Robin Lopez Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers, Pacers Eyeing Robin Lopez

July 3rd, 2013 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

12:36pm: With Lopez drawing plenty of trade interest, he is unlikely to be released by the Pelicans by Friday, since the team should be able to find a deal, tweets Wojnarowski.

12:15pm: As the Pelicans attempt to move Robin Lopez before his contract becomes guaranteed this weekend, Portland has emerged as a possible destination for the big man, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the Pacers are one of the other teams on a short list of potential suitors for Lopez.

Lopez is set to earn about $5.12MM in 2013/14, a reasonable price for a center who was productive (18.9 PER) and durable (82 starts) during his first season in New Orleans. However, that salary is not yet guaranteed, with Lopez set to receive just $500K if he's released on or before Friday. If he's on an NBA roster beyond Friday, however, his salary for both '13/14 and '14/15 ($5.34MM) will become fully guaranteed.

The Pelicans are in hot pursuit of Tyreke Evans, with a lucrative offer sheet on the table for the restricted free agent. Should Evans agree to sign that offer, New Orleans will likely need to trade or release Lopez to clear the necessary cap space. A trade wouldn't necessarily have to be agreed upon by Friday, but the Pelicans would probably lose some leverage at that point, since they'd no longer have the fallback option of releasing Lopez.

Unlike Portland, Indiana doesn't currently have the cap space to absorb Lopez's contract without sending salary back in return, so the Blazers seem to be a likelier trade partner for New Orleans, unless the Pacers can get creative.

Pelicans Trying To Unload Robin Lopez

July 1st, 2013 at 5:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have made a lucrative offer to restricted free agent Tyreke Evans, and to clear space for it, the team is trying to rid itself of Robin Lopez's contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Lopez is set to make about $5.1MM this season, but that contract is only guaranteed for $500K as long as he's waived on or before Friday. If he's still on the roster after that, his $5.34MM salary for 2014/15 becomes guaranteed, too, making the team's decision doubly important.

I'd imagine the Pelicans would seek trade options for Lopez before simply cutting him loose. The rumored offer to Evans, at four years and $58MM, would push New Orleans to roughly $53.5MM worth of guaranteed salary for 2013/14, not including Lopez's deal. The Pelicans also have backup big man Jason Smith on the books for $2.5MM next season, after his contract became fully guaranteed when he wasn't waived yesterday.

The Kings are considering telling Evans that they're prepared to match the deal, but if they inform him otherwise, he's likely to sign the offer sheet from the Pelicans, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. An agreement would no doubt accelerate talks with other teams, and though Lopez is by no means a frontline starting center like his brother, Brook Lopez, he represents a viable option at the five spot that should be attractive to many around the league.

The Kings may also try to engineer a sign-and-trade with Evans to send him to New Orleans, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune (Twitter link), so perhaps Lopez could be a part of those talks, though that's just my speculation.

Western Notes: Lopez, Gasol, Mavericks

November 24th, 2012 at 8:43pm CST by Michael Pina

Robin Lopez admits that the Suns gave him a fair contract offer this offseason, but decided to sign with the Hornets because he needed a "fresh start," writes AZCentral.com's Paul Coro.

CBSSports.com's NBA writer Zach Harper writes that Pau Gasol's shooting trend is worrisome; more jump shots and less action in the paint. This only supports the theory that Gasol might be on his way out of Los Angeles before this season ends.
Dallas Morning News reporter Eddie Sefko writes about Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle's "dog house," in regards to his inconsistent rotations so far this season.

Western Notes: Warriors, Lakers, Davis

September 27th, 2012 at 9:39pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group summarized Warriors GM Bob Myers' meeting with the local media today, and writes that the team has very important decisions to make in the near future. Thompson mentions that Golden State has the ability to significantly be under the salary cap in two years, but will also have to deal with the possible contract extensions of Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut in addition to deciding the futures of players that are still on their rookie-scale deals. "The players can stay as long as they want if we win…but if we don't win, maybe some things do get turned over," said Myers.

With that being said, we have a few more links to share with you tonight out of the Western Conference:

Andrew Bogut is on schedule to play on opening night and possibly in some pre-season games, although the Australian center has not yet been cleared for five-on-five scrimmages yet, writes Rusty Simmons of SF Gate. GM Bob Myers also talked about Festus Ezeli, adding that he is a "team-first" guy who gives multiple efforts make him a quality prospect. Myers chose to remain neutral on Andris Biedrins not showing up for voluntary pre-training camp workouts, but added that he will have the opportunity to compete in camp and that his role will ultimately be left up to head coach Mark Jackson.
Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles thinks that the last three roster spots on the Lakers will ultimately be decided between Andrew Goudelock, Darius Morris, Darius Johnson-Odom, and Robert Sacre (Twitter link). In another tweet, Markazi says that Goudelock seems to be the odd man out at this point.
Hornets rookie Anthony Davis spoke about what he took away from his experiences at the Olympics, teaming with Robin Lopez this season, and head coach Monty Williams' expectations (Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune reports).
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com spoke with Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt to evaluate Jordan Hamilton's rookie season and what he was told to work on this summer.

Odds & Ends: Austin Rivers, Cooper, Stoudemire

August 21st, 2012 at 9:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Austin Rivers is on schedule to be fully healed in time for Hornets' training camp in October after undergoing surgery on his right ankle three weeks ago. The rookie joins a list of teammates, namely Xavier Henry and Robin Lopez, who are recovering from recent surgeries. Regardless, head coach Monty Williams looks to have all three ready by the time the regular season starts. With that aside, here are more noteworthy tidbits from around the Association:

C.J. Miles elaborated more on the opportunity he has to expand his game with the Cavaliers, especially for a coach like Byron Scott, who believes that Miles has a lot of untapped potential (Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reports).
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that former Timberwolves and Trail Blazers assistant Dean Cooper is headed to the Rockets to join Kevin McHale's coaching staff.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) mentions that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is encouraged about Kelenna Azubuike, who looks like he's moving well and could be a contributor this season.
Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he'll return to the court "stronger than ever" this upcoming season.
76ers GM Rod Thorn acknowledges heightened expectations and says that Philadelphia fans appear to be especially excited because of the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly.
Jenni Carlson of NewsOK thinks that James Harden is better suited to thrive in a small market city with the Thunder rather than be potentially distracted in what she terms "hot spots."

Robin Lopez Undergoes Knee Surgery

August 4th, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Newly acquired Hornets center Robin Lopez has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair a meniscus tear, the team announced Saturday. He is expected to be ready for training camp.

Lopez was signed and traded last week from the Suns to the Hornets as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Timberwolves. As part of the trade, he reportedly signed a three-year deal worth $15.3MM.

Suns, Hornets, Wolves Complete Three-Team Trade

July 27th, 2012 at 7:40pm CST by Luke Adams

7:40pm: The amount of cash going to the Hornets from the Suns is about $1.15MM, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

12:16pm: The Suns, Hornets, and Timberwolves have officially completed a three-team trade that will send Robin Lopez to the Hornets and Wesley Johnson to the Suns, the teams announced today. Per a Hornets press release, the deal breaks down as follows:

Hornets acquire: Robin Lopez (from Suns), Hakim Warrick (from Suns), cash (from Suns)
Suns acquire: Wesley Johnson (from Timberwolves), Brad Miller (from Hornets), Jerome Dyson (from Hornets), 2013 first-round pick (from Timberwolves)
Timberwolves acquire: 2013 second-round pick (from Hornets), 2014 second-round pick (from Suns), 2016 second-round pick (from Hornets)

Lopez is the only player changing hands who was not previously under contract, so New Orleans receives him as part of a sign-and-trade. His contract is for three years and about $15.3MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Dyson's contract is non-guaranteed, and Miller, who has a partially-guaranteed deal, is expected to retire, so Phoenix will likely waive both of those players in the near future. The first-round pick the Suns acquire from the T-Wolves will be either the Wolves' or Grizzlies' pick depending on those teams' performances. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details (via Twitter).

Two of the three picks the Timberwolves receive in the deal are ones they sent to the Hornets earlier this month. The 2013 second-rounder is Brooklyn's, the 2016 second-rounder is New Orleans', and the 2014 second-rounder is the Lakers, acquired by Phoenix in the Steve Nash trade.

Now that the trade is complete, Minnesota should have the cap space to finalize its signing of Andrei Kirilenko.

Hornets, Suns, Wolves Agree To Three-Team Deal

July 27th, 2012 at 11:51am CST by Michael Pina

FRIDAY, 11:51am: The Hornets' acquisition of Robin Lopez is complete, says Jimmy Smith of the Times Picayune, who adds that New Orleans will end up with Hakim Warrick as well (Twitter links). We'll have to wait for further reports or an official announcement to see how the full deal looks.

THURSDAY, 8:20pm: There won't be a resolution to the deal on Thursday night but the odds of the trade going through have improved, tweets Coro. The Hornets' cap situation is not holding up the deal from progressing further.

1:40pm: Alex Laugan of Bright Side of the Sun provides a fantastic breakdown of why this deal is currently on hold, as the Hornets' side of the transaction needs to be modified to be legal under the CBA. In all likelihood, New Orleans will need to include at least one more player or remove Hakim Warrick from the deal to make it work.

Hornets Pursuing Robin Lopez

July 24th, 2012 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

Only four names are left on our list of this summer's restricted free agents, and one is drawing significant interest from the Hornets. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), New Orleans has "worked hard" to complete a sign-and-trade deal for Robin Lopez, but has been unsuccessful so far.

The Suns would like to retain their restricted free agent center, but have so far been unable to come to terms with Lopez, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). If the 24-year-old were to sign an offer sheet with another club, the Suns would likely match it, so the Hornets are looking to avoid that scenario by sending compensation to Phoenix. New Orleans pulled off a similar deal with the Magic, sending Gustavo Ayon to Orlando in exchange for a signed-and-traded Ryan Anderson.

Lopez has averaged just 14.4 minutes per game in his four seasons with the Suns, but has been reasonably efficient in his limited playing time, averaging 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 14.9 PER in 242 career contests.

Suns Rumors: Brown, Lee, Harden, Mayo, Lopez

July 19th, 2012 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Phoenix may have lost star point guard Steve Nash, but don't expect the team to bottom out this season, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Suns have managed to add a few long-term pieces to the roster, including Goran Dragic, Luis Scola, and Michael Beasley, while maintaining spending flexibility for next summer. Let's round up a few Thursday afternoon Suns notes from Coro's piece and elsewhere….

Having inked the aforementioned players, the Suns appear to be putting the brakes on major signings for the rest of the offseason. It's possible they bring back Shannon Brown, but unlikely they seriously pursue Courtney Lee, according to Coro.
Signing Brown to a short, affordable deal would keep the team's cap flexible enough to make a run at James Harden or another big-name free agent next summer, says Coro.
The Suns passed on O.J. Mayo due to "price and a questionable fit," according to Coro.
Coro adds that teams have made "unappetizing" sign-and-trade proposals to the Suns for restricted free agent Robin Lopez, who is still seeking an offer sheet.
Coach Alvin Gentry tells Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld that he isn't worried about the Suns' roster undergoing changes, and that he'll just focus on getting the best out of the players he has.