Lakers Rumors

Western Notes: Rockets, Wolves, Lakers

November 22nd, 2015 at 7:57pm CST by Will Joseph

Donatas Motiejunas, who is set to be a restricted free agent this coming summer, is expected to meet with doctors on December 1st and the hope is he would then be cleared for workouts with the Rockets, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Motiejunas has not been cleared to practice since last season’s back surgery, as Feigen points out. The power forward played well while Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones were out last season, with solid shooting numbers for a 7-footer.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Rockets waived Lakers center Tarik Black last year, but he said he was sorry to see Kevin McHale get fired, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register tweets. “I know he did believe in me,” Black said, per Oram.
Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell will insert Kevin Martin into the starting lineup despite his shooting woes, with Tayshaun Prince going to the bench, Mitchell told reporters, including Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. Martin was involved in trade rumors last season.
Lakers coach Byron Scott believes point guard D’Angelo Russell is playing his best basketball of the season after a slow start, Abbey Mastracco of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. “I looked at it like, ‘This was a sign.’ This is a good sign of things to come. The kid is starting to get it,” Scott said. “So after 12 games, having his best game last night from an offensive standpoint – and even defensively I thought he played pretty good – you look forward to the next 12 to see if he can continue that process of developing.”

Lakers Notes: Williams, Brown, Bryant

November 22nd, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Will Joseph

While the Lakers experienced some growing pains with their rookies early on, notably with D’Angelo Russell, 10-year veteran Lou Williams has also had issues adjusting with his new team, but coach Byron Scott still has faith in the point guard, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Williams signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Lakers in the summer after he scored 15.5 points per game on 40.5% shooting last season in Toronto, where he won the Sixth Man of the Year award. Despite Williams’ shooting production being down, Scott has elected to use Williams in the fourth quarter of games instead of Russell, Medina adds.

“I don’t worry about Lou that much,” Scott said. “He’s one of those guys that knows how to create opportunities for himself. When he’s not shooting well, he can still get up numbers for us.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

The Lakers recalled rookie swingman Anthony Brown from the D-League, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays on Twitter. The Lakers’ D-League affiliate acknowledged the move (Twitter link).
Brown may soon be assigned to the D-League again because Scott wants Brown to work on his ball-handling and develop more experience for the next two months, Medina, in a separate piece, relays. There is a decent chance Brown can make the Lakers’ lineup before that time period, Medina adds, but that would likely depend on the play of Metta World Peace, who has surprised with his conditioning.
Kobe Bryant expressed little concern over his season-high 37 minutes played Friday night, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register details. With hints toward retirement at the end of this season, Bryant has averaged 31.1 minutes per game heading into action Sunday, as Oram points out. “My workload has been really light,” Bryant said.

And-Ones: Simmons, Cuban, McHale

November 19th, 2015 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A major reason Kevin McHale was fired by the Rockets on Wednesday was the front office’s belief that he had lost the locker room, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays in response to a reader’s mailbag question. Mannix also notes that McHale’s strength as a coach is not in devising strategies or calling plays, but rather in his ability as a motivator. Houston swingman Corey Brewer has gone on record defending McHale, and emphasized that his former coach did not lose the team, and instead placed the blame for the Rockets’ slow start on the players.

Here’s more from around the league:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, with an assist from three NBA scouts, ran down the top 10 hoops prospects for the 2015/16 season, including Ben Simmons (LSU), Skal Labissiere (Kentucky), and Brandon Ingram (Duke). The top of next year’s draft could be filled with more international players than usual, Spears notes. “The top three picks might not be from the United States next year,” an NBA scout told Spears. “Blame AAU basketball in America for that.”
Simmons had the opportunity to play overseas this season rather than in college, but the talented forward wanted to get a head start on acclimating to the U.S. as well as the style of basketball played here, Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News writes. “I felt like it helped me develop my game more,” Simmons says. “I was able to get the chance to experience different teams, different playing styles. For me it was just more going to high school and competing against the best players every day. It helped me mature, living by myself in Orlando while my parents were back home. A lot of different things come into it: new team, new coaches, different style, system, and living in a different country.”
Mavs team owner Mark Cuban, who isn’t one to mince words, acknowledged that last season’s trade for Rajon Rondo was a risk that didn’t work out as planned for the team, Ben Rohrbach of WEI 93.7 FM relays. “[Expletive] happens, right? There are a lot of risks I’ve taken that have worked out just fine. They’re not all going to work,” Cuban said.
Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, speaking about his potential retirement during a radio appearance on SiriusXM, said, “If something changes I’ll come back and play next season. If something doesn’t change this is it for me,” Frank Isola of the New York Daily News relays (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Brown, Goodwin, Bryant

November 19th, 2015 at 7:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns shooting guard Archie Goodwin has seen his role in the team’s rotation expand this season, something GM Ryan McDonough credits to Goodwin strengthening himself over the offseason, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. During an appearance on the “Burns & Gambo Show,” McDonough said of Goodwin, “I think it’s easy to forget that he’s still one of the younger players in the league. He just recently turned 21 years old. He’s gotten stronger. That allows him to fight through screens, defensively. Offensively, as you guys know he’s got a quick first step and long strides, but when you can’t absorb the contact as well going to the basket, it’s hard to finish in this league, especially through contact.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers coach Byron Scott said that he has high expectations for rookie swingman Anthony Brown, and he hopes the young player can follow the path of Jordan Clarkson, who had a breakout 2014/15 campaign for the team, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links). Brown was assigned to the team’s D-League affiliate specifically to work on creating his own shot off the dribble, and the team is interested in seeing if he can learn to play guard in addition to his natural small forward position, Pincus adds.
The Clippers intend to leave Branden Dawson and C.J. Wilcox in the D-League through the end of November, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com notes. Dawson is thankful that Wilcox is alongside him because of his previous D-League experience, Kavner adds. “It’s definitely helpful for him to be going through this process with me,” Dawson said. “He was there last year, so having someone to go through this experience with is definitely helpful. He’s told me all about it, about what to expect and what to prepare for.”
Kobe Bryant acknowledged that his career is likely to end without him winning another NBA title, but the veteran understands he has a duty to help the Lakers develop their younger talent, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “Of course I want love to win another championship. But my responsibility now is to think outside of what I want,” Bryant said. “My responsibility is to these young players.”

Western Notes: Chandler, World Peace, Durant

November 17th, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler underwent successful surgery today to repair a labral tear in his right hip, the team announced via a press release. Chandler initially suffered the injury during the preseason and he will be out for the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign. Despite missing approximately 133 games since 2011 due to hip injuries, the veteran, who signed a four-year, $46.5MM renegotiation and extension with Denver back in July, recently told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post that he isn’t contemplating retirement.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Lakers have assigned small forward Anthony Brown the the L.A. D-Fenders, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the first trip of the season to the D-League for Brown, as our D-League assignments and recalls tracker shows. The rookie has appeared in three games for the Lakers this season, averaging 1.7 points in 3.0 minutes of action per contest.
By not signing Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to rookie scale extensions prior to this season’s deadline, the Warriors have left open the possibility of swinging a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant this offseason, Danny Leroux of the Sporting News posits. Leroux also runs down a number of other scenarios that could result in Golden State potentially trotting out one of the greatest offensive teams of all-time, though the scribe does note that Barnes and Ezeli, both of whom are eligible to become restricted free agents next summer, would have the right to decline any sign-and-trade agreement.
Lakers coach Byron Scott was worried that Metta World Peace‘s body wouldn’t hold up through training camp, but the 16th-year veteran who just turned 36 says he’s in better shape than when he was with the Lakers the first time, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. World Peace is seeing occasional starting assignments and 19.1 minutes per game. “You have to give him a lot of credit for somebody who was out of the league for a couple of years,” Scott said. “He worked as hard as he worked to get back into the league and be able to be a vital part of what we’re trying to do. It’s been great.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Lin, Walton, Goodwin

November 17th, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors were among the teams to show interest in Jeremy Lin while he was a free agent this summer, as he told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post. Lin instead wound up signing with the Hornets, a team that wasn’t initially within the top six among his preferences, the point guard added, as Berman relays.

“I entertained it,’’ Lin said. “I just felt like they had something great going there, and if I went there, it would be a very limited role. I felt like, ‘I’m 27 now.’ I want to find where I can be as big a part of a successful team as I can.’’

Hornets coach Steve Clifford calls Lin a bargain on his two-year deal worth more than $4.374MM and said that when he was an assistant coach with the Lakers in 2012/13, head coach Mike D’Antoni wanted the Lakers to try to acquire Lin, whom D’Antoni coached on the Knicks, Berman notes. Ironically, Lin played for the Lakers last season, right after D’Antoni left. See more from the Pacific Division:

Klay Thompson, in the first season of his four-year extension, says he prefers being on a winner over putting up gaudy stats on a losing team, and interim coach Luke Walton doesn’t see signs of the Warriors growing anxious to see what they could do on their own, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com. I don’t see this team having any of those type of issues,” Walton said to Mannix. “There’s no way to tell, obviously. Contract stuff can come up. But that’s not the type of locker room that it looks like. If I were betting, I’d say it won’t happen.”
Archie Goodwin made some noise about his lack of playing time last season, but he’s been a part of the rotation for the Suns the past two games, and Jeff Hornacek won’t rule out making that a permanent role for him, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “He’s played pretty well through the preseason and practices,” Hornacek said. “He’s earned the opportunity. He’s long. He’s quick so he can cover some ground. Now that he’s gotten stronger, he doesn’t get pushed around as much.”

Pacific Rumors: Kings, Bryant, Bogut

November 16th, 2015 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t trust coach George Karl, and they simply don’t get along, writes TNT’s David Aldridge in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The relationship is beyond repair, Aldridge believes, and while he thinks Cousins is the best center in the game, the Kings should trade him anyway, he posits, offering a suggestion for a deal he thinks would help Sacramento and send a message that GM Vlade Divac and Karl will be around for the long term. The criticism of Karl’s energy level is unfair, and the Kings should empower one of the best coaches ever, Aldridge opines.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

Numerous league executives doubt that Kobe Bryant will last the season, Sam Amico of SamAmicoBasketball.com reports. One unnamed GM told Amico that Bryant’s body can no longer hold up to the rigors of an 82-game NBA season. “I hope I’m wrong, because who doesn’t admire an old warrior — but he has nowhere to go but down at this stage of his playing career,” the GM said. “The body doesn’t want to be argued with, and it’s telling him it’s time to go.” Bryant played 36 minutes on Sunday, an indication that Lakers have two priorities regarding their aging superstar: allowing him to do what he wants, and winning during a supposed rebuilding season, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com argues. By leaving Bryant on the court that long, coach Byron Scott showed that he will let Bryant play as much as he wants when he’s in uniform, Holmes continues. Bryant’s power over the Lakers organization is greater than ever and Scott, being one of his biggest supporters, will let him dictate the terms of his farewell tour, Holmes adds.
Andrew Bogut was surprised when interim Warriors coach Luke Walton told the media he would return to the starting lineup as soon as Tuesday, Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group reports. The undefeated Warriors have utilized Festus Ezeli as the starting center while Bogut recovered from a concussion and Bogut has no problem with keeping things status quo, Leung continues. “Like I’ve said from the start, I’ve been starting my whole career, but I understand I missed [six] games there, and we won all of them,” Bogut told Leung. “Maybe the starters are used to having Festus there the first six, seven minutes and get their rhythm that way.”

Atlantic Notes: Cousins, Sullinger, Brown, Harper

November 16th, 2015 at 5:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The price that the Kings have asked of other teams seeking to trade for DeMarcus Cousins has dissuaded the Celtics from so much as inquiring thus far, multiple sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, who suggests that Cousins’ maturity has made the Celtics wary, given the high cost. A Western Conference GM confirmed to Bulpett that the Kings sought Julius Randle and No. 2 pick from the Lakers prior to this year’s draft, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported at the time that Sacramento asked for Jordan Clarkson and other draft assets from the Lakers, too. The Kings also wanted to attach Carl Landry, since traded to the Sixers, to any Cousins deal, Wojnarowski wrote. See more on Boston talks — or lack thereof — amid our look at the Atlantic Division:

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said over the offseason that the team was engaged in extension talks with Jared Sullinger, later saying he would continue that discussion. Agent David Falk, speaking to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald last week, painted a different picture. “We didn’t spend one second discussing an extension for him,” Falk said. “Danny wasn’t in a position to give the max, so there was really nothing to talk about. I’ve never done a contract extension for a rookie who didn’t make the max since 1996. You have to understand I’m not a rookie in this league. The GMs all know.” Falk doesn’t necessarily see Sullinger as a max player and simply doesn’t believe in agreeing to terms for a young player before he’s had a chance to hit the market, Bulpett explains. He’s nonetheless optimistic about Sullinger’s prospects, especially given the relative dearth of quality 2016 free agents beyond the top few names.
Gregg Popovich wouldn’t want to coach this Sixers roster but says Brett Brown, his former Spurs assistant, is fully engaged, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News relays. Brown, in third year of a four-year contract, is, “the most positive person that I know,” Popovich said. “I honestly don’t know who else could be in Philadelphia doing what he’s doing,” Popovich added. “I couldn’t do it. I’d last a month. Two years ago, I mean. A month. Not in the third year.”
Nets preseason cut Justin Harper is joining the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, the minor league team announced. The power forward was the 32nd overall pick in 2011.

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Lakers

November 16th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Brandon Bass: Two years, $6.135MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is a player option.
Michael Frazier: Two years, $1.4MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. First year partially guaranteed for $50K, second year is non-guaranteed. Waived.
Jonathan Holmes: Two years, $1.4MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. First year partially guaranteed for $100K, second year is non-guaranteed. Waived.
Marcelo Huertas: One year, $525K. Signed via minimum salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
Robert Upshaw: Two years, $1.4MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. First year partially guaranteed for $35K, second year is non-guaranteed. Waived.
Lou Williams: Three years, $21MM. Signed via cap room.
Metta World Peace: One year, $1.499MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. Non-guaranteed.

Extensions

None

Trades

Acquired Roy Hibbert from the Pacers in exchange for Los Angeles’ 2019 second round pick.

Waiver Claims

None

Draft Picks

D’Angelo Russell (Round 1, 2nd overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
Larry Nance Jr. (Round 1, 27th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
Anthony Brown (Round 2, 34th overall). Signed a three-year, $2.59MM deal. Third year is non-guaranteed.

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Julius Randle (third year, $3,267,120) — Exercised.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

More than half of last year’s roster is gone, so in one sense, this is a new beginning for the Lakers. Still, the purple-and-gold are stuck in the same non-contending circumstances in which they’ve found themselves since their star-studded 2012/13 underwhelmed, and whether the Lakers are any closer to escaping that realm is in the eye of the beholder. Executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss believes the Lakers are “in dynamite position,” and though he meant it favorably with regard to the state of the franchise, some might have raised an eyebrow at his use of a term most commonly defined as an explosive.

Indeed, the Lakers’ reputation as a pre-eminent free agent destination has suffered serious damage over the past few years. The team’s presentation to LaMarcus Aldridge missed the mark, focusing far too much on business and not enough on basketball for the power forward’s liking. Their pitch to DeAndre Jordan was “somewhat underwhelming,” a source told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rumors consistently linked former UCLA standout Kevin Love to the Lakers, but he recommitted to the Cavs on the first day of free agency. The Lakers reportedly planned to target Goran Dragic but lost interest when they became enamored with D’Angelo Russell before the draft, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

The addition of Russell turned out to be the most significant offseason move for the team, though early returns aren’t particularly favorable, thanks in large measure to coach Byron Scott‘s reluctance to play him during fourth quarters. Still, he’s only 19, and the Lakers clearly believe in him, taking a risk as they did to defy the conventional wisdom that center Jahlil Okafor and his polished offensive talents represented the best option outside of No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns. Part of that had to do with the team’s belief that it could snag one of the top big men on the free agent market, which turned out to be misguided. Still, it became clear that the Lakers fell in love with Russell’s diverse offensive skill set. He played shooting guard at Ohio State, so it was a bit odd to see Scott use Russell’s acumen at the point as a rationale for picking him instead of Emmanuel Mudiay, who slipped to the Nuggets at No. 7. Mudiay probably has a higher ceiling, as Russell doesn’t have super athleticism, but scouts and executives had much more to go on with Russell, whose stock rose as he performed deftly for Ohio State last season.

Russell joins Julius Randle, who’s returned from a broken leg, along with an upgraded cast of veterans that had the team hoping it could focus on player development and win more games at the same time, as Medina told us in a recent edition of The Beat. The winning part hasn’t happened much yet, but Randle and Jordan Clarkson represent two of the top four Lakers in shots per game, so Scott hasn’t been afraid to go young. Naturally, Kobe Bryant leads the team in field goal attempts, but the other player in that top four, Lou Williams, joined the Lakers at the peak of his powers. Williams is coming off a Sixth Man of the Year award with the Raptors, though the team decided against offering him a chance to return as it instead decided to focus on defense. That’s an indictment of Williams, but his scoring prowess isn’t lacking, and the Lakers pounced on him for $7MM a year over the next three seasons, a bargain, especially considering the rising salary cap.

The Lakers will shell out much more than that for their lone trade acquisition. Roy Hibbert was the team’s fallback option when the marquee free agent big men went elsewhere, though GM Mitch Kupchak has expressed optimism that Hibbert will nonetheless become a core player. This is a trial season of sorts for the former All-Star whose game regressed in his last season and a half with Indiana. He’s on an expiring contract that’ll pay him nearly $15.6MM this season, though he’ll have to perform to make a case for a similar salary again next season, not to mention to keep his newfound spot as the Lakers starting center. Like Williams, he’s another player his old team seemingly didn’t want anymore. Still, the Lakers are asking him to concentrate on just one end of the floor, and if he can prove the game-changing defender he was in his heyday at Indiana, the Lakers will have Bird rights and seemingly an inside track to re-signing a key player.

The Lakers did come away with a well-regarded inside player, though Brandon Bass is apparently on the roster for his abilities as a complementary player and as a veteran mentor for Randle, whom the Lakers have chosen to start instead of Bass at power forward. Bass is also ostensibly around to aid the development of Larry Nance Jr., the power forward out of Wyoming who was the team’s other first-round pick this year. The 30-year-old Bass is making a positive contribution on the court even in limited minutes, doing the finest per-36-minute work on the glass of his career so far. He comes cheaply at a salary of just $3MM this season, but the Lakers may only benefit from him for a year, since he has a player option for next season.

No such early exit clause is a part of Nick Young‘s contract, perhaps a factor in the team’s inability to find a trade partner willing to take him in a deal the Lakers found palatable. The team reportedly abandoned its exploration of the trade market for him over the summer after coming up empty. It leaves the scorer in a reduced role with Russell and Williams in the backcourt, but he’s still a part of the rotation, and with salaries of $5-6MM a year between now and 2017/18, he doesn’t eat too much of the cap.

The Lakers can offset salaries they don’t want with bargain finds like Marcelo Huertas, who’s at the back end of the rotation on a deal for the rookie minimum salary. They also have Metta World Peace on a minimum-salary deal, but he hasn’t been an on-court factor and seems to chiefly be around as another mentor for Randle.

World Peace and Bryant are reminders of the Lakers’ gloried past, one that casts a broad shadow over the team’s rebuilding project. It’s one that seems likely to take time, and ultimately, the Lakers will probably have to reckon with the interpretation primary owner Jeanie Buss takes of her brother’s promise to step down if the team isn’t contending again soon. Jeanie Buss believes it’s a vow to resign if the team doesn’t reach the Western Conference Finals this season or next, though Kupchak apparently doesn’t see it that way, and Jim Buss isn’t focused primarily on making the playoffs for this season.

Kupchak sees Clarkson and Russell as the team’s backcourt of the next 10 to 12 years, and if they show signs this year that they’re capable of becoming a long-term starting guard tandem, it’ll also serve as a positive bellwether of the team’s ability to draft. The Lakers owe a top-three protected first-round pick to the Sixers this season, and they still must give a first-rounder to Orlando to pay off the ill-fated Dwight Howard trade. The draft will nonetheless be as important a tool as any for a franchise that’s clearly no longer the free agent draw it once was.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of it.

Lakers Notes: Kobe, Upshaw, Russell

November 16th, 2015 at 10:52am CST by Zachary Links

On Sunday night, Kobe Bryant played a season-high 36 minutes and helped lead the Lakers to a 97-85 win over the Pistons. However, playing those kinds of minutes at the age of 37 doesn’t come without consequence.

“I’m not looking forward to walking to the car right now,” Bryant said, as Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. “Seriously.”

The sore and achy Bryant will take off Monday’s contest against the Suns but he should be ready to go against the Raptors on Friday night. Here’s more out of Los Angeles:

Phil Jackson made waves in September when he predicted that Bryant might continue playing in 2016/17, but not with the Lakers. When asked about such a possibility, the future Hall of Famer was adamant that will not be the case. “I’m a Laker for life,” Bryant said, as Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “I’m not playing anywhere else no matter what. It’s just not going to happen. I bleed purple and gold and that’s just how it’s going to be.”
Lakers D-League prospect Robert Upshaw has battled with substance abuse problems in the past, but he firmly believes that he’s now on the right path, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I just surround myself with the right people,” said Upshaw of his lifestyle changes and battle to stay sober. “I’ve always been a yes-man, I still kind of am to this day, but I have people around me to help me with that. It’s tough man, I still struggle with it. I’m not perfect. My thing is, I got the help that I need and have people around me. I’m doing really well right now. I’m making all my meetings and everything. I’m just laying low and that’s pretty much what I had to do.” Upshaw was waived by the Lakers prior to opening night, but he knew that would be the case before signing on with L.A. and he’s not presently considering any overseas opportunities.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) wonder if rookie D’Angelo Russell is the right guy for the Lakers and if this team might be holding him back.

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