Nate Robinson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Lakers, Robinson, Draft

March 29th, 2015 at 7:29pm CST by Will Joseph

Opposing players, according to Byron Scott, have told the Lakers head coach that they’d love to play in the purple-and-gold, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Scott would not name any players because of tampering rules and did not say how many potential free agents expressed interest to him in joining the Lakers, Medina noted. Still, Scott believes the Lakers “will have a real good summer,” in terms of free agency, according to Medina.

“You have a lot of free agents out there who would love to play for us. They’ve been making it pretty clear,” Scott said. “You have guys during the games come by the bench saying, ‘Hey Coach, I would love to be in L.A. next year.’ That makes you feel good there are players out there that want to be here. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we’re taking it in a different direction. They know this organization and the history of the organization is going to be back.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

There’s still a chance that the Clippers could sign Nate Robinson for the rest of the season after a 10-day evaluation of Lester Hudson, according to Arash Markazi of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Naturally, their decision on what to do with Robinson will hinge heavily on how Hudson performs.
France’s Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot said he would withdraw his name from the 2015 Draft if he deems workouts with teams after the NBA season unsuccessful, as he told the French outlet Be Basket and as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia transcribes. The 19-year-old is averaging 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 19 minutes per contest for the Olympique Antibes, according to Carchia. The swingman announced in February he planned to enter this year’s draft.
Daemen College big man Gerald Beverly, who was recently named a Division II All-American, signed with agent Roger Montgomery of the Montgomery Sports Group, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Robinson, Clippers, Warriors

March 27th, 2015 at 8:43am CST by Zachary Links

On February 6th against the Jazz, Marcus Morris became the first Suns player to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds off the bench since Danny Manning did so in 1997. In many ways, it was a confirmation of what he and his teammates already knew: Morris was not a fluke in his previous games as a reserve, Ben York of NBA.com writes. Currently, Morris is averaging career-highs in points (10.4 PPG), field goal percentage (44.3%), rebounds (4.5 RPG), and assists (1.6 APG). Here’s more from the Pacific Division..

Nate Robinson‘s second 10-day deal expired on Thursday and he will not be re-signed by the Clippers just yet due to his sore left knee, a league spokesman told Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. The spokesman said the Clippers will see how Robinson’s knee is recovering before making a decision on whether to bring him back for the rest of the season. The guard averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.2 APG across nine games for the Clippers but had to sit out of Wednesday night’s contest against the Knicks due to the injury.
Earlier this week, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said “there’s a chance” that Jamal Crawford will not return this season, but the guard doesn’t agree, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times writes. When asked whether he was concerned his calf injury might end his season, Crawford said, “No, I’m not worried. I believe I’ll be fine.” The veteran has averaged 16.4 PPG this season.
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com conducted a very interesting Q&A with Warriors GM Bob Myers. The chat touched on his relationship with coach (and former GM) Steve Kerr and the team’s previous pursuit of DeAndre Jordan.

Clippers Sign Nate Robinson To Second 10-Day

March 17th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 2:33pm: The deal is official, the Clippers announced via press release (hat tip to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register).

MONDAY, 3:35pm: The Clippers will sign Nate Robinson to a second 10-day contract, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Coach/executive Doc Rivers said earlier to reporters, including Markazi, that the move was likely (Twitter link), but Markazi hears that the signing will indeed take place because of an injury to Jamal Crawford that will keep him out at least 10 more days. Robinson’s first 10-day deal expires after tonight. Rivers also reiterated that he plans to sign Jordan Hamilton to a deal that covers the rest of the season, Markazi notes, so put together, the moves would give the team a full 15-man roster.

Robinson has averaged 4.0 points in 14.6 minutes per game in five appearances for the Clippers on his initial 10-day deal. It seemed the guard’s arrival on the roster would come much sooner, as the team was reportedly the front-runner for him in mid-January, shortly after he bought his way off the Celtics, but Rivers and company decided to pursue other options before circling back to the 30-year-old. The Bulls and Robinson engaged in exploratory talks following Derrick Rose‘s injury, but the discussion didn’t appear to progress any further.

The 10th-year veteran is set to become the only Clipper without a deal that carries at least through season’s end if he and Hamilton sign this week. Rivers had earlier spoken of a desire to pursue the post-deadline buyout market, but Robinson is the lone player to have engineered a buyout this season before joining the Clippers.

Clippers Sign Nate Robinson To 10-Day Pact

March 7th, 2015 at 2:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:04pm: The signing is official, the Clippers announced.

1:04pm: The Clippers have signed free agent Nate Robinson, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The two sides reached an agreement after meeting earlier this morning, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. The deal is a 10-day contract, and not one for the remainder of the season, Spears adds in a separate tweet. The Clippers have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary in order to bring Robinson aboard.

The diminutive point guard became a free agent after reaching a buyout arrangement with the Celtics, who had acquired Robinson from the Nuggets in return for Jameer Nelson. The Clippers were reportedly the 30-year-old’s preferred destination. The Heat, Wizards, Bulls and Cavs were also mentioned as possibilities to ink Robinson.

In 33 games for the Nuggets this season, Robinson averaged 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. His career numbers over nine seasons in the league are 11.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His career slash line is .424/.360/.796.

Western Notes: Afflalo, Lee, Robinson

March 6th, 2015 at 8:58pm CST by Will Joseph

Arron Afflalo should fill a lot of the void for the Blazers that was created after soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews‘s season ending injury, Joe Freeman of the Oregonian writes. Afflalo, who has a player option for next season worth $7.75MM, was acquired in a February deal. His skill-set and unselfishness make him a solid replacement for Matthews, Freeman wrote. “I’ll be me,” Afflalo said. “Even before Wes went down, the goal wasn’t for me to come in here and try to be somebody that I wasn’t. Obviously adjusting to a new role is difficult and takes time, but the way I lead, be it vocally or by example, I’ll continue to do that.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Clippers continue to show interest in free agent guard Nate Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link). It was first reported back in January that the Clippers were Robinson’s preferred team, and Los Angeles possessed some level of interest in the diminutive guard.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that the Spurs have thrived, in part, because of their roster continuity, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter links). “Obviously, there’s going to continue to be some change but I think a lot of these guys are going to be in Celtics uniforms for a while coming, and that’s encouraging,” the coach said.
The Jazz had serious discussions with the Warriors at the trade deadline about acquiring David Lee, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone (via Twitter). The Warriors were said to be willing to trade Lee, but they were looking to get assets of value in return.
David Stockton, son of Hall of Famer John Stockton, in his return to the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate, scored a season-high 44 points in what Erika Marmolejo of NBA.com called a “statement game.” The Kings previously decided against signing Stockton to another 10-day contract. Stockton was unable to find decent time behind starting guard Ray McCallum and newly acquired veteran Andre Miller, Marmolejo notes.

Zach Links and Eddie Scarito contributed to this post

Bulls Have Exploratory Talks With Nate Robinson

February 26th, 2015 at 8:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have engaged in exploratory discussions with Nate Robinson, who’s interested in returning to Chicago, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The team is plotting its course in reaction to Derrick Rose‘s latest injury with some level of hope that Rose will play again this season, Charania adds. Coach Tom Thibodeau cautioned that he likes the team’s roster as constituted and that anyone the Bulls would sign into their open roster spot would be primarily for insurance purposes, as Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relay (Twitter links).

Robinson, who started 23 regular season games and eight playoff contests for an injured Rose in 2012/13, has been a free agent since shortly after negotiating his release from the Celtics in a buyout deal last month, soon after Boston acquired him from Denver via trade. The Clippers and Cavs appeared to have interest in him soon after he came available, but the Clips made him a secondary priority and the Cavs reportedly decided not to pursue him after making a preliminary inquiry. There were conflicting reports regarding interest from the Wizards and Heat.

It’s the second straight year that Rose has turned up with a torn meniscus in his right knee, but there’s growing belief that it’s not as serious this time around, Johnson tweets. Johnson wrote earlier this week that Rose was told after his injury last year that it was possible another tear would occur and that the typical treatment for a second tear would entail a shorter rehab of three to six weeks, but Johnson’s latest story has that timetable at three to eight weeks. The postseason is seven weeks away.

The Bulls would be limited to handing out the minimum salary to Robinson, an Aaron Goodwin client. As long as he remains a free agent, he’d be eligible to take part in the playoffs for Chicago even if he signed on the final day of the regular season.

Fallout From Derrick Rose’s Latest Injury

February 25th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Derrick Rose has a torn meniscus in his right knee for the second season in a row, and while there’s no indication yet of how much time he’ll miss, Chicago’s title hopes seemingly hang in the balance. Here’s the latest on the Bulls as they wait to hear the fate of their point guard:

The Bulls are likely to sign another guard into their open roster spot, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Free agent and former Bull Nate Robinson would like to rejoin the team, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears (Twitter link), but it’s unclear if Chicago reciprocates that interest.
Rose was informed upon having season-ending surgery to repair his torn meniscus in 2013 that another tear was a possibility but typical treatment would entail a shorter rehab period of three to six weeks, a source said to Johnson for the same story. Still, it’s too soon to tell whether the injury will be season-ending, two sources close to Rose told Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The point guard is “the definition of untradeable,” but with a pivotal summer ahead, it might be time for the Bulls to reconsider how they regard the former MVP, Mannix opines in the same piece. Rose is due more than $20.093MM next season and in excess of $21.323MM in 2016/17, the last year of his deal.

Multiple Teams Interested In Nate Robinson

January 26th, 2015 at 12:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

JANUARY 26TH: The Clips remain interested in Robinson but are looking into other deals first, a source told Spears for his weekly power rankings column.

JANUARY 23RD: The Clippers are still Robinson’s preferred free agency destination, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Doc Rivers, Los Angeles’ president of basketball operations and coach, recently said that the team intends to use its remaining two roster spots to add veteran players next month. Robinson would certainly qualify as a veteran addition, but there have been conflicting reports regarding L.A.’s level of interest in the diminutive guard.

5:09pm: The Cavs won’t pursue Robinson beyond their initial inquiry, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link).

JANUARY 19TH, 11:55am: Robinson reached out to the Heat, but the Heat still hadn’t responded two days after the inquiry, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears. That seemingly conflicts with Spears’ report from Thursday that Miami was interested in Robinson (below).

2:12pm: USA Today’s Sam Amick suggests that the Clippers have cooled on the idea of signing Robinson (Twitter link). The situation regarding the former Slam Dunk champ is “fluid,” Amick says.

JANUARY 16TH, 7:45am: The Clippers are “running unopposed” atop Robinson’s wish list, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

JANUARY 15TH, 7:37pm: Washington won’t make a roster move until it knows what Ray Allen‘s plans are, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com tweets.

7:32pm: Robinson would like to play for the Wizards, but the team isn’t currently interested in his services, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports (Twitter link). This conflicts with Spears’ earlier report that Washington was indeed interested in Robinson’s services.

7:04pm: The Clippers are still the frontrunners to land Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.

5:49pm: The Wizards and the Heat are also interested in Robinson, Spears tweets.

5:42pm: The Cavaliers have also expressed interest in Robinson, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).

4:18pm: The Clippers are likely to sign Robinson now that he’s reached a buyout agreement with the Celtics, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter link).

3:33pm: The Clippers have interest in Nate Robinson, who’s agreed to a buyout deal with the Celtics, and they’d still like to sign him once they complete the Austin Rivers trade, tweets Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested earlier this week that the Clippers were a possible suitor, and Bolch indicates that’s indeed the case. The Clippers had spoken with the Nuggets about acquiring the 5’9″ guard via trade before the Nuggets instead sent him to Boston this week, Wojnarowski also wrote.

Clippers president of basketball operations and coach Doc Rivers was Robinson’s coach when Robinson was with the Celtics for parts of 2009/10 and 2010/11, including Boston’s run to the 2010 NBA Finals. Robinson, whose seeing a career-low 14.1 minutes per game, reportedly wants to have a chance to showcase his talents in advance of this summer’s free agent market as well as to again play with a contender.

The Clippers would give him a crack at another title, but their backcourt is fairly crowded, with Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick in prominent roles. Backup point guard Jordan Farmar has averaged almost precisely as much playing time this year as Robinson did with the Nuggets, and Farmar has apparently been wanting more. Farmar doesn’t appear likely to head to Boston in the Austin Rivers trade, but Kings have reportedly discussed swapping Ramon Sessions for Farmar.

The Clips’ roster is at 15 players, including Dahntay Jones, whom the team signed to a 10-day contract Wednesday, though much remains up in the air. The Clippers are less than $1MM shy of the hard cap as it stands, and it’s not quite clear what they’ll relinquish in the Rivers trade and where they’ll stand in relation to that $80.829MM hard cap once the trade goes through, but they’d need roughly $450K available to sign Robinson anytime soon to a prorated minimum salary for the rest of the season.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com suggested this week that the Cavs are in the mix for Robinson, too. The Celtics have yet to officially waive Robinson, though Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders indicated Wednesday that they were waiting on Jameer Nelson to complete his physical with the Nuggets, which would put a bow on the trade that sent Robinson to Boston (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Kidd, Robinson

January 22nd, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets weren’t as close to trading Brook Lopez to the Thunder as they seemed, a league source tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, adding that Brooklyn simply didn’t want Lance Stephenson, who would have come from Charlotte in a three-way proposal, or Kendrick Perkins. Still, a Lopez trade remains a possibility, Bucher writes, and the Nuggets are expected to make another run at him, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, just as they did when they reportedly spoke about a package with JaVale McGee as the centerpiece. There’s more on the Nets amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

“High ranking sources” in the Nets organization dispute to Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News that Mikhail Prokhorov wants to sell his majority interest in the club, but those same sources tell Abramson that it’s not out of the question that Prokhorov will give up the team.
The management for Jason Kidd‘s ownership stake in the Nets has asked the NBA for more time to find a buyer, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. Kidd owns one-sixth of 1% of the Nets, Soshnick notes, but he’s required to divest himself of that share, worth $2.5MM based on the Forbes valuation of the franchise, since he’s now coaching the Bucks instead.
Nate Robinson gave up $689K of this season’s salary of nearly $2.107MM in his buyout agreement with the Celtics, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Knicks and Sixers both have dreadful records this season, but only in Philadelphia’s case is that according to any sort of plan, as Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines.

Cavs Back Off Interest In Jordan Farmar

January 19th, 2015 at 5:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 5:07pm: The Cavs won’t pursue Farmar beyond their initial inquiry, Haynes tweets.

FRIDAY, 3:59pm: The Cavaliers have made inquiries about point guard Jordan Farmar, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. The talks were classified as a “feeling out process,” according to Haynes’ sources. Farmar reached a buyout agreement with the Clippers earlier today, and barring the unlikely event that another team claims him off waivers, then Farmar could sign a deal with a new team as early as Sunday. The Cavs have also been mentioned in connection with free agent Nate Robinson, who reached a buyout agreement of his own with the Celtics recently.

Cleveland is seeking to add a backup point guard, Haynes reports. A.J. Price, who was the team’s third point guard on its depth chart, was waived earlier this month, leaving Matthew Dellavedova the lone backup on the team. The Cavs roster currently stands at 14 players, which means no corresponding roster move would be needed in order to sign another player. “We’re at 14. We’d like to address something there at that position,” Cavs GM David Griffin said. The Cavaliers are not in a rush to fill that last roster spot, but at the opportune time, they plan to snag another playmaker, Haynes adds. According to Haynes’ sources, Cleveland will be extensively evaluating point guards who are on the verge of being waived or bought out.

Farmar, 28, has career averages of 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists over 490 games. His career shooting numbers are .423/.374/.734. In 36 appearances for the Clippers this season, he has logged 4.6 PPG and 1.9 APG in a career-low 14.7 minutes per game.