Blake Griffin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Roster Plans, Paul

May 18th, 2015 at 6:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Doc Rivers‘ failure to improve his bench last offseason was the biggest reason why the Clippers squandered a 3-1 series lead to the Rockets, Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk opines. Fatigue and a lack of quality role players contributed significantly to their collapse and that falls on Rivers, who holds the dual role of coach and president of basketball operations, Helin continues. Spending the team’s entire mid-level exception on Spencer Hawes, who fell out of the rotation late in the regular season, was a mistake. That killed their chances of a Paul Pierce-Rivers reunion, while Rivers’ other offseason signings — Jordan Farmar, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Jared Cunningham and Ekpe Udoh — made no impact, according to Helin. Along with re-signing DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers need more depth to take the next step, Helin concludes.

In other news involving the Clippers:

Rivers acknowledged to Sam Amick of USA Today the challenge the Clippers face to upgrade their roster with limited resources, given their constraints against the cap. “I want to fix it,” Rivers told the USA Today scribe. “I want to win. That’s why I came here. I knew when I came here that roster-wise it was going to be very difficult. The first thing I did before I took this job, I looked at the roster and we laughed. I was like, ‘What the [expletive] can we do with this?’ It was more the contracts. But we have to try to do it somehow. I don’t know how yet, but something will work out.”
The Clippers could open some flexibility via trade, but Rivers seemed to indicate a preference for keeping the core together, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays. “You don’t rule out anything, but I like our group,” Rivers said. “I really do. Teams that have stuck it out, in the long run if you look at sports history, have done better than teams that have blown it up. We’re really close, clearly. It might be a defensive guy; it might be one more guy. I don’t know yet.”
Rivers affirmed he has no desire to overhaul the roster since the team was so close to making the Western Conference Finals, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Trading Chris Paul would allow Blake Griffin to expand his game, refresh the team’s talent base and give it a new identity, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report speculates. The team gets overly emotional and loses its composure in the most difficult of situations and a radical step might be needed to change that dynamic, Ding concludes.

And-Ones: Griffin, McGee, Dragic, Garnett

March 2nd, 2015 at 10:11pm CST by Charlie Adams

Clippers forward Blake Griffin could return as early as Sunday’s game against Golden State, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com tweets. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Griffin is running “full tilt” and participating in shooting drills, Markazi adds. Griffin has been sidelined since early February with a staph infection in his right elbow and was expected to miss four-to-six weeks. We’ll round up more from the league below..

Waiving JaVale McGee, who has one year and $12MM remaining on his contract, is a good indicator the Sixers will not pursue any top free agents next season, Tom Moore of Calkin Media tweets. McGee was released by Philadelphia on Monday, meaning he’ll still have the opportunity to sign with a playoff contender.
Suns management believes that Goran Dragic‘s representatives spent part of the All-Star break convincing the point guard to push Phoenix into trading him, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The BDA Sports client nonetheless insists his motives were his own, as Coro notes.
Doc Rivers called Kevin Garnett‘s allegiance to the Timberwolves “almost nutty loyalty,” recalling that KG twice held up being traded to Boston during his first stint playing in Minnesota since he didn’t want it to appear he was “bailing” on the Wolves. Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press has the full story.
The 2014/15 season has been a memorable one for the Knicks, but not for the right reasons. Still, Derek Fisher is confident that New York will have a chance to lure quality free agents this summer, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post details.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Blake Griffin To Miss Four To Six Weeks

February 8th, 2015 at 11:35am CST by ChrisCrouse

Blake Griffin is expected to miss four to six weeks due to a staph infection in his right elbow, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Griffin will undergo surgery on Monday to drain the elbow. Shelburne adds that he could return sooner than four weeks but in typical cases of staph infections, it’s best to be conservative (Twitter link).

Griffin’s injury leaves the Clippers with a clear void in the frontcourt. The power forward was playing 35.3 minutes per game while scoring 22.5 points per game. The Clippers have an experienced backup big man in Spencer Hawes, whom the team spent the valuable full mid-level exception on last offseason. Hawes has played some minutes at the four spot but he may be an awkward fit next to center DeAndre Jordan for extended periods of time.

The Clippers are only six games ahead of the Pelicans, who currently reside in ninth place in the Western Conference. With the competitiveness of the conference, Los Angeles could be forced to make some sort of move. The Clippers have two open roster spots but are less than $1.2MM shy of their $80.829MM hard cap. The team was reportedly interested in obtaining a wing player, with Wilson Chandler being named as a possibility. With the news of Griffin’s injury and the Clippers’ lack of assets outside the team’s core, the franchise could switch its focus to finding a big man.

And-Ones: Moon, Griffin, Jazz, Kerr

October 16th, 2014 at 10:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Former NBA player and Harlem Globetrotter Jamario Moon returns to the D-League this season and is confident in his ability to play in the NBA again, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. “I’m at the point now where I want to show people that I can still play the game, even at 34 years old. I’m a freak of nature, and I’m a better player now. I’ve always kept myself in good physical condition, but I hit the weights harder than I ever have before this last summer. I’m ready.” Moon said.

Here’s more from around the Association:

Shooters might be valued more now by NBA teams than ever, argues Bruce Ely of The Oregonian. Ely identifies those who can connect from beyond the three-point line as the most valued player assets and notes that more than 86% of those who played in the league attempted at least one three-pointer last season.
Blake Griffin chronicles his time playing for Donald Sterling and shares his thoughts on playing for new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer in a piece for The Players’ Tribune. Griffin applauds the new owner’s management style, “Ballmer wants to win no matter the cost. Donald Sterling didn’t care if we won — at least if it meant he had to spend money.”
Jazz players and coaches believe the team’s chemistry has improved, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Guard Trey Burke sees the teams chemistry as a foundation. “We’ve got a lot of guys on this team who are easy to get along with and hold each other accountable, so we’ll just continue to build from here,’’ said Burke.
New Warriors coach Steve Kerr badly wanted to draft Stephen Curry when he was the GM of the Suns back in 2009, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Cooper adds that the Suns had internal conversations about trading Amar’e Stoudemire for the point guard but without Stoudemire showing a strong likelihood of re-signing with the Warriors, Golden State was not going to pull the trigger on the trade.

And-Ones: Parker, Heat, Roberts. Allen

August 17th, 2014 at 12:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jabari Parker knows the history of second-overall pick busts in the NBA, and is determined not to be the next, writes Brett Pollakoff of NBC Sports.com. The Bucks rookie said, “There’s been a lot of second pick busts. I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron [James], like a Kobe [Bryant] , like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Cavs are optimistic about their chances to sign Ray Allen prior to the start of training camp, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
With the NBA reportedly considering a change in the lottery system, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel explains why such a move would be an overreaction from Adam Silver and company.
The Heat’s win total this season could be affected if any changes are made to the NBA Draft lottery system, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. If there is less of a reason for franchises to tank, then Miami couldn’t necessarily count on padding their record against the Sixers, Magic, and Bucks, opines Winderman.
The selection of Michele Roberts as NBPA head was a historic one, with Roberts becoming the first female to lead a professional sports union. In an interview with Andrew Keh of The New York Times, Roberts said she was all too aware that if she was selected, she would represent several hundred male athletes in the NBA; she would deal with league officials and agents who were nearly all men; and she would negotiate with team owners who were almost all men. To this, Roberts said, “My past is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.”
Kentucky freshman Karl-Anthony Towns will be a strong possibility to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. DraftExpress currently has Towns ranked fourth behind Jahlil Okafor, Cliff Alexander and Emmanuel Mudiay.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Chris Paul Mulling Boycott If Sterling Stays

July 24th, 2014 at 11:19pm CST by Charlie Adams

Chris Paul called the notion of Donald Sterling staying on as owner “unacceptable” and told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he would seriously consider sitting out the 2014/15 season if Sterling remained at the head of the Clippers franchise.

“That’s something me and [coach Doc Rivers] are both talking about,” said Paul on Thursday, in reference to a potential boycott. “Something has to happen, and something needs to happen soon — sooner rather than later.”

News broke Tuesday that Rivers indicated to interim CEO Dick Parsons that he’d potentially relinquish his role as coach and president of basketball operations if Sterling wasn’t ousted from his the front office. Now, Paul is publicly echoing Rivers’ thoughts and also suggested that a group of other players from the team are on the same wavelength as well.

“We’re all going to talk about it,” Paul explained to Goodman. “We’re all definitely going to talk about it. Doc, [Blake Griffin], [DeAndre Jordan]. It’s unacceptable.“

Closing arguments for the Sterling trial are set for Monday, at which point the judge will determine whether or not Shelly Sterling’s sale of the team without her husband’s consent was within the realm of legality. Should Donald Sterling keep his position as owner, and if Rivers, Paul, and company follow through on their threat to boycott, it would be an unprecedented move by the group that throws the state of the Clippers’ 2014/15 season seriously into question.

Broussard’s Latest: LeBron, Griffin, Harden

June 25th, 2014 at 2:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers aren’t among the top choices for LeBron James, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who nonetheless wouldn’t rule them out completely. Broussard doubts that James would head there until Donald Sterling is formally ousted as owner of the club, and there’s also concern about how well James would fit on the court with friend Chris Paul, though Broussard doesn’t specify if that’s a concern of James’. Still, Heat president Pat Riley believes acquiring Blake Griffin via sign-and-trade would be the best outcome if James decides to leave Miami, Broussard reports. The ESPN scribe identifies the Heat, Cavs, Rockets, Knicks and Nets as having better chances than the Clippers do of landing James, given the four-time MVP’s preferences, and he has a few bombshells in his report, as we detail.

If the Rockets clear enough cap room to sign one of LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, their next step would be to dangle James Harden to acquire the other via sign-and-trade. The Knicks and the Heat would be receptive to trading for Harden in that scenario, Broussard adds.
Chris Bosh appears sold on Miami, but it’s questionable whether he’d want to stay if James leaves, Broussard writes.
Riley is planning a run at Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, according to Broussard. I’d assume it would involve pursuing him via free agency in the event that Oklahoma City amnesties him, rather than pursuing him via trade, though that’s just my speculation.
Broussard hears there’s a decent chance that the Warriors would be willing to acquire Jeremy Lin if he’s part of a package with Chandler Parsons.
The Nets would prefer trading Deron Williams rather than Joe Johnson in an effort to clear room for James, Broussard says.

Clippers Open To Dealing Griffin For LeBron?

June 24th, 2014 at 8:57pm CST by Ryan Raroque

8:57pm: The team is discussing a run at LeBron but won’t trade Griffin for him, tweeted Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com earlier tonight. Shelburne points to the many times that Rivers has assured the Clippers big man that he’s “untouchable.”

5:07pm Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers would be open to dealing Blake Griffin in a sign-and-trade package to land LeBron James, several NBA officials told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Griffin is slated to earn $17.6MM in 2014/15; according to Turner, Jared Dudley or Matt Barnes could be included along with Griffin in a deal, presumably to give LeBron a contract starting at above $20MM annually. Dudley and Barnes are on the books for $4.25MM and roughly $3.39MM respectively next season. The team wouldn’t mind including DeAndre Jordan or Jamal Crawford as an additional piece, but also understands that it would be difficult to do so.

Turner includes that the Clippers also haven’t ruled out making a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer, but didn’t specify if Los Angeles would be open to offering the same package to New York. According to one NBA official, Steve Ballmer – whose $2 billion offer to buy the Clippers is not official yet – would agree to paying the luxury tax if the team were to land James or Anthony.

Western Rumors: Clippers, Aldridge, Gay

February 5th, 2014 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com examine the chances that the Clippers could wind up with LeBron James this summer, calling them “perhaps the most serious competitor” the Heat will face for the four-time MVP. The Clippers aren’t set to have cap space, but Miami had to pull off some last-minute moves to open up room for their free agent haul in 2010, and a source close to James tells the ESPN.com scribes that James will consider teams without cap room. It would require the Heat to cooperate, and league executives believe they’d ask for Blake Griffin as part of a sign-and-trade, according to Windhorst and Shelburne. While we wait to see if that scenario plays out, here’s more from the West:

LaMarcus Aldridge says he’ll make “winning and happiness and making sure my worth is valued” his priorities in his next contract negotiations, and tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he wants to wait until summer to talk about an extension. That’s the same timetable Blazers owner Paul Allen said he’ll take shortly after Aldridge revealed he’d be open to an extension.
Rudy Gay tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com that he isn’t leaning one way or another about whether to exercise his player option this summer, but he says he appreciates the on-court freedom the Kings have given him since December’s trade.
The Suns have assigned Archie Goodwin to the D-League, the team announced. The rookie performed well on his first trip to the Bakersfield Jam late last month, averaging 29.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in a pair of games.
Andre Roberson is back from yesterday’s assignment to the D-League, the Thunder announced. The power forward put up 20 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday for the Tulsa 66ers.

Bucher’s Latest: Griffin, Anthony, Lowry

January 14th, 2014 at 4:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

A majority of the league believes Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan don’t fit together, and Jordan’s improvement has made Griffin the more obvious trade candidate, according to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. The consensus is that the Clippers need a big man who can shoot, and even Chris Paul wishes Griffin were more like former teammate David West, sources tell Bucher. A general manager who possesses the sort of power forward who might mesh better with Jordan said to Bucher that the Clippers haven’t contacted his team and added that he hasn’t heard that the Clippers are shopping Griffin at all. The GM thinks owner Donald Sterling would never agree to such a deal, though Bucher hears from a Clippers source confident that Doc Rivers will talk him into it before the trade deadline. Bucher has more on the Clippers and scuttlebutt around the league, as we detail:

Bucher suggests that if the Clippers were to trade for Carmelo Anthony, there’d be no certainty that they could re-sign him.
The Warriors decided against trading for Kyle Lowry over concerns about how he’d fit into their locker room. The Raptors have upped their asking price for Lowry in the meantime, and executives around the league aren’t sure whether Lowry, Andre Miller or Kirk Hinrich is the best oversized point guard who might be available.
Several GMs believe the Bulls will trade Mike Dunleavy for a draft pick, with Chicago setting its sights on a retool for next season. The Rockets are reportedly targeting Dunleavy, and Bucher shares insight from a rival executive on why Houston might be inclined to deal for him.