Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers To Waive DeAndre Jordan, Sign D.J. Augustin

February 28th, 2022 at 6:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are waiving DeAndre Jordan and are signing free agent guard D.J. Augustin. They also plan to sign forward Wenyen Gabriel to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team had been seeking depth at the point behind Russell Westbrook.

Jordan played nine minutes in the blowout loss to New Orleans on Sunday but has seen limited action over the last two months. Overall, Jordan averaged 4.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 12.8 MPG in 32 games with the Lakers on a veteran’s minimum contract.

Jordan may not be out of work for long. The Sixers will aggressively pursue Jordan, either via a waiver claim or after he clears waivers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Augustin, meanwhile, was waived by the Rockets at the trade deadline. The 5’11” point guard, a 14-year NBA veteran, averaged 5.4 PPG, 2.2 APG and 1.2 RPG across 15.0 in 34 contests with Houston this season. Augustin, who has logged 955 regular-season games, will be playing for his 11th team.

Gabriel has spent time with the Nets, Clippers and Pelicans in 2021/22. All of his NBA contracts during this season were 10-day deals under the hardship provision.

Gabriel, who was waived by the Bucks during training camp, has played in seven NBA games this season — six for the Clippers and one for the Nets. The 24-year-old didn’t play at all during his most recent 10-day deal with New Orleans, but appeared in 21 games for the Pelicans last season. Overall, he has 58 career NBA appearances.

Los Angeles has Mason Jones and Sekou Doumbouya on two-way deals, so one of those players must be waived to make room for Gabriel.

Lakers’ Struggles Create Draft-Pick Drama For Grizzlies, Pelicans

February 28th, 2022 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers hit a new low on Sunday night, suffering a blowout home loss to the Pelicans in which they were booed repeatedly by the crowd at Crypto.com Arena, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. It was the ninth loss in 12 games for an L.A. team that is now 27-33 on the season and only has a 2.5-game lead on the 11th-place Trail Blazers.

As McMenamin observes, it won’t get any easier this week for the Lakers, who face the Mavericks on Tuesday, the Clippers on Thursday, and the Warriors on Saturday. The Lakers are 1-5 against those teams so far this season, narrowly squeaking out an overtime victory in mid-December over a Dallas squad that was missing Luka Doncic.

As Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, LeBron James was among the Lakers who had no answers after Sunday’s performance. Russell Westbrook, who had one assist and seven turnovers on Sunday, hypothesized that teams are giving a little extra effort in games against the reeling Lakers.

“Teams are coming in, playing harder, and I believe that’s kind of their scouting report: Just play harder than them and see what happens,” Westbrook said, per McMenamin. “And it’s working. Until we determine and have the determination that we’re not going to allow it, especially on our home floor, it will continue to happen to us.”

The Lakers are expected to be without Anthony Davis for a few more weeks and are currently 3.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Clippers. If they can’t move into the top eight of the Western Conference by the end of the season, they’ll have to win two games in a play-in tournament to even qualify for the playoffs.

The Lakers’ increasingly disappointing season is likely being monitored closely for draft-related reasons by two Western Conference rivals, the Pelicans and Grizzlies. New Orleans acquired the Lakers’ unprotected 2022 first-round pick in the Davis blockbuster in 2019, then flipped it to Memphis in last summer’s Jonas Valanciunas deal.

When the Pelicans traded the Lakers’ 2022 first-rounder to the Grizzlies, they added top-10 protection to it, so New Orleans will get the pick if it falls between No. 1 and No. 10. If it lands between 11 and 30, Memphis will receive it. It seemed like a pretty safe bet entering the season that the pick would end up in the back half of the first round, but that’s far from a sure thing now, as John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link) and others have noted.

If the season ended today and the Lakers didn’t earn a playoff spot in the play-in tournament, they’d likely enter the draft lottery in a tie for the No. 11 spot, as our reverse standings show. That would give them only an 8.5% chance of moving into the top four, so the Grizzlies would still feel relatively confident about their chances of holding onto the pick in that scenario.

However, this situation could change quickly. If the Lakers are passed in the standings by at least one more team, their pick may well end up in the top 10 even without any lottery luck, which would be great news for the Pelicans. Incidentally, New Orleans looks like the team with the best odds of passing the Lakers — there’s currently a 2.5-game gap between the two clubs, and the Pels have looked better since acquiring CJ McCollum.

It’s also worth noting that even if the Lakers hang onto the No. 9 spot in the West, a pair of play-in wins by the West’s No. 10 seed would move that team out of the draft lottery, pushing L.A. up one spot in the lottery standings.

At this point, it doesn’t matter much to the Lakers which team gets their lottery pick — they won’t keep it in any scenario. But it’s a major storyline worth following for the Pelicans and Grizzlies, two teams that could really benefit from having another lottery selection.

If the pick ends up in the top 10 and the Pelicans keep it, they’ll send Cleveland’s 2022 second-rounder and their own 2025 second-rounder to Memphis. If the pick ends up between 11-30 and the Grizzlies get it, New Orleans won’t get anything.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Kings, LeBron, Rich Paul

February 27th, 2022 at 3:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors wing Klay Thompson sourced input from a variety of his NBA colleagues across the league, past and present, while rehabilitating from back-to-back season-ending injuries, writes Mark Medina of NBA.com. Thompson tore his ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals, and subsequently tore his Achilles while ramping up for the 2020/21 season.

“So many people count you out when you go through an injury like this,” Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins, who consulted with Thompson, told Medina. “You know your heart. You just got to stay focused, diligent and tough. You can get back from this.”

Wilkins suffered an Achilles tear while playing for the Hawks, but ultimately returned to his All-Star form afterwords.

Thompson also maintained a dialogue over text with former Warriors teammate Kevin Durant, now with the Nets. Durant tore his Achilles while with Golden State during the 2019 postseason.

“It’s inspiring to watch him and see him look the exact same way prior to the injury,” Thompson said in praising his teammate. “It’s a testament not only to his willpower but his skill level. He might lose a little quickness or a little bounce. But you’ll never lose the ability to put the ball in the hole.”

The 31-year-old five-time All-Star also spoke with Grant Hill and Rudy Gay about their own recoveries from major injuries. Thompson is averaging 17.1 PPG with a reduced minutes load this season as he continues to work his way back, hoping to reclaim his All-Star form come playoff time.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Given that the perpetually rebuilding Kings cannot necessarily rely on big-ticket free agency additions as a small market franchise, Chris Binderman of the Sacramento Bee wonders if Sacramento could benefit from taking a page out of the Nuggets‘ playbook when it comes to adding and developing talent.
The 27-32 Lakers find themselves facing an uncertain future after going all-in on Russell Westbrook in a trade this summer. Although LeBron James appeared to voice his relative apathy about a long-term future in Los Angeles during the 2022 All-Star Weekend festivities, he has since expressed his commitment to the team. When Bill Oram of The Athletic openly hypothesized that James might not want to remain with the Lakers beyond the end of his current deal, James retorted in comments to the press. “Anytime Bill says anything about the Lakers it’s going to be negative,” James said. “So, I hope no one in the Lakers faithful listens to Bill Oram. I hope not. He hasn’t said one great thing about the Lakers in so long.” In a new piece for The Athletic, Oram opines that James himself was responsible for the latest rumblings.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, GM Rob Pelinka, and James’ longtime agent Rich Paul met this week to discuss everyone’s feelings surrounding their team-building strategy. Sam Amick of The Athletic provides more details on the group’s conversation.

LeBron Clears Air, Wants To Stay With Lakers For “As Long As I Can Play”

February 26th, 2022 at 7:38am CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James reiterated his desire to finish out his career with the Lakers and said he doesn’t “push the buttons” when it comes to personnel decisions, as he told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and other media members after the team’s loss to the Clippers on Friday night.

James is under contract for one more season and will be eligible to sign a two-year extension this summer.

“This is a franchise I see myself being with. I’m here. I’m here,” James said. “I see myself being with the Purple and Gold as long as I can play.”

James raised a lot of eyebrows with his comments during All-Star weekend that he wouldn’t close the door on a possible return to Cleveland. He also stirred the pot by heaping praise on Thunder general manager Sam Presti for his ability to identify talent.

James also expressed his desire in an interview with The Athletic to eventually play with his 17-year-old son, Bronny. However, James said Friday he hopes that will occur in L.A.

“I also have a goal that, if it’s possible — I don’t even know if it’s possible — that if I can play with my son, I would love to do that,” he said. “Is that, like, something that any man shouldn’t want that in life? That’s like the coolest thing that could possibly happen. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with this franchise.”

Bronny would not be eligible to play in the NBA until the 2024/25 season.

In terms of his relationship with the front office, James said his comments about Presti were not a potshot toward GM Rob Pelinka.

“If I comment [on] or compliment the GM that’s in OKC — I really believe he’s done a phenomenal job. And you guys spin that to me saying that Rob is not doing a great job,” James said.

Super-agent Rich Paul, whose agency represents James and Anthony Davis, met with Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss on Tuesday in what could be characterized as a clear-the-air session.

Pelinka consults his superstars regarding potential moves, including the Russell Westbrook trade with Washington that contributed significantly to the Lakers’ poor season. There were also reports James and Davis were unhappy the front office stood pat at the trade deadline.

James says he doesn’t have final say on trades.

“I don’t push the buttons,” James said. “They ask for my opinion, and I voice my opinion and what I believe. But I don’t press any buttons. That’s what our front office is for, and that’s what our leadership group is for.”

He also feels the influence that he and his representative have within the franchise sparks jealousy.

“I mean, I think a lot of people are, to be honest, just jealous of the relationship that Rich has with the front office and with this team and with the relationship that I have, that I’ve grown over the last four years. I mean, that’s what I think it boils down to,” he said.

Westbrook Looking To Hold Fort Without AD

February 25th, 2022 at 9:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers will have to go without Anthony Davis again for several weeks due to a foot injury. Russell Westbrook says he’s mentally preparing for Davis’ absence, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. “For me, I already kind of (adjusted my) mentality, changed my mindset a little bit knowing kind of what to be expected,” he said. “Our job is to hold it down until he gets back.”

Rich Paul Meets With Lakers’ Brass, Assures Team LeBron Wants To Stay In L.A.

February 25th, 2022 at 6:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James wants to remain with the Lakers and he and his representatives are not insisting on front office changes, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

James’ representative, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, met with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka on Tuesday, and expressed LeBron’s desire to remain with the team beyond this season. James is eligible for an extension this offseason.

Paul also stressed that there’s no push from his side for management changes and that there’s shared accountability, as Wojnarowski described it, for the team’s disappointing season.

James and Klutch Sports were reportedly upset with Pelinka for standing pat at the trade deadline.

Paul also spoke to Buss and Pelinka of James’ desire to finish off the season as strong as possible and then seek to upgrade the roster in the offseason.

Paul’s agency also represents Anthony Davis, who is out several weeks due to a foot injury.

James raised a lot of eyebrows with his comments during All-Star weekend that he wouldn’t close the door on a possible return to Cleveland. He also stirred the pot by heaping praise on Thunder general manager Sam Presti for his ability to identify talent.

Injury Updates On Nunn, Davis, Anthony

February 25th, 2022 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel shared a series of injury-related updates on Thursday, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Most notably, Kendrick Nunn (knee) has begun his ramp-up process again following a setback last month, Anthony Davis (foot) is off his crutches, and Carmelo Anthony (hamstring) is probable to return on Friday after missing the team’s last five games.

Lakers Notes: James, Davis, Pelinka, Identity

February 24th, 2022 at 6:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James needs to offer the Lakers a commitment before they decide what to do with him and the roster in general this offseason, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. James is eligible for a two-year extension after the season but otherwise would become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023. If James is intent on returning to Cleveland, their trade options would be limited, similar to what happened in Brooklyn when James Harden expressed his desire to play in Philadelphia.

We have more on the Lakers:

Trading James is the Lakers’ only viable path to success in the coming years, according to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, who contends that LeBron’s trade value offers the greatest rewards for the lowest risk, since no team wants Russell Westbrook‘s contract and declining production while Anthony Davis presents major injury concerns for would-be suitors. James could be a worthwhile one-year rental for a top contender and the Lakers could acquire some badly needed young talent.
James has wielded more power within the Lakers than Kobe Bryant ever did, sources inside the organization told Bill Oram of The Athletic. James and agent Rich Paul are putting the squeeze on GM Rob Pelinka and the front office with tensions at an all-time high. The Lakers’ front office doesn’t want to squabble with James, Oram adds, and Pelinka has insisted internally that there are no hard feelings between the two sides.
The season has gone too far along and there’s too many deficiencies for the Lakers to establish a positive identity the rest of the way, scouts told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Pelinka, Rich Paul, Westbrook

February 22nd, 2022 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James‘ comments during All-Star Weekend sent a strong message to the Lakers that they need to improve quickly, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. James, who is under contract for just one more season, hinted at a possible return to Cleveland and said he wants to play the final season of his career for whichever team drafts his son, Bronny. He also heaped praise on Thunder general manager Sam Presti for his ability to identify talent, leaving an unspoken contrast with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who James and Klutch Sports are reportedly upset with for standing pat at the trade deadline.

Woike states that all the young All-Stars on display in Sunday’s game were a reminder that many teams have surpassed the Lakers when it comes to the level of talent on their rosters. He suggests that unless Pelinka can strike gold with more minimum-salary signings this summer, like he did with Malik Monk, James won’t show much patience when he hits free agency.

There’s more on the Lakers:

Rich Paul, who runs Klutch Sports, told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on Monday that he never urged Pelinka to trade Russell Westbrook and a future first-round pick to the Rockets for John Wall (hat tip to Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll). Wall, a Klutch client who hasn’t played this season under a mutual agreement with Houston’s management, has a $44.3MM contract that matches up with Westbrook’s salary. According to Smith, Paul called the report a “damn lie” and said, “There is no truth. It never happened.”
L.A. probably won’t find a much better market for a Westbrook deal this summer, per Marc Stein of Substack. Westbrook will have a $47MM expiring contract once he exercises his option for next season, and Stein doesn’t expect the offers to be better than Wall’s expiring deal or a collection of bad contracts from the Knicks.
There’s no willingness among the leaders of the Lakers’ organization to accept responsibility for the decisions that led to this year’s downfall, observes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Front office members have taken turns denying their role in the decision to trade for Westbrook, Goon adds, and James has deflected his own involvement in the move.

Lakers Notes: Monk, LeBron, Handy

February 21st, 2022 at 9:58pm CST by Rory Maher

Malik Monk has found redemption and a home with the Lakers, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. It’s an interesting, in-depth profile/interview with the 24-year-old guard and his older brother Marcus, a former NFL player, who serves as Monk’s agent.

As Buha relays, Monk had a bumpy road with Charlotte and his value was depressed due to inconsistent play and violating the league’s anti-drug program in 2019/20. The Lakers tried to trade for Monk in ’19/20 and ’20/21, but the Hornets didn’t budge and said Monk was part of their future.

After the Hornets refused to trade him, Monk was then surprised that they didn’t tender him a qualifying offer or re-sign him last summer after he had the best season of his career to that point. Those moves further hurt his reputation around the league, according to Buha.

“Teams don’t have access to all the information on the character of a person and who the person is,” Marcus said. “They’re not in the locker rooms. … I think all of that stuff played into why there wasn’t much interest. And, from me looking at it as if I’m the other 29 teams, I don’t blame them. … All of those things needed to happen. If those things wouldn’t have happened, he would be in the mindset that he’s in right now.

“He’s literally trying to kill every time he touches the floor. Because there are 29 other teams that had the opportunity to sign him.”

Monk thought he’d receive several multiyear offers above the league minimum, but only the Lakers and Mavericks called and offered him a minimum deal. He chose the Lakers because VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka‘s pitch was both flattering and compelling to a young player looking for a consistent role.

“The Lakers just let me be me,” Monk said. “Let me play free. I’m going out there with a free mind, not worrying about a mistake, and if I’m gonna come out if I make a mistake. They just give me all the confidence to be me.”

Although the Lakers have had a disappointing season, Monk has been a bright spot. He’s averaging career-highs of 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 27.1 minutes per game, with a shooting slash line of .471/.399/.772 through 52 games. Monk will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and it might be a challenge for the Lakers to retain him — they only have his Non-Bird rights, so they’ll be limited to an offer of 120% of his minimum salary.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link) thinks that LeBron James is trying to force L.A. into major offseason moves with his recent comments and actions. James was reportedly unhappy that the team stood pat at the trade deadline and then was further upset by Pelinka’s comments stating that James and Anthony Davis had been consulted and were aligned with the inaction.
In his latest column for Substack, Marc Stein says he isn’t convinced the Lakers will bend to LeBron’s will. As Stein explains, the franchise thinks highly of Pelinka, and James and agent Rich Paul are “still outsiders when it comes to the Lakers’ power dynamics.”
Assistant coach Phil Handy says James has always done his best to create cohesion with teammates. “His approach has always been about, ‘Let me embrace the guys that are around me and how can we figure out ways to win? How can we figure out ways to get better?’ He’s always been a guy that is all in with whoever is in uniform with him,” Handy said, per Mark Medina of NBA.com.