Carl Landry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Williams, Ridnour, Sixers

July 6th, 2015 at 7:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lou Williams was surprised the Raptors did not make him an offer, he revealed in a Q&A session with Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy. Williams, who agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the Lakers on Sunday, thought the Raptors would make a spirited attempt to re-sign him. Instead, they chose to shake up with their roster by reaching agreements with DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo. “Just to speak candidly, it caught me by surprise that we didn’t get something done. I made it clear that I wanted to be there and I thought, with the type of year that I had, the feeling would be mutual,” Williams told Kennedy. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I think they wanted to go in a different direction and become more of a defensive-minded team. With the way that the playoffs ended, I think it left a sour taste in management’s mouth and they went out and picked up defensive players.”

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

While Joseph will be the second Canadian, along with retired Jamaal Magloire, to play for the Raptors during the regular season, that wasn’t the reason why they were so enamored with him, Doug Smith of the Toronto Sun writes. Joseph, who agreed on a four-year, $30MM contract to leave the Spurs, has impressed the Raptors’ brass for years with his toughness and defensive prowess, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise the club targeted him, Smith adds.
Luke Ridnour said that he expects the Raptors to waive him before his $2.75MM salary becomes guaranteed Friday and confirmed that he’s still contemplating retirement as he spoke with TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The 34-year-old point guard also dished to Aldridge about what it was like to have his contract traded four times in one week.
The Sixers fleeced the Kings in the unofficial but agreed upon trade that sent Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry to Philadelphia, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Stauskas fills a backcourt need and the team can eventually decline a team option on his contract if the second-year shooting guard doesn’t pan out, Pompey continues. Landry and Thompson can become role models and mentors for their young frontcourt lottery picks — Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, Pompey adds. With that trade, the Sixers will likely have less roster movement than the past two seasons when 48 players saw action, Pompey concludes.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Clippers, Draft

June 2nd, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

While Stephen Curry won’t be worrying about how he will afford to put food on his table anytime soon, his contract with the Warriors is one of the biggest values in the NBA, and the MVP can be considered one of the most underpaid athletes in all of professional sports, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. There were a total of 50 NBA players who earned more than the $10,629,213 that Curry did last season, including 11 point guards, Kennedy notes. On his way to winning the MVP award the 27-year-old appeared in 80 contests, averaging 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 32.7 minutes per game.

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Clippers need to make changes to their existing roster but won’t be able to add any big ticket free agents this offseason thanks to their difficult salary cap situation. Arash Markazi and Ben Alamar of ESPN.com run down some hypothetical blockbuster trades that Los Angeles could potentially make if it wished to shake up its roster this summer.
University of Illinois shooting guard Rayvonte Rice has a workout scheduled with the Suns, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Lakers held workouts today for Alan Williams (UC Santa Barbara), Norman Powell (UCLA), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Mitch McCarron (Metropolitan State College), Byron Wesley (Gonzaga), Matt Stainbrook (Xavier), and Josh Smith (Georgetown), the team announced (on Twitter).
Kings forward Carl Landry underwent surgery today to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, the team announced. Landry will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to be out of action for approximately four to five months.

Josh Smith Rumors: Heat, Clippers, Lakers

December 22nd, 2014 at 10:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy pulled a stunner today, waiving Josh Smith. Reports quickly identified the Clippers, Mavs and Kings as suitors for Smith in free agency once he clears waivers, as expected, and more clubs are lining up for a chance to obtain him on the cheap. There’s plenty of news rolling in related to Detroit’s bold move and what happens next with the tweener forward, and we’ll pass along the latest in this thread, with any additional updates posted on top:

The Heat have formally applied for a disabled player exception from the league after losing Josh McRoberts for the year, reports Marc Stein of ESPN. While the exception, which would be worth $2.653MM, hasn’t been granted yet, the Heat are hopeful they’ll have it before Smith makes his decision (Twitter links here).

9:46pm update:

The Clippers will have interest in Smith if he clears waivers, ESPN’s Arash Markazi hears from multiple team sources. Markazi adds that the team can only offer Smith the veteran’s minimum and would likely cut Jared Cunningham to make room on its roster. Cunningham’s contract becomes guaranteed on January 10th and he is likely to be released before then either way, per Markazi.

8:51pm update:

Should Smith clear waivers, the Lakers will have a significant financial advantage over most of his other suitors, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. The disabled player exception they received from Steve Nash‘s season-ending injury allows the Lakers spend up to $4.85MM on a single player, per Pincus, which is more than twice what most other teams can offer. Pincus adds that the Lakers should have the cap space next summer to re-sign Smith.

7:14pm updates:

There is a strong belief among Rockets players, even beyond Howard, that they’ll convince Smith to sign in Houston, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that Smith “fits the profile of the type of guys we love to bring in,” reports Bryan Gutierrez of Mavs Outsider. Cuban added that the Mavs would use Smith more down low than on the wing should they add him, per Gutierrez (Twitter links).
While it’s hardly a surprise, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that the Sixers, flush in cap space, have zero interest in claiming Smith off waivers (via Twitter).

4:05pm update:

The Grizzlies have expressed interest in Smith, too, Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears, acknowledging that it’s nonetheless a long shot for him to wind up in Memphis (Twitter link). The Grizzlies couldn’t pay him any more than the minimum.

3:49pm update:

The Lakers would like Smith to play for them, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), but they wouldn’t fall into the category of a playoff-bound team, the only sort that Smith is reportedly considering (below).

1:55pm update:

Teams that aren’t headed for the playoffs are out of the running for Smith, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. That stance would appear to damage the chances of the Kings most of all among the clubs that reports have so far linked to the forward.

1:40pm update:

Smith was “fixated” on finding a way to join the Rockets before he signed with Detroit in 2013, according to Wojnarowski, who writes in a full piece.

1:05pm updates:

The Heat are in the running for Smith, Stein reports (on Twitter). Miami has only the minimum to give.
Houston will allow Smith to choose whether he wants a one-year or two-year deal, Amick hears (Twitter link). The biannual exception limits contracts to no more than two seasons, and the Rockets are without a way to sign him to a longer deal.

12:39pm update:

The Rockets are taking an aggressive stance in their pursuit of Smith, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). They attempted to trade for him but couldn’t find a workable salary match that didn’t involved Howard or James Harden, Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet.

12:28pm updates:

Houston will offer Smith its $2.077MM biannual exception, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Rockets are optimistic about their chances to land Smith, given their status as a contender, the opportunity to offer him a large on-court role, and their financial advantage of having the biannual while others are limited to the minimum salary, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
No one has been a bigger fan of Smith in recent months than Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, according to Stein (Twitter link).

12:17pm updates:

The Clippers would like to research the matter more thoroughly before committing to a pursuit of Smith, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Though Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears the Clippers are indeed interested, coach/executive Doc Rivers said he doesn’t know quite yet what his team will do, as he told reporters, including Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The Rockets do have interest in signing Smith, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). Stein reported earlier that Houston, which has the $2.077MM biannual exception to spend, was still thinking about whether it wanted to go after Smith, who’s a friend of Dwight Howard‘s. Howard has said in the past that he and Smith have had conversations about playing together again as they did when they were AAU teammates, notes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Kings were the only team to express interest in trading for Smith as the Pistons sought to move him in recent weeks, Stein tweets. The Pistons refused to part with draft picks in any deal or take on burdensome contracts in return, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Derrick Williams was alongside Jason Thompson in the Kings‘ earliest trade proposals to the Pistons regarding Smith over the summer, and Carl Landry later replaced Williams in those offers, according to Stein (on Twitter). Van Gundy turned them down because he wanted to coach Smith before cutting ties, Stein adds (Twitter link).

Pistons Waive Josh Smith

December 22nd, 2014 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have waived Josh Smith, the team announced via press release. A source tipped Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press to the news shortly before it happened (Twitter link). The team will use the stretch provision, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The stretch provision will spread Smith’s $13.5MM salaries for 2015/16 and 2016/17 in equal $5.4MM amounts each season through 2019/20, but his full $13.5MM for this season is stuck on the payroll, assuming he clears waivers and assuming Smith and the team didn’t agree to a buyout.

“Our team has not performed the way we had expected throughout the first third of the season and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus and direction,” Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said in the team’s statement. “We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players while also expanding the roles of other players in the current rotation to improve performance and build for our future. As we expand certain roles, others will be reduced. In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it’s best to give him his freedom to move forward. We have full respect for Josh as a player and a person.”

It’s a shocking move, but the team was had been “desperately” seeking to trade Smith and rival teams were insisting that the Pistons attach a first-round pick to him, according to Ellis (Twitter link). The Kings had maintained interest in trading for Smith, though recent reports made it unclear just how warm Sacramento has been to the idea recently after the team appeared to make a strong push for Smith over the summer, when Van Gundy rejected the Kings’ entreaties. Sacramento offered Jason Thompson and Carl Landry, but Detroit said no, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings have interest in signing him as a free agent, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), though they only have the minimum salary to offer.

Smith will surely be a sought-after commodity on the free agent market once he, as expected, clears waivers in two days. The high cost of his contract makes him an unlikely candidate to be claimed off waivers. The Clippers are among the teams with interest, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The forward is close with with new Maverick Rajon Rondo, Chris Mannix of SI.com points out (on Twitter), and the two have spoken many times about playing together, according to Smith. Still, early indications are that the Mavs won’t pursue him and that Rondo won’t press the team to do so, as USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets, though Stein hears that Dallas is interested (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Smith is also close with former AAU teammate Dwight Howard, and the Rockets have had interest in the past, according to Spears (Twitter link). Still, Houston hasn’t decided whether to pursue him at this point, Stein reports (on Twitter). The Rockets would have a financial edge on the Mavs, since they have the $2.077MM biannual exception to offer, while the Mavs, like the Kings and Clippers, are limited to the minimum salary.

The Pistons enticed Smith, a Wallace Prather client, to sign a four-year, $54MM deal in the summer of 2013, but he never worked out in Detroit, and the contract quickly became an albatross as he struggled to fit in with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. His subtraction ostensibly allows the Pistons to move forward with Monroe and Drummond as their lone marquee big men, but Monroe is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end after signing his qualifying offer this past summer, and he seems to have soured on Detroit. Perhaps letting go of Smith is an appeal of sorts to Monroe, letting him know that he won’t be crowded out of playing time, but that’s just my speculation.

Western Notes: Kings, Thomas, McGee, Grizzlies

December 15th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Improvements in the performance and temperament of DeMarcus Cousins and a flawed roster unfit for the style Kings management wants to play are among the reasons SB Nation’s Tom Ziller believes the Kings erred in their apparent decision to fire coach Michael Malone. Cousins was one of Malone’s most enthusiastic supporters, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Carl Landry has had high praise for Malone, too, according to Jones, who adds that Malone’s players have almost universally held the coach in high esteem (Twitter links). While we wait to see what happens next in Sacramento, here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Isaiah Thomas has fired agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports for reasons both personal and professional, sources tell Darren Heitner of the Sports Agent Blog (Twitter link). The agency confirmed the move, as Heitner notes via Twitter. The Suns guard intends to pick a new agent before the holidays, Heitner adds. Miller negotiated a new four-year, $27MM deal this summer for Thomas, the last pick in the 2011 draft.
JaVale McGee will miss a “significant” amount of time after aggravating a muscle near the tibia in which he suffered a stress fracture that kept him out most of last season, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said Sunday to reporters, including Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. “I heard six weeks at one point,” Shaw said. “I don’t know. I don’t think he’s anywhere close to coming back right now.”
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger downplayed the notion that the team would make changes in spite of rumors indicating that the Cavs have their eyes on Tayshaun Prince and Kosta Koufos, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes. The Grizzlies are reportedly interested in Ray Allen, though there’s no indication that he would consider signing with Memphis, Tillery points out.

Carl Landry Out For Season

March 8th, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings forward Carl Landry will miss the remainder of the season with a medial meniscus tear in his right knee, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). He will undergo season ending surgery in the near future (twitter link).The 30-year old forward has missed the team’s previous five games with what was originally called a sprained right knee.

This is the second major injury this year for the seven-year veteran. In training camp, Landry had sustained a torn hip flexor that required surgery and four months of rehab work. He made his return to action on January 19th.

In 18 games this season, Landry has averaged 4.2 PPG, and 3.2 RPG in 13 MPG. This was after signing a four-year, $26 MM deal over the summer.

Ford’s Latest: Magic, Cavs, Bobcats

February 18th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Victor Oladipo may be the only Magic player unavailable for a trade, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who adds that the team is looking for multiple first-round picks or young players for Arron Afflalo. Ford believes Orlando will indeed find a taker for Afflalo, but that’s in contrast to a report from Sam Amick of USA Today indicating the Magic aren’t that eager to trade him and aren’t hearing from any team with strong interest (Twitter link). The Magic’s price is much lower for Glen Davis and Jameer Nelson, Ford writes, and while Amick tweets that the Magic is focusing most of its trade attention on those two, Orlando hasn’t gotten anywhere with either of them yet, Amick says.

Ford has much more in his latest Insider-only piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

The Cavs and Bobcats appear to be the only teams capable of trading away a 2014 lottery pick that would actually do so, according to Ford. If the Cavs are determined to make a playoff push, they’ll offer Dion Waiters and their 2014 first-round pick in search of veteran help, Ford writes.
There’s nothing major happening on the Ersan Ilyasova front, Ford hears, naming Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour as the Bucks most likely to be traded. Milwaukee is reluctant to let go of Caron Butler, who’s a native of nearby Racine, Ford adds.
The Sixers want “significantly” more than just a first-round pick for Thaddeus Young, which has been dissuading some teams from trading for him, Ford writes.
Jeff Green and Brandon Bass are the names that come up most frequently in trade discussions involving the Celtics, according to Ford.
Several GMs tell Ford that the Lakers appear willing to discuss any player on their roster short of Kobe Bryant.
Everyone outside of DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas is available from the Kings, with Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Jimmer Fredette the primary bait, Ford writes.
It’s unlikely the Jazz trade Gordon Hayward, Ford says, naming Marvin Williams as the team’s most likely trade candidate.
Teams are looking to acquire a package of both Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey, but the Pistons remain unwilling to deal Monroe, as multiple GMs tell Ford.

Kings Likely To Be Buyers At Deadline

February 3rd, 2014 at 10:25am CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are on a seven-game losing streak and sit in last place in the Western Conference, 11 and a half games out of the final playoff spot. Still, that’s not stopping them from seeking upgrades at the trade deadline, according to Chad Ford’s “Tank Rank” piece for ESPN Insider. Ford hears the Kings are looking to acquire talent rather than sell it off as they attempt a late charge at the postseason.

Ford mentions Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Jimmer Fredette and Carl Landry as players the Kings might dangle in their pursuit of immediate help. A report late last month indicated the Kings would “love to move” Thornton, and Thompson and Fredette have also been a part of multiple trade rumors this season. Landry, who just returned from a hip injury that forced him to miss the first three months of the season, appears to be a new addition to the trade block for Sacramento, which has maintained an aggressive stance on the trade market all year.

The new ownership behind the Kings is eager to give Sacramento a winner as they fend off challenges to a public-funding plan for a new arena. The acquisition of Rudy Gay has helped reinvigorate the small forward’s career, but Sacramento is just 9-15 in games he’s played, a winning percentage of .375 that’s only marginally better than the team’s .319 clip for the season. A push for the playoffs would be doubly puzzling, since Sacramento’s 2014 first-round draft pick goes to the Bulls if it winds up outside the top 12, as our reverse standings show.

Pacific Notes: Bryant, Morris Twins, Warriors

November 28th, 2013 at 11:08pm CST by Charlie Adams

Chris Paul exited early from the Clippers’ Wednesday night game against New York, but Broderick Turner of the LA Times reports that Paul plans on playing and starting in Friday night’s divisional match up versus the Kings. Sacramento currently resides in the cellar of the Pacific Division, but the Kings are hoping that recently acquired Derrick Williams will help turn their fortunes around. Let’s take a look at a couple tidbits from the Pacific..

Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News suggests the value Kobe Bryant brings to the Lakers goes beyond his production on the hardwood. Goodwill states that Bryant is the face of the Lakers in the same way that Michael Jordan was the face of the Bulls, and that his ability to draw fans to games is a valuable asset. Bryant signed a controversial two-year, $48.5MM extension on Monday.
Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris are both seeing career highs in MPG and PER for the Suns this season, and their increased production is an important part of Phoenix’s solid start to the year. Paul Coro of AZCentral sports details how it was the advice of Bill Self that brought the duo together in Phoenix.
The offseason departures of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry have hurt the Warriors’ depth, and Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News writes that Toney Douglas and Marreese Speights have yet to prove they can sufficiently replace them. With Andre Iguodala sidelined indefinitely, Thompson suggests Stephen Curry is left as the team’s sole reliable playmaker.

Carl Landry Out 3-4 Months With Hip Injury

October 14th, 2013 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings’ new front office and ownership group were fairly quiet in free agency this summer, but the team did make one major splash, inking Carl Landry to a four-year deal worth $26MM+. Landry’s time in Sacramento is off to an unfortunate start, however, as the team announced today that he’ll require surgery after suffering a tear in his left hip flexor. The veteran forward is expected to be sidelined for three to four months.

Given all the ex-Warriors in place in the Kings’ managerial and ownership ranks, it perhaps wasn’t a surprise that Sacramento targeted a player who excelled in Golden State a year ago. Landry, 30, appeared in all but one game for the Warriors in 2012/13, averaging 10.8 PPG to go along with 6.0 RPG and a 17.5 PER.

The Kings had already been deep at power forward, so it’s unlikely that the club will go out and acquire a replacement for Landry. However, it also means that Sacramento may no longer be able to deal from that area of depth, should a trade opportunity arise in the next few weeks or months. Jason Thompson and Patrick Patterson figure to handle the majority of the minutes at the four while Landry recovers.