Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: Kuzma, LeBron, Gasol, Star Minutes

December 23rd, 2020 at 6:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Even after inking a lucrative three-year, $40MM contract extension on Sunday, Lakers power forward Kyle Kuzma remained uncertain about his precise role with Los Angeles, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. After starting all of the Lakers’ four preseason games, Kuzma came off the bench last night for the club’s regular season opener, a 116-109 loss to the Clippers.

Ahead of last night’s game, head coach Frank Vogel offered his thoughts on how Kuzma would contribute to the club regardless of whether or not he started.

“So, the No. 1 thing with Kuz in terms of this team is to bring energy on both ends of the floor,” Vogel said. “He knows what we’re asking him to do with regard to offensively, being more aggressive in catch-and-shoot situations, playing through him some but also complementing [LeBron James] and [Anthony Davis] and continuing to grow on the defensive end… Where he’s going to fall in terms of starting role or coming off of the bench is still to be determined and will likely be fluid throughout the year.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

After suffering an ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of last night’s season opener, Lakers All-Star LeBron James still expects to be ready for L.A.’s next game, a Christmas Day contest against the Mavericks, per Jovan Buha of the Athletic. “I turned it pretty good, but I don’t think it’s gonna stop me from playing on Friday,” James said.
New Lakers starting center Marc Gasol has a long history with LA, despite playing his first game with the team yesterday, as Bill Oram of the Athletic details. Gasol was originally drafted with the No. 48 pick in the 2007 draft by former Los Angeles GM Mitch Kupchak, then was traded in an infamous deal with the Grizzlies for his older brother, then-All Star Pau Gasol, before ever suiting up for the Lakers. He signed a two-year, veteran’s minimum deal this offseason to add his defense, shooting and passing acumen to the reigning champs.
The Lakers are exercising caution with their minutes allotments for James and Anthony Davis, according to The Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike. Davis played 31 minutes in L.A.’s season opener, while LeBron was limited to just 28 after his ankle sprain early in the fourth quarter. “We’re going to be conservative with their minutes early on in the season, and we have the depth to do it,” head coach Frank Vogel commented.

Lakers Sign Kyle Kuzma To Three-Year Extension

December 20th, 2020 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

4:46pm: Kuzma has officially signed his extension with the Lakers, the team announced on social media (Twitter link).

3:56pm: The Lakers and forward Kyle Kuzma have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension worth $40MM, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal will include a third-year player option for the 2023/24 season, Wojnarowski reports.

Kuzma, 25, is the latest in a line of Lakers players that have agreed to lucrative new contracts this offseason. LeBron James and Anthony Davis signed maximum-salary deals that will keep them under team control through 2023 and 2024, respectively, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed a contract similar to Kuzma’s, though the final year of KCP’s three-year, $39MM pact isn’t fully guaranteed.

Those multiyear commitments to other key players likely helped open the door for a rookie scale extension for Kuzma in advance of Monday’s deadline, since the Lakers no longer had to consider whether to try to carve out cap room during the next couple offseasons.

Kuzma, who averaged a career-high 18.7 PPG in 2018/19, played a reduced role last season following the arrival of Davis. His 12.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, .436 FG%, and 25.0 MPG were all career-lows, as he struggled at times to establish a clear-cut role for the eventual champions.

However, the Lakers clearly still believe in the fourth-year forward, as exhibited by their willingness to lock in a deal that will guaranteed him $13MM+ per year once his current contract expires in 2021. Kuzma, the 27th overall pick in the 2017 draft, will earn $3.56MM in the final year of his rookie deal this season.

Kuzma is the fifth player to agree to a rookie scale extension so far this offseason, joining Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, and De’Aaron Fox.

While Kuzma didn’t get a maximum-salary commitment like those stars, he becomes the first player to receive a player option on a non-max rookie extension, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). That option will allow Kuzma to enter the unrestricted free agent market at age 28 if he outperforms his new deal.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Kuzma won’t become ineligible to be traded this season as a result of his new extension. However, the poison pill provision would apply in a hypothetical deal, complicating salary matching and reducing the odds that he’ll be moved anytime soon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA GMs Vote Lakers As Offseason Winners, Title Favorites

December 18th, 2020 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s general managers liked the Lakers‘ offseason moves and are bullish on the team’s chances to repeat as champions in 2020/21, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes in his annual survey of the league’s GMs.

An impressive 81% of the responding general managers picked the Lakers to win the championship in 2021, which is the third-highest percentage any team has received since Schuhmann began conducting his annual GM survey 19 years ago. The Clippers ranked second at 11%, while the Nets and Heat received one vote apiece.

Meanwhile, the Lakers (37%) beat out the Suns (22%) and Thunder (15%) in the voting for best offseason roster moves. The Hawks, Bucks, and Sixers each received two votes, while the Trail Blazers got one too.

Here are a few more of the interesting responses from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

The Suns‘ acquisition of Chris Paul (44%) and the Bucks‘ trade for Jrue Holiday (33%) were voted the moves that will have the biggest impact this season. The Clippers‘ signing of Serge Ibaka (15%), the Pelicans‘ deal for Steven Adams (11%), and the Trail Blazers‘ trade for Robert Covington (11%) were the front-runners for the most underrated offseason player acquisition. Gordon Hayward‘s $120MM contract with the Hornets (54%) was voted the most surprising offseason move.
While NBA GMs view Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (39%) as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year over Warriors big man James Wiseman (29%), Wiseman received the most votes (36%) among this year’s rookies to be the best player in five years, followed by Ball (25%). Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton, meanwhile, was voted the biggest steal in the 2020 draft (43%).
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic were the top choices as the player GMs would want to start a franchise with today. They each received 43% of the vote, with Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Pelicans youngster Zion Williamson also picking up votes.
Speaking of Williamson, he helped the Pelicans receive the nod for the team with the most promising young core (41%). The Grizzlies (22%), Hawks (11%), Celtics (11%), and Nuggets (11%) also got multiple votes.

Dennis Schröder Has Mild Ankle Sprain

December 17th, 2020 at 9:12am CST by Luke Adams

New Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder left Wednesday’s preseason game with what was referred to after the game by head coach Frank Vogel as a “mild” ankle sprain, tweets Kyle Goon of The South California News Group (Twitter link).

While the Lakers will continue to check on Schröder’s ankle today and tomorrow, he told reporters that the injury is “nothing to worry about,” per Bill Oram of The Athletic (Twitter link). It sounds like he should be ready to go for L.A.’s regular season opener next week and may even be available for the team’s preseason finale on Friday.

John Hollinger of The Athletic generally liked the offseason moves made by the Lakers and Suns, but questioned each team’s approach to its center spot. He isn’t sure Montrezl Harrell is a great fit in a lineup with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, given his defensive shortcomings and his inability to stretch the floor. Hollinger also wondered if Jalen Smith was a bit of a reach at No. 10 and didn’t love Phoenix’s signing of Damian Jones, calling him one of the NBA’s worst rotation players last season.

More On Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Extension, Bucks

December 16th, 2020 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

Following the Bucks‘ second-round postseason loss to Miami, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo made a conscious decision to play a more vocal role in upgrading the team’s roster, according to a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Kevin Arnovitz.

During a fall lunch with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, GM Jon Horst, and Giannis’ agent Alex Saratsis, Antetokounmpo named a number of players whom he thought would be good offseason targets for Milwaukee, including Bradley Beal, Victor Oladipo, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, per Windhorst and Arnovitz.

Beal wasn’t available, the Bucks never got close to a deal for Oladipo, and their efforts to sign-and-trade for Bogdanovic fell through. However, Milwaukee zeroed in on another player on Giannis’ list, Jrue Holiday, believing he’d be a natural fit in the team’s lineup.

According to ESPN’s duo, the Nuggets and Celtics were aggressive in attempting to acquire a top-10 pick in last month’s draft to flip for Holiday. The Hawks were also interested in moving the No. 6 pick in a deal for the Pelicans guard, but ultimately abandoned that plan due to uncertainty over whether he’d want to remain in Atlanta beyond 2021.

The Bucks didn’t have a top-10 pick in 2020 to offer for Holiday, but were willing to put plenty of future first-rounders on the table. According to Windhorst and Arnovitz, Milwaukee initially offered Eric Bledsoe, two first-round picks, and a pick swap (plus salary filler), then “reluctantly” added George Hill to the offer. The Pelicans countered by asking for one more first-rounder and one more pick swap.

Sources tell ESPN that the Bucks’ decision-makers knew that giving up two rotation players, three first-round picks, and two pick swaps was an overpay, especially since an extension for Holiday may cost in the neighborhood of $30MM per year.

However, the club badly wanted to upgrade its roster and to send a message to Antetokounmpo and decided to pull the trigger. If that deal ultimately helped convince Giannis to sign his super-max extension, the front office presumably feels the cost was worth it.

Here’s more on the Bucks and the Antetokounmpo extension:

The report from ESPN’s Windhorst and Arnovitz is worth checking out in full, as it’s packed with interesting nuggets about the process of extending Antetokounmpo. According to the ESPN duo, when the Lakers acquired Dennis Schroder from Oklahoma City, Giannis wanted reassurance that Milwaukee had made a “valiant effort” to land Schroder.
As a trio of writers from The Athletic reported on Tuesday, Windhorst and Arnovitz confirm that the Bucks first formally made their extension pitch to Antetokounmpo on December 5. During that meeting, team ownership and management focused on the team’s commitment to building a champion, pointing to its aggressive pursuit of Holiday and its willingness to pay future luxury tax bills, per ESPN.
David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the Antetokounmpo extension is good for the NBA, since it’s hard for fans in non-glamor markets to fully invest in their teams if they believe star players always have one foot out the door.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic throws some cold water on the news of Antetokounmpo’s extension, writing that the new deal offers the Bucks a temporary reprieve, but doesn’t guarantee the superstar forward will be with the franchise for the next five years. Jobs will be “on the line” in Milwaukee if the team doesn’t make the NBA Finals and win a title within the next couple years, says Vardon.

L.A. Notes: Horton-Tucker, LeBron, AD, COVID-19, Mann

December 15th, 2020 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

With his second consecutive impressive preseason performance on Sunday, second-year Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker is making a strong case to be part of the team’s regular season rotation, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.

“It’s going to make my job difficult for sure,” head coach Frank Vogel said when asked about finding a role for Horton-Tucker, who poured in 33 points in Sunday’s win to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

“We have a very deep team. No minutes are guaranteed,” Vogel added. “He’s going to keep playing at a high level, and that should push everybody else to stay playing at a high level. It does give us that luxury of having him carry the load some for some of our guys who played deep in the championship run last year and had a short offseason.”

Even if the Lakers stay relatively healthy this season, the club should prioritize finding regular minutes for Horton-Tucker, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who says the franchise will need to develop young talent if it wants to remain a title contender for years to come

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles-based teams:

Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t play at all during the team’s first two preseason contests, but they’ll both be “ready to go” when the regular season gets underway next week, according to Vogel (link via Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times).
Both the Lakers and Clippers were missing players on Sunday due to “excused absences” believed to be related to the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Those absences may be related to inconclusive tests or contact tracing, so they don’t necessarily mean the individual tested positive for COVID-19, according to Greif, who notes that the Lakers were without Kostas Antetokounmpo and Devontae Cacok, while the Clippers were missing Reggie Jackson and assistant coach Chauncey Billups.
Although Terance Mann has seen some time at shooting guard and small forward, the Clippers view the 24-year-old as a point guard and expect him to be a key contributor off the bench, as Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes.

Lakers Waive Zavier Simpson, Kevon Harris, Tres Tinkle

December 14th, 2020 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers waived guard Zavier Simpson, guard Kevon Harris, and forward Tres Tinkle on Sunday, according to the NBA’s official transactions log.

Simpson, Harris, and Tinkle were all rookie free agents who went undrafted last month, then agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts with the Lakers. It looked as if the plan was for them to participate in training camp and then perhaps join Los Angeles’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. However, the team reportedly opted not to bring them to camp as a coronavirus precaution.

The Lakers are also among the teams expected to bypass the proposed G League bubble, as our JD Shaw has reported. As such, Harris, Simpson, and Tinkle may not get an opportunity to play for South Bay this season. Still, it appears all three players officially signed their Exhibit 10 deals, just in case.

Following the series of transactions, the Lakers are once again carrying 16 players on their roster, including 14 on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. They seem likely to open the season with those 16 players under contract.

And-Ones: Doncic, Lin, G League, Duffy

December 14th, 2020 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

A panel of eight NBA scouts and executives polled by Tim Bontemps of ESPN nearly unanimously view LeBron James as the league’s best player, but voted Luka Doncic as the frontrunner for the MVP award in 2021.

“It’s hard to see Giannis winning three in a row,” a Western Conference scout told ESPN. “And I think there’s more of an opportunity for Luka to kind of put on an MVP show and do more on an individual basis.”

Bontemps also had those scouts and execs weigh in with their thoughts on the 2020 offseason, polling them on which teams had the most success upgrading their roster in either the short or long term — or both. Half the panelists picked the Lakers as the team that had the best offseason, with the Hawks, Thunder, and Sixers also receiving votes. Meanwhile, the Pistons, Rockets, and Bucks got votes for the worst offseason.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Free agent guard Jeremy Lin practiced this weekend with the G League Ignite ahead of their scrimmages on Tuesday and Thursday, league sources tell Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). Lin wasn’t among the veteran players previously announced as part of the Ignite, but Zagoria suggests in his full story that the veteran is expected to suit up with the squad on Tuesday.
Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside is keeping tabs on which teams are expected to opt in and out of the G League’s proposed Atlanta-area bubble. With the NBA’s opening night just over a week away, it seems like a formal update on the plans for the NBAGL should be right around the corner.
After making a clerical error that cost client Anthony Carter approximately $3MM in 2003, agent Bill Duffy vowed to repay Carter in full and has made good on that promise, making the last of his payments to Carter this year, as Sopan Deb writes in an interesting story for The New York Times.

Pacific Notes: Horton-Tucker, Harrell, Smailagic, Kings

December 12th, 2020 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Both L.A. teams are filled with stars, but the talk of the first preseason matchup between the Lakers and Clippers was second-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Horton-Tucker only got into six games for the Lakers last season, spending most of the year in the G League, but he erupted for 19 points and nine rebounds on Friday night.

The performance drew online raves from his teammates, with LeBron James tweeting, “Telling you right now! This kid is flat out SPECIAL! Mark my words.” An injury slowed Horton-Tucker during last year’s training camp, but he got to display his skills during the restart and is now aiming for a rotation role.

“He’s young, but he’s got all the tools,” said new Laker Wesley Matthews. “He’s a dog. He’s tough on the offensive end, the defensive end. He’s crafty. He’s got some stuff to him, and he’s only gonna get better. I mean obviously he’s learning from one of the best (James) to ever touch a basketball.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Montrezl Harrell said he felt “definitely weird emotions” playing against the Clippers after leaving the organization to sign with its cross-town rival, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Harrell talked briefly with Reggie Jackson and Patrick Beverley during warm-ups before Friday’s game. “As far as seeing my old teammates and communicating with those guys, I did that after the game, for the most,” Harrell said. “Lou (Williams) and Pat, I kind of spoke to before the game just ‘cause I’ve been around those guys my whole career. But this is my job. This is where I’m at. … This wasn’t a come out, ‘Hey, how are you guys doing?’ and laughing it up. Nah, I had a job to do and I had a mindset of what I came here to do.”
The Warriors are hoping Alen Smailagic can develop into the same type of player as Davis Bertans, writes Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State recognized that Smailagic would be a project when he was drafted in the second round last year, so he’s virtually guaranteed a roster spot this season, Letourneau adds. “I think there’s a lot there to work with, and he has a really good chance to be a really good player in the NBA,” Warriors two-way coach Seth Cooper said. “I’m glad that the organization is willing to see that through and hopefully reap the benefits from this investment down the line.”
Kings coach Luke Walton hopes Marvin Bagley III and Hassan Whiteside will be ready for preseason action next week, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. Bagley missed workouts because of COVID-19, while Whiteside is dealing with a mild calf strain.

Anthony Davis, LeBron James To Sit Out Preseason Opener

December 11th, 2020 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James won’t play in the team’s preseason opener on Friday, head coach Frank Vogel confirmed (Twitter link via Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group).