Milos Teodosic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Gallinari, Teodosic

November 29th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

While speculation about Doc Rivers‘ job security has subsided somewhat since the team snapped its nine-game losing streak last week, Rivers was asked about it today, and suggested it’s “so easy” to become a target when your team gets hit by injuries and losses start piling up (Twitter link via Arash Markazi of ESPN).

“There’s nothing much I can do about it though,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Markazi). “It’s different than it was 15 years ago. Now people want to place blame right away. Blame me, blame whatever. It’s the way it’s going to work. Who cares? That doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t read it anyway.”

As the Clips prepare for Thursday’s game against Utah, here are a few more notes on the club:

While online observers are pushing for the Clippers to undergo a rebuild, that means next to nothing to Rivers, as Markazi tweets. “The day I start answering the internet people is the day I’m an internet person,” Rivers said. “That’s not going to happen. I don’t listen to all that stuff. We’re going to do what’s best for the franchise.”
In a piece for The Vertical, Michael Lee makes a case for why Blake Griffin‘s latest injury should have the Clippers mulling the possibility of a drastic move.
Although the Clippers are expected to be without Griffin until January, two other injured players – Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic – are making progress and should be back on the court within the next five or 10 games, per Markazi (Twitter link).
On a scale of 1 to 10, the Clippers’ panic level should be at about a 7, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.

Pacific Notes: Russell, Teodosic, Randle

November 3rd, 2017 at 6:58pm CST by Austin Kent

After spending his first two seasons with the Lakers, D’Angelo Russell will face them as a member of the Nets tonight. As Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes, Los Angeles him expects him to be fired up in his return to the Staples Center.

“You see him right now in Brooklyn, he’s cooking,” former Lakers teammate Jordan Clarkson said. “He’s balling. … He’s got a new home, feel like it’s the right fit for him. He’s able to create, score, have the ball in his hands a lot, play the style of play that he wants to.”

In seven games with the Nets this year, the Lakers’ second-overall pick in 2015 has averaged 21.7 points and 5.0 assists per game. Those numbers are up from his sophomore figures of 15.6 and 4.8, despite playing over two minutes less per contest thus far in 2017/18.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Injured guard Milos Teodosic has shown progress in his recovery from a plantar fascia injury in his left foot but there’s still no timetable for his return. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers rookie is now getting around in a walking boot, whereas previously he was confined to a scooter.
As we wrote about earlier today, Larry Nance Jr. will miss four to six weeks undergoing surgery for a hand fracture. That could spell a big opportunity for Julius Randle, the forward slotted behind him in the depth chart. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Randle’s role change could be particularly significant considering that the pending restricted free agent’s qualifying offer amount could increase if Randle starts at least nine games this season.
Don’t expect 17-year veteran Tyson Chandler to demand a trade out of Phoenix, Michael Lee of The Vertical writes in an excellent feature. The 35-year-old Suns big man may be on a different timeline than the rest of the franchise but doesn’t plan on forcing his way out of town. He spoke about teammate Eric Bledsoe who, well, has. “I’m not surprised about that. I kind of saw that stuff coming,” Chandler said. “He’s in a different place than I’m in. He’s in the prime of his career. Everything that happened last season and then rolling over into the summer, of course, I felt like it could’ve been handled differently. But I understand his stance and I understand it’s his career. He’s got to eat. He ultimately has to make his own decisions, as a man.”

Clippers Notes: Griffin, Teodosic, Backcourt, Defense

October 28th, 2017 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Blake Griffin credits NBA legend Jerry West with influencing his decision to remain with the Clippers, writes Shams Charania of The Vertical. Griffin opted out of his contract over the summer, but elected to re-sign with L.A. before talking to any other teams. The new five-year deal, coupled with the trade of Chris Paul, makes Griffin the team’s clear on-court leader.

Griffin was “captivated” by West’s presence at a meeting just before the July 1 start of free agency, according to Charania. The Hall of Famer left the Warriors after last season and joined the Clippers as a special consultant.

“Jerry had a major voice to me, and he’s had an influence in coming and working on the culture here,” Griffin said. “This franchise had unfinished business, and I had unfinished business here. We had unfinished business together and I valued that. We laid it out there that no matter what was going on around us, both sides hadn’t accomplished what we set out for. I couldn’t abandon this now.”

There’s more Clippers news out of Los Angeles:

Coach Doc Rivers offered a health update today on Milos Teodosic, saying he was able to ride a stationary bike but there’s no timetable for him to play again, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Teodosic is out indefinitely after leaving last Saturday’s game with a plantar fascia injury.
Rivers is trying not to overtax his backcourt with the loss of Teodosic, relays Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register. The Clippers have just three healthy, experienced guards currently available, and Rivers admits he has been asking them to do too much. “Too many minutes,” he said after this week’s win over Utah. “I didn’t like the minutes. That’ll change. It’s just got to expand it. What we’ve got to figure out is giving Patrick [Beverley] and Austin [Rivers] rest, playing Lou [Williams] and Sindarius [Thornwell], but making sure we have Blake or [Danilo Gallinari] with them.”
One key to the Clippers’ 4-0 start has been a significant improvement on defense, Turner writes in an L.A. Times story. The addition of Beverley, who was acquired from Houston in the Chris Paul trade, provides defensive pressure in the backcourt and shot-blocker DeAndre Jordan erases mistakes in the middle. “They want to play ‘D’, which is nice,” Rivers said. “I think they all are on the same page. We have DJ at the basket and Pat on the ball. That’s a great combination.”

Milos Teodosic Out Indefinitely

October 22nd, 2017 at 5:46pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers will be without their 30-year-old rookie indefinitely, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN writes. Guard Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in a Saturday night contest against the Suns and did not return to action.

As we wrote earlier today, Teodosic had to be carried off the floor by his teammates in the second quarter of their blowout victory over the Suns but x-rays after the fact came back negative.

In his first taste of NBA action during L.A.’s season opener, Teodosic posted six points and six assists. He had five points and two assists in 11 minutes before falling to the foot injury.

L.A. Notes: Teodosic, Gallinari, Randle, Deng

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:11am CST by Arthur Hill

Milos Teodosic, the Clippers‘ 30-year-old rookie out of Serbia, will have an MRI on his left foot today after injuring it Saturday night, according to ESPN.com. X-rays on the foot were negative after Teodosic had to be carried off the court, but he was on crutches after the game. “I just saw him laying down,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I didn’t see what happened. He said that he felt something in his foot. So it’s definitely a foot injury. But we don’t know what it is.” Rookie guard Jawun Evans will be activated while Teodosic is out, and Austin Rivers is expected to take his place in the starting lineup.

There’s more this morning out of Los Angeles:

Free agent addition Danilo Gallinari is still trying to get used to his new Clippers teammates after an injury wiped out most of his preseason, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Gallinari, who spent the past six and a half years with the Nuggets, strained his left foot in the second exhibition game and wasn’t able to practice until last Sunday. That didn’t keep him from earning a starting role, and now he has to adapt to playing alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in the frontcourt. “I think we did a pretty good job as far as chemistry with us three,” Gallinari said. “But everybody is trying to learn how to play with each other. Everybody is new so it’s going to take a while. It’s going to be a learning process the whole season.”
The Lakers are concerned about Julius Randle‘s reaction to the loss of his starting job, reports Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Coach Luke Walton said he decided to make Larry Nance Jr. the starting power forward because he was playing better with the first team, while Randle fit in well with the reserves. But Walton didn’t like Randle’s effort in the season opener and quickly pulled him from the game. “When he stepped on the court for whatever reason he wasn’t ready to go,” Walton said, “like he has been for the past week [of practices]. So I pulled him out to tell him about it. I know he wasn’t happy with me but that’s my job.” Adding to Randle’s frustrations is the team’s decision not to offer him a rookie scale contract extension this week. He will be a restricted free agent next summer and may be nearing the end of his time with the Lakers.
After starting Thursday’s game, Lakers forward Luol Deng was inactive Friday as Corey Brewer took his place, notes Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Deng still has two more seasons and $36.81MM left on his contract.

Central Notes: Shumpert, Teodosic, Ellenson

October 5th, 2017 at 7:28pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers will be without swingman Iman Shumpert for the next seven-to-10 days, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. The 27-year-old sprained his left foot in a preseason game this week and could be sidelined until the regular season begins.

Shumpert’s absence comes at a critical time for the Cavaliers, who will be hard-pressed to trim down their roster after the addition of Dwyane Wade last week. While Shumpert has been reassured of his role with the club, Cavs fans will be eager to see what the veteran is capable of producing in 2017/18.

Shumpert, owed $11MM in 2017/18, saw his role with the Cavaliers decrease toward the end of last season and averaged just 7.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the team on the year.

This year, with considerably more depth in the mix in Cleveland, it will be interesting to see what sort of role the perimeter defender carves out for himself with the Cavaliers. Missing the duration of preseason won’t help him make a solid impression.

There’s more from the Central Division:

It won’t be easy for Stan Van Gundy to narrow his Pistons rotation down to eight or nine players, especially considering how Henry Ellenson has played of late, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. The head coach will need to find a way of balancing the minutes for Ellenson, Anthony Tolliver, Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer, all of whom can play the four.
Expect Justin Holiday to step into a leadership role with the rebuilding Bulls, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. “He’s done a good job of pulling the group together,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “If we’re having a stretch in practice where we’re struggling or we’re hitting adversity and we’re not handling it the right way, if we need a shot of energy, Justin is the guy that pulls the group together. And you have to have a guy like that.“
The Bulls were supposedly close to a deal with Milos Teodosic this summer but it was derailed when the club traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, effectively shifting their focus to a full-on rebuild. The guard’s agent, Nick Lotsos, spoke of the free agency process to NBA Greece (article translated by Eurohoops).

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Teodosic, Reed, Labissiere

October 2nd, 2017 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Russell Westbrook‘s decision to sign a max extension is bad news for the Lakers in their pursuit of two top-level free agents next summer, as Eric Pincus examines in a Bleacher Report column. The Lakers were hopeful they could fill a max slot with Westbrook, who now has all season to convince another Los Angeles target, Paul George, to re-sign with the Thunder in the offseason, Pincus continues. Moreover, the Lakers are currently projected to have $47MM in cap space if they let restricted free agent Julius Randle walk, which isn’t enough to land two star free agents, Pincus notes. Unless they can convince LeBron James to come West, their best remaining options could be DeMarcus Cousins or DeAndre Jordan, provided Jordan doesn’t sign an extension with the Clippers, Pincus adds.

In other items regarding the Pacific Division teams:

Clippers point guard Milos Teodosic has a simple explanation why he decided to play in the NBA this season after gaining a reputation as Europe’s top player, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times passes along. “I decided long time ago that I wanted to play in the NBA, but I didn’t have that much chances because I was always under contract and I was not free agent,” Teodosic told Turner. “This summer I was free and the first big opportunity was here with the Clippers.” Teodosic signed a two-year, $12.3MM contract to be the Clippers’ primary ballhandler.
Clippers center Willie Reed had his arraignment hearing for a misdemeanor domestic battery charge in Miami rescheduled from today to Oct. 16, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel tweets. Reed was booked on the charge in August. The alleged incident occurred shortly after Reed, who played for the Heat last season, signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Clippers.
Kings coach Dave Joerger doesn’t believe Skal Labissiere will reach his full potential until his body fills out and he gets stronger, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Labissiere, entering his second season, averaged 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 25 games after DeMarcus Cousins was dealt to the Pelicans. “He won’t be a finished product this year either,” Joerger told Jones. “It’s three, whatever number of years from now, when he fills into his body completely.”

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Torn Labra, Irving

September 3rd, 2017 at 8:16pm CST by Austin Kent

The Nets are in the middle of a long, unconventional rebuild but that hasn’t deterred veterans from aiming for the postseason in 2017/18. Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily recently broke down some Timofey Mozgov comments suggesting exactly that.

While it’s worth recognizing that little stock should be placed in an NBA player saying they think their team can make the playoffs when asked directly, this is the 20-62 Nets we’re talking about and their success or failure will directly impact one of the summer’s most significant storylines (the Cavaliers acquiring Brooklyn’s first-rounder in the Kyrie Irving trade).

Earlier this offseason, Jeremy Lin adamantly claimed that the Nets would make the playoffs in 2017/18, as Ryne Nelson of SLAM Online broke down, and perhaps more weight should be put in those comments than in Mozgov’s. While D’Angelo Russell may well be the biggest long-term building block the franchise has, it’s hard to argue that Lin is anything but their best player here and now.

Of course any discussion about the Nets’ playoff chances should touch on the fact that this isn’t a typical young, rebuilding organization. Lacking their pick in 2018, there’s no incentive for Brooklyn to lose games. In fact, rallying together for a shot at the playoffs could be the most beneficial thing Kenny Atkinson and Sean Marks could hope for in the development of their young core.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

There were some in the Nets organization that wanted to give international free agent Milos Teodosic a look but the point guard’s age and defensive shortcomings hurt his chances, a Nets Daily report says.
Reflecting back on the Irving trade, Zach Lowe of ESPN discusses why he thinks the trade made sense for both sides. The long-read packed with video highlights is a must-read on this magical Labor Day Eve.
If you’re concerned about the lingering effects of a torn labrum, you’re not alone. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe recently spoke with an orthopedic hip surgeon about just that. “When you have a labral tear from impingement, that means that the way that Isaiah Thomas’s hip is shaped, it’s shaped in a way that’s not round,” Derek Ochiai said. “In certain positions, his hip is not round on round. That’s why it’s called impingement, the bone will impinge because it’s not a round-on-round joint. Once you tear your labrum from that, that’s the most common cause of labral tears in any athlete, that tear is not going to heal. It’s always going to be torn, the question is how do you treat that?” The doctor added, however, that there are some high-level athletes with similar conditions that are “doing fine.”
The Celtics have been busy adding stars this offseason but CBS’ Matt Moore argues that the club’s biggest star could actually be head coach Brad Stevens.

And-Ones: Antetokounmpo, Teodosic, Sources, 2018 Standings

August 20th, 2017 at 8:37pm CST by marksuleymanov

Bucks‘ All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out of Eurobasket earlier this week, which was met with disdain from the Greek basketball federation. The group accused the Bucks and NBA orchestrating an “organized and well-staged plan” to keep Antetokounmpo out of the event. However, a statement from the NBA reported by the Associated Press (via ESPN) explicitly denied the allegation.

“The NBA and the Milwaukee Bucks have followed all appropriate protocol under the NBA-FIBA agreement,” the NBA’s statement reads. “Giannis has an injury that has been confirmed through multiple examinations and any suggestion to the contrary is false.”

The Bucks explained that Antetokounmpo reported knee pain while training in Greece. The saga does not end there as, after a series of communications between the Bucks and the Greek team, Antetokounmpo was ultimately pulled from the tournament after the knee ailment did not improve. This subsequently led to the allegations that both the NBA and Bucks purposely sabotaged Antetokounmpo’s stint.

After a tremendous season with Milwaukee last season and major expectations for 2017/18, Antetokounmpo’s NBA future will be his most important.

Read up on more news around the basketball universe below:

Antetokounmpo will not be the only major name to be pulled from Eurobasket this week as the Clippers‘ major international signee, Milos Teodosic, will also not compete in the event, per Eurohoops (via Twitter).
As part of an in-depth look at the reporting side of the NBA, Steven Kyler of Basketball Insiders breaks down how “sources” work. Kyler explains how information is gathered from agents, front office personnel, the players, and other people inside the industry that leads to the stories that are reported across the internet.
As part of its Summer Forecast series, ESPN has released its predictions for standings in both the Western and Eastern conferences.

Contract Details: Teodosic, Curry, Durant, Harden

July 11th, 2017 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Milos Teodosic‘s new contract with the Clippers is worth $6MM in year one and $6.3MM in year two, with the team using a chunk of its mid-level exception to complete the signing, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). As Pincus explains, however, the deal isn’t quite that simple. It also features a 15% trade kicker, a partial guarantee of $2MM in year one, a partial guarantee of $2.1MM in year two, and a second-year player option (Twitter links).

What does that mean in practical terms? Well, Teodosic’s first-year salary will become guaranteed in a matter of days. It only features a partial guarantee initially so that a partial guarantee could be included on the second year as well. That second year will now function as a mutual option of sorts — if Teodosic picks up his option, the Clippers would still have a window to waive him and only be on the hook for a third of his salary ($2.1MM of $6.3MM).

Here are more details on new contracts from around the NBA, with all information via Pincus:

Western Conference:

The new super-max contract signed by Stephen Curry (Warriors) includes a 15% trade kicker and has no options (Twitter link). Kevin Durant‘s two-year deal with the Warriors also features a 15% trade kicker, though he’s even less likely than Curry to be dealt (Twitter link).
As for James Harden‘s super-max extension with the Rockets, the final year of that deal (2022/23) is a player option (Twitter link).
The Rockets signed undrafted rookie Cameron Oliver to a two-year, minimum salary contract that includes $300K in guaranteed money (Twitter link).
George Hill‘s deal with the Kings is frontloaded, with a $20MM cap hit in year one and $19MM in year two. Hill’s third-year salary of $18MM is only guaranteed for $1MM (Twitter link).

Eastern Conference:

J.J. Redick would earn an even larger salary on his one-year contract with the Sixers if he’s traded this season. The $23MM pact includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter link).
The Magic signed Shelvin Mack to a two-year contract worth an even $6MM annually, but only $1MM is guaranteed in year two (Twitter link).
Undrafted free agent Alfonzo McKinnie signed a two-year, minimum salary contract with the Raptors that features a $100K guarantee (Twitter link).