Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Waiving Mohamed Bamba

June 29th, 2023 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have decided to waive Mohamed Bamba before his $10.3MM salary for the 2023/24 season becomes guaranteed, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bamba spent his first four-and-a-half NBA seasons in Orlando before being dealt to the Lakers ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

Although he has flashed the ability to stretch the floor and protect the rim, Bamba saw his role with the Magic decline after the team added Wendell Carter and Paolo Banchero, and played a limited role in Los Angeles before spraining his ankle in March.

In total, Bamba appeared in 49 games in 2022/23, averaging 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest. He posted a shooting line of .485/.387/.661.

Bamba is still just 25 years old and may have untapped upside, but it didn’t make sense for the Lakers to retain him at a price of $10MM+. Cutting him will give Los Angeles some extra cap flexibility entering a crucial offseason and may open the door for the club to use the full, non-taxpayer version of the mid-level exception.

Free Agent Rumors: Brown, Lakers, Bridges, Cavs, Heat, Love

June 29th, 2023 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are “increasingly confident” about their chances of signing Bruce Brown using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, multiple sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

The Denver Post first reported on Wednesday that the Lakers have “significant” interest in Brown. A subsequent report suggested that the Nuggets‘ free agent guard may receive offers worth more than the mid-level, which would be virtually impossible for L.A. to match. However, Buha’s latest report suggests the Lakers still feel good about their odds of landing the versatile guard.

As Buha details, there’s a path for the Lakers to re-sign D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura while also using the full mid-level exception, which would hard-cap their team salary at approximately $172MM. That path would require the club to decline Malik Beasley‘s $16.5MM team option and waive Mohamed Bamba, whose $10.3MM salary is non-guaranteed.

Here are a few more free agent rumblings from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers have interest in Hornets restricted free agent Miles Bridges, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. However, with only the mid-level exception to offer, Cleveland is a long shot to land Bridges, given that Charlotte would match a mid-level offer sheet “in an instant,” Fedor writes. Sources tell Cleveland.com that Bridges’ camp is expecting a significantly higher per-year salary.
Elsewhere within his look at the Cavaliers‘ options in free agency, Fedor says Max Strus would be near the top of the team’s wish list if he’s attainable with the mid-level exception, which he may not be. Fedor adds that Cleveland is in the market for more forward depth in addition to a two-way wing, naming Georges Niang as a possible target.
The Heat and Kevin Love have mutual interest in working out a new deal, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami only holds Love’s Non-Bird rights, so he’d likely have to accept a minimum-salary contract or something slightly above that if he wants to return.
In an entertaining piece for GQ.com, Howard Beck speaks to a number of anonymous team executives about their expectations for the NBA’s 2023 offseason.

Pacific Notes: Paul, Warriors, LeBron, Schröder, Walker

June 29th, 2023 at 11:10am CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are looking forward to teaming up with longtime rival Chris Paul, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Paul’s ball-dominant style will bring a new look to Golden State’s backcourt, but Curry believes the combination can be successful.

“Every team that CP has been on gets better,” he said. “That’s the most consistent thing about him, and who he is and what he brings to the team. Everybody’s going to talk about the age. It’s on us to put that all together and figure out how all the pieces work.”

Thompson called Paul one of the best players of his generation and speculated that having him on the court should lead to better shots for everyone. He admits it will be “a little weird” to have Paul on his team after battling him in the playoffs for nearly a decade.

“I think he’s just going to add such a calming presence and leadership component that we need,” Thompson added.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Warriors have been a popular destination for free agents throughout their run at the top of the league, but their reputation will be tested in this year’s free agency, observes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Golden State’s financial crunch, early playoff exit and the loss of general manager Bob Myers may make veteran players less likely to accept veteran’s minimum contracts to join the team.
LeBron James won’t pressure the Lakers to make any specific signings or trades during free agency, according to Mark Medina of Sportsnaut. Medina adds that despite his retirement talk after the Western Conference Finals, James is fully expected to play next season in the final year of his current contract.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is committed to keeping the roster that finished last season intact, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. has five free agents and must decide by today whether to guarantee contracts for Mohamed Bamba and Malik Beasley. “Teams are going to be aggressive,” Pelinka said. “There’s a lot of parity in the league right now, and everyone smells an opportunity to chase the championship, but we’re going to try our best to stay in that pack or at the head of that pack.”
The Lakers are hoping to re-sign Dennis Schröder and Lonnie Walker IV, even though they’re both unrestricted and the team doesn’t have full Bird rights on either player, states Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Stein’s Latest: Barnes, Reaves, Rockets, Harden, Irving, More

June 29th, 2023 at 10:30am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers‘ interest in signing Max Strus may be an indication that free agent forward Harrison Barnes will remain with the Kings, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.

Stein reported recently that Indiana was interested in adding Barnes, who has huge supporters in Rick Carlisle, his former coach in Dallas, and Tyrese Haliburton, his ex-teammate in Sacramento. However, the Pacers only have $30MM in cap space, and Stein assumes Barnes is no longer in their plans if they’re preparing an offer for Strus in the $16MM range.

Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave tweets that Barnes’ return to the Kings is “picking up major steam,” but the final details of a new contract still have to be worked out.

Stein offers inside information on a few more free agents:

Even though the Lakers are reported to have significant interest in Bruce Brown, Stein believes somebody will offer the Nuggets free agent more than the mid-level exception. L.A. appears certain to match any offer for restricted free agent Austin Reaves, who is eligible for nearly $102MM over four years from a rival team. A source told Stein that it should be considered an “automatic match.”
Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks are increasingly expected to commit to the Rockets shortly after the start of free agency, according to Stein, who says there would be “legitimate leaguewide surprise” if it doesn’t happen. Stein hears that Brooks will likely get a two-year contract with an annual salary in the $14-16MM range, while Houston is prepared to make a two-year, maximum-salary offer of $83.6MM for VanVleet. Stein states that the Rockets are confident new coach Ime Udoka can maximize Brooks’ game while limiting his excesses, while VanVleet is viewed as a leader and culture setter for a young roster.
The “prevailing expectation” is that Sixers guard James Harden and Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving will re-sign with their current teams, according to Stein. He added that it remains difficult to project the length and dollar value of their new contracts as of Thursday morning.
According to Stein, multiple rival teams expect Andre Drummond to join the Mavericks, who added two new centers last week by drafting Dereck Lively II and trading for Richaun Holmes. Sources tell Stein that free agent Christian Wood and JaVale McGee are no longer in the team’s plans, though McGee has one more guaranteed year left on his contract, along with a $6MM player option for 2024/25.
Free agent guard Damion Lee is considered likely to sign a new deal with the Suns, Stein adds.

Free Agency Rumors: Brown, Temple, Green, Suns

June 28th, 2023 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are strongly interested in signing versatile Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown, multiple sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Brown, who is in line for a substantial raise after playing an important role in Denver’s first NBA championship, turned down his $6.8MM player option last week.

The Nuggets only hold Non-Bird rights on Brown, which limits them to an offer around $7.8MM — a 20% raise on what he made last season. L.A. may have access to its full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which will be approximately $12.4MM.

Brown was an ideal addition when Denver picked him up as a free agent last summer. He averaged a career-high 11.5 points per game during the regular season and logged the most minutes of any Nuggets bench player in the postseason.

There are more free agency rumors to pass along:

The Pelicans have reached an agreement with Garrett Temple to extend the deadline for guaranteeing his $5.4MM contract for next season, moving it from Thursday to July 7, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). New Orleans is currently $2.8MM below the luxury tax, and pushing back Temple’s guarantee date provides time for other cost-cutting moves, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Temple only appeared in 25 games last season, averaging 6.5 minutes per night. The Pelicans still face several decisions by Thursday, Lopez notes, as they have to determine whether to pick up team options for Herbert Jones ($1.8MM), Naji Marshall ($1.9MM) and Willy Hernangomez ($2.6MM), along with whether to make a qualifying offer to Jaxson Hayes.
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link) is dismissing an internet rumor that Draymond Green traveled to Portland to meet with Damian Lillard about signing with the Trail Blazers. Fentress’ sources say Green is still considered very likely to re-sign with the Warriors.
Spurs forward Keita Bates-Diop and Nets forward Yuta Watanabe are free agents who might be interested in joining the Suns on minimum deals, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7FM.
The Sixers aren’t expected to give Louis King a qualifying offer, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The 24-year-old forward, who played in just one NBA game last season, will become an unrestricted free agent.

Raptors Notes: VanVleet, Poeltl, Siakam, Anunoby, Wieskamp

June 28th, 2023 at 5:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

In a look at where the Raptors stand heading into free agency, Eric Koreen of The Athletic expects the team to re-sign both Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl, although it will be expensive to do so. Koreen projects a four-year, $130MM contract for VanVleet and a three-year, $63MM deal for Poeltl. That would give Toronto $164.8MM committed to 12 players for the upcoming season, leaving no way to fill out the roster without exceeding the projected luxury-tax threshold of $165MM.

The Rockets may be ready to offer VanVleet a maximum-salary contract, but they reportedly want to limit it to two years. Toronto’s willingness to commit to a longer deal could be enough to convince him to stay, although Koreen also explores sign-and-trade possibilities with the Bulls, Timberwolves and Nets.

The Thunder and Spurs appear to be the best options for Poeltl, Koreen states, although he’s not sure if either franchise will offer a big-money deal to a center with limited shooting range. Koreen also cites the Bucks, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks as teams that might pursue a sign-and-trade.

There’s more on the Raptors:

Draft night was probably the best time to work out a trade involving Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, Koreen adds. A recent report that Siakam may not be open to re-signing with any team that trades for him should cool off his market, but Koreen expects Toronto to still get offers for Anunoby. He also believes it’s likely that both players will start next season with the Raptors, but they probably won’t agree to extensions this summer.
Anunoby has selected CAA Basketball as his new representative, the agency announced (via Twitter). If Anunoby doesn’t sign an extension, he could become a free agent in 2024 by turning down a $19.9MM player option.
Joe Wieskamp and the Raptors have reached an agreement to extend the guarantee date for next season’s contract to July 18, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The front office wants to see how he performs during Summer League before committing to another season, adds Murphy, who believes Wieskamp may get a small partial guarantee on the deal for agreeing to the change.

Lakers Guarantee Jarred Vanderbilt’s Full Salary for 2023/24

June 27th, 2023 at 10:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are guaranteeing Jarred Vanderbilt‘s $4,698,000 salary for next season, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets.

Acquired from Utah at the trade deadline, Vanderbilt immediately jumped into the starting lineup and averaged 7.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 26 games after joining the Lakers. He also averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15 postseason contests, including 13 starts.

His contract only had a partial guarantee of $300K for 2023/24. The Lakers had until Friday to decide whether to guarantee his full salary, but there was little doubt they’d want to retain a 24-year-old rotation player at a team-friendly price.

Vanderbilt was included as part of a three-team blockbuster deal involving the Lakers, Jazz and Timberwolves.

He is eligible for a contract extension worth up to four years and a projected $71MM, starting on Sept. 7, per McMenamin.

As our list of early salary guarantee dates shows, the Lakers will also have to make a decision later this week on whether or not to guarantee Mohamed Bamba‘s $10.3MM salary for ’23/24.

Lakers Extend Qualifying Offers To Reaves, Hachimura

June 27th, 2023 at 8:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

As expected, the Lakers have extended qualifying offers to Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, making both players restricted free agents, the team’s PR department tweets.

Reaves qualifying offer will be worth a projected $2,219,706 ($200K above his minimum salary); Hachimura’s QO carries a $7,744,600 price tag.

The Lakers have prioritized re-signing both players, who sparked the team as it reached the Western Conference Finals. Reaves averaged 13.0 points and 3.4 assists in 28.8 minutes during the regular season. His breakthrough campaign continued into the postseason, where he averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 36.2 minutes per night.

Hachimura was acquired from Washington in January. He averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 33 regular-season appearances with the Lakers, then put up 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game during the postseason.

By making the duo restricted free agents, the Lakers can match any offer sheet, and reports in recent weeks have indicated they fully plan to do so.

Rui Hachimura Won't Play In World Cup

June 27th, 2023 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura has decided not play for Japan in this year’s World Cup, according to a press release from Japan Basketball. Hachimura apologized to fans in his home country and called it a “very difficult decision,” but explained that he wants to focus on resolving his contract situation and preparing for the coming NBA season after the Lakers made a deep playoff run this spring.

Hachimura will be a restricted free agent later this week, assuming the Lakers issue him a qualifying offer, which is expected. Although the 25-year-old will have the ability to sign an offer sheet with a rival suitor, reporting in recent weeks has indicated that Los Angeles fully intends to bring him back, either by matching an offer sheet or by directly negotiating a new deal with him.

And-Ones: Mannion, Qualifying Offers, 2024 Draft, D-Lo, Hayward

June 25th, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Warriors guard Nico Mannion is signing with Baskonia in Spain, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets, calling it a done deal. Mannion played the last two seasons in his home country of Italy with Virtus Segafredo Bologna. He played 30 games with Golden State during the 2020/21 season after being drafted in the second round.

Because the Warriors issued a two-way qualifying offer to Mannion in 2021 and again in 2022, they still control his RFA rights in the event that he decides to return to the NBA. That would change if they decide not to extend that QO this year or in a future season.

We have more news from around the basketball world:

Good news for restricted free agents in future seasons — there’s a 10% increase in qualifying offers that teams must make to those players or else they become unrestricted. However, according to Mike Vornukov of The Athletic (Twitter link), it doesn’t apply to restricted free agents this summer — instead, the stipulation in the new CBA begins with this year’s rookie class. In another tweak, offer sheets for future restricted free agents will have a new deadline. If a team that has to make a decision on whether to match an offer sheet receives it before noon ET, that team has until 11:59 p.m. ET the next day to match. If it’s received after 12 p.m. ET, that team has until 11:59 pm ET two days later.
Now that the 2023 draft is behind us, what might the 2024 draft look like? ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo provide an early glimpse of next year’s draft class, doing a mock draft that includes both rounds. They predict G League Ignite guards Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis will be the first players off the board.
With the Lakers drafting Jalen Hood-Schifino, it may decrease the possibility they will try to re-sign free agent D’Angelo Russell, Cydney Henderson of USA Today writes. Gordon Hayward‘s future with the Hornets is very much in doubt with the addition of forward and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller, Henderson also notes.