Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Interested In Patrick Beverley

June 27th, 2019 at 10:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings are interested in Patrick Beverley, a source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Beverley would help take the pressure off of De’Aaron Fox, serving as the point guard’s backup.

Beverley is reportedly seeking a deal in the three-year, $40MM range. The Kings should have no problem accommodating that type of contract, as the team has just under $53MM in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season.

The Mavericks, Bulls, Clippers, and Lakers are all also expected to have interested in Beverley. Most of those teams seem to have some sort of connection between them and the point guard. Beverley is from Chicago. He shares an agent with Mavs star Luka Doncic and he played in Los Angeles this past season.

Beverley made slightly more than $5MM last season and will almost certainly see a raise on his annual salary next season.

Clippers, Lakers Contenders For Klay Thompson If Warriors Don’t Offer Full Max

June 27th, 2019 at 8:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Klay Thompson is expecting the Warriors to offer him a full max contract once free agency begins on Sunday. Should the Warriors either delay their offer or offer less than the max, Thompson will listen to pitches from the Lakers and Clippers, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

It was previously reported that the shooting guard would give the Clippers some attention if the Warriors don’t have the offer ready for him, but now the Lakers have been added to his list of fallback max options.

LeBron James‘ team amended the Anthony Davis trade agreement earlier today, which helped the club create additional cap room. Los Angeles projects to have roughly $32M in cap space, putting the team about $700K short of being able to offer a full max for a player with Thompson’s experience.

Thompson, who tore his ACL during the NBA Finals, is eligible for a five-year max deal worth approximately $190MM. Should he sign elsewhere, he’d be limited to a four-year contract worth approximately $141MM.

Despite the latest news, the five-time All-Star is still considered a strong bet to re-sign with Golden State.

Pacific Notes: Henry, Suns, Landry, Buss

June 27th, 2019 at 5:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Pierria Henry, the most recent EuroCup regular season MVP winner, worked out for the Suns today, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (Twitter link). Henry has plans to work out for at least two additional teams over the weekend.

The 6’5″ combo guard spent four years at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, becoming the school’s all-time leader in assist and steals. Henry didn’t hear his name called in the 2015 Draft and ended up carving out a career overseas. Henry has had stops in Georgia, Germany, Israel, Turkey, and Russia.

Henry is now a candidate for an NBA roster spot next season. As the West Virginia native attempts to make it in the league, let’s take a look at some notes from the Pacific Division:

Coach Monty Williams has finalized his staff, as he announced on the Suns‘ podcast. Willie Green, Darko Rajakovic, Mark Bryant, Randy Ayers, Larry Greer, and Steve Blake will all serve as assistant coaches in Phoenix.
Landry Shamet has been invited to participate with the Select Team at Team USA’s National camp, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com tweets. The Clippers guard will join Zion Williamson in the younger group come August.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss admits that Magic Johnson’s resignation caught her off-guard, as Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register relays. Buss added that once the executive stepped down, she needed time to “figure out what the process was going to be.” Los Angeles decided that Rob Pelinka leading the front office would be best for the franchise.

Kawhi Leonard Plans To Meet With Lakers, Clippers, Raptors

June 27th, 2019 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Star forward Kawhi Leonard intends to grant the Lakers and Clippers meetings when free agency opens on June 30, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, those meetings would take place in Leonard’s hometown of Los Angeles.

Leonard is expected to meet with a handful of teams before making his final free agent decision, according to Haynes, who notes that the Knicks are still working on securing a meeting with the NBA Finals MVP.

Previous reports had indicated that the Clippers would likely meet with Leonard on July 2, while the Knicks expected to meet with him early in the free agent process, but based on today’s updates, it’s not clear that those reports are accurate.

The Raptors, of course, will get a meeting with their free agent forward as well, per Haynes. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Leonard is expected to let Toronto make the final presentation during his process. As Wojnarowski explains, a player’s incumbent team often likes to get the last word when making a pitch in free agency. Sources tell Haynes that Kawhi is seriously considering re-signing with the Raps.

The Clippers have long been viewed as Toronto’s most serious competition for Leonard’s services, though the Lakers have made things interesting by creating the cap room necessary to get close to a maximum-salary slot. Leonard has long been believed to have interest in playing in his hometown.

Lakers Trading Wagner, Bonga, Jones To Wizards; AD Waiving Trade Kicker

June 27th, 2019 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have found a way to maximize their projected cap room for free agency, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is sending Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones to the Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Additionally, Davis has agreed to waive his $4MM trade kicker, per Wojnarowski.

As a result of those developments, the Lakers will be able to generate just over $32MM in cap room based on the projected $109MM cap. That’s more than enough space for a maximum salary for a player with less than seven years of NBA experience ($27.25MM), and puts them in the ballpark of the max for a player in the 7-9 year range ($32.7MM).

Here’s how the Lakers’ moves will work once the July moratorium lifts on July 6:

Prior to completing the Davis deal, the Lakers will have approximately $32MM in cap room after accounting for eight players, the cap hold for the No. 4 pick, and three empty roster charges. The team will use that room in free agency, with ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweeting that L.A. is still considering whether it will commit all that money to a single star or split it up among two or three players.

If the Lakers go after a single star, D’Angelo Russell and Kawhi Leonard are among the presumed targets. According to Wojnarowski, players like Danny Green, Terrence Ross, and Seth Curry could be among the club’s targets if it breaks up its cap space.

Once that space is used up, the Lakers will complete its agreements with the Pelicans and Wizards as part of a single three-way trade. In order to acquire Davis, whose salary is $27,093,018, the Lakers will have to send out at least $21,594,415 in total to meet salary-matching requirements as an over-the-cap team. They’ll do so with the following contracts:

To Pelicans:
- Lonzo Ball ($8,719,320)
- Brandon Ingram ($7,265,485)
- Josh Hart ($1,934,160)
To Wizards:
- Moritz Wagner ($2,063,520)
- Isaac Bonga ($1,416,852)
- Jemerrio Jones

Jones’ salary is non-guaranteed, which means it currently counts for $0 for salary-matching purposes. Without it, the Lakers would fall just under $200K shy of the salary they need, since the unsigned No. 4 pick would also count for $0 for matching purposes (draftees who sign rookie contracts can be used for salary matching, but can’t be traded for 30 days). As such, according to Marks (via Twitter), Jones’ salary will be partially guaranteed for $199K, allowing the Lakers to meet the necessary outgoing-salary threshold.

The Wizards, who will use trade exceptions to take on the incoming players, will also receive the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. In order to officially make it a three-team deal – and to incentivize the Pelicans to sign off – Washington will send $1.1MM in cash to New Orleans, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. That’s the minimum amount necessary to satisfy the “touch” rules in a three-team trade, tweets Marks.

While the Lakers’ motivation for the deal is obvious, it’s not a bad arrangement for the Wizards either. As an over-the-cap team, Washington didn’t have many other avenues to add talent this offseason, and have several rotation players facing free agency.

The Wizards will now get a chance to take fliers on Wagner and Bonga while also picking up a future second-round pick. They had interest in Wagner leading up to the 2018 draft, according to Wojnarowski, who tweets that the big man will get an opportunity in D.C.

In other Davis-related news, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that LeBron James has agreed to give up his uniform number (No. 23) to AD in an effort to make the big man as comfortable as possible in Los Angeles. Davis is “extremely grateful,” Haynes adds. It’s not clear yet which number James will wear in 2019/20, but he was No. 6 during his years with the Heat.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Patrick Beverley Reportedly Seeking Three Years, $40MM

June 27th, 2019 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Patrick Beverley is said to be seeking a three-year deal in the $40MM range, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (via Twitter). According to MacMahon, the Mavericks, Bulls, Lakers, and Clippers are expected to be among the suitors for Beverley.

Although Beverley earned just over $5MM last season, it’s no surprise that he’ll be seeking a substantial raise. ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks recently suggested that the point guard would likely earn more than the mid-level ($9.25MM), with Marks predicting that Beverley’s annual salary could end up as high as $14-15MM. A three-year, $40MM contract would be worth about $13.3MM annually.

The Mavericks have previously been cited as a probable suitor for Beverley, with one report suggesting that the two sides viewed one another as a “perfect fit.” As MacMahon notes, Beverley’s agent Bill Duffy also represents Luka Doncic and is “intrigued” by the possibility of pairing his two clients in Dallas. The Mavs project to have more than $29MM in cap space.

The Bulls and Lakers have also been linked to Beverley, with reports indicating that there’s mutual interest between the veteran point guard and his hometown team in Chicago. The Bulls project to have about $23MM in cap room and reportedly want to use some of it on a point guard. The Lakers’ situation remains very much in flux, but Beverley would make sense if the club plans to split up its cap room (likely $24-32MM) on two or three players.

The Clippers, of course, would have interest in bringing back Beverley after he averaged 7.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG with a .407/.397/.780 and great defense in 78 games for the team last season. Like the Lakers though, they’ll be pursuing bigger fish, so there may be timing issues if Beverley wants to make a quick decision.

Lakers, Blazers, Celtics Have Interest In Kanter

June 27th, 2019 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers, Lakers, and Celtics are expected to be among the teams to show interest in Enes Kanter when free agency opens, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Portland doesn’t have Bird rights on Kanter, and Boston and L.A. may end up using most or all of their cap room on impact players, so it’s possible that none of those three teams will have the resources to make a strong bid for Kanter. We’ll see if the taxpayer mid-level exception (Trail Blazers) or room exception (Lakers, Celtics) is enough to sign him.

Mannix’s Latest: Celtics, Brogdon, Lakers, Favors, Ross

June 26th, 2019 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford expected to sign elsewhere and Aron Baynes having been re-routed to Phoenix, the Celtics have the ability to create about $25.8MM — or up to $34MM-ish if they renounce Terry Rozier.

As Chris Mannix of SI.com notes in his latest look at free agency, Kemba Walker has been linked to the Celtics this week, but he’s not the only free agent the club is considering. According to Mannix, Boston has internally discussed the possibility of pursuing Bucks RFA-to-be Malcolm Brogdon.

There has also been speculation about Bradley Beal as a potential trade target for the Celtics, but that probably won’t be an option, according to Mannix, who notes that Beal (a favorite of team owner Ted Leonsis) has been told by the Wizards that he won’t be dealt. Even if Beal were available, there’s a feeling in Boston that it might take Jayson Tatum to acquire him, Mannix adds.

Here’s more from Mannix:

The Lakers have shopped their “spare parts” in trade discussions, but talks have gone nowhere so far, league sources tell Mannix. Presumably, Mannix is referring to Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones, who would have to be rolled into the Lakers’ Anthony Davis blockbuster for the club to maximize its cap room.
While it seems likely that he’ll be back, the Jazz haven’t necessarily locked in on retaining Derrick Favors, who has a non-guaranteed $17.65MM contract. Mannix suggests that Nikola Mirotic could be a name worth keeping an eye for Utah on if Favors is released to create cap room.
The Magic have been “steadfast” in their desire to re-sign top free agents Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross, and some within the organization are anxious to see what their market value will be, writes Mannix. Ross may be a candidate to receive a big contract offer from a team in need of a three-and-D wing, according to Mannix, who speculates that the sharpshooter could command $15MM per year.

Lakers Tender QOs To Alex Caruso, Johnathan Williams

June 26th, 2019 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have ensured that a pair of their players will be restricted free agents this summer, announcing in a press release that they’ve issued qualifying offers to guard Alex Caruso and forward Johnathan Williams. Both players finished the 2018/19 season on two-way deals.

Caruso, 25, has been with the Lakers on a two-way contract since the start of the 2017/18 season. In 2018/19, he appeared in 25 games for the club, primarily after the All-Star break, recording 9.2 PPG, 3.1 APG, 2.7 RPG, and a .445/.480/.797 shooting line in 21.2 minutes per contest.

Because he has spent two seasons with the Lakers on a two-way deal, Caruso’s qualifying offer will be worth the veteran’s minimum (about $1.6MM). The two-way salary portion of that QO must be guaranteed.

As for Williams, the 24-year-old averaged 6.5 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 24 contests (15.5 MPG) for the Lakers last season. His qualifying offer will be a one-year, two-way contract, with a $50K guarantee.

Cap holds for Caruso and Williams will slightly cut into the Lakers’ projected cap room, but if the team needs that space, it won’t hesitate to renounce the duo. If they’re interested, they could each agree to return on new minimum-salary (Caruso) or two-way (Williams) contracts, and could finalize those deals once the Lakers use up their cap room.

Bucks Rumors: Brogdon, Lopez, Hill, Mirotic

June 26th, 2019 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After entering the exclusive 50/40/90 shooting club in 2018/19, Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon will be a sought-after target this offseason. Sources tell Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.com that the Sixers and Pacers are among the teams considering making a play for the restricted free agent.

Four NBA sources who spoke to Woelfel predicted that Brogdon would receive an offer in the range of $16-21MM per year. And while most of those sources have heard that the Bucks plan to match any offer on Brogdon, they’re not all entirely convinced that will happen.

“They can say that now, but I’m sure the Bucks, just like any team, have a cutoff point where they won’t go over to keep him,” an Eastern Conference executive said to Woelfel. “I still think he (Brogdon) is the odd guy out in Milwaukee.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe expressed a similar sentiment during the network’s free agency special on Tuesday night. As relayed by Sagar Trika (via Twitter), the two ESPN insiders discussed whether Milwaukee would be able to retain all three of Brogdon, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez, and agreed that Brogdon might be the trickiest to bring back.

Here’s more on the Bucks:

The Bucks and Brook Lopez are both motivated to get a deal done, a source tell Chris Mannix of SI.com. Woelfel’s sources believe Lopez will get an annual salary in the range of $10-13MM in free agency, and view Los Angeles as a potential fit for the big man if he doesn’t stick with the Bucks. “I’ve been hearing a quite a bit about the Lakers and Lopez,” one executive told Woelfel.
Executives who spoke to Woelfel view George Hill as a candidate to receive an offer in the neighborhood of $7-10MM if and when he’s released by the Bucks. That would make him a target for teams with the full mid-level exception available.
One NBA executive predicted a salary in the $13-15MM range for Nikola Mirotic, while another league official split the difference and projected $14MM, Woelfel writes. Mirotic is considered more likely to leave the Bucks than to re-sign, given the club’s cap limitations.
Veteran guard Xavier Munford, who has previously appeared in NBA games for Memphis and Milwaukee, will suit up for the Bucks’ Summer League squad in July, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN.com.