Community Shootaround: Lakers Offseason
The Lakers’ franchise has been in a downward spiral since Christmas Day, when LeBron James suffered a groin injury during an upset victory at Golden State that sidelined him for more than a month.
From that point, the most notable developments the remainder of the season were their failed attempt to acquire Anthony Davis, their inability to make the playoffs, and the abrupt resignation of team president Magic Johnson.
It’s only gotten worse in the offseason. The Lakers fired head coach Luke Walton and their search for a replacement gave the franchise another black eye. Then got spurned by Monty Williams and saw negotiations with Tyronn Lue fall apart before settling on Frank Vogel. They also hired Jason Kidd as Vogel’s top assistant, putting Vogel in the awkward spot of having his potential replacement in the next chair.
Then came Johnson’s bridge-burning interview on ESPN in which he labelled GM Rob Pelinka a backstabber and detailed the dysfunction and indecision within the organization. This week, a detailed ESPN story spoke of the fear and confusion among staffers that developed when Johnson and Pelinka took charge and the heavy turnover in personnel.
It also detailed owner Jeanie Buss’ odd and ineffective management structure and the undue influence of James’ agent Rich Paul and others in James’ camp.
The only good thing that’s happened for the Lakers is that they moved up in the draft lottery.
Meanwhile, the franchise heads into a pivotal summer. It’s positioned financially to chase high-profile free agents and/or make a blockbuster trade.
Unquestionably, the Lakers need to acquire at least one superstar talent to pair up with James or else this offseason will be viewed as a complete disaster.
That leads us to our question of the day: Can the Lakers overcome the dysfunction and disarray within the organization and sign or trade for at least one superstar this offseason? Or are they doomed for a disastrous summer?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Cam Reddish To Undergo Core Muscle Surgery
Top-10 prospect Cam Reddish will undergo a core muscle surgery to correct an injury that nagged him during his freshman season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The Duke forward has a six-week timetable for recovery from what Charania terms a minor procedure. However, the timing of the surgery obviously isn’t ideal with the draft less than three weeks away. Reddish won’t be able to work out for teams and he’ll almost certainly miss summer-league action, which could set him back as he preps for his first NBA campaign. But the timetable provides plenty of optimism he’ll be ready to go for training camp.
Reddish is currently ranked No. 7 overall and No. 1 at small forward by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Reddish is noted for his physical tools, positional versatility and shooting prowess despite his struggles in his lone Blue Devils season.
Reddish averaged 13.5 PPG but shot 35.6% overall and 33.3% from long range. He also averaged 3.7 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.6 SPG.
Pacific Notes: Livingston, Nwora, Poirier, Lakers
Shaun Livingston remains undecided whether he’ll retire after the season, ESPN’s Nick Friedell tweets. The 33-year-old Warriors guard revealed last month that he was thinking of calling it quits, mainly due to knee soreness. He has an $8MM contract next season but only $2MM is guaranteed, which could lead the capped-out Warriors to release him. He’ll make a final decision once the season comes to an end, though Livingston said his balky knee is feeling better after an extended rest between series, Friedell adds.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers worked out Louisville sophomore forward Jordan Nwora on Monday, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. He averaged 17.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG last season.
- The Lakers will work out 21-year-old French center Darel Poirier on Friday, according to a Sportando report. Poirier played in the G League this season with the Wizards’ affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, and averaged 9.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.1 BPG over 20.2 MPG. He then joined Italian club Reggio Emilia but did not play, according to Sportando. The 6’11” Poirier participated in the G League Elite Camp earlier this month.
- While the Celtics have their issues, the dysfunction enveloping the Lakers franchise makes Boston’s problems seem minimal, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes in his latest column.
Draft Decisions: Noi, Mack, German, Carvacho, Bolden
TCU forward Kouat Noi will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman of WatchStadium.com tweets. The 6’7” Noi averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG during his sophomore season. He has workouts upcoming with the Bucks, Kings and Clippers, Goodman adds. Teammate Desmond Bane will return to school, Goodman adds (Twitter link).
We have more draft news.
- Alabama swingman Tevin Mack has decided to withdraw from the draft, Goodman reports in another tweet. Mack averaged 9.0 PPG in his junior season.
- Northern Illinois guard Eugene German will return to school, Goodman adds in another tweet. The point guard averaged 20.4 PPG and 2.9 APG in his junior year.
- Indiana University guards Devonte Green and Aljami Durham and forward Justin Smith are all expected to return to school, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
- Colorado State’s Nico Carvacho will return to school, Rothstein reports in another tweet. The 6’11” center averaged 16.1 PPG and 12.9 RPG as a junior last season.
- Duke center Marques Bolden will remain in the draft, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG as a junior.
Community Shootaround: Khris Middleton
The Bucks intend to re-sign all of their top free agents after reaching the Eastern Conference finals. But is that the best course of action?
The biggest question mark surrounds Khris Middleton, generally considered the second-best player on the team behind MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. Middleton will opt out of the last year of his contract, which would pay him $13MM, and head to unrestricted free agency.
Once marquee agents such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler come off the board, Middleton would be viewed as a nice consolation prize for teams with salary-cap space that don’t land one of the big stars. Middleton averaged 18.3 PPG and career highs of 6.0 RPG and 4.3 APG this season after posting an average of 20.1 PPG last season. Middleton is a career 38.8% 3-point shooter and, at 27, in his prime years.
The nagging question is can Middleton be the second-best player on a championship team? Middleton had a 30-point outburst in Game 4 against the Raptors but averaged 10.2 PPG in the five other games of the conference finals.
A max offer for Middleton would be an approximate $189.6MM commitment over five years; he could receive a max of $140.6MM over four years from another team. Whether he gets the max or something close to it, it’s going to be awfully expensive to retain him.
An alternative for the Bucks would be to shoot higher themselves and try to convince a big-name free agent to come their way. The other approach would be to absorb the salary of an All-Star caliber player in a trade with the savings they’ll get by allowing Middleton to sign elsewhere. That doesn’t seem to be the way the Bucks are leaning but it would be a bolder approach.
That leads us to our question of the day: Should the Bucks go all out to re-sign Khris Middleton or should they seek another star to pair up with Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Patrick McCaw Explains Why He Left Warriors
One of the more bizarre stories this season has been Patrick McCaw‘s odyssey. The Warriors wanted to re-sign the reserve guard but McCaw played hardball with them. He eventually signed a non-guaranteed offer sheet with the Cavaliers. His stay in Cleveland was brief and he later signed for the remainder of the season with the Raptors.
With his current team set to play his former team in the Finals, McCaw spoke at length with Marc Spears of The Undefeated about why he chose that path.
Here are some of the highlights:
- McCaw wanted to have a bigger role. “I just wanted more. Not necessarily more playing time, but more opportunity for myself. I’m not discrediting the Warriors and what they chose to do. I just think being a young kid, you see all the younger guys competing and doing their thing and you feel like, ‘OK, I’m just that kid, or I could be doing exactly what he’s doing.’ ”
- His agents at the time, Marlon Harrison and Bill Duffy, urged him to accept Golden State’s two-year, $4MM offer but the restricted free agent but he wouldn’t budge. “Maybe I could just go back and finish, just go back for a year, see what happens, see where it took me,” McCaw said. “I just felt like once it got past preseason, I was just adamant about not going back. I was just stuck right there.”
- There was a perception that Cleveland did him a favor by signing him to the offer sheet that the Warriors didn’t match, only to release him shortly thereafter. But McCaw denies that. “I didn’t like how the media portrayed it, like we had something (else) lined up already,” he said. “Yeah, that wasn’t the case at all.”
- The personal reasons cited for McCaw’s absence during most of the Eastern Conference Finals was due to a family tragedy. His older brother, Jeffrey McCaw, died.
Romeo Langford To Stay In Draft
Potential lottery pick Romeo Langford has officially decided to stay in the draft, he posted on his Twitter page.
The 6’6” swingman from Indiana University is currently ranked No. 14 overall and the No. 3 small forward by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
“I believe now is the time for me to begin the next chapter of my life and keep my name in the 2019 NBA Draft,” he wrote in part.
Langford averaged 16.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 2.3 APG in his one-and-done season with the Hoosiers. According to Givony, Langford possesses he prototypical physical tools for an NBA wing with a strong frame and a 6’11” wingspan. He’s also a smooth and fluid athlete who is at his best with the ball in his hands.
He has to improve his perimeter shooting, as he made just 27.% of his long-range shots.
Langford dealt with some back issues but says he’s fully recovered. He met with 13 teams at the combine, including the Pacers, Celtics and Pistons.
Draft Notes: Hornets, Sibande, Cook, Harris
Maryland sophomore forward Bruno Fernando headed a group of six players the Hornets worked out on Sunday. He’s currently listed No. 33 overall on ESPN’s Jonathan Givony list of Top 100 prospects. The other five players who came in, according to a team press release, included guards Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Justin Simon (St. John’s) and Keyshawn Woods (Ohio State), forward Lamar Stevens (Penn State) and center Raasean Davis (North Carolina Central).
We have more on the draft:
- Davis and Nevada forward Trey Porter will work out for the Wizards, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets.
- Miami (Ohio)’s Nike Sibande will return to school, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Sibande averaged 16.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG for the RedHawks last season.
- Iowa big man Tyler Cook will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman at WatchStadium.com tweets. Cook averaged 14.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG in his junior year.
- North Carolina A&T shooting guard Terry Harris worked out for the Clippers last week, Chris Broussard of Fox Sports tweets. He’s the younger brother of Tobias Harris.
Raptors Notes: Nurse, Leonard, Anunoby
Fresh off his team’s Game 6 victory over the Bucks which sent Toronto to the Finals, Raptors coach Nick Nurse has apparently achieved another honor. He will coach Canada’s national team at the FIBA World Cup in China, Peter Yannopoulos of TSN tweets.
Canada Basketball, which hasn’t officially confirmed the coaching change, began courting Nurse prior to the postseason, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
Nurse, who was an assistant for Team Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, would replace Hornets assistant Jay Triano as Canada’s coach, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets.
We have more on the newly crowned Eastern Conference champions:
- Toronto president Masai Ujiri had a strong response for Kawhi Leonard during their first meeting after the blockbuster trade with San Antonio last season, as Michael Lee of The Athletic details. Leonard asked Ujiri why he made the trade despite Leonard’s intention to opt out of his contract after the season. “Because you’re the best player in the league,” Ujiri told Leonard. That bold gamble has paid off, Lee notes.
- The Raptors are optimistic that OG Anunoby will play at some point in the Finals, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. Anunoby has not played since an emergency appendectomy last month. The last appearance by the reserve small forward was April 9th. The gaps in-between games should also help Leonard, who is dealing with a leg injury, Wolstat adds.
- Nurse’s G League success — he won championships with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Iowa Energy — prepared him well for the Raptors gig, Adam Johnson of 2Ways10Days.com details in a story originally posted prior to the season.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 5/18/19 – 5/25/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our segments and features from the past seven days:
- We continued to move through this year’s playoff teams in our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series, breaking down the summer cap outlooks for the following clubs:
- We previewed the 2019 offseason for a few more teams, identifying “Five Key Offseason Questions” facing these squads:
- In his weekly Free Agent Stock Watch feature, Dana Gauruder examined some conference finals participants whose stock has increased or decreased as of late.
- Luke Adams took a closer look at the history of the Designated Player Extension and which players are now eligible for those super-max extensions.
- In our latest poll we asked which team would prevail in the Raptors-Bucks series.
- In our Community Shootaround, we asked how Kevin Durant‘s absence would affect the Warriors the remainder of the playoffs and how would they fare next season if he signed elsewhere.