Lakers Notes: Hill, Johnson, Clarkson
The Lakers still have a decision to make regarding Jordan Hill‘s team option worth $9MM for 2015/16, and for his part the big man wants to return to Los Angeles, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “It’s going to be a big off-season for the Lakers,” said Hill. Of his option, he said “it’s up in the air right now. I definitely would love to come back here, but everybody understands the business.” The 27-year-old appeared in 70 games this season, averaging 12.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Rookie Jordan Clarkson has a chip on his shoulder regarding being passed over in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, he told reporters during his exit interview. “I’m a second-round pick — 46th pick,” Clarkson said. “It’s always gonna be on my mind. … I’m never going to forget draft day. It’s motivating for me. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to play for this organization in this league. I think I watched the draft maybe like 10 times throughout the year. … I don’t look at it like, ‘I should’ve been drafted there.’ Everything happens for a reason.”
- Unrestricted free agent Wesley Johnson during his exit interview also indicated his desire to be a member of the Lakers next season. “Obviously things haven’t been going the way we wanted it to, but that’s a reason to stick around,” Johnson relayed. “You want to be here when we turn it around.”
- Johnson said that his priority was to secure a long-term deal somewhere, and that the Lakers told him they would first focus on the draft before making a decision regarding re-signing him, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
- Ed Davis isn’t sure if he will be playing for the Lakers next season, Medina relays (Twitter link). The forward intends to opt out of his player option worth $1,100,602 and test free agency, but the big man would prefer to return to L.A., Pincus tweets.
- Vander Blue , whom the team recently inked for the remainder of the 2014/15 season, says that he would love to be a part of the Lakers’ future, Pincus tweets. Blue indicated that he is more than willing to play for Los Angeles’ summer league squad if it would help him earn a roster spot next season, the Times scribe relays.
And-Ones: Drummond, Price, Afflalo
Pistons owner Tom Gores gave Andre Drummond a vote of confidence during tonight’s contest against the Knicks, calling the big man a “max player,” David Mayo of MLive.com relays (Twitter link). Drummond, who is set to earn $3,272,091 next season, is eligible to ink an extension this summer, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the Pistons will offer him one, since the team would have the right to match any offer sheet the big man were to sign as a restricted free agent in 2016. Detroit could be wary of taking that chance given how the team is likely to lose Greg Monroe, who reportedly declined to ink an extension of his own with the club, as a free agent this summer, though that is merely my speculation.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Arron Afflalo will let his playoff performance dictate whether he picks up his $7.75MM player option for next season with the Blazers, as a source close to the swingman tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops that he’ll opt out if he plays well.
- One executive who spoke with Scotto for the same piece pegged Danny Green‘s value at $6MM a year. The Spurs swingman is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Ronnie Price indicated that his desire is to remain with the Lakers, even if it is as a third-string guard, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “I enjoyed being a voice in the locker room. I enjoyed being able to help younger guys. I helped great veterans that can help me. I’d be selfish not to extend that knowledge to players that are younger than me,” Price said. “Of course you want to play. That’s why we do what we do. You want to play. You never know what’s ahead. Whatever role is my role, I’ll embrace it whether it’s being here or the third guard.” Price will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
- Suns forward Markieff Morris believes that the team needs to add players with more experience to its roster, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic tweets. “Veteran leadership for sure,” Morris responded when asked about Phoenix’s needs. “We have to have more older guys around so we can keep this thing intact.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Ellington, Lin, Cousins
Suns GM Ryan McDonough admits the team had no intention of reshaping its roster as much as it did this season, but while he’s disappointed with the way this year has gone, he feels the Suns are still better off than they were two years ago, when he took over, as he tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
“We’ve tried to do something that’s not easy to do,” McDonough said. “We tried to turn over the roster with talented, young players who have some potential but probably aren’t ready to win yet at the highest levels. But we also tried to stay competitive in a brutal Western Conference. Usually, teams try to do one or the other. They load up on veteran guys and trade draft picks and go all in or they completely blow up and gut the team and try to acquire and play a bunch of young guys.”
Phoenix will look to achieve more roster balance, among other goals, this summer, McDonough added. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The sense is that Wayne Ellington will largely favor the Lakers in free agency this year, but he’s mindful that the market is uncertain for both himself and the team, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter links), who’s identified mutual interest between the sides. Ellington backed up his end of that, referencing coach Byron Scott and GM Mitch Kupchak during his exit interview with the media Tuesday when he said, “I flat out told coach and Mitch I want to be back,” Medina notes.
- Jeremy Lin seemed lukewarm to the idea of returning to the Lakers during his exit interview, saying that he has “definitely not ruled out” the possibility and that the Lakers wouldn’t be a “last resort.” He said that losing his starting job in December “hurt,” but that his respect for Scott has grown throughout the season. Medina (separate piece), Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles (Twitter link), Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding (Twitter link) and Bill Oram of the Orange County Register (Twitter link) have the details.
- Trade rumors are partly to blame for the sour mood DeMarcus Cousins has been in of late, but Kings executive Vlade Divac, who’s in charge of the front office, is in awe of Cousins’ talent, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Voisin advises Cousins to get away from the noise now that the season is ending.
Medina On Lakers Offseason, Roster
Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News reported earlier today that the Lakers will explore potential trades for swingman Nick Young this summer. In a separate piece, Medina runs down where each of the players on Los Angeles’ roster stands as the team heads into the offseason. Here are some of the highlights…
- Ed Davis is almost assuredly going to opt out of his deal and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Medina notes. The Lakers are interested in inking him to a long-term deal as long as the cap hit is a reasonable amount, Medina adds.
- There is mutual interest between the team and Wayne Ellington in having the player return to Los Angeles next season, Medina notes. While Ellington views the Lakers as his top choice, he desires long-term security in his next deal, Medina adds. The guard will be an unrestricted free agent when the season ends.
- Los Angeles has little interest in bringing back Carlos Boozer, and the player is likely to seek out a team on which he can have a larger role, the Daily News scribe relays.
- Wesley Johnson‘s potential continues to intrigue the Lakers, but the team is frustrated with his inconsistent play, Medina notes. How well the team fares in the draft and free agency will dictate whether or not the swingman is re-signed, Medina opines.
- The Lakers don’t view Jeremy Lin as a great fit for the team’s system, and it’s not clear yet if Los Angeles has any interest in re-signing the point guard. For his part, Lin will consider returning to the Lakers if the team has interest, but he will place a higher priority on finding a team that runs a pick-and-roll oriented offense, the Daily News scribe notes.
- Los Angeles still hasn’t made a decision regarding Jordan Hill‘s team option worth $9MM for next season. The big man’s time with the Lakers could be at an end if the team decides it wants to maximize its cap space, Medina writes.
- The team expects injured rookie Julius Randle to play in this year’s summer league, Medina notes. Randle’s rookie campaign ended 14 minutes into his first regular season contest when he suffered a broken leg.
- Ryan Kelly did not feel comfortable with the Lakers using him as a small forward at times this season, and the team plans to use him at power forward, his natural position, more often next season, Medina relays. Kelly appeared in 51 games and averaged 6.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per contest this season.
Lakers To Explore Nick Young Trades
The Lakers will “shop [Nick] Young around” this summer after a subpar season and conflict with coach Byron Scott, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News hears (Twitter link). Medina’s wording is a bit softer in a slideshow in which he says the Lakers will likely entertain trade offers, but the situation nonetheless appears to have changed from when Young signed a four-year deal worth about $21.326MM to remain with the Lakers last summer. Young said today in his exit interview with the Los Angeles media that he’s confident he will be back with the Lakers next season, Medina notes (Twitter link).
Young also said today that he and Scott are “cool” and “on the same page,” according to Medina (on Twitter). The 29-year-old, who turns 30 in June, seemed unreceptive last week when he addressed advice from Scott that he should become more of a complete player, and he said that he believes Scott was targeting him for criticism. Scott had suggested that there were Lakers players he “wouldn’t want to be in a fox hole with,” a remark he later backtracked from and claimed was a product of frustration.
In any case, Young slumped to a career-worst 36.6% field goal percentage, and his 13.4 points per game were well off last season’s 17.9 PPG mark. He hasn’t played since February 22nd because of a fractured knee cap.
That performance stands to complicate trade scenarios, as would an opposing team’s insistence on a draft pick in return, as Medina writes in the slideshow. The Lakers owe their first-round pick to the Sixers this year if it’s not in the top five, and a protected first-rounder they owe the Magic will come due two years after they convey the pick to the Sixers, RealGM shows. Young will be eligible to be traded as soon as Thursday, since the Lakers will miss the playoffs, but offseason trades usually don’t start happening until June.
Pacific Notes: Cousins, Boozer, Hawes
The Kings have a budding superstar in DeMarcus Cousins, but coach George Karl admits that no one on Sacramento’s roster would be off-limits for the right trade, as Bill Herenda of CSNBayArea.com relays. Obviously, the Kings aren’t looking to trade their best player, but Karl’s comments jibe with what a person familiar with the coach’s thinking told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck in February about Sacramento’s willingness to make deals.
“I’ve had some great players and I’ve never had one player that I have said is untradeable,” Karl said, as Herenda notes. “You always got to be ready for the possibility of a great trade that could come your way. I know I respect him [Cousins] a tremendous amount … I think our give and take and our communication has been almost on a daily basis … until we can really get to a special place together, I think we’ve got to continue to communicate, what he wants and what I want.”
With the offseason beginning in two days for Sacramento, there’s more on the Kings amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com has begun hearing more speculation about Cousins trades among sources, but Bruski cautions that there’s nothing concrete or in the works (Twitter links).
- Carlos Boozer moved to the bench about a month into the regular season and he hasn’t been the sort of contributor the Lakers imagined when they claimed him off amnesty waivers this summer, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Coach Byron Scott is nonetheless pleased with the way he “hasn’t rocked the boat” since his benching, Medina notes, adding that it nonetheless seems unlikely that the power forward, a free agent this summer, will return.
- Spencer Hawes admits he isn’t having the sort of season he envisioned when he joined the Clippers on a four-year deal for the full value of the mid-level exception this past summer, observes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s been bad,” he said of his performance. “There’s no other way to put it. You just can’t let it defeat you when you go through the low stretches.”
DeMarre Carroll Interested In Knicks
Soon-to-be free agent forward DeMarre Carroll acknowledged interest in the Knicks and hinted that he wouldn’t mind signing with the Lakers or Clippers, either, in a response to a question about whether he would give a great deal of consideration to the Knicks, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The sixth-year veteran who turns 29 in July has blossomed while on a two-year, $5MM contract with the Hawks that expires at season’s end.
“Most definitely,” Carroll said. “When guys talk about playing in certain places — they talk about Madison Square Garden and Staples Center. Those two places. New York has a lot to offer but at the end of the season, I’ll let my agent do that. We’ll keep our options and hopefully it will work out for the best.’’
Knicks coach Derek Fisher likes Carroll, and his defense in particular, a source tells Berman. Carroll is a proficient rebounder, grabbing 5.4 per game this season, but his defense is a minus, according to both ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus and Basketball-Reference’s Box Plus/Minus. Those metrics show him as a better offensive player, and he’s transformed his attack in Atlanta, shooting nearly six times as many three-pointers the past two seasons as the rest of his NBA career put together. He’s made 39.6% of his shots from behind the arc this year and is averaging a career-high 12.7 points per game.
Berman figures the Mark Bartelstein client will command a starting salary around $5MM, but Grantland’s Zach Lowe would be surprised if he doesn’t see more than that (Twitter link). Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal speculates that Carroll’s in line for $6MM salaries (Twitter link). In any case, it would seem he’s due a significant raise on the more than $2.442MM he’s making this season. The Hawks only have Carroll’s Early Bird rights, so unless they use cap space, they’d be limited to a starting salary of a figure that will likely come in just shy of $6MM when the league’s average salary is computed during the July Moratorium. Still, Atlanta, just like the Knicks and Lakers, is in line to open a significant amount of cap room this summer, depending in large measure on what happens with Carroll and Paul Millsap. The Clippers are unlikely to have the sort of cap flexibility it would take to land Carroll.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote more than a month ago that it appeared the Hawks were looking for an upgrade at small forward, where Carroll plays. Still, it would be tough to envision the Hawks not having at least some interest in re-signing a player who has found his niche within their system. The team on Monday awarded Carroll the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy for his work as a community ambassador, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, so clearly the club is high on his character.
Lakers Sign Vander Blue
7:58pm: The Lakers have made the signing of Blue official, according to the team’s website. There was no mention of a corresponding move, so evidently the Lakers have used the hardship provision again, as the team’s roster is once more at 16 players.
1:01pm: The Lakers have plans to sign Vander Blue for the rest of the season, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The team was reportedly about to re-sign Dwight Buycks instead, but he broke his right hand on Sunday, the final day of his 10-day contract. It’s not immediately clear whether the deal is just for the team’s final two games this season or if it covers next season, too, though the injury-riddled Lakers presumably wouldn’t have to waive anyone if they signed Blue only for the balance of 2014/15. The team has 15 players on the roster already, but the Lakers are in position for the league to grant a hardship exception, which would allow a 16th player as long as he’s on only a rest-of-season deal.
The 10-day deal with Buycks came via hardship, and the Lakers previously used hardship exceptions to sign Jabari Brown to a pair of 10-day deals before waiving Steve Nash to accommodate a longer-term arrangement with Brown. Jordan Clarkson and Brown are the only two healthy Lakers guards, so Blue, a 6’5″ shooting guard, will provide much-needed depth. The team only has eight total healthy players, and none of them are small forwards, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Blue get some time at the three position.
Blue has been averaging 23.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 37.3 minutes per game for the Lakers D-League affiliate this season, nailing 41.6% of his three-point attempts during his 49 appearances. All of those numbers are improvements over his D-League stats from last season. Blue is a one-year NBA veteran thanks to a single 10-day contract he signed with the Celtics in January 2014, and he scored five points in 15 minutes of action during three games with Boston. The 22-year-old also signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Wizards before this season, but Washington waived him in early October, well before opening night.
The Lakers are limited to the minimum-salary exception, so even if they are signing him for more than just this season and waiving another player to make that happen, Blue’s contract couldn’t stretch beyond next season.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Barnes, Lakers
Magic Johnson casts a shadow over the Lakers organization even though he’s no longer a part of it in any way, having sold his minority ownership share, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding examines. Johnson doesn’t have a relationship with any of the members of the Buss family who control the franchise aside from Jeanie, the team’s Board of Governors representative, with whom he remains close, according to Ding. The Busses have always insisted that the team isn’t for sale, but Johnson would be a prime candidate to front a bid for the Lakers if they ever became available, Ding writes. There’s more on the Lakers amid our look around the Pacific Division:
- George Karl admits he has a great degree of fondness for his former players on the Nuggets, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck heard in February that Karl would love for the Kings to acquire Ty Lawson or any of the players he coached on the 2012/13 Nuggets, his last NBA team, but it’s uncertain how much influence, if any, Karl has under new basketball operations chief Vlade Divac.
- Defense, leadership and career-best 36.7% three-point shooting this year are the hallmarks of what’s been perhaps Matt Barnes‘ best NBA season, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times details. The timing is fortuitous for the Clippers small forward, whose salary of almost $3.543MM for next season is only guaranteed for $1MM.
- Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com examines the conundrum the Lakers face as Rajon Rondo looms as a likely free agent target while incumbent point guard Jordan Clarkson exceeds expectations.
Lakers Planned To Re-Sign Buycks Before Injury
Point guard Dwight Buycks will be unavailable for the rest of the regular season thanks to a broken right hand he suffered in Sunday’s game, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, and the timing of the injury was especially unfortunate for Buycks. The Lakers were about to re-sign him, as his 10-day contract expired overnight, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Coach Byron Scott said before Sunday’s game that he expected the team to re-up with Buycks for the final two games of the season.
The Lakers are down to eight healthy players, notes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register, who confirms that the team planned to re-sign Buycks before his injury. The team only has two healthy guards and no healthy small forwards, Pincus tweets, so it seems doubtful the Lakers would use up roster room on another injured player. The Lakers have a full 15-man roster, so the notion that the team was to re-sign Buycks signaled that the league was ready to once more grant the Lakers an extra roster spot via the hardship provision, given their multitude of injuries. Conceivably, the Lakers will seek to sign a different player using the hardship exception, though it’s unclear if they indeed plan to do so.
Pincus raised the possibility that the Lakers would have signed Buycks to a deal that included next season (Twitter link), a move they couldn’t have used the hardship exception to make, as Pincus pointed out earlier (on Twitter). The Lakers would have had to waive a player to accommodate any deal for Buycks that went beyond this season.
Buycks spent last year with the Raptors, but he’s been well-traveled this season, spending time in China, Spain, and with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate before signing his 10-day deal with the Lakers. The 26-year-old averaged 8.7 points in 20.5 minutes per game in six appearances for the purple-and-gold.