D’Angelo Russell: Lakers Have “A Decision To Make” In Free Agency
D’Angelo Russell isn’t sure where he’ll be next season, but for now he’s enjoying his role in the Lakers‘ playoff run. He was one of several players brought in by general manager Rob Pelinka at the trade deadline, turning L.A. from a sub-.500 team to a possible title contender. Those moves will lead to some difficult offseason decisions as the Lakers have nine potential free agents on their roster, seven of whom see regular playing time.
One of them is Russell, who was acquired from the Timberwolves in a three-team deal in February. The 27-year-old guard talked about his future in an interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“I would love to stay here, but I would have loved to be in Minnesota too,” Russell said after scoring 21 points in Saturday’s win over Golden State. “So wherever my feet are, that’s where I’m gonna be.”
Asked whether he believes the Lakers are willing to make him a long-term part of their core group, Russell responded, “They’ve got a decision to make, don’t they? So we’ll see.”
Russell is earning $31.4MM in the final season of a four-year contract he signed when he was with Brooklyn. After being drafted by the Lakers in 2015, he spent time with the Nets, Warriors and Timberwolves before Pelinka brought him back to L.A.
Russell immediately stepped into a starting role and brought stability to the Lakers’ backcourt. He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game following the trade and has posted similar numbers in the playoffs.
Even though Russell said he would have re-signed with Minnesota, he told Amick that he was expecting the Wolves to trade him rather than negotiate with him in free agency. He adds that he didn’t ask for a deal, but he had a feeling that it was going to happen.
“I felt they couldn’t pay me, so I kind of expected it,” Russell said. “I felt like I was gonna outplay my (Timberwolves) offer, whatever they wanted to offer me, and then I’d be in a position where I’d have to make a decision. And I just kind of held my cards tight and let the basketball gods take over.”
Russell also indicated that he wasn’t fully happy with how he was being used in Minnesota, where he had to take a back seat to Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns in the offense. Even though he’s still playing with two stars in L.A., Russell says he has more freedom to create.
“I felt like I was held back there, honestly,” he said of his time with the Wolves. “I just kind of had to be the third option. Some nights, I was a little more aggressive and was kind of being held back. So to be in a position now where I can kind of thrive and be aggressive and it gets guys going, and where the team reflects off of anybody with that type of energy, it’s fun.”
Heat Notes: Butler, Adebayo, Zeller, Bench
Jimmy Butler‘s sprained right ankle still isn’t 100 percent, but he felt good enough on Saturday to help the Heat seize control of their playoff series with a resounding victory over the Knicks, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Playing for the first time in six days, Butler had 28 points, four rebounds and three assists, and although he shot just 9-of-21 from the field, he attributed that to being out of rhythm.
“A lot of recovery and making sure that I can move went into it for sure,” Butler said of his rehab process, which resulted in just one missed game. “But I got a great team behind me that people don’t see that’s always there for me and making sure I have everything I need when I’m off the floor to recover.”
Butler had another close call with an injury on Saturday, Chiang notes. He hurt his thigh on a drive to the basket in the third quarter, but he was able to return with 5:19 left in the game to help hold off a New York rally. Coach Erik Spoelstra called it similar to a “stinger” and said Butler could have gone back into the game earlier if necessary.
Spoelstra and Butler’s teammates marveled at another great performance, with Kevin Love comparing it to what LeBron James used to do in Cleveland. The eighth-seeded Heat are now 6-1 in the playoffs when Butler plays, and they’re just two wins away from reaching the conference finals.
“You can’t put an analytic to it,” Spoelstra said. “It’s just the overall confidence level your team has that you can always get the ball to him and know that we’ll get something efficient and coherent.”
There’s more from Miami:
- After accepting the blame for the Game 2 loss, Bam Adebayo outplayed the Knicks’ Julius Randle on Saturday, Chiang states in another Miami Herald story. Adebayo had 17 points and 12 rebounds while limiting Randle to a 4-of-15 shooting day. “Bam was all over the place, both ends of the court,” Spoelstra said. “The stat line doesn’t do any justice of the impact to be able to take a challenge on a great player like Randle, with limited help.”
- Backup center Cody Zeller downplayed a skirmish with Randle late in the fourth quarter, Chiang adds. Although it was nothing like the fights the teams had during their playoff meetings in the 1990s, it did result in three technical fouls. “It’s two physical teams and the playoffs,” Zeller said. “It’s all good. It was nothing.”
- Miami’s reserves outplayed New York’s in Game 3, with Zeller, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson and Haywood Highsmith all contributing to the victory, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The bench performance allowed Spoelstra to give his starters some rest with Game 4 looming on Monday.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Davis, Walker, Bronny
After the Lakers dominated the Warriors on Saturday to reclaim the lead in their series, LeBron James offered some advice about the highs and lows of the playoffs, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The 38-year-old, who has appeared in more career postseason games than anyone, warned against overreacting to one win or loss.
“For the young guys that haven’t been a part of the postseason or haven’t had much experience in the postseason, just stay off the TV and stay off social media,” he said. “You win a game, everybody is the greatest player in the world; you lose a game, they’re throwing dirt on you. It’s literally that simple. It’s all about training your mind for the next challenge. And, ‘What’s the next challenge? This game is over with, we played well. OK, cool. But we got another on Monday.'”
James had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as L.A. won by 30 points after losing its last game by 27. His numbers have been fairly consistent throughout the playoffs, but the same can’t be said for Anthony Davis, whose up-and-down performances usually correlate with a Lakers’ win or loss. He was a +28 on Saturday with 25 points and 13 rebounds after posting a -22 in Game 2 with 11 points and seven rebounds.
“I look at it as I just missed shots,” Davis said of Thursday’s game. “I didn’t do anything differently. I know, especially at this time of the year, I put it all on the floor and that’s all I can do.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Coach Darvin Ham made a rotation change on Saturday, moving Lonnie Walker ahead of Troy Brown and Malik Beasley, McMenamin adds. After playing 27 combined minutes in the team’s eight previous playoff games, Walker had 12 points in 25 minutes in Game 3. Ham also cautioned against reading too much into the margins of victory. “Make no mistake about it, the deficit, us winning by whatever, 30 doesn’t represent who that team really is. Just like losing Game 2 doesn’t represent who we are,” Ham said. “This is going to be a battle to the end.”
- After Saturday’s game, James told reporters that he’s “still serious” about wanting to be on the same team with his son, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Bronny James, who committed to USC earlier in the day and will be eligible to enter the 2024 draft, was at courtside to watch his father battle the Warriors. “My son is going to take his journey. And whatever his journey, however his journey lays out, he’s going to do what’s best for him,” the elder James said. “… So, just because that’s my aspiration or my goal, doesn’t mean it’s his. And I’m absolutely OK with that.”
- Rob Pelinka’s roster shakeup at the trade deadline continues to pay off, notes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, who pointed out that D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt all contributed to Saturday’s win.
Suns Notes: Ayton, Landale, Paul, Ross
Deandre Ayton‘s teammates rose to his defense following his poor outing in Friday’s Game 3, writes Duane Rankin 0f The Arizona Republic. Even though the Suns picked up their first win in the series with Denver, Ayton turned in his worst game of the playoffs, shooting 2-of-6 from the floor and scoring just four points in 25 minutes.
Ayton was pulled from the game with 4:57 remaining, bringing back memories of last season when coach Monty Williams benched him during a Game 7 loss to Dallas. Ayton signed an offer sheet with the Pacers over the summer that Phoenix quickly matched, and he revealed at training camp that he didn’t talk to Williams at all during the offseason.
Ayton was visibly angry about being subbed out Friday night and didn’t speak to the media after the game, according to Rankin, but he remained supportive of his teammates and offered advice to backup center Jock Landale on how to guard Nikola Jokic. Landale was among Ayton’s most vocal defenders after Saturday’s practice (video link).
“If you watch when me and (Bismack Biyombo) are in the game and we do something well, DA is the first dude off that bench to stand up and clap, and that speaks volumes about his character, but people seem to totally forget about that,” Landale said. “That’s been something that DA has stood on all year and he’s continued to do that for other players around him, especially myself and Biz, is encourage us at times he’s not having the best night and he’s allowed to not have a great night.”
There’s more from Phoenix:
- Williams’ decision to pull Ayton was partially influenced by Landale’s effectiveness, Rankin adds. In 22 minutes, he made all three of his shots, collected nine rebounds and made several plays to help Phoenix hold off a Nuggets’ comeback. “Jock was giving us great energy,” Williams said. “I thought his pressure on the rim, just in transition, opened up a ton of lanes for all of our guys to attack the paint tonight in transition and then he just scrapped. You couldn’t point out anything that he did from a high-level skill perspective, but he just scrapped and even when he was guarding (Jamal) Murray or guarding the smalls, he just competed.”
- As expected, Chris Paul has been ruled out for Sunday’s Game 4, Rankin adds in another Arizona Republic story. The veteran point guard was a very limited participant in today’s practice as he tries to work his way back from a left groin strain.
- Terrence Ross was thrilled to be part of the rotation for the first time since the playoffs began (video link from Rankin). Ross had five points in nearly 14 minutes as Williams looked for more scoring off his bench.
Sixers Notes: Maxey, Rivers, Harden, Embiid
Sixers players didn’t hold back at today’s film session as they reviewed their Game 3 loss to the Celtics, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. There was plenty to critique as Philadelphia fell by double digits and watched home court advantage slip away. The Sixers will have to regroup for Sunday to avoid heading back to Boston with a 3-1 deficit.
“I think the biggest thing was today that we were real with each other, and that’s good,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Family has to be real with each other. Family has to express themselves. They have to express the emotions that they’re feeling and you have to get that off your chest. And I think we’ve done a great job of that all year.”
Bontemps states that Maxey shot for the entire hour that reporters were present Saturday as he tries to regain his rhythm following a 4-for-16 performance Friday night. His drills included shooting over taller defenders in the lane.
“(Coach Doc Rivers) was on me,” Maxey said. “He said he felt like I started the third quarter with confidence, and then he said he felt like after I missed a shot or two, then my confidence stopped, and I stopped being aggressive and then started trying to press the issue. I just got to be confident throughout the entire game, and keep being aggressive.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- Rivers tried to get his team back in the right frame of mind following a disappointing outing, Bontemps adds. There have already been a couple of momentum swings in the series, and the long-time coach knows that more are possible. “This is part of going through a playoff grind,” he said. “It’s emotional terrorism at times, and you have to deal with it. You have to be able to handle it. Or you lose. … I thought, after watching the film, we were in a much better place than before.”
- The Sixers’ perimeter defense is being exploited in a series that Boston could easily be leading 3-0, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey states that De’Anthony Melton, P.J. Tucker and Georges Niang have done fine, but the Celtics are taking advantage of Philadelphia’s other defenders and are especially targeting James Harden. Pompey notes that Harden’s best playoff games have come in the series openers when he had time to rest, but he hasn’t been nearly as effective otherwise.
- Joel Embiid played 39 minutes in his second game since returning from a sprained knee, but he told Rivers he felt great on Saturday, Pompey tweets. Even so, Embiid is listed as questionable on the Sixers’ injury report for Game 4.
Bronny James Commits To USC; NBA Could Be A Year Away
The first step in a story that could have major NBA implications next summer took place today as Bronny James revealed that he’ll play college basketball at USC. The 18-year-old star at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles made the announcement on his Instagram page.
Bronny’s father, LeBron James, stated at the 2022 All-Star Game that one of his remaining career goals is to play on the same NBA team with his son. They would become the first father-and-son duo to ever be in the NBA at the same time.
LeBron’s current contract with the Lakers includes a $50.652MM player option for the 2024/25 season, which he could decline to become a free agent. He has indicated a willingness to sign with whatever team selects Bronny in next year’s draft.
He talked about it again in a January interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN (video link), saying, “I need to be on the floor with my boy. I gotta be on the floor with Bronny. I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing.”
The younger James has been steadily moving up draft boards, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported in February. Givony has Bronny going 10th in his latest 2024 mock draft and calls him “arguably the best perimeter defender in his high school class.”
Bronny is a McDonald’s All-American and is considered one of the five best point guard prospects in high school, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. He selected the Trojans over Oregon and Ohio State, who were considered to be the other finalists in a mostly secretive recruiting process.
The potential pairing of LeBron and Bronny would be a huge money-maker for whoever can pull it off, Adam Zagoria states in a Forbes article. Pinnacle Advertising creative director Bob Dorfman told Zagoria that some teams could see a 50% rise in their valuation within a year if they were able to acquire both players.
“The franchise value of the team that lands them will skyrocket,” Dorfman added. “Their games will become must-see events that command huge ticket prices and prime-time viewing slots, and they could quickly turn into a playoff powerhouse.”
Warriors Notes: J. Green, Looney, D. Green, Iguodala
JaMychal Green‘s role has been limited for most of the season, but he was ready to step into the Warriors‘ starting lineup Thursday when Kevon Looney was suffering from an illness, writes C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle. Coach Steve Kerr learned about the seriousness of Looney’s condition roughly two hours before game time. He turned to Green to provide size and outside shooting, and the veteran big man responded by scoring 15 points in 13 minutes and hitting 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc.
“They always tell me to stay ready and that my time will come,” Green said. “The first series, even though I was kind of struggling a little, we had a team meeting and (Stephen Curry), he said some powerful words and it kind of got me locked in. I let go of everything and made it all about the team.”
Green hasn’t seen the playing time he expected when he signed a one-year, $2.63MM contract with Golden State last summer. Health scares contributed to his frustrating season, as he missed five games after entering health and safety protocols in December, then sat out nine more with an infection in his lower right leg. He’ll be back on the open market in July, but first he wants to contribute to another Warriors’ title run.
“He’s been doing this his whole career, he’s been spacing the floor,” teammate Donte DiVincenzo said. “He’s been hitting bodies, getting rebounds, dunking on people. When he gets in the game, he already knows what to do.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Looney has recovered from his illness and will be ready for a larger role in tonight’s Game 3, tweets Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “It was pretty bad,” Looney told reporters, adding that he likely wouldn’t have played at all Thursday if it had been a regular season game. Looney, who hasn’t missed a game during the past two seasons, wound up logging nearly 12 minutes with six points and eight rebounds.
- Assistant coach Chris DeMarco sparked a better performance from Draymond Green in Game 2 by showing him film of his defensive mistakes in the series opener, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “At times you get in these locker rooms and you have stars and coaches won’t always challenge,” Green said. “Chris DeMarco will challenge anybody, from Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, myself, Steve (Kerr). He’ll challenge anyone. He’s not afraid to hear his voice and he’s not afraid to have tough conversations. He’s not afraid of confrontation.”
- Andre Iguodala will be able to return to practice next week, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). Iguodala hasn’t played since fracturing his left wrist in mid-March.
Ben Simmons Wants To Play In World Cup
Ben Simmons is hoping to represent Australia in this summer’s FIBA World Cup, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Simmons sat out nearly the last two months of the Nets‘ regular season because of lingering pain in his back, but he’s indicated that his rehab work is going well. The Boomers’ first World Cup game will take place August 26 in Okinawa, and their training camp will likely start in early August.
Australian national team head coach Brian Goorjian recently expressed hope that Simmons would be able to participate, and Simmons told The Daily Telegraph in Sydney (subscription required) that he’ll try to be ready.
“I’m currently rehabilitating my back injury and putting my full effort and focus towards that,” Simmons said. “I love what coach Goorjian is building with the Boomers and I look forward to being a part of the program in the future.”
Lewis points out that the microdiscectomy that Simmons underwent last May to repair a herniated disc typically carries an 18-month recovery timeline for the nerves to be fully healed. A nerve impingement that sidelined Simmons in February is common among people who undergo that operation, according to medical experts that Lewis consulted.
Sources close to Simmons and the team told Lewis that a second surgery isn’t likely to be necessary, although a final decision won’t be made until later this month. Lewis adds that Simmons has been working out regularly at the Nets‘ facility and recently posted pictures from those sessions on Instagram.
Playing in the World Cup would give Simmons a chance to sharpen his skills ahead of Brooklyn’s training camp, which starts in late September. The Nets will need the three-time All-Star back in top form to serve as a leader of their rebuilt roster.
Celtics Notes: G. Williams, R. Williams, Smart, Griffin, Brown
While his Celtics teammates were celebrating their Game 3 victory Friday night, Grant Williams was in a dentist’s chair, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Williams had to get treated by the Sixers’ team dentist after Joel Embiid accidentally stepped on the back of his head while chasing a loose ball in the fourth quarter (video link).
“A swollen nose,” Williams said. “That’s about it and stitches in the mouth. I think it was three or four.”
“I thought it would be a smart decision to throw a mouthpiece in there,” he said at Saturday’s practice. “My parents have been getting on me for the past three years for not wearing a mouthpiece. Let’s just say last night didn’t help.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Robert Williams also had an injury scare on Friday night, hurting his right arm while saving a loose ball in the fourth quarter, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Doctors examined the arm after he was taken out of the game, and he was diagnosed with a right forearm contusion. Williams wore a sleeve on the arm today, but said he was feeling fine. He expects his team to face an even tougher test in Game 4. “We know what we’re coming into,” he said. “The crowd was crazy, we could barely hear each other last night. But the same fight, man. We expect to leave out the game with more scars than yesterday.”
- Marcus Smart has been listed as questionable for Game 4 with a sprained left ankle, Terada, adds in another MassLive story. Smart was questionable for Game 2 of the series with a chest contusion, but wasn’t on the injury report for Game 3. Blake Griffin, who was a late scratch for Friday’s game because of low back pain, is also considered questionable for Sunday. The veteran big man hasn’t played yet in the Sixers’ series and made just one brief appearance during the first round.
- Jaylen Brown‘s defense on James Harden has played a huge role in turning the series around, observes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. After Harden’s 45-point outburst in the series opener, the Celtics began using Brown as the primary defender on him. Harden has been limited to 12 and 16 points the last two games and shot a combined 5-of-28 from the field.
Central Notes: Bucks, Cavaliers, Brooks, Vucevic
Since the Bucks dismissed Mike Budenholzer on Thursday, we haven’t heard much about which head coaching candidates the team may be eyeing to replace him. Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Countdown on Friday (YouTube video link), Adrian Wojnarowski said he thinks Milwaukee can afford to be patient and perhaps wait for more teams to be eliminated from the playoffs in case a veteran coach employed by one of those clubs becomes available.
“Is there a coach or two who either becomes free with the team they’re at or there’s a conversation to be had with a team about a potential coach?” Wojnarowski said. “Because this is a Bucks team with Giannis Antetokounmpo, it’s an incredibly attractive job.”
It’s unclear which coaches Wojnarowski might be referring to. There was some speculation entering the postseason that Nuggets coach Michael Malone could be on the hot seat if Denver exited the playoffs quickly, but Malone’s club has looked pretty good so far.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com doesn’t expect the Cavaliers to view free agent forward Dillon Brooks as a good fit, arguing that Cleveland’s defense is good enough to win in the playoffs and observing that Brooks is a “half-court liability” on offense, where the team needs to improve. Fedor names Kelly Oubre, Donte DiVincenzo, Harrison Barnes, Max Strus, and several other players as more logical free agent targets.
- Among the burning questions facing the Cavaliers this summer will be whether or not they bring back Caris LeVert and what Ricky Rubio‘s role will be going forward, says Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.
- The fact that the Bulls didn’t trade Nikola Vucevic at February’s trade deadline signals that they probably intend to re-sign him this offseason, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who believes Vucevic’s price will be at least $18MM per year or so.