Kent Bazemore Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Rumors: Thomas, Bradley, Bazemore

June 30th, 2014 at 11:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The term “fireworks” has been a popular one to describe the offseason ahead for the Celtics, and with July 4th approaching, it seems like the appropriate time to set some off. Here’s the latest on Boston’s initial forays into free agency:

The Celtics were the first team on the horn with restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas when free agency started, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). President of basketball operations Danny Ainge made the call.
Restricted free agent guard Avery Bradley has received calls from the Celtics and 76ers since free agency started, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
Unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore received a personal call from Celtics coach Brad Stevens after midnight, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). The Mavs and Hawks are also showing interest.

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.

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:

Pau Gasol will meet with the Thunder, Bulls and Warriors, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who suggests the big man hasn’t ruled out a meeting with Lakers brass, either.
Chandler Parsons would be on board with a sign-and-trade to the Wolves if the money is on the mark, a source close to Parsons tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Minnesota reportedly has interest in Parsons as a fallback trade target in a Kevin Love swap.
The Rockets, Mavs, Lakers, Clippers, Cavs, Raptors, Suns and Pistons are all suitors for Trevor Ariza, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears (Twitter link).
The Rockets and Mavs are gearing up to sign Jordan Hill, as are the Lakers, Hill’s incumbent team, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Magic are likely to make a play for Rodney Stuckey, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Kent Bazemore is anticipating interest from the Suns, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
Matt Bonner is interested in a return to the Spurs, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News observes (Twitter link). “I’d love to be back, especially if everybody is coming back.”
Damian Lillard would like to see the Blazers go after Channing Frye, Vince Carter, Spencer Hawes and Ariza after re-signing Mo Williams, the point guard tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Carter would be open to signing with Portland, Haynes hears.

Lakers Don’t Give Qualifying Offer To Bazemore

June 28th, 2014 at 6:46pm CST by Charlie Adams

6:46pm: Despite the Lakers deciding against making Bazemore a restricted free agent, there is mutual interest between the team and guard in his return to LA next season, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

2:01pm: The Lakers have chosen not to extend a qualifying offer to Kent Bazemore, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter). As a result of the team’s decision, Bazemore will become an unrestricted free agent, and Los Angeles will receive a cap hold of $915,243 on their books.

Bazemore was shipped from Golden State to LA near the deadline last season, and he proved to be a valuable rotation piece for the Lakers. He averaged 13.1 points in 28.0 minutes per game while shooting 45% from the field.

Los Angeles wants as much cap flexibility as possible to increase their odds at signing Carmelo Anthony and/or LeBron James this summer, according to Pick (Twitter link). It’s unlikely that the decision to refrain from extending a qualifying offer to Bazemore will be the deciding factor in landing either of the superstars, but the move will provide slightly more breathing room nonetheless.

Warriors Notes: Kerr, Hoiberg, Jackson, Curry

May 8th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors will take their time finding a new coach, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group hears, and he sees it as an indication that the team won’t land Steve Kerr if the TNT broadcaster is anxious to take a job soon (Twitter links). There’s more on Golden State’s coaching search as well as the future of their ex-coach amid the latest on the Warriors:

Kerr, Fred Hoiberg, Stan Van Gundy and Kevin Ollie are in the first tier of Warriors coaching candidates, Kawakami believes (Twitter link).
Ousted Warriors coach Mark Jackson says he’d like to coach again and cited the “great jobs available” at present in an interview Wednesday on ESPN New York 98.7 FM, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes. Jackson, who played for the Knicks, said New York hasn’t contacted him about its vacancy. The former point guard is reportedly a candidate for the Lakers job.
The deadline trade that sent Kent Bazemore to the Lakers angered Stephen Curry, who yelled “It’s a business!” as he ran past a press conference in which GM Bob Myers was announcing the deal, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher.

Los Angeles Rumors: Rivers, Bazemore, Nash

April 16th, 2014 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Los Angeles has never seen an NBA season like this one. The Clippers won their franchise-record 57th game on Tuesday, while the Lakers are in the mix for the fifth-worst record in the league. Here’s the latest on a pair of franchises that have switched places in recent years:

The Clippers will end up only a game or two better than last season, but the change in atmosphere that coach and senior VP of basketball operations Doc Rivers brought about suggests they’re primed for a greater step forward in the postseason, opines Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “It’s one thing when your general manager is trying to trade you,” Matt Barnes told Markazi. “It’s another when your coach is the general manager and trying to trade you.”
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News believes Jodie Meeks, Jordan Farmar, Ryan Kelly and Kendall Marshall are those most likely to return among the Lakers without guaranteed contracts for next season (Twitter link). Medina looks at what’s ahead for several Lakers in a full piece, suggesting the team is likely to extend a qualifying offer to Kent Bazemore to make him a restricted free agent this summer.
Steve Nash tells Mike Trudell of NBA.com that he remains unsure of whether he’ll be able to return to the court next season, even as he holds out hope of making a positive contribution in the Lakers lineup.

Western Rumors: Bazemore, Camby, Rockets

April 11th, 2014 at 12:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

The loss the Warriors suffered to the Nuggets on Thursday puts them just two games up on the ninth-place Grizzlies, and the Jazz, who own Golden State’s first-round pick, will surely be rooting for the Warriors to lose in the season’s final days. Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Kent Bazemore is set to become a restricted free agent at season’s end, and while his value appears to have surged since he joined the Lakers at the trade deadline, he’s not simply looking to cash in, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News observes. “I’m all about the basketball aspect of things. I don’t want much. I’m not a guy who’s going to chase money on a bad team. I want to win,” Bazemore said. “This is the Los Angeles Lakers. I don’t see many people turning down an opportunity to be here.”
The Rockets gauged Marcus Camby‘s interest in rejoining the team several weeks ago, only to learn that he would be unavailable to return to the NBA this year as he tries to come back from a left foot injury, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey confirmed that the conclusion that Greg Smith will miss the rest of the season led the team to waive him and sign Dexter Pittman, as Feigen passes along in the same piece.
The Rudy Gay trade muted the effect of Sacramento’s acquisition of Derrick Williams, who’s seen his playing time continue to decline of late, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Kings coach Michael Malone wants to give Williams more minutes, but his lack of consistency dissuades him from doing so, Jones writes.

Kent Bazemore Out For Season

April 7th, 2014 at 5:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lakers announced that guard Kent Bazemore will be out for the remainder of the season after injuring his right foot against the Clippers yesterday. Bazemore’s MRI showed a torn peroneus longus tendon and he’ll undergo surgery to remedy the issue.

The injury doesn’t mean much right now for the Lakers, who are lottery bound and have just five games remaining in the season. However, depending on the severity of the injury, it could have an impact on Bazemore. The guard will be a free agent this offseason and after earning a modest $762K in 2013/14, he’ll be looking for a pay bump on his next contract.

Bazemore saw just over six minutes per game with the Warriors in the first half of the season but he’s gotten more burn with the Lakers since coming over in the Steve Blake deal. In 28 minutes per contest for the banged-up Lakers, the 24-year-old has averaged 13.1 PPG and 3.1 APG.

Los Angeles Notes: Bazemore, Jackson, Gasol

March 11th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Kent Bazemore played sparingly during his stint on the Warriors, averaging 4.4 MPG as a rookie in 2012/13 and 6.1 MPG in 44 games this season. After being dealt to the Lakers a few weeks ago, the 24-year-old guard is now seeing 29.8 MPG and has made quite an impression thus far. With 14.6 PPG on 45.9% shooting overall and 40.4% from long distance over his last 10 games, Bazemore may not only resemble a potential piece for L.A.’s future, but a possible free agency target for other teams as well.

With that being said, Bazemore wants to remain with the Lakers long-term, and his camp is confident that if he continues to play as he has so far for the team, L.A. will tender a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent this summer, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.

Here’s more out of Los Angeles this evening:

Phil Jackson has been recently linked to a few front office opportunities around the league, and despite his lack of experience as an executive, the Lakers – with a dire need for stability and direction – can ill afford to let him get away again, opines Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
Though Pau Gasol‘s frustration for most of this season implies an infinitesimal chance that he re-ups with the purple and gold beyond this year, it could still be mutually beneficial for Gasol and the team if he were to return, explains Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. One idea involves re-signing the Spanish big man to a gargantuan one-year deal for next season, which would allow L.A. to eventually clear Gasol and Steve Nash‘s contracts at the same time and thus have ample cap space for 2015.
In the above piece, Bucher also shares a list of players who Kobe Bryant said he envisions returning after this season, including Jordan Hill, Chris Kaman, Jordan Farmar, and Wesley Johnson.
During a recent interview with Kustoo.com, Bryant admitted that he has been frustrated with the slow recovery process from his knee injury (hat tip to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times): “It’s progressing slowly. It really tests my patience…There’s only so much you can do, so I find myself relegated to riding the bike.”
Former Clippers swingman Sasha Vujacic has signed on with basketball agency Interperformances, according to Sportando (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Links: Bledsoe, Watson, Carter

March 5th, 2014 at 10:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Eric Bledsoe is scheduled to return to game action for the Suns sometime in the next week, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. He will be back on the court either Monday at the Clippers, or Wednesday at home against the Cavs. Before he went down with an injury, the future restricted free agent averaged 18.0 PPG and 5.8 APG. After starting the season 19-11, the team has cooled slightly and gone 16-14 without Bledsoe.