Jordan Hill Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hill To Have Surgery, Lakers Considering Martin?

January 11th, 2013 at 10:37pm CST by Sean Highkin

Mike Trudell of Lakers.com reports (via Twitter) that Jordan Hill will need surgery on his hip and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. This injury does not come at an ideal time for the Lakers, who are also without Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol due to injuries, and are lacking in frontcourt depth.

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com speculates that the injury to Hill could lead the Lakers to consider signing Kenyon Martin. Martin has not signed with a team in 2012/13 and last played last season for the Clippers.

Western Notes: Lakers, White, Nowitzki, Wolves

January 7th, 2013 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Things aren't getting any easier in Lakerland, where Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Jordan Hill have all been sidelined with injuries. Howard suffered a torn labrum, Gasol has a concussion, and Hill is dealing with a hip issue, meaning the Lakers' frontcourt looks awfully thin in the short-term. While Robert Sacre looks forward to more playing time and we wait to see if the Lakers add another body, let's round up a few more notes out of the Western Conference….

The Lakers haven't reached out to free agent big man Kenyon Martin, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com wonder if the Lakers should consider trading Howard.
The Rockets are prepared to chalk up 2012/13 as a lost season for Royce White and attempt to reach some sort of agreement with the rookie forward in the offseason, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt and TNT's David Aldridge have the latest details on White, including his desire for the NBA and the Rockets to sign a document detailing his wishes for the mental health protocol that the team believes would be in violation of the CBA.
Despite recent comments by Dirk Nowitzki questioning the Mavericks' approach to building the roster, owner Mark Cuban tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that Dallas won't be altering that approach. "If you only knew the things [Dirk] has said to me during recent seasons about our team," Cuban joked. "I'm glad I didn't listen."
Nowitzki stressed to reporters today, including Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, that he never said he wanted to be traded.
The Timberwolves have kicked the tires on Sam Young, who was released by the Pacers this weekend, but he's unlikely to land in Minnesota, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Young is currently out with an ankle injury.
It would be a surprise if the Timberwolves don't move Derrick Williams at the trade deadline, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.

Lakers Notes: Kobe, Hill, Howard

October 25th, 2012 at 9:57pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Lakers star Kobe Bryant didn't make the trip to San Diego tonight for their pre-season finale against the Kings because of a sprained right foot, and Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN Los Angeles points out that the 34-year-old guard might be out for the season opener as well. Here are a few more team-related links from tonight:

On his blog for the Los Angeles Times, HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus discusses the challenge for Jordan Hill to learn his role within the Princeton offense after being out with a back injury.
Dwight Howard admitted on 98.7 ESPN radio that he initially had his sights set on joining the Nets but believes his trade to the Lakers was a "blessing in disguise," writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Greg Breacham of
the National Post draws insight from each starter about the opportunity to play together and their excitement for the upcoming season.

Western Notes: Stephen Curry, Bogut, Spurs

October 20th, 2012 at 8:32pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are some rumblings out of the Western Conference tonight:

Grizzlies guard Wayne Ellington is in the final year of his rookie contract and aims to be more aggressive in order to earn consistent playing time in Memphis, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal).
Brad Townsend of SportsDayDFW discusses the importance of Rick Carlisle's leadership skills as it relates to the Mavericks' ability to succeed this season (subscribers only).
Kevin McHale commented on some of the coaching challenges he's encountered with his inexperienced Rockets team (Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets notes).
According to this report from CSN Bay Area, Stephen Curry received no concerns from Dr. Richard Ferkel after the orthopedic surgeon evaluated his ankle today. Dr. Ferkel also checked out the progress of Andrew Bogut's left ankle and determined that his rehabilitation has been on schedule. Warriors GM Bob Myers says that while Bogut does not need clearance to participate in full-contact practice, the team wants to make sure that he is completely free of any pain or discomfort before they let him scrimmage.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters that the their final roster spot will come down to deciding between Derrick Brown and Eddy Curry (Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation reports).
Dwight Howard fully participated in today's practice with the Lakers and is prepared to make his debut tomorrow under the approval of their training staff (says Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN Los Angeles). Also, forward Jordan Hill was cleared to practice with the team today after being diagnosed with a herniated disk less than two weeks ago, and told reporters that he could possibly return before the season opener on October 30.
According to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, forwards Louis Amundson and Dante Cunningham have emerged as "energy guys" for Rick Adelman and the Timberwolves.

Injury Updates: Roy, Dirk, Smith, Hill, Nene

October 10th, 2012 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Injury news isn't usually our focus here at Hoops Rumors, but with updates today relating to recent free agent signees, roster hopefuls, and NBA superstars, there's too many updates of note not to pass them along. Here's the latest on the injury statuses of a number of players around the league….

In an appearance on KFAN in Minneapolis, Brandon Roy said that his knees are holding up great following his first few "grueling practices" with the Timberwolves (link via Sports Radio Interviews).
According to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, Dirk Nowitzki is fighting knee issues for the second straight year. Nowitzki is hoping a few days of rest will help, but if the problem doesn't improve, it sounds as if he's prepared to undergo a minor procedure: "We’ll see how it responds, but the longer we wait, obviously the worse it is. If we have to do something, it’d be better to do it quick…. But we’re still hopeful that this is a temporary thing. If we relax and rest it for a week and see how it goes, then we’ll have a better idea."
Knicks camp invitee Chris Smith will undergo patella surgery and miss three to six months, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. According to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter), Smith was considered a strong candidate to make the team, so his injury could clear a spot for another player to become the Knicks' 15th man.
Jordan Hill, who re-signed with the Lakers this summer, won't need surgery for a herniated disc in his back and should be ready to play in the team's regular-season opener, reports Adrian Wojnarnowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman couldn't offer a timetable for the return of Nene, as he told Michael Lee of the Washington Post: "All I do is each morning, I come in, I ask the trainer who I got, who I don’t have. And that’s all I can worry about right now. I write down who I got and we formulate a practice plan and we come out here. And I’ll come back tonight and see who I got and who I don’t got. That’s my update."

Pacific Notes: Barbosa, Hill, Warriors, Suns

September 14th, 2012 at 6:17pm CST by Alex Lee

We heard earlier this week that former Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, who finished last season in Indiana, had spoken with the Suns, the Nets and the Lakers about his destination this year. The Nets roster looks set at guard, and yesterday it looked like the Suns weren't interested either. We will keep an eye on the Lakers' interest in Barbosa, but in the meantime let's round up all things Pacific Division:

We learned yesterday that Dwight Howard will not be ready for the Lakers first preseason game in early October. According to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will likely shift Pau Gasol to center and insert Jordan Hill into the starting power forward spot in Howard's absence. The uncertainty that the Lakers face with Howard's back problems makes their ability to keep Gasol in the deal look even better, if that is possible.
Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area hosted a Warriors chat today. Among the topics covered are the expectations for Andrew Bogut in his first year in Oakland, Stephen Curry's future with the Warriors as well as newcomer Harrison Barnes' rookie role.
Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic checks up on the Suns as we get closer to the starting of training camp. He says the only three players who haven't shown their face in Phoenix of late are Jermaine O'Neal, Marcin Gortat and Michael Beasley. In addition to a Beasley update, Coro says their is word that Goran Dragic, Markieff Morris and Kendall Marshall look good. He also reiterates what we heard yesterday, that Leandro Barbosa's interest in coming back to Phoenix is one-sided.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady

July 31st, 2012 at 9:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…

Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Warriors, Howard

July 30th, 2012 at 7:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The famed "Princeton Offense" has powered a number of NBA teams, most notably Mike Bibby's Kings and Jason Kidd's Nets, in recent years, and Kobe Bryant is now pushing for the Lakers to use it this season, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Bryant hopes that it will help create space for him on the floor by keeping defenses honest. "There's so many threats, so many options, it's very tough to defend. Against the type of defenses that teams play nowadays, they load up on one side and are constantly coming with help from the weak side. The Princeton offense makes it very, very tough to lock in on one particular player," Bryant said. Here's more on the Lakers other items out of the Pacific..

Jordan Hill's contract with the Lakers will pay him $3.5MM in each of the next two seasons, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter). The big man's deal was initially reported to be in the neighborhood of $8MM.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter) estimates that the Warriors have about $3.15MM below the tax line to sign Brandon Rush if the first year of Draymond Green's deal is pegged at $800K. Green agreed to a three-year, $2.6MM contract with the final year ($900K) partially guaranteed, but the exact breakdown is not known.
Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com explains why he believes the Lakers should continue their pursuit of Dwight Howard. Lakers fans by-and-large seem to be sick of the prolonged "Dwightmare" but Kamenetzky argues that from a basketball standpoint, there's no reason to close the door on the deal.
Suns forward Jared Dudley (via Twitter) watched Jermaine O'Neal work out and insists that the free agent will get signed if he has the chance to audition for an NBA team. Recently, we learned that the Bucks had an eye on the veteran.

Jordan Hill Re-Signs With Lakers

July 25th, 2012 at 5:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 25th, 5:09pm: The Lakers have officially announced the signing, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (Twitter link).

JULY 20th, 7:59pm: Power forward Jordan Hill has reached an agreement to re-sign with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth nearly $8MM, his agent Kevin Bradbury tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Bradbury said Thursday the Timberwolves were "right there" with the Lakers in the competition for Hill's services, but apparently the Lakers won out, helped by their status as a title contender.

"Jordan was excited about the fact that Steve Nash decided to join the Lakers and the prospect of winning a championship in LA," Bradbury said to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Wednesday, a report by Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com suggested the Lakers would turn their attention to re-signing Hill and extending the contract of Andrew Bynum if they were to back off trade talks for Dwight Howard, but it's unclear exactly what bringing back Hill means for a Howard-to-L.A. deal.

The Lakers are limited to paying Hill no more than $3,632,527 for 2012/13, believed to be the value of the team option in his previous contract. The Rockets declined that option long before a midseason trade that sent him to the Lakers. Teams are prohibited from re-signing players to contracts that would give the player a higher salary in a season than what he would have earned if his option had not been declined. Bradbury told David Aldridge of TNT that Hill turned down larger offers to return to the Lakers (Twitter link).

Hill averaged 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds a game with a 15.8 PER last season with the Rockets and Lakers, coming to L.A. in a midseason trade. He appeared in only seven regular season games for the Lakers, but played in all 12 playoff games, leading all postseason performers in offensive rebounding percentage.

The Wolves, who've missed out on other targets like Nicolas Batum and Courtney Lee of late, seem poised to shift their focus to Celtics restricted free agent Greg Stiemsma, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Rush, Warriors

July 18th, 2012 at 7:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the latest out of the Pacific Division..

The Lakers have stayed in contact with the Cavaliers in hopes of orchestrating a three-way deal with the Magic involving Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, but little progress has been made and no deal is remotely close, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Right now, the Cavs don’t seem willing to part with any of their young players including Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Kyrie Irving.
Jordan Hill‘s agent Kevin Bradbury says the T’Wolves are “right there” with Lakers but there probably won’t be a deal reached tonight because he’s flying home from Vegas, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
The lack of news on the Warriors re-signing Brandon Rush doesn’t mean that they won’t re-sign him, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. GM Bob Myers is likely waiting for an over-the-cap club to extend him an offer sheet for the mid-level so that they can match.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) knows that Antawn Jamison is 36 and shot 40% last season but believes that he’ll help the Lakers’ reserves immensely. The forward agreed to terms with the club earlier today.