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Los Angeles Notes: James, Davis, Ibaka, Leonard, Morris

November 13th, 2021 at 9:24am CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James hasn’t played since November 2 due to an abdominal strain, but Lakers coach Frank Vogel is hopeful the star forward will make it back soon, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. James has returned to the practice court.

“His rehab is progressing nicely,” Vogel said. “He’s back to doing on-court basketball activity and this does not seem like it’s going to be an extended stretch and he’s to be considered truly day-to-day.”

We have more on the Lakers and Clippers:

The Lakers were pounded by the Timberwolves on Friday, losing by 24 points, and Anthony Davis ripped the team afterward. Davis said the club has been “lackadaisical” in the third quarter all season and questioned its desire to be a true contender, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes. “We got to decide who we want to be. A championship team? That’s not us right now,” Davis said. “We’re not winning a championship the way we’re playing. We got to be better, and we got to care more for our wins at home. Wins in general. That was embarrassing.”
Clippers big man Serge Ibaka volunteered to take a G League assignment in order to get his timing back after a prolonged absence due to back surgery, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register tweets. “He wanted to get down and find his rhythm,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “The game is a little fast for him, so he wanted to go down to the G League and play and get his reps, his timing. … that’s a true professional.”
Kawhi Leonard is still expected to miss most or all of this season as he recovers from a torn right ACL but he’s showing progress, Swanson writes. “Just seeing him active and being able to jump and progress in the way he is, it’s just good to see,” Lue said. Meanwhile, Marcus Morris could return in a week or two from a knee injury, according to a TNT report. Morris hasn’t played since October 23.

Pacific Notes: Bagley, Davis, Warriors, R. Jackson

November 10th, 2021 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings coach Luke Walton refused to comment on speculation that Marvin Bagley III refused to check into Monday’s game against the Suns, tweets Sean Cunningham of KXTV in Sacramento. Cunningham posted a video clip of Bagley walking away from coaches and shaking his head during a timeout. Cunningham was told by multiple sources that Bagley turned down Walton when he was told to enter the game.

“Anything that happens within our group, that’s between our group,” Walton responded when reporters asked him about the incident. “So the thing that matters is people know what’s expected and we continue to move forward tonight” (Twitter link from Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee).

Bagley has repeatedly expressed frustration about his situation with the Kings, as have his agent and his father. He has only played once in the team’s first 11 games.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Anthony Davis is determined to prove that he can lead the Lakers with LeBron James sidelined, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Davis overcame a lingering stomach illness Monday night to push L.A. to an overtime victory against the Hornets. “(Carmelo Anthony) is in my ear a lot about leading the team and just controlling the team, especially with (James) out,” Davis said. “We don’t have all our guys yet, so guys are playing a lot of minutes now, but it’s my job to make sure I stay in command of the team.”
Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers didn’t make a splashy trade during the offseason, but all his smaller pick-ups have worked out, observes Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area. Myers filled the roster with Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr., all of whom have contributed to the team’s league-best 9-1 start.
Defense was among the many topics that Clippers guard Reggie Jackson wanted to talk about after Tuesday’s win over the Trail Blazers, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. He said everyone has bought into the scheme, enabling L.A. to rank in the top three in team defense despite playing without Kawhi Leonard. “(Ivica Zubac) and myself and a few of us have actually been joking about (Luke Kennard’s) willingness to play defense, honestly,” Jackson said. “He’s been such a threat on offense and now the way that he’s locking in on defense and giving his best effort, he understands what we’re trying to get accomplished, he understands where help’s coming from, where he needs to be at in help and it’s just getting contagious. Like, this is fun. It’s fun figuring it out.”

L.A. Notes: Westbrook, Davis, Bledsoe, Ibaka

November 7th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers and Russell Westbrook had their worst night of the season Saturday in Portland, but the former MVP indicated that he’s still in the adjustment phase with his new team, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Westbrook hit one of eight shots from the field and scored just eight points in a game that L.A. trailed by as many as 34 points.

Ten games into the season, the Lakers are still working on chemistry after overhauling their roster during the summer. The tinkering included Westbrook, who was part of an offseason trade for the third straight year.

“With that is always a struggle to make sure that I am able to be who I am supposed to be on the floor and that’s doing everything and playing the hardest I can possibly play,” he said. “And I’ve gotta do that for our team and I didn’t do that tonight but that is something that I will make sure is done moving forward.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

Anthony Davis left Saturday’s game midway through the first quarter with a stomach illness, but the team said it’s not related to COVID-19, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Davis, who was listed as questionable after spraining his left thumb Thursday, tried to play through the illness, but wasn’t able to. “I know this year he’s very upset with how last year went and how much time he missed,” Vogel said. “So, everything that’s 50-50 whether to be in or out thus far this year, it’s been, ‘I’m playing unless I absolutely can’t play.’ He’s just not happy with how much time he missed last year. So, if he can play without major limitations, he’s going to be in there.”
The Clippers haven’t lost confidence in point guard Eric Bledsoe during his slow start, according to Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Bledsoe is putting up career-worst numbers in shooting, rebounds and assists in his first eight games after being acquired in an offseason trade, and some of his misses have been particularly ugly. However, he helped spark Friday’s rally in Minnesota and his teammates believe his game will eventually come around. “I don’t think people are understanding how tough it is for someone to come into a new system and is being expected to have a large role and to bring what he’s great at,” Paul George said. “It’s hard to kind of find yourself, find your way.”
Clippers center Serge Ibaka may be ready for his season debut today, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, who notes that Ibaka isn’t listed on the team’s injury report. Ibaka battled back pain last season and underwent surgery during the summer.

Damian Lillard Discusses Decision To Stick With Blazers

November 3rd, 2021 at 4:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has acknowledged that he reevaluated his future in Portland following a frustrating 2020/21 season and first-round playoff loss. However, after a summer of soul-searching, the six-time All-Star appears more committed than ever to the Blazers, expressing that sentiment again this week after he received cheers from Sixers fans in Philadelphia, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN details.

“I know what it is and I know what it’s about,” Lillard said after the game. “But I’m a Trail Blazer. I appreciate the love. I appreciate the respect that they showed and the desire or whatever but I’m 10 toes in Rip City, and I’ve said that time and time again, and tonight I laughed about it during starting lineups but that was that.”

Lillard has spoken a little over the last month about his recommitment to the Blazers, but he went into more detail on his thought process in a conversation with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, revealing that he weighed his decision for two months and met in Los Angeles with Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the offseason.

According to Lillard, James and Davis didn’t push him to become a Laker. Even if Lillard had expressed interest in such a scenario, the odds of Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey trading him to Los Angeles would’ve been virtually non-existent, Haynes notes. Still, LeBron asked him how he felt about his situation in Portland and talked about what it might look like if he were to leave. For his part, Lillard expressed reluctance to join a super-team.

“I was just saying, I don’t know if this is the route I wanted to go,” Lillard told Haynes. “And that was pretty much how the conversation went.

“… I’m sure it would be great to play with LeBron and AD and play in a big market, but as attractive as it sounded and as fun as that might be, I don’t feel in my heart that that’s who I am or where I belong. And one thing I want to emphasize is that this decision (to stick with the Blazers) wasn’t made out of comfort. I’m not afraid to be out of my comfort zone, because I’m going to live here when I’m done playing regardless. I made my decision based on what I actually want to do.”

Haynes’ in-depth look at Lillard’s decision-making process includes a ton of interesting tidbits and is worth reading in full. Here are a few more of the most noteworthy quotes from the Blazers star:

On his decision to remain in Portland:

“I want to win here. I’ve attached myself to the history of this organization and this city. Just in thinking about how long it’s been since they’ve won, I want to be a part of that coming to an end. I want people to say, ‘When Dame came through here, he rode all the way out for us through the good and the bad. He was ready to sink with the ship.’

“… If I did decide to go do something else, there’s also no guarantee that I’m going to win it by moving on. So, my best bet is to stick to my guns and do what I care about in my heart. … You look at some of the dudes around the league that was at the top of their game and they made one move and now they’re on this team, next year on another team and now they’re somewhere completely different. As much as I want to win, I want to do it my way.”

On whether he’s satisfied with the moves the front office has made and the team’s direction going forward:

“The conversations I’ve had with Neil, he didn’t promise me we’re about to get LeBron. They didn’t tell me we’re about to go get a superstar player because I don’t think you need all superstar players to win. We’ve got CJ (McCollum). He’s an All-Star-level player. We’ve got (Jusuf) Nurkic. He’s one of the best centers in the league. It’s the way you piece the team together.

“If you look at Phoenix, they don’t have a bunch of stars. They got people who are really good at what they do and understand their roles. Chris Paul and Devin Booker are All-Stars, but Deandre Ayton is a quality center, Jae Crowder is an experienced, quality stretch-four man that’s tough, Cam Johnson is nice and Mikal Bridges is my favorite small forward in the league. You just look at how that team is put together and they’re in the Finals coming out of the West. That’s what my vision is. … We have the core pieces to do the same thing that Phoenix did. It’s just how you fill that in.”

On what it would be like to eventually win a title with the Blazers:

“If I was to get that championship for Portland, I would cry, bruh. Bruh, on the spot. I would really cry, bro. I want to win a championship here. And because of how strongly I feel about that, I don’t know how rewarding it would feel for me at this point if I won somewhere else. Winning it here would be a lifetime achievement for me.”

Injury Notes: Jokic, LeVert, LeBron, Davis, Zion

October 27th, 2021 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

Nikola Jokic, who sustained a right knee injury late in the second quarter of the Nuggets‘ loss to Utah on Tuesday night, seemed to be in a good deal of pain and didn’t return to the game. However, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, Jokic – who was diagnosed with a knee contusion – appears to have avoided a major injury.

“I really haven’t had a chance to talk to trainers yet but I don’t think it’s anything too too serious,” said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who added that he wasn’t sure whether Jokic would undergo any additional testing. The reigning MVP was initially deemed questionable to return and tested the knee at halftime, but Malone determined the risk wasn’t worth the reward on the second night of a back-to-back set.

“He said he thinks he’s fine,” Nuggets point guard Monte Morris said, per Youngmisuk. “He’s a real tough dude. I am sure he will be OK. I hope so.”

Here are a few more injury updates from across the NBA:

Pacers guard Caris LeVert, who is recovering from a back injury, has been ramping up his basketball activities and practiced with the team on Tuesday, per Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. Although head coach Rick Carlisle wouldn’t make any guarantees about when LeVert would be back on the court, the 27-year-old has been listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Toronto and says he feels “ready to go,” tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
LeBron James missed Tuesday’s win over San Antonio on Tuesday due to a sore right ankle and Anthony Davis injured his right knee during the fourth quarter, but the Lakers aren’t concerned about either one of their stars, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James is considered day-to-day, while Davis was able to stay in the game after suffering what he called “a little stinger.”
Pelicans head coach Willie Green provided a minor update on Zion Williamson‘s health on Tuesday, telling reporters that the former No. 1 pick is “progressing and doing more and more on the floor” (link via Pelicans.com). Williamson, who is coming off right foot surgery, will have another round of scans performed on his foot later this week or next week, according to Green, who said the team would know more at that time.

Western Notes: Howard, Davis, Mitchell, Doncic, Dragic, Beverley

October 23rd, 2021 at 11:56am CST by Dana Gauruder

Dwight Howard tried to downplay his altercation with Anthony Davis during the Lakers’ loss to Phoenix on Friday night, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The two big man had a verbal exchange on the bench during the second quarter.

“We squashed it right then and there,” Howard said. “We just had a disagreement about something that was on the floor. We’re both very passionate about winning.”

Davis said of the spat, “it’s over with.” Howard is one of many Lakers bench players signed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract.

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Kings surprised a lot of people when they drafted a guard, Davion Mitchell, in the lottery for the second straight year, but Mitchell is already making an impression with his ball-hawking defense, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets. Swingman Buddy Hield has high praise for the rookie. “I think he’s the best on-ball defender in the league,” he said. “The way he hawks the ball is different. His lateral movement. The way he closes out is different. It’s just a special gift he has.”
The Mavericks will play Toronto on Saturday in a matchup of Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic at the point. The Slovenian national team members could soon join forces in the NBA, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News notes. There were rumors swirling during the offseason after Dragic was traded to the Raptors that he could eventually wind up in Dallas. That could happen closer to the trade deadline or perhaps next summer, when Dragic becomes a free agent.
Patrick Beverley will make his Timberwolves debut on Saturday after serving a one-game league suspension. He’s says his impact on the young Minnesota roster will go beyond the stat sheet, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “Born leader, came natural for me since I was a kid, very outspoken,” Beverley said. “Even some of my ex-Clippers guards, teammates [Thursday] night after their loss to Golden State, they called me and we chopped it up a little bit. I always have a good positive spirit, positive energy. That just kind of rubs off on people every night.”

Lakers Notes: Davis, Westbrook, Bazemore, Cap

October 12th, 2021 at 1:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are considered to be one of the favorites in the West after trading for Russell Westbrook and adding a collection of veteran talent, but they haven’t looked like contenders so far, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. dropped to 0-4 in the preseason with Sunday’s 29-point loss to the Suns, and Anthony Davis admitted that having so many new players creates adjustment issues that could linger into the start of the regular season.

“We want to be good, but we don’t want to skip steps. You can’t rush the process of what we’re trying to do and win championships,” he said. “We know, possibly, there could be struggles to start the season. … But we never want to get out to a slow start — 0-5, 0-6, whatever — we still want to be able to fight through our mistakes while winning games.”

The Lakers will get their first look tonight at Davis, Westbrook and LeBron James all on the court at the same time, one week before their season opener. Westbrook has struggled in his new surroundings, shooting 1-for-7 Friday in his debut, then following that with an eight-point, nine-turnover performance against Phoenix, but he’s not concerned.

“I never had one good preseason, I mean personally,” he said. “I never really worry about it because it’s preseason.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

The Lakers are getting the defensive boost they expected from free agent addition Kent Bazemore, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. At 6’4″, Bazemore brings versatility on defense and regularly matches up in practice with both James and Westbrook. “I really think Baze has separated himself some,” coach Frank Vogel said. “His wingspan and athleticism have been more impressive up close, in that regard.”
The Lakers’ 2021/22 roster is the most top-heavy group John Hollinger of The Athletic can remember seeing since Miami put together its initial “big three” in 2010. As Hollinger observes, the Lakers’ three stars will make more than $120MM on their own this season, while nine other players on the roster are on minimum-salary contracts.
Within Hollinger’s preview of the Lakers’ season, he also recaps the team’s offseason moves, examines Westbrook’s potential fit, and shares his regular season projection for the club. Hollinger has L.A. finishing with 52 wins, good for third in the West.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Lakers Notes: Westbrook, LeBron, Davis, Anthony

October 2nd, 2021 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook not only wanted to play in his native Southern California, it was important to him to join the Lakers after being a long-time fan of Kobe Bryant. Westbrook talked about his connections to the late Hall-of-Famer in an interview with Spectrum Sports Net (video link).

“That is something I think about daily. Coming into the gym, you come in here, you look up in the practice facility, you see 8 and 24, and I know he is looking down and making sure that I need to do what I need to do,” Westbrook said. “And that’s the only thing I could think about is knowing, being in this uniform, understanding the impact I can have of being home and being a Laker and creating a legacy not just for myself but for my kids, for the community of Los Angeles, for the people here. I’m gonna make sure I just do my part in going out and playing for him and through him as I complete in this uniform.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

LeBron James sees a renewed energy in training camp stemming from a longer offseason break, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Last year, the Lakers won the NBA title on October 11 and had to report for camp less than two months later. This offseason felt more normal after L.A. was ousted from the playoffs in early June. “Last year after coming off the bubble it literally took everything away from you,” James said. “Any little bit of energy that you had, it was completely gone when we left there. … To come back into the season with the quick start that we had, kind of the life of the party was a little bit, just like, it was just kind of stale. You know, rightfully so. Guys just didn’t have an opportunity to get a mental break.”
Westbrook and James will sit out Sunday’s exhibition opener against the Nets, but Anthony Davis will play during the first quarter, McMenamin tweets. “AD didn’t finish the season,” coach Frank Vogel explained. “He finished in street clothes because of injury. He wants to get out there, so we’ll support him on that.”
Brian Windhorst of ESPN examines why it took so long for James to team up with his long-time friend Carmelo Anthony after both entered the NBA in 2003.

Lakers Notes: Westbrook, Davis, LeBron, Vaccinations

September 29th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

One of Russell Westbrook‘s priorities with the Lakers will be to help unleash Anthony Davis, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. After their first practice together on Tuesday, Westbrook called Davis “the ultimate weapon” because of his unique skills for a big man.

“He’s one of a kind,” Westbrook said. “There’s nobody like him who can do everything he’s able to do at his size. And my job is to make sure I continue to push him each day, each practice, each game, so he can be at the top of his game each and every night.”

Davis said he welcomes having someone who will drive him to be his best. He has been an All-Star the past eight years, but he’s coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him post career-low numbers with 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting career-worst percentages from the field and the free-throw line.

“I like teammates who are going to push me,” Davis said. “Encouragement — I don’t need encouragement. I want to be pushed. I want guys to tell me when I’m messing up. Me and Russ had numerous conversations in this first practice alone about things we can do together as a duo when we’re both on the floor.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Coach Frank Vogel was impressed by how fast Westbrook still is at age 32, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Vogel called his new point guard “a blur out there” and said he plans to take advantage of it with an up-tempo approach. “When the ball’s outleted to (LeBron James), Russ has gotta fly; when the ball’s outleted to Russ, Bron’s gonna fly,” Vogel said. “And that’s the best way to complement those guys.”
James was instrumental in assembling the Lakers’ new roster, and Vogel believes he will adjust his game to make it successful, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. concentrated on veteran talent during the offseason, putting together a roster that’s very accomplished but is also the oldest in the league. “All these other stars that he’s played with, he’s adapted his game, done whatever’s necessary to win and put himself in position for the ultimate goal,” Vogel said. “The willingness to do it is one thing, but when you have his skill set and his mind, he literally can do it all. So I’m very confident that that’s going to work itself out.”
The Lakers plan to be fully vaccinated by the start of the season, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It was never a team discussion,” James said at media day, “but I think at the end of the day you’re figuring out ways to always be available and protect one another.”

Lakers Notes: Russ-LeBron, Nunn, AD, Reaves

September 28th, 2021 at 10:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Pricey new Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook expressed confidence in his fit alongside LeBron James, one of the most ball-dominant teammates with whom the very ball-dominant Westbrook has ever played. The decorated 6’3″ vet also made it clear that Los Angeles is heading into the 2021/22 season with title expectations.

“LeBron out of anybody else, he knows what it takes to win a championship,” Westbrook said during the team’s Media Day on Tuesday, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “And that’s the ultimate goal. So anything along the way … we cannot get distracted, cannot get deterred from our ultimate goal.”

The Lakers will be Westbrook’s fourth team in four years, following stints with the Thunder in 2018/19, the Rockets in 2019/20, and the Wizards in 2020/21. Last year, Westbrook was not named to the All-Star team during a relatively healthy season for the first time since 2009/10. His backcourt mate Bradley Beal was the lone Wizards player to earn that honor in 2021.

Though he averaged 22.2 PPG, a league-leading 11.7 APG, and 11.5 RPG (his fourth triple-double in five seasons), Westbrook was relatively inefficient as a shooter during his Wizards tenure. Westbrook posted a shooting line of .439/.315/.656. The Lakers are hoping that the 2017 MVP, 32, can help expedite their offense and relieve 36-year-old LeBron James of his playmaking burden, especially during the regular season.

“He ups our pace right away,” James raved about his new teammate. “He’s always in the top five as far as pace. Whatever team is what he with, so being able to get out and being able to get out on the break and be able to try to get some early buckets before the defense is set. That creates that. But also he’s just a flat-out playmaker. I think what a lot of people don’t talk about in his game is how unbelievable of a passer he is. Everyone sees the rebounds, everyone sees the scoring and things of that nature, but his passing, his ability to make guys around him better, that does not get talked about a lot.”

There’s more out of Los Angeles:

New Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn has joined many of his L.A. teammates on the decorated roster of Klutch Sports clients, McMenamin reports (via Twitter). Nunn, who faced off against the Lakers in the 2020 Finals as a rookie on the Heat, signed a two-year, $10MM deal with Los Angeles this summer. After going undrafted out of Oakland in 2018, the 6’2″ point guard carved out a role for himself on a veteran-laden Miami squad in the 2019/20 season, and was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2020. Nunn averaged 15.0 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.9 APG and 0.9 SPG during his two seasons with the Heat. The 26-year-old boasts an impressive career shooting line of .458/.364/.881.
Lakers All-Star big man Anthony Davis acknowledged during the team’s Media Day that he has had conversations with head coach Frank Vogel about finally becoming the club’s starting center, per Mark Medina of USA Today (Twitter video link). Los Angeles rebuilt its frontcourt rotation around Davis during the offseason, adding veteran former All-Star centers DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard on minimum deals. “That was discussed and I expect to play center,” Davis said. “Obviously there’s times where Dwight or DJ might get the start at center depending on games, but for the most part, I think the plan is to go with me playing center.” In the past, Davis has preferred to start at the power forward position. He has shared the floor alongside a variety of veteran centers while with the Lakers, though Los Angeles found its most success in the 2020 playoffs with Davis at the center position.
Further details have emerged concerning the new contract of Lakers guard Austin Reaves, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter). Smith reports that the deal is a two-year contract at the league minimum. Reaves has a partial guarantee of $100K for the 2021/22 season, and his full first-year salary will become guaranteed on January 10, 2022. The second year of the agreement is fully non-guaranteed. The 6’5″ rookie, 23, went undrafted out of Oklahoma this summer.