Kobe Bryant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Kobe, Buss, Casspi, Suns

August 28th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers Executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss believes Kobe Bryant is worth his league-high $25MM salary this season after all he’s done for the franchise and said that while the team is operating on the premise that Bryant will retire at season’s end, he’d welcome him back with open arms if he’s willing to accept a role that fits his age and ability. Buss made his comments as part of an interview with Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, adding that he “feels like we’ve righted the ship” with coach Byron Scott and a new cast of key players, even if the team didn’t sign a star free agent this summer.

“It’s just that it takes time to build a core that guys want to play with,” Buss said to Pincus. “I understand a superstar doesn’t want to come in and say, ‘Oh, we still have two or three years of rebuilding.’ I think with Jordan Clarkson, [D’Angelo] Russell, [Julius] Randle, even [Roy] Hibbert … we’re getting a core of seven or eight players.”

See more on the Lakers amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:

Buss, also a part-owner of the team, has no regrets about pledging in April 2014 to resign from his basketball operations position if he couldn’t restore the Lakers to contention in three or four years, as he said to Pincus for the same piece. Buss’ sister Jeanie, the primary owner of the franchise, has said she’ll hold him to that pledge if the Lakers aren’t back in the Western Conference Finals by the spring of 2017. Still, the top goal for this season, Jim Buss said to Pincus, is identifying core players for the future, and not necessarily making the playoffs.
Omri Casspi cited DeMarcus Cousins, calling him the best center in the league in an interview with James Herbert of CBSSports.com, among the reasons why he decided to re-sign with the Kings this summer.
The Suns officially named Chris Jent the head coach of their one-to-one D-League affiliate, the franchise announced Thursday. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier this month that the sides were finalizing a deal. Jent had been Michael Malone‘s lead assistant with the Kings.

Pacific Notes: Weems, Bryant, Griffin

August 23rd, 2015 at 8:59am CST by ChrisCrouse

Matt Petersen of NBA.com chronicles Sonny Weems’ path back to the NBA after playing in the D-League and overseas. Weems was traded to the Nuggets during the 2008 draft and ending up playing most of his minutes in the D-League. In less than a year, the guard was traded twice. Once he received meaningful minutes for Toronto, he showed he belonged in the NBA. Then the lockout happened. Like quite a few NBA players, he signed overseas, but his contract was the only one not to contain an “out” clause. Once his contract expired, he signed a two-year contract with CSKA, but this time he made sure to secure an “out” clause. The Arkansas product was shooting better than 40% from behind the arc and he knew he would generate enough interest to use it.

The Suns signed Weems this offseason to help aid their bench unit and the 29-year-old couldn’t be happier. “Every basketball player growing up, their dream is to play in the NBA,” Weems said. “Now I’m back.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kobe Bryant is back on the court practicing shooting drills for the first time since tearing the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. Bryant is in the last year of his current deal, which will pay him $25MM.
The Clippers were able to improve their bench unit this summer with the additions of Lance Stephenson, Wesley Johnson and Josh Smith. The new arrivals should allow the team’s starters to get more rest during the regular season, which is something Blake Griffin sees as a huge advantage in the long run, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com writes. “It’ll help a lot,” Griffin said. “My third season in the league when we had that unbelievable bench, I think I dropped to like 32 minutes a game in the regular season…You definitely feel fresher toward the end, but you have to find that right balance of not holding back too much, being able to give everything. Having an elite bench is going to help us tremendously, especially come playoff time.”

Pacific Notes: Kobe, Clarkson, Jordan, Cauley-Stein

August 14th, 2015 at 11:41am CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant isn’t making any definitive statements about whether he’ll retire after this coming season, even though that seems the most likely outcome. It’s also uncertain whether he’ll play in the 2016 Olympics, but USA Basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo said Bryant told him he’d love to “ride off into the sunset” with Team USA next summer, providing he’s still playing well enough to earn a roster spot, observes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. While we wait to see if Bryant’s storied career has a storybook ending, see more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak envisions D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson in the team’s backcourt for the next 10-12 years, as he recently told SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link), and Clarkson sees that as a challenge to build on his breakout rookie season, as he said to Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. “If Mitch believes in us, we’re definitely trying to make that happen,” Clarkson said. “We’ve got to put our best foot forward if he believes in us like that and continue to work hard and put in great effort. Coach [Byron] Scott ain’t no easy guy to play for, so you’ve got to leave it all on the line when you play for him! So, we’ve just got to work hard and get better everyday and hopefully bring wins to the organization.”
DeAndre Jordan knows it’ll take time to heal the wounds that he inflicted on the hearts of the Mavs when he reneged on his agreement to sign with Dallas, but the Clippers center said earlier this week that he’d talked to Chandler Parsons and that they’ll remain cordial, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes. Parsons previously called Jordan’s flip-flop “very unethical and disrespectful.” “I understand the whole situation and I’d be a little iffy too,” Jordan said. “But we were friends before and after basketball. It’s something that I don’t think he’s too happy about, but at the same time, it’s basketball and it happened.”
No. 6 overall pick Willie Cauley-Stein has a quirky, one-of-a-kind personality, but Kings assistant coach John Welch lights up when talking about his performance in summer league, and Cauley-Stein tells James Herbert of CBSSports.com that Sacramento sees his unique manner as a plus. “The way I see it is, like, it was kind of meant to happen like that because [owner] Vivek [Ranadive] and [executive] Vlade [Divac] love the fact that I’m a bit of an artistic mind and I think outside of the box,” Cauley-Stein said. “They were really intrigued by that. That’s one of the main reasons why they chose me. So it worked out like that.”

Kobe Bryant On Retirement, Cap, Lakers

August 4th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant continued to leave the door ajar for playing beyond this coming season in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, saying that he thinks it’s a decision that he’ll need to make after this season is through and not before it. It jibes with what he said in March, when he wouldn’t rule out continuing to play but said he probably wouldn’t decide until his contract is up at season’s end.

“[GM Mitch Kupchak and I] haven’t set anything in stone and I’ve talked about it before. But could this be the last [season]? Absolutely,” Bryant said to Spears. “It’s tough to decide. It’s really tough to make those types of decisions. Players I have spoken to say, ‘Kobe, you will know.’”

The ability to tap into the rising cap next summer for a new contract will have “zero” bearing on his decision, Bryant told Spears. The 19-year veteran, who turns 37 this month, will once again make the NBA’s highest salary this season, with $25MM coming his way.

The end of his NBA career might not be the end of his time as a player, as Bryant said in response to a question that he can envision himself playing in Italy or China at some point. For now, Bryant is optimistic about the Lakers’ chances of making the playoffs and praised the team’s offseason, as Spears relays.

“They have really set themselves up for a promising future going on years.” Bryant said. “I think they drafted very well. The free agents that we picked are extremely solid, [Roy] Hibbert, [Brandon] Bass, Lou [Williams]. We have a very good mix of young and veteran leadership. The challenge is going to be blending the two and cutting down the learning curve. How quickly can we get going? How quickly can we bring up [D’Angelo] Russell, [Julius] Randle. [Jordan] Clarkson got valuable experience last year in playing that will benefit us tremendously. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to running with these young guns.”

Hibbert was a trade acquisition, not a free agent signing, but it nonetheless seems like Bryant is on board with what the front office is doing, and it appears that Bryant’s spirit of cooperation extends to the coaching staff, too. Lakers coach Byron Scott said recently that Bryant, who turns 37 this month, will probably see time at power forward, and while Spears asked Bryant’s thoughts about playing small forward, the Mamba made it clear that position matters little to him.

Kobe Bryant Notes: Minutes, Free Agents, Jackson

July 27th, 2015 at 9:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers can only use Kobe Bryant at power forward against Western Conference teams on a limited basis, Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk opines. Lakers coach Byron Scott plans to gives Bryant some minutes at power forward next season, as he told NBA.com’s David Aldridge. “There’s some games, against some teams, where he’ll probably play four,” Scott said. “With his tenaciousness, the way he guards people and when his mind is set, if I say ‘Kobe, you’ve got him,’ he takes that as a challenge.” Helin doubts Bryant will see much action there against some of the better Western Conference teams, pointing out that he cannot match up defensively with the likes of Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph, Dirk Nowitzki and Draymond Green. Scott will likely split up most of the minutes at power forward between Julius Randle and Brandon Bass, Helin concludes.

In other news regarding Bryant:

Bryant’s failure to reach out to the team’s newcomers is a non-issue for Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Bass were silent during their introductory press conference when asked if Bryant had contacted them. In a SiriusXM NBA Radio interview, Kupchak laughed off the controversy: “Kobe doesn’t call every single player we sign or trade for. I don’t even know if he’s in the country, to be honest with you. There was much made of it. But I thought it was kind of comical.” However, Bryant did attend FC Barcelona’s soccer practice last week in Los Angeles, Medina notes.
Knicks president and former Lakers coach Phil Jackson confirmed during a Q&A session with author Charley Rosen posted Monday on ESPN.com that Bryant has a lot of animosity toward him. “Yes, quite often I could feel his hatred,” Jackson told Rosen. “I’m sure Kobe was [upset] when I wrote in “The Last Season” that he was uncoachable. And, yes, we were often at loggerheads. He wanted more freedom and I wanted him to be more disciplined. This is a normal source of friction thing between coaches and players on just about every level of competition.”

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Smith, Hibbert

July 22nd, 2015 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

New Lakers Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass had an incredulous silence when asked in a press conference today whether they’d heard from new teammate Kobe Bryant, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com shows via Instagram. Indeed, none of the three have heard from or touched base with the Lakers star, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Forward Josh Smith said that he considered joining the Clippers last season after he was waived by the Pistons, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes. “It was an option,” Smith said. “It was a definite thought process and conversation I had with my family.” Smith instead signed with the Rockets, but now comes to Los Angeles on a one-year, minimum salary arrangement.
When asked why he chose to sign with the Clippers, Smith indicated that it came down to having a defined role, something he didn’t feel that he had in Houston, Melissa Rohlin of The Los Angeles Times relays. “We did some special things in Houston but it was more of a visual, concrete type of situation-scenario for me here,” Smith said. “When you have vision and it’s not kind of foggy on what’s your role and your purpose on the team, you got to make a decision you feel is best. My whole thing was I was looking at scenarios more so than being wowed by red-carpet layouts.”
New Lakers center Hibbert waived part of his 15% trade kicker to join the team, a move he considered a “no brainer” because the franchise made it known that they wanted him, something the Pacers did not do, Medina tweets. The big man gave back all but $78,185 of what otherwise would have been a $2.3MM payout for being dealt. Hibbert had moved to Los Angeles at the end of last season, knowing he would likely be dealt away from Indiana, though he didn’t know it would be to the Lakers, Oram adds (Twitter link).

Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Harden, Kobe

June 30th, 2015 at 5:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we learned that Greg Monroe is slated to meet with four teams this summer, including the Lakers. Monroe, who is looking for a two-year deal with an option, says he wants to play for a playoff-caliber team. The Lakers will try and convince Monroe that they are ready to win in 2015/16 as they duke it out with the Knicks, Bucks, and Trail Blazers. Here’s the latest out of L.A…

The Lakers are working to unload contracts to create significantly more salary cap space, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
An executive, presumably from another NBA team, who spoke with Baxter Holmes and Larry Coon of ESPN.com expects that former Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and James Harden will join the Lakers when they both become free to do so. That won’t be for a while, since Westbrook has two more years left on his deal and Harden has three remaining on his.
Kobe Bryant is expected to take part in the Lakers’ pitch meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge tonight, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). Kobe’s inclusion is not definite, he adds, but it is part of the plan at this time. In a full article, Amick says the meeting is also expected to include team president and governor Jeanie Buss, GM Mitch Kupchak, assistant general manager Glenn Carraro, coach Byron Scott, senior vice president of finance Tim Harris, as well as representatives from Time Warner Cable and AEG.
Magic Johnson, meanwhile, won’t be around for the Lakers’ initial free agent pitches, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Magic is currently on vacation in Europe and it’s unclear when he’ll return.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Bryant, Draft

May 27th, 2015 at 9:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough believes there is quite a talent dropoff in this year’s NBA Draft after the team’s pick at No. 13 overall, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. Phoenix hasn’t targeted a specific player, and if it retains the pick, will likely target the best player available, Coro adds. “As a non-playoff team, I think you need help everywhere,” McDonough said. “So we’ll take the best player, even if that goes against what some people think we should do in terms of conventional wisdom. I think, unless you’re a championship-level team, you always take the best available player. Our philosophy is if he’s better than the guys who are on your current roster, maybe he beats him out and you move one of the guys on your current roster. I think some mistakes, in the history of the draft, are made drafting for saying, ‘Oh, we need this. Let’s do the best player who does whatever.’ When you draft that guy, you tend to reach sometimes.”

Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Pacific Division:

McDonough also indicated that the Suns may be more willing to deal away their first round pick than in years past, Coro adds. “At some point, there is a saturation point for young players as you try to put together a team that is capable of competing and making the playoffs in the Western Conference,” McDonough said. “I think it [trading the pick] is something we’re more open to than in the past but, at the same time, we like the players that we think will be there at 13.“
In an radio appearance with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel), Jared Dudley spoke about NBA free agents not wanting to play with the Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant. Dudley said, “Most guys don’t want to play with Kobe. He gets in this thing where he doesn’t pass and then overpasses and then tries to get triple-doubles every night. …. That’s why I think it will be a while for the Lakers to get good because they’ve got no stars. I would be surprised if Kevin Love goes there.”
Former Minnesota guard Andre Hollins has a workout scheduled with the Clippers, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
The Kings have workouts scheduled for Friday with Corey Hawkins, Mikh McKinney, Shaquielle McKissic, Alan Williams, Charles Jackson, and Will Davis II, the team announced.

Western Notes: Westbrook, Bryant, Clarkson

May 24th, 2015 at 8:10pm CST by Will Joseph

Russell Westbrook, who is locked in with the Thunder through the 2016/17 season, evolved into a capable leader during a challenging campaign for the team, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. For the most part, Westbrook, who tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve, kept his composure in check after a preseason outburst, Mayberry adds. Westbrook led the league in scoring with 28.1 points per game and finished fourth in the MVP balloting. Westbrook said he was most pleased with his improved leadership from the stellar season.

““That was something I had to learn. I wouldn’t say it was forced. It was something I had to learn,” Westbrook said. “If I was playing well or not, still find a way to take myself out of the equation and constantly keep helping other guys on the team. That was a huge part of me and my leadership and the biggest part of what I learned about myself [and want] to carry over to the next season.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak reiterated to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that next year will likely be Kobe Bryant‘s last, but left the door open for the star beyond that. “I’m sure that’s something that will be discussed a year from now,” Kupchak said. Kupchak signaled that next year would be it for Bryant on Thursday in a radio appearance with Rick Fox and Jared Greenberg on SiriusXM NBA Radio (audio links). Bryant hasn’t ruled out playing beyond next season, and said in March that he would probably hold off on a decision until after the 2015/16 campaign.
Kupchack said Lakers rookie guard Jordan Clarkson compares similarly in terms of athleticism and style of play to Westbrook in a radio appearance with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd, as relayed by Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. “If there’s a player in the league that plays like him, it’s Russell Westbrook,” Kupchak said. “Now, I’m not saying for a second that Jordan Clarkson is the next Russell Westbrook, but he’s that kind of a ball-handling guard.” The Lakers acquired Clarkson with the 46th pick in last year’s draft, and he earned considerable playing time last season because of injuries, as Holmes points out. Clarkson averaged 15.8 points per game on 45.8% shooting, with 5.0 assists per game and 4.2 rebounds per game in 38 games as a starter.
Steven Adams, who played so well this season that the Thunder said he was off-limits at the deadline, displayed some growth in his second season in the league and showed defensive versatility, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman writes.

Mitch Kupchak On Kobe, Draft, Trades

May 22nd, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant has signaled to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak that the 2015/16 season will be his last as an NBA player, as the GM relayed Thursday in a radio appearance with Rick Fox and Jared Greenberg on SiriusXM NBA Radio (audio links), and as Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com passes along. Bryant hasn’t ruled out playing beyond next season, Holmes notes, and said in March that he would probably hold off on a decision until after the 2015/16 campaign is through. Still, if there’s a free agent who would hesitate to sign with the Lakers because he’s worried about the presence of Bryant for one or more seasons, that free agent “should go someplace else,” Kupchak said. The GM said on the radio with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd (audio link) that it “looks as though” the Lakers will keep the No. 2 overall pick, but he also made it clear that it’s not a foregone conclusion, as Holmes writes in a separate piece. Kupchak had much more to say in his radio spots, as Holmes transcribes. Both pieces are worth a read for Lakers diehards, but we’ll hit the highlights here:

On Kobe Bryant:

“He’s on the last year of a deal. There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don’t think there will be. He’s indicated to me that this is it. A year from now, if there’s something different to be discussed, then it will be discussed then. I talk to him from time to time … and he is recovering. He’s running. He’s getting movement and strength in the shoulder. We expect a full recovery, but yeah, he’s much closer to the end than to the beginning.”

On the strength of this year’s draft class:

“I do think that there are four or five players that are very, very good, and when you look back on [the draft] 10 years from now, I think they could all be All-Stars. But I don’t think there’s anybody that next year will lead a team to champagne in June. If that does happen, particularly with us, then we’ll have to get lucky in the offseason, particularly with free agency. Kobe is going to have to come back and be very healthy, which I understand he’s on track for. But I don’t think right now that there’s anybody who can make that kind of difference right away.”

On whether perimeter players have become more important than big men:

“You could argue that. The jury is still out, but you could argue that, and there’s no doubt that the game that’s being played today is very different from the game that was played eight to 10 years ago. It’s the three-point shots, the drive-and-kick [style]. Now, the teams that have had great success still have centers. San Antonio, they’ve done pretty well with a center there. Memphis has a great center. Although they didn’t advance this year, they have an excellent team. Golden State, they don’t use their center to score points, but they still have a 7-foot, 7-foot-1 guy. So you still need size in this league. You need a rim protector. A guy that takes space. A guy to pass the ball to run the offense through.”

On the value of moving up to the No. 2 pick in the lottery:

“Let’s just say there was a team that had the fifth or sixth or seventh pick, and they wanted to go to No. 2. In that area of the draft, just to move up two or three or four slots, normally, it’s hard to do. And the price that that team would pay would be high, because they’ve targeted a player that they really want. Obviously the other team would know that, and they would have to pay for that.”