Pau Gasol Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pau Gasol Eyes Grizzlies, Bulls, Spurs, Lakers

May 9th, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pau Gasol spoke of highly of the Grizzlies and hinted at interest at the Bulls and Spurs as well as a return to the Lakers in a Spanish-language video on Marca.com, as James Barrigan of the Los Angeles Times notes. The soon-to-be free agent big man said it’s difficult for him to envision signing with the Clippers, given their proximity to and rivalry with the Lakers, for whom Gasol has played the past six and a half seasons. Gasol nonetheless praised Clippers guard Chris Paul and said that he likes to play with the league’s best, naming LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony in addition to Paul.

Gasol said in December that the Grizzlies would be an “appealing” option given the presence of his brother, Marc Gasol, and he reiterated those comments to Marca.com, also citing the strength of the Memphis team that won 50 games this past season. The Grizzlies want to first see what happens with Zach Randolph, who has a nearly $17MM player option, but they still seem to have designs on pursuing Pau Gasol, who turns 34 in the summer. The Bulls reportedly have interest, too, as do the Cavs and Bobcats. There have been no indications that the Spurs want to go after him, but they’d certainly fit Gasol’s desire to play for a winner, and Gasol praised the team and Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich in his latest remarks.

The Arn Tellem client has had a checkered relationship with the Lakers in recent months, recently saying the team would have to make major changes if he’s to re-sign. He seemed to soften his stance in the wake of the resignation of Mike D’Antoni, with whom he’d feuded. Gasol said this week that he still considered himself a Laker, though he said the absence of D’Antoni would not be the determining factor in his decision whether to leave the club in free agency.

Gasol said in the Marca video that he hopes the Lakers will make him an offer strong enough for him to consider. He’ll surely have to take a pay cut from this season’s salary, which exceeded $19MM, but he reportedly has a decent chance to receive an offer worth $10MM a year.

Lakers Rumors: Gasol, D’Antoni, Ollie

May 5th, 2014 at 10:03pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like Lakers fans hoping for a splashy coaching hire might just get their wish. Los Angeles brass reportedly wants to interview North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, who was on their wishlist ten years ago after Phil Jackson‘s first departure. The latest out of L.A..

Pau Gasol butted heads with Mike D’Antoni quite a bit over the last two years, but it sounds like the coach’s departure won’t guarantee his return to the Lakers. “Mike leaving was not the be-all and end-all, but it is another factor,” Gasol told Spanish site Marca.com (h/t to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News). “What is certain is that we are without a coach and I say ‘we’ because I’m still thinking of myself as a Lakers player.”
Contrary to what has been reported by some, Medina hears (on Twitter) that the Lakers have yet to contact Kevin Ollie and no meeting has been planned yet.
Medina runs down five qualities that the Lakers’ next head coach will need to have. First and foremost, the Lakers’ next coach will need to figure out how to bolster the club’s defense. There’s no question that defense took a backseat in L.A. during D’Antoni’s tenure. The Lakers ranked near the bottom in nearly every defensive category last season, including 29th in total team defense at 109.2 points allowed per game.

Lawrence On D’Antoni, Gasol, Calipari, Sterling

May 3rd, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mike D’Antoni walked away from the Lakers due in part because the team is likely to attempt to re-sign Pau Gasol this summer, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. A source tells Lawrence that D’Antoni knew that Gasol and Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play for him, so he made the decision to resign from the team on Wednesday. Let’s have a look at some more interesting notes from Lawrence’s piece:

Kurt Rambis and Byron Scott are two of the most viable candidates for the Lakers’ coaching job, hears Lawrence. We reported on Thursday that both Rambis and Scott are set to interview with the team.
Despite rumored interest, Lawrence says there’s no chance John Calipari will become the next head coach for the Lakers. The team reportedly has “zero interest” in hiring Calipari.
Stan Van Gundy was contacted about taking over the head coaching role for the Pistons, but talks didn’t get far because he wanted some level of control over the team’s personnel decisions, writes Lawrence.
Lawrence hears that once Adam Silver meets with Donald Sterling, Silver is expected to tell Sterling that the league will battle him in court to see that the franchise is sold, no matter the resistance Sterling puts up.
Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston and director of player personnel Mark Warkentien aren’t worried about their jobs, since the duo has contracts with owner Jim Dolan and not the Knicks specifically, says Lawrence. As a result, the pair will be able to retain their positions, even if Phil Jackson doesn’t want them around.
The Cavs and Bucks still haven’t decided whether or not they’ll keep their general managers beyond this season, reveals Lawrence. Both Central Division teams failed to meet preseason expectations and finished well below .500.
It’s likely Mark Jackson will be fired by the Warriors, suggests Lawrence, who adds the coach might have a hard time landing another job with an NBA team because of the perceived dysfunction in Golden State’s organization during his tenure.
The Thunder could potentially see a first-round playoff exit tonight, but Lawrence says Scott Brooks‘ position is safe in Oklahoma City.

Bulls Likely To Attempt To Trade Carlos Boozer

April 30th, 2014 at 8:47am CST by Chuck Myron

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf opposes the idea of using the amnesty provision to remove Carlos Boozer from the team’s books, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, adding that sources tell him that Chicago will make a strong push to trade Boozer instead. Boozer is set to enter the final year of his contract next season, but his $16.8MM salary and his growing anger at coach Tom Thibodeau seem to make him a poor fit for the Bulls, who have their eyes set on a free agent prize this summer.

The Knicks are “undeniably nervous” about the chances that Carmelo Anthony will sign with the team this summer, Stein writes. The ESPN.com scribe echoes last week’s report from Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that put the Bulls at the front of the list of Anthony’s preferred suitors. Chicago would have to move a significant amount of salary off its payroll to make a competitive offer to Anthony, since the Bulls’ commitments for 2014/15 already exceed even the new, higher salary cap projection for next season. Amnestying Boozer would be the simplest way to wipe a hefty chunk of money off Chicago’s cap figure, but unless a team claims him off waivers, Reinsdorf would still have to pay Boozer his salary, even though it wouldn’t count toward the cap. That’s why Deveney says there’s never been a question that the Bulls would prefer to trade Boozer (Twitter link).

The amnesty period runs through July 16th, giving the Bulls ample time to find a trade partner before the option of circling back and amnestying Boozer anyway disappears. Still, it will probably be difficult to find a team willing to make a trade that would give Chicago cap flexibility in return for a 32-year-old Boozer who rarely played in the fourth quarter this season, particularly given his inflated salary. He may have some value as an expiring contract, but any team that acquires him via trade would be unable to amnesty him. A sign-and-trade with the Knicks involving ‘Melo is one possibility, but Knicks president Phil Jackson might be reluctant to play along and accommodate Chicago’s poaching of New York’s star.

If the Bulls do amnesty Boozer, Stein suggests there’s a chance that agent Rob Pelinka, the rep for Boozer as well as Kobe Bryant, will encourage the Lakers to submit an amnesty waiver claim. That would almost certainly be a partial waiver claim if it were to happen, meaning the Lakers would pay a portion of Boozer’s salary while Reinsdorf would be on the hook for the rest. Stein points to Chicago’s likely pursuit of Pau Gasol this summer, and perhaps there’s a sign-and-trade possibility to be had involving Gasol and Boozer, though that’s just my speculation.

Pau Gasol Calls For Major Changes To Lakers

April 23rd, 2014 at 4:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pau Gasol wrote on his personal blog that there would have to be significant changes to the Lakers if they’re to re-sign him this summer, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News translates from Gasol’s native Spanish. He said that Kobe Bryant is the only person who could make him stay, and reiterated his desire to be on a winning team.

Gasol once more expressed that he doesn’t feel coach Mike D’Antoni‘s style is a match for his, and the 33-year-old said he’s unsure if the team’s decision about whether to keep the coach for next season will influence his own choice on whether to come back. Gasol insisted that he won’t simply go to the highest bidder, and he said that he’s looking for a long-term deal.

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak heaped praise on the 7-footer last week, even making the specious claim that there will be no better free agents available this summer. Still, it appears likely that Gasol will have to take a significant cut in pay from the nearly $19.3MM he made this past season. The Bulls, Cavs, Bobcats are likely to pursue Gasol, and the Grizzlies will probably get involved, too, once Zach Randolph‘s potential free agency is resolved.

Western Notes: Spurs, Thunder, Bledsoe, Arthur

April 18th, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Spurs owner Peter Holt is stepping down as chairman of the NBA’s Board of Governors, notes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Timberwolves owner and former chairman Glen Taylor will replace him on an interim basis until a new chairman is selected in October (Twitter links)

Lakers Rumors: Gasol, D’Antoni, Kobe, Draft

April 18th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak spoke to reporters today after the team completed the last of its exit interviews with players, and he reiterated the team’s significant interest in re-signing Pau Gasol, as Mark T. Willard of ESPN LA 710 radio notes via Twitter.

“When you look at the free agents on the board, there’s probably not a player better than Pau Gasol,” he said.

That’s quite a stretch, as Gasol doesn’t appear in our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, which go 10 deep. We have plenty more on the Lakers, courtesy of Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, and Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. All links go to their Twitter accounts, unless otherwise noted.

Mike D’Antoni said he’s optimistic about returning, referencing his contract, which runs through 2015/16 with a team option in the final season. “Yeah. I’ve got one or two years left, depending on how you look at it. And I’m their coach,” D’Antoni said.
Kupchak praised the job D’Antoni did this past season. “Under the circumstances, I’m not sure anybody could have done a better job than he did,” Kupchak said. The GM said he’s not concerned about what Kobe Bryant thinks of the coach, and says Gasol’s opinion doesn’t have any bearing, either.
Gasol said yesterday that style of play will weigh into his decision about where to sign, indicating his frustration with D’Antoni’s small-ball attack, but the coach is confident that he and the big man can continue to work together.
Kupchak thinks Bryant could play beyond 2015/16, the final season of his two-year extension.
The Lakers reportedly plan to keep Kendall Marshall, whose contract is non-guaranteed for next season, and though it seems he’d probably make more on the open market, he said today he hopes the Lakers keep him. Kupchak said the team is “optimistic” about him going forward, but the GM nonetheless plans to address the point guard position in the offseason.
Kupchak doesn’t regret staying above the tax threshold this season.
The GM acknowledged that the Lakers might trade their first-round pick, though by rule they can’t do it until after the draft, since they’ve already traded their 2015 first-rounder.

Western Notes: Lakers, Faried, Corbin, Wolves

April 17th, 2014 at 9:43pm CST by Alex Lee

It is certainly no surprise that, after we rounded up the Lakers’ exit interviews earlier tonight, there is already more buzz coming out of Los Angeles. This is the Lakers, after all. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Pau Gasol would consider reuniting with former coach Phil Jackson, now running things with the Knicks. Citing a source, Spears hears that the interest is mutual.

Meanwhile, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report mentions both Van Gundys, Stan and Jeff, as names that stand out to him should the Lakers part ways with Mike D’Antoni. Within the same story, Ding breaks down the team’s draft lottery odds as well as maps out the complicated status of their draft picks beyond this season. Here is what else is going on in the Western Conference:

Earlier this month it was Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly that had some kind words to say about Kenneth Faried. On Thursday, it was Brian Shaw’s turn. As Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post writes, the head coach wants and expects to have Faried in a Nuggets uniform next season. Faried was frequently mentioned in trade rumors this season.
The fate of Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin will hang in the balance just a little longer, according to Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune, who writes that the team will take a “decompression period” before making a decision on whether or not to bring the coach back. Luhm reports that a decision could come down as soon as this weekend.
With Rick Adelman’s departure imminent, the Wolves head coaching wish list includes Tom Izzo, Fred Hoiberg and Stan Van Gundy, reports Spears in his final power rankings column.
It’s a small silver lining in an otherwise ugly season in Minnesota, but ESPN’s Marc Stein tweets that the Wolves can take solace in the fact that they refused to deal rookie Gorgui Dieng at the trade deadline before they knew what they had (Twitter links). The Louisville product was a bright spot in Minnesota down the stretch and figures to be a key contributor in his second season.

Lakers Notes: Young, Gasol, Farmar, Kelly & More

April 17th, 2014 at 7:35pm CST by Alex Lee

Well, it’s exit interview time for the NBA’s bottom half and there are few teams with as much uncertainty and flexibility as the Lakers. Beyond Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, there are no significant contracts on the books for Los Angeles in 2014/15. The Lakers must also determine if they want to keep head coach Mike D’Antoni, a decision ESPN’s Dave McMenamin examines. Let’s round up all the personnel buzz coming out of Lakerland:

Nick Young‘s upbeat attitude and surprising play were two of the few bright spots for the Lakers this season, writes Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Young expects to be a hot commodity this summer, indicating that general manager Mitch Kupchak already expressed interest in retaining his services (via Ding on Twitter). Meanwhile, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets that Young will prioritize both business and his affinity for L.A. when weighing his options.
A free agent for the first time, Pau Gasol insinuated on Thursday that he is not yet sure whether he wants to return to the Lakers, writes Medina. Among the priorities for his destination is going to a contender that plays to a “controlled pace,” Medina adds on Twitter.
Jordan Farmar is fairly confident he’ll return to L.A. next season, writes Medina. Farmar, symbolically sporting two championship rings, told reporters today that general manager Mitch Kupchak indicated the team’s interest in bringing him back will hinge on their options in the draft and free agency. Ding also tweets that Farmar would be content returning in a starting or reserve role.
After averaging 8 points in 22.2 minutes per game as a rookie this season, power forward Ryan Kelly believes the Lakers want him back for his sophomore campaign, tweets Medina. A second round pick last summer, Kelly said, “They drafted me and certainly want me back. I want to be here. But it’s a business.”
Jordan Hill said it is “tough to say” whether he returns to the Lakers, Medina writes. In a separate post, Medina also says that Chris Kaman would like to return to Los Angeles in the “right situation,” and adds on Twitter that Wesley Johnson thinks that there is some mutual interest in his return (Twitter links).

Western Rumors: Love, Gasol, Cousins

April 13th, 2014 at 10:49pm CST by Cray Allred

DeMarcus Cousins received his 16th technical of the season during tonight’s Kings/Wolves game. If the technical isn’t rescinded by the league, he will incur an automatic one-game suspension and have his season ended prematurely. Here’s more from out west:

A group of writers at Basketball Insiders looks at which marquee players could be traded this summer, including Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, and Carmelo Anthony.
Mitch Kupchak told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News that the Lakers are interested in re-signing Pau Gasol this summer. “There’s great interest in re-signing Pau back,” the Lakers GM said. “I don’t know why there would not be interest. He’s a Hall of Famer. But by virtue of being a free agent, he’s in the market place. By being in the market place, we have to see how things play out.”
For his part, Gasol told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com he’s excited about meeting with multiple teams when he becomes a free agent, including the Lakers (Twitter link).