Lakers Rumors: Jeanie Buss, Jackson, Kobe
The draft is the major story for most of the teams surrouding the Lakers in our Reverse Standings, but the drama is always multifaceted in L.A. Here’s the latest:
- Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss is the team’s governor and ultimate decision-maker, and commissioner Adam Silver recently told her that she should be more assertive in exerting her authority over the team, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding. That’s somewhat surprising, given that the league has also acknowledged concerns about a conflict of interest between Buss and her fiance, Knicks president Phil Jackson.
- Four of the six Buss siblings, each of whom owns a share of the Lakers, were in favor of bringing Jackson back to the organization, but Jim and Johnny Buss were not, Ding adds in the same piece. It’s unclear at what point the four siblings wanted Jackson to return.
- Privately, the Lakers, Jeanie Buss included, are relieved that Jackson is off to New York and that he no longer casts a shadow over the organization, Ding observes.
- Jackson never seemed to understand how much of an intimidating presence he is to the Buss family, helping forestall any reunion between Jackson and the Lakers, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- There was talk among the Buss family of bringing Jackson back to the Lakers in an informal role, but the team never approached Jackson with the idea, Shelburne reports in the same piece.
- Steve Nash “doesn’t disagree” that Kobe Bryant and Mike D’Antoni aren’t a good fit with each other, as the point guard told ESPN radio’s Colin Cowherd on Monday (transcription via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News). Nash nonetheless added that he doesn’t think Bryant and D’Antoni have had enough of a chance to decide how they feel about each other.
- Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, weighs the rebuilding jobs facing the Lakers and the Knicks, concluding that New York’s road is easier, given Jackson’s presence and superior existing talent.
And-Ones: Alexander, Kobe, Knicks, Sampson
The Warriors invited Joe Alexander to training camp over the offseason already knowing that the small forward was dealing with a serious injury, writes Andrew Matheson of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “Joe was always a long term play,” said Kirk Lacob, GM of the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team Alexander is with now. “By the time he showed up, we did a lot more sensitive testing and realized he wasn’t ready to go for a while — if we wanted him to be healthy for the rest of his career and regain a lot of the athleticism he lost, because he used to be an absolute freak athlete,” Lacob said. “So we brought him to camp and told him, ‘Here’s the deal: You’re going to miss camp, you’re going to miss a couple of months, but we’re going to get you there. We promise that.’” More from around the NBA.
- After openly questioning Lakers management and declaring he has no patience for a rebuilding effort, Kobe Bryant has since opened up communication with the Lakers front office, the 18-year veteran said in a conversation with ESPN’s Darren Rovell. “[Jim Buss] and I actually talked after that and it’s important for us to have that conversation because this is their team, it’s been in their family for years and we all know what the track record is for that, but I’ve also been part of this franchise since I was 17 years old,” Bryant said, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I feel like I bleed purple and gold and I want to see this franchise be successful. I don’t want to hear the comments of dissension between Jim and [Lakers president] Jeanie [Buss]. We need to figure this thing out. We’re all moving in the same direction.”
- Irving Azoff is reportedly becoming Knicks owner James Dolan‘s closest confidant, but Azoff tells Scott Cacciola of The New York Times that he won’t play any further role with the Knicks after shepherding the hiring of Phil Jackson as team president.
- Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson is a leading candidate for the newly-vacant University of Houston job, sources tell Pat Forde and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The gig opened up earlier today when James Dickey stepped down after four years as coach. Dickey was 64-62 in his career at Houston
- Rodrigue Beaubois turned down an offer from Italian team Olimpia Milano, according to catch-and-shoot.com (on Twitter). With Beaubois still available, Paris-Levallois is set to bring him in for a tryout.
And-Ones: Barkley, Draft, Boeheim
In an article by Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, Charles Barkley opined that this year’s freshman stars will struggle in the NBA. Barkley has long been in favor of players staying in college for a minimum of two years. Barkley was quoted as saying, “I want these kids to stay in school longer because the NBA is as worse as it’s ever been. It’s not good basketball. It’s frustrating for me to watch. These kids aren’t physically or emotionally ready to come and play against grown men. You look at the last two days. We’ve had on paper Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins, they’re supposed to be 1-2, 3 at the latest, they didn’t have very good games. And it’s just one game but if they’re going to struggle against Mercer and Stanford, they’re really going to struggle against grown men.”
More from around the league:
- In a separate article, Zagoria also notes that Jim Boeheim said that none of this year’s freshman are worth tanking for. Boeheim expanded on that by saying, “There’s no player that’s out there on the horizon that’s a Tim Duncan or a LeBron James. I’ve seen all these guys play. I think they’re very talented players. They’re not that kind of player. They’re not transcendent players that are gonna make your franchise into a 10-12-15-year winning franchise because you’re there. I don’t see that.”
- Peter May of Sheridan Hoops analyzes the futures of the Lakers, Knicks, Sixers, and Celtics, and the probabilities of each making a quick turnaround.
- The NCAA tournament plays a big part in NBA scouts making draft assessments. How a player handles the pressure cooker of the one-and-done format shows just as much as analytics in some cases. The crew at Basketball Insiders takes a look at which NBA prospect has the most riding on his tournament performance.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, has the latest updates on which underclassmen are declaring for this year’s NBA draft.
Pacific Notes: White, Kelly, Lakers
Gregg Popovich has long been in Kings coach Michael Malone‘s corner, explaining to The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones why he endorsed Malone when Malone sought his first NBA head coaching gig. “In an NBA season, there’s all kinds of ups and downs, and you have to be able to roll with all of them,” Popovich said. “I just thought he had that edge, that toughness and the obvious sense for the game and that he could be successful. That’s why I went to bat for him.” More from the Pacific:
- After playing his first minute of NBA action last night, Royce White tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that he plans to attend every game with the Kings as long as he’s under contract, including road games requiring flying. White is optimistic about his stay in Sacramento working out better than his time with the Rockets, who drafted him and eventually traded him after failing to resolve issues surrounding his mental health. “In all fairness to Houston, they were in a much different position. A lot of things, they couldn’t make a ruling on themselves as much as the league. They had to wait on a lot of OKs and things from people. It was a real complex situation. But [this] feels very different.” said White. “I’m definitely feeling more comfortable with the ability to have a successful career in this league.”
- Rookie Ryan Kelly is trying to prove that he deserves to remain with the Lakers next season, he tells Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “I’ve seen it as an opportunity to let not only the Lakers organization know but the rest of the league know that I deserve a spot in this league,” Kelly said. Kelly will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Lakers extend a qualifying offer of just over $1MM.
- Lakers owner Jeanie Buss doesn’t believe Phil Jackson‘s presence in New York will hurt her team’s appeal for free agents, she said in an interview with ESPN 710 (transcription via Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times). “I think the Lakers are a legacy franchise. Players know when they come here this is the ultimate platform… I’m not worried about that in any way, shape or form,” said Buss.
- Buss added that the Lakers‘ struggles don’t effect the Buss family’s long-term commitment to keep and run the team.
Grizzlies Have ‘Secondary’ Interest In Pau Gasol
The Grizzlies are eyeing soon-to-be free agent Pau Gasol, who said in December that Memphis would be an “appealing” option, but the team would make Gasol a “secondary” priority to re-signing Zach Randolph if Z-Bo opts out, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. Gasol’s brother Marc Gasol is under contract with Memphis through next season, but it appears the team would prefer to keep its current frontcourt pairing intact rather than seek out a family connection.
Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien said last month that he hoped that Randolph would remain with the team long-term. The power forward has voiced frustration with the club this season and remains undecided on his roughly $16.9MM player option, but he said in November that he’d like to retire in Memphis, and as Amick notes, he’s made his affection for Memphis clear on multiple occasions.
Pau Gasol has said a team’s chances of winning will weigh most heavily on his decision in the summer, and while Memphis has been significantly more successful than the Lakers this season and last, the Grizzlies are scrapping for one of the last playoff berths this year. The Lakers, armed with cap room and a lottery pick in June’s draft, have an 80% chance of re-signing Gasol, according to teammate and close friend Kobe Bryant. Still, both Bryant and Gasol would reportedly like to see the Lakers replace coach Mike D’Antoni.
In any case, Gasol seems primed for a drastic cut in pay after making more than $19.2MM this season. If Randolph opts in or re-signs for a salary close to what he’s in line to make in 2014/15 under his current contract, the Grizzlies will have about $65MM in commitments for next season. That means they’d be limited to the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception of $5.305MM for Gasol.
Western Notes: Buss, White, Mekel
The Lakers ownership and decision making has been complicated since the passing of Jerry Buss, but Jeanie Buss has stated emphatically that she’s the “boss”, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. In an interview on the “Mason and Ireland”show, Buss said, “I am responsible ultimately for anything with the team and decisions that are made. In my position, I empower people that are in positions to do their jobs. [Executive vice president of player personnel] Jim Buss and [general manager] Mitch Kupchak are responsible for all basketball decisions. They are empowered to do that. My job is to make sure, as a boss, that I provide them the tools to do the job successfully. But it’s up to them to make the day-to-day decisions on how they operate their area of the business.”
More from out west:
- Royce White may finally achieve his dream of playing in the NBA tonight when the Kings take on the Spurs, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. White has had a tumultuous career since being taken 16th overall by the Rockets in the 2012 NBA Draft. Mental health issues have taken their toll and kept him off the court. In regards to those issues, White said, “I think (the issues) kind of resolved themselves over time. Just me being in the league for a year and a half and having things be on the table with the league and the union and discussing it put this organization in a better position to handle things. It’s been so good we haven’t even had a discussion about anything. That’s exciting.”
- The Mavericks have recalled Gal Mekel from the NBA D-League, the team announced. In 31 appearances for the Mavs, Mekel has averaged 2.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 9.4 minutes per game.
- The Warriors have assigned Ognjen Kuzmic to Santa Cruz in the D-League, the team announced. Kuzmic has compiled averages of 6.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG in 21.4 minutes per game over nine games for Santa Cruz this season.
Steve Nash Plans To Play Again In 2013/14
MARCH 20TH: Nash plans to return to the Lakers’ lineup on Friday night, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. He’ll likely come off the bench and serve as a backup to Kendall Marshall.
MARCH 19TH: The Lakers haven’t completely ruled out a return for Nash this season, D’Antoni now says, according to McMenamin (Twitter link).
MARCH 13TH: D’Antoni says definitively that Nash isn’t going to return this season, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. There remains no formal announcement from the team.
MARCH 3RD: Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni doubts point guard Steve Nash will return to play this season, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. D’Antoni isn’t ruling Nash out entirely, as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out (on Twitter), but D’Antoni wants to give minutes to the team’s younger guards, and the 40-year-old Nash apparently still isn’t feeling right. There’s a strong chance the two-time MVP has played his last, given his persistent injuries the past two seasons and the specter that the Lakers would use the stretch provision to waive him in the summer.
Nash recently said he’d either be “back with the Lakers next year or this is it,” dispelling the notion that he’d play for the Clippers. GM Mitch Kupchak has said it would be “unethical” for the team to try to talk Nash into retirement this summer, and Nash recently denied a report that he’s planning to walk away. Still, Nash acknowledged earlier this year that the Lakers could waive him and use the stretch provision to spread his $9.701MM cap hit for next season over the next three years instead.
The Lakers could invite Nash back on a cheaper contract if they waive him, though it seems unlikely he’d warrant any more than the minimum salary. Nash has suffered from pain stemming from a nerve root irritation that happened as a result of a fractured left leg early last season, just after he’d inked a three-year contract for slightly more than $27.9MM to join the Lakers in a sign-and-trade from the Suns.
Kupchak has said he still has no regrets about the deal, even though it’s seemingly been governed by Murphy’s Law from day one. Nash’s performance declined last year, and this season, he’s appeared in just 10 games. The tenth game made it impossible for the Lakers to wipe his salary for next season completely off their books in a medical retirement scenario.
In any case, Nash isn’t quite ready to declare himself done for the year, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News observes (Twitter link).
“We’ll see,” Nash said. “I couldn’t really make a prediction. If I get a chance, it’ll be great.”
Atlantic Notes: Stoudemire, Jackson, Livingston
The Knicks are riding the second-longest winning streak in the NBA at seven games, and the resurgence of Amar’e Stoudemire has been instrumental in their recent success. Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report sat down with Stoudemire and spoke about the big man’s tenure in New York. Stoudemire touches on why he was initially excited to play for the Knicks and reveals he’s interested in taking on a front office role for the team someday. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- In a piece for Basketball Insiders, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times runs down the 2014 cap situation for each team in the Atlantic Division. The Celtics, Knicks, and Nets are likely to remain over the cap this offseason, while the Raptors and Sixers will probably have the chance to slip underneath.
- New Knicks president Phil Jackson is likely to be a big draw for free agents, but Jeanie Buss doesn’t think he’ll be able to match the allure that the Lakers franchise has, write Pincus and fellow LA Times scribe Mike Bresnahan. “I think the Lakers are a legacy franchise,” Buss told ESPN 710. “Players know when they come here this is the ultimate platform… I’m not worried about that in any way, shape or form.”
- Five analysts discuss Jackson’s hiring in a USA Today piece. Most of them don’t think bringing in Jackson will win the Knicks a championship, but the consensus is that it ultimately won’t harm the Zen Master’s legacy.
- Shaun Livingston was able to recover from a gruesome injury and become a key piece in the Nets’ rotation this season. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today elaborates on the point guard’s career.
Pacific Rumors: Sacre, Kings, White, Kuzmic
Although Robert Sacre isn’t likely to make any All-Star teams in the foreseeable future, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni is happy to have the big man on his squad, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. “He works harder than anyone on the team, without a doubt, it’s not even close,” said D’Antoni. “In the weight room, on the floor, before practice, he’s trying to make himself into a player.” Sacre’s deal runs through the 2015/16 season, though his final year is non-guaranteed. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Sacramento has received the legal OK to take possession of a former Macy’s store on the site of the planned Kings arena, eliminating one of the final hurdles to beginning construction, the team announced. Sacramento and the Kings must open the arena by 2017 to prevent the league from seizing control of the team and perhaps selling it to investors who’d move it to another city.
- Kings coach Mike Malone says Royce White might make his NBA debut as early as tomorrow night, reveals Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. White is on his second 10-day deal with Sacramento and has played four games with their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Apparently, White’s discussions with team GM Pete D’Alessandro have been positive, and White doesn’t have any doubts that the organization will work to properly handle his anxiety disorder that kept him from taking the court last season (All twitter links).
- The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from the D-League, the team announced. In 18 appearances for Golden State, Kuzmic has played just 61 minutes and averaged 0.5 PPG.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Lakers Notes: D’Antoni, Jackson, Henry
A recent report suggested that Kobe Bryant wants Mike D’Antoni out as Lakers coach, but Bryant didn’t quite put it that way in a radio interview Wednesday. He still said he’s not sure if D’Antoni deserves to return as coach next season, and another Lakers figure is similarly reticent to make that sort of statement, as we note in a look at the latest on the purple-and-gold:
- Mitch Kupchak stopped short of saying that D’Antoni should remain coach of the Lakers, but the GM nonetheless backed the sideline boss in an interview with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “I don’t want to get into that with those kind of questions,” Kupchak said. “He’s done a great job and dealt with a year last year when he was here part-time and a ridiculous amount of injuries this year.”
- Kupchak told Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he never spoke at length with Phil Jackson during the Zen Master’s negotiations to join the Knicks, and Kupchak characterized the New York job as “too good to be true and too good to pass up” for Jackson. Earlier today, we heard that the Lakers initially thought Jackson would merely be taking a consulting gig with the Knicks.
- Xavier Henry, a free agent at season’s end, is playing through pain to solidify his value as an NBA player after his early-season breakthrough, as McMenamin details in separate piece.