Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

JaVale McGee Picking Up 2020/21 Player Option

November 19th, 2020 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers center JaVale McGee will opt into the final year of his contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the big man is exercising his $4.2MM player option.

McGee, who will turn 33 in January, was the Lakers’ starting center during the 2019/20 regular season, averaging 6.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 68 contests (16.6 MPG).

One of several Lakers who had an option decision, McGee was expected to take the guaranteed money rather than test the free agent waters. Thus, it won’t significantly alter the team’s cap outlook. With Anthony Davis‘ $32.7MM cap hold and others to account for, the team would have been over the cap whether or not McGee had opted in.

McGee has found a home in L.A. over the last two seasons, establishing himself as a starter who plays limited but valuable minutes. He’s likely to fill the same role next season.

Lakers Waiving Quinn Cook

November 19th, 2020 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are waiving Quinn Cook before his salary for 2020/21 becomes fully guaranteed, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Cook currently has a $1MM partial guarantee on his $3MM cap hit for next season. If he remains on the roster, that figure becomes fully guaranteed, so the Lakers will let him go before that happens, creating at least $2MM in cap flexibility. If the club decides to stretch Cook’s $1MM guarantee over three seasons, it would open up an extra $667K.

Cook, who signed with Los Angeles as a free agent during the 2019 offseason after two years in Golden State, didn’t have a major role for the Lakers. He averaged 5.1 PPG, 1.2 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 44 regular season games (11.5 MPG) and then logged only 24 total minutes during the team’s postseason run.

Assuming Cook clears waivers this weekend, he’ll be free to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.

Lakers Agree To Sign Zavier Simpson

November 19th, 2020 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have agreed to sign free agent guard Zavier Simpson, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simpson went undrafted on Wednesday night.

A four-year college player at Michigan, Simpson had his best year as a senior in 2019/20, averaging 12.9 PPG, 7.9 APG, and 4.5 RPG on .476/.360/.574 shooting in 30 games (33.7 MPG) for the Wolverines.

Charania didn’t offer any specifics on Simpson’s deal, so it doesn’t sound like it’s a two-way pact. A non-guaranteed or lightly guaranteed standard contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 clause, is probably most likely.

The Lakers traded away their draft picks and didn’t make a selection on Wednesday night, so Simpson is the first rookie confirmed to be joining the roster for training camp.

Lakers, Thunder Finalize Dennis Schröder, Danny Green Trade

November 18th, 2020 at 11:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 18, 11:46pm: The deal is now official, the Lakers confirmed in a press release. The Lakers received Schröder in exchange for Green and the draft rights to No. 28 pick Jaden McDaniels, who will be flipped to Minnesota in a separate trade. Green will also be moved in another deal.

NOVEMBER 15, 10:56am: The teams have an agreement in principle on a deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

NOVEMBER 15, 10:02am: The Lakers are expected to acquire guard Dennis Schröder from the Thunder when the trade moratorium lifts on Monday, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Oklahoma City will receive the 28th pick in Wednesday’s draft and guard Danny Green in return.

Woj adds that the trade is “well on course to be completed” and that other teams that were pursuing Schröder have moved on to different players.

L.A. owes a protected first-rounder in 2021 to the Pelicans, so the deal can’t be finalized until the Lakers make their draft pick Wednesday night, points out Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Schröder, 27, will make $15.5MM this season in the final year of his contract. He has spent two years in Oklahoma City and averaged 18.9 points and 4.0 assists off the bench last season. In Los Angeles, he’ll become a primary play-maker for the Lakers and could be the team’s third scoring option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Green, 33, will make $15.4MM in 2020/21, so the salaries match up for a deal. He signed with the Lakers last summer and averaged 8.0 PPG in 68 games. He has played for the last two NBA champions and will be a free agent again in 2021.

Schröder may be just the first of several veterans moved by Oklahoma City this fall — Chris Paul and Steven Adams are also considered trade candidates. Theoretically, the team could also immediately flip Green to a new team as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rondo Anticipating Offer From Hawks, Remains Focused On Clippers

November 17th, 2020 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

2:04pm: Isola has clarified (via Twitter) that the Hawks’ offer to Rondo is expected to be worth $7.5MM annually — $15MM in total over two years.

1:30pm: Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo, who will become a free agent this Friday, is expecting to receive a significant offer from the Hawks, according to Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio, who tweets that Atlanta’s offer is expected to be worth $15MM for two years.

It’s not 100% clear based on Isola’s wording if that hypothetical offer would be worth $15MM annually or in total — Atlanta does have the cap room necessary to comfortably put $15MM per year on the table for Rondo and that would certainly qualify as a “significant” offer. Rondo has also never made that much in a single season in his career though, so a total guarantee of $15MM over two years is probably more in line with his current value.

Either way, a source tells Isola that Rondo “remains focused” on the possibility of joining the Clippers. The 34-year-old could potentially receive a deal worth the mid-level from the Clips, per Isola, though it remains to be seen if the club will have the full mid-level ($9.3MM) or just the taxpayer portion ($5.7MM) available.

A reunion with the Lakers isn’t out of the realm of possibility for Rondo, but it sounds like the defending champions are preparing to lose him in free agency. The Lakers have reached an agreement to acquire Dennis Schröder from Oklahoma City to fortify their backcourt.

Rondo played an important role in helping the Lakers capture the NBA title in Orlando. He suffered a fractured right thumb shortly after arriving at the Disney World complex, but was able to return in time for the playoffs, averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists off the bench in 16 games. He’s turning down a minimum-salary player option in order to reach free agency.

Avery Bradley To Receive Interest From Warriors, Bucks, Others

November 16th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Avery Bradley is expected to be courted by the Warriors, Bucks, and a handful of other contenders, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that those clubs will try to lure Bradley away from L.A.

Although Bradley opted out of the NBA’s summer restart and wasn’t part of the Lakers’ playoff run, he was a key part of the club’s rotation for most of the season, starting 44 of his 49 games. He averaged 8.6 PPG and 2.3 RPG with a .444/.364/.833 shooting line in 24.2 minutes per contest and handled some of the toughest defensive assignments on the perimeter.

Bradley, who recently signed with a new agent, has a player option worth $5MM for 2020/21 and still could technically pick up that option. However, Dave McMenamin of ESPN wrote last night that the 29-year-old is expected to decline his option and reach free agency. If he’s anticipating interest from multiple contending teams, it makes sense that Bradley would go in that direction.

Assuming Bradley opts out, the Lakers would be able to offer a starting salary worth up to about $5.7MM using his Non-Bird rights. If they want to go any higher than that, they’d have to use some or all of their mid-level exception.

Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are also turning down player options for the Lakers this week.

Western Notes: Suns, Hardaway, WCS, Lakers, Thunder

November 16th, 2020 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are expected to finalize their trade for Chris Paul before the new league year begins on Friday, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. If that’s the case, the expectation is that Phoenix won’t use cap room this fall, opting to remain an over-the-cap team instead.

While that may prevent the Suns from making one bigger splash on the free agent market, it means the club will retain the flexibility to bring back one or more of Dario Saric, Aron Baynes, and Frank Kaminsky. Phoenix will also have the full mid-level ($9.3MM) and bi-annual ($3.6MM) exceptions available to make additional upgrades to its roster.

Here’s more from around the West:

A Mavericks source who spoke to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) says the team thinks swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. will likely exercise his player option, while big man Willie Cauley-Stein may not.
In addition to his previously reported workouts with Utah, Denver, Miami, and the Clippers, Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji has also auditioned for the Lakers, he said today (Twitter link via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune). However, Nnaji projects to be a late first-round selection, so he may no longer be an option for the Lakers now that they’ve traded the No. 28 pick.
Former Thunder big men Nazr Mohammed and Nick Collison were involved in the team’s head coaching search process, according to Royce Young of ESPN, who tweets that Mohammed and Collison met with candidates to represent the player perspective.
In a piece for ESPN.com, Royce Young takes a deep dive into the Timberwolves‘ draft preparations as they get ready to use – or trade – this year’s No. 1 overall pick.

Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Opting Out

November 16th, 2020 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Lakers veterans Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Rajon Rondo are officially opting out of their contracts in order to reach free agency, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Shams Charania of The Athletic, and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (all Twitter links).

Those decisions had been considered formalities at this point, as reports a month ago indicated that Davis, Caldwell-Pope, and Rondo all planned to turn down their player options for 2020/21. Those plans have now been confirmed.

Davis will technically be the No. 1 free agent on the open market this fall, but he’s not expected to consider any pitches from rival teams. The plan is to re-sign with the Lakers for the maximum salary ($32.74MM), which is higher than his option salary ($28.75MM) would have been.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers intend to present several different contract options to Davis and agent Rich Paul and will work with him on the deal that makes him feel most comfortable. A five-year contract is considered unlikely — the two sides are more likely to agree to a two- or three-year deal that features a player option in its final season.

Rondo and Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, are expected to receive plenty of interest from rival suitors. Turner cites the Clippers and Hawks as two clubs expected to pursue Rondo, whom the Lakers are reportedly bracing to lose.

As for Caldwell-Pope, teams are under the impression that he’s open to offers, and he’s expected to have several suitors, according to Charania, who previously identified Atlanta as one team likely to “emerge with interest.” The Lakers and KCP are believed to have strong mutual interest — after having agreed to trade Danny Green, the Lakers will likely make it a priority to re-sign their free agent three-and-D wing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Explored Trade For Eric Bledsoe

November 15th, 2020 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers looked into a trade for Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe prior to their agreed-upon deal for Dennis Schroder, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets.

The Lakers are giving up the 28th pick in Wednesday’s draft and guard Danny Green to the Thunder in return for Schroder, who could be the defending champions’ lead point guard or sixth man.

Bledsoe could have filled the same role for the Lakers but he’s coming off a disappointing season and has multiple years left on his deal. Bledsoe will make nearly $17MM next season and $18.1MM in 2021/22. He has a non-guaranteed $19.4MM salary for the 2022/23 season, the final year of his extension.

Milwaukee has reportedly been trying to shed Bledsoe’s contract in order to upgrade its roster after its disappointing playoff performance. Bledsoe averaged 14.9 PPG, his lowest since the 2012/13 campaign, and 5.4 APG in 61 regular-season starts. He was then held to 11.7 PPG on 38.8% shooting during the playoffs.

Lakers Expected To Pursue Wesley Matthews

November 15th, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are interested in signing shooting guard Wesley Matthews to replace Danny Green, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Matthews holds a $2.69MM player option on his contract but he’s expected to decline it so that he can become an unrestricted free agent.

Green is headed to the Thunder in an agreed-upon deal that will send Dennis Schroder to Los Angeles. Matthews, 34, started 67 regular-season games for the Bucks last season and averaged 7.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.4 APG. Matthews also averaged 7.2 PPG in 10 postseason starts for Milwaukee.

The Bucks have reportedly made retaining Matthews a priority. Other playoff-caliber teams, such as the Heat, could also get in the mix.

Matthews’ value is mainly as a floor spacer. He’s a 38.1% career 3-point shooter, though his success rate dropped to 36.4% last season.