Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Durant, Upshaw, Ezeli

August 17th, 2015 at 11:08am CST by Chuck Myron

The pursuit of Kevin Durant next summer is shaping up as the “biggest non-LeBron free agency the NBA has ever seen,” writes Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, but it doesn’t come without doubts. The crack that Durant told Ding that he had in one of the bones in his right foot was an “unthinkable” recurrence of an earlier break, orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper said to Ding. Klapper nonetheless expressed confidence that the bone will hold together after the latest surgery, and Durant is far from worried, the former MVP must proceed with caution, Ding opines. Still, Durant believes he’s the league’s best player, as he told Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link), and that confidence will be a boon for the Thunder, at least for this coming season, writes The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson. While we wait to see whether Durant or LeBron James emerges as the most sought-after free agent of the 2016 class, here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Undrafted center Robert Upshaw reportedly reached an agreement with the Lakers a month ago, but Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hears that he’s merely a possibility for the team, which has no immediate plans to sign him, Pincus adds (Twitter link). GM Mitch Kupchak said late last month that he and Upshaw’s agent, Bill Duffy, were talking but didn’t confirm that the sides had a deal and downplayed any on-court impact that Upshaw might make for the team this season.
Eric Saar of Basketball Insiders compares rookie scale extension candidate Festus Ezeli to Alexis Ajinca, who re-signed with the Pelicans last month for about $19.5MM over four years. Saar, whose piece looks at extension candidates around the NBA, figures Ezeli will wind up with annual salaries of around $5MM. Warriors GM Bob Myers indicated recently that he’d consider an extension for the backup center, but Saar thinks Golden State should wait for him to hit restricted free agency next summer.
Injuries had much to do with the struggles of the league-worst Timberwolves last season, argues fellow Basketball Insiders scribe Ben Dowsett, who names Minnesota one of three under-the-radar teams in the Western Conference. The Wolves have added No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns and went after veterans this summer, re-signing Kevin Garnett and adding Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince.

Latest On Dorell Wright

August 17th, 2015 at 8:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Dorell Wright is mulling an offer from a Chinese team, a source tells international journalist David Pick (Twitter link), news that comes on the heels of Sunday’s report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that Wright and the Heat have been in talks. Miami has yet to make an offer, Jackson noted, though it’s been more than a month since Wright publicly expressed interest in returning to the Heat, his original NBA team, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel points out.

Wright, a native of Los Angeles, has held interest in playing for the Lakers or the Clippers, as Jabari Young of CSNNW.com wrote in late June. The Wasserman Media Group client is talking to several teams, according to Jackson, but it’s unclear if either L.A. franchise is one of them. The Raptors drafted Wright’s brother, Delon, with the No. 20 overall pick this year and signed him to a rookie scale contract, but no reports have legitimately linked Dorell to Toronto this year.

It’s possible that Dorell is using the apparent interest from China to spur the Heat and other NBA teams to make offers, though that’s just my speculation. In any case, free agency has proven more difficult for him this summer than it did the last time he was on the market, in 2013, when he signed a two-year, $6.135MM deal with with Trail Blazers. The 29-year-old was merely on the fringe of the rotation for two years in Portland and has seen his minutes per game decline in each of the past four seasons, from 38.4 in 2010/11 to 12.3 this year. Still, he sank 38.0% of his three-point attempts in 2014/15, the second best percentage of his 11-year NBA career.

Do you think Dorell Wright ends up in the NBA this season, or do you see him in China? Leave a comment to weigh in.

Heat Rumors: Wright, Chalmers, Winslow

August 16th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are talking to free agent forward Dorell Wright, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, but have not made an offer. If Wright agrees to a minimum deal in Miami, Jackson believes he would become the favorite for the final roster spot, ahead of James Ennis, whose $845K contract is not guaranteed until opening night. Wright, 29, spent his first six NBA seasons with the Heat and is reportedly interested in returning, although he is also talking to other teams. He played last year with the Trail Blazers, averaging 4.6 points in 48 games.

There’s more this morning out of Miami:

Mario Chalmers is trying to remain calm as trade winds swirl around him, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Chalmers has spent his entire seven-year career in Miami, but there has been talk that he and his $4.3MM salary could be moved to lessen the Heat’s luxury tax penalties. Recent speculation has him possibly going to the Lakers as a reserve shooting guard or to the Sixers as a short-term point guard, according to Winderman. “I haven’t spoken to anybody,” Chalmers said. “When I had my exit meeting with [team president] Pat [Riley], he said the only way he would trade me was if he had to.”
Justise Winslow plans to use his drop in the draft as inspiration, Winderman writes in a separate story. Winslow surprisingly slipped to the 10th pick after being projected as a possible top five selection. He is currently going through the NBA’s “Generation Next” program, which helps players under age 20 transition to the league. “When the draft was over, it is what it is,” Winslow said of being picked 10th. “That’s the way I feel about it. But, for me, I use that at motivation.”

And-Ones: Heat, Holmes, Jent

August 15th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

No team spent more cash in trades during the 2014/15 season than the Heat did, sending a total of $2,539,424, just shy of last season’s $3.3MM limit, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders examines Conversely, the Pelicans raked in $3,299,959, just shy of the $3.3MM cap on the amount of money teams could receive via trade. Both limits have increased to $3.4MM for this season.

Here’s more from around the league:

Jonathan Holmes has a $100K partial guarantee on his minimum-salary deal with the Lakers, agent Zach Kurtin of Priority Sports tells Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The final season on the two-year contract becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through the fourth day after the conclusion of next year’s summer league, Pincus adds.
The Suns are close to completing a deal to hire Chris Jent as head coach of the Bakersfield Jam, the franchise’s NBA D-League affiliate, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Jent had previously been an assistant on former Kings coach Michael Malone‘s staff, and he replaces Nate Bjorkgren, who was promoted to be the Suns’ player development coach, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets.
The National Basketball Referees Association has officially ratified its new seven-year contract with the NBA, the NBRA announced (via Twitter). The new agreement takes effect this season, replacing the final year of the existing contract, and runs through 2022. “The NBA takes great pride in our world-class referee program and we are pleased to extend the league’s partnership with the NBRA for another seven years,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement regarding the new pact

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Kobe, Clarkson, Jordan, Cauley-Stein

August 14th, 2015 at 11:41am CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant isn’t making any definitive statements about whether he’ll retire after this coming season, even though that seems the most likely outcome. It’s also uncertain whether he’ll play in the 2016 Olympics, but USA Basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo said Bryant told him he’d love to “ride off into the sunset” with Team USA next summer, providing he’s still playing well enough to earn a roster spot, observes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. While we wait to see if Bryant’s storied career has a storybook ending, see more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak envisions D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson in the team’s backcourt for the next 10-12 years, as he recently told SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link), and Clarkson sees that as a challenge to build on his breakout rookie season, as he said to Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. “If Mitch believes in us, we’re definitely trying to make that happen,” Clarkson said. “We’ve got to put our best foot forward if he believes in us like that and continue to work hard and put in great effort. Coach [Byron] Scott ain’t no easy guy to play for, so you’ve got to leave it all on the line when you play for him! So, we’ve just got to work hard and get better everyday and hopefully bring wins to the organization.”
DeAndre Jordan knows it’ll take time to heal the wounds that he inflicted on the hearts of the Mavs when he reneged on his agreement to sign with Dallas, but the Clippers center said earlier this week that he’d talked to Chandler Parsons and that they’ll remain cordial, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes. Parsons previously called Jordan’s flip-flop “very unethical and disrespectful.” “I understand the whole situation and I’d be a little iffy too,” Jordan said. “But we were friends before and after basketball. It’s something that I don’t think he’s too happy about, but at the same time, it’s basketball and it happened.”
No. 6 overall pick Willie Cauley-Stein has a quirky, one-of-a-kind personality, but Kings assistant coach John Welch lights up when talking about his performance in summer league, and Cauley-Stein tells James Herbert of CBSSports.com that Sacramento sees his unique manner as a plus. “The way I see it is, like, it was kind of meant to happen like that because [owner] Vivek [Ranadive] and [executive] Vlade [Divac] love the fact that I’m a bit of an artistic mind and I think outside of the box,” Cauley-Stein said. “They were really intrigued by that. That’s one of the main reasons why they chose me. So it worked out like that.”

Lakers Sign Jonathan Holmes

August 13th, 2015 at 12:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 12:27pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced. The team refers to it as a multiyear pact, so that means it covers two years, since the Lakers don’t have the capacity to give out a longer contract.

SATURDAY, 2:09pm: The Lakers have reached a contract agreement with undrafted forward Jonathan Holmes, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the deal are not yet known, but Charania indicates that it includes a significant amount that will be partially guaranteed.

The addition of Holmes will increase the Lakers’ roster count to 15 players, including 12 fully-guaranteed pacts. The forward out of Texas will compete for a roster spot and frontcourt minutes. But it’s also entirely possible that Los Angeles has designs on sending Holmes to its D-League affiliate to gain seasoning for a large chunk of the 2015/16 campaign, though that is merely my speculation.

In 32 appearances for the Longhorns last season, Holmes logged averages of 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 26.1 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .389/.331/.778. His career NCAA numbers are 9.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 0.7 APG.

Lakers Work Out Jeremy Tyler

August 12th, 2015 at 10:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Forward Jeremy Tyler worked out for the Lakers this week, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Ricky Ledo, Toure’ Murry, Sean Kilpatrick, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy are also among those reportedly trying out this week for a spot on the Los Angeles roster. The Lakers currently have a roster count of 16 players, 12 of whom possess fully guaranteed pacts, with two other players owning partial guarantees, making it a long shot for any of the previously mentioned players to remain with the team come the regular season, even if they sign.

The 24-year-old’s last NBA regular season action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 41 contests for the Knicks, averaging 3.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 9.7 minutes per outing. The Lakers signed him for the preseason last fall, waiving him shortly before opening night. His career numbers through 104 regular season games are 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 0.4 BPG to accompany a slash line of .450/.000/.557. Tyler was the No. 39 overall pick back in 2011.

Tyler played for the Mavericks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, notching averages of 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in six contests.

Lakers Work Out Ricky Ledo

August 12th, 2015 at 10:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Knicks and Mavericks shooting guard Ricky Ledo was among the free agents who worked out this week for the Lakers, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Sean Kilpatrick, Toure’ Murry, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy were the other names that surfaced for the group workout, which was to have taken place on Monday, according to multiple reports (All five links right here).

Ledo has been a free agent since clearing waivers from the Knicks, who released him last month shortly before his salary for the coming season would have become partially guaranteed for $100K. The 43rd pick from the 2013 draft performed well in his 12-game stint with New York late last season, averaging 7.4 points in 19.4 minutes per contest and hitting 10 of 24 total three-point attempts. Still, Ledo, who turns 23 next month, has appeared in more than twice as many D-League games as he has NBA games during his two-year pro career.

The Lakers have 16 players with either signed contracts or verbal agreements to join the team, but only 12 of those deals include fully guaranteed salary for the coming season. The $2.814MM room exception is available to the team, but the minimum appears more likely for Ledo and the other workout participants should any of them end up signing.

Do you think Ledo will end up on an NBA roster this year? Leave a comment to let us know.

Lakers, Spurs To Audition Sean Kilpatrick

August 11th, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 7:07pm: Kilpatrick, whose workout with the Lakers reportedly went well, will also audition for the Spurs in the near future, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.

MONDAY, 10:27am: Sean Kilpatrick, a Timberwolves 10-day signee from this past season, will be one of several taking part in a Lakers workout today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He joins Toure’ Murry, Bobby Brown, Eric Moreland and D.J. Kennedy among those reportedly trying out for the purple-and-gold.

Minnesota chose to sign Kilpatrick last season in large measure because of his proximity to New York, where the Wolves were about to play the Knicks and didn’t have enough healthy players. The 6’4″ shooting guard, who had been a short drive away as he played for the Sixers D-League affiliate, saw a fair amount of playing time during his stint with Minnesota, averaging 5.5 points in 18.0 minutes per game in four contests. The 25-year-old put on a strong scoring performance in summer league play last month for the Bucks, averaging 18.2 PPG in 28.7 MPG.

Kilpatrick hooked on with the Warriors near the end of the preseason last year and received a $35K partial guarantee before Golden State waived him prior to opening night. The W’s kept his D-League rights but later traded those to Philly’s D-League team. This past season was Kilpatrick’s first in the pros after he went undrafted in 2014. Before that draft, he spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors about his desire to strengthen his reputation as a defender.

Which of the workout participants whose names have surfaced so far do you find most intriguing for the Lakers? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Brand, Nance, Wolves, Union

August 11th, 2015 at 2:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

Elton Brand struck a pessimistic tone about his chances to play again, in a remark that Al Coqueran of The Examiner News relays. “I could get in shape if I got the call but this looks like the end of the run for me, right now it is family time,” Brand said at a youth basketball camp this weekend in his native Peekskill, New York. Still, while the 36-year-old indicated that he hasn’t received an offer from an NBA team yet, won’t rule out a return for what would be a 17th NBA season, observes Jane Lerner of The Journal News. “We’ll see what happens,” Brand said.

While we wait to find out if Brand will be playing in any of the games that will go on the calendar when the NBA announces the regular season schedule Wednesday, there’s more from around the league:

The Lakers surprised Larry Nance Jr. when they made him a first-round pick, as Nance tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked the Wyoming power forward the 46th-best prospect heading into the draft and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him at No. 64. “I was just hoping to hear my name called at all,” Nance said. “So to hear it called 27th overall by the Lakers, I was like, ‘Really? Really?!’ I had a sense of disbelief because it was just so crazy. I mean, I was just fighting to hear my name called at all and now I’m picked in the first round by the best franchise in history? I couldn’t have dreamt up a better scenario.”
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor doesn’t anticipate that coach/executive Flip Saunders will need to step away from his duties at any point this season, tweets Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Saunders remains in charge of the Wolves front office and as head coach in spite of a cancer diagnosis that the team revealed today.
A court dealt the National Basketball Players Association a setback Monday as it fights to dismiss a lawsuit that former executive director Billy Hunter brought against the union, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Hunter, who alleges wrongful termination, is seeking at least $10.5MM. The matter will proceed in Los Angeles Superior Court, where Hunter has previously received a favorable ruling, Berger notes.