D’Angelo Russell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Simmons, Wizards, Pistons, Russell, Hawks

January 31st, 2024 at 8:34pm CST by Rory Maher

After recording 10 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists with no turnovers in 18 minutes during Monday’s win vs. Utah, former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons appeared to tweak his left knee due to an awkward landing after blocking Talen Horton-Tucker‘s shot (video link).

The Nets swingman subsequently underwent an MRI after experiencing swelling, but it revealed no structural damage, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Simmons is out for Wednesday’s contest against Phoenix with a left knee contusion and is considered day-to-day, according to head coach Jacque Vaughn (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps). Simmons’ agent, Bernard Lee, said there’s hope that it will be a one-game absence, since Brooklyn doesn’t play again until Saturday vs. Philly, giving the 27-year-old more time to recover (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the East:

As has been previously reported, the Wizards are focused on securing first-round draft picks — preferably in drafts beyond 2024 — as they take calls on veterans, according to David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who take a look at the possible return value of nine different players on the roster. League sources tell The Athletic’s duo that the Wizards are looking for two first-rounders for Kyle Kuzma, though the writers have gotten some push back on that from sources within the team, who said the reported asking price is “somewhat overblown.”
While Bojan Bogdanovic has popped up in plenty of trade rumors the past couple years, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic isn’t convinced the Croatian veteran will be moved prior to the February 8 deadline. Edwards hears the Pistons are willing to take calls on Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, but they aren’t actively shopping two of their best floor spacers. Edwards also covers other topics in his mailbag, including what he thinks of Detroit making a run at possible targets like Zach LaVine (he argues against it).
In Tuesday’s matchup with the Lakers, Hawks fans taunted D’Angelo Russell with “We don’t want you!” chants, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Russell has been linked to Atlanta as part of L.A.’s interest in Dejounte Murray, who badly outplayed Russell en route to a Hawks win. It has been reported that Atlanta doesn’t have interest in Russell and would want to flip him to a third team in a potential deal.

Nets Rumors: Bridges, Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, O’Neale, D-Lo, Simmons

January 31st, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

After getting off to 13-10 start this season, the Nets lost 17 of their next 21 games. Even after back-to-back wins on Saturday and Monday, they now own an underwhelming 19-27 record, which isn’t good enough for a play-in spot. However, Brooklyn’s front office isn’t any more willing to listen to inquiries on forward Mikal Bridges than it was earlier this season, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The Rockets recently expressed interest in Bridges and conveyed a willingness to offer back several of the Nets’ own draft assets that they gave up for James Harden, league sources tell Scotto. However, talks didn’t move forward because Brooklyn wasn’t willing to entertain the idea of moving the 27-year-old.

Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) confirmed a few days ago that Bridges is still viewed as “essentially untouchable” and suggested that even if Houston was willing to return all of Brooklyn’s draft assets, the Nets wouldn’t consider it. The Rockets still control the Nets’ unprotected first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, along with the right to swap first-rounders with Brooklyn in 2025 and 2027.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Point guard Spencer Dinwiddie appears increasingly unlikely to remain in Brooklyn beyond this season, according to Scotto. That doesn’t necessarily mean Dinwiddie will be moved by next Thursday though, since the Nets could also try to do a sign-and-trade with him this offseason, like they did back in 2021 when he left Brooklyn for Washington.
Rival executives who have spoken to HoopsHype believe the Nets could potentially extract a first-round pick and a rotation player in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and multiple second-round picks for Royce O’Neale, says Scotto.
While Dejounte Murray is still the Lakers‘ top trade target, Los Angeles continues to have interest in a handful of Nets players, including Finney-Smith, O’Neale, and Dinwiddie, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back (Twitter video link).
Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link) identified Dinwiddie as the most likely Net to be traded by the deadline and noted that Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has been “floated” as a possibility for Brooklyn. I imagine the Lakers would only be interested in a Dinwiddie/Russell swap if they could acquire a wing like Finney-Smith or O’Neale in the same deal by sending the Nets another asset or two.
Before making any deadline moves, the Nets are hoping to evaluate how their rotation looks with Ben Simmons back in the fold, Scotto observes. The former No. 1 overall pick was in high spirits after having a big game in his return on Monday, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It’s amazing because this is probably one of the best teams in terms of just friendships I’ve been a part of. Everyone gets along, we don’t have egos or anything like that on the team, and guys want to win and compete,” Simmons said. “So for me to be able to be in an environment like this is amazing. I get to come to work with a bunch of friends that want to get better and compete. So, I’m happy.”

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, Russell, Allen, Vanderbilt

January 29th, 2024 at 8:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings appear to be heading in the right direction, winning their last three games. Domantas Sabonis admits the first half of Sacramento’s season was plagued with inconsistency but believes the club’s issues are correctable.

“It’s tough, because we know we are better. We’ve shown it,” he told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “We just sometimes go through these mental lapses in games, which are very, very controllable. We know that. There’s other games where we’ve controlled it and ended up winning the game.

“So we’ve just got to stay mentally strong. We need to win games to get the best seed as we can for the playoffs, but I feel like, as the year goes on, we’re learning more and more, you know? We’re seeing film, seeing what we do wrong. We’re realizing these things. And the good thing is that we still have another (38) games.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

D’Angelo Russell has been fined $15K for kicking the game ball into the spectator stands, the NBA announced (via Twitter). The Lakers guard booted the ball following the conclusion of their 145-144 victory over the Warriors on Saturday.
A report from Yahoo Sports last week indicated the Suns are no longer considering the possibility of trading Grayson Allen. The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson and Shams Charania note that there’s good reason to keep Allen. He’s enjoying a career year, shooting 49.8% from beyond the arc this season. He’s also leveled up his defense, rebounding and play-making, The Athletic duo adds. Allen’s night against Miami on Monday was cut short by an ankle injury, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
During the past six games, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt is averaging 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.2 steals in 26.5 minutes per night. Coach Darvin Ham was evasive when asked if he’s considering putting Vanderbilt in the starting five but indicated that the finishing unit is even more important, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. “It’s not about always starting that way, but you know you’re going to get to it,” Ham said. “Every coach has a finishing six or seven, group of six or seven guys that he knows he can potentially finish with.”

Stein’s Latest: Lakers, Murray, TV Deal, Tillman, J. Allen

January 28th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

There has been “little to no” dialogue in recent days between the Lakers and Hawks about a potential Dejounte Murray trade, league sources tell veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Substack link). The clubs reportedly previously discussed the possibility of a deal that would include D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick, a pick swap, and possibly rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino.

As Stein notes, there’s still more than enough time before the February 8 trade deadline for the two teams to reengage, but he spoke to one source briefed on the talks who believes it’s “unrealistic” that Murray ends up with the Lakers.

One factor for the disconnect between the two clubs, Stein explains, is a gap in how they value Russell. The veteran point guard has been playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late, averaging 27.5 points and 6.4 assists per game since being reinserted into the Lakers’ starting lineup on January 13.

However, the Hawks appear to have no real interest in acquiring D-Lo and would want to flip him to a third team in a potential Murray trade. With Russell performing so well recently, the Lakers’ pursuit of Murray seems to have been “dialed back,” Stein writes.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest Substack article:

Some industry insiders think the NBA’s next media rights deal will be a shorter-term agreement than the league’s current nine-year pact, which is expiring in 2025. As Stein points out, a five-year media rights deal could put commissioner Adam Silver in position to lead negotiations on the next contract after that, before his new extension expires.
Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman is a player to watch as a possible trade candidate in the next week-and-a-half, according to Stein. Tillman is the only one of 15 Grizzlies on standard deals who doesn’t have a contract for next season — 13 have guaranteed salaries, while Memphis holds a team option on Luke Kennard.
Stein also passes along some reporting from his podcast co-host Chris Haynes, who stated on his latest Bleacher Report live stream that the Cavaliers have zero interest in fielding inquiries on Jarrett Allen at this season’s trade deadline.

Lakers Notes: Reddish, Russell, Murray, Brown, Lowry

January 26th, 2024 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers will be without forward Cam Reddish until after the trade deadline, announcing on Friday that he has been diagnosed with a right ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times).

Reddish has been a regular part of the rotation in his first season with the Lakers, starting 26 games and coming off the bench in nine more for an average of 23.3 minutes per contest. However, he has been plagued by various injuries over the past couple months, missing games due to both left and right groin ailments and left and right knee soreness.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

D’Angelo Russell‘s hot streak continued on Thursday as he put up 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting in a win over Chicago. Russell has now averaged 27.4 PPG and 6.6 APG since reentering the starting lineup on January 13, raising questions about whether it really makes sense to trade him, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.
Although Russell’s heater has raised his standing in the Lakers’ eyes, the team still believes that his strengths and weaknesses overlap too much with Austin Reaves‘ and would like to upgrade the point guard spot, says Jovan Buha of The Athletic. However, Buha notes that the Lakers would view a Russell trade involving a player like Malcolm Brogdon, Tyus Jones, or Spencer Dinwiddie as a “lateral move at best.” Dejounte Murray is an exception, since L.A. considers him a player who could replicate Russell’s offensive production while upgrading the defense, Buha writes.
Within the same mailbag, Buha says that there are people within the Lakers’ organization who believe the club needs to make two moves on the trade market, not just one. Murray and Bruce Brown are currently the team’s top targets, sources tell Buha, though acquiring both guards likely isn’t realistic.
Kyle Lowry is a potential target to watch for the Lakers if he’s bought out by Charlotte, team and league sources tell Buha. Los Angeles’ team salary is above the luxury tax line but below the first apron, so the club wouldn’t be prohibited from signing Lowry on the buyout market.

Scotto’s Latest: Lakers, Murray, Russell, Hachimura, Brown, More

January 25th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Dejounte Murray is the Lakers‘ top target as they search for a point guard before the trade deadline, but they’ll likely need to find a third team to get a deal done, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype says in a discussion about the team with Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

L.A. has discussed a deal with the Hawks involving D’Angelo Russell, rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino and the team’s next available first-round pick in 2029, according to Scotto. However, Russell has an $18.7MM player option for next season, and Atlanta doesn’t want to take back any salary beyond this year, plus there are questions about Russell’s fit alongside Trae Young.

There’s no obvious third team to make a deal work, Scotto adds. He points to the Hornets as an organization that’s willing to take unwanted contracts in return for draft assets, but notes that Russell is also an awkward fit with LaMelo Ball. The Lakers wouldn’t have another first-rounder to offer Charlotte since their 2029 pick would be going to the Hawks in the proposed deal.

Scotto mentions the Nets as a potential landing spot for Russell with Spencer Dinwiddie heading to Atlanta or L.A., but he’s skeptical of Brooklyn’s desire to add Russell. He sees the Wizards as a better option, with Tyus Jones possibly moving, but notes that a fourth team might be necessary to provide enough draft picks to make a deal work.

Buha also hears that Murray is the Lakers’ top priority, but warns that the market is constantly changing, citing this week’s trade of Terry Rozier to Miami as an example. He suggests that might increase the price for Murray and wonders if the Sixers or another team with more assets than L.A. will enter the bidding. Buha proposes that the Lakers might try to get Brooklyn involved in a Murray trade and add another asset such as Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale.

There’s more on the Lakers’ trade market from Scotto and Buha:

L.A. would like to move Gabe Vincent, who’s recovering from knee surgery and still has two years left on his contract, but he currently has negative value around the league, Scotto and Buha agree. Buha points to Rui Hachimura as another player who might be involved in trade discussions, but says the Lakers would create a hole in their frontcourt by parting with him.
A rumored deal of Russell and Hachimura to the Bulls for Zach LaVine seems to be dead at this point, according to Scotto. Buha adds that L.A. always had more interest in DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso than LaVine, but has been reluctant to part with Austin Reaves to acquire them.
Executives around the league tell Scotto that it would likely take at least a first-round pick to get Malcolm Brogdon from the Trail Blazers. He also reiterates that the Cavaliers are informing teams they’re not interested in trading Donovan Mitchell.
Buha notes that the Lakers had interest in Bruce Brown dating back to last offseason, but it may take a third team to get involved if the Raptors don’t want Russell. He sees a Brown-Hachimura trade as a more realistic option, depending on what else L.A. would have to give up.

Trade Rumors: R. Williams, Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, Wizards

January 23rd, 2024 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers center Robert Williams won’t play again this season after undergoing knee surgery in November, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s off the table in trade talks. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT suggested during the latest episode of the #thisleague UNCUT podcast that Williams is a trade candidate to watch.

“There are some teams that are pondering making a move for Robert Williams,” Haynes said (hat tip to Blazer’s Edge). “Now, I know Robert Williams is out for the season, had another surgery on his right knee. But teams feel like he would be somebody they could get on the cheap right now and allow him to continue recovering, continue rehabbing in hopes that next season he can blossom back into the Robert Williams that we’ve seen when he was playing at a high level with the Boston Celtics.”

Williams was one of the players acquired by Portland in October’s Jrue Holiday deal with the Celtics. While he has shown some promise in his first few years in the NBA, is still just 26 years old, and is on a multiyear contract, there was a sense that the Blazers could be willing to flip the big man to a new team, given that they already have their center of the future in Deandre Ayton. Haynes confirms that’s the case.

“The Blazers will be very open (to moving Williams),” Haynes said. “That’s not up for debate. They’ll be very open. If they feel like they can get the right deal in place, they’re open. The Blazers, they’re in a youth movement right now, so they have nothing but time on their side. Some players don’t fit the development arc of most of the youth they have on that team. Robert Williams is somebody who is definitely available, given the right price.”

While Haynes didn’t specify exactly which teams are potential suitors for Williams, he noted that Ime Udoka is “very fond” of the big man after coaching him in Boston and speculated that the Rockets could have interest.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Discussing the Knicks‘ approach to the trade deadline on the Katz and Shoot podcast, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon is the player he has heard most frequently linked to New York (Twitter video link). Fred Katz of The Athletic cited Pistons guard Alec Burks as another player the Knicks had their eye on and confirmed the team has looked into Dejounte Murray, but isn’t sure whether that interest in the Hawks guard is serious or just a matter of the Knicks doing their due diligence.
Murray, Bruce Brown, Terry Rozier, and Tyus Jones are potential Lakers trade targets to keep an eye on, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link). The team’s interest in all four guards has been previously reported.
Charania also confirms a previous report about the Lakers and Hawks discussing Murray, adding that a pick swap was part of those negotiations. The talks stalled due to Atlanta’s desire to reroute D’Angelo Russell to a third team, but Charania expects the two teams to resume those discussions before the trade deadline.
Only one Wizards player is truly off-limits in trade talks at this season’s deadline, according to Charania (Twitter video link): 2023 lottery pick Bilal Coulibaly. Washington would be open to inquiries on anyone else on the roster.

Los Angeles Notes: Russell, James, Westbrook, Harden

January 22nd, 2024 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If the Lakers make a major move before the trade deadline, D’Angelo Russell could be part of the package. He’s on a two-year contract that includes an $18.7MM player option.

Russell’s strong recent play shows that he’s not distracted by trade rumors, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. The veteran guard averaging 27.2 points on 55.9% shooting and 6.4 assists in his last five games since being reinserted into the starting lineup.

“You’ve got to be aggressive around these guys,” Russell said, referring to Anthony Davis and LeBron James. “You complement these guys by being aggressive – not passing to them. That’s easy to guard. You’re easy to guard when it’s like that. Just watching it and watching a lot of guys on the team make those decisions, when I came back, I was like ‘I’m going to be aggressive in those instances’ and I’ll see how it complements them. And it’s been complementing them so far.”

We have more on the Los Angeles teams:

The Lakers and Clippers will square off on Tuesday but a key player won’t suit up. James has been ruled out by the Lakers due to left ankle soreness, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. It will be James’ fifth missed game this season. The Lakers have a 2-2 record without him.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook had a 23-point outing in the comeback victory against the Nets, his largest output since a 24-point game against the Lakers on Nov. 1. Westbrook essentially played center in a small-ball lineup on Sunday during the rally. “I’ve been emphasizing defensively for me, it’s huge this year,” Westbrook told Law Murray of The Athletic. “Guarding one through five, no matter what it is. Position, time, score, possession. Being help side. Rebounding, boxing out. All the small things that need to be done. I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to win basketball games. And tonight, my job was to guard the five and do a great job of being in coverage, reading defenses, communicating. And, you know, I did the best of my abilities to be able to close the game out.”
James Harden feels vindicated after forcing his way out of Philadelphia and demanding a trade to the Clippers. Many people were skeptical how Harden would fit in with the Clippers’ stars but the team has surged up the Western Conference standings. “Obviously it didn’t start off well,” said Harden, per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “It gave people so much to talk about in a negative way and now those people that were talking are nowhere to be found. Like, literally nowhere to be found.”

Lakers Notes: Russell, Reddish, Hachimura, Prince

January 22nd, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Arthur Hill

If D’Angelo Russell is leaving the Lakers before the February 8 trade deadline, he’s doing his best to raise his value on the way out, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Russell had 34 points and eight assists in Sunday’s romp over Portland and has averaged 27.2 PPG while shooting nearly 54% from three-point range since being reinserted into the starting lineup five games ago.

“I’ve always been like that, recognizing my superpower,” Russell said. “Everybody in the league has one. It might be defensive or just a motor but everyone has one. For me, ever since I was a young kid, I always found myself kinda getting hot throughout the game where I might score five, six points right away. Maybe score 10 in a quarter or something like that and score 10, 12 points the last three minutes of the game. It’s just my superpower.”

The contract Russell signed last summer has led to the trade speculation because it’s a valuable tool for salary-matching purposes. Russell is making $17.3MM this season with an $18.7MM player option for 2024/25 and is a strong candidate to be included in any significant deal. But Woike notes that the Lakers looked fine on Sunday if they decide to hold onto their point guard.

“Tonight was one of the most complete games I’ve seen him play since he’s been back in the Laker uniform,” coach Darvin Ham said of Russell. “He was great on defense, great with his activity, great on and off the ball offensively. He was huge.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Cam Reddish played 21 minutes Sunday night as he returned to the court after sitting out a week to recover from a left knee effusion, notes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The rest also helped Reddish heal from a groin injury, and he said he plans to keep working on rehab so he doesn’t have to miss more time. “I definitely have to stay on top of it, for sure,” Reddish said. “But it’s just feeling a lot better. I mean, in general, I just feel a lot better, you know what I mean? Just a few days made all the difference. So, hopefully we can keep that going.”
With Taurean Prince sidelined by left knee soreness, Ham was forced to make another change to his starting lineup, Turner adds. Ham opted for more offense this time as Rui Hachimura rejoined the starting five. “Rui stepped in and made a huge impact,” Ham said. “He was really, really good in his minutes.”
Prince is considered day-to-day, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ham said Prince “has been fighting through some pain for some time now” and there’s hope that a night off will help.

Lakers Rumors: Murray, D-Lo, Hood-Schifino, Reaves, More

January 19th, 2024 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The buzz connecting Hawks guard Dejounte Murray to the Lakers has increased to “noisy levels” as of late, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who hears that the two teams have discussed possible frameworks for a trade.

One concept the Lakers and Hawks talked about late last week would’ve included guard D’Angelo Russell, rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick, and additional draft compensation, multiple team and league sources tell Buha.

Los Angeles can only currently trade one future first-rounder (either the 2029 or 2030 pick), so any additional draft assets would’ve been second-rounders. Plus, as Michael Scotto reported on Thursday, Atlanta has little interest in Russell, so he may need to be rerouted to a third team.

Talks between Los Angeles and Atlanta have since stalled, but the two clubs are expected to revisit those negotiations prior to the February 8 trade deadline, says Buha.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Unless an unexpected opportunity arises, the Lakers are expected to take at least a couple more weeks to evaluate their trade assets and options before pulling the trigger on any deal, according to Buha. As Buha explains, the team would like to address various needs – including three-point shooting, speed, and athleticism – but is still weighing whether it makes more sense to make a smaller move or to do something bigger that would more significantly reshape the rotation.
No Lakers players besides Anthony Davis and LeBron James are untouchable, but Jarred Vanderbilt is ineligible to be dealt this season and Austin Reaves is “close” to being off the table, says Buha. Team and league sources tell The Athletic that L.A. values Reaves highly and has no interest in moving him, even though almost every trade discussion starts with a prospective trade partner asking for Reaves and a first-round pick. If the Lakers were to part with Reaves, they’d want the deal to net them a clear All-Star (ie. someone a tier above Murray or Zach LaVine) or multiple rotation upgrades, Buha adds.
Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Gabe Vincent are generally considered to have neutral-to-negative trade value, per Buha. Second-year guard Max Christie is viewed by some teams as an underrated three-and-D prospect, but the Lakers would prefer to keep him, Buha notes.
The Lakers, who had interest in Bruce Brown during the offseason, would still be interested in Brown if the Raptors make him available, Buha reports. Other potential targets the Lakers have discussed in recent weeks include Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, Hornets guard Terry Rozier, Raptors wing Gary Trent Jr., and Nets forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, says Buha.