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Clippers Owner Nearly Scuttled Redick Trade

October 29th, 2013 at 9:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 9:13pm: Rivers has confirmed Wojnarowski’s story, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 9:02pm: Clippers owner Donald Sterling instructed team president Andy Roeser to call off the team’s three-team swap that brought in J.J. Redick on a sign-and-trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Sterling only consented to the deal after Doc Rivers appealed to him to change his mind.

Front office executives from the Bucks, Suns, Clippers, along with Redick, whose willingness to join the Clippers in the sign-and-trade was at the center of the deal, reached an agreement on July 2nd, but Sterling called Roeser the next day to veto the trade. Sterling had OK’d the deal on July 1st, but had a change of heart. That left Rivers “beyond embarrassed and humiliated,” Wojnarowski hears, as Rivers feared the failure of the trade would short-circuit his credibility in his new role as Clippers senior vice president of basketball operations. Redick and agent Arn Tellem were incensed, as well, since the sharpshooter’s other suitors had moved on once the news that he was headed to the Clippers had emerged.

Rivers heard appeals to bring Chris Paul along with him to lobby Sterling, but Paul ultimately wasn’t involved, Wojnarowski writes. Rivers never threatened to resign when he spoke with Sterling, but a source tells Wojnarowski that Rivers stepping down was a possibility.

Ultimately, the mercurial Sterling changed his mind before the league’s July Moratorium ended on July 10th and allowed the deal to go through. The incident showcases the volatility of any trade before it’s officially announced, but it also casts suspicion on the level of trust between Sterling, Rivers and the rest of the front office. Sterling was fond of Eric Bledsoe, who went to Phoenix in the swap, and some believe he questioned the wisdom of awarding Redick a four-year, $27.755MM contract when he’s often been a bench player, according to Wojnarowski. Still, it’s unclear what made Sterling hesitate and ultimately change his mind.

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Odds & Ends: Brand, CP3, Obradovic, Rush

October 23rd, 2013 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few odds and ends from around the Association….

  • Elton Brand tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he was “a little surprised” that the Mavericks didn’t re-sign him this summer. However, the veteran big man added that Dallas had been in the mix: “They had to get their cap situation straight and they did tender an offer.”
  • Appearing on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (video link), Chris Paul admits that he could see himself retiring a little earlier than expected in order to spend more time with his children (hat tip to Matt Moore of Eye on Basketball). Of course, the Clippers guard just signed a five-year deal with the club this summer, so he’s not about to call it a career anytime soon.
  • Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net translates an interview with longtime Panathinaikos coach Zeljko Obradovic on Greece’s OTE TV. Shortly after the 2012/13 NBA season ended, Obradovic said he’d consider taking an NBA job if a playoff team reached out to him, but he tells OTE TV that while a couple clubs were considering interviewing him, none ended up contacting him directly.
  • After recently working out at the Lakers facility, former NBA vet Kareem Rush is prepared to rejoin the team’s D-League affiliate, the L.A. D-Fenders, he tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Rush appeared in seven games for the D-Fenders in 2011/12.
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Lakers Rumors: Odom, Paul, Kobe, Fisher

September 26th, 2013 at 2:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, ESPNLosAngeles.com published another excerpt of Jeanie Buss' updated memoirs, "Laker Girl."  In this piece, Buss says that she was less-than-involved in the 2011 trade that jettisoned Lamar Odom from L.A.  According to Jeanie, her brother Jim notified her of the trade via text, writing, "Traded Odom to Dallas for first-round pick. I think it might make it easier to make a big trade. Will keep you posted. Have a good night."  That wasn't the only significant storyline that Buss touched on, however.  Here's more from Buss' memoirs and other items of interest on the Lakers..

  • Buss went on to describe the events that led to Chris Paul being traded to the Lakers and the deal being called off shortly thereafter.  In Buss' mind, the timing of the deal rubbed the small-market owners the wrong way as they all just got done ratifying a CBA that was supposed to ensure a more even playing field for all teams.  Had the Hornets and Lakers waited, say, two days to pull the trigger, it's possible that the deal never would have been reversed by David Stern.
  • In an interview in Dubai, Kobe Bryant told Jessica Kahawaty of Yahoo (video link) that he would like to be reunited with a longtime teammate.  “My all-time favorite teammate has always been Derek Fisher. He’s been my favorite teammate, I would love to see him back in a Lakers uniform so we could kind of finish out together," Bryant said of the veteran guard.
  • General Manager Mitch Kupchak is out there searching for diamonds in the rough, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.

Read more

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Odds & Ends: Paul, NBPA, Butler

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In discussing Chris Paul's election as the new NBPA president, ESPN's Brian Windhorst writes that neither Paul nor former union vice president Jerry Stackhouse would commit to a timetable nor discuss whether a search firm was in place to find a replacement for ex-NBPA executive director Billy Hunter. Stackhouse, who will remain active with the union in an advisory role, said they aren't in a rush but have already identified a number of candidates. Windhorst also says the union would ideally want a new executive director in place by February 1st, when Adam Silver is set to begin his job as the new commissioner. Here are more of tonight's miscellaneous news and notes, along with more from the above piece:

  • Some comments from Paul: "I've been thinking about (running) for a while on and off…I've had a lot of dialogue about it with committee members. I wouldn't have taken on the role if I was going to do it alone."
  • There are a few specific issues that were tabled during the 2011 CBA which still need to be resolved, especially blood testing for performance enhancing drugs (including human growth hormone) and the current age limit to declare for the NBA draft. 
  • Lakers guard Steve Blake and Bobcats forward Anthony Tolliver were added as new members to the executive committee, joining Paul, Roger Mason Jr., Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, James Jones, Matt Bonner, and Willie Green.
  • The union has turned to Deloitte Financial Advisory Services to examine its structure and will make necessary changes, such as adding a human resources and information technology department (J.A. Adande of ESPN.com).
  • Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes that the NBPA has hired Reilly Partners to help with restructuring and forming a job description for the executive director position, and that two names have surfaced as potential candidates for the opening: former NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson and former NBA and Madison Square Garden executive Steven Mills. 
  • Suns forward Caron Butler says he's looking forward to being a mentor to teammate Michael Beasley, gives his thoughts on the Clippers, and talks about how he's approaching the upcoming season in Phoenix. Butler adds that no one from the Clippers front office has spoken to him since he was notified by his agent about being traded, but insists there's no ill will: “I don’t leave with bitterness or anything, but a phone call would have helped the situation…But it’s cool, it’s no hard feelings because that’s the nature of the business" (NBA.com's Jeff Caplan). 
  • Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy looks at a list of 11 of the top 13 players drafted this past June and discusses their chances at winning Rookie of the Year.
  • In the same piece, Kennedy relays a clip from Gary Payton's interview on FOX Sports, in which the Hall of Fame point guard reveals that he may have had something to do with Allen Iverson's "practice" rant on the 76ers several years ago: "(Iverson) asked me…'How do you keep your body is so good of a shape, and don’t get hurt, and stay always on the court?’ And I just told him for real, my coach George Karl didn’t let me practice. So that was it. I said, ‘You have to stop practicing." While watching the actual rant, Payton recalled thinking: ‘Don’t say it like this! Don’t do it like that, Allen…When he said it, I said, ‘No, that was not our conversation.’”
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Poll: Who’d Make The Best NBPA President?

August 21st, 2013 at 10:58pm CST by Alex Lee

We learned tonight that Chris Paul will replace Derek Fisher as the president of the NBA Players Association.  It is no secret that Paul is exceptionally popular among the NBA's players and fans, as Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes in his story about Paul's new position.  Deveney also notes that the point guard has been involved in the union since he was a rookie, which allows him to utilize star power and knowledge in a position and union that desperately need both.

Since rumors of LeBron James eyeing the position surfaced in late July, the idea of a league star as the union front man has been universally advocated after more than a decade without one.  But is that advocacy on point?  And if so, is CP3 the man to prove it?  There are a lot of new faces in new roles this year, from commissioner to NBPA president, so this selection could have legitimate ramifications.  Let us know what you think, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section. 

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Chris Paul Elected As NBPA President

August 21st, 2013 at 7:10pm CST by Alex Lee

Clippers point guard Chris Paul has been elected as the president of the NBA Players Association, the union announced via Twitter. The NBPA tweeted that Roger Mason Jr., who was also interested in the top position, has been named first vice president.

Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal first reported the surprising announcement via Twitter. The union was expected to announce their decision tonight according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, who tabbed Mason as Derek Fisher's probable successor. Mason announced his candidacy last week.

Paul, previously a union vice president, will be the first star player to head the players' union since Patrick Ewing, who held the position from 1997 to 2001, and the first "in-his-prime" president since fellow point guard Isiah Thomas. As LeBron James indicated when he was considering the position, a player of his or Paul's caliber would likely have a louder voice as president than their predecessors — something the union sorely needs after being shrouded in controversy in the late stages of Fisher's reign. Fisher served as the union's president until his term expired this summer. He was preceded by Antonio Davis and Michael Curry, who, like Fisher, were also role players.  James decided he would not pursue the presidency early last week.

The union also tweeted that it will add Steve Blake and Anthony Tolliver as vice presidents and executive committee members. As USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reports (via Twitter), Jerry Stackhouse has resigned as first vice president and will accept some sort of special advisory role within the NBPA. The league will also hire an executive director in the near future to replace Billy Hunter, who was ousted earlier this year. With Paul and a new executive director in place, it could be an interesting first year for commissioner Adam Silver. 

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Daryl Morey Talks Asik, Howard, CP3, Lottery

August 16th, 2013 at 8:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets GM Daryl Morey has had an eventful offseason, landing the top big man on the free agent market, adding a handful of free agents around Dwight Howard, and losing his annual Las Vegas ping pong match to Bobcats GM Rich Cho. He addressed all of those topics today in an "Ask Me Anything" session at Reddit.com, and the questions and answers in full can be found here. We'll round up a few of Morey's more notable responses below….

  • Asked whether Omer Asik will be happy with his new role in Houston, Morey acknowledged that Asik would prefer to be a starter, but added that the big man is concerned with winning first, and will like being on a competitive team. According to Morey, coach Kevin McHale will also experiment with a lineup in training camp that includes Asik at center and Howard at power forward.
  • According to Morey, the Rockets' pitch to Howard centered around three main factors: The opportunity to join a rising star in James Harden, McHale's presence on the bench, and the fact that, among the clubs D12 was considering, Houston has the most assets and flexibility to continue improving the roster around him.
  • Chris Paul reportedly had interest in the Rockets before re-signing with the Clippers, but Morey says he believes Houston was "always on the periphery of where [Paul] might choose to go."
  • Morey says he'd love for every NBA team to send all trade offers Houston's way, whether those offers are "ridiculous or reasonable," since even the ridiculous ones can eventually grow into something real.
  • Asked to reply to Steve Kerr's suggestions for how to improve the NBA's draft lottery, Morey indicated that he thinks the league rewards losing too much, and that potential alternatives are "something we need to work on." Morey went on to say that "bottoming out" is the highest probability strategy for rebuilding, and that he thinks a team like Philadelphia took the best path available, given the current CBA and draft rules.
  • Morey had nothing but praise for future commissioner Adam Silver, who is "very forward-thinking" and has plenty of great ideas for how to improve the NBA, according to the Rockets GM.
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Lakers Notes: Kobe, Paul, Stern, Fisher

August 16th, 2013 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

Last night, Kobe Bryant sat down for a chat with Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles for an AXS TV special titled "Kobe Up Close".  Here's a look at Bryant's candid interview from the Nokia Theatre..

  • Bryant was asked if he's certain that he'll be a Laker for life and he responded in the affirmative, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.  Of course, Kobe will be a free agent following the 2014 season, but it doesn't sound as though the Lakers star plans on making a big change next summer.
  • Chris Paul personally called Bryant to inform him that the proposed deal to send him to the other Los Angeles team was squashed by the league office, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  Paul began the phone call by exclaiming, "Man, you won't believe it!" 
  • Kimmel asked Kobe if Paul should be a Laker today.  Bryant responded, "Legally speaking, yes.  David Stern speaking? No," tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • When asked if he could have one former teammate return, Bryant said that it would be Derek Fisher because "that's my guy," tweets McMenamin.  The veteran guard re-signed with the Thunder back in July.
  • Bryant acknowledged that he might not be ready for the season opener, according to the AP.
  • Kimmel asked Bryant if he'd be interested in owning a team after retirement and the guard inferred that he'd like to own a piece of the Lakers, tweets Shelburne.
  • Lakers assistant Mark Madsen told Kennedy (Twitter link) that offseason additions Jordan Farmar, Nick Young, and Wesley Johnson have already begun working out in the L.A. gym this summer.  The former-player-turned-coach is impressed to see the newest members of the club taking initiative.
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Western Notes: Beasley, Grizzlies, Harden

July 27th, 2013 at 7:24pm CST by Spencer Lund

Michael Beasley is entering the final fully guaranteed year of his contract, and he's in danger of seeing his NBA career come to an early end, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com examines.

Caplan spoke with 33-year-old Suns GM Ryan McDonough about the their rebuilding efforts designed to add hardworking athletes who can run their up-tempo offense, led by their newest addition in the back-court, Eric Bledsoe. 

But when asked if the 24-year-old Beasley–who averaged career lows across-the-board last season in Phoenix–would be a part of the Suns' rebuilding efforts, McDonough's message was loud and clear for the maladroit former No. 2 overall pick:

"I guess what I’ll say generally about that is we’re going to treat everybody the same,” McDonough explained.

“There won’t be any special treatment for anybody on the roster and as Jeff [Hornacek] and I told all the guys coming in, we don’t care how much money you’re making, where you were drafted, how long you’ve been in the league, what, if anything, you’ve been promised in the past. We’re going into this as an open competition, and when training camp comes, guys who buy in and play the right way and play hard will play, and those who don’t, won’t.”

Beasley signed a three-year $18MM contract with the Suns in July of 2012, but the 2014-15 season is only guaranteed for $3MM. According to Mark Deeks at ShamSports.com, the final year becomes fully guaranteed for $6.25MM if the Suns don't waive him on, or before, 5 p.m. Mountain Time on the second day after the team's final gaeme of the 2013-14 season, including playoffs, or June 15th.

Here's what else is happening around the Western Conference on Saturday night…

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Clippers Re-Sign Chris Paul

July 10th, 2013 at 7:34am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 10TH: The Clippers didn't waste any time once the moratorium ended, officially announcing Paul's new deal on the team's website.

JULY 1ST: Chris Paul took to Twitter to announce his return to the Clippers this morning, adding confirmation to news that's been expected for some time. His representatives had begun telling other teams this weekend not to bother making a pitch to him, since he had already committed to the Clips.

Agent Leon Rose confirms to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that Paul has verbally agreed to a five-year, $107MM deal, with the ability to opt out after four seasons (Twitter links). Presumably, that means Paul is getting the maximum salary, as our Luke Adams projected Paul would be in line for $107MM when he looked at maximum scenarios this spring. That number, like the deal itself, won't become official until the July Moratorium is over next week.

With Blake Griffin's extension set to kick in this coming season and Doc Rivers coming aboard this summer, the Clippers employ the league's highest paid coach and have committed more than $200MM to a pair of stars, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out via Twitter. The deals for both Griffin and Paul will run through 2018, though Griffin, too, can opt out after 2016/17. Griffin has an early-termination option for 2017/18, and I'd imagine Paul's opt-out clause is in the form of an early-termination option, too.

Paul didn't speak to any other teams after free agency began late last night, notes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, and if he had, it would have been surprising. The hiring of Rivers as coach and primary front office decision-maker appeared to clinch the deal for Paul, whom other teams, like the Mavericks, Rockets and Hawks, had hoped could be lured away.

Paul and Dwight Howard had been considered the top two free agents on the market, and CP3 was far and away the best point guard available. Teams looking for a free agent option who can run their offense must turn to a crop headlined by Jose Calderon, Brandon Jennings and Jeff Teague. The Clippers have been rumored to be pursuing Howard in a sign-and-trade, but that appears to be a longshot.

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