Willie Green Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Magic, Green, Raptors, Mavs

August 3rd, 2012 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic may be subject to criticism in some areas, but the team's current problems can't be blamed on player development, says Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins looks back at the team's draft picks and projects over the last few years and concludes that the club has done a reasonably good job of developing young talent, even if not all the success stories still play in Orlando. Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:

Willie Green spoke to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times about joining the Clippers and how the perception of the franchise has recently changed.
The Bulls top SI.com's Zach Lowe's list of teams whose offseason moves were a little disappointing.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey downplayed the supposed point guard controversy in Toronto while GM Bryan Colangelo acknowledged that a controversy is inevitable with two starting-caliber players at one position. As Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes, neither Casey or Colangelo indicated that there's any rush or need to trade Jose Calderon to clear room for Kyle Lowry.
With Joel Przybilla's free agent decision reportedly imminent, Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders if the Mavericks are serious about adding another center.
Salary cap expert Larry Coon answered plenty of questions in a chat at HoopsWorld.com today.
There's still plenty of time for the Pistons' Khris Middleton and other second-round picks to be signed, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Clippers Acquire Willie Green

July 30th, 2012 at 4:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have acquired Willie Green from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the team announced today in a press release. Green was a free agent, so the deal is a sign-and-trade, as the Hawks confirmed in their own release.

Since Green was coming off a minimum-salary deal and only had Non-Bird Rights, he couldn't have received much of a raise. Still, it's likely more than a minimum-salary deal, since the Clippers could have signed him outright if they intended to pay him the minimum. I would guess the Clips will use the traded player exception acquired in the Reggie Evans trade to absorb Green's salary. Green could sign for a first-year salary up to about $1.48MM, while the Evans trade exception is worth about $1.62MM.

Green, 31, adds a little more depth to a Clippers' backcourt that lost Randy Foye, but added Jamal Crawford and retained Chauncey Billups. Green posted a career-high 13.9 PER for the Hawks in 2011/12, averaging 7.6 PPG and career-best shooting percentages of .471/.442/.857 in 17.4 minutes per game.

For the Hawks, the move nets them a small trade exception (worth Green's 2012/13 salary) along with the rights to Schortsanitis. The Greek center seems unlikely to ever make the leap to the NBA, having been selected by the Clippers in the second round of the 2003 draft. Still, if the Hawks didn't intend to re-sign Green, at least they were able to acquire a small asset for him.

Free Agent Rumors: O’Neal, Bulls, Wallace

July 19th, 2012 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have made a handful of signings so far this summer, but every contract agreement they've reached has been for one of their own players — unrestricted free agents Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw will return, along with restricted free agents Danny Green and Patty Mills. Even the team's one new addition, Nando De Colo, wasn't a free agent, since San Antonio held his NBA rights exclusively. The Spurs are standing relatively pat this offseason, not pursuing outside free agents, and that's just fine with coach Gregg Popovich, as he tells Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

So while the remaining free agents on the market aren't likely to draw a ton of interest from San Antonio, there are plenty of other potential destinations out there. Here's the latest on a few available players:

The Bucks are taking a "long look" at Jermaine O'Neal's workout today, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.

Earlier updates:

The Bulls are eyeing shooting guards such as Marco Belinelli, Randy Foye, Delonte West, and Willie Green, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.
Despite indicating earlier this year that he intended to retire, Ben Wallace would like to return to the Pistons for the 2012/13 season, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. The Pistons have a full roster, so they'd have to make a move to clear a spot to sign the unrestricted free agent.
The Warriors and Bobcats are still pursuing Carl Landry, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Charlotte, which could offer Landry more money, is attempting to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets.
A number of teams have expressed interest in Mickael Pietrus, but the Celtics are still "very much in the picture," says A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com adds (via Twitter) that Pietrus has a "huge" offer from an overseas team, but that he wants to play for an NBA contender on more than a minimum-salary deal.
The Clippers have reached out to Ryan Hollins and Darko Milicic, in hopes of adding a backup big man for the minimum salary, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Darko's agent Marc Cornstein says playing time will be a bigger factor for his client than money, since the Timberwolves are still sending him pay checks.
A big-name free agent came off the market yesterday when the Trail Blazers matched Nicolas Batum's offer sheet. As Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes, Blazers GM Neil Olshey stressed that reports suggesting Batum didn't want to return to Portland were orchestrated by the Timberwolves and Batum's agent. "Nic never said that," Olshey said. "Let’s be very clear. Nic made a couple of comments at the behest of the Minnesota Timberwolves and his agent. That was their agenda; it was never Nicolas’s agenda."

Grizzlies Shopping With Mini Mid-Level Exception

July 10th, 2012 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

At the start of this year's free agent period, the Grizzlies were pursuing relatively big-name free agents such as Ray Allen, willing to offer the full mid-level exception. At the time, I expressed some skepticism that Memphis could offer the full $5MM mid-level if the team hoped to re-sign Darrell Arthur and Marreese Speights.

Sure enough, since agreeing to terms with both Arthur and Speights, the Grizzlies have turned their focus to the $3MM taxpayer MLE, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. According to Tillery, Memphis is eyeing players like Jodie Meeks, Willie Green, and Jordan Farmar.

Free Agent Rumors: Wallace, Grizzlies, Fisher

July 9th, 2012 at 10:28pm CST by Luke Adams

We're into the home stretch of the July moratorium, and it won't be long before all the moves that have been agreed upon in the last week are made official. In the meantime, teams have two more days to prepare for the next stage of free agency, and the rumors continue to swirl. You can track all of the contract agreements to date using our Free Agent Tracker, and you can follow many of today's free agent rumors right here, with the latest up top….

There's a "pretty good chance" that Ben Wallace will return to the Pistons next season, a source tells Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
A source told The Commercial Appeal (via Twitter) that it's unlikely that the Grizzlies will sign Russian guard Alexey Shved. Shved allegedly received offers from the Grizzlies, Cavs, and T'Wolves.
However, the Grizzlies are working to bring veteran guard Willie Green to Memphis, The Commercial Appeal tweets. The soon-to-be 31-year-old averaged 7.6 PPG last year for the Hawks.

Earlier updates:

Southwest Links: Kaman, Thomas, Green, Carter

January 30th, 2012 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Kaman's availability has dominated headlines out of the Southwest division in recent days, as potential suitors contact the Hornets to discuss the seven-footer. Today, NBA.com's David Aldridge and SI.com's Zach Lowe each took the opportunity to run down the list of possible destinations for Kaman, concluding indepenently that the Hawks and Rockets are among the best matches. Let's check out a few more updates out of the Southwest….

Continuing the Kaman discussion, Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com asks Warriors fans whether they'd be okay with sending Monta Ellis to the Hornets in exchange for Kaman and a first-round pick.
The Spurs have assigned Malcolm Thomas to the D-League's Austin Toros, according to the Spurs' official Twitter account. Thomas, who was signed earlier this month, appeared in just 15 minutes over three games for San Antonio.
Hornets head coach Monty Williams told John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he regrets not bringing back Willie Green, who ended up signing with the Hawks: "[Green] was somebody I was in contact with, and we were waiting for the right time… If I could do it over again, I’d probably would have pressed the issue more."
Vince Carter, who signed for the mini mid-level exception introduced in the new CBA, tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he's starting to get comfortable with the Mavericks.