Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

LeBron James Has No Plans To Sit For Load Management

November 9th, 2019 at 8:56am CST by marksuleymanov

With the Lakers off to a league-best 7-1 start, led by the performance of LeBron James, the team’s superstar has no plans to miss games if he’s healthy, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.

“If I’m hurt, I don’t play. If not, I’m playing,” James said to ESPN after L.A.’s Lakers’ 95-80 victory against the Heat Friday night. “That’s what has always been my motto.”

James, who will turn 35 in December, is in the midst of another characteristically strong season. He’s averaging 26.1 PPG and an NBA-best 11.1 APG for the Western Conference-leading Lakers. However, he is also coming off a season in which he suffered his first major injury, a torn groin that sidelined him for several months.

With fellow California superstar Kawhi Leonard regularly missing games for “load management,” there has been a lot of talk this fall about players sitting games despite being healthy enough to play. The Clippers were, however, fined $50K for providing conflicting statements on Leonard’s health status.

James refused to address Leonard or any other player and their plans to stay healthy for the duration of a season.

“I’m healthy, I play,” he said. “I probably got a good 45 years to not play basketball.”

Dwight Howard Could Be Sixth Man Candidate

November 8th, 2019 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dwight Howard has emerged a legitimate candidate for the Sixth Man award, Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype writes. Not only has Howard been a force with the Lakers’ second unit, he’s also blended surprisingly well with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, according to statistical measures, Kalbrosky adds. Howard, working on a non-guaranteed contract, is averaging 6.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 2.1 BPG in 21.7 MPG.

Howard Separating Business, Pleasure; Kuzma's Minutes Limit Increases

November 7th, 2019 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

Over his last few NBA stops, Lakers center Dwight Howard earned a reputation for rubbing teammates the wrong way, in part because of his “poorly-timed playfulness” that led some people in league circles to believe he lacked professionalism, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Since arriving in Los Angeles this summer though, Howard has been all business, with noticeable changes to his “dedication and demeanor.” As the veteran center tells Amick, that new approach has been deliberate.

“I’m the same person. I love to have fun, love to enjoy life. I just separate it,” Howard said. “There’s a time and a place for everything. I’m here for business. When I go home, that’s when I can be who I want to be. But right now, when I put on that jersey and when I come in this locker room, it’s about the Lakers. And that’s it.”

Howard, who made a strong early impression by studying game film with head coach Frank Vogel on the Lakers’ flight back from China last month, is also off to a strong start on the court. He has averaged 6.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in a part-time role through seven games, with a league-high .786 FG%.

After being held to 19 and 16 minutes in his first two games this season, Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma had a more lenient minutes limit on Tuesday against the Bulls, writes Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. Although Kuzma only ended up playing 21 minutes, Vogel is prepared to increase that figure going forward. “To me, it’s not so much what his limitations are,” Vogel said before Tuesday’s game. “It’s really about rhythm and timing and conditioning, for me, in terms of what his minutes end up being. But he’s allowed to play 26 now.”

NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Pacific Division

November 6th, 2019 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

We’re still five and a half weeks away from December 15, the date that most offseason signees become eligible to be dealt and the NBA’s trade season unofficially kicks off. Still, it’s hardly unprecedented for deals to be consummated in November. A year ago, two November trades were made, including the blockbuster that sent Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia.

With that in mind, it’s not too early to start identifying and considering players who could emerge as trade candidates before this year’s deadline. Here are three players who may fit that bill in the Pacific…

Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG
Sacramento Kings
$8.53MM cap hit; RFA in 2020

As we relayed last week, one general manager told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that the Kings aren’t currently fielding trade offers for Bogdanovic, but speculated that the team might eventually have to consider doing so. Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield signed lucrative long-term deals with the Kings this summer, and De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley figure to eventually receive similar – or pricier – extensions, creating some uncertainty about whether the team can afford to retain Bogdanovic too.

Although he’s off to a slow start this season, with a .314 FG% through seven games, Bogdanovic would appeal to a team seeking a wing who can shoot and would certainly have positive trade value. The only concern might be his upcoming restricted free agency.

There aren’t many teams projected to have significant cap space in 2020, but if one of those rebuilding clubs with room is eyeing Bogdanovic, a club that trades for him now might be forced to make a tough decision on an expensive offer sheet in July.

Alec Burks, G
Golden State Warriors
$1.62MM cap hit (minimum salary); UFA in 2020

If the Warriors bottom out this season in the wake of major injuries to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, their focus will be on developing young prospects. In other words, they probably won’t prioritize finding playing time for the veteran role players who signed one-year contracts with the team in the summer hoping to play for a contender.

In an episode of the Hoop Collective podcast earlier this week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst speculated that the Warriors could be active before the trade deadline, jettisoning some of those veteran role players. As Mike Moffitt of SFGate.com writes, Windhorst also identified Burks as the Golden State player who is perhaps the most likely to be traded.

Because the Warriors are hard-capped, they can’t really take back any extra 2019/20 salary in any trade involving Burks, but they probably wouldn’t have to. A team with interest in acquiring Burks – and an open roster spot – could take him on using the minimum salary exception without sending a player back to the Dubs.

DeMarcus Cousins, C
Los Angeles Lakers
$3.5MM cap hit; UFA in 2020

The Lakers haven’t ruled out the possibility of Cousins returning in the postseason, so perhaps the team plans to keep him into the spring as he recovers from his torn ACL. Still, having suffered multiple major leg injuries in recent years, Cousins should be playing it very safe with his latest ailment, and I’d be surprised to see him back on the court before the 2020/21 season.

If the Lakers eventually reach the same conclusion, Cousins could make a good salary-matching piece in a modest deadline deal. Los Angeles doesn’t have a lot of players who fit that bill, particularly since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Rajon Rondo all have de facto no-trade clauses and likely wouldn’t be eager to leave a contending team like the Lakers.

Cousins can’t block a trade and is on an expiring contract, which could make him a useful trade chip even if the team acquiring him intends to simply waive him. Even without attaching him to another player, the Lakers could use his expiring salary to acquire a player earning up to $6.225MM in 2019/20.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.