Klay Thompson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Rumors: Suns, Love, MCW, Henry

June 21st, 2014 at 2:07pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Suns have brought in a multitude of point guards to their pre-draft workouts, and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press suggests (on Twitter) that such a strategy might be indicative of the team’s willingness to ship off Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic in a trade for Kevin Love. Phoenix has been identified as a potential suitor for Love, but the club hasn’t been labeled as serious candidate to land the big man. Here’s more from out west:

The Warriors have been attempting to find a third team to include in a potential deal for Love, but a source close to the situation said it’s been “difficult,” passes along Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter) that the Warriors could land Love without involving a third team if they included both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in an offer.
Michael Carter-Williams has not been included in any of the rumored trade discussions between the Lakers and the Sixers, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
There’s mutual interest in a reunion between Xavier Henry and the Lakers, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that LA hopes to hang on to all of their role players with one-year, minimum salary deals.
Alvin Gentry‘s departure to Golden State opens up the Clippers’ top assistant spot to Tyronn Lue, and LA’s fondness for Lue is a major reason the team was open to letting Gentry walk, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News.

Wolves Unlikely To Move Love Before Season?

June 21st, 2014 at 11:39am CST by Cray Allred

11:39am: The Warriors want to to structure a smaller deal around Barnes and Lee for Love, which is substantially different from Minnesota’s wishes to build a deal around Thompson, Lee, and more pieces for both Love and Martin, writes Kawakami. The inclusion of Lee is understood as a necessity for any deal for both teams, per Kawakami.

11:14am: Wolfson hears that the rumored three-team deal involving Thompson and the Lakers No. 7 pick will not happen (Twitter link). Shelburne tweets that the Warriors have rebuffed calls from LA regarding such a trade.

10:57am: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State deal are indeed at an impasse, write Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. While the Wolves organization is reportedly torn on whether to retain Thompson in a Love deal, Shelburne says there is an “organizational split” in Golden State on whether to give up the shooting guard in a package for Love. Jerry West and Steve Kerr are in opposition to giving up both Thompson and a future first round pick, while others in the organization were prepared to complete a deal that would have sent Thompson, David Lee, and a pick to Minnesota in exchange Love and Martin.

10:40am: The Nuggets offer is likely off the table, now that Denver is “100% certain” that Love would not re-sign with them beyond this season, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). Denver made the offer before knowing Love’s likelihood of re-signing in Denver, per Wolfson. Wolfson tells Hoops Rumors that he doubts the talks between Denver and Minnesota will be completely shut down, however, considering the history between Saunders and Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, who worked together with the Wizards.

9:17am: The Wolves are hesitant to acquire Thompson since he would soon be looking for a big contract, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. Pincus says that the No. 7 pick wouldn’t be enough for Minnesota, so the Warriors would leverage that pick with their other assets in the three-team scenario. The LA Times scribe says that a deal involving the Lakers is not imminent since the Lakers wouldn’t be able to trade their pick until after the draft (Twitter links).

9:00am: Discussions for a three-team deal that would send Thompson to the Lakers, the seventh pick to the Wolves, and Love to the Warriors were recently put on hold, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. The snag was due to disagreement within the Minnesota front office on whether to it would be prudent to retain Thompson as part of a Love trade.

8:40am: The nature of the Wolves trade discussions is making it increasingly unlikely that they strike a deal for Kevin Love before the season begins, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said on an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz radio show. Since the Wolves aren’t in discussions with any teams at the very top of the draft, Wojnarowski said the pressure is off for Minnesota coach and president of basketball ops Flip Saunders to complete a trade prior to the draft, and his potential trading partners are also open to revisiting discussions once the season begins.

Wojnarowski doesn’t think the Celtics have an offer that the Wolves will bite at, and he thinks that Saunders is playing coy with one-sided offers to the Warriors. “Saunders is going around discussing deals that won’t happen, so he can go back to Love and his agent and say, ‘We tried, see you in training camp,’” the Yahoo! scribe said. His sources in Golden State tell him that the Warriors are not “desperate” to acquire Love and will not include both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in a package for the All-Star forward, which is the package Wojnarowski says Minnesota wants. A league source confirmed to Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group that the Warriors will “flat out” not agree to the latest offers from Minnesota, and that Golden State is uninterested in taking back Kevin Martin in a deal as the Wolves are insisting (Twitter links).

The Nuggets were left out by Wojnarowski in the discussion of front-runners for Love. Presuming they are still involved in talks for Love, Denver would still fit the profile of the no-rush trade scenario for Minnesota, since they only own the No. 11 pick and are building their offer primarily around developed players.

Bob Myers Press Conference Notes

June 20th, 2014 at 7:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

At his pre-draft press conference today, Warriors GM Bob Myers addressed a number of rumors regarding his team’s efforts to obtain a pick in this year’s draft and the trade rumors swirling about the franchise. Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group transcribed the session. Here are some of the highlights:

Without any picks right now, how likely do you think it is that you’ll end up with a pick or two by Thursday?

“You know what? About a week before last year’s draft, I said it was unlikely and we ended up with one. I think it’s going to be harder this year because we don’t have a second-round pick and we don’t have the $3.2MM to spend on a pick. It’s possible. I think unlikely is how I’d gauge it. But everything’s pretty fluid so I never want to rule it out. I think it will be difficult to get one this year.“

You have zero to spend [on purchasing draft picks]?

“We don’t have any to spend, not until July 1st. And unfortunately the draft’s before July 1st, so we don’t have a ton of tools to obtain a pick.”

There was a report that you guys were looking at [Doug] McDermott and [Nik] Stauskas. Is that just due diligence, or is there some hope you can get that kind of pick?

“When I was an agent, it’s hard to get your players to the teams that have picks. It’s hard to even cover the range of picks you might be in. So for us, a team without any picks, the only option for us to go see players is to go see them, wherever they are. So we spent a good portion of May seeing a variety of players. But we did end up seeing most of the guys that are in the top 20. We actually sent a scout to the workout you might’ve been referring to. That’s the only way for us to see guys. And you never know on draft night, what may or may not occur. But what you can’t do is sit there and get presented with whatever pick it is and say, well, I haven’t seen that guy so I can’t make a decision. You have to make a decision, and that means you have to cover your bases the best you can.”

Not trying to make you address a specific trade rumor, but how much does this team value Klay Thompson? What is his value to the team?

“To the team? It’s extremely high. And well-deserved. I think his value to the entire league is very high. I ran into J.J. Redick after our series with them, and when you play against somebody in a playoff series, you really get an appreciation for him. We saw each other seven times. And he walked over to me and he said, you know, Klay’s a pretty good player. So that… I think respect from your peers is almost the most important thing as a player. He certainly has it. We think he’s been great. And the best thing about him that we’ve seen is improvement. I think everybody that watched him last year saw him, especially near the end of the season, really take a turn as far as getting to the basket and expanding his game. So he’s highly valued within the organization and within the team.”

What are the chances of you guys making a big trade from now until draft night?

“I’ll tell you this, I think probably right now unlikely. Best I can do for you. But I will say this, if you asked me last year at this time would we be in a situation to grab an Andre Iguodala, I would’ve said the same thing. I know it may be hard to believe, but I could get up from this little caucus and five minutes later my phone rings and it’s a deal that I hadn’t thought of, nobody had thought of, and all of a sudden you’re going down that path. But right now, I think it’s unlikely. Right now, today.”

Latest On Kevin Love

June 19th, 2014 at 9:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:24pm: A Warriors source disputes the idea that Thompson has been made available in trade talks for Love, tweets Kawakami.

7:49pm: Denver’s latest offer includes Faried, Chandler, and the 11th pick in exchange for Love and Martin, sources tell ESPN’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter).

6:23pm: Unless Minnesota’s best deal hinges on next week’s draft, Saunders can afford to let the situation play itself out, opines Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

5:30pm: There are still several teams in pursuit of Love who don’t believe that Saunders is in deal-making mode just yet, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

5:17pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune is willing to bet that in addition to Lee and Thompson, Saunders would want a third piece – possibly Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green – as compensation for taking on the remaining two years of Lee’s contract.

5:08pm: The Warriors aren’t very eager include a future first-round pick in a deal for Love, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

3:44pm: The latest proposal from Minnesota to Golden State involves Lee, Thompson and a future first-rounder in return for Love and Martin, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, but no deal is close, Wojnarowski tweets. A source tells Holmes that Thompson was always available in a deal for Love (Twitter link)

2:44pm: Saunders made it clear today that he won’t trade the No. 13 pick, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears that the presence of Klay Thompson in talks came via a counterproposal from the Wolves, with the Warriors having yet to respond to that offer.

2:15pm: The Wolves wouldn’t take back just Lee and Thompson in the proposal that Broussard mentioned, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who suspects that the Warriors leaked the proposal.

2:09pm: The Wolves and Warriors are talking about a deal that would send Love, Kevin Martin, J.J. Barea and the 13th pick to Golden State for Thompson and David Lee, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 1:30pm: The Warriors have seemingly had a change of heart and are making Thompson available to the Wolves in a potential Love trade, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Celtics are meanwhile recalibrating their offer to meet Minnesota’s demands as the Wolves seek draft picks as well as a “player of substance” in return for the star power forward, Bulpett reports.

WEDNESDAY, 9:55pm: The Nuggets are offering a package for Love that includes Faried, Wilson Chandler and another player that they would acquire — possibly Orlando’s Arron Afflalo — according to Bulpett’s latest update (via Twitter).

12:24pm: The Warriors, Bulls and Nuggets are the top three contenders for Love, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. Presumably, they’re in order from most likely to least likely.

12:19pm: A source in Minnesota told Chad Ford of ESPN.com on Monday that the Celtics were the favorites for Love, as Ford writes in his chat with readers, advancing his report from earlier this week that Boston’s offer was likely to be the strongest that Minnesota would receive. That runs directly counter to Bulpett’s story and the earlier dispatch from Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com that say that the Wolves are uninterested in what Boston has to offer. Ford also seconds last month’s report that the Warriors are not willing to include Klay Thompson in their offer.

11:55am: The Nuggets and Warriors have made better offers for Kevin Love than the Celtics have, a source tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, casting Denver as the latest team to enter the race for the Wolves power forward. It’s unclear just what sort of package that Denver is talking about, but the Nuggets have the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft and several mid-price veterans, as well as the up-and-coming Kenneth Faried, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. The Wolves are meanwhile optimistic that they can strike a “more than acceptable deal” with the Warriors, regardless of whether Klay Thompson is involved.

Boston is willing to discuss several scenarios involving players and draft picks, but Minnesota isn’t enamored with any of the team’s offers, Bulpett hears, echoing an earlier report that the Wolves find the C’s an unappealing trade partner. The Celtics are reportedly dangling their picks at Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, future first-rounders, and young players already under contract. The Wolves, who pick 13th, would be unmoved by the opportunity to pick sixth, feeling like they can get a player of equal value later in the first round, according to Bulpett, who suggests the involvement of a third team is Boston’s best hope of landing Love. The idea would be to find veterans to send to Minnesota, Bulpett writes, seeming to confirm speculation that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer experienced players in a deal for his star.

Love is under team control for one more season, but he can opt out an hit free agency next summer, and several reports have made it clear he doesn’t envision re-signing with Minnesota. The Bulls, Suns, Lakers, Rockets, Kings, Knicks, Lakers, Wizards and Cavs are other clubs that have been linked to Love in recent weeks, and surely just about every team in the league would want him if he became available to them. One report cast Sacramento as the favorite, though that’s in dispute. Bulpett seems to give the Nuggets a more realistic shot of trading for Love than others, but it there are surely doubts that Denver, never a destination spot for free agents, will be able to retain him in free agency. Perhaps the Nuggets are willing to acquire him without an assurance he’d stay, just as the Kings reportedly are, though that’s just my speculation.

Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay

June 19th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.

Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Clippers, Thompson

June 8th, 2014 at 8:34pm CST by Zachary Links

Mark Jackson told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he has no regrets about the way things played out with the Warriors. “Listen, there are no regrets,” said Jackson. “I think about the three years there. I think about the opportunity that was presented to me by the ownership, by management. I think about the relationship with incredible players and what they were able to accomplish in three years and where that organization was and where it is today; you’ve got a lot to be proud of. Ownership, management, players, fans — it’s in a great place. There are absolutely no regrets.” More out of the Pacific Division..

Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt confirmed to Allon Sinai of the Jerusalem Post that he has had conversations with the Warriors about a job on Steve Kerr‘s staff. Blatt is reportedly being considered by Wolves coach/president Flip Saunders for an assistant coaching role that would groom him for the head coaching job. The Cavs, meanwhile, are looking at Blatt as a head coaching candidate.
Warriors standout shooting guard Klay Thompson spoke with Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle about a variety of topics concerning the Warriors. Thompson spoke glowingly of new head coach Steve Kerr and said that he’d love to sign an extension with the club before the start of next season.
Before tipoff of Game 2, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters, including Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press, that while Donald Sterling hasn’t signed off on the sale of the Clippers yet, he believes that the ordeal is almost over. He added that there is “absolutely no possibility” of rescinding the lifetime ban or the $2.5MM fine he handed down to Sterling following his racist remarks.

Western Rumors: Love, Saunders, Thompson

June 7th, 2014 at 11:23am CST by Cray Allred

Quin Snyder was just introduced as the new head coach for the Jazz, expressing his excitement to develop the young Utah roster and forge a defensive identity, reports Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). Here’s more from out west, including another coaching press conference in Minnesota:

At his first press conference as coach for the Wolves, Flip Saunders said that part of the reason he was the best fit in Minnesota was his ability to be flexible considering the potential roster overhaul that could take place in the event of a Kevin Love trade. “What we did not want to do is bring in a coach who was going to be pigeonholed on a certain style of play with the players we have,” Saunders told reporters including Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune, “and then all of a sudden maybe that changes. [The decision] was made based on what’s best for us as a team, whether we make trades or we don’t.”
Saunders added that he isn’t interested in taking a competitive step back, an indication that any trade made would have the aim of short-term improvement, not a rebuilding effort.
Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune thinks that Saunders made the right decision in taking the Wolves coaching job, but doesn’t think the organization with a track record of instability is any better off.
Klay Thompson told Russian blogger Mete Aktas that he would like to remain with the Warriors for the long haul, but knows that rumors surrounding him are inevitable (Translation via Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group). “Your job is never secure in this league unless your name is LeBron James or Steph Curry,” said Thompson. “I hope [staying with Golden State] happens, but it is a fact that you never know what will happen in the NBA.”
Thompson added that he was shocked by Mark Jackson‘s firing when it happened, but is comfortable moving forward with new coach Steve Kerr.

And-Ones: CBA, LeBron, Thompson, Anthony

May 31st, 2014 at 1:48pm CST by Cray Allred

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel expects the $2 billion sale of the Clippers to have far-reaching effects on the next round of collective bargaining between the NBA and the players’ union. While the league has negotiated without recognizing appreciation values of franchises, the Clippers selling for so much will take away that luxury. Winderman anticipates the National Basketball Players Association will terminate the current CBA at its first opportunity in 2017, and thinks the players can and should fight to do away with maximum salary limitations for themselves. Here’s more from around the league:

Winderman specifically looks to LeBron James as a player that could make immediate decisions based on the altered landscape following the Clippers sale. The Sun Sentinel scribe wouldn’t be surprised if James decides against opting out of his contract with the Heat in the coming seasons, taking a year-by-year approach until more lucrative contracts could become available.
If Klay Thompson reaches free agency, he could field multiple offers at or near the max, NBA sources tell Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group. If the Warriors and Thompson can’t agree to an extension by the deadline early next season, he will become a restricted free agent in 2015/16.
Joakim Noah hasn’t relented in his “consistent efforts” to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson says Chicago is sure to “get in the game” to pursue Anthony this summer, even though signing him remains a long shot.
Mark Price has told Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer that he has long been interested in coming to Cleveland as a coach, but multiple Cavs regimes haven’t reciprocated the interest. Price played for Cleveland in nine of his 12 seasons, and is now working as an assistant with the Hornets.
In addition to his candidacy for multiple head coaching jobs, Lionel Hollins is drawing interest as an associate head coach for the Warriors and Rockets, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Clippers, Kings

May 30th, 2014 at 6:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Warriors GM Bob Myers said that Klay Thompson is a “top-5 shooting who will be paid a lot of money in the future“, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Thompson has one more year remaining on his rookie deal, and has also been mentioned to possibly be included in trade discussions with the Timberwolves involving Kevin Love.

Western Notes: Lakers, Love, Curry, Grizzlies

May 29th, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jeanie Buss will have have a hand in helping Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss find the team’s next head coach, report Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, who add that the three Lakers executives will present a recommendation to the other four Buss siblings — Joey, Jesse, Johnny Buss, and Janie Buss Drexel — once the list of coaching candidates is narrowed down.

A person familiar with the team’s coaching search tells Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News that eliciting the input of other members of the Buss family doesn’t imply that the next Lakers head coach will be decided by committee. “Does that mean (everyone involved) will decide who the coach is going to be? No…It’s not like there’s going to be seven people making that decision.”

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight, including more from the purple-and-gold:

According to Medina, the Lakers anticipate that the feedback of the four other Buss siblings will address logistical issues, such as the length and amount of the coaching contract, rather than the selection of the coach.
The Timberwolves want Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, but team GM Milt Newton is confident about moving forward if they can’t find a way to retain the star big man. “If (keeping Love isn’t) the case, you best believe we’ll be a better team based on what happens.” Newton also says that plenty of teams are “planting seeds early” on the trade market right now to let other clubs know what their intent is (Twitter links via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune).
Stephen Curry spoke about his raw feelings concerning the Warriors ouster of Mark Jackson, but he hasn’t lost faith in the organization and is anxious to continue his dialogue with new coach Steve Kerr, as the star guard told reporters today. Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a transcript, which also includes Curry’s comments supporting a new deal for Klay Thompson.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that he’ll have input on the process of hiring a new general manager in Memphis, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “The plan is not going to be revealed. But the process has begun.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.