Sergio Rodriguez Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Turner, Whiteside, Parsons, Rubio

July 1st, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Luke Adams

In an interesting interview with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Evan Turner explained how he ended up reaching an agreement with the Trail Blazers earlier today, expressing confidence that he’ll be a great fit in Portland. Turner suggested that he’d “play in Boston every single day of the week” if all other factors were equal, but the Celtics would have only have offered him about half what the Blazers did, and the C’s likely would’ve reduced his role as well.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

Hassan Whiteside‘s max salary isn’t set in stone yet, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald, who tweets that the young center would be willing to take a little less if Kevin Durant wants to sign with the Heat.
Chandler Parsons called his decision to sign with the Grizzlies the toughest of his life, calling Portland “incredible” and citing Memphis’ coaching staff as a major factor in his choice. Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com has the quotes from Parsons.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press is skeptical that the Timberwolves will trade Ricky Rubio this summer, tweeting that head coach Tom Thibodeau wants to work with the point guard. Krawczynski expects Rubio to be on Minnesota’s roster when training camp rolls around.
Dubbed last week as the favorites to reach a deal with Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez, the Nets are are still trying to get a deal done with Rodriguez, but sources tell Mike Mazzeo and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that an agreement looks “unlikely.”
The Thunder issued a press release today confirming the hiring of Adrian Griffin as an assistant on Billy Donovan‘s staff, as was reported last month. Vin Bhavnani and former NBA guard Royal Ivey also received promotions and are now assistant coaches, per the team.

Atlantic Notes: Rose, Noah, Crawford, Rodriguez

June 25th, 2016 at 7:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that Derrick Rose is with the Knicks, his first priority will be convincing former Chicago teammate Joakim Noah to join him, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Noah is a New York City native who will become an unrestricted free agent Friday, and the Knicks have an obvious need at center after trading Robin Lopez to the Bulls to acquire Rose. “Oh, I want him, he knows that,” Rose said of Noah. “I think his family knows that. I think everyone knows that. Even [Thursday] night I was talking to him about it and it’s the same way. He’s in a position where he got injured twice last year. It was his contract year and he’s got to figure what he wants to do, so I can’t get mad with the decision he will make soon or whenever he makes it. He knows that I would want to play with him.”

Rose said he may change his policy about free agents in general and become an active recruiter for the Knicks. He also alluded to his own free agency next summer, saying, “I hope I’ll be able to play the rest of my career here, but we’ll have to see how this one year goes.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Returning to the Knicks is becoming a viable option for Clippers free agent Jamal Crawford, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has supporters inside the Knicks organization and he has interest in joining the team. “I’m not talking about any one team, but everyone knows how I feel about New York,” Crawford said. “I really enjoyed my time there.” He was with the Knicks from 2004 to 2008, before being traded to Golden State. Crawford, 36, earned $5.675MM last season with the Clippers, who own his Bird Rights and have expressed a desire to re-sign him.
The Nets are the favorites to reach a deal with Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez, tweets international journalist David Pick. The 30-year-old Rodriguez has prior NBA experience with the Blazers, Kings and Knicks.
The Raptors will continue their search for a power forward, either through free agency or trades, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Toronto gained depth in the front court by drafting Jakob Poeltl at No. 9 and Pascal Siakam at No. 27, but the team still doesn’t believe it has its starting power forward on the roster. Thirty-six-year-old Luis Scola, who started 76 games this season, will be an unrestricted free agent. The Raptors would also like to pick up more outside shooters, Wolstat notes, especially if they have to trade Terrence Ross to get a power forward.
Poeltl was a back-to-the basket center in college, but he’s trying to improve his shooting range to fit the modern NBA game, Wolstat relays in the same piece. “I’ve started shooting a lot more, and I’ve noticed some quick improvement,” Poeltl said. “So I really hope I can be or become a better shooter fast and stretch the floor a little more.”

New York Notes: Conley, Rambis, McCullough

May 8th, 2016 at 1:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets will be shopping for a point guard this summer and may have a better shot at landing Mike Conley now that coach Dave Joerger has been fired in Memphis, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Conley, who averaged 15.3 points and 6.1 assists this season and led the NBA in assists-to-turnovers ratio, has said he wants to see how the Grizzlies’ offseason plays out before deciding to re-sign.

Lewis foresees a point guard shakeup in Brooklyn even if the Nets can’t lure Conley. He expects Jarrett Jack, who started 32 games before tearing his ACL, to be released, allowing the Nets to save all but $500K of his $6.3MM salary. Shane Larkin has a June 29th deadline to decide whether to exercise a $1.5MM option for next season. New coach Kenny Atkinson has a reputation for developing point guards and worked closely with Jeremy Lin when both were with the Knicks. Lin could be an option if he opts out of a deal with Charlotte that would pay him only slightly more than $2.2MM. Lewis writes that Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Seth Curry and Jordan Clarkson could be other targets, along with overseas players such as Milos Teodosic, Nando De Colo, Malcolm Delaney and Sergio Rodriguez.

There’s more out of New York:

The Knicks also have interest in Conley and might see their chances improving because of the events in Memphis, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. That’s especially true if GM Chris Wallace, a huge supporter of Conley, leaves the Grizzlies as well, Berman writes.
Knicks president Phil Jackson may be repaying Kurt Rambis after costing him the head coaching job with the Lakers 17 years ago, Berman writes in a separate story. Rambis took over on the Lakers’ bench after Del Harris was fired in 1999 and expected to be named head coach after the season ended. However, late owner Jerry Buss hired Jackson, and Rambis’ coaching career was put on hold. Now the interim coach with the Knicks, Rambis is believed to be Jackson’s choice to lead the team next season.
Nets rookie Chris McCullough showed a lot of promise late in the season, but he will probably be brought along slowly next year, according to NetsDaily. McCullough, the 29th pick in last year’s draft, missed most of the season while recovering from an ACL tear he suffered at Syracuse. A 6’11” power forward with an impressive vertical leap and 3-point range, McCullough gives Brooklyn hope for the future, but the author speculates that Atkinson will phase him in gradually and may even send the 21-year-old to the team’s new D-League team for occasional seasoning.

And-Ones: Terry, Russell, Allen, Rodriguez

April 1st, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jason Terry has confirmed that he talked to Alabama-Birmingham about its coaching vacancy, but he cautions that doesn’t mean his NBA career is over, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. The Rockets‘ veteran point guard interviewed with UAB on Thursday in Houston, where school officials are gathered for the Final Four. The 38-year-old said the interview doesn’t mean he’s decided to retire when this season is over. “No, I’m focused on the playoffs, and there has been no offer made,” he said, “but I have to keep all my options open when it comes to my post-playing career.” Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com tweets that Terry wants to play two more seasons if UAB doesn’t hire him.

There’s more news from the basketball world:

Some in the Lakers organization fear that the video controversy surrouding D’Angelo Russell will obstruct the team’s efforts in free agency this summer, writes Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, though a prominent agent who spoke with Sean Deveney of The Sporting News scoffed at that notion.
Stanford small forward Rosco Allen will enter this year’s draft but won’t immediately hire an agent, according to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The school and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress list him as a senior, but his Stanford bio also notes that he received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA for the 2013/14 season, so presumably he has a year of eligibility remaining. He’d get to use that year if he pulls out of the draft by May 25th and doesn’t hire an agent. Givony lists Allen as 69th-best among seniors, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him outside his rankings.
Four-year NBA veteran Sergio Rodriguez is again considering a return to the league, as international journalist David Pick hears (Twitter link). The point guard was thinking along those lines last year, when he ultimately wound up staying with Real Madrid, the Spanish team he’s played for since his NBA tenure ended in 2010. Conversely, Rodriguez’s Madrid teammate, Rockets draft-and-stash player Sergio Llull, isn’t giving any thought to joining the NBA, as he said in an appearance on Radio Marca (translation via HoopsHype).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nuggets Still Interested In Sergio Rodriguez?

July 21st, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:40pm: There’s no truth to the latest report linking Rodriguez to the Nuggets, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tells Hoops Rumors.

8:33am: The Nuggets have been trying for weeks to lure four-year NBA veteran Sergio Rodriguez back from overseas, reports Javier Maestro of Encestando (translation via HoopsHype). Jesus Perez Ramos of Mundo Deportivo reported a month ago that Denver was one of three NBA teams eyeing the point guard who last played in the league during the 2009/10 season. Rodriguez confirmed soon after that report that he was considering an NBA comeback, but David Pick of Eurobasket.com wrote just last week that Rodriguez was staying in Spain despite talks with an NBA Western Conference team, as Real Madrid fought to keep him.

The buyout clause in Rodriguez’s deal with Real Madrid reportedly requires 2 million euros, or about $2.178MM in today’s dollars. It’s an amount that Rodridguez late last month referred to as reasonable, though the Nuggets or any other NBA team could effectively only pay $625K toward it. That jibes with a report in June from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who wrote that the buyout was not expected to be an obstacle.

NBA teams see Rodriguez as an elite backup point guard, Wojnarowski wrote then. The Nuggets officially traded Ty Lawson to the Rockets on Monday, but they still have the newly re-signed Jameer Nelson, No. 7 overall pick Emmanuel Mudiay and Erick Green to play at the point. Green’s salary is non-guaranteed through August 1st. Denver can open up about $11MM in cap space if it waives Kostas Papanikolaou‘s non-guaranteed salary, too.

Rodriguez, the 27th overall pick in 2006, spent his first three seasons playing for the Blazers before finishing up with the Kings and Knicks. He averaged 4.3 points, 2.9 assists and 1.3 turnovers in 13.2 minutes per game over his NBA career.

Do you think Rodriguez belongs in the NBA? Leave a comment to let us know.

Northwest Notes: Malone, Lillard, Harkless

July 17th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets coach Michael Malone didn’t have too much to say about Ty Lawson, other than that he’s been in contact and that he still considers the point guard “part of the Denver Nugget family,” but Malone, in his conversation with Grantland’s Zach Lowe, provided a glimpse into Denver’s draft night war room.

“It’s very rare when you’re picking No. 7 to get the guy you target. I kid you not, when I got the job, [GM] Tim Connelly said, ‘Emmanuel Mudiay. That’s the guy,'” Malone said.

The team’s other target was Duke small forward Justise Winslow, Malone admitted to Lowe with hesitation. Winslow slipped to the Heat at No. 10. The coach also spoke with Lowe about his time hanging around the Timberwolves last season, and Malone “absolutely” had interest in becoming the head-coach-in-waiting under Flip Saunders in Minnesota, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. He would have considered such an opportunity over the Nuggets gig, Wolfson adds. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Damian Lillard is a fan of Portland’s trade acquisition of Maurice Harkless, GM Neil Olshey says, and it’s with Lillard in mind that the Blazers are going after players like the former Magic small forward, as The Oregonian’s Mike Richman chronicles. Lillard signed a five-year max extension this month. “When LaMarcus [Aldridge] warned us he wasn’t coming back we went full bore with guys on the same career arc as Damian Lillard,” Olshey said. “Damian’s our best player right now, he’s a two time All-Star. We’re going to bring in players that compliment his skill set, how we want to play and that can grow with him as he continues to improve.”
The Nuggets were reportedly one of three teams interested in signing Sergio Rodriguez, but it doesn’t look like he’ll leave Spain for the NBA again, as Real Madrid wants him to stay, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The contract reportedly contains an NBA buyout clause, but Real Madrid will fight to keep him, Pick says.
The precise value of Jameer Nelson‘s three-year contract with the Nuggets is $13,621,575, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The cap hits in the four-year deal the Nuggets gave Nikola Jokic come to $5,551,000, and year four is a team option, Pincus also shows (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: Favors, Ingles, Lyles, Nuggets

June 27th, 2015 at 4:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Favors is not being shopped around the league by the Jazz despite the team’s reported interest in free agent Paul Millsap, a source told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. A source had told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News earlier this week that Favors might be traded to make room for Millsap. While the Jazz are likely to gauge Millsap’s interested in returning to Utah, they like the defensive pairing of Favors and Rudy Gobert along the interior, Falk continues. That duo had a defensive rating of 92.5 points allowed per 100 possessions, fourth best in the NBA, over the last 29 games when the Jazz went 19-10, Falk notes. Favors also has a team-friendly contract averaging $11.6MM over the next three seasons, Falk adds.

In other news around the Northwest Division:

Utah will make a $1,045,059 qualifying offer to Joe Ingles, giving the Jazz the right to match all offers for the one-year veteran in free agency this summer, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). That’s no surprise, since Tribune scribe Gordon Monson had identified mutual interest this spring between the Jazz and the Australian swingman. Utah is still planning to re-sign him, Jones adds.
The Jazz selected Trey Lyles with their first-round pick over his Kentucky teammate Devin Booker because of his playmaking ability and defensive versatility, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Lyles can not only back up Favors, he can slide over to small forward and even center on occasion, Jones continues. Booker would have come onto the team as the third shooting guard with no apparent path to playing time, Jones adds.
The Nuggets let two trade exceptions expire unused Friday — one worth $1.75MM for Anthony Randolph, who went out in the trade that brought in Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, and the other worth $1,422,720 that was a vestige of last summer’s Evan Fournier/Arron Afflalo trade.
Former NBA point guard Sergio Rodriguez confirmed to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick that he is thinking about returning to the NBA and will gauge the market after free agency begins Wednesday. He called the buyout in his contract with Real Madrid of Spain, worth a reported 2 million euros that comes to almost $2.234MM at today’s exchange rate, a reasonable one, Quick adds. Conflicting reports of late had painted different pictures about whether Rodriguez was considering the NBA, and another report identified the Nuggets as one of three NBA teams with interest.

Nuggets Eye Sergio Rodriguez?

June 23rd, 2015 at 10:27am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets are one of three NBA teams interested in signing four-year NBA veteran and current Spanish league point guard Sergio Rodriguez, reports Jesus Perez Ramos of Mundo Deportivo (translation via HoopsHype). The 29-year-old Rodriguez is seeking $6MM salaries on a deal that covers at least three fully guaranteed seasons, according to Ramos. Conflicting reports paint a confused picture of whether Rodriguez is high on a return to the NBA, where he hasn’t played since 2009/10, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who indicated that Rodriguez does want back in the league, wrote that NBA front offices regard him as an elite backup point guard.

Rodriguez’s deal with Real Madrid requires a buyout worth 2 million euros, Ramos writes. That’s the equivalent of more than $2.234MM at today’s exchange rate. Even though that’s much greater than the $625K that NBA teams can’t exceed in international buyouts this coming season without essentially taking the rest out of the player’s paycheck, it isn’t expected to be an obstacle to getting him to the NBA, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nuggets have more than $53MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.1MM cap, though the team has been heavily involved in trade rumors of late, so just how much it’ll have to throw around is unclear. Rodriguez put up 10.7 points, 5.1 assists and 1.8 turnovers in 21.9 minutes per game this season in Spain. He averaged 4.3 PPG, 2.9 APG and 1.3 TOPG in 13.2 MPG across his time in the NBA with the Trail Blazers, Kings and Knicks.

And-Ones: Celtics, Bulls, Rodriguez, Frazier

June 20th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are reportedly trying to move out of the No. 28th spot in the draft in an effort to gain more cap flexibility, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link). Earlier today, it was reported that the team would like to move up in the draft in order to select Myles Turner. Boston also owns the No.16 overall pick, so perhaps it could dangle both picks to a team drafting in the back-end of the lottery, which is where Turner is expected to be selected.

Here’s more from around the league on the last day of spring:

Sergio Rodriguez is not contemplating the possibility of making the jump to the NBA, barring an offer he cannot refuse, according to Marca.com (Translation by HoopsHype.com). It was previously reported that the point guard planned to try and secure an NBA deal this summer.
Tom Thibodeau and his coaching staff reportedly lobbied for Draymond Green to be the No.29 overall selection in the 2012 draft instead of Marquis Teague, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Since taking over for Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg has immersed himself in the Bulls’ draft process, according to Johnson in the same piece. Hoiberg is also working finalize his staff with Pete Myers, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm and video coordinator Charlie Henry.
Michael Frazier will work out for the Sixers, Hawks and Rockets, according to Antonya English and Bob Putnam of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Gator has previously worked out for 11 other teams.

And-Ones: Payne, Rodriguez, Johnson

June 19th, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Potential lottery pick Cameron Payne suffered a non-displaced fracture in the ring finger of his right hand during a pre-draft workout for the Nuggets on Monday, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports. The point guard visited a hand specialist, and it was determined that it was a clean fracture that will not require surgery, and the former Murray State player will sit out the next three weeks as a precautionary measure, Givony notes. “Cam continued to work out even after suffering the injury in Denver, and he could probably play in a meaningful game tomorrow if he needed to,” Payne’s agent Travis King told Givony.

Here’s more from around the league:

Former NBA coach Avery Johnson acknowledged earlier this week that if he had waited until after the NBA season ended, he would have likely landed a head coach position in the league, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. ”I know without a shadow of a doubt, that if I had waited, there would have been a high probability I would have got an NBA job based upon the conversations my agent was having with some people,” Johnson told Reid. ”But the main thing is that there is no turning back. I’m here at the University of Alabama and this is the right situation.” Johnson has coached the Mavericks and the Nets, and he owns a career regular season record of 254-186.
Texas big man Myles Turner is scheduled to work out for the Pistons on Saturday, the Heat on Monday, and the Knicks on Tuesday, Dwain Price of The Star Telegram relays (Twitter link).
Real Madrid’s Sergio Rodriguez, who is considered the top point guard in Europe, plans to try and secure an NBA deal this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. NBA front-office executives regard Rodriguez as an elite backup playmaker in the NBA, and his representatives at CAA began calling teams today to gauge initial market interest for Rodriguez, Wojnarowski adds. The 28-year-old’s contract with Real Madrid contains an NBA buyout provision that isn’t expected to become an obstacle, the Yahoo! scribe relays. Rodriguez last played in the NBA during the 2009/10 season, appearing in 66 contests split between the Knicks and the Kings.