Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign Yi Jianlian

August 23rd, 2016 at 3:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

AUGUST 23: Jianlian’s one-year deal is only guaranteed for $250K, but it counts for $8MM against the Lakers’ cap, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical. The base salary, partially guaranteed for $250K, is worth the minimum ($1,139,123), while the deal features another $6,860,877 in likely incentives.

AUGUST 22: The signing is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 17, 3:55pm: The proposed deal will pay Jianlian the veteran’s minimum, but incentives could push the total value upwards of $8MM, Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times tweets.

10:41am: The Lakers and Jianlian are finalizing a one-year deal that will pay him approximately $8MM, Stein tweets.

AUGUST 16: The Lakers and Yi Jianlian are in advanced talks to bring the big man to the NBA, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times notes (Twitter link) that the Lakers had representatives at the Staples Center during USA’s exhibition game against China last month.

Yi was selected by the Bucks with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. After an up-and-down rookie season, he was traded to the Nets in a deal for Richard Jefferson. The 28-year-old last played in the NBA for the Mavericks during the 2011/12 season. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in just 6.8 minutes per game.

The Lakers have 14 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Yi would have competition for minutes. However, if Timofey Mozgov‘s groin injury lingers, he could possibly end up starting a few games for Los Angeles should he sign.

Lakers Sign Brandon Ingram

August 23rd, 2016 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

12:15pm: The Lakers have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve formally signed Ingram to his rookie contract.

8:31am: Heading into Tuesday, 29 of 30 first-rounders from the 2016 draft have either signed their NBA contracts or elected to play overseas for the coming season. Number two overall pick Brandon Ingram will make it 30 out of 30 later today, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the Lakers are poised to sign their rookie forward.

[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]

The Lakers will sign Ingram exactly two months after he was drafted, having waited this long because it gave the team a little extra flexibility. While the odds of packaging the No. 2 overall pick in a trade for a star were slim, keeping Ingram unsigned allowed the club to move him such a deal — once he signs his rookie contract, the former Duke standout can’t be traded for a month.

The delay also gave the Lakers the opportunity to make the most of their leftover cap room. Ingram’s cap hold of $4,401,400 has been on Los Angeles’ books for the last couple months, but that number will increase to $5,281,680 once he officially signs his deal, since he’ll get the maximum allowable 120% of his rookie-scale amount.

The difference between those two figures only works out to about $880K, but there was no reason for L.A. to give up that extra flexibility early. That flexibility appears to have allowed the Lakers to max out their cap room with deals for Yi Jianlian and Zach Auguste this week, though we haven’t yet seen the official numbers on those contracts.

Ingram, who will turn 19 next month, averaged 17.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.1 SPG while shooting 41.0% from three-point range during his first and only college season. He was viewed as the consensus No. 2 prospect in this year’s draft behind first overall pick Ben Simmons.

Western Notes: Thunder, Spurs, Lakers

August 21st, 2016 at 4:45pm CST by Will Joseph

Thunder lead assistant coach Adrian Griffin, who joined the team in July, has developed a reputation as a defensive-minded coach with a knack for fostering relationships with players, and his presence should impact Oklahoma City in a positive way, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Griffin served as an assistant coach on Scott Skiles‘ staff in Orlando last season and was under consideration by the Magic to replace Skiles before Frank Vogel nabbed the post.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

With Tim Duncan retired, there is no better fit for Pau Gasol than the Spurs and San Antonio should benefit from the all-star’s presence on both ends of the floor, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. With Gregg Popovich, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard still on board, the addition of Gasol will likely help the Spurs legacy live on, Hamilton adds.
Former Lakers player Jordan Farmar, who ended last season with the Grizzlies, said he has no doubt that first-year head coach Luke Walton is the best fit for the job in Los Angeles, Serena Winters of Lakers Nation relays. “He really has a high basketball IQ and understands the game,” Farmar said. “He’ll make it fun, enjoyable, easy and he’ll be on their team. It’s not going to be like a dictatorship with Luke, he’s going to lead with positive energy.”

Luke Walton Fills Out Coaching Staff

August 19th, 2016 at 9:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers have hired Jud Buechler, Brian Keefe and Theo Robertson as player development coaches, BA Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Casey Owens has also been hired as an assistant coach/advance professional scout, while Will Scott has been named a video coordinator to round out Luke Walton’s staff. Brian Shaw, Jesse Mermuys and Mark Madsen had previously been named as assistants by Walton.

Veteran coach Del Harris believes Yi Jianlian’s second foray into the NBA will go much more smoothly than his first one, Kevin Wang of ESPN.com reports. Jianlian signed a one-year deal with the Lakers this week that could be worth as much as $8MM. Yi bounced around the league for five seasons before returning to China in 2012. Harris, who is familiar with Yi after coaching the Chinese national team, said Yi’s style of play fits Walton’s offensive scheme. “I think that is the right team for him,” Harris told Wang. “He should be able to play for them and will really fit the style Luke employed so well last year [with the Warriors].”

Nance Jr.'s Wrist Injury Almost Healed

August 18th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers forward Larry Nance, Jr. is “close to completely healed” from a right wrist sprain, Mike Trudell of TWCSportsNet tweets. Nance Jr. been shooting at the team’s practice facility, Trudell adds. He suffered the injury while playing a Summer League game last month.
Former Lakers small forward Devin Ebanks has signed with Reales de La Vega in the Dominican Republic, Sportando.com tweets. Ebanks played in Puerto Rico last season. The 26-year-old Ebanks played three seasons for the Lakers, appearing in 63 games, but hasn’t played an NBA game since 2012/13.

Western Notes: Parker, Ginobili, Henry, Karl

August 17th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Longtime Spurs stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili both wrapped up their international careers with Olympic losses today in Rio de Janeiro. Parker confirmed that this afternoon’s defeat to Spain was his “last game” for the French team, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 34-year-old Parker, whose playing time was limited during this Olympics, added that he’s “not gonna change his mind like that.”

Ginobili, 39, also acknowledged his retirement from international basketball after his Argentinian team was soundly defeated by the United States. He got more of a sendoff than he was expecting, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. “It was emotional,” Ginobili said. “I didn’t want it to be. I was hoping to sneak out and go to the locker room and do what I had to do there, but everybody conspired against it. The coach put me back in to play together one last time, somebody gave me the ball and brought me back in, somebody threw me a shirt. Then my teammates — it got emotional.” Ginobili has already signed with the Spurs for next season, and Parker is under contract until 2017/18.

There’s more news tonight from the Western Conference:

Former Laker Xavier Henry is optimistic as he continues the long road back from a ruptured left Achilles tendon, writes Joey Ramirez of NBA.com. Henry, who was one of several NBA veterans at L.A.’s mini-camp today, spent last season with the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors and credits their coaching and training staffs for helping with his comeback. “I’ve been doing a lot of workouts this summer with a lot of different teams and getting feedback and seeing how I feel,” Henry said. “I’ve been feeling really good. I’m feeling blessed that I can even play basketball again.”
The Lakers will hire Coby Karl, son of former NBA coach George Karl, to be head coach of their D-League affiliate, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. Karl was an assistant with the D-League’s Westchester Knicks last season.
The Grizzlies have made the final two additions to new head coach David Fizdale’s staff, the team announced today. Bob Bender, who worked as a scout for the Nets last season, was hired as an assistant coach, and former Clippers and Nets shooting coach Bob Thate will fill that role in Memphis.

Salary Cap Snapshot: Los Angeles Lakers

August 17th, 2016 at 3:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Lakers’ team page accessible here.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Lakers currently stand financially:

Guaranteed Salary

Luol Deng —$18,000,000
Timofey Mozgov —$16,000,000
Jordan Clarkson —$12,500,000
Jose Calderon —$7,315,950 [Waived by team; 7,708,427 cap hit reduced by buyout]
Corey Brewer —$7,612,172
Tarik Black —$6,191,000
Nick Young —$5,443,918
D’Angelo Russell —$5,332,800
Brandon Ingram — $5,281,680
Julius Randle —$3,267,120
Tyler Ennis —$1,733,880
Larry Nance Jr. —$1,207,680
Ivica Zubac —$1,034,956
Metta World Peace — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,551,659]
Thomas Robinson — $980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,050,961]
Anthony Brown —$874,636 [Waived by team]
Yi Jianlian — $250,000 [Waived by team]
David Nwaba — $73,528
Zach Auguste — $60,000 [Waived by team]
David Nwaba — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 28)]
David Nwaba — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 11)]

Total Guaranteed Salary= $94,204,120

Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Payroll Exceptions Available

Room Exception: $2,898,000

Total Projected Payroll: $94,204,120

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: –$61,120

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $19,082,880

Latest Update: 3/24/17

The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.

Young Ready To Forgive Russell

August 15th, 2016 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nick Young is ready to end the feud with Lakers teammate D’Angelo Russell that resulted in the rookie being ostracized last season, relays Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. The dispute started when Russell secretly recorded Young talking about being unfaithful to his former fiancee, a clip that was later posted to social media. “It’s been so long, so it’s kind of old,” Young said. “We’ll be able to work it out. We’ve already been working it out. I can’t be mad forever.”

Young, who shot a career-low 34% from the field last season, may not be back with the Lakers, as there have been rumors that the team might buy out the final two years and $11MM left on his contract. If he does return, he’s looking forward to a chance to play for new head coach Luke Walton, who was hired over the offseason to replace Byron Scott. “Luke is a big-time coach and came from a championship team,” he said. “I think I have the tools that we can use as a shooter.”

Timofey Mozgov Suffers Groin Injury

August 13th, 2016 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

With training camp a little more than a month away, one of the Lakers’ free agency additions has an injury that will force him to miss at least two international games, according to the team’s website. Russian center Timofey Mozgov, who received $64MM over four seasons to come to L.A., injured his groin Friday in a game against Ukraine.

Mozgov had an MRI today and will be held out of Russia’s next two games in a tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia, relays Lakers spokesman John Black. Mozgov will be re-evaluated in a few days, probably around mid-week. It is not known yet if the injury is something that will linger into training camp or the preseason.

The 30-year-old Mozgov is entering his seventh year in the NBA, and the Lakers are counting on him to provide stabillity at center. He appeared in 76 games for the Cavaliers last season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per night.

Marcelo Huertas Contract Details

August 9th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Now that Marcelo Huertas‘ two-year deal with the Lakers is official, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided the specific details on Huertas’ contract. The point guard will earn $1.5MM guaranteed this season, then has a $1,567,500 non-guaranteed salary on the books for 2017/18.