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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Los Angeles Lakers

May 3rd, 2019 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

After years of building through the draft and steadily improving their record, adding LeBron James to the mix was supposed to be the move that pushed the Lakers back into the playoffs. Early returns were positive, as the team held a top-four seed in the West through Christmas, but things took a sharp downturn from there. LeBron’s groin injury, a series of leaked Anthony Davis trade offers, and Magic Johnson‘s abrupt resignation from his president of basketball operations role has left the franchise in a state of a flux entering a crucial summer.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Lakers financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

LeBron James ($37,436,858)
Lonzo Ball ($8,719,320)
Brandon Ingram ($7,265,485)
Luol Deng ($5,000,000) — Waived via stretch provision
Moritz Wagner ($2,063,520)
Kyle Kuzma ($1,974,600)
Josh Hart ($1,934,160)
Isaac Bonga ($1,416,852)
Total: $65,810,795

Player Options

None

Team Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Jemerrio Jones ($1,416,852)
Total: $1,416,852

Restricted Free Agents

Alex Caruso ($1,618,486 qualifying offer / $1,618,486 cap hold): Early Bird rights ¹
Johnathan Williams (two-way qualifying offer / $1,443,842 cap hold): Non-Bird rights ¹
Total: $3,062,328

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($15,600,000): Early Bird rights
Rajon Rondo ($10,800,000): Non-Bird rights
Mike Muscala ($9,500,000): Bird rights
No. 4 overall pick ($7,059,360)
Lance Stephenson ($5,338,800): Non-Bird rights
Reggie Bullock ($4,750,000): Bird rights
Tyson Chandler ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
JaVale McGee ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
Total: $53,254,172

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

Realistic cap room projection: $32.5MM
There aren’t many complicating factors we have to consider when projecting the Lakers’ cap room, since none of their pending free agents are players who absolutely must be retained. If we account for their seven players on guaranteed contracts and the cap hold for their first-round pick, that leaves about $32.5MM in cap room, assuming they renounce all their FAs-to-be and waive Jones. That wouldn’t be quite enough space for a maximum salary free agent, so the Lakers would have to make an additional move to shed salary.

Cap Exceptions Available

Room exception: $4,760,000 ²

Footnotes

The salaries for two-way players don’t count against a team’s cap, but their cap holds do during the offseason.
This is a projected value. If the Lakers remain over the cap, they’d instead have access to the full mid-level exception ($9,246,000), the bi-annual exception ($3,619,000), and their lone remaining trade exception ($1,544,951; expires 2/7/20).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns, Monty Williams Expected To Meet For Second Interview

April 30th, 2019 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

After interviewing Sixers assistant Monty Williams in Toronto last Friday, the Suns plan on meeting with the head coaching candidate a second time, reports Shams Charania of Stadium (video link).

According to Charania, the interview – which will likely take place later this week – is expected to include team owner Robert Sarver. That’s a noteworthy detail, since it means that Phoenix is taking a step forward in the process of pursing Williams, Charania notes.

Williams, who previously served as the head coach in New Orleans from 2010-15, is drawing plenty of interest so far this spring. He has already interviewed twice with the Lakers, meeting last week with a large contingent of executives that included team owner Jeanie Buss.

The Suns reportedly view Williams as their top candidate, but didn’t make him an offer after Friday’s interview. Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic has suggested that the Suns may be waiting for the Lakers to make an offer so that they can counter that proposal and make a better one — though the fact that Sarver has yet to meet with Williams represents another reason to wait.

If Williams has a preference between the Lakers and Suns, he has yet to tip his hand. As Rankin points out, it’s worth noting that Williams could become a head coaching candidate in Philadelphia too, should the Sixers fall to the Raptors and consider moving on from Brett Brown. However, if Brown continues to coach like he did in Philadelphia’s Game 2 win, that’s probably an unlikely scenario.

L.A. Notes: Pelinka, LeBron, Rivers, Lawsuit

April 28th, 2019 at 10:28am CST by Arthur Hill

All signs point to Rob Pelinka having full power to run the Lakers in the wake of Magic Johnson’s resignation, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Sources tell Amick that the team didn’t contact David Griffin, LeBron James‘ former GM in Cleveland, before he joined the Pelicans earlier this month. They also didn’t try to lure GM Bob Myers from the Warriors or consultant Jerry West from the Clippers.

Pelinka has orchestrated the coaching search ever since the team parted ways with Luke Walton, Amick adds. He identified Tyronn Lue, Monty Williams, Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd as candidates and organized their interviews.

Although Pelinka is running the show, the number of people with a voice in front office decisions has grown since Johnson left. In addition to Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, the interviews with Lue and Howard were attended by president of business operations Tim Harris, VP of research and development Joey Buss and assistant GM and director of scouting Jesse Buss.

There’s more today from L.A.:

James plans to stay out of personnel decisions and will trust Lakers management to assemble a playoff contender, Amick reports in the same story. LeBron bristles at suggestions that he serves as de facto GM wherever he goes and plans to stay out of the spotlight this summer. He released an Instagram video this week proclaiming his faith in the front office.
The Clippers‘ performance this year set a foundation for what could be a vastly improved roster next season, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Doc Rivers‘ team gained respect throughout the league by reaching the postseason after trading away leading scorer Tobias Harris in February. “When you are knocked out of the playoffs there’s obviously some times it’s a relief,” Rivers said. “And there are some times you just don’t want it to happen and last night was one of those points. Just the sense of disappointment — even though you know the group you had overachieved, you still don’t want it to end.”
A lawsuit contesting the Clippers‘ proposed new Inglewood arena is moving forward, reports Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt to block the suit, which was filed by Uplift Inglewood, a community group dedicated to affordable housing.

Monty Williams Interviews With Suns

April 27th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns met with Sixers assistant Monty Williams on Friday, but didn’t make a job offer, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The meeting was described as “very positive,” Rankin adds, and Williams remains a top contender for the position.

He was the first candidate the Suns have interviewed since firing first-year coach Igor Kokoskov on Monday. The meeting was held in Toronto because the Sixers are there for the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Lakers also interviewed Williams this week, along with former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue.

Williams, 47, has head coaching experience in New Orleans, where he worked for new Suns VP of basketball operations Jeff Bower. Williams compiled a 173-221 record in five seasons. Phoenix GM James Jones also has experience with Williams, who was an assistant coach with the Trail Blazers during the three seasons that Jones played there.

The Suns were scheduled to meet today with Portland assistants Nate Tibbetts and David Vanterpool.

Warriors Notes: Kerr, Durant, Green, Iguodala

April 27th, 2019 at 8:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is calling for a change in the rule that imposes an automatic one-game suspension on any player who receives seven technical fouls in the playoffs, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The penalty is significant for the Warriors because Kevin Durant and Draymond Green were among the league leaders in technicals during the regular season.

“I will never understand the rule that everybody falls under the exact same category, in terms of whether you lose in four games in the first round or you play 25 games and you go to the Finals, that it’s the same technical fouls points that lead to a suspension,” Kerr said. “It seems strange. But I do know that Kevin and Draymond have a good feel for when they reach that number. They generally are able to shut that off, shut that emotion off and stay on the floor. That’s going to be important.”

Green and Durant each picked up two T’s in the first-round series with the Clippers. Both of Durant’s came in the opening game, which got him ejected, while another technical in Game 3 was rescinded. Golden State is hoping the league will also rescind a technical foul Green received last night.

“He ran over to [referee David Guthrie] and said, ‘Tell me what I have to do to defend that better,’ and he got a T,” Kerr explained. “I was surprised. We’ll see what happens, but we’ve got to understand that we’ve got to be on alert, because the rules are the rules in terms of the suspensions and all that stuff.”

There’s more Warriors news to pass along:

Durant tells Anthony Slater of The Athletic that the key to finishing off the Clippers was to block out distractions. After giving up a 31-point lead in a Game 2 loss, Durant averaged better than 40 PPG for the rest of the series. “There’s a lot of speculation about me, about my attitude, about where I’m playing next season that a lot of these (media) dudes in here are trying to distract us with and then want to blame it on me because it’s easy to blame it on me,” Durant said. “I understand that. We understand that. So for us, we just made it about basketball.”
Durant has established himself as the best player in the league and should stay with the Warriors to see how many titles he can win, contends Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.
Andre Iguodala‘s value as a playoff defender convinced the Warriors to give him a three-year, $48MM contract when he was a free agent in 2017, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. After Golden State made an original offer of $36MM, Iguodala had discussions with the Spurs, Lakers, Kings and Rockets before owner Joe Lacob approved the larger deal.

Tyronn Lue Strikes ‘Emotional Chord’ In Lakers Interview

April 27th, 2019 at 11:39am CST by marksuleymanov

The Lakers‘ search for a head coach has entered the next phase and the frontrunners are clear. Four known candidates for the vacancy were interviewed, including former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, Sixers’ assistant coach Monty Williams, Heat assistant coach Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd.

This week, both Lue and Williams were called in for follow-up interviews. Lue, in particular, resonated with Lakers brass during his meeting, playing up his history as a player for multiple championship-winning teams in Los Angeles, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

“Ty Lue struck a very emotional chord in his interview with Lakers leadership,” Charania said. “Diving into his history as a player and how responsive he is with that franchise over the last decade.”

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times provided a similar account, citing sources who said a “lasting impression was left on both parties involved in the discussions.”

Lue, 41, led Cleveland to the franchise’s first-ever NBA championship in 2016 and has a strong familiarity with the Lakers’ top player, LeBron James. Lue also spent his first three NBA seasons in Los Angeles as a player, which gives him a background with the organization.

Lue is not the only one with a connection to as James, as Williams spent a lot of time with the forward on Team USA. It remains to be seen in which direction the Lakers go to replace Luke Walton.

Rambis In Line For New Role; Kidd Not Considered Serious HC Candidate

April 26th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Based on a handful of reports within the last week, we’ve learned that Kurt Rambis has been involved in the Lakers‘ coaching search. While Rambis currently serves as a senior advisor to the franchise, the team may intend to make him an associate head coach or an assistant general manager this offseason, writes Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times.
Within that same article, Plaschke writes that Jason Kidd doesn’t appear to be a serious candidate for the Lakers‘ head coaching job. According to Plaschke, the team’s interview with Kidd looks like more of a favor to his agent Jeff Schwartz, who represents Lakers forward Brandon Ingram.

Latest On Lakers' Head Coaching Search

April 25th, 2019 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers sent a big contingent of executives to Philadelphia today for their second interview with head coaching candidate Monty Williams, reports Bill Oram of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Oram, in addition to GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, the meeting will also include Lakers executives Joey Buss, Jesse Buss, Kurt Rambis, Linda Rambis, and COO Tim Harris.

Williams won’t be the first candidate to meet with such a big group. According to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), the same Lakers executives met with Juwan Howard on Tuesday and Tyronn Lue on Wednesday. It was Howard’s first interview and Lue’s second for L.A.’s head coaching job.

As Oram observes (via Twitter), it’s somewhat interesting to see the younger Buss siblings, Jesse and Joey, involved in the process. While they’ve been part of the Lakers’ organization for years, their contributions have been limited to the scouting department and the G League affiliate — they’d been largely left out of major basketball operations decisions until now.

The Lakers aren’t the only team with interest in Monty Williams. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Suns officials are traveling to Toronto to meet with the Sixers assistant on Friday before Philadelphia opens its series against the Raptors on Saturday. Phoenix received permission earlier this week to interview Williams, who has been identified as the team’s top candidate to replace Igor Kokoskov. The Suns may try to preempt a Lakers offer, Wojnarowski writes.

O’Connor’s Latest: Durant, Clippers, Kawhi, Gallinari

April 25th, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve mentioned multiple times throughout the 2018/19 NBA league year, there’s a widespread belief among people around the NBA that Kevin Durant will leave the Warriors for the Knicks in free agency. However, uncertainty about Durant’s future has increased in recent months, Kevin O’Connor writes in his latest article for The Ringer.

As O’Connor explains, Durant seems more likely to go to the Knicks if Kyrie Irving goes with him, and there’s no guarantee that Irving will leave the Celtics, given how well things have gone in Boston over the last several weeks. LeBron James‘ struggles during his first year as a Laker could also serve as a cautionary tale for Durant.

One front office executive who spoke to O’Connor suggests that everything should be considered on the table for Durant, since the Warriors forward has proven to be unpredictable in the past.

O’Connor’s piece, which focuses primarily on the Clippers, features a few more items of note, so let’s round them up…

The Clippers continue to be viewed as the more likely destination than the Lakers if Kawhi Leonard decides to return home to Southern California, though O’Connor writes that it would be “foolish” to rule out the Lakers.
The odds of both Durant and Leonard joining the Clippers are slim, but the team could theoretically make it happen based on its cap situation. As O’Connor details, if the Clippers trade Danilo Gallinari and renounce all their free agents except Ivica Zubac, they’d have more than enough room for two max contracts, and would be able to go over the cap to re-sign Zubac.
Of course, in that scenario, the Clippers wouldn’t be able to take money back for Gallinari, which would limit their potential trade partners. Still, O’Connor has spoken to front office executives who don’t think it’d be too challenging to find a deal for Gallinari, especially if the Clips are willing to attach a future pick. O’Connor cites the Nets, Mavericks, Hawks, Jazz, and Pacers as a few teams that might be fits for the veteran forward in that scenario.

2019 NBA Front Office Shakeup Tracker

April 24th, 2019 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

Having created a space to track the NBA’s head coaching changes this spring, it only makes sense that we should do the same for the teams shaking up their front offices.

Of course, the front office structure for an NBA franchise generally isn’t as cut-and-dried as a coaching staff. All 30 teams will enter the 2019/20 season employing a head coach and a staff of assistant coaches. But not every team will have an executive with the title of “president of basketball operations” or “executive VP of basketball operations” on its payroll. And while some general managers around the league have decision-making power within their organizations, that certainly doesn’t apply to all of them.

Nonetheless, we’ll do our best to track this spring’s front office changes in the space below, monitoring which executives have decision-making power in each new management group. Some of these searches could extend well into the spring, so be sure to check back each day for the latest updates.

Completed Searches:

Los Angeles Lakers

Out: Magic Johnson (story)
Hired: No one
Following Johnson’s shocking resignation, there was plenty of speculation about which high-level rival executives the Lakers might target to replace him. The answer? Nobody. The Lakers appear content to have general manager Rob Pelinka – with the help of a Rambis or two – run the front office, at least for the 2019 offseason. A report confirmed that the team has no plans to hire a new president of basketball operations to replace Johnson.

Memphis Grizzlies

Out: Chris Wallace (story)
Promoted: Jason Wexler, team president (story); Zach Kleiman, executive VP of basketball operations (story); Tayshaun Prince, VP of basketball affairs (story)
Hired: Rich Cho, vice president of basketball strategy (story); Glen Grunwald, senior advisor (story)
The Grizzlies demoted general manager Chris Wallace after the season ended, re-assigning him to their scouting department, and promoted two non-basketball executive to top roles in the front office. By promoting Prince and hiring Cho and Grunwald, the club added a pair of more seasoned basketball executives to their management group, but it still sounds like Wexler will oversee the basketball operations department, with Kleiman taking the lead on day-to-day matters. More hires are expected, but those will likely fill supporting roles.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Out: Tom Thibodeau (story)
Hired: Gersson Rosas, president of basketball operations (story); Gianluca Pascucci, assistant GM (story); Sachin Gupta, executive VP of basketball operations (story)
Having dismissed Thibodeau in January, the Timberwolves finished the 2018/19 season with GM Scott Layden running the show. However, they announced at the end of the regular season that they’d begin searching for a new president of basketball operations to replace Thibodeau. After interviewing several candidates, they ultimately landed on Rosas, a longtime Daryl Morey lieutenant in Houston.
Also considered: Chauncey Billups (story), Trajan Langdon (story), Calvin Booth (story), Michael Winger (story)

New Orleans Pelicans

Out: Dell Demps (story); Danny Ferry (story)
Hired: David Griffin, executive VP of basketball operations (story); Trajan Langdon, general manager (story)
The Pelicans fired Demps during the season and finished the season out with Ferry holding the interim GM role. Ferry was considered for the permanent job, but ultimately withdrew from consideration, citing concerns about moving his family to New Orleans full-time. Shortly thereafter, the Pelicans officially hired Griffin to run their basketball operations department. They later hired Langdon, who had interviewed for the top job, as their GM under Griffin.
Also considered: Larry Harris (story), Gersson Rosas (story), Tommy Sheppard (story), Danny Ferry (story)

Phoenix Suns

Out: Ryan McDonough (story)
Promoted: James Jones, permanent GM (story)
Hired: Jeff Bower, senior VP of basketball operations (story)
Considering McDonough was fired back in October, it may not be fair to consider this an offseason change. But when the regular season ended, it wasn’t clear who would be running the Suns’ front office going forward, after Jones and Trevor Bukstein served as interim co-GMs since McDonough’s ouster. Phoenix answered that question quickly, announcing Jones’ promotion to the permanent GM role. The team also compensated for Jones’ relative lack of management experience by pairing him with a veteran executive in Bower, who figures to play a key role in the front office.

Washington Wizards

Out: Ernie Grunfeld (story)
Promoted: Tommy Sheppard, general manager (story)
Hired: Sashi Brown, chief planning and operations officer (story)
The Wizards fired Grunfeld about a week before their season ended and hired a search firm to identify candidates to replace him. Although they conducted a number of interviews for the job, they ultimately chose to elevate an internal candidate, promoting Sheppard to the permanent GM job after he ran it on an interim basis through the draft and free agency. Former NFL executive Brown also joined the front office in a top role.
Also considered/rumored: Danny Ferry (story), Troy Weaver (story), Gersson Rosas (hired by Wolves), Tim Connelly (turned down offer), Masai Ujiri (story)