Lakers Rumors

Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Clippers, Harden, Simmons

February 12th, 2025 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

Facing Memphis on Tuesday, Suns forward Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to surpass the 30,000-point threshold over the course of his career. He entered the game with 26 points to go and accomplished the feat late in the third quarter, finishing the night with 34 points.

Durant joined LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain in the exclusive 30,000-point club.

“A true honor to be in the same category as those players who helped shaped the game and push the game forward,” he said after the game, a loss that dropped the Suns below .500 (link via ESPN.com). “That’s always been my goal, to get the most out of myself every day and the most out of my career.”

Nowitzki, who ranks sixth on the league’s all-time scoring list with 31,560 points, told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he’s fully expecting Durant to bump him down to seventh sooner or later.

“He’s 36 now…and he’s got, what, 1,500 more (points) to go,” Nowitzki said. “That’s obviously a season for him and he looks great, he moves great. I still see him on the perimeter crossing guys over, he’s got that slow cross, going to the basket. He doesn’t seem like he’s lost a step. I think he’s going to play at least a couple more years. I do think he’s going to catch me, but well deserved. Like I said, to me, he’s one of the purest scorers of all time.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Ranking all 30 NBA teams based on their moves at the trade deadline, John Hollinger of The Athletic places the Lakers atop his list due to their acquisition of Luka Doncic. After trading for Doncic, there was “literally no other move” the Lakers could have made on Thursday that would have moved them out of the top spot, Hollinger writes. That includes their decision to rescind a deal for Mark Williams, which Hollinger actually views as a “dodged bullet,” since he thinks there could be more appealing targets on the trade market for L.A. this summer.
Hollinger also places the Clippers at No. 3 on his trade deadline rankings and lauds them for their work last week, which included moving off bad contracts, getting out of the luxury tax, and coming out ahead in terms of draft picks.
James Harden‘s numbers in 2024/25, including 21.3 points per game on 39.5% shooting, are the worst of any of his All-Star seasons, but the impact his leadership has had on the Clippers has made it a special season for the former MVP, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. “The way he’s leading us this year, on and off the court, the way he’s setting everyone up, it’s incredible,” center Ivica Zubac said. “One of the best teammates ever. I think every player in the league would love to play with him.”
Ben Simmons, signed by the Clippers off the buyout market, is looking forward to a fresh start, telling reporters on Tuesday that he feels “wanted” in Los Angeles, according to Anthony De Leon of The L.A. Times. “I just want to compete, regardless of all the bulls–t said online,” Simmons said, noting that the Clippers view him as a point guard, which is his preferred position. “I’m here to do that, and playing alongside some of these great players … Everyone’s just going to push each other to be better and expect greatness.”

Lakers Sign Alex Len, Waive Christian Wood

February 11th, 2025 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

4:56 pm: The Lakers have officially signed Len and waived Wood, the team confirmed in a press release.

4:13 pm: Free agent center Alex Len will sign with the Lakers, agent Mike Lelchitski tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

As we wrote earlier today, Len, who was cut by Washington on Saturday, initially planned to sign with the Pacers once he cleared waivers. However, he pivoted to an opportunity in Los Angeles after the Lakers rescinded their trade-deadline deal for Hornets center Mark Williams.

As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star notes (via Twitter), Len would have slotted in as the third center in Indiana behind Myles Turner and Thomas Bryant, but he should have an opportunity with the Lakers to earn the primary backup role behind Jaxson Hayes on a roster that’s thin on frontcourt depth after sending Anthony Davis to Dallas in last week’s Luka Doncic blockbuster.

Len, 31, has been a little-used reserve center over the past three-and-a-half seasons in Sacramento, averaging 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 10.0 minutes per game across 149 total outings (15 starts). The former No. 5 overall pick was traded from the Kings to the Wizards ahead of last Thursday’s deadline.

The Lakers have a full 15-man roster and will have to waive a player in order to make room for Len. According to Charania (Twitter link), that roster casualty will be Christian Wood, who has yet to play this season following offseason surgery on his left knee. That procedure was the second one Wood underwent on his knee in 2024.

In his first season in Los Angeles in 2023/24, Wood averaged 6.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 0.7 BPG in 50 games (17.4 MPG) with a .466/.307/.702 shooting line. He’s on an expiring minimum-salary contract, so the Lakers won’t carry any dead money on their cap for him beyond this season.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the Lakers entered the day with about $1.6MM in room below their second-apron hard cap. Len’s new deal will nearly trim that margin in half, but the team would still have enough flexibility to add a second player on the buyout market in the coming days or weeks if another opportunity arises. Another player on the current roster would have to be waived in that scenario, with Cam Reddish viewed as the most likely odd man out.

Lakers Expected To Add Center Soon

February 11th, 2025 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

After having backed out of a trade-deadline deal for Mark Williams due to concerns about his physical, the Lakers find themselves shorthanded at the five. Jaxson Hayes is the only healthy center on the 15-man roster, with Christian Wood still recovering from knee surgery and two-way players Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison ineligible to play in the postseason.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter video link), the Lakers are expected to make a move soon to add more depth in their frontcourt.

“I’m told the Lakers are pursuing multiple big men in the marketplace right now,” Charania said during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today on Tuesday. “They know they need some size. … I would expect the Lakers to move on a potential big man in the next 24 to 48 hours. They are working. Rob Pelinka and that front office are trying to acquire a center.”

The current list of free agent centers isn’t particularly inspiring, but there are a few veteran options who might make sense for Los Angeles, including Daniel Theis, Alex Len, Mohamed Bamba, and Moses Brown.

Theis is reportedly on the verge of signing with AS Monaco in Europe, but the others figure to be on the Lakers’ radar. Len was reportedly on track to sign with the Pacers over the weekend, but that deal fell through, fueling speculation that he might be pivoting to L.A. — Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Lakers are “prominent” among the teams with interest in the Ukranian big man.

Within a discussion about possible frontcourt targets for the Lakers, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic suggests it’s worth keeping an eye on the international market too. According to Vecenie, Australian center Will Magnay, who is currently playing for the Tasmania JackJumpers, has an NBA out clause in his deal and has recently drawn interest from NBA teams.

If and when the Lakers do sign a free agent center, they’ll have to waive a player to do so, since their 15-man roster is currently full. Reporting on Monday indicated that Wood and Cam Reddish are among the team’s top release candidates. Neither one is owed any guaranteed money beyond this season.

While it sounds like the Lakers will likely add a center sooner rather than later, it’s worth noting that the club has just one more game before the All-Star break – on Wednesday vs. Utah – so if a signing hasn’t been finalized by that point, it could wait until next week.

Alex Len Not Signing With Pacers

February 11th, 2025 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran center Alex Len won’t be signing with the Pacers after all, league sources confirm to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

Len, who was traded from Sacramento to Washington at the trade deadline, was cut by the Wizards on Saturday, with reporting at the time indicating that he planned to sign with Indiana after clearing waivers. Dopirak heard the same thing over the weekend, but says that deal is no longer moving forward, with Indiana having pivoted to another former lottery pick, Jahlil Okafor.

While Dopirak doesn’t have specific details on why the reported agreement fell through, he notes that there has been “movement” at the center position around the league in recent days, which may have “changed the dynamics” of Len’s decision. Specifically, he points to the Lakers rescinding their trade for Mark Williams as one move that created a notable opening in the middle for a team seemingly headed for a postseason berth.

It’s also worth noting that Dave McMenamin of ESPN cited sources on Monday who said Los Angeles may have pursued Len if he hadn’t agreed to sign with the Pacers. There’s no indication at this point that Len has reached an agreement with the Lakers, but they’re certainly a team worth keeping an eye on here.

The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len has been a reliable frontcourt option for 12 NBA seasons, spending time with the Suns, Hawks, Raptors, Wizards, and Kings. The 31-year-old Ukrainian has spent the last few seasons as a depth piece in Sacramento, where he made 149 appearances (15 starts) over the course of three-and-a-half seasons, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.

And-Ones: Trade Disputes, S. Johnson, Two-Ways, More

February 11th, 2025 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the Lakers‘ decision to recind their Mark Williams trade with the Hornets, teams around the NBA are discussing whether the league should introduce new measures designed to reduce the likelihood of similar situations in the future, says ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

According to Marks, those clubs are wondering whether it should be solely at the discretion of a team and its medical staff to decide what constitutes a failed physical and whether a third-party mediator might be necessary to resolve disputes.

Those clubs have also asked whether there should be a window for teams to explore amending the terms of a deal after the trade deadline has passed if there are a concerns about a player’s physical. In that hypothetical situation, Marks notes, the amended terms would have to involve only draft compensation, not new players.

The Hornets have reportedly been in touch with the NBA to discuss whether they have an avenue to dispute the Lakers’ decision to void the Williams trade between the two teams.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former NBA lottery pick Stanley Johnson has parted ways with Anadolu Efes for family reasons, the Turkish club announced (via Twitter). Johnson, a 6’6″ forward who appeared in 449 regular season NBA games from 2015-23 after being drafted eighth overall in 2015, is joining the South Bay Lakers. The Lakers‘ G League affiliate confirmed in a press release that it has acquired Johnson’s returning rights in a trade with the Rip City Remix.
Five players, including Warriors big man Quinten Post and Sixers forward Justin Edwards, have been converted from two-way contracts to standard deals in the days since the trade deadline. There are several more two-way players around the league who could follow suit, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who identifies seven more candidates for promotions, including Wizards forward Justin Champagnie, Sixers guard Jared Butler, Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark, and Pelicans wing Brandon Boston.
Although the NBA pays a team a fee when it loses a home game in order to play overseas, that payment typically doesn’t cover the full cost of the lost revenue, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. So what’s in it for teams who choose to take part in those international games? Vorkunov explores that subject, detailing the brand-building calculus at play for those clubs.

Luka Doncic Discusses ‘Special’ Lakers Debut

February 11th, 2025 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

Playing for the first time since suffering a left calf strain on Christmas Day, Luka Doncic made his Lakers debut on Monday, helping to guide the team to a comfortable 132-113 victory over Utah. It wasn’t the best game of Doncic’s career – he had just 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting in 24 minutes – but he told reporters after the victory that it was a “special” one, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

“The way they received me, everybody, it was amazing to see,” Doncic said. “I was a little bit nervous before. I don’t remember the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court, it was fun. And just being out there again felt amazing.”

As Buha and Dave McMenamin of ESPN write, the Lakers went out of their way to make their newest addition comfortable in his debut. Every fan in attendance received a Doncic t-shirt jersey, the Lakers played Serbian music during pregame warmups (a staple during Doncic’s days in Dallas), and he was the last Lakers starter introduced, temporarily taking the spot typically reserved for LeBron James.

In a pregame huddle captured on ESPN’s broadcast, James told Doncic, “Luka, be your f—ing self. Don’t fit in, fit the f— out. Be yourself.” Doncic said it felt “amazing” to hear that and added that the speech gave him “chills.”

“I didn’t play in a long time, first of all,” Doncic said. “It’s a new team. New everything. But like the way they helped me, teammates, (general manager) Rob (Pelinka), (owner) Jeanie (Buss), it was just a lot of support for me. You could see when I came to the arena, I saw all the Luka jerseys. It was just a surreal feeling.”

The Lakers’ victory, their sixth in a row and 10th in 11 games, moved them into fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, the Mavericks lost for the 15th time in their last 23 games and are now clinging to a play-in spot, just one game ahead of the 11th-seeded Suns. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN details, multiple Mavericks fans – upset about the trade that sent Doncic to Los Angeles in a package headlined by Anthony Davis – were ejected in the second half of a one-point overtime loss to Sacramento and team governor Patrick Dumont was loudly booed by fans.

At one point in the game, former Mavs majority owner and current minority stakeholder Mark Cuban yelled at two fans to “shut the f— up and sit the f— down,” MacMahon reports. Cuban told ESPN the fans were chanting “fire Nico” (ie. general manager Nico Harrison) while the Mavs were shooting free throws and again during a critical late-game possession. They were later ejected.

Head coach Jason Kidd didn’t speak to reporters after Dallas’ loss, a violation of NBA rules.

“I mean, yeah. I saw,” Doncic said on Monday when asked about the reaction in Dallas to the trade that ended his Mavs tenure. “Obviously, I saw the fans. Obviously, I really appreciate it. I’ve been there seven years — almost seven years — and it was amazing to experience those fans — the love for me. I’ll always appreciate that. But now I think we should focus on the next step. And the way Lakers fans received me here was amazing.”

Hornets Exploring Options To Dispute Lakers’ Decision To Nix Williams Deal

February 10th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets have been in contact with the NBA as they explore options to dispute the Lakers’ failed physical assessment of Mark Williams, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

The Lakers rescinded the trade with Charlotte based on their medical assessment of Williams.

The Hornets agreed to part with Williams in exchange for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, the Lakers’ unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap.

Although both teams announced the trade on Thursday, it remained conditional on Williams and Knecht reporting to their new teams and passing physicals. Since the trade deadline had passed, there was no avenue to amend the deal.

Los Angeles had looked at Williams as an ideal pick-and-roll partner for Luka Doncic, who reportedly urged the front office to find an upgrade at the center spot and “handpicked” the Hornets center as a target.

Meanwhile, the Hornets were in the awkward position of welcoming back Williams, which they did in a statement, while losing all the assets and players in the agreed-upon trade. Knecht and Reddish were also put in awkward spot of returning to a team that had just dealt them away.

The Lakers’ decision to nix the deal could also damage the future trade value of Williams, which would be another motivation for Charlotte to dispute those findings. Williams has only appeared in 85 games during his first two-and-a-half seasons in the league due to a variety of ailments.

Luka, LeBron Available To Play Monday For Lakers

February 10th, 2025 at 9:08pm CST by Rory Maher

9:08pm: The Lakers have listed Doncic and James as available, Marc Stein tweets.

3:52pm: Lakers superstars Luka Doncic and LeBron James have been upgraded to probable ahead of Monday’s game vs. Utah, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Both players were previously listed as questionable for Monday’s contest, which would mark Doncic’s Lakers debut.

Doncic, who was acquired on February 2 in a shocking trade with Dallas, has been out since December 25 due to a left calf strain. The Slovenian guard has appeared in 22 games this season (35.7 minutes), averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.0 steals per contest, with a shooting line of .464/.354/.767.

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter video link), every seat in Crypto.com arena has Doncic’s No. 77 jersey draped over it. Obviously, that indicates that the five-time All-NBA member is on track to play.

James, who has been on a tear of late, averaging 31.2 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 9.8 APG and 1.0 SPG on .556/.448/.805 shooting over his past five games, missed Saturday’s win vs. Indiana due to left ankle soreness, but it appears as though he’ll be return to action tonight. The Lakers have won 11 of their past 13 games in no small part due to James’ strong play.

Rookie forward Dalton Knecht, who is back with the Lakers after they rescinded their trade for Mark Williams over his medicals, has also been upgraded to probable on Monday for personal reasons, per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link). Cam Reddish, another player involved in the failed deal, is out for personal reasons, per the league’s official injury report.

Doncic, 25, announced through his foundation on Monday that he would be donating $500K to assist in the L.A. wildfire relief efforts (Twitter link).

“To everyone affected by these fires: we’re here to help, now and for the long haul,” the statement reads in part.

Contract Details: Butler, Post, Mitchell, Craig, Two-Ways

February 10th, 2025 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

Jimmy Butler‘s new two-year contract extension with the Warriors became official last Thursday as part of the trade that sent him from Miami to Golden State, per RealGM’s transaction log. That deal, which replaces Butler’s player option for 2025/26, projects to be worth $54,126,450 next season and $56,832,773 in 2026/27.

Those figures hinge on a presumed 10% salary cap increase for the ’25/26 season. Butler’s deal will start at 35% of the cap, with a 5% raise for the second year. Based on the maximum possible cap increase, which is anticipated, that would work out to a two-year total of $110,959,223 for the newest Warrior.

Meanwhile, Hoops Rumors has learned that Quinten Post‘s new standard two-year contract is a minimum-salary contract that includes a team option for 2025/26. The Warriors will have the ability to either exercise that $1.96MM for next season or turn it down in the hopes of signing the big man to a longer-term contract as a restricted free agent.

Here are a few more updates on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

Ajay Mitchell‘s new two-year, $6MM contract with the Thunder includes a guaranteed $3MM for the rest of this season, which comes out of Oklahoma City’s room exception. It also features a $3MM team option for 2025/26, which means – like Golden State with Post – Oklahoma City could decline the option in order to sign Mitchell to a longer-term deal as a restricted free agent this summer.
Torrey Craig‘s new contract with the Celtics is a one-year, minimum-salary deal, Hoops Rumors has learned, so the veteran wing will be back on the unrestricted free agent market during the coming offseason.
While Branden Carlson (Thunder), Orlando Robinson (Raptors), and Jordan Goodwin (Lakers) signed two-way contracts that will expire at season’s end, Ethan Thompson‘s new two-way deal with the Magic covers two years, so Orlando will have the option of keeping him on that contract through the 2025/26 season, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Lakers Rumors: Williams, Knecht, Sims, Len, Reddish, Wood, LeBron

February 10th, 2025 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

After acquiring Luka Doncic from Dallas at the start of trade deadline week, the Lakers targeted Hornets center Mark Williams in large part because he was “handpicked” by Doncic as the sort of big man Los Angeles’ new franchise player would thrive next to, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Team sources tell McMenamin that the Lakers viewed the 23-year-old Williams as the sort of player who could grow alongside Doncic in the long term while also fortifying L.A.’s frontcourt against Western rivals like Houston, Memphis, Denver, and Oklahoma City in the short term.

Before agreeing to trade for Williams on Wednesday night, the Lakers weighed whether he was worth the steep price it would take to acquire him, given his injury history, McMenamin writes. Head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka opted to pull the trigger, deciding on an “all in” approach to the deadline and agreeing to send Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 pick swap to the Hornets for Williams.

As one Lakers source tells ESPN, Williams’ fit was viewed as a necessity on a roster lacking a starting-caliber center, while Knecht’s was considered a luxury, and the club wanted to establish “goodwill” with Doncic to get the relationship on the right foot. There was also some internal debate on how valuable the Lakers’ 2031 pick would end up actually being.

After making the deal with Charlotte, Pelinka expressed confidence when he talked about the deal on Thursday that Williams’ health wouldn’t be an issue going forward: “We fully vetted [Williams’] health stuff. He’s had no surgeries. So these are just parts of, he’s still growing into his body. We vetted the injuries he’s had, and we’re not concerned about those.”

However, after getting him into the building and conducting a physical, the Lakers identified additional concerns with Williams’ health and ultimately decided to pull out of the trade.

As McMenamin writes, there are some people within the Lakers who expressed relief that the deal didn’t end up going through — one team source said the package was “a lot” to give up for Williams and suggested the club “kind of dodged a bullet.” But the voiding of the trade meant that the Lakers failed in their first attempt to satisfy Doncic and will need to repair their relationship with Knecht, according to McMenamin, who adds that there’s a “perception of fumbled execution” based on how the process played out.

“Nobody did the research prior?” one league source said to ESPN. “Why would [Williams] be available that young?”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

The Lakers considered a trade for Knicks big man Jericho Sims before he was sent to Milwaukee and might have had interest in Alex Len, who has agreed to sign with Indiana after being waived by Washington, sources tell McMenamin. Neither big man would’ve been a clear upgrade on the club’s current options, but they’re two more depth options who are now off the board.
Although the Lakers have a full 15-man roster, they still have enough room below their second-apron hard cap to waive a player to bring in another big man. In that scenario, Reddish and Christian Wood would likely be the top candidates to be cut, Lakers sources tell ESPN. “We will find another center path,” a team source told McMenamin. “The path is always there. We just got to put in the work to find it.”
With Williams not coming to Los Angeles, Jaxson Hayes figures to continue starting at center for the Lakers. LeBron James had “privately wondered” whether the 24-year-old was experienced enough to take on that role down the stretch and in the playoffs, sources tell McMenamin. Hayes is off to a solid start — the Lakers have won each of his last seven starts, including all five games since Jan. 30. He also should have Doncic’s support. According to McMenamin, Hayes – who shares an agent, Bill Duffy, with the former Mavs star – was the first Laker to go out for dinner with Doncic after he arrived in L.A.
“When (Doncic) was in Dallas and I was in New Orleans my first few years, they kept trying to trade for me,” Hayes told McMenamin. “New Orleans never allowed it. He was like, ‘Do you remember when we couldn’t trade for you?’ I was like, ‘Do you remember what I told you after every game I played against you?’ After every game I would be like, ‘If you ever need a big, I would love to play with you.’ Just because of the way he moves the ball.”
It “wasn’t lost on James’ camp,” sources tell ESPN, that Pelinka sought Doncic’s input and pursued a trade target he wanted immediately after his arrival. For years, LeBron has wanted the Lakers’ to trade future draft picks to upgrade their roster, McMenamin notes.

Load More Posts