Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: Bullock, Walton, LeBron, Wagner

March 11th, 2019 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers haven’t exactly played their best basketball since adding Reggie Bullock to their rotation at the trade deadline. The team is just 2-9 in games that Bullock has appeared in so far, and the veteran sharpshooter hasn’t been at his best during that stretch either — his .333 3PT% is well below his career rate (.394). Nonetheless, Bullock has conveyed a desire to remain in Los Angeles going forward, as Ron Gutterman of LakersNation.com relays.

“I would love to be back here with the Lakers,” said Bullock, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. “I was a fan of this organization pretty much my whole life, and the connection me and ‘Bron (LeBron James) are building, it’s continuing to build trust. We’ll see how it plays out in the summer.”

Although Bullock has only played 11 games as a Laker, the club will have his Bird rights as a result of his previous contract with the Pistons. To retain those Bird rights, the Lakers would have to keep Bullock’s $4.75MM cap hold on their books this summer until they work out a new deal.

If the Lakers need to renounce Bullock to create cap room for a marquee free agent, that wouldn’t necessary rule out a return, but the club would be limited to re-signing him using any leftover cap space, the room exception, or the minimum salary exception.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Head coach Luke Walton is considered likely to lose his job at season’s end, despite once being viewed as the sort of coach who could stick in L.A. for the next 10 or 15 years. Matt John of Basketball Insiders argues that Walton doesn’t deserve the blame for the Lakers’ disappointing season, while Bill Oram of The Athletic presents a case for how Walton has been undermined and betrayed by team management.
In order to move forward, the Lakers first need to take a long look in the mirror, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz writes in a deep dive on the franchise. Arnovitz criticizes owner Jeanie Buss for her recent claim that the media is the biggest challenge facing the Lakers, suggesting that the statement makes the team appear incapable of self-reflection. The Lakers are “so infatuated with the glory of their brand that they forget about the essence of their product,” Arnovitz contends.
After a surprisingly unsuccessful first season in Los Angeles, it’s impossible for LeBron James to predict what will come next, says Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. However, his friends and former teammates expect him to bounce back from a disappointing 2018/19 season. “Just having that break, being able to reassess and come back really, really highly motivated, I think it’s going to be big for him,” Kevin Love said. “If you get ‘Bron highly motivated, anything can happen.” Dwyane Wade, meanwhile, offered the following assessment: “This is definitely going to make him hungrier for what he’s trying to accomplish next year.”
Lakers rookie Moritz Wagner, who racked up a career-high 22 points on Saturday, is hoping to take advantage of an increased role down the stretch, as Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register details.

Community Shootaround: Trading LeBron James

March 9th, 2019 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The most surprising part of tonight’s ABC prime time game between the Lakers and Celtics was a first quarter discussion among the announcing crew on whether L.A. should consider trading LeBron James after the season.

Jeff Van Gundy raised the topic, arguing that the Lakers should keep all their options open in an effort to improve the team. He conceded that trading James is unlikely and it would take a monumental offer for team president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka to even consider the idea. However, Van Gundy noted that the savings from unloading James’ contract could put L.A. in position to chase other free agents such as Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard.

Broadcast partner Mark Jackson quickly shot down the idea, pointing out that the Lakers’ reputation around the league would suffer if they traded the NBA’s highest-profile player a year after he agreed to sign with them.

Van Gundy found an ally on social media in ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who formerly served as assistant GM with the Nets. “Everything needs to be on the table for the Lakers this summer including no. 23,” Marks tweeted.

In the real world, the idea of trading LeBron without his consent is laughable. He and his representatives wield too much power and he sells too many tickets, jerseys and other merchandise for the Lakers to ever entertain the idea. But hypothetically, it could be in the best interest of the team.

Although he has continued to play at an All-Star level, LeBron’s first year in L.A. has been a disaster. He hasn’t been able to make a playoff team out of a collection of young talent and journeymen players on one-year contracts. Things might have gone differently if the Lakers hadn’t been overwhelmed by a string of injuries, but they always faced an uphill climb in a challenging Western Conference.

If LeBron couldn’t lift the Lakers into contention this year, will he ever be able to? He turns 35 in December and there’s no guarantee the team will be successful in its pursuit of Anthony Davis or hit the jackpot in free agency again. Reports have indicated that some elite free agents, most notably Durant and Leonard, may not be interested in teaming up with LeBron.

James is owed more than $117MM over the next three seasons, assuming he opts in to a $41MM salary in 2021/22. Trading him would open significant cap room and might make the Lakers more attractive to free agents who don’t want to play in LeBron’s shadow or deal with the drama that seems to surround him. Plenty of teams courted James last summer and likely would be willing to part with a nice collection of talent to make a deal happen.

We’re not saying it would ever take place, but we still want to get your opinion on the suggestion. Would the Lakers be smart to consider trading away LeBron this summer? Please leave your answers in the space below.

Lakers Notes: Rondo, LeBron, Ingram, Tanking

March 9th, 2019 at 8:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics fans who watched Rajon Rondo battle the Lakers in the 2008 Finals could have never imagined he would wind up in purple and gold someday, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Before taking the court against his original team one more time tonight, Rondo explained some of the turns his career has taken since Boston traded him in 2014.

“Not many players have ever been with one franchise their whole entire career,” he said. “I’ve had a great journey. I don’t know where I’ll be next year, but, like I say, Boston hasn’t called since I got traded away. It’s a business. Things happen. Paul [Pierce] didn’t finish as a Celtic. If it was anybody, you’d think Paul Pierce would finish as a Celtic. I mean, he obviously did go back at the end, but even he got traded. Things happen. The ACL [injury] happened, and then they broke up the Big Three the following year. It was just time to go a different way. It’s just how the chips unfolded.”

Rondo hasn’t stayed in one place long since leaving the Celtics. He spent half a season with the Mavericks, then signed one-year deals with the Kings, Bulls, Pelicans and Lakers. Heading into free agency again this summer, Rondo claims, “I feel like I’ve still got four or five more years, but I don’t know where I’ll be.”

There’s more Lakers news to pass along:

As his first season in L.A. winds down to a disappointing conclusion, LeBron James is more of an outsider than a hero or villain, Bulpett notes in a separate story. James is taking a lot of heat from media for the Lakers’ losses, while hearing occasional boos from fans who were thrilled when the team signed him. Bulpett adds that many are wondering whether James really wanted to be part of the Lakers’ legacy or just help out his career in the entertainment industry.
In a session with reporters before tonight’s game, coach Luke Walton refused to expound on Brandon Ingram‘s condition, other than saying he’s out for the season, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Among the questions that Walton declined to answer were whether the injury could affect him long term and how Ingram was dealing with the news.
With the playoffs seemingly out of reach, the Lakers should spend the rest of the season improving their draft pick, evaluating their young talent and trying to repair their relationship with the Pelicans in hopes of acquiring Anthony Davis, suggests Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

Lakers Shut Down Lonzo Ball

March 9th, 2019 at 6:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers guard Lonzo Ball won’t play any more this season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Bell had a doctor’s appointment today to get his left ankle examined, and both sides agreed that the best decision was to end his season early.

The second-year guard hasn’t seen any game action since January 19 because of a Grade 3 ankle sprain and bone bruise. With the Lakers six-and-a-half games out of a playoff spot, there’s little reason to bring Ball back and risk further injury.

The move will give Ball a chance to get fully healthy headed into the offseason and use the summer for training, Charania adds (Twitter link). A knee injury limited what he was able to do last offseason.

L.A. was a playoff contender with Ball, but is just 5-13 since he hurt his ankle (Twitter link). The Lakers had recently become resigned to the probability that Ball was done for the year.

Ball appeared in just 47 games this season, posting a 9.9/5.3/5.4 line. That follows a rookie season in which he played 52 games.

'Expectation' That Lonzo Ball Will Miss Rest Of Season; No Fine For Rajon Rondo

March 9th, 2019 at 3:54pm CST by Austin Kent

We wrote yesterday that Lakers coach Luke Walton said there was a chance point guard Lonzo Ball would miss the remainder of the season. Now, in the wake of the announcement that forward Brandon Ingram will miss the final month of the season, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets that the “expectation” is that Ball will also be shut down following a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers will not fine Rajon Rondo for sitting in a courtside seat removed from his teammates, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports. “I was just in my head contemplating the game. That’s kind of what I do. I don’t think I have to explain myself as far as my relationship with the team, the players and the coaches,” Rondo said.

Kawhi Not Interested In Playing Alongside LeBron?

March 8th, 2019 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Michael C. Wright reiterated a point he’s made before, suggesting that he doesn’t believe Kawhi Leonard is interested in heading to the Lakers to play alongside LeBron James this offseason. “I do not,” Wright said, per RealGM.com. “That’s just what I’ve been told. It’s what I’ve been told going back to last summer. I don’t see that as something that’s happening. … I think he goes to the Clippers.”

Walton: No Guarantee Lonzo Ball Will Return This Season

March 8th, 2019 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball still isn’t close to returning to the court, according to head coach Luke Walton, who told reporters today that there’s a possibility Ball misses the rest of the 2018/19 season (Twitter links via Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times and ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).

Ball, who will be re-evaluated on Saturday, hasn’t done any on-court work besides dribbling drills and stand-still shooting, per McMenamin. Ganguli notes that the Lakers’ priority is to make sure Ball gets 100% healthy and has a full offseason, rather than rushing him back to play in a few games at the end of ’18/19.

A left ankle injury has sidelined Ball since January 19, during which time the Lakers have slumped badly and fallen to 11th in the Western Conference. Entering that January 19 contest in which the former No. 2 overall pick got hurt, the Lakers were 25-21. Since then, they’re 5-14.

While the Lakers were always weighing the long-term view for Ball, the team is presumably even more willing to be patient now that its playoff chances have been all but extinguished. We heard on Thursday that LeBron James‘ minutes will be monitored going forward, a strong signal that the franchise is waving the white flag on a postseason push.

Speaking of James, Walton confirmed today that the Lakers will be keeping a close eye on LeBron’s minutes going forward. However, as Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet tweets, Walton said that there’s no official, set-in-stone restriction on the star forward’s minutes. There might be games in which James sees normal minutes if the Lakers are playing well, according to Walton.

Community Shootaround: Luke Walton’s Job Security

March 7th, 2019 at 7:35pm CST by JD Shaw

With the Lakers spiraling out of control and their hopes of making the playoffs starting to diminish, the job security of head coach Luke Walton is a topic that’s expected to be discussed in the coming weeks.

Walton, who’s in his third season as Lakers head coach, was originally hired by the team in April of 2016 to replace Byron Scott. As Marc Stein of the New York Times noted in a recent story, many figures around the league have questioned whether Walton will keep his job after such a disappointing season in Los Angeles.

“The prevailing assumption in league coaching circles remains that Walton will almost certainly be dismissed after the season, followed by the Lakers resuming their trade quest for Davis. But denying Walton an opportunity to at finish out a season wrought with drama and distraction since James’s first dribble in purple and gold would be cruel and needless,” Stein wrote in his article.

The Lakers were widely expected to be a playoff team upon bringing in LeBron James to a promising young core last July, but various injuries to James, Lonzo Ball and others are partially to blame for this derailed season. The team has halted conversations with Carmelo Anthony‘s representatives and are said to be seeking a veteran center on the open market, leaving some league observers confused with their current direction.

Los Angeles currently holds the 11th-best record in the Western Conference at 30-35, 6.5 games behind the No. 8 seed Clippers with 17 contests left in the season. They recorded their fourth straight loss at the hands of Denver on Wednesday night.

Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reported Thursday that the team agreed to a soft 28-to-32 minutes restriction with James that could result in him sitting on the second end of back-to-backs, a sign of the team knowing the postseason is effectively out of reach. Should the blame of this disappointing season fall squarely on the shoulders of coach Walton?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts!

Lakers To Limit LeBron James’ Minutes

March 7th, 2019 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Lakers‘ playoff hopes on life support, the team and LeBron James‘ camp have reached an agreement to limit James’ minutes going forward, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (video link).

According to Haynes, LeBron will only play about 28 to 32 minutes per game the rest of the way, and may not play both games in the club’s three remaining back-to-back sets, depending on how he feels. Haynes reports that James’ agent Rich Paul, along with LeBron’s trainer, discussed the plan with the club, and everyone is in agreement.

At 30-35, the Lakers are 6.5 games back of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, with just 17 contests left on their schedule. L.A. would have to go on a huge hot streak and leapfrog multiple teams to reach the postseason, which is a scenario that no longer seems plausible. As such, the franchise will opt to play it safe with its star player in the first season of his four-year contract with the club.

Following the Lakers’ loss to the Clippers on Monday, LeBron suggested that he had no plans to sit games unless he got injured again, but acknowledged that the subject of his playing time would probably be broached before long.

“That conversation hasn’t occurred, but I’m sure it can happen soon,” James said at the time. “You kind of look at the rest of the games, and look at the percentages of what’s going on there in the future, and see what makes more sense for not only me but the team itself as well.”

If the Lakers go all-in on developing their young players in the season’s final month, we can expect to see plenty of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Brandon Ingram if and when they’re healthy. Rookies Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga should also be in line for more regular minutes down the stretch.

Knicks Notes: Hardaway, Tanking, Draft, Kidd

March 6th, 2019 at 6:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

“Mind blowing” is the phrase Tim Hardaway Jr. used to describe the experience of being traded away from the Knicks twice, relays Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Hardaway, who returned to New York on Monday to face the Nets, said he was surprised and disappointed to learn he had been shipped to Dallas as part of the Kristaps Porzingis deal. Hardway had signed a four-year, $71MM contract with the Knicks 18 months earlier.

Hardaway wishes he and Porzingis had been given more of a chance to succeed in New York. The Knicks were 11-10 last season when Hardaway was sidelined by a stress fracture, and by the time he returned, Porzingis was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

“We definitely had something good going here my first time back with KP and myself in the lineup at the same time. Then I got injured, then he got injured. And then it kind of went downhill from there,” Hardaway said. “I let [Knicks management] know what we had was special and I really think they didn’t give us an opportunity to have KP. That’s what I told them. But it is what it is. We move forward.”

He added that the Knicks never told him about the trade, and he was given the news by his agent.

There’s more Knicks news to pass along:

The bottom spot in the league will be at stake tonight when the Knicks travel to Phoenix, Bondy notes in a separate story. New York holds the top position in our Reverse Standings at 13-51, a half game ahead of the Suns. Although the league’s worst three teams will all have a 14% shot at the No. 1 pick, Bondy states that the top spot is still important because the team that holds it can’t fall below the No. 5 pick. Since 1980, the top five draft positions have produced All-Stars at least 30% of the time, while just 19% of No. 6 picks have achieved that honor.
The draft will get “shaky” for the Knicks if they land outside the top two, a college scout tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. There don’t appear to be any sure-thing prospects outside of the Duke duo of Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett.
Hall-of-Famer and former head coach Jason Kidd spoke to the Knicks at today’s shootaround, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. A long-time friend of head coach David Fizdale, Kidd had plenty of advice to pass along, particularly for the point guards. Kidd has been out of coaching since being fired by the Bucks last season, and has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Luke Walton with the Lakers. “That guy is a basketball genius,” Fizdale said of Kidd. “I just don’t see how at some point he’s not running another team.”