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Lakers Notes: LeBron, Davis, Reddish, Russell

December 10th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James may end up playing with more teammates than anyone in NBA history, but he’s never found a better fit than Anthony Davis, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Davis dominated Saturday’s in-season tournament finale against Indiana with 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, though MVP honors went to James, who averaged 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game throughout the competition.

The Lakers acquired Davis from New Orleans in a 2019 trade, and McMenamin points out that James has now played alongside him longer than he did with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami or Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in Cleveland. At the post-game press conference, McMenamin notes, it was clear that their personalities complement each other as much as their styles of play.

“I know who I am, he knows who he is,” James said. “So, there’s no friction. We’re not trying to compete with one another on the court or on a lifestyle basis. He knows who he is, I know who I am. The only thing we’re trying to do is hold each other accountable when we get to work and try to be the best we can be for each other, and when one is not going well, try to pick each other up. There’s no jealousy. There’s not a jealous bone in our bodies. We’re never jealous of one another. Ever.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

  • L.A.’s tournament performance provides a blueprint for the team to be successful in the playoffs, observes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. The Pacers couldn’t stop the James-Davis pick-and-roll combination, and Davis was even more dominant on the defensive end. “Any time I step on the floor, I know I’m the anchor of the defense,” he said. “Giving guys the freedom to press up and get some ball pressure, and if they get beat, I’m there at the rim to alter the shot or block it.”
  • After Saturday’s game, James singled out Cam Reddish, who is finding a role with the Lakers after unsuccessful stints with Atlanta, New York and Portland, tweets Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report. “People were writing him off,” James said. “I’m so happy he got to experience this and perform. I believe in him.”
  • The matchup with the Pacers allowed D’Angelo Russell to renew his rivalry with Bruce Brown, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. They faced off in last season’s Western Conference Finals, and Brown, who was with Denver at the time, called Russell “not the best defender.” Russell was animated Saturday night, raising two fingers when Brown picked up his second foul in the first quarter and yelling at Indiana’s bench after he scored. “He was talking s–t all year. Yeah. Talking s–t all year,” Russell said of Brown. “For me, it was just showing it with my play. I don’t have nothing to say to him. I’m a fan of him to be honest. This was just all on the court. Got something to say? Show me on the court. (Nikola) Jokic ain’t there next to you today. It’s different.”
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In-Season Tournament Notes: Reaction, Playoffs, Potential Changes, Media Deal

December 10th, 2023 at 10:45am CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s first in-season tournament is being celebrated as a success on every level, and the league will consider changes to make it even better, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Television ratings have been sharply higher than what NBA games typically get in November and early December, as players and coaches have embraced the idea of having another prize to compete for.

“It’s been incredibly positive,” said Evan Wasch, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball strategy and analytics. “It’s gone better than we possibly could have hoped or expected, in large part because of the player and team buy-in. We’ve always known that the success of this would ultimately be driven by how much players and teams care about this, and I think the verdict is in and they care about it.

“Between the quality of the competition on the court, the way they’ve talked about it on social media and in their post-game press conferences, it’s clear that there was just a lot of energy and excitement across the board. Even from players who admitted that they were skeptics before the tournament are now bought in. And so that was just really exciting to see and couldn’t have been known until it happened.”

While the NBA will conduct a review of the tournament to see how it could be improved, Wasch said any changes are unlikely to be related to the playoffs. There have been suggestions that the winner should get some benefit involving postseason positioning or the play-in tournament, but Wasch indicated that the league wants to keep those things separate.

“We felt pretty strongly about as we were designing this tournament:  if you’re trying to create this new championship, this new tentpole, that the way to build it with the most potential is to make sure that it sits separate and stands on its own in terms of the value,” he said. “We already have a play-in tournament that takes place in April. If you gave the winner of this tournament a guaranteed playoff seat or a guaranteed spot or some sort of benefit, you’ve essentially created another play-in tournament that just happens to take place in November and December.

“We thought that puts an artificial ceiling on what this tournament could become in terms of the value to players. We won’t rule out tying it into the season in some way, but we think that we’ve created enough meaning behind it in this first iteration without any of those tie-ins. We don’t necessarily think that’s necessary, but absolutely open to the feedback and we’ll have that discussion with our players.”

There’s more on the tournament:

  • The event could wind up being longer in the future, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. It’s possible the knockout round may be expanded to include more than eight teams, Fischer adds, because that’s the feature that most differentiates it from normal regular season play.
  • The tournament’s ratings success puts the NBA in an even better position as it prepares to negotiate its next media rights deal, observes Bryan Toporek of Forbes. According to the league, viewership increased by 26% during the group play stage and even more once the knockout round began.
  • ESPN’s Brian Windhorst sees the Lakers‘ run to the tournament title as proof that having star players is as important as ever, which is why teams go to such great lengths to get them. Tournament MVP LeBron James was brilliant through the competition, and Anthony Davis dominated the title game with 41 points and 20 rebounds.
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Adam Silver To Meet With Ja Morant About Suspension

December 10th, 2023 at 9:31am CST by Arthur Hill

Commissioner Adam Silver will meet this week with Grizzlies star Ja Morant as he nears the end of his suspension, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

In June, Morant was suspended for at least 25 games following a second incident of brandishing a gun in public. When he announced the suspension, Silver said he wants to assess Morant’s readiness to return before reinstating him. He indicated Saturday that the two-time All-Star is moving in the right direction.

“I have been monitoring this situation closely,” Silver told reporters before the in-season tournament finale in Las Vegas. “We together laid out a program for him over the last several weeks, and to the best of my knowledge, he’s complied with everything he’s been asked to do.”

Memphis has gotten off to a rough start without its best player, languishing toward the bottom of the Western Conference standings at 6-15. If Morant’s suspension is limited to 25 games, he will be eligible to return for a December 19 contest at New Orleans.

The two-time All-Star was suspended for eight games last season after an online video clip showed him waving a gun in a nightclub near Denver. A second video was later posted of Morant holding a gun and dancing while riding in a vehicle with friends, leading to his second suspension.

“We’re going to talk directly once, at least this week, before he comes back,” Silver said, “(and) I think we’ll review the program and just make sure the conditions are in place for him to be successful going forward.”

The commissioner addressed several other topics in his press conference:

  • Silver clarified comments on load management made before the start of the season by NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars, Vardon states. Explaining the league’s new player participation policy, Dumars indicated there’s no data showing that load management is effective. Silver said resting players can lead to better performances, but there’s no hard evidence that it prevents injuries. “The question is, I think the ultimate notion behind load management isn’t so much that there isn’t a fall for performance when you’re tired and fatigued,” Silver explained. “The question is does it lead to more injuries and especially the way load management is now used?”
  • Silver said he was “surprised” that Tamika Tremaglio stepped down as executive director of the NBPA after a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached this summer, according to Vardon. “As far as I can tell from the outside, it’s been a very smooth transition there to Andre Iguodala as I guess the interim executive director,” Silver said. “Nothing has changed in terms of our day-to-day relations with them, and I have no other knowledge about why either the players association or Tamika decided to, you know, change the relationship.” 
  • Colorful courts will remain part of future in-season tournaments, Vardon adds in a separate story. Silver called himself “a big advocate” of the courts, saying they’re an indication that the game is something special. Silver also hinted that specially designed courts could be used in the NBA Finals. Other aspects of the tournament will be reviewed, particularly using point differential as the primary tie-breaker, the commissioner stated.
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The Lakers Players Who Benefited Most From IST Prize Money

December 10th, 2023 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ team salary this season is just above the $165.3MM luxury tax line, far exceeding the $126MM or so on the Pacers‘ books.

However, not a single player on Indiana’s roster is on a minimum-salary contract and only four Pacers players on standard deals are earning less than $5MM this season. By comparison, Los Angeles has eight players with cap hits below that $5MM threshold, including five earning the minimum.

While the $500K bonus for winning the NBA’s in-season tournament (IST) may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it serves as a significant pay raise for the players on the lower half of the Lakers’ cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $250K.

Here are the Lakers players for whom the NBA Cup prize money represents more than a 10% raise on their 2023/24 base salary, which is noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $500K bonus:

Players receiving a $250K bonus:

The bonuses for Lewis and the Lakers’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.7% on their respective base salaries.

The Lakers’ coaching staff also benefited financially from their in-season tournament success. Head coach Darvin Ham earned the same $500K bonus that his players did, while his assistant coaches divvied up $375K in bonus money.

The Pacers’ players and head coach Rick Carlisle went home with bonuses worth $200K (or $100K for two-way players).

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Lakers’ team salary for cap purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Indiana and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST.

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LeBron James Named MVP As Lakers Win NBA’s First In-Season Tournament

December 9th, 2023 at 10:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers pulled away from the Pacers Saturday night in Las Vegas to finish the in-season tournament unbeaten and claim the first-ever NBA Cup.

LeBron James was named tournament MVP after posting 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as L.A. secured a 123-109 victory in the title game. Anthony Davis was the night’s biggest star with 41 points, 20 rebounds and five assists, while Austin Reaves contributed 28 points.

James was the MVP choice of 14 of the 20 writers who voted (Twitter link from NBA Communications). Davis got five votes, and one went to Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton.

At the post-game press conference, James said the Lakers showed growth as a team throughout the tournament (video link from Khobi Price of The Orange County Register).

“I feel like guys have felt a lot more comfortable in their roles,” he said. “We’ve had a pretty good understanding of rotations, who we’re going to be playing with, what guys want to do out on the floor. Like AD said, getting (Jarred Vanderbilt) back, getting Rui (Hachimura) back has definitely helped our size. Getting Cam (Reddish) back has helped us out a lot.”

Apart from two games with the Suns, the Lakers weren’t really tested as they posted a 7-0 record in tournament play. Assigned to West Group A, they began with a three-point win at Phoenix on November 10, then followed with comfortable victories over Memphis, Portland and Utah.

Knockout play began Tuesday with another three-point victory over the Suns, followed by a 44-point blowout of the Pelicans in Thursday’s semifinals.

Indiana suffered its first loss of the tournament after advancing out of East Group A, then upsetting the Celtics and Bucks in knockout games.

“We just got outplayed tonight from the start of the game to the end of the game,” Haliburton said (Twitter link from Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). They just outplayed us.”

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Woj: LeBron Already Working Toward Owning Expansion Team In Vegas

December 9th, 2023 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James isn’t just discussing the possibility of owning an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, he’s already trying to make it happen, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said tonight on NBA Countdown (video link).

“He has been active behind the scenes and on a regular basis now in meetings with his advisors planning with a group about what a franchise would look like, how an organization would run and then obviously the finances,” Wojnarowski said. “It is going to be an expensive proposition to get an expansion team in this next round.”

Wojnarowski adds that one potential obstacle for an ownership group led by James was recently eliminated when the Adelson family reached a tentative agreement to purchase the Mavericks. The Adelsons are involved in the casino business and would have been “a real contender” to become the new owners of a Las Vegas team, according to Wojnarowski.

Woj also confirms that the NBA plans to begin considering expansion once its next media rights deal is finalized and has an eye on adding two teams, with Las Vegas and Seattle considered the current favorites.

“LeBron James is determined to be at the forefront of a Vegas expansion NBA team in the future,” Wojnarowski adds, “and he is putting the work in on it now.”

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Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Nembhard, Turner, Two-Way Players

December 9th, 2023 at 7:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Borrowing a video game analogy, Tyrese Haliburton called Lakers star LeBron James the “final boss” that the Pacers have to defeat to win the in-season tournament, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

To reach tonight’s title game, Indiana had to get past a Bucks team that features Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard and a Celtics squad headlined by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Before that, there were group play matchups with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Trae Young, and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham.

None of them has the same mystique as James, who has been one of the league’s elite players for more than two decades. Dopirak points out that Haliburton was just three years old when James played his first NBA game, and the Pacers guard followed him closely until he became a professional himself.

“Like any kid born in 2000, LeBron was my favorite player growing up, and it’s hard for him not to be for a lot of us,” Haliburton said. “Growing up, I was a Cavs fan, then a Heat fan, then a Cavs fan again, then a Lakers fan before I got drafted. It’s just how it went. To be able to compete against him in a championship is kind of like a storybook a little bit, and it’s going to be a lot of fun. But that’s the great part about being in the NBA, getting to compete against your idols on a nightly basis. I really look forward to that.”

There’s more on the Pacers:

  • In tonight’s pre-game meeting with the media, coach Rick Carlisle said Andrew Nembhard has a right knee bone bruise and will be sidelined for at least the next seven days, Dopirak tweets. “We’ll see where he is and evaluate it from there, but not viewed as a long-term thing,” Carlisle said. “But we’ll miss him today.”
  • Before he agreed to a two-year extension in January, it appeared Myles Turner might not be part of the Pacers’ future, and there were persistent rumors during the summer of 2022 that he was headed to the Lakers. In an interview with Chris Hayes of TNT and Bleacher Report (video link), Turner stated that he’s glad things turned out the way they did and he’s eager for the team to have a high-stakes game in front of a national audience. “People getting to see what we’re about here in Indiana,” Turner said. “It’s fun seeing everything through and to say you didn’t quit.”
  • The financial incentive in tonight’s game will be especially important for the two-way players, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Pacers’ Kendall Brown, Oscar Tshiebwe and Isaiah Wong will get a half share of the prize money, which means $250K for first place and $100K for second. Two-way contracts pay $559,782 and carry a $279,891 guarantee.
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Lakers Notes: Tournament, Trade Rumors, Russell, LeBron

December 9th, 2023 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers blitzed most of their competition on the way to the finals of the in-season tournament, but they haven’t encountered an offense on the level of the Pacers, whom they’ll face in tonight’s title game, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Indiana has scored 122 and 128 points in its two knockout-round contests, pushing the ball repeatedly and relying heavily on three-point shooting.

“Their pace of play is second to none,” Austin Reaves said. “They score a lot of points and are very capable of going on quick runs just with the way they shoot the ball and the way they play. Being able to transition or not – honestly, they kind of make it all transition; even if you make a shot, they get it out of the net real quick. Just being able to focus on kind of building a wall and trying to stop that.”

It’s a sharp contrast with the Lakers, who are an older team with plenty of size to overpower opponents. Price notes that the Pacers tend to allow a lot of shots in the paint and are prone to foul trouble, and coach Darvin Ham said it’s important to not let Indiana dictate the style of play.

“We can’t get so caught up in trying to stop and prevent them from doing what they like to do,” Ham said. “We will, but we also can’t forget to enforce our will upon the game, too. They have to guard us, too. Coming out with an aggressive mindset will definitely be the first and foremost thing that we do.” 

There’s more on the Lakers:

  • The front office wants to see the full team in action for a while before getting serious about trade talks, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN. Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish and Rui Hachimura all returned from injuries within the past week, and Gabe Vincent remains sidelined with a left knee issue. Any deals likely won’t happen until after January 15, Lowe adds, when the last of the team’s offseason free agent signees will become eligible to be moved. L.A. has been mentioned as a possible destination for the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, but Lowe hears that management is reluctant to downgrade the team’s defense to improve its offense.
  • D’Angelo Russell tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (video link) that the in-season tournament is providing a “cheat code” to prepare for the playoffs, saying it has a “second-round, third-round type of feel.”
  • In an interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio (Twitter link), Ham touts LeBron James as the front-runner for this season’s MVP honors (hat tip to Bleacher Report). “He’s spearheaded everything you see going on with our team,” Ham said. “The numbers he’s putting up. He’s impacting winning. The numbers when he’s on the floor as opposed to when he’s off the floor. … I think it’s a no-brainer.”
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Kyrie Irving Escapes Serious Injury

December 9th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

5:15 pm: The Mavericks confirmed (via Twitter) that Irving has a right heel contusion and has returned to Dallas for treatment. No timetable has been set for him to resume playing.

5:04 pm: Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving suffered a heel contusion in Friday’s night game at Portland, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He’s beginning treatment for the injury, and there’s no word on how long he might be sidelined.

According to an ESPN report, Irving was injured on a drive to the basket late in the first half. He fell to the floor after contact, and teammate Dwight Powell landed on him while chasing a loose ball.

Irving stayed on the court for several minutes, but was able to shoot two free throws before leaving the game. The team later announced that he wouldn’t return.

Mavericks officials are relieved that an MRI taken today showed that Irving’s injury is “just a bruise,” according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He adds that Irving has been dealing with soreness in his foot since the start of the season.

Irving didn’t travel with the team for Monday’s game at Memphis, a source tells Marc Stein (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made an official announcement about Irving’s status, but he’s expected to miss at least that game.

Irving has been an important component to the early-season success for Dallas, which is third in the West at 13-8. Through 17 games, he is averaging 23.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field and 38.4% from three-point range.

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Gorgui Dieng Working For Spurs As Basketball Operations Representative

December 9th, 2023 at 3:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran big man Gorgui Dieng never formally announced his retirement as a player, but it sounds as if he has moved onto the next stage of his career. As Jeff McDonald details for The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required), Dieng is working with the Spurs as a basketball operations representative, a title the team created for him.

According to McDonald, Dieng splits his time between the front office and coaching staff, working with general manager Brian Wright in addition to mentoring young big men like Victor Wembanyama and Charles Bassey.

“I’m very free on what I’m doing,” Dieng said. “I’m in the front office learning and doing stuff. When they start practice, I come here and help the team. I’m here just to be around them and help.”

Dieng, who will turn 34 in January, appeared in a total of 628 regular season NBA games from 2013-23, averaging 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per night for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Spurs, and Hawks. In 2022/23, he played in 31 games for San Antonio, providing some veteran frontcourt depth and serving as a leader in the locker room.

“Everyone around me knew I wanted to play 10 years and that was it,” Dieng said. “I always said that. When I reached 10, I said I’ve reached my goal. It was time to stop and try different stuff.”

Despite his stated desire to play just 10 years, Dieng was open to contract offers this past offseason, but didn’t generate much interest on the free agent market, McDonald reports.

The Senegalese forward/center, who has a house in San Antonio and spent some time at the team’s practice facility during the summer, approached Wright about joining the organization as an intern, according to McDonald, who says the team insisted on giving Dieng a formal position and a salary. Head coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs’ players are happy to have him around.

“He’s a wonderful human being,” Popovich said. “He’s one of the all-time favorite teammates of everybody. He’s a great source of experience in the league, and anybody can talk to him.”

“He’s someone you can always talk to at any time,” Spurs guard Tre Jones agreed. “He is always open. I think just having that personal connection to everybody and having such good relationships with people, that’s what makes him who he is.”

For his part, Dieng says he’s “learning a lot of stuff” in his new role and that he’s especially enjoyed the work he’s doing in the Spurs’ front office. According to McDonald, Dieng said he can imagine himself one day becoming a team’s top basketball operations executive, but for now he’s happy to play a far more modest role in San Antonio and perhaps work his way up the ladder.

“The front office, it takes talent,” Dieng said. “It takes hard work. Us (players), we just play and go home. They put everything together.”

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