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NBA GMs Like Heat’s Offseason Moves, Nets’ Title Chances

October 5th, 2021 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Nearly half of the NBA’s general managers voted for the Heat as the team that had the best 2021 offseason, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes in his annual survey of the league’s GMs. Miami got 14 of 30 possible votes, while the Lakers picked up five votes. The Nets, Rockets, and Wizards were the other teams picked by multiple GMs as having the best offseason.

The Heat’s acquisition of Kyle Lowry via sign-and-trade helped tip the scales in their favor. Asked which offseason player acquisition will make the biggest impact for his new team this season, GMs overwhelmingly chose Lowry — he received 23 of 30 votes. New Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook was the only other player to get multiple votes (five).

Although the Heat and Lakers received high marks from rival GMs for their work over the summer, neither club is considered the title favorite entering the 2021/22 season. That honor belongs to the Nets, who earned 22 votes from GMs for the team that will win the 2022 Finals. The Lakers (five) and Bucks (three) were the only other teams to receive any votes.

Here are a few more of the most interesting responses from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

The Trail Blazers‘ trade for Larry Nance Jr. received the most votes (28%) for the most underrated acquisition of the offseason, with the Nets‘ signing of Patty Mills (17%) and the Wizards‘ addition of Spencer Dinwiddie (14%) also receiving support in that category.
The NBA’s GMs view Rockets guard Jalen Green (47%) and Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (40%) as the best bets to win Rookie of the Year, but voted Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley as the rookie who will be the best player in five years. Mobley (33%) narrowly edged out Cunningham (30%) and Green (23%) in that category.
The GMs voted the Magic‘s selection of Jalen Suggs at No. 5 (23%) and the Rockets‘ pick of Alperen Sengun at No. 16 (20%) as the biggest steals of the 2021 draft.
The Bulls (27%) are considered the best bet to be the most improved team in 2021/22, while Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (17%) received the most support as the top breakout candidate.
Following their run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks (50%) were overwhelmingly voted as the team with the best young core. The Rockets received three votes, while no other team got more than two.
Only two players received multiple votes when GMs were asked which player they’d want to start a franchise with: Mavericks star Luka Doncic (43%) barely beat out Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (40%).

Pau Gasol Announces Retirement

October 5th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, veteran big man Pau Gasol announced his retirement as a basketball player today at a press conference in Barcelona.

The third overall pick in the 2001 draft, Gasol began his NBA career with Memphis after playing for Barcelona in Spain from 1998-2001. He won the Rookie of the Year award in his first season and ultimately spent 18 years in the NBA with the Grizzlies, Lakers, Bulls, Spurs, and Bucks, averaging an impressive 17.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.6 BPG in 1,226 regular season games.

Gasol appeared in another 136 playoff contests, posting 15.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.7 BPG in those games for the Lakers, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Bulls. The 41-year-old is a six-time All-Star who won a pair of championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, as well as three Olympics medals (two silvers and a bronze) for Spain. He also made the All-NBA team four times.

Gasol last appeared in an NBA game in March 2019, when he briefly played for Milwaukee. Since then, he has undergone multiple surgeries to repair stress fractures in the navicular bone in his left foot, which prevented him from making an NBA comeback — he signed with Portland for the 2019/20 season, but never suited up for the team for health reasons.

However, Gasol was able to return to action for Barcelona this past year, winning a Liga ACB title with the team in 2021 after having won championships in 1999 and 2001 with the club. He also played for Spain in the Tokyo Olympics before officially calling it a career. Following his retirement, Gasol appears on track for eventual enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Although Pau has been out of the league for a couple years, 2021/22 might be the first NBA season since 2000/01 that doesn’t feature at least one Gasol brother. Pau’s younger brother Marc Gasol isn’t currently on an NBA roster and is reportedly considering remaining in Spain this season.

Lakers Notes: Centers, Monk, Two-Ways, Brown, Queen

October 4th, 2021 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

With Anthony Davis expected to see more action at the center spot this season, it remains to be seen how much playing time former All-NBA big men Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan will get at the five for the Lakers. However, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times writes, Jordan isn’t overly concerned about how many minutes he’ll play.

“That’s the blessing of it, having a lot of different lineups that you can use. And I think each game is gonna have a say on what we do,” Jordan said on Saturday. “We can be rolling with a huge lineup. And, you know, we’ll win with that. And some games may need us to go small. And I think that at this point of my career, of all of our careers, you know, at the end of the day, ultimately, we just want to be able to win and be able to achieve something as a collective.”

Howard, who played a career-low 17.3 minutes per contest last season in Philadelphia, shares Jordan’s philosophy.

“Leave the ego at the door, leave it at home when you wake up,” Howard said of his role. “There’s no need to have it. We all represent this emblem that’s behind me, this Laker logo. We understand that, and it’s whatever the team needs to win.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Malik Monk‘s impressive preseason debut on Sunday further complicates an already-crowded battle for playing time at shooting guard, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who observes that the Lakers will have to find time at the two for Monk, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kent Bazemore, and Kendrick Nunn. Nunn has generally played point guard, but may not see much action there if Russell Westbrook plays big minutes and Rajon Rondo has a regular role, Buha notes.
Cameron Oliver, Mac McClung, Chaundee Brown, and Trevelin Queen are the camp invitees currently in the mix for the Lakers’ second two-way contract slot, but the team could end up going outside of the organization to fill that spot, as Buta writes in the same story. “We’re gonna see how the preseason plays out,” head coach Frank Vogel said. “See who all is available, both the guys that are here, or who are around the league, guys that might get cut, and we’ll make a decision closer to opening night.”
If the Lakers do convert one of their current camp invitees to a two-way contract, Brown and Queen may be the frontrunners, says Buha. Both of those players are wings, which might be the Lakers’ biggest need.

Former NBA Player Shay Murphy Gets Coaching Role

October 3rd, 2021 at 9:15am CST by Arthur Hill

Former WNBA player Shay Murphy has joined the Lakers as a coaching associate, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Lakers Notes: Westbrook, LeBron, Davis, Anthony

October 2nd, 2021 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook not only wanted to play in his native Southern California, it was important to him to join the Lakers after being a long-time fan of Kobe Bryant. Westbrook talked about his connections to the late Hall-of-Famer in an interview with Spectrum Sports Net (video link).

“That is something I think about daily. Coming into the gym, you come in here, you look up in the practice facility, you see 8 and 24, and I know he is looking down and making sure that I need to do what I need to do,” Westbrook said. “And that’s the only thing I could think about is knowing, being in this uniform, understanding the impact I can have of being home and being a Laker and creating a legacy not just for myself but for my kids, for the community of Los Angeles, for the people here. I’m gonna make sure I just do my part in going out and playing for him and through him as I complete in this uniform.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

LeBron James sees a renewed energy in training camp stemming from a longer offseason break, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Last year, the Lakers won the NBA title on October 11 and had to report for camp less than two months later. This offseason felt more normal after L.A. was ousted from the playoffs in early June. “Last year after coming off the bubble it literally took everything away from you,” James said. “Any little bit of energy that you had, it was completely gone when we left there. … To come back into the season with the quick start that we had, kind of the life of the party was a little bit, just like, it was just kind of stale. You know, rightfully so. Guys just didn’t have an opportunity to get a mental break.”
Westbrook and James will sit out Sunday’s exhibition opener against the Nets, but Anthony Davis will play during the first quarter, McMenamin tweets. “AD didn’t finish the season,” coach Frank Vogel explained. “He finished in street clothes because of injury. He wants to get out there, so we’ll support him on that.”
Brian Windhorst of ESPN examines why it took so long for James to team up with his long-time friend Carmelo Anthony after both entered the NBA in 2003.

Carmelo Anthony Isn’t Concerned About Role

October 2nd, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Dana Gauruder

Carmelo Anthony came off the bench regularly for the Trail Blazers last season and he’s willing to do the same with the Lakers, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

Like numerous free agent additions on the roster, Anthony signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Lakers with the aim of finally winning a championship ring.

“I’ve had experience being a starter for 18, 17 years and had an experience of coming off the bench for one year,” Anthony said. “It’s not something I think about.”

During the 2018/19 season, Anthony played just 10 games with Houston because he was unhappy with a bench role. He started regularly in 2019/20 after signing with Portland but accepted a second-unit role last season. He only started three of 69 regular-season games.

He’s willing to do whatever coach Frank Vogel asks of him this season.

“Whatever he wants, let’s do it,” Anthony said. “I’m not even trippin’ about that at this point. Because let’s go. Let’s go win.”

Trevor Ariza is the current favorite to join Anthony Davis and LeBron James in the starting frontcourt. Anthony, who averaged 13.4 PPG in 24.5 MPG last season, is projected to be the primary backup at power forward.

“When we spoke before he signed here, I told him that I envisioned a big role on this team,” Vogel said. “I don’t know what that’s going to look like, whether he’s going to start, whether he’s going to come off the bench, but that he’s going to be a factor for us.”

Ariza, Ellington Emerge As Potential Starters

October 1st, 2021 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Who will start for the Lakers along with the Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook? It’s up for grabs and the speculation entering camp was that the two leading candidates would be Trevor Ariza and Kent Bazemore. Ariza still remains the favorite to claim the small forward spot but 3-point shooter Wayne Ellington is the current favorite to be Westbrook’s backcourt partner, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Mykhailiuk Got Interest From Lakers, Blazers Before Joining Raptors

October 1st, 2021 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk said on Friday that he received interest in free agency from the Trail Blazers and Lakers before deciding to sign with the Raptors, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mykhailiuk likes the opportunity he has to earn playing time and develop his game in Toronto.

Lakers Notes: Westbrook, Davis, LeBron, Vaccinations

September 29th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

One of Russell Westbrook‘s priorities with the Lakers will be to help unleash Anthony Davis, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. After their first practice together on Tuesday, Westbrook called Davis “the ultimate weapon” because of his unique skills for a big man.

“He’s one of a kind,” Westbrook said. “There’s nobody like him who can do everything he’s able to do at his size. And my job is to make sure I continue to push him each day, each practice, each game, so he can be at the top of his game each and every night.”

Davis said he welcomes having someone who will drive him to be his best. He has been an All-Star the past eight years, but he’s coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him post career-low numbers with 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting career-worst percentages from the field and the free-throw line.

“I like teammates who are going to push me,” Davis said. “Encouragement — I don’t need encouragement. I want to be pushed. I want guys to tell me when I’m messing up. Me and Russ had numerous conversations in this first practice alone about things we can do together as a duo when we’re both on the floor.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Coach Frank Vogel was impressed by how fast Westbrook still is at age 32, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Vogel called his new point guard “a blur out there” and said he plans to take advantage of it with an up-tempo approach. “When the ball’s outleted to (LeBron James), Russ has gotta fly; when the ball’s outleted to Russ, Bron’s gonna fly,” Vogel said. “And that’s the best way to complement those guys.”
James was instrumental in assembling the Lakers’ new roster, and Vogel believes he will adjust his game to make it successful, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. concentrated on veteran talent during the offseason, putting together a roster that’s very accomplished but is also the oldest in the league. “All these other stars that he’s played with, he’s adapted his game, done whatever’s necessary to win and put himself in position for the ultimate goal,” Vogel said. “The willingness to do it is one thing, but when you have his skill set and his mind, he literally can do it all. So I’m very confident that that’s going to work itself out.”
The Lakers plan to be fully vaccinated by the start of the season, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It was never a team discussion,” James said at media day, “but I think at the end of the day you’re figuring out ways to always be available and protect one another.”

Lakers Sign Cameron Oliver To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 29th, 2021 at 7:41pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 29: The signing is official, the team announced (via Twitter).

SEPTEMBER 16: The Lakers are signing free agent forward Cameron Oliver to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Oliver, 25, has played primarily in the G League and overseas since going undrafted out of Nevada in 2017. However, he did sign with the Rockets at the end of the 2020/21 season, appearing in four games for the team down the stretch and averaging 10.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG on .576/.308/.636 shooting in 21.8 minutes per contest.

The Lakers are currently only carrying 13 players on guaranteed contracts, so Oliver could theoretically be a candidate to make the 15-man regular season roster. However, like fellow Exhibit 10 recipients Chaundee Brown and Mac McClung, Oliver seems more likely to end up playing for the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate.

Oliver nearly averaged a double-double during his last stint in the G League, putting up 15.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 26 games (26.6 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats in 2018/19.