NBA Rumors: Nate Robinson Waiting for Clippers

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Nate Robinson is an unrestricted free agent, since he was waived by the Boston Celtics after being traded by the Denver Nuggets. Robinson has attracted some level of interest from a number of teams, but multiple sources insist his preference at the moment is to join the L.A. Clippers.

The Clippers have been an attractive landing spot for bought out players recently, with Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis and Danny Granger all joining the team at midseason last year after being waived by their respective teams.

Free agents want to join L.A. because it is a big market and great city, Doc Rivers is a highly respected coach, the Clippers have contender-level talent and there are minutes to be had in their second unit.

However, there are even more reasons for Robinson to want to join the Clippers. He previously played with Coach Rivers in Boston and would love to reunite with him. He also played with Glen Davis on the Celtics and the two were very good friends. Robinson is also close friends with Jamal Crawford, whom he grew up with in Seattle and played with during his rookie year with the New York Knicks. Robinson and fellow Seattle native Spencer Hawes have also been friends for years. Finally, Robinson played with Matt Barnes on the New York Knicks as well.

Rivers recently said that the Clippers plan to add “two veterans” in February, and it’s believed that he was referring to Robinson and Tayshaun Prince (who will also likely be waived by the Celtics soon). Don’t expect Robinson to join any other team, as he badly wants to sign with L.A. and seems prepared to wait for them. He was recently in Los Angeles and did some training, but now he is back in Seattle and plans to work out there until being signed by his next NBA team.

Brooklyn’s Mirza Teletovic went to the hospital after experiencing shortness of breath and he was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (also known as a blood clot in his lung). This will keep him out for the remainder of the season, since he will be on blood thinners and players cannot compete while using anti-coagulation. If untreated, this could have been a life-threatening condition so it’s great that he received medical attention when he did.

It has not been reported what led to Teletovic having the clot, but that’s the next step in determining what his future holds.

If it was a one-time occurrence (possibly from a long plane ride, which is relatively common), he would likely have to stay on blood thinners for several months and then be able to play again. This is what happened to Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao when he had a clot after surgery last year.

If Teletovic developed the clot due to a blood disorder, it’s possible that he will have to stay on blood thinners for life, which could end his NBA career. The NBA doesn’t allow players to compete if they are on blood thinners, since they cause massive blood loss in the event of an injury or cut and can also cause internal bleeding. Blood thinners and professional athletes simply don’t mix.

One non-blood-thinner option for Teletovic would be having a procedure done where a mesh blocker is inserted into his leg (where blood clots form before moving to the lung). This would prevent him from having a future clot move to his lung, brain or heart. However, this would only work if his clots were developing in his legs, and not all clots form there. Again, it’s hard to speculate on what’s going to happen with Teletovic without the specifics of his case.

As someone who has had a pulmonary embolism, I feel for Teletovic and wish him nothing but the best going forward. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery and can return to the court next year.

Before Tyrus Thomas signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Toronto Raptors also expressed interest in him and were trying to sign him to a similar deal.

Thomas ultimately decided to go with the Grizzlies because they had shown interest over a longer period of time (working him out twice during the season) and he felt he had a better opportunity to play with the Grizzlies.

It was Thomas’ play with the Iowa Energy during the D-League Showcase that intrigued teams, as he showed that he was in good shape and able to play at a high level.

In Thomas’ D-League debut, he recorded 15 points (on 6-10 shooting from the field), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal in 24 minutes, and he was a team-high +16 in the win. In his second D-League game, Thomas had 13 points (on 4-7 shooting from the field), 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in 29 minutes.

Thomas officially signed with the Grizzlies today. It remains to be seen what kind of role he will play in Memphis’ rotation, but his debut with the team could come as early as Saturday night when the Grizzlies take on the Philadelphia 76ers at home (especially if the game turns into a blowout, as expected).

Since the Raptors tried to land Thomas, don’t be surprised if they express interest in other veteran free agents.