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Lakers Waive V.J. Beachem, Stephen Zimmerman

October 9th, 2017 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have begun to make cuts to their roster with the preseason nearing an end, announcing today in a press release that they’ve requested waivers on V.J. Beachem and Stephen Zimmerman. Beachem and Zimmerman will become unrestricted free agents on Wednesday, assuming they clear waivers.

Beachem and Zimmerman both signed contracts with the Lakers this summer, but saw very limited action during the preseason, and weren’t strong candidates to make the club’s 15-man roster.

Beachem, a 6’8″ forward who played his college ball at Notre Dame, averaged 14.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.4 3PG, and 1.1 BPG in his senior year last season. He received a $50K guarantee when he signed with the Lakers and looks like a candidate to join the club’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.

Zimmerman, the 41st overall pick in the 2016 draft, was waived by the Magic after just one year with the franchise, but had some success in the G League last season. In 21 games for the Erie BayHawks, the young center averaged 13.4 PPG and 8.9 RPG.

The Lakers’ roster is now down to 18 players, including one (Alex Caruso) on a two-way contract. The club will have to make at least two more roster moves before the regular season begins.

Lakers Hire Director Of Basketball Analytics

October 7th, 2017 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

The Lakers have hired Jason Rosenfeld as Director of Basketball Analytics, according to the team. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link) noted, the Lakers’ signing of Rosenfeld is crucial as the team has been criticized for its lack of analytics use.

L.A. Notes: Griffin, Rivers, Bogut, Ball

October 4th, 2017 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers enjoyed their trip to Hawaii both on and off the court, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. split a pair of games with the Raptors, and the players believe the experience helped to unify a team that lost Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford over the summer.

There was good news regarding star forward Blake Griffin, who was able to play without any lingering effects from surgery on his right big toe in May. Milos Teodosic showed off the passing that made him highly sought after in Europe, Patrick Beverley brought the hard-nosed defense that was his calling card in Houston and Lou Williams showed he can replace Crawford’s scoring off the bench. Also, the Lob City swagger lives on without Paul. “I don’t think we ever lost that,” said DeAndre Jordan. “We’ve got guys who can make passes like that. We’ve got myself, Blake, Willie [Reed], Montrezl [Harrell], guys like that rolling and able to play above the rim.”

There’s more tonight from Los Angeles:

The only bad news for the Clippers is on the injury front, Turner adds. Austin Rivers “is going to be out for a while” after straining a right gluteal muscle in the first game, said coach Doc Rivers.
Veteran center Andrew Bogut believes his young Lakers teammates can benefit from his experience, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Bogut signed a one-year, partially guaranteed deal with the Lakers last month as he tries to prove he can come back from a tibia fracture he suffered in March. He is projected as a backup to Brook Lopez, one of the few veterans on the squad. “I have been through pretty much everything in this league, especially injury-wise, and been on championship teams, winningest teams, crappiest teams, teams with a lot of turnovers,” Bogut said. “I have seen everything.”
Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball has already become the face of the Lakers, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The team has a lot invested in the overall No. 2 pick, who impressed his older teammates with his performance in camp. L.A. has lost at least 55 games in each of the past four seasons and needs the 19-year-old to emerge as a leader. “The way he plays the game of basketball, everywhere he goes … if he went to a rec center, people would follow him because he makes people better,” said coach Luke Walton. “That’s what great leaders do.”

NBA GMs: Lonzo Ball Is Rookie Of The Year Favorite

October 4th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

While Dennis Smith Jr. of the Mavericks (37%) was voted the biggest steal of the 2017 draft, most GMs expect Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball (62%) to win the Rookie of the Year award.

[SOURCE LINK]

Lakers To Add Antawn Jamison For Scouting Role

October 3rd, 2017 at 4:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Lakers will hire Antawn Jamison in a scouting role, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Charania adds that he will work under president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, GM Rob Pelinka, and assistant GM Jesse Buss.

Jamison played for the Lakers back in the 2012/13 season and he has worked for the organization as a TV analyst since retiring from the league in 2014.

The former no. 4 overall pick spent 16 seasons as a pro where he averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. In addition to playing for the Lakers, he also spent time with the Warriors, Mavericks, Wizards, Cavs, and Clippers.

Westbrook's Decision Deals Lakers A Setback

October 2nd, 2017 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Russell Westbrook‘s decision to sign a max extension is bad news for the Lakers in their pursuit of two top-level free agents next summer, as Eric Pincus examines in a Bleacher Report column. The Lakers were hopeful they could fill a max slot with Westbrook, who now has all season to convince another Los Angeles target, Paul George, to re-sign with the Thunder in the offseason, Pincus continues. Moreover, the Lakers are currently projected to have $47MM in cap space if they let restricted free agent Julius Randle walk, which isn’t enough to land two star free agents, Pincus notes. Unless they can convince LeBron James to come West, their best remaining options could be DeMarcus Cousins or DeAndre Jordan, provided Jordan doesn’t sign an extension with the Clippers, Pincus adds.

Poll: Los Angeles Lakers’ 2017/18 Win Total

October 2nd, 2017 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Having finished the 2016/17 season with a 26-56 record, the Lakers have now lost at least 55 games for four straight seasons. Still, there’s an unusual level of optimism surrounding the club as the 2017/18 season nears.

After hiring Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to run their front office early in 2017, the Lakers lucked out in the lottery, keeping their first-round pick and landing a potential star in point guard Lonzo Ball. The club also managed to find a taker for Timofey Mozgov‘s unwieldy contract, attaching D’Angelo Russell to Mozgov and sending the duo to the Nets for Brook Lopez and a first-round pick, which L.A. used on Summer League standout Kyle Kuzma.

Free agency wasn’t quite as eventful for a Lakers team biding its time and hoping to make a splash in 2018, but the club did convince Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to accept a one-year deal, adding an intriguing two-way wing to the roster.

Veteran additions like Caldwell-Pope and Lopez should help the Lakers improve upon last year’s record, but many of the team’s most promising pieces are still awfully young. Brandon Ingram just turned 20 and Ball will do so later this month. Julius Randle and Kuzma are just 22. Even KCP is only 24 and has yet to fully deliver on his potential.

While there’s a lot of talent on the roster, the Lakers may be a year or two from really making noise in the Western Conference. Oddsmakers certainly seem hesitant to go all-in on the squad this year, with offshore betting site Bovada placing L.A.’s over/under at 33.5 wins.

What do you think? Are the Lakers ready to win 34+ games, potentially making a run at a .500 record for the first time since 2012/13? Or does this club still need another year of development before delivering that kind of performance? Vote below in our poll and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

How many games will the Lakers win in 2017/18?

Over 33.5 50.40% (756 votes)

Under 33.5 49.60% (744 votes)

Total Votes: 1,500

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Previous over/under voting results:

Western Conference:

Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
Houston Rockets: Over 55.5 (65.57%)
San Antonio Spurs: Over 54.5 (67.74%)
Oklahoma City Thunder: Over 50.5 (71.77%)
Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 48.5 (55.69%)
Denver Nuggets: Under 45.5 (50.44%)
Los Angeles Clippers: Over 43.5 (60.7%)
Portland Trail Blazers: Over 42.5 (56.3%)
Utah Jazz: Over 41.5 (55.94%)
New Orleans Pelicans: Over 39.5 (65.26%)
Memphis Grizzlies: Over 37.5 (53.43%)
Dallas Mavericks: Under 35.5 (54.95%)

Eastern Conference:

Boston Celtics: Over 55.5 (63.5%)
Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 53.5 (68.82%)
Toronto Raptors: Over 48.5 (64.21%)
Washington Wizards: Over 47.5 (71.29%)
Milwaukee Bucks: Over 47.5 (63.88%)
Miami Heat: Over 43.5 (55.39%)
Charlotte Hornets: Over 42.5 (51.07%)
Philadelphia 76ers: Under 41.5 (53.37%)
Detroit Pistons: Over 38.5 (51.95%)

Lakers May Benefit From Projected Salary Cap

October 2nd, 2017 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

The latest salary cap projections from the NBA – which forecast a modest increase to $101MM for 2018/19 – should bode well for teams like the Lakers, who have set themselves up to create major cap room next summer, writes Matt Moore of CBSSports.com. Moore adds that the projections could lead to more trades during this season, as clubs make an effort to clear cap space or avoid the tax.

Lakers Notes: Ball, Kuzma, Blue, Bogut

October 1st, 2017 at 9:35am CST by Arthur Hill

Lonzo Ball‘s NBA debut brought an electric atmosphere to Saturday’s preseason opener, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The second overall pick had a rough shooting night, going 2 for 9 from the field and finishing with five points, but he contributed eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals and showed a sell-out crowd his triple-double potential. “He is so unselfish that sometimes he has good shots for himself and he tries to get someone else a shot,” said Lakers coach Luke Walton. “We want him taking those. We are looking for him to be a little more aggressive to score the ball, especially early on. I thought he was great the way he was moving around out there and getting people involved.”

There’s more news out of Los Angeles:

Fellow first-rounder Kyle Kuzma had no shooting problems, sinking 9 of 12 shots and scoring 19 points. The 27th pick out of Utah sparked the Lakers’ offense in the third quarter with four buckets in 91 seconds and showed the same explosiveness he displayed during summer league. “It’s not so much 100 miles per hour like you’d think it is,” Kuzma told Joey Ramirez of NBA.com about the adjustment to the pro game. “It’s really pace, stop and go — I definitely learned a lot out there just in that one game.”
Reigning G League MVP Vander Blue is trying to use every advantage as he competes for a roster spot, Ramirez writes in a separate story. Blue has been showing up to practice three hours early each day and scouted all his potential teammates on video before camp began. Blue has been a productive G League player over the past three years, but has just five NBA games on his resume since leaving Marquette in 2013.
Andrew Bogut has resolved his visa issues and is ready to join the Lakers, the veteran center tweeted. Bogut agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal with L.A. in mid-September but hasn’t been able to come to the United States because of the visa problem. Bogut is eager to prove that he is fully recovered from a fractured tibia that ended his season in March.

The Legend Of Lonzo Ball Grows

September 29th, 2017 at 9:59pm CST by Austin Kent

The legend of Lonzo Ball has grown throughout training camp, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. The rookie point guard is said to have made an impression in his first scrimmage and has impressed Lakers head coach Luke Walton with his defensive work and ability to communicate.