Chris Douglas-Roberts Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Lopez, Knicks

January 17th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have made a total of nine trades so far this season. This has meant that a lot of new players needed to be acclimated to Boston’s locker room and culture. Celtics coach Brad Stevens credits veteran Gerald Wallace for keeping the team together amid all of the changes, Julian Edlow of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “I’m not too worried about chemistry in the locker room, and large credit for that goes to Gerald Wallace,” Stevens said. “Because of the way he, at his age, has accepted his role and how he talks to the young guys. It kind of makes everybody else say ‘I’m going to do what I can the right way every time.’ So I give him a lot of credit for that.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Stevens isn’t sure what will become of the newly acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I have not heard or gotten a final word one way or another on CDR,” Stevens said. It had been reported that Douglas-Roberts was expected to be waived in the wake of the trade with the Clippers.
Nets center Brook Lopez was convinced he was on his way to the Thunder on Thursday night, Robert Windrem of Nets Daily tweets. The trade rumors regarding him have reportedly upset the big man.
The Knicks‘ lack of experience within their front office is a potential issue in making trades, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. Team president Phil Jackson appears to have little interest in networking with executives around the league. That means New York doesn’t have anyone who regularly calls around the NBA to gauge the value of players, which can lead to missed opportunities, Beck notes.

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Douglas-Roberts, Farmar

January 17th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Eddie Scarito

Austin Rivers is now a member of the Clippers and playing for his father, Doc Rivers, as a result of the recent trade. Bulls swingman Mike Dunleavy Jr. was in a similar situation years ago when he almost ended up being dealt to Los Angeles to play for his father, former coach Mike Dunleavy, something the younger Dunleavy wanted no part of, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “My concern was more with the locker room dynamic with the guys,” Dunleavy said. “It just seemed to me to be an awkward situation.“

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Dunleavy is hopeful things will work out for the Rivers father-son tandem, but he’s far from convinced it will, Blakely adds. “I think there are only two ways it really works,” Dunleavy said. “You’re either the best player or the worst player. Those are the two extremes. Somewhere in between? That seems to me to be the greater challenge.“
Sam Amick of USA Today tweeted that a locker room or chemistry issue led to the Clippers cutting ties with Jordan Farmar and Chris Douglas-Roberts. This drew a response via Twitter from Douglas-Roberts, who acknowledged there were chemistry issues in Los Angeles, but he denied being a negative influence in the locker room. Douglas-Roberts also tweeted his gratitude for the trade.
Farmar was disappointed that things didn’t work out for him with the Clippers, but the player acknowledged that he and the team weren’t a great fit, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes. “I just never felt I had a real role,” Farmar said. “We talked in the offseason about what my job was going to be. The opportunity just wasn’t the same. It was never time for me to really ever get going and feel comfortable and feel like I had a place on the team.”
When the elder Rivers contacted his son about potentially coming to L.A., Austin needed time to consider the proposition, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “The first thing I did was call my mom,” Austin Rivers said. “She’s going to have to deal with this. She was a wreck the first night. She was calling me, ‘What if this happens and what if that happens?’ I was like, ‘Mom, it’s not on anybody but me and him.’ At the end of the day, my job is to play and compete and that’s it. It’s not like in the last second of the game I’m going to have the ball in my hands. I know my role here. I know Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are the leaders.“

Clippers Acquire Austin Rivers

January 15th, 2015 at 5:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Clippers have acquired Austin Rivers in a three-team trade with the Celtics and Suns, as Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix have officially announced. In addition to Rivers heading to Los Angeles, the Celtics will receive Shavlik Randolph from Phoenix and Chris Douglas-Roberts and a 2017 second-round pick from the Clippers, and the Suns will get Reggie Bullock from Los Angeles. Boston intends to waive Douglas-Roberts, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter links). The Celtics will also be able to create a trade exception worth $2.4MM.

After much back and forth between the Clippers and the Celtics, Rivers will join his father, Doc Rivers, in Los Angeles. The elder Rivers was reportedly concerned about the perception that would surround a father trading for and coaching his son, but Clippers GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have reportedly encouraged Doc to forgo his concerns and make the deal.

The younger Rivers has never quite lived up to having been selected No. 10 overall by New Orleans back in 2012, and he could benefit from a change of scenery. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal, and he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Rivers’ career numbers are 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 165 total contests. His career slash line is .390/.332/.631.

In Randolph, Boston receives a 6’10”, 31-year-old forward with career averages of 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and a career slash line of .455/.200/.544 over 141 games. Randolph, who previously played for the Celtics at the end of the 2012/13 season, is earning $1,227,985 in the final year of his deal.

The inclusion of Bullock in the deal was apparently one of the sticking points with getting the deal done, tweeted Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, but the Clippers obviously relented in order to consummate the trade. The 23-year-old swingman should fit in well in Phoenix’s system and could see an increase in playing time with the Suns. Bullock is averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 10.5 minutes per game over 25 appearances for Los Angeles this season. His shooting numbers are .426/.385/.800. He is making $1,200,720 this season, and is in line to receive $1,252,440 in 2015/16. His rookie scale contract includes a team option of $2,255,644 for the 2016/17 campaign.

Douglas-Roberts, 28, is making $915,243 this season, so Boston won’t be on the hook for much in the way of salary after it waives the veteran swingman. In 12 appearances this season, he has averaged 1.6 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game. His shooting numbers are .238/.143/1.000.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald first reported the trade, Shams Charania of RealGM first reported the inclusion of Randolph and Bullock, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reported the inclusion of Douglas-Roberts, and Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald first noted that the Celtics would acquire a second round draft pick.

Clippers To Acquire Austin Rivers

January 15th, 2015 at 11:51am CST by Eddie Scarito

4:23pm: Markazi now says the Clippers will indeed send a 2017 second-rounder Boston’s way, adding that the Clips tried hard not to give up the pick (Twitter link).

3:25pm: The Clippers aren’t giving up a second-rounder, according to Markazi (Twitter link), which conflicts with Murphy’s report.

3:08pm: The Celtics will receive a 2017 second-round pick from the Clippers, and Boston will waive Douglas-Roberts once he comes in via the trade, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter links).

2:50pm: Douglas-Roberts is also headed to Boston in the deal, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). That would be enough salary coming off the Clippers’ books to make the trade legal, though it would still leave the Clips closer to the hard cap than they had been.

2:40pm: Shavlik Randolph is heading from the Suns to the Celtics, Bullock is going to the Suns, and Rivers is going to the Clippers, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Coro hinted at a potential Bullock-Randolph exchange a few minutes earlier (on Twitter). Randolph is on an expiring contract with a salary worth nearly $1.228MM. The Clippers would need to give up more than Bullock’s salary of nearly $1.201MM to take back Rivers, who makes $2.44MM, so it appears there’s still more to be worked out. The Clippers, a tax team, can’t take back more than 125% plus $100K of what they give up via trade, and they must stay under their hard cap.

1:42pm: Bullock is back in play for the Suns, Coro tweets.

1:14pm: One of the teams involved nixed the idea of Bullock going to the Suns, though the matter might be revisited, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

12:50pm: Farmar will not be heading to the Celtics in the deal, Murphy tweets.

12:43pm: The Celtics have told Austin Rivers that the trade will be finalized today, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).

12:36pm: The Suns are drawing increasing mention as the likely third team in the deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The involvement of Phoenix, which is under the cap, would allow the Celtics not to have to take back any salary for Rivers, Stein points out, and that would also let the Celtics create a trade exception. The belief is that the Suns covet Bullock, though the Clippers would prefer not to surrender him, according to Stein. In any case, Rivers still hasn’t reported to Boston, though that’s with the permission of the Celtics, who’ve promised him that they’ll send him to the Clippers, and that remains the plan (All Twitter links).

THURSDAY, 9:08am: The Clippers appear to be making progress toward finalizing the trade, and it’ll probably involve some combination of Farmar, Douglas-Roberts and Bullock, a league source tells Bolch. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge still insists there’s a chance Rivers remains with Boston, as he said this morning in a radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Rich Shertenlieb and Fred Toucher, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter link). It nonetheless appears that the deal remains on track, Rohrbach adds. The Celtics and Clippers are still looking for a third team, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.

12:54pm: Chris Douglas-Roberts is a “strong candidate” to be dealt, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, noting that Douglas-Roberts is on an expiring contract. The small forward has a one-year deal for the minimum salary.

WEDNESDAY, 11:20am: The belief has been that the Clippers have been talking to the Suns about taking on salary the Clippers would need to unload to complete the Rivers deal, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. It’s unclear if the Clippers would prefer to bring Phoenix into the Rivers trade to make it a three-team swap or make separate transactions.

TUESDAY, 11:01pm: The Celtics aren’t done reshaping their roster after all of their recent trades. Boston will reportedly ship Austin Rivers to the Clippers, but the move will have to wait until Boston can clear roster space for two expiring contracts, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). The Celtics will also nab themselves a second round draft pick in the deal, Bulpett adds. Boston currently has 15 players on its roster, including the newly acquired Nate Robinson.

To clear the required roster spots, the Celtics are reportedly likely to attempt to reach buyout arrangements with Robinson and Tayshaun Prince. As for whom the Celtics would need to clear room for, assuming the roster spots they needed to clear were for players they would receive from Los Angeles, both Reggie Bullock and Jordan Farmar have been mentioned as potential trade candidates. However, Farmar doesn’t necessarily qualify as a player with an expiring deal, since he has a player option for 2015/16 worth $2,170,465.

Rivers will join his father, Doc Rivers, in Los Angeles. The elder Rivers was reportedly concerned about the perception that would surround a father trading for and coaching his son, but Clippers GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have reportedly encouraged Doc to forgo his concerns and make the deal.

The younger Rivers has never quite lived up to having been selected No. 10 overall by New Orleans back in 2012, and he could benefit from a change of scenery. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal, and he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Rivers’ career numbers are 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 165 total contests. His career slash line is .390/.332/.631.

Farmar, who signed with the Clippers for the full value of the biannual exception this past offseason, is reportedly displeased with his role on the Clippers, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com wrote about a month ago. He’s currently logging a career-low 14.7 minutes per game. Bullock, 23, is averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 10.5 minutes per game over 25 appearances for Los Angeles this season. His shooting numbers are .426/.385/.800.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: George, West, Heat, Garnett

October 1st, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers and Heat have met the last two years for the Eastern Conference title, but chances are they’re not going to do so again this coming spring. The Nets, too, seem to have taken a step back, though there’s still a distinct possibility that all three will make the playoffs. We’ll touch on three Eastern mainstays amid our look around the conference:

Paul George refuses to rule out the notion that he might return this season, even though the Pacers assume he’s out for the year, though he told reporters Monday that he’s “come to peace” with the idea that his broken leg will keep him out. Mark Montieth of Pacers.com has the details.
David West said he considered retirement last year and suggested that the thought passed through his mind again after George broke his leg this summer, as he tells Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. The 34-year-old can opt out of his contract at season’s end.
Shawne Williams made an impression on the Heat during the same workout in which Chris Douglas-Roberts and MarShon Brooks made bids to join the team, notes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Kevin Garnett made it clear that he has no intention of coaching after he retires as a player, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News observes (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Exum, Douglas-Roberts, Levenson

September 7th, 2014 at 9:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Scouts are still evaluating Dante Exum, one of the bigger gambles taken in the NBA Draft lottery. The Jazz selected him without having seen him play against top-level competition and the jury is still out on Exum as a player as he shows his stuff in the World Cup, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. When asked what he’s learned about Exum so far, one Eastern Conference scouting director said, “Not much. He’s not ready for the NBA, that is for sure. But a lot of guys are not ready for the NBA and they have got to learn on the fly. He is no different. But he is not going to jump into the league and all of a sudden average 20 points a game. There’s just no way.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA..

Chris Douglas-Roberts‘ deal with the Clippers is fully guaranteed, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). That doesn’t come as a huge surprise since Ekpe Udoh‘s minimum salary deal is also fully guaranteed for the 2014/15 season. CD-R averaged 6.9 points in 20.7 minutes per game and shot a career-high 38.6% from downtown last season.
Even before the Donald Sterling situation erupted, there was some talk that Bruce Levenson would explore selling his controlling interest of the Hawks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Whether Levenson’s fate is well-deserved or Orwellian is up for debate, but it’s clear this is a different world in the post-Sterling NBA, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Supply and demand could keep Reggie Jackson with the Thunder, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Only four teams – the Mavs, Lakers, Knicks, and Heat – currently have a clear need and the necessary cap space to make a run at him next summer. Jackson is after a sizable payday and a starting role, but that could be hard to find in the middle of an extremely talented free agent class.
The Jazz have several players in the World Cup, including Exum and stashed Brazilian talent Raul Neto, and Dennis Lindsey admits that he is somewhat worried about injuries and fatigue, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. At the same time, he feels that his younger players are also gaining valuable experience in international play.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Clippers Sign Chris Douglas-Roberts

September 3rd, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:54pm: The Clippers made the signing official, making a formal announcement.

2:17pm: The deal has been expected to be for one year, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, and the same is true of the agreement that Turkoglu is nearing with the team. That’ll help the Clippers squeeze a 15th player onto their roster under their hard cap, since one-year deals for the minimum salary only go on the team’s books for $915,243, the equivalent of the two-year veteran’s minimum, even if the player has more years of service. The league pays the rest.

1:59pm: The Clippers will sign free agent swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Woike reported earlier this week that the sides were close to a deal, and last week USA Today’s Sam Amick identified the Clippers as an interested party. It’ll almost certainly be a minimum-salary arrangement, since that’s all the Clippers can give, though it would seem there’s a strong chance it’ll be fully guaranteed, like the deal the team reached today with Ekpe Udoh.

Douglas-Roberts reportedly worked out for the Heat, so that means the Clips have taken another player from Miami’s list of considerations after doing the same with Udoh. The Hornets didn’t appear too interested in re-signing Douglas-Roberts in spite of the extensive role he played for Charlotte after he signed in December as a midseason injury replacement. The Creative Artists Agency client averaged 6.9 points in 20.7 minutes per game and made a career-high 38.6% of his three-point attempts last season, his fifth on an NBA roster.

The move gives the Clippers agreements with 14 players, 13 of whom have guaranteed deals. The team has also apparently been close to signing Hedo Turkoglu over the past few days and has been linked to Ray Allen. In any case, the Clippers can afford to carry a full 15-man roster if they choose after having waived and stretched Carlos Delfino and Miroslav Raduljica last week.

Clippers Close To Signing Chris Douglas-Roberts

September 1st, 2014 at 8:14am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers and Chris Douglas-Roberts are nearing a deal, a source tells Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). USA Today’s Sam Amick first identified the Clippers as an interested party last week as the team was poised to clear enough room beneath its hard cap for Douglas-Roberts and others. The Clips are also reportedly close to a deal to bring back Hedo Turkoglu now that they’ve waived and stretched Carlos Delfino and Miroslav Raduljica.

There’s been competition for Douglas-Roberts, as the Heat recently auditioned the 27-year-old, one of last year’s best midseason signees. The Creative Artists Agency client helped Charlotte offset injuries to small forwards Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeffery Taylor, playing a key role on a postseason-bound team as he shot a career-high 38.6% from behind the three-point arc. Somewhat surprisingly, the Hornets didn’t seem to make a strong push to re-sign Douglas-Roberts, and they renounced his rights to accommodate their offer sheet to Gordon Hayward.

Neither the Clippers nor the Heat could give Douglas-Roberts more than the minimum, so it doesn’t appear as though financial considerations are at play. The Clippers, who are carrying just 11 players, have also been linked to Ray Allen and Ekpe Udoh over the last several days, and it looks like they have room to ink four free agents to minimum-salary deals.

And-Ones: Lakers, Hornets, CDR, Young, Mavs

August 27th, 2014 at 8:10pm CST by Alex Lee

Michael Beasley‘s second audition with the Lakers was part of a larger free agent workout today, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, who lists Dexter Pittman, Greg Stiemsma, Daniel Orton, Bobby Brown, Toney Douglas, Ben Hansbrough and Malcolm Lee as the other participants. As Amick points out, GM Mitch Kupchak has two roster spots to play with going into the 2014/15 season.

Here is what else is happening around the league on Wednesday evening:

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer doesn’t foresee the Hornets burning their 15th and final guarantee on center depth behind Al Jefferson and Bismack Biyombo. Bonnell believes Charlotte would prefer to, when needed, plug Cody Zeller in at center rather than limit their roster flexibility (Twitter links here).
Bonnell also quashes any talk of the Hornets using that final guarantee on Chris Douglas-Roberts, who impressed at times in 49 games in Charlotte in 2013/14 (Twitter link). With Lance Stephenson and P.J. Hairston now in the fold, the Hornets are not looking for another wing, Bonnell implies. CDR was linked to the Clippers as recently as yesterday.
Clearly appreciative of the Timberwolves‘ efforts to acquire him, Thaddeus Young conceded that the past two seasons with the Sixers have been frustrating, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The combination of Dirk Nowitzki‘s unselfishness and his communicative relationship with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban directly led to the addition of Chandler Parsons this summer, writes Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com.

Clippers Likely To Waive Delfino, Raduljica

August 26th, 2014 at 5:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Clippers are likely to waive Carlos Delfino, whom they acquired earlier today, using the stretch provision, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. The other player that Los Angeles acquired in the Dudley trade, Miroslav Raduljica is also likely to be waived by the Clippers, notes Amick, suggesting that the team and Raduljica, who’s owed $1.5MM for this coming season, may reach a buyout deal.

The swap that was announced earlier today which sent Jared Dudley to the Bucks left the Clippers with just $649,228 to spend under the hard cap, according to the figures compiled by Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, which would leave only room for a prorated contract later in the season.

Delfino is owed $3.25MM for next season, and has a team option for 2015/16. By using the stretch provision prior to September 1st, the Clippers would be able to spread his salary for next season out evenly over the next five years, as well as his cap hit. This means Delfino would have to be waived by this coming Monday, otherwise this option would not be available to the team. By removing Delfino’s salary, the Clippers would then be able to add another player or two to their roster.

One strong possibility for the Clippers would be to add Chris Douglas-Roberts, reports Amick. The 27-year old shooting guard spent last season with the Hornets, appearing in 49 contests, averaging 6.9 PPG in 20.7 minutes per game. Douglas-Roberts could not be signed until Delfino was waived, notes Amick. Another player the Clippers could look to add would be Ekpe Udoh, who visited with Los Angeles earlier today.