- With the Lakers looking to maximize their 2018 cap room, Julius Randle has a better chance to be traded at some point before February’s deadline than he does to be extended before the season, according to Kyler.
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- A handful of Pacific Division rotation players could make names for themselves as sleepers this season, David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders writes, including Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. and recently acquired Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell.
Longtime NBA forward Lamar Odom hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2012/13 season, having battled off-court issues – including drug use – since then. However, the 14-year veteran believes he’d have a chance to still be playing in the NBA today if not for the trade that sent him from the Lakers to the Mavericks during the 2011 offseason. As he tells Shams Charania of The Vertical, Odom feels that he was never really himself after that trade.
“Being in L.A., the structure, the people I knew, it hurt leaving. I had great memories with the Lakers, with Kobe [Bryant] and Pau [Gasol]. That was a special time in my life,” Odom said. “I think about it all the time, about how much I had left in the tank. I had issues going on. But barring injury, could I play in the NBA today? I could play. I should still be playing.”
At age 37, Odom doesn’t intend to attempt an NBA comeback, and in fact has been in talks with the Lakers about signing a one-day contract during training camp to retire as a member of the organization, according to Charania.
Charania’s whole piece is worth checking out, but here are a few more highlights from Odom, who talked about the possibility of retiring as a Laker, his plans for the future, and a number of other topics:
On potentially retiring as a Laker:
“My family looks forward to me retiring as a Laker more than me. I’m not really emotional about being praised, about signing for a day. I’m shy at the end of the day. For my son, for my family, for my fans, they may enjoy that day. It’s for them. I ain’t celebrating not playing no more. In life though, I’ve learned to live with regrets.”
On his disappointing 2011/12 campaign with the Mavericks:
“That was a hard year for me because my cousin had just got killed. It was the lockout year, so I didn’t work out any, none, before that season. I spoke to Mark Cuban, and I told him the situation I was in emotionally, that this is what you’re getting, the player you’re getting. There were hard feelings over the course of the season. I thought I would return to my old form. … It’s too bad that it didn’t work out there because I really could have flourished with Dirk Nowitzki. I could have taken advantage of his skills and my skills. It’s too bad that I wasn’t at the top of my game mentally or physically. I couldn’t perform.”
On spending time with Luke Walton and the Lakers earlier this year, and potentially re-joining the franchise as a player development coach:
“I’ve thought about coaching with the Lakers, but I don’t know if I’m ready to commit myself. It was cool being back around that environment, watching Lonzo [Ball] work out. You could tell he will be special. It’s always good to be back around the Lakers’ facility. There’s nothing but good memories, besides that trade.
On the possibility of joining Ice Cube’s BIG3 league in 2018:
“I might play in the BIG3 next year. It would give me something to do. That league is going to last. It’s not going anywhere, and more dudes will get down with it. Getting $100,000 for playing, and three-on-three is nothing to these guys. They can play still. … I think the BIG3 could become international. It could tour. Basketball is an international game, and the four-point shot is entertainment. The reason it’s going to last is Cube – and celebrities come out for it.”
With all of the hype surrounding the Lakers these days, those who’ve overlooked Julius Randle can be forgiven. As Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype writes, however, the underrated big man could still be a viable component of Los Angeles’ intriguing young core.
While his effective field-goal percentage and value over replacement player figures have left much to be desired, the versatile forward is in position to take yet another leap forward in his third full season with the Lakers.
In 2016/17, Randle became just the ninth forward in NBA history to average 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, a testament to his playmaking ability and tendency to find his Lakers teammates.
What’s more, the Lakers big man has shown an impressive commitment to conditioning and has the Instagram account to prove it.
Mavericks center Nerlens Noel will take his chances as an unrestricted free agent next summer after accepting the team’s $4.1 MM qualifying offer for this season. There were conflicting reports about whether Dallas ever offered a four-year deal in the $70MM range, but regardless, the third-year big man is committed to one more season with the Mavs for less than he made last year.
The lack of interest is partially the plight of being a restricted free agent, but ESPN’s Kevin Pelton [Insider account] isn’t sure Noel will get the max offer he wants in 2018.
There will be fewer teams with money to spend, as Pelton identifies just six franchises that appear to have the cap room to extend a max offer. One of those is the Lakers, who figure to have their eyes on bigger prizes than Noel. The Pacers with Myles Turner and the Jazz with Rudy Gobert won’t be spending money on another center, and the Sixers don’t figure to bring Noel back to town.
That leaves just the Hawks, who could have more than $30MM available if Dewayne Dedmon and Mike Muscala both turn down their player options, and the Bulls, who seem destined to have more than $40MM and might be ready for a new direction in the middle.
Pelton notes that it has been a particularly rough summer for free agent centers, with Pau Gasol getting the largest contract by re-signing with the Spurs for $49MM over three years. With many teams de-emphasizing the position and others already set, unrestricted free agency won’t gurantee Noel the payday he wants.
- The Lakers had a productive summer, NBA.com’s Shaun Powell writes. The club did well to position itself for the future by scrubbing Timofey Mozgov‘s contract off their books and, of course, drafting Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 pick in the draft.
Between lingering injury concerns surrounding Isaiah Thomas (hip) and James’ connection to Los Angeles, Bucher makes the case that the 32-year-old Cavalier icon could west to join the Lakers. “It’s all more about life after basketball than anything else,” a source tells him.
The Lakers are under investigation for tampering, and according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, that probe was initiated after Lakers president Magic Johnson made comments about Paul George during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
As Turner details, the NBA will look at more than just Johnson’s late-night appearance as the league attempts to determine whether the Lakers are guilty of tampering in relation to George. But Johnson’s comments during that appearance angered Pacers owner Herb Simon enough to prompt Indiana to formally pursue a case against L.A.
Here’s more on the Lakers/Pacers situation:
- The Lakers and Pacers are both confident that their side will ultimately win out in the tampering investigation, as Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk outlines. Feldman passes along comments from Bob Kravitz of WTHR, who says the Pacers “feel very strongly that there were correspondences between Lakers executives and Paul George’s representative.”
- Nat Newell of The Indianapolis Star explores what sort of punishment the Lakers may face if they’re found guilty of tampering. In Newell’s view, the Lakers are unlikely to receive more than a slap on the wrist unless there’s proof of further correspondence – beyond Johnson’s Kimmel appearance – between the Lakers and George’s camp. Even a penalty for Johnson’s comments during that appearance would be an overreaction, argues Mark Whicker of The Orange County Register.
- James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders examines the implications of the NBA’s investigation into the Lakers, while Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a more general look at how NBA teams skirt the rules and operate in “gray areas” when it comes to potential tampering.
Longtime basketball executive Jerry West surprised many NBA observers earlier this offseason when he decided to leave the Warriors for the Clippers. Speaking to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, West acknowledged that he was sad to leave Golden State and had been very happy working for the Warriors, chalking up his decision to timing.
Although he’s a consultant for the Clippers now, West still views the Warriors as the overwhelming favorite to win another championship in 2018, telling Kawakami that “everyone’s playing for second place right now.”
In addition to sharing his lingering fondness for his old team, West also touched on several other noteworthy topics during his discussion with Kawakami. Here are a few highlights:
On whether he knew Chris Paul would leave when he left the Warriors for the Clippers:
“I felt he was. Yes. I didn’t think he was going to stay there. You just get a sense that some players are going to move, you do. You just get a sense… there was all the talk. I know that Steve [Ballmer] met with him. I think Lawrence [Frank] and Doc [Rivers] both met with him. I did not meet with him or talk with him. I just had the sense when I first started talking to them, I asked them, ‘You may not be able to keep either one of these players, him or Blake Griffin.’ I said, ‘How’s that going to work?’ I think they felt there was a chance for sure that he was going to leave.”
On the Clippers moving on without Paul:
“I know some of the people down there [in Houston] and obviously Mike D’Antoni, he’s a friend of mine, he has a place at the Green Brier, and he’s very high on the players we got. He mentioned to me, he said that he thinks they’ll get to play there more and particularly if Sam Dekker can be healthy, he’s a very good prospect. He’s had two seasons of injuries, but he seems very healthy.
“It also gives Doc a chance as a coach to be able to coach differently, more ball movement. Chris was a ball-dominant point guard. [Not having Paul] encourages more movement. When a coach has to do things a little bit differently, that might be challenging but also might be fun for him. Even though we’ll miss Chris, it’s part of the NBA.”
On Clippers owner Steve Ballmer:
“[In] a lot of ways he reminds me of the kind of owners that you want, somebody who’s really committed to trying to build a team. He’s smart, he lets people do their job, he doesn’t think he’s someone who wants to run the team. He’s given Lawrence and Doc a lot of leeway there and they’re going to hire two new people there in the front office. It’s just… I see some changes from the prior regime there that I think are going to be really positive.
On whether he thought he might return to the Lakers rather than joining the Clippers:
“Absolutely not. I had no contact with the Lakers. Honestly, I would’ve never gone back there even if they would’ve contacted me. Never had any conversations, never had a desire there. I knew that would’ve never happened.”
Be sure to check out Kawakami’s full interview with West for more interesting observations from The Logo.
For the last decade, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann has been surveying several incoming rookies to get their thoughts on their fellow first-year players. Schuhmann asks the newest NBA players to identify which rookie they expect to have the best career, which was the steal of the 2017 draft, and which is the frontrunner for the 2017/18 Rookie of the Year award, among other questions.
This year, Schuhmann polled 39 rookies, and more than a quarter of those players made Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. their pick for Rookie of the Year favorite. The No. 9 overall pick received 25.7% of the vote, beating out top picks like Lonzo Ball (20%) and Markelle Fultz (17.1%). That may be good news for the Mavs, though as Schuhmann observes, the rookies he has surveyed haven’t accurately predicted the Rookie of the Year winner since 2007/08, when they made Kevin Durant the overwhelming favorite.
Here are a few more items of interest from Schuhmann’s survey:
- Smith was the landslide winner (43.6%) as the most athletic rookie. But while his fellow rookies believe the Mavericks point guard will have the best first year, Ball and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received the most votes (18.4% apiece) for which rookie will have the best overall career.
- Donovan Mitchell (18.9%) was the top choice for biggest steal of the draft, after the Jazz nabbed him at No. 13. Some of the second-round picks that the rookies viewed as steals included Jordan Bell (Warriors; No. 38) and Dwayne Bacon (Hornets; No. 40).
- Luke Kennard (Pistons) and Malik Monk (Hornets) were widely considered the top two outside shooters in the draft. Among their fellow rookies, Kennard (48.6%) easily topped Monk (13.5%) as the pick for the No. 1 shooter of the 2017 class.
- Suns forward Josh Jackson (26.3%) was narrowly voted the best rookie defender, while Ball (71.8%) was the overwhelming pick for best rookie playmaker.