Uncategorized Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Donald Sterling

July 22nd, 2014 at 10:32pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As the struggle between Donald Sterling and his wife Shelly regarding the sale of the Clippers continued in probate court today, we passed along earlier that Doc Rivers – according to the testimony of team interim CEO Dick Parsons – would no longer want to be part of the franchise if Donald remained as the team’s owner. Parsons also testified that while the Clippers have retained a majority of their sponsors throughout this ordeal, there are several of them who would only want to continue their business relationship with the team if Sterling is ousted, noted Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

There were a few more notable tidbits we’ve rounded up this evening, and you can find them below:

Pierce O’Donnell, a lawyer for Shelly Sterling, didn’t elaborate on the details of a meeting between Steve Ballmer, Donald, and a group of lawyers at Sterling’s Beverly Hills home on Monday. “Nothing really happened of any moment…It was pleasant. Mr. Sterling was a gentleman. But nothing came of it” (report from David Leon Moore of USA Today). Bobby Samini, an attorney for Donald, commented that he doesn’t expect a settlement to be reached.
Donald alleges corporate fraud in a lawsuit he filed today in Superior Court against his wife Shelly and the NBA, tweeted Shelburne. According to Donald’s lawyer, Bobby Samini, it could be years before a ruling is handed down, says Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links).
In a piece for ESPN Los Angeles, Shelburne and Markazi relay Samini’s statement regarding Donald’s new lawsuit, which alleges that Donald became the sole shareholder of the Clippers once he revoked the family trust. “The new lawsuit states the seller of the team is not Donald and it’s not Shelly — the seller of the team is corporation that owns the team, and that’s LAC Basketball Club Inc…When Donald bought the team, the shares of the corporation are only in Donald’s name. They were only issued to Donald, so Donald owns the shares of the corporation. He’s the sole shareholder. He put the shares up into the trust in 1989, and when we revoked the trust, the shares go back down to him.”
Bank of America expert Anwar Zakkour, who helped negotiate the team’s sale agreement between Shelly and Steve Ballmer, testified that “none of us believed we could get $2 billion” when the sale process began. Zakkour also said he heard Shelly mention the phrase “Plan B” when she had spoken with her attorneys (Twitter links via Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times).
According to Zakkour, the Clippers were initially valued between $1 billion and $1.3 billion, and that the $2 billion offer was “nirvana,” tweeted Shelburne.
Dean Bonham, testifying on Donald’s side, said that the Clippers could find another $2 billion bid to buy the team if the judge were to block the sale to Ballmer, noted Moore in the aforementioned USA Today report.

And-Ones: Love, Wiggins, Sterlings, Durant

July 21st, 2014 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs aren’t dangling Andrew Wiggins in trade talks with the Wolves about Kevin Love, at least for the time being, a source tells Bob Finnan of The News-Herald, who was the first to report last week that Cleveland was open to the idea of parting with Wiggins. So, while no one involved would guarantee Finnan that Wiggins wouldn’t wind up in a Love deal, it sounds like that idea is on the backburner for now. Here’s more from around the Association:

Testimony has resumed today in the probate trial between Clippers owners Donald and Shelly Sterling after the judge made a pair of decisions Friday that appear to help Shelly Sterling’s case, as USA Today’s David Leon Moore details. The judge has the power to allow Shelly Sterling to go forward with her sale of the Clippers to Steve Ballmer, if he rules in her favor, even if Donald Sterling decides to appeal, according to Moore.
A member of the players association’s executive committee told TNT’s David Aldridge that the union will discuss the idea of taking action should the Sterlings continue to own the Clippers at the start of next season, as Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
Thunder assistant coach Brian Keefe, whom Knicks head coach Derek Fisher has reportedly lured to serve as a Knicks assistant, was the member of the Oklahoma City staff whom Kevin Durant trusted the most, Aldridge notes in the same piece.
A source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that Knicks GM Steve Mills recently pulled his name from contention for the union’s executive director vacancy. Mills re-emerged as a candidate this spring after having been the apparent front-runner last summer prior to taking the Knicks job.
The final two seasons of the four-year contract between Devin Harris and the Mavs are a little more lucrative than previously reported. He’ll make nearly $4.728MM in year three and nearly $4.903MM in the final season, which is partially guaranteed for almost $1.34MM, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports details on his Mavs salary page.

Central Notes: Love, Allen, Stuckey, Bucks

July 17th, 2014 at 9:03pm CST by Alex Lee

The reports are pouring in fast and furious on the negotiations between the Cavaliers and Timberwolves for Kevin Love. While conflicting rumors persist, Ken Berger of CBS Sports simplifies it for us in his latest piece. Quite basically, LeBron James wants Love in Cleveland and Minnesota wants Andrew Wiggins for Love. And LeBron usually gets what he wants. Beyond that, Berger points out that these negotiations are a sign of things to come with regard to the leverage James holds within the Cleveland organization.

Grantland’s Zach Lowe weighs in on the talks as well (via Twitter), suggesting that the Wolves should immediately pull the trigger if Wiggins is on the table. However, as Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets, the “general feeling” at summer league was that Minnesota would require more than just Wiggins in a deal for their coveted superstar.

Here are some additional notes from the Central division on Thursday night:

Mike Miller said in an ESPN Radio appearance that he’s selling Ray Allen on becoming the latest former Heat player to join the Cavaliers, but Allen is still considering retirement and has spoken with multiple teams this month, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
The Pacers stayed in touch with Rodney Stuckey all month, the guard told Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star today, seemingly countering a report that made it seem as though the team shied away from him after contacting him early in free agency. Stuckey agreed Wednesday to a one-year deal with Indiana for the minimum.
Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens revealed the franchise’s minority share owners on Thursday, a list that did not include Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Edens didn’t rule out potential for Rodgers’ involvement in the franchise, however. The list contains six local names, corresponding with a May report that the ownership duo of Edens and Marc Lasry hoped to add five to ten investors.
Jesse Biancarte of Basketball Insiders examines what the loss of Lance Stephenson will mean for the Pacers next season, opining that Indiana has the pieces to maintain their dominance on defense but will struggle to replace the Cincinnati product on the other end of the floor.

DraftKings $20K Royal Golf Championship

July 16th, 2014 at 1:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The following is a sponsored post from DraftKings.

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Southwest Notes: Parsons, Mavericks, Baynes

July 16th, 2014 at 12:40am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here’s what we’ve gathered out of the Southwest Division:

It’s widely suspected around the league that Dan Fegan insisted that the Rockets turn down their team option on Chandler Parsons before he would allow fellow client Dwight Howard to sign in Houston last summer, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Parsons strongly denied knowing of such a deal, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
On Monday, Parsons told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that he wasn’t thrilled with how the Rockets handled his restricted free agency. “…I was offended by the whole process…(Houston) publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that’s just how they viewed me as a player. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I’m ready for that role.”
Today, Parsons said he was surprised about the backlash he received by making those comments. While he didn’t back off from what he said, Parsons also cited that he praised Rockets GM Daryl Morey (Twitter link from Feigen).
On Monday, Mavericks president Donnie Nelson told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the team may not be done tweaking their roster. “We’re not done…But we feel pretty good about where things are right now.” Following the team’s addition of Rashard Lewis today, Price reminds that Nelson plans to keep one of the team’s final two roster spots open for flexibility down the line (Twitter link).
In the former piece, Price mentions also Al-Farouq Aminu, Bernard James, Shawn Marion, and Ivan Johnson as other names that Dallas could attempt to add before the start of next season.
Nelson sat down for an interview with KESN-FM 103.3 to offer some insight on how the Mavs plan to approach the rest of the season (transcription via SportsDayDFW) and mentioned that the team is always keeping its eye out for a shooter. It’s worth noting that he said this before they added Lewis, however.
While they won’t close the door on re-signing Marion, Nelson acknowledges that the veteran forward’s value in the marketplace is much higher than what the Mavs can afford.
The Spurs still hope to retain restricted free agent center Aron Baynes, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Young adds that San Antonio is willing to match any reasonable offer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew

July 16th, 2014 at 12:25am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:

The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: LeBron, Pierce, Jazz, Kidd

July 12th, 2014 at 11:57pm CST by Cray Allred

The first domino that was LeBron James‘ free agency decision certainly set off the chain we anticipated, with a flurry of activity taking place over the last two days. Here’s a rundown of the league’s action this evening:

James hopes that his player option for the second year of his Cavs contract can be worked out quietly in the offseason, sources tell Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Of course, a stress-free contract renewal for James would be the first of his career.
Paul Pierce‘s first choice wasn’t to sign with the Wizards, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. Pierce was more interested in joining the Clippers or returning to the Nets, but became more intrigued by the Washington roster as time went by this offseason.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters including Jody Genessy of Deseret News that Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors will both have a voice regarding Utah’s decision making (Twitter link).
Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers might end up leveraging their abundant cap space to take back one of the Knicks burdensome contracts in exchange for draft compensation.
Jason Kidd tells Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he has been working closely with Bucks GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway despite reports he was looking for front office power in the process that brought him from Brooklyn to Milwaukee. “We’re a family,” said Kidd. “Being able to talk to them every day about things, they have ideas, I share some of the things I think about. We’re still learning each other, how we want to play. A lot of things get misinterpreted with me, I guess. I’ll leave it at that.”

And-Ones: Bosh, Rockets, ‘Melo, Thunder

July 7th, 2014 at 11:28pm CST by Charlie Adams

Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski told FOX Sports 1 that Chris Bosh told the Rockets something that they don’t want to hear: “I want to be in Miami, I want to play with LeBron [James],” (link via Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders). More from around the league..

Carmelo Anthony is “torn” over where to spend the prime years of his career, a friend of the Knicks All Star forward tells Frank Isola of the Daily News. Anthony, 30, is still debating his next move with the Knicks, Lakers, and Bulls as his top three choices, the source claims.
The Knicks are feeling uneasy about the Melo situation, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Meanwhile, the Bulls are encouraged by his indecisiveness, writes Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks met today with Pau Gasol, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
In his introductory press conference, new Nets coach Lionel Hollins presented himself as a very different man than Jason Kidd, writes Mitch Abramson of the Daily News.
A bunch of teams, including the Warriors, concluded early after July 1st that Channing Frye would get more than the mid-level exception, tweets Zach Lowe of Grantland. However, teams didn’t expect him to land with the Magic. Frye is set to ink a four-year, $32MM pact with Orlando.
Kobe Bryant is recruiting Steve Blake and Caron Butler to the Lakers, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Blazers point guard Mo Williams is scheduled to meet with the Mavericks tomorrow, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Week In Review: 6/30/14 – 7/6/14

July 6th, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Zachary Links

In their meeting earlier this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson told Carmelo Anthony he can have the team’s maximum 5-year, $129MM contract if he wishes. However, there’s a distinct possibility Anthony will still decide to take a little less than the max. By all accounts, the Knicks appear to be in the lead for Melo. More from the week that was..

The Raptors kept Kyle Lowry with a hefty four-year deal.
Chris Bosh‘s reps are calling around the league to see if a max deal is out there. It sounds like Bosh can have a max deal if he wants one. The Rockets are fans.
The Cavs and Kyrie Irving agreed to an extension.
The Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki agreed to a new deal.
Spencer Hawes is headed to the Clippers.
The Nets hired Lionel Hollins after shipping Jason Kidd to the Bucks.
Talks between the Pacers and Lance Stephenson are at a standstill.
The Mavs will re-sign Devin Harris.
LeBron James‘ agent is telling teams that his client will start seriously considering other teams if Pat Riley doesn’t build a strong supporting cast quickly. His return is no longer a certainty. Also, he wants a max deal.
In addition to considering a possible trade for Jeremy Lin, the Bucks are pursuing restricted free agents Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez.
The Nets and Cavs are talking Marcus Thornton-for-Jarrett Jack again.
A report indicated that Eric Gordon, among others, has been made available by the Pelicans but the club is downplaying it.
The Bulls, Thunder, Heat, and Spurs are among the teams in the mix for Pau Gasol. The Lakers believe he’ll re-sign quickly if they can land LeBron or Carmelo.
The Jazz got Steve Novak from the Raptors.
It sounds like Jusuf Nurkic will join the Nuggets this season.
Jamal Crawford wants a contract extension.
The Grizzlies are getting outbid for Mike Miller.
The Bulls may or may not be planning to amnesty Carlos Boozer.
Gordon Hayward will visit the Hornets next week. The Cavs were high on him but appear to be wavering.
The Wizards re-signed Marcin Gortat.
The Pistons and Pelicans have discussed a sign-and-trade that would send Greg Monroe to his hometown of New Orleans in exchange for Ryan Anderson.
The Spurs re-signed Patrick Mills.
Luol Deng wants $12MM per season. The Heat like him but they’re unsure about how much cap space they will have. The Hawks, meanwhile, are unwilling to pay that amount, so a team like the Mavs might be his best chance at that type of deal.
Speaking of which, Pat Riley was reportedly telling teams that he could spend ~$12MM.
The Pacers will sign C.J. Miles.
The Raptors and Patrick Patterson have reached agreement on a three-year, $18MM deal.
The Raptors are likely to ink their Brazilian prospects this year.
The Magic waived Ronnie Price.
The Thunder will sign Sebastian Telfair.
The Pistons and Cartier Martin agreed to a deal.
The Wolves and representatives for Ricky Rubio have begun discussions about a rookie scale extension for the point guard.
The Pacers are quietly shopping Roy Hibbert.
The Warriors signed Shaun Livingston.
The Magic and Ben Gordon agreed to a deal.
The Bulls, Mavs, and Wolves like Chandler Parsons.
The Pacers like Goran Dragic but the Suns don’t seem interested.
The Hornets hired Chad Buchanan as assistant GM.
The Spurs might sign Bryce Cotton.
The Nuggets have mulled trading JaVale McGee and Wilson Chandler.
The Pacers inked Shayne Whittington.
One report indicates that the Knicks are unwilling to take Carlos Boozer in a potential sign-and-trade with the Bulls and Anthony.
The Celtics and Avery Bradley agreed to a new deal.
The Raptors and Hawks made a deal involving John Salmons.
The union is getting crafty.
The Bucks are shopping O.J. Mayo.
The Magic signed their first-round picks.
The Hawks will sign Thabo Sefolosha.
The Kings got Darren Collison.
The Pacers signed Damjan Rudez.
The Pistons have a deal with Jodie Meeks.
The Blazers are set to sign Chris Kaman.
The Raptors are coming close to a deal with restricted free agent Greivis Vasquez.
Nikola Mirotic seems likely to join the Bulls.
The Rockets turned down their team option on postseason revelation Troy Daniels.
Interest in Isaiah Thomas is heating up.
The Magic waived Jason Maxiell.
The Heat like Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, and Steve Blake.
The Thunder have made the unusual decision to decline Grant Jerrett‘s option while also extending him a qualifying offer.
The Pistons declined their option on Chauncey Billups.
The Thunder signed first round pick Mitch McGary.
The Magic claimed Willie Green.
The Magic waived Jameer Nelson.
The Magic waived Doron Lamb.
The Pacers will re-sign Lavoy Allen.
The 76ers waived James Anderson.

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Western Notes: Randle, Lin, Ariza, Stuckey, Davis

July 2nd, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Specialists have determined that Lakers first-round pick Julius Randle does not need surgery on his right foot and has been cleared to play, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. More from around the NBA..

Rockets GM Daryl Morey brushed off criticism over the club’s decision to photoshop Carmelo Anthony wearing the No. 7 that is sported by Jeremy Lin, writes Mark Berman of FOX 26. Of course, if Houston manages to sign Melo, that could mean the end of Lin in Houston. “Bottom line, if Carmelo comes Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin have to be traded. It’s just math. It’s not personal,” said the GM.
The Jazz are among the suitors for Trevor Ariza, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) hears that there is definite interest in free agent guard Rodney Stuckey, particularly from high-level clubs. Goodwill suggests that a return to the Pacific Northwest could also be in the cards for the guard. In recent days, we’ve heard that the Magic and Pacers have interest.
The Clippers have been talking to free agent Ed Davis and they’re optimistic, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Grizzlies opted against tendering the 25-year-old an offer earlier this offseason.