Xavier Henry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers To Sign Earl Clark

November 29th, 2014 at 9:42am CST by Eddie Scarito

SATURDAY, 9:42am: Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has filed for a disabled player exception for Henry, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets. Los Angeles has also filed for a hardship exception that would allow the team to temporarily add a 16th player until Kelly returns from his hamstring injury, Medina adds. This could indicate that the Lakers are holding off on signing Clark until they are granted that hardship exception, and Henry might not necessarily be waived to accommodate the addition of Clark, though that is just my speculation.

WEDNESDAY, 3:08pm: The Lakers will sign forward Earl Clark, Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times reports. The deal will be a one-year, fully guaranteed pact, notes Bresnahan, and Los Angeles is likely to waive the injured Xavier Henry in order to open up the required roster spot for Clark. Shams Charania of RealGM had first reported the likelihood of the Lakers adding Clark earlier today, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports had then relayed that Clark’s deal would be for a pro-rated portion of the veteran’s minimum and would be fully guaranteed. These moves will still leave the Lakers with the league-maximum 15 players on their roster.

Clark’s arrival cannot come soon enough for a Lakers team that has been besieged by a rash of maladies. Steve Nash and Julius Randle were already lost with season-ending injuries when Henry went down in practice Monday with a ruptured left Achilles tendon. Coupled with Ryan Kelly being out for at least another 4 weeks with a torn right hamstring, the Lakers were in dire need of frontcourt help, which Clark will be able to provide.

The 26-year-old Clark was averaging 28.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 35.8 minutes per game in four appearances so far for the Rockets D-League affiliate this season. Houston briefly had him on its NBA roster after claiming his training camp deal off waivers from the Grizzlies, but the Rockets waived him before opening night. In 251 career NBA contests Clark has averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG. His career slash line is .404/.331/.167.

If Henry is indeed waived, he’ll still receive the remainder of his $1.082MM fully guaranteed contract for 2014/15, Bresnahan adds. Henry is expected to recover in time for the start of 2015/16, and he was already set to become an unrestricted agent at the end of this season. It’s unclear how the injury will affect the market for his services next summer, but more than likely it will force Henry to accept a shorter deal than he would have desired in order to prove that he’s fully recovered from such a serious injury, though that is just my speculation.

Lakers Near Deal With Clark, Likely To Cut Henry

November 26th, 2014 at 2:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:03pm: The team would likely waive Xavier Henry to accommodate Clark, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. That suggests that the Lakers aren’t in line to receive a 16th roster spot. Clark’s contract with the Lakers would be guaranteed, according to Bresnahan. Henry, who has a fully guaranteed salary worth $1.082MM, is expected to miss the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

11:49am: The Lakers and Clark are close to agreement on a one-year contract that would be for a pro-rated portion of the veteran’s minimum, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

9:08am: The sides are working toward what would be a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

9:03am: The Lakers and Earl Clark have engaged in a “level of dialogue” about a possible deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The five-year veteran’s name wasn’t among the several who were linked to the club last week, but the Lakers know him well, since he enjoyed a career year in purple-and-gold during the 2012/13 season.

Clark is averaging 28.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 35.8 minutes per game across four appearances so far for the Rockets D-League affiliate this season. Houston briefly had him on its NBA roster after claiming his training camp deal off waivers from the Grizzlies, but the Rockets waived him before opening night. The Rockets reportedly have interest in Al Harrington, another forward whose game is somewhat similar, but there have been no reports indication that Houston is thinking about bringing Clark back to the big club.

The 26-year-old put up 5.3 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 12.5 MPG for Memphis during the preseason, failing to stick even though the Grizzlies began the regular season with an open roster spot. Clark’s career has hit the skids ever since he signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Cavs in 2013, a pact that he and agent Kevin Bradbury were able to land in large measure because of the performance Clark delivered for the Lakers. He averaged 11.6 PPG and 9.2 RPG with 37.8% three-point shooting during a 22-game hot streak in the middle of his year with L.A., but he failed to match that production for Cleveland, which shipped him to the Sixers at the deadline last season. Philadelphia promptly waived him, and apart from a pair of 10-day contracts with the Knicks, Clark hasn’t appeared on a regular season roster since.

The Lakers recently received a nearly $4.851MM Disabled Player Exception for Steve Nash to go with the Disabled Player Exception worth almost $1.499MM that they have for Julius Randle, but it seems unlikely that it would take more than the minimum salary to sign Clark. The team has a full 15-man roster, though the Lakers have enough injured players to qualify for a 16th roster spot if they were to apply for one and the league were to grant it. Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington, who have partially guaranteed deals for the minimum, are the only two Lakers without fully guaranteed contracts.

Xavier Henry Out For Season With Torn Achilles

November 25th, 2014 at 2:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 2:04pm: Henry is expected to recover in time to for the start of next season, the Lakers note amid an announcement acknowledging that he underwent surgery today. Henry’s contract only covers this season, however, so he’ll have to convince teams that he’s healthy in free agency.

MONDAY, 6:33pm: The Lakers have confirmed that Henry is expected to be out for the rest of the season, the team announced. He’ll have surgery Tuesday.

5:09pm: The MRI showed that the Achilles is torn, and Henry will miss the rest of the season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).

2:31pm: The Lakers suspect that Xavier Henry ruptured his left Achilles tendon during practice today, the team announced (Twitter link). Henry is undergoing an MRI to confirm the initial diagnosis. The injury would probably knock the 23-year-old out for the season, though there’s no timetable yet. The team is already expected to be without Steve Nash and No. 7 overall pick Julius Randle for the rest of 2014/15.

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding suggested recently that the Lakers were likely to release Henry if they signed Quincy Miller, one of several players the Lakers reportedly worked out in the past several days. The Lakers used a portion of their room exception to re-sign Henry this summer to a fully guaranteed one-year deal for $1.082MM, but he’s struggled to come back from a series of injuries that have plagued him since his hot start for the Lakers last season. The 12th overall pick from the 2010 draft is averaging just 2.2 points in 9.6 minutes per game in nine regular season appearances so far this year.

Henry’s deal is one of 13 fully guaranteed pacts for the Lakers, who also have Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington on partially guaranteed contracts, as our roster counts show. Ryan Kelly is out at least another five weeks with a torn right hamstring, so a long-term injury for Henry would put the Lakers in line to receive a 16th roster spot if they apply for one and if the league allows it. The NBA has already granted a Disabled Player Exception for Randle, which lets the Lakers exceed the minimum salary to sign a player, and the team’s application for a more sizable DPE for Nash, which would be worth nearly $4.851MM, is still pending, as we passed along earlier today.

Western Notes: Lakers, Price, Martin, D-League

November 25th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers are in contact with the NBA about “roster possibilities” in the wake of Xavier Henry‘s season-ending torn Achilles, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The team will probably apply for a Disabled Player Exception for Henry, according to fellow Times scribe Eric Pincus (Twitter link). That’s even though the $541K exception would only be useful to acquire a player making a prorated salary. Here’s more on the Lakers and a few of their Western Conference foes:

There’s a strong possibility that the Lakers will cut Ronnie Price to bolster their injury-hit roster, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears (Twitter links). Price’s minimum salary is partially guaranteed for about $329K, and that guarantee jumps to more than $658K if he remains under contract through December 15th.
The Timberwolves confirmed today that Kevin Martin had surgery to repair his fractured right wrist that they expect will keep him out about six to eight weeks (Twitter link), echoing an earlier report of that timeframe. The Wolves have considered applying for a 16th roster spot, and if the league grants it, the team would most likely add a post player, as Flip Saunders said Monday to reporters, including Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
Dahntay Jones is set to sign with the D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. The 10-year NBA veteran spent the preseason with the Jazz, who cut him before opening night. No D-League team holds the rights to Jones, so the D-League waiver system will determine the identity of his new team, Pilato notes.
Tyler Ennis is in a tough position in a deep Suns backcourt, but this year’s 18th overall pick doesn’t mind the stigma of his recent four-day D-League assignment, as he told reporters, including Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. “A lot of people look at it as a bad thing, D-League, and think it’s something horrible, but it’s not like we’re stuck down there for the year,” Ennis said. “They let us know they want to see us play and see us stay in shape and we thought it was a good thing as far as us going down and playing well. I think I was able to show that I should be on this [NBA] level.”

Lakers Notes: Kelly, Henry, Miller, Gasol

November 17th, 2014 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers are a woeful 1-9, and while Kobe Bryant is imparting wisdom even as he fires away at a league-high clip from the field, there’s plenty of uneasiness amid the team’s woeful start. Changes appear to be on the horizon, as we detail amid the latest from downtrodden Lakerland:

A torn right hamstring will keep Ryan Kelly out for at least six weeks, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. Injuries to both hamstrings have limited the power forward to just three games this season. Kelly is on a guaranteed contract that runs through 2015/16.

Earlier updates:

Xavier Henry would likely be the odd man out if the Lakers decide to sign Quincy Miller, who’s auditioning for the team, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding. Henry re-signed with the Lakers this summer to a fully guaranteed one-year contract for $1.082MM.
The Lakers offered Pau Gasol a no-trade clause in negotiations this offseason, the new Bulls big man told reporters, including Beto Duran of ESPN Radio Los Angeles (Twitter link). Gasol admitted that he’ll always feel “some level of attachment” to the Lakers but said that he’d reached a point emotionally where he needed to move on, as Duran shares in another pair of tweets. The 34-year-old added that he was looking for greater motivation in his next stop and said that the prospect of another losing season in purple-and-gold helped sway him to instead sign with the Bulls (Twitter links).
Coach Byron Scott put much of the blame on the frontcourt for the team’s defensive shortcomings, but Carlos Boozer disputes the idea that the big men are mostly responsible for the team’s league-worst scoring defense, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

Lakers Notes: Clarkson, Henry, Price, Ellington

November 15th, 2014 at 6:54pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Despite Kobe Bryant‘s insistence on playing through fatigue and injuries, head coach Byron Scott has not had a difficult time with Bryant due to his experience coaching elite players with such stubborn mindsets, writes Jovan Buha of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I’ve had the privilege and the honor of coaching a few guys that I think are probably Hall of Famers in Jason Kidd and Chris Paul,” Scott said. “I haven’t had the opportunity to coach anybody at this magnitude — as great as Kobe is — but I have had that opportunity. It hasn’t really been an adjustment for me.” Scott expects Bryant, who was experiencing flu-like symptoms in Friday’s loss to the Spurs, to play against the Warriors on Sunday. “You’d probably have to amputate his leg for him not to play tomorrow,” Scott said at practice on Saturday.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

The Lakers assigned Jordan Clarkson and Xavier Henry to their D-League affliate, the D-Fenders, according to the team’s Twitter feed. To date, Clarkson has averaged 4.3 PPG in 11.4 MPG during eight games played in his rookie season. Henry, who will again become a free agent after the 2014/15 season, has averaged only 1.3 PPG in 8.9 MPG during seven contests.
The Lakers will guarantee portions of their non-guaranteed contracts with Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington, assuming they aren’t placed on waivers today. Price’s deal is set to become guaranteed for about $329K while Wayne Ellington is in line for a nearly $316K guarantee, as shown on our Schedule of Contract Guarantee Dates and as originally reported by Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Ellington is on an indefinite leave from the team as he mourns the murder of his father.
The team had hoped Steve Nash would serve as a mentor and de facto coach for the young players on the Lakers, but Nash’s lack of presence at the team’s facilities has dampened that scenario, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Oram adds that Scott can’t even get Nash to return a phone call. “If my coach would have called me,” Scott said, “I definitely would have called him back.” Scott later clarified that he is not upset with Nash. “I’ll try him again when I get some more free time tomorrow or Monday or something like that,” Scott said. “I know he’s probably going through a tough time as far as trying to adjust to life without basketball at this particular point.” Nash was ruled out for the 2014/15 season and while many believe he has already played his last game in the NBA, he is technically not retired.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Clippers, Henry, Grizzlies

July 29th, 2014 at 12:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Attorneys for Donald Sterling plan to ask an appellate court for permission to appeal Monday’s probate court decision, even though the ruling doesn’t allow Sterling to seek a court order stopping the sale of the Clippers as he appeals, according to Brian Melley of The Associated Press. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register details three ways that Sterling can still prevent wife Shelly Sterling from completing the $2 billion sale of the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Monday’s ruling left Donald Sterling unbowed, as his attorney Bobby Samini said to reporters, including Woike.

“His reaction was very calm,” Samini said. “He didn’t see this as the final battleground. This is one stage of a long war. This is one battle. We had hoped for a different result, but this is not the end.”

There’s more on the Sterling saga amid the latest from around the Western Conference:

Judge Michael Levanas accepted the contention of Shelly Sterling’s lawyers that it was unlikely that anyone would match Ballmer’s $2 billion bid for the Clippers, as Melley notes in his piece. “Ballmer paid an amazing price that cannot be explained by the market,” Levanas said.
Xavier Henry‘s one-year contract with the Lakers isn’t a minimum-salary arrangement, as first believed, and is instead worth the $1.082MM leftover portion of the team’s room exception, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The other part of the room exception went to Ryan Kelly.
Joe Abadi, a lawyer for Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, conducted the team’s interviews with candidates for the front office job that Ed Stefanski will fill, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Abadi has taken on a larger role in the organization while Pera has marginalized minority owners Stephen Kaplan and Daniel E. Straus, as Stein details.

Lakers Re-Sign Xavier Henry

July 25th, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 25TH: The Lakers have announced the signing as official in a team release.

“Xavier earned a spot on our team last season after being a training camp invitee, and we hope he continues the dedication to improving he has displayed for us thus far,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. “When healthy, Xavier provided our team with an offensive punch, and we expect he’ll strive to add to his skillset and become a well-rounded player.”

JULY 18TH: The Lakers will re-sign swingman Xavier Henry to a minimum-salary deal, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). It appears to be a one-year arrangement, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported as the sides neared agreement (Twitter link).

The Arn Tellem client was one of a handful of successful reclamation projects for the Lakers this past season, making the opening-night roster as a camp invitee and displaying a strong ability to score, averaging 10.0 points in 21.1 minutes per contest. Both numbers were career highs, as Henry had struggled to live up to having been the 12th overall pick in 2010.

The Pacers and Heat reached out to Henry this month, according to McMenamin (Twitter link), but he planned to work out for the Lakers after exploring options around the league, and the purple-and-gold maintained interest in re-signing him. Henry had wrist and knee surgeries in April but has been expected to be ready for training camp.

Western Rumors: Smith, Lakers, Ballmer, Thunder

July 18th, 2014 at 10:47pm CST by Cray Allred

The Kings don’t believe any of their power forwards is a solution at the position, and they’ve tried to move one this summer in a quest for an upgrade that’s sparked revitalized talks with the Pistons involving Josh Smith, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details. Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Lakers have renounced the rights to Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry, and Kent Bazemore, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times reveals (all on Twitter). The maneuvers will accommodate the re-signings of Nick Young, Henry, and Johnson, all of whom have agreed to new deals. Pincus expects Young to be renounced before re-signing as well.
The Times scribe suspects that the Lakers are using part or all of the room exception to sign Ryan Kelly, considering the cap room that will be eaten up by Young’s contract, and a “reasonable” market of suitors for the power forward (all via Twitter).
Steve Ballmer agreed to extend his deal to purchase the Clippers until August 15th, but Linda Deutsch of The Associated Press reports that Ballmer’s lawyer told a judge in the Donald and Shelly Sterling legal proceedings that the agreement will be off if there is no ruling prior to that date. Ballmer’s potential withdrawal would further cloud the team’s status, as commissioner Adam Silver recently cautioned that Sterling could still own the Clippers at the beginning of next season.
The Thunder have announced that their D-League affiliate will move from Bixby, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City next season, as first reported by Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The change will make shuffling players between the Thunder and 66ers more convenient.
The Jazz still have free agency moves to make in filling out their roster, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (all Twitter links). Francisco Garcia is a possibility for Utah, who seek a shooting wing along with a third point guard brought in to sit behind the team’s developing backcourt.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Notes: Scott, Kelly, Henry, Johnson

July 15th, 2014 at 10:43pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There are a few notable links to pass along regarding the Lakers tonight, and you can find them below:

Medina also confirms the earlier report that Scott will be interviewing with Kupchak and Buss tomorrow. Their meeting will likely involve discussions about the team’s personnel following their recent roster moves, although no offers or contract negotiations regarding the head coaching job are expected yet (Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

GM Mitch Kupchack and Jim Buss will meet with Byron Scott tomorrow, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). As we noted last month, Scott appears to be the leading candidate to be the team’s next head coach.
Ryan Kelly is expected to reach a deal with the team soon, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Medina adds that while the Lakers like Xavier Henry, no deal is imminent. As for Wesley Johnson, it appears unlikely that he’ll be kept.
In another piece, Medina writes that it isn’t clear if they’ll make a bid for recently-amnestied forward Carlos Boozer. He also says that the team is expected to sign 2014 second-round pick Jordan Clarkson soon.
If L.A. does plan to go after Boozer, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times explains how L.A. can clear some cap room to make a more competitive bid during the waiver period.