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Pacific Notes: Ham, LeBron, Westbrook, Murray, Hightower, Warriors

August 28th, 2022 at 8:19pm CST by JD Shaw

Lakers coach Darvin Ham recently expressed excitement about LeBron James inking an extension with the team, as relayed by Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. James agreed to extend his deal through the 2023/24 season, also owning a $50.4MM player option for the 2024/25 campaign.

“It’s huge, man,” Ham acknowledged. “It’s huge. LeBron is a once-in-a-lifetime player. You only get so many players. Not even so many. You have Bill Russell, you have Wilt Chamberlain, you have Dr. J, you have Moses Malone, you had Larry Bird, Magic [Johnson], you had [Michael] Jordan, you had Allen Iverson, Shaq [O’Neal], Kobe [Bryant], and now it’s LeBron’s time.”

James led the Lakers to a championship in 2020 and is focused on doing it again this season. The team lacks the wing defenders it had that year (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alex Caruso, among others), but it still has a talented roster on paper — one also headlined by Anthony Davis.

Here are some other notes from the Pacific:

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Lakers Notes: Durant, Westbrook, James, Closing Unit

August 23rd, 2022 at 6:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With the Nets’ statement that they and Kevin Durant intend to “move forward” with their partnership, the Lakers’ approach regarding Russell Westbrook actually becomes clearer, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

Now that a potential Kyrie Irving trade involving Westbrook is presumably off the table, the Lakers are free to explore alternatives, Woike explains. It could facilitate their decision regarding whether they’ll ride with Westbrook in the upcoming season or deal him to another potential suitor.

We have more on the Lakers:

  • LeBron James‘ decision to sign a two-year extension this summer shows that winning another title is no longer his primary goal, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on SportsCenter (video link). Instead, it shows he’s content to stay put, even though the Lakers haven’t made a major move this summer, and he’s also intent on eventually playing with his son Bronny. “With this decision by LeBron, you really see his two biggest priorities — priority one is being a Los Angeles Laker, priority two is leaving the door open to play with his son in two years,” Windhorst said. “Winning championships is still high on that list but it seems like it’s a little bit more in third position.”
  • Assuming the Lakers don’t bring in another major piece, what kind of lineups could they construct to produce the best results? Jovan Buha of The Athletic explores this topic, including his suggestion of the best “closing unit” on the roster — a group that includes James, Anthony Davis, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson and Austin Reaves.
  • The Lakers reportedly have some interest in bringing back Dennis Schröder. Get the details here.
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LeBron James, Udonis Haslem Set To Join NBA’s 20-Season Club

August 22nd, 2022 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

The list of NBA veterans who have played 20 or more seasons in the league will grow by at least two this year, as Lakers star LeBron James and Heat big man Udonis Haslem are set to become the ninth and 10th players to spend at least two decades on NBA rosters.

The players already in the NBA’s 20-season club are as follows:

While James and the majority of the other players on the above list spent time with multiple teams over the course of their lengthy NBA careers, Haslem is on track to join an even more exclusive club, having only played for the Heat during his 20 years in the league.

Nowitzki (21 seasons with the Mavericks) and Bryant (20 with the Lakers) are the only two other players to spend at least two decades with a single team. Prior to deciding on Sunday to return for one final season in Miami, Haslem had been tied on that list with Tim Duncan, who spent 19 years with the Spurs, and John Stockton, who spent 19 with the Jazz.

Haslem will also become the first member of the 20-season club who began his NBA career as an undrafted player. In fact, James and the other eight players with 20 seasons under their belts were all lottery picks. Bryant, the No. 13 selection in 1996, was the lowest draft pick of any of those nine players, making Haslem’s accomplishment all the more remarkable.

Although Haslem defied the odds to spend 20 years with a single team after going undrafted, he confirmed on Sunday that he intends to retire after the 2022/23 season, so he won’t move any higher on the list of the NBA’s seasons played leaders. James, on the other hand, has a good chance to match or surpass Carter’s record of 22 years in the league — LeBron is already under contract through 2024/25, which would be his 22nd NBA season.

Finally, it’s worth noting that a third player is in position to join James and Haslem and become the 11th player in the 20-season club in 2022/23. Carmelo Anthony, who also entered the NBA in 2003 and has played for 19 years, remains unsigned as an unrestricted free agent, but seems likely to catch on with an NBA team either before opening night or at some point during the season.

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Chet Holmgren Believed To Be OK After Rolling Ankle In Pro-Am Game

August 21st, 2022 at 9:20am CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren had to leave Saturday’s Seattle pro-am game after rolling his ankle, but the injury doesn’t appear to be serious, tweets Nathan Thompson of Fox 23 Sports in Oklahoma. Thompson provides a video of the play, which happened early in the game as Holmgren was defending LeBron James on a fast break.

The contest, which featured an impressive array of NBA talent, had to be called midway through the second quarter because of unsafe court conditions, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN. The combination of unusually humid weather and a crowd of nearly 3,000 people that packed the gym at Seattle Pacific University led to condensation issues that made the court too slippery to continue.

The decision to end the game was made after Bucks rookie MarJon Beauchamp slipped while attempting a layup.

“You don’t get a day like this often, but it’s my job to protect everybody’s safety,” said league founder Jamal Crawford. “On the court, I couldn’t risk those guys taking a chance of getting hurt. It’s not worth that. It’s supposed to drive inspiration and give hope and they did that. The job was accomplished.”

According to Pelton, fans began lining up Friday night in hopes of being admitted to the venue. Thousands of people were left outside once the small gym reached its capacity.

James received a thunderous ovation when the crowd first caught a glimpse of him, and tipoff was delayed as a group of fans surrounded him on the court. Crawford addressed the crowd over the PA system, asking for order to be restored amid a warning from Seattle police that the game might have to be shut down.

Once play began, Celtics star Jayson Tatum provided some early highlights, hitting three shots from three-point range and blowing kisses to the fans (video link). He also threw a lob pass to James at the end of the first quarter that resulted in a crowd-pleasing dunk.

“Obviously, everybody didn’t get in and everybody probably could never get in,” Crawford said after the game. “We tried to do the best we can. We tried to provide an experience that we’ve never had before. I thought that overall it was great because I think it’s moments and memories that the kids will never forget.”

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LeBron James Among NBA Stars in Seattle Pro-Am League

August 20th, 2022 at 5:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James highlights a list of NBA players who will participate in a Seattle pro-am league later today, according to NBA.com.

The league is called “The CrawsOver” in honor of founder Jamal Crawford, a Seattle native and longtime NBA player. Announcing James’ participation on Twitter, Crawford promises it will be “a day like we’ve never seen.”

“A lot of kids in this area especially have only seen their favorite players whether it be on TV or on video games,” Crawford said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” (Twitter link). “To see their favorite players right there in person, to reach out and touch them. And they may have interaction with you. If you’re a kid working to get better and to dream about being on that level, that makes your dreams more realistic.” 

Crawford added that he asks the area kids which NBA players they would like to see and he tries to get them to attend.

James also tweeted about the event, noting that it’s his first game in Seattle in more than 15 years. He was the featured attraction last month in the pro-am Drew League in Los Angeles, which marked his first public game since the NBA season ended.

Established stars such as Jayson Tatum, Dejounte Murray, Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Gordon are also scheduled to play today, along with first-round picks Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Tari Eason and MarJon Beauchamp. There could be an opportunity for Murray and Banchero to renew their rivalry that began with an incident at Thomas’ pro-am game two weeks ago.

Fans can watch the game live on both the NBA app and NBA.com. It’s scheduled to tip off at 8:30 PM Eastern Time.

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Pacific Notes: Wiggins, Westbrook, Kyrie, LeBron

August 18th, 2022 at 5:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Fresh off his first NBA title and All-Star selection in 2021/22, Warriors starting small forward Andrew Wiggins is hoping to prove his mettle as one of the NBA’s best defensive players, as he told Vince Carter on the retired eight-time All-Star’s podcast, The VC Show with Vince Carter (h/t to Andrei de Guzman of TalkBasket).

“One thing I’m really gonna strive for this upcoming season is being on the [All-]Defensive Team,” Wiggins said. “That’s a big goal of mine, and hopefully I opened some eyes in the playoffs and I can be on the radar. I ain’t get not one vote this year! I took it personal in the playoffs!”

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • With Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James newly signed to a lucrative extension that will at least keep him in Los Angeles through 2024, it’s possible that L.A. will be more receptive to including draft capital in a trade to get off the contract of embattled point guard Russell Westbrook, opines Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Pincus suspects that Westbrook could be moved to the Nets, Pacers or Spurs, should the Lakers indeed be willing to part with their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks. Pincus notes that the Jazz also have the assets to possibly pique the interest of the Lakers’ front office in a deal. During his first season with his hometown team, the 33-year-old veteran proved to be an awkward on-court fit alongside James as a ball-dominant guard without a jump shot or much defensive effort.
  • Prior to his inking the aforementioned extension with the Lakers, James was “privately adamant” about wanting the Lakers trade for his former Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Whether such a transaction for the seven-time All-Star, currently with the Nets, comes to pass remains to be seen.
  • The new two-year, $97.1MM contract extension James signed with the Lakers can benefit both James and Los Angeles, opines Dave McMenamin of ESPN (YouTube video link). By opting to commit to the Lakers at this juncture (the extension could have been signed as late as next summer), James has given the team the green light to make moves around him in order to hopefully resume deep playoff runs. In turn, the 17-time championship-winning Lakers want to showcase themselves as a desirable landing place for marquee free agents in the years to come. McMenamin adds that, should L.A. prove unable to compete at a championship level within the next two seasons, James is able to retain some of his future flexibility to an extent by making the second year of the deal, the 2024/25 season, a player option.
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LeBron James Signs Extension With Lakers

August 18th, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 18: The Lakers have officially signed James to an extension, the team announced (Twitter link via Marc Stein).

AUGUST 17: Superstar forward LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Lakers, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

It’ll be a new two-year, maximum-salary deal that includes a second-year player option, per Wojnarowski. That means James is now under contract with the Lakers through at least the 2023/24 season, with an option on ’24/25. The agreement also includes a 15% trade kicker, Woj adds.

James is earning $44,474,988 in 2022/23, which exceeds the standard maximum of $43,279,250 for a player with 10-plus years of NBA experience. Because he’s still eligible for a 5% raise on a new extension, LeBron’s 2023/24 salary will likely be $46,698,737. His ’24/25 player option will be worth $50,434,636, an 8% raise on the first year of his extension, for a total two-year value of $97,133,373.

The value of James’ extension could increase further if the NBA salary cap for ’23/24 comes in higher than anticipated. The cap is currently projected to be $133MM, but if it ends up exceeding $133,425,000, LeBron’s starting salary on the extension would instead be worth 35% of the cap.

[RELATED: 2022/23 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]

James became eligible for a new two-year extension on August 4. He was ineligible to sign a deal longer than that due to the NBA’s Over-38 rule.

Despite his new eligibility, there was a sense that James wouldn’t rush into a new deal right away. The four-time MVP would have been able to retain leverage and perhaps wield more influence on the Lakers’ roster moves by holding off on that commitment. Taking that route would also have given LeBron a chance to assess the team’s roster additions – and new head coach Darvin Ham – during the 2022/23 season.

However, it appears that James was comfortable renewing his commitment to the Lakers despite last season’s disappointing 33-49 showing and lingering questions about the roster. The new deal will give LeBron the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at age 39, at which point he’s expected to try to team up with his son Bronny James, who would be draft-eligible no earlier than 2024.

While the Lakers almost certainly wouldn’t have considered moving him anyway, James’ extension will make him ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season — he can’t be dealt for six months after signing the contract, since it exceeds the NBA’s “extend-and-trade” restrictions.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) previously noted, the Lakers’ potential 2023 cap room won’t be affected in any real way by James’ new extension, since his free agent cap hold would have been equivalent to his extension salary. Los Angeles projects to have over $20MM in room next summer when several contracts – including Russell Westbrook‘s – expire, which will open up some options for the team but won’t be enough for another maximum-salary player.

James’ new deal makes him the highest-paid player in NBA history in terms of total earnings, at least for the time being, Marks tweets. Assuming LeBron’s deal ends up being worth $97.1MM, he’ll be at $532MM in career earnings, surpassing Kevin Durant‘s $508MM.

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Pacific Notes: Wiggins, LeBron Extension, Kings

August 17th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing with Taylor Rooks on her Bleacher Report show, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban cited Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins as the difference in the Western Conference Finals. Wiggins was outstanding in the five-game series, averaging 18.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per night while shooting 46.2% from the field.

“It was just guys who knew their roles, like an Andrew Wiggins,” Cuban said. “I think he was the one who beat us. And I told him that after the series, you know? We knew what to expect from Klay (Thompson), from (Stephen Curry) and from Draymond (Green). We didn’t know what to expect or how Wiggs would step up, and he did.”

Cuban doesn’t believe there’s a huge talent disparity between his team and the eventual NBA champions, but he said Golden State benefited from having its core together for so many years.

“I think the Warriors deserve a lot of credit because they had played together so long, their execution was phenomenal,” he said. “… That wasn’t as much talent as it was corporate knowledge, the experience of having played together for all those years and been in crunch situations knowing what to do.” 

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Now that LeBron James has agreed to an extension, the Lakers‘ best strategy may be to commit to trying to win a championship this season instead of targeting 2024 or 2025, contends Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Buha believes James’ decision on the extension was tied to a promise from management to be aggressive about improving the roster. Sources around the team had been confident that James would eventually commit to a longer stay with the Lakers, Buha adds.
  • The Lakers may have doomed themselves to more years of mediocrity with the James extension, writes Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. He argues that James isn’t good enough to carry a team to a title anymore, while Anthony Davis is too injury-prone and James’ deal ensures that the franchise won’t have enough cap room to add another star while he’s still around.
  • Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee examines the Kings‘ schedule to see whether it will help or hurt their effort to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
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And-Ones: NBA Schedule, Scoring Record, Bronny James

August 17th, 2022 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The process of creating the NBA schedule, which was released earlier today, begins in earnest in early July, Gene Li, the NBA’s Senior Director, National Broadcast Lead, tells Katie Heindl of Uproxx. The league starts collecting open arena dates from teams in the fall, but the process of putting games on the board doesn’t get underway until after the draft and the early days of free agency.

An emphasis in recent years has been reducing the amount of air travel that teams have to endure. In total, there are 50,000 fewer travel miles in this year’s schedule and there are 88 instances with no travel, where road teams either play the same opponent twice in a row or they stay in the same city and face the Knicks and Nets or Lakers and Clippers.

“In the past we actually had reservations about doing those,” Li said. “We weren’t sure how the teams would feel, both competitively and having the same opponent visit your market for two nights, but with these past two seasons and the small sample size, we’ve seen that there really isn’t a downside from a competitive standpoint. So we’ll keep monitoring that for the seasons to come, but we’re glad it’s working out, that the teams like it and that it’s had that positive impact on travel.”

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

  • The ESPN staff picked out highlights from this season’s schedule, including Ben Simmons‘ return to Philadelphia on November 22 and Rudy Gobert‘s return to Utah on December 9. Zach Harper of The Athletic also includes those matchups on his list of the most anticipated games of 2022/23.
  • One of the NBA’s most hallowed records is likely to fall this season as LeBron James is on pace to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time scoring leader. An ESPN story examines the timeline for James, who is 1,325 points behind and will need 49 games if he maintains his career scoring average of 27.1 PPG. L.A.’s 49th game is January 25 against the Spurs, but ESPN notes that injuries prevented James from reaching the 49-game mark until the Lakers’ 67th contest of last season. That will take place March 10 against the Raptors.
  • James took to social media to dispute a report that Oregon has “emerged as the front-runner to land a commitment” from his son, Bronny James, writes Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian. Bronny will be a senior at Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California, and LeBron has expressed a desire to play on the same team with him in the NBA. “He hasn’t taken 1 visit yet and has only had a few calls with coaches and universities,” James tweeted. “When Bronny makes his choice you’ll hear it from him.”
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Woj: Lakers Willing To Trade Two First-Round Picks

August 17th, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers remain active in trade talks and would part with their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in the right deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said in an appearance on Sports Center (video link).

Those picks “have a lot of value in the marketplace” if they’re unprotected, Wojnarowski states. He adds that L.A. would be willing to give them up in a trade for Kyrie Irving, but the Nets haven’t been interested.

The Lakers have also engaged in “on and off again” talks with the Pacers about Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, sources tell Wojnarowski, but L.A. wouldn’t trade both future first-rounders in that deal.

Russell Westbrook would have to be included in either trade with Brooklyn or Indiana to help match salaries.

The Lakers are hoping to add outside shooting and size before the regular season begins in October, per Wojnarowski. However, holding on to their draft picks gives them the ability to do something later in the season if a better opportunity arises.

Woj also addresses LeBron James‘ decision to accept a contract extension, saying it eases the pressure on the front office to make a trade right away. He adds that James decided to take the extension after examining the free agent market in 2023 and not seeing a scenario he prefers to staying with the Lakers.

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