HoopsHype.com Rumors

Nicolas Batum: No way @Damian Lillard should be ROY, we should recount the votes lol....congrats bro well deserved #10times Twitter @nicolas88batum

Portland Trail Blazers, Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard 

“When people say stuff about my defense, it bothers me,’’ Lillard said. “And I’m aware of it. It drives me. It lights a fire under me.’’ If that attitude and drive doesn’t convince Trail Blazers fans that the franchise is in good hands, maybe this will: The wheels are already in motion for Lillard to workout and study defense this summer under the tutelage of the greatest defensive point guard ever, Hall of Famer Gary Payton. Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

“He said ‘I want to help you,’ ’’ Lillard said of Payton. “He said it would take time for me to become a defender, but he said I have everything to become one. So this will be the summer where I get in the gym with him and try to learn from him.’’ Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Gary Payton, Damian Lillard 

News out of Europe today that Kostas Papanikolaou, whose rights the Trail Blazers acquired in the deal that sent Raymond Felton and Kurt Thomas to the Knicks, has been named the Euroleague's Rising Star Trophy winner for the 2012-13 season. The award goes every year to the best player under the age of 22 competing on a Euroleague team. Papanikolaou narrowly beat out Nikola Mirotic, the 23rd pick in the 2011 Draft, for the award. TrailBlazers.com

Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers, Nikola Mirotic, Kostas Papanikolaou 

Bradley Beal: Congrats on ROY @Damian Lillard ! Well deserved, keep grindin' !! Twitter @RealDealBeal23

Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard 

The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to announce Wednesday that guard Damian Lillard has been named the NBA's 2013 Rookie of the Year. The team sent out a press release noting a "major announcement with the NBA" for Wednesday afternoon at the Rose Garden. Blazers Edge

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

Chris Tomasson: Looks like Lillard will get his Rookie of the Year award for Portland on Wednesday. Twitter @christomasson

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

Did the Blazers come right out and say he would be a free agent? “Yeah, pretty much. They made that pretty clear and you know, I’m excited for the summer,” Smith answered. “I have a great agent. A great team behind me. Add that to my great work and my passion for the game to get better every summer, and I’m going to look for a better situation next year. HoopsWorld

Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, Nolan Smith 

“I’m excited to be a free agent. I love my two years here. A lot of ups and downs. It obviously wasn’t what I expected with everything, but a lot of changes. Coach change, GM changes, things happened along the way. This summer is going to be a great summer for me to look for a situation that better suits me and my career.” HoopsWorld

Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, Nolan Smith 

We can only speculate what his role would be in Chicago next season if he resigns with the Bulls, which will have Derrick Rose back, but you can expect a number of other teams to consider Robinson on a multi-year deal. Teams like Dallas and Detroit could be in the market for a veteran guard who can handle the ball and score, but that will be much clearer after the NBA draft in June, when Trey Burke and Michael Carter-Williams are expected to both be selected in the first 14 picks. Other teams like Portland and Phoenix with money to spend and the need for guard depth could also be suitors. ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, Nate Robinson 

Nicolas Batum: I have to respect @jasoncollins34 . Hope people will respect his decision and respect for the courage it took.#support#respect#NBAfamily Twitter @nicolas88batum

Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, Jason Collins, Nicolas Batum 

The Los Angeles-based company that used to managed the Rose Garden and Memorial Coliseum has notified the state it will lay off 900 employees. The layoffs will take effect June 30, says a letter to the state from Marla Gibson, human resources director for AEG Facilities in Los Angeles. The notification follows last week's announcement by Chris McGowan, president of the Trail Blazers, that the franchise and Rip City Management would take over management of the Rose Garden, Rose Quarter and Memorial Coliseum from AEG. Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers 

The current Trail Blazer roster is absent of a veteran with the specific skill set such as O'Neal's, and he's all for returning to Portland to provide his services. “I'm very open to Portland. They're definitely a team I'm looking forward to having talks with this summer,” O'Neal, an unrestricted free agent come July 1, told CSNNW.com. “LaMarcus [Aldridge] and Damian [Lillard] along with [Nicolas] Batum are some great pieces to build around. All they need to do is shore up the bench and add a paint presence on defense and they'll be right there. It's hard to put that type of stress on your starting five and I know I can help ease some of that stress.” CSNNW.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, Jermaine O'Neal 

“Portland is a team I have to look at this summer. That city has always been in my heart because one: Mr. [Paul] Allen gave me my opportunity, and two: that city took me in as their second child,” he explained. “I didn't play for two or three years but you couldn't tell. The organization and the fans really allowed me to grow at my own pace. It's a special place to me. I met my wife in Portland. At this point for me, it's all about competing and winning and the Blazers are doing those things.” CSNNW.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, Jermaine O'Neal 

Steve Kyler: What you want to do and what you can do are often two entirely different an unrelated things. The Blazers want to add some veteran guys that can defend… to me that is Nikola Peckovic or Javale McGee in terms of possibly obtainable. HoopsWorld

Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Javale McGee, Nikola Pekovic 

Privately, the Cleveland front office has pitched a fantasy of trading young players and picks to Portland for All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, sources said. Only, that's never going to happen. Cleveland is far higher on its two top- five picks, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters, than the rest of the NBA. Yahoo! Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, Trade, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters 

The Portland Trail Blazers and AEG Facilities have agreed to mutually part ways. AEG's contract expires June 30 and effective July 1, Trail Blazers Incorporated/RIP City Management will self-operate the Rose Garden. Vice President, General Manger of Rose Quarter Operations Chris Oxley will now oversee Rip City Management. This business shift will end a five-year partnership which will allow the Trail Blazers to return to a self-operating model such as when the Rose Garden opened 18 years ago. “We'll have an arena staff and team staff working together. One organization connected under one owner. For us, it made sense to self-operate,” Trail Blazers President Chris McGowan told CSNNW.com. “I would like to thank AEG for being outstanding partners over the years and we look forward to continuing a positive business relationship with them in the future." CSNNW.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Chris McGowan 

Victor Claver, after spending his rookie season in the NBA with the Trail Blazers, is looking forward to returning to his native Spain this summer for a lot of reasons. One of them relates to the weather. "One of things I'm looking forward to is the sun because in Portland, it rains a lot," he said. FIBA.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Victor Claver 

Hickson says he has enjoyed his time in Portland, but will fully evaluate his options this summer before signing a new deal. “It’s still to be determined,” Hickson said about his free agent status during his end of season presser. “You never what’s going to happen in the offseason with different trades and things like that. So right now I’m just sitting back and getting ready for the summer and letting the cookies crumble where they may. This is my first time in free agency so I’ll sit down and talk with my agency and see what the best options are and go from there.” HoopsWorld

Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, JJ Hickson 

Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com reports on Twitter that Blazers TV color commentator Mike Rice did not select Babbitt as one of his finalists on a recent TrailBlazers.TV episode. Last year, Rice was identified on Blazers.com as the organization's "only broadcaster or employee who has a vote" on year-end awards. Update: A league spokesman has ruled out any possibility of error in the voting process. The vote for Babbitt, which was tabulated by accounting firm Ernst & Young, was "submitted and counted like all votes." Blazers Edge

Portland Trail Blazers, Luke Babbitt