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Western Notes: Ham, LeBron, Russell, Jazz, George

May 28th, 2022 at 3:48pm CST by JD Shaw

New Lakers coach Darvin Ham has already secured his first win, Bill Oram of The Athletic contends, by receiving the support of star forward LeBron James, an important first step in his head coaching journey.

“So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and welcome Coach DHam!” James tweeted after word broke on Friday night that Ham is being hired by the Lakers.

The Lakers are coming off a 33-49 season in which they missing the playoffs after dealing with several key injuries to star players. The front office hopes Ham can guide the team back to contention.

There’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

  • Nekias Duncan of Basketball News considers possible trade destinations for Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell. In 65 games this season, Russell averaged 18.1 points, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steals per contest, shooting 41% from the floor and 34% from three-point range. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
  • Tony Jones of The Athletic continues analyzing the Jazz roster by examining the forwards, taking a closer look at Bojan Bogdanovic and Eric Paschall, among others. Utah is coming off another disappointing postseason, having lost to the Mavericks in six games during the first round.
  • The Jazz will work out BYU forward Gideon George on Sunday, Tony Jones tweets. Utah doesn’t own a draft pick this year, but it still plans to hold workouts and conduct its due diligence. The team could acquire a pick or prepare for undrafted players. George averaged 8.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 22.1 minutes last season.
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Details, Reaction To Lakers Choosing Darvin Ham As Head Coach

May 28th, 2022 at 8:29am CST by Dana Gauruder

The news broke on Friday that the Lakers had chosen Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their new head coach. Ham was granted some power before he accepted the job on a four-year contract.

He’ll will be given a large amount of autonomy, including the ability to choose his own coaching staff, Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times report. To that end, he’ll meet with current Lakers staff members next week.

Ham sold the Lakers’ brass with his ability to communicate and hold people accountable. They were so impressed by Ham that they passed over a planned interview with Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and offered the Bucks assistant the job. Former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, the other finalist, was interviewed earlier in the week.

We have more on the Lakers’ coaching move:

  • Although Ham has never been a head coach, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer gave him wide-ranging responsibilities to prepare him for a head coaching position, Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register writes. The fact that he has worked with Kobe Bryant and Giannis Antetokounmpo during his coaching career should suit him well on a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
  • Speaking of Milwaukee’s two-time Most Valuable Player, Antetokounmpo told ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski that the Lakers made the right choice (Twitter link). “I’m so happy for him. He’s the right fit for them,” Giannis said of Ham. “He keeps it real with you. No BS at all. It’s about damn time. He deserves it more than anyone.”
  • Hiring someone with no head coaching experience to take over the Lakers might seem a little nuts but it could work out perfectly, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times opines. Plaschke notes that the Celtics reached the conference finals under first-year head coach Ime Udoka and the Pelicans are on the upswing with Willie Green. However, Ham will have a lot of difficult issues to fix, including the usage of Russell Westbrook.
  • The Lakers hired the best available candidate, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. Ham is a defensive-minded tactician who helped develop the Bucks’ championship defensive scheme. Rather than hiring a retread, they decided to step outside of their comfort zone and give a top assistant a chance to run the show.
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Working Out Six Prospects Saturday; Speculation On Coaching Search

May 27th, 2022 at 5:40pm CST by Rory Maher
  • The Lakers don’t currently own a draft pick, but that isn’t stopping them from working out six prospects on Saturday, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The six players are Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, UConn’s Tyrese Martin, USC’s Drew Peterson, Alabama’s Keon Ellis, Syracuse’s Cole Swider, and Texas A&M’s Quenton Jackson. Ellis, Gillespie and Martin are all in the 60s on ESPN’s big board, while Jackson is No. 95; both Peterson and Swider are unranked. There’s a good chance at least a few prospects in the group will go undrafted.
  • Sean Deveney of Heavy.com queried rival front office executives to get their opinions on the Lakers‘ head coaching search, with some mixed opinions on which candidates might be favored by certain segments of the team.
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Latest On Lakers’ Coaching Search

May 25th, 2022 at 10:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts became the first of the three reported finalists to have an in-person interview for the Lakers‘ coaching vacancy, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.

Stotts, who coached 10 years in Portland before parting ways with the organization last offseason, is only interested in the head coaching role, sources tell Woike. He informed Lakers management that he doesn’t want to join the team as a lead assistant if he’s not hired as the head coach. Stotts turned down an opportunity to take a lead assistant’s role under former head coach Frank Vogel last season, Woike adds.

There had been rumors that L.A. would consider making Stotts an assistant if it hires Ham, who would be a first-time head coach, tweets Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Among the reasons Vogel was fired was a disappointing season for Russell Westbrook, whom the Lakers expected to form a Big Three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis when they acquired him in a major trade last summer. Stotts is intrigued by Westbrook’s talents and believes he can help him find a more comfortable role than he had this season, according to Mark Medina of NBA.com (Twitter link).

Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson are expected to meet with the Lakers soon. Scheduling an in-person interview with Atkinson is complicated because Golden State is in the Western Conference Finals.

Stotts, Ham and Atkinson are the only finalists that have been reported for the position, although a source told Marc Stein this week that the Lakers may still be considering other candidates. Sixers coach Doc Rivers and Jazz coach Quin Snyder have been mentioned as possibilities if they were to become available, but there has been no indication that’ll happen.

In a separate L.A. Times story, Woike and Broderick Turner review the qualifications for Stotts, Ham and Atkinson and examine the arguments for and against hiring each of them.

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Pacific Notes: Batum, Ayton, Payton, Kings, Lakers

May 25th, 2022 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the French online show First Team, veteran forward Nicolas Batum was asked about his future and suggested that he plans to remain with the Clippers for the foreseeable future, as Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints relays. Batum, speaking in French, said what translates to “Tyronn Lue saved my life,” heaping praise on the Clippers’ head coach.

Batum, who has a $3.33MM player option for the 2022/23 season, was waived by Charlotte during the 2020 offseason and signed a minimum-salary contract days later with the Clippers. He has revitalized his career in the last two years in Los Angeles, starting 92 of 126 games and averaging 26.2 MPG.

“Whenever you have a player speak on you like that, it’s a great feeling because that’s what it’s all about,” Lue told Azarly when asked about Batum’s comments. “It’s about the players and trying to get the best out of players. A lot of times, the players bring the best out of a coach as well. For Nico, a guy who has been in this league for a long time and a great veteran player, just to have him say those words, that means a lot.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) considers it extremely unlikely that the Suns will let restricted free agent Deandre Ayton walk for nothing or that Ayton will accept his one-year qualifying offer. In Gambadoro’s view, a new deal between Ayton and the Suns, a sign-and-trade agreement, or an offer sheet that the Suns match are the only realistic outcomes.
  • Gary Payton II (fractured left elbow) is beginning to increase his on-court activity, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who posted a Twitter video of Payton going through a workout on Tuesday. Assuming the Warriors finish off Dallas, it still seems possible Payton could return at some point in the NBA Finals, Slater adds.
  • Trevion Williams (Purdue), JD Notae (Arkansas), Tyson Etienne (Wichita State), and David McCormack (Kansas) are among the prospects that worked out for the Kings on Monday and Tuesday this week, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Anderson wonders if the Kings could end up drafting two Boilermakers, with Jaden Ivey in play at No. 4 and Williams a potential target in the second round.
  • Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times take a closer look at Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts, and Kenny Atkinson, breaking down the pros and cons of each of the Lakers’ reported head coaching finalists.
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2021/2022 All-NBA Teams Announced

May 24th, 2022 at 7:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 2021/22 All-NBA teams have officially been announced by the NBA. For the fourth straight season, Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was unanimously selected to the All-NBA First Team by a voter panel of 100 media members. Antetokounmpo, 27, is making his sixth All-NBA team overall.

Antetokounmpo, reigning MVP Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic received the most votes. Suns All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker and Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid rounded out the list of top five vote-getters. Because the All-NBA teams, unlike the All-Star squads, require just one center per team, Embiid was relegated to an All-NBA Second Team placing.

Below is a list of the three All-NBA teams. Vote tallies are listed in parentheses next to player names. Five points were awarded to players for a First Team Vote, three points netted for a Second Team vote, and one for a Third Team vote. Antetokounmpo earned a perfect 500 points.

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Jazz center Rudy Gobert and shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, Heat center Bam Adebayo and small forward Jimmy Butler, Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, Bucks guards Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane, Suns small forward Mikal Bridges, Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray, and Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet all received All-NBA votes. Surprisingly, Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who played in just 29 games this season, also received a single vote.

As we previously outlined, the All-NBA selections come with significant financial ramifications. As a result of being named to All-NBA teams, Booker and Towns have become eligible for super-max extensions that would begin in 2024/25. If they’re signed this offseason, those deals would be for four years and would start at 35% of the ’24/25 cap. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter), they currently project to be worth $211MM apiece.

Young’s five-year contract extension, which was signed last August and will go into effect in 2022/23, will now be worth 30% of next season’s cap instead of 25% by virtue of his All-NBA selection. Based on a projected $122MM cap, that means it’ll be worth about $212MM instead of $177MM.

Jokic had already met the super-max requirements prior to this announcement, since he won last year’s MVP award — he’s eligible to sign a five-year, super-max extension this offseason and has said he plans to do so. Doncic, who signed a maximum-salary contract extension last summer, also previously met the super-max criteria by earning All-NBA nods in 2020 and 2021.

Notable players who are not eligible this offseason for super-max deals include Morant and Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine. As Marks tweets, Morant needs to make the All-NBA team again in 2023 to qualify for a starting salary worth 30% of the cap (instead of 25%) on his next deal.

LaVine, a free agent this offseason, would have been eligible to earn up to 35% of next season’s cap from the Bulls if he had made an All-NBA team, but will instead be able to earn no more than 30% of the ’22/23 cap on his next contract.

With their inclusions, Morant, Booker, and Young are making their All-NBA team debuts. Meanwhile, on the other side of the NBA aging curve, two 37-year-old veterans further cemented their Hall of Fame credentials during the 2021/22 season. James made his 18th All-NBA team, while Paul was named to his 11th All-NBA team.

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Lakers Not Interested In Using First-Round Pick To Trade Westbrook

May 24th, 2022 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Teams that have spoken to the Lakers about Russell Westbrook have been demanding at least one first-round pick in any potential trade, league sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

However, the Lakers haven’t been receptive to that idea and have no intention – at least for the time being – of using one of their future first-rounders to facilitate a Westbrook deal, Buha reports.

Westbrook is expected to pick up his $47.4MM player option for the 2022/23 season and will be one of the league’s most expensive players following a disappointing first year in Los Angeles. Although he’ll be on an expiring contract, Westbrook will be a negative trade asset, with teams only willing to take him on if the Lakers sweeten the pot.

Having already traded away a pair of future first-round picks, the Lakers can currently only trade either their 2027 or 2028 selection. After next month’s draft, they’d be able to include their 2027, 2028, and 2029 first-rounders in trade discussions — if they move the ’27 or ’29 first-rounder, they wouldn’t be able to trade the ’28 pick due to the Stepien rule.

But the front office appears averse to attaching any of those picks to Westbrook, and Buha suggests it’s not just a negotiating stance to regain leverage. League sources tell The Athletic that people within the franchise genuinely believe that the right head coach and supporting cast can help Westbrook fit in better going forward.

Buha personally believes that bringing back Westbrook would be a mistake, arguing that the Lakers should be willing to include a first-rounder if necessary to make a deal or even to take the approach the Rockets did with John Wall, leaving the point guard at home to start the season. Waiving and stretching Westbrook’s contract or attempting to negotiate a buyout are other possible paths for L.A., but Buha views those as unlikely.

While the Lakers may not be interested in giving up a first-round pick just to dump Westbrook’s salary, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t be more open to the idea if they’re getting a couple legitimate rotation players in return.

Buha identifies the Pacers and Hornets as potential trade partners that may appeal to the Lakers, listing Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, Kelly Oubre, and Mason Plumlee as possible veterans of interest. I’m skeptical that a couple of those players would be legitimately attainable in a Westbrook deal, even with a first-round pick attached, but if the Lakers were willing to put two first-rounders on the table, more options would open up.

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Magic Says Next Coach Must Maximize Westbrook

May 23rd, 2022 at 7:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Magic Johnson believes it’s crucial for the next Lakers coach to figure out how to maximize Russell Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as he told David Aldridge of The Athletic. Johnson doubts Westbrook’s hefty contract will deliver a palatable package in a trade, so the new coach will need to figure out how best to use the veteran guard in order for the Lakers to make a postseason run next season.

“Well, it only can work, if you’ve got the coach — the right coach. To me, it still comes down to, who’s the coach?” the former Lakers president said. “And, then, also, he’s on a one-year, $47 million (contract with a player option). Even if you offer him (in a trade), what are you, realistically, going to get back? I told them this too — you’re going to get some contracts you probably don’t want, and they’re going to go (chronologically) past his contract. You’ve really got to think about that.”

  • The Lakers have supposedly narrowed their list of potential candidates to replace Frank Vogel to three — Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson. However, Marc Stein reports in a Substack piece that a source close to the situation believes the list under consideration is “still wider” than that trio. Other prominent names could surface or candidates already interviewed for the job may reemerge.
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Sixers Rumors: Draft Pick, Maxey, Thybulle, Green, Rivers

May 23rd, 2022 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com has been told it’s “relatively likely” that the Nets will take advantage of their ability to defer their acquisition of the Sixers‘ first-round pick a year and will opt to acquire Philadelphia 2023 first-rounder instead of 2022’s No. 23 overall selection.

The Nets have until June 1 to finalize that decision, so nothing is set in stone yet, but the Sixers are preparing as if they’ll have this year’s No. 23 pick, says Neubeck.

Assuming the 76ers do control that pick, it could be used to add a young, inexpensive draftee to the roster or included in a trade package for a veteran. Neubeck points to Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell and Baylor’s Kendall Brown as long, switchable forwards who may be available at No. 23 and who might appeal to Philadelphia.

Here’s more from Neubeck:

  • Even if the Sixers attempt to pursue another star player this offseason, don’t expect the team to dangle guard Tyrese Maxey to make it happen, says Neubeck. “Maxey is as close to untouchable as you could be,” a source told PhillyVoice.
  • Matisse Thybulle is a more realistic trade candidate, but the Sixers won’t move him just to get off his contract, according to Neubeck, who suggests that Danny Green‘s ACL tear has made Thybulle’s defense even more important to the team. If he’s traded, expect it to be for a roster upgrade, Neubeck writes.
  • No decisions have been made yet on Green, who is expected to miss at least half of next season and whose $10MM salary for 2022/23 is non-guaranteed. Green’s $10MM would have to be partially or fully guaranteed in order for it to count for outgoing salary-matching purposes, so he seems to me more likely to be waived than traded. According to Neubeck, it’s possible that if Green is released, he could eventually return on a smaller salary.
  • There are suspicions in league coaching circles that the Lakers haven’t given up on the idea that Doc Rivers could become available for their head coaching job, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article. Neubeck doesn’t dismiss that idea, but observes that the Sixers have been “remarkably consistent” in their messaging – both publicly and privately – that Rivers isn’t going anywhere.
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Pacific Notes: Howard, Lakers, Green, Ayton, Kings

May 22nd, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers expressed interest in former NBA player and current Michigan coach Juwan Howard for their head coaching job, but Howard declined the overture, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Los Angeles reportedly has Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson advancing to the final stage of interviews. Howard has experience coaching Lakers superstar LeBron James as an assistant with the Heat, but he’ll stay at Michigan and coach his two sons next season instead, Wojnarowski reports.

Howard interviewed for the Lakers’ head coaching job in 2019 before joining Michigan. The Lakers ultimately hired Frank Vogel, who guided them to a championship in 2020 and was fired last month after the team finished 33-49.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN examines why this is the best version of Draymond Green yet. Green has been productive for the Warriors, averaging 7.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists with his usual versatile defense. He’s also shot a career-high 52% from the floor and a below-average 25% from deep.
  • The Suns may be willing to pay Deandre Ayton what he’s seeking in restricted free agency, but Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic says the team first needs to determine whether he actually wants to stick around. Ayton only played 17 minutes in the team’s season-ending loss to Dallas last round, attempting just five shots. He did, however, average 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds for Phoenix this year, helping the club win 64 games.
  • James Ham of The Kings Beat examines whether the Kings would consider moving up in the draft. Sacramento currently owns the No. 4, No. 37 and No. 49 picks in the event.
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