Lakers Notes: LeBron, Reaves, Ayton, Hachimura, Smart, Thiero
Lakers forward LeBron James didn’t offer any specifics on Monday when asked at media day about his retirement plans, but admitted the end of his record-setting career is coming “sooner than later,” writes Dan Woike of The Athletic.
After making it a priority to play with son Bronny James in the NBA, LeBron made it clear on Monday that he won’t necessarily stick around in an effort to do the same thing with Bryce James, who is a freshman at Arizona this year.
“I am not waiting on Bryce,” James said, per Woike. “I don’t know what his own timeline is. I got my timeline, and I don’t know if they quite match up.”
James also said that the opportunity to play with a superstar like Luka Doncic in his prime provides some additional “motivation,” but he said that won’t have a material impact on his retirement decision, which will be made by LeBron and his family (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Lakers guard Austin Reaves turned down a four-year, $87MM extension offer from the Lakers earlier this offseason and admitted to Woike that he was nervous that decision might cause the team to move him. “I thought that there was a good chance for, like, a week after I declined the extension that there was a possibility I’d get traded,” Reaves said. “I mean, it’s still a possibility.” The Lakers guard wants to remain in Los Angeles, but will be eligible for a more lucrative deal if he waits until at least 2026, when he could become an unrestricted free agent. Team and league sources who spoke to The Athletic believe Reaves could receive an annual salary of $35MM+ on his next contract.
- New Lakers center Deandre Ayton said on Monday that coming to L.A. represents the “biggest opportunity of my career” and said repeatedly that he’s not taking it for granted (Twitter links via McMenamin and Khobi Price of the Orange County Register). The former No. 1 overall pick has faced questions about his compete level in recent years.
- Forward Rui Hachimura and guard Marcus Smart both told reporters at media day on Monday that it doesn’t matter to them whether they start or come off the bench (Twitter links via Jovan Buha and Khobi Price). James, Doncic, Reaves, and Ayton are probable starters, but that leaves one spot open in the starting five. For what it’s worth, Hachimura did point out that he has established chemistry with James and the starters over the past couple seasons, but stressed that he’s more concerned about his overall minutes than whether he’s on the court to start the game.
- Lakers rookie forward Adou Thiero has experienced swelling in his knee and hasn’t been cleared for the start of training camp, according to McMenamin (Twitter links), who hears from a source that Thiero’s rehab process is on schedule and he should be cleared in another week. The second-round pick didn’t play in Summer League after injuring his knee in his final college season at Arkansas.
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Pelinka, LeBron, Thiero
The Lakers provided a huge show of support for Luka Doncic as he represented Slovenia at EuroBasket, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Team governor Jeanie Buss and president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka both made the trip to Poland to watch Doncic in action. They were joined by team stakeholders Kurt Rambis and his wife Linda, along with other staff members, and assistant coach Greg St. Jean worked on Slovenia’s coaching staff.
“Luka has a tremendous amount of heartfelt pride and appreciation for his roots and playing for his country,” Pelinka said. “I just think in the partnerships we have with our players, the Lakers want to be mindful of players’ passions and who they are as men and then lean in and support those things. So, around Luka, it was a very easy partnership decision that we wanted to support.”
Even though his team didn’t bring home a medal, Doncic was outstanding. He averaged 34.7 points per game, the highest by anyone since 1989, and raised that figure to 40.5 PPG in two knockout round contests. Team sources tell McMenamin that the Lakers’ coaching staff was impressed by the way Doncic moved after his offseason conditioning program. He was able to jump noticeably higher, split double teams and be more disruptive on defense.
“Players playing basketball in the offseason is something that, from a leadership standpoint, I support,” Pelinka said. “I think you could say in some sense that some of the offseason and sort of the current basketball lens, especially in the States, is on individual work. And I think that sort of the team environment can get lost.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Multiple stories have indicated that L.A. is prioritizing cap room for the summer of 2027, but Pelinka indicated that plans could change if the right opportunity comes along, McMenamin adds in the same piece. The team will face important financial decisions soon with Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) all on expiring contracts and Austin Reaves likely heading for free agency after declining a four-year, $89MM extension in June. Sources tell McMenamin that the Lakers would consider trading for a contract that extends beyond 2026.“In terms of team building, we’ve talked about the importance of having optionality and when I use that word, it’s not to say in the future,” Pelinka said. “I think optionality is also in the now.”
- Among his many accomplishments, LeBron James last season became the first player ever to reach 50,000 combined points in the regular season and playoffs. During a visit to China, he talked about what it took to achieve that record in an interview with CBV Game (YouTube link, hat tip to Lakers Nation). “I don’t think it’s about the record, I just think it’s a microcosm of my career, of my hard work and dedication to my craft, and my love for the game,” James said. “I put so many hours into trying to be the greatest of what I can become and the best I can become. That moment is there is an indication of that, of hard work paying off. It’s always pretty cool when you can have those moments that show that the work does pay off.”
- Rookie forward Adou Thiero told NBA on Prime (Twitter link) that he chose No. 1 as his uniform number as a tribute to Derrick Rose. “My first favorite player was Derrick Rose,” Thiero said. “So then I tried to go with the number I was throughout college (3) and everything. I wasn’t able to get that number so, you know, why not go back with what we started with.”
Eastern Notes: Bufkin, NAW, Tanenbaum, Nets, Wiggins
After rebuffing trade interest in former first-round pick Kobe Bufkin earlier in the offseason, the Hawks became more open to the idea of moving him after the Las Vegas Summer League concluded, according to Grant Afseth of RG.org.
While Bufkin posted strong averages of 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game in four Vegas outings, he struggled to score efficiently, making just 35.5% of his shots from the floor, including 25.9% of his three-point attempts. The Hawks, who are hoping to contend in what looks like a wide-open Eastern Conference, are focused on players who can help them win right now and weren’t sure Bufkin fit that bill, as Afseth explains.
Bufkin was ultimately sent to Brooklyn, though the Pacers also registered some interest, sources tell RG.org.
As for the Hawks, they intend to lean on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard for ball-handling duties behind star point guard Trae Young, according to Afseth, who says the team envisions Alexander-Walker taking on a more significant offensive role than he had in Minnesota — he has been working closely with Atlanta’s coaching staff to prepare for those increased responsibilities, Afseth adds.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Raptors governor and NBA Board of Governors chairman Larry Tanenbaum is obligated to begin the process of selling his 20% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Raptors’ parent company) to Rogers Communications by July 7, 2026, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. There are “rumblings” that process could begin sooner, Grange says, but either way, it sounds like it’s just a matter of time until Rogers – which already controls 75% of MLSE – owns nearly the entire company. Rogers increased its stake in MLSE from 37.5% to 75% a year ago.
- Which Nets players are the most and least likely to be part of the team’s long-term plans? Brian Lewis of The New York Post explores that question in a subscriber-only article, suggesting that Cam Thomas seems unlikely to remain in Brooklyn beyond 2025/26, whereas Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and whoever the Nets draft with their 2026 lottery pick seem destined to be cornerstones going forward.
- Addressing the recent trade rumors linking Heat forward Andrew Wiggins to the Lakers, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he thinks Miami would be better off keeping Wiggins than trading him for a return of Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht.
Pacific Notes: Harris, Wiggins, Hayes-Davis, Aspiration
Zach Harris has been named general manager of the Warriors’ NBA G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a team press release. Additionally, Noah Robotham has been promoted to assistant GM.
Harris is entering his second season with the Santa Cruz Warriors after serving as an assistant GM last year. He joined the Warriors organization with four years of G League experience, having worked for the Grand Rapids Gold as a basketball strategy coordinator for the 2022/23 season, the Capital City Go-Go as a basketball operations assistant from 2018-20, and as an intern for the Iowa Wolves in 2017.
Robotham is entering his third season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, having spent last year as the team’s manager of basketball operations. In his first season with the Warriors in 2023/24, he served as a coaching associate and basketball operations coordinator.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers reportedly are looking to upgrade the wing position with the Heat’s Andrew Wiggins as a potential target. Lakers beat reporter Jovan Buha expresses skepticism on his Buha’s Block podcast (video link) that the Lakers can pull off a Wiggins trade without including a first-round pick. He also doesn’t expect that some combination of Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent would be enough to pull off a trade.
- The Suns signed Nigel Hayes-Davis to a one-year contract in July after he spent seven years playing overseas. The Athletic’s Doug Haller details Hayes-Davis’ long journey back to the NBA. “For sure, I would’ve been surprised (it took so long), but to talk about the past is almost pointless,” Hayes-Davis said. “… I will say that I’m appreciative of the journey that I’ve had. Is it the one I thought about as a child growing up? Of course not. But it’s been fantastic.”
- The ongoing saga regarding Kawhi Leonard‘s no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration as a means of the Clippers potentially circumventing the league’s salary cap rules has been a hot topic the past two weeks. ESPN’s Shwetha Surendran takes a closer at the now-defunct company, including its business model and high-profile investors.
Rui Hachimura Unlikely To Receive Extension Before Camp
Rui Hachimura is eligible for a contract extension, but the Lakers aren’t expected to pursue a new deal before training camp opens next month, reporter Jovan Buha stated on his latest Buha’s Block podcast (YouTube link).
“With the current intel I have, I do not expect Rui to be extended by the Lakers in the next six weeks,” Buha said. “It’s certainly possible that something happens, but I would say most of what’s been out there is them wanting to keep the books clean and wanting to see whether he starts or whether he’s their sixth man and how the pieces fit this year.”
The 27-year-old power forward became eligible for an extension when the NBA’s new calendar year began on July 6. He currently has an $18,259,259 expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t work out a new deal with L.A.
Hachimura has been a valuable contributor for the Lakers since he was acquired from Washington in January of 2023. He became a full-time starter last season and averaged 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 59 games with .509/.413/.770 shooting numbers.
Hachimura’s future will be affected by the Lakers’ well-known desire to preserve cap space for the summer of 2027. Luka Doncic currently holds the team’s only significant contract that extends past the 2026/27 season, although Jarred Vanderbilt will have a $13.3MM player option that summer.
Whether it’s through an extension or a new contract in free agency, L.A.’s front office will eventually have to decide whether locking up a valuable asset like Hachimura is worth sacrificing some cap room in a summer that could feature a historically great free agent class.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Hachimura, Thiero, Trade Prospects
LeBron James may have been offering a hint about his future, or he could have been trolling fans, the media and Lakers management. Either way, it seems newsworthy that he and former teammate Anthony Davis both posted the same message to their Instagram accounts on Tuesday (hat tip to Ricky O’Donnell of Yahoo Sports).
It’s a quote from entrepreneur and life coach Jay Shetty that reads, “Becoming the best version of yourself comes with a lot of goodbyes.”
James’ future with the Lakers has been up in the air since he picked up his $52.6MM player option in late June. The online message could mean he’s contemplating saying goodbye to Los Angeles, either at some point this season or when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Mavericks have been mentioned as a possible next team for James, so Davis’ involvement could be significant. Going to Dallas would also reunite James with former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving and possibly turn the Mavs into legitimate title contenders again.
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Rui Hachimura is also a year away from free agency and has the chance to earn a long-term deal with L.A. by putting together another strong season, Dan Woike of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column. Even though the Lakers are preserving cap space for the summer of 2027, they may decide Hachimura is worth the investment. He has shot better than 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range in both of his full seasons in L.A., and he showed improvement on defense last season. Woike also views him as a player who’ll benefit from spending a full season with Luka Doncic.
- Second-round pick Adou Thiero, who missed all of Summer League while recovering from a knee injury he suffered in college, has been working out in the Lakers’ facility and is expected to be ready for training camp, Woike states in the same piece. The 21-year-old power forward was selected with the 36th pick in this year’s draft and was part of the seven-team deal that sent Kevin Durant from Phoenix to Houston. Woike notes that Thiero faces a crowded path to get playing time, but adds that he has the defensive skills to give himself a chance.
- With 14 players holding standard contracts, Woike doesn’t expect the Lakers to make any more trades before the start of the season. They have an available first-rounder, a second-rounder and some swaps to offer, but Woike believes it’s more likely they’ll save those assets for a potential deal later on.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Wiggins, Bazley, Kings, Carter, Livers
Heat forward Andrew Wiggins was linked to the Lakers earlier in the offseason as a potential trade candidate, but Dan Woike of The Athletic suggested during an appearance on The Zach Lowe Show podcast (YouTube link) that he’s not anticipating Wiggins to be sent to Los Angeles.
“(The Lakers) are not interested in Andrew Wiggins,” Woike said when Lowe brought up the subject (hat tip to HoopsHype). “I think I can put that to bed. I’m pretty confident on that front.”
Those aforementioned reports on the Lakers’ apparent interest in Wiggins suggested that the Heat would be seeking Dalton Knecht or a first-round pick in addition to Rui Hachimura‘s expiring contract. As Lowe observes, the idea that L.A. would entertain that asking price never made all that much sense, given that Wiggins is coming off an up-and-down season in which both his teams (Golden State and Miami) were better when he was off the court than when he was on it.
“I didn’t understand those rumors,” Lowe said. “They were suddenly giving up a lot of s–t for Andrew Wiggins. Like, is Rui Hachimura just as good as Andrew Wiggins? Why am I adding a lot more to that?”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Former first-round pick Darius Bazley spoke to Matthew Valento of Lakers Nation about playing for the Lakers‘ Summer League team in an effort to “revamp” his career. The 25-year-old forward/center averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in three California Classic outings and averaged a double-double (10.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG) through his first two games in Las Vegas before struggling on Monday, with just one point and four rebounds in 22 minutes.
- Kings star Zach LaVine is enthusiastic about what newly signed point guard Dennis Schröder will bring to the team next season, as Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee relays. “Me and DeMar (DeRozan) have a track record for being able to put the ball in the basket and do the things on the court that we need to,” LaVine said. “But I think we need an overall team concept to where everything’s working the right way. Sometimes roster construction helps out a lot with that. So having Dennis, a veteran point guard who’s been in a lot of places, can come off the bench, has started. He can calm things down. He’s been in pressure situations. I think it’s going to help a lot.”
- After making just 2-of-14 shots in his first Las Vegas Summer League game on Thursday, second-year Kings guard Devin Carter has bounced back admirably in what could be a trade showcase. As Jason Anderson details in a pair of stories for The Sacramento Bee, Carter led the Kings to a victory over Chicago on Saturday with 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, then racked up another 17 points and three steals in a Monday win over Phoenix.
- New Suns two-way player Isaiah Livers spoke on Sunday about his long journey back to the NBA following a reshaping procedure on his right hip, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “They said I was probably playing on it for about a year, straight bone on bone,” Livers said of his hip injury. “It just kept getting worse and worse. I tried to go to L.A. last summer and do conservative rehab. We found out we got to do this special surgery. I was very upset. … (But now) I kind of feel like a whole new player, to be honest.”
Agent Says LeBron James Hasn’t Asked To Be Traded
Trade speculation has been swirling around LeBron James for the past two weeks since his decision to exercise a $52.6MM player option for next season was accompanied by a statement from agent Rich Paul indicating that James will be monitoring the Lakers‘ personnel moves to make sure they’re assembling a championship-level roster.
During today’s broadcast of L.A.’s Summer League game (Twitter video link), Dave McMenamin of ESPN relayed a conversation with Paul, who said James hasn’t asked him to work out a trade and he hasn’t discussed the possibility of a future trade with team officials. McMenamin adds that four teams contacted Paul directly to express interest in acquiring James.
Paul also dispelled a theory that James is upset because the Lakers didn’t offer him a contract beyond 2025/26, with McMenamin saying that Paul and James never asked the team for that.
James was at Saturday’s game to watch his son, Bronny James, and the rest of L.A.’s Summer League squad. McMenamin said he gave LeBron a chance to appear on the broadcast to discuss the situation, but he responded, “I ain’t got nothing to talk about.”
McMenamin states that it’s “business as usual” for the Lakers, who are trying to put together the best possible roster around James and Luka Doncic. He lists their assets in potential deals as their 2031 first-round pick and the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent. They can open a roster spot by waiving Shake Milton before his $3MM contract for next season becomes fully guaranteed on July 20.
James raised some eyebrows around the league by visiting the Cavaliers’ practice facility last week. Although he explained it’s an annual occurrence because he lives in the area during the offseason, it’s possible that similar incidents will continue throughout the summer and maybe into the season until his future gets settled.
Lakers Rumors: DFS, Ayton, LeBron, Wiggins, LaRavia
After Dorian Finney-Smith turned down his $15.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season, the Lakers offered him a new contract, but it only covered two seasons, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. The veteran forward instead agreed to a four-year, $53MM deal with Houston.
As Woike explains, the Lakers want to maintain as much future cap flexibility as they can in order to be able to pursue a star-level player to pair with Luka Doncic following LeBron James‘ eventual retirement.
That point has also been made by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, who writes that the Lakers want to preserve 2027 cap room in the hopes of landing a maximum-salary player, and by Shams Charania, who discussed the subject on SportsCenter late on Monday night (Twitter video link).
“They are really prioritizing two-year contracts right now,” Charania said. “They want to have max-salary space in 2027.”
How that stance affects the Lakers’ search for a center remains to be seen. While Brook Lopez committed to the Clippers on Monday and Clint Capela agreed to a deal with Houston, it’s Deandre Ayton who has been the team’s top priority, according to Woike, who points out that Ayton and Doncic share the same agent (Bill Duffy).
It sounds like the Lakers are unlikely to offer more than two years to Ayton, so if there’s a rival suitor willing to put a longer deal on the table, that could be problematic for Los Angeles. However, I’d be a little surprised if that’s the case after his time in Portland ended via buyout.
Woike points to the Bucks as one team to watch for Ayton, noting that they should have access to most of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and lost their starting center (Lopez) on Monday.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- ESPN’s Dave McMenamin spoke on NBA Today on Monday about where things stand with James following agent Rich Paul‘s Saturday statement about evaluating “what’s best for LeBron” as the star forward opted into the final year of his contract. “(Paul) has not had any discussion with the Lakers about wanting a trade, on the back end of this statement,” McMenamin said (YouTube link). “He did say that four teams have contacted him in the last 24 hours wanting to take trades, but Rich didn’t have any substantive conversations with those teams either. Right now, LeBron is focused on playing on a championship-caliber roster. Rich told me there’s no guarantees in building a championship-caliber roster, but we know what it looks like and what it doesn’t look like. And we’ll see if in a week from now – when Rob Pelinka‘s finished doing his work with this roster – if it looks like a winning, realistic situation.”
- According to Jovan Buha (Twitter video link), the rumored trade talks between the Lakers and Heat about Andrew Wiggins haven’t gained any real momentum due to a “pretty high” asking price on Miami’s end. “We’re talking basically everything or close to everything that the Lakers could offer from a top-end asset standpoint,” Buha said. “So I don’t think that is going to happen. I don’t think the Lakers are trading Rui (Hachimura), a first, and Dalton (Knecht) for Andrew Wiggins. That’s not fair value. That’s not a realistic trade. I think Miami’s playing hardball. We’ll see if they soften their stance.”
- League sources tell Woike that Jake LaRavia, who agreed to a two-year, $12MM deal with the Lakers on Monday, was the team’s first call when free agency opened, and that the free agent forward was impressed by the way Pelinka sold the Lakers’ strength and JJ Redick‘s “detailed” plan for how he would be used. One executive who spoke to Woike about the move lauded LaRavia for his toughness, shooting, and burgeoning play-making skills, while another said, “Everyone can use a player like him.”
Trade Rumors: Lakers, Wiggins, Knicks, Celtics, Cavs, Bulls
After previously reporting that the Lakers checked in with the Heat to inquire on Andrew Wiggins‘ price, Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints says the two teams have continued to explore the possibility of a Wiggins trade, though nothing is imminent.
As Irwin details, Rui Hachimura and his expiring contract would likely be the centerpiece of any deal, with another expiring contract (either Maxi Kleber‘s or Gabe Vincent‘s) necessary for salary-matching purposes. According to Irwin, league sources believe the Heat would also try to push for the inclusion of 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht.
A source tells Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the Heat are “very open” to moving Wiggins, who was part of last season’s Jimmy Butler trade with Golden State. Trading him for expiring salaries would create additional cap flexibility for Miami in the summer of 2026.
The Lakers are also scouring the trade market for help at the center position, Irwin continues, but he has heard from league sources that the front office believes the asking price for big men so far has been too high. As a result, it’s possible Los Angeles will look to use the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to address the center position while trying to upgrade other areas of the roster on the trade market, Irwin explains.
Here are a few more trade-related rumors from around the NBA:
- Mikal Bridges‘ and Mitchell Robinson‘s names have surfaced in Knicks trade talks this offseason, according to Frank Isola of YES Network (Twitter link). Bridges and Robinson will also both be eligible to sign contract extensions beginning in July, so I’d expect New York to explore both scenarios before determining how best to move forward.
- Prior to Wednesday’s first round, the Celtics touched base with teams in the lottery, including the Spurs at No. 14, but didn’t end up finding a deal they liked, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. While Jaylen Brown and Derrick White rumors have circulated this week, Sam Hauser is considered Boston’s top current trade candidate — Chris Mannix of SI.com said during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast that there has been a “robust” market for Hauser (Twitter video link).
- The Cavaliers explored the possibility of trading into the first round on Wednesday, with a few picks considered to be available, but didn’t find any opportunities they deemed worthwhile, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team holds the 49th and 58th overall picks on Thurday.
- During a press conference on Wednesday night, Bulls general manager Marc Eversley said Chicago spoke to a few teams about moving up before deciding to stand pat at No. 12 and select Noa Essengue. Everseley added that the Bulls may end up trading tonight’s No. 45 pick or using it on a draft-and-stash prospect (Twitter links via Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times).