Brandon Ingram Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trade Rumors: Davis, Hill, Ball, Mavs, Favors

February 4th, 2019 at 5:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

One key to an Anthony Davis trade is whether the Pelicans can acquire a player with All-NBA potential as part of the package. That’s among the priorities for New Orleans’ front office, which is also seeking young talent, draft picks and salary-cap relief for Davis, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. If the Pelicans view Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma or Lonzo Ball as that type of player — all of whom are rumored to be in the latest offer from the Lakers — that would increase the possibility of Davis going to Los Angeles. If New Orleans sees that potential in the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, the team may wait until the offseason, when Boston has the freedom to trade for Davis.

We have more trade buzz from around the league:

The Pelicans are hoping to dump Solomon Hill‘s contract in any trade involving Davis and if the Lakers were to acquire him, they would use the stretch provision on his contract, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Hill is making $12.52MM this season with another guaranteed $12.76MM next season. That three-year stretch would count as $4,257,927 annually and the Lakers would also have an empty roster charge of $897,158 added during the offseason if they waived him, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Lonzo Ball‘s outspoken father is at it again, telling ESPN that if his son gets traded, he wants him to land with the Suns, Ohm Youngmisuk tweets. “We want to be in LA. But if he’s traded, I don’t want Lonzo in New Orleans,” LaVar Ball said. “Phoenix is the best fit for him. And I am going to speak it into existence.”
In the aftermath of the blockbuster deal with the Knicks for Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says the team is laying low prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. “We’re not actively pursuing anything,” Cuban said.
The Wizards have significant interest in Jazz forward Derrick Favors, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. Favors has been rumored to be part of the package Utah would send to the Grizzlies for Mike Conley. The Jazz are also interested in Otto Porter Jr. and Washington would want Favors in any deal involving its small forward, Jones adds. However, the Wizards are considered unlikely to move Porter this week.

Lakers Make New Offer For Anthony Davis

February 4th, 2019 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

2:42pm: The Lakers are willing to surrender Ball, Kuzma, Ingram, Rondo, Beasley, Lance Stephenson, and two first-round picks for Davis and Hill, reports Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

That reported offer fits the description Wojnarowski provided, as it includes three promising young players, multiple draft picks, and cap relief in the form of Hill’s contract. Of course, New Orleans doesn’t have any open roster spots, so a 6-for-2 deal might be a little problematic, but if the Pelicans like the offer, that obstacle could probably be overcome.

The Lakers are waiting on the Pelicans to respond, Turner tweets.

2:04pm: The Lakers have offered up a new package for Anthony Davis, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Los Angeles put an offer on the table that includes multiple young players, multiple draft picks, and cap relief for the Pelicans.

Wojnarowski suggests (via Twitter) that there’s no sense of how much progress the two sides have made, but the Lakers have “absolutely gotten more serious” in negotiations, and their latest offer moves closer to what the Pelicans want to get out of a Davis trade. Pelicans GM Dell Demps and Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson have had multiple conversations today, per Wojnarowski.

There were conflicting reports last week on what exactly the Lakers’ offer(s) to the Pelicans looked like. A Los Angeles Times report indicated that L.A. had put five different scenarios on the table for New Orleans, with one of those packages featuring Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac and a first-round pick. However, the offer reported by Woj was less impressive, with Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley in place of Ingram and Zubac.

Wojnarowski’s latest report suggests that the Lakers’ newest offer probably looks a little different than both of those previously reported packages. If the Lakers are offering “cap relief,” that presumably means they’d be acquiring more than just Davis. Solomon Hill‘s contract ($12.52MM this season and $12.76MM next season) is the one the Pelicans would most like to get rid of, so he could be part of L.A.’s offer.

Earlier today, we learned that Davis’ camp informed the Pelicans he’d be willing to re-sign with the Lakers, Knicks, Clippers, or Bucks if he’s traded. However, the Knicks and Bucks would be hard-pressed to put together a viable package for Davis, and the Clippers have yet to make an offer, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Lakers, Pelicans To Resume Anthony Davis Trade Talks

February 2nd, 2019 at 10:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers and Pelicans will have more discussions regarding Anthony Davis before Thursday’s trade deadline, according to Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Updating the progress of negotiations, the Times writers state that the Lakers submitted five offers to New Orleans on Wednesday, but Pelicans officials have yet to hold internal discussions on them. Multiple sources told the Times that one of the offers would send Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac and a first-round pick to the Pelicans.

New Orleans is reportedly mulling over a counter-offer that would seek a pair of first-round picks and would send a Pelicans player to the Lakers. Besides Davis and Jrue Holiday, whom New Orleans intends to keep, the only significant contracts for next season belong to Solomon Hill ($12,758,781) and E’Twaun Moore ($8,664,928). Julius Randle has a player option worth a little more than $9MM.

Davis remains the focus of the Lakers’ trade efforts, but L.A. is also seeking shooters, presumably to replenish the team if it trades four players for Davis. Ganguli reported earlier tonight that the Lakers called the Pistons about Reggie Bullock, who is shooting 38.3% from downtown and ranks 14th in the league with 2.4 3-pointers per game.

Pelicans, Lakers Discuss Anthony Davis

January 31st, 2019 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

1:44pm: The Lakers let Demps know that one of their potential scenarios for Davis would include Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, and a first-round pick, a source tells Turner (Twitter link). ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link) hears that it’s “common sense to assume no one but LeBron James would be untouchable.”

1:33pm: The Pelicans and Lakers have connected on the phone to discuss Davis and are expected to talk again before next week’s deadline, tweets Wojnarowski.

Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times adds a few more details, reporting that Magic Johnson presented Demps with five different trade scenarios and is waiting to hear back from the Pelicans about which scenario would interest them the most (Twitter links). According to Turner (Twitter link), the Lakers want to get a deal done now, and don’t plan on trying to outbid the Celtics and other teams in the summer, when they plan to shift their focus to free agent targets.

10:39am: Although he’s getting back to other teams that have inquired on Anthony Davis, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has yet to return the Lakers‘ call, according to a new report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe. While Demps is expected to eventually get back to the Lakers well before next week’s trade deadline, the “sluggish response time” is perhaps intended to send a message to the team.

As Wojnarowski and Lowe observe, the Pelicans may blame the Lakers in part for Davis’ trade request, and will want to show that they fully intend to make a deal on their own timeline, rather than at a time that would most benefit the Lakers. We relayed earlier today that the Pelicans plan to play the long game with Davis, and ESPN’s latest report reiterates that point, indicating that owner Gayle Benson is “enthusiastically carrying the small market banner,” resisting a union of AD and LeBron James in L.A.

New Orleans’ mantra so far, per Woj and Lowe, is that Davis is welcome to become a Laker in 2020 when he can reach free agency. If the Lakers are willing to wait that long, they’ll have to preserve cap room for an extra year, complicating their plans for the 2019/20 season.

It’s the latest in a series of “icy” receptions the Lakers feel they’ve received as they try to trade for star players. According to Woj and Lowe, the Lakers got the “unmistakable impression” last summer that the Spurs had no intention of ever trading Kawhi Leonard to L.A., though the Spurs simply said they weren’t interested in the Lakers’ package.

Here’s more from Woj and Lowe on the Davis situation:

For now, Davis’ camp is treating any potential trade destination besides the Lakers as a temporary stop, since his plan would be to sign with L.A. in 2020. However, teams are curious to see if that stance softens after the trade deadline. It may be a leverage play to encourage a trade to the Lakers within the next seven days.
Davis’ view of Boston is linked to Kyrie Irving‘s future, sources tell Woj and Lowe. Davis and his camp aren’t convinced that Irving will re-sign with the Celtics this summer. The Celtics believe they’d be capable of keeping both players long-term, as there’s a sense in Boston that trading for AD would help convince Irving to stay.
Jayson Tatum is an important wild card for the Celtics — the ideal scenario for Boston would be to use other assets in an AD trade and build a Big Three of Tatum, Davis, and Irving. But if it helps convince the Pelicans to wait until the offseason to deal Davis, the C’s could tell New Orleans now that they’re open to moving Tatum. If they tell the Pelicans as much, they’ll have to keep their word in the summer to avoid damaging their league-wide reputation, Woj and Lowe note.
The Pelicans continue to explore the market value of Nikola Mirotic, Julius Randle, and E’Twaun Moore, sources tell ESPN.
Kristaps Porzingis would be reluctant to approve a sign-and-trade to New Orleans as part of a package for Davis, which could make things tricky for the Knicks, since the value of their 2019 first-rounder remains up in the air due to the lottery. If they’re willing to include Porzingis in an offer, they’d probably have to do so this week, before the precise value of their 2019 draft pick is clear.
For the time being, Davis plans to play for the Pelicans again before the deadline, sources tell ESPN.

Lakers Notes: K. Thompson, Davis, LeBron, Ingram

January 29th, 2019 at 1:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are hoping for a scenario in which they can add both Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi. In an appearance with Scott Van Pelt yesterday, Wojnarowski broke down the latest Davis rumors and said L.A.’s front office has even bigger things in mind.

If the Lakers can acquire Davis before the start of free agency and the Warriors aren’t willing to make a full maximum offer to Thompson, the All-Star guard will think about heading south to form a new Big Three, according to Woj.

“We’ll see what Golden State does there. They’ve got a lot of players to pay going forward,” Wojnarowski said. “They want to re-sign Kevin Durant. They certainly want to re-sign Klay, they’ve got Draymond Green coming up in free agency the following year.”

The Lakers project to have about $36MM in cap space this summer, so they should be considered a serious contender for Thompson if he’s ready to part ways with the Warriors.

There’s more Lakers news to pass along:

The front office should learn from past mistakes and make an all-out effort to get the Davis deal done, writes Bill Oram of The Athletic. The Lakers had similar opportunities over the past two years with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, two Southern California natives who both expressed a desire to play in L.A., but were cautious and watched them go to other teams. They didn’t want to give up Brandon Ingram in a deal for George, Oram states, and they never put together their best offer to get Leonard from the Spurs.
LeBron James is getting closer to returning from the groin injury that has sidelined him for more than a month, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. James participated in full-court contact drills this week and hasn’t been ruled out for tonight, although Thursday’s game seems more realistic.
The Davis trade rumors are a potential distraction for the Lakers’ young players, who are rumored to be part of the package for New Orleans, Youngmisuk notes in the same story. Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart will hear their names mentioned frequently until the Davis situation is resolved. “I think you look on social network and look on everything else, you have all these stories of this player, this player, this player,” Ingram said. “But no one in this room or the players or the coaches or the general manager doesn’t say a word about it. So like I said, we only listen to the important people in this building.”

Woj: Davis May Only Sign Extension With Lakers

January 29th, 2019 at 10:18am CST by Arthur Hill

League sources expect Anthony Davis and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, to inform the rest of the league that he only plans to sign an extension with the Lakers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

That means Davis would be just a short-term rental for anyone else who tries to acquire him. He has a $28.75MM player option for the 2020/21 season and can become a free agent next summer.

The Pelicans won’t rush into a deal, Wojnarowski adds, writing that it will take an “overwhelming” offer to get Davis out of New Orleans before the February 7 trade deadline. The Lakers plan to try to reach that standard, with trade talks between the two teams expected to begin soon. L.A. is in position to offer a max contract in free agency this summer, but sources say the team would give that up to acquire Davis. The Lakers are willing to part with draft picks and some combination of young players Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball in their trade proposal.

The Celtics, who have been collecting assets in hopes of making a deal for a star, are reportedly among the teams willing to take the risk of trading for Davis without a guarantee of a long-term arrangement. Sources tell Wojnarowski that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been calling the Pelicans for more than a year to let them know of his interest in Davis. There is also a tight bond between Davis and Kyrie Irving, who would be virtually assured of re-signing in Boston if Davis becomes part of the team.

Although he doesn’t identify them, Wojnarowski adds that several other teams are considering a deal for Davis, even if it’s only for the rest of the season. They could use him to make a run at the title, then flip him for other assets this summer.

Knicks, Lakers Expected To Make Offer For Anthony Davis

January 28th, 2019 at 2:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks and Lakers are each preparing to make an offer to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports.

The Lakers’ front office met earlier today to discuss potential offers as well as mapping out the franchise’s plans. LeBron James and Davis share an agent and speculation about Davis’ preference will continue to point at the 25-year-old coming to Los Angeles.

The Knicks may be the lead contender for Davis in the Eastern Conference. Haynes hears that the Celtics are not a top destination for Davis due to the uncertainty surrounding Kyrie Irving re-signing with the team. Irving vowed to stay in Boston at the beginning of the season, though Davis’ camp subscribes to the notion that the point guard re-signing is not a done deal.

Kristaps Porzingis and Kevin Knox headline the Knicks’ most valuable trade chips. New York will also have a top draft pick in June, which will certainly be among the favorites for the No. 1 pick leading up to the Draft Lottery.

If the Knicks land Davis, it would increase their chances of landing a second star. The team has long been a fan of Kevin Durant. Kemba Walker and Irving will both be available and would fit in nicely next to Davis.

Early reports of what the Pelicans may accept included Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma. Haynes believes Brandon Ingram would also have to be included along with other salary-cap fillers and other assets.

Lakers Notes: Ball, LeBron, Young Talent, B. Lopez

January 26th, 2019 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lonzo Ball feared the worst when he collided with the Rockets’ James Ennis last Saturday, relays Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Ball wound up with a grade 3 left ankle sprain and a recovery time of four to six weeks, but he thought he had a broken bone as teammates carried him to the locker room.

“It happened kind of fast,” he said. “I remember my leg pretty much just going like that and kind of popping out.”

Ball made a bit of progress Friday, getting off crutches and shifting to a walking boot, and now plans to work in the weight room and engage in intensive film study as he prepares to return to the court. He laments the timing of the mishap, which came amid some of his best performances of the season, and the string of injuries that have affected the team in recent weeks.

“You’re asking people to play out of position. You’re asking people to play more minutes than usually they play. And we’ve never really had a full team for the whole year,” Ball said. “So hopefully after All-Star we can all come together and go on a nice little run.”

There’s more Lakers news to pass along:

LeBron James went through contact drills in practice today for the first time since suffering a groin strain on Christmas, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James’ agent, Rich Paul, said he could return to action now if needed, but is working his way back to being a dominating presence. L.A. is 5-10 since LeBron’s injury and has dropped to ninth place in the West.
The trade value of the Lakers’ young players has declined over the past six months, a Western Conference executive tells Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Woike asked several league executives and scouts to evaluate Brandon Ingram, Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac. They were split on Ingram or Kuzma as the most coveted, with mixed opinions on the other three.
The Lakers don’t have a center who can shoot 3-pointers to keep up with the league-wide trend, but they let one get away in Brook Lopez, Woike writes in a separate story. A move to the Bucks has turned Lopez into a dangerous 3-point weapon who is on pace to take more this season than he did in his previous eight years. He spent last season in L.A. before accepting a modest one-year, $3.382MM offer to go to Milwaukee.

Pacific Notes: Kuzma, Cousins, Okobo, Suns

January 20th, 2019 at 6:46pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

While many fans and analysts have focused on Lonzo Ball‘s and Brandon Ingram‘s development as the two key young players for the Lakers, so far this season it has been Kyle Kuzma that has provided the most value to the team. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report writes that Kuzma has emerged as the Lakers’ best young talent, especially in the wake of LeBron James‘ injury.

As Pincus points out, Kuzma has averaged nearly 25 points per game in the 10 games he has played without James, with the Lakers winning five of those contests. While Kuzma has struggled to hit 3-pointers (just 31.3% so far this season), he can score in a variety of ways while also providing another capable ball-handler.

Meanwhile, Ball’s jump shot continues to disappoint, while Ingram hasn’t looked comfortable playing alongside James, a big issue if he plans on being a crucial piece of the team in the years to come.

There’s more from the Pacific division:

While DeMarcus Cousins made his return on Friday and will continue to work his way into a larger role moving forward, Nick Friedell of ESPN points out that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr doesn’t plan on slowing the pace for Cousins to catch up.
As Elie Okobo continues to adjust to life in the NBA, he was able to face (and learn from) his childhood idol Tony Parker over the past week as the Suns faced the Hornets on two occasions. Duane Rankin of Arizona Central writes about how Okobo grew up watching Parker.
The Suns‘ call for public funds to renovate their arena will reach a vote in the upcoming week. As Bob Young details for The Athletic, the team is calling for $150 million in public funds to help make renovations to an arena that opened in 1992.

Lakers Notes: Playoffs, Walton, Ball, Ingram

January 12th, 2019 at 2:26pm CST by clarkcrum

In an NBA Insiders piece for ESPN, writers Kevin Arnovitz, Chris Herring, Brian Windhorst, Andre Snellings, and Kevin Pelton discuss the Lakers’ playoff chances with superstar LeBron James missing extended time with the groin injury he suffered on Christmas Day against the Warriors.

As one may expect, the consensus among the writers is that the Lakers will still probably make the playoffs, assuming James doesn’t suffer a setback during rehab and miss additional time beyond what was reasonably foreseen.

With approximately 40 games remaining, the general opinion from the ESPN scribes is that James will probably have to play somewhere around 30 to 35 of those games for the Lakers to feel safe about their playoff chances, meaning LeBron needs to be back relatively soon.

In addition to the playoff race, other topics discussed include the identity of the Lakers’ second-best player, whether the team should and/or will make a big trade before the deadline, and where the Lakers’ ceiling stacks up relative to other teams in the Western Conference. The entire article is worth a read.

There’s more from the purple and gold this afternoon:

If the Lakers do miss the playoffs, it will be a “nightmare scenario” for the NBA and its “broken playoff format,” writes Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. The Lakers could potentially miss the postseason with 45 wins while the sixth, seventh, and eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference could all have losing records. Having one of its most popular franchises shut out of the playoffs while three teams in the East make the playoffs with inferior records could be the catalyst for change the NBA playoff system needs.
Sam Amick of The Athletic sat down for an extensive one-one-one conversation with Luke Walton to discuss him working in his dream job as the head coach for the Lakers, the team’s much-needed win in Dallas earlier this week after his challenge to his young players to play with more passion, and the overall challenge of both coaching and playing without James.
The Lakers continue to wait for both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram to blossom into what a team ultimately expects of players taken No. 2 overall in the draft. But as Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register writes, time is running out. On July 1, the Lakers could potentially trade for the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis, one of the best players in the NBA. And if they do so, both Ball and Ingram may be going to the Big Easy unless they show their worth the rest of the season.