Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lue: Criticism Of Ham “Definitely Unfair”

January 7th, 2024 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There was plenty of intrigue before the Clippers–Lakers game on Sunday night as Darvin Ham’s job status was a topic of conversation.

Ham has taken heavy criticism during the Lakers’ slide after winning the in-season tournament. A report from The Athletic claimed there was a “deepening disconnect” between Ham and his players over his frequent tinkering with the lineup and rotations. In response, Ham insisted he was “aligned” with owner Jeanie Buss and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka.

Ham denied during the pregame press conference on Sunday that his job was on the line, Khobi Prince of the Orange County Register tweets.

“No, I don’t,” he said when asked whether he felt he was coaching for his job. “I feel like I’m coaching a hell of a franchise and it comes with the territory when you’re coaching in this business. I’ve seen a lot of coaches come and go, good ones, and some that have some bad circumstances around them. But in no way, shape or form do I feel that way.”

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue defended Ham, saying the criticism he’s been taking is “definitely unfair,” Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times tweets.

“It’s a long season. A lot of different things go on throughout the course of the season, a lot of changing parts,” Lue said. “And we said the same thing last year when they were 2-10 and they went to the conference finals and so are you giving the coach all the credit for that? I don’t think so. And I think D-Ham did a hell of a job last year by doing that. And the same thing this year. They got a lot of injuries, a lot of different rotations, a lot of starting lineups and it’s hard.”

The Lakers entered the game with a 17-19 record and a four-game losing streak.

Lakers Sign Dylan Windler To Two-Way Contract

January 7th, 2024 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 7: Windler officially signed his two-way contract on Saturday, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JANUARY 6: Veteran wing Dylan Windler, who had been playing in the G League, has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Lakers, agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

A first-round pick in 2019, Windler signed a two-way contract with the Knicks in July following four seasons in Cleveland, then was converted to a standard non-guaranteed contract prior to the start of the regular season. He appeared in three games for the Knicks before being waived last month, before his 2023/24 salary became fully guaranteed.

Windler continued to play for the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate, after being waived by the NBA team. He’s coming off a monster performance on Friday vs. the Delaware Blue Coats, as he put up 23 points to go along with a NBAGL-record 33 rebounds (11 offensive) in a loss.

For the season, he has averaged 13.8 PPG and 8.8 RPG on .443/.360/.714 shooting in 13 appearances for Westchester.

Players with four years of NBA service are typically ineligible for two-way contracts. However, Windler qualifies under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement due to a rule tweak that allows players who missed one of their four seasons as a result of an injury to retain their two-way eligibility — the former Belmont standout didn’t play at all as a rookie in 2019/20 due to a leg injury.

Assuming he officially signs his contract today, Windler will be eligible to appear in up to 29 games and will earn $321,714 on his two-way deal with the Lakers.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, has to waive one of its current two-way players to open up a spot for Windler. Colin Castleton, D’Moi Hodge, and Alex Fudge currently occupy those slots, and the Lakers intend to waive Fudge, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). He logged just 14 total minutes in four NBA appearances as a rookie out of Florida this season.

D'Angelo Russell Upgraded To Questionable For Sunday

January 6th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers and Lakers are rapidly heading in opposite directions as they prepare for Sunday’s showdown, notes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has been upgraded to questionable and could return after missing the last three games with a bruised tailbone, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Lakers Waive Alex Fudge, D’Moi Hodge

January 6th, 2024 at 4:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

In advance of the expected signing of Dylan Windler to a two-way contract, the Lakers have waived two-way players Alex Fudge and D’Moi Hodge, the team announced in a press release. The statement doesn’t mention Windler or indicate how the other open two-way slot might be used.

Sunday marks the waiver deadline to avoid having two-way contracts guaranteed for the remainder of the season, so L.A. won’t have any further financial obligations to either Fudge or Hodge. Both players earned approximately $248K on their two-way deals, and they each received a $250K bonus because the team won the in-season tournament.

Fudge, a 20-year-old small forward, saw minimal playing time in four games with the Lakers, and averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 10 games for the team’s South Bay G League affiliate. The two-way contract he signed this summer covered two seasons, but the second year is non-guaranteed.

Hodge, a 25-year-old shooting guard, appeared in seven games with the Lakers and 16 for South Bay, averaging 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals with the G League team.

Central Notes: Beasley, Giannis, Rubio, Pistons

January 6th, 2024 at 11:45am CST by Tristan Tucker

Appearing on a B/R Live stream with TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Bucks guard Malik Beasley said he bypassed offers worth more money from the Lakers and Mavericks to sign with Milwaukee.

Beasley opened up about his experience in free agency, saying it was “tough” because he closed out the year on a rough note, averaging just 3.0 points per game in the playoffs with Los Angeles after averaging 11.1 PPG during the regular season. The 27-year-old guard said the Lakers wanted to re-sign him on a deal worth about $6MM but explained there were some unknowns regarding his role with Austin Reaves re-signing early in free agency.

Beasley also said he had an offer from the Mavericks worth between $3-6MM, but was again unsure of what his role would be, given that Dallas had a roster filled with guards and shooters.

The seventh-year guard ended up signing with the Bucks on a one-year, minimum contract for a chance to have a bigger role.

“[Bucks general manager] Jon [Horst] is such a great person,” Beasley said. “We talk a lot and he was like ‘You have an opportunity to start here, you have a chance to win a championship.’ And I think for me, most importantly, [the Bucks have] some veterans around [the] team. Most of the teams I have been on, aside from LeBron and AD, they’ve been young.”

Beasley earned a prominent role with Milwaukee right away, starting all 33 of his appearances this year. He’s averaging 11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per night while shooting a career highs of 48.8% from the field and 46.9% on three-pointers (on 6.3 attempts per game). He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

We have more notes from the Central Division:

Opening up about his time with the Lakers, Beasley blames himself for how his tenure in L.A. ended (Twitter link via Haynes). “It was more of the past things that happened in my life that caused me to not play at my best,” the Bucks wing said.
Out of the Bucks‘ 10 losses this season, four have come at the hands of the Pacers. Giannis Antetokounmpo is bothered by those losses, writes The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “Now, when you go back home and you sleep and you wake up, you think about it,” Antetokounmpo said. “Now, when you go back and work out, you think about it. In the All-Star break, when you’re gonna be on an exotic beach with your family, I hope you think about it, you know? … But at the end of the day, it’s good because it gives us time to fix things.“
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell had a feeling former teammate Ricky Rubio was going to retire, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor writes. “I feel like he could breathe,” Mitchell said while paying tribute to Rubio. “I’m not speaking for him. But I feel like it’s just one of those things where it’s kind of like that indecision of what you want to do can be a lot. I’m just happy that he finally has time to feel like he can breathe and go pick up his son from school and be with his family in Spain. He’s been playing this game professionally at the highest of levels and had this expectation of himself since he was a teenager.“
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff also paid tribute to Rubio, as detailed in a story from ESPN. “I owe Ricky a debt of gratitude that there’s only a couple of guys who I could say at this point have had the impact on me that way,” Bickerstaff said. “He helped us, in a brief period of time, turn this organization into what you see in front of you. His presence allowed me to coach the team in a certain way where no one was too big to sacrifice.“
The Pistons are widely expected to make a trade of some sort after setting the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season, and The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III thinks Detroit will add some veterans around the margins. In his mailbag, Edwards confirms there’s great interest league-wide in Pistons vet Bojan Bogdanovic but says he doesn’t expect Detroit to trade him just to trade him. The Pistons are in a difficult position, Edwards writes, because the young players who would bring in a difference-making haul are guys the team should build around.

LeBron On Lakers: “We Just Suck Right Now”

January 6th, 2024 at 9:26am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Lakers dropped their fourth straight game on Friday and Los Angeles is now 17-19 following its loss to the Grizzlies. After winning the NBA’s in-season tournament last month, L.A. currently sits a game out of a play-in tournament spot at No. 11 in the conference.

“We just suck right now,” LeBron James said after the game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The Lakers have gone 3-10 since winning the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, and James downplayed the importance of that accomplishment in evaluating the Lakers’ season in full.

“That was just two games,” James said. “It’s a small sample. Everyone is getting so cracked up about Vegas and keep bringing up Vegas. It was two games. We took care of that business. It was the in-season tournament, we played it, we won it. But that was literally just two games.”

The Lakers’ frustrations have boiled over, with reports surfacing over the past week about coach Darvin Ham‘s disconnect with the locker room. Ham said too much emphasis has been placed on Los Angeles’s recent losses.

“I’m tired of people living and dying with every single game we play,” Ham said. “It’s ludicrous, actually. It’s like, come on, man, this is a marathon. And we hit a tough stretch. It’s the same team. … We played some high-level games a little while ago, and we just got to get back to that. We got to keep the fight going. We cannot lose our fight.”

The Lakers are currently without rotation players in D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, further complicating their current struggles ahead of the trade deadline. However, players have continually refused to use injuries as an excuse.

“We still have a lot of basketball left,” Anthony Davis said. “But we’re trending in the wrong direction right now. And the last thing we need, especially when guys are out, is to separate and fall apart. So we got to stay together, for sure, and figure it out. We can’t be in our feelings. We can’t be complaining or whatever. We can’t take anything personal.

“We have to look individually, myself, everyone in the locker room, the coaching staff, look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we can do individually better to help the team be better. And I think then we can come out and flip things around.“

Lakers’ Ham: “Aligned” With Owner, GM

January 5th, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Amid a report of a “deepening disconnect” between Darvin Ham and Lakers players due to Ham’s erratic lineups, which have partially been a result of injuries, the team’s head coach says he’s “solid” in his job security and is “aligned” with owner Jeanie Buss and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“It comes with the territory,” Ham said of the criticisms. “I’m solid. My governor, Jeanie Buss, the boss lady; our president, Robert Pelinka – we’re all aligned. As long as they’re not saying it, I guess I’m good.

“Which I know how they feel about me and the situation we’re currently in. So, we’re all on the same page. My two captains (LeBron James and Anthony Davis), I communicate with them. Our communication has been at a high level.”

Ham didn’t directly mention the report from The Athletic, but he criticized the general use of anonymous sources, like the ones cited in the story.

“The one thing that’s crazy is that it reminds me of when I used to watch ‘60 Minutes’ with my father in the ’80s,” Ham said. “And one particular show they were talking about La Cosa Nostra and the mafia and these guys were starting to go to trial and their star witness shows up with a black potato sack over his head and shades. And due to fear, the name can’t really be released.

“This seems to be the standard of reporting now for [the] NBA. People on the internet and whatever. And not all reporters – I don’t want to disrespect anybody in the room – but when you say the source is anonymous by choice and they don’t want to put their name on something but they want to give you the information and then you take the information and now everybody gets a chance to dissect it and spread it all out in their own way, it’s kind of disingenuous. And I wish we would get to a place where people are firm enough to stand on what they’re saying and then maybe we can have real dialogue and get to it.”

Ham said he welcomed critiques of his performance and brushed off the speculation.

“I don’t mind people critiquing the job I’m doing,” he said. “All I’m going to do is keep my head down and continue to do my job until I can’t do it anymore. Just be solid with what you’re putting out there and please don’t intertwine it with personal attacks either.

“That’s what it is, that’s what I signed up for when I decided to become a coach and I’ve been around some great guys who have handled it well and some coaches that haven’t handled it so well. But me? I’m solid. I’ve been through a ton of ‘ish’ in my life and this is a walk in the park. Trust me.”

Stein’s Latest: Carter, Jazz, Hawks, Murray, Sixers, More

January 5th, 2024 at 5:54pm CST by Rory Maher

In his latest Substack article, Marc Stein reports that Magic center Wendell Carter is a “player to monitor” ahead of the February 8 trade deadline.

As Stein explains, Orlando has played above expectations through 34 games (the team is currently 19-15), but it has a deep frontcourt featuring Carter, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, Goga Bitadze and Jonathan Isaac. Carter has only appeared in 13 games due to hand and knee injuries, and has been coming off the bench of late after he returned.

Those factors, plus needing to eventually re-sign or extend Franz Wagner and Banchero beyond their rookie scale contracts, has led rivals to believe that Carter will be available this winter, Stein writes.

A former lottery pick who is still just 24 years old, Carter has been a productive starter for the Magic the past few seasons and is on a fairly team-friendly contract, which will pay him $35.85MM over the next three seasons (it declines annually, down to $10.85MM in 2025/26). However, he has also missed at least 18 games in every season of his six-year career due to a variety of injuries.

Here are some more trade rumors from Stein:

It has been reported multiple times that the Jazz were expected to be sellers ahead of the trade deadline, but they’ve gone 9-3 over their past 12 games and are currently 16-19, a game out of the final play-in spot in the West. That rise up the standings has rival front offices wondering what Utah will do now, per Stein. League sources tell Stein that John Collins is one player the Jazz are continuing to try and move, though it’s unclear how much success they’ll have after acquiring him in the offseason in a salary dump.
Stein confirms recent reporting from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports about the Hawks, who are actively involved in trade conversations regarding Dejounte Murray and possibly several players on the roster outside of Trae Young and Jalen Johnson. Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to be widely coveted by rival teams, according to Stein.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report said in a live stream on Friday that the Sixers and Lakers could be eventual Murray suitors, and the Knicks have been “increasingly” linked to the former All-Star guard, Stein adds.
The Sixers are unlikely to pursue Zach LaVine or Pascal Siakam, with the team looking to take a “thoughtful” approach at the deadline, according to Stein, who gets a “strong sense” that Philadelphia will likely make moves around the edges if it makes more in-season trades.
Multiple reporters have linked the Lakers to LaVine, but Stein continues to hear they haven’t been interested — at least to this point — in taking on his long-term money. The two-time All-Star is in the second season of a five-year, $215MM contract.

L.A. Notes: Harden, Clippers, Diabate, Lakers, Ham

January 5th, 2024 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

After losing their first six games following the acquisition of James Harden, the Clippers have since won 18 of 23, including the last four in a row, to improve their record to 21-12. With the team firing on all cylinders, it hasn’t been lost on Harden that the critics who were decrying his fit in early November have been quiet as of late.

“Fit is great, I knew that from the beginning and it’s one of the reasons why I wanted to be a part of this,” Harden said, per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. “Obviously it didn’t start off well. It gave people so much to talk about in a negative way, and now those people that were talking are nowhere to be found. Like, literally nowhere to be found. Which, we knew that was going to happen.”

Viewed as a title threat when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George teamed up in Los Angeles in 2019, the Clippers have won just three playoff series in the past four seasons as Leonard and George both dealt with injuries. But with the two forwards healthy this season and Harden bringing a new element to the roster, they’re looking like a legitimate contender again.

Asked by Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports what winning a championship would mean for his legacy, Harden said it would be “very important.”

“It’s been like that. I always want to give myself a chance to win. I know how very difficult that is,” Harden said. “There’s only one team standing at the end of the year. So, I’ll continue to keep trying to do that.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

Clippers two-way center Moussa Diabate, who was hampered in December by a hip issue, appeared in his first NBA game in over a month on Monday, logging three garbage-time minutes in a victory over Miami. However, it sounds like he won’t play again for a while — the team announced that Diabate, who had six blocks in a G League game on Tuesday, is out due to a metacarpal fracture in his right hand, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The club has yet to provide a recovery timeline.
With the Lakers slumping, Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group wonders why the team hasn’t turned to the lineups that were successful last season, including either Jarred Vanderbilt or Rui Hachimura alongside Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell. Injuries have been a problem, but the club hasn’t used either of those lineups even when everyone has been available — those two groups have played just three total minutes together in 2023/24, says Swanson.
While head coach Darvin Ham is clearly facing pressure to turn the Lakers‘ season around, a “high-ranking” team source disputed the idea that he’s on the verge of being fired, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Amick adds that assistant Phil Handy is frequently brought up as the possible next man up if the Lakers do eventually decide to make an in-season coaching change.

“Deepening Disconnect” Between Darvin Ham, Lakers Players

January 4th, 2024 at 10:55am CST by Arthur Hill

Darvin Ham‘s frequent lineup changes have led to a “deepening disconnect” between the Lakers coach and his players, according to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Six sources with direct knowledge of the situation spoke to the authors about a “disjointedness” that has arisen as Ham has adjusted roles of various players to try to shake the team out of its current slide. L.A. is 3-9 since winning the in-season tournament and has fallen to 10th in the West with a 17-18 record.

Ham used his 10th different starting lineup of the season in Wednesday night’s loss to Miami, making Austin Reaves a starter again in place of the injured Rui Hachimura. Sources tell Charania and Buha that the changes have led to “a fluctuating rhythm” for several players. The authors add that the adjustments have prevented the team from establishing any continuity or determining its best lineup combinations.

After Wednesday’s game, Ham said injury problems are responsible for his frequent changes. Cam Reddish has been in and out of the lineup due to a groin issue, Hachimura is sidelined with a Grade 1 left calf strain and D’Angelo Russell sat out his second straight game with a bruised tailbone.

Ham also suggested that the Heat, who were playing without Jimmy Butler, were in a better position than the Lakers.

“I think the multiple (rotation players) are more impactful than … if you lose one of your big dogs, you’re going to figure out how to try and manage without them,” Ham said. “… And when you have your key role players, your key rotation players – this guy misses three or four. This guy misses three or four. And they’re happening one right after another, that’s what makes it difficult. … We’ve got to figure it out. I’m disappointed, but I’ll be damned if I get discouraged.”

L.A. held a team meeting after Wednesday’s loss, Charania and Buha add, and many of the players were gone by the time the media were admitted to the locker room. Among those who talked to reporters, Reaves and Anthony Davis both emphasized that injuries are no excuse for losing, which the authors note is part of the disconnect between Ham and his players.

Ham has two full seasons beyond this one remaining on his four-year contract, so the Lakers will likely be reluctant to make a coaching change. He has also shown an ability to overcome adversity, leading the team to the Western Conference Finals after a 2-10 start to last season. However, Charania and Buha write that “time is of the essence” for L.A. to start winning and “patience is beginning to run thin.”