D’Angelo Russell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Russell, Chandler, Nance Jr.

January 1st, 2016 at 10:50am CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite his early season struggles, the Lakers say they have no regrets about selecting point guard D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft over center Jahlil Okafor or big man Kristaps Porzingis, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. When asked if he was satisfied with his rookie first-rounder, GM Mitch Kupchak told Medina, “Absolutely. We’re very happy. He’s going to be a really good player.” Lakers assistant coach Larry Lewis also agrees with Kupchak’s assessment of Russell, Medina adds. “He’s ahead of all the guys in his class with his work ethic, the passes he makes and the way he thinks through the game,” Lewis said. “Like any rookie and young athlete, he’s going to make some mistakes. But he’s making mistakes that are teaching him different things to recognize.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Despite the Kings‘ struggles this season, coach George Karl is pleased with the makeup of the team’s locker room as compared to last season, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relays (on Twitter). “This locker room is a hell of a lot better than it was last year,” Karl said. “This locker room has some leaders and pros.”
It’s time for the Suns to hit the reset button and begin a full roster rebuild, Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic opines. Joseph points to the 2013/14 season, when Phoenix unexpectedly won 48 games, as when things began to go bad for the franchise, and cautions that management needs to stick to its plan regardless of any short-term success the team may encounter. The Arizona Republic scribe also notes that the offseason signing of Tyson Chandler is looking like a bust, with the big man easily having the worst season of his career.
Lakers rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. is confident that he can evolve into a stretch-four and become more than just a player known for his dunking ability, Medina writes in a separate piece. “Yeah, it’ll happen,” Nance Jr. told Medina. “I’m a rookie and I got lots of years to perfect my craft and work on my game. I’m getting very comfortable shooting the 15- and 18-footer. I’ve got multiple years and multiple summers to be able to work that out to the 3-point line. I’m very confident.”

Los Angeles Notes: Smith, Free Agents, Russell

December 26th, 2015 at 10:21am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have whiffed on signing big name free agents over the past few years, but Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers still believes the franchise is a prime destination for players, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “I think they’re always going to be an option,” Rivers told Holmes. “I think the two teams in L.A. will always be an option for everyone else. You see the traffic every day, right? People like living here. Really. Despite the taxes, they still like living here. It tells you something, and the Lakers have a ton of money. So I think they’re a free agent destination for a lot of people.”

When asked about the Lakers’ recent history of coming up empty in free agency, Rivers said, “First of all, a lot of guys don’t leave at the end of the day. Not as many as you’d think would leave. A lot of them don’t. Some change their mind, which is terrific. It’s tough. It’s tough getting guys. But they’ll end up doing it right, eventually. They just have too much money. And they’re in L.A.”

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Josh Smith has had difficulty cracking Rivers’ rotation with the Clippers and admits that while he’s not pleased with his current amount of playing time, he is striving to remain upbeat, Robert Morales of The Long Beach Press-Telegram relays. “I’ve had my ups and downs, but for the most part I’m a positive individual,” said Smith. “There aren’t a lot of things that can keep me down. When I feel myself getting into the slumps, I just think about my kids, my wife; my father is out here with me. A lot of that takes the weight off my shoulders, getting myself into a place where negativity doesn’t sink in.” The combo forward is currently averaging 14.6 minutes per contest on the season, which is well shy of his previous career-low of 25.5 minutes per appearance.
Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell has argued that increased playing time and freedom in the team’s offense would hasten his development, a notion that his coach, Byron Scott, disagrees with, noting that Russell has to earn any extra minutes, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “If I let him run the show, you would have four other guys pretty [ticked] off every time they’re down the floor,” said Scott, who also noted that Russell looks more for his shot off pick-and-rolls than running the offense. “I want this to be more collective. Then, everybody can try to touch the ball and everybody feels a part of scoring.”

Heat, Bulls, Celtics Make Pitches For Cousins?

December 16th, 2015 at 10:43am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 10:51am: The Celtics and Kings still haven’t had any conversation about Cousins, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Kings GM Vlade Divac indicated that he hasn’t received a ton of calls about Cousins and again signaled that he has no intention of trading the star center, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter).

3:37pm: Heat sources who spoke with Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel deny any link between Whiteside and Cousins (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 2:19pm: The Heat, Bulls and Celtics are actively pursuing DeMarcus Cousins, though the Kings have no plans to make a deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops. The teams are nonetheless actively pursuing the Sacramento center, and Miami is offering Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, plus others with enough salary to make a deal work, according to SheridanHoops founder Chris Sheridan. Miami would have to give up significantly more salary than the $3,463,068 that Whiteside and Winslow make to reel in Cousins, who makes nearly $15.852MM, however. The Heat are a taxpaying team, so they can’t take in any more than 125% plus $100K of what they give up in a swap.

A source tells Scotto that the Bulls are looking to find more playing time for rookie Bobby Portis, who’s stuck in a crowded frontcourt that features Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, who can both become free agents this summer, along with Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic. Noah and Gibson are available, according to Scotto, though Bulls sources insist to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that a Noah trade is not a consideration. The Celtics have copious draft assets, with as many as five extra first-round picks coming their way, though it’s unclear exactly what they’re willing to put on the table.

Cousins is signed through 2017/18, unlike Whiteside, who’s poised for free agency this summer. The Heat only have Early Bird rights on Whiteside, so they can’t exceed the cap to pay him more than the estimated average annual salary for next season, an amount that’s likely to come in far beneath his market value. Sacramento or any team that would trade for Whiteside would inherit those rights, so the Kings wouldn’t necessarily have any easier time re-signing him than the Heat would.

The Kings have held steadfast to Cousins in recent months after a flurry of rumors over the summer. They would have taken D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and a late first-rounder from the Lakers in exchange for Cousins in the offseason, but the Lakers were unwilling to do such a deal, according to Sheridan.

Western Notes: Lakers, Pelicans, Blazers

December 14th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Will Joseph

Despite a slow start for Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell, GM Mitch Kupchak has a lot of confidence in the shooting guard, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays. Russell has scored in double-figures in eight of the Lakers’ nine games this month. Kupchak attributed Russell’s success lately to figuring out the pace of the game and believes the young player will develop into a triple-double threat, Pincus adds.

“There’s never a doubt, when we scouted him last year and when we drafted him and worked him out, that he was going to be a very, very, very, very good player in this league,” Kupchak said in a live chat on Lakers.com, transcribed by Pincus. “That’s our feeling all along. He did not have a very good summer league and I think that was a wake-up call for him.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans re-signed Omer Asik to a five-year, $58MM contract in the summer, but the center’s performance has been underwhelming so far, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Only the first four years of the deal are guaranteed, as Reid notes. The total value of guaranteed money is close to $45MM and Asik will be able to get entire value of the contract if he meets a certain amount of performance-based incentives, according to Reid, but his play indicates that’s not likely to happen.
C.J. McCollum is in the midst of a breakout season for the Blazers and there is a strong possibility he could be the league’s most improved player, Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. Portland exercised its rookie scale team option for the 2016/17 season with McCollum in September.
The Wolves were a perfect fit for rookie Karl-Anthony Towns in comparison to the Sixers and Lakers because in Minnesota he has veteran mentors like Kevin Garnett, Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press writes.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Russell, Mitchell

December 13th, 2015 at 6:11pm CST by Will Joseph

Trade speculation continues to grow the more Markieff Morris sits on the Suns‘ bench, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Morris, as Coro notes, has seen only seven minutes of action in the past four games after being removed from his role as the team’s starting power forward. Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic have played over Morris during this recent stretch.

“We had a couple games where Markieff’s been out where the ball has moved around a little bit differently,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said, per Coro. “We have no real post-up threat we can go to in those situations. Markieff will get back. It’s a struggle for him right now but we all feel he’s a good player and he’s going to get it back. Right now, Jon and Mirza are playing better.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The development of rookie D’Angelo Russell has hit a curious snag because of Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour, Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports writes. Lakers coach Byron Scott‘s decision to sit Russell late in games is confusing to some members of the Lakers’ front office who were convinced to forget about Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor because Scott favored Russell, Lee reports.
On the other hand, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com argues that Scott’s handling of Russell makes sense because he is allowing the young player to remain hungry for minutes. As Adande points out, Russell is actually fourth among rookies in minutes played at 28.4 per game so it seems as if Russell is not being singled out or anything along those lines.
Tony Mitchell, whom the Warriors waived in October, signed with Venezuela’s Cocodrilos de Caracas, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays.

Pacific Rumors: Lakers, Walton, Dukan

December 7th, 2015 at 9:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Power forward Julius Randle and point guard D’Angelo Russell were not happy with Lakers coach Byron Scott’s decision on Monday to remove them from the starting lineup, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Scott made the surprising announcement that Randle, the team’s lottery pick last year, and Russell, the No. 2 overall pick this season, would be replaced in the lineup by another rookie, power forward Larry Nance Jr., and veteran point guard Lou Williams. “You’re never going to be thrilled about it as a competitor,” Randle told the team’s traveling media. “But it’s out of your control. What I can control is go out there and play hard like we’ve been doing.” Russell felt he was developing better chemistry with his teammates, Medina continues. “I started to figure it out and this happened,” Russell said. “I don’t feel like this will get in the way of my growth.” Scott did not tell either player his thought process for the lineup changes but he could alter it again during the next five to 10 games, Medina adds.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

Nick Young admits that exasperation over his team’s 3-17 start led to his ejection against the Pistons on Sunday night, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. The Lakers’ backup shooting guard was tossed in the fourth quarter of a 111-91 loss when he shoved Detroit forward Anthony Tolliver in the neck after a hard foul. Young was not suspended by the league. “It’s tough,” he said to Holmes and other members of the media. “There’s a lot of frustration. It’s a struggle and it’s building up.”
Luke Walton credits his former Lakers coach, Phil Jackson, with showing him how to comport himself in his current job, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. The interim Warriors coach discovered the value of staying grounded through Jackson. “Phil was the first coach I had — well, I shouldn’t say the first coach that I had, but the first one who made me recognize it as a bigger picture,” Walton told Berger. “He never got too upset; he never got too excited. He was just even-keel all the time. His beliefs as a teacher, that you’re at your most dangerous when you’re level-headed and can make decisions … I believe wholeheartedly in that.”
The Kings recalled rookie forward Duje Dukan from their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, the team announced on its website. Dukan, an undrafted 24-year-old power forward, averaged 13 points and 3.8 rebounds in four games with the Bighorns. He has not made his NBA debut.

Pacific Notes: Murphy, Russell, Livingston

November 12th, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors announced today that Chris Murphy has been named team president of the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s D-League affiliate. “We’re extremely pleased to have Chris in position to lead our business efforts with the Santa Cruz Warriors,” said Golden State team president Rick Welts. “He’s done a terrific job of enhancing our ticket sales initiatives with the Warriors in recent years and he’s ready for a bigger challenge and an opportunity to expand his role within our organization. We truly view our Santa Cruz partnership as the perfect training ground for not only our players and coaches, but for front office personnel such as Chris. This is a great example of that synergy within the organization and a move that will benefit both the Warriors and Chris as we move forward.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Despite receiving criticism for not playing rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell, Lakers coach Byron Scott says that he won’t rush the young playmaker’s development along, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “I’m not just going to put him out there to put him out there. If I do that and he’s not prepared and he’s not learning, then I’m preparing him to fail,” Scott said. “And I’m not going to do that. I think this kid is too valuable to us. His learning process is getting better and better. Our coaches are spending more time with him. So I’m pretty confident that he’ll be better in a week or so, that he’ll understand exactly what we need from him on a night to night basis.“
Warriors guard Shaun Livingston credits the late Flip Saunders for reviving his career back in 2010 when both were with the Wizards, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. “After playing the season with him, I just felt like I understood the NBA game, and that was the first time I really understood it,” Livingston said of Saunders. “I always had a high IQ, but just as far as time and score and just as a pro, he was a guard’s coach. He gave me the opportunity to implant me back into the NBA. Just to be somewhat relevant again…he gave me an opportunity. He blessed me an opportunity and allowed me to a chance to make the most of it.”
Xavier Henry, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear while with the Lakers last season, said he was glad to join the Warriors‘ D-League team as an affiliate player this season because of the reputation of the team’s training staff, who are lauded for their ability to rehab players from serious injuries, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest relays. Henry also told Johnson that the current timetable for his return to action is anywhere from one to two months. “I can’t really tell you exactly, could be better in three weeks, it could be better in two and a half months, but the things that I’ve done already that I have in place I feel like all I need is more strength, more structure,” Henry said. “And from then on as long as everything’s great, strength and your form’s good then it’s all about repetition, repetition, repetition before you can really do it full speed, every day on the court.”

Lakers Rumors: Bryant, World Peace, Russell

November 8th, 2015 at 2:05pm CST by Will Joseph

Kobe Bryant recently told Lakers coach Byron Scott that this might be the star’s final season in the league, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Scott added, according to Holmes, that was the first Bryant hinted about retiring to him. Still, the idea that this could be the end for Bryant is nothing new, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register tweets. It appears that Bryant is leaning toward retirement, according to recent reports, but he has yet to make a decision.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Despite Bryant’s struggles to open the season, Metta World Peace supported his teammate and said a big reason why he returned to the Lakers was to again play alongside Bryant in an interview with Vlad TV (YouTube link), transcribed by Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. “I’m really happy to be here to support him,” World Peace said. “Everybody is talking bad about him. Talking about he’s getting old and can’t play, [how he’s] selfish this and selfish that. [Free agents] not coming to play with him because they’re afraid of him. So I said, you know what? Let me get back to the Lakers. People don’t realize I’m on a non-guaranteed contract and I got back to the Lakers. I had to earn this.”
D’Angelo Russell has had some difficulty adjusting to the league in his first year and if his struggles continue, he will likely see less time on the court, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times details. “He has to start getting it, just like the other young guys have to start getting it, and if they don’t, they won’t play as much,” Scott said. “Playing time in this league is a very precious thing and I don’t want our guys to take that for granted. Missing assignments on a continuous basis is not going to go unnoticed. You’ve got to start developing and doing a better job on that end of the floor.”
While a young nucleus of Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Russell is developing, the Lakers’ veterans are struggling and time is running out if the team wants to be good enough to attract a free agent star next summer, writes Mark Heisler in his Sunday column for the Los Angeles Daily News.

Los Angeles Notes: Bryant, D-League, Russell

November 7th, 2015 at 2:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kobe Bryant hasn’t gone on record about his plans for next season, but he remains adamant that he’ll never play for another NBA team besides the Lakers, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays. “I’ve said it so many times. I’m here, I’m a Laker for life,” Bryant said Friday night. “I’m not playing anywhere else, no matter what. It’s just not going to happen. I bleed purple and gold, and that’s just how it’s going to be.”

Bryant, who is in the final year of his deal with the Lakers, was addressing some comments made by Phil Jackson, his former coach, and current president of the Knicks, Holmes notes. Back in September, Jackson had said, “I don’t think it’s his last year. It sounds like it may be his last year as a Laker.” Kobe made light of Jackson’s remarks, adding, “That’s Phil baiting you [members of the media] like he always does. He’s a master at it.”

Here’s more from L.A.:

It was a mild surprise when the Clippers announced that Branden Dawson and C.J. Wilcox were assigned to the D-League this week, considering that executive/coach Doc Rivers had been on record as being hesitant about sending players down to the D-League without the Clippers having an affiliate of their own. Rivers explained his change in thinking to Rowan Kavner of NBA.com, saying, “We’re sending them to the right place. We talked to them beforehand, we tried to identify somebody that plays somewhat similar offensively to us. The Phoenix group came and it was good.“
Rivers also told Kavner that it was possible that the Clippers could have their own D-League affiliate at some point in the near future, though there are no plans in the works currently. “We haven’t even decided if we’re going to get one yet,” Rivers said. “But it doesn’t take long to get one.“
Lakers coach Byron Scott is preaching patience with D’Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, notes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. “He’s learning,” Scott said of Russell. “I wouldn’t say ‘struggling.’ He’s learning, and that’s what people got to understand, that this is a 19-year-old kid. Even I sit back at times and say, ‘Wait a minute guys, he’s 19. We got to cut him some slack, this is all new to him.’ But fans and people they don’t understand that.”

Pacific Notes: Russell, Barnes, Ezeli, World Peace

November 4th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Byron Scott didn’t think Emmanuel Mudiay was a true point guard as the draft approached, and the coach questioned his decision-making, but Mudiay dismisses it as just “another human’s opinion,” writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Mudiay delivered 10 assists, albeit with six turnovers, in Denver’s win Tuesday over the Lakers, leading him to retort, “Thank you Byron Scott for saying I’m not a point guard,” tweets Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Mudiay played down the stretch of the close game while D’Angelo Russell, whom the Lakers took with the No. 2 overall pick instead of Mudiay, sat on the bench. That left Russell searching for answers, observes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

“I have no idea,” Russell said about how he can convince Scott he’s worthy of crunch-time minutes. “It’s just something I’ve got to deal with.”

Scott insists Russell will have his opportunities, though Russell wasn’t in the mood to compare himself to Mudiay, calling him “just another player,” as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register relays (Twitter links). See more on the Lakers amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

The Warriors failed to reach extensions with Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli before Monday’s deadline, but Barnes and Ezeli are fond of their surroundings and GM Bob Myers remains committed to finding a way to keep them, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports details. “We worked hard to get both [deals] done, but we weren’t able to,” Myers said to Spears. “We made a good effort. They looked hard at what we proposed. Ultimately, they decided to see what the market was in July, which is fine. We will work just as hard then to try to work something out.”
Metta World Peace, who’s on a non-guaranteed deal, has yet to appear in any games for the Lakers so far, but he’s OK with that, he tells Bresnahan. “It’s about looking at your surroundings, what you’re presented with, how you’re going to take that and become successful,” World Peace said. “How can I help the organization? How can I help myself? How can I help the guys? I’m just locked in. I’m focused on improving and winning. The minute you focus on something else, it’s a problem.”
Caron Butler has averaged 12 minutes per game in three appearances for the Kings so far, but like World Peace on the Lakers, Butler’s offseason signing was in large measure for his experience and locker room presence, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee examines.