Steve Ballmer Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Jordan, World Peace, Barnes

August 26th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The violation of NBA rules against third-party endorsement offers in a pitch the Clippers made to DeAndre Jordan this summer was unintentional, owner Steve Ballmer wrote in an internal memo he sent to members of the Clippers organization that Dan Woike of the Orange County Register obtained. The league fined the Clippers $250K, reportedly for offering Jordan a endorsement deal with Lexus that would pay the center $200K annually.

“As I shared with everyone on day one of purchasing the Team, being part of the Clippers family means operating with the highest integrity,” Ballmer wrote in part. “We believed we were doing this the right way, and any circumvention was inadvertent. In our effort to support our players in every way possible, we as an organization must be diligent in complying with the CBA.”

See more from around the Pacific Division:

Metta World Peace told TMZ Sports that he’s unaware if the Lakers are thinking about signing him, as reports indicate. The 15-year NBA veteran who turns 36 in November nonetheless expressed interest in joining the team.
The four-year, $52MM extension deal Michael Kidd-Gilchrist reportedly has with the Hornets will affect extension negotiations between the Warriors and Harrison Barnes, opines Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Kidd-Gilchrist has a decent chance to prove more valuable than Barnes in the long run, but the playoff success and durability of Barnes leads Kawakami to second the belief of TNT’s David Aldridge that Barnes and agent Jeff Wechsler will target salaries of at least $15MM (Twitter link). Kawakami suggests $14MM a year as a settling point but believes the threat of a $17-18MM offer sheet from another team looms if the Warriors let him enter restricted free agency next summer.
Kawakami suggests in the same piece that market price for Festus Ezeli would be between $9-11MM. GM Bob Myers recently told Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com that the Warriors would consider the idea of an extension for the backup center, and the team would indeed sign Ezeli to an extension if he’s willing to do so at an agreeable price, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported this week.

Pacific Notes: Jordan, Thompson, Ballmer

October 30th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DeAndre Jordan is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, but his comments to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register make it clear that he enjoys playing for coach Doc Rivers, who doubles as president of basketball operations for the Clippers. “Doc, and he knows this, has changed my career from whatever it was to whatever it is now and into whatever it’s going to be,” Jordan said. “I owe him a lot. He gave me a chance without even knowing me as a person or as a player to be on this team and to be a piece. I feel like I owe him a lot for believing in me before we even had one practice or one conversation.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors GM Bob Myers expects negotiations to continue into the season regarding Klay Thompson‘s extension, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. With the regular season getting underway Tuesday night, it is to be assumed that Myers was referring to the talks continuing from then up until the 11pm deadline this Friday.
For his part, Thompson is also willing to continue negotiating with the Warriors up until the deadline, tweets Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group. Klay Thompson has expressed a preference for the security of an extension rather than a one-year deal next summer that would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency in 2016.
Steve Ballmer has been a breath of fresh air for the Clippers organization in the wake of this summer’s Donald Sterling scandal that led to the former owner’s ouster, as Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes in his profile of the franchise’s new owner.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Thomas, Clippers

October 29th, 2014 at 1:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Workers broke ground today on a new arena for the Kings that’s set to open in two years, the team confirms via press release. It’s the latest in a long line of steps toward a new building that the NBA has mandated must take place in a timely fashion in advance of a 2017 deadline for completion. The league would have the power to take control of the team and move it to another city if the Kings either miss the deadline or don’t show sufficient progress, but it seems the franchise is well on its way to opening the doors of its new home in Sacramento. There’s more on the Kings amid our latest look around the Pacific Division:

The Kings are indeed looking for help on the wing even though they’re not ready to sign Terrence Williams at this point, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). Williams, a four-year NBA veteran, reportedly worked out for Sacramento recently, and the Kings, who have an open roster spot, are looking for experience, Jones says.
New Suns guard Isaiah Thomas confirms that he had interest in signing with the Lakers this summer, adding that the interest was mutual, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “First off, it’s the Los Angeles Lakers. Who wouldn’t want to play for them? Second off, I felt like they always needed a point guard — a small guard like myself,” Thomas said. “I always envisioned myself playing with the Lakers, but like you said, they were waiting on Carmelo [Anthony] and other moves. The Suns came out of nowhere and showed a lot of interest, and I fell in love with them.”
A report early in free agency indicated that the Lakers, Heat and Pistons were Thomas’ preferred teams, and he says to Lowe that all three, as well as the Mavs, showed interest, noting that Miami’s pursuit took place before LeBron James left, as Lowe passes along in the same piece.
Steve Ballmer can write off about half of the $2 billion he paid to buy the Clippers as he files his federal taxes over the next 15 years, report Arash Massoudi and Alan Livsey of the Financial Times (hat tip to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News).

Western Notes: Ballmer, Rockets, Canaan, Afflalo

October 26th, 2014 at 10:33am CST by ChrisCrouse

Steve Ballmer brings enthusiasm and loyalty to the Clippers as their new owner, writes James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. Ballmer wants to be the NBA version of the Seattle Seahawks, whose fans are widely known as the 12th man for being the most passionate in the NFL. “We want better energy. I do. The players do. Doc [Rivers] does. Everybody does,” Ballmer said. “More. Better. We would love to be known for the most energetic fans in the NBA.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Isaiah Canaan, who’s so far secured a roster spot with his preseason play, hopes his hard work translates into playing time in the regular season for the Rockets, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “I have to be strong in practice so that the coaches will feel like they can trust me out there,” Canaan said. “And when I get out there, I need to do my best, work hard and prove that I belong on the floor.”
The return of Arron Afflalo brings major changes to the guard rotation in Denver, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Because of his improved game, Dempsey notes, Afflalo will surely take on a bigger role with the Nuggets than he had in his first stint with the team two years ago.
A lack of depth on the bench could be the Rockets‘ Achilles heel, opines Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. In his season preview, Amico wonders whether there is talent on the roster to fill the void left by the departures of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik.

And-Ones: Moon, Griffin, Jazz, Kerr

October 16th, 2014 at 10:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Former NBA player and Harlem Globetrotter Jamario Moon returns to the D-League this season and is confident in his ability to play in the NBA again, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. “I’m at the point now where I want to show people that I can still play the game, even at 34 years old. I’m a freak of nature, and I’m a better player now. I’ve always kept myself in good physical condition, but I hit the weights harder than I ever have before this last summer. I’m ready.” Moon said.

Here’s more from around the Association:

Shooters might be valued more now by NBA teams than ever, argues Bruce Ely of The Oregonian. Ely identifies those who can connect from beyond the three-point line as the most valued player assets and notes that more than 86% of those who played in the league attempted at least one three-pointer last season.
Blake Griffin chronicles his time playing for Donald Sterling and shares his thoughts on playing for new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer in a piece for The Players’ Tribune. Griffin applauds the new owner’s management style, “Ballmer wants to win no matter the cost. Donald Sterling didn’t care if we won — at least if it meant he had to spend money.”
Jazz players and coaches believe the team’s chemistry has improved, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Guard Trey Burke sees the teams chemistry as a foundation. “We’ve got a lot of guys on this team who are easy to get along with and hold each other accountable, so we’ll just continue to build from here,’’ said Burke.
New Warriors coach Steve Kerr badly wanted to draft Stephen Curry when he was the GM of the Suns back in 2009, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Cooper adds that the Suns had internal conversations about trading Amar’e Stoudemire for the point guard but without Stoudemire showing a strong likelihood of re-signing with the Warriors, Golden State was not going to pull the trigger on the trade.

And-Ones: Sixers, Bender, Ballmer

October 3rd, 2014 at 9:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers managing owner Josh Harris believes the franchise has made remarkable strides in the 17 months since Sam Hinkie was hired as GM, Max Rappaport of NBA.com reports. “I think people see the early returns,” said Harris. “Certainly, we have a lot of cap room, we have two first-round picks next year, we have a slew of seconds, we have a number of players that we have the rights to in Europe, we have possibly two big men between Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel that will be franchise players for us over a long, long time, and we have the Rookie of the Year.”

Here’s more from around the league:

16-year-old Croatian forward Dragan Bender is turning heads over in the Israeli league, writes David Pick of Eurobasket. Pro scouts watching Bender play say his best-case NBA scenario would be to equal Andrei Kirilenko‘s numbers, while the worst-case would place him in Jan Vesely territory. Bender is currently projected by DraftExpress to be selected thirteenth in the 2016 NBA draft.
Steve Ballmer acknowledged a passing interest in buying the Bucks earlier this year and wonders if the NBA would have allowed him and Chris Hansen to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle if they had put up more money in a one-on-one with USA Today’s Sam Amick. The new Clippers owner also said that a long-term extension for Doc Rivers “seemed absolutely right to me” based on Rivers’ track record and recommendations from others. Ballmer had more to say to Amick for another piece that we passed along earlier.
Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders shares his predictions on which players will have breakout seasons during the 2014/15 campaign. Topping the list are Jonas Valanciunas, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Steven Adams.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Gee, Mills, Nedovic, Ballmer

October 3rd, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The players union encourages agents to negotiate contract guarantee dates into non-guaranteed deals for their clients in part to help ward off what happened to Alonzo Gee this summer, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Teams played hot potato with Gee’s contract, which was to remain non-guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date in January, and the Kings waived him late last month, in time for him to receive no more than another non-guaranteed pact for the minimum salary with the Nuggets. Gee’s agent Happy Walters didn’t represent the small forward when he signed the contract that teams passed around via trade this summer, and vows to Lowe that he’ll never let a player agree to a non-guaranteed deal without a guarantee date, though it’s unclear what guarantee dates, if any, are involved in Gee’s arrangement with Denver. While we wait to see how that dynamic plays out around the league, and whether Gee can crack the Nuggets opening-night roster, here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Hornets planned to pursue Patrick Mills last summer but backed off when he was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff just as free agency was beginning, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Mills re-signed with the Spurs for three years and $11MM.
Agent Misko Raznatovic is skeptical that the Warriors are giving a fair shot to Nemanja Nedovic, the 30th overall pick in 2013, as Raznatovic tells Saša Ozmo of the Serbian website B92 (Ozmo provides an English translation on TwitLonger). “I don’t know if he’s going to get a proper chance,” Raznatovic said. “They’re promising he will, but we’ll see, he’s had a lot of injuries. I hope everything is going to be all right.” A decision on Nedovic’s third-year team option is due by October 31st.
New Clippers owner Steve Ballmer insists he won’t micromanage coach/executive Doc Rivers as he runs the basketball operations for the team and doesn’t agree with the notion that $2 billion was too much to pay for the team, as Ballmer tells USA Today’s Sam Amick. Ballmer also says to Amick that he intends to own the team “until essentially I die.”

Clippers Rumors: Rivers, Sterling, Raduljica

August 29th, 2014 at 1:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers have pulled off a trade, reached a new deal with coach/executive Doc Rivers, and waived two players, and they reportedly met with Ekpe Udoh as they eye fellow free agent Chris Douglas-Roberts. That’s all within the space of the last three days. There’s a long holiday weekend ahead for some, but the Clippers certainly aren’t easing into it. Here’s the latest on the team:

Few knock the coaching credentials of Rivers, but his roster-building skills as an executive are another matter. Plenty of executives around the league question Rivers’ acquisition of Jared Dudley last year and his surrender of a first-round pick in the deal to rid the Clippers of Dudley this week, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher writes. “If [former Timberwolves GM] David Kahn made those deals, they’d have been burning crosses on his lawn,” one NBA executive told Bucher.
Shelly Sterling didn’t know who Steve Ballmer was when he called her this spring to express interest in buying the Clippers, as she tells Linda Deutsch of The Associated Press. Still, she negotiated him up from an initial offer of $1.9 billion to the $2 billion price he wound up paying and obtained a promise from Ballmer that he would never move the team to Seattle, as Deutsch details.
Rival teams called the Bucks to talk about trading for Miroslav Raduljica last season, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. That seems to suggest there will be NBA suitors for the center whose three-day tenure with the Clippers just ended, though that’s just my speculation.

Fallout From Clippers Ownership Transfer

August 13th, 2014 at 6:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Donald Sterling had been the NBA’s longest-tenured owner, but when Steve Ballmer closed on his purchase of the Clippers today, Sterling’s reign came to an end. We’ll round up the fallout from the ownership change here, with any additional updates on top:

As expected, a court of appeals has denied Donald Sterling’s final maneuver to prevent the sale of the Clippers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
While Sterling has previously vowed to sue the league for the rest of his life, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets that the Clippers are in no danger of ever returning to the hands of their disgraced former owner.

Earlier updates:

Attorneys for Donald Sterling asked an appellate court for an immediate stay and an order that would halt or unwind the sale, report Nathan Fenno and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. Still, other lawyers familiar with petitions like that believe there’s little chance the effort will bear fruit, Fenno and Rainey add.
Donald Sterling didn’t consent to the sale, so that’s why 10% of the team won’t be spun off into a charitable foundation in which Shelly Sterling would be heavily involved, as Fenno and Rainey write in the same piece.
Ballmer is purchasing 100% of the team, so that means Shelly Sterling didn’t exercise her option to spin a stake of up to 10% of the franchise into a charitable foundation, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
The NBA has filed a countersuit in federal court against Sterling and the Sterling family trust in response to his antitrust suit against the league and commissioner Adam Silver, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The league is seeking compensation for damages and enforcement of an agreement it claims Sterling signed in 2005 indemnifying the league against litigation and monetary loss, as Fenno explains. Shelly Sterling agreed this May to indemnify the NBA for costs and litigation relating to the sale of the team to Ballmer.
Ballmer said he feels his record $2 billion investment in the Clippers carries much less risk than he took on in his business dealings, making him comfortable with the purchase, as he tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitlonger link).
Ballmer, who was a part of Seattle’s bid to wrest the Kings from Sacramento last year, also reiterated his long-held stance against moving the Clippers out of Los Angeles, as Shelburne notes in another Twitlonger dispatch.

Pacific Rumors: Bledsoe, Tucker, Curry, Ballmer

August 12th, 2014 at 10:15pm CST by Charlie Adams

Although Steph Curry is heading into just the second season of a four-year, $44MM contract he signed with the Warriors, the All-star guard wouldn’t totally rule out making a jump to play for the Hornets one day when he spoke on The Dan Patrick Show, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group transcribes.

“I’ve always had thoughts about playing at home, what it would be like,” said Curry, who was raised in Charlotte. “My dad played there for 10 years… I love the Bay Area and where we are as a team trying to win a championship, and that’s what it’s all about. Of course everybody dreams about or thinks about what it’s going to be like to play at home. Obviously if that opportunity comes along it’s a different discussion.”

Here’s more insight from Curry, as well as a look at the latest from out west in tonight’s roundup of the NBA’s Pacific Division:

The Warriors refused to include Klay Thompson in negotiations for Kevin Love, and Curry doesn’t doubt the team’s judgement, as Leung details in a separate piece. “I think they made the right choice,” said Curry of the team’s decision to retain his fellow Splash Brother, “Me and him in the backcourt and core that we have, we’ve got a legit shot at winning the championship next year, and I’m ready to take that on.”
Eric Bledsoe is strongly considering taking the Suns‘ qualifying offer so he can enter unrestricted free agency next summer, hears Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, echoing a report from Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Greg Monroe is set to sign the Pistons’ qualifying offer, and Zillgitt explains why it might be wise for Bledsoe to follow suit.
P.J. Tucker‘s three-game NBA suspension for a DUI he got in May will cost the big man $155,455 in salary, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Tucker re-signed with the Suns on a three year deal worth $16.5MM in July.
It’s too early to discount the Suns’ playoff chances, says Greg Esposito of Suns.com, who looks over Phoenix’s roster and concludes that offseason acquisitions Isaiah Thomas and Anthony Tolliver will help further improve a Suns team that surprised pundits around the league last season with a 48-34 campaign.
Sam Amick of USA Today examines the path that led Steve Ballmer to become the new Clippers owner. Ballmer, a lifelong basketball fan, has drawn positive feedback from Los Angeles players and coaches, as Amick passes along.