Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Keith Appling To Join Lakers For Camp

September 23rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 23RD: The signing is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 4TH: Undrafted point guard Keith Appling and the Lakers have reached agreement on a non-guaranteed deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The arrangement will give the former Michigan State Spartan a chance to make the team out of training camp.

The 6’1″ Appling was a mainstay for coach Tom Izzo during his four-year college career, averaging more than 30 minutes per game each season from his sophomore campaign forward, in spite of a lack of flashy numbers. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2.1 turnovers per game this past season. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress listed him as the 76th-best draft prospect for this year, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him 80th.

The Lakers had been carrying only 12 players with a contract or an agreement to sign, so it seems like the 22-year-old Appling, a Michael Silverman client, will have a reasonable chance to make the opening-night roster. That’s especially true given the dearth of point guards on the team, which has just Jeremy Lin and oft-injured 40-year-old Steve Nash to man the position.

Lakers Sign Wayne Ellington

September 23rd, 2014 at 4:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 23RD: Ellington’s 2014/15 salary of $1,063,384 contains no preseason guarantees, writes Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times, who adds that if the former Tar Heel is on the roster through November 15 he is assured of $315,646. If he is still a Laker on December 1 that number grows to $581,692. Any non and/or partially guaranteed contracts, like Ellington’s, become fully guaranteed league-wide on January 10, as Pincus notes.

SEPTEMBER 22ND, 6:29pm: Ellington’s deal is partially guaranteed, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).

5:47pm: The Lakers have signed Wayne Ellington, the team announced (Twitter link). The terms are unclear, but the Lakers are without the ability to give him more than the minimum salary. The 28th overall pick from the 2009 draft had been a free agent since a couple of days after the Kings waived him in a cost-cutting move more than three weeks ago.

The Arn Tellem client was one of a handful of free agents who reportedly worked out for the Lakers earlier this month. It’s been an offseason of movement for Ellington, whom the Mavs traded to New York the day before the draft in the Tyson Chandler swap. New York sent him to Sacramento in an August trade, but his guaranteed salary of more than $2.771MM was a tight squeeze under the luxury tax threshold for the Kings, who are believed to have used the stretch provision to spread out their obligation to him.

Ellington set career lows this past year in most categories, including minutes per game, as the Mavs found little use for the 6’4″ shooting guard. Still, his 42.4% three-point shooting was the best such mark in his five NBA seasons to date.

He joins 15 others who have deals with the Lakers, including 13 on fully guaranteed contracts. Keith Appling has a non-guaranteed arrangement, and it’s unlikely that Roscoe Smith has more than a nominal guarantee on his pact, so it seems Ellington possesses a strong chance to make the opening-night roster.

Hawks Sign Kent Bazemore

September 23rd, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is at last official, the team announced via press release.

SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Hawks and Bazemore finally put pen to paper Wednesday, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. It’s likely that the signing took so long to complete because Atlanta wanted to preserve cap space, though that’s just my speculation. The Hawks could have used cap space to acquire other players and circled back to sign Bazemore using the room exception. As it stands, they’re using cap space to ink Bazemore.

JULY 11TH: 9:50pm: Bazemore’s agent, Austin Walton, confirmed the deal and that it is fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.

9:31pm: Kent Bazemore has reached an agreement to join the Hawks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is for two years and $4MM, according to Stein. Shams Charania of RealGM tweets that the deal is fully guaranteed, and contains no options.

The shooting guard was traded along with MarShon Brooks from the Warriors to the Lakers in the Steve Blake deal on February 19th of this year. Bazemore’s career numbers are 4.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG.

The 25 year old who originally went undrafted out of Old Dominion also received interest from the Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors and Celtics.

And-Ones: Cap, Walker, Bledsoe, Rubio, Wiggins

September 23rd, 2014 at 11:43am CST by Chuck Myron

Some teams think the salary cap will jump above $70MM for next season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, though Lowe’s dispatch from a week ago indicated that the league has told clubs not to get carried away with their projections for the time being. Clarity on the matter will be important, especially for clubs with players up for extensions to their rookie-scale contracts before the October 31st deadline. Lowe’s latest piece centers on one such case, as the Hornets face a decision about whether to extend Kemba Walker, whom rival executives often say isn’t a “championship point guard,” according to Lowe. We’ll pass along another tidbit from the Grantland scribe amid the latest from around the league:

The Suns haven’t shown much interest in sign-and-trades involving Eric Bledsoe, Lowe hears, advancing Friday’s report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that threw cold water on the idea that Bledsoe would end up with the Wolves.
The Wolves and Ricky Rubio‘s camp remain in a stalemate in extension negotiations in part because agents Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana know that the Knicks and Lakers can open cap space next summer, writes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter links).
Rumors as late as the eve of the draft suggested that the Cavs were conflicted about whom to take No. 1 overall, but coach David Blatt insists the team had settled on Andrew Wiggins long before making him the top pick, as Blatt tells Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Cleveland didn’t hold on to Wiggins for long, of course, shipping him to the Wolves in the Kevin Love trade.
Nazr Mohammed‘s contract with the Bulls is non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and covers just one season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Clippers signee Jared Cunningham rejected a deal from Serbia’s KK Partizan to instead try his hand at making the opening-night roster in L.A. on his non-guaranteed contract, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.

Pacific Notes: Bledsoe, Lakers, Griffin, Redick

September 22nd, 2014 at 7:05pm CST by Charlie Adams

When the Suns made it clear they weren’t interested in working out a sign-and-trade that would send Eric Bledsoe to the Wolves, teams around the league started presenting Phoenix with offers of their own for the restricted free agent, writes David Aldridge of NBA.com. Bledsoe and the Suns have until October 1st to work out a new deal, or else the talented young guard is reportedly poised to sign the team’s qualifying offer which would otherwise expire that day. Here’s more from the Pacific Division..

The Lakers would be a logical destination for Bledsoe, writes Aldridge in the same piece. Steve Nash‘s old age and the club’s cap flexibility next summer help make Los Angeles a realistic landing spot for the 24-year-old, opines Aldridge.
Blake Griffin opposed the idea that he and his Clippers teammates should mount a protest last spring in the immediate wake of the Donald Sterling controversy, believing that any such action would lend undue influence to Sterling, as Griffin explains to Zach Baron of GQ. Griffin added that he’s satisfied with the league’s response.
J.J. Redick never foresaw a boycott taking place, either, as he tells Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. “I always felt we were going to play,” Redick said. “Doc’s [coach Doc Rivers] leadership during the entire situation was outstanding. We followed his lead. He felt we should play. I also was confident that [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver would take the correct course of action before any sort of league-wide protest took place. And Adam did.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: McCalebb, Ayon, Bledsoe, Mavs

September 20th, 2014 at 8:22pm CST by Cray Allred

Kobe Bryant may not retire following the last two years on his contract with the Lakers, but he is eyeing an ownership stake in the Italian soccer team Bologna FC 1909, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times). Here’s more from around the West:

Bo McCalebb is in discussions with two teams in the Western Conference, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). This isn’t the first we’ve heard of interest in the 29-year-old Euroleague star point guard. McCalebb is a free agent and wouldn’t require a buyout to join an NBA team for training camp or beyond.
The Spurs had offered Gustavo Ayon the veteran’s minimum of $981,084 before the big man chose to sign overseas, Pick tells Hoops Rumors.
In a reader chat response, Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders wonders whether the Wolves will seek a third team to facilitate a sign-and-trade for Eric Bledsoe. Minnesota offered a max deal to the Suns restricted free agent, but Phoenix is reportedly uninterested in shipping him out for anyone on Minnesota’s roster.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at the Mavericks‘ suddenly crowded backcourt, with incoming veterans in Jameer Nelson and Raymond Felton joining a roster already featuring Monta Ellis and Devin Harris. The team believes the players can coexist without any drama in coach Rick Carlisle‘s system. “A team can never have too many playmakers,” Carlisle said. “They can all play with or without the ball, so in my mind, they aren’t just point guards, they’re basketball players.”

Western Notes: Kings, Mavs, Robinson III

September 18th, 2014 at 8:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings aren’t done tinkering with their roster, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Despite signing Darren Collison GM Pete D’Alessandro would still like to add another ballhandler into the mix. Jones also believes the franchise should be concerned about not having a second round pick in next year’s draft since those selections are growing increasingly valuable, as they allow teams to add young players at lower salaries to their rosters.

Here’s the latest from out west:

Alonzo Gee is still expected to be waived by the Kings prior to the start of training camp after he was acquired along with Scotty Hopson in the deal that sent Jason Terry to the Rockets. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio thinks that there is a good chance that Gee ends up in training camp with the Lakers since Coach Byron Scott was a fan of the player during their time together in Cleveland.
The Wolves have guaranteed $250K of Glenn Robinson III‘s minimum salary deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
After the Cavaliers, the team that has done the most to improve themselves this summer is the Mavericks, the staff at Basketball Insiders write in their season preview. They were divided on how Dallas would fare this upcoming season, with the predictions ranging from the team finishing second to ending the season fourth in the Southwest Division.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/17/6716192/kings-offseason-moves-will-continue.html#storylink=cpy

Ryan Hollins Signs With Kings

September 18th, 2014 at 3:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 3:28pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

WEDNESDAY, 7:13pm: Ryan Hollins has agreed to a deal to sign with the Kings, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Exact contract details aren’t yet known, but it is a one-year, fully-guaranteed deal according to Spears. The Lakers, Bulls, Heat, and Spurs had also expressed interest in the twenty nine year-old seven-footer out of UCLA. This will bring Sacramento’s preseason roster count to 19.

As for what he brings to Sacramento, Hollins will compete with Reggie Evans and Sim Bhullar for minutes as DeMarcus Cousins‘ backup. He offers the Kings high-percentage shooting, defense, and rim protection, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors points out in his Free Agent Stock Watch article on the veteran center.

Hollins spent last season with the Clippers, where he appeared in 61 contests, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG. His slash line was .736/.000/.625. In eight seasons in the NBA, Hollins’ career numbers are 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG.

Pacific Notes: Boozer, Kings, Dragic

September 18th, 2014 at 10:35am CST by Zachary Links

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News continued his look at the Lakers‘ depth chart today with a breakdown of offseason acquisition Carlos Boozer. The Lakers have Boozer for a bargain – just $3.25MM – but there are looming questions about his intensity on defense and whether he can handle a possibly fluctuating role. Here’s more out of the Pacific Division..

Even after an offseason of tinkering, the Kings probably aren’t done making moves, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Between Reggie Evans, Jason Thompson, and Carl Landry, the Kings are paying nearly $14MM for players who don’t fit in their long-range plans. Instead, the Kings would like to find a player who can come in, hold down the power forward position, and allow the team to cut salary.
If the Suns give a max contract to anyone, it should be to Goran Dragic, not Eric Bledsoe, opines Bob Young of The Arizona Republic. In Young’s view, the Suns’ four-year, $48MM offer to Bledsoe is reasonable and that kind of contract would give them enough breathing room to retain Dragic long-term. If Bledsoe opts to instead sign the qualifying offer, Young wouldn’t mind seeing a future with Dragic as the team leader alongside Isaiah Thomas with Archie Goodwin and draft pick Tyler Ennis in reserve.
Guard Zoran Dragic likes his current situation overseas but still pines to play in the NBA, where he is being targeted by the Suns and other clubs. “I am here preparing the season with Malaga. But if I have the chance to go the NBA my desire is to go,” said Dragic to La Opinion de Malaga (translation courtesy of Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). “I think that the best option for me is to go the NBA now because I don’t want to lose one year. I think I am ready to play in the NBA but the truth is that I don’t know anything about the NBA at the moment. My heart is with Unicaja.”

James Nunnally To Play In Spain

September 17th, 2014 at 9:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Hawks and Sixers small forward James Nunnally has signed with Estudiantes of Spain, the Spanish ACB league announced (on Twitter; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The terms are unclear, but that presumably takes him out of the running to join an NBA team for training camp. The 24-year-old was reportedly one of a handful of players to work out for the Lakers last week.

Nunnally signed a pair of 10-day contracts with both Atlanta and Philadelphia last year, as our 10-Day Tracker shows, but neither team followed with a contract that covered the rest of 2013/14. He averaged 3.4 points in 12.7 minutes per game in the 13 NBA contests in which he appeared last season, but he saw more extensive action in the D-League, just as he did in 2012/13, his first season as a pro after he went undrafted out of UC Santa Barbara in 2012. Still, he’s consistently remained on the NBA radar, having worked out earlier in the offseason for the Warriors and Jazz and having spent time with the Pacers, Heat and Mavs during summer league this year. He was a widely sought-after camp invitee last fall before he finally chose to spend the preseason with the Suns.

Heading to Spain will make it more difficult for NBA scouts and executives to keep tabs on his game, but he certainly won’t vanish from their sights, given the strength of the ACB league. Nunnally joins Ryan Gomes, Orlando Johnson, Tornike Shengelia and Dwight Buycks among the players who found deals in the ACB league after appearing in the NBA last season.