Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Rumors: P. Gasol, Mavs, Wolves, Wright, More

July 1st, 2019 at 6:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Pau Gasol, whose contract with the Bucks is up, continues to recover from a procedure on his left foot, but he wants to continue his NBA career next season, he tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

“My recovery from surgery has been smooth and I expect to be fully cleared for basketball activities in early August,” Gasol said. “I cannot wait to start training again.”

Gasol, who is an unrestricted free agent, is the only one of Milwaukee’s free agents who has yet to reach an agreement this week. There has been no indication that the Bucks are seeking a reunion.

Here are a few more free agency notes and rumors:

The Mavericks are among the teams that have expressed “strong interest” in Delon Wright, league sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of SKOR North tweets that the Timberwolves have also inquired on Wright. Wright is a restricted free agent, so the Grizzlies would have the chance to match an offer sheet.
The Timberwolves continue to kick the tires on free agent point guard T.J. McConnell, according to Wolfson, who tweets that the Sixers, Heat, Lakers, Grizzlies, Suns, Wizards, and Pacers have also checked out McConnell. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter) notes that McConnell could be a target for Miami if the team trades Goran Dragic.
The Thunder are among the teams that have expressed some interest in veteran guard Jodie Meeks, a league source tells Brett Dawson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Dawson’s report came shortly before Oklahoma City agreed to terms with Alec Burks, so it’s not clear if the club remains interested in Meeks.
In a text message to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link), Enes Kanter explains that he considered re-signing with the Trail Blazers, but didn’t feel as if they gave him enough time to make his decision. Kanter agreed to a two-year deal with Boston.

Lakers Sign Troy Daniels To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: Daniels’ one-year, minimum-salary contract is now official, the Lakers announced today (via Twitter). The team confirmed most of its other signings – as well as the Anthony Davis trade – on Saturday.

JULY 1: The Lakers and free agent shooting guard Troy Daniels have agreed to a one-year contract, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). David Aldridge of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that the two sides were closing in on an agreement.

Charania pegs the value of the deal at $2.1MM, which suggests it’s a minimum-salary contract. As such, it won’t have an impact on Los Angeles’ projected cap room.

Daniels, who will turn 28 later this month, averaged 6.2 PPG on .411/.381/.783 shooting in a part-time role (14.9 MPG) for the Suns last season. He’s a career 40.0% shooter from beyond the arc, so he’ll add some floor spacing to the Lakers’ roster without breaking the bank.

Free Agent Rumors: Dudley, Beverley, McGee, Green

July 1st, 2019 at 12:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The new-look Nets may be close to bringing back one of their locker room leaders, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Jared Dudley is interested in signing up for another season in Brooklyn, a source tells Scotto.

Dudley, who will turn 34 next month, also contributed on the court in his first season with the Nets, averaging 4.9 PPG in 59 games and shooting 35% from 3-point range. Dudley is also drawing interest from the Pistons and met with Detroit officials today, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).

There’s more free agent news to pass along:

The Mavericks’ planned discussion with Patrick Beverley didn’t happen tonight, relays Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), who speculates that it was because of the team’s involvement in a three-way trade with the Heat and Sixers. Townsend adds that the Mavs’ chances of landing Beverley seem less likely than they were earlier.
Dallas is optimistic about reaching a deal with restricted free agent Maxi Kleber, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. He cites “productive discussions” between the Mavericks and the power forward/center.
JaVale McGee has a meeting set with the Pistons tomorrow, relays Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The free agent center talked to the Rockets today.
Danny Green spoke on his Instagram account about meeting with the Mavericks, Lakers and Clippers and Raptors, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “Being patient, man,” he said of the process. “Being patient.”
The Wizards would still like to re-sign Tomas Satoransky, but are looking into other options at point guard, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Hughes states that they are interested in Quinn Cook and notes that Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported an inquiry about Cory Joseph.

Kawhi Leonard Won’t Hold Meetings On Sunday

June 30th, 2019 at 8:33pm CST by JD Shaw

Free agent Kawhi Leonard has decided not to hold any meetings with interested teams on Sunday night, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Leonard’s process is expected to ramp up in the coming days, Haynes adds, with the Clippers, Lakers and Raptors widely considered to be the front-runners for his services.

Leonard spoke with former Lakers president Magic Johnson earlier on Sunday and had a positive discussion, according to Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. He’s currently in Southern California preparing for free-agent meetings this week.

Sunday marked the first official day of free agency, where players could reach verbal agreements with interested teams during the moratorium period. Contracts can be officially signed when the moratorium ends on July 6.

Free Agency Rumors: Leonard, Oubre Jr, Looney, Bullock, Green

June 30th, 2019 at 7:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson had a positive conversation with star free agent Kawhi Leonard and his uncle Dennis Robertson on Sunday, Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times report.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka reached out to Leonard at the start of free agency, according to the report, with Los Angeles focused on adding Leonard to a roster that already includes star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Leonard’s camp originally requested that the Lakers only send owner Jeanie Buss to any potential meeting, but the group is now considering adding Pelinka to the equation, according to Ganguli and Turner. It’s widely believed that the Clippers, Lakers and Raptors are the front-runners for his services.

Here are some other free agent rumors tonight:

The Suns will meet with restricted free agent Kelly Oubre Jr. on Sunday night, according to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro. The two sides could reach an agreement on a new deal during the meeting. Since the team owns Oubre’s Bird rights, the team can go over the salary cap to re-sign him if it wishes.
The Warriors are meeting with free agent Kevon Looney in Los Angeles with hopes of re-signing the forward, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Golden State was able to come to terms with Klay Thompson once free agency opened Sunday, but the team later lost All-Star forward Kevin Durant to a four-year deal from Brooklyn.
Free agent Reggie Bullock is planning to meet with the Knicks on Sunday night, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Minnesota has also touched base with Bullock, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, but he isn’t at the top of their wish list.
Veteran guard Danny Green is being targeted by the Mavericks, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Talks between the two sides have started to heat up, though a decision from Green won’t be made until Leonard chooses to sign somewhere, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News adds (Twitter link).

Free Agent Notes: Harris, Leonard, Portis

June 30th, 2019 at 5:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tobias Harris is meeting with the Sixers to begin free agency, The Athletic’s David Aldridge tweets. Harris is seeking a full, five-year max deal.

Jimmy Butler is in Miami to begin his free agency tour and is expected to tell the Heat that he wants to sign with them. The Sixers will likely get a chance to speak with Butler before he signs elsewhere, as Miami doesn’t have the cap space necessary to offer Butler a max contract.

Here’s more from the start of free agency:

Magic Johnson said he has spoken to Kawhi Leonard and Dennis Robertson (Leonard’s uncle) after Leonard’s camp contacted him, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link). No meeting between the parties has been set up yet.
Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker are both operating as if they will not be back with the Wizards, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports reports on Twitter. Both players were brought to Washington in the mid-season deal that sent Otto Porter Jr. to Chicago.
Julius Randle is on the Knicks‘ radar, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). New York missed out on Kevin Durant, watching him sign with the Nets.
The Knicks are meeting with Reggie Bullock tonight, Aldridge tweets. Bullock is ready to commit to a “strong offer,” Aldridge adds. The Lakers would like to keep him, though New York will be among the teams which will have a chance to steal him away from Los Angeles.

Free Agent Rumors: Middleton, Butler, Kanter, Temple

June 30th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the quietness surrounding the free agency destination of Bucks’ All-Star forward Khris Middleton is because interested front offices are universally presuming that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee on a “monster” five-year deal.

Middleton, 27, is eligible to sign a five-year, $189.904MM maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, while rival suitors can only (relatively speaking, of course) offer up to $140.791MM over four years.

Echoing Stein’s sentiment from rival front offices, Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box reports that Middleton is expected to re-sign with Milwaukee, adding that Brook Lopez and George Hill are also considered good bets to return.

Per Marc J. Spears of ESPN, unrestricted free agent center Enes Kanter is expected to have a phone call with the Blazers and Celtics when free agency tips off tonight at 5:00pm CST.
Spears is also reporting that UFA guard Garrett Temple is getting interest from the Nets, Nuggets, Jazz, and Rockets.
During their meeting this evening, Jimmy Butler is expected to tell the Heat that he wishes to play in Miami, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. It’s unclear whether Butler actually wants to play for the Heat of if he’s simply using this as a negotiating tactic to entice the 76ers to offer him a 5-year maximum-salary contract.
Per Harrison D. Sanford of The Green Room with Danny Green, free agent guard Danny Green is expecting to hear from the Raptors, Lakers, Sixers, Bulls, Mavericks, Rockets, and Knicks.

D’Angelo Russell Has T-Wolves Atop Wish List

June 30th, 2019 at 2:03pm CST by clarkcrum

Marc Stein of The New York Times is reporting that Nets’ restricted free agent point guard D’Angelo Russell has the Timberwolves at the top of his free-agent wish list. Stein adds that while the Lakers still have undeniable interest in Russell, Minnesota is increasingly confident they can make the necessary salary-cap moves to land the 23-year-old All-Star.

The T-Wolves are expected to meet with Russell in Los Angeles this evening at the beginning of free agency. The meeting will reportedly feature new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, head coach Ryan Saunders, and Russell’s good friend, Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Wolves currently project to be an over-the-cap team, but the Nets have already indicated that they’d be willing to entertain a sign-and-trade arrangement that would enable Russell to reach a destination of his choosing. The most likely salary-matching pieces, however, are Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague, both of whom the Nets have no interest in whatsoever. As such, Minnesota would likely need to throw in some other assets to make the deal worthwhile to Brooklyn.

Minnesota could also attempt to trade some combination of Wiggins, Teague, Gorgui Dieng, and Robert Covington to open up cap space, but it’s unclear at this point what teams, if any, are interested in acquiring one or more of those players.

Rockets To Meet With JaVale McGee

June 30th, 2019 at 8:27am CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets’ search for a new big man will include Lakers center JaVale McGee, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Houston officials will meet with McGee today in Los Angeles, along with Warriors center Kevon Looney, as we relayed yesterday.

McGee, 31, averaged a career-best 12.0 PPG for L.A. this season, along with 7.5 rebounds in 75 games. He has also played for the Wizards, Nuggets, Sixers, Mavericks and Warriors.

The Rockets will reportedly move starting center Clint Capela if they can work out a sign-and-trade deal for Sixers free agent Jimmy Butler. Backup Nene opted out of next year’s contract yesterday, leaving no other experienced center on the roster.

Lakers Request Meeting With Patrick Beverley

June 29th, 2019 at 8:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:25pm: The Mavericks and Bulls also contacted Beverley today to set up a meeting, according to Sean Deveney (Twitter link).

6:43pm: The Lakers have contacted the representatives for free agent guard Patrick Beverley, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The team has been rumored as a possible destination for Beverley, who has spent the past two seasons with the cross-town Clippers.

Beverley may be a fall-back option for the Lakers if they can’t land a third star to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis. L.A. has about $32MM in cap room, which it plans to split among several players if the search for another star comes up short. Beverley is reportedly seeking a three-year deal worth about $40MM.

After being limited to 11 games because of injuries in 2017/18, Beverley turned in a solid season this year, averaging 7.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per night and playing the super-aggressive defense that has defined his career. The Kings, Mavericks and Bulls are also believed to be interested in Beverley, while the Clippers would like to bring him back.