The business side of the NBA may be distracting the Lakers as the trade deadline draws near, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Coach Luke Walton criticized his team’s effort after Saturday’s loss to Portland and suggested that some players were “pouting” on the bench. Veteran center Andrew Bogut, who was part of two financial-related trades last season, said that reaction is understandable.
“Pouting? Possibly. Guys are frustrated,” Bogut said. “There are some injuries right now, different rotations. Guys are frustrated, obviously. You would be lying to say that there are guys that are not frustrated on this team. Everyone knows what is going on with the salary-cap situation next season and all that. That is just distractions that we can’t let affect us. That is part of the league, the business decisions that front offices and coaches make. So if that is distracting guys, that is going to be like that your whole career. That is just the nature of this league.”
The Lakers reportedly want to clear enough cap room to offer two maximum contracts in free agency, which means players with high salaries beyond this season such as Luol Deng and Jordan Clarkson are expendable, along with Julius Randle, who will have a $14.5MM cap hold this summer. Bogut said he has discussed the situation with the team’s younger players and urged them to not let it affect their performance.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Warriors guard Stephen Curry is making progress in his return from an injured right ankle, but won’t be ready for the Christmas Day game with the Cavaliers, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Coach Steve Kerr said the “magnitude” of the game can’t affect the team’s judgment, and it would be “completely irresponsible” to let Curry play.
- The Warriors may have showcased their frontline of the future Friday night when rookie Jordan Bell started at center alongside Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, Slater writes in a separate piece. Bell became the first Golden State center in nearly four years to post a 20-point, 10-rebound game, continuing his impressive start since being taken with the 38th pick. “The reason he had 20 and 10 is because he had so much space,” Kerr said. “The Lakers were playing every passing lane, so he was just roaming and had plenty of easy hoops. We were kind of waiting to see that combination.”
- Kings rookie De’Aaron Fox has a partial tear in his right quadriceps muscle, the team announced on its website. Fox suffered the injury December 14 and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The fifth pick in this year’s draft is averaging 9.4 points and 3.7 assists through 29 games.
I desperately wanted Bell for Boston. I know everyone says this after the fact but they had like 3 2nds and I really wanted them to move up and grab Bell.
So my point is I’m not saying this now and just claiming I said it earlier, I really did.
You saw what the Warriors saw. Lots of athleticism, good attitude, hungry to learn.
I love watching March Madness and picking out winners for the draft, but I did not see Bell being this good. Too small, no jump shot.
Same could be said for Draymond and I’d say he turned out to be a pretty good player.
Two totally different body types.
Bell is “vertical long,” 6-8, jumpy, springy, relies on his athletism and timing for blocks and put backs.
Green has wider hips, a wide gait, long arms, only 6- 6, not really athletic but great lateral defensive quickness, and strong desire for supreme defense.
Green is also an excellent playmaker… he can run the point in a pinch and often leads the team in assists. He wasn’t a jump shooter coming out of school, like Bell, but worked on his 3 when the Warriors threatened to trade for Kevin Love.
Sorry Todd, not disagreeing…. I love Bell and can’t wait to see what he will become.
Yeah I always do the same with March Madness, and I’ve been fairly successful the last few years. I bought into Jimmer, and Buddy Hield isn’t quite what I was expecting, but other than that I’ve been pretty good.