Luke Walton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: Young, Walton, Clarkson

November 12th, 2016 at 5:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

After spending the summer hearing rumors that he might be waived, Nick Young has become an important part of the Lakers’ starting lineup, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Young, who often clashed with former coach Byron Scott, jokes that he thought he would be released and playing in China by now. Instead he has been L.A.’s starter at shooting guard for the season’s first nine games, and he’s producing well enough to keep the job. Young is averaging 14.7 points per night and shooting 37% from 3-point range. New coach Luke Walton says he has also become the team’s best perimeter defender. “This is most definitely a redemption year,” said Young, who is under contract through the 2017/18 season. “That’s why I’ve been working so hard, I believe in myself, believe that I’ve got talent. There were just certain situations that made me take steps backwards.”

There’s more news out of Los Angeles:

Walton has been the reason for the Lakers’ hot start, contends Mark Heisler of The Orange County Register. The columnist points out that the roster hasn’t changed much from last season’s 17-65 group. L.A. signed free agents Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov over the offseason, but the real reason for the Lakers’ success is the improvement of players like Young, Lou Williams and the young core of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. Heisler says that can be traced to Walton and the offense he brought over from Golden State.
Walton knows a few things about creating an effective reserve unit for the Lakers, writes Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. Walton was part of the “Bench Mob” on successful L.A. teams nearly a decade ago, and he has infused that same attitude into this year’s squad. “It was an identity we built for ourselves,” Walton said. “We hope that they take pride and build their own identity. What they’re doing is special right now.” A key part of that unit is Clarkson, who has accepted a reserve role after signing a four-year, $50MM deal over the summer. Clarkson ranks seventh in scoring among NBA bench players with 14.2 points per game.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Walton, Lakers, Clippers

November 9th, 2016 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings added multiple rookies to their roster in this year’s draft, but supplemented those additions by signing a handful of veteran free agents. As Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes, Sacramento’s win-now approach results in those veterans getting the brunt of the minutes, and could hinder the development of the team’s younger players. Those youngsters should have opportunities in certain games, but on Sunday, Ben McLemore, Willie Cauley-Stein, and the team’s three first-round rookies saw a combined total of zero minutes.

The Kings’ performance this season could dictate the direction the team goes at the trade deadline — if the team is in playoff contention, perhaps it will move one or two of its young players for immediate help. If not, guys like Rudy Gay, McLemore, and even DeMarcus Cousins will be trade candidates.

As we wait to see what happens in Sacramento, here’s more from around the Pacific division:

Sam Amick of USA Today sat down with new Lakers head coach Luke Walton to discuss the early returns in Los Angeles this season, and how Walton is adjusting to his new role.
The Lakers signed Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov this summer to two of the largest deals in franchise history in the hopes that the duo would help provide some veteran stability and balance the club’s young core. However, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register questions whether Deng and Mozgov are providing a worthwhile return on investment so far for the club.
While the small forward position has been a bit of a revolving door for the Clippers over the last few season, the team is currently starting the same player there as it did last year. Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times takes a closer look at Luc Mbah a Moute and the role he plays in L.A., following the veteran forward signing a new two-year deal with the team this summer.

Pacific Notes: Walton, Randle, Durant, Kings

November 5th, 2016 at 10:06am CST by Arthur Hill

New coach Luke Walton has the Lakers loving basketball, and it was enough to get the better of his former team Friday night, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. L.A. adopted “I love basketball” as its new slogan after Metta World Peace said it in during a game this week. It sums up the youthful enthusiasm that Walton has promoted since the Lakers hired him away from the Warriors this summer. “They’re in there laughing, having fun, and that’s the way you should feel like when you put that much effort into something,” Walton said. “That’s why it’s so much fun at the end of the day, because it wasn’t easy and guys are dead tired in there.”

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Walton has been showing clips of Golden State All-Star Draymond Green to Julius Randle, according to Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. Walton sees similarities in their games because of Randle’s playmaking abilities, athleticism and strength. The new coach calls Randle a “monster,” and the third-year forward has responded with 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds through the season’s first six games while shooting 59.3% from the field. “He brings a lot of energy and talks a lot. It brings energy for the guys,” Brandon Ingram said of Randle. “He’s a competitor and is not scared of anyone on the court. When he gets in between the lines, it’s us against everyone else.”
Kevin Durant acknowledges “the ghost of your past” that was hanging over his first meeting with the Thunder, but tells Michael Lee of The Vertical that disappeared quickly once Thursday’s game began. Durant posted a season-high 39 points in the blowout of his former team. There were few confrontations, other than some obvious trash talking with backup center Enes Kanter, who took some shots at Durant on Twitter after he signed with Golden State. Durant and OKC star Russell Westbrook barely had any interaction. “It’s something I’m never going to forget. Something that’s never going to go away,” Durant said of his time in Oklahoma City. “I’m just trying to move forward, look forward, but also realize how important the past was and that formed me into who I am today. I’m not throwing that part of my life in the trash. But now I’m on to something new, trying to keep growing in this situation, trying to keep getting better overall, as a basketball player, man, everything. Just keep moving forward, that’s the most important thing in my life.”
The Kings added a group of veteran free agents over the offseason, but they’re still losing games because of rookie-type errors, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “The [mistakes] that are self-inflicted are the worst ones,” said new coach Dave Joerger. “What I told them is we’re not a young, young team. We should know better. Veterans or guys that are mid-veterans, we should make some smarter plays.”

Pacific Notes: Paul, Walton, Chriss, Ranadive

October 16th, 2016 at 9:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers aren’t worried about a sprained left thumb that Chris Paul suffered Saturday in practice, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. The All-Star point guard stood on the sidelines as the team practiced today, but his availability for the season opener isn’t in doubt. Paul has been listed as “day-to-day,” and coach Doc Rivers explained that he sat out practice as a precaution. “He’ll play in definitely one of the two [remaining preseason games], and that tells you it’s not that serious,” Rivers said.

There’s more news out of the Pacific Division:

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes the Lakers are the only team that could have tempted Luke Walton to leave Golden State, writes Joey Ramirez of NBA.com. Walton spent two years on the Warriors’ bench and served as Kerr’s lead assistant last season. He accepted a five-year deal in May to take over in Los Angeles, where he spent the first eight seasons of his playing career. “He’s such a great guy,” Kerr said. “He’s become one of my best friends. We’re all gonna miss him, but we’re all happy for him. I know he wouldn’t have taken any other job but the Laker job to leave Golden State.”
Marquese Chriss may be a 19-year-old rookie, but he is impressing his Suns teammates by standing up to veterans in preseason games, relays Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. His latest skirmish was with Mavericks’ center Andrew Bogut on Friday night. “’Quese has to show that he ain’t scared,” said Eric Bledsoe. “Once one of those players or a veteran player feels like he got fear in you, as a young player, it will ride you for the rest of your career. ‘Quese is setting the tone early.”
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has apologized to former executive Geoff Petrie for slighting his contributions to the organization in a recent interview, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. The apology was prompted by Petrie’s angry response after reading the two-part piece in USA Today. Voisin accuses both parties of engaging in revisionist history and contends the whole incident was unnecessary.

Pacific Notes: Clippers, Bogut, Deng, Tolliver

October 12th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four positions are set for the Clippers, but the starting small forward could vary from game to game, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson, newcomer Alan Anderson and even shooting guard Austin Rivers may get starts at the position, although coach Doc Rivers would like to see someone step up and claim it. “You always want separation. That’s always nice,” Rivers said. “I don’t know who it will be. I’m hoping it will be someone, but I can’t predict the future. It’d be nice, but if not, it’ll be matchup-based.” It’s a familiar problem for the Clippers, who used Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce and Johnson at the position last season before giving the role to Mbah a Moute.

There’s more tonight out of the Pacific Division:

Even as they were making history with 73 wins, the Warriors were dealing with Kevin Durant rumors all season, Andrew Bogut tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Bogut believes the Warriors knew well before summer that they were likely to sign Durant, and he says he isn’t surprised that he was traded away. “Andre Iguodala and I knew it was one of us that was going to go, and it was me,” Bogut said. “That’s part of the business. I have no gripes about it. You get a Hall of Famer — he’s going to be a Hall of Famer — in K.D. If I’m the GM, I do the same deal. That’s just the reality of the business.”
New coach Luke Walton helped lure Luol Deng to the Lakers, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Deng liked the impressive history of the franchise and the idea of living in Los Angeles, and of course the four-year, $72MM offer was a huge factor. But he says the transition to Walton, who took over the team after serving as Steve Kerr‘s lead assistant in Golden State, helped seal the decision. “He’s new to coaching, but he has a positive mindset,” Deng said. “The way he coaches, he really respects players and demands respect back.”
At age 31, newly signed Anthony Tolliver wants to show the Kings he can be more than just a mentor, relays Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento gave the small forward a two-year, $16MM deal over the summer to leave Detroit, but he will have to compete for playing time with Omri Casspi and Matt Barnes. Tolliver doesn’t mind taking on a mentor’s role, but he want to be thought of as a player first. “Maybe in a few years, with a few more miles on my body, maybe I’ll be in that position to be a locker room guy,” Tolliver said. “But right now I feel I can still compete and help teams win games. That’s why I came here to get that chance. Looks good so far.”

Western Notes: Young, Neto, Teodosic, Koponen

August 15th, 2016 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nick Young is ready to end the feud with Lakers teammate D’Angelo Russell that resulted in the rookie being ostracized last season, relays Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. The dispute started when Russell secretly recorded Young talking about being unfaithful to his former fiancee, a clip that was later posted to social media. “It’s been so long, so it’s kind of old,” Young said. “We’ll be able to work it out. We’ve already been working it out. I can’t be mad forever.”

Young, who shot a career-low 34% from the field last season, may not be back with the Lakers, as there have been rumors that the team might buy out the final two years and $11MM left on his contract. If he does return, he’s looking forward to a chance to play for new head coach Luke Walton, who was hired over the offseason to replace Byron Scott. “Luke is a big-time coach and came from a championship team,” he said. “I think I have the tools that we can use as a shooter.”

There’s more news tonight from the Western Conference:

The Olympics have given Jazz point guard Raul Neto a chance to connect with new teammate Boris Diaw, writes Amy Donaldson of The Deseret News. Utah acquired Diaw, who plays for the French team, in a July trade with the Spurs to provide veteran help off the bench. “I’ve talked to Boris in the [athlete’s] village,” said Neto, who hails from the host country of Brazil. “He’s a really nice guy. [Leandro] Barbosa played with him in Phoenix, and he say only good things about him. I think we have a great team, some nice guys joined our team, and we expect [to] do better [this] season.”
The Grizzlies offered Serbian star Milos Teodosic more than $5MM in 2013, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Teodosic’s agent, Nick Lotsos, said his client chose CSKA Moscow over Memphis.
Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen, whose draft rights have been held by the Mavericks since 2011, is close to reaching a deal with Barcelona, Pick tweets.

Coaching Notes: Lue, Jones, Walton, Kings

July 9th, 2016 at 9:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

A delay in working out an extension with Tyronn Lue has several Cavaliers assistants working in the summer league without contracts, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. The deals for Jim Boylan, Phil Handy, James Posey and Vitaly Potapenko expired July 1st. Lue, who has promised they will all be kept on his staff, is negotiating an extension after winning an NBA title in his first season as a head coach. He is still under a four-year, $6.5MM contract that he had as an assistant after refusing a three-year, $9.5MM offer when he replaced David Blatt in midseason. Lue has a year left on his current deal and said he isn’t worried about the status of the extension. “It’ll eventually get done,” he said.

There’s more coaching news around the league:

The Cavaliers are expected to make Damon Jones an assistant coach, Haynes writes in the same piece. Jones will replace Bret Brielmaier, who recently joined the Nets‘ staff.
After a two-month wait while the Warriors made their way through the playoffs, former Golden State assistant Luke Walton finally got to coach the Lakers, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Walton made his debut Friday night in the Las Vegas Summer League and received a rousing ovation from Lakers fans in attendance. “I know I still have a lot to learn, but I think everybody does, no matter how long you’ve been doing any job,” Walton said. “I’m excited and I feel like I’m ready for this and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Lakers did not keep player development coach Thomas Scott, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Scott is expected to pursue other opportunities.
The Kings have added Bob Thornton and Larry Lewis as assistants to new head coach Dave Joerger, tweets Sean Cunningham of KXTV in Sacramento.

And-Ones: Walton, Van Gundy, Hawks

June 21st, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

At his introductory press conference today, new Lakers coach Luke Walton says now that the NBA Finals are over he is completely focused on the task at hand and is ready to help restore the franchise to its former glory, The Los Angeles Daily News relays. Walton noted the franchise’s exciting young talent, the amount of money the team can afford to spend in free agency and the opportunity to turn things around for a franchise that is coming off some of its worst seasons ever as reasons the post interested and excited him. “The fact that [GM] Mitch [Kupchak] and [VP] Jimmy Buss trusted me to be part of this rebuilding, post-Kobe [Bryant] era means the world to me,” Walton said. “Everything excites me. We have young talented players, we have draft picks, we have $60-70 million in free agency, the greatest fans.”

Walton also added that he doesn’t foresee any issues with him reaching and connecting with the team’s young roster. “Our players are going to like coming into practice every day,” Walton said. “We are going to play a brand of b-ball that the L.A. fans will appreciate. You have to make it fun for them. Basketball is meant to be a game of joy.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

The Jazz have told interested teams that Gordon Hayward isn’t available and won’t be traded, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The Bucks are also turning away teams calling about Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton, Stein adds.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is confident the team will nab a solid player with the No. 18 overall pick, but he doesn’t expect whomever is selected to contribute next season, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Van Gundy also noted that Detroit’s draft night results won’t alter its approach to free agency this summer. “It’s possible [the draft pick becomes part of the rotation], but we still wouldn’t view them that way at 18, quite honestly,” Van Gundy said. “Nothing that we do Thursday night will change the way we look at free agency. So if we draft a point guard Thursday night, we’ll still be looking at a point guard in free agency. If we draft a true power forward in the draft on Thursday night, we’re still going out looking for one.”
Discussing a possible trade of the Pistons‘ No. 18 pick, Van Gundy told reporters that the team plans on keeping the selection if there is a player available whom they like, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets. “The chances are, if there are guys there at 18 that we like, we’ll just go ahead and make our pick,” Van Gundy said.
The Hawks‘ wealth of draft picks over the four years provides the team with ample assets to be active in the trade market on Thursday night, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “It’s always important to have multiple picks because it gives you the opportunity to explore trades that may take you higher in the draft,” GM Wes Wilcox said. “So, yes, it certainly provides some flexibility that we will explore on draft night. It’s not just in the current draft. We are fortunate to have all of our first-round picks going forward plus one additional. It depends on how to count the second-round picks because some are contingent on other picks being delivered but we essentially have two second-round picks in every draft for the next four years.“

Pacific Notes: Walton, Rondo, Cousins, Clippers

June 19th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton has managed to stay focused on his duties as lead assistant with the Warriors, even as his head coaching job with the Lakers awaits, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton had his first interview on April 18th — more than two months ago — when he had a phone conversation with Knicks president Phil Jackson. “Luke is a real loyal guy,” said fellow Golden State assistant Ron Adams. “And he’s real loyal to the Golden State Warriors — has been since he was named coach of the Lakers. It might be hard for people to understand that. I would say he’s atypical in that regard. A lot of people, if a team would’ve allowed what the Lakers allowed, I think [the person] would’ve been more fixated on that team than this team. That’s not Luke. That’s not what Luke has been.” Walton will coach his final game with the Warriors tonight, then will likely be introduced as the Lakers’ new coach later this week.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings point guard Rajon Rondo pronounced himself fully healthy as he prepares for his second straight year of free agency, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rondo signed a one-year deal with Sacramento last summer, which gave him a first-hand view of the turmoil in the organization, especially between DeMarcus Cousins and former coach George Karl. “Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it as an exit [missing the playoffs], but I was able to bounce back, I believe,” Rondo said. “I am very healthy. I’ve been working extremely hard on my body and my game. I’m 30 years old and I feel great.” Rondo’s numbers had declined since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in 2013, but he bounced back to average 11.9 points and 11.7 assists per game this season.
Cousins’ younger brother, Jaleel, worked out for the Kings on Saturday, according to James Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The 6-11, 250-pound center was a senior this season at South Florida.
Dee Brown and Pat Sullivan have emerged as assistant coaching candidates with the Clippers, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kevin Eastman, a longtime assistant to Doc Rivers, announced his retirement earlier this week.
The Clippers will hold two workouts Monday, tweets Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. The morning session will feature Alabama’s Retin Obasohan, Miami’s Sheldon McClellan, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, Maryland’s Jake Layman, Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu and UNLV’s Stephen Zimmerman. Working out in the afternoon will be Tulsa’s James Woodard, West Virginia’s Jaysean Page, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisiana’s Alex Hamilton, SMU’s Markus Kennedy and Iowa’s Jared Uthoff.

Warriors Consider Tyrone Corbin, Mike Brown

June 11th, 2016 at 2:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyrone Corbin has emerged along with Mike Brown as the top candidates to be the lead assistant in Golden State next season, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Brown has been linked to the position before, but Corbin, a former teammate of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, is a new name in the mix. (Twitter link).

Corbin is a former head coach with the Kings and Jazz and has been out of coaching since being relieved of his interim position with Sacramento when George Karl was hired in 2015. He has been working as an adviser to the Kings’ front office ever since.

Brown served as head coach of the Cavaliers and Lakers and has been out of coaching since Cleveland fired him after the 2013/14 season. Brown reportedly turned down an assistant’s position in Memphis last week.

The Warriors’ lead assistant job will be open once the NBA Finals are done and Luke Walton leaves to become head coach of the Lakers. He held the position in Golden State for one season, taking over when Alvin Gentry left to take the reins in New Orleans.