Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings, Lakers Have Discussed Possible Buddy Hield Trade

July 25th, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers, not satisfied with their first-round playoff exit in 2021, are apparently on the hunt for some shooting help in the offseason. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles has talked with the Kings about a possible trade for shooting guard Buddy Hield.

Charania reports that such a deal that would likely see L.A. reserve power forward Kyle Kuzma headed to Sacramento, a team loaded with power forwards. The Lakers have received interest in Kuzma from multiple teams, Charania adds.

Kuzma inked a three-year, $40MM contract extension during the 2020 offseason that kicks in during the 2020/21 season. He averaged 12.9 PPG and 6.1 RPG on .443/.361/.691 shooting in 68 games (28.7 MPG) in 2020/21.

As for Hield, he had a stellar individual season in Sacramento, averaging 16.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.6 APG, with a shooting line of .406/.391/.846. The 28-year-old swingman is under team control through the 2023/24 season, on a declining deal that will pay him $22.8MM this year, $20.8MM in 2022/23, and $18.9MM in its final year.

Several Lakers guards are unrestricted or restricted free agents this summer, so adding a sharpshooter in his prime with the pedigree of Hield to help spread the floor and allow Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis room to operate makes sense on paper.

According to Charania, pursuing a Hield trade is just one possible path the Lakers could go down, as the team is also expected to show interest in free agent guards like Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Spencer Dinwiddie. All three are said to be interested in playing in L.A.

Lakers Workouts This Weekend

July 24th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Kai Jones, the big man out of Texas, interviewed with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka at the NBA Combine, and has since worked out at the team’s facility, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The big man out of the Bahamas is a Klutch Sports client who participated in Rich Paul‘s Klutch Pro Day, so the Lakers figure to be very familiar with him. Jones is considered to have one of the widest draft ranges in the first round, as he could go anywhere from the top-10 to the early 20s.
The Lakers worked out six prospects yesterday, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times: Josh Christopher, Joshua Primo, Marcus Zegarowski, Anthony Tarke, Jayvon Graves, and Eugene Omoruyi. Christopher and Primo are potentially candidates for the Lakers’ pick at 22. The Lakers are also working out six prospects today, tweets Goon: Carlik Jones, Feron Hunt, Jeremiah Tilmon, Mitchell Ballock, Greg Brown, and Neemias Queta. The Lakers don’t have a second-round pick but could try to trade into the second round.

Draft Notes: Cooper, Bezhanishvili, Williams, Johnson

July 24th, 2021 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Potential late lottery pick Sharife Cooper has been making the rounds. He’s worked out for the Thunder, Rockets, Warriors, Lakers, Clippers and Celtics, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. As previously noted, Cooper has worked out for the Hornets and has also visited the Pacers. The Auburn point guard is currently ranked No. 17 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related intel:

Giorgi Bezhanishvili has recently worked out for the Spurs, Hornets and Bulls, Zagoria reports in another tweet. The junior forward who played for Illinois is a potential second-round selection.
Ziaire Williams was brought in for a second workout with the Magic, draft expert Chad Ford tweets. The Stanford freshman wing is ranked No. 24 by ESPN, but Ford views Williams as a potential lottery selection. Orlando owns the No. 5 and 8 picks.
Jalen Johnson left Duke in mid-February after losing playing time but he brushes aside questions about his character, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. “Those really aren’t red flags,” Johnson said. “People say a lot of things about me, but they say those things without knowing me. … I don’t like seeing that stuff and I know my parents see that stuff, and I know it hurts them, because at the end of the day these people are making judgments without knowing me, without speaking to me, without saying a word to me.” Johnson is still expected to go in the lottery.

Bradley Beal Pondering Trade Request Before Draft

July 24th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal is considering whether to request a trade prior to the draft, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Sources close to Beal say he’s mindful that the Wizards could get a better package of picks as well as players if a deal is done by Thursday night. After that, the Wizards would have to settle for future picks with uncertainty over what kind of prospects they’ll eventually draft. Plenty of front office personnel around the league still believe Beal will decide to stay put, but a source close to the league’s second-leading scorer this past season admits the situation is fluid.

If Beal informs the front office he prefers to go elsewhere, he’d want to land in a place that already has, as Fischer describes it, an established winning environment.

Beal doesn’t have a known list of preferred destinations, though sources told Fischer that teams such as the Warriors, Celtics, Heat and Sixers would likely be among that group. Golden State’s veterans have pushed management to pursue a Beal trade but virtually every team in the league would have some level of interest in bringing in the high-scoring wing.

Beal’s potential change of heart about staying in Washington is somewhat tied to the uncertainty surrounding Russell Westbrook, who is reportedly among the players the Lakers might pursue in a trade. Westbrook and Beal hold options on their contracts after next season, which could also impact what the Wizards might do.

DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry Reportedly Have Interest In Lakers

July 23rd, 2021 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard DeMar DeRozan has interest in the possibility of joining the Lakers, as does his former Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry, reports Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Both DeRozan and Lowry will be unrestricted free agents this offseason.

Turner cites sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter who say that DeRozan – a Compton native who played his college ball at USC – would be willing to accept less than the $27.7MM he earned with the Spurs this past season in order to play for his hometown team.

The Lakers are said to be seeking a veteran play-maker, having been linked earlier in the week to Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, so it stands to reason the team would have interest in DeRozan and Lowry as well. Lowry was a target at the March trade deadline. However, as we noted when we discussed L.A.’s interest in Paul and Westbrook, the club’s cap limitations won’t make it easy to land an impact player this summer.

Unless DeRozan or Lowry is willing to accept a deal in the range of the mid-level exception to join the Lakers, a sign-and-trade would likely be necessary to accommodate one or the other. The Lakers would need the cooperation of the Spurs or Raptors to complete a sign-and-trade and would be hard-capped at the tax apron for the 2021/22 season as a result.

That scenario would also likely require the Lakers to dump some of their current guaranteed contracts besides LeBron James and Anthony Davis, then fill out their roster primarily with minimum-salary players. It’s not inconceivable, but it would be a challenge — and it’s not a given that sacrificing multiple role players to land a single veteran would improve the team’s title chances.

Turner also reports that Spencer Dinwiddie – who may be less expensive in 2021/22 than DeRozan or Lowry – has interest in joining the Lakers too. That echoes a previous report that stated Dinwiddie would be interested in playing for either Los Angeles team.

We’ll have to wait to see what happens with the Lakers and their various targets, but as Marc Stein points out in his latest newsletter, it’s noteworthy that there has been “seemingly daily discussion” about the possibility of L.A. pursuing guards with All-Star résumés. While it’s possible the team is just doing its due diligence and creating some leverage in its Dennis Schröder negotiations, it feels increasingly likely that Schröder could end up signing elsewhere.

Schröder, Kuzma Reportedly Feuded During 2020/21 Season

July 23rd, 2021 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

League sources tell Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link) that Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder and forward Kyle Kuzma “feuded” throughout the 2020/21 season, with things worsening during the playoffs. Schröder is an unrestricted free agent and Kuzma is a trade candidate, so it’s possible that one or both players could join a new team this offseason.

Lakers Extend Qualifying Offer To Talen Horton-Tucker

July 22nd, 2021 at 5:26pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers have issued a $1.89MM qualifying offer to Talen Horton-Tucker, allowing him to enter restricted free agency, the team announced. Los Angeles will have the right to match any offer sheet Horton-Tucker signs with another club.

Horton-Tucker, 20, recently concluded his second season with the Lakers. He held per-game averages of nine points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds, playing 20.1 minutes per contest. He also shot 46% from the floor and just 28% from behind the arc.

In addition to Horton-Tucker, the Lakers will see Dennis Schroder, Andre Drummond, Alex Caruso, Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris, Jared Dudley and Ben McLemore enter free agency — they’ll all be unrestricted. Big man Montrezl Harrell holds a $9.72MM player option for next season.

The Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Suns this spring — less than a year removed from winning their first title since 2010. The team dealt with numerous injuries this season, finishing with the seventh-best record in the West at 42-30.

Celtics, Sixers, Lakers Interested In Reggie Bullock

July 21st, 2021 at 9:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two Atlantic Division rivals are among the teams that may try to lure free agent swingman Reggie Bullock away from the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.

A source tells Berman that the Celtics and Sixers have expressed interest in Bullock, and the Lakers may also get involved. Bullock played alongside LeBron James in L.A. during the 2018/19 season.

Bullock prefers to stay in New York, Berman adds, but he’s hoping for a three-year contract worth in the neighborhood of the full mid-level exception ($9MM+). The Knicks have Early Bird rights on Bullock, so they can go above the cap to re-sign him after using their space. They’ll likely be able to offer up to about $10.3MM for the first year, according to Berman.

Bullock became a dependable contributor during his second year with the team, starting 64 of the 65 games he played and averaging 10.9 PPG per night while shooting 41% from three-point range. However, a disappointing playoff performance may have dragged down his value.

The Knicks have other options if they don’t re-sign Bullock, although they may be much more expensive, Berman adds. Coach Tom Thibodeau is a fan of Trail Blazers guard Norman Powell, who opted out of his contract Tuesday, and New York has also expressed interest in Warriors forward Kelly Oubre.

Berman suggests the Knicks might be willing to match a minimal offer to restricted free agent Frank Ntilikina if they lose Bullock. Ntilikina didn’t play much in Thibodeau’s first season with the team, but a source tells Berman that the Knicks haven’t ruled out a possible return.

Lakers Eyeing Veteran Point Guards

July 21st, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

After failing to sign Dennis Schröder to a contract extension during the 2020/21 season, the Lakers will get another chance to sign the veteran to a new deal in free agency this summer. However, it sounds like the team is considering contingency plans to address the point guard spot.

According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the Lakers “have been on the hunt” for a veteran point guard. Chris Paul of the Suns and Russell Westbrook of the Wizards are among the players on Los Angeles’ list as possible targets, says Spears.

While those names will raise some eyebrows, they come with several caveats. For one, the capped-out Lakers don’t have a clear path to acquiring an impact player in free agency — if Paul turns down his player option with Phoenix, L.A. wouldn’t be able to sign him outright unless he were willing to take a massive discount.

A sign-and-trade is a possibility for CP3. And if he were to pick up his option, he could be acquired via a standard trade. But the Lakers surrendered multiple future draft picks in the Anthony Davis blockbuster and aren’t in position to put together an especially tantalizing trade package for a star. It seems unlikely that Phoenix would want to send Paul to the division-rival Lakers unless the return was significant.

Westbrook is under contract for two more seasons, so he’d also require a trade and there has been no indication so far that the Wizards are looking to move him.

Spears suggests that “there have been talks” about the Lakers acquiring Westbrook in a deal that includes Schröder, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Kyle Kuzma. However, it’s unclear which parties have been involved in those “talks” — the wording could indicate internal Lakers conversations or even just speculation amongst league sources. Schröder and Horton-Tucker would both have to agree to be signed-and-traded to D.C. in such a move, further complicating matters.

Paul and Westbrook both have strong ties to Los Angeles – Paul and his family live in the L.A. area, while Westbrook was born and raised in Southern California – but a number of obstacles would have to be overcome for either player to end up with the Lakers this offseason . Still, the fact that the Lakers are considering such options suggests that the team is willing to get creative and isn’t resigned to simply meeting Schröder’s asking price in order to address the point guard position.

Lakers Hoping For Win-Now Addition In Draft

July 18th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers, who own the No. 22 pick in the upcoming 2021 draft, hosted 6’5″ Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu and 6’4″ Tennessee guard Jaden Springer during their latest pre-draft workouts Saturday, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Both guards are good shooters who could help space the floor for L.A.
The Lakers need to land a win-now type of player in the 2021 draft with their No. 22 selection, opines Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Goon notes that the Lakers front office, under the stewardship of Rob Pelinka, last retained a first-round pick through the draft in 2018, when the club selected center Moritz Wagner out of Michigan — however, Wagner did not last long in L.A., having been sent to Washington in the Anthony Davis blockbuster. The team appears determined to add shooting this offseason — Los Angeles has examined versatile guard prospects and stretch forwards thus far.