Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Payne, Booker, Covington, Augustin

March 2nd, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

With Chris Paul injured and Devin Booker in health and safety protocols, the Suns were happy to welcome Cameron Payne back tonight, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Payne, who injured his right wrist on January 22, was in the starting lineup as Phoenix hosted the Trail Blazers.

“Just his energy, his energy is contagious,” said Torrey Craig, who was still with the Pacers when Payne got hurt. “He likes to get the crowd into the game. He gets his teammates going. He plays with this level of confidence that teams need.”

After Paul hurt his thumb, coach Monty Williams replaced him in the starting lineup with Cameron Johnson and let Booker run the point. Williams is glad to have a true point guard back with the starters and to see Johnson return to providing instant offense with the second unit.

“It allows for the bench to have a bit more rhythm,” Williams said. “It puts Cam Johnson back into his role on the bench and now he could be the anchor out there as far as scoring. A guy who has been in our rotation and he knows what we’re doing.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The COVID-19 test that Booker took today was inconclusive, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. Booker will be permitted to play if he can produce negative tests two days in a row.
After Tuesday’s game, Clippers forward Robert Covington talked extensively about mental health issues and revealed that he almost quit playing basketball in 2019, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. It happened while he was trying to recover from a knee injury, and Covington claims the Sixers traded him to Minnesota after assuring him that he wouldn’t be moved. Covington now uses his experiences to try to help other players who may be going through difficult times. “I take positives, I take negatives, and I just reevaluate,” he said. “I don’t let them drain my energy. I just assess it in a different manner, to where it helps me. And that’s what I’ll allow myself to get to, because before, I couldn’t do that.”
D.J. Augustin didn’t have much time to prepare after finding out Monday that the Lakers wanted to sign him, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Augustin said he “threw anything in a bag” and caught a flight to L.A. the next day.

Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Vogel, Pelinka, LeBron

March 2nd, 2022 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ struggles in 2021/22 will have ramifications beyond this season, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who says that point guard Russell Westbrook, head coach Frank Vogel, and head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka all have uncertain futures in Los Angeles.

The Lakers didn’t like any of the deals available for Westbrook at this year’s trade deadline, but the two sides have mutual interest in finding the former MVP a new home in the offseason, sources tell Fischer.

Of course, Westbrook’s $47MM salary will make it challenging to find a taker, with one team strategist telling Fischer that his club wouldn’t trade for the veteran guard unless the Lakers were willing to include two first-round picks. However, other team personnel around the league are more confident that Los Angeles will have better luck shopping Westbrook once he’s on an expiring contract this summer, Fischer adds.

According to Fischer, Westbrook gave an “impassioned” speech to Lakers players prior to All-Star weekend, stressing the need to be unified in their push for the postseason. Fischer notes that Westbrook tried to motivate the Wizards in a similar manner last year and it paid off, as the team finished strong and claimed the No. 8 seed in the East. The Lakers haven’t shown signs of turning their season around so far — they’re 1-4 since the All-Star break.

Here’s more from Fischer on the Lakers:

Few people in coaching circles that Fischer has spoken to expect Vogel to hang onto his job with the Lakers for the 2022/23 season. Assuming Vogel is replaced, the expectation is that the franchise would focus on finding an experienced replacement rather than a first-timer, Fischer notes.
While some league insiders aren’t convinced Pelinka will keep his job atop the Lakers’ basketball operations department, Fischer says the team’s general manager still has strong support from key decision-makers within the organization. “His relationship with Kurt [Rambis] and Linda [Rambis] and Jeanie [Buss], it is very much a mom-and-pop shop,” one assistant GM told Bleacher Report.
According to Fischer, there has been “growing speculation” about Omar Wilkes of Klutch Sports emerging as a candidate to replace Pelinka as the Lakers’ GM. However, some of Fischer’s sources dismissed that idea, with a few suggesting that those rumors are being fueled by Wilkes’ competitors at Creative Artists Agency, since Wilkes is competing with CAA to represent top college prospects such as Duke’s Paolo Banchero.
Some rival front offices have griped about the way Pelinka operates in his trade talks with other teams, according to Fischer. Last offseason, the Kings were irritated to learn via media reports – rather than from Pelinka himself – that the Lakers were passing on Buddy Hield to acquire Westbrook, and one GM tells Bleacher Report that Pelinka wasn’t returning some teams’ calls at last month’s trade deadline. “He was an a–hole as an agent,” one assistant GM said to Bleacher Report. “He had the most powerful players and if he wanted the player moved, he would’ve eviscerated you as a staff to get whatever he wanted. You can’t do that to people, and then expect them to work with you when you join their side.”
Addressing the possibility of LeBron James eventually leaving the Lakers to return to Cleveland, Fischer echoes Marc Stein’s belief that the Cavaliers aren’t itching to pursue that scenario. While the Cavs might be open to the idea, they probably wouldn’t want to break up their young core to accommodate LeBron and wouldn’t want to have him “co-piloting personnel decisions,” Fischer writes. James said during All-Star Weekend that “the door’s not closed” on a return to Cleveland, but later stated that he wants to remain with the Lakers for “as long as I can play.”

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Augustin, Gabriel, Nunn

March 2nd, 2022 at 7:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ record fell to 27-34 on Tuesday, as the team entered the fourth quarter with a lead over Dallas but couldn’t hang on and lost by a score of 109-104. Los Angeles, the No. 9 seed in the West, is now just two games ahead of No. 11 Portland for a play-in spot, but Russell Westbrook – who acknowledged that he has to play better – still believes better things are ahead for the club.

“Super confident that we’re going to be all right,” Westbrook said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I’ve got confidence in this group, like I always have. And we can play the best teams. I’m not worried about nobody we have to play. We’ve beaten the best teams; we’ve lost to some of the worst teams. So, our confidence and my confidence in this group is extremely high because I know what we’re capable of when we put our mind to it and do exactly what we need to do on a night-in, night-out basis.”

As McMenamin writes, LeBron James missed some time about a month ago due to swelling in his left knee and said before the All-Star break that he’s still not 100%. However, James has no plans to shut his season down at any point and is committed to waiting until the offseason to rest his knee, sources tell ESPN.

“We still have games to play,” James said after Tuesday’s loss. “Until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under, then I got a chance. So that’s my confidence.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Head coach Frank Vogel is enthusiastic about what newly-signed point guard D.J. Augustin can bring to the team, as Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group relays. “I know his game really well,” Vogel said before Tuesday’s game. “He gets in late tonight – we’ll be able to sit down and talk more in depth about where he fits on our team. But I like what he brings to the table, not just with the off-ball ability, to shoot the basketball and stretch the floor and give our guys more space.”
Vogel also discussed new two-way player Wenyen Gabriel, who was signed on Tuesday along with Augustin. According to the Lakers’ head coach, Gabriel will join the NBA team immediately rather than being assigned to the G League. “The successful stints this year have been with Bron, Russ, (Anthony Davis), and the younger, energetic guys,” Vogel said, per Goon. “So, we’ll have to see what Wenyen brings to the table, but it is possible that he gets into the rotation and plays some.”
While replacing DeAndre Jordan and Sekou Doumbouya with Augustin and Gabriel adds more talent to the Lakers’ roster, the team had a greater need on the wing than at point guard, Jovan Buha of The Athletic opines in his analysis of Tuesday’s roster moves.
Explaining why the Lakers felt comfortable trading away Rajon Rondo earlier in the season if they still needed to sign a veteran point guard later, Vogel said that Rondo was intended to be a third-string backup behind Westbrook and wasn’t a good fit alongside him, whereas Augustin should be able to play with or without Westbrook. “Their skill sets don’t fit,” Vogel said of Rondo and Westbrook (via Goon). “They don’t match on the floor. So (Rondo) was not playing, or when he was playing, he wasn’t a good formula for us.”
There’s still no timeline for injured point guard Kendrick Nunn to make his Lakers debut, Vogel told reporters on Tuesday. “We just don’t know about Kendrick,” he said, according to Goon. “We’re still hopeful that he comes around and is able to ramp up and do it without pain and the MRI comes back where we want to see it. It hasn’t happened yet. Until we see him back on the floor, we need help at that position and that skill set.” Buha believes the signing of Augustin suggests we likely won’t see Nunn this season.

Lakers Officially Complete Roster Moves

March 1st, 2022 at 4:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers have announced in a press release that they have officially signed free agent point guard D.J. Augustin and free agent power forward Wenyen Gabriel, two moves that had previously been announced as being in the works.

Los Angeles opted to waive reserve center DeAndre Jordan, clearing a spot for Augustin on the 15-man roster. Gabriel will replace Sekou Doumbouya on a two-way deal with the club.

The 34-year-old Augustin, most recently with the Rockets earlier this season, will provide a veteran presence backing up starting point guard Russell Westbrook. Augustin was selected with the ninth pick in the 2008 draft out of Texas, six spots behind Westbrook.

The 5’11” vet has previously suited up for the Hornets (back when they were the Bobcats), Pacers, Raptors, Bulls, Pistons, Thunder, Nuggets, Magic, and Bucks, before landing with Houston midway through the 2020/21 season. This season, Augustin averaged 5.4 PPG, 2.2 APG and 1.2 RPG across 34 games (15.0 MPG) in a reduced role for a rebuilding Rockets club.

The reeling Lakers have lost seven of their last 10 games, and currently occupy the Western Conference’s ninth seed with a disappointing 27-33 record. In Augustin, they’ll add a reliable bench option with a solid shooting stroke from deep. For his career, Augustin is connecting on 38% of his 3.4 three-point attempts a night. This season, he is converting 40.6% of his 2.8 looks. Westbrook, meanwhile, is making 29.2% of his 3.4 three-point tries per night.

Gabriel, 24, will be playing for his third team this season, following stints with the Nets and Clippers. Across seven NBA games this season, the 6’9″ Kentucky alum is averaging 6.7 MPG. In 10 contests this season for the Bucks’ NBA G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, Augustin averaged a far more robust 28.3 MPG, as well as 16.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 2.1 BPG.

Bobby Marks of ESPN adds (Twitter link) that Augustin will be earning a $622,467 salary through the rest of the season, with a cap hit of $393,312. That will increase the Lakers’ already-significant projected luxury tax bill to $45MM.

Jordan and Doumbouya are on track to clear waivers on Thursday if they’re not claimed. Both will be playoff-eligible if they join new teams. Jordan is reportedly receiving interest from the Sixers.

Hollinger Questions Why Lakers Didn't Salary-Dump Jordan At Deadline

March 1st, 2022 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link) questions why the Lakers didn’t complete a salary-dump trade involving DeAndre Jordan prior to last month’s deadline if they were just going to eventually waive him anyway. As Hollinger points out, the Lakers could’ve sent out cash with Jordan, essentially paying him another team to take him. Doing so would’ve reduced L.A.’s tax bill by about $5MM, so the team still would’ve come out ahead financially.

Lakers To Waive Sekou Doumbouya, Add Wenyen Gabriel

March 1st, 2022 at 12:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers will open a two-way slot for Wenyen Gabriel by waiving Sekou Doumbouya, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. L.A.’s interest in Gabriel was reported Monday, but the team had to choose between unloading either Doumbouya or fellow two-way player Mason Jones.

Doumbouya, a 21-year-old forward, signed a two-way contract with the Lakers prior to the season, was waived in November, then signed a second two-way deal in January. However, he got into just two NBA games with L.A., logging 16 total minutes. He appeared in 12 games for the team’s G League affiliate in South Bay, averaging 6.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20 minutes per night.

Doumbouya spent his first two seasons with the Pistons, but was traded twice during the offseason and was eventually waived by the Rockets in early October.

Gabriel, 24, signed 10-day contracts this season with the Nets, Clippers and Pelicans during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, playing in seven total games. He has previous NBA experience with the Kings and Trail Blazers, as well as a prior stint with New Orleans.

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.