Luke Walton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Ayton, Clippers Arena, Hield, Kuzma

January 13th, 2020 at 6:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns center Deandre Ayton finds himself in a reserve role for the time being and he admits it’s an adjustment, as he told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Ayton is working his way back into top shape after a 25-game league-imposed suspension. “I’ve never been through this, but it’s new,” the top overall pick of the 2018 draft said. “I’m just holding my head high and just working.” Ayton had 18 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes against Charlotte on Sunday.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Madison Square Garden Co., which owns The Forum, has sued California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee over legislation that facilitates the construction of a new Clippers arena, Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times reports. The lawsuit alleges that a bill which shields the billion-dollar development from extended environmental litigation if it met several requirements violates the state constitution, Fenno continues. MSG has two additional lawsuits pending in relation to the proposed arena, which is scheduled to open in 2024.
Kings guard Buddy Hield signed a four-year, $86MM extension prior to the season and the franchise is holding him to a higher standard, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee relays. Head coach Luke Walton and assistant Jesse Mermuys had a candid conversation with Hield after he recently complained about his playing time. “I talked to Luke and coach Jesse, and we just sat down and they gave me a reality check,” Hield said. “There’s stuff they need me to do and stuff I need to get better at — just challenging me — and Luke is a guy who always challenges me. Him and Jesse just bring the challenge and I accept it.”
Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma is aware his name has been bandied about in trade rumors but he’s trying to block it out, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Kuzma averaged 31 points in two games this weekend with Anthony Davis sidelined. “Nah, that’s for y’all to talk about,” Kuzma said. “I’ve been through it multiple times and obviously I see it. But it don’t even matter at this point.”

Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Luke Walton Dropped

December 5th, 2019 at 12:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

The woman accusing Kings coach Luke Walton of sexual assault in a 2017 incident has dropped her lawsuit against him, according to a report from TMZ Sports.

Former television sports reporter Kelli Tennant had claimed Walton forced himself on her in a Santa Monica hotel room. The suit stated she was “in shock and fear” at the advances and thought she was going to be raped.

Walton, who was an assistant with the Warriors at the time, denied her charges, saying she initiated the meeting and nothing sexual took place. Walton’s attorney, Mark Baute, called her “an opportunist” and vowed that Walton would fight the lawsuit.

The TMZ report states that it’s unclear if a settlement has been reached. Tennant filed new court documents this week in the L.A. County Superior Court asking the judge to dismiss her her suit with prejudice, which means she won’t be able to refile it.

The NBA conducted an independent investigation and announced in August that Walton had been cleared because there wasn’t enough evidence to support Tennant’s allegations. Tennant refused several times through her attorney to talk with investigators hired by the league.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Walton, Baynes, Warriors

November 17th, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by JD Shaw

Suns owner Robert Sarver is impressed with his team’s strong start to the 2019/20 season, lauding Phoenix’s intensity, teamwork and togetherness after a disappointing season last year, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes.

“Winning is a lot more fun than losing,” Sarver said. “Seeing a lot of it come together this year. After training camp, I think I told my kids, ‘you know, we haven’t played a game yet, but I can tell right now, we’re in a much better place.’ ”

The Suns currently hold the fifth-best record in the Western Conference at 7-4, giving an impressive effort despite losing starting center Deandre Ayton to a 25-game suspension. By comparison, the team finished with the second-worst record in franchise history at 19-63 last season.

“What I like about the team is I like the fact that the ball is shared,” Sarver said. “And I think when the ball is shared, you tend to get better shots and I think it’s also easier to be more engaged defensively. So, the style of play, I think, is good. I like the fact that Monty holds his players accountable and there’s no guaranteed minutes. Everybody will work every day and earn what they deserve.”

For the Suns, keeping a consistent effort is imperative as the season continues to progress. The team has games scheduled against Boston (10-1) on Monday, Sacramento (4-7) on Tuesday, New Orleans (3-9) on Thursday and Minnesota (7-6) on Saturday.

There’s more from the Pacific Division tonight:

LeBron James defended former Lakers head coach Luke Walton this past week, explaining how Walton did everything he could during his brief, tumultuous time with the franchise, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “I mean, we were right where we wanted to be on Dec. 25, went up into Golden State and played against a very good team and had a very good game,” James said. “And then the injury happened and I’m out 6½ weeks. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that, including myself and including Luke. And we were just behind the eight ball. But throughout it all we just tried to remain positive, even throughout with the young guys, with the older guys and whatever the case may be. So I think he did as great of a job as you could do under the circumstances.”
Jack Winter of Basketball Insiders examines the three-point evolution of Suns center Aron Baynes, who’s impressed during his 11 games with the team. Baynes has averaged 15 points and 5.5 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per contest, filling in for the suspended Ayton while remaining a threat from three-point territory. He’s connected on 22 of 47 attempts from deep, good for a 47% shooting mark.
The Warriors are now down to nine healthy players, one player above the league’s minimum requirement, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Golden State plans to start Draymond Green, Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall and Willie Cauley-Stein against New Orleans on Sunday night.

Pacific Notes: Johnson, Rondo, Kings, George

November 10th, 2019 at 5:33pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson recently appeared on Fox Sports 1 to discuss his old team, the well-documented trade conversations involving Anthony Davis and more.

Prior to the trade deadline last February, with Davis seeking to move out of New Orleans, Johnson and then-Pelicans GM Dell Demps engaged in a serious of discussions with hopes of finalizing a trade to land Davis in Los Angeles. The Lakers never believed Demps was truly looking to accommodate Davis’ request, and Johnson used a noteworthy level of honesty while discussing the matter in his appearance on Fox.

“He was looking at me like I caused Anthony Davis to want to be traded,” Johnson said (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). “So, we’re on the phone, and he’s blaming me. I said, ‘What are you blaming me for, Dell?’ I heard he wanted to be traded, so I’m giving you a call. ‘Are you going to trade him?’ ‘You’re not going to trade him.’ So, he had me send three or four proposals, but he never got serious, Shannon. He never got serious. And I said, I told Rob [Pelinka], I told Jeanie [Buss], ‘He doesn’t want to trade AD to us.’ And sure enough, the last one was, ‘Give us your whole team and five first-round picks.’ I said, ‘Listen, man. [Laughter.] I can’t give you five first-round picks and the whole team.’ He wanted all our young guys. I said, ‘No, I can’t do it now.’ That’s when I said he doesn’t want to trade him.

“And look what happened. When they found out, the owner found out what was the trade proposal from us, she was like, ‘Oh, what are you doing?’ And then the new general manager comes.”

Johnson didn’t mince words about what failing to trade Davis did for Demps’ job security, either.

“It got him fired,” he proclaimed.

There’s more from the Pacific Division tonight:

Despite originally targeting a Sunday return date, Lakers guard Rajon Rondo (calf) will wait to make his season debut, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Rondo participated in a workout on Saturday and will work out again on Sunday to ramp up his endurance, Haynes notes. The Lakers have games scheduled this week against the Suns on Tuesday, Warriors on Wednesday and Kings on Friday.
In his latest mailbag, Jason Jones of The Athletic examines the situation of Kings big man Harry Giles, where coach Luke Walton stands with the front office, and more. Sacramento has opened the 2019/20 season with 3-6 record, including a 1-3 mark at home.
Clippers star Paul George could make his season debut as early as Monday after being cleared for five-on-five practice this weekend, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. George had separate surgeries earlier this year to repair a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder and a small labrum tear in his left shoulder.

Aldridge’s Latest: Iguodala, Nunn, Kings, Wizards

November 6th, 2019 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

Andre Iguodala technically remains under contract with the Grizzlies, but the expectation is that he’ll be traded or bought out at some point this season, allowing him to join a contender. While it remains to be seen which club Iguodala will end up playing for, David Aldridge of The Athletic asked several NBA executives to hazard a guess and virtually all of them predicted the Lakers would be the landing spot for the former Finals MVP.

“[The Lakers would offer the] best combination of ring chance and role,” one longtime team boss told Aldridge.

For Iguodala to get to the Lakers, the Grizzlies would almost certainly have to go the buyout route, since L.A. probably doesn’t have the necessary salary-matching pieces to take on Iguodala’s $17MM+ salary in a trade. The only non-stars on the Lakers’ roster earning more than $4.77MM this season are Danny Green ($14.64MM), who is a key rotation player, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($8.09MM), who holds a de facto no-trade clause.

As Aldridge notes, a league-wide belief that the Lakers will land Iguodala doesn’t mean it will actually happen. There will also plenty of people around the NBA who thought Kawhi Leonard would become a Laker in the summer, and the Clippers ultimately closed that deal. The Clips – who were the only team besides the Lakers to receive a vote in Aldridge’s informal poll of execs – would presumably be in the running for Iguodala too.

Here’s more from Aldridge’s latest Athletic article:

Kendrick Nunn‘s agent Adam Pensack tells Aldridge that he “pushed pretty strongly” in his attempt to get his client a 10-day contract with an NBA team last season. When that didn’t happen, Pensack and Nunn went looking for an NBA home once the G League season ended. The Kings brought in several players for a workout and told them they’d sign the best player in the group. Sacramento chose B.J. Johnson over Nunn, opening the door for the former Oakland standout to catch on with the Heat a week later. We explored that deal in more depth last week.
Here’s more from Heat director of scouting Chet Kammerer on why the team signed Nunn and spent time developing him: “Coach (Erik) Spoelstra is big right now on having guys that are versatile, on guys that aren’t one-dimensional. It’s the fact we saw a couple of things. He was really versatile. He always seemed like a tough kid, physically and mentally tough. To me, he was hard to guard. When we played them, he found ways. It was tough to stay in front of the guy. He’s an attacker. He competes hard. He was a better shooter than all of us thought, too. You look at his percentages, and we said, ‘This is a guy can shoot the ball.’ You look at all of those things, and that’s a Heat guy, to us.”
Despite the Kings‘ slow start, general manager Vlade Divac told Aldridge in a text message that he’s pleased with what he has seen from head coach Luke Walton so far. “Very happy with him,” Divac said. “His approach, communication and relationship with the players needs more time and he needs to learn about personalities but I really like what I see. It’s a process; can’t do stuff over night.”
While the Wizards probably won’t be a playoff team in 2019/20, they’ve been fun to watch so far this season, which has rubbed off on the front office. “I actually like coming to work in the morning,” a senior member of the team’s staff told Aldridge.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Paschall, Kuzma, Clippers

November 3rd, 2019 at 7:02pm CST by JD Shaw

The Kings have started the 2019/20 season with a 1-5 record, making them one of the most underwhelming teams in the campaign’s first two weeks.

Sacramento opened the year losing by 29 in Phoenix, going home two days later to lose to Portland 122-112. The team then fell by a 113-81 margin to Utah the following day, lost 101-94 to Denver two days later, and lost 118-111 to Charlotte this past Wednesday.

“We know we signed up to be on this journey and grow this team and get this team back into the playoffs and all of that, and that’s what we’re going to do,” coach Luke Walton said, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It’s not the start we wanted, but the work that’s being done, I think, is the foundation for what’s going to get us there when we’re ready. And maybe…”

The Kings certainly have time to figure this out and correct their poor start, though they’ll have to do so without star forward Marvin Bagley III. Bagley is expected to miss at least three-to-five more weeks with a fractured right thumb.

“We’ll find out when we’re ready,” Walton admitted. “You know, there’s no way to know. But we’re going to keep pushing these guys, and growing these guys, making sure that we’re playing and continuing to understand what it takes to win at a consistent level in this league. It’s gonna happen.”

Sacramento could start the process by defeating the Knicks on Sunday, one of three other teams that own a 1-5 record on the season (Golden State, New Orleans).

Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division tonight:

Warriors rookie Eric Paschall is beginning to look like a second-round steal, Anthony Slater writes for The Athletic. Paschall, who was drafted by Golden State with the No. 41 overall pick in June, has received more playing time in the wake of several injuries to key players. Paschall has made the most of his opportunity, scoring 13.8 points per game on 61% shooting in six contests.
The Lakers are considering a sixth-man role for Kyle Kuzma, who remains on a minutes restriction as he returns from injury, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. However, head coach Frank Vogel refused to commit to anything just yet. “Sometimes it makes sense to have a guy coming off the bench filling that role, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Vogel said. “Sometimes it makes more sense to put him in the starting lineup. I don’t know the answer to that. It depends on each group. I have to see everybody play with each other, but there’s definitely value to that.”
The Federal Aviation Adminstration has approved the Clippers’ plans for a new billion-dollar arena in Inglewood, Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times writes. In their approval, it was confirmed that the 37 applications covering the majority of the proposed idea pose no hazards to aviation, Fenno notes. The Clippers are hoping to move into their new arena in 2024, the same year their lease at Staples Center expires.

Pacific Notes: George, Fox, Ayton, Curry

November 3rd, 2019 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers are getting encouraging signs that Paul George might be ready for action soon, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. George participated in a full-court, three-on-three scrimmage Saturday that lasted about 20 minutes, his most strenuous workout since having offseason surgery on both shoulders.

The team still isn’t offering a timetable for his season debut, and coach Doc Rivers didn’t provide any new information. Rivers speculated last month that George would miss the first 10 games, which would keep him sidelined for at least four more.

“At some point, someone’s going to tell me who can play,” Rivers said yesterday. “I’ve never really gotten involved in it.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

De’Aaron Fox hasn’t lost faith in new Kings coach Luke Walton despite a rough start, relays Jason Jones of The Athletic. Walton wants Fox to assume more control over the team as the season wears on, and the confidence seems to be reciprocated. “We’re going to ride with him,” Fox said of Walton. “He’s been great since the day that he stepped in. I think we feel like we trust him and he trusts us.”
Deandre Ayton has served five games of his 25-game suspension, giving the Suns an opportunity to add another player to the roster, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Ayton is now on the suspended list, where he will remain until December 17 unless his appeal is successful. Phoenix already has 15 players with guaranteed contracts, and there has been no indication on whether the team plans to make a roster move.
A broken hand hasn’t affected Stephen Curry‘s desire to play in the 2020 Olympics, his father tells Marc J. Spears of ESPN. Former NBA star Dell Curry said his son is still looking forward to his first Olympic experience. “That was definitely a goal coming into this year,” he said. “He wants to play in the Olympics. This is a little setback, but hopefully it’s a goal he can strive for through his rehab.” Curry added that Stephen is “doing the best he can” after having surgery this week.

Kings Notes: Walton, Giles, Bogdanovic

October 26th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton’s tenure as head coach of the Kings is off to a difficult start, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Preseason was conducted around 20-hour flights to and from India, and the regular season started with a 29-point loss that saw Marvin Bagley break his right thumb. Some fans are angry that Bagley was on the court in the final minutes of a blowout, but Walton defends the decision, saying it’s part of building a winning organization.

“Marvin is a huge part of our future, so we’ve got to get the time and the reps with him,” Walton said. “But to speak on who Marvin is, he fractures his thumb two days ago and he was at shootaround (Friday), in the weight room, running sprints with our strength coach. He’s going to do everything he can possibly do to stay in shape and even get better. I’ve already informed him that I want him sitting next to our coaches during games so he can talk to them about what he sees and (we can) continue to coach him.”

There’s more Kings news to pass along:

Knee issues have been a long-time concern for Harry Giles, but he insists the latest one is nothing to be concerned about, relays Jason Jones of the Athletic. Giles practiced just once during training camp and wasn’t cleared for contact until this week. Still, he has declared himself healthy on social media and in a session with reporters last night. “Nothing happened,” he said. “Just ramped it up from workouts and my knee flared up a little bit. When you have a knee or something like that, there’s players that go through that all the time. It happens year-round, you’ve just got to approach it and treat it the right way.” The team hasn’t set a timetable for his return.
Bogdan Bogdanovic is denying a report that he’s unhappy as a reserve, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. He stressed that he’s willing to play any role to help the Kings win.
Bogdanovic’s decision to turn down an extension offer makes him more likely to be traded, writes Tommy Beer of Forbes. Bogdanovic is headed for restricted free agency, and the Kings already have nearly $200MM tied up in Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield, with extensions looming for De’Aaron Fox and Bagley the next two summers. Beer suggests the Knicks might be interested, as Bogdanovic would fill their need for an outside shooter.

Western Notes: Walton, Chandler, Nuggets, Hardaway

September 28th, 2019 at 11:56am CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings players already feel a closer bond with new coach Luke Walton than they did with previous coach Dave Joerger, Jason Jones of The Athletic reports. Having a coach that would help bring in free agents and make current roster members want to stay in Sacramento is part of the reason why Walton was hired.

“He just comes in, and it’s an instant connection,” Kings guard Buddy Hield told Jones. “He’s played before so he knows that player relationship and now he’s a coach so he knows how to relate to us, so that’s big coming from him.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

Mentoring Clint Capela is a major reason why the Rockets brought in veteran center Tyson Chandler, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. Chandler signed a one-year contract in July. The Rockets want Capela to become an elite defensive presence and anchor and Chandler will help facilitate that process.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon enters the preseason as a starter but Danuel House could make a push for that status, Iko adds in the same piece.
The Nuggets have promoted John Beckett from director of player development to full-time assistant coach, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports tweets. Ognjen Stojakovic has taken over Beckett’s previous spot, while Boniface N’Dong has been added to the player development staff.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle believes Tim Hardaway Jr. has been cleared to participate in training camp, Dwain Price of the team’s website tweets. Hardaway met this week with the surgeon that performed the surgery in April on his left tibia and got a positive review. Hardaway’s availability for camp would coincide with the anticipated timetable following the surgery.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Walton, Looney, Feld

September 27th, 2019 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Luke Walton said Kings fans should expect his team to make the playoffs and defensive improvement will be the key, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports. The Kings, who had the ninth-best record in the Western Conference, ranked 20th or lower last season in defensive field-goal percentage, points allowed, points in the paint allowed, opponents’ second-chance points and defensive rebounding percentage.

“Defense is it,” the Kings’ new head coach said. “That’s our priority. That’s what we’re going to start training camp with. That’s what we’re going to start practices with — defense, defense, defense — and that’s where we’re going to make a big jump.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Walton only addressed the sexual assault lawsuit filed against him in vague terms, according to another story by Anderson. League investigators have cleared him, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to support the allegations. The civil lawsuit is still pending. “I’m here to do my job and focus on our Kings and get us where we need to get, and the rest will take care of itself,” Walton said.
Warriors forward Kevon Looney is content with the three-year, $15MM contract he received from the franchise, as he told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Looney might have gotten more from another club but elected to stay put during the first day of free agency. “The Kawhi Leonard thing was dragging out. A lot of guys wanted to wait until it was over. I didn’t want to wait,” he said. “I know the Warriors like to move fast. They were making a lot of changes with the team. I knew — if I wasn’t going to get a big payday — this was where I wanted to be. So I made it happen.”
The Northern Arizona Suns – Phoenix’s G League affiliate – have named Jeff Feld as their general manager, according to a team press release. Feld, 31, had been the Windy City Bulls’ manager of basketball operations. Dylan DeBusk, who served as interim GM for Northern Arizona last season, has been elevated to Phoenix’s personnel analyst/G League operations manager.