Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat, Lakers Among Teams Likely To Bypass G League Bubble

December 6th, 2020 at 5:51pm CST by JD Shaw

Several franchises are expected to bypass the option of competing in the proposed NBA G League bubble, which would likely be located in Atlanta next month, league sources told Hoops Rumors.

The Celtics (Maine Red Claws), Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce), Lakers (South Bay Lakers), and Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive) are among the teams that have indicated plans of not participating in the bubble, sources said, with discussions ongoing about the final structure of a season. The Athletic first reported that Boston planned on bypassing the bubble.

Among the topics still being discussed are player salaries, committed teams, and a precise calendar for the season. Franchises would have an entry fee of $500K. The newly-introduced G League Ignite team is a major consideration in the league’s push to salvage a season.

Teams would be expected to play a minimum of 12 games during the campaign, which could then be followed by a tournament, sources said. As in past years, a G League draft would be held at a date to be later determined.

Despite some teams gradually beginning to reject the idea, other franchises such as the Sixers (Delaware Blue Coats) and Raptors (Raptors 905) have committed to playing this season, sources said. All in all, optimism remains that a G League bubble will commence, with a minimum of double-digit teams participating and an announcement coming in the near future.

Lakers Re-Sign Quinn Cook

December 4th, 2020 at 6:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers have re-signed guard Quinn Cook after waiving him last month, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Cook received a $1MM partial guarantee on his original $3MM contract before he was waived, a move which created more cap room for the Lakers to sign free agents. He didn’t get claimed and ultimately decided to return to the defending champions.

Cook will receive the veteran’s minimum with an additional cap hit of $1.6MM, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets. He’ll get a salary of $1,737,145, which added to the previous guarantee is nearly as much as he would have received without going on waivers.

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 last season. 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.

Markieff Morris: Clippers Rumors Were "Just Talk"

December 4th, 2020 at 9:29am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward Markieff Morris said this week that rumors last month about him potentially teaming up with twin brother Marcus Morris for the Clippers were “just talk,” per Swanson. “They were just trying to scare Lakers fans,” Markieff said.

Lakers Re-Sign Anthony Davis To Five-Year Max Contract

December 3rd, 2020 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

6:38pm: The Lakers have officially re-signed Davis to his new five-year max deal, the team announced in a press release.

“In the Orlando bubble, Anthony Davis proved he is one of the game’s most complete and dominant two-way players,” general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Now, Lakers fans get to watch AD continue to grow and lead our franchise for years to come. This is truly a blessed moment for Lakers Nation.”

6:44am: The Lakers are finalizing a five-year, maximum-salary contract with star big man Anthony Davis, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal could be signed as soon as today, Woj notes.

Davis’ new five-year contract will have an overall value of approximately $189.9MM. As our breakdown of maximum salaries for 2020/21 shows, AD will earn $32.74MM this season and will receive 8% raises, increasing the value to $43.22MM by year five. According to Wojnarowski, the deal will include an early termination option prior to that fifth year, giving the seven-time All-Star the chance to opt out in 2024.

Davis entered free agency as the No. 1 player on the market and was always expected to re-sign with the defending champion Lakers on a new max contract. However, there was an expectation that he’d take his time to consider all his options in terms of the length and structure of that deal.

Most league observers believed Davis would opt for a shorter-term contract that would allow him to re-enter free agency in 2022, when he has 10 years of NBA experience under his belt and qualifies for a starting salary worth 35% of the salary cap instead of 30%. As Wojnarowski writes, the former No. 1 overall pick did consider several short-term contract scenarios as well as long-term options.

Ultimately, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Davis opted for long-term security and the largest possible chunk of guaranteed money he was eligible to receive at this point. He’ll still only be 31 years old in 2024 when he can re-enter free agency, so he should be in good position to sign a new max deal – starting at 35% of the cap – at that point.

Davis’ contract agreement comes on the heels of LeBron James reaching a deal with the Lakers to extend his contract through 2023. A report in the wake of that news indicated that James and Davis were making their contract decisions independent of one another, and the terms of AD’s new deal offer further confirmation of that. Rather than having one or both of their superstars reach free agency in 2021, the Lakers now have James locked up through ’23 and Davis under contract through at least ’24.

In his first year as a Laker following his trade from New Orleans, Davis showed in 2019/20 why Los Angeles was willing to give up a massive haul of players and picks to acquire him. He averaged 26.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 2.3 BPG in 62 regular season games (34.4 MPG), finishing sixth in Most Valuable Player voting. He was also the anchor of the Lakers’ defense and was the runner-up in the Defensive Player of the Year vote.

Having appeared in just 13 playoff games in his seven seasons prior to 2020, Davis came up big for L.A. during the team’s championship run, recording 27.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 3.5 APG with an impressive .571/.383/.832 shooting line in 21 postseason contests.

With Davis officially off the board, all 50 of our top free agents of 2020 have now reached contract agreements with NBA teams.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Sign LeBron James To Contract Extension

December 3rd, 2020 at 6:08pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 3: The Lakers have officially announced James’s contract extension in a press release.

“LeBron James is a transcendent basketball player, and human being,” GM Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “LeBron put his trust in the Lakers in 2018, and now this contract extension paves the way for LeBron to further solidify his legacy as an all-time Lakers great. We could not be more honored by this commitment.”

DECEMBER 2: The Lakers and LeBron James have agreed to terms on a two-year, maximum-salary contract extension, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter) that an extension agreement is in place and that it will run through 2023. That means the new deal has essentially replaced LeBron’s 2021/22 player option with a guaranteed season and tacked one extra year onto his contract.

James, who has a $39,219,566 salary for 2020/21, can receive a 5% raise on that figure for the first year of his extension, which would result in a ’21/22 salary of $41,180,544, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). He can then receive an 8% raise for year two, which means a ’22/23 salary of $44,479,988. The end result would be a two-year extension worth about $85.66MM.

Assuming James prioritized maximizing his future earnings, his extension won’t include a player option for 2022/23.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad explains (via Twitter), the extension can only have included a new player option if LeBron technically picked up his existing ’21/22 option (worth $41,002,274) as part of the deal, which would limit the amount of his raise for ’22/23. CBA rules prohibit him from declining that option and then signing an extension that includes fewer than two guaranteed seasons.

Either way, LeBron will no longer be eligible to opt out in 2021, taking one huge name off next year’s free agent market. It’s not clear whether James’ extension will influence what Anthony Davis‘s next contract looks like — ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says the Lakers’ two superstars are making their decisions independent of one another.

As Charania (Twitter link) and others have noted, LeBron’s son Bronny James is scheduled to graduate high school in 2023. If the NBA and NBPA have agreed to scrap the one-and-done rule by that point, it could open the door for Bronny to enter the 2023 draft and team up with LeBron during the ’23/24 season.

The elder James will turn 36 years old later this month, but has shown no signs of slowing down yet. In 2019/20, he averaged 25.3 PPG and 7.8 RPG to go along with a league-high 10.2 APG in 67 games (34.6 MPG). He earned First Team All-NBA honors, finished second in MVP voting, led the Lakers to a championship, and won his fourth NBA Finals MVP award.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Future, Kuzma, Howard

December 3rd, 2020 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been an eventful week for the Lakers, who have agreed to new deals with both of their two superstars — LeBron James is signing through 2023, while Anthony Davis will be under contract through at least 2024.

In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton explores what those two new contracts mean for the Lakers’ long-term future, observing that Rob Pelinka and the front office can now focus on how to fill out the roster around the team’s two stars in the coming years. While the Lakers’ 2020/21 roster is set, only two players besides James and Davis (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marc Gasol) have guaranteed contracts beyond this season.

With little to no projected cap room for 2021 and beyond, the Lakers will likely prioritize re-signing their own free agents next year rather than shaking up the roster too significantly, Pelton writes. Dennis Schröder, Alex Caruso, and Kyle Kuzma are among the younger players who will be up for new deals in 2021.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

In his look at LeBron’s extension, Bill Oram of The Athletic suggests that comparisons to the two-year, $48MM deal Kobe Bryant signed with the Lakers at age 35 are misplaced. Oram says Kobe’s extension was a “gift” to Bryant, who was coming off a torn Achilles at the time. James’ extension comes after he finished second in MVP voting and was named Finals MVP in 2020.
Kyle Kuzma said today that his agent and the Lakers have talked about a contract extension, but he declined to offer any additional specifics (Twitter link via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). “We’ll see,” Kuzma said. As Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter), L.A. could be more open to a rookie scale extension for Kuzma now that the team isn’t as concerned about retaining cap flexibility for 2021.
Asked about the message he tweeted – and then deleted – on the first night of free agency about returning to the Lakers, new Sixers center Dwight Howard essentially confirmed the explanation reported at the time by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “At one point, I thought I (had an offer from the Lakers),” Howard said, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “And so that’s when you saw the infamous tweet because I really thought I was going back, but there was no offer.”

Pacific Notes: LeBron, Davis, Fox, Bogdanovic, Clippers

December 2nd, 2020 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James‘ decision to sign a contract extension with the Lakers isn’t related to Anthony Davis‘ free agency, sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. As Windhorst explains, if James hadn’t negotiated an extension and Davis signed a one-plus-one deal in free agency, the two superstars could’ve reached the open market together in 2021 and the Lakers could’ve explored ways to re-sign both players will adding another star.

However, James wasn’t interested in going that route, according to Windhorst, who says the reigning Finals MVP is confident the team will continue to spend and attract top talent. LeBron prioritized his own long-term earnings over helping the Lakers remain as flexible as possible.

Davis, meanwhile, is still mulling how to structure his contract and is making his decision independent of James, writes Windhorst. The star big man is also looking to maximize his future earnings and is researching scenarios and possible cap increases as he considers the best way to do so.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

After signing a maximum-salary extension with the Kings last week, De’Aaron Fox said on Tuesday that he loves playing in Sacramento and wants to help turn the team into a contender, says James Ham of NBC Sports California. “I want to be able to bring wins to this city, bring wins to this franchise,” Fox said. “I’m very happy that we have that commitment and we have that trust in each other. But now, it’s about winning. I think that’s what it’s always been about.”
In a separate story for NBC Sports California, Ham writes that the Kings‘ relatively quiet offseason was one factor that motivated Bogdan Bogdanovic to leave Sacramento. “Since (the Kings) didn’t do any moves in the offseason, I was like, ‘OK, I’m ready to leave,'” Bogdanovic told reporters today. “And I was really excited about Atlanta.”
Asked about the possibility of signing Paul George and Luke Kennard to extensions, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank didn’t offer any info on possible contract talks, but said the team views both players as “long-term Clippers,” according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

NBA Opening Night To Feature Lakers/Clippers, Nets/Warriors

December 2nd, 2020 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

2:20pm: The NBA has confirmed the opening night games detailed below, as well as the previously-reported Christmas Day schedule. The league also said that the Bucks will play the Celtics in Boston on December 23 (TNT), followed by the Mavericks playing the Suns in Phoenix (ESPN).

The full first-half schedule will be announced on Friday, December 4, according to the NBA.

10:47am: The tentative schedule for the NBA’s opening night TNT doubleheader on December 22 will see the Nets host the Warriors, followed by the Lakers and Clippers facing off in Los Angeles, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

All four teams are scheduled to be in action on Christmas Day as well, with the Warriors visiting Milwaukee, the Nets playing in Boston, the Lakers hosting the Mavericks, and the Clippers playing in Denver.

However, the two opening night matchups are arguably more intriguing than those December 25 games. The first game of the night will see Kevin Durant make his Nets debut against his old team, while the late game will be the battle of Los Angeles that we didn’t get to see in last season’s Western Conference Finals.

With opening night less than three weeks away, the NBA is expected to officially announce its schedule any day now. The league will reportedly just reveal the first half of the 2020/21 schedule for the time being, with the second-half schedule to be announced at some point in the new year. The NBA wants to maintain scheduling flexibility due to possible COVID-19 complications.

JaMychal Green Drew Interest From Lakers Before Joining Nuggets

December 2nd, 2020 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, Sixers, and Bucks were among the teams that had interest in JaMychal Green in free agency, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post, but the veteran forward ultimately chose the Nuggets. Green cited the Nuggets’ unselfish play, young talent, and tenacity in explaining his decision. “Blowing a 3-1 lead, they just fought,” Green said, referring to Denver’s Western Conference Semifinals win over his Clippers. “It just showed you the type of heart they had.”

Lakers, Celtics Among Teams Hosting Christmas Day Games

December 1st, 2020 at 7:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets that the NBA has set its Christmas Day schedule for 2020/21.

Woj emphasizes that the currently starry five games scheduled are “tentative.” That’s likely due to the risk of COVID-19 cases preventing certain contests, rather than the league continuing to finalize the schedule.

ESPN reporters Andrew Lopez, Eric Woodyard, Nick Friedell, Dave McMenamin, and Ohm Youngmisuk have weighed in on the five scheduled games.

Here’s the full list of anticipated Christmas Day matchups, per Woj’s reporting:

New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat, 12 p.m. EST
Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks, 2:30 p.m. EST
Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics, 5 pm. EST
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers, 8 p.m. EST
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. EST

All four 2020 conference finalists will be present, though none will be facing each other. The champion Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis and filled out by a revamped roster of role players, will host the Mavericks, looking to take a leap in the standings after rising superstar Luka Doncic‘s first All-Star season.

The Eastern Conference champion Heat, fronted by Jimmy Butler and newly-extended Bam Adebayo, will host another Western Conference club with a promising rep from the NBA’s next wave of superstars, the Pelicans and second-year forward Zion Williamson.

The Nuggets/Clippers matchup should feature plenty of fireworks, as Los Angeles faced ample scrutiny for letting go of the rope enough for Denver to climb all the way out of a 3-1 deficit to win their second-round matchup during the 2020 playoffs.

The Celtics will square off against the formidable Nets, piloted by a newly healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, will do battle with Durant’s old club, the Warriors, led by a former two-time MVP of their own in Stephen Curry. Antetokounmpo’s Bucks have recorded league-leading regular season records, only to fall short of the Finals in the playoffs during each of the last two seasons. Milwaukee is no doubt hopeful that its offseason makeover will amend that. The Warriors, meanwhile, saw their championship hopes jeopardized after All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson incurred an Achilles tear that will sideline him for the entire season.

The Raptors, Rockets and Sixers, three perennial playoff clubs that (currently) have two All-Stars apiece, appear to be the biggest snubs this season, although the fate of Houston’s two All-Stars remains in flux.

Assuming every game happens as scheduled, which December 25 bout are you most excited for in 2020? Are there any teams or matchups you’re disappointed to see (or not see) listed? Let us know what you think in our comments section!