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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/7/2017

April 7th, 2017 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the league, as the NBADL postseason continues:

In the wake of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ Game 1 win in the D-League playoffs on Thursday, the Rockets recalled Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor, and Kyle Wiltjer to the NBA, the team announced today (Twitter link). The trio played a major role in Thursday’s victory, with Taylor scoring 24 points and dishing out nine assists, Wiltjer adding 17 points, and Onuaku snatching 18 rebounds.
The Lakers have recalled rookie guard David Nwaba from the NBADL, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Lakers’ affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, was on the losing side in Thursday’s D-League playoff game, despite Nwaba’s team-high 22 points. The Vipers and D-Fenders will play Game 2 on Saturday, so Nwaba and the Rockets’ youngsters may be headed back to the NBADL within the next 24 hours.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/6/17

April 6th, 2017 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With the NBADL playoffs now underway, here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Lakers assigned guard David Nwaba to their affiliate, the D-Fenders, according to the D-League team’s Twitter feed. Nwaba, who has become a rotation player for the Lakers, contributed 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes against the Spurs on Wednesday. The D-Fenders have a playoff game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday.
The Rockets assigned point guard Isaiah Taylor and forward Kyle Wiltjer to Rio Grande, its D-League affiliate, according to the Rockets’ Twitter feed. Taylor and Wiltjer were sent down for the Valley Vipers’ playoff game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Taylor, a rookie out of Texas, made his NBA debut on Sunday, playing 15 minutes against the Suns. Wiltjer, who attended Gonzaga, has appeared in 13 games with Houston but none of his outings lasted more than six minutes.

Assistant GM Resigns

April 6th, 2017 at 3:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Lakers assistant GM Glenn Carraro has resigned, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Carraro has been with Los Angeles since 2000.

Jeanie Buss To Keep Team Control

April 4th, 2017 at 9:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rob Pelinka’s deal with the Lakers is for five years and it’s worth over $20MM, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (h/t RealGM). Los Angeles hired Pelinka to be the team’s GM last month. Windhorst adds that lucrative deals are becoming typical for high-ranking members of teams’ front offices.

A judge ruled that Jeanie Buss will retain controlling ownership of the Lakers, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (ESPN Now Link). It was previously reported that Jim and Johnny Buss would try to take over control of the team.

Lakers Shut Down Nick Young

April 3rd, 2017 at 12:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nick Young has become the latest Lakers veteran to be shut down for the season, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.

Young has been held out of 11 of the past 12 games even though he’s healthy, so the move isn’t a surprise. But the Lakers have decided to make it official, saying the 31-year-old shooting guard won’t play again outside of an emergency. A source said Young might be used in case of an unexpected injury, but the team doesn’t expect that to happen.

Young was one of the pleasant surprises of L.A’s preseason, winning a starting job after a summer filled with rumors that he might be traded or released. Young played 60 games, all starts, and averaged 13.2 points per night.

The 10-year veteran has a $5.67MM player option for next season and recently said he hasn’t decided what to do about it.

The Lakers previously shut downLuol Deng and Timofey Mozgov in an effort to devote more time to younger players.

Russell Learning To Make In-Game Adjustments

April 2nd, 2017 at 9:21pm CST by Austin Kent

Of all the things that D’Angelo Russell has improved upon in his second season, one of note is his ability to make in-game adjustments. “He’s done a good job, whether he’s making bad plays with that or missing shots, with still helping our team,” Lakers head coach Luke Walton told Mark Medina of the Orange County Register. “That is a huge step forward. It’s important you can bounce back within the game.”

Pacific Notes: Kings’ Rookies, Booker, Nwaba, Ulis

March 31st, 2017 at 10:50pm CST by Milo Taibi

While the Kings have dropped out of playoff contention, Dave Joerger will still seek to build the talent and IQ of his younger players. As Joerger acknowledged in a recent post-game press conference, ensuring proper player development is a large part of his job.

“Having been there with those guys (in Memphis) I felt a great deal of responsibility to maximize every win that we could get,” Joerger told reporters, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “That’s where are these gray hairs popped out. Now the gray hairs are (from) are you playing the right guys with the right group, developing guys, giving them the right experiences?”

Joerger has given valuable playing opportunities to rookies down the stretch; providing Skal Labissiere, Buddy Hield, and Georgios Papagiannis with multiple 20+ minute games over the past week.

Lakers’ Ivica Zubac Out For Rest Of Season

March 31st, 2017 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers recently shut down multiple veteran players in order to get a longer look at their young contributors as the season nears an end. Now, one of those young players will miss the rest of the year too. According to a press release issued today by the Lakers, rookie big man Ivica Zubac sustained a high ankle sprain in his right ankle and won’t return to the court this season. He’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks, per the team.

Zubac, who suffered the injury early in Thursday night’s loss to Minnesota, appeared in 38 games for the Lakers in his rookie season, and flashed some promise. For the year, the 2016 second-rounder averaged 7.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 0.9 BPG in 16.0 minutes per contest.

The Lakers, having shut down veterans Nick Young, Luol Deng, and Timofey Mozgov, have some options as they look to make up Zubac’s minutes. Tarik Black, Thomas Robinson, and Larry Nance Jr. are among the players who could see their roles increase over the final two weeks of the season.

Nick Young Undecided On Player Option

March 31st, 2017 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Nick Young isn’t expected to see much – if any – playing time down the stretch this season, as the Lakers take a closer look at several of their younger players. However, Young enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2016/17, putting him in an interesting situation this summer as he decides whether or not to opt in for the final year of his contract.

Back in the fall, it was no sure thing that Young would even be a Laker this season. Coming off the worst season of his career, in which he averaged just 7.3 PPG and shot a dismal 33.9% from the field, Young was considered a candidate to be traded or released. Instead, he stuck with the Lakers and bumped his numbers up to 13.2 PPG and a .430 FG% — both marks are better than his career averages.

“I got a chance to play and show Nick Young again after going through everything I went through,” Young said this week, per Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. “That’s the best part of everything, being able to play. You think you won’t be in the league last year. Then you start 60 games.”

Heading into the offseason with the opportunity to become a free agent after boosting his stock this year, Young would certainly be justified in turning down his $5.67MM player option in search of a more lucrative deal. With the salary cap set to exceed $100MM, Young’s player option salary would be modest for a productive rotation piece, and players of his caliber easily exceeded that figure in free agency a year ago — the contracts signed by teammates Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov are two arguments in favor of Young opting out.

Still, Young and his agent Mark Bartelstein say that decision hasn’t been made yet, according to Medina. Although Young suggested with a smile that he’d be a “wanted man” this summer, he also pointed out that he loves playing in his hometown, near his family. If the Lakers indicate that they won’t be willing to engage in a bidding war to retain him if he declines his player option, opting in might be his only chance to remain in L.A.

“It’s tough. There’s new management and you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Young said. “The Lakers are going to do something this offseason, of course. So we’ll wait and see what their options are.”

Young has until June 21 to opt in or out, so he still has some time to weigh his own options before making his decision official.

Draft Notes: Ball, Fox, Chartouny, Jones

March 30th, 2017 at 9:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Lonzo Ball recently appeared on ESPN’s First Take and told the cast that he would be happy to play for any franchise, as Andrew Joseph of For The Win relays.

“At the end of the day, I’ll play for any team,” Ball said. “NBA is NBA. It would be a blessing to be able to play for the Lakers just because it’s in LA — I’m from here, my whole family’s here.”

Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, previously said he wanted his son to play for Los Angeles. “All I said was that my boy is going to play for the Lakers, and I’m going to speak it into existence,” the elder Ball said last month.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Lonzo Ball said he was a better prospect than Markelle Fultz, as ESPN.com passes along. “Markelle’s a great player, but I feel I’m better than him,” said Ball. “I think I can lead a team better than him.” The two guards are expected to be the first players to come off the board on draft night.
After an impressive NCAA Tournament run, De’Aaron Fox‘s stock may be on the rise. Evan Daniels of Scouts.com tweets that the point guard has been a “major topic of conversation” amongst NBA executives.
Joseph Chartouny of Fordham has declared for the NBA Draft, Mike Watts of USL reports (Twitter link). The point guard has not hired an agent, so he could still decide to head back to school. The 22-year-old is not ranked in Draft Express’ Top-100.
Andrew Jones from Texas University has declared for the draft, but will not sign an agent, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. Jones is currently No. 47 in Draft Express’ Top-100.