Jack Cooley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: LeBron, Hollins, T’Wolves, Klimenko

May 13th, 2014 at 6:20pm CST by Ryan Raroque

During an interview on Jim Rome on Showtime, NBPA vice president Roger Mason said that the players would boycott next season if Donald Sterling is still in place, adding that he had spoken about it with Heat superstar LeBron James:

“If it’s not handled (by) the start of next season, I don’t see how we’re playing basketball…Leaders of the teams, they’re all saying the same thing, ‘If this man is still in place, we (are not) playing’…LeBron and I talked about it…He (isn’t) playing if Sterling is still an owner.” (interview transcribed by James Herbert of CBS Sports).

Here are some more noteworthy links to pass along this evening:

With Stan Van Gundy and Steve Kerr looking like distinct possibilities for the Warriors’ head coaching position, the team should shift their focus toward Lionel Hollins, says Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. As we noted a few days ago, Hollins is scheduled to interview with Golden State on Thursday.
The Warriors are reportedly seeking an offensive-minded coach, and although Hollins’ defense-first mentality wouldn’t make him the most ideal fit for the job, Thompson hears that Hollins would look to bring on a respected offensive mind as one of his assistants, and would likely consider former Kings coach Paul Westphal for that particular position.
The Timberwolves haven’t had any contact with Kerr and don’t seem to be considering him for their head coaching opening, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
Agent Bill McCandless says that draft prospect Artem Klimenko has reached a buyout agreement with Avtodor of the Russian Super League. The 7’1 center is scheduled to travel to the U.S. next week to work out for six to eight teams before the start of Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy (Twitter links via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype).
2013 summer league standout Jack Cooley will participate in mini-camp workouts with the Spurs, Nets, Cavaliers, and Jazz, says RealGM’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Elston Turner has received an invite to work out for the Warriors in June and will participate in the upcoming NBA Summer League, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (H/T to Il Messagero).
Suns guard Archie Goodwin was arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in his hometown of Little Rock, according to a report from the Associated Press. Goodwin recently completed his rookie season in Phoenix and will be due in court on June 3.

Odds & Ends: Warriors, Cooley, CBA, Shengelia

August 16th, 2013 at 9:53pm CST by Luke Adams

On a night when Chris Hansen, the leader of the investment group who missed out on the Kings earlier this year, was making headlines, new Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive was also peripherally in the news. Ranadive's former minority stake in the Warriors has been purchased by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens, according to an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com). Darren Rovell of ESPN.com adds that Stevens paid for his share based on a franchise valuation of $800MM, an impressive figure considering the team was sold for $450MM less than three years ago.

After turning down several camp invites from NBA teams, undrafted free agent Jack Cooley reached an agreement to sign with Turkish team Trabzonspor, as we heard last weekend. That deal became official today, the team announced (translation via Sportando).
Larry Coon's latest chat at HoopsWorld addresses a number of interesting CBA issues, including why teams keep the cap holds of retired players on their books, and why the salary cap for 2014/15 is expected to increase noticeably.
A Spanish club has interest in prying Tornike Shengelia away from the Nets, according to a Gigantes del Basket report (translation via HoopsHype).
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News identifies a handful of trade candidates worth keeping an eye on in the coming months.

International Notes: McGrady, Cooley, Snaer

August 11th, 2013 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA free agent market is drying up, leading many players to look for work overseas. Here's the latest from the international scene:

Tracy McGrady spent most of 2012/13 in China before hooking on with the Spurs in the final week of the regular season, and he's mulling whether to return to China or seek another NBA deal, according to the Global Times.
We heard yesterday that undrafted big man Jack Cooley spurned several training camp invitations from NBA teams for a deal with a Turkish team, and agent Adam Pensack let Shams Charania of RealGM.com know the identity of those clubs, some of whom offered partially guaranteed contracts. The Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs, Thunder, Nets, Heat, Lakers, Rockets, Pacers and Cavs all wanted to sign Cooley, Pensack says.
The Nets also invited Michael Snaer to camp, but Sportando's Enea Trapani hears that he'll sign with Enel Brindisi of Italy instead (Twitter link).
A report last month indicated that 42nd overall pick Pierre Jackson, whom the Pelicans acquired in the Jrue Holiday trade, would sign with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, and Jackson added confirmation via Instagram. Tony Parker owns a share of the French team.
Shooting guard Carlon Brown was in training camp with the Warriors last fall and spent the season in the D-League, but he'll be overseas for 2013/14, having signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel. The Israeli league announced the signing via Twitter (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).

Odds & Ends: Olympics, Bibby, Cooley, Saunders

August 10th, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The movement to prevent a 23-and-under age restriction for Olympic basketball may have taken a hit. The International Olympic Committee has rejected a proposal to increase the number of teams from 12 to 16 and shorten the length of the competition, USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reports. Many NBA and pro basketball executives around the world believe the Olympics place too much of a strain on their stars, and some of them thought the proposal would have been an acceptable compromise. While we wait to see if the 2016 games are the last to feature rosters reminiscent of the Dream Team, here's the latest from around the NBA:

Mike Bibby didn't play in the NBA this past season, but the 35-year-old is still trying to get back in the league, as he tells Alex Kramers of Kings.com. Whenever Bibby decides to stop playing, he says he'd like to get into coaching.
Undrafted center Jack Cooley reportedly drew training camp invitations from more than 10 NBA teams after a strong showing in summer league, but he's decided to sign with Trabzonspor of Turkey, a source tells Sportando's Emiliano Carchia. It's a "substantial" deal, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link).
Using the specter of a D-League assignment as a way to threaten first-round pick Shabazz Muhammad into proper behavior demonstrates how Wolves executive Flip Saunders holds an unsophisticated view of the D-League, opines Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com examines how the Lakers can be better in 2013/14 than they were last season, even after losing Dwight Howard.

Odds & Ends: Childress, Lakers, Cooley, NBPA

July 29th, 2013 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are both considered decent bets to hit free agency next summer, if only to re-sign new long-term deals with their current teams. However, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld notes, both players would have the chance to hit the market in the summer of 2015 as well, if they opted in for 2014/15. With Dwyane Wade's long-term health uncertain, and the Knicks' books looking fairly empty beyond '15, it may benefit both LeBron and Carmelo to hold off on their free agent decisions for an additional year, rather than locking themselves into new long-term contracts next summer. Here's more from around the NBA on a Monday:

Josh Childress turned down a "lucrative offer" from Greek powerhouse Olympiacos earlier this offseason in hopes of securing a deal with an NBA team instead, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. According to Charania, Childress is receiving interest from three teams on a potential minimum-salary contract.
The Lakers have officially hired a pair of assistant coaches, Kurt Rambis and Johnny Davis, the team announced today in a press release.
Jack Cooley continues to weigh his options, and it sounds like he has plenty of them. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the former Notre Dame big man has received training camp invites from more than 10 NBA teams, and has also fielded offers from clubs overseas.
Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets that people around the NBA have been talking for months as if it's a foregone conclusion that former MSG president Steve Mills will eventually be named the new executive director of the players' union.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside speaks to Damion James about the D-League All-Star's quest for an NBA roster spot.
In this week's edition of his Morning Tip column at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge looks at Team USA, Ian Clark, and the possibility of HGH testing.

Odds & Ends: Kobe, Pekovic, Goudelock, Cooley

July 27th, 2013 at 12:16pm CST by Zachary Links

While this season is pretty much a write-off for the Lakers, 2014 is the dream season for Kobe Bryant & Co., write Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Much of what they can do, however, depends on the type of sacrifice that Kobe is willing to make. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan made financial sacrifices in recent years and it remains to be seen whether Bryant is willing to do the same in order to help the Lakers build the best team possible. The L.A. Times duo has a very out of the box (and illegal) idea for Bryant: sign for the veteran's minimum in 2014/15 and ink a $19.5MM deal with the Lakers (who hold his Bird Rights) in the following year. Here's more from around the Association..

Wolves owner Glen Taylor continues to say that he is confident a new deal with restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic will be reached, tweets Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press.
Terms of Andrew Goudelock's deal with Russia's BC UNICS Kazan were not disclosed, but the offer is worth “considerably more” than his NBA minimum of about $1MM, a source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Jack Cooley is weighing offers from "a half dozen" teams after strong play in summer league, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter). Cooley averaged 15 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG for the Grizzlies' summer league squad.
The Nets' luxury tax penalties for next season bring their total monetary commitment for 2013/14 to just over $189MM, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. The Nets added to their total after signing Alan Anderson.

Draft Workout Updates: Friday

June 14th, 2013 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2013 draft less than two weeks away, the majority of the NBA's teams are continuing to bring in prospects to get a closer look at them. Here are the latest updates on draft workouts:

In addition to Michael Carter-Williams, who we heard about yesterday, Trey Burke and Alex Len also participated in the Pelicans' first draft workout today, tweets Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.
The Pistons won't start working out players for the No. 8 pick until next week, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, who tweets that Mason Plumlee will work out for the club next Friday.
The six players scheduled to work out for the Nets on Monday include C.J. Leslie and Tony Mitchell, according to a team release.
Ray McCallum, Brandon Paul, Tony Snell, Nate Wolters, Jack Cooley, and Zeke Marshall worked out for the Trail Blazers today, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves will work out six players on Sunday, according to the team's PR Twitter account: Shabazz Muhammad, Archie Goodwin, Rodney Williams, James Ennis, Kyle Barone, and Jamelle Hagins (Twitter links).
Brandon Davies, Mike Muscala, Elijah Johnson, B.J. Young, Grant Jerrett, and Colton Iverson worked out for the Clippers today, tweets Clips reporter Madelyn Burke.
Jerrett and Davies are also among the players who will work out for the Jazz tomorrow, along with Snell, Gorgui Dieng, Jamaal Franklin, Isaiah Canaan, and Kelly Olynyk, among others (link via Utah's official site).

Draft Workout Updates: Thursday

June 6th, 2013 at 9:37pm CST by Luke Adams

We're now just three weeks away from the 2013 draft, so teams are busy bringing in prospects to meet with them and work them out, while we do our best to keep tabs on as many of those workouts as we can. Here's the latest:

Tom Housenick of The Morning Call reported that C.J. McCollum will visit Portland at some point for a workout before June 20th.
Chris Haynes of CSNNW tweets that Trevor Mbakwe will visit the Trail Blazers tomorrow.
The Kings released a list of players who have worked out for them via their team website, noting that guards Will Cherry, Travis Releford, Brandon Triche, forward Chris Evans, and centers Rudy Gobert and Aziz N'Diaye took part in workouts this past Monday. Former Michigan star Trey Burke is scheduled to come in tomorrow.
The Wizards plan to bring in C.J. Aiken, Junior Cadougan, Ella Ellis, Lamont Jones, A.J. Matthews, and Mike Muscala in for Friday workouts, as per the team's official website.
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets that Steven Adams, Jack Cooley, Richard Howell, Kenny Kadji, Dennis Schroeder, and Peyton Siva are all scheduled for a pre-draft workout with the Jazz on Friday.

Earlier updates:

Mason Plumlee, Shabazz Muhammad, Kelly Olynyk, Norvel Pelle, and Scott Wood worked out for the Sixers today, tweets Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Plumlee will also work out for the Trail Blazers on June 19th and for the Pistons on June 21st, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that Otto Porter will work out for the Wizards on June 14th.
The Timberwolves expect to bring in C.J. McCollum for a workout, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter).
Working out for the Suns today, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter): McCollum, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Shane Larkin, Zeke Marshall, and Korie Lucious.
Gorgui Dieng's agent confirms that his client will work out for both the Nets and Knicks, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com details.
The Grizzlies announced in a press release that James Southerland, Will Clyburn, B.J. Young, Dewayne Dedmon, Colton Iverson, and Sherwood Brown will work out for the club tomorrow.
The Knicks will work out the following prospects tomorrow, per the team's Twitter feed: Ricky Ledo, Tahj Tate, Adonis Thomas, Christian Watford, Tony Mitchell, and Grant Jerrett.
Jeff Withey worked out for the Bulls yesterday, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter).

Draft Notes: McLemore, Magic, Saric, Bennett

June 5th, 2013 at 7:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Mannix of SI.com hands out his draft superlatives, with an assist from scouts and executives. Anthony Bennett has the greatest superstar potential, Mannix writes, while Victor Oladipo could be the most resounding bust. It'll be a while before we can definitively say whether Mannix was correct on either account, but much more becomes clear with each passing day until June 27th. After passing along the latest this morning, we'll follow with with an evening draft roundup:

Ben McLemore has reportedly slipped behind Victor Oladipo in the eyes of the Magic, but Orlando will have McLemore in for a workout June 11th, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. (Twitter links). Keith Clanton, Erik Murphy, Michael Snaer and Kenny Boynton, all products of Florida colleges, are auditioning for the Magic either today or tomorrow, Robbins adds.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com chatted with readers, revealing that top-level scouts believe Dario Saric to be on par with Otto Porter and that the Wizards and Bobcats are especially high on Anthony Bennett.
Korie Lucious worked out for the Bucks today and did so for the Pistons earlier this week, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. D.J. Stephens, another participant in today's Bucks workout, has also drawn interest from the Pistons and Grizzlies.
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News had the news on six players working out for the Jazz today, and he tweets word of six more set to hit Utah on Thursday: Glen Rice Jr.,Vander Blue, Jack Cooley, Solomon Hill, Pierre Jackson and Trevor Mbakwe.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic adds second-round hopefuls E.J. Singler and Jared Berggren to the list of players who worked out for the Suns today (Twitter link).
B.J. Young, Brandon Paul, Reggie Bullock, Romero Osby, Kenny Kadji and James Ennis are among the prospects working out Thursday for the Knicks, the team announced via Twitter.
Ennis, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, Mike Muscala, Cody Zeller, Jeff Withey, Shabazz Muhammad, Rodney Williams, Reggie Bullock, Kelly Olynyk and Tony Snell will all audition for Minnesota in the coming weeks, Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders tweets. He also lists "Thomas," likely in reference to Deshaun Thomas or Adonis Thomas.
The Wizards announced they'll put Deshaun Thomas, Keion Bell, Laurence Bowers, D.J. Seeley, James Southerland and Khalif Wyatt through a workout tomorrow.

Draft Updates: Karasev, Saric, Workouts

June 5th, 2013 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

With two teams still standing in the 2013 NBA playoffs, most of the Association's franchises have turned their attention to this month's draft. We're probably still a week or two away from seeing any draft picks change hands via trades, but prospects continue to jockey for draft position, working out for teams, or perhaps pulling out of workouts in the case of at least one international prospect. Here are Wednesday's latest draft-related items:

Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow and plans to remain in Russia until the draft, fueling speculation that he has been given a first-round promise, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. With agents Andy Miller and Justin Zanik telling teams their client won't be available for predraft workouts, Wojnarowski think Karasev probably received a guarantee from a team between Nos. 14 and 24.
Appearing on the Taking the Charge podcast, Croatian forward Dario Saric said he still may withdraw his name from this year's draft, though he expects to be selected in the first round. If he stays in the draft and is selected, he still plans to play in Europe for at least one more year, according to HeinNews.com.
The Suns have yet to confirm the participants of today's workouts, but it appears they've brought in a star-studded group that includes Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Rudy Gobert, and Shabazz Muhammad, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic outlines.
It's unclear where Muhammad will land in the draft, since his stock seems to be on the decline, says Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Peyton Silva, Archie Goodwin, and Scootie Randall worked out for the Sixers on Tuesday, according to John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. None of those prospects are likely to land in the lottery, so Philadelphia appears to be weighing its second-round options.
Working out for the Jazz today, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: Shane Larkin, Tony Mitchell, Reggie Bullock, Lorenzo Brown, Amath M'Baye, and Malik Story.
The Bucks officially announced (via Twitter) that they'll be working out the following prospects today: Trent Lockett, D.J. Stephens, Dewayne Dedmon, Jack Cooley, Korie Lucious, and D.J. Seeley.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com and Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe have the details on yesterday's Celtics workout, which included Mason Plumlee, Reggie Johnson, Ian Clark, and Jonathan Lee. It was the second workout with the C's for Lee.