- 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).
The Lakers are monitoring Trevor Ariza‘s situation and would have interest in signing him if he becomes a free agent, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
For now, Ariza – who is on an expiring contract – remains under contract with the Thunder, though he’s reportedly away from the team for family reasons. According to Charania, Ariza and veteran point guard George Hill, who is also drawing some interest around the league, are expected to open the regular season as members of the Thunder.
Oklahoma City entered full rebuilding mode this offseason and Ariza and Hill landed with the team in bigger trades that were more about other assets (draft picks). However, it makes sense for the Thunder to retain Ariza and Hill – along with fellow veteran Al Horford – rather than simply cutting them, since the club may be able to move them for an asset or two later in 2020/21.
While Horford’s contract has negative value, Ariza and Hill are earning mid-level type money and neither has a fully guaranteed salary beyond this season, so they could make good trade candidates.
Adding another veteran three-and-D wing would help fortify the Lakers’ depth chart, but they aren’t in position to trade for Ariza’s $12.8MM expiring salary. The defending champions will only be in position to add Ariza if the Thunder can’t find a taker for the 35-year-old forward and decide to release him, perhaps with a buyout agreement.
The Lakers are right up against a hard cap and figure to start the season with just 14 players, but Quinn Cook‘s contract isn’t fully guaranteed and the team should be able to add a 15th man later in the season on a prorated veteran’s minimum contract.
Veteran center Pau Gasol hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since March 10, 2019, but he still hasn’t given up on making it back to the league. The 40-year-old told ESPN’s Zach Lowe that his goal for the coming year is to play for an NBA team and to represent Spain at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer.
Gasol, who has talked previously about wanting to return to play one last season with the Lakers, said that the idea of reuniting with his old team in Los Angeles is even more appealing now that his brother Marc Gasol has signed there.
“There is meaning and history there,” Pau said. “I’m not going to lie. It would be very special, and now that my brother is there, even more special. But I’m not in a position now to be very demanding. I don’t have 10 offers on the table.”
Gasol confirmed to Lowe that he has undergone two surgeries to repair stress fractures in the navicular bone in his left foot since he last played in the NBA. He has recovered from those procedures, but wants to work more on his improving his conditioning before seriously engaging in talks with NBA teams, according to Lowe, who says Pau and his agent recently discussed camp deals with some clubs.
Although Gasol would be interested in working for an NBA team in some capacity once he officially hangs up his sneakers, he’s not ready to transition into that phase of his career yet. As Lowe writes, the two-time champion wants to be more than a “glorified coach” if he signs with a team.
It’s not clear if the Lakers have genuine interest in signing Gasol or if he’ll have to seek an opportunity elsewhere, but he’s hoping for the opportunity to compete for another title alongside his brother.
“He had several teams that were interested,” Pau said of Marc. “What he valued most was the opportunity to win another championship. To play for the Lakers — it’s such a unique franchise. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and it’s very special for us to be the first brothers to play for the Lakers. It would be incredible if it ends up happening where I can join the team at some point.”
Lakers star LeBron James was surprised when he first heard that the NBA wanted to start the 2020/21 season before Christmas instead of sometime in the new year, he told reporters on Monday. As Mark Medina of USA Today writes, James had to cancel a Christmas vacation that he had planned to take with his family.
“‘Oh, s–t,'” James said when asked to describe his reaction to the news of the December 22 start date. “I’m just being completely honest. I wasn’t expecting that.”
The quick turnaround means that James will get less time to rest than just about any other player in the NBA, since his Lakers played all the way up until October 11, when they beat Miami in Game 6 of the 2020 Finals. James said that he’s fully healthy, but admitted he was “super sore” after the Lakers’ first practice and said he’ll have to be careful about ramping up his activity for the coming season.
“We’re going to be as smart as we can be with making sure my body and making sure I’m ready to be available,” James said. “Obviously every game matters. But we’re competing for something that is high.”
In his media session on Monday and in a an appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast with former teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, James addressed several more topics of interest. With the help of stories from Dave McMenamin of ESPN and Bill Oram of The Athletic, here are some of the most noteworthy quotes from LeBron:
On entering the 2020/21 season as defending champions:
“I guess the bull’s-eye just becomes even greater, if that’s even possible. For me personally, the bull’s-eye has always been on my back … since I entered the league. You add in the Laker name on top of that, the Lakers’ franchise, the bull’s-eye has been on this franchise for a long time as well.”
On how his new contract extension lines up his future with that of his son, Bronny James:
“The best thing about it is the year I’ll be a free agent will be the same year my oldest son graduates high school. So I’ll have some options to see, for me personally, what I want to do forward, being around my family, being around my son more or continue to play this game I love with great health and great spirits. We’ll see.”
On his reaction to Kyrie Irving calling Kevin Durant the first teammate he can trust as much as himself to take the final shot of a game:
“Once I got the whole transcript, I was like, ‘Damn,’ I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you trippin’. I’ve hit game-winning shots my whole life.’ I was not like that. I was like, ‘Damn.’
“Because … I played with Kyrie for three seasons. The whole time when I was there, I only wanted to see him be a MVP of our league. I only cared about his success. And it just didn’t align. It just didn’t align. And we were able to win a championship. That’s the craziest thing. We were still able to win a championship, and we could never align. But I only cared about his well-being, both on and off the floor.
“And it kind of hurt me a little bit.”
According to a report from Ben Stinar of Forbes (Twitter link), the Lakers have sent home their players who don’t have guaranteed contracts as a coronavirus precaution in order to limit the number of people on the court during training camp.
The exact details here are a little unclear. The Lakers reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with undrafted rookies Zavier Simpson, Tres Tinkle, and Kevon Harris, but those signings haven’t been announced by the team and haven’t shown up in the league’s public transactions log, so it’s possible they simply won’t be officially finalized.
Meanwhile, Quinn Cook formally re-signed with the Lakers on Friday, and Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that Cook received a non-guaranteed training camp contract. However, it doesn’t appear that Stinar’s report would apply to the veteran guard. Head coach Frank Vogel suggested on Sunday that he expects Cook to begin practicing later this week once he clears COVID-19 protocols, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets.
As we await more details on the Lakers’ camp roster, let’s round up a few more notes on the NBA’s two L.A. teams…
- After signing a five-year contract with the Lakers, Anthony Davis explained that he felt more comfortable locking in a longer-term deal in part because of his injury history, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I do have a little history with injuries, and a two-year deal, you kind of bet on yourself. … God forbid, knock on wood, something happens,” Davis said. “… I want to secure the most amount of years possible and be here long-term with this team, so I thought the five-year deal was best for me in my situation.”
- After suggesting during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast that Doc Rivers misused him last season and suggesting the Clippers failed to make adjustments during their second-round loss to Denver, Paul George walked those comments back a little on Friday, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details. Rivers’ response, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Hey, listen, I enjoyed coaching him. So not a lot to say there. (New Clippers coach) Ty Lue was sitting right next to me. So he better hope it’s not adjustments. It ain’t going to be much different.”
- Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley said that he and his teammates are entering the season angry and looking to make up for their disappointing playoff showing. “The attitude around here is guys are pissed off,” Beverley said, according to Youngmisuk. “Which is good. We should be pissed off after our exit last year in the playoffs. … It is a little quieter workplace and guys are more locked in, more focused, and that is the way it should be.”
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.