Jordan Hill Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Stock Watch: Jordan Hill

May 28th, 2012 at 10:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

A little more than two months ago, Jordan Hill seemed like he might be on his way out of the league. He was buried on the Lakers bench after a midseason trade from the Rockets, passed over for backup minutes at power forward and center in favor of Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts.

Yet as the Thunder built an 18-point lead against the Lakers in a game during the last week of the regular season, Lakers coach Mike Brown summoned Hill off the bench, and the former eighth overall pick responded with 15 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end, to go along with 14 points in 35 minutes as L.A. came back to win in double overtime. From then on, Hill was the primary backup for both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, averaging 4.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game in the playoffs. His offensive rebounding percentage of 18.9 is the best in the postseason so far. Suddenly, Hill is back on the radar for teams looking to improve their frontcourt depth and second-chance points.

The Lakers seem to be interested in bringing him back, but they'll have some limitations on how much they can give him, thanks to his former team. The Rockets, when they held his rights, declined the $3,632,527 team option on his contract for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer. According to Larry Coon's CBA FAQ, a team can't decline an option for a player on his rookie contract, like Hill, and attempt to re-sign him for the next season at a salary greater than the value of his option. That holds true for a team that inherits such a player's rights via trade, as the Lakers have done with Hill. According to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld, the most Hill could get from the Lakers this summer is $20.9MM over five years, with a first-year salary matching that $3.6MM option. Another team could sign him for as much as $21.4MM over four years, but I don't think anyone is willing to pay quite that much for him.

If Hill leaves the Lakers, he could be an option for the Celtics, who had the worst offensive rebounding percentage of any team in the league this season and were riddled with injuries to frontcourt players. The Warriors, 29th in offensive rebounding, figure to improve with a healthy Andrew Bogut, so they might not pursue Hill. The Mavs, 28th in that category, could go after him as a complementary piece once they figure out what to do with the rest of their many offseason priorities. It's possible that a relatively proficient offensive rebounding team, like the Pistons, could see a bargain in a 25-year-old Hill and give him another shot as a starter. The most likely scenario involves Hill signing for a salary near that $3.6MM option amount. Whether that happens with the Lakers or not hinges largely on what the team does with Gasol and Bynum. If they're both back, I'd expect Hill to be back, too, since he allows the Lakers to go to their bench without much dropoff on the offensive glass, one of the team's hallmarks.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Ebanks, Clippers

May 23rd, 2012 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

The general consensus among NBA writers after the Lakers' second round loss against the Thunder was that Los Angeles needed to move Pau Gasol this offseason in an effort to shake up the roster and gain cap flexibility. However, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News believes the next move for the Lakers should be trading Andrew Bynum in a deal for Dwight Howard. Bonsignore points out that the worst-case scenario would be Howard leaving after a year, in which case, at least the team's cap situation would be a little more manageable going forward.

Here are a few more links related to the Lakers and their Pacific Division rivals:

As the Kamenetzky brothers relay on ESPNLosAngeles.com, unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill was positive in his exit interview about his time with the Lakers, expressing a desire to return: "It's definitely one of, if not the best organizations in the league and I had great time here, with the short time I was here. The staff, players, everybody. I just enjoyed it."
Restricted free agent Devin Ebanks is also open to returning to the Lakers, telling Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, "They seem pretty interested in me."
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com poses eight questions facing the Clippers as the team prepares for the offseason.
The Warriors' announcement of a new, privately-funded arena set to open in 2017 is a tough blow for Kings fans, who saw Sacramento arena plans fall apart earlier this year, writes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.

Money Time: Upcoming Free Agents In The Playoffs

May 12th, 2012 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Last week we looked at some players on the cusp of free agency who were making some surprising postseason impressions, both positive and negative, on prospective employers. With the first round almost over and the conference semifinals about to begin, let's check in with some more soon-to-be free agents in the playoffs:

Winners

Reggie Evans, Clippers: Anyone who can spark a 27-point comeback in the playoffs, as he did in Game 1, deserves to be on this list, and his energy throughout the first round has been critical for the Clippers. His already superb number of rebounds per 36 minutes has jumped from 12.7 in the regular season to 13.7 in the playoffs, and, for what it's worth, has his team's best defensive rating in the playoffs, per Basketball-Reference.

Andre Miller, Nuggets: It's easy to forget about Miller sometimes, particularly since he's been coming off the bench for Denver. Yet the NBA's 10th leading assist-maker all-time reminded everyone, including the Lakers, of what he can do with a 24-point, eight assist performance full of clutch shots in Tuesday's Game 5. He's the team's third leading scorer in the postseason at 12.7 PPG, outdoing Arron Afflalo, who signed a $36.75MM deal before the season.

Jordan Hill, Lakers (restricted): He had his breakthrough in the final week of the regular season against the Thunder, and he's continued to justify coach Mike Brown's decision to use him as the primary backup to both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the playoffs. He's pulling down more rebounds per game than Gasol in significantly fewer minutes, and has 25 offensive boards, more than anyone else in the postseason. Hill's rebounds-per-36-minutes number (13.4) nearly equals that of Reggie Evans.

Losers

O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies (restricted): The postseason is a terrible time to go through a shooting slump, but that's exactly what's happened with Mayo, who's hitting on just 31.4% of his field goal attempts against the Clippers. He went a combined 3-for-20 in Games 3, 4 and 5, and took only three shots in Game 6. His inability to efficiently handle the backup point guard duties — he's got 13 assists and 17 turnovers — isn't helping his cause, either.

Randy Foye, Clippers: Foye's minutes are up but his scoring is down for the playoffs, which is about as inauspicious as it gets for a free agent wing player. The culprit appears to his inability to get off shots and get to the line. His attempts in both categories are off while his postseason shooting percentage of 37.8% is not that far down from the 39.8% he shot in the regular season. His excuse may be that he's being guarded by Tony Allen, an elite defender, but Allen isn't with him on every possession. His Basketball-Reference defensive rating is the second worst on the team, so his struggles aren't limited to one end of the floor.

Jodie Meeks, Sixers (restricted): He started 50 games this season and played 24.9 minutes per contest, but barely got off the bench once he was removed from the starting five after Game 1 against Chicago. He took a total of three shots from the floor, missing each of them, in 32 minutes during the first round.

Lakers Notes: Jordan Hill, Ramon Sessions

May 7th, 2012 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

Not even a fan running out onto the court during last night's game could slow down the Lakers, who beat the Nuggets in Denver to take a 3-1 series lead. Jordan Hill and Ramon Sessions, who Los Angeles acquired at the trade deadline, combined for 24 points, with Hill pulling down 11 rebounds for a double-double. Two of the newest Lakers could end up being more than just rental players, as Monday morning's Lakers links outline:

It seems "increasingly probable" that the Lakers will attempt to re-sign Hill this summer, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
Hill on the offseason: "Being a free agent, anything can happen. I'm just trying not to focus on that right now. I'm just trying to focus on this ring. It will definitely feel great to have a ring on my finger and after the season, we'll go from there."
Talking to Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News, Sessions echoed Hill's sentiment, noting that he was focusing on the playoffs for now. The point guard holds a $4.55MM player option for 2012/13, but the general belief is that he'll turn down the option to negotiate a multiyear deal with the Lakers. Said Sessions: "It's not even a concern. I don't know what's going to happen. I know it's coming. It's something I'll deal with."

Lakers Notes: Playoffs, Hill, World Peace

April 22nd, 2012 at 8:26pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Lakers came back from down 18 points to beat the Thunder in double overtime by the score of 114-106 on Sunday afternoon. Led by the mental toughness of Kobe Bryant and the strong play of Pau Gasol, who provided 20 points and 14 rebounds, the Lakers proved they could compete with the top teams in the league with the thrilling victory. Let's head to Los Angeles to check in on the latest news and headlines at the Staples Center.

The Lakers solidified their standing as the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs with their victory over the Thunder, writes Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register. The team will officially be able to claim the Pacific Division title with a victory over the Kings on Thursday or a Clippers loss. If the Lakers finish third, they will most likely play the Mavericks or the Nuggets in the first round with a matchup against the Thunder seemingly to follow.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times says Jordan Hill was a pleasant surprise for the Lakers on Sunday as he provided a spark off the bench for the squad along with an impressive stat line. Prior to Sunday, Hill had only received garbage minutes with the Lakers before scoring 14 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in an effort that will lead to more playing time for the former Arizona star. Acquired from the Rockets at the trade deadline in the deal that temporarily sent Derek Fisher to Houston, Hill was originally a lottery pick by the Knicks in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Metta World Peace issued an apology to James Harden and the Thunder during a short statement to the media after the game, writes Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com. While World Peace seemed genuinely contrite for what he described as an accident in which he was caught up in the moment, the Lakers forward wil likely be suspended for his actions. We asked earlier this evening if the Lakers will face an early exit from the playoffs if World Peace faces a lengthy suspension.

Recap Of Trade Deadline Deals

March 15th, 2012 at 5:33pm CST by Sean Highkin

Here's the complete list of trades that took place this week leading up to the trade deadline earlier today:

On Tuesday, the Warriors sent Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
The Warriors then flipped Jackson to the Spurs for Richard Jefferson, T.J. Ford, and a first-round pick on Thursday.
The Grizzlies traded Sam Young to the 76ers for the rights to former second-round pick Ricky Sanchez.
The Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa from the Raptors in exchange for a second-round draft pick and cash considerations.
The Blazers entered rebuild mode by trading Gerald Wallace to the Nets for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a 2012 first-round draft pick with top-3 protection.
Portland also sent Marcus Camby to the Rockets for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick.
The Rockets acquired Derek Fisher from the Lakers as well as the Mavericks' 2012 first-round pick (from the Lamar Odom trade) for Jordan Hill.
The Lakers also traded for Ramon Sessions, sending Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, and a 2012 first-round pick to the Cavaliers and also receiving Christian Eyenga. The Cavs will also have the ability to swap the Heat's 2013 pick (which they own from the LeBron James sign-and-trade) with the Lakers' pick that year.
The Nuggets, Wizards, and Clippers agreed to a three-team deal that will send Nene, Brian Cook, and a future second-round draft pick to Washington; Nick Young to the Clippers; and JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to Denver.

Rockets Acquire Derek Fisher

March 15th, 2012 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have acquired Derek Fisher from the Lakers in exchange for Jordan Hill, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Houston also receives the first-round pick in the Lakers acquired from Dallas in December's Lamar Odom trade, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

While the Lakers ended up moving both of their 2012 first-rounders in this trade and today's Ramon Sessions deal, they were able to upgrade their roster and improve their future cap situation. Fisher and Luke Walton were both under contract for multiple years, while Hill and Sessions could both come off the books at season's end.

The Rockets will explore a buyout, but could use the point guard depth for the time being with Kyle Lowry out, tweets Wojnarowski.

Kyler On Rockets, Gasol, Pacers, Blazers, Smith

March 15th, 2012 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler reported that Dwight Howard is highly unlikely to change his mind again, but that the Magic seem to have a deal they'd do with the Nets if Howard waffles once more. You can follow all of today's Howard updates here, and check out the rest of Kyler's morning notes below:

The Rockets are discussing more than half their roster in trades, having offered around Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, Hasheem Thabeet and Courtney Lee. According to Kyler, Houston would trade any combination of those players to acquire Chris Kaman.
The Bulls want Lee, but aren't likely to meet the Rockets' asking price, which would mean parting with Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. The Pacers and Timberwolves are also eyeing Lee.
Houston has a standing offer out to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, but it doesn't include Kyle Lowry, so nothing is expected to happen there.
If the Blazers' three-team deal with the Timberwolves and Lakers involving Jamal Crawford falls through, Portland may have a backup trade in place with the Pacers.
The Magic won't be able to make a move for Josh Smith, which isn't a surprise. One league source tells Kyler the Hawks want an All-Star frontcourt player in exchange for Smith, so a deal is very unlikely.

Injuries That Could Affect The Trade Deadline

March 5th, 2012 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Deron Williams may have scored a franchise-record 57 points en route to a Sunday victory over the Bobcats, but the news out of Charlotte wasn't all good for the Nets. In just his fifth game back from a foot injury, Brook Lopez rolled his ankle badly and left the arena on crutches. There's still no official word from the team on the severity of the injury, but as Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes, it could deal a serious blow to the Nets' hopes of trading for Dwight Howard in the next ten days.

Lopez isn't the only trade candidate who could be on the shelf as the March 15th deadline approaches. Here are a few more players whose injury statuses may affect the deals their respective teams can make in the next week and a half:

Jermaine O'Neal: The Celtics would need to include salary to make any deal of substance, so O'Neal's $6.23MM expiring contract made him a prime candidate to be included in a trade to ensure salaries match. Unfortunately for Boston, O'Neal recently suffered a wrist injury and may undergo season-ending surgery. If he elects for the surgery, there's a chance O'Neal could be waived by the Celtics.
Al Horford: Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reported last week that the Hawks were still interested in Dwight Howard, perhaps in a deal involving Horford. While such a trade would be a long shot to begin with, Horford's torn pectoral makes it even trickier. Already reluctant to deal Howard, the Magic would probably be even more wary about doing so for a player who is just recently out of a sling.
Anderson Varejao: Varejao will be re-evaluated this week, but it looks like he won't return to the Cavs' lineup until after March 15th. Before the injury, the Cavs said they didn't intend to trade Varejao, though there was some speculation that stance could change by the deadline. With Varejao still out, he'll definitely be remaining in Cleveland.
Jordan Hill: Among the Rockets' numerous former lottery picks on expiring contracts, Hill is the most attractive asset. While that may be faint praise, Hill has been the most productive of the group of four 2009 draftees that also includes Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, and Terrence Williams, and his salary ($2.86MM) is very reasonable. However, a sprained MCL has kept Hill out of action for the last couple weeks, and even though he expects to return within the next week, he won't have much time to showcase his health before the deadline.
J.J. Hickson: The Kings are reportedly quite interested in moving Hickson, but they've stumbled upon a roadblock besides his disappointing production this season — he'll miss his third straight game tonight with a hip pointer.
Thabo Sefolosha: Having missed 18 games with a foot injury, Sefolosha is shooting jump shots again, but it doesn't appear he's ready for game action yet. Steve Kyler wrote this morning that the Thunder could try to acquire a replacement if the team feels Sefolosha will miss much more time. The 6'7" wing also represented a potential trade asset for the Thunder, but questions about his health will hurt his value.
Andrea Bargnani: Bargnani seems to be getting closer to returning from a calf injury, and could be back in plenty of time for the trade deadline, but it may not matter either way. As Kyler reported today, the Raptors are getting inquiries on Bargnani, but don't seem interested in dealing him.

Rockets, Pacers Frontrunners For Kaman?

February 2nd, 2012 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 8:42am: A source tells Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the Pacers, rather than the Rockets, may actually be the leading candidates to land Kaman.

WEDNESDAY, 4:36pm: Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston tweets that, while the Rockets have discussed Kaman with the Hornets, chances of the two sides working out a deal are low.

1:54pm: The Hornets continue to shop Chris Kaman, and according to SI.com's Sam Amick, a frontrunner has emerged in the sweepstakes. The Rockets have had "extensive discussions" with New Orleans about Kaman and appear to be in the lead for the center, Amick reports.

According to Amick, no deal is close, but certain pieces have been discussed, including Hasheem Thabeet and Jordan Hill. Both former first-round picks are in the last year of their contracts, which would give the Hornets the opportunity to clear Thabeet's $5.13MM salary and Hill's $2.86MM off their books in the offseason. Houston also has plenty of other assets that could interest the Hornets, including Jonny Flynn's expiring contract and a handful of draft picks. When NBA.com's David Aldridge and SI.com's Zach Lowe examined Kaman's possible destinations this week, both concluded that the Rockets are among the best fits.

A number of clubs have been linked to Kaman since the 29-year-old asked to be traded. Of those teams, the Hawks and Warriors don't appear to be serious suitors, a source tells Amick. The 76ers are also thought to be out of the running, as we heard this morning.