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Western Notes: Davis, Lakers, Kessler, Garuba, Canales

August 4th, 2023 at 11:03pm CST by Rory Maher

While the Lakers are certainly well aware of Anthony Davis‘ injury history, they were impressed with how he battled through his foot issues last season and recognized that he spearheaded their defensive turnaround after the trade deadline, with the club advancing to the Western Conference Finals despite a terrible start to 2022/23.

“They understand AD and his work ethic has shown,” Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda on Friday. “He has some injuries, but it wasn’t due to him not working. It’s not like he came into camp overweight or showed any laziness. There were just fluke things. That happens in the game.”

Paul said the two sides are still determining whether Davis will have a player option in his new three-year extension, but it will not contain a team option.

Both Medina — writing for The Sporting Tribune — and Jovan Buha of The Athletic believe it’s a win-win for Davis and the Lakers, though there’s obviously some risk involved for Los Angeles. The two authors note that Davis could potentially have earned more money had he hit free agency in 2024.

Here’s more from around the West:

After a standout rookie season, Jazz center Walker Kessler, who will be representing Team USA at the upcoming World Cup, has added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. “A lot of the offseason has been about gaining weight and gaining strength,” Kessler said. “It’s been a lot of hard work. But I’m excited to try and put myself in a position to make a difference on the floor, so the work has been a lot of fun. I love the weight room. I love working on my body. I’m really excited to be a part of Team USA and extremely thankful that I get to be a part of this. I think the amount of talent and the amount of knowledge that’s going to be on the roster is amazing. I’m trying to learn as much as I can and use this experience to try and better myself in every way that I can.”
Speaking to Nacho Duke of Spanish outlet Marca, Thunder big man Usman Garuba said he hopes to spend the rest of his professional career in the NBA. “If possible, I intend to play my entire career in the NBA, and I’m going to push it to the maximum,” Garuba said, per BasketNews.com. “I do not think about another thing. Anything can happen, but I only have in mind to continue in the NBA all my professional life.” Oklahoma City acquired Garuba last month via trade.
Veteran assistant Kaleb Canales is joining the Texas Legends — the Mavericks‘ G League affiliate — as associate head coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Canales, who became the NBA’s first Mexican-American head coach in 2012, last worked for the Pacers in 2020/21. He also had stints with Portland, Dallas and New York over his lengthy coaching career, so it will be a reunion with the Mavs organization.

Lakers Notes: Reaves, 14th Man, Wood, Davis

August 4th, 2023 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who previously identified the Spurs and Rockets as teams that had some interest in him this offseason, said at this week’s Team USA training camp that his goal when he reached restricted free agency was always, “Get back to L.A.,” as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

Signing an offer sheet with another team could have put Reaves in position to earn more than the $54MM over four years he’ll get from the Lakers, who were unable to offer him a higher salary (but could have matched a bigger offer sheet). However, when the two Texas-based teams decided not to seriously pursue him, Reaves was happy to simply re-sign with Los Angeles.

“I had a stressful probably 10 hours, but after that, when it was done, couldn’t be more excited with the situation, with the team that we got, going back to L.A.,” he said. “… We played out every scenario. My agents, we talked probably literally like 10, 11 hours straight that night about what we wanted in the contract, years, whatever. But like I said, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

The Lakers may prefer to fill their 14th roster spot sooner rather than later, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, who believes Christian Wood is probably still be the team’s top choice for that opening if he’s willing to sign for the veteran’s minimum. As Woike observes, L.A. could point to examples like Malik Monk and Dennis Schröder to sell Wood on the idea that he’d have the opportunity to thrive with the Lakers for a year on a minimum-salary deal and parlay that performance into a bigger payday.
Although the Lakers generally deploy Anthony Davis at center in their most important games and minutes, they continue to speak publicly about using lineups that pair him with another big man. Jovan Buha of The Athletic digs into that subject, expressing skepticism that the Lakers will use Davis at power forward alongside a center very often, given the make-up of their roster and the success they’ve had with AD at the five.
In case you missed it, the big news today in Laker Land is Davis’ three-year, maximum-salary contract extension. We have the full story on that agreement right here.

Anthony Davis Becomes Extension-Eligible

August 4th, 2023 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers big man Anthony Davis is now eligible to sign a veteran contract extension, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Davis officially signed his current contract, a five-year, maximum-salary deal, on December 3, 2020. Typically, a player who signs a five-year contract must wait three full calendar years before he becomes extension-eligible, but the 2020 offseason was an unusual one due to the schedule irregularities caused by COVID-19.

Free agency didn’t begin until November 21 that year, with the regular season tipping off on December 22. The NBA determined that Dec. 3 of that offseason would have corresponded to August 4 in a typical offseason, which is why Davis became extension-eligible today.

Davis has two years left on his current contract — he’s owed a guaranteed $40,600,080 salary in 2023/24, with an early termination option worth $43,219,440 in 2024/25.

Exercising an early termination option is essentially the same as declining a player option — in either case, the player ends his contract a year early. However, there’s one key difference: an early termination option can’t be exercised as part of a veteran extension agreement. That means that if Davis wants to sign an extension this offseason, he would have to decline that ETO, which would lock in his current 2024/25 salary and result in his new deal beginning in ’25/26.

Davis will have until the day before the regular season begins in October to sign an extension this year. If he and the Lakers haven’t worked out a new agreement by that time, he would have to wait until the 2024 offseason to revisit his contract situation. At that point, he could either opt into the final year of his current contract and extend off that deal, or opt out and seek a new contract as a free agent.

The maximum value of a potential extension for Davis will depend on the rate at which the NBA’s salary cap increases during the next two offseasons. In an NBA Today appearance on ESPN on Thursday (YouTube link), Marks stated that a three-year extension for Davis could be worth up to about $169.1MM, but that would be based on a relatively conservative cap projection in the neighborhood of $149MM in 2025/26.

If the cap were to increase by the maximum allowable 10% in each of the next two seasons, a three-year extension for Davis could instead be worth as much as $186.6MM.

That may seem like a risky investment for a player who has battled injuries throughout his career and who wasn’t necessarily playing at a superstar level offensively during the Lakers’ postseason run this spring (he averaged 22.6 points per game in 16 contests).

However, Davis is still one of the NBA’s top two-way stars when healthy, and he’s only 30 years old. It’s worth noting too that extending him now would pay off in the long run if the alternative is negotiating a maximum-salary free agent contract of up to five years in 2024. If the Lakers were to extend Davis now, they’d lock him into a salary below his max in 2024/25 and would only have to commit to up to four total seasons beyond ’23/24, rather than five, reducing some of the risk on the back end.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently suggested that there’s an expectation the Lakers will make Davis an extension offer fairly soon, while his colleague Dave McMenamin predicted the two sides will have a deal in place before training camp.

Lakers Notes: Rotation, Point Guards, Christie, Hayes, Davis

August 1st, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Breaking down the Lakers‘ potential lineup decisions for the 2023/24 season, Jovan Buha of The Athletic forecasts a 10-man rotation, led by stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

At this point, Buha favors incumbent Lakers D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura – all of whom signed lucrative new contracts this offseason – to fill out the starting lineup. He predicts the 10-man rotation will be filled out by Jarred Vanderbilt, Max Christie, and newcomers Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, and Jaxson Hayes.

As Buha notes, the Lakers will want to avoid overworking James and Davis to ensure that they’re healthy for the playoffs, so players outside his projected 10-man rotation, including free agent addition Cam Reddish and rookies Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis, could get a chance to earn some minutes too.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Although Buha has Russell penciled in as the starting point guard, he acknowledges that could change, observing that Vincent’s 3-and-D skill set is a better fit next to the Lakers’ stars. It’s a “coin flip” as to who will end up as the go-to point guard, Buha writes, suggesting that both players will have important roles.
Christie is the most difficult Laker to project for the 2023/24 season, says Buha. If he breaks out like he believes he can, he should have no problem securing a spot as the eighth or ninth man in the rotation. If not, he may end up battling Reddish for minutes as the 10th man.
According to Buha, the Lakers hope that Hayes will be able to start alongside Davis in scenarios when the team opts to roll with a two-big lineup. However, Buha doesn’t foresee a major regular role for Hayes, noting that there are only so many frontcourt minutes to go around as long as James, Davis, Hachimura, and Vanderbilt are healthy. If the Lakers were to sign another free agent center such as Christian Wood or Bismack Biyombo, Hayes’ spot in the regular rotation would be even less certain, though injuries and/or load management could ultimately open the door for him to play frequently.
In the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps, and Tim MacMahon discuss the fact that Davis will become extension-eligible later this week and consider the odds of he and the Lakers working out a deal before the season begins. Windhorst doesn’t necessarily expect the two sides to reach a deal immediately, but believes there’s mutual interest in working something out. “There’s no time crunch. He doesn’t have to make a decision by August 5 or anything,” Windhorst said. “But I do think there is an expectation that the Lakers do make some sort of offer this week, or at least show their intention to make such an offer.”

Magic Johnson: Pelinka Did Better Than Any GM This Offseason

July 30th, 2023 at 5:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Magic Johnson has high praise for Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, called Pelinka the “No. 1 GM in the NBA this offseason,” he told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times in a wide-ranging interview.

Johnson was impressed with Pelinka’s trade deadline acquisitions, which propelled the Lakers into the playoffs and all the way to the conference finals. This offseason, Pelinka has re-signed Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell, and added Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes.

“I think he followed it up with another outstanding job, first from the trade deadline and then he kept it going in the summer,” the Hall of Famer and former Lakers executive said. “He did better than anybody in the summer. All the moves he made, he was the No. 1 GM in the NBA this offseason. No question about it. All the guys that we signed will help (LeBron James) and the other guys because now we are deeper. Rob is going to be executive of the year.”

Johnson sees the Lakers as a serious contender for the title.

“This is a Western Conference championship team. We could actually win everything if we can stay healthy,” he said. “This team has a real shot. … It’s not going to be easy for Denver to repeat, even though you always got to pick the champion as the favorite right now, and I do. But the Lakers, Memphis with the trades they made, Phoenix and Golden State, and Sacramento and Denver, man, the West is going to be hard.”

Johnson is part of the ownership group that purchased the Washington Commanders of the NFL. Johnson said he has ties to Washington, D.C. than many people don’t realize.

“I’ve done business there in Washington, D.C.,” Johnson said. “And I told this story — and people forget this — I was the last person [former Lakers owner] Jack Kent Cooke signed and he had to sign me so that he could then sell the team to Dr. Buss [in 1979]. So, when Dr. Buss wrote him that check, he needed that check to buy the Washington Redskins. It’s that crazy. People don’t know that. That [$67.5 million] went a long way. So, I guess it’s destiny that I’m supposed to be a part of this because I’ve done so much in the city.”

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Buss, Pelinka, Davis, Fudge

July 28th, 2023 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Regardless of how much longer LeBron James spends with the Lakers or how his remaining time with the team plays out, the franchise intends to eventually retire his number, team owner Jeanie Buss tells Mark Medina of SportsKeeda.

“The standard for having your jersey retired as a Laker is when a player is inducted into the Hall of Fame. I have absolutely no doubt that LeBron will make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame,” Buss said. “When he does so, then we will retire his jersey. Knowing that he will make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame, he will have his Lakers jersey retired, no doubt about it.”

As Medina observes, James wore a No. 23 jersey during his first three years with the Lakers and will switch back to No. 23 in 2023/24 after wearing No. 6 for the last two seasons. Buss wasn’t prepared to say whether the Lakers would eventually retire both numbers, but stressed that the team would still retire LeBron’s jersey even if he doesn’t finish his career with the franchise.

“It would mean a lot (if LeBron retires as a Laker). But it won’t change his contributions to Lakers history,” Buss said. “… A player like Shaquille O’Neal has meant so much to Lakers history, but he wasn’t a Laker when he retired from the NBA. But that didn’t change what his part of Lakers history was. When he retired from the NBA, we retired his Lakers jersey.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

In her full interview with Medina, Buss addressed a wide range of Lakers-related topics, including her thoughts on the team’s finish in 2022/23, Rob Pelinka‘s performance, and much more. Regarding Pelinka, Buss explained why she stood by the club’s head of basketball operations when he was facing criticism for the acquisition of Russell Westbrook: “I always felt then and now that Rob was the right person to be in charge of our front office. I continued to do so. Every decision that is made isn’t always the perfect one. But it’s the decision you make after that that counts. We had a roster that didn’t work and wasn’t working. But you can’t change things overnight in the NBA. But you can set yourself up by making the next right decision. That’s exactly what Rob did. … Every decision, you have the opportunity to make the next right decision. That’s what Rob has proven.”
Asked about a possible contract extension for Anthony Davis, Buss declined to discuss the subject in any depth. However, in deferring to Pelinka, she hinted that she’d be on board with a new deal for Davis: “Rob said it best. Our intention is that we want to keep continuity with our team. I’ll leave it at that.”
The two-way contract that undrafted rookie Alex Fudge signed with the Lakers will cover two years rather than one, Hoops Rumors has learned. Fudge is the sixth player to sign a two-year two-way deal this offseason, as our tracker shows.

Lakers Sign Alex Fudge To Two-Way Deal, Waive Cole Swider

July 26th, 2023 at 4:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

4:51pm: The contract with Fudge is official, the Lakers announced (via Twitter).

4:33pm: The Lakers will sign Alex Fudge to a two-way contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. They will open up a two-way slot by waiving Cole Swider, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Fudge, a 20-year-old forward, put up modest numbers during his college career at LSU and Florida, averaging 4.6 and 3.9 rebounds over two seasons.

Fudge played for L.A.’s Summer League team, and although his statistics didn’t stand out, he impressed the Lakers enough with his athleticism to earn a two-way opportunity. A previous report had indicated he would be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the team.

Swider, a 24-year-old small forward, signed a two-way contract with L.A. last summer after going undrafted out of Villanova. He appeared in just seven games for the Lakers, spending most of his rookie year in the G League, where he averaged 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 27 regular season games.

Swider’s contract for the upcoming season is non-guaranteed, so L.A. won’t be on the hook for any more money. Colin Castleton and D’Moi Hodge occupy the team’s other two-way spots.

Spurs Considered Lucrative Offer Sheet For Austin Reaves

July 26th, 2023 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Austin Reaves revealed in a recent interview that the Spurs and Rockets were among his potential options in free agency before he reached a deal to remain in Los Angeles.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has since provided more details on those what-if scenarios, citing league sources who say San Antonio considered an offer sheet for Reaves that would have been worth $21MM per season.

However, according to Scotto, the Spurs were concerned that the Lakers would simply match their offer sheet and that they might miss out on other opportunities to use their cap room while they awaited L.A.’s decision. The Lakers wouldn’t have had to officially match an offer sheet for Reaves until the end of the day on July 7 and could have tied up San Antonio’s space in the meantime.

As for the Rockets, they were “closely monitoring” Reaves and were prepared to put together a lucrative offer sheet if they had failed to land top target Fred VanVleet, sources tell Scotto. When VanVleet agreed to a three-year, maximum-salary deal with Houston, the team didn’t see the need to spend big on another backcourt player.

Reaves’ restricted free agency was an uncommon case, since he had accumulated just two years of NBA experience and was therefore subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision.

Although the Lakers could only offer Reaves about $53.8MM over four years using his Early Bird rights, the Arenas provision allowed a rival team with cap room to give him a bigger, back-loaded offer sheet worth up to nearly $102MM over four years — the Lakers would have had the right to match any offer sheet despite not being able to offer Reaves that much money directly.

Ultimately, no rival suitors decided to aggressively pursue Reaves, allowing the Lakers to bring him back on his maximum Early Bird deal, worth $53.8MM across four seasons. Following a breakout season in which he averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game with an excellent .529/.398/.864 shooting line, the 25-year-old may turn out to be a bargain at that price.

Lakers Notes: Reaves, Westbrook, Castleton, Gay

July 22nd, 2023 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Austin Reaves went into free agency hoping to re-sign with the Lakers, but he considered both the Rockets and Spurs before the process began. Reaves explained his approach in an appearance on Showtime’s “All the Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (video link).

“I really wanted to be in L.A. the whole time,” Reaves said. “There were a couple of situations that were close, but like I said, I really wanted to be in L.A. L.A. feels like home to me so that’s really where I wanted to be.”

Reaves was a restricted free agent, and the Lakers were limited to an offer of about $54MM over four years with his Early Bird rights. Because of the Arenas provision, L.A. would have been able to match a larger offer sheet from another team, and both Houston and San Antonio had enough cap room to give Reaves a contract that could have made it a tough decision. Both teams decided to spend their money in other areas, so L.A. was able to keep the 25-year-old shooting guard at a relative bargain price.

There’s more on the Lakers:

In the same interview (video link), Reaves discusses Russell Westbrook, who had a stormy tenure with the team before being traded in February. Westbrook became a controversial figure during his time with the Lakers, but Reaves only had good things to say about him. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Reaves said. “As a person, you can’t get much better. … He was always empowering everybody to be better and do better and want more.”
Colin Castleton would love to eventually be promoted from his two-way contract to the 15-man roster, but he told Lakers Nation that he’s more concerned with improving his game and learning as much as possible from his veteran teammates. “I was focused on killing Summer League, and I feel like I did a good job there,” Castleton said. “Now I can focus on getting ready for training camp and put myself in the right mindset so I can have an opportunity later in the year. That’s my mindset.”
In case you missed it, the Lakers are among several teams with interest in veteran forward Rudy Gay, who was waived by the Thunder on Thursday.

And-Ones: Summer League, McClung, Motiejunas, NBAGL Showcase

July 21st, 2023 at 10:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets‘ poor play was one of the worst parts of Las Vegas Summer League, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Despite having eight players on the roster attending (and a ninth, James Nnaji, as one of a handful of remaining unsigned draft picks), Charlotte went 1-6 and was minus-55 overall. No one played particularly well, with Hollinger noting that the team may end up regretting not taking Scoot Henderson instead of Brandon Miller, if their brief Summer League performances were any indication.

Of more immediate concern for the Hornets are the fourth-year team option decisions on 2021 first-round picks James Bouknight and Kai Jones, which are due by late October. Neither looks like a sure bet to have his option picked up, as both players struggled in Vegas despite entering their third seasons, Hollinger adds. Bouknight’s option in 2024/25 is worth $6.1MM, while Jones’ is worth $4.7MM — not exactly team-friendly rates given they haven’t contributed much thus far.

Nnaji showed some defensive promise, but may be a draft-and-stash prospect while he develops his offensive game, says Hollinger.

Among the other players who struggled in Summer League were Pistons center James Wiseman (poor screening and defense), Nets first-rounder Noah Clowney (looked overmatched) and Lakers draft picks Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis, according to Hollinger.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

On the other end of the spectrum, Hollinger also revealed his under-the-radar Summer League standouts for The Athletic, including Javon Freeman-Liberty, who just agreed to a two-way deal with the Raptors, and Cavaliers guards Sam Merrill and Craig Porter Jr., the latter of whom went undrafted and signed a two-way contract with Cleveland. Hollinger says he would have given Merrill, whose contract for next season is non-guaranteed, the Summer League MVP award over Cam Whitmore.
Free agent guard Mac McClung, who finished last season on a two-way deal with the Sixers, tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com he’s focused on making another NBA team, but he’s open to going to Europe if he can’t find a roster spot. “We’ll see,” McClung said. “I am in free agency right now, my agent is talking to some teams, back and forth. We’re just trying to evaluate what is the best situation for me. Hopefully, I will be in the NBA next year and finding my way.”
Former NBA big man Donatas Motiejunas has signed a two-year extension with AS Monaco Basket, the team announced (via Twitter). Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com had the scoop on Motiejunas’ extension (Twitter link). The 32-year-old spent six seasons in the NBA, ending with a brief stint with San Antonio back in 2018/19. He was productive on a per-minute basis for Monaco, which won France’s LNB Pro A and finished third in the EuroLeague playoffs.
In 2023/24, the NBA G League’s Winter Showcase event will be held in Orlando instead of Las Vegas, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Showcase has been held Vegas for several years, but will be moving due to the NBA’s new in-season tournament, as the semifinals and final will be held in early December in Vegas.