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L.A. Notes: Westbrook, Davis, Bledsoe, Ibaka

November 7th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers and Russell Westbrook had their worst night of the season Saturday in Portland, but the former MVP indicated that he’s still in the adjustment phase with his new team, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Westbrook hit one of eight shots from the field and scored just eight points in a game that L.A. trailed by as many as 34 points.

Ten games into the season, the Lakers are still working on chemistry after overhauling their roster during the summer. The tinkering included Westbrook, who was part of an offseason trade for the third straight year.

“With that is always a struggle to make sure that I am able to be who I am supposed to be on the floor and that’s doing everything and playing the hardest I can possibly play,” he said. “And I’ve gotta do that for our team and I didn’t do that tonight but that is something that I will make sure is done moving forward.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

  • Anthony Davis left Saturday’s game midway through the first quarter with a stomach illness, but the team said it’s not related to COVID-19, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Davis, who was listed as questionable after spraining his left thumb Thursday, tried to play through the illness, but wasn’t able to. “I know this year he’s very upset with how last year went and how much time he missed,” Vogel said. “So, everything that’s 50-50 whether to be in or out thus far this year, it’s been, ‘I’m playing unless I absolutely can’t play.’ He’s just not happy with how much time he missed last year. So, if he can play without major limitations, he’s going to be in there.”
  • The Clippers haven’t lost confidence in point guard Eric Bledsoe during his slow start, according to Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Bledsoe is putting up career-worst numbers in shooting, rebounds and assists in his first eight games after being acquired in an offseason trade, and some of his misses have been particularly ugly. However, he helped spark Friday’s rally in Minnesota and his teammates believe his game will eventually come around. “I don’t think people are understanding how tough it is for someone to come into a new system and is being expected to have a large role and to bring what he’s great at,” Paul George said. “It’s hard to kind of find yourself, find your way.”
  • Clippers center Serge Ibaka may be ready for his season debut today, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, who notes that Ibaka isn’t listed on the team’s injury report. Ibaka battled back pain last season and underwent surgery during the summer.
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Tyronn Lue Believes Paul George Can't Worry About Officiating

November 6th, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Clippers coach Tyronn Lue believes Paul George can’t afford to worry about the officiating, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. “He has to keep going, like when he drives the ball, of course he’s getting hit, a lot of guys are getting hit, as well,” Lue said. “We know officiating is very tough … we understand that, but the biggest thing to tell PG is to keep going to the basket, continue to play the way you were playing and we’ll see if you can get some calls. But we can’t complain about it, we have to keep playing.”
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Tyronn Lue Considering Lineup Changes

October 31st, 2021 at 7:41pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is considering making lineup changes to boost his team’s offense, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. Los Angeles has opened the season with just a 1-4 record. “If you’re playing well and you’re getting the shots you want to get and you’re not making them, does that call for change?” Lue asked. “That’s the biggest thing you go back and forth with. Just continuing to mess with the rotations and try to take away those stints where we go four, five, six minutes without scoring when PG is off the floor. We have to do something about that. So we’ve got something we’ll try tomorrow.”
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Los Angeles Notes: Hartenstein, Clippers Bench, Anthony, James

October 28th, 2021 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Hartenstein won a training camp battle with Harry Giles for the last spot on the Clippers roster and has emerged as a solid reserve, Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes.

Hartenstein has averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 15.3 MPG through three appearances and has developed chemistry with Clippers wing Luke Kennard. “I think we just really know how to play with each other,” said Hartenstein, who is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

We have more from the Los Angeles teams:

  • Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that Hartenstein, Kennard and Terance Mann learned how to blend their talents during training camp, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times writes. “They understand their unit, how they play,” Lue said. “Move bodies, move the basketball.” Kennard is averaging 11.5 PPG and Mann is averaging 8.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.5 APG.
  • LeBron James said the league missed the boat on new Lakers teammate Carmelo Anthony, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. Anthony struggled to find another NBA opportunity until he hooked on with Portland during the 2019/20 season. “He’s been doing it for quite a while, and it’s just beautiful to continue to see, especially when, you know, they gave up on him,” James said. Anthony, who signed a veteran’s minimum contract this summer, had a 28-point game on Sunday and is averaging 14.0 PPG so far with his new team.
  • James is questionable to play on Friday due to right ankle soreness, McMenamin tweets. He has missed the last two games after playing 40 minutes on Sunday. Rajon Rondo has also been listed as questionable due to a similar injury, McMenamin adds.
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Tyronn Lue Expected Slow Start To Season

October 24th, 2021 at 7:52pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Speaking of a slow start, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue expected that the same would happen for his team, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times writes. The Clippers are also 0-2, dropping contests to the Warriors and Grizzlies. The team will host Portland on Monday and Cleveland on Wednesday. “Our first unit has to do a better job of setting the tone defensively, having a defensive mindset,” Lue said. “I don’t think we’re there right now, we’re not there yet. But it’s coming. And with guys being out for most of preseason and in and out, that’s to be expected. But we got to have the mindset and approach that we want to get stops coming out of the first and third quarter.”
  • Be sure to check out our team pages on the Lakers and Clippers for more on Los Angeles’ two teams.
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2021/22 NBA G League Draft Results

October 23rd, 2021 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2021/22 season on Saturday afternoon.

The 28 G League teams affiliated with NBA teams participated in the event, with the G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes sitting it out. The Ignite and Capitanes will be taking part in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup this fall, but won’t be part of the 36-game regular season that tips off in late December.

The first player selected in today’s draft was former St. John’s point guard Shamorie Ponds, who was picked by the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers‘ G League affiliate. Ponds has a little NBA experience, having appeared in four games as a rookie in 2019/20 while on a two-way contract with Toronto.

Among the other notable picks were Nate Darling by the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario at No. 5 and LiAngelo Ball by the Greensboro Swarm at No. 14. Last week, the Clippers and Hornets signed and waived Darling and Ball, respectively, in an effort to secure their affiliate rights, but were unable to get those rights for procedural reasons. The two teams had to use the draft to make sure they landed those players.

The Knicks also signed and waived veteran guard Brandon Knight during the preseason and were unable to get his affiliate rights due to a procedural issue. However, Westchester passed on Knight with the No. 4 overall pick today, and the Heat‘s affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, snatched him up at No. 6. We’ll see if Knight is no longer in the Knicks’ plans or if the Skyforce intend to trade his rights to Westchester.

Lance Stephenson to the Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets) at No. 13 and Dwyane Wade‘s son Zaire Wade to the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) at No. 10 were a couple of the other notable picks that played out as expected.

Here are the full 2021/22 G League draft results:

Round One:

  1. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Shamorie Ponds
  2. College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Tyler Hagedorn
  3. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Gabe York
  4. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Turner
  5. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Nate Darling
  6. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon Knight
  7. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Eddie Stansberry
  8. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Jaylen Johnson
  9. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Michael Gbinije
  10. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Zaire Wade
  11. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Loudon Love
  12. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Alan Griffin
  13. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Lance Stephenson
  14. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): LiAngelo Ball
  15. Lakeland Magic (Magic): TJ Haws
  16. Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): B.J. Taylor
  17. Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Scottie Lindsey
  18. Maine Celtics (Celtics): Isaiah Ross
  19. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Ruot Monyyong
  20. Lakeland Magic (Magic): Marlon Stewart
  21. Stockton Kings (Kings): Joe Young
  22. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Samir Doughty
  23. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Chudier Bile
  24. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Rodney Pryor
  25. Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Tim Bond
  26. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Tyree White
  27. Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Montell McRae
  28. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Cullen Russo

Round Two:

  1. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Karim Mane
  2. College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Kalob Ledoux
  3. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Gerard Tarin
  4. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Barra Njie
  5. Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tahj Eaddy
  6. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Trevon Duval
  7. Lakeland Magic (Magic): Gary Chivichyan
  8. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Ryan Daly
  9. Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Keaton Wallace
  10. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Pedro Bradshaw
  11. Austin Spurs (Spurs): Alexis Wangmene
  12. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Ian DuBose
  13. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Mike Smith
  14. Lakeland Magic (Magic): Jaire Grayer
  15. Raptors 905 (Raptors): Blake Francis
  16. Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Jack Pagenkopf
  17. Lakeland Magic (Magic): Devonte Patterson
  18. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Jordan Allen
  19. Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Devearl Ramsey
  20. Long Island Nets (Nets): Chris Walker
  21. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Eric Demers
  22. Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Derrick Griffin
  23. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): JaQuan Lyle
  24. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jachai Taylor
  25. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Lydell Elmore
  26. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Ikenna Ndugba
  27. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Tevin King
  28. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Kammeon Holsey

Round Three:

  1. South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Elijah Cain
  2. College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Landon Taliaferro
  3. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Will Vorhees
  4. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Asante Gist
  5. Stockton Kings (Kings): Princepal Singh
  6. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Trevor John
  7. Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tristan Jarrett
  8. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Devon Baulkman
  9. Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Jaylen Bland
  10. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): J.C. Show
  11. Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
  12. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): No pick
  13. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Joel Ntambwe
  14. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
  15. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Lamonte Bearden
  16. Stockton Kings (Kings): No pick
  17. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
  18. Maine Celtics (Celtics): Lindsey Drew
  19. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Artur Labinowicz
  20. Long Island Nets (Nets): Jaylen Fisher
  21. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Randy Onwuasor
  22. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Seth Allen
  23. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jovan Mooring
  24. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jermaine Haley
  25. Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Kerwin Roach
  26. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Isaiah Blackmon
  27. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Marlon Taylor
  28. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Jimond Ivey

Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning-rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).

G League training camps open on Monday, with the Showcase Cup tournament tipping off on November 5.

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Cap/Contract Notes: Taxpayers, Allen, Carter, Shamet, Gafford

October 19th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Now that all 30 regular season rosters have been set, 10 teams project to be taxpayers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Warriors, Nets, Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, Jazz, Sixers, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Raptors are currently over the luxury tax threshold.

Some of those teams are in better shape than others. While the Warriors ($159.9MM) and Nets ($110.4MM) project to have nine-figure tax bills, the Raptors are barely into tax territory and should be able to sneak below the line, perhaps by waiving one of their two players who have partially guaranteed deals.

Besides Golden State and Brooklyn, the Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Jazz all have projected tax bills exceeding $33MM, according to Marks. The Sixers, Celtics, Blazers, and Raptors would owe less than $8MM each based on the current numbers.

Of course, these numbers can and will change over the course of the season as teams make roster moves, since tax bills are determined by the team’s year-end salary. For now though, the 20 non-taxpayers project to receive year-end payments of $12.7MM, Marks notes.

Here are a few more cap- and contract-related notes from around the NBA:

  • Grayson Allen‘s two-year extension with the Bucks features a base value of $17MM ($8.5MM per year) in guaranteed money, plus incentives, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The exact value of the incentives is $1.275MM annually, Hoops Rumors has learned. Currently, those are a mix of likely and unlikely bonuses, but since the deal doesn’t begin until 2022/23, those likely/unlikely designations will ultimately be based on what happens this coming season.
  • Wendell Carter Jr.‘s four-year extension with the Magic has a descending structure, Scotto tweets. It starts at $14.15MM in year one and dips to $10.85MM by year four. The deal is fully guaranteed, with no options.
  • In addition to having a team option on its fourth year, Landry Shamet‘s extension with the Suns has a non-guaranteed salary in year three, Hoops Rumors has learned. The last two years both have June 29 trigger dates, in 2024 and 2025. Only $19.75MM of Shamet’s $42.5MM deal is fully guaranteed for now.
  • Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension with the Wizards doesn’t include any options or incentives, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic.
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Pacific Notes: Bradley, Bagley, Hartenstein, Lakers

October 18th, 2021 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green had been in favor of keeping Avery Bradley on the team’s roster to open the regular season, sources tell Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. As Thompson notes, Bradley didn’t have a great preseason for Golden State, but the team’s veterans liked the fact that he has significant playoff experience.

According to Thompson, there was even a sense from some people within the organization that Bradley could be a good fit in the Warriors’ starting lineup until Klay Thompson returns, since he’d be capable of handling tougher defensive assignments that Jordan Poole may not be ready for. With Poole in the starting lineup, it might fall to Curry to defend an opponent’s top guard.

Rather than hanging onto Bradley, the Warriors appear set to open the regular season with an open 15th roster spot. However, the team could choose to fill that opening at any time.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • League sources confirm to Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link) that no rookie scale extension is expected for Kings big man Marvin Bagley III today. That comes as no surprise, given that Bagley has been the subject of trade rumors and has been limited to 56 games over the last two seasons due to foot and hand injuries.
  • The Clippers liked what they saw in camp from Harry Giles, whom Tyronn Lue referred to as “definitely an NBA player,” but they believed Isaiah Hartenstein is a better fit for their roster, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. “He did a good job, he played well, kind of came in and fit in right away with his passing and being able to get guys shots and backdoor cuts for layups and things like that,” Lue said of Hartenstein, who beat out Giles for the 15th spot on the opening-night roster.
  • It remains a mystery which two players will start for the Lakers alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook on opening night on Tuesday. Head coach Frank Vogel told reporters today that he has made a decision, but doesn’t want to disclose it yet (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
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Clippers Sign, Waive Nate Darling

October 16th, 2021 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have signed and waived former Hornets guard Nate Darling, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Once he clears waivers, Darling appears headed to L.A’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

Darling, 23, spent last season as a two-way player in Charlotte. He only got into seven NBA games, but he averaged 8.9 points and 2.2 assists in 13 games in the G League bubble in Orlando.

Darling signed with the Hornets after going undrafted out of Delaware last year. He played four seasons for the Fightin’ Blue Hens and earned Colonial Athletic Association first-team honors as a senior.

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Clippers Waive Harry Giles

October 16th, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by JD Shaw

The Clippers have waived big man Harry Giles, the team announced today. The move allows center Isaiah Hartenstein to make the 15-man roster, as both players were competing for the club’s final roster spot on non-guaranteed training camp deals.

Giles, 23, was drafted with the No. 20 pick in 2017. He’s held brief stints with the Kings, Blazers and Clippers since then, averaging 5.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 12.9 minutes for his career.

Hartenstein, also 23, is expected to add depth behind Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka in the Clippers’ frontcourt this season. He appeared in 16 games with the Cavaliers last season, scoring 8.3 points and grabbing six rebounds per contest.

“Excited. It’s been great so far,” Hartenstein said, adding that he learned of the move today (hat tip Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. “I love the organization so far.”

The Clippers open the season on the road against Golden State on Thursday. Los Angeles will start the campaign without Kawhi Leonard (partial ACL tear rehab), who still doesn’t have a timeline for his return.

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