Draymond Green

Pacific Rumors: Hawes, Gasol, Frye, Warriors

Free agent Spencer Hawes met with Warriors GM Bob Myers in Los Angeles, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  The Warriors have a trade exception that they could use in a sign-and-trade scenario for the big man.  Next up for Hawes will be a meeting with Clippers‘ coach/president Doc Rivers.  More from the Pacific..

  • A source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) that Hawes will meet with the Lakers while he’s in Los Angeles.
  • Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak met with free agent forward Pau Gasol in person on Tuesday, a league source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).  The meeting took place at an L.A. office building and lasted “a few hours” (link).
  • The Warriors contacted the agent for free agent big man Channing Frye, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The W’s have also gotten calls on young assets Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and Festus Ezeli, but haven’t jumped on any of the proposed deals.
  • Despite early interest in Hawes and Frye, the Warriors are turning their concentration towards signing a backup point guard, a source tells David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter).

Western Rumors: Love, Warriors, Duncan, Lakers

Sources tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher and Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that the Warriors trade talks for Kevin Love are “dead,” but Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune isn’t so sure (All Twitter links). The stumbling block appears to be Minnesota’s insistence on Klay Thompson and Golden State’s refusal to give him up, according to Holmes (on Twitter), but Zgoda insists neither Thompson nor Kevin Martin is the stumbling block. Rather, it has to do with whether Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green are involved in the deal, Zgoda says. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • It appears as though the Spurs and Tim Duncan are considering a scenario in which Duncan would opt out and re-sign with the club for two years in a way that lowers team payroll and yet rewards the longtime star, tweets Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Duncan’s option is worth more than $10.361MM.
  • The Lakers aren’t seriously considering a rumored trade proposal involving the No. 7 pick and Michael Carter-Williams, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s more likely that the Lakers will make a deal that moves them back in the draft order, Deveney writes.
  • The Nuggets reportedly had interest in signing 2013 second-round pick Joffrey Lauvergne this summer, but the big man has signed a two-year deal with Khimki Moscow, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.

Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Barnes, O’Neal, Green

Impatience from the ownership suite is at the root of much of the tension surrounding the Warriors, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The front office is under pressure, and that affects coach Mark Jackson and his coaching staff, according to Kyler, who says the owners often push for roster changes when the team isn’t performing well. The principal owners of the Warriors are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, but Kyler doesn’t specify whether it’s one or both of them or someone else within the ownership group who is putting the squeeze on. Still, Kyler has other specifics about the uneasiness in Golden State, as we detail below amid our look at the latest from the Pacific Division:

  • Harrison Barnes was the subject of trade rumors before the deadline, and Kyler hears that Warriors ownership started those talks in hope of flipping Barnes for a veteran big man who could help the team win in the short-term. For what it’s worth, Lacob said in February that he wasn’t anxious to move Barnes.
  • Jackson previously denied that there’s dysfunction within the Warriors, and Wednesday he also tried to shoot down the idea that he sought head coaching jobs with the Clippers and Nets, among other teams. Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com has the details.
  • Jackson is an ordained nondenominational Christian minister, and that’s a draw for many players, including Jermaine O’Neal, who said it was one of the primary reasons he signed with the Warriors, and Draymond Green, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News observes.
  • The Warriors expected to contend for the Western Conference title this year, and if they reach the conference finals, Jackson will “almost certainly” return as coach, but if they lose in the first round, he’s a goner, Deveney believes.

Western Rumors: T-Wolves, Grizzlies, Warriors

Regular-season action resumes tonight, and one of the more intriguing games on the schedule will impact the Western Conference's playoff standings. If the Jazz can defeat the Warriors in Utah, they'll pull into a tie with Golden State for the sixth seed. As we wait to see if the Warriors can snap their five-game losing streak, let's check out a few notes from the West:

  • Multiple reports have suggested the Timberwolves are shopping draft picks as they try to bolster their roster. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities isn't exactly sure who the Wolves are pursuing, but says Josh Smith and J.J. Hickson aren't among the team's targets and that J.J. Redick is "doubtful" (Twitter link).
  • According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, the Grizzlies are likely to be buyers rather than sellers at the deadline, since they'll need to add a 13th man to their roster soon.
  • Kyler also echoes a report by Ken Berger, writing that the Warriors are expected to try to move a couple of minimum-salary players to duck below the luxury-tax threshold. The HoopsWorld scribe notes that Draymond Green is also a possibility, and that he'd bring back a better return, but Golden State will probably want to keep him around.
  • We've heard plenty of times over the last few weeks that the Kings aren't likely to make a deadline deal, and general manager Geoff Petrie agrees with that assessment, as he tells Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
  • Eric Gordon is unconcerned with the trade rumors surrounding him and is focused on moving forward with the Hornets, writes Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Pacific Notes: Howard, Dragic, Johnson, Warriors

A Thursday morning report about the possibility of the Lakers pursuing LeBron James in the summer of 2014 resulted in Jim Buss saying the Lakers are indeed hoping to make a splash in '14, and LeBron brushing off the speculation. While everyone wants to talk about the possibility of LeBron eventually heading west, there are other stories coming out of the Pacific Division, so let's round those up right here:

  • The summer's biggest trade acquisition, Dwight Howard, appears set to make his Lakers debut on Sunday against the Kings, according to Marc J. Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • The Suns aren't expecting offseason signee Goran Dragic to replace Steve Nash's production, as coach Alvin Gentry tells Derek Page of HoopsWorld: "We don’t really talk to him about replacing Steve. We could go through the whole league and they couldn’t replace Steve…. We all know what Steve brought to our team but now we’re trying to get ourselves in a situation where Goran can step into a role, where he feels confident in what he’s doing and he can become the best Goran Dragic. That’s what we’re trying to get him to do, which would be pretty good."
  • While Kings president Geoff Petrie says James Johnson's perimeter game needs to improve, he thinks Johnson, acquired this summer from the Raptors, "has the potential to really help us defensively," as he tells Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
  • In looking back at the Warriors' offseason, ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) says Draymond Green was one of his favorite players in the draft, but he's not a huge fan of the team's Carl Landry signing.

Pacific Notes: Howard, Warriors

Between the Lakers' acquisitions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard and several key additions made by the Clippers and Warriors, the Pacific Division figures to be one of the most intriguing in the NBA. Here are the latest notes surrounding the Pacific on Sunday evening:

  • ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi reports (via Twitter) that Howard is still expected to start on opening night for the Lakers, as well as play in at least one preseason game.
  • According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut, and Draymond Green are being held out of the Warriors' preseason opener. No word on implications for any of their availability at the start of the regular season.

Warriors Agree To Terms With Draymond Green

The Warriors and Draymond Green have agreed to terms on a contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski tweets that Green's deal will be worth $2.6MM over three years, with a team option for year three. $250K of $900K in that third season will be guaranteed, while presumably each of the first two years are fully guaranteed (Twitter link).

Because the Warriors are signing Green for more than the rookie minimum, they figure to be using a portion of their mid-level exception to consummate the deal. If Golden State can also ink Carl Landry to a contract, the veteran forward will likely get most of the rest of the team's MLE.

Green, the 35th overall pick in June's draft, averaged 16.2 points and 10.6 rebounds in his senior year at Michigan State. The 6'8" forward was viewed as a probable late-first-round pick, so it's not surprising that he'll earn a little more than the rookie minimum with the Warriors.

Odds & Ends: Humphries, Pistons, Warriors, Celtics

Rick Bonnell from the Charlotte Observer tweets that the Nets may have offered Kris Humphries either a two-year, $20MM or a three-year, $26MM contract. 

As summer league kicks off tonight in Las Vegas, here's some more news from around the league. 

Read more

Draft Rumors: Tuesday

With two days remaining until the 2012 draft, we've seen a first-round pick change hands for the first time this offseason, as the Timberwolves agreed to send the 18th overall pick to Houston in exchange for Chase Budinger and the rights to Lior Eliyahu. The general consensus is that the move is the precursor to a bigger deal for the Rockets, and Houston isn't the only team rumored to be shopping picks. Here are today's draft-related rumors, with the newest updates added to the top of the page throughout the day….

  • Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted that the Bucks are looking to move into the top 10, and are supposedly targeting John Henson
  • Kennedy says that the Rockets are still trying to acquire another first round pick, most recently in discussions with the Hornets about the 10th pick before talks broke down (Twitter link). He also tweeted that the Lakers and Nets are both looking to acquire a first rounder.  

Read more

Draft Updates: Tuesday

In case you missed it yesterday, we published our first 2012 mock draft. Be sure to check out our projected first round and jump into the comments section to tell us which choices you like or dislike. In the meantime, we'll continue tracking the latest draft news and rumors. Tuesday's updates can be found right here, with the newest items added up top throughout the day….

  • John Reid of The Times Picayune writes that the Hornets will likely keep their 10th pick. GM Dell Demps says that he hasn't received any offers warranting any serious consideration to trade the pick and believes that they can come away with a good player at that slot.
  • Jared Sullinger will work out for the Cavaliers on Friday, writes Bob Finnan of The News-HeraldFab Melo is also scheduled for a workout this week and could join Sullinger.

Read more