- One positive for the Lakers in Friday’s preseason opener was backup guard Gabe Vincent, who scored 11 points in 15 minutes. Vincent missed 71 games last year with a knee injury, and he told Lakers Nation this week that he didn’t feel 100% until about a month after the season ended. “Obviously I was healthy enough to come back and compete, but I think it was clear to everybody that I wasn’t really myself even though I was able to impact in certain ways,” Vincent said. “It just wasn’t really what I was proud of producing and I don’t think it’s what this ballclub needed me to produce at the time. So definitely happy to be healthy coming into this season.”
LeBron James and Anthony Davis will make their preseason debuts Sunday night against Phoenix, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Both players were held out of Friday’s loss to Minnesota, with coach J.J. Redick explaining that he didn’t want to risk using them after they played in the Olympics and had a heavy workload at training camp.
“We want to carry over with what we did [Saturday] at practice,” James said. “We were very intent on what we want to accomplish going forward. [Friday] was one of those first games. It’s been a while since a lot of guys have played in a game setting. And it looked that way.”
James had a good vantage point to watch his son, Bronny James in his first game against NBA competition. Bronny scored two points and shot just 1-of-6 from the field, but he led the team with three blocked shots.
“For him, it’s obviously an adjustment,” LeBron said. “Every rank that you climb, it’s always an adjustment to get used to it. When he went to high school, from middle school from high school to USC and now to the pros, it’s always an adjustment to make. The more time he’s out on the floor with pros, the speed, the cadence, you get better and better the more time you put on the floor.
“And you’ve got to think that he lost pretty much a third of last season because of the (heart) condition. But he’s gotten better and better every day. He continues to put the work in. And it’s up to us as the veterans and the guys out here to try to help him, help Dalton (Knecht), help all the young guys to get him better and better every day to help them accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Redick was also encouraged by what he saw from Bronny, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Redick said Bronny has looked good in camp and is “easy to coach.”“He can do some things defensively at his size that are really unique, and I think can turn into a really disruptive defender,” Redick said. “That manifested itself. On the offensive end, he’s still figuring out who he is. That’s our job as a player development program just to build him in.”
- There was a lot of attention on Bronny, but Max Christie made the biggest impact on Friday night, observes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The 21-year-old shooting guard, who signed a four-year, $32MM contract this summer, started the preseason with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks in 34 minutes. He has also become more aggressive defensively — at Redick’s request. “He’s asked me to be kind of that dog on defense, pick up full-court,” Christie said. “I tried to do a little bit of that tonight. There’s a comfort level that I’m going to get a little bit more comfortable with. I haven’t really done that a lot in my career.”
- The Lakers also got an encouraging debut from Knecht, who shot 7-of-13 from the field and tied for the team lead with 16 points, Buha adds. He displayed a quick release on his jumper and was competitive on the defensive end.
Following the offseason departure of Paul George, Clippers star James Harden knows he’ll have an increased workload in 2024/25. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the 35-year-old said he’s in great shape (Twitter video link via Law Murray of The Athletic).
“I’m on pace,” Harden said. “At the start of the season I’m gonna be … in the best shape I’ve been in in five, six, seven years. I don’t really wanna talk, I just wanna go out there and show it. I feel like I’ve been talking too much.”
A 10-time All-Star and former NBA MVP, Harden averaged 16.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 8.5 APG and 1.1 SPG on .428/.381/.878 shooting in 72 games with Los Angeles last season. He re-signed with the Clips on a two-year, $70MM deal over the summer, including a player option for 2025/26.
Here’s more on the two Los Angeles-based teams:
- Clippers forward P.J. Tucker, who exercised his $11.54MM player option for ’24/25 over the summer, was not present for the team’s media day, tweets Murray of The Athletic. It’s unclear if Tucker’s absence was a mutual decision or a sign of a deeper disconnect, but the 39-year-old was unhappy with his limited role last season after being sent to the Clips in the Harden deal. For what it’s worth, Tucker is with the team at its training camp in Hawai’i, Murray notes (via Twitter).
- Kevin Porter Jr. is grateful the Clippers gave him what could be his last chance after he was out of the NBA last season, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Porter reached a plea agreement of a third-degree reckless assault misdemeanor in January after having been originally charged last fall with felony counts of assault and strangulation following an altercation with his former girlfriend in New York. He may still face discipline from the NBA, which is investigating the case. “I’m accountable for whatever comes, the league is going to do what the league does and I’m ready for it,” Porter said. “I’ve been getting ready for this season and nothing else really is going to provoke that.”
- Lakers superstar LeBron James will sit out Friday’s preseason opener vs. Minnesota for rest purposes but is expected to play in Sunday’s contest vs. Phoenix, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James is the oldest player in the league for the second straight season, turning 40 years old in December. James played for Team USA over the summer, helping the Americans win a gold medal at the Olympics in Paris.
- In an interesting feature for ESPN, Ramona Shelburne takes a look at how LeBron’s decision to sign with the Lakers back in 2018 was influenced by the “standard of care” the organization showed during Kobe Bryant‘s final years — and how the team wants to avoid having the end of James’ career play out like Kobe’s did, with the team unable to surround its franchise icon with a roster capable of championship contention. Of course, the current iteration of the Lakers has a much higher floor than the group that won 65 total games in Bryant’s last three NBA seasons, thanks in large part to the fact that LeBron continues to play at such a high level.
- New Lakers head coach J.J. Redick is earning early rave reviews from his players. Rui Hachimura and Bronny James cited the fact that Redick was in the NBA so recently as a key reason why it’s been easy to connect with him (Twitter links via Mike Trudell and McMenamin), while D’Angelo Russell lauded the first-year coach’s “high IQ,” per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
As he prepares for his 22nd NBA season, Lakers star LeBron James appears to be energized by the chance to compete alongside his son, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. After Wednesday’s practice, Anthony Davis detailed a spirited exchange between LeBron and Bronny James during a five-on-five scrimmage.
“It’s fantastic to be able to be here and witness it in practice,” Davis said. “Bronny hit a three over him today. Everybody was talking smack in Bronny’s favor. Then Bron came down and just bullied somebody. Just took it out on (the defender) — I forgot who it was — and got a layup. Bronny came down and hit another three, I think over Austin (Reaves). And Bron wanted the ball. So you could see, even though they weren’t matched up, the competition is there. And that’s what we love to see.”
At age 39, LeBron is coming off a long summer of basketball that culminated with a gold medal for Team USA in Paris. New head coach J.J. Redick has talked to team trainer Mike Mancias about slowly getting LeBron ready for the start of the season, but he declined to divulge any details.
“I think we have a pretty clear plan,” Redick said. “We’ll share that plan when it’s appropriate.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- LeBron believes third-year wing Max Christie is ready to take on a larger role this season, McMenamin adds in another story. A second-round pick in 2022, Christie received a new four-year, $32MM contract this summer. “I think for me it’s kind of just proving myself again,” Christie said. “I haven’t proven too much as a player in this league. I’ve had spurts and sporadic moments where I’ve been really good, but I want to put a whole season together. Hopefully I get the opportunity to do that this year.”
- Redick has to balance his analytical side with his basketball instincts as he adjusts to viewing the game as a coach, observes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Although Davis believes “numbers aren’t anything,” they’re very important to Redick, who wants as much statistical data as he can get. “More information is better,” Redick said. “That’s how I … every person we’ve hired, that’s been a key thing that I’ve told them. ‘Do you want to get in the weeds?’ ‘Yeah, I do want to get in the weeds. Yeah.’ So as much info as possible.”
- General manager Rob Pelinka had a surprisingly quiet summer in terms of personnel moves, but he indicated at a recent press conference that he’s willing to part with future first-round picks to make the Lakers better this season (hat tip to Lake Show Life). “I think the philosophy that J.J. and I are aligned on is: We want to build sustainable Lakers excellence … every lens that we look through has to lead to sustainable Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said. “So the direct answer to your question is: Yes, we would do a trade with both (available first-round draft) picks if that would lead to sustainable Lakers excellence. We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if we felt it was the right thing to do.”
Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard anticipates he’ll be on the court for the team’s regular season opener, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes. Leonard has been dealing with inflammation in his right knee during the offseason. However, Leonard acknowledges knee issues will remain an ongoing concern.
“Everything has been going great for the past month, but being very cautious for reasons in the past we haven’t been able to finish some playoff runs, so making sure we’re staying healthy for those important moments,” he said. “Trying to maintain it and figure it out. We’ll be in here for a long time if I started describing stuff [about the injury and treatment] … but just learning on how it came and how to keep it down and make sure that we don’t fall in that timeframe of [missing time in] those important [late-season] moments and just making sure I’m healthy. There’s certain stuff that we could do or try to do to make me last.”
Leonard, who signed a three-year max extension in January, is encouraged by the fact he played more often last season.
“I played my most games I’ve played in a long time last year,” Leonard said. “Last two years I came back from ACL and been injured and it’s a progression for me. It was successful for us last year. Obviously from a fan base [perspective] or just from my own competitive nature, we didn’t reach a goal [of winning a title]. But in the grand scheme of things and how my body’s been doing it, it was a good year. I went from zero games to 52 to 68. So let’s see if I could keep it going from there.”
We have more on the Los Angeles teams:
- With Paul George signing with the Sixers and Russell Westbrook also out of the picture, the Clippers will lean heavily on 35-year-old James Harden this season. Harden says he’s up to the challenge, Ben Golliver of the Washington Post tweets. “It’s definitely going to involve a lot of me,” Harden said. “There was talk when I was in Houston… ‘You can’t win like that.’ You just saw a guy [Luka Doncic] last season make the Finals playing the same exact way I played.”
- Lakers first-year coach J.J. Redick envisions a nine-man rotation, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. Redick mentioned Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes, Max Christie, Cam Reddish and Jalen Hood-Schifino as some of the candidates for bench rotation spots.
- Redick and his staff are already receiving compliments from the players, according to Buha. “I just think the whole structure and foundation these coaches have brought in for us is a great start,” Austin Reaves said. “Because I feel like a lot of times last year we won games off talent. And when you have talent around structure, then you have the opportunity to do something really special.” Christie said Redick has gone to great lengths to explain his philosophy: “J.J. has done a really good job, I think, to start. Definitely imposing himself as a coach. … I think he’s done a really good job kind of explaining what our offensive identity, defensive identity and so on is going to be.”
LeBron James is feeling optimistic about the Lakers while entering his record-tying 22nd year in the NBA, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.
“I feel damn good,” James said Monday. “I had a great summer. … I feel really good physically. Mentally, I feel really good. Really sharp. Very fresh. Looking forward to getting to work tomorrow. I have not thought about what the future holds. Kind of just living in the moment. Especially with Bronny (James) being here, too. I don’t want to take this moment for granted.”
James expressed gratitude for the chance to play for Team USA this summer and enjoyed the fact that several games went down to the wire, which he likened to playoff Game Sevens. Even though it’s unclear for exactly how much longer James will play, he showed no signs on Monday of wanting to slow down.
“It felt great to play meaningful basketball,” James said. “To go out there at my age, the miles that I have, and to be able to play at the level I played at, it gave me even more of a sense of, ‘OK, I do have a lot in the tank. A lot.’ And I can help a big part of a team win the ultimate and whatever — if it’s gold, or if it’s a Larry O’Brien Trophy, or whatever the case may be, I can still get it done.”
We have more from the Lakers:
- D’Angelo Russell had an up-and-down season in 2023/24. His scoring average was his best in a Lakers uniform and he made a career-high 41.5% of his three-point attempts (7.2 per game). However, his averages and efficiency plummeted in the playoffs and McMenamin writes that he butted heads with former head coach Darvin Ham at times. Russell addressed his season on Monday. “I think for me, honestly, I really want to apologize in the sense of showing a lack of professionalism at times,” Russell said. “Showing a lack of team-first perception at times. So for me, just keeping that maturity and that professionalism throughout the year no matter the ups and downs. Holding myself more accountable on the defensive end.“
- Head coach J.J. Redick is encouraging Anthony Davis to shoot more threes this season, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register writes. Davis averaged a career-high 3.5 attempts per game in his first season with the Lakers in 2019/20, but that average has declined in each subsequent season. “Even [in] the Olympics when I [made] a three, he’ll text me ‘That’s what I wanna see,’ things like that,” Davis said. “So for him, it’s definitely gonna be just shooting more threes.”
- Lakers center Christian Wood, who is recovering from knee surgery, thinks he has about two weeks left of rehab from injury and then two weeks of ramp-up before being able to play, McMenamin reports (Twitter link). Wood played in 50 games last season for L.A., averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.
- The Lakers almost traded with New Orleans for Redick early on in LeBron’s L.A. tenure, McMenamin writes in a separate story. James has long admired Redick, who later became his podcast co-host. When the Lakers job opened up, James and Redick got on the same page quickly before the latter was hired. “I wanted the Lakers, as a player and as a fan of the franchise, to be able to hire the coach that should be there,” James said. “Not only as I’m finishing my career, but long after I’m gone because there’s been so many guys in that seat over the last few years. And to be able to find someone that could be stable in that position is very key for any franchise. And for me to be a part of a legacy franchise, I feel like that was important.“
Among the noteworthy developments revealed during the press conferences held by Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone on Thursday was that the team is open to adding a 3-point shooter by the trade deadline, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.
“We are riding a fine line with our shooting when you have Russell Westbrook, Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson all in your rotation,” Booth said. “And I think Christian (Braun) should be left out of that conversation when he shoots 42.9% above the break last year. But it is gonna be a fine line. It’s something we have to monitor. If we need to address our shooting at the trade deadline, we’ll do it.”
Another interesting tidbit is that Westbrook wasn’t mentioned as a potential starter, but he could be in the closing lineup.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Clippers have plenty of concerns heading into training camp, among them Kawhi Leonard‘s health status and whether James Harden can take an even bigger role at age 35 after the departures of Paul George and Westbrook. The Orange County Register’s Janis Carr explores five major storylines for the club.
- The five-storyline motif was also the subject of Khobi Price’s preview of Lakers camp for the Register. Among the topics he dove into were Anthony Davis‘ usage, Jarred Vanderbilt‘s injury status and first-rounder Dalton Knecht‘s role.
- Former NBA guard Jodie Meeks has been added to the Pelicans’ coaching staff, according to a team press release. The Pelicans announced a number of other staff additions and promotions. Former WNBA star Swin Cash has been promoted to senior VP of basketball operations and Rohan Ramadas has been elevated to senior director of analytics and innovation. New Orleans also officially announced Dan Geriot as an assistant coach and Greg Monroe as a player development assistant.
- The Lakers intend to hire Vanessa Brooks to be their new head athletic trainer and senior physical therapist, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooks had been with the Thunder since 2019.
Although he had made 94 starts across eight NBA seasons prior to 2023/24, last season was Tyus Jones‘ first as a full-timer in that role — he started all 66 games he played for the Wizards. That sample size is good enough for new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, who tells Steve Aschburner of NBA.com that Jones has “established himself as a great starting point guard in our league” and that the plan is for the veteran to be in Phoenix’s starting five to open the 2024/25 season.
“When you put him out there with Kevin (Durant), Brad (Beal), Book (Devin Booker) and Nurk (Jusuf Nurkic), we feel like we’ve got a strong starting five,” Budenholzer said, confirming what he expects his initial starting group to look like. “And a really strong bench behind them.
“Tyus can help us play faster. He’s great with the kick-aheads, he’s great with getting teammates involved in transition. But then also in the half-court. He’s a guy who has always been a high assists guy, low turnovers. He can get us organized. Everyone talks about how much talent we have. Hopefully he can put them in positions to be their best.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Frank Kaminsky‘s new non-guaranteed deal with the Suns offers him no assurances for the regular season, but he’s still excited to be back with the organization after having worked out at the team’s practice facility in recent weeks, he tells Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. “I love it here,” the veteran big man said. “There’s no other way I can describe it. There’s just such a level of love and comfort that I have living here, being here. I’ve built a nice community here, have great friends — everything here is set up well for me. And that’s why when the camp deal started getting talked about, it’s the one I wanted, just because I love being here.”
- This week’s revelation that Kawhi Leonard underwent another knee procedure in the offseason and will be limited in training camp is an ominous one for the Clippers, but president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank attempted to downplay concerns about the star forward’s status, writes Anthony De Leon of The Los Angeles Times. “It’s almost gone,” Frank said of the swelling in Leonard’s knee. “He wants to participate in everything during training camp, but we’re going to hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening.” The goal, Frank added, is “to get him to 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
- New Clippers guard Kevin Porter Jr. will be allowed to take part in team activities during training camp while the NBA continues to investigate the domestic incident that occurred last September, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Porter reached a plea agreement of a third-degree reckless assault misdemeanor in January, but wasn’t in the NBA at that time and may still face a suspension from the league.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report reads between the lines of Rob Pelinka‘s and JJ Redick‘s comments to reporters at the Lakers‘ pre-camp press conference on Wednesday, sharing 10 observations about what the team’s head of basketball operations and new head coach had to say.
Addressing the media alongside head coach JJ Redick on Wednesday, Lakers executive VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said it will take about 30 or so games to properly evaluate the team’s 2024/25 roster.
The Lakers only added four outside players this offseason, bringing in Dalton Knecht and Bronny James via the draft and adding two-way players Armel Traore and Christian Koloko. The team will primarily be banking on good health luck and internal improvement to take a step forward in the Western Conference hierarchy.
“We believe in this group,” Pelinka said according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
The Lakers were in rumors revolving around Hawks guard Trae Young and other big names toward the start of the offseason, but didn’t end up pulling the trigger. If they did decide to swing for a star or role player down the line, their 2029 and 2031 first-round picks would be highly coveted.
“We would do a trade with both picks if that leads to sustainable Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said, per Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina (Twitter link). “We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if we felt that was the right thing to do.”
Here are a few of the more interesting comments from Pelinka and Redick from today’s presser:
- Jarred Vanderbilt underwent procedures on each of his feet this offseason, tweets The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. Pelinka said both operations were successful and he’s optimistic the forward will be ready for the start of the season. According to Pelinka, the surgeries happened at the beginning of the Lakers’ offseason. Vanderbilt had a bone spur in one foot and the doctor recommended going ahead and cleaning up the other foot since he was missing time anyways (Twitter link via Buha).
- According to Pelinka, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino have all been cleared to participate in training camp (Twitter link via Buha). Hachimura didn’t miss much time last season, but Vincent and Hood-Schifino combined to play in just 32 games. The Lakers paid $33MM over three seasons to Vincent last year but he was limited to 11 appearances due to a knee injury. He’ll likely be relied on more this coming season.
- Redick says he’s spoken to D’Angelo Russell more than any other Lakers player. His message to the guard, according to McMenamin (Twitter link), has been “Let’s put you in position to have a career year.” Russell averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists per game last year while making 41.5% of his three-point attempts.
- Redick said he and his staff have already discussed the moment that LeBron James and Bronny James will first share the court in the regular season, McMenamin tweets. Redick will involve both players in the process, but doesn’t view coaching the pair as a challenge.
- Pelinka said he thinks new two-way center Christian Koloko will be cleared by the NBA’s Fitness-to-Play Panel sooner rather than later, according to The Orange County Register’s Khobi Price (Twitter link). Koloko missed all of last season due to career-threatening blood clots.