Jermaine O’Neal Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Stotts, Gasol, O’Neal

March 30th, 2014 at 9:13am CST by Eddie Scarito

Terry Stotts is on the last year of his contract, and management hasn’t said whether he’ll be back for a third season on the Blazers’ bench, writes Mitch Lawrence of The New York Daily News. Stotts’ staff is not feeling very good about their chances of returning after sliding down to fifth place in the West and in danger of finishing even lower, reports Lawrence. Since starting the season atop the West by winning 33 of their 44 games, the Blazers have been sub-.500, losing 16 of their last 29 games entering the weekend. In six seasons as a head coach with the Hawks, Bucks, and Blazers, Stotts has a record of 195-244.

Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Barnes, O’Neal, Green

March 27th, 2014 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Impatience from the ownership suite is at the root of much of the tension surrounding the Warriors, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The front office is under pressure, and that affects coach Mark Jackson and his coaching staff, according to Kyler, who says the owners often push for roster changes when the team isn’t performing well. The principal owners of the Warriors are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, but Kyler doesn’t specify whether it’s one or both of them or someone else within the ownership group who is putting the squeeze on. Still, Kyler has other specifics about the uneasiness in Golden State, as we detail below amid our look at the latest from the Pacific Division:

Harrison Barnes was the subject of trade rumors before the deadline, and Kyler hears that Warriors ownership started those talks in hope of flipping Barnes for a veteran big man who could help the team win in the short-term. For what it’s worth, Lacob said in February that he wasn’t anxious to move Barnes.
Jackson previously denied that there’s dysfunction within the Warriors, and Wednesday he also tried to shoot down the idea that he sought head coaching jobs with the Clippers and Nets, among other teams. Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com has the details.
Jackson is an ordained nondenominational Christian minister, and that’s a draw for many players, including Jermaine O’Neal, who said it was one of the primary reasons he signed with the Warriors, and Draymond Green, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News observes.
The Warriors expected to contend for the Western Conference title this year, and if they reach the conference finals, Jackson will “almost certainly” return as coach, but if they lose in the first round, he’s a goner, Deveney believes.

Pacific Rumors: Nash, Granger, Warriors

March 3rd, 2014 at 5:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Steve Nash, who’s likely out for the season, doesn’t think GM Mitch Kupchak‘s recent comment that it would be “unethical” for the team not to let the point guard determine his own future with the club is a guarantee he won’t be waived. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News has more. “You never know what the case is in a month or two weeks physically from a club standpoint and from my standpoint,” Nash said. “When you’re looking at potentially the last few months of your career, I didn’t want that to slide by without getting back on the court. It motivated me. Who knows now.” More from around the Pacific Division..

Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) confirms that Danny Granger‘s deal with the Clippers is a one-year pact for the prorated minimum. It was widely assumed that this was the case after Granger and the Sixers agreed to a buyout, springing him loose for the rest of the season and postseason.
Warriors veteran Jermaine O’Neal is taking one last shot at winning a ring, writes Diamond Leung of the Mercury News. The Warriors big man says he can envision a scenario this offseason in which he can’t get into the proper frame of mind to start training for another season.
The Warriors and the San Francisco Giants could team up to get a new basketball arena built near AT&T Park, write Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. The W’s say they’re still going “full steam ahead” with the Piers 30-32 project, but they’re also considering fallback options.
The Warriors announced that they have assigned Nemanja Nedovic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Nedovic has appeared in five games (all starts) for Santa Cruz this season, compiling averages of 19.0 points, 3.6 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.60 steals in 29.2 minutes.

Warriors Notes: O’Neal, Armstrong, Douglas

December 13th, 2013 at 10:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wednesday’s come-from-behind win against the Mavericks was a boost for the Warriors, who would have fallen to within a game of .500 had they lost. Golden State instead entered tonight at 13-10 and tied with Dallas for eighth place in the Western Conference, but the Warriors didn’t envision merely scrapping for a playoff spot this season. Injuries have played a role in the slow start, but it looks like the team has at least considered shaking up the roster with a trade, as witnessed by the team’s rumored interest in Kyle Lowry. It sounds like Lowry won’t wind up in a Warriors uniform, but Golden State will nonetheless be a team to watch if its struggles continue. Here’s more on the W’s:

Jermaine O’Neal had surgery today on a torn ligament in his right wrist, but he took to Twitter to insist that he will return at some point this season (hat tip to The Associated Press). GM Bob Myers says O’Neal will probably miss about two months, according to 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). A report yesterday indicated it was likely that O’Neal was done for the year.
Coach Mark Jackson explained to reporters, including Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, why the team chose to sign Hilton Armstrong this week rather than bring back Dewayne Dedmon to fill its need for a backup center. “Just overall we thought we needed a guy that was more game ready today, not to say that Dewayne isn’t, but this is no time for us to experiment. We needed a proven guy off the bench,” Jackson said.
Amid the rumors linking Golden State to Lowry, Jackson also said the team still believes in backup point guard Toney Douglas, as Kawakami also notes in his piece.
The best outcome for David Lee and the Warriors isn’t a trade that would ship him out of town, but a return to the All-Star form the power forward exhibited last season, opines fellow Bay Area News Group scribe Marcus Thompson.

Western Notes: Lakers, O’Neal, Rush

December 12th, 2013 at 6:40pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As we noted earlier, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant – who has started at the shooting guard and small forward position over his first two games back, respectively – will now be expected to handle point guard duties while the team’s whole rotation at point guard deals with injuries. His first test will come against Thunder guard Russell Westbrook on Friday, and while Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times isn’t so sure if Bryant will be up to that type of challenge this soon into his return, the team doesn’t seem to have much of a choice.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

Although he listed some names expected to be on the Lakers’ radar earlier, Pincus also tweeted that as of now, the front office hasn’t decided on a course of action yet and will “tough it out” for the time being.
While it’s not within our scope to focus on injury rumors, it’s still worth noting that Warriors big man Jermaine O’Neal is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, and a timetable for his return will be determined after the surgery, the team announced (Twitter links). However, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets that the procedure would likely end the 35-year-old veteran’s season and career.
Jazz guard Brandon Rush recently met with head coach Tyrone Corbin to hash out some of his frustrations about a lack of playing time, writes Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune: “It’s been really frustrating because I’ve worked hard…I wanted to be able to get some minutes and help the team out… (but) I had a good talk with Coach…He let me know what the deal was.” Corbin later told the media that he’s just trying to get Rush to play without apprehension.
In another piece, Falk describes how Marvin Williams has been an invaluable role player for Utah when he’s been able to find court time.

Odds & Ends: Hill, Team USA, Cousins

July 25th, 2013 at 11:14pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Opting to stick around for youth basketball camps he sponsored in Texas, Pacers guard George Hill understands that his decision to forego his commitment to Team USA training camp on short notice could hurt his chances at future invitations (IndyStar.com). USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo's reacted to Hill's decision: "We expected him here, and he withdrew…Until I really get the answer, I don't know what else to tell you. I just don't think it's fair to comment one way or the other until I have facts, out of courtesy and respect."

Here are a few more miscellaneous rumblings to pass along from tonight:

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter) hears that the Kings will be meeting with DeMarcus Cousins' agent Dan Fegan in the near future to discuss a contract extension.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets that early next year, Colangelo will announce another pool of 25-28 players for next summer's World Cup competition.
Though he almost chose the Mavericks at the request of his son, Jermaine O'Neal passed on the chance to return home and ultimately chose to join the Warriors for the opportunity to be a part of something special (Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News).
Eric Koreen of the National Post introduces us to Bill Bayno, Jesse Murmuys, and Jama Mahlalela – some of the new faces on the Raptors' assistant coaching staff. In another piece, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun gathers some of head coach Dwane Casey's thoughts on Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar DeRozan and their improvement this summer.
Zach Harper of CBS Sports is puzzled by Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum's statement to Cleveland media that he's never played for a city that really supported their team, coming from someone who developed and enjoyed plenty of success with the Lakers.

Western Notes: Camby, O’Neal, Jordan, Pekovic

July 24th, 2013 at 7:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Western Conference

According to a tweet from the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, Marcus Camby's agent insists that the Rockets are atop his list of teams to play for next season.
New Warriors center Jermaine O'Neal says he is ready to help his new team in any role, any way he can, writes the San Francisco Chronicle's Rusty Simmons.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan found himself in a major trade rumor earlier this summer, with constant speculation of him being involved in a deal to the Celtics. Today, Jordan says he looks at those rumors as a sign of respect, according to RealGM's Shams Charania.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders will fly to New York City early next week to sit down with restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic's agent with hopes to finalize a contract in the area of four years and $50MM, according to the Star Tribune's Kent Youngblood.

Warriors Sign Jermaine O’Neal

July 23rd, 2013 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 23RD: The Warriors have officially signed O'Neal, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 9TH: Free agent big man Jermaine O'Neal will sign with the Warriors on a one-year deal, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter links). We had heard over the weekend that Golden State had interest in the Arn Tellem client, and that he was expected to make a decision soon.

The agreement with O'Neal is the latest move in a busy week for the Warriors. In addition to coming to terms with O'Neal, Golden State agreed to sign Andre Iguodala, Toney Douglas, and Marreese Speights, and will send $24MM+ in expiring contracts to the Jazz.

According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter), O'Neal's contract will be worth $2MM, which exceeds the minimum salary for a veteran with his experience. That means Golden State will either be signing O'Neal using the bi-annual exception or part of the mid-level exception. A sign-and-trade is also a possibility, but appears much less likely.

O'Neal, 34, has had problems staying on the court throughout his NBA career, but was productive in the games he played for the Suns last year. In 55 contests (18.7 MPG), O'Neal averaged 8.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG to go along with a 16.7 PER.

Warriors Notes: Cap, Lee, Picks, TPEs, Jackson

July 11th, 2013 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group passes along a couple more notes on the Warriors' cap situation, via Twitter.

Thompson confirms that Golden State will have trade exceptions worth Richard Jefferson's and Brandon Rush's salaries ($11,046,000 and $4,000,000 respectively).
The team will also sign Marreese Speights and Toney Douglas using its mid-level exception, while Jermaine O'Neal will get the bi-annual exception.

2:07pm: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has conducted a lengthy Q&A with Warriors owner Joe Lacob about the team's approach to the offseason, and its recent moves. Lacob explains how Golden State identified Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala as its top targets and went about acquiring Iguodala. The entire piece is worth a read, particularly for Warriors fans, but here are a few of the most notable tidbits:

According to Lacob, the Warriors decided that now was the time to make a big move and add a major piece to the core, rather than letting contracts like Richard Jefferson's and Andris Biedrins' expire and trying to make a splash next summer.
Lacob adds that the team was "never going to part with [its] core." While he doesn't name specific players, I'm guessing he's referring to Steph Curry, Harrison Barnes, and Klay Thompson.
The Warriors "were always going to keep" David Lee as well, says Lacob, adding that the club never offered Lee to another team in trade talks.
Lacob, addressing the fact that Andrew Bogut's and Lee's names surfaced in trade rumors: "These are NBA players; they know trades happen. It’s part of their lives, part of their business…. We didn’t want to trade any of them or give them up in any way. We wanted to do whatever could to add to them."
The two first-round picks the Warriors sent to the Jazz are unprotected, Lacob confirms.
Asked if more moves are coming, Lacob says he thinks the Warriors are "done for now."
If the club does want to add another player, there should be trade exceptions available from the three-way trade with the Jazz and Nuggets. Lacob's words: "I know we have at least an 11 I believe and a 4. There might be a 9 in there too." By my math, the Warriors created TPEs worth $11,046,000 and $4,000,000, but won't have one for $9,000,000.
Golden State is prepared to go into luxury-tax territory going forward, says Lacob.
Lacob on possible trade options down the road: "We have a lot of assets at this point, a lot of really good players that people want. Bob Myers gets called every day—we had some amazing offers, people calling, not us calling them, on some really good players."
Lacob envisions Mark Jackson as the Warriors' long-term coach, but says there's no specific timetable for extension talks.

Renounced Players: Wednesday

July 10th, 2013 at 9:58pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:

Mo Williams is the most prominent name among the several whose rights the Jazz renounced today, according to the RealGM transaction log. Al Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson, who already have deals to join other teams, are also on the list, as are the long-retired Brevin Knight and Greg Ostertag.
Bobcats are set to re-sign Josh McRoberts, but they won't be using their Early Bird rights to do so, as they've renounced his rights, RealGM shows. The team also renounced their rights to Reggie Williams, who's heading to the Rockets, and it cut ties with DeSagana Diop, Byron Mullens and Jannero Pargo, too.
Golden State will sign Jermaine O'Neal, so the Suns have renounced his rights, as well as their rights to Wesley Johnson and Diante Garrett, as RealGM notes.

Earlier updates:

The Hawks have cleared out unwanted cap holds from their books, renouncing their rights to Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Josh Smith, and Etan Thomas, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
RealGM.com also has the Trail Blazers renouncing multiple players, including Luke Babbitt, J.J. Hickson, Eric Maynor, and Nolan Smith.
Most interestingly, according to RealGM.com, the Bucks have renounced their rights to Monta Ellis. That doesn't necessarily preclude a sign-and-trade, but it would mean the team would have to use cap space rather than Ellis' Bird rights to accommodate a deal.
The Pelicans have renounced their rights to Louis Amundson, Xavier Henry, and Roger Mason Jr., the team announced today in a press release.
In order to clear cap room for their signings, the Pistons renounced Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, and Ben Wallace, according to RealGM's transactions log. The Pistons plan to re-sign Bynum, but removing his $6MM+ cap hold and signing him to a smaller figure using cap space makes the most sense.
After renouncing their rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, the Clippers have also renounced Bobby Simmons, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.