The arrival of Doc Rivers all but guarantees that Chris Paul will stay with the team, according to Sam Amick of USA Today: “The evolution of the new-age Los Angeles Clippers continued Sunday, when they landed the coach they hope takes them to the next level on the Western Conference totem pole. Again. It didn’t start with Doc Rivers’ agreement to leave the Boston Celtics and join the Clippers in exchange for an unprotected 2015 first-round draft pick, a move that will pay Rivers about $21 million for his next three years of service and all but guarantees that free agent-to-be Chris Paul will return. A person with knowledge of the deal confirmed it to USA TODAY Sports but spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced. This Clippers’ new look began with the way Paul arrived, a trade from the New Orleans Hornets in December2011 that was seen by Paul as a preferred deal as compared with the Hornets-Los Angeles Lakers trade that had been vetoed by the NBA days earlier.”
Had the Clippers not acted sooner to acquire Rivers, the Denver Nuggets may have had a shot at him, from Wojnarowski: “The Denver Nuggets called the Celtics on Saturday – the second time in two weeks – to inquire about trying to hire Rivers as coach, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets had been willing to give the Celtics a first-round pick as compensation and were prepared to make Rivers a competitive offer with the $7 million per season he made in Boston, sources told Yahoo! Sports. Without the Clippers’ change of heart on offering a first-round pick, there had been a strong possibility that Rivers would’ve discussed the Nuggets job with Denver officials. The Clippers’ offer of a 2015 first-round pick changed everything. Clearly, Rivers’ telling the Clippers he no longer had interest in the job – and the Celtics setting a Friday deadline for a deal – were negotiating postures to leverage the Clippers back with a better offer.”
LeBron James defended Danny Green, saying the guard didn’t actually party with the Heat after losing in Game 7, from Marc Berman of New York Post: “A picture that raced around the web Friday showed James giving Green a hug at the exclusive South Beach nightclub, LIV, at the Fountainbleau Hotel, where the Heat were celebrating in the wee hours. Green and James were teammates in Cleveland during the 2009-10 season. Green told The Post they were good friends as Cavaliers. Dwyane Wade and James reportedly didn’t show up at the club until 3 a.m. Friday James, who rarely tweets, wrote on his Twitter account yesterday: “Danny Green did not party with us on Thursday night. He came to say congrats and I told him how proud of him I was for taking full advantage of the opportunity he was given and keep going. We dapped up, showed love and he left. #StopBelievingAllYouHear’’
Raymond Felton says he is a true point guard, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: “Sometimes you played off the ball alongside Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni. Is that a role you want to expand on? “Of course. I mean, I’ll do what I have to do. If I have to score a little bit more next year, then that’s something that I have no problem with doing. But if I need to distribute, lay back and be more passive, I can do that as well. I’m a true point guard. I’ll do whatever it takes to win.” When you entered training camp last season, you said you were in the best shape of your career. Do you want to duplicate a lot of what you did last summer? “No question. I’m going to work 10 times harder because I see what we can do. I want to work as hard to get better and to get to the best where I can be. I see that we can win a championship with this type of team, so that’s going fuel me to work even harder.”
Derrick Williams appears to be an unlikely candidate to be traded, according to Sid Hartman of Star Tribune: “There has been a lot of talk about the Wolves trading Derrick Williams, who might have been playing the best of anyone on the roster at the end of last season. Does Taylor see any reason to move him? “There are teams that have called us and asked us if we are going to trade him, but I think that everybody saw the same thing that you saw, including the coach,” Taylor said. “Once we got him out on the floor and he had a chance to play, he started to play better. We have to remember that he still a very young man and a player that has a lot of potential. So we may trade somebody on our team, but it’s not going to be [him], unless it really would help our team.”
Kobe Bryant sees himself playing another three to four years, according to Eric Pincus of Los Angeles Times: “Kobe Bryant has consistently suggested he’ll play just one or two more seasons before retiring. Currently on a trip to Brazil, the Lakers guard may have revealed a different plan altogether. “I could easily see myself playing another three or four years,” he said on Brazilian television in a segment produced by Glenda Carqueijo (2:30 in the video). The All-Star guard is currently recovering from a torn Achilles’ tendon, suffered April 12. He’s expected to return to the court by November or December. Bryant is headed into the final year of his contract and will be 35 before next season. He’s confident he’ll fully recover from what was a devastating injury. The television clip, narrated in Portuguese, describes Bryant as an “NBA superstar in Brazil.”
After being accused of assaulting someone outside of a restaurant, Scottie Pippen was questioned by the police, from David Leon Moore of USA Today: “Former NBA star Scottie Pippen was questioned for about an hour Monday by Los Angeles County sheriffs after the ex-Dream Teamer was accused of an assault outside a Malibu restaurant Sunday night. Pippen was not arrested, contrary to reports by some media. “Our detectives are not going to book and arrest Mr. Pippen,” said L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Pat Davoren. “He came in and was very cooperative and answered a lot of questions. Our detectives have to do further investigating, mainly talking to other witnesses.” Pippen, 47, arrived at the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station early Monday afternoon, accompanied by celebrity defense attorney Mark Geragos.”
- Antoine Walker tweeted that he should be the coach of the Boston Celtics:
Boston fans its time for me to be the celtics coach !!!!
— Antoine Walker (@WalkerAntoine8) June 24, 2013
Ric Bucher didn’t specify why LMA would be on the trading block and what Portland would be looking for.
I do find it strange that his name was thrown out there.
The reason I believe Granger is on the trading Block is that Paces don’t have enough cap room to re-sign David West. Surprised the Media has missed this. Just because West said he wants to return to Pacers, doesn’t mean he would accept less than 6 million, which may be all that Pacers can offer, either with the Early Bird or with Cap Space.
*Correction: a provision of the Early Bird is that he can be paid up to 175% of the previous salary for past 2 seasons. SInce West paid 10 million, this wouldn’t be a problem.
However with West having a 13 million cap hold, Pacers couldn’t obtain any free agents using cap space as the team is currently constructed.