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L.A. Notes: Kawhi, George, Powell, Kennard, Ryan, Schröder, Bryant

December 2nd, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and Paul George (hamstring) appear to be close to returning from their respective injuries. Head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters on Friday that both Leonard and George are practicing today and are considered questionable to play on Saturday (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times). The team will wait to see how the duo feels after practicing on Friday.

Norman Powell (groin) isn’t practicing today, while Luke Kennard (calf) has already been ruled out for Saturday, so even if Leonard and George are available, the Clippers will remain a little shorthanded for the time being. Still, Kennard is practicing on Friday and Lue sounds like he expects the sharpshooter to return soon.

“I’m excited to get guys back, PG and Kawhi, get Luke back,” Lue said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “But now we gotta wait on Norm so hopefully he feels better soon. But I am very excited just to kind of see what we have.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles-based teams:

  • Leonard and George have had their availability impacted by health issues since joining the Clippers in 2019, but the team is “pot-committed” to the star duo, Brian Windhorst writes for ESPN.com. With the franchise deep in tax territory and short on future draft assets, all signs point to the Clippers “keeping their chips firmly in the middle and adding to (the) pot if needed,” according to Windhorst.
  • After being waived this week by the Lakers, second-year wing Matt Ryan tweeted his appreciation to the organization for giving him a shot on a non-guaranteed deal this season. “Nothing but gratitude for the city of LA and the @Lakers!” he wrote. “Any opportunity to play in the NBA, let alone for this franchise, is special. Thank you. Now I’m excited for whatever is next!”
  • Within a round-up of where things stand for the Lakers at the 20-game mark, Jovan Buha of The Athletic says that offseason additions Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant were worth the wait. Both players missed the start of the season due to thumb injuries, but have entered the rotation since returning, with Schröder averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.6 RPG in seven games (25.3 MPG) and Bryant contributing 9.3 PPG and 5.0 RPG in six appearances (14.7 MPG). Bryant’s +9.5 net rating is the best mark on the Lakers’ 15-man roster.
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Community Shootaround: Sub-.500 Playoff Hopefuls

December 2nd, 2022 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

So far this season, 19 of the NBA’s 30 teams have played at least .500 basketball, and many of the clubs that have fallen short of that mark are ones we expected to do so. The Magic, Pistons, Hornets, Rockets, Spurs, and Thunder, for instance, were widely considered during the preseason to be lottery-bound.

If we set aside those six teams, along with the 19 who are .500 or better, five clubs remain. These are the teams that entered the season expecting to be in the playoffs and have fallen short of their expectations so far.

Let’s start with the most obvious one of the five: the Lakers got off to a miserable start to the season, losing their first five games and 10 of their first 12. They’ve bounced back to some extent as of late, winning six of their last eight contests, but three of those victories came against San Antonio, and L.A. is still just 8-12 overall, good for 13th in a competitive Western Conference.

With Russell Westbrook adapting well to a sixth man role, Lonnie Walker enjoying a breakout year, Anthony Davis looking like a superstar again, and LeBron James back in the lineup following a groin strain, there’s some reason for optimism in Los Angeles. But it’s still not clear if the supporting cast is strong enough for the Lakers to make a real run, and it remains to be seen whether the front office has the appetite to move one or two first-round picks to acquire real upgrades.

While they’re ahead of the Lakers in the standings, the 10-11 Mavericks are currently out of the play-in picture too, holding the No. 11 seed in the West. Like L.A., Dallas has a top-heavy roster, with Luka Doncic submitting an MVP-caliber performance this fall. But Doncic can’t do it all himself, and the Mavs’ supporting cast beyond Christian Wood and Spencer Dinwiddie hasn’t produced like the team had hoped.

Over in the East, the Heat (10-12), Knicks (10-12), and Bulls (9-12) find themselves out of the top nine and vying for the No. 10 spot in the standings.

Of these three teams, Miami probably has the most reason for optimism. The Heat have been hit hard by the injury bug in the first quarter of the season, but appear to be getting healthier, with All-Star forward Jimmy Butler on the verge of returning. This iteration of the Heat may not get back to the NBA Finals like the 2020 squad did, or even to the Eastern Finals like last year’s team, but it would be pretty shocking if they missed the postseason, given how much talent is on the roster.

Chicago and New York, meanwhile, were both considered borderline playoff teams entering the season — oddsmakers had them as the East’s ninth- and 10th-best teams ahead of training camps. So it’s perhaps not a surprise that they’re both hovering around .500 and looking more like play-in contenders than serious candidates for a top-six seed.

Still, both teams had higher aspirations than simply contending for a play-in spot, so it will be interesting to see how they approach the trade deadline if their inconsistent performances continue.

Will the Knicks put some of their future first-round picks back on the table in search of an impact player after missing out on Donovan Mitchell? Will the Bulls – who have already traded away two of their own future first-rounders – continue to push their chips into the middle of the table or will they pull back and hope for the possible return of point guard Lonzo Ball can help fuel a second-half surge?

We want to know where you stand on these five teams. Do you expect the Lakers, Mavericks, Heat, Bulls, or Knicks to finish the season as a top-six seed, securing an automatic playoff berth? Are you counting on some of them to have to clinch postseason spots via the play-in tournament? Will some finish outside the play-in altogether as bottom-five teams in their respective conferences?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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Lakers Considering Dealing Beverley, Nunn, Draft Picks

December 1st, 2022 at 11:19pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers are “leaning toward” trading “some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and picks (one first-round and/or multiple second-round picks) for role players” in order to upgrade the rotation, multiple team sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Going that route would still give the Lakers the flexibility to move Russell Westbrook and another first-rounder closer to the deadline, Buha writes.

The Lakers are still contemplating offering a Westbrook and pick(s) package to land a “star or multi-player haul,” according to Buha, but that option is considered less likely than a smaller deal involving Beverley and/or Nunn plus picks.

Buha reported earlier this week that the Lakers are looking to upgrade their perimeter shooting and size. Any deal(s) would likely occur after December 15, when most free agents signed in the offseason become trade-eligible.

Considering the Lakers have an excess of small guards on their roster and Beverley and Nunn are the only players aside from Lonnie Walker who aren’t on minimum- or maximum-salary contracts, it’s only natural that they might try to use them as trade chips. That’s especially true since both have struggled mightily in 2022/23 — Beverley is averaging just 4.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.7 APG and 0.9 SPG on .268/.234/.824 shooting in 15 games (27.1 MPG), while Nunn is averaging 5.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 1.3 APG on .364/.291/.889 shooting in 18 games (13.9 MPG).

It’s a little shocking just how poorly Beverley has shot the ball early on, since he’s a career 37.5% three-point shooter over 541 regular season games — his 23.4% mark is almost certain to rise with time. Similarly, Nunn shot 36.4% from deep in his first two seasons with Miami prior to missing all of last season with a knee injury, but he hasn’t looked right since he returned in 2022/23.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin suggested on Monday that the Lakers might dangle the expiring contracts of Beverley ($13MM) and Nunn ($5.25MM). Combining their salaries would allow the Lakers to take on up to $22.9MM in salary, since they’re in the tax.

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Lakers Waive Matt Ryan

December 1st, 2022 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

3:38pm: The Lakers have officially waived Ryan, the team confirmed (Twitter link).

7:05am: The Lakers are waiving sharpshooter Matt Ryan, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The move will open up a spot on Los Angeles’ standard 15-man roster and the team has no plans to immediately fill it.

Ryan, who has talked about working as a DoorDash driver after going undrafted out of Chattanooga in 2020, eventually landed with the Grand Rapids Gold in the G League in 2021/22, then made his NBA debut with the Celtics this past spring. He joined the Lakers on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract in September and earned a spot on the regular season roster.

Although Ryan has exhibited the ability to knock down three-pointers, having made 13-of-35 attempts (37.1%) for L.A. this season, he only converted 2-of-14 two-pointers. In total, he averaged 3.9 PPG in 12 appearances (10.8 MPG).

Both Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link) frame the decision to waive Ryan as one the Lakers made to give themselves extra roster flexibility when several of their players become trade-eligible on December 15 and they start to seriously consider potential deals.

However, as Bobby Marks of ESPN and Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links) note, Ryan’s full-season salary wouldn’t have become guaranteed for another six weeks, so the Lakers could’ve waived him anytime before January 7 if they needed his roster spot to accommodate a trade.

Marks points out (via Twitter) that the Lakers, given their tax position, will save $61K per day without Ryan on the roster. Pincus, meanwhile, suggests that the decision to release the 25-year-old now may be partly logistical, since the team is about to embark upon a six-game road trip and likely determined it didn’t make sense to bring Ryan on that trip if he was already on the chopping block.

Assuming Ryan is officially cut on Thursday, he’ll have earned $442,439 for the 45 days he spent on the Lakers’ roster and the two he’ll spend on waivers.

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And-Ones: Henderson, Top Offseason Adds, 2022 Re-Draft

November 30th, 2022 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, the consensus No. 2 prospect in the 2023 draft class, has been diagnosed with a nose fracture after entering the concussion protocols and missing the team’s last four games, writes Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire.

Although Henderson has already been sidelined since November 18, the injury isn’t considered a long-term one and he’s being listed as day-to-day for the time being. According to Taylor, there’s a chance Henderson will be cleared to return on Sunday when the Ignite host the South Bay Lakers.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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Ham: Can't Dwell On Trade Rumors

November 29th, 2022 at 9:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Lakers first-year coach Darvin Ham dealt with trade rumors during his playing career and hopes his current players take the same approach as rumors swirl around the franchise, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. “I’ve dealt with that myself personally,” he said. “But you just have to have an approach that whatever jersey you put on, it’s a blessing to be in this league and handle it like a professional.”
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Pacers Notes: Turner, Hield, Nembhard, Haliburton

November 29th, 2022 at 1:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers fans offered loud cheers Monday night for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, two Pacers veterans who have been rumored as L.A. trade targets for several months, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The Lakers rejected the potential swap because of Indiana’s insistence on getting unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029, but the rumors haven’t died down.

Both players made an impression on Monday as the Pacers pulled out a win on a last-second shot. Turner, whose upcoming free agency both makes him a trade candidate and complicates his value, had 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Hield, who has one year left on his contract at $18.6MM, also had 15 points, although he was just 1-of-6 from three-point range.

“It’s been great to be with those guys,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Monday. “I can see where people would have interest in them. I have a lot of interest in not trading them, you know?”

If the Lakers revisit the deal with Indiana, it may not happen for a while, Goon adds. L.A. has several players who can’t be moved until December 15, and a Monday report from ESPN indicated that the type of trade the Lakers are hoping to make may not be available until January.

Here’s more on the Pacers:

  • Carlisle believes the franchise got a draft steal in Andrew Nembhard, who hit the game-winning shot on Monday. Nembhard, who was taken with the first pick in the second round, has earned a rotation role and is averaging 7.1 PPG in 20.7 minutes per night. “He’ll go down as a top-12 or (top-)15 pick in this draft when it’s all said and done,” Carlisle said (Twitter video link from Alex Golden). “It’s where he should have been taken.”
  • In a discussion for The Athletic, Anthony Slater and Sam Amick revisit the Tyrese Haliburton/Domantas Sabonis deal from last season’s trade deadline. While Slater and Amick acknowledge that there’s some nuance involved when reevaluating the trade, they point to the Kings‘ and Pacers’ success so far this season and suggest it could end up as a win-win. Haliburton has been playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late, having become the first player since the NBA began tracking turnovers in 1977 to record at least 40 assists without a turnover over a three-game span (Twitter link).
  • Within that same Athletic story, Amick writes that a number of people around the NBA believe the Pacers’ desire to continue tearing down their roster “just isn’t as strong as advertised.” Team owner Herb Simon has long been averse to tanking, so if Indiana stays competitive, the odds of the team trading away key veteran contributors before the deadline seem likely to decline.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Locker Room Leaders Believe Lakers Are “Couple Of Players Away” From Contention

November 28th, 2022 at 4:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Sources tell ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that there’s a “shared belief by leaders in the Lakers‘ locker room that the team is only a couple of players away” from contention. He doesn’t list them by name, but presumably McMenamin is referring to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

McMenamin mostly focuses on the pros and cons of the potential Russell Westbrook for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner deal with the Pacers that fell apart before the season when the Lakers refused to include both of their movable first-round picks (2027 and 2029). L.A. faces Indiana on Monday night.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported that the Lakers were going to wait until around Thanksgiving to evaluate the team before making any changes. McMenamin reports that the timeline has been adjusted to December 15, when most free agents signed in the offseason become trade-eligible.

However, as McMenamin notes, December trades are pretty rare because “league business slows down around the holidays,” so he views mid-January as a more likely timeframe for potential trades. If the 11-8 Pacers keep winning, the Lakers believe Pacers owner Herb Simon might be unwilling to trade Hield and Turner for a deal focused on draft capital, preferring to field a more competitive club.

The Lakers have played better of late, winning five of their past six games, and currently sit with a 7-11 record. But their schedule was pretty soft during that stretch (three wins over the Spurs, one over the Pistons), and they’re about to play 15 of their next 23 games on the road, per McMenamin.

McMenamin suggests the Lakers might be better off making a couple of trades instead of going all-in on the Pacers deal — one involving Westbrook and one first-rounder, and another involving Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and the other first-round pick — to get impact players. That’s assuming the front office decides the team has a legitimate shot at title contention, of course.

Whichever path they take, whether it be minor or major trades, the Lakers are focused on upgrading their perimeter shooting and size, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

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Lakers Notes: Walker, LeBron, Davis

November 26th, 2022 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lonnie Walker expected to remain with the Spurs in free agency, but the move to the Lakers has unlocked his offensive potential, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Walker was drafted by San Antonio in 2018 and spent his first four NBA seasons there. After Friday’s game, he told reporters, “I thought I was going to be a Spur for life.”

When he reached free agency in July, L.A. offered a one-year contract at $6.4MM, the full taxpayer mid-level exception. The Spurs had the resources to match or exceed that offer, but they elected not to. Instead, Walker joined a Lakers team that needed scoring and he’s having a career season so far, becoming a full-time starter and averaging 17.0 PPG through 15 games.

“I love playing in this type of environment, with these types of players,” Walker said. “I’m just trying to show my talents. I’m not sure many people really know my game. It’s finally starting to come.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

  • LeBron James returned Friday after missing five games with an adductor strain, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to play until after he completed his pre-game workout, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. James committed an uncharacteristic nine turnovers, but he also contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists as L.A. won on the road for the first time this season. “My rhythm, my timing was a little off on a few of my passes,” James said. “I had six in the first half and cut it in half in the second half. But I’ll be a lot better, obviously, as the games go on I’ll get my rhythm back.”
  • James has been cleared to play tonight in the second game of a back-to-back, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
  • Anthony Davis will miss tonight’s rematch with the Spurs after getting kicked in the calf during Friday’s game, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Davis has reached at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in his last five games, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “AD was the best player in the league over the last four or five games,” James said Friday. “Just his numbers and productivity on both sides of the floor. It’s not just offensively but defensively he’s been super engaged, and tonight once again he was amazing.”
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