Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Amick’s Latest: T. Chandler, Walton, Joerger

January 8th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he signed with the Lakers, Tyson Chandler gave legitimate consideration to joining the division-rival Warriors instead. As he tells Sam Amick of The Athletic, Chandler loves Golden State’s style of play and was told the team would be interested in adding him, but he knew there may not be much of a role for him when DeMarcus Cousins returned.

“For me, it became (a question of), ‘Where would I make the most impact?'” Chandler said. “Do I want to go there and — back-to-back champs — just a well-oiled machine, be one of the guys, maybe be that vet on the bench after DeMarcus comes back? Or do I want to come to the Lakers, where they were teeter-tottering a little bit, struggling at the time, but I’d seen it coming alive, and I’ve always loved the draft picks and the young players that they had here, and then (LeBron James) coming here, and then (Rajon) Rondo, and then having those vets? I’m like, let me go ahead and hop in that dogfight.”

Amick’s wide-ranging article on The Athletic also touches on several other topics, including whether or not Kevin Durant should (and would) shoot more three-pointers, Austin Rivers‘ adjustment to Houston, and more. Here are a few other highlights:

The dynamic between Lakers head coach Luke Walton and team management is complicated enough that it’s worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the season, says Amick. However, a source close to the situation tells him that there are “no signs of imminent danger” for Walton.
There has been speculation that Dave Joerger could be a good candidate for the Timberwolves‘ head coaching job since he’s a Minnesota native and has fans within the organization. There’s no indication that it’s likely though, according to Amick, who hears from sources that Joerger is still extremely high on the Kings‘ young core.
Previous reports, including a couple from Amick, have suggested that there’s tension between Joerger and Kings assistant GM Brandon Williams, but that situation appears “more tenable” as of late, per Amick. Sources tell The Athletic that Williams spent a lot of time on the road during the weeks after Joerger asked him to leave a November shootaround, in a concerted effort to relieve tensions. All signs now point to Joerger remaining safe in Sacramento at least through the end of the 2018/19 season, Amick adds.
For what it’s worth, here’s what Joerger told James Ham of NBC Sports California when asked about the Timberwolves‘ job: “Obviously I’m a Minnesota kid, so it’s interesting, but at the same time, my focus is right here, right now. I mean, we’re having a great time with our guys. We’re watching them grow every day. I feel like I’ve worked my tail off, I know the players have and the coaching staff — to put us in a position where we have tremendous chemistry.”

International Notes: Kilpatrick, M. Williams, China, Pitino

January 6th, 2019 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Sean Kilpatrick received an offer to play for Panathinaikos is Greece, but turned it down as he waits for another NBA opportunity, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. The news was first reported by George Zakkas of SDNA.

Saturday marked the first day that NBA teams could offer 10-day contracts, and Kilpatrick, who has gone that route with four organizations, is hoping it will be his way back into the league. He played for four teams last season, starting the year with the Nets before being waived in December. He signed a two-way deal with the Bucks later that month and was converted to a regular NBA contract before being waived in March. He signed a pair of 10-day deals with the Clippers, then finished the season with the Bulls before they waived him over the summer.

The 29-year-old averaged 6.3 points per game last season, including 15.4 PPG in nine games with Chicago.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Matt Williams, who started last season as a two-way player with the Heat, has reached an agreement with GS Kymis in Greece, Lupo notes in a separate story. Williams began this season with KTP Basket in Finland. He got into just three games with Miami before being waived in December of 2017.
The Lakers and Nets will play a pair of preseason games in China, according to an ESPN report. The contests are set for October 10 in Shanghai and October 12 in Shenzhen. It will be the third appearance in China for LeBron James and possibly the fourth for Lance Stephenson, who will set a record if he remains on the roster.
In the wake of Steve Alford’s firing at UCLA, a group of boosters is targeting Panathinaikos coach Rick Pitino, writes Adam Zagoria for Forbes. Pitino made his debut with the Greek team late last month and is under contract for the rest of the season, so the move couldn’t take effect until the 2019/20 season. A source tells Zagoria that Pitino is “very interested” in taking over the Bruins. Approval from the UC Board of Regents is seen as the main obstacle in light of Pitino’s dismissal from Louisville amid his alleged role in an NCAA scandal. Murray Bartow is serving as interim coach at UCLA.

Lakers Notes: Ingram, Ball, George, Robinson

January 5th, 2019 at 7:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are wasting an opportunity to prove they can be successful without LeBron James and may be getting a clearer picture of the value of Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, writes Bill Oram of The Athletic. L.A.is 1-4 since James suffered a strained left groin, and the team learned Friday that he won’t be re-evaluated for another week.

The most troubling game in that stretch was last night’s loss to the Knicks, who have been near the bottom of the East all season. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Oram writes, Ingram became a one-dimensional player, making just one of five shots, while Ball tried to force passes and committed a couple of key turnovers.

“Brandon and Lonzo right now are our primary ballhandlers,” coach Luke Walton said, “and I think they led us in turnovers tonight. I’m not putting the blame on them, but that’s part of the responsibility of being a point guard, or being a primary ballhandler-slash-playmaker, is taking care of the ball and getting guys going, getting other guys easy looks.”

There’s more Lakers news to pass along:

Ingram may be the next young talent sacrificed in the quest to build a super team in L.A., suggests Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. The Lakers have already parted with D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle to clear cap room, and it may become necessary to do the same with Ingram to have a shot at Anthony Davis. If the Pelicans hang onto Davis and he becomes a free agent in 2020, the Lakers can’t afford the $21.8MM cap hold Ingram would have as a restricted free agent. However, he could turn out to be a valuable trade piece if Davis turns down a supermax offer and New Orleans feels compelled to move him this summer.
Paul George got an unfriendly reception from Lakers fans this week, but he explained that he made a business decision to stay in Oklahoma City, relays Brett Dawson of The Athletic. There was hope last season that George might return to his native Southern California in free agency, but he decided he had a better situation with the Thunder. “The Lakers is one of the best, most historical franchises in the world,” George said. “It is what it is. I’m with another great organization.”
The Lakers gave strong consideration to taking Mitchell Robinson with their first-round pick last summer, but the rookie center believes he’s better off with the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. With L.A. hoping to make the playoffs, Robinson thinks he might have spent much of the season in the G League rather than as an NBA starter.

And-Ones: Trade Deadline, Goodwin, Watson, Williams

January 4th, 2019 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There probably won’t be significant activity prior to the trade deadline, according to Keith Smith of RealGM (Twitter links). The biggest trades this season may have already occurred, one source told Smith, because teams are intent on preserving salary-cap space for 2019. Still, some expiring contracts could be moved and there’s always a possibility that a team “might get desperate” and do something bold, the same source suggested.

A front-office member from another team believes many of the trades coming before the deadline could be motivated by trying to stay below the luxury-tax line, even if it results in a talent downgrade. However, that executive also believes that there should be more sellers in a month than there are now. “Some of us will get real about our chances and start moving guys,” the source said to Smith.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Guard Archie Goodwin has returned to the United States to join the G League’s Maine Red Claws, the team announced in a press release. Goodwin most recently played in the NBA during the 2016/17 season, when he appeared in a combined 15 games with New Orleans and Brooklyn. The shooting guard played his first three seasons with Phoenix. The Red Claws acquired his returning player rights in a trade prior to the season. Goodwin lost his roster spot with China’s Zhejiang Golden Bulls to former Spurs guard Brandon Paul in late December.
Lakers guard and former UCLA star Lonzo Ball has endorsed former Suns coach Earl Watson to be the Bruins’ next coach, Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times report. UCLA recently fired Steve Alford and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant Murry Bartow. “I know Earl personally,” Ball said. “I think he has coaching experience in the league. Obviously, he went there, he’s alumni, so I think he’s a good fit.”
Veteran big man Alan Williams is in advanced talks with China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Williams was waived by the Nets this week to allow him to pursue the overseas opportunity. He was on a two-way deal after getting released by the Suns during the offseason. Williams was playing well in the G League but did not make an appearance with Brooklyn.
Forward Okaro White, who was waived by the Wizards last month, has signed with the G League’s Long Island Nets, according to NetsDaily.com. Long Island acquired his G League rights last year. The Nets are not using their available two-way slot on White, according to the report. White made three appearances with Washington this season.

LeBron James To Miss At Least Four More Games

January 4th, 2019 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Injured Lakers star LeBron James will be re-evaluated in one week, the team announced today in a press release. That means that James, who continues to battle a strained left groin, will miss at least Los Angeles’ next four games.

James suffered his groin injury on Christmas Day, with his team rallying in his absence to complete a blowout win over Golden State. However, the Lakers are just 1-3 since then, splitting a pair of games against the Kings and dropping home contests to the Clippers and Thunder.

The Lakers’ upcoming schedule features a home game vs. the Knicks tonight, followed by contests in Minnesota on Sunday and Dallas on Monday. LeBron won’t travel with the team on that brief road trip, according to today’s announcement, and he’ll miss next Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit too. Next Friday’s game in Utah looks like the earliest possible return date for the four-time MVP.

The Lakers will also be without Rajon Rondo for a few weeks due to a hand injury, and Kyle Kuzma is considered questionable for Friday as he deals with a back contusion. L.A. is currently in the No. 8 spot in the West with a 21-17 record, so it will be interesting to see if the short-handed club can win some of its upcoming games and hang onto a playoff spot until LeBron returns.

Kyle Kuzma Suffers Lower Back Contusion

January 3rd, 2019 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

3:37pm: Kuzma’s MRI confirmed the diagnosis of a lower back contusion, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Having avoided a more serious injury, Kuzma will be listed as questionable for Friday’s game against New York.

10:10am: The Lakers‘ injury woes continued on Wednesday, as forward Kyle Kuzma left the team’s loss to Oklahoma City at halftime and didn’t return. Kuzma, who was diagnosed with a lower back contusion, is undergoing an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays.

“He got hit somewhere in the game, something happened during the game,” head coach Luke Walton said. “You could notice he was starting to limp in those last couple minutes he was playing. He said he was fine. They worked on it at halftime; just said, ‘No go.'”

Los Angeles is already without a pair of key rotation players in LeBron James and Rajon Rondo. There has been no indication that James – who is dealing with a strained groin – is ready to return yet, and Rondo is expected to be sidelined for a few more weeks after undergoing hand surgery. As such, the Lakers will have to hope that the injury to Kuzma, who leads the team in total minutes, isn’t serious.

Kuzma is the Lakers’ second-leading scorer this season behind LeBron, averaging 18.3 PPG and 5.8 RPG on .472/.302/.780 shooting. If he has to miss time, players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Hart figure to be leaned on more heavily, while Lance Stephenson and Svi Mykhailiuk are among those who could see a bump in minutes.

Injury Updates: LeBron, Cousins, Paul, Gordon, Fultz

January 1st, 2019 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers superstar LeBron James did some shooting but little else during practice on Tuesday, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN. He will miss his fourth straight game on Wednesday due to a groin strain suffered on Christmas Day. It remains uncertain how much more time he’ll need to return. “He’s working on his body, his game, himself all the time. But that’s the first time I’ve seen him shoot [since the injury],” coach Luke Walton said. The Lakers are 1-2 without James.

We have more injury news from around the league:

DeMarcus Cousins is still uncertain when he’ll make his debut with the Warriors, Marc J. Spears of ESPN writes. Cousins has practiced with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors and was involved in private 5-on-5 scrimmages with Warriors teammates last week, Spears notes. “It will mean everything when I get back,” Cousins said. “All the hard work. The dedication. Good and bad days. Tears, cramps and pain. Everything.”
Rockets guard Chris Paul has “no clue’ when he’ll return from his left hamstring strain, according to Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle. Paul has missed the team’s last eight games.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon is hopeful his bruised right knee will heal fast enough to allow him to play against Golden State on Thursday, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Gordon, who suffered the injury on Saturday, is waiting for the swelling to go down. “I can’t really do a whole lot,” Gordon said. “They didn’t tell me an actual time frame. I know if I’m able to run. I don’t care how much pain I have, I’m going to play.”
Sixers second-year guard Markelle Fultz will be re-evaluated early next week for his thoracic outlet syndrome condition, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The top pick in the 2017 draft hasn’t played since November 19th. Philadelphia remains hopeful that Fultz can return this season.
Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday after missing the last 10 games with a quad strain, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post writes.

Stein’s Predictions: Davis, Leonard, Durant, Cousins

January 1st, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis will turn down a “supermax” extension from the Pelicans, setting up a frenzied competition between the Lakers and Celtics to pull off a trade, predicts Marc Stein of the New York Times in his latest newsletter. It’s one of several prognostications the veteran basketball writer offers up in a New Year’s Day column, but it’s the most explosive and one that will dominate NBA headlines throughout the summer if it comes true.

Davis could short-circuit the story by accepting the offer from New Orleans, which would pay him close to $240MM. But Stein expects Davis to value a shot at winning over money and look to join a loaded lineup in either Los Angeles or Boston. Stein also predicts the Lakers will be aggressive in trying to talk the Pelicans into a deal before the February 7 deadline while there’s not another strong suitor in sight. The Celtics can’t trade for Davis until Kyrie Irving opts out of his current deal because of an NBA rule prohibiting a team from acquiring two players currently on designated rookie extensions through trade.

Stein offers a few more significant personnel-related predictions:

Despite Kawhi Leonard‘s success in Toronto, Stein expects him to sign with the Clippers in July. He adds that the Raptors will likely need to win a title to keep their new star from heading home to Southern California in free agency and predicts Toronto will start rebuilding if Leonard leaves, including a trade of Kyle Lowry.
Kevin Durant may spend one more season with the Warriors before looking to move on in free agency. Stein admits there’s a lot of chatter about Durant joining the Knicks, but he believes the allure of playing in the new Chase Center will keep him him around for another year.
A “wise insider” tells Stein that DeMarcus Cousins will consider returning to the Warriors for another season, although they can only offer a modest raise on his $5.3MM salary. Stein expects other prominent free agents, such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson, to stay where they are.
Carmelo Anthony, currently in limbo on the Rockets‘ roster while looking for his next NBA opportunity, may have played his last game. It has been nearly two months since Anthony was last on the court and it doesn’t appear anyone is willing to take a chance on him, even at a minimum salary.
Kevin Love trade talks will heat up soon, and Stein believes the Nuggets should get involved as they try to hold onto the top spot in the West. Love is projected to return from toe surgery this month and will become eligible to be dealt on January 24, a little more than two weeks before the deadline.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Cousins, Kings, Suns

December 31st, 2018 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

After losing their first two games without LeBron James in the lineup, the Lakers picked up a win over Sacramento in Sunday. The victory is the latest signal that the club’s young core is capable of greater things, even without veteran leaders like LeBron and Rajon Rondo available, Kyle Kuzma said after the game, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com.

“We are not just one player,” Kuzma said. “We just got to eliminate little mistakes and we could have won all three games [without them]. For us, it is just continue to keep getting better and better and when those guys get back, hit the ground running.”

Meanwhile, while James continues to recover from the groin injury currently keeping him on the shelf, he appeared on the latest episode of ESPN’s ‘More Than An Athlete’ and made some interesting comments about his spot in NBA history. Addressing the 2016 NBA Finals, which saw his Cavaliers knock off the 73-9 Warriors, LeBron said that he felt that win “made me the greatest player of all-time” (video link).

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

With his debut for the Warriors getting closer, DeMarcus Cousins spoke to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated about what he called “the longest year of my life.”
The Kings have been perhaps the most surprising team in the NBA this season, unexpectedly vying for a playoff spot in a competitive Western Conference. As Matt John of Basketball Insiders details, Sacramento is enjoying success in 2018/19 despite making several roster moves that seemed questionable at the time.
In terms of length and athleticism, the Suns see some similarities between their current roster and their ‘Seven Seconds or Less’ teams from the mid-2000s, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “Just a lot of athleticism,” new Sun Kelly Oubre said. “When we’re at our best, we get stops and we get out in transition and we score. The ball is moving around. Everybody is touching it. Everybody is moving. That’s when we’re at our best. It’s just a lot of length out there. A lot of athletes and guys who can guard multiple positions. It’s kind of difficult for teams to turn downhill.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/30/18

December 30th, 2018 at 7:56pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Hornets announced on Twitter that Dwayne Bacon has been assigned to their G League affiliate in Greensboro. Bacon has appeared in 17 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 5.5 points per game.
The Rockets have recalled Brandon Knight from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Rockets are thin in the backcourt as a result of injuries to Chris Paul and Eric Gordon.
The Hawks have assigned rookie forward Omari Spellman to the Erie Bayhawks and have also transferred Alex Poythress to the Bayhawks, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Lakers have recalled Svi Mykhailiuk, Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga from the South Bay Lakers, according to a tweet from the team’s G League affiliate.
The Warriors have assigned rookie wing Jacob Evans to their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to a tweet and press release from the team’s PR department.