Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Outstanding 2021/22 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

December 28th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to exercise the third- and fourth-year team options for 2021/22 on players’ rookie scale contracts is Tuesday, December 29, meaning that clubs who have yet to finalize those decisions will have to do so today or tomorrow.

Most clubs with options to pick up have already done so, and in many cases those decisions were no-brainers. Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Trae Young (Hawks), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) are among the players whose 2021/22 options have been exercised, and as long as they remain on their rookie contracts, they’ll be among the best bargains in the NBA.

With the help of our tracker, here are the option decisions that have not yet been announced or reported, with Tuesday’s deadline looming:

Boston Celtics

Romeo Langford (third year, $3,804,360)
Robert Williams (fourth year, $3,661,976)
Grant Williams (third year, $2,617,800)

Golden State Warriors

Jordan Poole (third year, $2,161,440)

Los Angeles Clippers

Mfiondu Kabengele (third year, $2,174,880)

Minnesota Timberwolves

Jarrett Culver (third year, $6,395,160)
Josh Okogie (fourth year, $4,087,904)

New York Knicks

Omari Spellman (fourth year, $3,588,845)

Philadelphia 76ers

Matisse Thybulle (third year, $2,840,160)

Washington Wizards

Jerome Robinson (fourth year, $5,340,916)
Troy Brown (fourth year, $5,170,564)
Rui Hachimura (third year, $4,916,160)
Moritz Wagner (fourth year, $3,893,618)

The fact that these option decisions haven’t been formally finalized yet doesn’t mean they won’t be easy calls. For instance, there’s no chance that the Sixers are going to decline their third-year option on Thybulle — they just haven’t made it official yet.

However, not all of these options are locked to be picked up. The Knicks, for instance, previously exercised their options on RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox but didn’t do so for Spellman. Teams almost always announce all their option pick-ups at once, so the fact that Spellman wasn’t included in that press release is a strong sign that New York will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Meanwhile, Poole’s option is the least expensive on this list and is barely worth more than the minimum, but even at that price, the Warriors have a tough decision to make. Poole has been relatively ineffective so far (.334/.277/.805 shooting in 60 games) and Golden State’s roster is expensive. The team has to determine whether it makes sense to continue investing in Poole’s development next season, or whether a minimum-salary veteran should get his spot on the ’21/22 roster.

I think most of the other options listed here – with the possible exception of Wagner’s – are more likely to be exercised than declined, but it’s possible there will be a surprise or two. It’s worth noting that turning down an option doesn’t mean the team can’t re-sign the player in 2021 free agency — it just means they can’t offer a starting salary higher than the value of the declined option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Batum, Kerr, Wiseman, LeBron

December 26th, 2020 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nicolas Batum wasn’t around for the Clippers‘ meltdown in last season’s playoffs, but he can tell there’s something different about this year’s version of the team, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. has been able to battle through adversity after building big leads in a pair of early-season wins.

Friday night in Denver, the Clippers saw a 21-point lead cut to 11 midway through the fourth quarter when Kawhi Leonard left the game after taking an elbow to the face. Batum drew a charge on the next play and L.A. kept its composure to secure the win.

“This is where in those moments, you breathe in (as) a team, you guys can get to know who you are as a team,” Batum said. “… We make stops, we didn’t panic, we didn’t do crazy stuff, we didn’t rush. We did a little bit sometimes. That’s what guys corrected because we made bad turnovers and took quick shots, but overall, that was better.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Warriors may not have the roster to succeed with coach Steve Kerr‘s regular offense, observes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Stephen Curry leads Golden State in assists through two games with 16, but reserve guard Brad Wanamaker is the only other Warrior with at least five. Slater notes that the team doesn’t have the collection of instinctive passers and cutters that it did in recent years. “I’ve got to stay on them and continue to work, find ways to get better organized and look like a five-man unit,” Kerr said after Friday’s blowout loss in Milwaukee. “We’re just scattered right now. It just looks like we’re a series of moving parts.”
One bright spot for the Warriors in the early season has been the play of James Wiseman, Slater tweets. The 19-year-old center is averaging 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and looks worthy of being selected with the second overall pick. “He’s clearly the focal point of the future of how we’re building this team with Steph, Klay (Thompson), Draymond (Green),” Kerr said. “I can now throw James in there.”
Lakers star LeBron James has been chosen as Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time, writes Tim Reynolds of the AP. James was selected for helping his team win the NBA title and being a leader in the social justice movement.

Pacific Notes: Kawhi, Schröder, Gasol, D. Jones

December 26th, 2020 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard was forced to leave Friday night’s game early after an errant elbow from teammate Serge Ibaka connected with his face, sending him to the floor and causing him to bleed profusely from his mouth. While the injury looked bad initially, head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game that he thought Leonard would be “fine,” tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN.

The collision left Leonard requiring eight stitches to treat a mouth laceration, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. However, Nicolas Batum said he spoke to Kawhi after the game and agreed with Lue’s assessment that the two-time Finals MVP should ultimately be fine.

“You don’t want a player, any player, (to) go down like that with blood all over him and everywhere on the floor,” Batum said. “I think he’s good. I just saw him in the locker room; he was OK, and that was kind of scary in the moment.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Addressing rumors that he and the Lakers may attempt to work out an in-season extension, point guard Dennis Schröder said on Friday night that he’s “very comfortable” with his new team and is interested in negotiating a new deal in the coming months as long as it’s fair for both sides, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
After going scoreless in his Lakers debut, newly-signed center Marc Gasol expressed confidence that he’ll bounce back and find his fit going forward, as Buha writes for The Athletic. While Gasol only scored two points on Friday and has yet to make a field goal, he was more effective in the Lakers’ blowout win over Dallas, grabbing nine rebounds and avoiding the foul trouble that plagued him in the opener.
Damian Jones‘ 2020/21 salary was initially set to become fully guaranteed at the start of the regular season, but he and the Suns have agreed to push that deadline back to February 25, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

When the 2019/20 NBA season ended in October, it didn’t seem likely that we’d see another NBA game played until some time in the new year, perhaps even as late as February or March. But the league accelerated its plans for the 2020/21 regular season in the fall, ensuring that an annual tradition was preserved: the five-game Christmas Day slate.

Today’s schedule is as follows:

New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat (11:00am central time)
Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks (1:30pm CT)
Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics (4:00pm CT)
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers (7:00pm CT)
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9:30pm CT)

A couple of these matchups look even more tantalizing today than they did a week ago. The Pelicans, for instance, looked awfully impressive in their opening-night game against Toronto on Wednesday and will be going up against the defending Eastern champion Heat, who are hungry for their first win of the season.

A Stephen Curry/Giannis Antetokounmpo showdown between the Warriors and Bucks will be followed by a matchup of two potential Eastern Conference contenders who looked great on opening night, the Nets and Celtics.

Luka Doncic and the Mavericks and LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers will all be looking for their first win of the season in the evening.

And the night is capped off with a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers visiting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Nuggets.

Which game are you most looking forward to watch today? Which five teams are you picking to win the Christmas Day games? Use the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and make your predictions!

How Lue And Vogel Became LA's Head Coaches

December 24th, 2020 at 8:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Athletic’s Bill Oram and Joe Vardon explore the process last summer that ultimately led to the Lakers hiring Frank Vogel as their head coach in 2019 and the Clippers promoting Tyronn Lue to their head coaching job this year. Vogel had expected to be a top assistant on Lue’s staff with the latter serving as head coach for the Lakers in May of 2019 when negotiations between the Lakers and Lue fell apart. The Lakers would not budge from a three-year, $18MM offer, while Lue was hoping to receive closer to a five-year, $35MM deal. Lue ultimately pivoted to become the lead assistant on the staff of then-Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. Lue assumed the head job this offseason.

More Details On Luke Kennard's Extension

December 24th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Luke Kennard‘s four-year, $56MM extension with the Clippers includes a fourth-year team option, so only about $41.2MM is fully guaranteed, tweets Smith. However, Kennard can also easily achieve $1.1MM in annual incentives by playing in at least 66 games or logging 1,772 minutes ($620,454) and by playing in the first round of the playoffs ($477,273), reports Hollinger. Kennard’s other annual incentives include $143,182 apiece for making the Conference Finals and NBA Finals, $190,909 for winning a title, and $334,091 for a defensive rating below 105, according to Hollinger.

Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
Austin Spurs (Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
Lakeland Magic (Magic)
Long Island Nets (Nets)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Raptors 905 (Raptors)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots To Start Season

December 24th, 2020 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the regular season is underway, no NBA team is carrying more than 17 players in total — 15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals. However, not every team is making use of all 17 roster spots available to them.

Currently, 12 of the league’s 30 teams have at least one open roster spot, either on their regular roster or in their two-way slots.

Those dozen teams have different reasons for not carrying a 15th man on their standard roster. For some clubs, the decision is likely financially motivated, since an open roster spot means not having to pay an extra player.

Some teams may want to maintain the roster flexibility that an open roster provides — it can allow a club to act quickly and decisively in the event of an injury or a two-for-one trade opportunity.

A handful of teams actually can’t add a 15th man at this point, since they’re too close to their hard cap and won’t be able to fit another minimum-salary contract below that hard cap until later in the season.

With the G League season not yet underway, a healthy team may simply decide there’s no point in filling the 15th spot with a developmental player who won’t see any game action. That may also be the reason why some teams haven’t yet filled both their two-way contract slots.

Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

Charlotte Hornets
Houston Rockets *
Los Angeles Clippers *
Los Angeles Lakers *
Milwaukee Bucks *
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the team can’t currently sign a 15th man due to the hard cap.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

Detroit Pistons
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

Marcus Morris Out For Clippers' Opener

December 22nd, 2020 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have listed Marcus Morris as out for their regular season opener on Tuesday night due to right knee soreness (link via ESPN). Morris didn’t play in any of the club’s three preseason games.

Clippers Sign Luke Kennard To Four-Year Extension

December 21st, 2020 at 5:13pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 22, 2:05pm: Kennard’s extension includes a team option for the fourth year, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 21, 5:13pm: The Clippers have officially announced Kennard’s new contract extension.

“We are excited to secure a commitment from a dynamic, emerging young player who continues to grow every day,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “We have been impressed with Luke’s versatility and maturity, and it’s been a privilege to get to know him better during this training camp. We believe he is a fantastic fit for our organization and we are delighted he feels the same.”

DECEMBER 21, 3:22pm: The Clippers and guard Luke Kennard have reached an agreement on a four-year, $64MM rookie scale contract extension, agents Aaron Mintz and Dave Spahn tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal includes $56MM in guaranteed money, plus $8MM in additional bonuses that are considered attainable, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

It’s an impressive number for Kennard, who missed much of the 2019/20 season due to knee issues. He played well when healthy, averaging 15.8 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 3.5 RPG with a .442/.399/.893 shooting line in 28 games (32.9 MPG).

The Pistons’ new front office sent Kennard to Los Angeles in a three-team offseason trade that saw Saddiq Bey and Rodney McGruder land in Detroit. The 24-year-old’s asking price on an extension – along with his injury history and the team’s change in direction – played a part in Detroit’s decision to move him, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

The Clippers’ investment in Kennard suggests his new club has confidence that his knee problems are behind him. If he earns the full $16MM per year on his new deal, that would put Kennard in the same neighborhood of recent free agent signees like Davis Bertans ($16MM per year), Marcus Morris ($16MM), and Malik Beasley ($15MM).

New contracts for Morris, Paul George, and now Kennard have pushed the Clippers well over the projected cap and likely into luxury tax territory for the 2021/22 season, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.