Blake Griffin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyler’s Latest: Cousins, Westbrook, Griffin

August 23rd, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A handful of big-name players, including Jimmy Butler, Paul Millsap, and Blake Griffin, have been mentioned in trade rumors at some point this summer, but those guys almost certainly aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. In addition to Butler, Millsap, and Griffin, stars like DeMarcus Cousins, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love are staying put with their current teams, despite being the subjects of frequent trade speculation.

While the gist of Kyler’s tidbits on each of those six players is the same – they’re not being traded unless things change drastically for the team or player – each situation is a little different, so let’s round up some of Kyler’s latest info on those stars…

The Kings and Cousins have agreed to take a “fresh-start approach” to their union, according to Kyler, who notes that the big man likes the hiring of coach Dave Joerger. While Cousins’ potential 2018 free agency will be a factor down the road, Sacramento is turning away incoming inquiries and will likely play out the 2016/17 season with Cousins as the team’s cornerstorne before considering any franchise-altering decisions.
Like the Kings with Cousins, the Thunder would have to play extremely poorly in the first half for the team to consider any major in-season change involving Westbrook. Sources tell Kyler that there is almost no scenario in which Oklahoma City explores moving the star point guard during the season, though the team will of course be keeping a close eye on how its roster looks in the post-Kevin Durant era.
Per Kyler, sources close to Griffin “have been adamant” that he intends to re-sign with the Clippers once his current contract is up — that could happen next summer, since the star forward has an early termination option. Doc Rivers is confident Griffin will remain in Los Angeles for the long term and has no interest in engaging in trade talks, says Kyler.
The Hawks seriously explored a Millsap trade in July, but those talks came to an end after the team lost Al Horford. Sources tell Kyler that Millsap has been assured he won’t be dealt anytime soon, though the veteran’s potential 2017 free agency looms as a possible concern if Atlanta struggles out of the gate.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Suns, Griffin, Huertas

August 9th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

At age 19, Suns guard Devin Booker could still have upwards of two decades of his NBA career ahead of him. For now though, he envisions playing his whole career in Phoenix, if given the opportunity to do so, as he recently told Jeramie McPeek of SLAM Magazine.

“I love it in Phoenix and I want to be one of those guys that gets drafted by one team and stays there the whole time,” said Booker, the Suns’ 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft. “You know, they turn around the franchise, and they get love for that in that city like they’re the mayor… People still wear Steve Nash jerseys here. That’s definitely something I want to be.”

Of course, a player’s career goals at age 19 could end up being much different than his goals at age 29 or 39, so it will be interesting to see if Booker does indeed stick with the Suns for most or all of his career. He’s under contract through the 2018/19 season, and will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension in ’18.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

In a recent interview, Clippers head coach and president Doc Rivers essentially called trade inquiries on Blake Griffin a non-starter, suggesting that the star forward isn’t going anywhere. Still, rumors persist that the Thunder – and other teams – will target Griffin in free agency in 2017, or even before then. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders examines those rumblings, exploring whether the Clippers will have to consider their options with Griffin prior to the 2017 trade deadline.
Now that Marcelo Huertas‘ two-year deal with the Lakers is official, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided the specific details on Huertas’ contract. The point guard will earn $1.5MM guaranteed this season, then has a $1,567,500 non-guaranteed salary on the books for 2017/18.
While the “villain” tag followed Kevin Durant around this summer following his decision to sign with the Warriors, head coach Steve Kerr called that notion “absurd” during an interview with Michelle Beadle and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “This is one of the most likeable people in this league. He’s just an awesome human being. What he did in Oklahoma City was just amazing for that community,” Kerr said. “Circumstances kind of dictate, I guess, that some people are going to see him as a villain. But it’s only because he decided to go elsewhere to play. He wanted to change his scenery, he wanted a new challenge.”

Community Shootaround: Russell Westbrook

August 4th, 2016 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

After a month of trade speculation, Russell Westbrook shut down that talk earlier today when he signed a brand-new contract extension with the Thunder. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Oklahoma City brass had been prepared to explore the trade market for a package of young players and draft picks if Westbrook had given the team the impression that he was “unenthusiastic” about the future in OKC. However, in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s departure, Westbrook re-committed to the Thunder, forgoing free agency in 2017.

“The idea of running out to find a super team, that isn’t who he is,” a source close to Westbrook told Wojnarowski. “He thought, ‘These are my guys here,’ and he wanted to go to battle with them.”

While Thunder fans – along with GM Sam Presti – can breathe a sigh of relief for now, Westbrook’s “three-year” extension essentially only guarantees him one extra season in Oklahoma City. The first year of the deal is 2016/17, for which he was already under contract, and the third year (2018/19) is a player option, meaning Westbrook could opt out in 2018, when he becomes eligible for a higher maximum salary.

It’s entirely possible that Westbrook intends to re-sign with the Thunder again at that point, but the team certainly can’t take that for granted, and will have to work hard to fortify the roster around Westbrook over the next year or two. Within his column (linked above), Wojnarowski reiterates something he reported in July, writing that OKC has its eye on Blake Griffin, who played his college ball in Oklahoma and can become a free agent in 2017.

With Westbrook locked up, the Thunder would have to make a trade or two – or part ways with one or two of its RFAs-to-be – in order to create room for Griffin, but the cap work certainly wouldn’t be a major roadblock for the team — the bigger challenge would be convincing Griffin to leave Los Angeles to return to Oklahoma City.

Of course, even if signing Griffin isn’t in the cards, there are a number of other avenues – in free agency or on the trade market – that Presti and the front office could explore to upgrade the roster before Westbrook reaches the open market in 2018.

Today’s discussion questions revolve around the future for the Thunder and for Westbrook: Do you expect Westbrook to stay in Oklahoma City beyond 2018? Is this just a temporary reprieve for the Thunder, or is it a sign that Westbrook is committed to the franchise for the long run? What moves do you expect the Thunder to pull off in the next year or two to get back into title contention?

Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the future for the Thunder and for Westbrook. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Doc Rivers Talks Durant, CP3, Griffin, Roster

July 28th, 2016 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers made an appearance this week on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast at The Vertical, and Rivers made several interesting comments about his team’s offseason and its future.

Notably, Rivers indicated that the Clippers were “in the top three at the very end” in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, a statement which seems to be odds with reports that surfaced at the time. A Los Angeles Times story published two days before Durant announced his decision suggested that the Clippers had been informed they were out of the running. Based on Rivers’ comments, it’s possible the Clips found out they weren’t one of Durant’s top two choices and decided to move on and lock up other free agents rather than waiting for his final decision.

Rivers spoke more extensively about his club’s pursuit of Durant and touched on several other noteworthy topics, so let’s round up a few of the highlights, courtesy of RealGM.com:

On how the Clippers’ cap limitations affected their pursuit of Durant:

“We had to actually ask each guy to take a hit financially. We needed Kevin to take a hit this year to fit and next year we would have needed Blake [Griffin] and Chris [Paul] to take a hit financially. He didn’t have to do that if he stayed in Oklahoma. He didn’t have to do that if he went to Golden State. Plus they had room to build around that. I think at the end of the day, they looked at is as far as roster-wise, well, ‘The Clippers look great, we love who they are, but financially they are going to be so strapped, it’s going to be so hard to work, I think we’re going to go the safer place,’ and that was Golden State.”

On whether the Clippers will be able to lock up Griffin and Paul beyond 2017:

“It would be interesting if Steve Ballmer wasn’t the owner, I don’t know how confident I would be. With Steve, I’m extremely confident that we can keep both. You know, listen, winning is the key. The better we play on the floor, the better chance we have of not only keeping those guys but actually adding to our basketball team. That’s always the key factor in this. Quality of life is important, being comfortable, players getting along with the staff and each other. All that goes into it. But I think we’re in a good place there. I know both of them have said they want to play here. They want to play for us forever.”

On the Griffin trade rumors:

“It’s funny, you don’t want to go out and send out a press release every time there’s a rumor about Blake. We’re hoping Blake ends his career playing for the Clippers. Period. So when teams call, we say we have no interest.

“No team is calling right now because teams know we don’t have any interest.”

On the Clippers’ hole at small forward:

“We have a good core. The problem team-building with our core is we have three max players. I don’t think people understand that. I think since I’ve taken the job, even before then, we need a three, we need a three, we need a three. Yeah, we all know that but we also only have the minimum to try to go out and get a three. I think it’s been actually miraculous what we’ve done with just having minimum contracts.”

On the pros and cons of minimum-salary contracts:

“One thing I’ve learned with teams like ours, if you have a good team, you can convince guys to take the minimum. The problem is you’re going to keep losing guys. Every year we do it. Every single season we sign guys to the minimum and then we lose them to higher contracts. Cole Aldrich is the example from this year.”

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Lin, Embiid

July 23rd, 2016 at 9:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics have put major trade talks on hold after today’s flurry of signings, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. So far, the quest to obtain Russell Westbrook or Blake Griffin has made little progress, with the Thunder and Clippers wanting more than Boston is willing to surrender. Instead, the Celtics wrapped up a few smaller moves today, agreeing to terms with free agent swingman Gerald Green and center Tyler Zeller, in addition to deals with second-round picks Demetrius Jackson and Ben Bentil. The Celtics now have 18 players under contract, three over the roster limit. Bulpett expects Bentil to battle in training camp with R.J. Hunter, James Young and John Holland for the last roster spot, with Hunter as the early favorite. That would mean the end in Boston for Young, a 2014 first-round pick whose $1,825,200 salary might be included in any Celtics trade.

There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:

A source confirms, “There is no big deal right now” for the Celtics, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
New Nets point guard Jeremy Lin moved around the league so much because he has yet to find the “perfect” situation, relays Steve Serby of The New York Post. Lin recently signed a three-year deal with Brooklyn, which will be the sixth franchise for the six-year veteran. “And because I’ve been in situations I didn’t want to be in,” Lin explained, “I’ve created and negotiated in terms of free agency a lot of shorter deals that give me the flexibility to leave if I’m not happy with the way things are going.” In a wide-ranging interview, Lin expresses excitement about the future of the Nets and the chance to once again play for new head coach Kenny Atkinson, who tutored Lin when he was an assistant with the Knicks.
Defeating Justin Bieber in an arm-wrestling match may not prove that the Sixers‘ Joel Embiid is ready for the NBA, but that was just part of an active weekend in Los Angeles, writes Rob Tornoe of The Philadelphia Inquirer. More significant was a video of Embiid working out on the court that was posted online this morning by his trainer, Drew Hanlen. Embiid, who sat out his first two NBA seasons with injuries, was cleared for five-on-five play last month.

Latest On Russell Westbrook, Thunder

July 19th, 2016 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

While trade speculation involving Russell Westbrook has been a popular topic of discussion in NBA circles since Kevin Durant left the Thunder for the Warriors, Westbrook has given Oklahoma City no indication that he wants out, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. One source who spoke to Slater described the star point guard as “ticked off” about Durant’s departure and eager for the new challenge of playing without his All-Star teammate.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical paints a similar picture, writing that Westbrook is “a proponent of the young talent” on OKC’s roster, and is ready to lead the team in 2016/17. League sources tell Wojnarowski that teams interested in trading for Westbrook have been informed by the Thunder that he’s not available.

As Wojnarowski details, the Thunder’s decision to rescind Dion Waiters‘ qualifying offer is related to the Westbrook situation as well. Teams under the cap are allowed to renegotiate veteran contracts, and the Thunder are making it a priority to get a renegotiation done with Westbrook. Thad Foucher – Westbrook’s agent – and Thunder GM Sam Presti have been in “regular contact” this month, but Westbrook has yet to commit to renegotiating his contract, which would mean forgoing free agency next summer.

[RELATED: Thunder to sign Alex Abrines]

Teams with the cap room available to do so are allowed to renegotiate veteran contracts if they were signed over three years ago. In Westbrook’s case, a renegotiation would allow him to receive a salary increase up to the maximum assuming OKC has the necessary cap room, and three new years could be added to his contract. For now, with Waiters’ cap hold still on their books, the Thunder are over the cap. But removing Waiters’ cap hold and renouncing their mid-level, bi-annual, and trade exceptions would allow the team to create a chunk of cap space.

If the Thunder can ultimately convince Westbrook to negotiate a new contract before he reaches free agency, it would give the team a chance to recruit one of its top targets in 2017 free agency to pair with the point guard — Wojnarowski identifies Oklahoma native Blake Griffin as a star player being eyed by OKC. Griffin has an early termination option available for 2017/18, meaning he’ll likely hit the open market next summer.

Celtics Notes: Okafor, Griffin, Yabusele

July 16th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would still like to add one more big piece and he will make one of the Brooklyn’s picks available for the right player, a source tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “Danny will make it available in the right situation, but he’s not going to give it up with core players, too,” the source told Bulpett. “That’s going to be a good draft, and that’s going to be a high pick.”

Executives within the league believe Ainge will end up making a significant trade with one rival GM telling Bulpett that Jahlil Okafor may best fit on the trade market. “I still wouldn’t be surprised if something happened [with the Celtics and Okafor],” the anonymous GM said.

Here’s more from Boston:

There is still no traction between the Celtics and Clippers for a deal that would send Blake Griffin to Boston, Bulpett adds in the same piece. Furthermore, a source tells Bulpett that teams are having concerns over Griffin’s health. “I still think there’s a concern with his leg,” an opposing team executive told Bulpett. “We looked into him, and we’re hearing that’s a pretty serious thing. I’m not saying you don’t go after him, but you’d better be really sure about that leg before you go making any big commitments.”
The Celtics were willing to offer the No.3 overall pick and one player from their rotation, but the Bulls wanted two players and Ainge wasn’t willing to make that deal, a source tells Bulpett in that same piece.
Whether or not No.16 overall pick Guerschon Yabusele will play overseas is dependent upon the Celtics making a trade and opening up a roster spot, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter links). Yabusele could play overseas during the 2016/17 campaign even if there is a trade, Himmelsback adds.
James Young is on the Celtics‘ roster bubble, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. “I think James is doing fine, but we have a lot of decisions to make,” Ainge said. “A lot is dependent on what deals we’re able to do or not do, like do we sign or not sign another free agent?”
Out of all the Celtics whom participated in summer league, Young made the weakest case for a roster spot, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com contends.

Clippers Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Marble, Redick

July 15th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Arthur Hill

Trading away Blake Griffin would mean a sharp change of direction for the Clippers, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Rumors of a possible Griffin deal surfaced Thursday when Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported that the Celtics have targeted him and that there’s a feeling around the league that Boston is ready to make a major move. Deveney cited a possible three-team trade that would send Griffin to the Celtics and Rudy Gay from the Kings to the Clippers, but Woike sees a team built around Gay, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan as less likely than the current roster to be a contender in the West. Griffin has two seasons and about $41.5MM left on his contract.

There’s more news out of Los Angeles:

The Clippers made a much-needed move to clear some cap space Thursday when they traded C.J. Wilcox to Orlando, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. Wilcox played just 268 minutes in his two seasons with Los Angeles and was owed more than $1.2MM next season with a $2,183,328 team option for 2017/18. In return, the Clippers received a second-round draft pick in 2020 and Devyn Marble, whose contract is non-guaranteed until today at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Waiving Marble would open up money to sign Raymond Felton, who agreed to terms with L.A. on Thursday.
The Clippers are right against the luxury tax line with 13 players on guaranteed contracts, tweets Bobby Marks of The Vertical.
Clippers guard J.J. Redick responded to Commissioner Adam Silver’s warning about “super teams” being bad for the league, writes Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com. In a series of tweets, Redick notes that five teams have won titles since LeBron James joined the Heat in 2010, that the Celtics formed their dominant team through trades and that free agents have earned the right to decide where they want to play. Redick, who has been with the Clippers since 2013, is entering the final season of his contract.

Celtics Rumors: Griffin, Westbrook, Budinger

July 14th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A Wednesday report from Howard Beck of Bleacher Report suggested that rival general managers around the NBA viewed the Celtics as the biggest threat to acquire Russell Westbrook. Those GMs also believed that Thunder GM Sam Presti would be inclined to move Westbrook sooner rather than later if Presti feels that the star point guard is likely to leave in free agency next summer.

As I pointed out when I passed along that report, however, there has been no indication yet that the Thunder are actively exploring a Westbrook deal. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes today that Westbrook’s representatives haven’t received word of any trade talks, and they’d almost certainly be involved in that process — after all, any team acquiring the Thunder star would want to talk to his reps about whether he’d be willing to sign up for a long-term stay with that new team.

As Deveney notes, that doesn’t necessarily rule out an eventual Westbrook trade to Boston, but it probably means that the Celtics haven’t gotten serious about targeting him to this point.

Here’s more from Deveney on the Celtics:

The consensus among front-office executives at the Summer League in Las Vegas is that the Celtics will attempt to make a major deal soon, says Deveney.
Boston’s top trade target at this point appears to be Blake Griffin. According to Deveney, a three-way scenario has emerged that would involve the Celtics giving up picks in a deal to acquire Griffin, with the Kings getting involved and sending Rudy Gay to the Clippers. However, opposing front-office execs say the C’s are reluctant to give up their 2018 Nets first-round pick or their swap rights to Brooklyn’s 2017 pick.
If the Clippers do move Griffin in a deal with the Celtics or another team, they’d want to land draft picks and a “frontline star” to keep them in contention, per Deveney. I’m not sure Gay would qualify as that sort of “star,” but perhaps Doc Rivers feels differently.
According to Deveney, several front-office members around the NBA continue to bring up Kevin Love as a Celtics target, even though none of those execs believe that the Cavaliers will be inclined to move Love.
Deveney adds (via Twitter) that the Celtics continue to look for shooting help, and have reached out to veteran free agent Chase Budinger.
Meanwhile, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald hears from sources that, while the Celtics have expressed interest in Westbrook and Griffin in the past, there have been no recent trade discussions involving either player. However, he acknowledges that Boston remains “very much open” to a major deal, and says situations remain fluid.

Clippers To Pitch “Big Four” Scenario To Durant

June 30th, 2016 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers will be one of the first teams to sit down with Kevin Durant on his free agent tour, with KD on track to meet with the Clippers and Warriors on Friday. And according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register and Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, the Clippers will attempt to sell Durant on a scenario that would see him playing alongside Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles, creating a “big four.”

It has long been assumed that, if they were to land Durant, the Clippers would have to jettison one of their top three players for cap purposes. However, Los Angeles is exploring scenarios that would allow the team to keep Paul, Griffin, and Jordan, while adding Durant. Per ESPN’s report, all three players have been invited to the Clips’ meeting with Durant in The Hamptons, which will be led by owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers.

Selling Durant on such a scenario may not be easy, and it won’t be simple to actually execute either. Even if the Clippers were able to trade J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce, C.J. Wilcox, and the rights to Brice Johnson without taking any salary back, and renounced all their pending free agents, the team wouldn’t have enough cap room to offer Durant a maximum-salary contract. By my count, Durant would have to start at around $23.5MM in that scenario, and the Clippers would be left with only the $2.898MM room exception – and minimum-salary deals – to fill out their roster around their “big four.” A max salary for Durant is expected to start at approximately $26.6MM.

As the Clippers prepare their pitch to Durant, the Thunder’s brass is meeting with the former MVP today. However, since teams aren’t permitted to discuss contract parameters prior to July 1st, Oklahoma City is seeking a second meeting with Durant in The Hamptons next week, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). Those contract discussions likely wouldn’t take long – there’s little doubt the Thunder would offer a full, five-year max – but a second meeting would allow the team to get the final word after Durant has heard pitches from all his other suitors.