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Rajon Rondo Rumors: Thursday

December 18th, 2014 at 4:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics appear to have turned up the heat on Rajon Rondo talks, as several reports from Wednesday detailed. We’ll round up today’s latest in this post, with any additional updates throughout the day added to the top:

  • According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Dallas and Boston are progressing toward completion of a trade for Rondo tonight. The Mavs would send Wright, Crowder, Jameer Nelson, a future first round pick, and a future second-rounder to Boston, Stein adds.
  • The Rockets have dropped out of trade talks with the Celtics, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
  • Rondo and his representatives have made it clear to Dallas that the All-Star guard would be inclined to sign a new deal with the team this summer, Wojnarowski adds.

4:25pm update:

  • The first-rounder Dallas is offering as part of its package for Rondo is its 2015 pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).

3:58pm update:

  • While the Lakers are in the hunt for Rondo, there is a strong desire in Los Angeles’ front office not to give up too much now for him via a trade, and instead, they would prefer to pursue Rondo in free agency this summer, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link).
  • The Mavs are emerging as the frontrunner in pursuit of a deal to acquire Rondo, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
  • Dallas is currently offering a package that includes Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, and a first round pick, Wojnarowski adds.
  • The Lakers and the Knicks both declined to be a part of three-way deals that could have sent Rondo elsewhere, Wojnarowski tweets.
  • With Dallas in the lead for Rondo, the Rockets are “still fighting” to land Rondo, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).

2:31pm update:

  • The Lakers made an offer that included Jordan Hill and a first-round pick, if not more, for Rondo and Jeff Green, but the Celtics turned them down, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link). The Lakers would have indeed had to have added more salary to such a deal to make it work, and Hill isn’t trade-eligible until January 15th.

2:21pm update:

  • The Celtics are asking too much for Rondo for the Kings to engage in talks about him with Boston as they have in the past, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). A report late Wednesday seemed to indicate that Sacramento had spoken recently with the Celtics regarding the point guard, but it’s unclear just how long ago the teams last discussed the matter.

12:51pm update:

  • The Lakers have offered Steve Nash and multiple picks to the Celtics for Rondo, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears (Twitter link).

12:36pm update:

  • The Mavs are confident that they can convince Rondo to stay in Dallas for the long term if they convince the Celtics to trade him, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). That falls in line with Berger’s report from earlier that Rondo would be open to re-signing with the Mavs and Rockets if he were dealt to either team.

10:57am update:

  • The Rockets have been pursuing Rondo longer than the Mavs have, but Goran Dragic was more attractive to Houston than Rondo was over this summer, Stein notes (Twitter links). Rondo and Dragic both appear likely to hit free agency in the summer ahead.

8:59am update:

  • The Mavs have advanced to the offer stage and have made a pitch featuring Brandan Wright as the key piece, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Dallas would have to add others to make the salaries match. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge has begun to move on from the idea of pairing Rondo with another superstar, spurring his apparent interest in gauging deals for Rondo, but the market for Rondo doesn’t appear as strong as Ainge had hoped, the Herald scribe writes. However, Ainge is in no rush to simply accept whatever he can find for Rondo just so the point guard doesn’t leave the C’s empty handed in the coming summer’s free agency, Bulpett adds.
  • Jae Crowder‘s name has also come up in talks, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
  • Rondo is open to re-signing with the Mavs and the Rockets if the Celtics trade him to either of those teams, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. It’s “certain” that the Rockets will use their nearly $8.375MM trade exception by Friday, Berger writes, as they’ve reportedly been trying to do, and that stands to alter what Houston has to offer for the Celtics point guard.
  • The Lakers are among the teams to have chatted up the Celtics in recent days about a Rondo trade, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, seconding an earlier report that the Rockets had done the same. The Lakers and the Knicks are on the “periphery” of Rondo talks, and the Lakers are more of a free agency option than a potential trade destination, as Berger adds in his piece.
  • The Pacers have also asked the C’s about Rondo, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports.
  • Rondo reiterated his fondness for Boston late Wednesday to reporters, including Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com. “How many times do you want me to say it?” Rondo asked. “We discussed it on media day. My thoughts and my opinions as far as the organization [haven’t] changed, so … I’m enjoying life. You can’t win ‘em all, but these guys are funny, I’m young and I’m doing what I love to do. It’s a dream come true. I can’t be upset about anything, really.
  • Ainge was vague in addressing the latest Rondo chatter in this morning’s radio appearance with Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb on 98.5 The Sports Hub (audio link), as Rohrbach passes along (Twitter link). “I wouldn’t say it’s any different from any year,” Ainge said. “… We’re having a lot of discussions, just like we do every year.” 
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Western Notes: Thompson, Hill, McGee, Davis

December 11th, 2014 at 7:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Klay Thompson didn’t feel the need to test the free agent market, nor to entertain the idea of going to another team where he didn’t have to share the spotlight with another player, like he does now with Stephen Curry on the Warriors, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. “Why go somewhere else and start over when you get a huge contract with one of the best teams in the NBA?” Thompson said. “I think only an idiot would turn that down. I love it here. Love my teammates, the organization, especially the fans, and I never really wanted to go anywhere else.” Thompson inked a maximum salary extension with Golden State in October.

Here’s more from the West:

  • The two-year, $18MM deal the Lakers gave Jordan Hill this summer drew some head-scratches from executives around the league, but Hill is now the player that Los Angeles gets the most trade inquiries about, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports. Hill had heard all the chatter about him not being worthy of his contract, but shrugged it off, notes Deveney. “I heard all that, but I didn’t pay any attention,” Hill said. “I knew I had the skills to do it, I just needed the minutes. With [Mike] D’Antoni, it was hard for me to find the minutes. He wanted me to do the things he wanted me to do to get the minutes. I couldn’t really do what I wanted to do, to play the way I know I could play. So, things happened and now it’s a whole new year. Now, I am one of the main focal points of the team, so I can go out there and do what I am capable of doing.”
  • The Nuggets have received very little return on their four-year, $44MM investment in JaVale McGee, and the big man would garner little on the trade market thanks to his bloated contract and injury history, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes. This is the peril of paying big men large salaries, Powell adds. The scribe also ran down a number of other deals handed out to centers that also haven’t worked out well for the teams writing the checks.
  • There has been some criticism about how the Pelicans are eschewing the draft in an attempt to build an immediate contender around Anthony Davis so he won’t leave as a free agent when he is eligible, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM writes. Tjarks doesn’t believe New Orleans needs to worry, and despite a glaring weakness at small forward, the franchise should be able to retain Davis.
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Pacific Notes: Hill, Price, Thomas

October 22nd, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers tied for third among the teams most likely to win the NBA title as the league’s GMs see it, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com details amid the results of the league’s annual GM survey. Still, they figure to receive a strong challenge in their own division from the Warriors. While we wait to see how it plays out, here’s the latest from the Pacific:

  • Jordan Hill confirmed rumors from this past spring that he wouldn’t have re-signed with the Lakers if Mike D’Antoni were still the coach, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Medina adds the Heat, Spurs and Magic to the list of suitors who went after the power forward this summer.
  • Byron Scott stopped short of acknowledging that Ronnie Price is a lock to make the opening-night roster for the Lakers, but the coach said that injuries to the team’s other point guards would make it tough to let him go, Medina notes in a separate piece. “If you look at it that way, we have to [keep him],” Scott said. “Ronnie gets more of an opportunity. So far in my opinion, he has taken full advantage of it.”
  • The Suns told Isaiah Thomas when they pitched him in free agency this summer that they valued him as a starter even though they made it clear they wanted to retain Eric Bledsoe, as Thomas tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thomas isn’t concerned with whether he starts, but he did express continued bitterness toward the Kings, telling Kennedy he wasn’t surprised that they didn’t re-sign him and that he always felt the Sacramento organization underappreciated him.
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Western Notes: Huestis, Kings, Hamilton, Hill

July 24th, 2014 at 5:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The idea of having Josh Huestis sign in the D-League in exchange for becoming an NBA first-round draft pick came from his representatives rather than the Thunder, agent Mitchell Butler tells SB Nation’s Mike Prada.

“This was the perfect team and the perfect storm,” Butler said. “This isn’t for everyone.” 

Butler also told Prada that the Thunder haven’t said whether they plan to sign Huestis to an NBA deal next summer or at a later point. There’s more on Huestis among the latest from the Western Conference, as we detail:

  • The union sees the Thunder‘s arrangement with Huestis as a positive, as interim executive director Ron Klempner said to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “This is an example of the player flipping the script,” Klempner said. “The player essentially drafted his team.”
  • Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro said he’s on the lookout for rim-protection and particularly shooting to round out the roster in an attempt to make the playoffs this season, as he told Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report.
  • Richard Hamilton tells David Alarcon of HoopsHype that he’s fielded a couple of calls from NBA teams and that while he considered retirement, he’d like to return to the NBA with a contending team. The 36-year-old, who last played in 2012/13, said that the Timberwolves showed interest in signing him early last season, but he declined to specify any teams that have spoken with him more recently.
  • Jordan Hill‘s two-year deal with the Lakers contains a team option for the final season, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
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Lakers Re-Sign Jordan Hill

July 23rd, 2014 at 6:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 23RD: The team has officially re-signed Hill, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (via Twitter), who reports that GM Mitch Kupchak called Hill a “consistent contributor” in a team release.

JULY 11TH: Free agent forward Jordan Hill has agreed to a two-year, $18MM deal to return to the Lakers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Hill joins Nick Young, who agreed to re-sign earlier, in returning to the team, and new acquisition Jeremy Lin, whose trade was agreed upon earlier, too.

In 72 games last season, Hill averaged 9.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 0.8 APG while playing an average of 20.8 minutes a night. His slash line was .549/.000/.685. His career numbers over five seasons are 6.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 0.5 APG.

With all the deals signed today, the Lakers have all but taken themselves out of the running for Carmelo Anthony, and seems to indicate the team will focus on next summer to try to lure a big name to Los Angles. The franchise now only has their $3.27MM taxpayer mid level exception with which to pursue players unless more moves are made.

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Western Rumors: Nowitzki, Frye, Sefolosha, Love

July 1st, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs have had advanced discussions with Dirk Nowitzki but both sides have agreed to put off sealing a deal until after Wednesday’s meeting with Carmelo Anthony, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears. That’s to let the team keep maximum flexibility, the same desire that also prompted the sides to decide against an extension. The Mavs and Nowitzki engaged in extension talks before he became a free agent, so Dallas has a strong idea of what the perennial All-Star wants, Stein writes. There’s more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Hayward, Jazz

July 1st, 2014 at 8:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks made a call to Carmelo Anthony shortly after free agency began overnight to remind him of their desire to keep him in New York, as Al Iannazzone details. That’s not surprising, of course, and while the Knicks feel confident in their ability to reel Anthony back to the Big Apple, his first face-to-face is today with the Bulls. Here’s more from the first day of free agency:

  • The Lakers, Bulls, Mavs and Warriors made the first calls to Pau Gasol, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
  • The Jazz spoke with restricted free agent Gordon Hayward tonight, a league source tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter).  Both sides are expected to continue talks later today. Utah also has high interest in retaining Marvin Williams, Jones says (Twitter links).
  • A league source tells Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (on Twitter) that the meeting between the Blazers and Spencer Hawes “went very well.”
  • The Lakers, Heat, Bulls and Thunder all reached out to Caron Butler, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
  • K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune adds Kirk Hinrich to the list of free agents with whom the Bulls have had contact since last night (Twitter link).
  • After the Hawks called Kent Bazemore and the Celtics followed suit, the Mavs, Lakers and Suns also made contact with him, in that order, Kennedy tweets.
  • The Celtics contacted Jordan Hill directly and also spoke to his reps at BDA Sports Management, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (on Twitter).
  • The Rockets will meet with James Johnson, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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West Rumors: Sterling, Williams, Afflalo, Miller

June 30th, 2014 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

A new doctor has declared Clippers owner Donald Sterling mentally fit after a comprehensive medical examination in Las Vegas over the weekend, a source with knowledge of the situation told Shelby Lin Erdman of CNN.  The testing was arranged by one of Sterling’s attorneys and conducted with one of the top dementia and Alzheimer’s disease specialists in the country.  More out of the West..

  • Free agent Mo Williams has no meetings set with other teams and his “only goal” is to sign a new deal with the Blazers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (on Twitter).
  • New Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo sounds intent on exercising his opt out after the 2014/15 season.  “It’s probably something that I always anticipated, even beyond when I first signed this deal with Denver,” Afflalo told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “I knew my game, I knew my maturity, I knew I would grow as a player. And I wanted to have that option as I got older and I progressed as a player. So hopefully I’ll out-perform my contract and put myself in a better situation. That was my intent from the beginning, even before this year, was to play out the four years and progress as a player.”
  • Grizzlies swingman Mike Miller tells Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (via Twitter) that he’s meeting with his agent tomorrow in Los Angeles before talking with four or five clubs.  Meanwhile, the Grizzlies can prevent him from looking around if they come to him with the right deal.
  • A source tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (on Twitter) that there are four or five suitors out there for Jordan Hill, including the Rockets and Mavs.  He’s not ruling out a Lakers return and will take his time through the process with an eye on a longer deal.
  • Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak says the club is putting Julius Randle through a series of physicals this week to test his foot though, right now, he doesn’t expect surgery, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • There is strong mutual interest in Vince Carter‘s return to the Mavericks, but several playoff teams are expected to express interest in the 37-year-old swingman, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.  The Heat, Thunder, Blazers, and Raptors are among the playoff teams that are seen as potential fits for VC, according to a source.
  • Warriors coach Steve Kerr is discussing an assistant coaching job on the staff with Luke Walton, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
  • Lakers unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore is expected to draw interest from the Hawks, Celtics, and Suns among others, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
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Free Agent Rumors: Lowry, Gasol, Parsons, Ariza

June 30th, 2014 at 12:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is likely to make a strong push to re-sign Kyle Lowry just as free agency begins tonight to prevent the Heat and Rockets from having a chance to jump in, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Here’s more free agency chatter with 11 hours left to go until negotiations can begin:

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Lakers Rumors: Bosh, Gasol, Hill

June 27th, 2014 at 3:32am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers drafted Kentucky power forward Julius Randle seventh overall Thursday and traded $1.8MM in cash to the Wizards for Missouri guard Jordan Clarkson, the No. 46 pick. That’s just the start of what promises to be a busy offseason for the purple-and-gold, who have plenty of cap flexibility and no head coach. Here’s the latest on the Lakers:

  • The Lakers dream of signing both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, but if they can’t attract James, they’d next try to go for a pairing of Anthony and Chris Bosh, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
  • The presence of Randle doesn’t diminish the strong interest the Lakers have in re-signing Pau Gasol, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links).
  • Randle similarly won’t affect how fellow power forward Jordan Hill will view the Lakers in free agency this summer, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Whom the team hires as coach will have much greater influence on whether Hill re-signs, Deveney hears.
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