Johnny Davis

Lakers Notes: Beasley, D-League, Davis

The Lakers might not be a championship-caliber team the way they’re currently constructed, but as the team’s Basketball Insiders salary page shows, they’re set to have plenty of cap room next summer that they can use to lure free agents to the ever-appealing purple-and-gold. We’ll round up the latest out of Lakerland below..

  • Michael Beasley has worked out twice for the Lakers this offseason, and it isn’t the first time that LA has shown interest in the former second overall pick. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times looks back at when the Lakers were close to acquiring Beasley in 2012 before pulling the trigger on a trade for Jordan Hill instead.
  • Phil Hubbard has been named head coach of the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team announced (on Twitter). Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News provides some background on Hubbard and lays out the former player’s coaching resume.
  • Johnny Davis won’t be part of Byron Scott‘s coaching staff in Los Angeles next season, as Medina hears (Twitter link). Davis, the former head coach of the Sixers, Magic, and Grizzlies, spent last season as an assistant under Mike D’Antoni.

Odds & Ends: Childress, Lakers, Cooley, NBPA

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are both considered decent bets to hit free agency next summer, if only to re-sign new long-term deals with their current teams. However, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld notes, both players would have the chance to hit the market in the summer of 2015 as well, if they opted in for 2014/15. With Dwyane Wade's long-term health uncertain, and the Knicks' books looking fairly empty beyond '15, it may benefit both LeBron and Carmelo to hold off on their free agent decisions for an additional year, rather than locking themselves into new long-term contracts next summer. Here's more from around the NBA on a Monday:

  • Josh Childress turned down a "lucrative offer" from Greek powerhouse Olympiacos earlier this offseason in hopes of securing a deal with an NBA team instead, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. According to Charania, Childress is receiving interest from three teams on a potential minimum-salary contract.
  • The Lakers have officially hired a pair of assistant coaches, Kurt Rambis and Johnny Davis, the team announced today in a press release.
  • Jack Cooley continues to weigh his options, and it sounds like he has plenty of them. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the former Notre Dame big man has received training camp invites from more than 10 NBA teams, and has also fielded offers from clubs overseas.
  • Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets that people around the NBA have been talking for months as if it's a foregone conclusion that former MSG president Steve Mills will eventually be named the new executive director of the players' union.
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside speaks to Damion James about the D-League All-Star's quest for an NBA roster spot.
  • In this week's edition of his Morning Tip column at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge looks at Team USA, Ian Clark, and the possibility of HGH testing.

Odds & Ends: Billups, Jennings, Bobcats, Pelicans

The trade that sent Chauncey Billups away from Detroit in 2008 left a strained relationship between the point guard and Pistons front office chief Joe Dumars. It took an apology from Dumars to open up the talks that led Billups to re-sign with the team, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News details. It appears the Bucks and Brandon Jennings may have some fence-mending to do as well, as we cover in our look around the Association:

  • The Bucks and Jennings' camp both see a sign-and-trade as ideal, but it seems he's more likely to ink his qualifying offer, writes Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal SentinelHoops Rumors readers see a signed QO as the most likely outcome.
  • Bobcats coach Steve Clifford wants the team to carry six big men and add a third point guard, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. There are six bigs on the roster, but Jeff Adrien's deal is non-guaranteed.
  • Charlotte's name change from the Bobcats to the Hornets is set to receive official NBA approval Thursday, Bonnell notes in a separate piece. The switch will occur next summer.
  • The Pelicans' offseason is a "game-changer" for Eric Gordon, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, as the team's moves have helped sculpt an intriguing core that figures to entice the once-disgruntled shooting guard to stay.
  • Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee spoke with Kings minority owner John Kehriotis, who's in a somewhat awkward situation after making a play at the majority interest in the team that went to new principal owner Vivek Ranadive.
  • Kurt Rambis made comments on ESPN last fall that reportedly prompted Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni to cross him off his list of potential assistants, but it appears D'Antoni has changed his mind, as Rambis is set to join his staff, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Johnny Davis will join him, along with fellow newcomers Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis.
  • The Wizards will hire Frank Ross as director of player personnel, TNT's David Aldridge tweets. Ross has been serving as the Thunder's scouting director for the East Coast.