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Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Wall, Pelinka, Vogel, Davis

January 26th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers aren’t interested in attaching their 2027 first-round pick (the only one they can trade) to Russell Westbrook in a hypothetical deal for Rockets guard John Wall, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.

Stein first reported on Friday that Houston would be open to swapping Wall for Westbrook if they could get a first-round pick in the deal, but that was never viewed as an option that would appeal to the Lakers, despite Westbrook’s struggles this season. As I wrote on Friday, if L.A. is willing to give up its 2027 first-rounder, there should be better trade options than dealing Westbrook for Wall, who has only played 40 games in the last three seasons.

Besides there being no guarantee that replacing Westbrook with Wall would improve their ceiling, the Lakers also have “major optics concerns” about the idea of essentially making Westbrook a salary dump so soon after giving up assets to acquire him in the 2021 offseason, Stein writes.

Here’s more on the Lakers and Westbrook:

Prior to Stein’s report, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN wrote that the Lakers are prepared to move forward with Westbrook, recognizing that a trade isn’t really an option. “It’s not like [Westbrook’s] a tradable player where if it’s not working out you just move on; everybody in the NBA knows that,” a team source told ESPN. “So it’s got to work. This is the only option. There is no Plan B for this season.” As Shelburne notes, Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis have only played together in about a third of the Lakers’ games, so there’s hope that the stars will become more comfortable with one another as the season progresses.
President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka met with Westbrook for nearly two hours last Thursday following the veteran guard’s crunch-time benching on Wednesday, according to Shelburne, who says head coach Frank Vogel has also met one-and-one with Westbrook multiple times to try to find ways to make him feel more comfortable.
While the Lakers will do their best to acquire an impact player at the trade deadline, team sources are “managing expectations” behind the scenes about what sorts of moves the club can realistically make, writes Shelburne.
Although Anthony Davis has returned from his knee injury, his conditioning still isn’t back to 100%, as Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group details. “We are still viewing these first few games as not out of the woods yet,” Vogel said. “This is going to be his reconditioning phase. He’s gonna do it in games. And there might be some stretches where he’s out of sync and out of rhythm. We’re expecting that.”

Anthony Davis To Return On Tuesday

January 25th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JANUARY 25: Davis will return Tuesday and will be on a minutes restriction, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Lakers face the Nets at 6:30pm CT on TNT.

JANUARY 24: Lakers star Anthony Davis is probable to play at Brooklyn on Tuesday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets.

Davis had been trending toward a return in recent weeks and the club was hopeful he could suit up during its current trip.

Davis has been rehabbing from an MCL sprain in his left knee. The initial prognosis was that he would miss at least four weeks.

It took approximately one more week than that, as Davis last appeared in a game on Dec. 17. The Lakers have a 7-10 record in the games he’s missed since going down.

Davis was injured when LeBron James was called for an offensive foul for pushing Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels, who lost his balance and fell into Davis’ left knee. He’s averaging 23.3 PPG and 9.9 RPG.

His return is a welcome development for a team with title aspirations that is currently floundering with a 23-24 record. Los Angeles has dropped five of its last seven games, including a 113-107 loss at Miami on Sunday. The Lakers are in the midst of a six-game road swing and won’t return home until next month.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Westbrook, Vogel, Johnson

January 22nd, 2022 at 4:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers big man Anthony Davis will be a game-time decision Sunday in Miami, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Davis, who has missed the last 16 games with a sprained left knee, is listed as questionable in the team’s latest injury report.

Davis suffered the injury in a December 17 game when an opposing player fell to the court and collided with his knee. He was cleared for full-contact workouts earlier this week, and there has been optimism that he might be able to resume playing during the current road trip.

There’s more on the Lakers:

Russell Westbrook and coach Frank Vogel both want to move beyond the issue of Westbrook being benched for the closing minutes of Wednesday’s game, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Westbrook and Vogel acknowledged that they discussed the situation leading up to Friday’s contest in Orlando, which saw the former MVP back in his regular role. “I’ve been doing my job since Day 1 and doing everything that’s been asked of me since I got here,” said Westbrook, who admitted being angry over the situation. “And I’ll continue to do that for the betterment of the team and doing what’s best for us and finding ways to implement how I can make an impact on this team.”
There were reports that Vogel received permission from the front office to handle Westbrook as he saw fit, but Vogel said Friday that he didn’t talk to anyone in management before opting to keep Westbrook on the bench, believing the decision was his alone to make, Goon adds in the same piece. “I’ve got full autonomy to make any coaching decisions necessary to win games. That is something that has always been persistent there,” said Vogel, who has faced speculation that his job might be in danger. “I do communicate with the front office on everything I’m considering and there’s a strong alignment there. What it ultimately comes down to … we talk about a lot of different things and I have autonomy to make the final decisions.”
Stanley Johnson, who signed his third 10-day contract on Monday, was in the starting lineup for the beginning of the second half Friday, notes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Vogel attributed the move to matchups, and it worked as L.A. went on a 19-2 run to take control of the game.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Nunn, Johnson, Vogel

January 18th, 2022 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have cleared Anthony Davis to begin on-court, full-contact workouts, according to Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Davis, who hasn’t played since December 17 due to a sprained left knee, underwent a reevaluation on Monday and team doctors determined that recent testing showed no damage to the knee.

Although Los Angeles hasn’t provided a specific timeline for Davis’ return, people with knowledge of the situation tell Woike and Turner that the big man could be back during the club’s upcoming six-game road trip. That trip will begin on Friday in Orlando and runs through Sunday, January 30.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

While the update on Davis was relatively positive, the same can’t be said of point guard Kendrick Nunn. As Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group relays, head coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Monday that Nunn’s right knee “didn’t respond well” during his ramp-up process, and his Lakers debut isn’t imminent. “Bone bruises are tricky, and his timeline is delayed,” Vogel said. “Still have no firm timeline on it, but he’s pulled back from workload until it calms down.”
Stanley Johnson, back under contract on his third 10-day deal, scored 10 fourth-quarter points on Monday vs. Utah and played a key role in helping the Lakers snap their three-game losing streak. As Turner writes for The Los Angeles Times, Johnson’s impact and role keep growing and he’s making a strong case for a rest-of-season commitment.
In case you missed it, Vogel is firmly on the hot seat, with the team said to be evaluating him on a game-to-game basis. In his latest Substack column, Marc Stein argues that, while Vogel isn’t blameless in Los Angeles’ up-and-down performance this season, holding him culpable for the team’s struggles is “outright laughable.”

Anthony Davis Could Return During Late January Trip

January 14th, 2022 at 6:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers perennial All-Star big man Anthony Davis could be back in action sometime this month, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. His return may come during a six-game road trip which runs from January 21-30.

Davis participated in an individual on-court workout on Friday, four weeks after spraining the MCL in his left knee. The initial prognosis was that Davis would miss at least four weeks.

Davis was injured when LeBron James was called for an offensive foul for pushing Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels, who lost his balance and fell into his left knee. Davis is averaging 23.3 PPG and 9.9 RPG.

Davis has missed the Lakers’ last 12 games and the team has gone 5-7 during that stretch. The Lakers play three more games before their six-game road trip, which begins in Orlando next Friday.

Pacific Notes: Lacob, Thompson, Davis, Kings

January 10th, 2022 at 9:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors owner Joe Lacob believes his team is poised to win more championships, as he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

“Our goal is to be great throughout this decade,” he said. “We had a great last decade and our goal is to set ourselves up for another great decade.”

With the return of Klay Thompson on Sunday, Lacob is eager to see how deep the team can get in this year’s playoffs.

“We’ve got all the pieces back together and we’ve had a good offseason and we drafted some young guys that haven’t gotten a chance to play yet that we really like. So I feel like this is our first year of getting back after the five-year title run,” he said. “We’ll see where it goes. I’m not assuming anything at this point, but we certainly have a lot of talent, a really good team and I think it will jell even more so as we go along this year.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Thompson had 17 points in his comeback game, including a first-half dunk. He drew energy from the crowd after missing 177 consecutive games, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes. “I will never forget the reception that Warriors fans gave us, especially myself,” Thompson said. “Gosh it was fun and it was worth every single day of being away and in that squat rack or on that shuttle board and all the conditioning days. It was worth every single moment. I am not going to say equivalent to winning a championship But man, it was pretty freaking close.”
The Lakers lost to Memphis on Sunday but there was one promising development, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times notes. Anthony Davis was spotted on the court before the game going through an individual workout, the first time he’s done that since spraining a knee ligament on December 17. Davis wore a bulky brace on the knee for precautionary reasons. The Lakers are scheduled to provide an update on Davis’ recovery as early as this weekend, Woike adds.
The disappointing Kings have to figure out over the next few weeks whether to be buyers or sellers on the trade market, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. It’s no secret that the front office has been shopping Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III. However, the team’s brass may have to consider moving De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes or Richaun Holmes to get an impact player that can change the franchise’s fortunes, Anderson adds.

Anthony Davis Has MCL Sprain, Will Miss At Least Four Weeks

December 18th, 2021 at 5:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers star Anthony Davis suffered an MCL sprain during Friday’s game and will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Davis was injured midway through the third quarter when LeBron James was called for an offensive foul for pushing Jaden McDaniels, who lost his balance and fell into Davis’ left knee, McMenamin writes in a recap of the game. Davis tried to walk to the locker room without help, but he collapsed to the ground in pain while going through the tunnel. The Lakers originally classified the injury as a contusion, but an MRI today showed the full extent of the damage.

Davis has been experiencing pain in the knee and had an ultrasound performed Monday, McMenamin adds. He also turned his right ankle in the first quarter Friday and had to be treated by team doctors.

Davis missed 36 of the team’s 72 games last season, but had been much healthier this season. He has played in 27 of the Lakers’ first 30 games and is putting up typically dominant numbers with 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 blocks per night.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Thomas, Westbrook, Ariza

December 18th, 2021 at 9:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers forward Anthony Davis suffered a left knee injury in the team’s 110-92 loss to the Timberwolves on Friday and he’ll undergo an MRI today after the team flies to Chicago, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“So far all is in good structure, but (we) want to take another image,” a source familiar with the injury told McMenamin.

Davis had already been dealing with soreness in the same knee. He underwent an ultrasound on Monday and was examined by the Timberwolves’ team doctor after Friday’s game. Officially, the Lakers are calling Davis’ injury a knee contusion. He struggled to make it to the locker room, collapsing to the ground in pain going through the tunnel.

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Isaiah Thomas made a heartwarming return to the NBA after signing a 10-day contract via the hardship exemption. He scored 19 points and received an ovation from the Minnesota crowd when he entered. Thomas expressed gratitude and said he feels healthy, McMenamin tweets. “I just never thought I would feel this way again,” he said. “Like, I have no limitations with my body, with my hip and that’s why I just smile so much because I’m in a great place mentally and I’m in a great place physically.”
It’s unlikely that Thomas will wind up remaining on the 15-man roster, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. The team would likely have waive Avery Bradley or shed the guaranteed contract of Rajon Rondo or DeAndre Jordan to make that happen.
Russell Westbrook had 14 points in 29 minutes on Friday. He entered health and safety protocols briefly but didn’t miss any games after producing multiple negative tests. Westbrook had three negative tests after testing positive, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. He arrived in Minneapolis in mid-afternoon from Dallas, where Los Angeles played its previous game.
Trevor Ariza was in uniform on Friday but was the only player on the active list to record a DNP. The team will ease the veteran forward back into action, Bill Oram of The Athletic tweets. Ariza has yet to make his season debut after undergoing ankle surgery.

Pacific Notes: Davis, Winslow, Sarver, Paul

December 13th, 2021 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are hopeful Anthony Davis will return to action on Wednesday, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. Davis has missed the last two game with left knee soreness. Los Angeles begins a three-game road trip at Dallas.

“We did an ultrasound on it,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. “Everything is structurally intact. Just taking another day, with the two days off before the next game, and hopefully we’ll put this behind us.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers forward Justise Winslow had a productive 15-minute stint against Orlando on Saturday, contributing nine points and five rebounds. Winslow has been waiting patiently for opportunities, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. “Just sticking with it, the ups and downs, staying steady, not too high, not too low,” he said. “Really practicing what I preach, putting the work in, staying steady, staying ready, staying ready for my time, so it felt good just to make all the winning plays that I did (Saturday), just go out there and impact the game.” Winslow is in the first year of a two-year, $8MM deal.
Former Suns employees who signed nondisclosure agreements have begun scheduling and participating in interviews regarding the league’s investigation of owner Robert Sarver, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN. The lawyers informed the former employees they would be released from the agreements in order to speak freely on the investigation. The league announced in early November they would investigate Sarver’s conduct and whether a toxic work environment existed within the organization.
It has been 10 years since then-commissioner David Stern voided a trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers. Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times takes a look back at the circumstances surrounding the voided trade and the aftermath of the decision, which resulted in Paul landing with the Clippers.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Ayton, AD, Ariza, Holmes

December 10th, 2021 at 8:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors star Stephen Curry is running away with the early-season MVP race, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps ran an informal straw poll of 100 media members mimicking the awards ballot run during the postseason, and Curry received 94 of 100 first-place votes.

Curry, a two-time MVP, is averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.8 steals in 24 games (34.2 MPG). He leads the league in three-pointers made and attempts with 5.5 and 13.3 per game, respectively, good for 41.3%. The Warriors have the league’s best record at 21-4.

Rounding out the top five of ESPN’s informal MVP poll were Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Chris Paul.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Suns center Deandre Ayton will miss Friday’s game against the Celtics, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Ayton left the team’s shootaround early with a non-COVID illness.
Anthony Davis missed Friday’s game for the Lakers with knee soreness, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. In an article from McMenamin, Davis say the Lakers need to start playing like underdogs after losing to the Grizzlies 108-95. “These guys already feel like they’re the underdogs when they’re coming in, especially when they’re without their star players,” Davis said of a Memphis team playing without its top two scorers, Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks, due to health and safety protocols. “And we got to play like we’re the underdogs. Which, now, at this point of the season, the way we’re playing, a lot of games, we probably are.”
Lakers coach Frank Vogel says Trevor Ariza could spent some time in the G League as he recovers from ankle surgery, Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group relays (via Twitter). There’s still no timeline for Ariza’s return.
The Kings will be without starting center Richaun Holmes for at least a couple games. He sustained a cut on his right eye Wednesday vs. Orlando which was surgically mended, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. He missed Friday’s game vs. Charlotte and will be out for Saturday’s contest with Cleveland, too. Holmes is expected to make a full recovery.