Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Clippers, Pistons, Cavs, Young

April 7th, 2020 at 9:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers hold the top spot in ESPN’s Future Power Rankings, which predicts the best and worst franchises over the next three seasons. While the team has one of the best one-two punches in the NBA with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles’ inability to trade a first-rounder may come back to haunt the team, Bobby Marks suggests.

L.A. sent out several first-rounders in the George deal and had just one pick (2020 selection) that was eligible to be included in a trade this season — the franchise used it to acquire Marcus Morris at the deadline.

The Lakers, Warriors, Bucks, and Celtics round out the top-5 in the ESPN’s latest rankings. Here’s more from around the league:

The Pistons and Cavaliers rank 29th and 30th, respectively, on that aforementioned ESPN’s list. Both franchises lack blue-chip prospects and each has expensive veterans clogging its cap space.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes Thaddeus Young will find himself on the trade block this offseason. Young, who inked a deal the Bulls last summer, was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the season.
NBA agent Mark Bartelstein said he expected the season to get postponed after watching what was going on abroad in February and March, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays. Bartelstein has clients in the Chinese Basketball Association and other international leagues.

Lakers Ask Top Execs To Defer Pay; Vanessa Bryant Talks Kobe's HOF Election

April 7th, 2020 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

With no end to the NBA’s hiatus in sight, the Lakers intend to ask a small group of senior-level staffers to voluntarily defer 20% of their salaries, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Sixers briefly considered reducing salaries for their full-time employees last month before a PR backlash prompted the team to reverse course. Philadelphia’s cuts would have targeted at-will employees earning at least $50K per year. If the Lakers are focused only on higher-earning staffers and intend to defer – rather than altogether eliminate – that 20%, they likely won’t face the same kind of backlash the 76ers did.

Vanessa Bryant, the wife of late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, told ESPN’s Rece Davis over the weekend that Bryant’s election to the Basketball Hall of Fame represents the “peak of his NBA career.” Bryant will be inducted in a 2020 class that includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and six others.

Jared Dudley Talks Lakers, Coronavirus, More

April 6th, 2020 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

In an entertaining Q&A with Michael Lee of The Athletic, Lakers forward Jared Dudley discussed a wide variety of topics, expressing concern about players who have no access to training facilities being able to prepare for a resumed season. “I’m not allowed to shoot a basketball (because of California’s stay-at-home order). For four months!” Dudley said. “And you’re going to give me two to three weeks? To be ready for playoffs and regular season? And be able to have my body play without injuries? That’s the last component where you’re like, ‘Hey, what’s feasible?’ Because the NBA will give you two weeks, that’s not enough. You will 100 percent see injuries you haven’t seen because of that.”

Kobe, Duncan, Garnett, Tomjanovich To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

April 3rd, 2020 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA stars Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

This year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony figures to be an emotional affair, with Bryant headlining the 2020 class just months after his tragic passing. The Lakers‘ legend was an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion, winning the MVP award in 2008 to go along with a pair of Finals MVPs. He is fourth on the league’s all-time scoring list and won scoring titles in 2006 and 2007.

Bryant will be joined by a pair of fellow NBA champions, including Duncan, who won three Finals MVPs and five titles in total. Like Bryant, he was named to an All-NBA team 15 times over the course of his career. The longtime Spurs‘ big man was one of the best players of his era, ranking sixth on the NBA’s all-time rebounding list and fifth in blocked shots.

While Garnett’s résumé isn’t quite as decorated as that of Bryant and Duncan, he earned 15 All-Star nods, an MVP award (in 2004), a Defensive Player of the Year award (2008), and a title in 2008 with the Celtics. Garnett, who began his career with the Timberwolves, ranks in the NBA’s top 20 in career points, rebounds, blocks, and steals.

Bryant, Duncan, and Garnett may be this year’s headliners, but they aren’t the only ones being inducted into the Hall of Fame. According to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link), former Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich has also been elected.

Tomjanovich is one of just three coaches to win both an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. He coached Houston to a pair of championships in the mid-1990s and had an impressive career as a Rockets player prior to his coaching days, earning five NBA All-Star nods in his 11-year career.

Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey, Eddie Sutton, and Barbara Stevens were announced as Hall of Fame finalists in February — it’s unclear if anyone from that group will be inducted into the 2020 class alongside Bryant, Duncan, Garnett, and Tomjanovich. The official announcement will happen on Saturday.

It remains to be seen what form this year’s induction ceremony will take. It’s scheduled to happen on August 29 in Springfield, Massachusetts, but there’s no guarantee that the coronavirus situation will have improved enough by then to hold large-scale gatherings.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Warriors, Wiggins, Johnson

April 3rd, 2020 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

Two Lakers tested positive for the coronavirus last month, but head coach Frank Vogel said on a conference call on Thursday that he wasn’t tested at that time and he doesn’t think his assistants were either. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN outlines, Lakers players underwent tests even if they weren’t experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, but the coaching staff wasn’t given the same directions.

“It’s just, we were not told to be tested,” Vogel said. “And obviously everybody recognized the shortage of tests and we were only going to do what the local health department told us to do. So, we weren’t asked to be tested at that point.”

Interestingly, according to Vogel, it’s not just the general public that doesn’t know the identities of the Lakers players who were affected by the coronavirus. The veteran coach told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan that he’s also in the dark about which two players who tested positive.

“I don’t even know who are they,” Vogel said, “and I’m totally fine with that.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

On Thursday’s call with reporters, Vogel also said it would be a “huge disappointment” if the Lakers don’t get a chance to compete for a title this summer, but said he and his team understand the situation. “We get it, and this is bigger than basketball,” he said, per Bill Oram of The Athletic. “And us getting back on the court is not the most important thing for the world right now. Hopefully we have that chance, and if we’re not able to, it would be a big disappointment.”
The Warriors‘ ability to spend on free agents during the 2020 offseason will be limited, but Anthony Slater of The Athletic suggests there are dozens of players who could be fits, ranging from long-shots like Paul Millsap to lower-cost options like D.J. Augustin or Meyers Leonard. In Slater’s view, veteran wing Jae Crowder would be the best fit for Golden State among the realistic mid-level-type targets.
Can Andrew Wiggins, who has a .372 winning percentage in 454 career NBA games, be a reliable contributor on a contender? That will be one of the key questions facing the Warriors during the 2020 offseason as they decide whether to stick with Wiggins or flip him in a trade, according to Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago.
With the help of Gina Mizell of The Athletic, Suns rookie Cameron Johnson details his recovery from mononucleosis and how that experience gave him something of a “head start on the whole quarantine thing.”

And-Ones: Olympics, Croatia, Rights Fees, Option Decisions

April 1st, 2020 at 8:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agency issues could limit the roster for Team USA at the Olympics next summer, writes Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. That wouldn’t have been a significant concern this year because of a relatively weak free agent class, but Reynolds notes that LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and others could be on the open market in 2021.

The Olympics are set to open on July 23 of next year, meaning that training camp will begin early in the month, which marks prime time for free agency decisions. Reynolds suggests that could lead to situations similar to what happened in 2012 with Deron Williams, who couldn’t participate in contact drills until his deal with the Nets was signed.

The U.S. won’t be the only nation affected, Reynolds adds. Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and France’s Rudy Gobert can both opt out in the summer of 2021, while another year of wear and tear could affect Marc Gasol‘s desire to play for Spain.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Croatia’s top division has become the latest international league to call off its season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. No champion will be declared, and the teams that played in the top division this season will be able to do so again next year.
Alex Sherman of CNBC examines how networks are handling the rights fees they paid for games that have been canceled because of the coronavirus. The NBA doesn’t have a provision in its contracts for networks to receive refunds, sources familiar with the deals tell Sherman. While “force majeure” provisions exist, they may not apply to a pandemic. Sherman speculates that even if they can make the argument that they’re entitled to money back, some networks may not pursue it so they can preserve their relationships with the NBA and other leagues. He notes that payments for broadcast rights haven’t been refunded when seasons have been reduced because of labor disputes. “Let’s say it’s a one-time only event, obviously you’re not going to pay,” said former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson. “But what you’re talking when you have a 10- or 15-year agreement, year after year, you work it out in an accommodation of some kind.”
In an article for The Athletic, former NBA executive John Hollinger offers predictions on all 41 player and team options for the upcoming offseason. Among the richest deals, Hollinger expects Mike Conley to stay with the Jazz for $34.5MM, Gordon Hayward to opt in for $34.187MM from the Celtics and Andre Drummond to remain with the Cavaliers for $28.75MM. Hollinger predicts Anthony Davis will turn down $28.55MM from the Lakers and sign a new deal with the team, unless the cap number falls so low that it will benefit him to wait for next year.

Lakers Clear Two-Week Quarantine

March 31st, 2020 at 5:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Two weeks ago, a pair of Lakers tested positive for COVID-19 and today, the team announced that all of its players are symptom-free, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays.

The entire team got tested earlier this month after the Nets announced that four players had tested positive for the virus. Kevin Durant was one of the players, as he revealed via social media.

While all Lakers players were quarantined for two weeks, only 14 of the team’s 17 players (including two-way players) were tested, McMenamin hears.

“The thing I think people aren’t realizing is how serious of an ordeal this is and that it’s not to be taken lightly,” guard Alex Caruso said recently. “Everybody said the test is uncomfortable, and it pretty much was. They just stuck a Q-tip through your nose to the back of your mouth.”

Caruso Working Out At Beach

March 30th, 2020 at 5:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers guard Alex Caruso is doing his best to stay in shape during the hiatus, Garrett Stepien of 247Sports.com relays. Caruso made the comments in a video interview with 247’s Evan Daniels. “It’s just at-home workouts, right, because facilities are closed,” Caruso said. “I live close to the beach and down in South Bay, so I’ve gone down to the beach, done some stuff on the beach, at-home workouts in the garage, dribbling, just basic ball-handling stuff, anything I can do to try to keep my body physically active.”

Coronavirus Notes: LeBron, Young, Curry, Temple

March 26th, 2020 at 8:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Lakers All-Star LeBron James spoke about his feelings on returning to the NBA amidst the coronavirus pandemic with his former Cavaliers teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye – plus Lakers studio host Allie Clifton – for their Road Trippin’ Podcast (h/t to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).

James feels uncomfortable about potentially playing games without fans. “So to get back on the floor, I would love it,” he said. “Let’s just go to each other’s practice facility, put out a camera, just scrimmage and livestream it. … I just don’t know how we can imagine a sporting event without fans. It’s just, it’s a weird dynamic.”

On the podcast, James also advocates for the NBA playing a handful of regular season games before the playoffs, assuming the 2019/20 season can resume at all. “One thing you can’t just do is go straight to the playoffs… Because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys had fighting for that position.”

Here are a few more items related to the coronavirus pandemic and the NBA’s hiatus:

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NBA to postpone its season, All-Star Hawks point guard Trae Young returned from Atlanta to his offseason home near his family in Norman, Oklahoma, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry has been a solid voice of reason amidst the coronavirus chaos, as Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Curry hosted an informative 30-minute Q&A on his Instagram with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Nets wing Garrett Temple has opted to use the NBA’s indefinite postponement to study for the LSATs, as he told the YES Network’s Michael Grady (h/t to New York Post’s Brian Lewis). “I’m going to be honest, I’ve been sleeping a good amount, but also trying to take on a new task,” Temple said. “I’ve actually started practicing for the LSAT prep.”

Western Notes: Johnson, LeBron, Aldridge, DeRozan

March 24th, 2020 at 9:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Cameron Johnson, who was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2019 draft, should see an increased role next season in Phoenix, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic contends. The Suns rookie had made 91 three-pointers in 49 games and his progression may allow the franchise to focus on other position as it looks to upgrade the roster this summer.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Lakers star LeBron James is being sued by a photographer for posting content on his social media pages without permission, as I detailed on Heavy.com. The photojournalist captured a picture of James dunking on Meyers Leonard earlier in the season.
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News examines LaMarcus Aldridge‘s season and wonders if the 34-year-old big man has a lengthy future with the Spurs. Aldridge has one year and $24MM left on his deal after this season.
DeMar DeRozan‘s future with the Spurs isn’t certain either, as McDonald writes in a separate piece. The shooting guard is expected to decline his player option for next season and seek a long-term contract—either with San Antonio or another club.