Jordan Clarkson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: Hill, Johnson, Clarkson

April 16th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers still have a decision to make regarding Jordan Hill‘s team option worth $9MM for 2015/16, and for his part the big man wants to return to Los Angeles, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “It’s going to be a big off-season for the Lakers,” said Hill. Of his option, he said “it’s up in the air right now. I definitely would love to come back here, but everybody understands the business.” The 27-year-old appeared in 70 games this season, averaging 12.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Rookie Jordan Clarkson has a chip on his shoulder regarding being passed over in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, he told reporters during his exit interview. “I’m a second-round pick — 46th pick,” Clarkson said. “It’s always gonna be on my mind. … I’m never going to forget draft day. It’s motivating for me. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to play for this organization in this league. I think I watched the draft maybe like 10 times throughout the year. … I don’t look at it like, ‘I should’ve been drafted there.’ Everything happens for a reason.”
Unrestricted free agent Wesley Johnson during his exit interview also indicated his desire to be a member of the Lakers next season. “Obviously things haven’t been going the way we wanted it to, but that’s a reason to stick around,” Johnson relayed. “You want to be here when we turn it around.”
Johnson said that his priority was to secure a long-term deal somewhere, and that the Lakers told him they would first focus on the draft before making a decision regarding re-signing him, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
Ed Davis isn’t sure if he will be playing for the Lakers next season, Medina relays (Twitter link). The forward intends to opt out of his player option worth $1,100,602 and test free agency, but the big man would prefer to return to L.A., Pincus tweets.
Vander Blue , whom the team recently inked for the remainder of the 2014/15 season, says that he would love to be a part of the Lakers’ future, Pincus tweets. Blue indicated that he is more than willing to play for Los Angeles’ summer league squad if it would help him earn a roster spot next season, the Times scribe relays.

Western Notes: Young, Green, Clarkson

April 6th, 2015 at 2:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers committed more money to Nick Young than to any other free agent last summer, but coach Byron Scott is threatening to reduce Young’s minutes if the team makes a more significant foray into free agency this year, as Mark Medina and Robert Morales of the Los Angeles Daily News write. Scott wants to see Young become less of a gunner when he returns from injury next season, but the swingman, who signed a four-year deal worth more than $21.326MM, feels as though Scott unfairly targets him for criticism. While we wait to see how that dynamic plays out, there’s more on the Lakers amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Rookie Erick Green hasn’t seen much playing time for the Nuggets this season, and he realizes he has to seize the opportunity when he does, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The former second-round pick saw a career high of just 25 minutes Saturday, and his minimum salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
That’s in stark contrast to Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson, a fellow former second-rounder who’ll remain with the Lakers for next season, as coach Scott said directly on Saturday, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. Clarkson, who’s excelled as he’s made 33 starts, also has a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2015/16.
The Jazz have recalled Grant Jerrett from the D-League, the team announced. The power forward hasn’t put up impressive numbers while on assignment, averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game across 19 appearances for both the Thunder and Jazz affiliates this season. He’s knocked down 41.2% of his three-pointers on his frequent D-League trips this year, but he’s only managed to make it into six NBA games.

Lakers Rumors: Clarkson, Young, Draft, Buss

April 4th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakes intend to keep Jordan Clarkson as part of their long-term future, reports Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Clarkson, whose non-guaranteed contract is worth $845,059 next season, has been putting up impressive numbers since he became the team’s starting point guard 32 games ago. “We know he’s going to be on our team next year,” said coach Byron Scott. “But we have to add pieces. There’s no doubt about that. I don’t think we necessarily are saying we’re building around him. But we’re adding pieces with him.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

With the last third of his season wiped out by injury, the Lakers are looking toward what Nick Young can contribute next year, according to Joey Ramirez of Lakers.com. Scott said today that Young, who has missed the last 20 games with a fractured kneecap, will likely sit out the rest of the season. Scott hopes that Young, who signed a four-year, $21.5MM deal with the team last summer, is a different player when he returns for 2015/16. “He’s a home run or a strikeout type guy on the offensive end,” Scott said. “Just like I told him: He has to elevate his game. He has to grow as a basketball player if he wants to continue to play in this league for a long time. He has to get better moving without the ball; being able to defend people a little bit better; and be a better off-the-ball defender as well.”
This may be the Lakers’ last shot at a high draft pick for a few years, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Ziller doesn’t think the Lakers will consider tanking in 2015/16, which will likely be Kobe Bryant‘s final season in the NBA. He also expects improvement through the draft and free agency and notes that executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss is going to have to turn things around quickly in order to keep his job. The Lakers are currently fourth in Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings.
Buss and his sister, Jeanie, are trying the recapture the front-office stability that marked the Lakers for decades, according to Thomas Golianopoulos of Grantland. Jeanie Buss may run the organization, but she has yet to use her veto power on any of the decisions made by her brother and GM Mitch Kupchak.

Lakers Notes: Nash, Clarkson, Scott

March 12th, 2015 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The only reason Steve Nash didn’t retire when nerve issues forced him out for the season before it even began was because the Lakers asked him not to make an announcement so that the team could find a taker for him on the trade market, team sources tell Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Having so many players on expiring contracts makes for a motivated bunch of Lakers, but there are downsides to that pressure, too, and chemistry is difficult to foster under the circumstances, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News examines.
The Lakers were in a similar spot last season, but Wesley Johnson credits Byron Scott for holding the team accountable, a quality he believes former coach Mike D’Antoni lacked, as Johnson asserts to Medina for the same piece.
Nash’s work with rookie guard Jordan Clarkson has been paying off for both the player and the team, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “His passing has gotten much better,” Scott said. “We always talk about the little pocket pass; he’s starting to make that with ease. You start seeing some of the stuff that Steve is talking with him about. Sometimes it’s easier to relate to a player like that than it is to us as coaches, because we’re sitting there saying, ‘The pocket pass is open, Jordan the pocket pass is open.’”
Despite Nash’s private sessions with Clarkson, the veteran has been absent at the team’s games, something Scott would prefer wasn’t the case, Holmes adds. Scott added that he wasn’t sure how Lakers fans would react to Nash’s return to the sidelines, Holmes relays. “I really don’t know,” Scott said “I’ve read some of the blogs which I thought were unfair to Steve. But I don’t know if he wants to put himself in that position. I don’t know how they would react. But I know us as an organization would love it.“

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Hill, Green, Crawford

February 18th, 2015 at 7:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers center Jordan Hill is “highly unlikely” to be traded before Thursday’s deadline, a source told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Hill, who is making $9MM this season and would make the same salary next year if the team picks up his option, said on Wednesday that he would like to stay put in Los Angeles. Many league executives believe the Lakers will pick up Hill’s option if he is not dealt, according to Deveney. Hill’s name has been mentioned in trade talks involving Goran Dragic and Reggie Jackson, Deveney adds.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

The Warriors will likely match any offer sheet for restricted free agent Draymond Green, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. An unnamed Warriors executive, when asked recently if paying Green $12MM per season was too high, told Thompson “we’re keeping Draymond Green.” The Warriors are well aware Green’s value has risen dramatically this season, possibly to the status of a max contract, but there has been no indication they will decline to match any offer.
The Clippers are hesitant to make any deal involving Jamal Crawford unless it would clearly improve the team, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
Rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson has impressed the Lakers so much that they are reluctant to part with him in any proposed deal, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Clarkson, who was selected by the Wizards in the second round last June and was immediately traded to Los Angeles, is averaging 12.4 points, 3.8 assists and 1.9 turnovers over his last 10 contests.
Lakers coach Byron Scott does not appear to be in the loop concerning trade talks, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times reports. Scott said Wednesday he had not talked to GM Mitch Kupchak about trade rumors, including the Lakers’ pursuit of Goran Dragic, and wouldn’t discuss the topic with Kupchak until the GM approaches him, Pincus adds.
The Kings’ main priority is to acquire a power forward who can stretch the floor with his shooting range, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. The Magic’s Channing Frye and Bucks’ Ersan Ilyasova are potential targets, Kennedy speculates. Even if they can’t find a 3-point shooter at the position, the Kings may still look to acquire a power forward before the deadline, Kennedy adds.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Green, Lakers, Clippers

January 3rd, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Gerald Green would like to play more minutes but he understands the Suns‘ game plan, writes Paul Coro of The ArIzona Republic. “It’s frustrating at times, I’m not going to lie, because I’m a basketball player, but I know everybody has made sacrifices on this team,” Green said. “I just don’t want to be the only person who is pouting about it. Certain games aren’t going to be my game. Certain games aren’t going to be other people’s games. As long as we win with the main goal to make the playoffs, that’s all that matters.” Green entered Friday averaging 30.0 points per 48 minutes, which is the 13th highest scoring rate in the NBA. The seven-year veteran will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and with his superb offense play, he may have offers from other teams with the promise of more playing time, although that is just my speculation.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers have assigned Jordan Clarkson and Tarik Black to their D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team announced via Twitter. The duo will play tonight against the Reno Bighorns.
The Clippers have lost four out of their last eight games but with Spencer Hawes returning from injury, optimism surrounds the team, writes Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “He adds a lot to our team,” said coach Doc Rivers. “It’s valuable for everybody to stay healthy, when you think about it. When he’s out, it obviously stretched us a little bit. We had to put lineups on the floor that we really didn’t want to put on.” The Clippers currently own the sixth seed in the conference with a record of 22-11.
The Warriors sit atop the Western Conference with a record of 26-5 but it wasn’t too long ago that the team was considered a non-contender, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle discusses. Just three seasons ago, Golden State finished the year with only 23 wins and seemed destined for a long rebuild but the signing of Andre Iguodala, the shrewd drafting by front office executives and the progression of their stars, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, have propelled the team into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

Pacific Notes: Bogut, Clarkson, Crawford

December 19th, 2014 at 7:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Andrew Bogut has struggled with various injuries throughout his career, something that weighs heavily on the Warriors’ big man, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes. Bogut’s injury woes reached a boiling point during the middle of the 2012/13 season, and Bogut went as far as telling his agent David Baumann that he planned to retire at the end of that season, Spears notes. “I called him midseason and said, ‘I’m done, ‘ ” Bogut said. “My back was so bad at the time. After every game it was like a balloon and it was like catching my tail to get back to the next game. If we had two games in three days, my ankles were really swollen. I had to get around the clock treatment, anti-inflammatories. It got to the point where it just wasn’t responding.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Bogut’s most recent malady involves his right knee, for which he recently underwent platelet-rich plasma therapy, and he’ll be sidelined indefinitely as a result. Despite his frustrations, Bogut will attempt to finish out his current deal with the Warriors, which runs through 2016/17, and then decide if he wishes to continue playing, Spears adds. “I got two years left [on my contract] and I will play it by ear,” Bogut said. “My goal is to play these two years out and see where I’m at. I am having fun, but it’s a grind though. Some days you wake up and you can’t walk. It takes you an hour to get your body right, to get to the gym, get to your car. But that’s a part of being a pro athlete.“
The Lakers have recalled Jordan Clarkson from the Los Angeles D-Fenders, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (Twitter link). This was Clarkson’s fourth stint with the D-Fenders of the season.
Jamal Crawford has heard all of the trade rumors surrounding him, but the Clippers guard doesn’t let them get to him, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com writes. “I’ve been in trade rumors ever since I’ve been here, which is the weirdest thing,” Crawford said. “But that’s part of the business, honestly. I can play wherever. I can play here, I would love to play here. But if not, if something happens, you move on and do what you’ve got to do.”

Pacific Notes: Crawford, Allen, Bogut

December 18th, 2014 at 7:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Doc Rivers dismissed the rumors that the Clippers are looking to trade Jamal Crawford, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “I honestly don’t read anything,” Rivers said. “The fact that Jamal’s name is being mentioned, this is the first I’ve heard of it, literally right now. I don’t get into it. You guys are going to ask him about every rumor that’s out there. It’s just so much bogus chatter.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

When discussing free agent Ray Allen, Rivers reaffirmed that the Clippers would have interest in signing the veteran shooting guard if he decides to play this season, Markazi adds. “I just think he’s a good player,” Rivers said of Allen. “Why not add a good player to your team? He’s still good. We’ll see. I still have interest in him. He’s a good player. I think. I know he’s great at golf right now. He’s probably a scratch golfer by now; he’s had all this time. I’m assuming he’s still a good player.”
Warriors center Andrew Bogut will be out indefinitely after undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy on his ailing right knee, the team announced. “We fully support Andrew in his decision to undergo the PRP treatment,” Warriors GM Bob Myers said in a statement. “Our number one concern is that Andrew is 100 percent healthy and we will continue to support him in any way we can to make that happen.”
Bogut’s health this season will be the difference between the Warriors remaining in the championship hunt, or the franchise becoming a second or third-tier contender instead, Marcus Thompson II of The Bay Area News Group writes.
The Lakers have re-assigned Jordan Clarkson to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News reports (Twitter link). This will be Clarkson’s fourth trip of the season to Los Angeles’ D-League affiliate.

Pacific Notes: Clarkson, Thompson, Warriors

December 7th, 2014 at 4:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports learned that Kings star DeMarcus Cousins has been out for the last five games with a case of viral meningitis. Cousins continues to recover but he’ll be out for at least another seven to 10 days. More from the Pacific Division..

The L.A. D-Fenders announced (via Twitter) that Jordan Clarkson has been recalled by the Lakers in time for tonight’s tilt against the Pelicans. Clarkson’s weekend stint with the D-Fenders was his third of the season.
Over the summer, Mychal Thompson said he’d have to talk his son Klay Thompson “down off the ledge” if a rumored deal sending him to the Timberwolves came to fruition. Earlier today, the younger Thompson said that his dad was kind of overstating things. “He exaggerates things. I’m sure you guys know that,” the Warriors star said, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob made some interesting comments about ex-coach Mark Jackson last week but he took the time to publicly apologize for them today, as Leung writes. Lacob believes that Jackson will “succeed again in this business.”

Western Notes: Kerr, Nuggets, Spurs, Clarkson

December 6th, 2014 at 7:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Sacrifice is a key component to the Warriors‘ success, according to head coach Steve Kerr, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Andre Iguodala has arguably sacrificed the most for the team by taking a reduced role as the team’s sixth man off the bench. “It’s a good fit, but not something Andre is thrilled about. The fact he has accepted it and sacrificed has kind of set the tone for our team. They look at him and see an All-Star and Olympian and guy who’s been around the league and willing to step back; that’s pretty powerful,” said Kerr. Smith notes that Kerr set the example for sacrificing by signing for less money than the team offered because as a rookie coach he believed he didn’t warrant the same level of pay as accomplished veteran coaches.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Nuggets have one of the deepest rosters in the league but their depth can be viewed as a blessing and a curse, writes Adi Joseph of USA Today. Point guard Ty Lawson is the only player on the team averaging more than 31 minutes per game. While a decrease in playing time may not sit well with some players, USA gold medalist Kenneth Faried understands the team’s situation. “There’s a whole bunch of competition for minutes,” Faried said. “Everybody on this team either has been a starter or has played on a team where they were the man. It’s kind of like coming from college to the NBA. That’s what this team feels like. Everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to get minutes. But it’s tough right now.”
The Spurs are both new age because of their rich blend of international cultures and old school because they have retained their core players in a way that predates free agency, writes Harvey Araton of The New York Times. Head coach Gregg Popovich credits the team’s environment as reason for the unprecedented continuity. “All these guys, the core guys, they’ve made less money in San Antonio than counterparts all across the league–people who will say they gave up this,” Popovich said. “But these guys have given up real money with every new contract to stay together. These guys care about quality of life, and it falls into the way they play.”
Jordan Clarkson has been re-assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, the team announced (Twitter link). This will be the third appearance in the D-League for Clarkson this season.