2013 January | Hoops Rumors

Iguodala Wants To Stay With Nuggets

January 25th, 2013 at 5:15pm CST by Sean Highkin

Andre Iguodala can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, but the veteran forward tells Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post that he would like to remain with the Nuggets long-term. He says that he is undecided about opting out, and that decision will come down to how much he thinks he can command on the open market:

“A lot of players have done it where they’ve gave up a large bulk of their contract, say, giving up $16 million to get $60 million,” Iguodala said. “In the grand scheme of things that makes sense. But if you give up $16 million and you get $20 million (it doesn’t make sense). So it’s all about playing your cards right and seeing where you’re at. At the end of the day winning takes care of everything, so if we win here, then hopefully the organization and myself will come to an agreement and we’ll continue to build on what we have here.”

Iguodala's player option pays him $16.1MM for the 2013/14 season. He is averaging 13.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 4.5 APG in his first season with the Nuggets since being traded from Philadelphia as part of the four-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers.

Kings/Seattle Rumors: Friday

January 25th, 2013 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Another day, another round-up of the latest rumblings on Sacramento, Seattle, and the potential sale of the Kings. Here are Friday's updates, with any new items added to the top of the page throughout the evening:

Ron Burkle, who is reportedly considering partnering with Mark Mastrov to make a bid to keep the Kings in Sacramento, met with David Stern yesterday in New York City, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. According to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, Burkle's potential bid for the Kings is "gaining momentum" (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, another potential "whale" is being courted to make a bid for the franchise. Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler, and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee report that minority owner Bob Cook has asked a Bay Area sport attorney to broker a meeting between potential investor Larry Ellison and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson. Ellison, who was involved in bidding on the Warriors in 2010, is considered the third-richest man in America.
The trio of Bee reporters and Chris Daniels of KING TV in Seattle (Twitter link) are hearing that the minority owners' "right of first refusal" we heard about yesterday is considered a "non-issue" by the Maloofs and the Seattle group.
Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave tweets that if Cook and Ellison were to partner up, the idea would be to pursue the Maloofs' stake in the team first, then work with the other minority owners.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Bulls, NBPA, Suns

January 25th, 2013 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

So far, the 2012/13 Lakers season has been packed with one low point after another, with repeated promises of fresh starts and silver linings. However, according to Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register, the nadir may still be on the way for the Lakers, if not this season, then down the road. Ding reports that Jerry Buss' children, Jim and Jeanie, haven't been on speaking terms since the Lakers chose to hire Mike D'Antoni rather than pursue a reunion with Phil Jackson. Jerry Buss turns 79 this weekend and won't be around forever, making the long-term future of the Lakers' ownership, which includes Buss' 66% share, uncertain, writes Ding.

Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:

Appearing on ESPN Chicago 1000, Bulls executive VP John Paxson said he remains open to exploring potential trades, but expects the return of Derrick Rose to be the team's impact "move" (link via ESPNChicago.com).
Bulls fans still have plenty of ideas about possible deals for the team, and Sam Smith of Bulls.com addressed many of them in his latest mailbag.
The New York Attorney General's office is looking into the reports released last week on Billy Hunter and the NBPA, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) examines possible targets for the Suns in June's draft, concluding that Ben McLemore of Kansas may be the perfect fit.

Grizzlies Notes: West, Vujacic, Gay, Leuer

January 25th, 2013 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies kept their core intact, but gave up some depth, when they sent Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington to Cleveland earlier this week to sneak under the luxury-tax line. That lack of depth didn't hurt the team on Wednesday, in a 106-93 win over the Lakers. The new-look Grizzlies will face their second test tonight at home against the Nets, in what figures to be one of the best games on the evening's schedule. Here are the latest updates out of Memphis:

The Grizzlies are still weighing their options when it comes to adding another free agent, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, who was told not to expect a signing this weekend (Twitter link).
Delonte West, who landed with the D-League's Texas Legends today, isn't in the mix at the moment for the Grizzlies, though Sasha Vujacic still might be an option, tweets Tillery.
One rival executive interested in acquiring Rudy Gay tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link) that the trade with the Cavs lessened the Grizzlies' urgency to move Gay for now, but didn't entirely eliminate the team's desire to do so eventually. I reached a similar conclusion in the aftermath of this week's trade.
Jon Leuer, the one player who came to Memphis in the deal with the Cavs, tells Marlon W. Morgan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that he's excited to be part of a contender.

Lakers Not Considering Dismissing D’Antoni

January 25th, 2013 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite a 17-25 record that has them ahead of only the Kings, Hornets, and Suns in the Western Conference, the Lakers don't seem to be considering making another coaching change. Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports that buying out or firing Mike D'Antoni isn't currently an option for the Lakers.

The Lakers' stance comes as no surprise. If the team had entered the season with D'Antoni on the bench, he may have already been let go, but since he replaced Mike Brown in November, the odds are against another change happening so soon. The Lakers are already on the hook for Brown's remaining salary, and inked D'Antoni to a long-term deal himself, which the club would have to pay if it brought in another replacement.

Regardless of the guaranteed money still owed to D'Antoni, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard believes the club needs to let him go, replacing him with interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, who led the team to a 4-1 record in between Brown's and D'Antoni's stints. While Broussard acknowledges that Bickerstaff probably isn't a long-term solution in L.A., he believes Bickerstaff would give the team its best chance to finish the season on a high note.

Responding to the argument that Jim Buss likely won't dismiss D'Antoni because it would mean admitting a huge mistake, Broussard points out that it would be a bigger mistake to let the season continue spiraling out of control, leading to the possibility of losing Dwight Howard this summer. According to Broussard, a few Lakers are "fed up" with D'Antoni and his system, and Kobe Bryant is the only one keeping those players from tuning out the coach.

After going 1-4 under Brown and 4-1 under Bickerstaff, the Lakers have won just 12 of D'Antoni's 32 games as head coach.

Nuggets Notes: Mozgov, Trades, Ujiri

January 25th, 2013 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Having gone 16-3 at the Pepsi Center so far this season, the Nuggets are in good position to gain some ground in the Western Conference standings, as their next six games will all be at home. Still, head coach George Karl doesn't want his club to take anything for granted, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.

"We're a young team trying to become a good team — a really good team," Karl said. "I think we all think we can get there, but sometimes I think we need a lot more work than (the players) think we do."

Here's the latest out of Denver:

Since the beginning of the year, teams have been calling the Nuggets about acquiring Timofey Mozgov, who is unlikely to be with the Nuggets past the trade deadline, says Dempsey.
While Mozgov says that he'd like to remain in Denver, that comes with a caveat: "More than I want to stay, I want to play." With Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee seeing most of the minutes in the middle, Mozgov is averaging a career-low 9.6 minutes per game in 24 contests.
Although Masai Ujiri is in the last year of his three-year contract with the Nuggets, the two sides aren't expected to explore an extension for the general manager until after the season, reports Dempsey.

Delonte West Joins Texas Legends

January 25th, 2013 at 12:15pm CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 12:15pm: The Texas Legends have officially added West to their roster, the team announced today in a press release. Despite the fact that the Legends are the Mavericks' D-League affiliate, we probably shouldn't assume West will return to the Mavs after the way the two sides parted ways earlier in the season. Still, if West impresses in the D-League, he could earn an NBA contract before season's end.

WEDNESDAY, 7:05pm: Free agent guard Delonte West has filed paperwork to join the NBA Developmental League, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Ironically, the Texas Legends, affiliate of the Mavericks, are the first team in the waiver line (Twitter link). Dallas cut West loose in November.

Earlier this week it was reported that the Grizzlies were giving serious consideration to signing West as they look to fill out their roster. However, Stein (via Twitter) hears that Memphis is likely to pass on him. The Lakers gave some thought to signing West at one point this season but they opted against it in an effort to maintain some level of stability.

Wolves Rumors: Turner, Pekovic, Johnson, Gasol

January 25th, 2013 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

This week's edition of Darren Wolfson's Scoops column at 1500ESPN.com focuses on a couple other local teams before getting around to the Timberwolves. There are still a few notable T-Wolves tidbits within Wolfson's piece though, so let's check out the highlights….

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman badly wanted to add Elston Turner to his staff when he first got the job. Now that the Suns and Turner have parted ways, it's possible he eventually ends up on the Wolves' bench.
Minnesota is still expected to make a move before the February 21st trade deadline, but all is quiet on the trade front at the moment.
The T-Wolves have told Nikola Pekovic they don't intend to shop him, though a source close to Pekovic asks Wolfson, "What does that really mean?" For his part, Pekovic is hoping to remain with the team long-term.
There's a sense that if the Wolves don't re-sign Chris Johnson when his 10-day contract expires on Monday night, he'll land with another NBA team fairly quickly.
As long as Pau Gasol remains a trade candidate, consider the Wolves still in the hunt, says Wolfson.

Dwight Howard Links: Friday

January 25th, 2013 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

Sources close to the respective situations "adamantly denied" reports of Dwight Howard being involved in a locker-room altercation with Kobe Bryant earlier this month, as well as reports that the Nets have discussed a three-team trade to acquire Howard. But Sam Amick of USA Today wonders if the return of these kinds of Howard-related stories are an indication that something is amiss in Los Angeles (besides the obvious). There aren't many real Howard trade rumors out there today, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of links from around the internet discussing D12's situation. Here are a few of them:

Amick also notes within his piece that there are "very real indications" that Howard may be thinking about free agent options besides the Lakers. As Amick notes, the All-Star center was talking much more openly earlier in the season about a long-term future in Los Angeles than he is these days.
The decision on whether to trade Howard or try to keep him will be one that could affect the Lakers for years, writes Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.
Eddie Sefko and Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News discussed the possibility of the Mavericks pursuing Howard, with Gosselin opining that "[Mark] Cuban has got to be on the phone talking" about it.
If the Mavericks have the opportunity to land Howard via trade or free agency, they have to take that shot, argues Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com, even though he believes Howard has developed a "loser mentality."
One NBA player to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link), on Howard: "I wouldn't want to be Dwight Howard's teammate. Like, ever. Too much clowning for a guy with maybe one post move."
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton examines seven teams that could make realistic trade offers for Howard.

Kris Joseph Signs In France

January 25th, 2013 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

Former Celtic forward Kris Joseph has signed a six-week deal to play for Orleans in France, according to David Pick of Sportando (Twitter link). We'd heard earlier in January that Joseph was receiving several offers from teams overseas.

Joseph, 24, was selected 51st overall by the Celtics in the 2012 draft, and began the season on Boston's roster. However, the Syracuse alum played just six games for the C's, ultimately seeing more playing time for the team's D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. In 10 games with Maine, Joseph averaged 17.7 PPG.

Because Joseph's contract was non-guaranteed, the Celtics elected to release him before this month's guarantee deadline.

Month: November 2024