- Lakers forward Alfonzo McKinnie has been placed under the league’s health and safety protocols and will miss Monday’s game against the Knicks, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. McKinnie played a season-high 27 minutes against Brooklyn on Saturday, recording 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Lakers center Andre Drummond put forth a key performance in the team’s win over the Nets on Saturday, guiding the club to a 126-101 victory, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Drummond finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in just over 22 minutes of action. He served as an enforcer on both ends of the floor, controlling the interior and pounding Brooklyn on the glass.
“He can do that against opposing centers,” coach Frank Vogel said of Drummond. “He can beat them up with his physicality, on the post or on drives, on the offensive glass and then he can more than hold his own and guard his position defensively as well as all the pick-and-roll defensive coverages that we put him [in] as well. He’s a two-way player and it’s a great sign to see him stepping up as a leader the way he did tonight.”
There’s more from Los Angeles today:
- The Clippers plan to start Reggie Jackson at point guard for “the long haul” with Patrick Beverley sidelined, coach Tyronn Lue said, as relayed by Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Beverley is expected to miss at least three-to-four weeks after suffering a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe explores Clippers veteran Rajon Rondo‘s case for the Hall of Fame. Rondo is a two-time NBA champion, four-time All-Star and has made four All-Defensive teams in his career, playing 15 seasons with eight teams.
- Mark Medina of USA TODAY examines LeBron James‘ ankle injury, with the help of opinions from various medical experts. James sustained a high ankle sprain on March 20 and has missed 11 straight games for the Lakers, though a recent report from ESPN indicated that he’s likely to return in three weeks.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra refused to speculate on how much time Victor Oladipo might miss with an injured right knee and declined to say whether he thinks Oladipo will play again this season, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Oladipo suffered the injury Thursday and didn’t accompany the team on its four-game road trip. He is considered out indefinitely with “right knee soreness.”
After today’s practice in Portland, Spoelstra told reporters the organization is still in the “information gathering stage” regarding Oladipo.
“I don’t have a new update,” he said. “He’s not with us on this trip and he won’t be with us (Sunday). I don’t have any new information.”
Oladipo’s injury occurred on a non-contact play when he landed after a dunk. He underwent an MRI Friday, but the Heat haven’t released the results. X-rays taken Thursday came back negative.
“He really wanted to be with us and this team and we really like what he brings to our group,” Spoelstra said. “He complements who we are and what we do already so much on both sides of the floor. You do feel for guys, particularly this time of the year. The competition is going to another level. Players want to be out there.”
Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Wizards guard Bradley Beal missed tonight’s game with tightness in his back, but the team doesn’t believe the condition is related to his hip issue, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link). “Don’t think it’s going to be lasting,” coach Scott Brooks said. “I’m hoping that a day off today and a day off tomorrow, he’ll be back against Utah … that’s the hope.”
- The Lakers expect to have LeBron James back in about three weeks, sources tell ESPN. He has missed about three weeks so far with a high right ankle sprain.
- An MRI confirmed that Warriors forward Kelly Oubre has a sprained wrist, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. Oubre is sitting out tonight’s game, but the team hasn’t said how much time he might miss.
- George Hill hasn’t been able to play for the Sixers yet, but he participated in warm-ups before tonight’s game, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Hill is recovering from thumb surgery in February.
- Bulls forward Garrett Temple suffered a setback in his rehab from a right hamstring injury and could be out a while longer, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports (Twitter link). Coach Billy Donovan said Temple experienced an issue while running.
Lakers star Anthony Davis may be able to return to the court within the next seven to 10 days, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Team doctors will re-evaluate Davis’ condition on Thursday when the Lakers come home from their road trip, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said tonight on ABC’s pre-game show.
Davis hasn’t played since February 14 because of a calf strain and tendinosis in his right leg. He took an important step forward two weeks ago when he received clearance to advance his on-court activities.
Davis was posting his typical All-Star numbers before the injury, averaging 22.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks through 23 games. He signed a five-year max contract with Los Angeles in December.
The Lakers have been sliding down the Western Conference standings without Davis and LeBron James, who may miss another month or so with a high-ankle sprain. L.A. is 4-6 in its last 10 games and has dropped to fifth place, just two and a half games away from seventh and a spot in a play-in game.
Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Pacific Division:
Nicolas Batum, Clippers, 32, PF/SF (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2020
Batum had several teams interested in him last fall when Charlotte waived him and stretched out the $27.1MM remaining on his contract. He’s proven to be a bargain for the Clippers after signing for the veteran’s minimum.
Batum has been a regular presence in the rotation (28.4 MPG), serving as a “glue guy,” content to play defense and grab some rebounds without getting a lot of shot opportunities. His shooting percentage has dropped lately, but he’s still averaging a career-best 41.4% on 3-point attempts. It’s been a bounce-back season after he languished on the Hornets’ bench a year ago. He’ll get offers commensurate for a veteran role player.
Andre Drummond, Lakers, 27, C (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $794K deal in 2021
Cleveland couldn’t find a way to trade Drummond due to the $28.75MM in the final year of his contract. Once he cleared waivers, he had a choice of contenders and landed with the defending champions. It’s a tricky situation with Marc Gasol still on the roster and not thrilled about losing his starting role, but Drummond finds himself pursuing a championship for the first time in his career. If he can blend well with LeBron James and Anthony Davis once they return from injuries, the league’s most prolific rebounder can enhance his resume as he heads into unrestricted free agency this summer.
Damion Lee, Warriors, 28, SG/PG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $4.5MM deal in 2019
Lee started 36 games for Golden State last season after the team went into tank mode. He earned his way from a two-way contract to a standard three-year deal. However, his 2021/22 salary – albeit a modest $1.9MM by NBA standards – isn’t guaranteed. It includes a partial guarantee of $500K if he’s still on the roster in mid-summer.
Lee has gotten steady minutes as a second-unit player, but really hasn’t contributed much offensively – he’s averaging 4.4 PPG over his last seven games. As a tax team, Golden State needs to fill its bench with low-cost options, so Lee could stick but the club could also seek a better scoring threat at that spot.
Frank Kaminsky, Suns, 28, PF, (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.88MM deal in 2020
It’s been a rough stretch for Kaminsky, who was placed under the league’s health and safety protocols at the beginning of the month. Prior to being sidelined, Kaminsky saw his playing time diminish – he averaged 3.5 PPG in 13.3 MPG during six appearances in March. Kaminsky was on Phoenix’s roster last season, had a $5MM option declined, then returned to the Suns after the Kings placed him on waivers. The ninth overall pick of the 2015 draft will find it difficult to regain his second-unit role once he returns. Kaminsky will likely have to settle for the veteran’s minimum to stick around in the league next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The newest Lakers addition, athletic veteran wing Ben McLemore, brings competent perimeter defense to the club, but more than that, his three-point shooting will fulfill a need for Los Angeles, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was effusive in his praise for the new reserve: “Ben instantly elevates our ability to knock down 3s on the backside when double teams come and we can play the drive-and-kick game that the modern NBA is made on. So we’re thrilled about his addition and looking forward to getting him into some minutes and into our program.”
- New Kings center Damian Jones, inked to a 10-day deal with the team, has observed similarities between Sacramento’s plays and those of his former team in Golden State, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. Kings head coach Luke Walton was an assistant coach on the Warriors bench before departing for his first head coaching opportunity with the Lakers.
- Recently-demoted Lakers center Marc Gasol made a strong case for continued rotation minutes when he stepped in for new starting center Andre Drummond recently, writes Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. Gasol appeared to be more positive about his reduced role in Los Angeles alongside Drummond. “No matter if it’s five minutes, 10 minutes, if it’s whatever position — if it’s some nights, I might not play,” Gasol acknowledged. “It’s been a process for me to reassess this situation a little bit, but like I said, I’m fully committed to this team. So, whatever is thrown at me, I’ll be ready.” Previously, Gasol had expressed frustration with the move. With Drummond now back, Gasol did not play at all in tonight’s 110-104 loss to the Heat.
The NBA has suspended three players – Raptors guards Fred VanVleet and DeAndre’ Bembry, along with Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker – for one game apiece, the league announced today in a press release.
The three players left the bench area during an on-court altercation during the Raptors/Lakers game on Tuesday (video link). After Dennis Schröder committed a foul on a OG Anunoby shot attempt, the two players got tangled up and Anunoby grabbed Schroder by the leg, flipping him to the ground. Players from both teams entered the fray at that point.
According to today’s announcement, Anunoby received a $30K fine for initiating the incident, while Lakers big man Montrezl Harrell has been docked $20K for aggressively entering the altercation and shoving Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the one-game suspension will be costliest for VanVleet, who will forfeit $146,552 of his salary. Bembry ($11,980) and Horton-Tucker ($10,469) will also each lose one game’s worth of pay.
Horton-Tucker and Bembry will serve their suspensions tonight, while VanVleet will serve his one-game ban once he’s healthy and ready to return from his hip ailment.
Although they’ll be missing Horton-Tucker, and Kyle Kuzma is listed as questionable with calf tightness, the Lakers will get some reinforcements for Thursday’s contest vs. Miami, as head coach Frank Vogel said today that both Ben McLemore (protocols) and Andre Drummond (toe) will be available (Twitter link via Mike Trudell).
Kings head coach Luke Walton isn’t interested in taking over at Arizona, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Two decades ago, Walton was a star player for the Wildcats, who created a vacancy by firing Sean Miller today.
“No, no interest,” Walton said. “I love Arizona. I think Sean Miller did an amazing job there in his time, but I have a job. I have a job that I love. I have a group I love working with, so I’m very committed to being here in Sacramento and keeping this going in the direction that we want it to go and getting this team back into the playoffs.”
Walton is in his second season running the Kings and still has two years and $11.5MM left on his contract. There was speculation about his future after Sacramento got off to a slow start, but a report last month indicated his job is safe, at least through the end of the season. The Kings have edged back into the race for a spot in a play-in game and are 12th in the West at 22-29.
Walton spent four seasons at Arizona from 1999-2003, playing for legendary coach Lute Olson. He earned First-Team All-Pac 10 honors two times.
Several other Arizona alumni have been mentioned as possible replacements for Miller, Anderson adds, including Lakers assistant coach Miles Simon, who has been with the team since 2017. Other rumored names include former NBA player and current Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire and Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner.
- Should the Lakers want to retain new center Andre Drummond, reserve big man Montrezl Harrell (likely to opt out of the $9.7MM second year of his current deal in the offseason), point guard Dennis Schröder, and guards Talen Horton-Tucker and Alex Caruso, they could face significant cap challenges, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report outlines. Pincus notes that the best route to retaining all three would be if the Lakers could get Drummond, currently grappling with a toe injury, to agree to a team-friendly deal worth the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth a projected $5.9MM).
- Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma is looking for more court awareness out of shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker, writes Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. “He’s been blessed with a gift to be able to get into the paint anytime he wants,” Kuzma raved. “With that being said, getting into the paint means reaching opportunities to find other guys shots.”
7:00pm: The Lakers have issued a press release officially announcing the addition of McLemore.
2:14pm: Free agent guard Ben McLemore has reached an agreement to sign with the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be a rest-of-season contract, Charania adds (via Twitter).
McLemore, 28, had been playing for the Rockets until he was released on Saturday. The former seventh overall pick cleared waivers on Monday, making him eligible to sign with any team, and Charania suggests (via Twitter) that he drew interest from a few other contenders, including the Bucks.
The Lakers make sense as McLemore’s destination, given that he’s a Klutch Sports client, like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, among others. The team was also said to be seeking a three-and-D wing after signing Andre Drummond.
McLemore had a strong season in Houston a year ago, averaging 10.1 PPG on .444/.400/.746 shooting in 71 games (22.8 MPG) for a Rockets team that made the postseason and won its first-round playoff series.
This year, playing for a squad that has undergone major roster upheaval and has been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 protocols, McLemore’s numbers dipped across the board — he recorded 7.4 PPG on .357/.331/.719 shooting in 32 contests (16.8 MPG).
Since the Lakers have an open spot on their 15-man roster, no corresponding move will be required to make room for McLemore. The team also has enough space below its hard cap to finalize the deal immediately. If McLemore were to officially sign today, he’d earn just under $611K for the rest of the season, with L.A. taking on a $455K cap hit.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.