Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Community Shootaround: How Many More Rings For LeBron?

October 17th, 2020 at 8:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Last summer, it appeared LeBron James might have to be content with three championship rings. He was 34, well past the prime for most NBA players, and was coming off the most serious injury of his career. He was also sitting out the playoffs for the first time since the 2004/05 season.

Everything looks different now, of course. LeBron and the Lakers tore through the competition in Orlando, being pushed past five games only by the Heat. James averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists during the Finals and became the second-oldest player ever to win Finals MVP honors.

A fourth championship ring enhances his place in history and gives him a chance to join even more elite company. Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan are among the players with five. Michael Jordan, whom James is frequently compared to, has six, as do Scottie Pippen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Cousy.

The Lakers look capable of winning multiple titles. Anthony Davis turned out to be a perfect complement for James and may be at the peak of his career at age 27. The rest of the roster is a mix of youth and veterans who all fit well into their prescribed roles. Avery Bradley, who opted out of the restart, seems likely to return next season, adding another strong defensive presence to the backcourt.

The biggest wild card is how long James can remain at an elite level. He averaged 34.6 minutes per game this season, which is the lowest of his career, but not by much. James led the league in assists for the first time at 10.2 per game, while adding 25.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. Remarkably, his production per 36 minutes has barely changed from a decade ago.

James is under contract for one more season and holds a $41MM player option for 2021/22. There’s no certainty beyond that, but he hasn’t even hinted at retirement. The Lakers will try to maximize his title opportunities for as long as he’s on the roster and have shown a willingness to spend whatever is necessary.

We want to get your opinion. How many more titles do you believe James will win before retirement? Please leave your answers in the comment section.

Some Execs View Lakers As Logical Suitor For Chris Paul

October 16th, 2020 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Some executives around the league believe that the Lakers make sense as a trade partner for the Thunder in a Chris Paul deal, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. While LeBron James and Paul likely wouldn’t mind teaming up, it would be tricky for the Lakers to pull off a deal — they’d have to package at least six players in order to match Paul’s salary, and there would be other roadblocks to consider, as Dan Feldman of NBC Sports writes.

Unpacking The Lakers' 2020 Cap

October 15th, 2020 at 9:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Danny Leroux of The Athletic unpacks some core offseason priorities for the 2020 NBA champion Lakers, including locking up Anthony Davis to a longer-term contract (he has a player option on the final year of his current deal), re-signing unrestricted free agent starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and considering cost-effective free agent ball-handler, wing shooter and center additions.

Warriors Expected To Have Interest In Dwight Howard

October 15th, 2020 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran center Dwight Howard will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and he and the Lakers have mutual interest in working out a new contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

However, Los Angeles won’t be the only team looking to sign Howard. Sources tell Charania that the Warriors are among the potential contenders expected to have interest in the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

After missing nearly the entire 2018/19 season for health reasons, Howard bounced back in a big way in ’19/20, appearing in 69 regular season games and another 18 postseason contests for the Lakers.

The 34-year-old willingly took on a reduced role, playing a career-low 18.9 MPG. However, he made a major impact in that role, with 7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG, and a .729 FG%. Howard also flashed his old DPOY form in certain matchups, agitating Nikola Jokic during the Western Conference Finals.

As he enters his age-35 season, Howard won’t be in line for a big-money multiyear deal, but he could receive offers that exceed the minimum salary he earned in 2019/20. The Warriors will have the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth approximately $5.72MM) available and may decide to use some or all of that exception to make Howard an offer.

Golden State has some options at center, including Marquese Chriss, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green, but may be seeking a more physical big man to share minutes at the five. Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area argued last week that Howard would be an ideal fit, suggesting he could be a lob threat on offense and would provide the same sort of physicality that veteran Warriors centers like Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia did in previous years.

The Lakers hold Non-Bird rights on Howard, so if they want to offer him more than the minimum, they can go up to about $3.08MM using the Non-Bird exception. A more lucrative offer would mean dipping into their mid-level or bi-annual exception.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Expected To Decline Player Option

October 15th, 2020 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to be among the Lakers turning down a player option for the 2020/21 season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Earlier reports indicated that Rajon Rondo is likely to opt out and that Anthony Davis plans to do the same.

The second-year option on Caldwell-Pope’s for next season is worth approximately $8.54MM, but there’s a perception that he has outperformed that figure and could be in line for a raise and/or a longer deal after essentially acting as the Lakers’ third option during the team’s NBA Finals victory.

Having put up relatively modest numbers (9.3 PPG on .467/.385/.775 shooting) during 69 regular season games (25.5 MPG), Caldwell-Pope made some big shots in the playoffs, knocking down 42.1% of his three-point attempts in the first three rounds and then averaging 12.8 PPG in the Finals, the third-highest scoring average on the team behind LeBron James and Davis. He also provided strong perimeter defense.

Caldwell-Pope has spent the last three seasons with the Lakers and the two sides have “significant mutual interest” in reaching a new agreement, per Charania. Los Angeles holds KCP’s Bird rights, giving the club plenty of flexibility to sign him to a new contract worth essentially any value up to the max.

The 27-year-old is expected to receive interest from a handful of external suitors, according to Charania, who identifies the Hawks as one team that could “emerge with interest.”

Besides Caldwell-Pope, Rondo, and Davis, the Lakers with player options for 2020/21 include Avery Bradley and JaVale McGee. They’re also candidates to opt out, though their intentions remain unclear for now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Anthony Davis Plans To Opt Out, Re-Sign With Lakers

October 15th, 2020 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

Anthony Davis isn’t expected to exercise his $28.75MM player option for the 2020/21 season, but there’s also no expectation that he’ll leave Los Angeles, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the star big man intends to opt out and then re-sign with the Lakers.

As Charania details, the plan is for Davis and agent Rich Paul to hold meetings in the coming weeks leading up to free agency to discuss the situation and determine the contract length and structure that is “most sensible” for the 27-year-old.

The Lakers are expected to offer Davis whatever form of max contract he wants, whether it’s for one year or five, so it will be up to AD and Paul to decide the best route for the seven-time All-Star.

There are several factors to consider, including the state of the NBA’s salary cap for the next couple seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Davis will be eligible for a more lucrative “maximum” salary in 2022, when he’ll have 10 years of NBA experience and will be eligible for a starting salary worth 35% of the cap instead of 30%.

Assuming the cap doesn’t increase for the 2020/21 season, Davis would be in line for a max salary of $32,472,000 next season, which is why he’ll turn down his $28,751,774 option. If he tacks on extra years to his new deal, he can receive 8% annual raises, regardless of future salary cap increases. With so much uncertainty surrounding the cap, a multiyear deal that locks in those raises could end up being more player-friendly.

If Davis signs a two-year deal with a second-year player option or a three-year deal with a third-year player option, he’d be in a position to sign a new long-term contract in 2022. The hope would be that the NBA has mostly recovered from the impact of the coronavirus by that point and that the cap would be on the rise again. Even if it the cap hasn’t significantly increased by then though, it’d be a good time for Davis to sign a new contract that would start at 35% of the cap.

Davis, who was sent from New Orleans to Los Angeles last summer in a blockbuster trade, had a monster first year with the Lakers, averaging 26.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 2.3 BPG in 62 regular season games (34.4 MPG).

He finished sixth in MVP voting and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, helping lead the club to the West’s No. 1 seed. He followed up a dominant regular season by recording 27.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.4 BPG in 21 postseason contests en route to the first title of his career.

Given the success he enjoyed as a Laker, there has never been any real doubt that Davis would re-up with the franchise, even if he was noncommittal when asked about it earlier this week following the team’s Game 6 win.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rajon Rondo Expected To Decline 2020/21 Option

October 15th, 2020 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo is likely to decline his $2.69MM player option for the 2020/21 season, a source familiar with the situation tells Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Chris Sheridan of BasketballNews.com first reported that Rondo is expected to opt out of his contract.

The deadlines for ’20/21 player option decisions remain up in the air, but will likely fall sometime in late November, so Rondo still has plenty of time to reverse course and opt in. However, it makes sense that he’d seek a new deal, even if he intends to remain in Los Angeles.

Rondo’s current two-year contract is worth the veteran’s minimum and he arguably outperformed it by playing a key role in the Lakers’ run to this year’s championship.

After returning from a broken thumb during the second round vs. Houston, the veteran guard averaged 8.9 PPG, 6.6 APG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 16 games (24.7 MPG) off the bench. He even provided some reliable outside shooting, knocking down 40.0% of 3.1 three-point attempts per game during the postseason.

Assuming the salary cap remains at the same level in 2020/21 as in ’19/20, Rondo’s minimum salary would be about $2.56MM, so if he has to settle for another minimum deal, he’d miss out on the 5% raise that his option would have afforded him. But that difference is minimal and the opportunity for a more lucrative offer makes declining the option worth the risk.

The Lakers will hold Rondo’s Early Bird rights, giving the team the ability to offer him a starting salary worth up to approximately $10MM (105% of the league-average salary in the previous season). However, contracts signed using the Early Bird exception must run for at least two years, without a second-year option. Los Angeles could potentially get around that rule by not fully guaranteeing the second year of an offer to Rondo.

Another potential path for the Lakers would be to re-sign Rondo using the Non-Bird exception. That would allow for a one-year deal (with or without a second-year option) and would give the 34-year-old veto rights on any trade, though his salary would be limited to about $3.08MM (120% of the minimum).

The Lakers will also have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available, but may prefer to use those exceptions to bring in outside help or to re-sign Non-Bird free agents Markieff Morris and/or Dwight Howard.

Of course, rival suitors could make life difficult for the Lakers by pursuing Rondo with mid-level type offers, but I imagine that – after winning a title with the team – the point guard’s first choice will be to stick with L.A.

Rondo is one of five Lakers with player options for the 2020/21 season. Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, and JaVale McGee are all candidates to opt out in search of new deals as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Notes: Bradley, Davis, LeBron, Offseason

October 14th, 2020 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Having opted out of the NBA’s summer restart, veteran guard Avery Bradley wasn’t on the Lakers‘ active roster when they secured the 17th title in franchise history in Orlando earlier this week. However, Bradley was extremely invested in his team’s playoff run and celebrated the championship at his home in Texas, according to Dave McMenamin and Malika Andrews of ESPN.

“I watched every single game,” Bradley said. “I am still a Laker.”

Bradley has a player option worth $5MM+ for 2020/21, and despite being separated from his teammates for the past several months, he doesn’t sound like someone who’s preparing to move on from the franchise this fall. As McMenamin and Andrews detail, Bradley received FaceTime calls during Sunday’s celebration from multiple members of the Lakers, including general manager Rob Pelinka, who has said the guard will get a championship ring.

“He was just letting me know I am a part of it,” Bradley said. “It has been a long season — and an amazing one. And we’ve been through a lot. It was just an amazing win. You could see it on his face.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (video link) got an exclusive sitdown with LeBron James and Anthony Davis following Sunday’s win and asked the two superstars about their respective futures. However, when pressed about his free agency, Davis offered no more specifics to Nichols than he did to the rest of the media. “We’ll see,” Davis said. With a laugh, James interjected, “Nobody’s talking about that right now.”
As part of his preview of the Lakers’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) explores Davis’ impeding free agency and his potential contract scenarios. Marks also takes a look at the possibility of an extension for James and evaluates where things stand for the rest of the roster.
Marks and John Hollinger of The Athletic both believe that a three-year maximum-salary contract with an opt-out after year two might be the most logical option for Davis and the Lakers this fall. That would put Davis in position to earn a higher max (35% of the cap instead of 30%) when he gains 10 years of NBA experience in 2022. It would also ensure he receives an 8% raise in 2021. If he signs one-year contracts for the next two years, he wouldn’t be assured of that raise, since there’s no guarantee the cap (and the maximum salary) will increase in 2021/22.
Earlier this afternoon, we passed along the early odds for the Western Conference in 2020/21. The Lakers, at +275, are considered the favorites for now.

Community Shootaround: Western Conference Odds For 2020/21

October 14th, 2020 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

After winning the NBA Finals in 2020, the Lakers are currently listed by sportsbooks as the odds-on frontrunners to do so again in 2021.

Over at BetOnline.ag, oddsmakers have listed the Lakers as +275 favorites to come out of the Western Conference in 2020/21. That means if you place a $100 bet on the Lakers and they win the West next season, you’ll win $275.

While the Lakers are the current favorites, BetOnline.ag places two other Western Conference teams in roughly the same tier. The Clippers (+375) have the second-best odds to win the conference, while the Warriors (+400) have the third-best odds.

Golden State’s placement is an interesting one. We can safely assume that the Warriors will be much improved in 2020/21 with a healthy Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson back in their lineup, and they have the resources necessary to make further roster upgrades. Still, the club is coming off a dismal 15-50 season that saw them finish in last place in the NBA. Winning the West in 2021 would represent a historic turnaround.

The rest of the odds to win the West next year are as follows, per BetOnline.ag:

Nuggets: +1200
Rockets: +1200
Mavericks: +1400
Trail Blazers: +1800
Jazz: +2500
Pelicans: +2500
Suns: +3300
Thunder: +4000
Grizzlies: +5000
Kings: +12500
Spurs: +12500
Timberwolves: +12500

As we acknowledged on Tuesday when we asked you for your thoughts on the Eastern Conference odds for 2020/21, it’s way too early to confidently predict next year’s conference champions. Rosters will undergo significant changes in the coming months in the draft and free agency, and on the trade market.

Still, the anticipated offseason directions for certain teams is baked into BetOnline’s odds. The Thunder would certainly be higher on the above list if the possibility of a rebuild wasn’t hanging over the franchise.

So, with the caveat that plenty could change in the coming months to alter the outlook of the West for the 2020/21 season, we want to get your thoughts on the early projections from oddsmakers.

Should the Lakers be considered the favorites to come out of the West again in 2021? Are the Warriors or another team being overvalued? Are there other clubs being undervalued? Which team do you like to come out of the West next season? And which club do you view as the best value pick based on the odds listed above?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your early forecast for the Western Conference in 2020/21!

Lakers Notes: Davis, LeBron, Pelinka, More

October 12th, 2020 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James added a few more major achievements to his résumé on Sunday, including his fourth NBA championship and his fourth Finals MVP award. However, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the Lakers’ playoff run and championship was also a major boon for Anthony Davis‘ reputation.

Within his article, Slater wonders how many players in the NBA a team would rather have on its roster over the next five seasons than Davis. In the wake of his extremely impressive postseason performance, Davis deserves to be mentioned in the NBA’s top tier of current stars, alongside the likes of James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Slater, who adds that AD has a realistic chance to make a run at the title of world’s best player in the coming years.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Will James’ fourth title be his last? He certainly sounds prepared to go after his fifth, telling reporters after Sunday’s win that he’s still “got a lot of years left,” as ESPN relays (via Twitter).
An in-depth Ramona Shelburne piece at ESPN.com about Jeanie Buss‘ role in the latest Lakers title includes the following quote from an unnamed senior Lakers executive, which appears to be a shot directed at the Clippers: “While some of our so-called rivals spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars trying to win media cycles, we kept our heads down and focused on basketball — because the only thing we’ve ever cared about winning is championships.”
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today outlines the long road the Lakers took to get to where they are today, starting with their 21-win and 17-win seasons from 2014-16.
In his press conference following the Lakers’ win on Sunday, general manager Rob Pelinka recalled the faith that Kobe Bryant expressed in him when he was first hired by the franchise (link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). “He said, ‘I’ll give you two, three years, you’ll fix this. You’ll get the Lakers back on top.'” Pelinka said of the late Bryant, whom he represented for two decades as an agent. “I guess you were right, man. You give me the energy to do it.”
Earlier today, we passed along Anthony Davis‘ comments on his contract situation.