but said that his nerves were calmed when he didn’t get a call from his agent Aaron Mintz and brother/manager Travis Jackson, Spears adds.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Mavericks have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). This was Ledo’s seventh trek to the D-League this season.
One of the beneficiaries of the Rajon Rondo trade is Richard Jefferson, who is seeing more playing time with Mavs now that Jae Crowder is in Boston, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “He [coach Rick Carlisle] didn’t really have me in the rotation,” Jefferson said. “It was just a matter of me staying a professional and waiting on the opportunity. It was always tough for me just because I’d never been in that situation. Now I’m starting to feel more comfortable and showing that I can do things a little more consistently.”
Lakers president Jeanie Buss sees no benefit in Los Angeles tanking this season, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “The draft pick [the Lakers owe] to Phoenix, if we don’t give it to them this year, we have to give it to them next year, so I don’t really see what the logic would be,” Buss said. “Try to tank to keep it this year, because we’d just have to give it away next year — that doesn’t resonate with me,” she continued. “I think it’s impossible to tell your coach and tell your players, ‘Try not to win.’ That goes against everything an organization is about.“
The Thunder‘s signing of Anthony Morrow to a team-friendly deal this offseason paved the way for the team to acquire Dion Waiters, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Morrow’s first-year salary of $3.2MM kept Oklahoma City from triggering a hard cap that likely would have prevented this trade from being made, Mayberry notes.