Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Notes: Cousins, Rondo, Randle, Payton

July 3rd, 2018 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans made a two-year, $40MM offer to DeMarcus Cousins between his Achilles injury in January and the end of the season, Marc Stein of The New York Times states in his latest newsletter. Cousins rejected the offer, and New Orleans’ front office responded by taking it off the table.

Cousins committed to Golden State last night, taking the Warriors’ MLE of $5.3MM for next season. The Lakers had an opportunity to get Cousins for a similar price, Stein adds, but once they passed, it was an easy decision for him to join the Warriors.

The Pelicans hadn’t given up hope of retaining Cousins when free agency began, but the door closed when they signed Julius Randle for $18MM over two years. Stein notes that Anthony Davis played an aggressive role in recruiting Randle to New Orleans.

There’s more Pelicans news to pass along:

The trade with the Kings that brought Cousins to New Orleans will be remembered as a mistake, according to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. The Pelicans gave up two first-round picks in Buddy Hield and a 2017 selection that turned out to be Zach Collins. In exchange, they got just 65 games out of Cousins.
Rajon Rondo and Cousins both made shrewd business decisions, Duncan adds in the same story. The Lakers gave Rondo more money than the Pelicans were offering, along with the chance to team up with LeBron James. Cousins found a low-stress environment to rehab his injured Achilles while getting an excellent chance to win a ring. The Pelicans also showed they’re not ready to pay the luxury tax, with Randle and Elfrid Payton providing cheaper alternatives to Cousins and Rondo.
The free agent drama in New Orleans could be repeated next summer, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate. The Pelicans took a little bit of the sting out of losing Cousins and Rondo by agreeing to deals with Randle and Payton. However, Randle can opt out after one season and Payton is only signed for a year. Nikola Mirotic, who fit well alongside Davis after arriving from the Bulls in a midseason trade, will also be a free agent.

Poll: Where Will Kawhi Leonard End Up?

July 3rd, 2018 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

There have been plenty of huge NBA headlines during the first few days of July, with LeBron James agreeing to become a Laker, Paul George deciding not to become a Laker, and DeMarcus Cousins lining up a deal with the defending-champion Warriors, among others.

However, for the most part, all has been quiet on the Kawhi Leonard front.

After Leonard’s camp made a public trade request earlier in mid-June, the Spurs forward seemed likely to dominate the offseason rumor mill, but for now, the primary suitors for the two-time Defensive Player of the Year may be playing it safe.

As Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports tweets, the Celtics and Sixers appear to be “playing the long game” on the Leonard front, not wanting to do anything rash with their rosters in great shape and LeBron finally out of their conference.

As for James’ new team in Los Angeles, the Lakers‘ other deals this offseason have suggested the club is retaining flexibility for the 2019 offseason, leaving the door open for Leonard to sign as a free agent and for the Lakers to keep all their young players and picks.

While the Lakers – wary of being too patient after what happened with George – may increase their efforts to land Leonard in a trade at some point, they “aren’t keen” on giving up Brandon Ingram, tweets Schultz. Meanwhile, the Celtics won’t give up Jayson Tatum and aren’t enthusiastic about moving Jaylen Brown, and the Sixers prefer to keep Markelle Fultz, Schultz adds.

While Schultz believes Leonard – who is unhappy in San Antonio and reportedly wants to play in Los Angeles – will be dealt eventually, he’s not sure where the star forward will end up. So we’re opening up that question to you.

What team to do you expect Leonard to be with to start the 2018/19 season? Will he get his wish to join the Lakers? Can the Spurs convince him to stick around a little longer? Will a budding Eastern powerhouse like the Celtics or Sixers go all-in for him? Could L.A.’s other team, the Clippers make a surprise play to land him? Or will a wild-card suitor enter the fray and steal him away?

Vote below in our poll and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Lakers Renounce Julius Randle

July 2nd, 2018 at 5:51pm CST by Luke Adams

5:51pm: Randle asked to be renounced once it became clear his role could dramatically change and the franchise wouldn’t make a long-term commitment to him, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.

4:19pm: The Lakers have renounced Julius Randle, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As we detailed earlier today, the move increases the club’s projected cap room to nearly $14MM.

Randle, a former seventh overall pick, enjoyed the best season of his four-year NBA career in 2017/18, averaging 16.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, and a .558 FG% in 26.7 minutes per game. The 23-year-old is now free to sign with any team, though there aren’t a ton of clubs around the league that still have cap room available.

A Monday morning report had indicated that the Lakers were set to meet with Randle’s representatives today, with his camp hoping for a contract offer from the team. That seemed like a viable possibility, since L.A.’s first few moves in free agency seemed to accommodate Randle’s cap hold.

However, it appears the two sides couldn’t find common ground during that meeting, clearing the path for the big man to land elsewhere and for the Lakers to open up cap room.

It seems the Lakers will use a significant chunk of their newly-created space to sign Rajon Rondo. The veteran point guard has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $9MM contract with the club.

Free Agent Rumors: Crawford, Ellington, Bjelica, Williams

July 2nd, 2018 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are interested in veteran free agent guard Jamal Crawford, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Crawford could fortify a bench that has lost Ersan Ilyasovaand Marco Belinelli since the start of free agency. Crawford, 38, averaged 10.3 PPG in 20.7 MPG for the Timberwolves last season. The Pelicans, Cavaliers, Warriors and Nuggets are also reportedly in the mix for Crawford, who opted out of his contract with Minnesota and left $4.54MM on the table.

In other news regarding the free agent market:

Unrestricted free agent shooting guard Wayne Ellington has drawn significant interest but he’s viewed as a good bet to re-sign with the Heat, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports tweets. Miami has a cap hold of $8.15MM on Ellington, who appeared in 77 games and averaged 11.2 PPG in 26.5 MPG while shooting 39.2% from long range.
The Jazz have a strong interest in Nemanja Bjelica, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The Timberwolves pulled their qualifying offer to the power forward in order to sign Anthony Tolliver, thus making Bjelica an unrestricted free agent.
The Knicks are interested in Alan Williams if he clears waivers, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Suns waived the power forward/center on Monday. The Knicks have also reached out to free agent power forwards Amir Johnson and Trevor Booker, Berman adds.
Williams hasn’t ruled out a return to the Suns but his agent has already heard from a handful of teams interested in his services, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. Williams, who appeared in only five games last season due to a knee injury, had a non-guaranteed salary of $5.5MM for next season and will likely get through waivers.
The Lakers have renounced their free-agent exception rights to guard Andre Ingram and power forward Travis Wear, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Lakers had a cap hold of $1.338MM on Ingram and $1.5MM on Wear. Ingram appeared in two games with Los Angeles last season, while Wear saw action in 17 games.
The Suns renounced their free-agent exception rights to center Alex Len, according to the RealGM transaction log. The Suns had a $7.96MM cap hold on Len. He appeared in 69 games last season but became expendable when they drafted Deandre Ayton.

Wizards Claim Thomas Bryant Off Waivers

July 2nd, 2018 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have claimed second-year center Thomas Bryant off waivers from the Lakers, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Bryant was cut by the Lakers on Saturday to create a little extra cap flexibility in advance of free agency.

Bryant, the 42nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, appeared in 15 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.6 minutes per game. He saw more action in the G League, posting 19.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and a .597/.364/.674 shooting line in 37 games for the South Bay Lakers.

According to salary data from Basketball Insiders and ESPN, Bryant’s contract includes a $1,378,242 non-guaranteed salary for 2018/19, which is set to become guaranteed if the young center remains under contract through Thursday. Theoretically then, Washington still has the opportunity to avoid Bryant’s guarantee, but the club likely wouldn’t have placed a claim on him if it didn’t plan to keep him for more than three days.

Teams generally require cap room or a trade exception to claim a player off waivers, but because Bryant is on a two-year, minimum-salary deal, any club was eligible to place a claim.

Thunder, Lakers, Others Meet With Tyreke Evans

July 2nd, 2018 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

12:31pm: Appearing on 92.9 ESPN in Memphis, Evans’ brother said the free agent guard is also meeting with the Warriors and Hornets today, and has yet to be contacted by the Grizzlies (Twitter links via John Martin of 92.9 ESPN).

Evans’ brother said that “if the Grizzlies asked us for a last-minute meeting, we would take it,” but it sounds like the decision could come down to the Thunder, Lakers, Warriors, and Hornets, tweets Martin.

11:36am: Free agent guard Tyreke Evans met with the Thunder on Sunday in Los Angeles and will have a meeting with the Lakers on Monday, reports ESPN’s Chris Haynes (via Twitter).

While it’s not clear yet whether Oklahoma City or Los Angeles are serious suitors for Evans, either team would be a fascinating on-court fit. The Thunder and Lakers have been two of the most active clubs so far in free agency, with OKC having reached agreements with Paul George and Jerami Grant, while L.A. secured commitments from LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee.

Given their activity so far, neither the Thunder nor Lakers could make Evans a lucrative offer as things currently stand. The Thunder project to be well into luxury-tax territory, so they’d have the $5.337MM mid-level exception available if they’re willing to use it — doing so would cost exponentially more in tax penalties.

As for the Lakers, we discussed their cap situation in depth earlier today. For now, they’d only be able to offer Evans a minimum-salary deal, but they could open up more cap room by renouncing Julius Randle or by waiving and stretching Luol Deng.

In addition to the Lakers and Thunder, the Pelicans have been linked to Evans, and the Grizzlies are also believed to have interest in re-signing the unrestricted free agent, who averaged an impressive 19.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 5.1 RPG in an injury-shortened 2017/18 campaign.

Latest On Julius Randle, Lakers

July 2nd, 2018 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

While the Lakers have had a busy start to free agency, they have yet to extend a contract offer to Julius Randle, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That may change soon, however.

According to Charania, Randle’s representatives are expected to speak with the Lakers on Monday, and the big man’s camp is hopeful about receiving an offer from the team. The restricted free agent is excited about LeBron James‘ impending arrival in Los Angeles, Charania adds.

In addition to securing a commitment from James, the Lakers have also agreed to deals with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Lance Stephenson. As we detailed this morning, the terms of those agreements suggest that the Lakers will retain their cap hold for Randle, which allows the club to go over the cap to re-sign him.

While it’s still possible that the Lakers will renounce Randle or that he’ll sign an offer sheet with another team, it makes sense for the two sides to negotiate directly as long as he remains a restricted free agent to see if they can find common ground. As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (Twitter link), it will be interesting to see if Randle is willing to consider a big-money, one-year deal that would allow the Lakers to maximize their 2019 flexibility.

Randle, who ranked eighth on our list of 2018’s top 50 free agents, enjoyed the best season of his four-year NBA career in 2017/18, finishing the year strong after entering the starting lineup in late December. The 23-year-old averaged 18.6 PPG, 3.1 APG, and a .560 FG% in his 49 starts.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Leonard, Roster, Outlook

July 2nd, 2018 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

While he didn’t play a part in revealing LeBron James‘ new home this time around, Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated has penned another excellent piece on LeBron’s latest decision. According to Jenkins, James initially narrowed down his preferred landing spots to the Lakers, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Rockets, instructing agent Rich Paul to research those organizations and give him feedback when he returned from a June vacation.

While the Rockets became a long shot after James opted out of his previous contract, the four-time MVP planned communications with the Cavaliers and Sixers at the start of free agency. The Lakers were his primary focus though, according to Jenkins, who notes that LeBron spoke to Kobe Bryant on the phone before meeting with Magic Johnson on Saturday night.

As Jenkins details, despite speculation that a second star like Kawhi Leonard or Paul George might be required to lure James to the Lakers, the future Hall-of-Famer had no problem being “the first headliner through the door.” Per Jenkins, LeBron believes that the Lakers have the recruiters, assets, and cap space necessary to build a lasting contender.

Here’s more on the Lakers’ and LeBron’s arrival:

Although he was strongly considering the Lakers before sitting down with Johnson on Saturday night, James wanted to meet face-to-face and see if he and the Lakers’ president of basketball operations could “find a trust” before he made a final decision, sources tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times has more details on that Saturday meeting between the former and future Lakers stars.
The Lakers‘ status as an iconic franchise and the ability to live full time in Los Angeles with his family were important factors in James’ decision, two people with knowledge of the situation tell Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt also notes that the Sixers worked hard to trade for Leonard as a selling point while recruiting James, but never made serious traction with the Spurs.
Kevin O’Connor latest article for The Ringer cites multiple league sources who say that the Lakers‘ offers for Leonard have been “underwhelming.” However, O’Connor acknowledges that could change now that the team has secured a commitment from James. A package that sends Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle (via sign-and-trade), multiple first-round picks, and possibly Josh Hart to the Spurs could work, in the view of O’Connor’s sources.
James’ business and basketball worlds will come together in Los Angeles, as Sam Amick of USA Today details in his piece on LeBron’s decision.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com takes a closer look at how good the Lakers can be with their current roster and how they can become legit title contenders.
We examined the Lakers‘ cap situation for 2018/19 earlier today.

Breaking Down Lakers’ 2018/19 Cap Situation

July 2nd, 2018 at 8:33am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ 2018/19 salary cap outlook has been a subject of much speculation in the days, weeks, and months leading up to 2018’s free agent period, and it continues to be an area of particular interest for NBA fans now that the team has reached agreements to sign LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee.

Do the Lakers still have cap room available? Can they keep Julius Randle and sign another free agent? If they let Randle walk, could they realistically make a play for a star free agent like DeMarcus Cousins?

Before Monday’s news cycle gains momentum, we want to take a quick look at those questions, breaking down what the Lakers can and can’t do with their remaining cap room.

First, let’s take a closer look at the commitments already on the Lakers’ books. Listed below are the contracts and contract agreements that will eat into the team’s cap room. Tentative salaries for free agents are listed in green, while cap holds are noted in blue. Stephenson’s and McGee’s deals aren’t listed because – based on reported terms – they can be completed using exceptions after the Lakers have used all their cap room.

Here’s the breakdown:

Player	Salary
LeBron James	$35,654,150
Luol Deng	$18,000,000
Julius Randle	$12,447,727
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	$12,000,000
Lonzo Ball	$7,461,960
Brandon Ingram	$5,757,120
Moritz Wagner	$1,762,080 *
Kyle Kuzma	$1,689,840
Josh Hart	$1,655,160
Ivica Zubac	$1,544,951
Incomplete roster charge	$838,464
Incomplete roster charge	$838,464
Total	$99,649,916

* Note: There are ever-so-slightly conflicting figures out there for Wagner’s rookie scale amount. Our figure is based on RealGM’s rookie scale data.

With a salary cap of $101,869,000 for the 2018/19 season, the Lakers currently only have about $2.2MM in space. That’s not enough meaningful room to use on a veteran player, but it gives them some flexibility to sign their second-round picks (Isaac Bonga and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk) or undrafted free agents to contracts with a longer term than two years, which could be useful.

It’s possible that the Lakers will simply use that leftover space on smaller deals, go over the cap to re-sign Randle using his Bird rights, and fill out their roster with the $4.449MM room exception (earmarked for Stephenson) and minimum-salary deals. Doing so would allow the club to maximize its flexibility for future seasons, depending on the terms of Randle’s new deal.

However, if the Lakers want to create space to make a run at another free agent, there are viable paths to doing so. Here are a few scenarios:

Waiving and stretching Deng: $12.02MM in total cap room.
Renouncing Randle: $13.83MM in total cap room.
Trading Deng without taking back any salary: $19.38MM in total cap room.
Waiving and stretching Deng and renouncing Randle: $23.63MM in total cap room.
Trading Deng without taking back any salary and renouncing Randle: $30.99MM in cap room.

In other words, there are still ways for the Lakers to create significant cap space. However, trading Deng would likely involve attaching multiple young players and/or draft picks to him. Those are pieces the Lakers would prefer to keep or use in a deal for an impact player, so the club may hold off on such a move.

Meanwhile, there aren’t many free agents out there who are better bets than Randle, so the Lakers may prioritize working out a new deal with their own restricted free agent rather than making multiple roster moves to pursue an outside target.

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

Lakers Notes: James, Bosh, Noel

July 1st, 2018 at 9:42pm CST by Austin Kent

LeBron James‘ 2018 free agency was always a two-horse race between the Lakers and Cavaliers, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on SportsCenter, noting that the meeting with the Sixers earlier today was a mere courtesy.

The decision to move to Los Angeles had been in the back of James’ mind for a while now, leaving the Lakers in the driver’s seat for the past three weeks with little left to do but not blow it.

In the television interview, Windhorst spoke of the exodus of the King’s staffers, who relocated from Miami to the west coast during James’ second stint with the Cavaliers, and the fact that his wife has been looking at Los Angeles schools for the past year.

With James already in hand, Magic Johnson simply had to close the deal and, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne adds, was actually at James’ residence when free agency officially began.

There’s more out of Los Angeles tonight:

One name to keep an eye on as a potential Lakers addition is free agent big man Chris Bosh, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Bosh played alongside James for four years in Miami but has been out of the game since February, 2016 after being diagnosed with life-threatening blood clots. A comeback would require some additional paperwork but a successful return would not impact the Heat’s payroll.
There’s a chance that Brook Lopez ends up back in Los Angeles now that much of the team’s available cap space has been tied up in James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Keith Smith of RealGM tweets. Lopez was under contract for $22MM with the Lakers in 2017/18 and averaged 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The Lakers are one of three teams that Nerlens Noel has narrowed his free agency decision down to, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Noel is represented by Rich Paul, the same agent that represents James and Caldwell-Pope. The Wizards and Thunder are the other two teams on Noel’s short list.