Kobe Bryant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Sloan, Phil, Nash

January 30th, 2014 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

During Friday night’s game against Golden State, the Jazz will honor former head coach Jerry Sloan by raising a banner with the number “1223” embroidered on it, which denotes the total number of wins (regular season and playoffs) he helped deliver to Utah over his coaching career. Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune caught up with former Jazz and current Nets guard Deron Williams to get his current thoughts on Sloan:

“A big part of my success early in my career was due to him and the things he kind of instilled in me…So I’m definitely happy for him, and it’s going to be a special moment. The fans there just love him to death.” Williams also elaborated on the halftime argument with Sloan several years ago which reportedly triggered the former coach’s resignation:

“We got into a little argument — nothing more than we’ve ever done…So the way the fans perceive it is just one thing I can’t really control. Like I said, there’s no hard feelings on my end, and I enjoyed playing for him. I miss playing for him.”

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

During an appearance on NBA TV, former Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that while he agreed with the decision to give Kobe Bryant a two-year extension, he also thinks the team “paid him more than I would have gone for” (Bill Oram of the OC Register via Twitter).
Oram also wrote about Steve Nash‘s return to practice today, noting that the former MVP is eight days away from celebrating his 40th birthday. Nash hasn’t had much to celebrate about since arriving in Los Angeles, and was candid about his frustration with injuries: “This is the toughest thing I’ve been through in my career…I came to L.A. with nothing but the highest hopes and expectations, and it’s been nothing but personal disappointment.”
Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles has more from Nash: “Ever since I broke my leg, nothing’s been the same. Nothing’s been easy. But I also look for challenges in life, so this is a great opportunity for me to learn about myself and try to fight through it and hopefully on the other side, I’ll be a better person.”
Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune discussed his thoughts on the Timberwolves’ struggles: “At times they have no energy whatsoever…They need a great point guard, and (Ricky Rubio) is not a great point guard.” Rubio is averaging 8.5 PPG, 8.2 APG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.6 SPG on the season, but Hartman appeared to imply that Rubio’s struggle to score points in the fourth quarter is a glaring weakness.
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley may not have been selected to the All-Star team this year, but opposing coaches know his value, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Subscribers only).
Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders presents his list of this year’s All-Star snubs from the Western Conference.

Lakers Links: Kobe, Harris

January 23rd, 2014 at 7:14pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Although he had been voted into his 16th All-Star Game by the fans, Kobe Bryant told Bill Oram of the OC Register among others that he has no plans of participating even if he returns to play for the Lakers before then. If the NBA chooses to make him play, Kobe said: “Back ups will be playing a lot, because I’ll go in there, do my two minutes and sit down” (Twitter links). As many relayed on Twitter, including ESPN LA’s Dave McMenamin, Kobe would like to see younger and more deserving guards get the nod to play:

“With all due respect to the fans that voted me in…you (have) to reward these young guys for the work that they’ve been putting in.”

Here’s more out of the purple-and-gold side of Los Angeles tonight:

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times points out that there isn’t an official rule which requires a healthy player to participate in the All-Star Game and suggests there’ll be a compromise, pointing to the event in 2008 in which Kobe played just under three minutes because of a torn ligament in his pinkie. The Lakers superstar is yet to make a return to the active list, and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports says that Kobe doesn’t plan to follow up with a doctor until the first week of February (All Twitter links).
Head coach Mike D’Antoni says the team will wait until Saturday to make a decision on guard Manny Harris, notes Oram (via Twitter). Harris, who is currently signed to a 10-day contract, has reportedly drawn high praise from D’Antoni.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles writes about why the Lakers and their fans alike shouldn’t accept tanking at all.

Draft & D-League Notes: Kobe, Embiid, Bennett

January 18th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

Instead of coming back and playing for the Lakers chances to play in June for a 17th NBA Championship, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times thinks Kobe Bryant should “play for June” by not coming back from his injury this season and hurting the Lakers June draft position. Plaschke believes the Lakers chances of winning it all this season are impossible so any improvement Kobe would bring hurts their draft chances this summer.

A few other notes about players that will be playing in the NBA for years to come.

Joel Embiid is a player that has rapidly climbed in draft stock this season. One person whose draft board he hasn’t risen on is Bill Self, his coach at Kansas, and that’s because he has always been at the top of Self’s draft board. Self told Eric Prisbell of USA TODAY that he informed Embiid the moment he stepped on campus that he would be the No. 1 pick, whenever Embiid decided to come out (Twitter link).
The Rockets have called up Robert Covington from their D-League affiliate according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The rookie scored 33 points Friday for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and was on Houston’s active roster Saturday night. Coming into tonight, Covington had yet to log any minutes in the NBA.
Someone who may be heading to the D-League is Cavaliers rookie Anthony Bennett. According to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald, Cleveland needs to send Bennett to their D-League affiliate in order to rectify what has gone wrong this season.

Kobe Won’t Sit Out For Rest Of Season

January 17th, 2014 at 8:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Some people, including Lakers legend Magic Johnson, have said that Kobe Bryant should shut things down for the remainder of the season given his injuries, health, and the Lakers’ position at this stage of the year. However, the Black Mamba told reporters today, including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter), that he has no plans of spending the rest of the year on the sidelines.

Bryant said that he will be reevaluated in February and could be back on the hardwood if he gets the greenlight from doctors at that point, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. The Lakers could drift well below the .500 mark between now and then but Bryant says that “his job” is to play, period, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

Bryant and the Lakers agreed to a two-year, $48.5MM extension back in November.

Kupchak On Bryant, Gasol, Free Agency, Draft

January 11th, 2014 at 6:34pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

Earlier today, Lakers’ General Manager Mitch Kupchak spoke to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com regarding questions every Lakers fan has seemed to ask so far this season. It is a great read for anyone interested in the direction the Lakers are headed in the near future. Here are a few takeaways from the discussion.

It was no coincidence at the beginning of this season that the Lakers’ payroll aligned to only have Steve Nash under contract beyond this season. Kupchak and the Lakers made a conscious decision to plan their roster this way so they could take a fresh look at everyone on their roster. Kupchak’s didn’t want to fall in the same trap as other championship teams who sign star players a few years beyond their prime. Although extending Kobe Bryant was a diversion from this plan, Kupchak believes the Lakers still have plenty of flexibility to sign a max contract free agent each of the next two summers.
Which free agent the Lakers pursue is still up in the air because according to Kupchak, the league is “too competitive” to plan for one player’s contract actions. Kupchak did hint however that if the 2014 free agent market doesn’t turn out like he hopes the Lakers may not sign a maximum contract player this summer and instead wait until the 2015 or 2016 free agent markets.
Looking at the young players on the team, Kupchak credited his familiarity with watching the college careers of Xavier Henry and Kendall Marshall as selling points in signing both of them this season. For Nick Young, it was the conversations between his agent, Mark Bartelstein, and Kupchak that sold Young on the Lakers as a place he could thrive with playing time and style of play. Kupchak would like to continue giving Young playing time as he hopes Nick will opt in to his player option this summer and become “a Laker for a long time”.
On an older player on the roster, Pau Gasol, Kupchak thinks he is having a great year given the circumstances. Gasol never planned to return from major surgery to a Lakers lineup sans Bryant, Steve Nash, and Steve Blake but has handled it well according to Kupchak. Regarding Gasol’s upcoming free agency, Kupchak knows Pau will have other offers but thinks if all things remain constant, Gasol would “love to continue to play here, and we’d love to have him here”. He also believes Gasol is bound for the Hall of Fame.
On the luxury tax, Kupchak said the “ownership here has never been afraid to be in the tax.” He also agreed with Trudell that the luxury tax is a major factor to be aware of but for the Lakers it is not a black and white line they aren’t allowed to cross.
Regarding next summer’s draft, Kupchak thinks the first 10 players drafted will be as “good as [he’s] seen in a long time”. Kupchak also noted he prepares for every draft so that he could make every pick, 1 through 60.

California Notes: Kobe, Jackson, Thomas

December 25th, 2013 at 8:56am CST by Charlie Adams

Merry Christmas from Hoops Rumors! There’s plenty of NBA action set to take place today, including an intriguing matchup between the Heat and Lakers. In the preseason, this game was billed as a would-be face-off in Los Angeles between LeBron James and a recently having-returned Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately, Bryant finds himself sidelined once again and won’t be playing anytime soon. This will mark the first time time that Bryant has missed a game on Christmas since 1991. Let’s take a look at a few NBA notes from within the state of California..

Ramona Shelburne over at ESPNLosAngeles.com examines how different the Lakers are without Bryant, and not just for his on-court heroics. She points to his strong leadership and work ethic that are missed by teammates and goes on to suggest that in his absence, the club has struggled to find its identity.
Matt Barnes was a “big advocate” of Stephen Jackson signing with the Clippers, reports Eric Patten of Clippers.com. Barnes and Jackson are good friends and have a similar hard-nosed demeanor on the court. They were teammates in Golden State for several years but haven’t found themselves playing together since the conclusion of the 2007/08 NBA season.
Ailene Voisin from the Sacramento Bee writes that despite being the last pick in the 2011 draft, Isaiah Thomas has outperformed all the other players who have competed to be the starting point guard for the Kings, including Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette, Aaron Brooks, and Greivis Vasquez. Says Thomas: “I’ve always had to prove something… I still look at getting picked last as being disrespected. Some teams passed on me twice. The Lakers had four picks and passed on me four times. The questions, all that stuff, it just motivates me.”

Lakers Notes: Kobe, Gasol, Meeks

December 20th, 2013 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Kobe Bryant‘s knee injury doesn’t affect the Lakers’ short- or long-term picture, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who writes that the team wasn’t going to make the playoffs this season either way and was already locked into Kobe’s two-year extension. In his latest Lakers-centric piece, Lowe writes that he’s talked to “dozens” of GMs, execs, coaches, and scouts around the league about Kobe’s new deal, and while some acknowledge that it makes business sense, none have been willing to call it a good contract. Here’s more on the Lakers:

While it makes sense for the Lakers to gauge Pau Gasol‘s market value, Lowe notes that there are plenty of roadblocks to finding a logical trade partner, including Pau’s $19MM+ salary and L.A.’s desire not to take on long-term money. Lowe mentions the Cavaliers, Bobcats, Suns as potential players for Gasol, though it sounds like he’s speculating about the possible fit rather than reporting any actual discussions. Ultimately, the Lakers may be better off holding on to Pau and re-signing him to a two-year contract, says Lowe.
As he faces another six weeks of recovery time, Bryant tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that “only an idiot” would doubt his ability to return from his latest injury.
Jodie Meeks will draw interest in free agency next summer and figures to earn a raise on this year’s $1.55MM salary if he continues to play well. However, if it’s up to him, the 26-year-old guard would “love to be a Laker for a long time,” as he says to Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
Faced with a scarcity of options at the point, the Lakers reached an agreement with 2012 lottery pick Kendall Marshall and made the signing official today.

Lakers May Soon Acquire Point Guard

December 19th, 2013 at 7:06pm CST by Luke Adams

7:06pm: Pincus reveals in his full story that Mike D’Antoni has acknowledged the Lakers will probably need to add a point guard: “We’ll talk with [GM Mitch Kupchak]” said D’Antoni after practice on Thursday. “We’re looking but we don’t want to just get anybody.” Pincus notes that free agents Darius Morris and Chris Duhon played for D’Antoni in LA last season, but the writer also sees Jamaal Tinsley, Sebastian Telfair, and Shannon Brown as potential targets (among others).

More than likely, the Lakers will use their open roster spot to add a player on a non-guaranteed deal. “That’s what you [probably] do,” said Kupchak. “It’s actually more flexibility [than a 10-day contract].” Regardless, players can’t sign 10-day deals until January 6th, and the Lakers can’t afford to wait that long with Bryant, Blake, Farmar, and Nash all sidelined.

3:30pm: The Lakers are considering adding a guard, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.

3:01pm: The Lakers’ backcourt took two more devastating hits today, as the team announced that Kobe Bryant will miss the next six weeks, while Steve Nash won’t return to action for at least four more weeks. According to the Lakers (Twitter link), Bryant suffered a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee.

Steve Blake was already expected to miss another several weeks while he recovers from a torn UCL, and Jordan Farmar will be out for at least a few more days before being reevaluated next Tuesday. A report yesterday indicated that L.A. wasn’t in the market for a point guard, but as the injuries continue to pile up, you have to wonder how long the club can go without adding a healthy body to its backcourt, if only for insurance purposes. Coach Mike D’Antoni suggested Xavier Henry would take over point guard duties for the Lakers for now (Twitter link).

As our list of roster counts shows, the Lakers have an open 15th spot, and also have three players on non-guaranteed contracts, so the team has the flexibility to add a free agent. Contracts don’t become fully guaranteed for about another three weeks, so the Lakers could add a short-term replacement with the intention of waiving that player by January 7th.

Western Notes: Lakers, O’Neal, Rush

December 12th, 2013 at 6:40pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As we noted earlier, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant – who has started at the shooting guard and small forward position over his first two games back, respectively – will now be expected to handle point guard duties while the team’s whole rotation at point guard deals with injuries. His first test will come against Thunder guard Russell Westbrook on Friday, and while Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times isn’t so sure if Bryant will be up to that type of challenge this soon into his return, the team doesn’t seem to have much of a choice.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

Although he listed some names expected to be on the Lakers’ radar earlier, Pincus also tweeted that as of now, the front office hasn’t decided on a course of action yet and will “tough it out” for the time being.
While it’s not within our scope to focus on injury rumors, it’s still worth noting that Warriors big man Jermaine O’Neal is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, and a timetable for his return will be determined after the surgery, the team announced (Twitter links). However, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets that the procedure would likely end the 35-year-old veteran’s season and career.
Jazz guard Brandon Rush recently met with head coach Tyrone Corbin to hash out some of his frustrations about a lack of playing time, writes Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune: “It’s been really frustrating because I’ve worked hard…I wanted to be able to get some minutes and help the team out… (but) I had a good talk with Coach…He let me know what the deal was.” Corbin later told the media that he’s just trying to get Rush to play without apprehension.
In another piece, Falk describes how Marvin Williams has been an invaluable role player for Utah when he’s been able to find court time.

Odds & Ends: Bryant, Rose, Crawford, Hawes

December 6th, 2013 at 5:00pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kobe Bryant took to Facebook to announce he will make his long awaited season debut this Sunday, rejoining the Lakers to face the Raptors in Los Angeles. Bryant has been sidelined since last April but that didn’t stop him from signing a controversial $48.5MM extension late in November. Here are a couple more tidbits from Friday afternoon:

Recently injured Bulls superstar Derrick Rose has yet to decide whether or not he will play for Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. “I haven’t really thought about it,” Rose said. “That would be a good idea, but if I’m not ready, there’s no need.” The Bulls have said they would support him playing in the FIBA World Cup if it aided in his rehabilitation process. K.C. Johnson from the Chicago Tribune has the details.
Trading Jordan Crawford represents an alternative to dealing away Rajon Rondo if the Celtics are adamant about deflating this season’s record and pursuing a high draft pick, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examines in an Insider piece.
Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News figures Spencer Hawes will see $8MM in annual salary on his next contract if he maintains his performance from the first month of the season.
Kenny Kadji has inked a deal to play in Germany with the New Yorker Phantoms, notes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Kadji went undrafted out of the University of Miami and failed to make the Cavaliers‘ opening day roster out of training camp.
Dale Kasler from the Sacramento Bee has the latest on the Kings’ project for a new arena. City officials will vote on whether or not to suspend bid requirements for the arena, saying competitive-bid procedures will impede the current construction schedule. Kasler points out that if the construction falls behind more than one year, the NBA reserves the right to relocate the Kings from Sacramento.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.