Kyle Kuzma Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Kuzma, Anthony, Thunder, Jazz

August 15th, 2018 at 10:04am CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma doesn’t think his team will have to wait a year to contend, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. Kuzma believes the additions of LeBron James and other big-name free agents makes them instant contenders. “We think that a lot of people are underestimating us,” he told Youngmisuk. Kuzma added that many teams need to work on their chemistry but he’s confident the team’s younger players will blend well with the veteran additions. “I don’t know why people kind of just rule us out because we are young,” he said. “We are hungry. We are competitive. Anybody that watched us play last year, we were in a lot of games.”

We have more from around the Western Conference:

Rockets forward Nene Hilario believes Carmelo Anthony is still one of the elite players in the league, Mark Berman of KRIV tweets. “When he commits to do the right thing and they use his talent, man get out of the way. Simple as that. For me, he’s a top-10 player in the league,” Hilario told Berman. Anthony officially signed with Houston earlier this week.
The Thunder catch a little bit of a scheduling break, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman points out. Each team plays four conference foes three times while facing every other conference team four times. The Thunder only have to play the two-time defending champion Warriors three times, with the Lakers, Spurs and Grizzlies also in that group. The Grizzlies are the only projected non-playoff contender among that quartet.
The Jazz franchise has become a haven for foreign-born players and coaches, Brad Rock of the Deseret News notes. The current roster includes Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles, Ricky Rubio, Raul Neto, Naz Mitrou-Long and Thabo Sefolosha and the team also recently hired the league’s first Greek assistant coach.

L.A. Notes: Leonard, James, Rondo, Rivers

July 3rd, 2018 at 9:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs continue to seek a high price from the Lakers in exchange for Kawhi Leonard, salary cap expert Larry Coon said in an appearance today on Spectrum SportsNet (Twitter link). Sources tell Coon that San Antonio is asking for Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, two first-rounders and the right to swap two other draft choices. “They’re just saying give us everything,” Coon said.

Coon also outlined the Lakers’ remaining cap situation, noting that the signing of Lance Stephenson with the mid-level exception will probably be the final move in free agency after all other cap space is used up.

There’s more news from Los Angeles:

LeBron James‘ decision to join the Lakers may give Leonard more incentive to become a Clipper, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports suggested in an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s radio show (Twitter link).
The Lakers are turning their attention to next summer for their next big free agent move, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The organization’s emphasis on one-year deals helps explain the odd collection of moves that have come down since James committed to L.A. Sunday night. The Lakers re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, then reached agreements with Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo, all on one-year contracts. The team expects to have about $76MM in guaranteed money next summer, possibly less if Luol Deng is waived and stretched, leaving enough to offer another max deal.
Rondo, whom Deveney states has wanted to join the Lakers since 2015, could take the starting point guard job away from Lonzo Ball, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. A source tells Amick that the L.A. front office has promised Rondo the chance to compete for a starting spot.
During an impromptu interview with TMZ, Doc Rivers explained the decision to trade his son, Austin Rivers, to the Wizards. The Clippers coach called it “the right thing for all of us” and predicts that Austin will excel in Washington.

Leonard Trade Rumors: Lakers, Kings, Knicks, Celtics, Odds

June 15th, 2018 at 7:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It would be a tight squeeze financially but the Lakers could conceivably acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade and sign both LeBron James and Paul George as free agents, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. Leonard’s desire to be traded from the Spurs, with Los Angeles being his preferred destination, was made public on Friday. The trade would have to be completed before any free agent signings and the Spurs would have to be willing to take back Luol Deng‘s bad contract, Pelton continues. A package of either Lonzo Ball or Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma might be enough to entice the Spurs to do that, though a third team might be needed in order to match up salaries. The Lakers could then sign James and George, and fill out the roster using their room mid-level exception along with veterans agreeing to minimum contracts, Pelton adds.

In other notes involving Leonard trade chatter:

The Kings could be a darkhorse to land Leonard, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports tweets. Sacramento is desperately seeking a star-level talent and is willing to part with the No. 2 pick in the draft to get one, according to Mannix.
The Knicks would have to part with Kristaps Porzingis to have any chance of securing Leonard, Marc Berman of the New York Post speculates. The only other major assets the Knicks possess are their lottery pick (No. 9 overall), their potential lottery pick in 2020 and last year’s lottery selection, point guard Frank Ntilikina. But the Knicks could only trade one of those picks under CBA rules and they’d also have to give up another big salary to make the trade work, Berman notes.
The Celtics are expected to express interest in Leonard in their quest to land superstars, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports. However, a league source told Himmelsbach that the timing of the leak might actually be a negotiating ploy to secure a five-year, $219MM maximum extension from the Spurs.
The Lakers are the heavy favorites to land Leonard, according to the Bovada Sportsbook as relayed by Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link). The Lakers are less than even money at 5-7 to have Leonard in their opening-night lineup. The Celtics are rated at 15-4, a little less than 4-1, to acquire Leonard. The Sixers and Spurs are next as 5-1 proposition, followed by the Cavaliers and Clippers at 10-1.

Lakers Notes: Ball, Kuzma, Bryant, Magic

June 13th, 2018 at 8:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookies Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma have gotten a lot of attention for their good-natured insults on social media, but the Lakers have talked to them about scaling it back, according to Ramona Shelburne and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

The jabs are usually about fashion, food or something harmless, but team officials became concerned when Ball released a song that mentioned Kuzma’s lack of a relationship with his biological father. Both players agreed to tone down the ribbing.

Two years ago, the Lakers were caught in a social media controversy involving Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell that led to Russell being ostracized in the locker room. Neither player is still with the team.

There’s more Lakers news from Los Angeles:

Ball received a platelet-rich plasma shot in his left knee last month and was cleared for basketball activities last week, Youngmisuk writes in a separate story. Ball, who sat out the last eight games of the season with a knee contusion, called it a minor injury that didn’t require surgery. The Lakers want Ball to increase his strength this summer and become less susceptible to injuries. “Just been in the weight room, trying to put on that weight,” he said. “And on the court, a lot of ballhandling, a lot of shooting. I am trying to critique everything and fine tune and get ready for next year.”
Kobe Bryant will have a limited role in the Lakers’ pursuit of free agents this summer, relays Tom Schad of USA Today. Bryant said this week he will call any potential targets if asked, but he won’t sit in on recruiting meetings. “If the players have questions, or if [the Lakers] want me to reach out and call a player or something like that, talk to the player, kind give my two cents on what it was like to play here in this market, I’ll certainly do that,” Bryant said on The HoopsHype Podcast. “But in terms of being part of the meeting in any official way, the answer is no.”
The Lakers need a strong performance from president of basketball operations Magic Johnson to help land a couple of elite free agents, writes Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. He contends that Johnson was given a front office position so he could use his celebrity and reputation to help attract stars.

Lakers Rumors: Ball, Workouts, Caldwell-Pope

May 22nd, 2018 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers guard Lonzo Ball is focused on gaining strength and stamina to become less injury-prone next season, teammate Kyle Kuzma told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and other media members on Tuesday. Ball played in only 52 games during his rookie campaign due to a variety of ailments.

“He has been in there pretty much every day I have been in here around this time,” Kuzma said of Ball’s weight training. “You can tell he is taking the weight room a lot more serious and that is going to help him by allowing him to recover faster and hopefully next year be on the court more because of that weight room.”

In other news regarding the Lakers:

West Virginia guard Jevon Carter is among six prospects the Lakers will work out on Wednesday, the team announced on its website. Carter is ranked No. 44 on ESPN Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 list. Kostas Antetokounmpo (Dayton), Elijah Bryant (BYU), Trey Kell (San Diego State) and Omari Spellman (Villanova) will join Carter. Gary Trent Jr. of Duke will also be there, as previously reported.
The Spurs are a logical candidate to pursue free agent shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype speculates. San Antonio could lose Danny Green if he opts out of his contract. Caldwell-Pope could replace him and the Spurs have their mid-level exception to offer him, Urbina continues. The Clippers and Grizzlies may also be in the market for a starting shooting guard, though it’s possible KCP could get another one-year offer from the Lakers if they don’t land two top-level free agents, Urbina adds.
Kuzma was named to the league’s All-Rookie First Team while Ball earned Second Team honors. You can see the All-Rookie teams here.

NBA Announces 2017/18 All-Rookie Teams

May 22nd, 2018 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its First and Second All-Rookie Teams for the 2017/18 season. Ben Simmons of the Sixers and Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz – widely viewed as the top two contenders for this season’s Rookie of the Year award – were the only two players to be unanimously selected to the First Team. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received 99 of 100 potential First Team votes.

Listed below are the NBA’s All-Rookie teams for 2017/18, with the player’s vote total in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

First Team:

Ben Simmons, Sixers (200)
Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (200)
Jayson Tatum, Celtics (199)
Kyle Kuzma, Lakers (193)
Lauri Markkanen, Bulls (173)

Second Team:

Dennis Smith Jr., Mavericks (96)
Lonzo Ball, Lakers (87)
John Collins, Hawks (76)
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kings (75)
Josh Jackson, Suns (45)

Jackson, who received one First Team vote to go along with 43 Second Team votes, narrowly beat out Bam Adebayo of the Heat for the final spot on the Second Team — Adebayo finished with 44 points.

Outside of Adebayo and the 10 players who earned spots on the All-Rookie teams, 14 other players received votes, with De’Aaron Fox (Kings), OG Anunoby (Raptors), and Jarrett Allen (Nets) leading the way among that group.

Injury Updates: Thomas, Ball, Irving, Curry

April 7th, 2018 at 9:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas is declaring his right hip to be “fixed” after season-ending surgery, relays Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Thomas played just 17 games for the Lakers before opting for the March 28 procedure to address lingering problems in the hip. He talked to reporters at Friday’s game and proclaimed his time with in L.A. to be successful.

“I came in here with … nothing on my agenda and nothing in my plans,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to play basketball and get that joy back and being on the Lakers brought that joy back from having a tough couple of months in Cleveland.”

Thomas added that the pain in his hip never went away, even as he sat out for seven months in an attempt to rehab the joint. He expressed confidence that the situation won’t affect his offers in free agency, believing that teams will understand he was trying to play through an injury.

There’s plenty of news tonight on the injury front:

The season may not be over for rookie guard Lonzo Ball, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Ball, who has missed the past five games with a left knee contusion, participated in some drills today and the Lakers have upgraded him to questionable for Sunday’s contest. Teammate Kyle Kuzma is also questionable after suffering a mild sprain to his left ankle Friday night.
The Celtics expect Kyrie Irving to be ready for training camp after having knee surgery today, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN. Irving had two screws removed from his left knee and has a projected recovery time of four to five months. “The surgery went exactly as planned, and we expect Kyrie to be fully healthy for training camp in the fall,” president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in a prepared statement.
Celtics center Daniel Theis, who had season-ending surgery on his left knee, said he hopes to be able to get off his crutches in two to three weeks, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.
Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele will have an MRI on his knee after sitting out practice today, according to Tom Westerholm of MassLive. “They don’t think it’s anything,” coach Brad Stevens said of team doctors, “but they’re going to get some imaging just to make sure.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr declined to offer an update on Stephen Curry before tonight’s game, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The star guard will miss at least the first round of the playoffs with an MCL sprain. “There’s nothing there,” Kerr said. “[Check back] next week.”
The Nuggets are preparing to finish the season without guard Gary Harris, who is recovering from a knee injury, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post (Twitter link). “Right now, I’m not expecting Gary Harris back [in the regular season],” coach Michael Malone said before today’s game. “We have to continue to find ways to win games and compete at a high level with the players that are available, and Gary’s not on that list right now.”
The Bucks had hoped that Malcolm Brogdon could play tonight, but decided to hold him out for another game, writes Matt Velazquez of The Journal Sentinel. Brogdon hasn’t been available since since partially tearing his left quadriceps tendon more than two months ago. “Honestly there hasn’t been many setbacks,” Brogdon said. “I’ve had maybe two or three sore days in the whole rehab process and that’s not many at all. Very few setbacks. I’ve made progress, progress, taken big steps almost every day so it’s been a very smooth rehab so far.”

Injury Notes: Curry, Leonard, Porzingis, George

March 14th, 2018 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors will hold Stephen Curry out of action for another week while he recovers from a “tweaked” right ankle, the team announced in a tweet. Curry is making progress with his rehab, according to the Warriors, and will be re-evaluated March 20. That means he will miss at least four more games. Curry has been sidelined since Thursday when he hurt the ankle while being fouled on a layup attempt against the Spurs.

There’s more injury-related news from around the NBA:

Kawhi Leonard hasn’t received medical clearance to start playing again, relays Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich remains in daily contact with Leonard and says the team is being careful not to bring him back before he’s fully ready. “He’s got to be cleared by his medical staff that he’s seeing. And until he gets cleared, we can’t make a decision on when he’s coming back,” Popovich said. “So once he gets cleared, then he and I can sit down and talk and see what we think about an appropriate time to come back. But that clearance has to be obtained first.” An earlier report indicated that Leonard might play tomorrow, but San Antonio has ruled that out.
Kristaps Porzingis was “shocked” when doctors told him he had torn his left ACL, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Making his first public comments since the injury, the Knicks forward vowed to return to his All-Star level, but isn’t sure when he might start playing again. “I can’t give you anything,’’ Porzingis said. “I have no idea. You should ask the doctor, maybe. And he would tell you something. And myself, I’m just going day by day really, and we’ll see where is the comeback at. There is no timetable for now. It’s pretty far off to put a timetable out there.’’
Paul George left last night’s game with a groin injury, but doesn’t expect to miss any time, according to Royce Young of ESPN. George will be re-evaluated today before the Thunder decide whether he can play Friday.
X-rays were negative on Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis, who left Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia with a sprained left ankle. He will undergo an MRI when the team returns home.
The Lakers are listing Kyle Kuzma as questionable for tonight’s game after he sprained his right ankle Tuesday, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. X-rays taken last night were negative.
Larry Nance Jr. left Tuesday’s game early after he tweaked his right hamstring, relays ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). The Cavaliers center said he’s “absolutely fine” and plans to play tomorrow in Portland.

L.A. Notes: Bradley, Clippers, Thomas, Ball

February 23rd, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

As the Clippers headed to Phoenix for Friday night’s game against the Suns, Avery Bradley stayed behind in Los Angeles to receive treatment on a sports hernia injury that has nagged at him for much of the season, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The Clippers, who could have used Bradley on defense during Thursday’s 134-127 loss to Golden State, aren’t sure exactly when the veteran guard will return to action.

“We are concerned,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “We’ve got to go through the right stuff and make sure he’s in a good place with his health. I think we’re going to send him to a doctor and let him check and see.”

Here’s more out of Los Angles on both the Clippers and Lakers:

The Clippers currently have one opening on their 15-man roster, which would allow the team to give a full-fledged roster spot to one of its two-way players. However, it’s not clear whether Tyrone Wallace or C.J. Williams would be first in line for that spot, as both players are expected to receive consideration, according to Turner. “Hopefully we can get something resolved pretty soon,” Rivers said. “We just got to figure out what we’re going to do. We may be able to sign one.”
With the Lakers focusing on developing younger players and Isaiah Thomas in need of a showcase before he hits free agency, the union between the two doesn’t exactly look like a marriage made in heaven, writes Rob Mahoney of SI.com. Still, Lonzo Ball is looking forward to playing with Thomas, suggesting that his pass-first style and Thomas’ score-first mentality should mesh well together, as Bill Oram of The Orange County Register details.
In a conversation with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma addressed several topics, including the team’s recent trades of Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson, his friendship with Ball, and the possibility of the Lakers landing a star in free agency.

Latest on Lakers-Ball Controversy

January 8th, 2018 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers coach Luke Walton is more concerned about the distraction caused by LaVar Ball’s comments about him than his job security, sources told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Ball, in comments published by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, created a firestorm when Ball said Walton had lost the team and no one wanted to play for him. Ball had met with president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka in late November after the father of rookie guard Lonzo Ball publicly criticized Walton. The elder Ball promised to tone down his act, so both he and Johnson must be held accountable now, Shelburne opines, as Ball went back on his word and Johnson failed to immediately defend his coach. The club needs to take a harsher stance against LaVar Ball or risk being dragged into one controversy after another, Shelburne concludes.

In other developments regarding the Lakers/Ball situation:

Rookie forward Kyle Kuzma gave a ringing endorsement of Walton, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times tweets: “Luke is my guy. I love playing for him. … We stand by Luke. I know the front office does.”
The National Basketball Coaches Association issued a statement condemning Goodman’s report, calling it “reprehensible and insulting.” The coaches felt that ESPN should have done more research before publishing Ball’s comments. “The story failed to provide quotes or perspectives from any players, or from Lakers management, either named or unnamed, verifying the claims made in the story. The article lacks any of the basic fundamental benchmarks and standards of reliable journalism,” the statement read in part.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy chimed in on the situation and ripped ESPN for reporting Ball’s comments as news. “I thought it was a cheap shot and I thought ESPN showed total disrespect,” Van Gundy told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press and other media members. “I don’t have a problem with LaVar Ball. He’s a grown man. He can voice whatever opinion he wants. I got a problem with ESPN deciding that’s a story.”
ESPN had every right to publish Ball’s comments and the real burden falls on the Lakers, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman opines. The team brought on these issues by drafting Ball, knowing all about his attention-grabbing father. If Goodman hadn’t reported it, someone else would have, according to Tramel.
Johnson, Pelinka and Walton must find a way to rebuild the franchise’s culture, according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. The team is hoping to land two high-level free agents but that won’t happen if it’s perceived to be in disarray, Mannix adds.