- Within a larger story about the Timberwolves‘ duo of Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports looks back at how the trade deadline blockbuster involving the Wolves, Lakers, and Jazz came together, noting that Utah significantly dropped its asking price for taking back Russell Westbrook as the deadline neared. While those negotiations initially involved just the Jazz and Lakers, they expanded to include Minnesota in part because “some factions” of the Lakers’ front office preferred to acquire a point guard younger than Conley and zeroed in on D’Angelo Russell, Fischer writes.
Lakers big man Anthony Davis and Nets wing Mikal Bridges have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter).
Davis, the Western Conference’s winner, averaged 38.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 2.0 blocks on .652/.333/.806 shooting in leading the Lakers to a 3-0 record last week. After winning six of seven, L.A. is currently 40-38, the No. 7 seed in the West.
Bridges, the East’s winner, averaged 33.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals on .500/.455/.885 shooting last week as the Nets went 3-0. Brooklyn is close to locking up the No. 6 seed and a guaranteed playoff spot, currently sitting with a 43-35 record and a two-game lead (and the tiebreaker) on the No. 7 Heat.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Brandon Ingram and Domantas Sabonis, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were nominated in the East.
- LeBron James believes the Lakers feel like a title contender after picking up the 10th win in their last 14 games on Sunday night, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. was able to shake up its roster at the trade deadline, then survived James’ absence due to a torn tendon in his right foot. “Even when I was out for the four weeks, I liked what we’ve been building, and I’m happy to be back in the mix,” he said.
Jazz big man Walker Kessler, one of the league’s top rookies, is being evaluated for a concussion, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News reports.
Kessler was elbowed by teammate Talen Horton-Tucker as Horton-Tucker drove to the basket, causing Kessler to fall backward. The play occurred during the third quarter of Utah’s loss at Brooklyn on Sunday.
“Kind of a weird play on a rebound,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “The docs looked at him tonight, didn’t want (him) to come back in the game, so he’ll be reevaluated (Monday).”
We have more injury-related updates:
- Nuggets big man and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic missed his third consecutive game on Sunday due to right calf tightness, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets.
- Kings guard Malik Monk didn’t play on Sunday after getting injured during warmups. He experienced mild lower left leg muscle soreness, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets.
- Bucks swingman Grayson Allen departed early on Sunday due to a right ankle sprain, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Left foot soreness sidelined Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell for the second half of the team’s game against Houston, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. Coach Darvin Ham said the move was precautionary and Russell could have played the second half, if needed.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard played his first back-to-back since April 2021 over the weekend and his body held up well. He played 59 total minutes across the two games and didn’t have any issues, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
“We’ll see how I feel (Sunday) but right now I feel pretty good,” he said.
Leonard had 40 points against New Orleans but the Clippers still suffered their second straight loss.
We have more from the Los Angeles teams:
- Eric Gordon missed Saturday’s game, but the Clippers don’t seem too concerned about his hip injury, Greif adds in another tweet. The Clippers don’t play again until Wednesday, giving Gordon extra time to recover.
- The Clippers entered Sunday with a tenuous hold on the sixth spot in the Western Conference, which would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament. They have a showdown with the Lakers, one of the teams breathing down their necks, in their next outing. “We got a big game coming up on Wednesday,” coach Tyronn Lue told Law Murray of The Athletic and other media members. “It’s a big, big game for us. (Saturday) was a big game for us, but now losing tonight makes Wednesday’s game even bigger.”
- The Lakers had won five of their last six games heading into Sunday’s contest against Houston. Anthony Davis posted back-to-back 38-point games in their last two outings despite a scary looking ankle injury, which was determined not to be serious. Davis believes the reconfigured Lakers are poised to make a deep playoff run, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. “I think we’ve got everything we need. It’s just about going out and applying it,” Davis said. “We can definitely make a run. We’ve got all the right pieces from top to bottom.”
With just one week left in the NBA’s regular season, there are still a number of teams around the league with open roster spots, and there’s little downside to filling those openings before the regular season ends.
For playoff teams, adding one more player would create a little extra depth in the event of postseason injuries or garbage-time minutes. For non-playoff teams, it makes sense to try to convince a young player to accept a multiyear deal that includes little or no guaranteed money beyond this season, since it gives those teams another option for next year’s roster.
Even clubs over the luxury tax line or right up against it shouldn’t have a problem paying one more player a prorated minimum salary for the last day or two of the season — the prorated minimum for a veteran on a rest-of-season deal is just $10,552 per day, which is a drop in the bucket for NBA franchises.
With all that in mind, it’s safe to assume that some – if not all – of the teams with open roster spots should fill them by next Sunday. Here are those teams:
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets *
- Charlotte Hornets *
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- New York Knicks
- Phoenix Suns ^
- Utah Jazz #
The two teams marked with an asterisk (*) here technically have full 15-man rosters as of today, but one of their players is on a 10-day contract. That’s Moses Brown for the Nets and Xavier Sneed for the Hornets. Both of those contracts run through Thursday night before expiring, so Brooklyn and Charlotte will have the opportunity to sign a player to a rest-of-season or multiyear deal at that time.
The Suns (^) have a full 15-man standard roster but have an open two-way contract slot alongside Saben Lee. It’s possible Phoenix won’t bother signing someone to fill that opening, since two-way players aren’t eligible to play in the postseason and the Suns don’t have a G League affiliate (the NBAGL season is just about over anyway).
As for the Jazz (#), they currently have one open spot on their 15-man standard roster and will open up a second when Luka Samanic‘s 10-day contract expires on Thursday night. So Utah could technically bring in two new players before season’s end without waiving anyone.
The rest of the teams on this list – the Celtics, Rockets, Lakers, and Knicks – are carrying 14 players on standard contracts, leaving one spot available.
Boston and New York are postseason-bound and L.A. is in good position to join them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean each of those teams will sign a “win-now” veteran as a 15th man. They already have enough depth on their respective rosters that they may prefer to promote a player from the G League on a multiyear deal, assuming they decide to fill those openings at all. Boston and L.A. are taxpayers, so a signing would cost them a little more than just $10,552 per day.
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents during the 2023 offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Lakers players.
Note: We also covered a couple other Lakers earlier this month.
Dennis Schröder, G
- 2022/23: Minimum salary
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Up
Before the 2022/23 season started, Schröder said he had “unfinished business” with the Lakers after reportedly being unwilling to discuss a lucrative extension in his first stint with the team a couple of seasons ago. The rumored four-year, $80MM offer was never signed, and Schröder instead inked a one-year, $5.9MM contract with Boston in 2021 free agency.
Despite a tepid market in ’21, I was surprised it took Schröder so long to find a team last offseason. He didn’t sign until September, when he was running the show for Germany during EuroBasket, helping lead his national team to a bronze medal.
A reunion with the Lakers has worked out well for both sides, as Schröder has been one of the league’s better bargains on his minimum-salary contract.
The Lakers had an abysmal start this season in part due to injuries to Schröder and Thomas Bryant, who both underwent thumb surgeries right before the season began. The team went just 3-10 in the 13 games they missed (Bryant was traded to Denver at last month’s deadline).
Since he returned, Schröder has only missed one game and the Lakers have gone 34-28 with him in the lineup. He leads L.A. in total minutes played and the team has been better on both ends of the court when he’s playing — and significantly worse when he’s not. He only trails LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves in net rating differential among players with a large sample size.
I’ve been impressed with Schröder’s point-of-attack defense this season. He has also cut down on his turnovers and has generally just been willing to do the little things necessary to win games. He’s not a great three-point shooter (33.8%), but he remains extremely quick and is a very good ball-handler who can create shots and draw fouls. Schröder is also highly accurate on free throws, converting 87% of his looks this season – an important factor when trying to close out games.
The Lakers only have his Non-Bird rights, so they will be limited to offering the 29-year-old 120% of the veteran’s minimum, which would amount to $3.8MM. If the two sides go that route, it would almost certainly be a one-year deal or a two-year pact with a player option. That would give him Early Bird rights in 2024 and make it easier for the Lakers to give him a more lucrative longer-term contract, if they’re so inclined. They could also give him a bigger raise this summer by using one of their exceptions (either the bi-annual or the mid-level).
Rui Hachimura, F
- 2022/23: $6.26MM
- 2023/24: RFA
- Stock: Down
When the Lakers traded three second-rounders (and Kendrick Nunn) to acquire Hachimura, I don’t think they envisioned him averaging 9.2 points and playing just 22.3 minutes per night, but that’s what he’s put up through 27 games.
The former lottery pick is a talented mid-range scorer, but he’s sort of a one-trick pony in that his game isn’t very well-rounded. His three-point accuracy (33.9%) has been virtually identical to what it was with the Wizards this season (33.7%), which is disappointing.
Hachimura has looked better on defense than I’ve seen in the past, but it’s still merely passable, and he doesn’t always play with a lot of energy. His role has been reduced of late, as he received one healthy scratch and averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG in the six contests (16.0 MPG) he did play over the past seven games.
Hachimura’s $7,744,600 qualifying offer isn’t prohibitive, and he’s only 25 years old. Are the Lakers really gung-ho about bringing him back? Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see a huge market for him in restricted free agency based on his relative lack of development over his first four NBA seasons. One report said he might get something around the full mid-level exception, which is projected to start at $11.37MM — I would wish him luck and let him walk at that price.
Troy Brown, G/F
- 2022/23: Minimum salary
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Up
There’s nothing about Brown’s game that really jumps out at you, nor do his modest numbers — he’s averaging 7.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.2 APG in 70 games (45 starts, 24.9 MPG).
What Brown provides is prototypical size on the wing at 6’6″ and 215 pounds and a strong understanding of the game. He can do a little bit of everything, but doesn’t stand out in any one particular area. The 23-year-old is shooting a career-high 37.3% from deep, tries hard on defense, and is an unselfish passer.
Despite giving forth solid effort, Brown isn’t the greatest athlete by NBA standards, and is only around league average on defense. He hasn’t been much of a scoring threat, but the Lakers only really ask him to shoot when he’s open.
As with Schröder, Brown is another player the Lakers added on a minimum deal last summer, so unless they use one of their exceptions, they can only offer him 120% of the minimum using his Non-Bird rights – that would be about $2.77MM.
Could he get more than that from another team? I think something in the $3-6MM range could be in play, but I’m not sure. Either way, he has provided positive value considering his compensation this season, and I would imagine there’s motivation from both sides to bring him back – he’s getting regular minutes, which wasn’t the case the past couple seasons.
Malik Beasley, G/F
- 2022/23: $15.49MM
- 2023/24: $16.52MM team option
- Stock: Down
Beasley is a long-range shooting specialist and the Lakers rank just 26th in the league in three-point percentage, which is why they traded for him. The problem is, he’s only shooting 35.6% from deep in 2022/23 (34.7% in 20 games with the Lakers), which is his worst conversion rate since he became a rotation regular in ‘18/19.
The 26-year-old is extremely streaky, and perhaps more than any other player on the team’s roster, he was negatively impacted by James’ absence due to a foot injury. LeBron has always been great at finding open shooters and Beasley has by far the best track record on the team as a high-volume outside shooter, despite his down season and inconsistency.
Free agents D’Angelo Russell and Reaves will likely higher on the team’s priority list this offseason than Beasley, and they won’t be cheap. However, it’s convenient to have mid-size contracts like Beasley’s on the roster, and his specialty is certainly more valuable than Hachimura’s.
How Beasley fares for the rest of the season will likely determine whether the Lakers exercise their team option on his deal, because it’s a hefty price tag considering he doesn’t provide a whole lot else beyond shooting and floor spacing. One report indicated the Lakers were likely to pick the option. They could potentially bring him back at a lower annual cost if they decline it, though there’s always a risk another team could swoop in with a better offer in that scenario.
Nicolas Batum is replacing Marcus Morris as the Clippers‘ starting forward and will stay in the role for the rest of the season, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.
“It was nothing that Marcus did wrong, just trying something different,” Lue said. “And when you’re not playing well, you want to try something different, and Marcus was all for it. We have to sacrifice if we want to win at a high level.”
As Greif writes, there’s less clarity about who will back up Batum. Morris and Robert Covington are the two primary options, and Lue was noncommittal on which player might have the edge. At least for the immediate future, Covington should receive playing time, as Morris has entered the league’s health and safety protocols and has been ruled out of Wednesday’s game in Memphis (Twitter link via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk).
Here’s more on the two Los Angeles-based teams:
- Clippers guard Norman Powell, who is questionable for Wednesday’s contest after missing the past 11 games with a left shoulder subluxation, will be reinserted into the rotation once he returns, Greif writes in the same piece. “We need him back. We need his juice. We need his scoring,” Lue said of Powell.
- Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (hip) and big man Anthony Davis (foot) are probable to play in Wednesday’s game at Chicago, tweets Mark Medina of NBA.com. Forward LeBron James (foot) is questionable. Russell missed the past two games with his injury, while James just returned Sunday after a 13-game absence.
- Guard Dennis Schröder, who is playing on a veteran’s minimum contract in his second stint with the Lakers, has provided a valuable spark all season long, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “It’s a lot of energy, man. He plays with such a good passion. He’s energetic,” Davis said. “That’s how he plays, he’s scrappy and he saves a fastbreak, comes back down and draws a foul. He’s kind of another spark. Got the crowd into it. But that’s Dennis. That’s how he plays. … He’s leaving it all on the floor. Everyone is. I mean, the position that we’re in, you got to be able to leave it all on the floor, give 110%. And he’s giving like 150. He’s leaving it all on the floor, laying everything out on the line for us to get a win. And it’s contagious.”
- Mirjam Swanson of the Southern California News Group is skeptical the Clippers and Lakers can make deep playoff runs in the West, noting that injuries have played a role in the two teams’ inconsistency. She believes the Nuggets, Grizzlies and even the Kings should be favored over the two L.A. teams due to their continuity.
LeBron James had 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes during his return to action on Sunday, but the Lakers lost 118-108 to Chicago. James said if he had listened to some medical experts, he would have been shut down for the season, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha (Twitter links).
James, who missed 13 consecutive games, said he tore a tendon in his right foot — an injury that typically takes longer than just four weeks of recovery. Doctors told him he healed from the injury faster than they’ve ever seen. The Lakers superstar got recommendations from two doctors to undergo season-ending surgery, but he went to see the “LeBron James of feet,” who helped to get him back on the court.
Lakers All-Star small forward LeBron James will make his first appearance in a month on Sunday afternoon against the Bulls, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
James had been on the shelf since suffering a right foot tendon injury against the Mavericks in late February. He has missed 27 games for the Lakers thus far this season, and had been sidelined for the past 13 straight. When he has played, he’s looked more or less like vintage LeBron, at least on offense. He’s averaging 29.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 6.9 APG and 0.9 SPG.
It had been previously reported that James would test his right foot during team warmups ahead of today’s contest to ultimately determine whether or not he would suit up for Los Angeles.
James will come off the bench today for just the second time in his 20-year NBA career, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (via Twitter). Troy Brown Jr., who has proven himself as a capable starter in his stead, will get the nod once again as LeBron gets back up to speed. One would assume it’s only a matter of time until James reclaims his starting spot.
McMenamin tweets that starting L.A. point guard D’Angelo Russell will miss his second straight game with right hip soreness.