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Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Wiggins, Ham, LeBron, Kings, Siakam

January 9th, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

While there’s “zero indication” that the Warriors would consider trading a longtime franchise cornerstone such as Klay Thompson or Draymond Green at next month’s deadline, there’s a “rising belief” among rival front offices that the team is open to the idea of moving Andrew Wiggins, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

The Warriors are believed to be averse to the idea of moving young forward Jonathan Kuminga, who is reportedly viewed as a potential star who can help them win both now and in the future. But, as has been well documented, the team hasn’t been effective when Kuminga and Wiggins have shared the floor together this season.

As Stein writes, it’s not clear what sort of value Wiggins would have on the trade market at this point. The former No. 1 overall pick was integral in helping Golden State win a title in 2022, and his four-year, $109MM contract was viewed as team-friendly when it was signed. But he’s having the worst year of his NBA career in 2023/24 — his 11.9 points per game would be a career low, as would his 29.7% three-point mark.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Based on what he has heard, Stein says things would likely have to get significantly worse for the Lakers for Darvin Ham‘s job to be in any serious danger. Ham said last week that he was “aligned” with team owner Jeanie Buss and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, and Stein hears the same things from his sources, writing that the head coach has “very strong support” from those organizational leaders.
Despite the Lakers‘ struggles this season and some speculation from a few media members, there’s no indication that star forward LeBron James has “a shred of interest” in trying to force a trade out of Los Angeles, Stein says. One source tells Stein that the Lakers – who will play eight of their next nine games in L.A. – hope to “ride out this storm” and right the ship during a home-heavy stretch of the schedule.
Revisiting the Kings‘ recent trade talks for Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back (Twitter video link) that Sacramento had hoped to get a deal done “sooner rather than later” and that the Kings had a specific package they were willing to give up for Siakam. With Toronto unwilling to accept that offer at this point, the Kings ended those discussions, which will likely only resume if the Raptors come back to the table to reengage, says Charania.
Charania adds that the Kings‘ offer for Siakam “revolved around” Harrison Barnes. Presumably Charania means it centered around Barnes from a salary-matching perspective rather than a value perspective, since Barnes’ trade value compared to Siakam’s is extremely low.

L.A. Notes: LeBron, Ham, Leonard, Lue, Russell

January 8th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

In need of a signature win to turn their season around, the Lakers hope they got it Sunday night against the cross-town Clippers, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Coming into yesterday’s game, the Lakers had been slumping badly, with just a 3-10 record since winning the in-season tournament. LeBron James, who sparked the victory with a game-high 25 points, said the team needs to move past the mistakes that have led to losing.

“Try to use this to try to catapult a little bit better play from us,” he said. “But it still doesn’t take away from the fact of how we’ve been playing like the last 11, 12 games. Tonight was a good start. Hopefully we can start from here and continue to build.”

The win should ease the pressure on Darvin Ham amid recent rumors that his security as Lakers’ head coach is starting to be shaky. Ham, who told reporters before the game that he doesn’t feel like he’s coaching for his job, was happy with how the team responded to adversity.

“Everybody contributed, competed at a very high level,” Ham said. “And I’m proud of them. Now the cat’s out the bag for this one, in terms of how we need to approach each and every game and everybody do it as a committee.”

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Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said a minutes restriction is the reason Kawhi Leonard was pulled from the game with 2:47 remaining, McMenamin states in the same story. Leonard, who recently missed four games with a left hip contusion, didn’t return until there were 17 seconds left to play. “He was close to his minutes restriction, and we got a back-to-back tomorrow,” Lue explained. “We got five games in eight days, so my thought was we need him in the game [earlier in the fourth] because the game kind of got away from us a little bit. … He had to play his extended minutes early in the quarter instead of late in the quarter. So that’s on me as a decision that I made to get him in early to come back.”
The Clippers have been on a roll lately, but James believes it’s more attributable to Lue’s guidance than the trade for James Harden, McMenamin adds. “Nah, it’s the T-Lue Clippers,” James said. “I know T-Lue very well. It don’t take T-Lue long to make sure s–t get right. It took him five games, and they’ve been cooking since.”
The Lakers were boosted by the return of D’Angelo Russell, who was back on the court after missing three games with a bruised tailbone, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Russell, who started 28 straight games before being moved to a reserve role, came off the bench again Sunday with 13 points and six assists. Russell left without talking to reporters, but Ham said his presence makes a difference. “Obviously, a guy that can orchestrate things, a guy that can stretch the floor, just his 3-point shooting ability and his ability to make shots,” Ham said. “You can’t have too much of that on your team. He definitely provides that.”

LeBron On Lakers: “We Just Suck Right Now”

January 6th, 2024 at 9:26am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Lakers dropped their fourth straight game on Friday and Los Angeles is now 17-19 following its loss to the Grizzlies. After winning the NBA’s in-season tournament last month, L.A. currently sits a game out of a play-in tournament spot at No. 11 in the conference.

“We just suck right now,” LeBron James said after the game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The Lakers have gone 3-10 since winning the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, and James downplayed the importance of that accomplishment in evaluating the Lakers’ season in full.

“That was just two games,” James said. “It’s a small sample. Everyone is getting so cracked up about Vegas and keep bringing up Vegas. It was two games. We took care of that business. It was the in-season tournament, we played it, we won it. But that was literally just two games.”

The Lakers’ frustrations have boiled over, with reports surfacing over the past week about coach Darvin Ham‘s disconnect with the locker room. Ham said too much emphasis has been placed on Los Angeles’s recent losses.

“I’m tired of people living and dying with every single game we play,” Ham said. “It’s ludicrous, actually. It’s like, come on, man, this is a marathon. And we hit a tough stretch. It’s the same team. … We played some high-level games a little while ago, and we just got to get back to that. We got to keep the fight going. We cannot lose our fight.”

The Lakers are currently without rotation players in D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, further complicating their current struggles ahead of the trade deadline. However, players have continually refused to use injuries as an excuse.

“We still have a lot of basketball left,” Anthony Davis said. “But we’re trending in the wrong direction right now. And the last thing we need, especially when guys are out, is to separate and fall apart. So we got to stay together, for sure, and figure it out. We can’t be in our feelings. We can’t be complaining or whatever. We can’t take anything personal.

“We have to look individually, myself, everyone in the locker room, the coaching staff, look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we can do individually better to help the team be better. And I think then we can come out and flip things around.“

Lakers’ Ham: “Aligned” With Owner, GM

January 5th, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Amid a report of a “deepening disconnect” between Darvin Ham and Lakers players due to Ham’s erratic lineups, which have partially been a result of injuries, the team’s head coach says he’s “solid” in his job security and is “aligned” with owner Jeanie Buss and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“It comes with the territory,” Ham said of the criticisms. “I’m solid. My governor, Jeanie Buss, the boss lady; our president, Robert Pelinka – we’re all aligned. As long as they’re not saying it, I guess I’m good.

“Which I know how they feel about me and the situation we’re currently in. So, we’re all on the same page. My two captains (LeBron James and Anthony Davis), I communicate with them. Our communication has been at a high level.”

Ham didn’t directly mention the report from The Athletic, but he criticized the general use of anonymous sources, like the ones cited in the story.

“The one thing that’s crazy is that it reminds me of when I used to watch ‘60 Minutes’ with my father in the ’80s,” Ham said. “And one particular show they were talking about La Cosa Nostra and the mafia and these guys were starting to go to trial and their star witness shows up with a black potato sack over his head and shades. And due to fear, the name can’t really be released.

“This seems to be the standard of reporting now for [the] NBA. People on the internet and whatever. And not all reporters – I don’t want to disrespect anybody in the room – but when you say the source is anonymous by choice and they don’t want to put their name on something but they want to give you the information and then you take the information and now everybody gets a chance to dissect it and spread it all out in their own way, it’s kind of disingenuous. And I wish we would get to a place where people are firm enough to stand on what they’re saying and then maybe we can have real dialogue and get to it.”

Ham said he welcomed critiques of his performance and brushed off the speculation.

“I don’t mind people critiquing the job I’m doing,” he said. “All I’m going to do is keep my head down and continue to do my job until I can’t do it anymore. Just be solid with what you’re putting out there and please don’t intertwine it with personal attacks either.

“That’s what it is, that’s what I signed up for when I decided to become a coach and I’ve been around some great guys who have handled it well and some coaches that haven’t handled it so well. But me? I’m solid. I’ve been through a ton of ‘ish’ in my life and this is a walk in the park. Trust me.”

L.A. Notes: Harden, Clippers, Diabate, Lakers, Ham

January 5th, 2024 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

After losing their first six games following the acquisition of James Harden, the Clippers have since won 18 of 23, including the last four in a row, to improve their record to 21-12. With the team firing on all cylinders, it hasn’t been lost on Harden that the critics who were decrying his fit in early November have been quiet as of late.

“Fit is great, I knew that from the beginning and it’s one of the reasons why I wanted to be a part of this,” Harden said, per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. “Obviously it didn’t start off well. 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. Which, we knew that was going to happen.”

Viewed as a title threat when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George teamed up in Los Angeles in 2019, the Clippers have won just three playoff series in the past four seasons as Leonard and George both dealt with injuries. But with the two forwards healthy this season and Harden bringing a new element to the roster, they’re looking like a legitimate contender again.

Asked by Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports what winning a championship would mean for his legacy, Harden said it would be “very important.”

“It’s been like that. I always want to give myself a chance to win. I know how very difficult that is,” Harden said. “There’s only one team standing at the end of the year. So, I’ll continue to keep trying to do that.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

Clippers two-way center Moussa Diabate, who was hampered in December by a hip issue, appeared in his first NBA game in over a month on Monday, logging three garbage-time minutes in a victory over Miami. However, it sounds like he won’t play again for a while — the team announced that Diabate, who had six blocks in a G League game on Tuesday, is out due to a metacarpal fracture in his right hand, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The club has yet to provide a recovery timeline.
With the Lakers slumping, Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group wonders why the team hasn’t turned to the lineups that were successful last season, including either Jarred Vanderbilt or Rui Hachimura alongside Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell. Injuries have been a problem, but the club hasn’t used either of those lineups even when everyone has been available — those two groups have played just three total minutes together in 2023/24, says Swanson.
While head coach Darvin Ham is clearly facing pressure to turn the Lakers‘ season around, a “high-ranking” team source disputed the idea that he’s on the verge of being fired, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Amick adds that assistant Phil Handy is frequently brought up as the possible next man up if the Lakers do eventually decide to make an in-season coaching change.

Pacific Notes: Green, Leonard, Durant, James, Russell

January 2nd, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There isn’t much of an update regarding Draymond Green‘s indefinite league suspension, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Green “hasn’t been in the (practice) facility, at least not with us,” Kerr said, adding “We’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours.”

Green missed his 10th game on Tuesday since the suspension was handed down. Around Christmas, league speculation pegged the suspension for the Warriors forward at 11-to-13 games but that now seems optimistic, given he’ll have to get in some practice time before he returns to the court.

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Kawhi Leonard came back strong from a four-game absence on Monday, contributing 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in a Clippers win over Miami. Leonard had been sidelined with a left hip contusion. “It’s great to have 2 back in the lineup,” Paul George said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “He does all the little intangible stuff. It’s just so reliable.” The Clippers have no injuries to report for their matchup with Phoenix on Wednesday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Suns star forward Kevin Durant didn’t play in the team’s victory over Portland on Monday and he’ll miss his second straight game on Wednesday. He’s listed as out due to a hamstring injury, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets.
LeBron James is dealing with a non-COVID illness and the Lakers superstar is listed as questionable to play against the Heat on Wednesday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. D’Angelo Russell is listed as doubtful due to a tailbone contusion, while a left calf strain will keep Rui Hachimura on the sidelines.

Heat Notes: Road Trip, LeBron, Highsmith, Smith

January 2nd, 2024 at 5:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat were missing four rotation players in their 121-104 loss to the Clippers on Monday, including Jimmy Butler, who is dealing with right foot irritation. Miami now faces the Lakers on Wednesday and the Suns on Friday to close out the five-game road swing.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat can’t use injuries as a crutch as the club tries to avert a third consecutive loss, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

“We’ll do whatever we have to do. Everybody is ready,” Spoelstra said. “Nobody cares if we have guys out and we’re not making any excuses for it.”

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Spoelstra believes that former Miami superstar LeBron James doesn’t get enough credit for the hard work he puts in to maintain his level of excellence, Chiang relays in the same story. “Most people don’t see it and they assume that he doesn’t. They just assume that he’s the best athlete in this game, which he was for so many years,” Spoelstra said of the current Lakers forward. “But he’s been able to maintain this level because of all that other stuff. “There will be a day where he can still dominate even without the physical tools, he can do it with his size and his brain. But he’s nowhere near that. He can still do it physically, as well.”
Haywood Highsmith is currently in the NBA’s concussion protocol. He left the team Monday to return to Miami and will likely miss the rest of the West Coast trip, according to Chiang. It’s been a rough season physically for Highsmith. He previously sat out four games with a sprained left knee, six games with a lower back contusion and one game because of a non-COVID illness. Highsmith has appeared in 21 games, including 15 starts.
Dru Smith underwent successful right ACL reconstruction surgery on Dec. 29, Chiang tweets. Per a Heat statement, Smith will miss the remainder of the season but can begin rehabilitation immediately. There is no timetable for his return. The Heat announced on Nov. 24 that Smith had suffered a season-ending injury against Cleveland two nights earlier.

Lakers Notes: New Starting Lineup, Hachimura, LeBron

January 1st, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers coach Darvin Ham made another change to his starting lineup Sunday night and indicated that the new unit might be together for a while, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. With Cam Reddish unavailable for the second time in three games due to groin soreness, Ham replaced him with Rui Hachimura, who started alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt.

“This lineup that you see, we’re going to stick with for the foreseeable future,” Ham told reporters prior to Sunday’s game. “[We’re] starting there, and hopefully everyone gets on the mend and we’ll try to get guys as much time as possible to get back healthy. [We’re] definitely trying to figure out a more consistent lineup as we proceed through this next portion of the season.”

Ham also tinkered with his starting five last week, swapping Vanderbilt in for D’Angelo Russell. A tailbone contusion that Russell suffered on Saturday forced him to miss Sunday’s game, and Ham indicated that he and Reddish are both considered day-to-day.

“It’s something we have to manage,” Ham said of Reddish’s condition. “There’s nothing structurally wrong with it, but there’s something that’s alive and well that he feels based on the workload.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Ham’s lineup plans could be disrupted by a calf strain that forced Hachimura to leave Sunday’s game after just eight minutes, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ham said there’s a “high level” of concern about the injury, but he doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions before Hachimura undergoes further testing.
James was critical of the NBA’s replay system after he was awarded two points instead of three on a late shot in Saturday’s loss at Minnesota, McMenamin states in a full story. James thought he had tied the game with 2.3 seconds left and was livid when officials ruled that his foot was barely on the three-point line. “What the hell do we got replay for?” James said afterward. “What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong? It’s just like, who is a part of the replay center? Like, do we got robots in there making Teslas? Like, what’s going on?” The NBA confirmed the call Sunday in its Last Two Minutes Report (Twitter link).
In his latest Substack column, Marc Stein looks at what the future might hold for James, who became the NBA’s only active 39-year-old when he celebrated his birthday on Saturday.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Vogel, Ishbia, Murray, James

December 26th, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Devin Booker says head coach Frank Vogel and the team’s leaders share the responsibility of turning the Suns’ fortunes around, Erin Walsh of Bleacher Report relays.

“We just have to get it together,” Booker said. “And that’s on me. That’s on Coach. That’s on KD, Eric (Gordon), all the leaders that we have in here to make sure that we’re more prepared when we come play.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported this week that Kevin Durant has grown increasingly frustrated with the team’s mediocre play.

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Suns owner Mat Ishbia has been very proactive in making moves since acquiring the franchise toward the end of last season. However, Vogel said Ishbia has offered words of encouragement through the team’s struggles, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “He’s been incredibly supportive,” Vogel said. “Talks through every game with me. Has a great knowledge of the game of basketball. We have a ton of discussions about the teams that we’re playing, the thing we’re doing on the floor and what the results look like. Those conversations have been very productive and supportive.”
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray is worth keeping an eye on as a potential trade target for the Lakers, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show (video link). Charania notes that “the Hawks’ direction, of course, it’s in flux.” Murray’s four-year, $111MM+ contract extension kicks in next season but Charania notes that contract is favorable compared to that of Zach LaVine, another player who’s been linked to the Lakers. Austin Reaves would be a target for rival GMs, but the Lakers have shown no inclination of moving their talented young guard, Charania adds.
LeBron James now holds the NBA scoring record. So what other major milestones could he shoot for? Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated writes that James could reach the 40,000-point mark. With three more healthy seasons, the Lakers superstar could also overtake Robert Parish for the all-time record in games played (1,611).

Lakers Notes: James, Starting Five, Christmas Game, Injury Report

December 24th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points against Oklahoma City on Saturday as the Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak. James looked at it as a meaningful victory, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“We needed this win,” James said. “We didn’t want to end the road trip in a losing effort. … To come in here to play versus a team that’s been playing extremely well throughout this season, it was a big win for us.”

We have more on the Lakers:

They made a significant lineup move prior to the contest, as forward Jarred Vanderbilt replaced guard D’Angelo Russell. The starting lineup of James, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis doesn’t have a true guard, but it allows them to switch more often on defense, Jovan Buha of The Athletic notes. “When you have that type of size, and you start that type of size, length and athleticism, and you can switch down the line, they basically gain no advantage,” coach Darvin Ham said. Offensively, the ball flowed through James and Davis, though it creates issues in terms of three-point shooting.
Ham believes the Christmas Day game against the Celtics can be used as a measuring stick, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register relays. “They’re one of the teams that’s at the top of the food chain in our league,” Ham said. “A team that’s definitely a championship contender. We get a chance to see where we are. You don’t have to have a Knute Rockne speech for this one. It’s a classic Lakers-Celtics game. Both teams are playing – for the most part of the year – playing at a high level. It’ll be a great chance to see where we are against the best of the best in terms of competition.”
James and Davis are listed as questionable to play on Monday due to left ankle injuries, Price tweets, though they’ve often been listed with that designation in recent games and have suited up. Rui Hachimura is also listed as questionable due to left groin soreness.