Chauncey Billups Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Gasol, Noah, Garnett, Lee

March 23rd, 2013 at 8:41pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There aren't very many games left in the regular season, and the playoff picture in both conferences could look drastically different by mid-April with plenty of teams close together in the standings as of today. While it's not usual for us to focus on injuries, we have a few significant notes worth mentioning tonight:

Pistons rookie big man Andre Drummond could be close to returning after a 21-game absence, says David Mayo of MLive. Although the Pistons aren't in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, a few more regular season games couldn't hurt the former UConn product's development if healthy.
Clippers guard Chauncey Billups is still day-to-day with a groin strain but could return on Tuesday against the Mavericks, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles.
Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times tweets that Lakers forward Antawn Jamison has ligament damage in his right wrist. Although he'll try to play through it, Jamison probably faces surgery in the offseason.
According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports (via Twitter), the Grizzlies have announced that center Marc Gasol will be out indefinitely after re-aggravating an abdominal tear last night against the Hornets. Though they are ahead of the sixth place Warriors by a comfortable margin in the standings, Memphis is separated from the third place Nuggets by one game and the fourth place Clippers by just half a game.
Joakim Noah will sit both of the Bulls' games this weekend as he continues to deal with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, says Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago. The team is currently one game behind the fifth-place Hawks and a half game ahead of the Celtics.
Greg Payne of ESPN Boston says that both Courtney Lee and Kevin Garnett are individually recovering from sprained left ankles. There doesn't appear to be a sense that those injuries are expected to keep either out for an extended period of time, but with just 14 games left and Boston currently on a three-game slide, missing two key rotation players can't necessarily help.
Knicks center Tyson Chandler has already missed six straight games due to a neck strain, and is still considered day-to-day (Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York reports). New York still remains atop the Atlantic Division, and while they are only one game behind the Pacers for second place in the East, the fourth place Nets aren't too far behind in their rear view mirror (1.5 games).

Los Angeles Notes: Clark, Dwight, Clippers

March 9th, 2013 at 10:26pm CST by Ryan Raroque

To say that the Lakers' season has been a roller coaster ride would be an understatement, and with a 7-2 record over their last nine games amidst a strong push for a spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, the purple and gold faithful have reason to hope that the car keeps climbing up. However, one of the biggest pleasant surprises seems to have hit a slump, as ESPN Los Angeles' Ramona Shelburne notes that Earl Clark has only reached double figure scoring once in the team's last seven games. We have a few links to share out of Los Angeles tonight, and you can find them below:

Chauncey Billups opens up about the adjustments that he's had to make with the Clippers, from moving to shooting guard and returning from an achilles injury (Broderick Turner of the LA Times).
Although he's had his share of struggles from the free throw line, Dwight Howard is too valuable in other areas of the game to be kept off the court during crunch time, opines Janis Carr of the OC Register.
Howard tells Eric Pincus of the LA Times about what he's learned by playing alongside Kobe Bryant, particularly about getting over his fear of missing shots and improving off the court habits. "I think this is a blessing for me, to experience the stuff that I've experienced this year. It's just going to make me a better man and a better player…Just from watching Kobe — this has been great for me. I wouldn't have it any other way."
Defending the three point line has been a glaring concern for the Clippers, who may find themselves unable to advance in the playoffs if things don't change, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles.
Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer notes the importance of the Lakers making the playoffs for the Cavaliers, as Cleveland will have the option of swapping Miami's first round pick with the Lakers' if it falls out of the lottery.

Odds & Ends: Billups, Pistons, Aldridge, Blazers

December 18th, 2012 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Clippers guard Chauncey Billups says that he would like to keep playing for a few more years and won't rule out a return to the Pistons, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. "You never say never to any situation. I got nothing but great memories about here and winning, and this building was on fire. I would like for my memories to stay like that," said the 36-year-old. Here's more from around the Association..

The Blazers have said repeatedly that big man LaMarcus Aldridge will be the cornerstone of the franchise for years to come, but Aldridge doesn't see himself as "untouchable", writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Aldridge is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2014-15 season.
The Hawks made a bold move this summer when they traded franchise player Joe Johnson to the Nets in an effort to improve their depth. The Lakers might want to take a page out of their book, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.
The Timberwolves may have an abundance of point guards after Ricky Rubio's return, but Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't see the Heat pursuing them as they want to avoid taking on long-term money. Luke Ridnour will make $4.3MM next season, while J.J. Barea has two additional seasons at more than $9MM total.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld looks at five underrated members of the rookie class, including Nando De Colo of the Spurs and Pablo Prigioni of the Knicks.

Western Notes: Billups, Nuggets, Lakers, Suns

December 17th, 2012 at 4:54pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest rumblings from around the Western Conference:

Chauncey Billups thinks the Pistons might still be an elite team if they hadn't traded him to the Nuggets four years ago, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News documents. "I still had some great, great years left," the point guard said. "I never wanted to leave, even though I was home (Denver) and it was good to be home, I always wanted to be a Piston. I wanted to retire a Piston."
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets that Nuggets coach George Karl wants to coach in Europe again one day, with his son, Coby Karl, as an assistant.
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes that JaVale McGee is becoming more efficient for the Nuggets.
Paul Coro of USA Today points out that the Suns own the Lakers' 2013 first-round draft pick as part of the Steve Nash trade, meaning they could benefit if the Lakers continue to struggle.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Virginia Beach, Billups

November 29th, 2012 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

The latest update on Virginia Beach's arena proposal comes from Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak, and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. According to the Bee report, the arena proposal would include commitments of $150MM from the state of Virginia, $195MM from the city of Virginia Beach, and just $35MM from Comcast-Spectator. Part of that cost would be put toward relocating a professional sports team, presumably the Sacramento Kings, to Virginia Beach.

Given that the proposal calls for 90% public funding, it's already drawing opposition from some public officials, according to the Bee report — city councilman Bill DeSteph suggested that Virginia Beach "can't afford" to put $195MM into the project.

As we wait to see if Virginia Beach's arena plan continues to move forward, here are a few more notes from around the Pacific Division:

Rob McAllister of Cowbell Kingdom is skeptical that Virginia Beach is really a viable relocation option for the Kings, contending that the Maloofs are playing the city in order to boost the value of the franchise.
Chauncey Billups' return to the Clippers lineup was timely, writes Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game, who says Billups helped quell a locker-room revolt last season and could be instrumental in convincing Chris Paul to remain long-term with the Clips.
Young Warriors players like Jeremy Tyler and Kent Bazemore could be shuttled back and forth between the NBA and the D-League this season, given the proximity of the team's Santa Cruz affiliate, writes Carl Steward of the Oakland Tribune.
Making his case for why the Lakers should trade Pau Gasol, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News writes that it's "becoming obvious that the rumor mill may know something the Lakers and Gasol don’t seem to know — he would be better off elsewhere."

Odds & Ends: Billups, Collison, Draft, Raptors

November 28th, 2012 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

A deep Clippers roster will add even more depth as of tonight, when Chauncey Billups makes his 2012/13 debut against the Timberwolves. Billups tore his Achilles tendon last February, but re-signed with the Clips in the offseason, and will rejoin a backcourt that already includes Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe, and Jamal Crawford, among others.

Here are a few more odds and ends for Wednesday afternoon:

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News has been impressed by Darren Collison so far, but says it's too soon to tell whether Collison is a long-term solution for the Mavericks at point guard.
Nerlens Noel remains atop the latest version of Chris Mannix's 2013 draft board at SI.com, with Cody Zeller moving up to the No. 2 spot.
Speaking of the '13 draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford conducted a chat today in which he answered plenty of draft-related questions, along with a few on possible trade scenarios.
In a pair of Sulia links, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun submits performance reviews for Raptors coach Dwane Casey and GM Bryan Colangelo, suggesting that the team shouldn't give up either of them, despite Toronto's disappointing start.
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News examines the Spurs' handling of their D-League affiliate, the defending champion Austin Toros.
In front-office news out of the Northwest Division, the Nuggets announced promotions for two members of their basketball operations department, while Trail Blazers COO Sarah Mensah announced her resignation (link via CSNNW.com).
Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside examines some first-round picks that have been assigned to the D-League, and how it affected their respective careers.

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Billups, Batum, Heat, Cavs

November 23rd, 2012 at 11:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni had some harsh words for Pau Gasol in response to a question about the thought process that led him to keep Gasol on the bench in the fourth quarter of the team's loss to the Grizzlies tonight. "I was thinking I'd like to win this game, that's what I was thinking," D'Antoni said, as Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register tweets. The coach also questioned Gasol's conditioning, Ding also tweets, and this will seemingly reignite the off-and-on trade speculation that's surrounded Gasol for the past several months. While we wait to hear more about that, here's the rest of the buzz from a 12-game night in the Association:

Chauncey Billups is targeting the first week of December to return from his torn Achilles' tendon, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Wolves coach Rick Adelman explained the team's admiration of Nicolas Batum that led them to sign him to an offer sheet that was eventually matched by the Blazers, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune documents. "I felt he could do what he's doing, that with the group we had — especially with Kevin (Love) and Pek (Nikola Pekovic) and Ricky (Rubio) — it'd be a good fit," Adelman said. "But it didn't work out. They had control over it, and they got him and we're happy we got Andrei (Kirilenko)."
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel can see the Heat pursuing a center at some point later this season.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio preaches patience on Dion Waiters, and doesn't think it would be worthwhile for the Cavs to trade Anderson Varejao.
College seniors are no longer a commodity in the NBA draft, but several of this year's crop of upperclassmen are making a push to reverse that trend, notes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only).
Croatian small forward Dario Saric is 16th on the DraftExpress.com list of the top 2013 draft prospects, but his new deal overseas doesn't include an NBA out until 2014, reports Toma Dragičević of Jutarnji.hr (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia).

Injury Updates: Wall, Billups, Gordon

November 7th, 2012 at 9:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

We don't normally report on injuries at Hoops Rumors, but when a star player goes down for a lengthy absence or the injury otherwise figures to have an impact on a team's personnel decisions, we pass along that news. Tonight we have a few updates on key figures who'll be out for a while.

Wizards point guard John Wall was supposed to miss around eight weeks with an injury to his left patella, but now Wall says there's no target date for his return, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was hopeful last month that Chauncey Billups could return from his torn left Achilles tendon sometime in November, but Billups doesn't think he'll recover quite so quickly, saying on ESPN's NBA Countdown this evening that he hopes to be back about a month from now, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles writes.
The Hornets confirmed Eric Gordon's four-to-six-week prognosis, and announced that he'll head to Los Angeles for "more personalized and intensive" rehabilitation on his troublesome right knee. John Reid of The Times-Picayune has details.

Pacific Notes: Scola, Suns, Odom, Clippers, Bogut

October 18th, 2012 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up the latest notes out of the Pacific Division, where the preseason standings, which feature the Warriors at the top and the Lakers at the bottom, are nearly an inverse of last year's regular-season standings….

While many players weren't happy on the Rockets last season, Suns forward Luis Scola wasn't one of them, says Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld (via Sulia). According to Ingram, Scola had been hoping to finish his career in Houston.
Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson feel as if they've been cast off by their previous teams and are hoping to prove themselves with the Suns, according to Ingram (Sulia link). Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry still believes both players can live up to their draft slots (No. 2 for Beasley, No. 4 for Johnson).
Lamar Odom, acquired by the Clippers in the offseason, was held out of the team's game last night, and coach Vinny Del Negro attributed it in part to conditioning issues. "He's got to work through some conditioning things and some health things right now, which he's doing," Del Negro said, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. "Yeah, I wish he was in a little bit better conditioning, and he wishes he was. But he's just got to continue to work every day and I'm sure he'll get there eventually."
On the other hand, Chauncey Billups, who was re-signed by the Clippers this summer, is ahead of schedule in his rehab from an achilles injury, and Del Negro believes he could return in late November, according to Turner.
After having been traded by the Clippers to the Jazz this offseason, Mo Williams told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com he holds no ill will toward the Clips.
Andrew Bogut will have his left ankle, which continues to keep him out of action, examined on Monday in Los Angeles, as Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group writes. Bogut hopes to be ready to play in the Warriors' regular-season opener, but he's "still a ways away," according to coach Mark Jackson.

Ingram On Billups, Clippers, Warriors, Hibbert

October 5th, 2012 at 8:00pm CST by Sean Highkin

HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram has a new column that touches on several topics from around the league, including the rivalry in Los Angeles and the Warriors' expectations.

Ingram talks to Clippers guard Chauncey Billups, who says he is taking his time getting healthy after tearing his left Achilles' tendon last season.
Billups also praises the Clippers' depth, citing the additions of Lamar Odom and Jamal Crawford as moves that will improve the team.
Warriors coach Mark Jackson is optimistic Andrew Bogut, acquired last season at the trade deadline, will be ready on opening night. He also thinks the team's three rookies, including lottery pick Harrison Barnes, will be valuable contributors this season.
Despite coming close to signing with the Trail Blazers in July, Pacers center Roy Hibbert says he never wanted to leave Indiana and that money was not a factor in his decision. Hibbert signed a four-year, $58MM deal with the Pacers this summer.