Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Owner Issues Statement On Tampering Case

September 6th, 2017 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after the NBA announced that it had fined the Lakers’ $500K for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said that his club accepted the NBA’s findings. However, a report over the weekend suggested that Pacers owner Herb Simon may consider separate legal action against the league and the Lakers.

Issuing a formal statement today via the Pacers’ website, Simon insisted that’s not the case, indicating that he and the franchise are content with the league’s decision.

“Contrary to a published report, I would like to emphatically state that neither I nor the Indiana Pacers have ever considered any legal action toward the NBA or the Los Angeles Lakers regarding the recent decision and penalty concerning tampering charges,” Simon said. “We agree with the NBA’s findings and we want to put this issue behind us.

“Even though the Pacers were put in a tough position, we feel extremely fortunate to end up with two exceptional players in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Their youth and talent, when coupled with our returning players and other players acquired over the summer, offer tremendous promise for our franchise and our fans.”

As we detailed on Tuesday, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson has offered to pay the team’s $500K fine out of his own salary, despite the fact that the franchise was technically penalized for GM Rob Pelinka‘s prohibited expression of interest in Paul George to agent Aaron Mintz. Johnson also spoke publicly about George during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but the NBA only issued the Lakers a warning for Johnson’s comments.

Magic Johnson Offers To Pay Tampering Fine Out Of His Salary

September 5th, 2017 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers received a significant fine last week for violating the NBA’s anti-tampering policy, and team president Magic Johnson wants that penalty taken out of his salary. As he tells Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times, Johnson doesn’t want Lakers owner – and his good friend – Jeanie Buss to be on the hook for that $500K.

“We can’t say a lot but we will correct the situation,” Johnson said on Monday, per Ganguli. “It’s under my watch. I apologize to Jeanie, and that was the main thing. I told her she could take it out of my salary because I don’t want the Lakers to be paying that fine. … I don’t want her spending $500,000, because she didn’t do anything. That’s on me.”

Technically, Johnson wasn’t directly responsible for the Lakers receiving that $500K fine — although the rookie president discussed Paul George during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this year, the Lakers only received a warning from the NBA for those comments. The league levied a penalty on the team after an investigation revealed that GM Rob Pelinka had expressed interest in George to agent Aaron Mintz — that expression of interest directly to an agent is prohibited when a player is under contract with another club.

Nonetheless, Johnson takes responsibility for the misstep, noting that it happened under his watch. The Lakers president insists that the club won’t repeat that mistake in the future.

“We’re going to have meetings about it next week,” Johnson said. “I’m gonna always care about the Laker brand, the Laker fans, so I apologize to them as well. The main thing is we’re going to move forward. We got 95% everything’s going great. This is the one thing that went bad. … This is something we can correct. Adam [Silver] is a great friend of mine. I’m glad he was able to do his job. Now I’m gonna do my job.”

Dwyane Wade To Consider Miami, L.A. If Bought Out?

September 4th, 2017 at 8:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Dwyane Wade remains under contract with the Bulls for 2017/18 and appears virtually certain to open the year with the club, but he’s also considered a strong bet to be bought out at some point during the season. If and when that happens, Miami and Los Angeles are among Wade’s possible landing spots, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

According to Jackson, a Wade associate has been telling people that Miami and L.A. would appeal to the veteran guard. The Herald scribe adds that this same source was the first to inform him of trouble in contract negotiations between Wade and the Heat before the former Finals MVP left Miami as a free agent.

A return to the Heat certainly wouldn’t be out of left field for Wade — despite a breakdown in contract talks last summer, he still has a good relationship with Udonis Haslem and others within the organization. Wade’s children are also currently enrolled at a South Florida school, Jackson notes, citing WINZ-940’s Andy Slater.

As for Los Angeles, Jackson doesn’t specify whether Wade would have his eye on the Clippers or Lakers, but the Clips figure to be closer to contention this year, even without Chris Paul. The Lakers may become a more viable option for Wade in future seasons, particularly if the team could land LeBron James or another marquee free agent.

In addition to Miami and Los Angeles, Cleveland is considered a very real possibility for Wade, and the Cavaliers may still be the favorite if and when the Bulls buy him out. However, as Jackson’s report suggests, the Cavs won’t be the only team in the mix.

So far, Wade and the Bulls reportedly haven’t engaged in discussions about a buyout, though that’s expected to change in the coming months.

KCP Signing Gives Club Access To LeBron's Agent

September 3rd, 2017 at 4:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers were motivated to sign shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope because he shares the same agent as LeBron James, sources indicated to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Caldwell-Pope was inked to a one-year, $18MM contract after the Pistons cut ties with the restricted free agent this summer. Rich Paul represents both Caldwell-Pope and James. Signing Caldwell-Pope allows the Lakers to keep the lines of communication open with Paul and show how they run their organization, among other benefits, McMenamin continues. James is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract next summer and become an unrestricted free agent.

The Timberwolves will host some free agents this week, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Wolfson didn’t name the free agents who are visiting but added that the club has grown antsy waiting on decisions from free agents Shabazz Muhammad and Dante Cunningham. Muhammad is reportedly mulling a contract offer from the Lakers, while the Pelicans and Bucks are also pursuing Cunningham.

More Notes On Tampering Investigation

September 1st, 2017 at 9:28pm CST by Austin Kent

As we discussed yesterday, the Lakers were fined $500K by the NBA for tampering with 2018 free agent Paul George. Sports Illustrated’s Michael McCann quickly explored the penalty in detail, noting that the league in general has a “decidedly low-bar” for the prohibited act.

Considering the wording of the league’s constitution, there is no specific means of contact that’s permissible or not. Teams are, the constitution says, “forbidden from any kind of attempt to persuade” either individuals or team personnel, emphasis mine.

Another troublesome point of ambiguity McMann highlights is the fact that there need not be any proof that the tampering attempt actually swayed the individual, it’s solely the attempt that the league is concerned about.

All told, the Lakers have little choice but to pony up the cash for the fine but McMann doesn’t think that the penalty will dissuade teams from repeating the behavior in the future.

That’s not all we have about tampering this evening:

If you’ve heard the Pat Riley Heat/Knicks tampering example offered up as a precedent for the Lakers’ recent situation, note that there is one critical difference. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets that the $1MM the Heat paid the Knicks in 1995 was a settlement and not a league-enforced penalty.
The Lakers may have bought themselves a year of contact with LeBron James‘s agent ahead of the 2018 free agency period, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, and all it cost them was the $18MM they committed to another Rich Paul client, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Don’t expect Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard to put up a fuss about the league’s ruling on the tampering investigation. “We accept the league’s findings,” he told Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.
…do expect the Indiana media. Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star suggests that the relatively small fine is but a slap on the wrist for a Lakers franchise worth $3B. The scribe offers alternative penalties that he says would have had more of an impact.

NBA Draft Rights Held: Pacific Division

September 1st, 2017 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.

When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.

However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.

While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.

For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.

Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Pacific teams:

Golden State Warriors

Mladen Sekularac, G/F (2002; No. 55): Retired.

Los Angeles Clippers

Maarty Leunen, F (2008; No. 54): Playing in Italy.
David Michineau, G (2016; No. 39): Playing in France.

Los Angeles Lakers

Brad Newley, F (2007; No. 54): Last played in Greece.
Chinemelu Elonu, C (2009; No. 59): Playing in Greece.

Phoenix Suns

Ron Ellis, F (1992; No. 49): Retired.
Milos Vujanic, G (2002; No. 36): Retired.
Cenk Akyol, G/F (2005; No. 59): Last played in Turkey.
Dwayne Collins, F (2010; No. 60): Retired.

Sacramento Kings

Alex Oriakhi, F (2013; No. 57): Playing in Uruguay.
Dimitrios Agravanis, F (2015; No. 59): Playing in Greece.
Luka Mitrovic, F (2015; No. 60): Playing in Germany.

Previously:

Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Pacific Notes: Ingram, Randolph, Warriors, Kings

August 31st, 2017 at 9:52pm CST by marksuleymanov

Kings‘ forward Zach Randolph was formally charged with two misdemeanors after his August 9 arrest for possession of marijuana, John Schultz of the Sacramento Bee writes.

Charges against Randolph were reduced from possession of marijuana with intent to sell to possession of more than one ounce of marijuana and resisting arrest, per the Los Angeles County Superior Court website.

Possession of marijuana comes with a possible six-month sentence, a fine not exceeding $500, or both. The resisting arrest charge comes with up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

Randolph, 36, signed a two-year, $24MM deal with Sacramento in July, bringing a stable veteran presence to an otherwise rebuilding Kings team. While age has slowed Randolph’s production, he has still posted at least 14.1 PPG and 7.8 RPG the last five seasons. Needless to say, this type of legal issue is not what the Kings had in mind when they committed two years to the NBA veteran.

Below you can read other tidbits of news around the Pacific Division:

In a piece for ESPN Insider (subscription required and recommended) Mike Schmitz examines Lakers‘ forward Brandon Ingram. The second overall pick from last year’s draft did not have the type of season he and the organization hoped for in 2016/17. Schmitz — who expects a breakout season — explains that Ingram’s shooting was impacted by a change of position and simply adjusting from college to the professional level.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) explains how the Warriors‘ star players can be even better in 2017/18. Golden State has made three consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning two out of the three.
A state senator in Inglewood, California, says it is possible that a proposal to fast track a new arena for the Clippers will be introduced, Liam Dillon of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com has compiled an offseason recap for the Kings.

Shabazz Muhammad Reportedly Considering Lakers

August 31st, 2017 at 8:52pm CST by marksuleymanov

Shabazz Muhammad, one of the top free agents left on the market, is reportedly considering a deal with the Lakers, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Pincus adds that Los Angeles still has a $4.3MM room exception but a minimum deal could also be in play should both sides reach an agreement.

Muhammad was previously represented by current Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. While that prior relationship exists, it is not clear if it will impact a potential deal.

The Wolves renounced their rights to Muhammad earlier this summer. Since then, the Hawks, Nets, Bucks, and Knicks have been mentioned as possible destinations. Minnesota was reportedly considering a reunion with the 24-year-old earlier this month.

In 78 games with the Wolves last season, Muhammad averaged 9.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG while shooting .482% from the field in just under 20 minutes per game.

The Lakers’ busy offseason has included drafting Lonzo Ball, signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and trading former first-round pick D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn for veteran center Brook Lopez. Muhammad would provide the team with a young scoring weapon off the bench if a deal is reached.

And-Ones: Surprises, EuroBasket, Australia

August 31st, 2017 at 4:59pm CST by Austin Kent

The Timberwolves haven’t made the postseason in 14 seasons. That could change this year, Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders writes, in a feature profiling five teams that could surprise in 2017/18. The Wolves have made no secret their desire to surround their promising young core with as many established veterans as possible and it’s likely to pay off in the form of a playoff appearance.

Another team Rhodes mentions is the Pelicans, who will break camp for the first time with both Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins on the roster. It’s not unreasonable, Rhodes suggests, to call Davis and Cousins the best players in the NBA at their respective positions.

Other teams that the scribe considers on the rise include the Lakers, Hornets and Pacers, the latter perhaps reeling from the loss of its superstar but still boasting plenty of versatile talent on the roster.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

There are no shortage of past, present and future NBA players on EuroBasket 2017 rosters. Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype recently made a list of them all, broken down by nationality. (We see you, Anthony Randolph).
The Australian National Basketball League isn’t a high profile international league like the Spanish ACB, Turkish BSL or Russian VTP leagues but it’s growing in popularity, Chris Reichert of 2 Ways, 10 Days writes.
The only restricted free agent to accept a qualifying offer in the NBA this summer is Mavs center Nerlens Noel. In his latest feature, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders breaks down the unique contract type, what it means for the players who sign them and what, typically, happens next.
For those keeping track at home, the NBA has doled out over $2B less this summer than it did last summer. That’s a decrease of 42.6%, tweets Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal.

Lakers Fined $500K For Tampering

August 31st, 2017 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have been fined $500K for violating the NBA’s anti-tampering rules, the league announced today in a press release. The ruling comes after the conclusion of an independent investigation conducted by a law firm, per the NBA.

According to the NBA’s announcement, the Lakers had received a warning when president of basketball operations Magic Johnson made comments regarding then-Pacers forward Paul George during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The $500K fine stems from an “prohibited expression of interest” in George by GM Rob Pelinka during a conversation with George’s agent Aaron Mintz.

The investigation into the Lakers uncovered no evidence suggesting that the Lakers entered an agreement to sign George when he becomes a free agent or made any other promises to acquire him. However, because George remains under contract with another team, the NBA’s tampering rules prohibit Pelinka and the Lakers from expressing interest in him directly to his agent.

The Lakers are widely considered the odds-on favorite to land George when his contract expires in 2018, and the Pacers were reportedly angry about what they perceived to be tampering as they weighed their options for the All-Star forward. Indiana ultimately sent George to Oklahoma City in exchange for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo, but filed paperwork with the league alleging that the Lakers were guilty of tampering.

Had the investigation into the Lakers revealed that the team had made a wink-and-a-nod agreement with George or his agent, L.A. would have been subject to harsher penalties, including the loss of draft picks and/or suspensions for front office members.

The $500K penalty represents the second-largest tampering fine in NBA history, behind the $3.5MM penalty assessed to the Timberwolves in the Joe Smith saga back in 2000, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.