Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Roster Moves Still Required For Hornets, Spurs

October 17th, 2021 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Nearly every NBA team currently has a roster in compliance with regular season limits — no more than 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

[RELATED: 2021/22 NBA Roster Counts]

However, there are still a couple teams that will need to make at least one cut before Monday’s regular season roster deadline: Charlotte and San Antonio.

The Hornets are carrying 18 players — a pair on two-way contracts, plus 16 on fully guaranteed deals. One of those 16 will have to be traded or released, and while Charlotte could surprise us, Wesley Iwundu looks like the most obvious odd man out. He was included in the summer Devonte’ Graham sign-and-trade deal for salary/cap purposes, and played limited minutes for the Hornets during the preseason.

The Spurs only have 17 players, but just one is on a two-way deal, leaving 16 on guaranteed contracts. Like the Hornets, they’ll have to trade or cut one of those players by Monday. Al-Farouq Aminu is San Antonio’s equivalent of Iwundu, having been acquired in an offseason sign-and-trade (of DeMar DeRozan) for salary-matching purposes. However, his $10MM+ expiring salary could make him a useful midseason trade chip, so the Spurs may be a little more reluctant to waive him now.

Jock Landale, Keita Bates-Diop, and Drew Eubanks are other possibilities, but the Spurs just gave Landale and Bates-Diop guaranteed money earlier this offseason, and Eubanks has taken on a slightly bigger role in each of his three years in San Antonio. Aminu still appears to be the most likely release candidate, but we’ll see today or tomorrow what the Spurs have in mind.

As we explained on Saturday, while most teams completed their roster moves early, the Hornets and Spurs can afford to take an extra day or two to consider their options without any financial ramifications, since they won’t be cutting a player who has a fully non-guaranteed contract.

While Charlotte and San Antonio are the only teams that have to make moves today or tomorrow, we’ll likely see a little more roster shuffling before Monday’s deadline. Players who have been waived by one team might appeal to another club that has an open roster spot or an expendable 15th man. And some teams carrying 15 players may decide to make one more cut to get down to 14.

Additionally, seven teams still have one open two-way contract slot and may look to fill those openings before the season begins. Those clubs are the Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Magic, Suns, Spurs, and Wizards, as our tracker shows.

Lakers Cut Joel Ayayi, Three Others

October 15th, 2021 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have placed four players on waivers, announcing today in a press release that they’ve cut Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Cameron Oliver, and Trevelin Queen.

Brown, Oliver, and Queen were camp invitees who weren’t expected to make the regular season roster, so it comes as no surprise that they were waived. They’ll likely end up joining the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, for the 2021/22 season, tweets Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.

However, Ayayi’s release is more unexpected. The former Gonzaga wing was considered one of this year’s top undrafted free agents and committed to the Lakers shortly after the draft ended in July, but didn’t have a great preseason, making just 1-of-10 shots in five games. He had been on a two-way contract.

The moves leave the Lakers with just 15 players under contract, including 14 on standard deals and one (Sekou Doumbouya) on a two-way pact. The club may not carry a 15th man to start the season, given the tax ramifications, but it’s possible that open two-way slot will be filled sooner rather than later.

Lakers Sign, Waive Frank Mason

October 14th, 2021 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 14: The Lakers have waived Mason, according to the team (Twitter link). He looks like a good candidate to join the South Bay Lakers in the G League.

OCTOBER 13: Mason’s signing is official, the Lakers announced (via Twitter).

OCTOBER 6: The Lakers are signing free agent guard Frank Mason III, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Since the team has an open spot on its 20-man preseason roster, no corresponding move will be required.

Wojnarowski classifies Mason’s deal with the Lakers as a training camp contract. Technically, training camps are over now with the preseason underway, but calling the contract a camp deal simply means it’ll be non-guaranteed, perhaps with Exhibit 10 language included.

Mason, the 34th overall pick in the 2017 draft, has bounced around the NBA a little since beginning his career with the Kings. He has since seen action for the Bucks and Magic, and also signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Philadelphia last December.

In 103 total NBA games, Mason has averaged 6.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 2.0 RPG in 15.7 minutes per contest, with mediocre shooting numbers (.396/.301/.755). However, he had a huge year in the G League in 2019/20, averaging 25.3 PPG with a .502/.428/.815 shooting line in 24 games (30.2 MPG) and earning NBAGL MVP honors.

Los Angeles has just 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, but may not carry a 15th player to start the season. Mason has more NBA experience than L.A.’s other camp invitees and could become the team’s 14th man, though it’s possible the Lakers envision him as a player who will join their G League affiliate rather than one who will make the regular season roster.

Monk, Nunn Closer To Return Than Ellington

October 14th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is hopeful that Malik Monk (groin) and Kendrick Nunn (ankle) will be ready to go by opening night, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group (Twitter links). However, veteran guard Wayne Ellington is dealing with a hamstring strain that makes him more of a question mark for the start of the season.

Lakers Waive Mac McClung

October 13th, 2021 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived former Texas Tech guard Mac McClung, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McClung signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Los Angeles as an undrafted rookie this offseason and played for the team at the Las Vegas Summer League and in the preseason. However, he struggled with his shot, making just 6-of-31 attempts (19.4%) in Vegas and 1-of-7 (14.3%) in three preseason contests.

McClung played two seasons for Georgetown before joining the Red Raiders as a junior. He averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2020/21.

There was a sense that McClung could be a candidate for a two-way contract if he impressed the Lakers this fall, but the club signed Sekou Doumbouya on Tuesday to fill its open two-way slot. McClung’s next step will be with the South Bay Lakers, as he’s expected to be an affiliate player for L.A.’s G League team.

Pacific Notes: Green, Ayton, THT, Clippers

October 12th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wants All-Defensive First Team power forward Draymond Green to shoot more, writes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Simmons reports that, ahead of Golden State’s 2021 preseason, Kerr told Green that he hopes the former three-time All-Star can average two or three three-point looks a night. “If you’re open, let it fly,” Kerr said. Green connected on just 27.0% of his 2.0 attempts per night during the 2020/21 season. He has not shot better than 31% from deep since the 2015/16 season.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Suns center Deandre Ayton has expressed his frustration that he has yet to secure a rookie contract extension with Phoenix, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I love Phoenix, but I’m really disappointed that we haven’t gotten a deal done yet,” Ayton said. “I mean we were two wins (away) from a championship (last season) and I just really want to be respected, to be honest. To be respected like my peers are being respected.” Several players among Ayton’s 2018 draft class, including Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young, Mavericks All-Star point guard Luka Doncic, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nuggets power forward Michael Porter Jr., have been signed to maximum contract extensions this summer. The deadline for Ayton to complete an extension is October 18. Although Ayton initially seemed hopeful to get a deal done ahead of the season, reports last week suggested that talks were at an impasse — a separate report indicated that negotiations were still continuing.
Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker had a surgery to address a right thumb tear, and is set to miss at least the next four weeks of action, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). It was reported that Horton-Tucker injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb earlier this week. This is a significant blow for the Lakers’ perimeter depth. The club has high hopes for Horton-Tucker this season, having inked him to a three-year, $32MM contract during the summer.
Clippers forward Marcus Morris and big man Serge Ibaka are set to rejoin the club for their first full-contact practices following injuries suffered during L.A.’s 2021 playoff run, per Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. “This will be his first opportunity to change ends of the floor, play with some contact, trying to get acclimated to what we are trying to do,” head coach Tyronn Lue said of Morris. “Serge is a great man, he’s happy all the time, I think he’s almost back,” starting center Ivica Zubac said of reserve Ibaka.

Lakers Sign Sekou Doumbouya To Two-Way Deal

October 12th, 2021 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

3:38pm: The Lakers have officially signed Doumbouya to a two-way contract, the team confirmed today (via Twitter).

2:03pm: The Lakers are making progress toward signing free agent forward Sekou Doumbouya to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Doumbouya, 20, was the 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft and spent the first two years of his NBA career in Detroit. However, he struggled to score efficiently during his time with the Pistons, averaging 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .384/.254/.691 shooting in 94 games (17.3 MPG).

The Pistons sent Doumbouya to the Nets in their DeAndre Jordan trade last month, and the young forward was subsequently flipped to the Rockets, who waived him last Thursday. Because Doumbouya only has two years of NBA service under his belt, he remains eligible for a two-way deal.

The Lakers, meanwhile, filled both their two-way slots early in the offseason when they signed undrafted free agents Austin Reaves and Joel Ayayi. However, Reaves has since been promoted to a standard contract, opening up a two-way slot. Camp invitees Mac McClung and Chaundee Brown had been viewed as candidates for that spot, but it appears L.A. will go outside of the organization to fill it.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Westbrook, Bazemore, Cap

October 12th, 2021 at 1:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are considered to be one of the favorites in the West after trading for Russell Westbrook and adding a collection of veteran talent, but they haven’t looked like contenders so far, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. dropped to 0-4 in the preseason with Sunday’s 29-point loss to the Suns, and Anthony Davis admitted that having so many new players creates adjustment issues that could linger into the start of the regular season.

“We want to be good, but we don’t want to skip steps. You can’t rush the process of what we’re trying to do and win championships,” he said. “We know, possibly, there could be struggles to start the season. … But we never want to get out to a slow start — 0-5, 0-6, whatever — we still want to be able to fight through our mistakes while winning games.”

The Lakers will get their first look tonight at Davis, Westbrook and LeBron James all on the court at the same time, one week before their season opener. Westbrook has struggled in his new surroundings, shooting 1-for-7 Friday in his debut, then following that with an eight-point, nine-turnover performance against Phoenix, but he’s not concerned.

“I never had one good preseason, I mean personally,” he said. “I never really worry about it because it’s preseason.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

The Lakers are getting the defensive boost they expected from free agent addition Kent Bazemore, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. At 6’4″, Bazemore brings versatility on defense and regularly matches up in practice with both James and Westbrook. “I really think Baze has separated himself some,” coach Frank Vogel said. “His wingspan and athleticism have been more impressive up close, in that regard.”
The Lakers’ 2021/22 roster is the most top-heavy group John Hollinger of The Athletic can remember seeing since Miami put together its initial “big three” in 2010. As Hollinger observes, the Lakers’ three stars will make more than $120MM on their own this season, while nine other players on the roster are on minimum-salary contracts.
Within Hollinger’s preview of the Lakers’ season, he also recaps the team’s offseason moves, examines Westbrook’s potential fit, and shares his regular season projection for the club. Hollinger has L.A. finishing with 52 wins, good for third in the West.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Talen Horton-Tucker Undergoing Thumb Surgery

October 11th, 2021 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

Talen Horton-Tucker has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right thumb, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Charania that the Lakers guard will undergo surgery to repair the ligament.

Horton-Tucker, who will turn 21 next month, emerged as a regular rotation player for the Lakers in 2020/21, averaging 9.0 PPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.6 RPG on .458/.282/.775 shooting in 65 games (20.1 MPG). He signed a three-year contract worth nearly $31MM during the 2021 offseason, with the team making a big bet on his continued development.

While a recovery timeline for Horton-Tucker hasn’t been provided yet, it seems safe to assume he’ll be sidelined to open the regular season. Recovery from a thumb surgery is typically measured in weeks or months, not days.

It’s another blow to a Lakers team that will be missing Trevor Ariza (ankle) for several weeks to start the season. Head coach Frank Vogel said on Sunday that Malik Monk will also be out for “probably about a week” due to a strained groin, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link), so the Lakers’ backcourt and wing depth will be tested early. Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, and Kendrick Nunn could see increased roles.

First Impressions Of Russell Westbrook's Preseason Debut

October 10th, 2021 at 7:56pm CST by JD Shaw

Jovan Buha of The Athletic gave his first impressions of Russell Westbrook‘s preseason debut with the Lakers on Friday. Westbrook mostly struggled in his 17 minutes, recording two points, seven rebounds, four assists and six turnovers on 1-for-7 shooting.
Despite missing the game against the Lakers on Wednesday, Suns star Devin Booker is starting to ramp his conditioning back up, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Booker tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of September. He’ll miss the team’s second game against Los Angeles on Sunday.