DeMarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay

June 19th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.

Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).

Ranadive On Gay, Malone, D’Alessandro, Cousins

March 28th, 2014 at 4:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jared Dubin of ESPN.com’s TrueHoop Network scored a one-on-one interview with Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who shared a broad range of insight on the team he bought nearly a year ago. The technology magnate makes no bones about his enthusiasm for analytics, and told Dubin about the way extra layers of data convinced the team to trade for Rudy Gay, upon whom advanced metrics have often shed an unflattering light.

“What we did is, we looked at all six years of data, we looked at spatial data, we looked at what happened with a big guy, and what would happen if he was the second or the third option,” Ranadive said. “We concluded that his efficiency would go up dramatically, and sure enough, it’s gone up 20 percentage points.”

It’s not quite clear how Ranadive is measuring efficiency in this context, but most measures demonstrate that Gay has indeed performed better in Sacramento than he had with the Raptors. Dubin’s entire piece is worth your attention, particularly if you’re a Kings fan, but we’ll share some of the highlights here:

On hiring coach Michael Malone:

“He was the 21st century kind of coach that I wanted. The style of play — we want to be like the Spurs, but exciting. We want to create a winning franchise that is a perennial contender, and we also want a strong defense, combined with up-tempo play. Malone is a coach’s son, and there was high demand for him. I knew that I wanted him, so I made a deal with him that once I bought a team, he would be my coach.”

On hiring GM Pete D’Alessandro:

“When I spoke to Pete, I told him, ‘I’ve got three other candidates that are finalists for this job, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get job. I will interview you, and most likely it will be for an assistant GM [position]. If you want to come out, come out, but the chances of you getting it are 1%.’ He came out, and the night before I gave him a call and said, ‘There are just five questions I have for you,’ and then he just absolutely blew me away. Blew me away. He was the kind of 21st century GM that I was looking for. Looking at that, we don’t hold the fact that you haven’t done something against you. Mark Zuckerberg was 21 when he invented Facebook. That’s just how we think.”

On signing DeMarcus Cousins to a maximum-salary extension:

“He plays really hard. I know that he’s had issues with his temper and so on, but when I took over the franchise, the first thing I did was I texted him and I said, ‘Hey, my friend Steve Jobs likes to say ‘Let’s go to the end of the universe.’ So let’s do that in the NBA.’ And just like one of my kids, he sent me a three-word text back just saying, ‘Sounds good, boss.’ That was the start of my relationship with him and his mom. Before we gave him the contract, it was over the summertime, and I said, ‘Look, I just want one thing from you. I want you to be the first guy in and the last guy out. As long as you do that, we’re good.’ And he did. He lost a bunch of weight; he was the hardest-working guy in practice. The coaches have done a great job with him, and his numbers reflect it. He’s had amazing numbers. There’s still more work to be done, but I am very pleased with where he is.”

On his plan for changing the draft lottery, which he dubs the “V Plan.”

“There’s two parts to it. Part one is that you freeze the draft order at the time of the All-Star break. Then, everything [pertaining to the current lottery system] remains the same, but it’s frozen based on the standings at the All-Star break. Then there’s no gain in not playing at the highest level for the remainder of the season. That’s part one. Part two is that at the end of the season, the top seven teams from the Eastern Conference and the top seven teams from the Western Conference make the playoffs. Then for the eighth playoff spot, the remaining eight teams have a sudden-death, college-style playoff in a neutral venue, like Vegas in the West and Kansas or Louisville in the East.”

Deadline Rumors: Hill, Nelson, Bulls, Kaman

February 20th, 2014 at 1:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest from around the league as we inch closer to the deadline..

All is quiet for the Bulls, Grizzlies, Warriors, Mavericks, and Pelicans at the moment, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks have interest in Lakers big man Jordan Hill but the proposal is problematic because of L.A.’s desire to move both Hill and fellow big man Chris Kaman in order to get under the luxury tax, Amick writes.
The Kings are still shopping anyone not named DeMarcus Cousins from the Maloofs regime, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
The Magic and Wizards were discussing a deal involving Jameer Nelson before the Andre Miller deal was agreed upon, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
The Bulls, who are $678K under tax, are comfortable standing pat, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. They believe they can stay under the threshold even with bonuses and 10-day deals.
The Cavs were never in on Lakers big man Chris Kaman, despite reports to the contrary, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
More from Amico, who tweets that Cavs acting GM David Griffin was unwilling to give up a first-round pick and a player for Rockets big man Omer Asik. The Cavs went out and got Spencer Hawes instead.

Kings Owner On Malone, Front Office, Cousins

February 17th, 2014 at 9:47am CST by Chuck Myron

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive tells Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee that he expects the team will lose money this year, but he says he’s “not that concerned” about it. Ranadive has officially been in control of the franchise for just eight and a half months, but he’s already made a significant impact. He’s signed off on a max extension for DeMarcus Cousins, hired a new coach, overhauled the front office and kept pushing for a new arena against local opponents and a 2017 NBA-imposed deadline. The software magnate shared a range of thoughts on the team and other subjects with Voisin, and we’ll pass along a few highlights from their Q&A here:

On coach Michael Malone:

I think Michael Malone is going to be a great coach. He was thrown into a situation where there was a lot of dysfunction, and we said the first year is not going to be measured on wins and losses. Do we have a culture? Do we have a system? Are we developing our players? I believe we’re moving in the right direction.

On the philosophical differences between Malone and the front office:

Look, I know people talk about that my coach is always focusing on defense, while guys like Mullie (Chris Mullin, adviser) and Petey (D’Alessandro, general manager) are offense-oriented. And that we have offensive players. It’s no secret the game has become an offensive game, with three-point shots, layups, the rule changes. We all see it. So we have to reconcile that. And I think it’s good. If I had everyone who agreed, why would I want them?

On the team’s player personnel moves since he bought the team:

I’m very pleased with those decisions. When I bought the team, everybody told me the first thing you should do is get rid of DeMarcus, including the previous management. But I just kept an open mind, and I interacted with the young man. And what I saw was a young man who wanted to win and had experienced nothing but chaos during his time with the Kings. Throughout the season he has proven that he wants to win, and he is maturing. I can’t fault him because he wants to win so much.

On whether the notion that the current collective bargaining agreement is more small-market friendly than the one before it influenced his decision to buy the team:

It was a factor when I asked some smart money people to join me. I did explain to them we were at an important point in the evolution of the business. And, yes, in the past, most teams lost money. But with the new TV contract and all the things that were happening, this (NBA) was going to become more like the NFL.

On his accomplishments so far as Kings owner:

“Just kind of stepping back, when I took over, we started from scratch. There is no other word for it than a turnaround. We just paid $535MM for something that had no revenue, no ticket sales, an arena that is falling apart, that had chaos in the locker room, leadership that was falling apart, and so I had to just quickly stabilize everything. And kind of keeping with my philosophy of surrounding myself with people smarter than me, I think I’ve done that. (Team president) Chris Granger is one of the top guys in the NBA.”

Pacific Notes: Williams, Kings, Lakers

November 29th, 2013 at 7:13pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee characterizes the Kings’ move for Derrick Williams as “playing a hunch” – a hope that a new situation will help the former second-overall pick tap into his potential. With the franchise in rebuilding mode, Voisin writes that outside of DeMarcus Cousins, Ben McLemore, and Isaiah Thomas, pretty much everyone else is up for grabs on the trading block. Here’s more out of the Pacific Division tonight:

Mark Deeks of the Score evaluates the Williams-Luc Mbah a Moute swap for both Sacramento and Minnesota. Keeping Williams’ potential in mind, Deeks writes that the Kings took a gamble that was nearly “impossible to pass up,” whereas the Timberwolves appeared to have created a logjam at the wing with Dante Cunningham‘s minutes to account for as well as the eventual return of Chase Budinger.
According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni “hated” that Elias Harris had to be cut today. Both Bresnahan and Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News report that the team isn’t expected to fill in their 15th roster spot anytime soon (Twitter links).
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says the Lakers dropped the ball in sacrificing future financial flexibility in order to reward Kobe Bryant with a generous extension. The Los Angeles Times relayed a handful of fan reactions this afternoon regarding the deal, and most didn’t seem to be enthused either.

Amico On Turner, Young, Granger, Cousins

November 10th, 2013 at 8:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio has his weekly column posted; let’s dive in and take a look at the highlights..

If the Sixers start to slide and they turn their focus to the offseason, they could find a trade partner in the Mavericks. The two sides have yet to talk, but sources around the league wonder if Dallas might be interested in landing Evan Turner in an effort to make a playoff run and appease star Dirk Nowitzki. Turner wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg and a package of Shawn Marion and a draft pick would probably get the job done for the former No. 2 overall pick.
If the Sixers part with Turner, word around the league is that the Thunder and T-Wolves will also be among the teams with interest.
Sixers small forward Thaddeus Young is also off to a hot start and is likely to draw interest around the trade deadline or sooner. Young may be a little tougher to move than Turner at $8.6MM this year and $9.1MM next with a player option for $9.7MM in 2015), however.
With the Pacers off to a 7-0 start, league execs wonder what Danny Granger‘s role might be when he comes back from injury. With his expiring contract and recent injury history, it seems as if the Pacers would be receptive to moving him. If they do dangle Granger, they’ll probably seek out some backcourt help, specifically someone adept at handling the basketball.
One league exec told Amico, “If the Kings aren’t any good, mark my words: They’ll trade (DeMarcus) Cousins.” Cousins is still on his rookie contract this year, but has a max extension kicking in next season, which will make it trickier to trade him due to CBA rules, albeit not impossible.

Kings Sign Cousins To Four-Year Max Extension

September 30th, 2013 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

MONDAY, 11:06am: The Kings have officially signed Cousins to a long-term extension, the team announced today in a press release.

FRIDAY, 12:06am: The Kings and DeMarcus Cousins have reached an agreement in principle on a new long-term deal for the big man, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. According to Jones, Cousins will sign a four-year extension with Sacramento worth the maximum salary. The new deal will keep the former fifth overall pick under contract through 2017/18.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter) pegs the total value of Cousins' new contract at about $62MM, though the exact amount won't be known until next July when the 2014/15 cap figures and maximum salaries are set. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the pact won't include an option on the fourth year, while Jones tweets that it was Cousins' preference to do four years rather than five.

By agreeing to a four-year extension with Cousins, rather than a five-year deal, the Kings will hold on to their designated player tag to potentially use on another player down the road. There are no real candidates at this point to become Sacramento's designated player, though perhaps if Ben McLemore's development goes as planned, the team will consider going to five years for him when he becomes extension-eligible.

Cousins, 23, is coming off a season in which ne nearly averaged a double-double, with 17.1 PPG and 9.9 RPG, to go along with a 20.2 PER. We had heard earlier in the week that he and the team were nearing an extension, with the potential for a deal to be finalized before camp got underway. With an agreement in place, it looks like the Kings will be in position to finalize and announce Cousins' new contract before the club plays its first preseason game.

Cousins' new contract will make him the fourth player this offseason to sign a rookie-scale extension, including the third to sign a max deal. John Wall and Paul George both agreed to five-year max extensions with their respective clubs, while Larry Sanders inked a four-year contract worth $44MM. As I noted when I examined extension-eligible players yesterday, plenty of situations are still up in the air, including Eric Bledsoe, Derrick Favors, and Gordon Hayward.

Odds & Ends: Bibby, Graham, Kuester

September 26th, 2013 at 6:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

According to Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report, Mike Bibby – who is reportedly well-liked by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich - was invited to San Antonio's training camp and had a good chance of making the team. However, the veteran guard now won't be able to attend because of a foot/heel injury (Twitter link). It's been a bit of a Jazz fest as far as news goes this evening, but here are some other noteworthy links we've gathered up from around the Association:

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com ranks the league's top ten frontcourts (Insiders only).
Stephen Graham could possibly have an invitation to participate in Bucks camp this fall (Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times via Twitter). There hasn't been any further mention of an official invitation, but we'll look to relay any updates as they surface.
76ers rookie head coach Brett Brown doesn't feel inclined to bring along a former head coach as an assistant, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: “I don’t feel with this team that it’s mandatory that I have to surround myself with perspective or wisdom or, you know, an Owl that’s been there, done that…I feel that this year’s team is about development. And I feel like it’s about … teaching, relationships and energy more than NBA wisdom."
Former Pistons head coach and Lakers assistant John Kuester, however, has been rumored to be a potential candidate for Brown's coaching staff in Philadelphia.
The Score's Mark Deeks discusses Paul George's max contract extension as well as a potential one for Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. While Deeks understands the logic behind securing George for the long term, he feels that offering the same type of deal to Cousins would be an enormous gamble.

Kings Links: Shaq, Cousins, Ranadive

September 24th, 2013 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

There was plenty of news coming out of Sacramento yesterday, as it was reported that Shaquille O'Neal had bought a stake in the Kings and would join the franchise's ownership group. Additionally, fourth-year big man DeMarcus Cousins appears to be closing in on a long-term extension with the club, and there's a chance something could be done in time for camp. Today's Kings links deal primarily with the fallout from those two stories, so let's dive in….

Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro confirmed today that extension talks with Cousins are progressing, but didn't offer any specific details or a timeline for the deal, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
The Kings held a presser today to introduce O'Neal as a minority shareholder, and Shaq suggested that when he looks at Cousins, he sees "a young Shaquille O'Neal" (Twitter link). We heard yesterday that the former Laker hopes to "teach [Cousins] a few things to add to his game."
Shaq's share of the Kings will amount to between 2-4%, according to Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com weighs in with five thoughts on the seemingly inevitable Cousins extension, discussing, among other things, Vivek Ranadive's role in negotiations and whether the Kings would be better off waiting until next summer.
As Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes, O'Neal will continue as a TNT analyst, but plans to spend a "significant" amount of time in Sacramento.

DeMarcus Cousins, Kings Nearing Extension

September 23rd, 2013 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on his story on Shaquille O'Neal joining the Kings' ownership group, Sam Amick of USA Today asked owner Vivek Ranadive about whether the team will lock up DeMarcus Cousins with a contract extension before next month's deadline.

"I don't want to say anything premature," Ranadive said. "But I've been constant in my support for DeMarcus."

While Ranadive was noncommital, ESPN.com's Marc Stein hears from sources that the Kings and Cousins are on track to reach an extension agreement in the coming weeks. A deal could even be finalized before the Kings open camp, according to Stein.

Cousins, 23, is coming off a season in which ne nearly averaged a double-double, with 17.1 PPG and 9.9 RPG, to go along with a 20.2 PER. Stein indicates that the mercurial big man is said to be seeking a five-year max contract, similar to the one John Wall inked with the Wizards. Such a deal would make Cousins the Kings' designated franchise player, though he almost certainly won't qualify for the Derrick Rose Rule max, which I discussed in relation to Paul George earlier today.

It's unclear whether the Kings are willing to give Cousins that fifth year or to go as high as the max, but Stein writes that the club is determined to get something done as soon as possible so that Cousins' contract situation doesn't become a distraction. Additionally, as Amick notes, O'Neal hopes to take the Kentucky product under his wing as part of his involvement with the Kings.

"You hear people say all the time that he's probably the most talented big man in the league, so now if you've got that behind your name, then everything else must follow," O'Neal said. "I'm going to teach him a few things to add to his game."

Assuming Cousins and George officially complete their deals in the near future, they'll become the third and fourth players to sign rookie-scale extensions this offseason. Wall and Larry Sanders have also agreed to new long-term deals.