Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers’ Tucker, Hyland Away From Team; Expected Back After All-Star Break

February 14th, 2024 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

10:42am: The Clippers sent home both Tucker and Hyland ahead of Wednesday’s game vs. Golden State, Charania confirms (via Twitter). Like Tucker, Hyland is expected to rejoin the team after the All-Star break.

9:54am: Clippers forward P.J. Tucker won’t be with the team for its final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday in Golden State, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the forward’s absence will give him an opportunity to “reset” ahead of the home stretch of the season.

Tucker is expected to rejoin the Clippers after the All-Star break, sources tell Charania. The club’s post-All-Star schedule begins with a back-to-back road set in Oklahoma City and Memphis on February 22 and 23.

As Charania notes, Tucker – who was sent along with James Harden from Philadelphia to Los Angeles at the start of November – has been unhappy with his situation in L.A. for much of the season.

The 38-year-old hasn’t seen action since November 27 after initially playing a rotation role for the Clippers. He averaged just 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game across 12 appearances off the bench for his new team, making 4-of-14 field goal attempts (28.6%).

Reports of Tucker’s discontent first surfaced in December. In the days and weeks that followed, he repeatedly expressed frustration with his lack of playing time, and the Clippers reportedly made an effort to trade him at last Thursday’s deadline. However, he presumably had negative value on the trade market due to the $11.54MM player option on his contract for next season, and L.A. didn’t find a deal.

Because Tucker isn’t on an expiring contract, a buyout isn’t an option receiving consideration, according to Charania, who hears from sources that the Clippers and Tucker had “productive” and “much-needed” discussions this week about the forward staying ready to potentially reenter the club’s rotation.

Asked about Tucker’s situation following the trade deadline last week, head coach Tyronn Lue downplayed the veteran’s dissatisfaction and told reporters that he’ll “get an opportunity.”

Neither Charania nor Lue offered any specific details on a plan or timeline for Tucker to rejoin the rotation, so it’s unclear when exactly that might happen. Given that the Clippers have gone 28-8 since Tucker last played, they’re likely not eager to mess too much with what’s working.

For what it’s worth, Bones Hyland – another Clipper who has been out of the rotation and whose name surfaced in trade rumors ahead of the deadline – was added to the injury report along with Tucker last night. They’re both listed as “not with team” for Wednesday’s game vs. the Warriors.

Pacific Notes: Zubac, Green, Beal, Young, Gallinari, Leonard

February 13th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers center Ivica Zubac is dealing with a minutes restriction since returning from a calf injury, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register notes, averaging 20.5 minutes in four games. He had 11 rebounds in 23 minutes against Minnesota on Monday.

“I wanted to play a little more, but I got to trust the process,” Zubac said. “I didn’t go to my limits, so the game was like that. I can’t complain. If I was not in foul trouble, if I was playing a little better, I would have been out there more.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Warriors are riding a five-game winning streak and Draymond Green believes his 16-game league suspension played in a role in the resurgence, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews writes. Golden State had to adjust without Green and Jonathan Kuminga emerged as a starter in his absence, while other young players cracked the rotation. “I think me getting suspended helped in a weird way,” Green said. “Not that I wanted to get suspended, but I do think that helped us find different things we can go to and explore.”
Bradley Beal departed the Suns’ game on Tuesday early due to a left hamstring injury, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets.
The impending addition of Thaddeus Young will add size and physicality to the Suns, Bourguet writes. Young can serve as a small-ball center at times and a connector at the offensive end.
The Suns will still have a roster spot open when Young officially signs. They have also shown interest in Danilo Gallinari, who was waived by the Pistons after the trade deadline, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. It’s unclear whether they will still pursue Gallinari once they officially sign Young on the buyout market, given that they also added two forwards – Royce O’Neale and David Roddy – via trade last week.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (left adductor strain) won’t play against the Warriors on Wednesday, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears tweets. It will be the fifth game he’s missed this season.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 13th, 2024 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of free agent signings have been finalized in the days since last Thursday’s trade deadline, but there are still many teams around the NBA with one or more open spots on their respective rosters.

For clubs with just a single standard or two-way opening, there’s not necessarily any urgency to fill those spots, especially ahead of the All-Star break. But the clock is ticking for teams who have two or more openings on their standard rosters to make a move, since clubs are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time.

With the help of our roster count tracker, here’s where things stand for all 30 teams around the NBA as of Tuesday afternoon. As a reminder, teams are typically permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

(Note: Teams marked with an asterisk have a player on a 10-day contract.)

Teams with multiple open roster spots

Brooklyn Nets
- Note: One of the Nets’ roster openings is a two-way slot.
Golden State Warriors
Milwaukee Bucks
- Note: Both of the Bucks’ roster openings are two-way slots.
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks *
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns

The Warriors, Timberwolves, and Pelicans are all currently carrying 13 players on standard, full-season contracts, with all three of their two-way slots filled. That means they’ll have to add a 14th man at some point in the not-too-distant future to adhere to the NBA’s minimum roster requirements.

Golden State and Minnesota made trades on February 8 that dropped them below 14 players, so those two teams have until Feb. 22 to add a player. New Orleans’ deadline is coming a little earlier, since the club dipped to 13 when Malcolm Hill‘s 10-day contract expired on Feb. 6.

No roster moves are required for the Nets and Bucks, as both teams have at least 14 players on standard contracts, with one or more two-way openings. I’d expect Brooklyn and Milwaukee to fill those two-way slots before the two-way signing deadline in early March, though they don’t necessarily have to.

The Knicks and Sixers currently only have 12 players on standard, full-season contracts. New York also has Taj Gibson on a 10-day deal, while Philadelphia is poised to sign Kyle Lowry to a rest-of-season contract. Both teams will need to make at least one more roster move by Feb. 22 after dipping down to 12 players on trade deadline day last Thursday.

As for the Suns, they’re currently carrying just 13 players on standard contracts, but it sounds like they’ve already lined up a deal with a 14th man — a report earlier today indicated that they’re preparing to sign Thaddeus Young.

Teams with one open roster spot

Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers *
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

One of the 14 players on the Cavaliers‘ standard roster is Zhaire Smith, who is on a 10-day deal. Once his contract expires next week, the Cavs will have to either re-sign him or add another 14th man — and they’ll have to do it right away.

In addition to being prohibited from carrying fewer than 14 players on standard deals for more than two weeks at a time, NBA teams are limited to 28 days of carrying fewer than 14 players over the course of a season. The Cavs have already reached that 28-day limit, having carried just 13 players from January 4-18 and again from January 28 until February 11.

The rest of these teams have 14-man standard rosters with no two-way openings, meaning there’s no urgency for them to make any moves, though they’ll likely fill those open roster slots at some point between now and the end of the season in April.

Teams with no open roster spots

Atlanta Hawks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons *
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies *
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers *
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors *

Twelve of these 13 teams have full 18-man rosters, with 15 players signed to standard contracts and three to two-way deals. However, the Pistons, Trail Blazers, and especially the Raptors are worth monitoring here, since they all have players on 10-day contracts and can open up roster spots when those deals expire.

Detroit and Portland are each carrying a single player on a 10-day deal, while Toronto has two, meaning the Raptors will dip down to 13 players on standard contracts during the All-Star break. They’ll have up to two weeks to get back to 14.

The Grizzlies are actually carrying 19 players at the moment, with 16 players on standard contracts (15 full-season deals, plus Jordan Goodwin on a 10-day) because they’ve been granted a hardship exception due to all the injured players they’re missing.

And-Ones: MVP Race, 2024 Draft, Korkmaz, Okafor, More

February 13th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

With Joel Embiid no longer eligible for this season’s MVP award due to the number of games he has missed, the race appears wide open, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, who conducted another version of his straw poll ahead of the All-Star break.

The 100 media members polled over the weekend by MacMahon selected Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current MVP favorite, with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the runner-up. Jokic earned 69 first-place votes and was the only player selected by all 100 voters on their five-player ballots, while Gilgeous-Alexander was listed on 99 ballots and was the top choice on 24 of them.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard rounded out the top five in Bontemps’ latest poll, with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell also appearing on double-digit ballots. Notably, while just four of 100 media members had Anthony Edwards in their top five, one made the Timberwolves guard their MVP choice.

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

Although Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) still feel as if the 2024 draft class is short on high-end talent, they believe it could end up being a relatively deep draft. Givony and Woo suggest that some teams will be able to find rotation players later in the first round or in the second round, even if there are no sure-fire stars at the top of the class.
After being traded from Philadelphia to Indiana and then waived by the Pacers, veteran swingman Furkan Korkmaz has turned down interest from Turkish club Besiktas for now and is hoping to remain in the NBA, according to a report from Eurohoops. Korkmaz didn’t play much for the Sixers the past two seasons, but is still just 26 years old and is a 36.1% three-point shooter over the past five years.
Former lottery pick Jahlil Okafor is on the move again, having recently signed with Puerto Rican team Capitanes de Arecibo, as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Okafor played in Spain and China earlier this season. He last played in the NBA with Detroit in 2020/21.
Grizzlies guard Vince Williams has been chosen to replace injured Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels in this Friday’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend, while Indiana Mad Ants guard Kyle Mangas will replace Sixers two-way player Kenneth Lofton Jr. in the G League Next Up game, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA and NBAGL.

Mitch Kupchak Moving Into Advisory Role With Hornets

February 12th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak will leave his post to become an organizational advisor to the franchise, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The search for a replacement will begin immediately, and new owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin are expected to hire someone before the end of the regular season, Wojnarowski adds. Sources tell ESPN that Kupchak will continue his current duties until his successor is named.

Wojnarowski hears that several current general managers will be among the targets of the search, including the Sixers’ Elton Brand, the Pelicans’ Trajan Langdon, the Cavaliers’ Mike Gansey and the Clippers’ Trent Redden. Sources tell Woj that some assistant GMs will be considered too, such as the Nets’ Jeff Peterson, the Wizards’ Travis Schlenk and the Kings’ Wes Wilcox, all of whom worked for the Hawks when Schnall was a minority owner in Atlanta.

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer also lists Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and Knicks assistant GM Frank Zanin as potential candidates.

Schnall and Plotkin began plotting a new course after purchasing a majority interest in the Hornets in August, Wojnarowski states. They are focused on rebuilding around a young roster as the team parted with veterans such as Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington in recent trades. Plans are also in the works for a $275MM arena renovation and a $60MM practice facility.

Kupchak will leave behind a mixed record during his time with the Hornets, Boone observes. He was able to fix the cap situation and make the team competitive after taking over as general manager in 2018, but his signature move — the signing of Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM contract in 2020 despite a history of injuries — didn’t pay off as Kupchak had hoped. Hayward was traded this week to Oklahoma City for a modest return.

Drafting LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller may leave the Hornets with a brighter future, but Boone notes that Kupchak had his share of draft misses, including in 2021 when Charlotte selected James Bouknight, Kai Jones and Scottie Lewis, who are no longer with the team.

George Reiterates Desire To Sign Extension

February 11th, 2024 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paul George erupted for 33 points against Detroit on Saturday. Afterward, George reiterated that he’s hoping to sign an extension with the Clippers, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register reports. “That’s the goal,” George said. George holds a $48.8MM player option for 2024/25. In order to sign an extension, George would have to decline that option, at which point he would be eligible to receive up to approximately $220MM over four years on his new deal.

L.A. Notes: Tucker, Clippers, Reddish, Christie

February 10th, 2024 at 11:27am CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker expressed disappointment he wasn’t moved at Thursday’s deadline after being sparsely used following his trade from Philadelphia. However, the Clippers indicated that he’s in their plans following the deadline.

“We like P.J. here and he’ll get an opportunity,” head coach Tyronn Lue said (Twitter video link via The Athletic’s Law Murray). “That’s part of the game, you’re going to get frustrated because everybody wants to play. P.J. will be OK.”

The Clippers did try to trade Tucker, but his age and $11.5MM player option for next season limited his value on the market, Murray writes. Despite the fact that he lost his rotation spot, the front office still believes Tucker is capable of being a playoff contributor and guarding bigger forwards, according to Murray.

We have more notes out of Los Angeles:

The Clippers had a quiet trade deadline and appear to be happy to avoid any more midseason roster changes, The Orange County Register’s Janis Carr writes. The team already made a big splash this season by trading for James Harden in October. L.A. struggled to find consistency right away but has since lost just nine of 31 games and is a single game out of first in the Western Conference. “I think what we’ve done since acquiring James and the different rotations, different combinations and finally getting it down to where it works for our team is really good,” Lue said. “Just having familiarity with each other on the floor, I think guys are feeling comfortable in their roles, their minutes, and how we’re playing. So, to break that up, I’m glad that didn’t happen. I’m happy for the team we have, the guys we have in the locker room, and we’ll see what we have going forward.“
Lakers forward Cam Reddish was cleared to begin on-court progression and ramp-up work, according to The Orange County Register’s Khobi Price (Twitter link). The hope is that Reddish will be able to return soon after the All-Star break. Reddish is averaging 6.7 points this season in 35 games (26 starts).
After exiting the second quarter of the Lakers‘ Thursday game against the Nuggets with an ankle sprain, Max Christie underwent an MRI on his right ankle, tweets ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The team is awaiting the results. Christie is averaging 5.0 points per game this season.

Fischer’s Latest: Hield, Sixers, George, Pacers, Trae, Murray, More

February 9th, 2024 at 7:08am CST by Luke Adams

Buddy Hield rejected a “significant” extension offer from Indiana in the fall, and with a lucrative new deal for Pascal Siakam to account for, the Pacers’ ability to retain Hield as a free agent this offseason was in doubt, which is why they sent him to the Sixers on Thursday, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Philadelphia, which doesn’t currently have any guaranteed money on its books beyond 2023/24 besides Joel Embiid‘s contract, is much better positioned to retain Hield, though the 76ers will likely consider many options with their projected cap room.

Echoing Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter video link), Fischer says star forward Paul George figures to be a top target for the Sixers if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Clippers in the coming weeks or months. Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who holds a player option for 2024/25, has also been mentioned as a possible Philadelphia target, per Fischer.

The Sixers wouldn’t be the only team in play for George if he reaches free agency, according to Fischer, who suggests there have been whispers that the veteran is intrigued by the possibility of returning to Indiana and teaming up with Tyrese Haliburton. Such a move would be tricky – but certainly not impossible – from a cap perspective.

Philadelphia’s offseason outlook will hinge in part on what the team’s plans are for Tobias Harris. According to Fischer, the Sixers weren’t willing to include him in a deadline deal that would have sent him to Detroit, with Pistons wings Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks going to Philly. The Pistons may be in the mix for Harris in free agency this summer, Fischer notes, adding that Hornets forward Miles Bridges is another player expected to be on Detroit’s radar.

Here are a few more post-deadline items of interest from Fischer:

Multiple front offices came away from their conversations with the Hawks believing that Atlanta could make star guard Trae Young available this summer, says Fischer. However, he cautions that could “prove to be wishful thinking,” since the information is coming from rival teams rather than from the Hawks themselves. If Young were to hit the trade market, the Lakers and Spurs are among the clubs widely viewed as potential fits, Fischer adds.
League personnel anticipate that the Lakers will resume conversations with the Hawks about Dejounte Murray in the offseason, according to Fischer, who notes that the Pelicans could revisit their Murray talks at that point too. Atlanta is known to value multiple players on New Orleans’ roster, league sources Fischer, though one of those players – Naji Marshall – will be an unrestricted free agent this July.
Although there were several teams open to the idea of acquiring D’Angelo Russell, many front offices viewed his $18.7MM player option for 2024/25 as having negative value, Fischer reports. That thinking, along with Russell’s strong recent play, factored into the Lakers‘ decision to hang onto him through the deadline.
In addition to the recently released players who will hit the free agent market shortly, center Bismack Biyombo, forward Rudy Gay, and swingman Danny Green are among the veterans who were waived earlier in 2023/24 and continue to seek new NBA homes, Fischer writes, singling out Biyombo as a player expected to generate interest.

Clippers Acquire Draft Rights To Ismael Kamagate For Cash

February 8th, 2024 at 9:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:16pm: The trade is official, per an announcement from the Clippers.

2:30pm: The Clippers completed a minor deal before the trade deadline, sending cash to the Nuggets in exchange for the draft rights to Ismael Kamagate, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic.

Denver will receive $2.68MM in the deal, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

Because L.A. is over the second apron, the team won’t be able to send out cash in trades beginning this offseason, so it has made an effort to acquire the rights to some draft-and-stash players for future trade purposes.

The 6’11” Kamagate, a 23-year-old French center, was the 46th pick in the 2022 draft. Originally selected by Detroit, his draft rights were moved to Portland and then to Denver. He is currently playing for Bertram Derthona Tortona in Italy’s LBA league, on loan from Olimpia Milano.

Buyout Rumors: Tucker, Lowry, Dinwiddie, Harris

February 8th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker is not requesting a buyout and is expected to remain with the team through the remainder of the season, according to TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link). This comes after trade attempts involving Tucker fell short, Haynes adds. This was the expected outcome if Tucker wasn’t moved at the deadline.

It’s no secret Tucker wasn’t thrilled with his role after landing with the Clippers in the James Harden trade at the beginning of the season. After starting in all 78 of his appearances with the Sixers after signing there in 2022, Tucker has only played in just 12 games with Los Angeles. averaging 14.4 minutes per game.

“I want to be somewhere where I’m needed, wanted and can do it all. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I have my fingers crossed and I’m hoping to go somewhere else whether I get bought out and choose where I go or where I can play,” Tucker said before the deadline to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears (Twitter link).

Tucker was once seen as a “strong” candidate to be moved before the deadline, but the fact that he has an $11.5MM player option for next season appears to have been an issue for opposing teams. The most likely step forward for both sides is Tucker accepting his player option in the offseason and then the two sides working together to find a deal that suits him when teams have a clearer idea of their 2024/25 plans.

For what it’s worth, Tucker seemingly expressed frustration at the situation in an Instagram story following the deadline, with the story reading “All this s— is a f—ing joke” (Instagram link).

We have more rumors regarding the buyout market:

Hornets point guard Kyle Lowry is the Sixers‘ top priority on the market if he and Charlotte come to terms on a buyout agreement, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Sixers have been making moves all day to clear salary (Danuel House) and playing time (Jaden Springer, Patrick Beverley) in the guard room, so Lowry is a sensible addition.
The Lakers, Mavericks, Pelicans and Sixers are expected to have interest in Spencer Dinwiddie after he was waived by the Raptors earlier Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on Stadium’s live trade deadline show (hat tip to RealGM). Dinwiddie is ineligible to sign with the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Bucks and Suns, whose team salaries are above the tax apron, so that list of four interested teams includes some of the top playoff contenders available for Dinwiddie to sign with. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.0 assists in 48 games (all starts) with the Nets this season.
The Lakers are indeed among the frontrunners to sign Dinwiddie, confirms ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Los Angeles is a good position to land the 6’5″ guard, because the Lakers are able to offer around $1.5MM prorated because they didn’t give Gabe Vincent the full mid-level exception in the offseason, McMenamin adds (Twitter link). Other teams are only able to offer around $1MM.
The Bulls stood pat at the trade deadline and are likely to make moves to supplement a potential playoff push, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. Former Pistons sharpshooter Joe Harris could be a target for Chicago on the buyout market after he was waived by Detroit. Johnson adds the Bulls tried to acquire Bojan Bogdanovic from Detroit.