Nick Young Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Young, Mavs, McHale, Fesenko

October 3rd, 2014 at 7:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers guard Nick Young has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will miss approximately six to eight weeks, Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Young injured the thumb during practice when attempting a steal on Kobe Bryant. He’s scheduled to have surgery this Monday, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. With Young expected to be the Lakers sixth man and provide an offensive boost this isn’t a great start to the season, especially after the team missed a total of 319 games due to injuries last year, which was a major factor in Los Angeles’ rough 2013/14 campaign.

Here’s more from the wild west:

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that just because a player has a total or partially guaranteed contract doesn’t mean he’ll make the final roster, Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (Twitter link). Dallas has a total of 19 players on their preseason roster, with 15 of them carrying full guarantees and two with partially guaranteed deals.
Kyrylo Fesenko is especially motivated to win an uphill battle for a spot on the Wolves regular season roster because of his desire to move his family out of war-torn Ukraine, as he details to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Fesenko is on a non-guaranteed contract, but the Wolves have their hands full with 15 fully guaranteed deals plus a partial guarantee for Glenn Robinson III, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron detailed.
Rockets head coach Kevin McHale isn’t concerned that he’s in the final year of his contract despite Houston owner Leslie Alexander’s track record of not handing out second deals to previous coaches like Jeff Van Gundy and Rick Adelman, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. McHale said, “That has no bearing on me. I never believed that. If you’re going to play better in the last year of your contract because it’s the last year of your contract, I question who you are. If you are going to coach better because you’re in the last year of your contract, I question that guy. I’m going to do the same thing I’ve always done. I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can with these guys, try to get these guys to be the best possible team we can be and you know what, like as a player, you do the best job you can. If it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Young, Clippers

July 28th, 2014 at 9:06am CST by Chuck Myron

Every coach in the Pacific Division next season will be in either his first or second season on the job. Presumably that group will include Byron Scott, who says he has just a few loose ends to tie up before he’s the next coach of the Lakers. Here’s more from the Pacific:

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are confident that the Warriors aren’t looking to break up the “Splash Brothers” backcourt tandem with a trade that sends Thompson to the Wolves for Kevin Love, as the Golden State guards tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Thompson said new coach Steve Kerr gave him the “vibe” that he won’t be traded. Kerr is reportedly among the advocates within the team’s brass for keeping Thompson.
Nick Young says he feels like the Lakers made him a priority when they re-signed him to his new four-year deal, but he acknowledged he might not have ended up with the team had Carmelo Anthony decided to go to L.A., as he tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Matt Barnes said it’s realistic that Clippers players would boycott if Donald Sterling remains the owner into next season, as he said in an appearance on The Chris Mannix Show on NBC Sports Radio (Facebook link; hat tip to USA Today’s Nina Mandell). Still, he acknowledged that with the process tied up in court, he just wants to see the NBA move “swiftly and abruptly” toward Sterling’s ouster. ““It’s tough,” he said. “I think you guys [the media] are like we are, we’re not exactly sure how far they can push it. We know where they stand and what they want. At the end of the day it comes down to legalities and business, stuff that has to be handled in a court of law. It’s a very touchy, very iffy situation. We’re about two months out from camp, and I think as it gets closer and as we get a better understand of what’s going to happen I think you will have a better idea of what we are going to do.”

Contract Details: Collison, Young, Hinrich

July 21st, 2014 at 8:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The difference between Darren Collison‘s first year salary and the $5.305MM mid-level exception is precisely equivalent to the rookie minimum salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out (on Twitter). That allows the Kings to use that remaining portion of their mid-level to sign a rookie for three or four years rather than just the two that the minimum-salary exception would allow. Here’s a round up of the latest contract details to come to light this evening..

Nick Young will make $4,994,420 this season and $21.3MM over the course of his four-year contract with Lakers, according to Pincus (on Twitter). Swaggy P’s new deal with the Lakers became official earlier today.
Kirk Hinrich‘s new deal with the Bulls includes a 15% trade kicker, Pincus tweets. In 73 games (61 starts) last season for the Bulls, Hinrich averaged 9.1 PPG and 3.9 APG in 29 minutes per contest. Hinrich has put up a 10.8 PER over the last two seasons, a far cry from the 17.0 PER he put up in his best season for the Bulls (2006-07).
The third and final year of Kris Humphries‘ contract with the Wizards is non-guaranteed, tweets Pincus. It was previously unclear whether that third year was non-guaranteed or simply a team option.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) has the goods on Ryan Kelly‘s two-year deal with the Lakers. Kelly will earn $1.65MM in 2014/15 and ~$1.72MM in 2015/16.
Trevor Booker‘s deal with the Jazz has just $250K guaranteed in year two, Pincus tweets. It was previously reported that the second season on Booker’s deal was not fully guaranteed.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Re-Sign Nick Young

July 21st, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 21ST: Young and the Lakers have made the deal official, the team announced via Twitter.

JULY 12TH, 1:04pm: The Lakers will refrain from signing Young until after the sign-and-trade for Pau Gasol is completed, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

JULY 11TH, 4:40pm: Free agent Nick Young has agreed to re-sign with the Lakers, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’ll be a four-year, $21.5MM deal with a player option in the fourth season, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter links).

The deal seems like a strong indication that the Lakers have abandoned hope of signing Carmelo Anthony, since they’ll have to use cap space on Young. They had Young’s Non-Bird rights, which only provided for a 20% raise on last year’s salary of slightly more than $1.1MM.

In spite of the hefty raise, agent Mark Bartelstein says Young passed on more lucrative offers to re-sign, as he tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Western Rumors: Smith, Lakers, Ballmer, Thunder

July 18th, 2014 at 10:47pm CST by Cray Allred

The Kings don’t believe any of their power forwards is a solution at the position, and they’ve tried to move one this summer in a quest for an upgrade that’s sparked revitalized talks with the Pistons involving Josh Smith, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details. Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Lakers have renounced the rights to Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry, and Kent Bazemore, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times reveals (all on Twitter). The maneuvers will accommodate the re-signings of Nick Young, Henry, and Johnson, all of whom have agreed to new deals. Pincus expects Young to be renounced before re-signing as well.
The Times scribe suspects that the Lakers are using part or all of the room exception to sign Ryan Kelly, considering the cap room that will be eaten up by Young’s contract, and a “reasonable” market of suitors for the power forward (all via Twitter).
Steve Ballmer agreed to extend his deal to purchase the Clippers until August 15th, but Linda Deutsch of The Associated Press reports that Ballmer’s lawyer told a judge in the Donald and Shelly Sterling legal proceedings that the agreement will be off if there is no ruling prior to that date. Ballmer’s potential withdrawal would further cloud the team’s status, as commissioner Adam Silver recently cautioned that Sterling could still own the Clippers at the beginning of next season.
The Thunder have announced that their D-League affiliate will move from Bixby, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City next season, as first reported by Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The change will make shuffling players between the Thunder and 66ers more convenient.
The Jazz still have free agency moves to make in filling out their roster, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (all Twitter links). Francisco Garcia is a possibility for Utah, who seek a shooting wing along with a third point guard brought in to sit behind the team’s developing backcourt.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Rambis, Brooks

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:14am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s the Lakers’ turn to try to impress Carmelo Anthony today as the free agency tour for the Knicks star continues. Kobe Bryant has cut short his European vacation to be in attendance for the pitch, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, there’s plenty of other business for the Lakers to address, since they have just four players under contract and no head coach. We’ll round up the latest here:

The Lakers would like to pair Anthony with Pau Gasol, and if the team were to convince Anthony to sign, Gasol would be far more likely to follow suit, as Shelburne reports in the same piece.
The Knicks have offered Kurt Rambis a four-year contract worth about $1.2MM a year to become the team’s lead assistant coach, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Lakers assistant appeared early last month to be among the front-runners to become the Lakers head coach, but a more recent report indicates that he’s fallen behind other candidates.
MarShon Brooks is the only Lakers free agent whom the team has yet to reach out to, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The Hawks are among the teams that have spoken with Nick Young, as agent Mark Bartelstein tells MeMenamin for the same piece.
Xavier Henry, who’s recovering from wrist and knee surgeries, will work out for the Lakers when healthy before exploring options with other teams, McMenamin also writes.

Free Agent Rumors: Melo, Love, Henry, Sessions,

July 1st, 2014 at 1:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks are still viewed in league circles as the favorites in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is confident that it will get the final sales pitch with Anthony, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The latest free agent rumors from around the league..

The Rockets, Suns, Bulls, and Warriors are all expected to make plays for Kevin Love if they miss out on LeBron James and/or Anthony, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
The Pacers are targeting Xavier Henry in free agency to replace Evan Turner, tweets Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth.
Bucks free agent guard Ramon Sessions‘ camp received calls from three teams in the first hour of free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
The Grizzlies, Nets, Spurs, and Thunder have expressed in free agent point guard Sebastian Telfair, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Telfair played in China last season. For the Nets, Telfair could be a potential replacement for Shaun Livingston if he goes elsewhere.
The Nets reached out as soon as the negotiating window opened to their own free agents Paul Pierce, Livingston, and Alan Anderson, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
The Blazers have strong interest in signing a stretch four, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Spencer Hawes, Boris Diaw, and Josh McRoberts are among their targets.
Blazers GM Neil Olshey met with Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Channing Frye would be open to returning to the Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “Of course coming back would be an option,” Frye wrote in an e-mail. “I love the city, the fans, and the players they have are top notch.”
Nick Young was contacted by the Lakers and a number of other teams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter).

Nick Young Opts Out, Will Become Free Agent

June 25th, 2014 at 5:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 5:06pm: Young has officially opted out, the team announced.

TUESDAY, 12:52pm: Nick Young has let the Lakers know that he’s opting out of his contract for next season to become a free agent in July, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The news is not at all surprising, as Young has appeared likely to opt out since at least March, even as he danced around the issue without giving a definitive answer. He’ll hit the market rather than collect the minimum for next season, but there’s mutual interest in a return.

Still, Young wants the Lakers to make him a “priority” this summer, according to McMenamin, suggesting that he’s angling for a significant raise. Just how much interest the Lakers will have in giving him more than the minimum will likely hinge on their pursuit of marquee targets in free agency. The team has reportedly been considering ways to pair LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in purple-and-gold, and acquiring stars of that ilk would likely erase the cap space necessary to give Young a hefty raise. The Lakers would probably be limited to giving Young a 20% raise via his Non-Bird rights or using the $2.732MM room exception on him.

The 29-year-old Los Angeles native gave his hometown team a discount when he joined the Lakers in free agency last summer, and his numbers benefited from an otherwise injury-hit roster. He averaged a career-high 17.9 points in 28.3 minutes per game as a sixth man, and he shot 38.6% on 5.5 three-point attempts per contest.

Pacific Notes: Kobe, Young, Scott, Warriors

June 18th, 2014 at 9:48pm CST by Alex Lee

In Brazil taking in the World Cup, Kobe Bryant indicated on Brazilian television that his knee is fully healthy and he is working tirelessly to ensure the Lakers bounce back from what was a difficult year, writes Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times. “We only have three players from last year’s team signed to contracts right now, including me. We don’t have a coach. It’s literally like starting from scratch,” said Bryant, who also reiterated his intent to play only two more years in the NBA.

Here is more news from the Pacific division:

Bryant presumably did not count Nick Young, who is likely to opt out of his deal, among the three players under contract with the Lakers. Speaking to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Young said on Wednesday that he would prefer to stay with the Lakers and would be willing to take a hometown discount if the team offered him “more years.” Medina believes the team likes Young, but is unlikely to offer role-player types more than a one year deal in hopes of preserving cap space.
Both Bryant and Young are surely paying close attention to the team’s coaching search. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reports (via Twitter) that all indications are that Byron Scott is the leading candidate to become the Lakers next head coach.
There were whispers on Wednesday that the Warriors might be willing to part with Harrison Barnes and David Lee in exchange for Tyson Chandler, according to Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News, who staunchly opposes the deal from Golden State’s perspective and quickly dismissed any possibility of it materializing.

Pacific Notes: Clippers, Lakers, Young, Suns

May 28th, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA received a letter from one of Donald Sterling’s personal lawyers last week informing the league of his intention to allow his wife to conduct a sale of the Clippers, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reports in the latest version of her story from overnight. That runs counter to the assertion from another of Sterling’s lawyers Tuesday that his client “disavows” any agreement with his wife on the sale of the team. There’s more on the Clippers amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Shelly Sterling appears to be racing to close on a deal with a bidder for the Clippers in advance of Tuesday’s hearing to oust her and her husband, but the NBA would have to vet any new owner, a process that won’t be done by next week, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets. Still, the league has already vetted potential buyers Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer and Lakers minority owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, Aldridge notes, so perhaps those three have an edge (Twitter link).
A source close to Nick Young tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that the swingman wants to return to the Lakers but will likely opt out of his contract for next season, seconding earlier reports.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Suns to the list of teams working out Jarnell Stokes (Twitter link).