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The Rockets have been in trade talks with several teams about moving veteran guard Brent Barry, according to several individuals with knowledge of the talks.
The most serious discussions have been with the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder. A trade to the Clippers could extend Barry's career, with the Clippers potentially offering a chance to play near Barry's Los Angeles area home.
Though nothing appears imminent, there is “a good shot†that Barry could be traded to create roster space before the start of training camp Oct. 28.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey declined to comment and Barry could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Barry has one more season, worth $2.062 million, left on the two-year contract he signed with the Rockets July 10, 2008.
Clippers no longer interested in bringing Barry back
A Clippers source confirmed a report from the Houston Chronicle that said the Clippers were among three teams to have had talks with the Rockets for acquiring veteran guard Brent Barry, but that the team's interest is "dated."
The Clippers had talks earlier this summer with the Rockets, the source said, but their interest waned after acquiring backup point guard Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Mark Madsen in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Quentin Richardson.
The Clippers had liked Barry's versatility and ability to play at point and shooting guard. The Rockets signed Barry in the 2008 off-season because of his playoff experience. Barry, who has one season left on his contract worth a reported $2.062 million, averaged 3.7 points and shot 40.7% in 56 games last season.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Clippers extended a contract offer to point guard Carlos Arroyo, a source close to the situation tells RealGM's Alex Kennedy.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, it is the only offer Arroyo has received this summer.
Arroyo's last stint in the NBA was with the Orlando Magic. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 assists per game in 2007.
Last season, Arroyo led Maccabi Tel Aviv to an Israeli Premier League Championship and was named Finals MVP.
He would be the fourth point guard on Los Angeles' roster, which suggests that they're no longer pursuing restricted free agent Ramon Sessions.
1984 Record: 44-38 (9th in west) 1985 Record: 42-40 (7th in west; 1st round exit) 1986 Record: 51-31 (3rd in west; swept in finals)
The Grizzlies theme this season should be : "This Season, We're Doing It For The Lulz"
It’s impossible to talk about Baron Davis without talking about the team around him, as his impact is as closely tied to the players around him as any other superstar. Just like in his first full season in Golden State, Baron and the Clippers failed to gel in his first season with the team. But the Clippers have put a lot of effort into making the second go-round better, and there’s a lot that could go right. Baron is allegedly healthy, and one would imagine his focus might have been shocked back onto basketball after last year’s fiasco. Pick-and-roll, full-court running rookie superbeast Blake Griffin is in the starting lineup. Eric Gordon is ready to build on his promising rookie year. Al Thornton’s ball-dominance should be replaced in the starting lineup by Rasual Butler’s floor-spacing and versatility. Zach Randolph has been miraculously exiled. Mike Dunleavy must know that he has one season to learn new tricks or go down as one of the worst coaches in NBA history.
The Clippers are starting to look like America’s favorite underdogs again, and seem hungry to wipe away the memory of last season. So much of that depends on Baron, and so much of Baron depends on the team. Will the Davis lead the Clippers to reinvent themselves as young, dangerous, fast-breaking, pick-and-rolling, cross-matching, bats out of hell with a swagger never really seen in Clipper Nation?
Or will they be another mismanaged, ill-conceived mix of players, some too young and some too old, desperately ISOing up and haphazardly launching jumpers early in the shot clock, with Baron being the biggest culprit of all? I honestly have no idea. All I really know is that Baron won’t be the 43th-best player.
Clippers hope offseason reorganizing paves path to Playoffs
Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy isn't about to dance around the obvious. For a franchise that's spent most of its existence snakebit, the ping pong-inspired fortune of May culminating with a New York moment in June serves as a heck of a starting point for 2009-10.
"We've had a great summer," Dunleavy told NBA.com. "Obviously, it started with a little bit of luck in getting the first pick of the lottery to get Blake Griffin, but then from there we did a lot of good things."
Reversing Fortunes
NBA.com's experts review the teams that didn't make the Playoffs last season and what they'll need to do to avoid the Lottery next season.
Picking up the consensus No. 1 pick in the Draft was the start of an offseason of restructuring and reorganizing. Trading away power forward Zach Randolph made room for Griffin and allowed Dunleavy, also the team's general manager, to beef up a lean bench.
Combo guard Eric Gordon and small forward Al Thornton join Griffin as long-term foundation pieces. The veteran starters -- headed by Baron Davis, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby -- have been productive when they've been able to stay on the court.
Should the pieces fall into place, Dunleavy is predicting an end to the cycle of mediocrity. The Clippers, 19-63 last season, have made the postseason just once in Dunleavy's first six years at the helm (2006) and just four times since the franchise relocated to California in 1978. The 2006 squad is the only one ever to win a series in the Western Conference.
"If we stay healthy and we get good chemistry going from this group, we're a Playoff contender," he said. "We've got a shot to make the Playoffs. Normally I'd say we are a Playoff team, but the West is so hard and the teams are so good. You might have to win 46 games just to get in there. So from 19 to 46 would be a pretty amazing jump for us, but we're hoping to do it."
The notoriously frugal Clippers have been able to add to the talent base the last two offseasons without losing real assets. Operating below the salary cap, the team traded for Camby before last season and Rasual Butler this offseason without giving up anything more than a second-round pick in either case.
Moving Randolph provided extra payroll flexibility, and Dunleavy focused his sights on depth. Clipper reserves scored a paltry 24 points per game last season, which was 28th in the league.
"Randolph was a guy we really liked," Dunleavy said. "He's a guy who can give you 20 and 10, which is tough to give up, but we just couldn't figure out how those two guys [Randolph and Griffin] could play together. So instead of stacking a position, we were basically able to turn Randolph into Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Rasual Butler.
"That gave us a lot of really good depth for our bench. That was something we were trying to accomplish, and we were able to do it pretty smoothly and seamlessly. All those guys are very good chemistry wise for our team."
Aiding the locker room vibe is a prime piece of Playa Vista real estate that Dunleavy hopes builds a year-round connection to the franchise. Players already enjoy living in Los Angeles. Might as well get them in your gym.
"The thing I'm happy about is it's the first year we've had a practice facility," Dunleavy said of the $50 million hub of operations that opened a year ago. "We didn't have it last summer. We've had guys in working there and around each other, and that's always a great thing. We have a great practice facility. Guys have been drawn to it and spend a lot of time here, and I think that bodes well for us as well."
Griffin also signals a new beginning for the Clippers. The franchise has won the lottery before, but Danny Manning (1988) and Michael Olowokandi (1998) didn't exactly set the league or the Clippers ablaze. Lady Luck may finally be smiling on the other team in Los Angeles and the good teams somehow manage to get their share of breaks.
"There's no question about that, absolutely," Dunleavy said. "Blake Griffin is clearly the best player in this Draft, so to get the guy who's the clear best player in the Draft is helpful. He's a great kid, with a great work ethic and he's going to be a great player for us for many years to come.
"But if we had not gotten Blake, we would have got a good player and we would have had a good team. The team is set up to have a chance to be a good team for a long time. You look at the age of our guys between Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman. Then you have DeAndre Jordan in the wings. We have a good mix of veterans and young guys, and that's what you want to have to win."
As you can see, the Clippers haven't lost anyone of real value. The only main player they lost was Zach Randolph. The Clippers were able to get a great player in Griffin, and great depth with Telfair, Butler, and Smith.
1984 Record: 44-38 (9th in west) 1985 Record: 42-40 (7th in west; 1st round exit) 1986 Record: 51-31 (3rd in west; swept in finals)
The Grizzlies theme this season should be : "This Season, We're Doing It For The Lulz"
Clippers hope offseason reorganizing paves path to Playoffs
Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy isn't about to dance around the obvious. For a franchise that's spent most of its existence snakebit, the ping pong-inspired fortune of May culminating with a New York moment in June serves as a heck of a starting point for 2009-10.
"We've had a great summer," Dunleavy told NBA.com. "Obviously, it started with a little bit of luck in getting the first pick of the lottery to get Blake Griffin, but then from there we did a lot of good things."
Reversing Fortunes
NBA.com's experts review the teams that didn't make the Playoffs last season and what they'll need to do to avoid the Lottery next season.
Picking up the consensus No. 1 pick in the Draft was the start of an offseason of restructuring and reorganizing. Trading away power forward Zach Randolph made room for Griffin and allowed Dunleavy, also the team's general manager, to beef up a lean bench.
Combo guard Eric Gordon and small forward Al Thornton join Griffin as long-term foundation pieces. The veteran starters -- headed by Baron Davis, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby -- have been productive when they've been able to stay on the court.
Should the pieces fall into place, Dunleavy is predicting an end to the cycle of mediocrity. The Clippers, 19-63 last season, have made the postseason just once in Dunleavy's first six years at the helm (2006) and just four times since the franchise relocated to California in 1978. The 2006 squad is the only one ever to win a series in the Western Conference.
"If we stay healthy and we get good chemistry going from this group, we're a Playoff contender," he said. "We've got a shot to make the Playoffs. Normally I'd say we are a Playoff team, but the West is so hard and the teams are so good. You might have to win 46 games just to get in there. So from 19 to 46 would be a pretty amazing jump for us, but we're hoping to do it."
The notoriously frugal Clippers have been able to add to the talent base the last two offseasons without losing real assets. Operating below the salary cap, the team traded for Camby before last season and Rasual Butler this offseason without giving up anything more than a second-round pick in either case.
Moving Randolph provided extra payroll flexibility, and Dunleavy focused his sights on depth. Clipper reserves scored a paltry 24 points per game last season, which was 28th in the league.
"Randolph was a guy we really liked," Dunleavy said. "He's a guy who can give you 20 and 10, which is tough to give up, but we just couldn't figure out how those two guys [Randolph and Griffin] could play together. So instead of stacking a position, we were basically able to turn Randolph into Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Rasual Butler.
"That gave us a lot of really good depth for our bench. That was something we were trying to accomplish, and we were able to do it pretty smoothly and seamlessly. All those guys are very good chemistry wise for our team."
Aiding the locker room vibe is a prime piece of Playa Vista real estate that Dunleavy hopes builds a year-round connection to the franchise. Players already enjoy living in Los Angeles. Might as well get them in your gym.
"The thing I'm happy about is it's the first year we've had a practice facility," Dunleavy said of the $50 million hub of operations that opened a year ago. "We didn't have it last summer. We've had guys in working there and around each other, and that's always a great thing. We have a great practice facility. Guys have been drawn to it and spend a lot of time here, and I think that bodes well for us as well."
Griffin also signals a new beginning for the Clippers. The franchise has won the lottery before, but Danny Manning (1988) and Michael Olowokandi (1998) didn't exactly set the league or the Clippers ablaze. Lady Luck may finally be smiling on the other team in Los Angeles and the good teams somehow manage to get their share of breaks.
"There's no question about that, absolutely," Dunleavy said. "Blake Griffin is clearly the best player in this Draft, so to get the guy who's the clear best player in the Draft is helpful. He's a great kid, with a great work ethic and he's going to be a great player for us for many years to come.
"But if we had not gotten Blake, we would have got a good player and we would have had a good team. The team is set up to have a chance to be a good team for a long time. You look at the age of our guys between Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman. Then you have DeAndre Jordan in the wings. We have a good mix of veterans and young guys, and that's what you want to have to win."
After years of wearing Reebok sneakers, Baron Davis is getting his own sneaker with Li-Ning. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Li-Ning is China based sneaker company that has been trying to make in roads into the NBA for a couple of years now. Baron Davis is the most high profile and the first NBA player to receive his own signature sneaker with the brand.
The Li-Ning BD1 features a low a breathable perforated leather upper sitting on a low profile midsole/outsole that emphasizes proper traction. The best of the sneaker is easily the Baron Davis branding which includes a "BD" on the heel, "Baron" on the tongue tab, and the logo on the tongue which features Baron's face including his now trademark beard and headband.
No word on a stateside release but look for Boom to wear the Li-Ning BD1 this year on the court.
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