Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Notes: Brogdon, Holiday, Porzingis, Defense

September 29th, 2023 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After a three-team deal that would have sent Malcolm Brogdon to Los Angeles fell through in June, the Clippers have continued to engage the Celtics in trade discussions for the veteran guard throughout the offseason, league sources tell Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Weiss’ report comes within an article exploring whether it might be possible for the Celtics to obtain trade candidate Jrue Holiday. As Weiss writes, Brogdon would almost certainly have to be included in a deal for Holiday, and the Clippers are the one team known to have serious interest.

However, the Clippers may be more inclined to make a play for Holiday themselves – or to try to work out a three-team trade with the Sixers involving James Harden – than they would be to participate in a multi-team deal that sends Holiday to Boston and Brogdon to Los Angeles. As Weiss notes, adhering to the new salary-matching rules will also be a challenge for the Celtics if they pursue Holiday, since they can’t take back more than 110% (plus $250K) of their outgoing total.

Here’s more out of Boston:

Multiple executives and coaches who spoke to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com about the Brogdon situation believe that being honest and transparent with the 30-year-old will be crucial if he remains on the roster and there are fences in need of mending. “The one thing that characterizes (Brogdon) more than anything is his intelligence, his intellect,” one front office source told Bulpett. “If you appeal to him on that basis, if you appeal to his rationality, then he’ll understand. I have no doubt that (president of basketball operations Brad) Stevens will handle this the right way — and he has to, because Boston needs Brogdon even more than they did last year.”
Kristaps Porzingis took part on Wednesday in his first scrimmage since he was shut down due to the plantar fasciitis in his foot, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). According to Himmelsbach, Porzingis looked good and didn’t experience any setbacks.
Jared Weiss of The Athletic outlines the effect that the offseason departures of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams will have on the Celtics’ toughness and defense, and considers how the team might try to fill that void.

Clippers Notes: Kawhi, PG13, Holiday, Harden, Preston

September 29th, 2023 at 12:06am CST by Rory Maher

Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have dealt with a litany of injuries since they joined L.A. in 2019, but they’re “fully healthy” and ready to go for training camp, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).

The news was expected, as Frank was mostly just confirming what head coach Tyronn Lue said on a podcast a few weeks ago.

Frank also said the Clippers have talked to both players about possible contract extensions, according to Youngmisuk (Twitter link). Frank described it as a “process,” but the team hopes to continue to build around Leonard and George.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

At the same press conference, Frank said that while he likes the roster he’s assembled, the Clippers won’t hesitate to be aggressive in looking for upgrades if the opportunity arises, according to Janis Carr of The Orange County Register (subscriber link). “We like our team,” Frank said. “(But) you are always looking for ways to get better, both individually and as a team. Typically, if you follow the probability, the greatest way to get better is internal improvement. But from our standpoint, we’ll always be aggressive in trying to find ways to improve the team. I like our approach, but we’ll always look for ways to get better.”
The Clippers have been linked to All-Star guard Jrue Holiday, who is from the Los Angeles area. Law Murray of The Athletic makes the case that Holiday would be a better fit for the Clips than disgruntled star James Harden, noting that Holiday is a far superior defender. Holiday’s contract also aligns with Leonard’s and George’s, Murray adds, with all three players holding player options for 2024/25. Harden, meanwhile, is on an expiring deal and is not extension-eligible, but Holiday will be later this season.
Point guard Jason Preston‘s non-guaranteed salary becomes guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before this Sunday. Frank said the team is still weighing its options and the decision will likely come down to the wire, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

Jrue Holiday Rumors: Heat, Pacers, Knicks, Celtics, More

September 28th, 2023 at 7:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Celtics, Bulls and Sixers are among the teams Jrue Holiday would be interested in joining, a league source tells Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

That said, unless the Trail Blazers are willing to hold onto Holiday for at least a few months, you can scratch the Lakers from the list of possible suitors. They obviously aren’t trading LeBron James for Holiday, and the other players they could theoretically use to match salaries aren’t trade-eligible until December or January.

The Blazers are expected to prioritize young players and draft assets in exchange for Holiday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Today (YouTube link).

Holiday is expected to draw interest from a variety of teams, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Insider link). The Heat could be among that group, but Portland “had no major interest in any individual Miami player or draft asset, and limited interest in whatever combination Miami might cobble” during negotiations for Damian Lillard, Lowe reports.

According to Chiang and Jackson, the Heat haven’t ruled out making an aggressive push for Holiday, but they didn’t do it immediately on Thursday. Miami isn’t expected to pursue James Harden, and has yet to express interest in Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who is reportedly on the trading block after failing to reach an extension, a source tells Chiang and Jackson. Free agent guard Goran Dragic is interested in returning to the Heat, but that interest doesn’t appear to be mutual, per The Herald’s duo.

Sources tell Lowe the Pacers and Knicks are expected to have a level of interest in Holiday, though it’s unclear how seriously they’ll pursue the defensive stalwart. While Lowe believes Holiday could be a good fit with both clubs, he wonders if Indiana will decide it’s too early to make a win-now move.

Boston was previously cited as a possible suitor, but multiple sources tell Brian Robb of MassLive that the Celtics will likely be outbid and aren’t expected to land Holiday. Still, the team has long been interested in the veteran guard — Boston tried to acquire Holiday a few years ago before he was traded to Milwaukee, a source tells Robb.

Here are a few more notes related to Holiday, who was sent to the Blazers from the Bucks as part of yesterday’s Lillard blockbuster:

Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t have a direct impact on the Lillard deal, Wojnarowski noted in the same segment. “Directly, (Antetokounmpo) literally played no role,” Wojnarowski said. “In fact, (GM) Jon Horst did not bring this trade idea or sign off on it to Giannis Antetokounmpo because Jrue Holiday was involved. And the relationship there and the reverence that this organization and these players have for Holiday. He did not want to put that to Giannis Antetokounmpo and have him have that on his conscience necessarily that he might sign off or not sign off on it.” However, as Wojnarowski observes, Antetokounmpo putting pressure on the organization by saying winning more championships was the most important thing in his career certainly played a significant indirect factor in Milwaukee trading for Lillard.
In addition to the previously mentioned teams that might pursue Holiday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link) believes the Pelicans, Kings and Warriors would also benefit from the All-Star guard’s services. Over at The Athletic, John Hollinger lists the Heat, Clippers and Celtics as logical destinations for Holiday.
Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star considers the pros and cons of the Pacers pursuing Holiday. As Dopirak writes, head coach Rick Carlisle heaped praise on the five-time All-Defensive member during the 2022/23 season. “I’d like to somebody to name five other basketball players that are better than Jrue Holiday at the entire game,” Carlisle said. “Guy’s an amazing player, both sides of the ball. His scoring tonight was at another level obviously, but defensively, he can guard anybody. Just a nod of respect to him. He’s a guy that too often is overlooked as a truly, truly great player.” Still, Dopirak thinks it’s probably too early for Indiana to go after a 33-year-old veteran like Holiday, who can be a free agent in 2024 if he declines his player option.

Jrue Holiday Rumors: Sixers, Harden, Clippers, Heat, Celtics

September 27th, 2023 at 8:24pm CST by Rory Maher

As first reported by Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, the Sixers have interest in trading for veteran guard Jrue Holiday, who is being sent to Portland as part of the Damian Lillard blockbuster. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer confirms Neubeck’s report, and says James Harden — who hopes to land with the Clippers — would be involved in a possible deal.

Holiday spent his first four NBA seasons with the Sixers, who selected him 17th overall back in 2009. According to Pompey’s sources, Philadelphia tried to trade for Holiday multiple times during his seven-year stint with New Orleans from 2013-20.

Moving Harden before Monday’s Media Day and next week’s training camp would avoid a messy situation, and the team has said it wants an All-Star caliber player or draft assets in return for the former MVP. As a five-time All-Defensive member and a two-time All-Star, Holiday fits that bill, Pompey notes.

A three-team deal that sends Harden to the Clippers, Holiday to the Sixers, and a first-round pick from each club to the Trail Blazers seems like it could be a good move for all parties, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who reports that L.A. has thus far only been willing to give up one first-rounder for Harden. Still, as Fischer observes, maybe the Clippers will just end up going after Holiday instead.

The Heat are another Eastern Conference contender who have long valued Holiday, sources tell Fischer. League executives were speculating about Holiday being sent to Miami in the aftermath of the deal, Fischer adds, though it’s worth pointing out that Portland and Miami haven’t had much dialogue this offseason, despite Lillard hoping to land with the Heat.

The Celtics are expected to consider a pursuit of Holiday as well, reports Adam Himmselsbach of The Boston Globe (via Twitter). That’s an interesting, though not surprising rumor — the team has been trying to mend fences with Malcolm Brogdon, who was nearly sent to the Clippers this offseason. Brogdon ($22.5MM) would basically have to be involved in any package for Holiday ($36.86MM) for salary-matching purposes.

If the prolonged Lillard saga is any indication, Portland’s front office could be patient in looking for the best possible return for Holiday, Fischer notes.

Can Westbrook Carry Over Impact To 2023/24?

September 26th, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Russell Westbrook fit in even better than expected down the stretch with the Clippers last season, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who notes that the veteran point guard was an effective change-of-pace option for a slow team and showed a willingness to work off the ball more than he has in the past.

With Westbrook returning to the Clippers after re-signing as a free agent, Murray explores whether the former MVP can have the same sort of impact in 2023/24 and what the team’s contingency options look like if Westbrook isn’t as effective or gets injured.

Terance Mann and Bones Hyland look like the best in-house alternatives at the point if the Clippers are unable to trade for James Harden or another veteran. However, the team still wants to see more aggression out of Mann as a play-maker and creator, while Hyland is an undersized defender, Murray writes.

Clippers Sign Brodric Thomas To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 26th, 2023 at 7:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have signed free agent shooting guard Brodric Thomas, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. The agreement was first reported by Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says it’s an Exhibit 10 deal.

Thomas, 26, appeared in a total of 44 NBA regular season games from 2020-22 for the Rockets, Cavaliers, and Celtics, averaging 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per contest.

Although his impact at the NBA level has been limited, Thomas has played well in the G League, averaging 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in 31.9 minutes per game across 36 regular season appearances for three NBAGL teams. He posted a .436/.384/.714 shooting line in those games.

Thomas played for the Clippers’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this July and now seems likely to end up with the Ontario Clippers, Los Angeles’ G League affiliate. His Exhibit 10 contract would put him in line for a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived by L.A. and then spends at least 60 days with Ontario.

Thomas could also be a candidate to fill one of the Clippers’ two-way contract slots. His Exhibit 10 deal can be converted into a two-way anytime up until the day before the regular season, and L.A. has an open spot alongside Jordan Miller and Moussa Diabate.

The Clippers now have 20 players under contract.

Marcus Morris Won't Sit Out Regardless Of Playing Status

September 23rd, 2023 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Marcus Morris‘ situation with the Clippers appears unsettled, but he won’t consider staying away from the team the way that Jae Crowder did with the Suns, sources tell Law Murray of The Athletic. Morris started all 65 games he appeared in last season, but Murray called him “unplayable” after Paul George was lost with a knee injury. Murray notes that Morris was brought in to be the third scoring option for a team without a ball-dominant point guard, but there’s no longer a need for that since the acquisition of Russell Westbrook.

Pacific Notes: Iguodala, Hall Of Fame, Clippers, Suns

September 23rd, 2023 at 11:30am CST by Tristan Tucker

Though it was widely reported he would retire at the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, Andre Iguodala remains noncommittal on his retirement. On a recent episode of J.J. Redick‘s Old Man and the Three podcast (Spotify link), Iguodala continued to be 50/50 on whether he would play in the NBA this season.

“We recorded my decision, but I might come back and hoop … or I might go home,” Iguodala said.

Iguodala, 39, is a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors and won the 2015 Finals MVP award. Through his 19 seasons in the league, Iguodala holds career averages of 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

His most productive on-court seasons came with the Sixers and Nuggets, but he quickly became a staple on Golden State’s championship teams after arriving in ’13/14. Iguodala spent six consecutive seasons with the Warriors from 2013-19 before being traded to the Grizzlies and then the Heat. After playing in 84 games with the Heat, Iguodala signed back with the Warriors ahead of ’21/22 and has played 39 games with the team in the past two years.

For what it’s worth, as of August, it sounded like general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. didn’t expect Iguodala to return to Golden State this season, although he wasn’t ruling out the possibility.

“We’re not going to close the door on anything,” Dunleavy said in August. “But my guess, and my belief, is that he won’t be back.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

While Iguodala was a massive part of Golden State’s championship teams, he doesn’t think he deserves to be enshrined in Springfield, he admitted on the Old Man and the Three podcast (Spotify link). “I’m not a ‘ring culture’ guy, but I’ve benefited from that,” Iguodala said. “I know I have a lot of flaws. And I think there should be tiers of the Hall of Fame. … I’m not a Hall of Famer, if you ask me. No, no, no. Those guys [Hall of Famers] had no flaws.“
While four of the five starting positions for the Clippers appear to be filled, there still remains a hole at the starting power forward spot, opines Law Murray of The Athletic. Murray explores the team’s depth chart and goes through multiple possible options for the starting position, including Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and outside options like Kobe Brown and Kenyon Martin Jr. Murray expects the team to eventually make an outside addition via trade at some point during the season.
The Suns are one of 10 NBA teams who have yet to win an NBA championship. However, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic believes this season provides one of the franchise’s best opportunities to change that. Rankin lists five reasons why the Suns can win the NBA Finals this year, including their newly developed big three, their defensive-minded coach and their chemistry.

PPP Wouldn't Have Affected Clippers Much Last Season; Leonard Happy To Have Westbrook Back

September 21st, 2023 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers shouldn’t be considered the face of the NBA’s new player participation policy, contends Law Murray of The Athletic. Although Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have missed a lot of games over the past few years, Murray argues that the PPP wouldn’t have affected the team very much if it had been in place last season. He points out that the two stars missed the same game 12 times in 2022/23. Only two of those games were nationally televised, and Leonard and George were legitimately injured for both contests — Leonard with a sprained ankle and George with a strained hamstring.
In a KTLA segment (Instagram link), Leonard says the Clippers will benefit from having Russell Westbrook on their roster from the start of training camp (hat tip to Fan Nation). The veteran guard made a late-season impact after joining the team in February. “It’s very important having him back,” Leonard said. “… Now we got a Hall-of-Fame point guard that’s been through it. I think that’s going to be big for us coming into the year.”

Clippers Sign Xavier Moon To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 20th, 2023 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have officially signed free agent wing Xavier Moon to an Exhibit 10 contract, Hoops Rumors has learned. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first reported (via Twitter) that the two sides had reached an agreement.

Moon, who played in a handful of non-NBA leagues from 2017-21 after going undrafted out of Morehead State, has spent parts of the last two years with the Clippers, finishing the 2022/23 season on a two-way contract with the club. He has appeared in 14 total games for Los Angeles, averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 assists in 11.2 minutes per night.

Moon played for the Ontario Clippers – L.A.’s G League affiliate – for most of last season, putting up 20.1 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 3.9 RPG with a shooting line of .523/.389/.824 in 48 total regular season and Showcase Cup games (31.0 MPG). The performance earned him a spot on the All-NBAGL Third Team.

Moon added another accolade to his résumé in July when he was named to the All-Summer League Second Team following a strong showing in Las Vegas for the Clippers.

L.A. has one two-way slot open and Scott hears from agent Andre Buck that Moon is expected to be given an opportunity to compete for that spot. An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted into a two-way deal before the regular season begins.

If Moon doesn’t claim that two-way opening and is waived, he’d be eligible for a $75K bonus by spending at least 60 days with the Ontario Clippers.