- D’Angelo Russell was hoping to return from a sprained right ankle on Sunday, but the Lakers have already ruled him out, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Russell, who has played in just four games since being acquired at the trade deadline, was able to scrimmage this week.
Lakers superstar LeBron James has been diagnosed with a tendon injury in his right foot and will be reevaluated in about three weeks, the team announced (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
Even if his reevaluation goes well in a few weeks and he’s medically cleared, it seems safe to say that James will need some time to ramp up his conditioning. If he were to return to the lineup in exactly three weeks, the Lakers would have nine games remaining on their schedule.
This is the first official update the Lakers have given since reports surfaced on Monday that James could be out multiple weeks. He suffered the injury during Sunday’s game against Dallas, in which the Lakers rallied from a 27-point deficit to pull out a 111-108 win, with James scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter despite being injured.
“It’s been better,” James said after the game. “That’s for sure. But I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game out tonight. Just understood the importance of the game, and then with the momentum that we had, I felt like we could still win after being down. We’ll monitor it the next couple days, see how it feels and go from there.”
James reportedly will not require surgery for the injury. He was spotted wearing a walking boot and moving “gingerly” during the Lakers’ loss in Memphis on Tuesday night, but returned to L.A. and was away from the team during Wednesday’s victory in Oklahoma City.
If there is one silver lining to James’ absence it’s that the Lakers have the third-easiest remaining schedule of any team, according to Tankathon. As Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times tweets, over the next three weeks, the Lakers have a five-game homestand against Minnesota, Golden State, Memphis, Toronto and New York, followed by road games in New Orleans and Houston, then another homestand versus Dallas, Orlando and Phoenix.
The 38-year-old has been limited to 47 games this season, but continues to play at a very high level, averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 36.1 minutes per night. James became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader last month and was named to his 19th All-Star team, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for another league record.
At 30-33, the Lakers are currently the No. 11 seed in the West. However, the standings are so close they only trail the No. 5 seed Clippers by 2.5 games.
- Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell continues to be hampered by a sprained right ankle. He told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he will miss Friday’s game versus Minnesota, his fourth consecutive absence (Twitter link). When asked if he could potentially play Sunday against Golden State, Russell wasn’t sure. “We’ll see once we get through Friday,” he said.
LeBron James won’t need surgery on his injured right foot, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
The Lakers haven’t released many details about James’ condition since he suffered the injury during Sunday’s game in Dallas. He is reportedly seeking multiple medical opinions on how to proceed and will be reevaluated in two weeks.
By avoiding surgery, the 38-year-old star still has a chance to return for part of the regular season and the postseason if L.A. is able to qualify. He has been limited to 47 games this season, but continues to play at a very high level, averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 rebounds in 36.1 minutes per night.
James was wearing a walking boot and moving “gingerly” during the Lakers’ game at Memphis on Tuesday night, according to a TMZ Sports report. James posted an Instagram image of his injured foot on Monday.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said star big man Anthony Davis was held out of Wednesday’s game in Oklahoma City for precautionary reasons and it had been planned for “weeks,” writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.
“He’s frustrated as hell,” Ham said of Davis. “He wants to be out there, but he also understands the process of us managing his foot the right way. And again … it’s a stress reaction, so anything could set that thing off. The more stress you put on it, the more it’s gonna react. I’m not saying it flared up or anything. He’s absolutely playing pain-free. It’s just something we’re monitoring that we want to be extra careful and cautious about.”
The Lakers were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, so that likely played a significant factor in the team’s thinking. Point guard Dennis Schröder, who was starting in place of the injured D’Angelo Russell (right ankle sprain), sprained his left ankle on Wednesday night, but he had the ankle retaped and was able to return to the game, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group (Twitter links).
Schröder had called Wednesday’s matchup with the Thunder a “must-win” game, per Goon (via Twitter), and he toughed out the injury and finished with a game-high 26 points, six assists, two steals and was plus-16 in the six-point victory.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Magic big man Jonathan Isaac missed his third straight game on Wednesday night with a right hamstring/adductor strain, but he did rejoin the team in Milwaukee and was able to go through parts of Tuesday’s practice, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link). Price reports that the Magic are “operating with an abundance of caution” due to the amount of time Isaac has missed the past few years. The 25-year-old has played 11 games thus far in ’22/23.
- Sixers star Joel Embiid was ruled out of Wednesday’s game in Miami due to left foot soreness, tweets Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. Despite missing their best player, the Sixers trounced the Heat by 25 points. It’s worth noting that it was the front end of a back-to-back, so the Sixers were likely just being cautious with Embiid; they play in Dallas on Thursday.
- Anfernee Simons returned to the Trail Blazers‘ starting lineup on Wednesday night, the team announced (via Twitter). The fifth-year guard was dealing with a Grade 2 right ankle sprain, but he returned to action fairly quickly; he was technically out 15 days, but only missed three games due to the All-Star break.
- Spurs guard/forward Devin Vassell is listed as probable for Thursday’s home game against Indiana, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Vassell has been sidelined since January 2 after undergoing a left knee procedure. His potential return was anticipated, as coach Gregg Popovich previously said the team was hoping he would return on Thursday.
With LeBron James expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Lakers need the version of Anthony Davis they got in the bubble in 2020, who can “single-handedly change games on the defensive end,” writes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Although the Lakers lost in Memphis on Tuesday, they got Davis at his best in that game, according to Mannix, who points to the big man’s stat line (28 points, 19 rebounds, and five blocks) as one he’ll have to replicate a few more times if Los Angeles is going to move up the standings and clinch a play-in or playoff spot.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Davis won’t be available in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night. As Mannix relays (via Twitter), the team announced today that Davis (right foot stress injury) will join James and D’Angelo Russell (right ankle sprain) on the sidelines, leaving L.A. shorthanded in a crucial game. The Thunder will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols this week.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- The Lakers certainly aren’t throwing in the towel following James’ injury diagnosis. Head coach Darvin Ham said on Tuesday that the team remains focused on winning enough games to claim at least a play-in spot and ideally a top-six seed in the West. “The mission hasn’t changed for us, so the goal of securing a playoff spot is still very much alive,” Ham said, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. “It’s unfortunate that ‘Bron went down, but injuries are a real part of our sport and it’s next man up. You got to step up and hold down the fort until he returns.”
- The Kings got good news on Tuesday night, as the MRI on De’Aaron Fox‘s sore left wrist revealed no significant damage, according to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Fox, who was out for Tuesday’s game, is day-to-day and Sacramento is optimistic that he won’t miss much – if any – more time.
- The Clippers have lost three consecutive games since the All-Star break and are still trying to figure out how to best use their recently added veterans, including point guard Russell Westbrook, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. As Greif outlines, Eric Gordon, Norman Powell, and Terance Mann are among the players whose roles still need to be sorted out, and head coach Tyronn Lue will have to determine whether to continue starting Marcus Morris, who has struggled as of late and played just 21 minutes in Tuesday’s loss. “We definitely do feel that we have the deepest team,” Gordon said, “but … the chemistry has to be there.”
This is the fourth entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2022/23 season. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a blockbuster deal between the Jazz, Lakers and Timberwolves.
On February 9, the Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt; the Jazz acquired Russell Westbrook, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson and the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick (top-four protected); and the Timberwolves acquired Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and three second-round picks (one from L.A., two from Utah).
Notes: Westbrook subsequently reached a buyout agreement with the Jazz and signed with the Clippers. All three teams involved in this deal generated traded player exceptions, which can be found right here.
The Jazz’s perspective:
The Jazz weren’t invested in continuing the season with their current roster, despite a surprisingly fun ride in a year that they were expected to be at the bottom of the standings.
The move opened up playing time for Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker, three young players who had been in and out of the lineup (Sexton has been a rotation regular, but he’s dealt with injuries – this deal moved him into the starting lineup). Vanderbilt had already been moved to the bench due to the emergence of Walker Kessler, and the two were an awkward fit together offensively because neither is much of a threat to shoot (Vanderbilt compensates for his lack of shooting somewhat by being a good passer and ball-handler for a power forward).
Many fans think the Jazz “lost” this deal. That perception seems to stem from two things: the Lakers only giving up one first-rounder, when it was assumed they’d have to move off one just to trade Westbrook’s $47.1MM expiring salary, and the Jazz’s asking prices not being met.
The Jazz were reportedly looking for first-round picks for all three of Conley, Beasley and Vanderbilt. But that was never a realistic expectation.
Based on the structure of the deal, it’s pretty clear the Jazz were motivated to move off Conley’s contract for ‘23/24, which is partially guaranteed at $14.32MM ($24.36MM base salary), and didn’t at all mind adding Westbrook’s expiring deal to do it (it’s worth noting that the Jazz did add Jones’ $2.6MM player option for next season, which will almost certainly be exercised; Toscano-Anderson is on an expiring minimum-salary deal). I viewed Conley’s contract as having negative value leading up to the trade deadline, as he’ll turn 36 years old next season and has already declined on both ends of the court, particularly defensively.
Beasley provides something that every team wants: high volume 3-point shooting. However, he’s a very streaky shooter, and doesn’t offer a ton in other areas. He makes $15.56MM this season with a $16.52MM team option for ‘23/24. I thought Beasley had slightly positive value, but nothing special – maybe a heavily-protected first-round pick or a few seconds.
Vanderbilt was the player who had the most value of the three, in my opinion, due to his age (23), rate of improvement, versatility, strong defense, and team-friendly contract – he makes $4.37MM this season and $4.7MM in ‘23/24 (only partially guaranteed at $300K). I thought Utah could get a late first-rounder this season or a lottery-protected first in the future for him.
In aggregate, that’s one player with solid value, one with slightly positive value, and one with negative. Not a ton of overall value despite the three being rotation players for a decent team.
Obviously, the Jazz highly valued the lightly protected pick from the Lakers. Even in a scenario where the Lakers have the worst record in ’26/27 (they probably won’t, but you never know), there would still be a 47.9% chance the pick lands at fifth overall and goes to Utah. The major downside – and the upside for the Lakers – is if it does fall in the top four, the Jazz only receive the Lakers’ 2027 second-rounder.
Another factor in this trade from Utah’s side of things that I thought was interesting is also pretty cynical. If the Jazz believe Minnesota going from Russell to Conley is a downgrade — and it is at this point in their careers, which is why the Wolves got second-rounders back — then that increases the odds of the Wolves missing the playoffs. In that scenario, the Jazz would get a lottery pick in 2023 (they control Minnesota’s pick due to the Rudy Gobert trade).
They could also reasonably view the deal as a short-term upgrade for the Lakers, which would increase L.A.’s odds of passing Minnesota and Utah in the standings, and thus increase the odds of the Jazz controlling two lottery picks. For the rest of the season, the better the Lakers do and the worse the Wolves and Jazz do, the better it is for the Jazz as far as those first-rounders go.
The Jazz held out for a long time to get the best deal they could. This turned out to be it.
The Lakers’ perspective:
I think the Lakers made out well in this deal, but it did reduce their draft arsenal to go for a star in the future (that may or may not have been realistic). Still, they upgraded their roster, got younger, and the players make sense for what they need.
Los Angeles replaced one player who was a poor fit and two little-used reserves for three potential starters; at worst they’re rotation regulars. None of the outgoing players were shooters, and they picked up a couple pretty good ones.
Russell, 27, is having a strong year from an efficiency standpoint, shooting career highs from all over the court (54.3% on twos, 38.9% on threes, 85.0% from the line). However, he is not a great rebounder or defender, and his decision-making can be questionable as a lead ball-handler.
That’s less of a concern with the Lakers, as he can play alongside James and/or Dennis Schroder. That allows Russell to function both on and off the ball, which is ideal for his skill set. Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle in his fourth game back with Los Angeles, but the injury isn’t considered a long-term concern.
As I’ve mentioned previously, Beasley is a feast-or-famine type shooter who can go off at any given time. It’s a bit of roller coaster ride watching him from game-to-game because you never know if he’s going to be on that day or not, and he doesn’t stop shooting even if he’s off.
While he doesn’t provide a whole lot else, opponents treat the 26-year-old like a sharpshooter who has to be accounted for at all times, and that creates space for teammates. The Lakers didn’t have anyone like that on the roster before the deal, even if Beasley is more of a very willing good shooter than a great one.
Vanderbilt is the player I think fans will be most excited about of the three, despite being the least well known. He brings a much-needed infusion of speed, length, defensive versatility, hustle and rebounding the team has lacked all season.
Still just 23 years old, Vanderbilt instantly becomes the best wing defender the Lakers have had since they decided not to re-sign Alex Caruso in 2021 free agency. His energy is infectious and can swing the tide of games – he was absolutely instrumental in the team’s huge comeback victory over Dallas on Sunday.
The three players were teammates on the Wolves from 2020-22, so they already have some built-in chemistry (strangely, Beasley and Vanderbilt have now been packaged together in three separate trades). Only Vanderbilt has a small partial guarantee for next season, which gives the Lakers the flexibility to move on from any of them in the offseason, though I think that’s unlikely.
Another positive aspect of the deal is the Lakers added more desirable contracts. Almost their entire roster was on minimum- or maximum-salary deals before the deadline, but now they have more variety in that regard, assuming they retain all three players.
I don’t think this trade suddenly transformed the Lakers into title contenders this season, but I do think it made them much better than they were — now and going forward.
My biggest question mark from the Lakers’ side is, if this trade was available in February, could they have done it earlier in the season? Because they have to dig themselves out of a hole to climb up the standings, and there aren’t many games left in which to do it – a task made even more difficult by the foot injury to James.
The Wolves’ perspective:
One of the downsides of dealing away multiple starters at once — Patrick Beverley and Vanderbilt last year in the Gobert trade — is that it can erode a team’s chemistry. The Wolves clearly got on well last season. That matters for a young team, especially one that historically has been a bottom dweller in the standings.
The Gobert trade upended that chemistry, transforming a fun up-and-coming team with low expectations into a win-now team with high expectations. It’s pretty clear some of the remaining players were less than thrilled with the deal, especially at the start of ‘22/23. Some moved on and slowly learned how to work with Gobert. Some did not.
Russell was in the latter group. He frequently had terrible body language this season, specifically anytime Gobert made a mistake (fumbled passes, etc.).
Perhaps more than anything else, this deal was a pretty clear vote of no confidence in Russell. Obviously, the Wolves did not value him at whatever he was asking for in contract extension negotiations.
The Wolves could not have easily cleared a significant amount of cap space in the offseason even if they had let Russell walk in free agency. Instead, they decided to push that decision a year down the line and replace his salary slot with Conley, a mature veteran who should be able to provide leadership for a team that, from the outside looking in, is lacking in that department.
Minnesota is trying to remedy some of the chemistry issues by adding a calming, professional locker-room presence in Conley. The fact that Conley played with Gobert for three seasons was obviously a motivating factor as well. They already have some built-in chemistry, which was clearly lacking with Russell.
He’s also a much better decision-maker than Russell on the court, with his assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.4-to-1, which ranks fifth in the NBA (Russell’s is 2.31-to-1, which ranks 112th). That’s important for a Wolves team that ranks 28th in the league in turnovers per game.
I have a lot of respect for how Conley carries himself, both on and off the court. He was one of the league’s most underrated players during his 12 years with Memphis, and his teams have consistently been better when he’s playing — that was true for Utah this year too (better on offense and worse on defense, but still plus overall). He has a high basketball IQ and generally doesn’t beat himself with careless mistakes.
Alexander-Walker was likely more of a throw-in for salary-matching purposes, but the Wolves will get a closer look at him for the rest of the season (he can be a RFA if they give him a qualifying offer). The former 17th overall pick is having a solid year from an efficiency standpoint and has impressed me in some late-game situations with his defense, even if he wasn’t consistently in Utah’s rotation.
While I understand the logic behind the move from Minnesota’s side of the deal, I also think the Wolves took on the most short- and long-term risk.
Make no mistake, the Wolves knew this was was a downgrade from a production standpoint — that’s why they got back three second-round picks in the deal. Considering his age, size (6’1″, 175 pounds) and contract, if Conley declines any further, it will be very difficult to move him next season.
Russell may have his flaws, but he was also clutch this season, having bailed them out on several occasions during second-half collapses (a season-long problem). He was the team’s second-leading scorer with Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined for most of the season, and removing him from the equation puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the roster to replace Russell’s scoring – the Wolves are just 21st in the league in offensive rating.
The early returns haven’t been promising. Minnesota has gone 1-4 since the deal was finalized, though in fairness some key rotation players have been in and out of the lineup.
The key takeaway from the Wolves’ end is that they preferred to get something back for Russell rather than losing him for nothing in free agency. Not wanting to make a significant investment in Russell makes sense to me if they didn’t view him as a long-term fit. Still, if they miss the playoffs and the Jazz get extremely lucky and that pick lands early, it would be an unmitigated disaster for Minnesota.
FEBRUARY 28, 11:04am: James is expected to be reevaluated in two weeks to see how his injured right foot has progressed, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). However, James could be out for longer than that.
The Lakers’ place in the standings in a couple weeks may be a factor in the decision on when it makes sense for LeBron to return, Woj adds.
FEBRUARY 27, 6:41pm: LeBron James could miss an extended period of time due to a right foot injury, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. He’ll get multiple medical opinions regarding the injury, but the Lakers are bracing for his absence to span multiple weeks, Charania adds (Twitter links).
James suffered the injury during Sunday’s game against Dallas, in which the Lakers rallied from a 27-point deficit to pull out a 111-108 win. James played through the injury on Sunday but the team has already listed him as out for its game against Memphis on Tuesday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic notes (Twitter link).
James’ absence could be a crushing blow to the Lakers’ playoff hopes. They’re currently 29-32 and 12th in the Western Conference standings.
James admitted after Sunday’s game that he was hurting, Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.
“It’s been better,” James said. “That’s for sure. But I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game out tonight. Just understood the importance of the game, and then with the momentum that we had, I felt like we could still win after being down. We’ll monitor it the next couple days, see how it feels and go from there.”
James, who has already missed 14 games this season, is averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists per night. He said during the All-Star break he was determined to play every game the rest of the season, eager to get back to the postseason after the Lakers failed to qualify last season.
Without James, the Lakers will have to rely more on newcomer Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, as well as Troy Brown Jr. and Lonnie Walker.
Reggie Jackson anticipated he’d get traded by the Clippers, he told Law Murray of The Athletic. Jackson was dealt to the Hornets, who waived him. He then signed with another Western Conference contender, the Nuggets.
“I’ve been in the game for 12 years,” Jackson said. “I was the only expiring contract (the Clippers had). Got to get better. Can’t really move anything. … So, the writing was on the wall for me. Being a pretty smart guy, I kind of knew. Either we were going to stay put, play small-ball, or, if anything was going to happen, I was ready to be the one that would probably be moved.”
We have more on the Los Angeles teams:
- In the same story, Bones Hyland told Murray that he’s glad Russell Westbrook signed with the Clippers, even though his playing time might be cut. “I always was a fan of Russ’ game,” Hyland said. “Fan of Russ off the court as well. Great human being, great to be around. Great to talk to. Was the MVP of this league. Going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. … So, I’m glad we got him. He brings a lot to the team.”
- Jarred Vanderbilt lifted the Lakers during their comeback from a 27-point deficit against Dallas with 15 points. 17 rebounds and four steals. The deadline addition from Utah has already impacted the team’s season, Anthony Davis told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “His value for our team, you can’t even put it into words what he brings and does for us,” Davis said. Vanderbilt looks like a steal in the three-way trade with Minnesota and the Jazz, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, because he addresses the Lakers’ need for a long, athletic, dirty-work forward.
- D’Angelo Russell (right ankle sprain) is listed as doubtful for the Lakers’ game against Memphis on Tuesday, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).
- In case you missed it, LeBron James is expected to miss multiple weeks due to a foot injury. Get the details here.
Baldwin contributed 11 points in 10 minutes for the Warriors against the Lakers on Thursday and 11 more points in 16 minutes against Houston on Friday.
- Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell went through pregame warmups but was ultimately ruled out of the team’s game against Dallas, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register (Twitter links). Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Russell suffered a sprained right ankle against Golden State on Thursday.