Kobe Bryant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Kobe, Morris, Barnes, Davis

October 8th, 2015 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The majority of the two dozen team executives, scouts, agents and other figures from around the NBA who spoke with Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com said the Lakers definitely shouldn’t re-sign Kobe Bryant if he decides to play beyond the expiration of his contract at season’s end. Another sizable chunk of respondents said it should depend on his health, while only one said the Lakers should definitely bring him back. Part of the issue involves repeated assertions from people around the league that free agents won’t want to sign with the Lakers and play with their longtime star, as Holmes relays. Bryant has said he won’t play for an NBA team aside from the Lakers, but if he did, few teams would have interest, Holmes hears. One executive mentioned the Knicks as a possibility, and another brought up the Clippers. See more from around the Western Conference:

Markieff Morris gave further indication Wednesday that he indeed wants to stick around Phoenix, telling reporters, including Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, that he intends to convince local fans he’s on board. “I’ll win them back,” Morris said. “That’s all I can say about that.” Morris last week backed off his trade demand from the summer, and the Suns apparently have no interest in sending him out, even though the Pistons are reportedly interested.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger and Matt Barnes sloughed off the notion that reports that Barnes physically attacked Knicks coach Derek Fisher will have any bearing on the team, and Joerger expressed full support for his player, notes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Barnes said that he hasn’t spoken with anyone from the league office, but the NBA is investigating, Tillery adds. Memphis traded for Barnes this summer, and he’s entering the final season of his contract.
Ed Davis prioritized the chance for minutes over money when he decided to sign a three-year, $20MM deal with the Blazers this summer, as Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com details. “I was playing well in Toronto my third year, then I got traded to Memphis,” Davis said. “I played behind [Zach Randolph] and Marc [Gasol] for a year and a half, didn’t really get the opportunity. I was playing 13, 14 minutes a game and there’s no way that’s you’re going to be successful in the NBA with those minutes. That set me back for a year and a half. I guess the media or whatever thought I couldn’t play, or whatever it was. Went to L.A. [Lakers] last year, had a decent year and everything turned. Now I’m in a great situation and I’m looking forward to it.”

Kevin Durant Brushes Aside Lakers Rumors

October 2nd, 2015 at 2:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:14pm: Smith, in his response to Durant, identifies the Thunder and the Lakers as well as the Heat, Wizards, and Knicks as the teams he’s heard Durant is considering (Twitlonger link).

FRIDAY, 12:25pm: Durant made it clear that he finds no truth to the rumor, as he explained to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater. “I don’t talk to Stephen A. Smith at all,” Durant said to Slater. “No one in my family [or] my friends do. So he’s lying.”

THURSDAY, 8:20am: Kevin Durant would prefer the Lakers over other teams in free agency next summer if he is to leave the Thunder, as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith hears (YouTube link; transcription via Glenn Erby of BlackSportsOnline), and as Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports 1 corroborates. Smith also hears that the possibility of Durant teaming up with Kobe Bryant to join Carmelo Anthony is in play, though he suggests that the notion is a long shot. It’s not entirely clear whether that scenario would play out on the Knicks or the Lakers.

Most of the executives who spoke with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com this summer told him they expect Durant will re-sign with the Thunder, with the Lakers, Mavericks and Wizards among the few alternatives with a legitimate chance at the former MVP and the Knicks on the fringe of the picture. Durant said this week that he’s “hit it off” with new Thunder coach Billy Donovan, adding to the idea that the incumbent Thunder are the favorites to put pen to paper with Durant this coming July. Rumors are sure to fly between now and then, but Durant put out a word of caution in August, saying that he’d only be discussing his future with a tight circle of advisers and that if reporters drew from other sources, the information wouldn’t be reliable.

Phil Jackson recently raised the idea of Bryant playing with a team other than the Lakers after this coming season, as Smith points out, but Bryant put the kibosh on that, telling Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports recently that, “I bleed purple-and-gold” and, “I am a Laker for better or worse.” Bryant, 37, is also considering retirement at season’s end. Anthony, the Knicks star, is the only one among himself, Bryant and Durant who isn’t a free agent after this season, as his contract doesn’t allow him to elect free agency until 2018. ‘Melo could waive his no-trade clause if he wants to join the Lakers, though both Jackson and the Lakers would have to agree to a deal for that to happen, a prospect further complicated by the 15% trade kicker on Anthony’s contract that the Knicks would have to pay in the event of a swap.

Durant’s projected maximum salary for 2016/17 is $24.9MM, a figure the Thunder can exceed the cap to pay because they have his Bird rights. The Lakers have less than $20MM in commitments for next season against a projected $89MM cap, and the Knicks have about $55MM, meaning both teams are poised to have enough room to make Durant a max offer.

Where do you think Durant ends up? Leave a comment to tell us.

Lakers Notes: Bryant, World Peace, Young

September 29th, 2015 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson raised the specter of Kobe Bryant playing for a team other than the Lakers in comments the Zen Master made last week, but Bryant made it clear Monday he has no intention to do that, telling Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, “Dude, I bleed purple-and-gold.”

“A lot of players want to go to different teams or contend to win championships,” Bryant said. “I’m a Laker, man. I’m a Laker for better or worse.”

Bryant shed no more light on the matter of whether he’d play at all beyond this season, the last on his contract with the Lakers. While we wait to find out if this is the end for the 36-year-old star or if he’ll re-sign this summer, see more from Lakerland:

Metta World Peace regrets returning to play 12 days after surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee during the spring of 2013, his last as a Laker, saying that it affected his ability to perform for the Knicks the next season, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. The 35-year-old who’s returned to the Lakers on a non-guaranteed deal feels as though he’s since recovered and is ready to embrace a mentorship role, even if he can’t quite duplicate the soft touch that Derek Fisher used in juxtaposition to Bryant’s caustic personality, as he explained to Medina.
Nick Young endured trade rumors early in the offseason, and the return of Bryant plus the free agent signing of Lou Williams figures to cut into his time. Still, after trade talk died off and GM Mitch Kupchak met with him to explain the Williams signing, Young arrived at camp Monday with an upbeat attitude, saying Williams “will make things better,” observes Janis Carr of the Orange County Register.
The Lakers hired Hall-of-Famer James Worthy to work with the team’s coaching staff, the team announced, without specifying a former title for the “Showtime” era great.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Bryant, Warriors

September 28th, 2015 at 10:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and coach George Karl called their relationship “solid” during the team’s annual media day on Monday, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. While Karl reportedly wanted to trade Cousins after he took over as the head coach late last season, they seem to have ironed out their differences, Jones continues. Cousins called Karl “my man” and said their offseason meeting in Las Vegas was vital to establishing a relationship. “When we met in Vegas, we came to a head and we talked our differences out like men,” Cousins said to Jones. “And at the end of the day, it’s about winning games. That’s one thing me and him can agree on – we want to win and that’s our goal and that’s all that really matters, winning.” Karl gave Cousins an A-plus for his offseason training and said Cousins has shown maturity, Jones adds. “I see a different player,” Karl said. “I see a different substance of character in this guy right now.”

In other news around the Pacific Division:

Kobe Bryant feels more uncertainty about this season than any other in his career with the Lakers, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Bryant is unsure how the team will blend together after the franchise made a number of offseason moves and drafted D’Angelo Russell as their point guard, Medina continues. “It’s a big question mark,” Bryant said during the team’s media day. “We have a lot of young guys. It’s a good mix. We have some veterans as well. But guys have never played together before, so it remains to be seen.” Bryant is also unsure how he fits into that mix after enduring three season-ending injuries in as many seasons, Medina adds.
Small forward Harrison Barnes claims that extension talks with the Warriors are “going well,” Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Barnes reportedly turned down a four-year, $64MM offer but expressed confidence during the team’s media day that a contract can be finalized before the Nov. 2nd deadline, Simmons continues. GM Bob Myers said last week that he expects the negotiations to go down to the wire, Simmons adds.
Veteran power forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who is in training camp with the Clippers, feels he’s ready for the NBA again after playing in six countries over a nine-year span since leaving the United States, according to Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. “I’m just enjoying what I do,” he said to Kavner. “With this mentality, I got better. All of a sudden, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’ I think I’m ready for it.”

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Kobe, Lopez, Jerebko

September 25th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Chuck Myron

It sounds like Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher would like to have former Lakers colleague Kobe Bryant join the Knicks next season, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post observes based on Jackson’s comment today (Twitter link). Jackson said that he doesn’t think Bryant will retire at season’s end but added that it might be his final year with the Lakers, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (on Twitter). Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if Jackson was just making a subtle joke (Twitter link), as he is wont to do, and though Bryant’s contract with the Lakers expires this coming summer, Marc Stein of ESPN.com can’t see him playing for any NBA team other than the purple-and-gold (All Twitter links). If Bryant does suit up for a team aside from the Lakers, it would be an overseas team, Stein believes.

While we wait to see how the latest Kobe storyline develops, see more from the Atlantic Division:

Jackson said that he’ll be more involved with Fisher this year, at Fisher’s request, observes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’ll mean more frequent observations from the Zen Master and perhaps more time that Jackson and Fisher will spend watching film together, as Herring relays (via Twitter).
Robin Lopez will fit better with the Knicks than Greg Monroe would have because of his superior defense, Jackson once more insisted, in comments that Bontemps and Herring relay (Twitter links).
The Nets have little reason not to try to win as much as they can this season, since they owe their 2016 first-round pick to the Celtics without protection, and coach Lionel Hollins confirmed Thursday that the team will remain focused on wins and losses this year, as Roderick Boone of Newsday details. Hollins said veterans would get the first chance at minutes. “Nobody’s said, ‘Wait until next summer,'” Hollins said. “We’re going out and trying to win. Whether we can or not remains to be seen. But it’s not my mindset. And the players’ mindset is not going out there [thinking], ‘We don’t have to try to win this year because it’s a gap year, and the expectations have changed because we broke this group up versus that group up.'”
Danny Ainge doesn’t foresee a major shakeup before the start of the season, meaning competition for minutes figures to be fierce among the Celtics, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Jonas Jerebko, who re-signed with the team this summer, welcomes the challenge, Forsberg also notes. “Competition just makes everyone better,” Jerebko said. “You are supposed to have competition on the team. We have a lot of guys that can play multiple positions so that’s just a plus for us. We can mix it up and have a great coach to mix it up with, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Pacific Notes: Griffin, Kobe, Chandler

September 19th, 2015 at 3:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

High-flying power forward Blake Griffin would ideally like to remain with the Clippers for his entire career, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays. “Yeah, I mean L.A. is my home now,” said Griffin. “This is where I got drafted and I’ve been here since the beginning. I’ve been with this franchise during some bad times. You know, it hasn’t always been like it is now; anytime you have a chance to go from that to this, you feel invested. I’m not looking to go anywhere. With that being said, you never know [in this business]. But I’m happy here, I love it here, and I would love to finish my career here.” Griffin’s current deal runs through the 2017/18 season, though that final year is a player option worth $21,373,952. Be sure to check out the full interview Griffin did with Kennedy, as it is certainly worth a read.

Now here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Kobe Bryant is expected to be fully healthy at the start of Lakers training camp, but coach Byron Scott intends to carefully limit the veteran’s minutes this season to maximize what could potentially be Bryant’s final NBA hurrah, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. “We’ve got to stick to the guns,” Scott said. “If we agree on a certain amount of time we’re going to stick to it. I know Kobe’s a competitor and he’s going to play as many minutes as you want him to play. I’m also a competitor, so I want to win and I know having him on the court gives me the best opportunity to win. If this is his last year. I want him to go out standing. I don’t want him to go out hurt.“
Even though center Tyson Chandler is past his prime he brings with him exactly what the Suns need — stability to the pivot, spectacular interior defense, and leadership, the crew at Basketball Insiders opine in their season preview of the team. They also believe that the eighth seed in the Western Conference is likely to come down to a fight between Phoenix and the Jazz, with how well Utah compensates for the loss of Dante Exum being a big determining factor.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Kobe, Nash, Thompson

September 17th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Suns free agent signee Tyson Chandler is optimistic that the team and Markieff Morris can resolve their differences, having gone through a tenuous time himself years ago when New Orleans traded him to the Thunder only to have Oklahoma City nix the deal, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Phoenix doesn’t intend to fulfill the trade demand that Morris has made, Coro writes, which jibes with his report from earlier and what Grantland’s Zach Lowe heard, even though Morris reportedly plans on greeting the Suns front office with silence and coach Jeff Hornacek with only one-word answers if they bring him to camp.

“It’s not about them,” Chandler said to Coro about Suns executives. “That’s no offense to Ryan [McDonough], the GM, or the owner. Players play for players and the coaches. You’ve got a bond. Management has nothing to do with anything that goes on when you’re on the court. That’s just my thoughts. I’m not saying this for anything against Keef either. He’s a man and he has to go through his own process. But he can be special and I know he will. I feel like all this stuff will be forgotten once we kick off and we’re having success.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers announced a nine-month recovery timetable when Kobe Bryant had surgery to repair his torn right rotator cuff in January, which would have made his return in time for camp a close call, but he’s been medically cleared for all basketball activities, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding hears.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is high on what Steve Nash can bring as a part-time player development consultant for the team, though he cautioned in an interview with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that the deal to hire him for that role isn’t official. Kerr added that he won’t ask Nash to return to play, as the Mavs reportedly considered doing. “In Phoenix we grew very close and he’s probably the smartest basketball player I’ve ever been around in my life, not only the way he played but the way he prepared and trained and thought about the game,” Kerr said to Kawakami. “I just felt like if we could just get him to help out, just be around our guys occasionally and develop relationships, spend some time on the floor with them occasionally, it’d be a big help.”
Kerr expressed his desire for continuity, though he does envision a role for trade acquisition Jason Thompson, as he said to Kawakami for the same piece. The coach was also quick to point to his fondness to James Michael McAdoo, who has only a partially guaranteed deal with the Warriors.

Lakers Notes: World Peace, Woolridge, Kobe

September 12th, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Metta World Peace has been working out at the Lakers’ practice facility recently, sparking talk that he was eyeing a return to the team. With a roster packed with young players, GM Mitch Kupchak has been keeping tabs on the veteran’s progress, though he’s unsure if the team will look to ink World Peace to a training camp pact, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “I love the guy,” Kupchak said. “I really do. Last year, he was in Europe, he was in China. [Then] he coached his daughter’s middle school or high school team to a championship. He was here to work out when he got back from Europe playing, and then he’d come in through the summer. He’s been coming in on a regular basis. I do know that he wants to play, and that’s where we are.”

As for a potential contract offer to World Peace, Kupchak said, “We’ve got a couple more weeks [until training camp]. Our roster’s not complete. And we’ll just take it from there. Nothing’s imminent in terms of a signing anytime soon, but it’s hard not to watch a guy when he’s in your gym every day going up and down the court, working with young guys, playing hard. Part of me says he can still play, so I don’t know where we’re going to end up on it. But that’s kind of where it is.”

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Kupchak also gave a status update on Kobe Bryant‘s recovery from rotator cuff surgery, relaying that the team expects him to be ready to go once training camp commences, Amick adds in the same piece. “My understanding is that he’ll be ready for camp,” said Kupchak. “Knowing Kobe, he will try to participate in every practice in camp. But myself and [coach] Byron [Scott] are going to have something to say about that. So I’m sure there will be a practice or two or three where we won’t let him practice, but I do expect him to be full bore at camp.”
Unrestricted free agent small forward Renaldo Woolridge has also been working out at the team’s facility after spending a second consecutive Summer playing for the franchise’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Lakers currently have 17 players on their roster, so the franchise does have space to add the 25-year-old for training camp if they so desire. That number doesn’t include center Robert Upshaw, whose status with the team still remains unclear.
The Lakers have promoted Jesse Buss to assistant GM, Ryan West is now the Lakers’ director of player personnel, and assistant coach Clay Moser will additionally serve as director of basketball strategy, Pincus, writing for the Los Angeles Times, relays.

Western Notes: Bryant, Gates, Malone

September 8th, 2015 at 6:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Kobe Bryant entering the final year of his current deal, the Lakers were hampered by the Mamba’s $25MM salary when trying to rebuild their roster this offseason, and as a result this season will be more of a farewell tour for the superstar than a run at a final title, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes in his season preview of the club. Powell also notes that while Bryant has a reputation as someone willing to do anything to win a championship, if that was indeed the case he would have pushed to join a contender for what could end up being his final NBA campaign. So instead, Powell opines that Bryant is willing to win, but only on his terms.

Here’s more out of the West:

Former Pelicans assistant coach Bryan Gates, who wasn’t retained when Monty Williams was fired, has been added to Flip Saunders‘ staff with the Timberwolves, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter link).
New Nuggets coach Michael Malone acknowledged that he was consulted by the team’s front office prior to troubled point guard Ty Lawson being traded to the Rockets, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post writes. “We’re a team. There’s no separation between church and state,” Malone said of his relationship with Denver’s front office. “We’re together, we’re one, we communicate, and I think that’s so important. But at the end of the day, Tim’s [Connelly] job as GM is to make those decisions, obviously with the blessing of [team president] Josh Kroenke. They asked my opinion, I gave it, I tell him what I feel and believe in, and then whatever decision they make I roll with it.”
The Trail Blazers will have to take a committee approach to try and replace the rim protection that was lost when Robin Lopez departed for the Knicks in free agency this Summer, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes.

Pacific Rumors: Bryant, Kings, Rivers

August 31st, 2015 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant addressed their previous feuds as Lakers teammates and made it clear they now have an amicable relationship during a podcast hosted by O’Neal and his co-host John Kincade, with the transcript posted on the team’s website. O’Neal declared that his disagreements with Bryant gave both of them motivation to play their best. “I just want to clear the air and let everyone know that: No, I don’t hate you,” O’Neal said. “We had a lot of disagreements. We had a lot of arguments. But I think it fueled us.” Bryant reflected that his issues with O’Neal made him understand how to handle future problems with teammates. “To me, the most important thing was really to just keep your mouth shut. You don’t need to go to the press with stuff,” he said. “You keep it internal. We have our arguments and our disagreements, but I think having our debates within the press was something I wish would have been avoided. … But I enjoyed playing with him. I had a great, great, great time playing with him, and I appreciate it to this day.”

In other news around the Pacific Division:

The Lakers will “probably” sign one to three more players before training camp, a league source told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. That will apparently include Marcelo Huertas, who agreed to a one-year deal with the club on Monday. Metta World Peace has also discussed a contract with the team, Medina adds.
Vlade Divac has been named Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of the Kings amid a number of front office personnel moves announced by the club via the team’s website. Divac had been hired in March as the club’s VP of Basketball and Franchise Operations. Mike Bratz has been named Assistant GM, Roland Beech was hired as VP of Basketball Strategy and Data Science and former Kings player Peja Stojakovic was announced as Director of Player Personnel and Development.
Austin Rivers has signed with ASM Sports, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (Twitter link). Andy Miller and Andrew Vye will represent the Clippers guard. Earlier in the day, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that Clippers teammate DeAndre Jordan had dropped Relativity Sports agents Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana as his representatives.