Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign Lance Stephenson

July 10th, 2018 at 1:49pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 10: The Lakers have officially signed Stephenson, according to a press release from the team.

“It’s incredibly exciting to have Lance join our team,” GM Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Lance is playoff-tested and will bring a certain edge, confidence and toughness to our roster. His multi-positional versatility and open-court playmaking abilities are key ingredients for the basketball style we designed for next season.”

By signing Stephenson now, the Lakers have elected to use most or all of their remaining cap room to complete his deal, leaving the $4.449MM room exception available for another move.

JULY 1: The Lakers have agreed to a deal with Lance Stephenson, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The 27-year-old swingman and notorious rival of LeBron James will head to Los Angeles after a career-reviving 14-month stint with the Pacers.

The pact, which ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports is worth $4.5MM over one season, will give the Lakers an additional veteran as they gear up to transition from a rebuilding young squad to a genuine Western Conference contender.

Stephenson, 27, had his 2018/19 team option turned down by the Pacers after he averaged 9.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG last season, appearing in all 82 games. While his shooting numbers (.427/.289/.661) were all below his career marks, it was still somewhat surprising to see the Pacers let Stephenson go. His option salary would have been $4.36MM, so he’ll get a slight raise on his new deal.

Based on the terms reported by Haynes, it appears the Lakers will use their room exception to sign Stephenson once they’ve used up all their cap room. The room exception is worth $4.449MM for 2018/19.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Sign Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk To Three-Year Deal

July 10th, 2018 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

1:18pm: The Lakers have officially signed Mykhailiuk, the team announced today in a press release.

12:27pm: The Lakers are in the process of finalizing a contract for second-round pick Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Charania, it’ll be a three-year deal worth approximately $4.6MM, and will include a team option.

Mykhailiuk, the 47th overall pick of this year’s draft, is coming off a successful senior year at Kansas in which he averaged 14.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.7 APG while shooting 44.4% on three-pointers. The 21-year-old shooting guard has looked good in Las Vegas so far, averaging 16.0 PPG on 52.2% shooting in two Summer League contests.

If the terms Charania reported are accurate, it’s an impressive deal for Mykhailiuk. Fellow second-rounder Isaac Bonga only received about $4.1MM on his new three-year deal with the Lakers, and Bonga was selected eight spots earlier at No. 39 overall.

The Lakers still have cap room available, so they’ll use some of that space to finalize Mykhailiuk’s contract.

Lakers Sent $1.5MM In Bonga Trade

July 9th, 2018 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers will receive $1.5MM from the Lakers to complete the Isaac Bonga deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Lakers have a 45-day window from July 6 to get that done, Pincus adds. Philadelphia also received the Bulls’ second-round pick in the deal for the 39th pick of this year’s draft. The Sixers are paying $110K to the Nuggets as part of the Wilson Chandler trade, Pincus adds in another tweet. Denver generated a $12.8MM trade exception from the deal.

LeBron James Signs Four-Year Deal With Lakers

July 9th, 2018 at 7:23pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9, 7:23pm: James has officially signed the contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

JULY 1, 7:11pm: LeBron James is headed to Los Angeles, with his agency Klutch Sports Group issuing a press release to confirm that James will sign a four-year contract with the Lakers (hat tip to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). The plan all along, Zillgitt tweets, was to keep the announcement as low-key as possible.

According to Klutch Sports, James’ new deal will be worth $154MM, though the maximum four-year salary for a player with 10+ years of NBA experience who changes teams as a free agent is technically $153,312,846.

James’ new contract with the Lakers will start at $35.65MM, with subsequent salaries of $37.44MM, $39.22MM, and $41MM. That final year will be a player option, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that LeBron will have the opportunity to opt out in 2021.

The four-year contract represents a departure from James’ last few seasons in Cleveland, when he signed shorter-term deals to maximize his earnings and his flexibility. He’ll be at least a Laker for the next three seasons, creating some stability for his family in Los Angeles and giving the Lakers time to build a championship-worthy roster around him.

The decision represents the culmination of a year-long saga. The Lakers, who had more cap space than any other NBA team heading into the 2018 offseason, were long rumored to be a potential landing spot for James, though several other teams – including the Cavaliers, Sixers, Rockets, Clippers, Heat, Celtics, Nuggets, and even the Warriors – were cited as possible suitors along the way.

[RELATED: More On LeBron’s Decision]

The Lakers were unable to secure a commitment today from Paul George, who will be headed back to Oklahoma City on a four-year deal of his own, but the team lands free agency’s big prize in James, who will join a roster featuring several up-and-coming prospects, including Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart.

With LeBron in the mix, it’s not clear if all those youngsters remain a part of the Lakers’ long-term plans. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Kawhi Leonard remains highly motivated to become a Laker, and the Lakers may be motivated in turn to increase their efforts to acquire him in a trade with the Spurs. That would mean breaking up the Lakers’ young core.

While the Lakers’ odds of landing another top free agent like DeMarcus Cousins or Clint Capela aren’t as high now that they’ve committed $35MM+ to James and are reportedly re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a $12MM deal, the team still has cap flexibility.

Accommodating James’ new max deal would reduce L.A.’s cap space to about $13.4MM, as cap experts Albert Nahmad and Bobby Marks detail, and adding KCP’s new $12MM salary would further eat into that room. However, the team could re-open substantial space by trading or stretching Luol Deng, or by renouncing Julius Randle. Deng has an $18MM salary for 2018/19, while Randle’s cap hold is $12,447,727. The Lakers will also have the $4.4MM room exception available once they use up all their cap space, which is expected to be used to sign Lance Stephenson.

[RELATED: Lakers to meet with Clint Capela]

As the Lakers complete their first steps toward a potential super-team, the Cavaliers will have to regroup now that James is leaving Cleveland for the second time in eight years. While the franchise was blindsided in 2010 when LeBron took his talents to South Beach, general manager Koby Altman and the Cavs’ front office had prepared for this eventuality by adding young, controllable players like Larry Nance, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton within the last year.

Even without a max salary for James to consider, the Cavs already have $102MM+ in guaranteed money on their books for 2018/19, a figure that doesn’t account for a new deal for Hood. Recent reports indicated that the club didn’t plan on trading Kevin Love or blowing up its roster if LeBron left, so we can assume for now that the Cavs will still aim to compete for the playoffs in ’18/19.

Although Cleveland will obviously take a significant step backward without its four-time MVP, the path to the postseason should be easier in the Eastern Conference than in the hyper-competitive West, which will welcome another All-NBA player as a result of James’ decision. Eastern contenders like the Celtics, Raptors, and Pacers will likely be thrilled to see LeBron head west.

Meanwhile, the Sixers – who met with James’ representatives earlier today – will be another team to watch in the wake of LeBron’s agreement with the Lakers. Philadelphia was the only other suitor with a significant chunk of cap room available, so the team will have to turn its attention elsewhere as it debates how to use that space.

Currently, the 76ers have nearly $27MM in space, and the team could increase that number if it waives or buys out Jerryd Bayless, who is on an $8.5MM+ expiring contract. That gives the Sixers plenty of flexibility to pursue a top free agent or to focus on re-signing J.J. Redick and adding one or two more rotation pieces.

James’ decision caps an extremely eventful first day of the 2018 NBA free agent period. Each of the top five players on our list of 2018’s best 50 free agents have now agreed to deals, though many notable names in the top 15 remain available. That list includes Capela, Cousins, Randle, Aaron Gordon, Jabari Parker, Zach LaVine, and Tyreke Evans.

Austin Kent contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Have Interest In Luc Mbah A Moute

July 9th, 2018 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Iko, Mbah a Moute is seeking more money and long-term security than he received from the Rockets in 2017/18, but the club is offering him another minimum-salary deal. Iko’s source suggests that the Spurs, Lakers, Clippers, Wizards, and Sixers have all expressed some level of interest in Mbah a Moute as well.

Pelicans Sign Julius Randle

July 9th, 2018 at 10:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 9: The Pelicans have officially signed Randle, per the NBA’s transactions log. The team’s new deal with Ian Clark has also been finalized, according to the league’s list of official transactions.

JULY 2: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with Lakers free agent forward Julius Randle on a two-year, $18MM contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The second year will be a player option, Wojnarowski adds.

The acquisition of Randle would strongly suggest that the Pelicans are not confident in re-signing DeMarcus Cousins. At the very least, adding Randle would give them some insurance if Cousins signs elsewhere. Not only does New Orleans already have superstar Anthony Davis up front but also Nikola Mirotic, who was acquired from the Bulls and jumped into the starting lineup with Cousins sidelined by a season-ending Achilles injury.

Davis was instrumental in recruiting Randle to New Orleans, according to another Wojnarowski tweet. Randle had his rights renounced by Los Angeles per his request earlier on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Pelicans ironically lost free agent point guard Rajon Rondo to the Lakers shortly before the news of Randle’s agreement broke.

Randle’s opt-out will give him the opportunity to explore the free agent market once again next summer. Randle, a former seventh overall pick, averaged 16.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, and a .558 FG% in 26.7 minutes per game last season.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, may be poised to replace Cousins with Randle and Rondo with Elfrid Payton, who reached an agreement with the team on Sunday. The terms of the two deals strongly suggest that New Orleans will use its mid-level exception to sign Randle and its bi-annual exception to bring Payton aboard.

A two-year signing using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception would be worth about $17.7MM, which matches up with Randle’s reported $18MM agreement. The bi-annual exception is worth $3.382MM and would accommodate Payton’s reported $2.7MM salary.

Using either exception would hard-cap the Pelicans at $129.82MM for the 2018/19 league year, so while they could go over the cap to re-sign Cousins, their team salary would have to stay below that $129.82MM threshold. Taking into account Randle’s and Payton’s reported agreements, the Pelicans are at approximately $104MM in guaranteed salary for nine players. That total doesn’t include Cousins or non-guaranteed players like Darius Miller ($2.2MM).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets Considered Favorites To Land Carmelo Anthony?

July 8th, 2018 at 10:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Many NBA executives consider the Rockets the favorite to land Carmelo Anthony, according to Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link).

O’Connor also predicts that Melo will sign with Houston but names the Lakers, Heat, and Sixers as other possibilities. It was previously reported that Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami were expected to have interest in the future Hall-of-Famer.

Anthony’s business manager, Bay Frazier, spent a good portion of the Warriors-Rockets summer league game alongside the Rockets’ brass. Frazier was seen with Chris Paul, owner Tilman Fertitta, player development coach John Lucas II, and head coach Mike D’Antoni, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).

The Rockets were linked to Anthony last summer, having pursued him when the Knicks were looking to make a move. New York wasn’t interested in taking back Ryan Anderson as part of the deal and talks stalled, leading the organization to send Anthony to the Thunder. While Anthony’s latest breakup isn’t yet finalized, a buyout arrangement appears forthcoming, as OKC is unlikely to find a taker on the trade market for his nearly $28MM salary.

The Thunder are facing luxury tax concerns and will be looking to trim as much salary as possible off their books in negotiations. The Rockets have the $5,337MM taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal and if Anthony can line up an offer with Houston or another club, it may expedite the process of him leaving the Thunder.

Contract Details For Isaac Bonga

July 8th, 2018 at 6:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ deal with No. 39 pick Isaac Bonga starts at $1MM and includes two guaranteed seasons (Twitter link).

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Lue, James, Zizic

July 8th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love has a chance to raise his trade value by the February deadline, which may explain why the Cavaliers aren’t putting him on the market now, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. GM Koby Altman said this week that the organization “doesn’t get better” by moving Love, and a rival executive that Pluto talked to agrees.

With LeBron James gone, Love will become the new focus of the offense in Cleveland and he has a good chance to raise the numbers of 17.6PPG and 9.0 RPG that earned him an All-Star berth this season. He also stretches opposing defense, which will give Jordan Clarkson and rookie point guard Collin Sexton easier paths to the rim.

Love will make $24MM in the upcoming season, then has a $25.6MM salary for 2019/20 that he is expected to opt out of, so the Cavaliers will likely decide to trade him at some point. The unidentified executive says he could be very popular around the deadline, especially in the Eastern Conference, where teams will see a wide open field with James now a Laker.

There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:

The Heat, Hornets, Trail Blazers and Raptors stand out as potential trade destinations for Love, according to Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue will meet with Lakers coach Luke Walton and associate head coach Brian Shaw to discuss the experience of coaching James, according to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. “I’ll just tell them LeBron’s easy,” Lue said. “People get this whole thing built up like he’s hard to coach. It’s not. LeBron’s not the problem. It’s the outside tension that’s the problem. Just put added pressure immediately on the coaches, on his teammates. Now everything you do is under a microscope. … So it’s going to be a totally different change for the Lakers. They’ll be able to handle it.” Lue adds that he spoke to James a number of times while he was making his free agency decision, but never pressed him to stay in Cleveland.
Pluto examines James’ legacy with the Cavaliers in a separate story. Through all he has accomplished, the enduring memory for James may be bringing an NBA championship to Cleveland. “Only people who are from there understand what that title meant,” said former Cavs coach Mike Brown. “To LeBron, I bet it’s worth more than all his MVP awards [four] and his other titles [in Miami] combined.”
Ante Zizic, an overlooked part of the Kyrie Irving trade, has been putting up huge numbers in the Las Vegas Summer League, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. He posted 25 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s loss to the Bulls.

Latest On Kawhi Leonard

July 7th, 2018 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tony Parker‘s decision to sign with the Hornets won’t change Kawhi Leonard‘s desire to leave San Antonio, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports. Schultz notes that Leonard “remains irate” with Parker over what he considers a downplaying of his quad injury. However, the locker room dysfunction goes beyond the relationship between Leonard and Parker, Schultz adds.

A rival GM tells Schultz that the Spurs haven’t relented at all on their asking price for Leonard (Twitter link). The organization doesn’t care if Leonard is unhappy in San Antonio and is refusing to consider reduced offers to resolve the situation. Schultz speculates that the Leonard trade drama could last through most of the summer, just as Carmelo Anthony‘s did a year ago.

There’s more news on Leonard to pass along:

Parker tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that his reported feud with Leonard was blown out of proportion. “I have no problem with Kawhi Leonard,” Parker said. “We never had an argument. When the journalist asked me if my injury was worse than Kawhi’s, I said yes because it was true. But that didn’t lessen the significance of his injury. He took over the franchise and I gave up the torch of the franchise willingly. It’s very sad that the media took one quote and made it sound like I didn’t want to play with him. He was the face of the franchise.”
If he gets traded to the Eastern Conference, the Sixers are the only team Leonard would consider re-signing with, ESPN’s Chris Haynes said in an appearance on The Jump. Los Angeles remains Leonard’s first choice, Haynes adds, but he would be open to a long-term deal in Philadelphia if he winds up there. He notes that Leonard would not be interested in a similar arrangement with the Celtics, who are another reported suitor.
ESPN’s Michael C. Wright is the latest observer to say that the Clippers have overtaken the Lakers as Leonard’s preferred destination. Speaking on his podcast, Wright says “someone who would know” tells him that Leonard doesn’t want to be “second fiddle” to LeBron James with the Lakers. Wright adds that the Spurs aren’t impressed with anything the Clippers have to offer in a potential trade.
Up to eight teams have done background work on a possible trade for Leonard, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The Lakers, Clippers, Sixers and Celtics have been most prominently mentioned in trade rumors, but Kyler states that others are weighing the risks of a potential “rental” deal.