Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Breaking Down The Contenders For Blake Griffin

March 7th, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets may be viewed as the favorites to sign Blake Griffin, but the Warriors are in position to make the best offer when Griffin clears waivers today, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Golden State has a $9.3MM Disabled Player Exception for the season-ending Achilles tear suffered by Klay Thompson (Twitter link). The DPE allows a team to sign a replacement player for half of the injured player’s salary ($35.36MM this season for Thompson) or for the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.

Free agents who sign under the DPE are limited to one-year contracts. If the Warriors want to offer Griffin a longer deal, they have the $3.25MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which can be used for up to a three-year contract, and the veteran’s minimum option, which can cover two years. Golden State has a full roster, so someone would have to be waived to accommodate Griffin.

Brooklyn also has a Disabled Player Exception, which was granted for the loss of Spencer Dinwiddie, but its value is only about $5.7MM, which is half of Dinwiddie’s $11.45MM salary. The Nets have their taxpayer’s MLE available too. They have three players on 10-day contracts, which all expire this weekend, so adding Griffin wouldn’t require another roster move.

Among other rumored contenders for Griffin, Marks notes that the Trail Blazers have their $3.4MM biannual exception available, along with an open roster spot; the Heat have the same biannual exception and a $4.7MM DPE, but have a full roster; and the Lakers can only offer a veteran’s minimum deal, but have a roster spot open (Twitter link).

Larry Nance Jr. Drawing Interest From Multiple Suitors

March 6th, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Larry Nance Jr. has drawn the most interest in the trade market among Cavaliers players, including an offer that featured multiple late first-round picks, Chris Fedor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Nance is in the second year of a four-year, $44.8MM contract that was front-loaded, adding to his appeal. The Timberwolves have been pursuing Nance since the offseason, with the Celtics, Sixers, Pelicans, Heat and Mavericks also showing interest in the power forward, sources tell Fedor.

Nance was sidelined prior to the All-Star break with a fractured left hand but is expected to return as early as next weekend. However, the Cavs’ front office is reluctant to trade the 28-year-old, viewing him as a core player.

Fedor also offered up a number of other insights with the trade deadline approaching later this month:

The front office still holds out hope it can deal Andre Drummond, believing that an interested party other than the Nets, Lakers or Clippers will step forward, rather than competing with those top contenders for Drummond on the buyout market.
The Cavs are open to dealing small forwards Taurean Prince and Cedi Osman, who aren’t considered core pieces. They could come into play in a potential deal involving Drummond, especially if a third team is needed to make the salaries fit.
Teams looking for a big have checked in on JaVale McGee, who has an expiring $4.2MM contract.
It’s unlikely the Cavs will be able to shed Kevin Love‘s contract, though the Mavericks view him as a better fit than Drummond. The Cavs tend to overvalue Love and aren’t seeking a salary dump where an asset would need to be attached.

Drummond May Top Buyout Wish List

March 6th, 2021 at 1:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

As a hard-capped team lacking in tradeable pieces, the Lakers will find it difficult to make a significant deal before this month’s deadline, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Their best bargaining chip heading into the season, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, hasn’t lived up to his $12MM contract. Goon suggests the best the team could hope for is to sign Andre Drummond if the Cavaliers choose to buy out the exiled center.

Pistons, Blake Griffin Finalize Buyout

March 5th, 2021 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

4:04pm: The buyout agreement has been completed and Griffin has been placed on waivers, according to a team press release. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday evening.

“As we stated from the beginning of our discussions with Blake and his representatives, our goal has been to facilitate a resolution for the future that maximizes the interests of both Blake and our team,” GM Troy Weaver said in a statement. “We appreciate all of Blake’s efforts on and off the court in Detroit, have great respect for him as a player and a person and we wish him all the best in the future.”

“I thank the Pistons organization for working together on an outcome that benefits all involved and I wish the franchise success in the future,” Griffin said.

11:04am: The Pistons and power forward Blake Griffin have agreed to a contract buyout that will pave the way for him to become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Shams Charania of The Athletic had reported on Thursday that Detroit and Griffin were working toward a buyout.

According to Wojnarowski, most of the NBA’s contending teams have interest in Griffin, who figures to make a decision on where he’ll sign in the near future after he speaks to his top suitors.

Griffin has been out of the Pistons’ lineup since February 15, when he and the team agreed to work toward a solution that would expedite his exit from Detroit. The Pistons were focused on developing their younger players, while the 31-year-old’s preference was to join a contending team, so both sides were on board with pursuing a trade or buyout.

Although Griffin has made six All-Star teams and five All-NBA squads over the course of his impressive career, health issues have significantly limited his impact this season, as he has averaged a career-worst 12.3 PPG on 36.5% shooting in 20 games (31.3 MPG).

The former first overall pick also has one of the league’s most onerous contracts, including a $36.8MM cap hit in 2020/21, followed by a $38.96MM player option for ’21/22. That deal presumably made it impossible for the Pistons to find a reasonable trade, which is why the team and his reps shifted their focus to a buyout.

It will be fascinating to see how much salary Griffin agreed to give up as part of the agreement — most players who are bought out by their teams are on expiring contracts, but it seems safe to assume Griffin didn’t simply decline his player option as part of the deal. The Pistons will likely be on the hook for a significant amount of 2021/22 salary, though they’ll have the option of stretching next season’s cap hit across three seasons.

[UPDATE: Griffin Gave Up $13.3MM In Buyout]

Griffin will spend two days on waivers before he’s officially free to sign with a new team, but as long as the Pistons finalize his release soon, he should have plenty of time to find a new home by the start of the season’s second half next Wednesday.

Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) specifically names the Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Heat, and Warriors as teams that have expressed interest in Griffin, while Woj adds the Trail Blazers to the veteran’s list of viable options (Twitter link).

[UPDATE: Nets Considered Frontrunners To Sign Griffin]

Most of those clubs make sense, though a reunion with the Clippers would be a surprise, given how Griffin’s initial time with the organization came to an end. The Clippers re-signed Griffin to a five-year, $171MM contract in the summer of 2017 after pitching him on being a long-term centerpiece in L.A., then turned around and traded him to Detroit six months later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Damian Jones Impressing With Lakers

March 4th, 2021 at 10:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Lakers reserve center Damian Jones, currently on a 10-day contract with Los Angeles, could have another 10-day deal waiting for him. Head coach Frank Vogel suggested Jones deserved to be “optimistic about what’s ahead of him” after his current contract expires, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets.

In three games with the Lakers (including one start), the 6’11” Jones is averaging 4.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.3 BPG across just 10.3 MPG. The 25-year-old was drafted with the No. 30 pick out of Vanderbilt by the Warriors in 2016. After Golden State, Jones suited up for the Hawks and Suns before his current stop with the Lakers.

Examining Harrell's Minutes Reduction; Caruso Turned Down Dunk Contest Appearance

March 3rd, 2021 at 8:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With All-Star Lakers big man Anthony Davis sidelined through at least the All-Star break, fans may have expected to see more of reigning Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell soaking up minutes at the power forward and center positions. Instead, his minutes are trending in the opposite direction. Jovan Buha of The Athletic examines why that might be the case.

Lakers reserve guard Alex Caruso was one of the players who rejected an invitation to compete in the dunk contest during the All-Star festivities on March 7 in Atlanta, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic. Knicks rookie Obi Toppin, Pacers shooting guard Cassius Stanley, and Trail Blazers forward Anfernee Simons have been selected for the contest.

LeBron James To Miss Wednesday's Game, Available For ASG

March 3rd, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers star LeBron James, who ranks fourth in the NBA this season in total minutes played, will sit out the second half of the team’s back-to-back set on Wednesday, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James will receive treatment on his left ankle, but like Doncic, he expects to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Gasol Placed Under League Protocols

March 2nd, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers center Marc Gasol was inactive on Tuesday after being placed under the league’s health and safety protocols, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. Gasol had started all 35 games this season prior to Tuesday, posting modest stats of 4.8 PPG and 4.1 RPG. Gasol was signed to a two-year, $5.25MM contract in November.

Lakers Rumors: Caruso, THT, Schröder, Jones

March 1st, 2021 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis locked up to long-term contracts, but will face some challenges during the 2021 offseason as they look to retain some of their key role players, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

One of those players is Alex Caruso, who will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career (he re-signed with the Lakers as a restricted FA in 2019). While Caruso’s numbers (5.8 PPG, 2.4 APG) are relatively modest, he’s a solid 3-point shooter (38.8%) and a capable defender who will be hitting the open market in his prime at age 27.

Caruso is expected to have suitors, according to Windhorst, who says some league executives think the veteran guard’s market could be in the neighborhood of the full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which will be worth around $9.5MM.

While I’d be surprised if Caruso got the full MLE from a rival team, there certainly may be clubs looking to put pressure on the Lakers by poaching away some of their rotation players, which could result in some higher offers than expected.

Let’s round up a few more Lakers notes…

Second-year wing Talen Horton-Tucker is another player whom teams may compete over during the 2021 free agent period, per Windhorst. “He’s a gifted defender with great length and great upside who’s just 20 years old,” one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “In this market, that’s exactly the type of player you want to chase.” Horton-Tucker will be a restricted free agent who will be subject to the Arenas provision, meaning a rival suitor could put pressure on the Lakers by offering him a backloaded three- or four-year deal.
The extend-and-trade restrictions that limited Dennis Schröder‘s ability to sign a longer-term extension before he reaches free agency have lifted, so it’s safe to assume he and the Lakers will explore a new deal. Windhorst identifies Dejounte Murray (four years, $64MM), Bogdan Bogdanovic (four years, $72MM), and Fred VanVleet (four years, $85MM) as some potential points of comparison for the Schröder negotiations.
Veteran center Damian Jones looked good in his first appearance as a Laker on Sunday, recording eight points, three rebounds, and two blocks in eight minutes of action in a blowout win over Golden State. Jones, who is on a 10-day contract, is auditioning for a longer look with the team, as Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register writes. “I think he’s got a shot to be here (longer) if he can just do what he did out there,” Kyle Kuzma said of Jones.

Lionel Hollins Expected To Be Away From Team Until After All-Star Break

February 28th, 2021 at 7:42pm CST by JD Shaw

Lakers assistant coach Lionel Hollins isn’t expected to return to the bench until after the All-Star break, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). Hollins, a former NBA head coach, has missed the past four games due to personal reasons.