Lance Stephenson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Martin, Howard, Green

February 18th, 2016 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Trail Blazers didn’t want to part with any of their young core of players at this year’s trade deadline, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. “We went into the trade deadline trying to be opportunistic,” Portland president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told Freeman. “We wanted to gather assets. Clearly this group is really overachieving. There’s a lot of young guys that have a future and we wanted to make sure we were giving them the chance to win. We didn’t want to touch the core group of guys that have exceeded expectations. [Coach] Terry [Stotts] is comfortable with those guys, they’re doing what we need them to do on the court. But we need things in the future to continue to build the roster and that’s what we did today.”

There is a chance that the team will re-sign Tim Frazier, who was waived earlier today, Freeman adds. “Tim was a casualty. He’s been great for us,” Olshey said. “He’s great in the locker room, he’s close with our guys. We told him, ‘Look, if we don’t have an opportunity to add another player at your position, we would look at bringing you back if you clear waivers.’ I can’t speak to that right now. But at the time he was the most viable candidate to be waived to create the roster spot for Anderson Varejao.” Varejao was subsequently waived by Portland.

Here’s more from out West:

Timberwolves GM Milt Newton said the team hasn’t discussed a potential buyout arrangement with shooting guard Kevin Martin but added that it’s a conversation that will probably come up in the near future, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). Martin, who possesses a player option worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, was reportedly a trade deadline target of the Knicks, but the teams didn’t strike a deal. The 33-year-old has appeared in 35 games for Minnesota this season and is averaging 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.6 minutes per night.
The Grizzlies‘ players have let team management know that they don’t want newly acquired swingman Lance Stephenson waived, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey noted that the team never came close to trading center Dwight Howard, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter links). “It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said. “Part of my job is I have to explore everything. We believe in James [Harden] and Dwight together.“
Numerous teams were interested in Howard, but any deal was contingent on the big man agreeing to opt in next season, something Howard wasn’t keen on, relays Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forgo free agency. Dwight declined,” Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, said.
Point guard Erick Green has officially rejoined the Reno Bighorns following the expiration of his second 10-day pact with the Jazz, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Reno is the D-League affiliate of the Kings.
The Jazz have assigned big man Tibor Pleiss to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Pleiss’ fourth stint in the D-League on the season.

Clippers, Magic Discuss Channing Frye Trade

February 18th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Eddie Scarito

11:34pm: The Clippers have yet to commit to any deal on this front, as Wojnarowski hears, and they’re expected to stand pat and sign a D-League big man instead, according to Vertical colleague Marc J. Spears (Twitter links). That gives the Cavs a strong chance to swoop in and nab Frye, Wojnarowski says.

WEDNESDAY, 8:15am: The Magic would move Stephenson elsewhere if they acquire him, sources tell TNT’s David Aldridge. That suggests the team would trade him rather than waive him.

7:37pm: The Clippers are discussing a bigger deal involving Stephenson’s contract, which has placed talks with Orlando temporarily on hold, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). Stephenson would be waived if acquired by the Magic, the scribe notes.

7:21pm: The Clippers would send Lance Stephenson, C.J. Wilcox and possibly a second-rounder to Orlando in return, Wojnarowski relays (Twitter links). Los Angeles is also engaged in talks with another team regarding Stephenson, which puts any trade with Orlando on hold temporarily, the Vertical scribe adds. There are also a number of teams interested in Frye, including the Cavaliers, Wojnarowski also notes (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 7:16pm: The Clippers and Magic are closing in on agreement that would send power forward Channing Frye to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). It is unclear who or what would be heading to Orlando in return for the veteran stretch-four.

The Magic have been trying to trade Frye, according to an earlier report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who suggested the effort to find a taker for the 32-year-old would accelerate now that the team has traded Tobias Harris, Frye’s cousin, to the Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings. Frye is making more than $8.193MM this season, with about $7.8MM coming next season and $7.4MM in 2017/18, the final year of his deal.

The 32-year-old has disappointed since Orlando signed him to a four year deal during the summer of 2014. He has appeared in 44 games this season, including 29 as a starter, and is averaging just 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per night. His career averages are 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist, and Frye owns a career slash line of .438/.387/.820.

Cavaliers Consider Trading Anderson Varejao

February 17th, 2016 at 9:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:43pm: The Magic aren’t interested in taking on Varejao’s contract, but they are thinking about sending Frye to Cleveland for a trade exception, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The Cavaliers have a $10.5MM exception — enough to absorb Frye’s $8.2MM salary — they got from trading Brendan Haywood to the Blazers last summer. However, the Cavs don’t want to add Frye unless they can offload Varejao somehow, Wojnarowski writes.

Orlando is growing tired of waiting for a decision from the Clippers, who say they need until Thursday morning to decide whether to give up Lance Stephenson, C.J. Wilcox and a second-round pick in exchange for Frye, Wojnarowski reports.

Varejao still has two years and nearly $19MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract. Wojnarowski confirms that Cleveland is looking for a teams with cap space like Philadelphia or Portland to take Varejao in a three-team deal. The third team could expect to get cash and draft picks in return. If the Cavaliers were to take on Frye’s contract without getting rid of Varejao’s, it would push their estimated luxury tax bill from $61MM to nearly $96MM.

L.A. has been looking at other trades to get rid of Stephenson’s contract, which pays him $9MM this year and $9.4MM next season, Wojnarowski reports. If the Orlando deal goes through, the Magic are expected to waive or trade him.

7:04pm: The Magic don’t plan to accept Cleveland’s offer of Varejao for Frye, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

6:17pm: Cleveland has offered Varejao to Orlando in exchange for stretch four Channing Frye, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Cavaliers are hoping to trump reported trade talks between the Magic and Clippers.

4:17pm: The Cavaliers are considering a deal involving veteran power forward Anderson Varejao, tweets Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. He mentions the Blazers and Sixers as possible trade partners.

Varejao has been with Cleveland for his entire 12-year NBA career. He has appeared in just 31 games this season and is averaging 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time.

Varejao is signed through the 2017/18 season. He makes $9,638,554 this year and is due to get $10,361,446 in 2016/17, but only $9,361,446 of that is guaranteed. His $10MM salary for 2017/18 is non-guaranteed, but he will receive a $4.5MM guarantee if he is on a roster through August 1st of next year. Varejao’s contract includes a 5% trade kicker.

A Varejao deal could be connected to a rumored swap for the Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson that Isola also reported. Only the Blazers have enough cap room to take on Varejao without worrying about the league’s salary-matching rules.

Pacific Notes: Griffin, Schlenk, Nance

February 15th, 2016 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers told ESPN’s Chris Broussard that there isn’t truth to the idea that his team offered Blake Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic, as a source who spoke with the reporter had said earlier. Broussard relayed the exchange in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” show (audio link; scroll to 6-minute mark), adding that the source had told him the Nuggets turned down the offer out of concern that Griffin would opt out and leave in free agency after next season. That jibes with an earlier report from Mitch Lawrence of Forbes, who indicated 10 days ago that the Clippers had engaged the Nuggets in talks about Griffin, though Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported shortly thereafter that the Clippers had no interest in trading their star power forward, a refrain that Rivers repeated in the days that followed. See more from the Pacific Division:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is known to be high on Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee amid a piece that argues the Kings should bring in an experienced front office hand to work beneath GM Vlade Divac. Sacramento reportedly interviewed Schlenk for the lead front office role in 2013, and he was believed to be one of the candidates to fill former GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s chair in Divac’s front office this past summer.
The Kings anticipate making a minor move at Thursday’s trade deadline, Voisin writes in the same column, speculating that such a trade could involve Marco Belinelli or Ben McLemore going out for draft picks or a wing defender.
Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports lists Larry Nance Jr. alongside Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell among those the Lakers should refuse to trade and instead make the focal point of their rebuilding efforts.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Stephenson, Randle

January 31st, 2016 at 10:31am CST by ChrisCrouse

Golden State sits atop the Pacific Division with a record of 43-4, which is tied for the best 47 game start in NBA history. The Warriors beat the lowly Sixers in dramatic fashion on Saturday night by a score of 108-105 on a last second buzzer-beater by Harrison Barnes, who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The team will take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden tonight, and as the Warriors await their next opponent, let’s take a look at some notes from their foes in the Pacific Division:

Markieff Morris views this year’s Suns differently than the 2012/13 team that lost 57 games, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “Three years ago, when we were losing, we still were having fun,” Morris said. “It was just put together the wrong way. Now, it’s more like a rebuilding type of thing. We’re playing a bunch of young guys. It’s hard because it’s something different every game. Back then, we had a bunch of talented guys but some guys didn’t fit in. It’s a tough situation.” Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Morris as a trade candidate earlier this month.
The Clippers may opt to give offseason addition Lance Stephenson a bigger role with Blake Griffin sidelined, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I still say he’s going to help us,” coach Doc Rivers said of Stephenson, who was the subject of trade chatter earlier this season. “But I just like his spirit. He’s ready every night, he wants to play. He’s been a great team guy.” The 25-year-old had an impressive game against the Lakers on Friday night, accumulating 16 points and five rebounds while shooting 6 for 7 from the field.
Julius Randle is showing signs of improvement and Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders believes he is one of the most promising young power forwards in the NBA. Randle is pulling down 9.7 rebounds per game, which is good for 12th most in the league this season.

And-Ones: Bryant, Clippers, Heat, Celtics

January 24th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kobe Bryant still believes that AAU basketball is hurting the game, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. “I hate it because it doesn’t teach our players how to play the right way, how to think the game, how to play in combinations of threes,” Bryant said following the Lakers’ loss to the Blazers on Saturday. The 37-year-old added that he is thankful for his international upbringing. “My generation is when AAU basketball really started [to go downhill],” Bryant said. “I got lucky because I grew up in Europe and everything there was still fundamental, so I learned all the basics.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

If the Clippers are going to trade away Chris Paul, the only plausible scenario would be sending him to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com argues in a piece that examines the team’s most valuable trade assets.
Lance Stephenson is the Clipper who is most likely to be traded, Pelton opines in the same piece. The shooting guard has played just a total of 41 minutes in the month of January and the team reportedly feels it would be better off in the long run if it could unload the 25-year-old. Pelton suggests that the team look to deal Stephenson to the Suns for P.J. Tucker or to the Blazers for Gerald Henderson.
Making a push for the playoffs is the only option for the Heat, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel argues. The team will send its first-round pick to the Sixers if it falls outside the top 10. If the pick does not convey, Philadelphia will receive Miami’s 2017 first-round pick regardless of where it lands, and Winderman believes that is a scenario to avoid due to the uncertainty surrounding this team during the upcoming offseason. Hassan Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent. Dwyane Wade, who will turn 35 next season, will also be a free agent and it’s unclear how much of a burden that he will be able to carry should he re-sign with Miami.
The Celtics have recalled R.J. Hunter, Terry Rozier and James Young from the D-League Maine Red Claws, per the team’s Twitter feed.

Pacific Notes: Smith, Stephenson, Hibbert, Crawford

January 19th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers feel as though they’d be better in the long run if they could trade offseason acquisitions Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson, who are dissatisfied with their respective roles on the team, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says in a video dispatch (scroll to three-minute mark) that echoes his report from December. The team apparently gauged their value on the trade market as far back as November, though coach/executive Doc Rivers denied it. In any case, Bucher and Bleacher Report colleague Howard Beck identify the Clippers, Bulls and Lakers as likely sellers, with the Kings and Rockets set to become buyers at the trade deadline. Sacramento has been “active and aggressive,” according to Bucher. See more from the Pacific Division:

Roy Hibbert likes L.A. and has maintained a professional demeanor throughout a losing season, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The Lakers are reportedly trying to find a trade that would send Hibbert to a playoff team. The center acknowledges that it hasn’t been easy this year after playing on much more successful teams in Indiana. “It’s rough,” Hibbert said. “The skeletons are there to be a really good team. It’s just not going the way we want it to be. You see glimpses but it’s been rough.”
Jamal Crawford cited familiarity and the desire for a “pit bull” negotiator for his recent decision to rehire agent Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management, having moved on from a brief time with the Wasserman Media Group, the agency he hired in the offseason. TNT’s David Aldridge has the details in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Clippers sixth man is poised for free agency in the summer.
Draymond Green has far surpassed expectations, and in addition to his own effort, he’s been fortunate to arrive in the NBA just as small-ball truly took off and to land with a Warriors franchise that believes in him, as Steve Aschburner of NBA.com examines. “Obviously I’m blessed to be here in a situation with Golden State where what I brought to the team was needed,” Green said. “And appreciated. I know that’s important. Sometimes going to a certain franchise can ruin a career if you’re not with the right team. I was blessed to come to a great situation. A great franchise that appreciated the way that I do. So I’ve been able to become the player I’ve become.”

Pacific Notes: Stephenson, Rondo, Karl, Suns

December 21st, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers are fourth in the Western Conference, but at 16-12, they’re not looking nearly as dominant as they hoped after an offseason of upgrades, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times examines. They only have five wins against teams with winning records, Bolch notes.

“You’ve got to be honest with yourself as a team,” Griffin said. “I think this is the point of the season where either something’s got to change or we’re not going to put ourselves in a good position come playoff time.”

It’s clear that whatever the Clippers are doing right now isn’t working, posits Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. See more on the Clips amid our look at the Pacific Division:

In spite of the general disappointment about the team’s performance, coach/executive Doc Rivers has expressed satisfaction with Lance Stephenson, who was recently implicated in trade rumors that Rivers denied, as Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link). “You don’t know a guy until you coach guy or meet a guy,” Rivers said Friday in praise of the swingman with a reputation for volatile personality.
Rajon Rondo and George Karl don’t always see eye to eye, Karl admits, adding that the conflict isn’t alarming, and Rondo is eager to have more meetings with Karl and other key figures on the team, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think he enjoys my philosophies a little bit,” Karl said of the soon-to-be free agent point guard. “Not 100% in agreement, but I’ve always had wrestling matches with most of my point guards – and this is not a bad wrestling match – but we do have our wrestling match going on.”
The Suns are dealing with more internal strife than they’re letting on, and that transcends the questions regarding the future of Markieff Morris, according to former Suns front office hand Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com, who wrote in a roundtable piece Friday. The team lacks togetherness, ESPN’s Marc Stein observed in the same piece, and they’re active in trade talks, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com noted.

And-Ones: Sixers, Stephenson, Anderson

December 10th, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

No one in the NBA expects Sixers GM Sam Hinkie will have the ability to overrule chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo on the team’s personnel decisions going forward, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. It was around the time of Jahlil Okafor‘s autumn off–court incidents that Sixers owner Josh Harris and commissioner Adam Silver first spoke about what one source described to Berger as a “course correction” for the team. Harris asked Silver for advice, and the commissioner gave him a list of people, with Colangelo’s name on top, to consider for the new front office role the owner was considering, Berger explains. Silver reached out to Colangelo to measure his interest in joining the Sixers, introduced him to Harris, and let them work it out from there, league sources said to Berger. We passed along more earlier today on the Colangelo hiring, and we’ll share news from around the league here:

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denies that he’s reached out to any teams about trading Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith, but Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher (video link) hears the Clippers are anxious to move the two. Stephenson and Smith are frustrated with their roles, Bucher adds. “That’s silly talk. Nothing. No truth,” Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, in response to an initial report that the Clippers had gauged the interest that other teams have in trading for them.
Virtually no trade market exists for Stephenson, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece, and the Clippers would have to attach another player to him in any viable trade proposal, one league source said to Kyler. A feeling exists that the Clippers would be willing to take on a sizable contract via trade, so Stephenson’s $9MM salary could come in handy for matching purposes, but for now, the Clippers’ trade talks are exploratory in nature, Kyler hears.
The Pelicans‘ first preference would be to keep Ryan Anderson instead of trading him, but the power forward’s upcoming free agency may force their hand, Kyler adds in the same piece. New Orleans would think about trading Anderson for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson signals he won’t re-sign with the Pelicans when his contract expires this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported this week.

Pacific Notes: Mbah a Moute, Scott, Warriors

December 10th, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

It appears a mere formality that the Clippers will retain Luc Mbah a Moute past the date next month when his non-guaranteed contract would become fully guaranteed, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. He made his sixth straight start in Wednesday’s victory over the Bucks, and while Doc Rivers indicated that he’ll probably move him in and out of the starting lineup, the Clippers coach/executive is nonetheless impressed, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. He’s not the only one.

“He does all the different things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” Chris Paul said, according to Bolch. “He makes the cuts, he does the box outs, and that’s why he’s so valuable for us.”

Still, not everyone is a fan. The Clippers won’t win the title if Mbah a Moute remains the starting three man, posits Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, who calls on the team to bench the “safe, known commodity” of Mbah a Moute in favor of the higher risk-reward proposition of either Lance Stephenson or Wesley Johnson. See more from the Pacific Division:

The voiding of the contract Mbah a Moute signed with the Kings in July led to uncertainty about his future that didn’t end until he signed with the Clippers in late September, and he called the past summer a difficult one, according to Gardner. “I like to usually go into the summer knowing where I’m going to be, training at the facility. All that stuff was out the window,” Mbah a Moute said. “God works in mysterious ways. I’m here now and trying to make the best out of it, trying to help the team.”
Lakers executives Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss still support Byron Scott and plan to keep him through at least the end of the season, though Kupchak, Buss or both will likely meet with Scott next week to get a read on his plan for player development, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. The execs understand the difficulty of the position Scott finds himself in — a “no-win situation,” as a team source described it to Medina — as Kobe Bryant‘s farewell season chafes against the need to foster young talent.
A group opposing the Warriors‘ plan for a new arena will file suit to block construction in the wake of the project having cleared its final political hurdle Tuesday, when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to green-light the new building, reports J.K. Dineen of the San Francisco Chronicle.