Lakers Notes: Westbrook, Christie, Schröder, Bryant
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has undoubtedly performed better since head coach Darvin Ham decided to bring him off the bench. In three games (28.5 minutes) as a starter, he averaged 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists on .280/.083/.800 shooting compared to 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists on .449/.415/.810 shooting in nine games (29.6 minutes) as a reserve.
However, as Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group writes, turnovers and unpredictable play have tempered Westbrook’s otherwise solid production since the transition. He’s averaging 4.4 turnovers off the bench and sometimes meanders through important possessions without setting the offense.
According to Goon, Ham replaced Westbrook with rookie Max Christie with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ victory over Brooklyn on Sunday, and the team’s lead went from six points up to 18 in five minutes. Westbrook struggled to close the third quarter, going 0-for-3 with a turnover during a stretch that saw the Lakers’ 16-point lead cut down to three.
There’s mounting evidence that it might be wise for Ham to sit Westbrook at the end of games, Goon notes. Even though it’s been a team-wide issue for the 3-10 Lakers, Westbrook is shooting just 1-for-7 in clutch situations and has the worst plus/minus (-19) on the roster in those minutes.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Christie, the 35th overall pick of June’s draft, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. The 19-year-old has been in the rotation over the past four games, averaging 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 50% from three-point range in 20.2 minutes per game over that stretch.
- Ham told reporters that Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant are probable for Friday’s game against the Pistons, per Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet (Twitter link). Both players underwent thumb surgery just before the regular season began and have yet to play this season, so Friday could mark their 2022/23 debuts.
- LeBron James was a non-contact participant in Wednesday’s practice, Bresnahan adds. James is considered day-to-day with a left adductor strain. His status will be updated Thursday.
Lakers Notes: Davis, Injuries, Beverley, Christie
Off to a 2-10 start in his first season as a head coach, Darvin Ham got some support from Lakers star Anthony Davis after the team’s most recent loss, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Davis, who has been criticized for poor second-half production in recent games, responded with 37 points and 18 rebounds Sunday in a much-needed win over the Nets.
“Had a real good conversation with [Davis] after our last game, our last loss,” Ham said. “And he just said, ‘I got your back, Coach.’ And that was huge for me being a first-time head coach and having a player of that magnitude just constantly try and do everything you ask him to do.”
The Lakers hope Sunday’s performance will help turn their season around after a disastrous start. It was their first victory without LeBron James, who is sidelined with a left adductor strain, and it provides a chance to refocus with four off days coming up.
“We wanted to win tonight, for sure. Let us feel good going into this off week before Friday’s game,” Davis said. “It gives a chance for guys to kind of get away from the game for a couple days and reset and come back with a mentality that we got to run off some [wins] in a row.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- The break in the schedule gives L.A. a chance to have a fully healthy roster for the first time this season, McMenamin adds. James was listed as doubtful last night, but has a chance to play Friday after a few more days of rest. Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant, who are both recovering from thumb surgery, may be ready for their season debuts. They will be reevaluated on Thursday.
- Patrick Beverley welcomed the challenge of starting Sunday’s game by guarding Kevin Durant, tweets Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. The Lakers traded for Beverley this offseason to handle their toughest defensive assignments. “That’s how I made my name in the NBA, those matchups,” Beverley said.
- Rookie guard Max Christie saw rotation minutes for the fourth straight game, notes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The second-round pick is mainly in the lineup to handle three-and-D duties while some of his older teammates are injured. “If I have an off game, it’s not the biggest deal because nobody really expected me to contribute anyway,” he said. “So it’s just sort of icing on the cake for me to keep going as hard as I can, but at the same time there’s no pressure on me.”
Pacific Notes: Murray, Suns, Christie, Bazemore
Keegan Murray is bringing hope to Kings fans after an MVP performance in the Las Vegas Summer League, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. The No. 4 overall pick displayed an advanced offensive array while averaging 23.3 points per game and shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range.
Many draft observers criticized the Kings for passing on Jaden Ivey to select Murray, but he’s a better fit with the current roster and is showing signs that he’ll be able to contribute right away. An unidentified personnel executive told Bulpett that Murray was the second most impressive player in Summer League behind Paolo Banchero.
“I don’t think people knew how well he could shoot the ball,” the executive said of Murray. “He’s a tremendous shooter. That still has to translate to the real games, but I think he opened some people’s eyes. The Kings could be really interesting if (new head coach) Mike (Brown) can get those guys to realize what they can do. It’s been a long time since Sacramento was any good, and these guys obviously weren’t there for all of it, but sometimes it can be hard for a team to take that first big step.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns seem committed to being a taxpaying team after matching the Pacers’ offer sheet for Deandre Ayton, and Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic examines whether the roster is good enough to justify that investment. Phoenix currently has $167.1MM in guaranteed salary, well above the projected $150.267MM tax threshold, and is facing a projected $34.8MM tax bill.
- The Lakers have been watching Max Christie since 2019 and he was the top prospect on their draft board by far when it was time for their pick at No. 35, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Just him showing flashes of being a good perimeter shooter with his shooting mechanics and being able to create his own shot off the dribble,” said assistant general manager and co-owner Jesse Buss. “A high-IQ player, obviously, with his size and his length, at the two guard position.”
- Free agent Kent Bazemore posted an online photo of his workouts with former Warriors teammate Stephen Curry (hat tip to Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated’s Fan Nation). Bazemore, who left Golden State to sign with the Lakers last summer, is waiting for an offer for next season.
Contract Details: Kornet, Wall, Jokic, Garland, Reed, More
Luke Kornet‘s new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Celtics includes multiple salary guarantee dates this year, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Currently, Kornet’s $2.13MM salary for 2022/23 is only partially guaranteed for $100K, but that guarantee would increase to $300K if the big man remains under contract through August 15. If Kornet makes Boston’s regular season roster, half of his salary (approximately $1.07MM) would become guaranteed.
Kornet’s deal with the Celtics doesn’t include any guarantee triggers beyond that, so his ’22/23 salary would become fully guaranteed after the league-wide salary guarantee deadline in January. His ’23/24 salary is non-guaranteed and would become fully guaranteed if he remains under contract through January 7, 2024.
Here are a few more details on newly signed contracts:
- The second year of John Wall‘s two-year deal with the Clippers is a team option, Hoops Rumors has learned. Los Angeles used its full $6,479,000 taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Wall.
- Nikola Jokic‘s super-max extension with the Nuggets and Darius Garland‘s new maximum-salary extension with the Cavaliers both feature 15% trade kickers.
- Davon Reed‘s two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Nuggets is fully guaranteed in year one and non-guaranteed in year two. Reed’s second-year salary will become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived by July 8, 2023.
- The Magic used a portion of their mid-level exception to sign second-round pick Caleb Houstan to a four-year contract that includes guaranteed $2MM salaries in each of the first two seasons. The third and fourth years are worth the minimum and are non-guaranteed — there’s also a team option on the fourth year.
- As expected, the Lakers signed second-rounder Max Christie to a two-year, minimum-salary contract. That deal will be fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. L.A. couldn’t offer Christie more than two years or more than the rookie minimum after using the full taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker.
- Michael Foster Jr.‘s deal with the Sixers is an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning the team has the option of converting it into a two-way contract before the season.
Lakers Sign Second-Rounder Max Christie
The Lakers have signed Max Christie, the 35th pick of last month’s draft, according to Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link). The Lakers drafted him after acquiring the 35th pick from the Magic in exchange for a 2028 second-rounder and cash.
Christie was a highly-touted prospect entering college last season, but he struggled a bit in his freshman season for Michigan State, averaging 9.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.5 APG on .382/.317/.824 shooting in 35 games (30.8 MPG). With the caveat that it’s Summer League (therefore disorganized), in three contests (22.7 MPG) at the California Classic in San Francisco, Christie averaged 6 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 2 APG while shooting 25% from the floor.
Still, Los Angeles’ front office is high on the 19-year-old, with GM Rob Pelinka calling him a “consensus” choice with the team’s lone draft pick.
The terms of Christie’s deal were not disclosed, but the Lakers used their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Lonnie Walker and are now limited to minimum-salary deals, so a two-year, minimum contract seems likely.
Considering he’s only 19 and the Lakers are trying to contend, Christie will probably spend a good amount of time in the G League this season with L.A.’s affiliate, South Bay.
The Lakers have undergone a roster overhaul of their role players in free agency thus far after going 33-49 and missing out on the postseason in 2021/22, reportedly prioritizing speed, defense and shooting with the signings of Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant.
L.A. Notes: Clippers’ Draft, Leonard, Kennard, Christie, Westbrook
The Clippers are emphasizing continuity with their roster, which is why they passed on making a draft-night trade for the first time in seven years, writes Mark Medina of NBA.com. The team’s quiet draft was influenced by its two stars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who are collaborating with the front office on personnel moves.
“They are great partners. There’s a lot of give and take and talking,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said. “They have great insight. They passionately care. They care about the type of people that are in the locker room. They look for people who work, have great habits, are pros, can contribute to winning and are great in the locker room. Yet at the same time, they are very respectful that at the end of the day it’s our job to make the decision. But their opinions are very, very valuable.”
Frank also offered a medical update on Leonard, who missed the entire season after suffering an ACL injury during the 2021 playoffs. The team is encouraged by Leonard’s progress and expects him to be ready for the start of next season.
“He continues to do great,” Frank said. “He’s maniacal in his work ethic. It’s fun to see. I’m glad we can afford the light bill because he’s putting in the hours.”
There’s more NBA news from Los Angeles:
- Frank dismissed rumors that the Clippers are trying to trade Luke Kennard, Medina adds. Frank said there’s “zero truth” to the report, noting that Kennard is coming off an “unbelievable season” in which he led the league in three-point percentage.
- The Lakers were excited to land Michigan State’s Max Christie after trading into the second round, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “It’s very rare to have a consensus pick,” general manager Rob Pelinka said. “Maybe at No. 1 you can kind of get a room full of scouts and get a consensus pick. But once you get to 35, there’s just so many varying opinions. But very uniquely on this night — it doesn’t happen all the time — but Max was a consensus pick of all the scouts and all the front-office people.” Pelinka believes Christie could have been selected in the top 15 or 20 next year if he had returned to school.
- Pelinka and new coach Darvin Ham have met with Russell Westbrook to set parameters for next season, Medina writes in a separate story. Westbrook became a lightning rod for criticism after being acquired from the Wizards last summer. “We’ve been honest about how we think he fits with this team and what we expect of him next year if he decides to opt in and be here,” Pelinka said of Westbrook, who hasn’t yet officially exercised his $47MM player option for next season. “He’s ready to embrace the philosophy of defense first as well. He made that clear to Darvin and me if he chooses to come back.”
Draft Workout Notes: Kings, Wizards, Wolves, Jazz, More
The Kings hosted several prospects for pre-draft workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, the team announced (Twitter links).
The Tuesday group featured Trey McGowens, Ziga Samar, Ron Harper Jr., Brady Manek and Dallas Walton. Wednesday’s group was Jacob Gilyard, Fatts Russell, Yoan Makoundou, Karlo Matkovic, Yannick Nzosa and Kai Sotto.
The Kings control the fourth, 37th and 49th picks in the 2022 draft, and a handful of those players could be targets with one of those second-round picks. Nzosa, Samar, Harper and Matkovic are ranked between 53rd and 58th on ESPN’s big board.
Here are more workout-related notes from around the NBA:
- The Wizards are hosting a workout featuring six prospects on Friday, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The six are Akoldah Gak, Ty Gordon, Storm Murphy, Shareef O’Neal, Daeqwon Plowden and Vince Williams Jr. All six players are projected to go undrafted. Washington currently controls the 10th and 56th picks. Chuba Ohams will also workout for the team on Monday, reports Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com (via Twitter).
- Thursday’s workout hosted by the Timberwolves features Jake LaRavia, Max Christie, Marcus Weathers, Lucas Williamson, Cole Swider and Ryan Hawkins, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). LaRavia is the highest-rated prospect of the group at 28th on ESPN’s board. The Wolves hold the 19th, 40th, 48th and 50th picks.
- The Jazz are holding a workout on Thursday featuring Moussa Diabate, Ron Harper Jr., Drake Jeffries, Kur Kuath, Jaden Shackelford and Jeenathan Williams, as Andy Larson of The Salt Lake Tribune relays (via Twitter). Utah doesn’t own a pick at the moment, but most of those prospects are projected to go undrafted.
- Wednesday’s group workout hosted by the Hornets (Twitter link) included Marcus Bingham, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Makur Maker, Ikenna Ndugba, Taz Sherman and Payton Willis. All six prospects are expected to go undrafted. The Hornets own the 13th, 15th and 45th picks.
- The Pacers held a group workout on Wednesday featuring Andrew Nembhard, Scotty Pippen Jr., Gabriele Procida, Luke Travers, Quenton Jackson and Drake Jeffries, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Nembhard is considered the top prospect of the group with the 35th spot on ESPN’s board. Indiana owns the sixth, 31st and 60th picks of the draft.
Southeast Notes: Hornets Workouts, Atkinson, Wizards
The Hornets hosted a couple of potential lottery picks for solo workouts on Friday, the team announced (Twitter links): Duke’s Mark Williams, who is ranked No. 14 on ESPN’s big board, and Shaedon Sharpe, who is ranked No. 7 due to his enormous upside despite not playing a game for Kentucky. The Hornets control the Nos. 13, 15 and 45 picks in the 2022 NBA draft.
Williams has been linked to Charlotte multiple times in mock drafts, which makes perfect sense since he’s a rim-running, paint-protecting center with great size and athleticism. He could fill a major weak spot if he’s NBA-ready, as the team has lacked a big man in that mold for several years.
Sharpe seems unlikely to fall to No. 13, so the Hornets were probably just doing their due diligence and getting a look at a player who hasn’t played competitively in nearly a year, but they theoretically could package their picks in order to move up and select him.
The team also hosted a group workout on Friday (Twitter link) featuring Michigan State’s Max Christie, UConn’s R.J. Cole, Richmond’s Grant Golden, Furman’s Alex Hunter, France’s Ismael Kamagate, and Brazil’s Gui Santos. Kamagate and Christie are the highest-rated prospects among the group at Nos. 40 and 45, respectively, so they could be possibilities for Charlotte’s second-rounder.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- Alex Schiffer of The Athletic explores what the Hornets are getting in new head coach Kenny Atkinson, noting that Atkinson earned league-wide praise by establishing a culture in Brooklyn that was reminiscent of a college team, something the Nets have sorely lacked since he resigned in 2020. Known as a meticulous worker who embraces analytics, Atkinson used to physically participate in Nets practices, writes Schiffer, adding that Atkinson appears to be entering a better situation in Charlotte than his previous head coaching job in Brooklyn.
- The Wizards are among the teams weighing the idea of trading their lottery pick (No. 10 overall) in a possible win-now move, Marc Stein reports in his latest article for Substack.
- Fresno State’s Orlando Robinson and Kansas’ David McCormack will work out for the Wizards on Saturday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Robinson is ranked No. 77 on ESPN’s board, so he could be a possibility for the team’s second-round pick, which is No. 56 overall.
Central Notes: LaVine, Pacers, Pistons Lottery Pick, Bucks Offseason
What would it take for teams without cap room to ink Zach LaVine and engineer a sign-and-trade? Evan Sidery of Basketball News takes a look at several potential trades in which LaVine winds up with the Heat, Hawks or Mavericks. In the Hawks’ case, Sidery speculates that a three-way deal in which the Bulls receive Kevin Huerter and Onyeka Okongwu and the Pacers get Danilo Gallinari and a 2023 first-round pick from the Hawks might work.
We have more on the Central Division:
- The Pacers will work out six draft prospects on Monday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. That group includes Teddy Allen (New Mexico State), Terrell Brown Jr. (Washington), Max Christie (Michigan State), Ryan Rollins (Toledo), Peyton Watson (UCLA) and Kok Yat (Overtime Elite).
- Would the Pistons move off the No. 5 spot in the lottery for three first-round selections? Keith Langlois of Pistons.com believes if the Spurs offered the No. 9, 20 and 25 picks, Detroit might go along with it. The draft is deep enough that adding three first-rounders would bring more value that the No. 5 pick alone, in Langlois’ assessment.
- The Bucks may have as many as five roster holes to fill and The Athletic’s Eric Nehm takes a comprehensive look at how they’ll approach the offseason and what kinds of free agents they might target.
Draft Notes: Christie, Rhoden, Brooks, Lee, Johnson, Bieniemy, Combine
Michigan State freshman guard Max Christie will stay in the draft and hire an agent, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Christie is ranked No. 44 in ESPN’s Best Available list after averaging 9.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.5 APG in 35 games with the Spartans in 2021/22. He’s participating at the Chicago pre-draft combine this week.
We have more draft-related news:
- Seton Hall wing Jared Rhoden, who impressed at the recent G League Elite Camp, has worked out for the Knicks, Nets and Celtics, Adam Zagoria tweets. The 6’6” Rhoden averaged 15.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG for the Pirates.
- Kentucky’s Keion Brooks said he’s staying in the draft, Zagoria writes in a ZagsBlog.com post. The 6’7” Brooks averaged 10.8 PPG and 4.4 RPG this past season. “I’m all in on the draft,” he said.
- Like Brooks, Davidson’s Hyunjung Lee says he’s not going back to college, Zagoria tweets. “I’m 100 percent in for the draft… This is my long-term dream.” Lee said. “If I play whether in the League or the G League, I feel I can improve faster.”
- Cleveland State forward Deante Johnson is withdrawing from the draft and returning to college, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.
- UTEP swingman Jamal Bieniemy, who averaged 14.7 PPG last season, is staying in the draft, Rothstein tweets.
- Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams, Toledo’s Ryan Rollins, North Carolina State’s Terquavion Smith and Colorado State’s David Roddy are among the players who stand the most to gain from the combine, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Givony write.