Steve Ballmer Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: Griffin, Paul, Redick

April 22nd, 2017 at 9:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Blake Griffin, who was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with a toe injury, can become a free agent this summer, but he may not have many teams lining up to give him a long-term max deal, Kevin O’ Connor of The Ringer contends. O’Connor details Griffin’s injury history, which includes several ailments on each of his legs, and believes it will cause rival teams to be cautious when making the big man a multi-year offer in free agency. Griffin could always elect not to activate his ETO and stay with the Clippers, though the $21.4MM he would receive in the 2017/18 season is less than the annual salary he’s likely to receive on the open market.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

The window to trade Griffin closed over a season ago and the Clippers missed their chance at getting value for him, O’Connor notes in the same piece. The scribe argues that if GM Doc Rivers had pulled the trigger years ago, the team would have much more depth today and players such as Paul Pierce and Raymond Felton wouldn’t be soaking up significant playoff minutes.
Chris Paul is expected to re-sign with the Clippers, but O’Connor (same piece) wonders if the team should be worried about Paul finding a more attractive option in free agency. He speculates that the Spurs could be a threat should the franchise open up the necessary cap space to give Paul a maximum-salary contract.
Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) isn’t sure owner Steve Ballmer is going to sign off on paying luxury tax payments again for a team that doesn’t have a clear path at a championship. In addition to Paul and Griffin searching for max deals this summer, J.J. Redick will be a free agent and Amick estimates that the Duke product will warrant a deal that pays him $18MM per year.

Clippers Exploring Inglewood As New Arena Site

February 24th, 2017 at 4:11pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Clippers appear to be in the preliminary stages of moving into an arena of their own. According to a report from Nathan Fenno and Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times, representatives of Clippers and Los Angeles Rams ownership have had discussions about the Clippers re-locating to Inglewood. The Clippers would join the Rams and Los Angeles Chargers in the “sports and entertainment district” being targeted for a 2019 release date.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer “hasn’t hidden his desire for an arena of his own,” Fenno and Farmer write, as the Clippers currently share the Staples Center with the Lakers and Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. The Clippers’ lease at Staples Center runs through 2024.

These aren’t the first rumblings we’ve heard about a change of scenery for the Clippers. According to a July 2016 report from Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN, the Clippers had started to explore the possibility of a move, perhaps to Los Angeles’ west side — at the time, Arnovitz said the club had identified six potential locations in southern California, suggesting that the franchise didn’t love being the Staples Center’s “third tenant.”

Although representatives for Ballmer and Rams owner Stan Kroenke have reportedly had multiple discussions, Fenno and Farmer give no indications that those talks have moved beyond the exploratory stages. Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. was unaware of discussions regarding a new arena, and it remains to be seen whether Ballmer would own- rather than lease- the arena land. What’s more, the Times’ report cites the potential conflict of competing head-to-head with the Lakers in selling suites, club seats, and other products.

An anonymous source explained the motives of the prospective move to the L.A. Times:

“It’s too soon to say it would be L.A. Live lite, but if an arena were to bring 200 nights a year, that’s a tremendous amount of foot traffic that would benefit all the ancillary properties.”

Clippers Frustrated Over Gillian Zucker’s Authority?

September 11th, 2015 at 12:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:48pm: Rivers denies the content of the TMZ story, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.

TUESDAY, 8:33am: Several players and key figures within the Clippers organization feel that president of business operations Gillian Zucker is overstepping her bounds and usurping the authority of coach/president of basketball operations Doc Rivers, reports TMZ Sports. One player decided against re-signing with the Clippers because of the confusion over whether Rivers or Zucker has more power, TMZ adds. Zucker became involved in player development and decisions involving playing time, but it’s “painfully obvious” that she doesn’t understand NBA culture, having previously worked in auto racing, players said to TMZ.

Zucker denied knowledge of any such issues to TMZ, saying that the lines are “very clear” between the team’s business department, which owner Steve Ballmer hired her to oversee, and the basketball side. People within the organization who say the issues exist profess that they like Ballmer but are anxious for him to put a check on Zucker’s authority before the situation gets worse, according to TMZ.

Zucker was the impetus for the departure of more than 10 employees within the Clippers who were either fired or quit, HBO’s Bill Simmons tweets. Zucker’s administration is also having trouble with the league, team sponsors, and the team’s TV deal, Simmons adds (Twitter link). The Clippers appear to be $40MM apart on annual local TV rights fee proposals with Fox Sports, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported this week, and are considering a streaming service, as Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reported last month.

Glen Davis, Dahntay Jones, Hedo Turkoglu and Ekpe Udoh are the Clippers who became free agents July 1st and who haven’t re-signed with the team. The Clippers also waived Lester Hudson and Jordan Hamilton, neither of whom has re-signed. Ostensibly, the player who chose not to return to the Clippers because of Zucker is one of those six.

Western Rumors: Bennett, Morris, Clippers

September 7th, 2015 at 9:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Bennett’s spirited play with the Canadian national team at the FIBA Americas tournament provides hope that he can still live up to his status as the top pick in the 2013 draft, Eric Koreen of the National Post reports. The Timberwolves power forward has endeared himself to Canada coach Jay Triano by running the floor, setting screens and attacking the rim, Koreen continues. “I think Anthony Bennett’s summer has been absolutely fantastic for us,” Triano told reporters at the tournament. “He’s engaged in everything that we do on the floor, off the floor, rebounding. We’ve asked him to rebound, and he’s done it on a continuous basis. He runs the floor on a continuous basis. He provides help on the defensive end. He understands our defensive system.” Canada has not featured Bennett much offensively, but he has been effective when given opportunities, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun points out. Bennett was shooting 68.2% on two-point attempts while averaging 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through the team’s first four games. Bennett has been Canada’s de facto center but with Minnesota using its No. 1 overall pick on Karl-Anthony Towns this summer and plenty of competition in a crowded frontcourt, Bennett might not be able to display his improvement immediately, Koreen adds.

In other news around the Western Conference:

The Raptors, Magic, Celtics, Rockets and Pistons are the five most logical landing spots for disgruntled Suns power forward Markieff Morris, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders opines. Morris, who is entering the first year of a four-year, $32MM extension, demanded a trade after Phoenix dealt his brother, Marcus Morris, to the Pistons in July.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer turned down an offer of $60MM annually from Fox Sports to broadcast his team’s games locally, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Ballmer asked for $100MM annually, executives familiar with the talks told Turner, but Fox declined. Ballmer is considering other options, including creating his own network and streaming the games, Turner adds.

Pacific Notes: Jordan, World Peace, Barnes

August 26th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The violation of NBA rules against third-party endorsement offers in a pitch the Clippers made to DeAndre Jordan this summer was unintentional, owner Steve Ballmer wrote in an internal memo he sent to members of the Clippers organization that Dan Woike of the Orange County Register obtained. The league fined the Clippers $250K, reportedly for offering Jordan a endorsement deal with Lexus that would pay the center $200K annually.

“As I shared with everyone on day one of purchasing the Team, being part of the Clippers family means operating with the highest integrity,” Ballmer wrote in part. “We believed we were doing this the right way, and any circumvention was inadvertent. In our effort to support our players in every way possible, we as an organization must be diligent in complying with the CBA.”

See more from around the Pacific Division:

Metta World Peace told TMZ Sports that he’s unaware if the Lakers are thinking about signing him, as reports indicate. The 15-year NBA veteran who turns 36 in November nonetheless expressed interest in joining the team.
The four-year, $52MM extension deal Michael Kidd-Gilchrist reportedly has with the Hornets will affect extension negotiations between the Warriors and Harrison Barnes, opines Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Kidd-Gilchrist has a decent chance to prove more valuable than Barnes in the long run, but the playoff success and durability of Barnes leads Kawakami to second the belief of TNT’s David Aldridge that Barnes and agent Jeff Wechsler will target salaries of at least $15MM (Twitter link). Kawakami suggests $14MM a year as a settling point but believes the threat of a $17-18MM offer sheet from another team looms if the Warriors let him enter restricted free agency next summer.
Kawakami suggests in the same piece that market price for Festus Ezeli would be between $9-11MM. GM Bob Myers recently told Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com that the Warriors would consider the idea of an extension for the backup center, and the team would indeed sign Ezeli to an extension if he’s willing to do so at an agreeable price, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported this week.

Pacific Notes: Jordan, Thompson, Ballmer

October 30th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DeAndre Jordan is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, but his comments to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register make it clear that he enjoys playing for coach Doc Rivers, who doubles as president of basketball operations for the Clippers. “Doc, and he knows this, has changed my career from whatever it was to whatever it is now and into whatever it’s going to be,” Jordan said. “I owe him a lot. He gave me a chance without even knowing me as a person or as a player to be on this team and to be a piece. I feel like I owe him a lot for believing in me before we even had one practice or one conversation.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors GM Bob Myers expects negotiations to continue into the season regarding Klay Thompson‘s extension, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. With the regular season getting underway Tuesday night, it is to be assumed that Myers was referring to the talks continuing from then up until the 11pm deadline this Friday.
For his part, Thompson is also willing to continue negotiating with the Warriors up until the deadline, tweets Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group. Klay Thompson has expressed a preference for the security of an extension rather than a one-year deal next summer that would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency in 2016.
Steve Ballmer has been a breath of fresh air for the Clippers organization in the wake of this summer’s Donald Sterling scandal that led to the former owner’s ouster, as Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes in his profile of the franchise’s new owner.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Thomas, Clippers

October 29th, 2014 at 1:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Workers broke ground today on a new arena for the Kings that’s set to open in two years, the team confirms via press release. It’s the latest in a long line of steps toward a new building that the NBA has mandated must take place in a timely fashion in advance of a 2017 deadline for completion. The league would have the power to take control of the team and move it to another city if the Kings either miss the deadline or don’t show sufficient progress, but it seems the franchise is well on its way to opening the doors of its new home in Sacramento. There’s more on the Kings amid our latest look around the Pacific Division:

The Kings are indeed looking for help on the wing even though they’re not ready to sign Terrence Williams at this point, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). Williams, a four-year NBA veteran, reportedly worked out for Sacramento recently, and the Kings, who have an open roster spot, are looking for experience, Jones says.
New Suns guard Isaiah Thomas confirms that he had interest in signing with the Lakers this summer, adding that the interest was mutual, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “First off, it’s the Los Angeles Lakers. Who wouldn’t want to play for them? Second off, I felt like they always needed a point guard — a small guard like myself,” Thomas said. “I always envisioned myself playing with the Lakers, but like you said, they were waiting on Carmelo [Anthony] and other moves. The Suns came out of nowhere and showed a lot of interest, and I fell in love with them.”
A report early in free agency indicated that the Lakers, Heat and Pistons were Thomas’ preferred teams, and he says to Lowe that all three, as well as the Mavs, showed interest, noting that Miami’s pursuit took place before LeBron James left, as Lowe passes along in the same piece.
Steve Ballmer can write off about half of the $2 billion he paid to buy the Clippers as he files his federal taxes over the next 15 years, report Arash Massoudi and Alan Livsey of the Financial Times (hat tip to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News).

Western Notes: Ballmer, Rockets, Canaan, Afflalo

October 26th, 2014 at 10:33am CST by ChrisCrouse

Steve Ballmer brings enthusiasm and loyalty to the Clippers as their new owner, writes James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. Ballmer wants to be the NBA version of the Seattle Seahawks, whose fans are widely known as the 12th man for being the most passionate in the NFL. “We want better energy. I do. The players do. Doc [Rivers] does. Everybody does,” Ballmer said. “More. Better. We would love to be known for the most energetic fans in the NBA.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Isaiah Canaan, who’s so far secured a roster spot with his preseason play, hopes his hard work translates into playing time in the regular season for the Rockets, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “I have to be strong in practice so that the coaches will feel like they can trust me out there,” Canaan said. “And when I get out there, I need to do my best, work hard and prove that I belong on the floor.”
The return of Arron Afflalo brings major changes to the guard rotation in Denver, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Because of his improved game, Dempsey notes, Afflalo will surely take on a bigger role with the Nuggets than he had in his first stint with the team two years ago.
A lack of depth on the bench could be the Rockets‘ Achilles heel, opines Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. In his season preview, Amico wonders whether there is talent on the roster to fill the void left by the departures of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik.

And-Ones: Moon, Griffin, Jazz, Kerr

October 16th, 2014 at 10:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Former NBA player and Harlem Globetrotter Jamario Moon returns to the D-League this season and is confident in his ability to play in the NBA again, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. “I’m at the point now where I want to show people that I can still play the game, even at 34 years old. I’m a freak of nature, and I’m a better player now. I’ve always kept myself in good physical condition, but I hit the weights harder than I ever have before this last summer. I’m ready.” Moon said.

Here’s more from around the Association:

Shooters might be valued more now by NBA teams than ever, argues Bruce Ely of The Oregonian. Ely identifies those who can connect from beyond the three-point line as the most valued player assets and notes that more than 86% of those who played in the league attempted at least one three-pointer last season.
Blake Griffin chronicles his time playing for Donald Sterling and shares his thoughts on playing for new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer in a piece for The Players’ Tribune. Griffin applauds the new owner’s management style, “Ballmer wants to win no matter the cost. Donald Sterling didn’t care if we won — at least if it meant he had to spend money.”
Jazz players and coaches believe the team’s chemistry has improved, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Guard Trey Burke sees the teams chemistry as a foundation. “We’ve got a lot of guys on this team who are easy to get along with and hold each other accountable, so we’ll just continue to build from here,’’ said Burke.
New Warriors coach Steve Kerr badly wanted to draft Stephen Curry when he was the GM of the Suns back in 2009, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Cooper adds that the Suns had internal conversations about trading Amar’e Stoudemire for the point guard but without Stoudemire showing a strong likelihood of re-signing with the Warriors, Golden State was not going to pull the trigger on the trade.

And-Ones: Sixers, Bender, Ballmer

October 3rd, 2014 at 9:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers managing owner Josh Harris believes the franchise has made remarkable strides in the 17 months since Sam Hinkie was hired as GM, Max Rappaport of NBA.com reports. “I think people see the early returns,” said Harris. “Certainly, we have a lot of cap room, we have two first-round picks next year, we have a slew of seconds, we have a number of players that we have the rights to in Europe, we have possibly two big men between Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel that will be franchise players for us over a long, long time, and we have the Rookie of the Year.”

Here’s more from around the league:

16-year-old Croatian forward Dragan Bender is turning heads over in the Israeli league, writes David Pick of Eurobasket. Pro scouts watching Bender play say his best-case NBA scenario would be to equal Andrei Kirilenko‘s numbers, while the worst-case would place him in Jan Vesely territory. Bender is currently projected by DraftExpress to be selected thirteenth in the 2016 NBA draft.
Steve Ballmer acknowledged a passing interest in buying the Bucks earlier this year and wonders if the NBA would have allowed him and Chris Hansen to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle if they had put up more money in a one-on-one with USA Today’s Sam Amick. The new Clippers owner also said that a long-term extension for Doc Rivers “seemed absolutely right to me” based on Rivers’ track record and recommendations from others. Ballmer had more to say to Amick for another piece that we passed along earlier.
Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders shares his predictions on which players will have breakout seasons during the 2014/15 campaign. Topping the list are Jonas Valanciunas, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Steven Adams.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.