Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Cook, Kings, Suns, Clippers

July 21st, 2019 at 7:02pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers made a major splash by trading for Anthony Davis this offseason, but the team also made a number of other moves to help round out its roster in the weeks that followed. Among them was signing back-up point guard Quinn Cook to a contract, who has spent the past two seasons with Golden State in a championship atmosphere.

For Cook, his decision to sign with the Lakers went past the on-court product. He holds close relationships with several members on the team, including Davis, LeBron James and DeMarcus Cousins. He’s confident the team’s early chemistry will hold a positive impact this season, as he explained during an interview with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype.

“We have our team group chat going and the guys are very active in it. It feels like this team has been together for a while,” Cook said. “Everyone has been really active in the group chat. Ever since I signed, I went straight to Los Angeles and I’ve been working out with Bron, Kuz, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale [McGee]. We’ve been working on a lot of stuff and I’m getting a chance to learn from the coaching staff, getting a chance to talk to Coach Vogel a lot and work out with Coach [Miles] Simon.

“Everyone has been so welcoming since day one when I signed. I know the other guys will start to trickle in; it’s still really early in the summer. As guys trickle in, we’ll keep working hard and getting ready for the season. All of the guys are really excited to get things going, man. I know this NBA season will be one of the better ones for everyone – from players to coaches to fans. If you’re a fan of basketball, this season will be amazing.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division tonight:

Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee ponders whether analysts are overlooking the Kings entering next season. Sacramento sports a young nucleus of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley and other talented players with eyes set on making the playoffs next spring.
Duane Rankin examines the state of the Suns in an article for the Arizona Republic, including the team’s projected starting lineup, bench group, and array of intriguing combinations. Phoenix enters next season with several new players around Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, including Ricky Rubio, Dario Saric and Aron Baynes.
The additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are set to make the Clippers a hot ticket once again, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. The Lakers also revamped their roster during the offseason, with Staples Center expected to be wildly popular this season.

Lakers Claim Kostas Antetokounmpo

July 21st, 2019 at 4:15pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers have claimed forward Kostas Antetokounmpo off waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Antetokounmpo will head to Los Angeles on a two-way contract.

Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, was waived by the Mavericks last week after appearing in just two games with the team. He spent most of the 2018/19 season with Dallas’ G League affiliate, holding per-game averages of 10.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

Antetokounmpo was selected No. 60 overall by Philadelphia in the 2018 draft, ultimately getting dealt to Dallas later that night. He’ll join undrafted Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell as current Lakers players on two-way deals.

L.A. Notes: Leonard, Green, Lakers’ Coaches, Kuzma

July 20th, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers felt betrayed by Kawhi Leonard in the free agent process, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his latest podcast (hat tip to Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBS Sports). Some members of the team’s front office believe Leonard “played” them as he negotiated a deal with the Clippers. Leonard didn’t announce his intentions until July 6, causing the Lakers to miss out on other free agents while they were waiting.

The Raptors weren’t happy with the way things worked out either, Windhorst adds, saying that Leonard asked for “the sun, the moon, the stars” before deciding to leave.

“I kind of think they were all still in the game, and they all felt like they were still in the game,” Windhorst said. “If Toronto did not still feel like they were in the game, they would not have sent the plane for him, they would not have done the big presentation. If the Lakers didn’t think that they were still in the game, they would not have delayed the Anthony Davis trade like they did to wait and see if they could get him.”

There’s more today from Los Angeles:

Leonard not only convinced Paul George to ask for a trade to the Clippers, he helped recruit other players and convinced JaMychal Green to stay, Shams Charania states in an insiders roundtable for The Athletic. Green turned down more lucrative offers to accept a two-year, $10MM pact with L.A.
The Lakers are rounding out the staff for new coach Frank Vogel. Mike Penberthy, who played for the team in 2000 and 2001, will be hired as a shooting coach, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Penberthy served the same role last season on Alvin Gentry’s staff with the Pelicans. Also set to be hired is Quinton Crawford, who worked with Vogel in Orlando and spent last year with the Hornets, relays Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma is in the market for a new agent, according to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Kuzma is leaving Mark Bartelstein and Zach Kurtin of Priority Sports and Entertainment in hopes of finding new representatives to promote his business interests. He hasn’t started meeting with new agents yet.

Gordon, McCollum Withdraw From U.S. World Cup Team

July 20th, 2019 at 5:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two more potential Team USA players have decided not to participate in the 2019 World Cup. Rockets guard Eric Gordon is withdrawing from the team, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic, and Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum is joining him, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

With James Harden and Anthony Davis pulling out of the competition earlier this week, Team USA is now left with 16 players in training camp who will compete for 12 spots. The withdrawing players all said they want to focus on the upcoming season rather than the tournament, which will be held in China from August 31 to September 15. NBA training camps open in late September.

One of those remaining players, Kyle Lowry, had a surgical procedure on his thumb this week, and may not be physically ready to participate. His potential absence, plus the withdrawal of the four stars, should create more opportunity for members of the select team, who will be scrimmaging with the 16 players left in camp.

The players will gather for camp from August 5-8, and exhibition games will follow later in the month.

Canada’s World Cup team also lost an NBA player this week when Tristan Thompson elected not to participate, Charania tweets. In addition, Ben Simmons confirmed that he won’t be taking the court for Australia.

Jordan Caroline Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Lakers

July 20th, 2019 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20: One month later, the Lakers and Caroline have made it official, per a release from the club.

JUNE 20: The Lakers have reached a deal with undrafted Nevada wing Jordan Caroline, according to Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll, who reports that Caroline will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the club.

Caroline, who began his college career at Southern Illinois before transferring to Nevada, averaged 17.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.9 APG in his senior year. He also showed off an improved three-point shot, converting 1.4 per game at a rate of 36.8%.

Caroline is the third undrafted free agent to have reached a deal with the Lakers since the draft, joining Zach Norvell Jr. (two-way) and Devontae Cacok (Exhibit 10), as we detailed earlier today.

Mississippi State forward Aric Holman may be joining that group, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that Holman has also agreed to join the Lakers. However, it’s not yet clear whether that deal will just cover the Summer League or whether Holman will get a spot on the team’s 20-man offseason roster.

Holman averaged 9.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.6 BPG with a .473/.429/.701 shooting line in his senior year at Mississippi State.

And-Ones: Dolan, Klutch Sports, Larkin, M. Williams

July 17th, 2019 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks owner James Dolan continues to stand in the way of a new arena for the Clippers, even though he seems to know few details about the lawsuits he’s involved with, according to Stefan Bondy and Nancy Dillon of The New York Daily News. Dolan has filed several suits to protect his interests in the Forum, the authors allege, citing his testimony in a deposition in which he admits he doesn’t have much knowledge about the City of Inglewood, the contractual issues involved with the proposed arena or the mayoral candidate he supported in an effort to block the project.

The story states that Dolan made two attempts to convince Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to move her team to Inglewood, that he wasn’t aware Inglewood loaned his MSG company $18MM to buy the Forum or that his company was funding lawsuits that a community group has been filing against Inglewood. NBA commisioner Adam Silver tried to work out a compromise between Dolan and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, but Dolan allegedly refused.

MSG responded with a statement disputing the article and claiming it’s the latest example of “egregious, personal attacks” by The Daily News. “The fact is, there is widespread concern across the Inglewood community about the proposed Clippers arena – with thousands of Inglewood residents actively voicing their opposition since the day the project was announced,” the statement reads. “Residents have raised several, serious concerns – about the project’s ‘backroom’ dealings, its devastating environmental impacts, and the way it would overwhelm the surrounding neighborhood with traffic and force out residents.”

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

United Talent Agency will make a “significant” financial investment in Klutch Sports Group and will appoint agent Rich Paul as the head of UTA’s new sports division, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Paul, who represents some of the NBA’s top stars, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Ben Simmons, will branch out to the NFL and Major League Baseball as well, armed with a long list of Hollywood contacts and major brand labels that will allow him to provide athletes with career options once their playing days are over.
Shane Larkin, who last played in the NBA with the Celtics during the 2017/18 season, is negotiating a two-year deal to return to Anadolu Efes Istanbul, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Larkin, the MVP of the EuroLeague Finals, will reportedly have an NBA out after the first year of his new contract.
Former Heat guard Matt Williams has signed with Donar in the Netherlands, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. Williams attended a free agent mini-camp with the Pistons last month.

Anthony Davis Focusing On This Season, Not Future

July 16th, 2019 at 7:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Anthony Davis is expected to re-sign with the Lakers once his contract is up next summer. Yet, Davis was given the chance to confirm that outcome in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports) and he chose not to go full Kyrie in reaffirming his commitment to the franchise.

“I’m just focused on this season. I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Davis said. “I have one year here, so I’m going make the best of this year. And when that time comes around in the summer or, you know, whenever the season’s over — hopefully, around, you know, mid-June, after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think — then we can talk about that. But until then, I’m trying to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.”

Regardless of being noncommittal when asked about his future with the club, Davis is unlikely to leave. Los Angeles was a destination he pushed for while in New Orleans and – alongside LeBron James – he’s in a position to compete for a championship.

Davis recently spoke about the “relief” he felt after the Lakers traded for him and discussed his high regard for the roster in L.A during his introductory press conference with the team.

“I like every player that we have, from one through 14. I’m excited about it. I would put our roster against anybody. I think that in a seven-game series we would come out victorious,” Davis said.

J.R. Smith Doesn't Interest Lakers

July 15th, 2019 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are unlikely to sign shooting guard J.R. Smith once he clears waivers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Cavaliers cut Smith loose on Monday after failing to find a trade partner. The lack of interest shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the Lakers have signed shooting guards Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Troy Daniels in free agency.

Troy Daniels chose the Lakers over the Warriors and Thunder, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. Daniels was wooed by Anthony Davis during the decision-making process. Daniels signed a one-year, minimum salary contract.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Howard, Handy, Horton-Tucker

July 15th, 2019 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

When Team USA named its 20-man training camp roster for the 2019 World Cup last month, Anthony Davis‘ name was on that list. However, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the new Lakers star will remove his name from consideration for USA Basketball’s World Cup roster.

As Haynes explains, Davis won’t participate in training camp with Team USA because he wants to spend the bulk of his offseason preparing to attempt a championship run with his new team. The former Pelicans big man remains committed to playing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, sources tell Haynes.

Davis, a gold medalist in 2012 (Olympics) and 2014 (World Cup), will still attend Team USA’s training camp next month to support his teammates, per Haynes. It’s not clear if USA Basketball has a 20th man lined up to replace AD — the club will eventually pare that group down to 12 players for the World Cup itself.

Here’s more on the Lakers and Davis:

In a conversation with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Davis said that Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was calling him every “30 to 45 minutes” during free agency. “Rob would call me: ‘AD, what you think about him?’ ‘All right, cool,'” Davis said. “Right back, ‘AD, you know, this is what is going on with him.’ ‘All right, cool. All right.’ Sometimes I had to tell him, like, ‘Rob, I’m in the movies.’ He’d be, like, ‘All right, well, call me as soon as you get out.’ But we’re trying to put the best team around us, and I think he did a great job of doing it.”
Speaking to Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times, veteran center Dwight Howard – who technically remains under contract with the Grizzlies for now – said he wouldn’t mind playing in Los Angeles again, either for the Lakers or Clippers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do love L.A.,” Howard said. “Staples Center is going to be rocking this season.”
The Lakers are hiring veteran assistant coach Phil Handy to join Frank Vogel‘s staff, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). Handy has appeared in five consecutive NBA Finals, having coached in Cleveland before joining Toronto for the 2018/19 season.
Talen Horton-Tucker‘s new two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Lakers is fully guaranteed, a source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Green, Suns, Bradley, Gabriel

July 14th, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by JD Shaw

New Lakers guard Danny Green was forced to wait some extra time before deciding where to sign in free agency, with the 32-year-old explaining how difficult of a process that was after leaving the city of Toronto for Los Angeles.

Green, a veteran three-and-D player, wanted to see if teammate Kawhi Leonard would re-sign with Toronto before making his own decision. However, Leonard’s situation took several days to finalize, leaving Green, his agent Joe Branch, and multiple NBA teams out of the loop.

“Those five days [in free agency] seemed like five months,” Green said, as relayed by Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. “And each day that went by, I checked in with ‘Whi and I’m like, ‘Yo, what’s going on with your meeting?’ ‘I have a meeting tomorrow.’ So, [it was] like, ‘Tomorrow? So I have to wait another day?’ You think a day, it goes by pretty fast but the way it was happening, the way I was talking to him, you would think it was a week. Like, ‘I got to wait another day, dude? Like, come on!’”

Leonard ultimately convinced the Clippers to trade for Thunder star Paul George, sealing the deal for him to sign with the team. As a result, Green informed interested teams such as the Clippers, Mavericks and Raptors that he would be joining the Lakers.

“So you go to the next-best team you think in the league is and that was here,” Green said of signing with the Lakers. “Just with the foundation, they only had three players on the roster at the time, but those three players are pretty damn good and you know with those three you can build something special.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division today:

The Suns quietly made some constructive roster moves this offseason, Greg Moore of the Arizona Republic writes. Phoenix was able to sign free agent point guard Ricky Rubio, re-sign forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and draft the likes of Cameron Johnson and Ty Jerome.
Avery Bradley will have something to prove in his first season with the Lakers, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. “My goal is to come here and give myself a chance to show what I can do,” Bradley said. “I feel like it’s been a rough couple of years for me obviously with trades, (never) being in one place a long period of time and then going through that. It’s been hard on me and my family, but I feel like this is going to give me some stability and give me the opportunity to go out there and really show what I can do on both sides of the floor.”
Kings two-way forward Wenyen Gabriel is starting to show the organization more to his game, as written by Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. Gabriel averaged 13.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and two blocks in four summer league games. “I’m trying to keep it simple here in summer league and show that I can complement the team,” Gabriel said. “So I’m out there trying to show my defensive ability and my switching ability and also my ability to shoot the ball as well.”