Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: Russell, Vanderbilt, LeBron, Davis, Reaves

March 27th, 2024 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

D’Angelo Russell‘s strong play over the past few months – including 22.0 PPG and 6.8 APG with a .449 3PT% in his last 31 games – has made turning down his $18.7MM player option for 2024/25 and testing free agency a more viable option for the Lakers‘ point guard. However, he tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that his preference would be to remain in Los Angeles.

“I’d love to be here and continue to give it a run and be where my feet are now,” Russell said. “Obviously, I’ve been on the other side of it, and I’ve been through the roller coaster of free agency and having to sit back and wait. I’m looking forward to not having to worry about that. I’ve been blessed enough to put myself in this position with my play. I’m definitely planning on taking advantage of that. When that time comes, I feel that everything will play out how it’s supposed to play out.”

Even if he decides against picking up his player option, Russell could return to the Lakers, who would hold his Bird rights in that scenario and would be in a good position to sign him to a new contract.

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Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who has been out since February 1 due to a left foot sprain, is ramping up his conditioning but has yet to be cleared for contact or to participate fully in practices, head coach Darvin Ham said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
LeBron James sent a text message to TNT’s Chris Haynes prior to Tuesday’s game, confirming that his absence vs. the Bucks was about managing his ongoing ankle soreness rather than any sort of setback (Twitter video link). “With my injury, I have to be very strategic and smart of how I manage the rest of the season with my ankle/foot in order to get to the finish line,” James wrote. “Whatever line that lies ahead.” According to Haynes, the expectation is that LeBron will be available against the Grizzlies in Memphis on Wednesday.
With James out on Tuesday, Anthony Davis stepped up in a big way in Milwaukee, logging nearly 53 minutes and putting up 34 points and 23 rebounds in a double-overtime road win, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Austin Reaves chipped in with a 29-point triple-double to help lead the team to the comeback victory. “I just think we’re an unpredictable team,” Russell said. “So depends on which team you get, depends on which team we are defensively, offensively as a unit. Some guys are better than others (some nights). Some guys have bad nights. It just depends on what team we’re going to be. When we’re in full effect like tonight — obviously, no Bron — but, I think we’ll be hard to beat.”

LeBron James Out On Tuesday, Gabe Vincent Not With Team

March 26th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, looking to make up ground in the Western Conference playoff race, won’t have LeBron James available on Tuesday in Milwaukee for the first game of their six-game road trip, the team announced today (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski). James has been ruled out due to his ongoing left ankle issues.

Elsewhere on the Lakers injury front, while there was a belief that Gabe Vincent may have been able to return by now following left knee surgery, he remains on the shelf and isn’t with the team in Milwaukee, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

According to McMenamin, if Vincent continues to make good progress in his rehab work, there’s a chance he’ll join the Lakers at some point during the current road trip, which runs through next Wednesday (April 3).

LeBron Doubtful To Play Vs. Bucks Tuesday

March 25th, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are listing LeBron James as doubtful for Tuesday’s road game against the Bucks because of soreness in his left ankle, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

James missed a game against Milwaukee on March 8 due to the same issue. The Lakers are currently ninth in the Western Conference as they head out on a six-game road swing. James played 38 minutes in the Lakers’ 150-145 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, supplying 26 points and 10 assists.

Anthony Davis, Derrick White Named Players Of The Week

March 25th, 2024 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers big man Anthony Davis and Celtics guard Derrick White have been named the NBA’s players of the week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Despite being voted an All-Star and building a strong case for an All-NBA spot, Davis hadn’t yet earned a Player of the Week nod this season. He earns the honor this week after leading the Lakers to victories over the Hawks, Sixers, and Pacers, averaging 27.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.0 blocks in those three games and shooting 68.6% from the field.

With the 3-0 week, Los Angeles now holds a 2.5-game lead over Golden State for the No. 9 spot in the Western standings, though the Lakers remain 2.5 games back of the Kings and Mavericks, who currently rank seventh and eighth in the conference.

It’s also the first Player of the Week award this season for White, whose Celtics had a 4-0 week to extend their current win streak to nine games. White often gets overlooked on a roster that also features Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis, but put up big numbers in Boston’s four most recent wins, averaging 20.3 PPG, 8.8 APG, and 6.5 RPG.

Davis beat out fellow nominees Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Green, and Domantas Sabonis in the West, according to the NBA (Twitter link). Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Pascal Siakam, and White’s teammate Payton Pritchard were the other players nominated in the East.

Spencer Dinwiddie Finding His Role With Lakers

March 25th, 2024 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

With D’Angelo Russell sidelined by an illness, Spencer Dinwiddie made his second start since joining the Lakers and delivered 26 points in a win over Indiana. He talked to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter video link) about finding a role in L.A. after signing with the team last month. “It’s just about reading the room and understanding you’re a part of something bigger,” Dinwiddie said.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle became the latest opponent to complain about a foul discrepancy after playing the Lakers, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. L.A. shot 38-of-43 from the free throw line in the five-point victory, while Indiana was just 9-of-16. “There were certain things that were impossible to overcome,” Carlisle said. “The 27-free-throw differential is one. The 17-foul differential is the other. And I’ll leave it at that.”

Lakers Notes: Vanderbilt, Hachimura, Wood, Prince, Reddish, Offense

March 23rd, 2024 at 8:19am CST by Tristan Tucker

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has tinkered with the team’s starting lineup over the course of the season, but no matter what he tried, he was having difficulty finding one that stuck. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Ham planned to start Jarred Vanderbilt as the fifth starter alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in early February, but injuries to James and Davis sidetracked that plan.

Then, shortly after, Vanderbilt suffered a foot injury and hasn’t played since Feb. 1. A player with a unique skillset who helped propel last year’s late-season run, Vanderbilt’s absence was and is a big blow to the Lakers. According to Buha, there is internal optimism that Vanderbilt will return before the regular season ends next month.

Someone needed to step up in Vanderbilt’s absence and, so far, the Lakers have seen success with Rui Hachimura taking over the fifth starter spot from Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince, the latter of whom has been a starter for most of the year. The Lakers moved to 12-5 with Hachimura in the starting five next to James, Davis, Russell and Reaves after beating the Sixers on Friday.

“I’ve been telling them, like, this is who we are,” Hachimura said. “We’ve been trying a lot of different things, some lineups and all this stuff, but this is the lineup we had in the playoffs and that’s how we won, so it’s simple. … It’s just that we know, we’re just really comfortable playing each other.”

Buha further explores why it took so long for the Lakers to get back to lineups featuring Hachimura, which had success last postseason. As Buha explains, Vanderbilt’s preseason injury caused the team to pick between Hachimura and Prince for early-season starter, and Prince won out due to his professionalism and consistency. Prince’s ties to Ham also helped keep him in the lineup for as long as he was.

But with the team floundering and lineups featuring Prince next to the stars continuing to be outscored, the team made the move to Hachimura. So far, the new starting group is outscoring opponents by 42 points and has a plus-8.0 net differential.

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In the same article, Buha writes that while Christian Wood is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with his knee injury, there’s a chance he can make a return for the Play-In Tournament or the playoffs, if the Lakers make it. Wood is averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds this season.
Prince missed Friday’s game against the Lakers due to personal reasons but he’s expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday against the Pacers, according to Buha (Twitter links). Prince is averaging 9.0 points and shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc in 66 appearances (49 starts) this season.
After he’s been in and out of the lineup due to injury over the past couple months, the Lakers are optimistic that Cam Reddish will be available and able to help the team during the final stretch of the season, The Orange County Register’s Khobi Price writes. Reddish has missed 19 of the last 24 games due to a sprained right ankle after originally suffering the injury on Jan. 23. Ham expressed confidence he’ll be able to help sooner than later. “He should be able to find his rhythm pretty quickly,” Ham said of Reddish. “Obviously, there’s gonna be a little bit of rust and it’s always like that when you’ve been out of the lineup. But for the most part, the things he needs to do to help us win, he should be able to fall right back in the pocket pretty smoothly.“
The Lakers are running more sets and organized offense, leading to the second-best offensive rating in the league over the past two months, Price observes in a separate article. L.A. is continuing to put forth solid halfcourt offensive displays and are thriving in games with controlled offense. “Getting off to good starts, when the offense gets stagnant, we can run a few sets to get the ball popping again,” Russell said. “It’s vital for us. We’ve got a lot of guys, a lot of talent, can easily get in ‘Hero Mode’ and it can hurt us as a team. So just keeping that ball popping. Having everybody trust the pass. It’ll be contagious, making us hard to guard.“

Pacific Notes: Green, Ellis, Clippers, Lakers

March 21st, 2024 at 9:45pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Warriors forward Draymond Green is getting banged up while playing the center position for the team, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. On Tuesday, Green dealt with lower back soreness and was listed as questionable against the Grizzlies but managed to come in and play well. He had a three-and-a-half-hour treatment session before that game.

Green is taking a proactive approach to his injury management so that he can stay on the floor as much as possible. Golden State is leaning heavily on the former Defensive Player of the Year as the team moves away from lineups featuring two non-shooters. Green doesn’t take the floor with Kevon Looney anymore and only plays alongside Trayce Jackson-Davis in short stretches.

Green being able to play center is helping the Warriors play Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga together, with that trio being a plus-70 in 377 minutes. Still, it doesn’t come without its toll.

“It’s definitely more taxing because at the five you are involved in every possession,” Green said. “At the four, fours don’t crash every time. You may not have to box out every possession. At the five, you got to box out every play. Fives are trying to get the ball every play. Even something as simple as that, let’s call it 20 more box outs a game. That’s contact. That’s a battle. So it’s definitely more taxing. But I’m cut out for it.”

Given Green’s injuries, Slater ponders whether it’s sustainable to have him keep playing the five or whether it’s something that could be avoided.

“I can do it. I’m cut out for it,” Green said. “I don’t overly worry about it because I know we have fives that are perfectly capable of taking over and doing what we need them to do. It’s not something I think about.”

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Kings guard Keon Ellis began the year on a two-way contract but saw it converted to a standard deal. He’s impressing in an expanded role, with the Kings now 7-1 with Ellis in the starting lineup. Entering Thursday, the Kings were undefeated with Ellis in the starting five (before losing to the Wizards), and were outscoring opponents by 84 points when he was on the floor, according to FOX 40 Sacramento’s Sean Cunningham (Twitter link).
The Clippers seemed to lose their way in recent games after winning 25 of 30 games in the middle of the season, the Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner writes. However, they found themselves again in a win over the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, winning 116-103. “We just happen to be going through a tough stretch,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But we know who we are. You’re not going to win every game. We understand that. We understand that we can play better. We understand that. But let’s start with executing on both sides of the basketball. We know what our identity is and who we are.” The team’s defense, in particular, stood out as Los Angeles continues to develop its competitive identity, Turner writes.
The round of 64 of the men’s NCAA Tournament kicked off Thursday, and Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times identified 10 prospects the Lakers should be scouting. Baylor’s Yves Missi and Ja’Kobe Walter, Duke’s Jared McCain and Kansas’s Johnny Furphy are among some of the more likely names to be available where L.A’s pick currently sits (No. 14). However, it’s crucial to note that the Lakers don’t have the rights to their own pick this season. As part of the Anthony Davis trade, the Lakers owe this pick to the Pelicans. As Woike points out, though, the Pelicans have the option to defer this pick to 2025 in what is considered to be a stronger class. It’s possible New Orleans takes its chances on next year’s class and lets L.A. keep its own ’24 pick.

Lakers’ Jalen Hood-Schifino Undergoes Successful Back Surgery

March 21st, 2024 at 6:29pm CST by Tristan Tucker

6:29pm: Hood-Schifino’s procedure involved a bulging disc in his back being shaved, according to McMenamin (Twitter link). He’s expected to make a full recovery in the offseason.

6:05pm: Lakers rookie guard Jalen Hood-Schifino underwent successful back surgery on Thursday, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Hood-Schifino underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin adds that no timetable for recovery was provided (Twitter link).

While nothing is confirmed, it would be surprising if Hood-Schifino played again this regular season. For what it’s worth, Dwight Howard was given a two-to-three month recovery timeline in 2018 with the Wizards when he suffered a similar injury.

Hood-Schifino hasn’t received much playing time in his rookie season after being selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He has also dealt with a handful of injury issues this season. He’s averaging 1.6 points in 5.2 minutes per game across 21 appearances this season.

The first-year guard has played much more at the G League level. In 15 regular season NBAGL games, he averaged 22.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 35.4 minutes per contest and shot 43.2% from three.

It was an uphill battle for Hood-Schifino, still just 20 years old, to claim a rotation spot on a Lakers team fresh off the Western Conference Finals. Fellow youngster Max Christie slightly increased his role with the team in his second season and both players should have an opportunity to keep developing in L.A.’s system this offseason, assuming Christie returns as a restricted free agent.

Lakers Notes: James, Davis, Russell, Vincent, Reddish

March 20th, 2024 at 3:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, three games behind the sixth-place Kings to avoid the play-in tournament. With ground to make up in the playoff race, LeBron James was locked in against the Hawks on Monday, racking up 25 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes. The Lakers recorded a 31-point victory.

“Just setting a tone, trying to set a tone,” head coach Darvin Ham said of James, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “It’s money time right now. We have no time to waste. It starts with our two captains.”

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Anthony Davis had 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in a team-high 31 minutes on Monday. He returned after missing three games due to a left corneal abrasion. He played without any protection on his eyes after consulting with medical specialists, according to The Associated Press. “Obviously (I would have) if the doctors had told me I needed it, but I didn’t need it,” Davis said.
D’Angelo Russell has made 183 three-pointers this season, tying Nick Van Exel’s franchise record. Russell is shooting a career-best 41.9% from beyond the arc this season. “It’s just really cool,” he told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I said I don’t want to underdo it, understate it, overdo it. I just feel like it’s really cool to just be a part of something like that. I think I did something like that in Brooklyn, as well. Just to get credit for your game and what you work through and showcase it every night.”
Gabe Vincent still plans to play this season and his nearing a return, barring any setbacks, Marc Stein tweets. Vincent underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late December. Vincent was cleared for non-contact work last week.
Cam Reddish practiced on Wednesday and Ham expects him to play on Friday against Philadelphia, McMenamin tweets. Reddish hasn’t played since March 8 due to an ankle injury.

Christian Wood To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Left Knee

March 18th, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers big man Christian Wood will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin tweet.

Back on Feb. 21, a report suggested that the Lakers felt Wood’s knee soreness was relatively minor and that he’d be back in action in a couple of weeks. However, the injury obviously hasn’t healed to expectations.

Wood appeared in 50 of the team’s first 56 games, averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per night in his first season with the Lakers. He hasn’t played since Feb. 14.

Wood surprisingly remained on the free agent market until early September last year, when the Lakers signed him to a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract. He holds a $3MM option on his contract for next season.

Wood and the Mavericks failed to reach an extension agreement last season and he didn’t generate the type of interest normally conveyed to players who averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest during their walk year.

The Lakers currently hold the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Wood probably won’t be available until later in the postseason, if the Lakers advance.