Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign Jonathan Holmes

August 13th, 2015 at 12:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 12:27pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced. The team refers to it as a multiyear pact, so that means it covers two years, since the Lakers don’t have the capacity to give out a longer contract.

SATURDAY, 2:09pm: The Lakers have reached a contract agreement with undrafted forward Jonathan Holmes, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the deal are not yet known, but Charania indicates that it includes a significant amount that will be partially guaranteed.

The addition of Holmes will increase the Lakers’ roster count to 15 players, including 12 fully-guaranteed pacts. The forward out of Texas will compete for a roster spot and frontcourt minutes. But it’s also entirely possible that Los Angeles has designs on sending Holmes to its D-League affiliate to gain seasoning for a large chunk of the 2015/16 campaign, though that is merely my speculation.

In 32 appearances for the Longhorns last season, Holmes logged averages of 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 26.1 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .389/.331/.778. His career NCAA numbers are 9.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 0.7 APG.

Lakers Work Out Jeremy Tyler

August 12th, 2015 at 10:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Forward Jeremy Tyler worked out for the Lakers this week, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Ricky Ledo, Toure’ Murry, Sean Kilpatrick, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy are also among those reportedly trying out this week for a spot on the Los Angeles roster. The Lakers currently have a roster count of 16 players, 12 of whom possess fully guaranteed pacts, with two other players owning partial guarantees, making it a long shot for any of the previously mentioned players to remain with the team come the regular season, even if they sign.

The 24-year-old’s last NBA regular season action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 41 contests for the Knicks, averaging 3.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 9.7 minutes per outing. The Lakers signed him for the preseason last fall, waiving him shortly before opening night. His career numbers through 104 regular season games are 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 0.4 BPG to accompany a slash line of .450/.000/.557. Tyler was the No. 39 overall pick back in 2011.

Tyler played for the Mavericks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, notching averages of 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in six contests.

Lakers Work Out Ricky Ledo

August 12th, 2015 at 10:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Knicks and Mavericks shooting guard Ricky Ledo was among the free agents who worked out this week for the Lakers, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Sean Kilpatrick, Toure’ Murry, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy were the other names that surfaced for the group workout, which was to have taken place on Monday, according to multiple reports (All five links right here).

Ledo has been a free agent since clearing waivers from the Knicks, who released him last month shortly before his salary for the coming season would have become partially guaranteed for $100K. The 43rd pick from the 2013 draft performed well in his 12-game stint with New York late last season, averaging 7.4 points in 19.4 minutes per contest and hitting 10 of 24 total three-point attempts. Still, Ledo, who turns 23 next month, has appeared in more than twice as many D-League games as he has NBA games during his two-year pro career.

The Lakers have 16 players with either signed contracts or verbal agreements to join the team, but only 12 of those deals include fully guaranteed salary for the coming season. The $2.814MM room exception is available to the team, but the minimum appears more likely for Ledo and the other workout participants should any of them end up signing.

Do you think Ledo will end up on an NBA roster this year? Leave a comment to let us know.

Lakers, Spurs To Audition Sean Kilpatrick

August 11th, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 7:07pm: Kilpatrick, whose workout with the Lakers reportedly went well, will also audition for the Spurs in the near future, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.

MONDAY, 10:27am: Sean Kilpatrick, a Timberwolves 10-day signee from this past season, will be one of several taking part in a Lakers workout today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He joins Toure’ Murry, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy among those reportedly trying out for the purple-and-gold.

Minnesota chose to sign Kilpatrick last season in large measure because of his proximity to New York, where the Wolves were about to play the Knicks and didn’t have enough healthy players. The 6’4″ shooting guard, who had been a short drive away as he played for the Sixers D-League affiliate, saw a fair amount of playing time during his stint with Minnesota, averaging 5.5 points in 18.0 minutes per game in four contests. The 25-year-old put on a strong scoring performance in summer league play last month for the Bucks, averaging 18.2 PPG in 28.7 MPG.

Kilpatrick hooked on with the Warriors near the end of the preseason last year and received a $35K partial guarantee before Golden State waived him prior to opening night. The W’s kept his D-League rights but later traded those to Philly’s D-League team. This past season was Kilpatrick’s first in the pros after he went undrafted in 2014. Before that draft, he spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors about his desire to strengthen his reputation as a defender.

Which of the workout participants whose names have surfaced so far do you find most intriguing for the Lakers? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Brand, Nance, Wolves, Union

August 11th, 2015 at 2:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

Elton Brand struck a pessimistic tone about his chances to play again, in a remark that Al Coqueran of The Examiner News relays. “I could get in shape if I got the call but this looks like the end of the run for me, right now it is family time,” Brand said at a youth basketball camp this weekend in his native Peekskill, New York. Still, while the 36-year-old indicated that he hasn’t received an offer from an NBA team yet, won’t rule out a return for what would be a 17th NBA season, observes Jane Lerner of The Journal News. “We’ll see what happens,” Brand said.

While we wait to find out if Brand will be playing in any of the games that will go on the calendar when the NBA announces the regular season schedule Wednesday, there’s more from around the league:

The Lakers surprised Larry Nance Jr. when they made him a first-round pick, as Nance tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked the Wyoming power forward the 46th-best prospect heading into the draft and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him at No. 64. “I was just hoping to hear my name called at all,” Nance said. “So to hear it called 27th overall by the Lakers, I was like, ‘Really? Really?!’ I had a sense of disbelief because it was just so crazy. I mean, I was just fighting to hear my name called at all and now I’m picked in the first round by the best franchise in history? I couldn’t have dreamt up a better scenario.”
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor doesn’t anticipate that coach/executive Flip Saunders will need to step away from his duties at any point this season, tweets Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Saunders remains in charge of the Wolves front office and as head coach in spite of a cancer diagnosis that the team revealed today.
A court dealt the National Basketball Players Association a setback Monday as it fights to dismiss a lawsuit that former executive director Billy Hunter brought against the union, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Hunter, who alleges wrongful termination, is seeking at least $10.5MM. The matter will proceed in Los Angeles Superior Court, where Hunter has previously received a favorable ruling, Berger notes.

Lakers Bringing In Toure’ Murry For Workout

August 10th, 2015 at 8:28am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Knicks, Jazz and Wizards guard Toure’ Murry will be a part of the group workout the Lakers are planning for today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy are also reportedly taking part, though Kennedy has already signed a deal with a Russian team. The Lakers have only 12 fully guaranteed contracts, so the final spots on the opening night roster are still up in the air.

Murry saw little action this past season after more extensive experience with the Knicks in 2013/14, his first NBA season. That year he appeared in 51 games, averaging 2.8 points in 7.3 minutes per game. That netted him a one-year, $1MM contract with Utah last summer, but it was only partially guaranteed, and he earned a shade under $418K prior to his January release, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The former Wichita State mainstay saw just one minute of action with the Jazz, to the dismay of agent Bernie Lee, and Murry later resurfaced on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Wizards, for whom he totaled six points in 17 minutes.

The Lakers have been active in the past few days, agreeing to sign undrafted Texas forward Jonathan Holmes, organizing today’s workout, and emerging as a front-runner for JaVale McGee. Tarik Black and Jabari Brown have non-guaranteed salaries, while Holmes and Robert Upshaw have partial guarantees in their reported deals with the team, giving the Lakers a total of 16 signed contracts or verbal agreements, four shy of the 20-man offseason roster limit.

Lakers Plan To Work Out D.J. Kennedy

August 10th, 2015 at 7:57am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 7:57am: Kennedy has signed with Enisey Krasnoyarsk of Russia, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s unclear if the pact includes an NBA out, or if it precludes him from taking part in the workout.

SUNDAY, 8:39pm: The Lakers will work out D.J. Kennedy, a source tells overseas reporter David Pick (Twitter link).

Kennedy, 25, is a one-time swingman with the Cavs out of St. John’s. His stint with the Cavs in the 2011/12 season lasted only two games. He played in Germany last year after beginning the season with Russia’s Krasny Oktyabr. He split the prior season in France and Israel, respectively.

In January, it was reported that the Raptors, Bulls, Jazz and Pistons had reached out to Kennedy, who went undrafted in 2011. Kennedy was in camp with the Mavs in 2013.

Western Notes: Nuggets, Lawson, Davis

August 9th, 2015 at 8:42pm CST by Will Joseph

Though it may not be obvious because the Nuggets did not add free agents from outside the organization, the moves Denver GM Tim Connelly made this summer have the franchise pointed in the right direction, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. The Nuggets had a busy and productive summer, as Dempsey points out, because they committed to more than $100MM on extensions and re-signings of of Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Will Barton and Jameer Nelson. Dempsey writes that Denver made these moves, not only because it did not have the cap space to reel in big-name free agents, but also because it wanted to retain these players.

From a financial standpoint, the Nuggets, like many other teams, should be in position to offer a max contract next summer with the help of the salary cap rise, Dempsey writes. Furthermore, Dempsey adds, the return of Pete D’Alessandro to the front office bolsters the Nuggets in terms of a salary cap and business knowledge standpoint, improving any deficiencies the organization thought it may have had there.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Ty Lawson, whom Houston acquired in a trade with the Nuggets, improves the Rockets despite not being a perfect fit, Tim Cato of SB Nation writes. Lawson does not exactly complement star James Harden because Lawson is a ball-dominant player and is not a great defender, Cato adds.
Ed Davis, who signed a three-year contract with the Blazers, told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that he really wanted to stay with Lakers, but they could not agree on a deal (Twitter link).

Lakers To Work Out Eric Moreland

August 9th, 2015 at 8:14pm CST by Will Joseph

The Lakers will work out forward Eric Moreland, a source tells overseas reporter David Pick (on Twitter).

The Kings waived Moreland late last month because, reportedly, his playing style was too similar to that of No. 6 pick Willie Cauley-Stein. If the Kings had not released Moreland, his salary would have became guaranteed. Sacramento, however, is interested in re-signing Moreland, according to vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac.

Moreland, 23, had a labral tear in his left shoulder end his rookie year prematurely after he’d made it into only three games this past season. He is known as a good rebounder and averaged double-figures in boards during his final two college seasons and pulled down 12.7 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game in seven contests for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate before his injury. The Lakers are a team that would benefit from depth in the frontcourt.

Pacific Notes: Crawford, Bass, Russell, Weems

August 9th, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers‘ Jamal Crawford would be open to playing for the Cavaliers, according to Chris Haynes Cleveland.com, whose podcast remarks are transcribed by Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk. Crawford may have become “superfluous” in L.A. with the acquisitions of Lance Stephenson and Pablo Prigioni, Feldman writes, and the Clippers may be willing to move him in exchange for cap relief. Dealing Crawford would save the team his $5.675MM salary and a projected luxury tax payment of more than $10.5MM. The Cavaliers could fit Crawford into the larger of the two trade exceptions they got in the Brendan Haywood deal, and their interest might rise if they are unable to re-sign free agent J.R. Smith.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Brandon Bass is looking forward to his opportunity with the Lakers, Terrance Harris of The Times-Picayune writes. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me to take Brandon Bass as a player and as a brand to the next level,” said Bass. “Los Angeles is such a big market and you have the Lakers that’s a big stage, especially if we can turn it around, make the playoffs and just change the culture back around like it was a few years ago.” Bass signed with L.A. as a free agent last month.
Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell isn’t worried about his high turnover rate during summer league play, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “It’s just a matter of settling down,” Russell said. “A lot of those turnovers are from risk-taking and it’s successful sometimes, but at this level it’s being able to settle down and be patient. It’s about slowing down as a team, being patient.” Russell, the second pick in this year’s draft, may join Kobe Bryant and Jordan Clarkson in a three-guard offense once the season starts.
Phoenix had been scouting Sonny Weems for two years before signing him this summer, writes Jake Fischer of SI.com. The only player not to receive an opt-out clause in his European contract during the 2011 lockout, Weems agreed to a two-year, $5.8MM deal with Phoenix. He’s hoping his long journey to the NBA finally pays off. “I belong, that’s all,” Weems said. “I’m a rotation guy or a starter, that’s my goal. Nothing else.”

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.