Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kawhi Leonard Addresses Potential 2021 Free Agency

December 21st, 2020 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Star players like LeBron James, Paul George, and Rudy Gobert have signed contract extensions that will take them off the free agent market for 2021, but at least one superstar remains a good bet to become a free agent next summer. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard can opt out of his deal at that point and is ineligible to sign an extension before then.

Asked today about his contract situation, Leonard, unsurprisingly, wasn’t too talkative. The two-time Finals MVP told reporters, including Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, that he’s “just focused on this season.” However, he did offer a hint about his plans.

“Obviously, if I’m healthy, the best decision is to decline the (2021/22) player option,” Leonard said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving or staying. I’m focused on the season, like I said. We’ll talk about that when the time is right.”

While it’s somewhat surprising that Leonard offered up even that small morsel of info to reporters, it’s not exactly a groundbreaking admission. The 29-year-old’s option for the ’21/22 season is worth about $36MM. If he opts out, he’ll be eligible for a starting salary worth up to a projected $39.34MM, whether he re-signs with the Clippers or joins a new team.

Players with 10 or more years of NBA experience are eligible for a maximum salary worth 35% of the cap, as opposed to 30% for players with 7-9 years of service. This is Leonard’s 10th season, so he’ll be eligible for that higher max for the first time in 2021, which is presumably the main reason why he only opted for two guaranteed years when he initially signed with the Clippers in 2019.

Despite the club’s playoff flame-out this summer, there’s no indication that Leonard has any regrets about his decision to return home to Los Angeles and join the Clippers last summer. While it’s possible that could change with another disappointing early playoff exit in 2021, the most likely outcome for now is probably Kawhi opting out next year in order to sign a new deal with the Clips.

Meanwhile, even as we look ahead to Leonard’s next deal, the circumstances of his initial contract agreement remain under NBA investigation, as we detailed last week. Leonard has brushed off the recruitment allegations made against Jerry West and the Clippers, which commissioner Adam Silver addressed today during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take.

“All I can say there is everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Silver said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “We’ll look into it. It’s our obligation … that if something comes to our attention, we look into it and see if anything is there. I have no reason to believe, based on what’s been alleged so far, that anything inappropriate took place, but that’s why we follow up on whatever leads come to the league office.”

And-Ones: Dixon, G League, Owners, Rookie Transition Program

December 20th, 2020 at 6:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Former William & Mary guard Daniel Dixon has retired from professional basketball and will join the Hornets as a video coordinator and basketball operations assistant this season, he told Hoops Rumors.

Dixon holds NBA G League experience with Maine (Celtics), Northern Arizona (Suns) and Windy City (Bulls), spending four years in college before going undrafted in 2017. He also signed a contract in France during the summer of 2018.

At just 26 years old, Dixon joins a revamped Hornets franchise for the 2020/21 season. Charlotte drafted LaMelo Ball at No. 3 overall and signed Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM deal this offseason, working to become competitive in the Eastern Conference. The team last made the postseason in 2016.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz obtained footage of both G League Ignite scrimmages from last week, dissecting how each player performed against the veterans and what’s ahead for the team. The decision-makers within the G League curiously opted not to publicly live-stream the games or release any footage, though the pair of ESPN scribes managed to examine the pros and cons for top 2021 prospects such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explores which team owners are the NBA’s best and worst, tallying opinions from various league insiders. Steve Ballmer (Clippers), Micky Arison (Heat) and Mark Cuban (Mavericks) ranked in the top three, while Vivek Ranadive (Kings), Robert Sarver (Suns) and James Dolan (Knicks) finished in the bottom three. Among the league insiders polled were front office members and agents from around the league.
Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated takes a deep dive into the NBA’s rookie transition program, which, like many other things, has been complicated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Things are all moving parts right now, but you just gotta kinda go on the fly and that’s all us rookies have been used to the whole time,” Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton explained. “We’ve been going on the fly since March. It’s just kinda a part of it.”

Clippers Notes: Kennard, Leonard, West, Kabengele

December 20th, 2020 at 10:37am CST by Arthur Hill

After a pair of uninspiring games to start the preseason, Luke Kennard promised his Clippers teammates he would become more aggressive, write Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Kennard delivered on Thursday night, coming off the bench to score 13 points and hit 3-of-4 three-point attempts.

“After our first scrimmage in training camp, I just told him, ‘Be aggressive, be who you are,’” coach Tyronn Lue said. “‘If you’re doing too much, I’ll let you know – and I doubt I would ever say that.’ And I told him, ‘Kawhi (Leonard) and (Paul George), they need that from you. They want that from you. So don’t come here trying to fit in, trying to please guys. Just play your game, and then we’ll make sure we tailor your game around our offensive foundation.’”

Kennard is getting used to competition again after being shut down for more than a year. He was sidelined by knee tendinitis last December with the Pistons, and the league went on hiatus before he could return. The Clippers picked him up in a three-team trade on draft night.

There’s more on the Clippers:

Leonard has responded to charges that the team and executive board member Jerry West used improper tactics to lure him to L.A., tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. According to a TMZ report, Johnny Wilkes, who claims to be Leonard’s friend, is suing West for $2.5MM. “That has nothing to do with me swaying my mind to go somewhere,” Leonard said. “I’m from L.A. and I grew up here my whole life and out here people try to find any way to get some money, so he probably won’t be the last. I know a lot of people out here.” TMZ has published a voicemail allegedly left by West.
Mfiondu Kabengele remains in the Clippers’ plans for the future, even though the team elected not to take him to Orlando for the restart, Greif writes in a full story. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said it was difficult to decide who was brought to the Disney World campus. “We obviously were in a championship and still are in a championship contending mode, and we prioritize performance and medical for the playing group,” Frank explained. “You would have loved to have brought Fi there. Fi has a contagious personality. He stayed engaged throughout. He would jump on Zooms and watch practice. He would talk to his teammates. He talked to the staff. He kind of lived the journey remotely.”
ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz examines how the Clippers can fix the flaws that caused them to underachieve last season with a second-round exit after adding two All-Stars.

Clippers Release Rayjon Tucker

December 18th, 2020 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have waived wing Rayjon Tucker, the team announced today. Tucker will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

Tucker, 23, spent most of his rookie season with the Jazz, appearing in 20 games for the club. He also put up big numbers in the G League for the Wisconsin Herd and the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 23.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG in 19 NBAGL games (33.4 MPG).

Utah traded Tucker to Cleveland last month before his 2020/21 salary became fully guaranteed and he was subsequently cut by the Cavaliers. He joined the Clippers a few days later and has spent training camp and the preseason with the club.

With Tucker no longer on the roster, the Clippers look just about set for the regular season. They’re currently carrying 14 players on standard contracts (all guaranteed), with Amir Coffey and Jay Scrubb on two-way deals.

NBA GMs Vote Lakers As Offseason Winners, Title Favorites

December 18th, 2020 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s general managers liked the Lakers‘ offseason moves and are bullish on the team’s chances to repeat as champions in 2020/21, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes in his annual survey of the league’s GMs.

An impressive 81% of the responding general managers picked the Lakers to win the championship in 2021, which is the third-highest percentage any team has received since Schuhmann began conducting his annual GM survey 19 years ago. The Clippers ranked second at 11%, while the Nets and Heat received one vote apiece.

Meanwhile, the Lakers (37%) beat out the Suns (22%) and Thunder (15%) in the voting for best offseason roster moves. The Hawks, Bucks, and Sixers each received two votes, while the Trail Blazers got one too.

Here are a few more of the interesting responses from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

The Suns‘ acquisition of Chris Paul (44%) and the Bucks‘ trade for Jrue Holiday (33%) were voted the moves that will have the biggest impact this season. The Clippers‘ signing of Serge Ibaka (15%), the Pelicans‘ deal for Steven Adams (11%), and the Trail Blazers‘ trade for Robert Covington (11%) were the front-runners for the most underrated offseason player acquisition. Gordon Hayward‘s $120MM contract with the Hornets (54%) was voted the most surprising offseason move.
While NBA GMs view Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (39%) as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year over Warriors big man James Wiseman (29%), Wiseman received the most votes (36%) among this year’s rookies to be the best player in five years, followed by Ball (25%). Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton, meanwhile, was voted the biggest steal in the 2020 draft (43%).
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic were the top choices as the player GMs would want to start a franchise with today. They each received 43% of the vote, with Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Pelicans youngster Zion Williamson also picking up votes.
Speaking of Williamson, he helped the Pelicans receive the nod for the team with the most promising young core (41%). The Grizzlies (22%), Hawks (11%), Celtics (11%), and Nuggets (11%) also got multiple votes.

NBA Investigating Kawhi Recruitment By Jerry West, Clippers

December 17th, 2020 at 7:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

7:23pm: The Clippers have released a statement in response to the NBA’s investigation, referring to the lawsuit against West as “replete with inaccuracies” and the allegations as “baseless.”

“The Clippers are fully cooperating with the NBA,” the statement said in part. “They are providing the NBA with evidence that the allegations are false.”

6:16pm: The league is investigating the recruitment tactics employed by the Clippers and executive board member Jerry West in adding All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard to Los Angeles as a 2019 free agent, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Earlier this week, a TMZ report indicated that Johnny Wilkes, a man who claims to be friends with Leonard, is suing West for $2.5MM.

Per the suit, Wilkes claims that, due to his connection to Leonard and his uncle, Dennis Robertson, West agreed to pay him $2.5MM for his services in luring Leonard away from the Raptors in the 2019 offseason. Wilkes also claims that he suggested the team would need to add Leonard’s future star teammate, forward Paul George.

A representative for West spoke to TMZ Sports about the suit on West’s behalf. “I am not aware of any lawsuit being filed against me and I deny engaging in any improper conduct in connection with the signing of Kawhi Leonard,” the rep said.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets that, depending on what the NBA does or does not discover, the penalties for such a recruitment infraction could vary significantly.

Clippers Notes: Kennard, Batum, Zubac, Ibaka

December 16th, 2020 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Kennard and Nicolas Batum, two important offseason additions for the Clippers, haven’t played a regular season NBA game in nearly a year, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Both players are trying to use the shortened preseason to get ready for opening night, which is just six days away.

The Pistons shut down Kennard last December 21 because of knee tendinitis. He had been hoping to return March 14, but the hiatus kept that from happening. Batum appeared in just 22 games last season, limited by injuries and the Hornets’ preference to give minutes to their younger players.

“The first (preseason) game was kind of weird,” Batum said. “I just wanted to go out there and just be back on the court and just play basketball and do some stuff and be sure I don’t do some crazy mistake. That’s really my goal the first two games, to be back on the court and get through the motion and get my rhythm and the feel for the court.”

There’s more Clippers news to pass along:

Ivica Zubac is adjusting to his new role as backup center, notes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Zubac is expected to play similar minutes as in the past, but he will be on the court with a different set of teammates. “Zu specifically, he just has to get better with his hands,” said Lou Williams, the leader of the team’s second unit. “That was a conversation we spoke to. I’m a willing passer and he knows that. And so for him to be successful and get a lot of easy looks, we’re gonna have to get better and get on the same page with that. Other than that, I look forward to growing with him.”
Kennard and Serge Ibaka are both better fits for the Clippers than the players they replaced, contends John Hollinger of The Athletic. He sees Kennard, who can help run the offense, as a more complete player than Landry Shamet and notes that Ibaka’s ability to space the floor makes him more versatile than Montrezl Harrell. Hollinger opines that Paul George won’t be able to live up to his new four-year, $176MM contract, but thinks it still makes sense for the team, since the focus is on competing for a title in the next two seasons.
Reggie Jackson and assistant coach Chauncey Billups both returned to the team after being excused from Sunday’s game due to health and safety protocols, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

L.A. Notes: Horton-Tucker, LeBron, AD, COVID-19, Mann

December 15th, 2020 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

With his second consecutive impressive preseason performance on Sunday, second-year Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker is making a strong case to be part of the team’s regular season rotation, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.

“It’s going to make my job difficult for sure,” head coach Frank Vogel said when asked about finding a role for Horton-Tucker, who poured in 33 points in Sunday’s win to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

“We have a very deep team. No minutes are guaranteed,” Vogel added. “He’s going to keep playing at a high level, and that should push everybody else to stay playing at a high level. It does give us that luxury of having him carry the load some for some of our guys who played deep in the championship run last year and had a short offseason.”

Even if the Lakers stay relatively healthy this season, the club should prioritize finding regular minutes for Horton-Tucker, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who says the franchise will need to develop young talent if it wants to remain a title contender for years to come

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles-based teams:

Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t play at all during the team’s first two preseason contests, but they’ll both be “ready to go” when the regular season gets underway next week, according to Vogel (link via Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times).
Both the Lakers and Clippers were missing players on Sunday due to “excused absences” believed to be related to the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Those absences may be related to inconclusive tests or contact tracing, so they don’t necessarily mean the individual tested positive for COVID-19, according to Greif, who notes that the Lakers were without Kostas Antetokounmpo and Devontae Cacok, while the Clippers were missing Reggie Jackson and assistant coach Chauncey Billups.
Although Terance Mann has seen some time at shooting guard and small forward, the Clippers view the 24-year-old as a point guard and expect him to be a key contributor off the bench, as Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes.

Clippers Waive Ky Bowman, Malik Fitts, Jordan Ford

December 14th, 2020 at 4:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have cut three training camp invitees, announcing today that they’ve requested waivers on guard Ky Bowman, forward Malik Fitts, and guard Jordan Ford.

Bowman spent last season with the Warriors after going undrafted out of Boston College, averaging 7.4 points, 2.9 assists and 22.6 minutes in 45 games, including 12 starts. Bowman had his two-way contract converted into a multiyear standard deal in February, but only the 2019/20 salary was guaranteed. Golden State waived him last month.

Fitts is an undrafted rookie out of St. Mary’s. In 68 total games with the Gaels, Fitts averaged 15.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG.

Ford is also an undrafted rookie out of the same college. A two-time member of the All-WCC team, he was the second-leading scorer in the West Coast Conference in 2019/20, averaging 21.9 PPG.

Los Angeles now has 17 players under contract, including 14 on guaranteed deals and a pair on two-way pacts. Rayjon Tucker, the Clippers’ other player without a fully guaranteed salary, remains under contract for now, but could also be waived soon if the team doesn’t intend to open the regular season with a full roster.

Any of the waived players could eventually resurface with the Clippers’ G League team, Agua Caliente.

Pacific Notes: Horton-Tucker, Harrell, Smailagic, Kings

December 12th, 2020 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Both L.A. teams are filled with stars, but the talk of the first preseason matchup between the Lakers and Clippers was second-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Horton-Tucker only got into six games for the Lakers last season, spending most of the year in the G League, but he erupted for 19 points and nine rebounds on Friday night.

The performance drew online raves from his teammates, with LeBron James tweeting, “Telling you right now! This kid is flat out SPECIAL! Mark my words.” An injury slowed Horton-Tucker during last year’s training camp, but he got to display his skills during the restart and is now aiming for a rotation role.

“He’s young, but he’s got all the tools,” said new Laker Wesley Matthews. “He’s a dog. He’s tough on the offensive end, the defensive end. He’s crafty. He’s got some stuff to him, and he’s only gonna get better. I mean obviously he’s learning from one of the best (James) to ever touch a basketball.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Montrezl Harrell said he felt “definitely weird emotions” playing against the Clippers after leaving the organization to sign with its cross-town rival, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Harrell talked briefly with Reggie Jackson and Patrick Beverley during warm-ups before Friday’s game. “As far as seeing my old teammates and communicating with those guys, I did that after the game, for the most,” Harrell said. “Lou (Williams) and Pat, I kind of spoke to before the game just ‘cause I’ve been around those guys my whole career. But this is my job. This is where I’m at. … This wasn’t a come out, ‘Hey, how are you guys doing?’ and laughing it up. Nah, I had a job to do and I had a mindset of what I came here to do.”
The Warriors are hoping Alen Smailagic can develop into the same type of player as Davis Bertans, writes Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State recognized that Smailagic would be a project when he was drafted in the second round last year, so he’s virtually guaranteed a roster spot this season, Letourneau adds. “I think there’s a lot there to work with, and he has a really good chance to be a really good player in the NBA,” Warriors two-way coach Seth Cooper said. “I’m glad that the organization is willing to see that through and hopefully reap the benefits from this investment down the line.”
Kings coach Luke Walton hopes Marvin Bagley III and Hassan Whiteside will be ready for preseason action next week, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. Bagley missed workouts because of COVID-19, while Whiteside is dealing with a mild calf strain.