Jose Calderon Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: T. Thomas, Calderon, Tanking

September 1st, 2016 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

Former fourth overall pick Tyrus Thomas, who played in Germany last season and last appeared in the NBA during the 2014/15 campaign, is focused on helping to provide relief and help in his hometown of Baton Rouge, as he tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.

“If something changes, it changes. But right now I don’t have any expectations,” Thomas said of his basketball career. “Realistically, I can’t say I am ready to hoop and I am going to have teams knocking at my door. I ain’t no fool. I am living life. I got a lot of purpose helping people. Apparently, I am doing what a lot of people work their lives to do, and that’s find their purpose.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

Jose Calderon officially announced his retirement from the Spanish national basketball team earlier this week, as Orazio Cauchi of Sportando details. The veteran point guard won three Olympic medals, including two silvers, during his time with the national club.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer checks in on the state of the NBA blockbuster trade and runs through a few candidates in an attempt to determine if we’ll see a huge deal at some point during the 2016/17 league year.
With Sam Hinkie no longer running in the show in Philadelphia, Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders examines the concept of tanking and explores whether another team will embark upon a 76ers-esque, multi-year rebuilding project anytime soon.

Atlantic Notes: Calderon, Jackson, Sullinger, Bennett

July 15th, 2016 at 10:18am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Knicks point guard Jose Calderon believes he would have been better off as a backup in New York, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Calderon, who will turn 35 in September, was shipped to the Bulls last month in the trade that brought back Derrick Rose. Calderon says team president Phil Jackson made the right move in acquiring Rose and thinks he would have performed better with fewer minutes. “Like I said, I was ready for a different role and I was ready for a different role the last couple of years,” Calderon said. “Maybe there wasn’t the player to put ahead of me. I always said I wasn’t the one putting me in the starting role or playing me 35 minutes. It could’ve been a guy like a Derrick Rose and I would’ve been the backup point guard. It’s a tough position to play. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. I’ve been in the league 12 years and I know what I do best or not do as well. It’s nothing personal. It’s what the team needed. Hopefully it will work better.’’

Calderon, who was later traded from the Bulls to the Lakers, will get his wish to be a reserve in L.A., where he will back up second-year point guard D’Angelo Russell. Currently training for the Olympics with the Spanish National Team, Calderon has one year left on his contract at $7.6MM, and said he hopes to play three more seasons in the NBA.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Jackson issued a challenge to his rebuilt team Thursday on social media, Berman writes in a separate piece. In a pair of tweets, Jackson wrote, “Here’s what: We have brought change to the Knicks team. The real dimension of change is how much the players what to unite in this change” and “It’s not about bonding and being friends, it’s about joining in the effort of playing HARD on every effort. #respect“ (Twitter links). Nine of the 14 players the Knicks currently have under contract weren’t with the team last season.
The chance to win an NBA title meant more than money to Jared Sullinger when he chose the Raptors, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Sullinger, who became an unrestricted free agent this week when the Celtics pulled their qualifying offer, signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Toronto on Thursday. “Money is great but when it comes to certain situations, money can’t buy you happiness,” Sullinger said. “I think winning keeps you happy when you’re playing an 82-game season. I’ve been through a season where we lost a lot and it’s not a lot of fun.” The Raptors won 56 games this year and reached the Eastern Conference finals.
The Nets will try to get more out of Anthony Bennett than he produced in his first three NBA stops, writes Bud Shaw of Cleveland.com. Shaw contends that former Cavaliers GM Chris Grant’s decision to take Bennett, who reached an agreement Thursday on a deal with Brooklyn, first overall in 2013 was the biggest mistake in the Cavs’ draft history.

Western Notes: Parsons, Gay, Seraphin

July 8th, 2016 at 10:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In a statement that may make some Mavericks fans scoff, Chandler Parsons told the media during his introductory press conference today that he wants to be active in attracting free agents to the Grizzlies, The Associated Press relays. “Being the first big-name free agent to come here, I think that’s special, and I want to be a trendsetter here,” Parsons said. “I’m going to work extremely hard to be the best basketball player I can be. But … next summer you best believe I’m going to be with him [GM Chris Wallace] recruiting more talent to Memphis.”

“Just looking at this core and what they’ve established here over the years, like I said, I wanted to be a part of that,” Parsons continued. “I think my game, my style of play fits perfectly with what they’re doing here.” Here’s more from out West:

Rudy Gay has requested that the Kings trade him this offseason and the team is trying to find a taker, but are not interested in a potential deal with the Pacers for Monta Ellis, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee tweets. Sacramento is also potentially looking to trade Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore, Marc Stein of ESPN relays (via Twitter).
The Mavericks sent $3.2MM in cash to the Pacers as a part of the Jeremy Evans trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
The Clippers viewed former Knicks big man Kevin Seraphin as an alternative if an affordable deal could not be worked out with Marreese Speights, who agreed to a contract with Los Angeles earlier today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter).
The Lakers will receive the Nuggets’ 2018 second round pick and the Bulls’ 2019 second-rounder as part of the trade to acquire Jose Calderon, Pincus tweets. Neither selection comes with any protections attached, Pincus adds.

Lakers Acquire Jose Calderon

July 7th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 7th, 8:07pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release.

JULY 6th, 9:22pm: The Lakers and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send Jose Calderon to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s unknown what Chicago is receiving in return, though with the team looking to clear cap room, it’s not likely to be a player.

Chicago had acquired Calderon as part of the Derrick Rose trade with New York and needed to clear his cap hit in order to ink Dwyane Wade, who has reportedly agreed to a deal with the team. Also being shipped out of Chicago tonight is Mike Dunleavy. The Nets were close to acquiring Calderon before Los Angeles swooped in, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

Calderon appeared in 72 games for the Knicks this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per outing. His slash line was .459/.414/.875.

And-Ones: Calderon, Davis, Sullinger

July 7th, 2016 at 12:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks big man Kyle O’Quinn says the team’s offseason moves should translate into a playoff berth in 2016/17, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I’m excited about every year, but this year it looks so clear,’’ O’Quinn told Berman. “A lot of people will put us in there. It’ll be a different element in training camp instead of being a startup trying to shock the world. We made a lot of changes and it looks like the playoffs, but you got to put the work in.”

Here’s the latest from around the NBA:

The Bulls and Sixers had discussions about Philly acquiring Jose Calderon, but the two sides were unable to reach a deal and the point guard was traded to the Lakers instead, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
Several teams are looking to clear cap room to make a run at Bucks restricted free agent Miles Plumlee, Aldridge tweets.
Unrestricted free agent Glen Davis, who sat out last season after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments, a cyst, and bone spurs in his left ankle, has resumed basketball activities and is looking to catch on with an NBA club, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets.
The Celtics face a tough decision regarding restricted free agent Jared Sullinger, with the team in need of his rebounding, but not in the position to match a large offer sheet by another team, were the big man to sign one this offseason, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com.
The Hawks are still actively trying to improve the team and are looking to add another frontcourt player and a point guard, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution notes. One big man option for Atlanta could be Kris Humphries, who expressed a desire to return during his exit interview with the team, Vivlamore adds.
Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox will have surgery to repair a broken right hand on Friday, the team announced. Wilcox was given a timeline of four-to-six weeks before he will be able to return to basketball-related activities, according to the team.
The Lakers are pleased with what they have seen in summer league play from 2016 lottery pick Brandon Ingram, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com writes. “I’m very excited about what he can do,” coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously he’s young and there’ s a lot of work to do. This is a grown man’s league. But as far as knowing how to play the game and the skill set of being able to handle the ball, bring it up, post up, his defense — he’s been all over the place defensively, getting deflections for us — I’m very excited about the way he’s played so far.”

Knicks Acquire Derrick Rose From Bulls

June 22nd, 2016 at 11:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Bulls have agreed to deal that sends Derrick Rose to New York, along with Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round pick. In exchange, Chicago receives Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon. Both teams have officially confirmed the move, with the Knicks announcing that they’ve also waived guard Tony Wroten as part of the deal.

K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link) first reported that an agreement was in place, along with all the names involved, while Adrian Wojnarwoski and Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link) were first to report that the two teams were engaged in “advanced talks” on a trade that would send Rose to the Knicks. The deal also came on the heels of earlier reports that the Bulls were open to moving Rose, and that the Knicks had internally discussed acquiring the Chicago point guard.

While Rose has been plagued by injuries since his MVP campaign in 2010/11, he managed to stay on the court for 66 games this past season, his highest mark in five years. In those games, he recorded averages of 16.4 points and 4.7 assists, shooting .427 from the floor.

Rose is entering the final year of his contract, and is set to earn a $21.323MM salary in 2016/17, so the Knicks are betting on him continuing to stay healthy going forward, and perhaps recapturing the form that saw him win that MVP award five years ago. If the 27-year-old has a solid season in New York, the Knicks would hold his Bird Rights when he becomes eligible for free agency in 2017.

By acquiring Rose, the Knicks will perhaps shift their focus in free agency more toward big men. The team could still use backcourt help, particularly at the two, with Arron Afflalo opting out, but losing Lopez will leave a hole at center in New York. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News suggests (via Twitter) that Dwight Howard, Joakim Noah, and Pau Gasol could be among the Knicks’ targets in July, and we know Howard would be open to signing with New York.

Noah and Gasol, of course, are Bulls free agents, but the odds of those players both landing elsewhere appear to be on the rise with Lopez headed to Chicago. If the Bulls go into full rebuilding mode, Jimmy Butler could be a trade candidate as well, but considering they acquired veteran players in exchange for Rose, I’d be surprised if the Bulls go in that direction.

As Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com tweets, the Bulls have been eyeing point guard prospects in this year’s draft class, and while the team won’t get Kris Dunn at No. 14, a player like Wade Baldwin is a potential target. In Calderon, Chicago will at least have a solid veteran at the position for one more year.

From a financial perspective, the salaries involved in the swap are virtually a wash, despite Rose’s $20MM+ cap figure. Lopez, Grant, and Calderon combined to earn $21,625,172 in 2015/16, compared to $21,040,340 for Rose and Holiday. As Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets, Rose’s 15% trade kicker won’t be applied to this deal, since his salary would exceed the max with that kicker — it would have been in play if the trade had been completed in July.

The Knicks create a traded player exception worth $1,572,360, the amount of Grant’s salary, but will likely renounce that exception next month in order to use space under the cap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: ‘Melo, Batum, Hield

April 22nd, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony wasn’t at the Knicks triangle seminar this week after all, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, despite an earlier report that he was. Some say the seminar was mandatory and others called it voluntary, Isola hears, adding that one player said team president Phil Jackson only invited a few Knicks. Anthony is believed to be receiving therapy on his left knee, Berman writes, and the triangle sessions were mostly review, a source told the Post scribe, who downplays the significance of ‘Melo’s absence. Still, 10 other Knicks took part, Berman hears, including Kristaps Porzingis, who’s recovering from a shoulder strain and recently had a routine visit at the Hospital for Special Surgery, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (ESPN Now link). The other attendees, according to Berman, were Jerian Grant, Cleanthony Early, Langston Galloway, Tony Wroten, Sasha Vujacic, Jose Calderon, Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn and Kevin Seraphin.

See more from around the NBA:

Nicolas Batum isn’t definitively out for the rest of the Hornets‘ first-round series against Miami, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, dispelling an earlier report, but he’s unlikely to return unless it goes at least six games, Bonnell says. Batum is poised for free agency this summer.
Indiana freshman small forward OG Anunoby won’t enter this year’s draft, the school announced (Twitter link). He was a late second-round prospect for this year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who ranks him the 50th, but the 6’8″ 18-year-old has first-round potential for next year, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots him 20th in his 2017 mock draft. Anunoby saw limited action this season, putting up 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game.
Long-shot draft prospect Moustapha Diagne will enter this year’s draft, but he’ll do so without an agent so he can retain his college eligibility, a source told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The 6’8″ 20-year-old from Northwest Florida State, a community college, is a former Syracuse commit, Rothstein notes, and he was 68th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school last year. Neither Ford nor Givony ranks him among the top 100 draft prospects.
Top-10 prospect and former Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield has signed with agent Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, a source told Darren Rovell of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).

Latest On Luke Walton, Knicks

April 19th, 2016 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Luke Walton says his recent chat with Knicks team president Phil Jackson wasn’t a job interview, as the Warriors assistant coach tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Conflicting reports emerged in the past few days about whether it was an interview, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said it couldn’t have been, since Golden State has yet to give Walton permission to interview elsewhere, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kerr told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that no team has even asked for permission (Twitter link). That throws into question the idea that Walton interviewed for the since-filled Nets job, as had also been reported.

“I talked to Phil, but I always talk to Phil. He’s a mentor of mine,” Walton said to Kawakami. “There was no job interview whatsoever. It was just a conversation which is not that rare for Phil and I to have.”

Marc Berman of the New York Post suggests that the Knicks are likely to interview David Blatt, citing Jackson’s respect for the Princeton offense Blatt’s teams have used on occasion. Berman also says the team will likely interview Brian Shaw, a triangle devotee. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com earlier reported New York’s interest in Blatt, a longtime friend of Knicks GM Steve Mills.

Still, interim coach Kurt Rambis remains a central figure and a candidate to be formally named Knicks head coach. He’s involved in two practices that Jackson has organized for this week that amount to a seminar of sorts on the triangle offense, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon, Tony Wroten and soon-to-be free agent Langston Galloway are expected to attend, Isola hears.

Knicks Notes: Afflalo, Calderon, Anthony

April 13th, 2016 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks shooting guard Arron Afflalo says his desire to be a starter will influence his decision regarding his player option for 2016/17 worth $8MM, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). “I still believe I’m one of the premier two guards in this league and part of being an elite two guard in this league is opportunity,” Afflalo said. “You have to be in a certain environment where you can excel and show what you can do and hopefully that contributes to winning. And I still believe I’m that player, so I’ll find the best opportunity for me, whether it’s in New York or anywhere else.” The dynamic between Afflalo and the team has been the subject of close scrutiny since interim coach Kurt Rambis‘ decision to use the shooting guard in a bench role and their odd disagreement over the basic issue of whether they had a conversation about it.

Here’s more from New York:

Afflalo indicated that he’s looking for one more big contract in his career and reiterated that he views himself as a starter, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “I’ve been through so much in my career in terms of the opinions of how your game fits in certain situations and what can you do?” Afflalo told reporters. “What can you do outside of when you’re in a chance to put yourself in position, you make the move that’s necessary?“
Veteran point guard Jose Calderon has no issue with accepting a bench role for the Knicks next season, Bondy notes in the same piece. “I’m a team player, and if it’s better for the team, its great, I got no problem with that,” Calderon said. “I know my role, I know my weaknesses. That’s not going to be a problem with me. The organization should not be thinking that they have to start Jose.” New York is instead reportedly thinking about using the stretch provision to part ways with Calderon this summer.
Carmelo Anthony plans to be heard by the Knicks front office during his exit interview and wants to be involved in New York’s offseason decision-making process, Bondy writes in a separate piece. “My conversation with them is to be open and honest about what’s going on, about transparency, how we can make this situation better and what we’re going to do to make this situation better,” Anthony said. “At the end of the day, nobody loves this feeling, nobody wants to lose. We work too hard as players to be in this situation right now. Even though we almost doubled our wins from last year, we made some strides in certain areas. But now we got to continue to build on that.”
Anthony expects some clarity regarding the Knicks’ future when he sits down with team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills, Begley relays in a full-length piece. When asked what he hopes to garner from his discussions, Anthony said, “Just an understanding of kind of a plan, a plan of action of what they’re trying to do, what we’re trying to do, what we’re trying to accomplish here. I don’t really have — I think everybody knows my questions that I have. So it’s just a matter of them kind of being transparent with me. We talk. We have an open dialogue, an open conversation, about how we all can get better at this situation moving forward, what I can do to kind of help and kind of fill the holes that we need to fill at this point.“
The small forward also noted that he is well aware of the players who are hitting the free agent market this summer and the Knicks’ place in that market, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “Free agency is always going to be big for everybody,” Anthony said. “I looked at the list. I look at the list every day. Whether it’s for me or other teams, I want to see what other guys are thinking about as far as trying to better their team. Where we fit in the free agency market, those are things I pay close attention to.”

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Grant, Rambis, Jackson

March 31st, 2016 at 8:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Carmelo Anthony and two other Knicks starters have volunteered to give up some minutes in favor of younger players, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Anthony convinced point guard Jose Calderon and center Robin Lopez to join him in the effort, and interim coach Kurt Rambis agreed it’s a good idea. Beneficiaries should include rookie Jerian Grant and second-year player Langston Galloway, along with veteran reserves Derrick Williams, Kevin Seraphin and Kyle O’Quinn. “I still would like to be out there playing and competing,” Anthony said, “but at this point if we can build guys like Jerian and Langston and [Williams] and [O’Quinn], and just give those guys that opportunity they wouldn’t have had or haven’t had in the past, I think it’s good for them. I think it’s good for the morale of the team, I think it’s good for their confidence.”

There’s more tonight from New York:

Rambis offered encouraging words for Grant, a first-round pick who is largely considered a disappointment, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Grant has averaged 4.8 points and 2.2 assists in 70 games, all as a backup. “He’s getting better,’’ Rambis said. “He has tremendous speed. We’re encouraging him to use speed and quickness at point guard, [but he] still has to be concerned with organizing of the offense. That’s where he falls short.”
The players’ confidence in Rambis and overall team morale are on the decline, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The displeasure in the locker room bubbled over this week when Arron Afflalo went public with complaints about being demoted to a reserve role. Bondy said the ill feelings stem from team president Phil Jackson’s decision to fire Derek Fisher in the middle of the season and replace him with an interim coach who needs to win right away to keep his job.
Jackson set a poor example this week by taking a vacation to Woodstock so close to the end of the season, charges Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Isola also warns of an upcoming showdown over the coaching situation, with Jackson wanting to keep Rambis and owner James Dolan preferring an outsider such as Tom Thibodeau, David Blatt, Mark Jackson or Scott Brooks. The columnist suggests Dolan should require that Jackson commit to two more seasons in New York before letting him hire Rambis.