Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Russell Eager To Help Lakers

February 10th, 2023 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell is back with the Lakers after playing his first two seasons in Los Angeles. Russell, who is headed to unrestricted free agency this summer, says he’s grown a lot personally and professionally since his first stint with the franchise, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

“I mean, a lot has happened since I’ve been here, right?” said Russell, who was acquired by the Lakers as part of a three-team deal with Minnesota and Utah. “I was an All-Star, went to the playoffs. I’ve done a lot of things individually. So to come back with that resume, I feel like it helps the team.”

More Details On Kevin Durant Trade Negotiations

February 10th, 2023 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman asked Nets management for a meeting earlier this week and submitted another trade request during that sitdown, according to Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link).

Unlike last summer’s trade request, this one didn’t go public right away. Another key difference? This time around, Durant specifically asked to be sent to the Suns, per ESPN’s duo. He had no interest in kicking off another bidding war and being the subject of intense speculation all week, so he told the Nets that he’d play out the 2022/23 season in Brooklyn if the team couldn’t work out a deal with Phoenix.

Still, both the Nets and Durant recognized that the partnership was on its last legs, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say the only question was whether the star forward’s exit would happen now or after the season.

Here are a few more highlights from the excellent, in-depth ESPN story on how the final days of the Durant era in Brooklyn:

Before Durant injured his knee on January 15, it looked like both he and Kyrie Irving would both finish the season with the surging Nets. However, when Irving’s offensive numbers spiked during Durant’s absence, he determined it was the right moment to exact some leverage and pursue a contract extension. The Nets were willing to discuss an extension of up to three seasons, but wanted protections; Irving was seeking a four-year extension without conditions, according to ESPN’s report. The difference of opinions on his value resulted in Kyrie’s trade request, and while Durant wasn’t happy with the situation, he didn’t “immediately tie his future” to Irving’s, per Shelburne and Windhorst.
The Nets had zero interest in any Irving trade that saw them take back Russell Westbrook. As a result, the difficulty of working out a three-team trade with the Lakers made Brooklyn’s decision on Irving fairly straightforward, since dealing with the Mavericks was simpler and the Nets liked the players they were getting from Dallas.
After Irving’s situation was sorted out and the Nets received Durant’s trade request, they presented the Suns with the pieces they wanted in any deal involving KD: four unprotected first-round picks, an unprotected 2028 first-round pick swap, Cameron Johnson, and Mikal Bridges. Suns general manager James Jones wanted to negotiate those terms – perhaps subbing out for Bridges or adding protections to one or two of the picks – but the Nets were steadfast in their demands, according to ESPN’s reporting.
New team owner Mat Ishbia was quickly willing to sign off on the extra $40MM the deal would cost the Suns in salaries and tax penalties, representing a departure from the old ownership group. However, it took the team a while to come around on paying the Nets’ price in players and picks. The Suns recognized that if the Nets held onto Durant until the summer, they’d be up against several bidders, which gave Brooklyn some leverage in the process. Phoenix ultimately agreed to meet the Nets’ asking price.
However, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, the deal nearly hit a roadblock when the Nets also requested Jae Crowder, whom the Suns wanted to trade in another deal (while ESPN’s story doesn’t specify who would’ve been in the Durant offer in place of Crowder in the original framework for salary-matching purposes, a previous report suggested Dario Saric was involved). The Suns pivoted to other trade discussions, including a possible John Collins acquisition, but ultimately circled back to the Nets and agreed to include Crowder too.
The Nets viewed Durant as a “beacon of light” during several the last few dramatic years, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say the team was heartbroken to trade him but felt good about sending him to his preferred destination.

Buyout Rumors: Green, Westbrook, Bulls, Beverley, Ibaka, Heat, Sixers, Grizzlies

February 10th, 2023 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

After Rockets general manager Rafael Stone confirmed in a Friday press conference that Houston will simply waive John Wall, with no buyout required, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link) that Danny Green would welcome a similar arrangement.

Both Wall and Green were acquired by Houston as salary-matching chips in the team’s Eric Gordon trade on Thursday. It’s unclear if Green would be willing to give up money as part of a buyout agreement.

If Green does become a free agent, teams like the Celtics and Cavaliers would be among those with interest, according to Wojnarowski. Woj also mentions “Los Angeles” as a potential Green suitor, though it’s unclear if he means the Lakers, the Clippers, or both — they each have an open spot on their 15-man roster.

Here’s more on the NBA’s buyout market:

Jazz general manager Justin Zanik told reporters on Friday that no decisions have been made yet on Russell Westbrook‘s future and that the veteran guard is open to the idea of playing for Utah to finish the season, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Westbrook is considered a strong candidate to be bought out.
Wojnarowski said today on NBA Today (YouTube link) that if Westbrook does become available, the Bulls are a team to watch as a potential frontrunner. Head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said today that the team plans to “look at” the buyout market, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Clippers have also been linked to Westbrook, but Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times says the Clips aren’t expected to be overly active in the buyout market, adding that insiders around the league are skeptical about Westbrook landing with L.A.
The Magic and Patrick Beverley are working on a contract buyout, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Magic said on Thursday that they weren’t requiring Beverley to report to the team, so that news comes as no surprise.
Big man Serge Ibaka, who will be waived by Indiana, has some interest in joining the Heat, but it’s unclear if that interest is mutual, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
The Sixers and Grizzlies will take decidedly different approaches to the buyout market. Sixers executive Daryl Morey said today that moving under the tax line at the trade deadline sets up the team to potentially pursue “multiple” targets on the buyout market, per Kyle Neuback of PhillyVoice.com. Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman, on the other hand, said he doesn’t envision his team looking at the buyout market, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Pacific Notes: Ayton, LeBron, Westbrook, Warriors

February 9th, 2023 at 6:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In case you hadn’t heard, the Suns drastically remade their roster this week, trading several picks and young talent in exchange for one of the greatest players in league history, who is still arguably in his prime. But that doesn’t mean there won’t still be questions about at least one of the team’s other priciest players going forward.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, there’s skepticism that Phoenix management truly values Suns starting center Deandre Ayton at his salary of $33MM per year. Fischer suggests that the big man’s long-term future in Phoenix remains “curious.”

Ayton is in the first year of new contract with the Suns, signed only after a maximum offer sheet was tendered by the Pacers this summer. He’s averaging 18.4 PPG on 58.6% shooting from the floor, 10.3 RPG, 2.1 APG and 0.7 BPG.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron James will be sidelined by ankle soreness Thursday against the Bucks, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. McMenamin writes that James will be available for a pregame ceremony to commemorate him setting the NBA’s all-time scoring record on Tuesday. L.A. did already celebrate the moment with a mid-game video montage, a presentation from league commissioner Adam Silver and the previous scoring record holder, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and speeches from James and Silver.
The situation with former Lakers reserve point guard Russell Westbrook had devolved so drastically in the last week that L.A.’s coaching staff might have pushed to waive him had he stuck on the roster through the trade deadline, according to Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic. The Athletic’s duo cites sources who referred to the situation as “toxic.” Westbrook is currently with the Jazz, but is widely expected to be bought out.
At today’s trade deadline, the Warriors essentially flipped 2020 No. 2 draft pick James Wiseman for Gary Payton II in a four-team deal. Payton departed Golden State in free agency last summer, but the Warriors wanted to bring back a reliable veteran who had already proven his mettle with the team during its 2020 title run, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Lakers, Nuggets, Magic, Clippers Roll Three Trade Agreements Into Single Deal

February 9th, 2023 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

5:35pm: The four-team trade is now official, according to a press release from the Magic.

4:46pm: The Lakers, Nuggets, Magic, and Clippers will combine three separately reported trade agreements into a single four-team trade, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).

As Price explains, the Patrick Beverley/Mohamed Bamba swap between the Lakers and Magic, the deal sending Bones Hyland from the Nuggets to the Clippers, and the Nuggets’ acquisition of Thomas Bryant from the Lakers are the trades affected. The new-look deal is as follows:

Lakers to acquire Bamba, Davon Reed, the Clippers’ 2024 second-round pick, and the Clippers’ 2025 second-round pick.
Magic to acquire Beverley, the Nuggets’ 2024 second-round pick, and cash.
Clippers to acquire Hyland.
Nuggets to acquire Bryant.

The original terms of the trades called for the Clippers to send their 2024 and 2025 second-round picks to Denver for Hyland, with the Nuggets sending their own 2025, 2026, and 2029 second-rounders to the Lakers for Bryant and the Lakers sending an unspecified second-round pick to the Magic in the Beverley/Bamba swap.

Under the new terms of the deal, the two Clippers picks will be rerouted from the Nuggets (for Hyland) to the Lakers (for Bryant). Denver will keep its 2025, 2028, and 2029 second-rounders. The third pick the Nuggets are sending out for Bryant is now Denver’s 2024 second-rounder — it will be flipped from the Lakers to the Magic for Bamba.

The Magic won’t require Beverley to report to the team, according to Price, which is a strong signal they intend to buy him out or simply waive him.

Lakers, Jazz, Wolves Complete Three-Way Trade

February 9th, 2023 at 2:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 9: The trade is now official, the Timberwolves have confirmed in a press release. As expected, Minnesota waived Bryn Forbes to open a spot on their roster to complete the deal.

FEBRUARY 8: A three-team deal involving the Lakers, Jazz and Timberwolves is in the process of being finalized, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The trade will send Minnesota guard D’Angelo Russell to L.A., along with Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

The Wolves will get point guard Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the less favorable of the Wizards’ and Grizzlies’ second-round picks in 2024 (from the Lakers) and Utah’s second-round picks in 2025 and 2026, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Utah will receive Russell Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick from the Lakers that is top-four protected. In addition, the Jazz will acquire Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones.

After months of searching, the Lakers found a way to unload Westbrook’s $47.1MM contract and only had to part with one of their two tradable future first-rounders. Westbrook has adapted well this season to a sixth man role under new head coach Darvin Ham, but his contract was still considered a burden and his lack of outside shooting made him a poor fit for L.A.’s offense.

The Jazz are expected to pursue a buyout with Westbrook once the trade is official, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. If an agreement is reached, the Clippers would be interested in signing Westbrook, according to Haynes (Twitter link). He adds that the Bulls are also considering Westbrook, which would reunite him with Billy Donovan, his former coach in Oklahoma City (Twitter link).

The Lakers were able to add the shooters they had been seeking in Russell and Beasley, along with a versatile frontcourt addition in Vanderbilt. Russell, whom L.A. selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, is connecting at 39.1% from three-point range this season, while Beasley is shooting 35.9% from long distance, providing two new weapons to space the floor around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Russell will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, Beasley has a $16.5MM team option for 2023/24, and Vanderbilt’s $4.7MM salary for ’23/24 is mostly non-guaranteed, so the Lakers will still have the flexibility to create significant cap room in the offseason if they so choose. They could also operate over the cap by hanging onto Beasley and Vanderbilt and attempting to re-sign Russell and Rui Hachimura, whom they acquired last month.

The Wolves, who have encountered difficulty incorporating Rudy Gobert into their offense, should benefit by reuniting him with Conley, his former Jazz teammate. Conley also brings a veteran presence that was lacking on a young Minnesota team — he’ll be charged with helping to make the Wolves’ Twin Towers approach work once Karl-Anthony Towns returns from his calf injury.

Unlike Russell, Conley is under contract for next season — his $24.4MM salary is partially guaranteed for $14.3MM. That will reduce the Wolves’ cap flexibility this offseason, but also ensures they won’t have to worry about losing their starting point guard for nothing in free agency.

As Wojnarowski points out (via Twitter), by acquiring the Lakers’ lightly protected 2027 first-rounder, the Jazz are adding another valuable piece to their collection of draft assets. Utah will have 15 first-round picks with little or no protections through 2029, along with a talented young core to build around and possibly more than $60MM in cap space this summer.

Even before a potential Westbrook buyout, the deal will open up a roster spot for the Jazz, who are sending out four players and only taking three back. The Wolves, who are acquiring two players for one, will have to waive a player from their 15-man roster to accommodate the extra newcomer.

Lakers To Send Beverley To Magic For Bamba

February 9th, 2023 at 1:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers will acquire center Mohamed Bamba from the Magic in exchange for veteran guard Patrick Beverley, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Orlando will also receive a second-round draft pick and cash in the deal, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).

Bamba will take the place of Thomas Bryant, who was traded to Denver earlier today, alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis in L.A.’s frontcourt. Bamba signed a new two-year deal with Orlando over the summer, so he’s under contract for one more season at $10.3MM.

Through 40 games this season with the Magic, the 24-year-old averaged 7.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 1.0 BPG on .495/.398/.686 shooting. After starting 69 of his 71 games in ’21/22 and averaging 25.7 minutes per contest, Bamba saw his role reduced in ’22/23, only receiving six spot starts and 17.0 minutes per game.

Moving off Bamba creates a more clear-cut rotation for Orlando and picking up a second-round pick helps somewhat, but it’s hard to say that his tenure with the Magic was anything but a disappointment. He was selected sixth overall back in 2018, ahead of players like Collin Sexton, Mikal Bridges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Michael Porter Jr., Kevin Huerter and Robert Williams, among others.

Bamba is currently serving a suspension as part of his role in an altercation with the Wolves, so he will be ineligible to play for two more games.

As Reynolds notes, the 34-year-old Beverley is unlikely to remain with the Magic, who have a slew of young guards. He’s making $13MM in the final year of his contract.

Beverley will have suitors if he’s bought out or waived by Orlando. He isn’t the defensive player he once was, but he plays hard and with a lot of energy, so contenders will be interested in his services.

In addition to saving a significant amount of money in luxury tax payments with the trade, the Lakers continue to add younger players. They had their own backcourt logjam to deal with, and moving Beverley helps in that regard as well, though he was arguably the team’s best perimeter defender (which, frankly, isn’t saying much given the team’s lack of talent on that end — the Lakers are 20th in the league in defensive rating).

Adding Bamba’s $10.3MM salary for ’23/24 is further evidence that the Lakers are unlikely to operate as an under-the-cap team in the offseason. However, his deal is non-guaranteed, so they could still go that route by waiving or renouncing the cap holds for all of the players they acquired ahead of the deadline (Bamba, Davon Reed, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell). Only Vanderbilt has guaranteed money next season, and it’s a very small ($300K) partial guarantee.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Lakers To Trade Thomas Bryant To Nuggets

February 9th, 2023 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers and Nuggets have agreed to a trade that will send center Thomas Bryant to Denver in exchange for swingman Davon Reed and three second-round picks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the second-round picks are Denver’s own in 2025, 2026, and 2029. The Nuggets have now traded away all their second-rounders between 2025 and 2029.

Bryant, who signed a minimum-salary contract with the Lakers in the offseason, has filled in admirably as the Lakers’ starting center during Anthony Davis‘ injury absences this season, but has only played a modest backup role when Davis is healthy.

In 41 games (25 starts), Bryant has averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per contest. His .654% FG% is a career high, as is his .440 3PT% (albeit on limited volume).

Still, as long as Davis stays healthy, Bryant’s value to the Lakers wasn’t substantial, especially with newly acquired forward Jarred Vanderbilt expected to spend some time playing as a small-ball five. Los Angeles also has veteran big man Wenyen Gabriel for depth purposes up front and would have been limited in its ability to give Bryant a raise as a free agent this summer since the team only controlled his Non-Bird rights.

On top of all that, Bryant hadn’t been thrilled with his reduced role following Davis’ return, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, who tweets that he asked the Lakers to look for a better situation for him.

It’s unclear if Reed will be in the Lakers’ plans going forward. He’s on a minimum-salary contract with a non-guaranteed salary in 2023/24 and hasn’t played much in Denver this season, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.6 RPG on .313/.364/.750 shooting in 35 appearances (9.0 MPG). The second-round picks are the primary return for L.A. in the deal, essentially replacing the three second-rounders the club gave up for Rui Hachimura last month.

As for the Nuggets, they’ve been in the market for a reliable backup center behind two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, since offseason signee DeAndre Jordan hasn’t been a regular part of the rotation. Bryant should fill that role nicely, giving the team some extra frontcourt depth as it focuses on making a deep playoff run this spring.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, both teams will create small trade exceptions equivalent to the salaries of their outgoing players ($1.9MM for Denver; $1.84MM for L.A.). Neither the Nuggets nor the Lakers have to worry about salary-matching in the deal, since both players can be absorbed using the minimum salary exception.

Lakers/Jazz/Wolves Trade Notes: 2027 Pick, Westbrook, Conley, TPEs

February 9th, 2023 at 6:26am CST by Luke Adams

After months of speculation about whether the Lakers would include both of their tradable future first-round picks (2027 and 2029) in a Russell Westbrook trade, the club only attached its 2027 first-rounder to Westbrook in a three-team trade agreement with Minnesota and Utah. Perhaps most importantly, the Lakers’ front office retained its ability to trade its 2029 pick despite lightly protecting the 2027 selection.

As Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets, the top-four protected 2027 first-round pick the Lakers are sending to the Jazz in the deal won’t carry over to 2028 if it lands in its protected range. In that scenario, the Lakers would instead send their ’27 second-round pick to Utah.

If the protections on the first-round pick had carried over to 2028 (or 2029), the Lakers’ ability to trade their 2029 first-rounder would’ve been significantly hampered due to the Stepien rule that prohibits teams from leaving themselves without first-round selections in consecutive future seasons. But because Los Angeles’ obligations to Utah will end in 2027 no matter where that pick lands, the Lakers still have the ability to dangle their 2029 first-rounder, unencumbered, in trade talks today or during the offseason.

Here’s more on the three-team deal that’s sending D’Angelo Russell back to Los Angeles and Mike Conley to Minnesota:

“Addition by subtraction” was part of the Lakers‘ thinking in moving Westbrook, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who hears from team and league sources that Westbrook’s situation in Los Angeles had become “untenable” during the last week, with both sides ready to move on from the partnership.
The Lakers took a patient, diligent approach to solving the Westbrook problem, passing on opportunities last offseason and earlier this season to trade both of their available first-round picks in deals with Indiana, Brooklyn, and others, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. While the Lakers still have a ways to go to even qualify for the postseason, they’re far better equipped now to earn a spot and to be competitive in a playoff series, in Pincus’ view.
Losing Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and especially Conley hit the Jazz‘s locker room hard, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “You know that trades are like a legitimate thing, but to go through it,” rookie center Walker Kessler said, before trailing off. “I’m a very empathetic person, so you just kind of feel for them. I’m not saying anything was done wrong. It’s part of the business, but it’s definitely a hard thing to go through.”
Although Conley was “universally beloved” within the organization, the Jazz‘s front office wanted to move his contract, which was a factor in the decision to make the trade, says Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Conley’s deal includes a $14MM+ partial guarantee for next season.
In a column for The Star Tribune, Chip Scoggins says that trading Russell was the right move for the Timberwolves, but suggests that the team’s long-term plan is still unclear. As Scoggins notes, the Wolves are ostensibly in win-now mode, but just traded away their starting point guard and still don’t have a timeline for Karl-Anthony Towns‘ return.
Assuming no new pieces are added to the three-team trade once it’s made official, the Jazz will create trade exceptions worth approximately $5MM and $4.4MM, while the Timberwolves will generate a trade exception worth $3.7MM. The Lakers will create two trade exceptions as well, though neither will be worth more than $2.3MM.

Trade Rumors: Poeltl, Wall, Durant, Pistons

February 8th, 2023 at 11:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs are sending their “strongest signals” so far that they intend to trade center Jakob Poeltl before Thursday’s deadline, tweets Marc Stein. The organization’s attitude toward a potential deal seems to have changed over the past 24 hours, Stein adds, giving hope to teams interested in acquiring potentially the best center on the market.

The Celtics and Raptors have been frequently mentioned as possible landing spots for Poeltl, and Stein reported earlier today that the Wizards have expressed strong interest as well. The 27-year-old will be a free agent this summer, but San Antonio has plenty of cap room available if it decides to keep him.

The Raptors and Spurs have discussed a deal involving Thaddeus Young and draft assets in exchange for Poeltl, according to Stein (Twitter link). The Spurs played in Toronto tonight, so Poeltl faced questions about the possibility of being traded there, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News.

“I just try to focus on the here and now,” Poeltl said. “There is a lot of noise, and I try to keep it out as much as possible and just try to focus on these games.”

There’s more on the trade front:

It appears John Wall‘s time with the Clippers will end soon, whether he’s traded on Thursday or not, Stein adds (Twitter link). A source tells Stein that L.A. will pursue a buyout deal with Wall if it can’t find a taker by the deadline, echoing a report from Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times earlier this week. Wall has appeared in just 34 games and hasn’t played since January 13 because of an abdominal injury.
Nearly every contending team has called the Nets to check on Kevin Durant‘s availability, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. There has been speculation that Durant might want out after Kyrie Irving was traded to Dallas, but Brooklyn’s front office is telling everyone that it plans to hold on to Durant.
The Pistons have been active in trade talks, but they’re not committed to moving Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks or Saddiq Bey before the deadline, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The Knicks, Bucks and Lakers have expressed the most interest in Bogdanovic, but they don’t appear to be offering the draft assets that Detroit wants. Edwards suggests the Pistons might try to use the expiring contracts of Cory Joseph, Nerlens Noel and Hamidou Diallo — worth about $19MM combined — to pick up a player under contract beyond this season.