Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Paul George Talks 2017 Trade Request, Teaming Up With Kawhi

November 20th, 2019 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

After sitting out the Clippers‘ last three games due to a left knee contusion, Kawhi Leonard will suit up tonight against Boston, marking the first time that Leonard and Paul George will play together for the franchise, per Ohm Youngmisuk and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

For George, it will be the culmination of what has been a years-long desire to team up with Leonard, as he tells Youngmisuk in a separate ESPN article. According to George, when he requested a trade out of Indiana in 2017, the Lakers were widely believed to be his desired landing spot, but he also had interest in being sent to the Spurs, who still had Kawhi on their roster at the time.

“I wanted to be traded to San Antonio,” George told Youngmisuk. “We wanted to go to San Antonio first, and we didn’t make that happen.”

A source confirms to ESPN that the Spurs and Pacers talked at the time, but San Antonio lacked the assets necessary to make a move for George. The Lakers ultimately passed too, since they were reluctant to surrender too many assets for a player they thought they might be able to sign in free agency, writes Youngmisuk. George was eventually dealt to Oklahoma City, but still hoped to team up with Leonard at some point down the road.

“Since that moment, we were trying to pair up with one another,” George said. “We were trying to make it work. [After being traded to the Thunder] I had obligations that I wanted to come back to Oklahoma and give it another shot. … And then I felt that I needed to move on, I needed to go in another direction and I needed to at that point do what I wanted to do my whole career.”

About four or five days before news broke this summer that the Clippers had reached deals to acquire George and sign Leonard, Kawhi reached out to PG13 to see if the time was finally right to try to play together. Although it took another trade request from George, the two star forwards did ultimately end up on the same roster in Los Angeles. Now, they’ll take the court together as teammates for the first time.

“Just seems like it was destined,” George said over the summer. “We were supposed to play together.”

LeBron James Defends Former Lakers Coach Luke Walton

November 17th, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by JD Shaw

LeBron James defended former Lakers head coach Luke Walton this past week, explaining how Walton did everything he could during his brief, tumultuous time with the franchise, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “I mean, we were right where we wanted to be on Dec. 25, went up into Golden State and played against a very good team and had a very good game,” James said. “And then the injury happened and I’m out 6½ weeks. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that, including myself and including Luke. And we were just behind the eight ball. But throughout it all we just tried to remain positive, even throughout with the young guys, with the older guys and whatever the case may be. So I think he did as great of a job as you could do under the circumstances.”

LeBron James Wants To Play Until He “Can’t Walk No More”

November 15th, 2019 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James may have moved to Los Angeles to pursue other career opportunities but he’s not leaving the court any time soon, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.

James, who entered the NBA out of high school in 2003, told reporters on Friday that retirement is one of the further things from his mind.

“As long as I feel great and as long as I can still play at a high level and mentally I’m sharp and I’m there and I’m giving everything to the game and nothing can distract me from what the main objective is, I’ll probably play this game,” he said. “When I physically can’t play or mentally I’m a little checked out or I’m not approaching the game like I’ve always done in my whole career since I picked up a basketball, then you can start looking at (the end) that way.”

James, who will turn 35 next month, suffered the first significant injury of his career last Christmas. He injured his groin and missed more than a month of action while the Lakers slid out of the playoff race. He wound up playing a career-low 55 games in his first year with the Lakers.

He’s looked just fine this season with Anthony Davis joining forces with him. In 11 games, he’s averaged 23.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG and a career-high 11.1 APG.

James has played 1,209 regular-season and 239 postseason games. Among regular-season appearances, James is already in the top 50 for most games played in a career. He’s in the top 15 all-time in minutes played.

However, when he looks to the future, he projects his career to follow the same trajectory as the most successful NFL quarterback of all time.

“Me and Tom Brady are one in the same: We’re gonna play until we can’t walk no more,” he said.

Lakers Had Hoped Suns Would Buy Out Baynes In Summer

November 15th, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Some potential contenders – such as the Lakers – were hoping that the Suns viewed Aron Baynes as a salary dump when they acquired him on draft night and would eventually buy him out, Charania writes. Instead, the veteran center has emerged as a key part of Phoenix’s lineup. Baynes is on an expiring contract and one team executive believes the big man is “positioning himself for well over $10MM per year,” as Charania relays.

[SOURCE LINK]

Avery Bradley Out At Least 1-2 Weeks With Leg Injury

November 15th, 2019 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers will be without Avery Bradley for at least a few games. The team announced today in a press release that an MRI on Bradley’s injured right leg revealed a hairline fracture in a non-weight bearing bone. He’ll be re-evaluated in one or two weeks, according to the club.

Bradley initially suffered this injury on November 3 in San Antonio, according to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), who says an X-ray at the time revealed no fracture. Since the leg was still bothering him, the team conducted a follow-up MRI this week, which showed the hairline fracture.

Outside of Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Bradley has been the Lakers’ most-used player this season, averaging 27.4 minutes per contest. The veteran guard has averaged 9.6 PPG on 48.8% shooting and has typically guarded top opposing perimeter scorers.

The Lakers will host Sacramento tonight before facing Atlanta on Sunday and Oklahoma City on Tuesday and again on Friday. Assuming Bradley’s absence extends beyond to two weeks, he’d also miss games in Memphis (November 23), San Antonio (Nov. 25), and New Orleans (Nov. 27).

With Bradley out of their lineup, the Lakers figure to lean more heavily on the likes of Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, and Troy Daniels, among others.

Monty Williams Says Lakers Never Made Offer, Calls Organization “Gracious”

November 12th, 2019 at 7:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

After a year on the Sixers‘ bench assisting Brett Brown, Monty Williams went into the offseason as a highly coveted coaching candidate and had meetings with the Suns and Lakers. While the Lakers reportedly had Williams near the top of their wish list, Phoenix ended up hiring him, and the Suns’ coach said that Los Angeles never officially made him an offer, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Time relays.

“They didn’t make me an offer, Mr. Sarver [Robert Sarver, the Suns’ owner] made me an offer, so it wasn’t part of my thinking,” Williams said. “I had conversations with the Lakers, they were really gracious. I was humbled to sit down with [Lakers owner] Jeanie Buss and that whole crew but it never came down to that. The Suns offered me a great opportunity and I took it.”

Williams joined Phoenix on a five-year contract and early returns have been promising. The Suns are off to their best start in the Devin Booker era and Anthony Davis, who played under Williams when he was the coach of the Pelicans, was among the few to see this coming.

“The league wasn’t as fast as it is now with the way things have changed,” Davis said. “He always wanted to play fast. He brought guys in who knew the game of basketball who were tough and physical and surrounded Devin Booker with a lot of guys that know how to play the game. So I expected nothing less from him coming in.”

The 2019 offseason won’t be remembered for the fierce battle (or lack thereof) for Williams’ services but it’s turning out to be among the major storylines early in the 2019/20 season. Phoenix has a 6-3 record heading into its matchup with Los Angeles.

“He wanted to be back on the front of the bench and be a head coach,” Davis continued. “He’s proving why he should be there.”

Anthony Davis Plays Through Shoulder Injury

November 11th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Davis is playing through right shoulder pain, an injury he suffered on a missed dunk attempt two weeks ago, Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. “There’s really never a play I don’t feel it,” Davis said. He hasn’t missed any games due to the injury and that will continue as long as he doesn’t aggravate it, according to Mark Medina of USA Today. “If he can be out there, he’s going to be out there,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s going to play through pain. We just got to make sure that it’s being done intelligently.”

Magic Discusses Failed Trade Discussions With Pelicans; Rondo Close To Return

November 10th, 2019 at 5:33pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson recently appeared on Fox Sports 1 to discuss his old team, the well-documented trade conversations involving Anthony Davis and more.

Prior to the trade deadline last February, with Davis seeking to move out of New Orleans, Johnson and then-Pelicans GM Dell Demps engaged in a serious of discussions with hopes of finalizing a trade to land Davis in Los Angeles. The Lakers never believed Demps was truly looking to accommodate Davis’ request, and Johnson used a noteworthy level of honesty while discussing the matter in his appearance on Fox.

Despite originally targeting a Sunday return date, Lakers guard Rajon Rondo (calf) will wait to make his season debut, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Rondo participated in a workout on Saturday and will work out again on Sunday to ramp up his endurance, Haynes notes. The Lakers have games scheduled this week against the Suns on Tuesday, Warriors on Wednesday and Kings on Friday.

L.A. Notes: George, Leonard, Rondo, McGee

November 10th, 2019 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George is almost ready to return to the court after going through his first five-on-five practice yesterday, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. Coach Doc Rivers told reporters that George’s debut with the Clippers could come tomorrow against the Raptors, although Wednesday against the Rockets or Thursday against the Pelicans remains more likely.

No matter when it happens, George, who was involved in one of the highest-profile trades of the offseason, is eager to stop rehabbing and start playing. He had surgery on both shoulders shortly after the Thunder were eliminated from last season’s playoffs and has been operating on a limited basis since training camp opened.

“I’m used to being in this rehab stage and knowing what it takes to get my body prepared,” George said, referring to a broken leg he suffered in 2014. “It’s a long process. But with me going through it and having a drastic injury in my leg, I know what to expect. I know what pressure to put on myself and what pressure not to put on myself.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

Monday’s game will mark Kawhi Leonard‘s first meeting with the Raptors since leading the team to the NBA title in June, notes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard said he meets a lot of Canadians in Southern California and they thank him for bringing a championship to the country. “The guys, the journey,” Leonard responded when asked what he will remember from his season in Toronto. “Also the country. The city was amazing. And it’s just so much, you can keep going on and talking about it.”
Rajon Rondo is getting closer to his season debut for the Lakers, but it won’t come today against Toronto, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The veteran guard, who is recovering from a calf injury, went through a full workout Saturday and will participate in another practice today to help build his endurance.
Lakers center JaVale McGee won’t complain about a reduced role as long as the team keeps winning, relays Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. McGee is playing 25% fewer minutes and taking half as many shots as he did last season, with much of his time going to Dwight Howard. “Being on Golden State set me on (a path), let me have a mindset to where I’m not worried about minutes,” McGee said. However, he added, “If we’re losing and this is happening, then it’s a different situation.”

Rajon Rondo Close To Season Debut

November 9th, 2019 at 10:02am CST by marksuleymanov

The Lakers should get another injured player back this week as veteran point guard Rajon Rondo is aiming to make his season debut against the Raptors on Sunday, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Rondo, 33, has missed L.A.’s first eight games this season due to a calf injury. Once he returns, the Lakers will be at full strength as Kyle Kuzma returned to the lineup one week ago. The thing to watch will be how Rondo is integrated back into the regular rotation.

After the Lakers’ opening night loss to the Clippers, head coach Frank Vogel indicated that Rondo would see 25-30 minutes as the starting point guard upon his return. However, the Lakers have gone undefeated since then and LeBron James, the team’s primary point guard in Rondo’s absence, is leading the league with 11.1 APG.

Additionally, Rondo — once considered an elite defender — has regressed in that department and was a major weakness on that end for the Lakers last season. Rondo has also never been considered a great shooter, which does not bode well given the Lakers’ lack of strong perimeter shooting in the starting lineup.

The 2008 NBA champion with the Celtics will likely need to prove he can hold up his end defensively before L.A. trusts him with the workload Vogel mentioned weeks ago. For his career, the four-time All-Star has averages of 10.4 PPG and 8.5 APG.