Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: LeBron, First-Round Picks, Westbrook

July 29th, 2022 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James will become eligible next Thursday to sign a contract extension with the Lakers that could be worth up to a projected $97.1MM over two years, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article. If James doesn’t agree to an extension with Los Angeles, he would remain on track to reach free agency in 2023.

According to Stein, sources briefed on the matter say that James is happy in L.A. and suggest that his family has become “increasingly entrenched” in Southern California in recent years. Stein adds that the belief in league circles is that LeBron is unlikely to seriously consider leaving the Lakers unless he has the opportunity to play with his son Bronny James elsewhere beginning in 2024.

Once James becomes extension-eligible next week, he and the Lakers won’t be facing any sort of deadline in the near future — he’d remain extension-eligible all the way up until June 30, 2023, and could agree to a new one- or two-year contract at any time before then to avoid free agency. So if the two sides don’t strike a deal immediately, it shouldn’t necessarily be a cause for concern.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Within the same Substack story, Stein writes that seemingly no potential trade partners want to make a deal with the Lakers unless they can get both of L.A.’s tradable first-round picks (2027 and 2029). Based on reporting to date, Stein’s claim presumably applies to at least the Nets with Kyrie Irving and the Pacers with Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. According to Stein, the Lakers have thus far only shown a willingness to move one of those two first-rounders in any deal — and they’ll likely look to add at least some protections to any pick they move.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report spoke to a handful of league insiders about what the Lakers should do with Russell Westbrook and received a wide range of opinions. Those sources were split on how aggressive the team should be in trying to make a preseason trade and how many picks they’d attach to Westbrook. As Pincus writes, some of his sources think L.A. should let Westbrook stay away from the team if he’s still a Laker this fall, while others believe he can still salvage some on-court value for his current club.
In case you missed it, there are five Lakers players who can’t be traded until at least December 15. We shared that full list earlier today.

Lakers Notes: Anthony, Reaves, Bryant, Westbrook, Handy

July 27th, 2022 at 7:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Carmelo Anthony may return to the Lakers for another season, but a decision isn’t expected quickly, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy. Like many NBA veterans, Anthony’s status is on hold while teams wait to see what happens with this summer’s trade rumors.

“They have a lot to sort out obviously,” an unidentified general manager said of the Lakers. “But as more things get set, they’ll probably get back around to bringing him in. It’s just, at this point, you don’t know what might happen with (Russell) Westbrook and whether you might need to take on players, so you see that around the league a lot — teams have 10, 11, 12 players signed and there’s no hurry to fill in the last spots until you see how the other stuff plays out.”

A return to the Knicks has been mentioned as a possibility for Anthony, and Deveney sees the Nets as a potential landing spot as well. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving reportedly wanted Brooklyn to sign Anthony when they joined the team in 2019, and adding him to the roster might be a way to mollify them if they’re both still with the Nets when training camp opens. The GM also mentions the Warriors, who would give Anthony his best chance to win a ring before he retires.

There’s more on the Lakers:

Austin Reaves has a strong case for a starting spot heading into camp, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Reaves will need to improve his outside shooting, but he can serve as a secondary ball-handler and his defensive abilities make him an ideal backcourt mate for Westbrook, Buha adds. He also notes that Thomas Bryant could become a starter if L.A. is determined to play Anthony Davis at power forward rather than center.
Westbrook will face a “moment of truth” if the Lakers can’t find a way to trade him, states Dan Devine of The Ringer. If Westbrook plays another season in L.A., he’ll either have to adapt to a different role or get out of the way of his star teammates, Devine adds.
Assistant coach Phil Handy recently signed an extension with the Lakers, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Handy had been heading into the final year of his contract.

Lakers Sign Jay Huff To Exhibit 10 Contract

July 27th, 2022 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have officially signed big man Jay Huff to an Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Huff, who went undrafted out of Virginia in 2021, spent the first couple months of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Lakers and appeared in four NBA games before being waived. The 7’1″ center continued to play for the South Bay Lakers in the G League after being released by the NBA team, averaging 15.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.5 BPG in 28 regular season NBAGL games, all starts (25.9 MPG).

Huff suited up for the Lakers’ Summer League teams in San Francisco and Las Vegas this summer and played well, averaging 10.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 3.0 BPG in four appearances (18.4 MPG).

The Lakers now have 19 players under contract. Of those, 12 have guaranteed deals, two (Austin Reaves and Wenyen Gabriel) have standard non-guaranteed contracts, and two (Cole Swider and Scotty Pippen Jr.) are on two-way deals. Huff joins Fabian White and Javante McCoy as the players on Exhibit 10 pacts.

Trade Rumors: Brown, Nets, Durant, Celtics, Lakers, Turner

July 25th, 2022 at 7:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jaylen Brown‘s name suddenly popped up in trade rumors as the centerpiece of a proposed deal for the Nets’ Kevin Durant. The Celtics wing offered a three-letter response of “smh” (shaking my head) on Twitter.

Quoting a source, longtime Celtics beat writer Mark Murphy (Twitter link) reports that Brown “loves it in Boston. He was two games away from a championship. He’s happy and looking forward to coming back. … Like (previous trade rumors involving) Kawhi (Leonard), AD (Anthony Davis) and others on that level, he’s going to be included in every report because of who he is.”

We have more trade chatter to pass along:

It’s unlikely the Nets would actually deal away Durant to the Celtics for another reason, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix tweets — they’d prefer not to trade him to a chief rival.
While the news of the Celtics’ interest in Durant seems like a new development, they’ve actually been involved in trade talks for a while, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marottaon (hat tip to Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Sports). “I know that (reports of Boston’s interest) came out today so it’s front of mind, but from what I understand those are not fresh talks,” Windhorst said, adding that he doesn’t think the Nets are actively engaged in Durant negotiations at the moment.
While the Lakers’ interest in Pacers center Myles Turner is genuine, they’re reluctant to sacrifice an unprotected first-rounder for him, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack mailbag post. Turner is in his walk year and could leave the Lakers after one season in free agency next summer, barring an extension.

Jazz, Knicks, Pacers Have Talked To Lakers About Westbrook

July 25th, 2022 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz, Knicks, and Pacers are among the teams that have spoken to the Lakers about possible trades involving point guard Russell Westbrook and draft assets, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Lakers don’t appear to be close to making a deal with any of those teams, according to Charania, who notes that Westbrook trade talks could continue to take place over the remaining couple months of the offseason.

Because the cap hit on Westbrook’s expiring contract is so substantial ($47MM+), any team that acquires him would almost certainly have to send out at least two sizable contracts of its own. And since few teams can put together a package to match Westbrook’s salary without including at least one productive rotation player, potential trade partners are asking the Lakers for draft compensation in return for taking on Westbrook, who is coming off a disappointing year in Los Angeles.

The Lakers and Pacers have reportedly spoken about Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, but L.A. has been unwilling to meet Indiana’s asking price, which is believed to be two first-round picks. According to Bob Kravitz of The Athletic, the Lakers offered Westbrook, one first-rounder, and two second-round selections for Hield and Turner.

While they continue to gauge Donovan Mitchell‘s value on the trade market, the Jazz could offer some combination of veterans like Mike Conley ($22.68MM), Bojan Bogdanovic ($19.55MM), Jordan Clarkson ($13.34MM), and Rudy Gay ($6.18MM) in a deal for Westbrook and draft picks. Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley are also potential Utah trade candidates who have eight-figure cap hits, though neither can be aggregated in a trade until September 6.

The Knicks’ possible high-priced trade candidates, meanwhile, include Julius Randle ($23.76MM), Evan Fournier ($18MM), Derrick Rose ($14.52MM), and Cam Reddish ($5.95MM), though the team would be more willing to move some of those players than others, and wouldn’t want to compromise its pursuit of Mitchell by jumping the gun on a separate deal involving Westbrook.

Marc Stein previously reported that Utah and New York were both considered by league executives to be possible landing spots for Westbrook. However, Stein suggested that the Jazz and Knicks were probably only viable trade partners for the Lakers if a Mitchell trade got done first — especially if Mitchell ended up in New York.

The thinking among those execs, Stein explained, is that the Knicks may look to move Randle and his long-term contract if they acquire Mitchell. The Jazz, on the other hand, would presumably be pivoting to a full-scale rebuild and would be open to trading more veterans for draft assets and cap flexibility if Mitchell is no longer on their roster.

It’s unclear if any of the Jazz, Knicks, or Pacers would keep Westbrook on their roster if they were to acquire him, or if they’d simply buy him out. Draft picks and/or future cap room would be the main motivators for any team trading for Westbrook.

Rasheed Wallace Not Joining Lakers’ Coaching Staff

July 25th, 2022 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

After initially reporting in early June that Rasheed Wallace was on track to join the Lakers‘ coaching staff as one of new head coach Darvin Ham‘s assistants, Shams Charania of The Athletic says that’s no longer happening. Wallace won’t be part of Ham’s staff after all, according to Charania.

Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported on Friday (via Twitter) that Wallace was “very unlikely” to become a Lakers assistant.

Wallace, who played for six NBA teams from 1995-2013, made four All-Star teams and won a championship during that time, compiling more than 16,000 career points and over 7,400 career rebounds. He has done a little coaching since retiring, including with the Pistons in 2013/14 and as an assistant with the University of Memphis in ’21/22.

Ham and Wallace were teammates in Detroit for parts of two seasons in 2004 and 2005, winning a title together in ’04.

Ham confirmed in June that Wallace was a candidate for an assistant coaching role with the Lakers — it’s unclear why it didn’t work out. Perhaps either Wallace or the Lakers decided to go in another direction before talks got serious, or maybe the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on Wallace’s role and/or financial compensation.

Darvin Ham, Malik Monk Express Confidence In Lakers' Future

July 24th, 2022 at 9:45pm CST by JD Shaw

New Lakers coach Darvin Ham is confident he can lead the team back to contention, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. As Washburn notes, Celtics coach Ime Udoka recently guided Boston to the NBA Finals in his first season with the team, which is something Ham hopes to do.

“Coming from Milwaukee, I’ve seen alignment between ownership, front office, and head coach and coaching staff, and the one thing (Lakers VP of basketball operations) Rob (Pelinka) and I decided is we needed a team that was more athletic and we need more shooting,” Ham said about the team’s offseason additions.

To this point, the Lakers have added Lonnie Walker IV, Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones, Troy Brown Jr. and Juan Toscano-Anderson this offseason. The team also drafted Max Christie at No. 35 overall. Los Angeles still has one open spot on its 15-man roster.

Along with Ham, former Lakers guard Malik Monk also expressed optimism that the team could turn it around, as relayed by TMZ Sports. Monk played 76 games with Los Angeles last season, averaging 13.8 points per contest on 39% shooting from deep. The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Kings this month.

Lakers Officially Sign Javante McCoy, Fabian White Jr. To Exhibit 10 Deals

July 24th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers have officially signed undrafted players Javante McCoy and Fabian White Jr. to Exhibit 10 contracts, the team announced on social media today (Twitter link). Both agreements were reported shortly after the draft last month.

McCoy, a 6’5″ guard, averaged an impressive 17.4 points per game for Boston University last season. He also shot a scorching 49.5% from the floor and 42.5% from three-point range.

White, a 6’8″ forward, played five seasons at Houston before declaring for the draft. He averaged 12.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season, shooting 49% from the floor.

McCoy and White both played for the Lakers during the Las Vegas Summer League. So far, they are the only players Los Angeles has signed to Exhibit 10 deals. McCoy and White could compete for a spot in training camp or play for the team’s G League affiliate this season.

The Lakers have now filled 18 spots on their 20-man offseason roster.

Max Christie Has Been On The Lakers' Radar For A Long Time

July 23rd, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

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.

Scotto’s Latest: Muhammad, Murray, Chandler, Maine Celtics

July 22nd, 2022 at 5:18pm CST by Rory Maher

Former lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad is expected to be among the veteran free agents the Lakers host for workouts, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The 14th selection of the 2013 draft, Muhammad has been attempting an NBA comeback after being out of the league since 2018. He recently worked out for the Kings and said the Mavericks have shown some interest as well.

Still only 29 years old, Muhammad holds career averages of 9.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .473/.319/.751 shooting in 278 games (17.2 MPG). He played in China for a couple seasons after his NBA departure, and last season appeared in a pair of G League games during the Showcase Cup before joining a team in the Philippines.

Here are a few more notes from Scotto:

Jamal Murray is expected to make his return at the beginning of next season for the Nuggets after missing all of 2021/22 with a torn ACL. He called the prolonged absence a “learning experience and a test of patience,” but he’s ready to be a difference-maker next season. “A championship mindset, a winning attitude, and raising everybody’s level of play,” Murray replied when Scotto asked what he’d bring to Denver upon his return. “That’s what I do best.”
Former NBA forward Wilson Chandler, who played 12 seasons in the league, has had “exploratory” discussions with the Timberwolves about joining their front office, according to Scotto, who notes that Chandler had four seasons of overlap under new Wolves president Tim Connelly while the two were with the Nuggets. Chandler had a productive career, averaging 12.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG on .443/.341/.770 shooting in 676 games (483 starts, 30.0 MPG).
Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, are promoting Jarell Christian to GM from head coach, while Alex Barlow – Christian’s associate head coach last season – will take his place, sources tell Scotto. Christian was formerly an assistant coach with the Wizards, Scotto notes.