Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Plan To Reduce LeBron James’ Workload

October 25th, 2023 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers star LeBron James played just 29 minutes in the team’s season-opening loss in Denver on Tuesday night, and that relatively modest workload will be a consistent theme for the 38-year-old going forward, head coach Darvin Ham told reporters, including ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Ham said the plan for the start of the season is to keep James in the range of 28-to-30 minutes per game. He acknowledged that, with input from the team’s trainers and medical staffers, that number could fluctuate as the season progresses, but stressed that managing LeBron’s minutes will be a priority.

“It’s easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are,” Ham said.

James said after the game that he’s confident he’ll still be able to make an impact in the minutes he does play and indicated that he’s on board with the team’s plan for him, adding that he wasn’t “surprised or upset” by his playing time on Tuesday.

“Listen, I mean, I always want to be on the floor. Especially when you got an opportunity to win a game or you feel like you can make an impact,” James said. “But this is the system in place and I’m going to follow it.”

LeBron averaged 37.2 minutes per game in 2021/22 and 35.5 MPG in ’22/23, but missed at least 26 games in both seasons due to injuries. It sounds like the goal this year will be to bring down his minutes per game while increasing the number of contests he’s available for.

While it’s certainly not the reason for the move, it’s worth noting that end-of-season awards like All-NBA now have a 65-game minimum requirement — if those rules had been in place in the past, James wouldn’t have been eligible to make an All-NBA team since 2019/20.

James has logged 38.1 minutes per night over the course of 1,422 career regular season games, never averaging fewer than 33.4 MPG in a season (2020/21).

Three Players On Exhibit 9 Contracts Make Opening Night Rosters

October 24th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

As we explain in a glossary entry, Exhibit 9 contracts are generally handed out by NBA teams to players who will only be with the team during training camp and/or the preseason.

The Exhibit 9 clause protects the team in case the player suffers an injury before the season begins. In that scenario, the club wouldn’t have to pay him his full salary until he gets healthy enough to play — it would only have to pay a maximum lump sum of $15K when it waives the player.

While most Exhibit 9 signees were released in advance of the regular season, three NBA veterans who signed Exhibit 9 contracts survived the cut and made their respective teams’ regular season rosters. Here are those three players:

Ryan Arcidiacono (Knicks)
Harry Giles (Nets)
Lamar Stevens (Celtics)

Note: Hornets guard Edmond Sumner was initially included in this list, but Charlotte waived him on Tuesday ahead of its season opener.

These three players will now be on one-year, minimum-salary contracts that will remain non-guaranteed until January 10. In order to secure their full-season salaries, they’ll have to stay under contract beyond January 7 (a player cut on Jan. 8 or 9 wouldn’t clear waivers prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date of Jan. 10).

As our list of non-guaranteed contracts by team shows, Arcidiacono, Giles, and Stevens are three of the 31 players on standard deals whose salaries for the 2023/24 season aren’t fully guaranteed.

Several of these players will receive partial guarantees by remaining on rosters through the start of the regular season, and a few more have November or December trigger dates that will increase their guarantees. However, none of those 31 players will lock in their full salary until Jan. 10.

Here are a few more items of interest about the NBA’s opening night rosters for ’23/24, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link):

The Spurs have the NBA’s youngest roster, while the Clippers have the oldest.
Players are earning a combined total salary of $4.8 billion for the 2023/24 season. The Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Bucks, Pelicans, Sixers, and Suns are the biggest contributors to that pool, as they’re all currently over the luxury tax line.
As our roster counts page shows, there are 12 open spots on standard 15-man rosters around the NBA. Those openings belong to the Celtics, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Warriors (two), Lakers, Heat, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Kings.
The Nets and the Suns are the only two teams that haven’t filled all three of their two-way slots, as our tracker shows. They’re each carrying a pair of two-way players, meaning 88 of the 90 spots around the league are occupied.

Vanderbilt, Hood-Schifino Out For Opener

October 23rd, 2023 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jarred Vanderbilt and Jalen Hood-Schifino won’t play in the Lakers’ opener, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register tweets. Vanderbilt is dealing with left heel soreness while Hood-Schifino has a right patella contusion. Hood-Schifino will be reevaluated by team doctors on Nov. 3.

Pacific Notes: Hachimura, Lyles, Kuminga, Moody, Little

October 22nd, 2023 at 6:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After having announced that Taurean Prince would serve as the Lakers’ fifth starter, head coach Darvin Ham told reporters that he feels power forward Rui Hachimura will give the team more on the offensive end as a reserve, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Hachimura primarily came off the bench upon being flipped to the club in January. His offensive output was somewhat erratic during the regular season, but he put on a superlative shooting performance in the playoffs. The 6’8″ big man out of Gonzaga averaged 12.2 PPG on .557/.487/.882 shooting splits across 16 playoff games. He subsequently inked a lucrative new three-year, $51MM deal to remain in Los Angeles earlier this summer.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Imaging on the injured left calf of Kings big man Trey Lyles indicated a mild strain, per James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento (Twitter link). Ham adds that the team is hopeful Lyles will be back soon, though he will be sidelined for at least a few days.
After having survived the Warriors’ purging of some key young players, third-year lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are looking to have big seasons, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Both have performed well in the preseason for Golden State. “I’ve got to cut the turnovers down a little bit,” Kuminga said. “I’m working on it and watching film. We’re supposed to watch film with the coaches about the turnovers.”
Thanks especially to his defensive fluidity, newly acquired Suns swingman Nassir Little has already impressed during his first preseason in Phoenix, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “You can put him on the team’s best player at multiple positions,” head coach Frank Vogel said. Vogel is hopeful Little can also contribute as a shooter. The 6’5″ forward connected on a career-high 36.7% on 2.9 looks per game from long range in 2022/23.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Prince, Vanderbilt, Vincent, Hayes

October 21st, 2023 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Explaining that he’s “self-motivated,” LeBron James said he’s not driven by a need to beat the Nuggets, who ended the Lakers‘ playoff run last spring and will be the opponent when the season tips off Tuesday, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Although James downplayed the rivalry, he’s clearly aware of some of the disrespect that came his way from Denver. Nuggets coach Michael Malone was introduced as “the Lakers’ daddy” during the team’s championship celebration, and in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Malone mocked James’ talk of retirement after the playoff series ended.

“There will be a time,” James said about a potential response. “When that time is, I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s now or … there will be a time. There will be a time when everybody will get it, for sure.”

Heading into his 21st NBA season, James is optimistic about his health after missing 27 games last year with a right foot injury that bothered him throughout the playoffs. He said he’s fully recovered and ready for the challenges of a new campaign.

“It took a few months, but then when I was able to get back into my workouts, I was able to do some things I wasn’t capable of doing throughout the whole playoffs, probably even before the playoffs,” James said. “My workouts started getting better, my wind started getting better, my quick-twitch started getting better. I didn’t have to think about it as much. It’s great to have that feeling, just have your motor back.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Head coach Darvin Ham told reporters today that Taurean Prince will be the team’s fifth starter for the season opener alongside James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, McMenamin adds. The veteran forward, who signed with L.A. as a free agent this summer, was used as a starter for most of the preseason. Prince will replace Jarred Vanderbilt, who had his sore left heel re-evaluated on Friday. Ham said Vanderbilt is considered day-to-day, but “in all likelihood” will miss Tuesday’s game.
Gabe Vincent, who has been dealing with back tightness, has been cleared to play in the opener, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Free agent addition Jaxson Hayes made a case for regular playing time with a strong performance in the preseason, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. “He was phenomenal,” Davis said. “Catching in the pocket and making the right plays, finishing, protecting the rim, everything that we want out of him and more. Hustling. Things that can (be) better. But for the most part, he was phenomenal.”

Lakers Waive Quinndary Weatherspoon

October 20th, 2023 at 3:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are waiving Quinndary Weatherspoon, who signed on Thursday, the team announced (via Twitter).

The 27-year-old shooting guard is likely headed to L.A.’s G League affiliate in South Bay. Assuming he has an Exhibit 10 contract, he can earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the G League team.

A second-round pick in 2019, Weatherspoon played 31 combined games in two seasons with the Spurs and another 11 for the Warriors before moving on to China last year. He appeared in two games for Maccabi Ra’anana in Israel during the preseason before getting the opportunity with the Lakers.

L.A. is now down to 14 players with fully guaranteed contracts, plus three two-way players, which is how the roster will likely look when the season begins. However, the team could still sign and waive more players before the cutdown date to obtain their G League rights.

Lakers Sign Quinndary Weatherspoon, Waive Louis King

October 19th, 2023 at 7:35pm CST by Rory Maher

7:35pm: The Lakers have officially signed Weatherspoon. In a related move, they have waived forward Louis King, the team’s PR department tweets.

5:03pm: The Lakers are signing free agent guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it seems likely that Weatherspoon will be signed to an Exhibit 10 contract, which would entitle to him a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate.

A former second-round pick (No. 49 overall in 2019), Weatherspoon played 42 NBA games with the Spurs and Warriors from 2019-22, with a modest average of 6.5 minutes per night. He was out of the league last season, having played professionally in China.

Weatherspoon most recently played for Israeli club Maccabi Ra’anana during the preseason, suiting up for a couple games while averaging 15.5 points and shooting 40% from three, Haynes notes.

The Lakers will have 18 players under contract once the signing is official, with 14 players on guaranteed standard deals and all three two-way slots filled.

Lakers Sign Louis King

October 18th, 2023 at 8:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:39pm: The signing is official, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

6:18pm: Free agent Louis King is signing with the Lakers, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The deal was confirmed by King’s agent, George Langberg of GSL Sports Group.

The 24-year-old combo forward made a brief NBA appearance last season, getting into one game with the Sixers after signing a two-way contract in late December. King spent most of the season in the G League, where he averaged 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 32 regular season games with the Delaware Blue Coats.

King became an unrestricted free agent in July when Philadelphia decided not to make a qualifying offer. He had a tryout with the Celtics in August, but remained unsigned.

King will likely head to the G League again once his contract with the Lakers is finalized. Assuming it’s an Exhibit 10 deal, he will be eligible for a bonus of up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with L.A.’s South Bay affiliate.

The signing will bring the Lakers’ offseason roster to 18 players. L.A. has 14 fully guaranteed contracts, and all three of its two-way slots filled.

And-Ones: All-Star Game, Porter, Breakout Candidates, More

October 18th, 2023 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is weighing the idea of reverting to the East vs. West format for its All-Star Game, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Since the 2017/18 season, 12 players from each conference have been named All-Stars, but in order to set the two rosters, the top vote-getters in each conference have drafted teams from pools of eight starters and 14 reserves.

“We’re looking at some potential changes in format in Indianapolis this year,” Silver said, referring to the 2024 All-Star Game. “Maybe a return to something more traditional in terms of how the teams are presented. We went to sort of this captain and draft notion, but clearly historically it was East vs. West. So that’s maybe something we are looking at.”

Back in June, Silver didn’t close the door on the possibility of introducing an All-Star format that would pit U.S. players vs. international players. However, he downplayed the likelihood of that change on Wednesday, noting that the international player pool isn’t currently as deep as the U.S. one, which could result in skewed rosters.

According to Bontemps, Silver also reiterated during his First Take appearance, following up on the league’s recent statements on load management, that he views the idea of shortening the regular season as non-starter.

“None of us believe that,” Silver said. “None of the data supports that. As I was saying, back to this issue about load management, we don’t see more injuries later on in the season. Guys aren’t more likely to be injured after they’ve played 40 games as opposed to the first week of the season. I mean, unfortunately, injuries happen.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick has disputed Manhattan prosecutors’ characterization of Kevin Porter Jr.‘s alleged assault, telling Priscilla DeGregory and Emily Crane of The New York Post that Porter “never balled his fists up and hit me” and “definitely didn’t punch me in the face numerous times.” A second-degree assault charge against Porter was dropped this week after it was determined that Gondrezick’s vertebra fracture was a congenital defect and not caused by the former Rocket, who still faces third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation charges after being traded and waived on Tuesday. “It happened very fast, not to the degree of what was reported,” Gondrezick said of the incident. “And it was an argument that occurred in the room for not even 10 seconds.”
The Athletic’s NBA writers named a breakout candidate for all 30 NBA teams, with their picks ranging from popular choices such as Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton to less obvious selections like Celtics wing Sam Hauser.
Jonathan Givony and Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Insider link) identify the top international freshman in the NCAA this season, starting with center Aday Mara and forward Berke Buyuktuncel of UCLA.
In an entertaining article for FOX Sports, Melissa Rohlin reveals that a Clippers employee – who happens to be a Lakers fan – was the original source of the erroneous offseason rumors linking Lakers guard Austin Reaves to Taylor Swift.

Pacific Notes: D-Lo, Vanderbilt, Duarte, Huerter, J. Green

October 18th, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is a talented scorer, shooter, and passer, but has been targeted on the defensive end of the court over the years, a fact that he’s aware of and is making an effort to remedy, as Jovan Buha and Jay King of The Athletic write.

“Last year they found a way to get me off the floor by not playing defense, I guess,” Russell said. “So, try to be a reason to eliminate that. Not give them a reason to not have me on the floor. Try to be as dangerous as I can on offense and try not to be a liability on defense. So, that’s what I’m working on. I’m trying to do it now before the season so I continue to practice those good habits.”

Interestingly, Russell named Derrick White as a role model, praising the Celtics guard for making “all the winning plays,” even if he doesn’t necessarily get credit for them. According to Russell, that’s the type of player he aspires to be.

“I woke up to it and I was shocked, really,” White said when asked by The Athletic about Russell’s endorsement. “Obviously D-Lo’s an All-Star, has done a lot of great things in this league, a highly talented player. So it’s cool to get recognized like that, especially by a guy who’s done so much in the league like he has.”

Here are a few more notes from around the Pacific:

Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who is battling left heel soreness, will be reevaluated on Friday, head coach Darvin Ham told reporters earlier this week (Twitter link via Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group). Vanderbilt hasn’t played since the team’s preseason opener on October 7.
The Kings still haven’t made a decision on whether to start Kevin Huerter or Chris Duarte on the wing in their regular season opener, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. However, a left knee injury for Duarte may give Huerter a leg up — Duarte has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and will miss the remainder of the preseason, as Anderson writes.
The non-guaranteed contract that swingman Javonte Green signed with the Warriors includes Exhibit 9 language, but not an Exhibit 10 clause, Hoops Rumors has learned. Green is one of three veterans on the roster – along with Rudy Gay and Rodney McGruder – whose camp contract isn’t an Exhibit 10 deal. That means those vets may not be candidates to join the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League if they don’t make Golden State’s regular season roster.