Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

L.A. Notes: Leonard, George, Davis, West, LeBron

September 29th, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Clippers superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George hope to play for Team USA in the Olympics next summer, both players declared at the team’s Media Day on Sunday.

“I would love to. Hopefully, God willing, I can get through a season healthy,” George said, according to USA Today’s Mark Medina (Twitter link). “When that times comes, I’d love to be a part of the Olympics and represent. But this comes first obviously and getting through this year.”

Leonard, who’s coming off a historic championship run that saw him average 30.5 points per game in the playoffs with Toronto, shared the same sentiment as his new teammate.

“I do want to play. But I’m taking it one step at a time,” Leonard said, as relayed by Medina (Twitter link). “Right now, it’s about taking the Clippers to the Finals.”

Leonard and George join several superstars who have already expressed interest in playing for Team USA after a disappointing run in the FIBA World Cup, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis.

There’s more out of Los Angeles tonight:

The Lakers are doing their best to keep Anthony Davis from breaking their hearts by leaving next summer in free agency, Bill Oram of The Athletic writes. Davis, who holds a $28.7MM player option for the 2020/21 season, will almost certainly opt out and seek a maximum salary contract. “I just want to focus on this year,” Davis said. “Coming here, the Lakers definitely welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like this was home, but at the same time, it’s about what we can do this year. We have a special team, special unit, special coaching staff, and we’re going to do whatever we can to focus on this year and try to come out victorious.”
Ryan West, son of Hall-of-Famer and current Clippers advisor Jerry West, will work with the franchise in a scouting role this season, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. West recently left the Lakers after spending a decade with the organization, also holding eight years of prior scouting experience with Grizzlies.
LeBron James appears to be more engaging with his second stint on the Lakers right around the corner, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes. James, who turns 35 in December, is entering his 17th NBA season. “I’m very motivated, but I’m right now not in the talking-about-it mode,” James said. “I’ve been very quiet this summer for a reason. My mother always told me, don’t talk about it, be about it, so that’s where I’m at.”

And-Ones: FT Rule, Jeezy, Kobe, Scola, Title Odds

September 29th, 2019 at 2:49pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days, there are some concerns regarding the new free throw rule implemented in the G League for the 2019/20 season.

One concern is whether the decrease in rest time (which would occur during second or third free throw attempts) could lead to more injuries. Another is whether coaches will forget to send players in for substitutions before the first (and only) free throw.

One G League front office employee is also concerned that the game flow would impact assignment players – their free throw attempts, as well as their in-game rhythm – as they adjust back and forth between the G League and the NBA.

“For us, we want the G League game to model the NBA as closely as possible… I understand what the league is trying to do but there are other options to consider before this one.”

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

Rapper Jeezy is launching his own sports agency called “Sports 99” and will begin representing NBA and NFL players, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic explore some details about the select group of players that participated in the Mamba Sports Pro Invitational, hosted by Kobe Bryant, at the end of August.
Veteran forward Luis Scola has signed a deal with EuroLeague’s Olimpia Milano, head coach Ettore Messina announced, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando.
Adam Zagoria of Forbes notes that the Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks are early favorites to win the 2020 NBA Championship.

Tampering Guidelines Defined In Memo

September 27th, 2019 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If a player induces another player to demand a trade, it will be considered tampering under the official tampering guidelines, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

That was one of the key points in a memo sent out by the league to all teams regarding the new rules designed to curtail tampering. The league’s Board of Governors a week ago unanimously approved new anti-tampering measures.

The most notable example of a player urging another player to demand a trade famously came this summer, when Kawhi Leonard lobbied for Paul George to be traded to the Clippers as a prerequisite to signing with them as a free agent.

Another interesting item in the memo, according to Charania, states that isolated comments by a team official praising another player will no longer be regarded as a violation. Coaches and front office executives became increasingly hesitant of making positive comments about a star player for fear they would be punished by the league. That’s no longer the case as long as they don’t overdo it.

A controversial proposal has also be refined. The league will not confiscate phones or computers during its five random audits. Commissioner Adam Silver had been hesitant to take such measures. “None of us want people looking into their personal communications,” Silver said. The random audits will include a handful of a team’s communications with other front offices, players, and agents.

A new hotline will be created to allow teams and others with information to anonymously report potential violations, according to Charania (Twitter link).

Although teams can now be fined up to $10MM in “egregious” instances of tampering, Silver has also said that suspending executives, taking away teams’ draft picks, and even voiding contracts are all possibilities in the event of a tampering violation.

Nets Notes: Irving, Durant, Jordan, Allen

September 27th, 2019 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking today to reporters at the Nets‘ Media Day, Kyrie Irving said he felt as if he let down his teammates in Boston last season and wants to be a better leader for his new team in Brooklyn.

As Malika Andrews of ESPN.com details, Irving opened up about how the death of his grandfather last fall impacted him and why he had a change of heart following his preseason vow to re-sign with the Celtics and ultimately decided to play closer to home.

“A lot of the joy I had from basketball was sucked away from me,” Irving said of the time following his grandfather’s death. “There was a facial expression I carried around with me throughout the year and I didn’t allow anyone to get close to me. It really bothered me. I didn’t take the necessary steps to get counseling or therapy. I had to acknowledge that fact.”

Irving received much of the blame for the Celtics’ disappointing 2018/19 showing, which included chemistry issues and a leadership void in the locker room. In his comments today, he seemed to acknowledge that the criticism was fair.

“A lot of those battles I thought I could battle through (in Boston’s) team environment, I wasn’t ready for,” Irving said, according to Andrews. “And I failed those guys. I didn’t give them everything I could have during that season. In terms of me being a leader and bringing everyone together, I’ve failed.”

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston provides a more extensive transcript of Irving’s comments, while Rob Perez passes along a video link. The All-Star point guard said he is arriving in Brooklyn with a “fresh mindset” and hopes to avoid the same mistakes he made with the Celtics.

Here’s more from the Nets’ Media Day:

Asked about why he chose the Nets in free agency and whether he considered teams like the Warriors, Knicks, and Clippers, Kevin Durant said he thought about those other possibilities for “a couple seconds,” but wanted to be in Brooklyn (Twitter links via Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic). “It was really easy to see what these guys brought to the table,” Durant said of the Nets. “It’s not like I had to do any deep analysis of any player here.”
Durant also offered the following quote on his decision to leave the Warriors (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog): “I felt like it was time for a change and I wanted to play for a new team and simply put I just did it. I didn’t really think about what I was leaving behind. I thought it’s time to think about me.”
According to Irving, he and Durant would like to finish their careers together with the Nets (video link via Yahoo Sports).
Irving told reporters about talking to Durant and DeAndre Jordan at “4:16 in the morning” on the day of free agency and deciding they wanted to play together in Brooklyn (video link via Perez).
Jordan said that he and Jarrett Allen will compete and bring out the best in one another, and that both players will be fine no matter who ends up winning the starting center job (Twitter link via James Herbert of CBS Sports).

Thunder Notes: CP3, Roberson, Maynor, KD

September 26th, 2019 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked today about how the team might approach a potential trade for Chris Paul, Thunder general manager Sam Presti declined to get into specifics, as Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman relays.

“Those are all case-by-case things,” Presti told reporters. “We’re not really focused on the hypotheticals.”

While there are whispers that Paul may want to join a contender rather than the spend the entire 2019/20 season in Oklahoma City, Presti said the veteran point guard is a “hooper” and “competitor” who just wants to play basketball. “I think this is a tremendous opportunity for both of us,” the Thunder’s GM said.

Here’s more out of OKC:

Andre Roberson, who hasn’t played in an NBA game since January 2018 due to leg injuries, is expected to be ready to go for training camp, Presti confirmed today, per Eric Horne of The Oklahoman. “We’re hopeful he’ll be seeing some preseason action as it gets closer,” Presti said. “We’ll obviously manage him closely because he hasn’t played competitive basketball in a while. He’s worked hard to get there.”
The Thunder have hired former point guard Eric Maynor as an assistant coach for their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, Presti announced today (link via Lee of The Oklahoman). Maynor, who played for the Thunder between 2009-13, also spent multiple seasons overseas, which Presti believes “gave him a totally different perspective on the game.”
Responding today to critical comments made by Kevin Durant about the way he was treated by the Thunder and fans after he left OKC in 2016, Presti took the high road, telling reporters, “I have nothing but positive things to say about him and his tenure here” (link via Horne of The Oklahoman).
According to Royce Young of ESPN.com, Presti pushed back against Doc Rivers‘ recent assertion that the Clippers knew the Thunder were looking to “break up their team” before they negotiated a trade for Paul George. “We all know that players like Paul George and Russell Westbrook are extremely hard to acquire in cities, in the smaller cities in the league, and when you have those players, you try to do everything you can to retain them,” Presti said. “… I think the thought pattern just doesn’t really line up if you just look at it logically. Probably that type of thing would have been done much earlier and it wouldn’t have resulted from a trade request from one of your best players.”
The Oklahoman’s basketball writers discussed a handful of Thunder-related topics in a roundtable, including whether Billy Donovan is on the hot seat, what the Thunder could realistically expect to acquire in a Chris Paul trade, and more.

Joakim Noah’s Workout With Clippers Canceled

September 25th, 2019 at 8:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joakim Noah won’t work out for the Clippers this week, two sources tell Sean Deveney of Heavy. L.A. had planned to audition Noah in its search for a backup center. The team is at the maximum of 20 players, but only has 14 guaranteed contracts and appears willing to make a move to add veteran help in the middle.

Noah, 34, tried out for a role with the Lakers last month in the wake of an injury to DeMarcus Cousins. He reportedly had an impressive workout, but the job went to Dwight Howard.

Noah revived his career in Memphis after two disastrous seasons with the Knicks that ended with him getting waived before the start of last season. He signed with the Grizzlies in December and appeared in 42 games, averaging 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Deveney doesn’t indicate whether Noah has ruled out the Clippers entirely or whom the team might turn to as an alternative. L.A. has a deep, experienced roster everywhere but at center, he notes, as Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell have a combined 17 games of playoff experience.

Doc Says Team Has Multiple Closers

September 23rd, 2019 at 9:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixth man Lou Williams was the Clippers’ closer the last couple of seasons, but the additions of superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George change that dynamic, as coach Doc Rivers explained to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Lou is always going to be a closer, but it’s more closing plays now than who the closer is,” Rivers said. “You know who the closers are. The fact that that’s plural is a very good thing. Now it’ll be the closing lineups, the closing sets, the closing formations.”

Latest On Andre Iguodala

September 23rd, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Andre Iguodala hasn’t said much publicly since being sent from Golden State to Memphis at the start of July in a cost-cutting trade the Warriors had to make to accommodate the acquisition of D’Angelo Russell. However, he spoke to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday, with Poole suggesting it was “evident” that Iguodala isn’t exactly excited to join the Grizzlies.

“We’ll see,” Iguodala said when asked about his situation. “OK, maybe I shouldn’t say we’ll see. But we’re trying to figure out things on both sides. They’re trying to figure out some things, and I’m trying to figure out some things. As of today, we’re on the same page. Camp opens the next week. We’ll see. We’re on the same page though.”

As Iguodala hints, it seems safe to assume that neither he nor Memphis expects him to still be on the team’s roster when the 2019/20 season ends. But it remains to be seen whether he’ll move on in a trade or a buyout — and when exactly it might happen. Reports have indicated that the Grizzlies aren’t eager to buy out the former Finals MVP, while his potential trade suitors appear willing to be patient.

Asked about the possibility of a buyout, Iguodala explained to Poole his thoughts on the concept.

“At this point, the only buyout that makes sense — if I’m speaking on someone else’s behalf, thinking as an agent — is you don’t leave money on the table,” Iguodala said. “Especially in this league. Because you’ll never get it back, no matter what people say. Negotiations are a tactic, so you’ve got to be careful how you approach it, or how you verbalize what you would do going forward. But you can’t leave anything on the table.”

If Iguodala is approaching buyout negotiations with that stance, the stalemate between him and Memphis makes some sense. As Sean Deveney of Heavy.com notes, the Grizzlies likely want Iguodala to give back a decent chunk of his $17MM+ salary if they’re going to give him a clear path to join a contender without getting an asset in return.

If the two sides can find common ground on a buyout agreement, expect the Clippers, Lakers, and Rockets to be in hot pursuit, according to Deveney, who names the Nuggets and Nets as potential dark horses. In the meantime, training camps will get underway very soon, and Iguodala will have to remember that he won’t be reporting to the Warriors this fall.

“I forget that I’m not on the same team,” Iguodala told Poole. “I was texting with Loon (Kevon Looney) and asking him what he was eating and talking about Jiu-Jitsu training. And then, it’s like, ‘Oh, I forgot. We’re not even on the same team anymore.’ I laugh about that all the time.”

Joakim Noah To Work Out With Clippers

September 23rd, 2019 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent big man Joakim Noah intends to join the Clippers for workouts this week, sources tell Charania. Noah’s father first suggested earlier this month that his son would be working out for the Clippers.

Raptors Notes: Siakam, Roster, Taylor, Tampering

September 21st, 2019 at 7:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Several coaches and executives believe Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has a strong case for a maximum extension after his breakthrough season, writes Frank Urbina of HoopsHype. Siakam was fighting for playing time in his first two NBA campaigns, but he earned Most Improved Player honors for 2018/19 by posting a 16.9/6.9/3.1 line in 80 games.

“With Toronto in the situation that they’re in, no longer having Kawhi Leonard or Danny Green, Pascal Siakam may be a safe bet for them and they may want to give him a max extension to lock him up,” one Western Conference coach said. “I’ve been impressed with his development; he’s improved into a highly, highly serviceable player who’s very efficient and does a lot for that team. From the outside looking in, it seems like he’ll be able to continue his development too. He seems highly motivated and very grateful to be in the situation he’s in and he doesn’t take anything for granted.”

However, a couple of executives questioned whether Toronto should commit to a full max deal right now, saying it might be wiser to let him play out this season and negotiate with him as a restricted free agent next summer.

There’s more from Toronto:

Doug Smith of The Toronto Star takes a look at the battle for roster spots as training camp draws closer. With 12 players holding guaranteed contracts and three with Exhibit 10 deals, Smith expects the competition for the three open slots to be decided among Cameron Payne, Isaiah Taylor, Malcolm Miller, Chris Boucher and Dewan Hernandez.
The two-year contract that Taylor signed this week contains a $50K guarantee for the first season, but no protection beyond that, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. If he stays on the roster, Taylor will receive $1.62MM for this season and $1.76MM for 2020/21. Marks notes that it’s similar to the deal that Payne received, though Payne’s guarantee was $150K.
Columnist Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star calls the NBA’s newly-adopted tougher stance on tampering more of a “nuisance” than a deterrent. He adds that little could be done to punish the Clippers for their aggressive recruitment of Leonard last season because the wealth of owner Steve Ballmer makes a $10MM fine insignificant, and most of the team’s upcoming draft picks already belong to Oklahoma City from the Paul George trade.