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Lakers Rumors: Gasol, Frazier, Sampson, Thomas, LeBron

August 20th, 2021 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran center Marc Gasol told reporters following his stint with the Spanish team at the Tokyo Olympics that he intends to play out the 2021/22 season with the Lakers, but NBA reporter Marc Stein (subscription required) has heard that Gasol isn’t a lock to return to the team.

Stein’s report is a little vague — it’s not clear, should the two sides part ways before the end of Gasol’s deal, whether that split would be initiated by the Lakers or by the 36-year-old big man. Stein suggests it’s also unclear whether Gasol would seek another NBA opportunity in that scenario or if he’d want to finish his playing career with a team in Spain like his brother Pau Gasol.

As we keep an eye on that situation, let’s round up a few more Lakers-related rumors and notes…

  • After a recent report identified free agent guards Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James as some players the Lakers have worked out and are considering signing, Stein adds a couple more names to that list, suggesting that the team also has guard Tim Frazier and forward JaKarr Sampson on its radar. Although Los Angeles doesn’t intend to carry a full 15-man roster to open the season, the team currently has just 12 players on guaranteed deals, so a couple more additions will be necessary.
  • Thomas’ workout with the Lakers happened a few weeks ago, before he scored 81 points in a pro-am game in Seattle, Stein says.
  • LeBron James took exception to the fact that 10 executives and scouts polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps all named either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant as the NBA’s best player entering 2021/22. As Bontemps details in a separate story, James tweeted that he intends to use the snub as fuel going forward.
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Wizards Rumors: Westbrook, Beal, Dinwiddie, Neto, Kispert, Bryant

July 30th, 2021 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

After spending the 2020/21 season with the Wizards, Russell Westbrook contemplated his future and found he had a growing desire to join the Lakers, according to Shams Charania and Fred Katz of The Athletic.

Westbrook’s desire to play for his hometown team intensified after he spent time with LeBron James and Anthony Davis at LeBron’s home about two weeks ago and the trio discussed the idea of teaming up, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Turner says James and Davis spoke in that conversation about changing positions if it’s best for the team, with LeBron willing to play more frequently at the four, with AD at the five.

Westbrook recently informed the Wizards that he’d like to be dealt to the Lakers if they could find a trade that worked, per Charania and Katz, and the two teams did just that on Thursday, reaching an agreement on a blockbuster deal that will send Westbrook and two future second-round picks to L.A. for Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and No. 22 pick Isaiah Jackson. Washington is flipping Jackson to Indiana in a deal that will involve Aaron Holiday and No. 31 pick Isaiah Todd.

One of the primary reasons Westbrook originally wanted to play in D.C. was the presence of head coach Scott Brooks, according to Charania and Katz, who note that the star point guard lobbied for the Wizards to retain Brooks. After the team decided to part ways with Brooks, Westbrook preferred an established coach, sources tell The Athletic, but Washington opted for a first-timer in Wes Unseld Jr.

Here’s more on the Wizards and how the Westbrook trade affects their offseason:

  • Bradley Beal had no issues with the Westbrook deal and hasn’t expressed a desire to leave Washignton, sources tell Charania and Katz. For now, the Wizards remain confident they can keep the All-NBA guard long-term.
  • The Athletic’s duo reiterates that Spencer Dinwiddie is a potential Wizards target worth keeping an eye on, though a source tells Charania and Katz that the Nets wouldn’t be inclined to sign off on a sign-and-trade of Dinwiddie for Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma alone. Dinwiddie is also expected to receive interest from the Nets, Heat, Knicks, and Raptors, among others, per The Athletic.
  • Elsewhere on the point guard front, a reunion with Raul Neto is a possibility for the Wizards, sources tell Charania and Katz. The team also agreed to acquire Aaron Holiday, having grown “enamored” with him prior to the 2018 draft. Washington tried to trade for Holiday a year ago, according to The Athletic.
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of Beal’s closest friends in the NBA, is the type of three-and-D player the Wizards have long sought, Charania and Katz observe.
  • Corey Kispert was 10th on the Wizards’ draft board entering Thursday night, and the team considered the possibility of trying to trade up for him before landing him at No. 15, write Charania and Katz.
  • The Wizards are preparing for Thomas Bryant to miss the start of the season as he continues to recover from an ACL tear. A source tells The Athletic the club is hoping Bryant will be able to return by December.
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Pacific Notes: Warriors Workouts, Lakers, LeBron, CP3

July 15th, 2021 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors, who hold the seventh and 14th overall picks in this year’s draft, are busy this week working out prospects, many of whom could be in play for one of those two lottery picks.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets, Cameron Thomas, Tre Mann, Isaiah Todd, Quentin Grimes, Nah’Shon Hyland, and LJ Figueroa came in for a group workout with the Warriors on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Baylor’s Davion Mitchell is conducting an individual workout with Golden State before Jalen Johnson, Kai Jones, and Moses Moody audition later in the afternoon, according to Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

Of those 10 prospects, Mitchell (No. 7), Johnson (12), Moody (16), Jones (20), Mann (22), Thomas (26), Grimes (29), and Hyland (30) are all projected by ESPN to be first-round picks.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

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Pacific Rumors: LeBron, Lakers, Warriors, Lillard, Kings

July 13th, 2021 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

When LeBron James made the decision in 2018 to sign with the Lakers, there was an expectation that he’d spent the rest of his career in Los Angeles. That plan hasn’t changed, according to Jared Greenspan of The New York Post, who writes that James recently reiterated his desire to play out his career in L.A.

“I truly hope that I can finish my career with the Lakers,” LeBron said during an appearance on the SmartLess podcast. “However many years that is, if it’s four, five, six, whatever, seven. I hope I can continue to play the game. I love being in L.A. My family loves being in L.A. Being with a historical franchise like the Lakers is something.”

James will turn 37 in December, so the idea of him playing six or seven more seasons seems like a long shot. Still, there have been no indications so far that his on-court production is about to fall off a cliff. The Lakers star averaged 25.0 PPG, 7.8 APG, and 7.7 RPG on .513/.365/.698 shooting in 45 games (33.4 MPG) in 2020/21.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein has heard that – in addition to seeking more shooting this offseason – the Lakers want to acquire a “difference-making play-maker” who would allow James and Anthony Davis to spend more time at power forward and center. Stein notes that financial obstacles will likely prevent L.A. from adding such a player in free agency, but he says he wouldn’t be surprised if there are rumors this summer about the Lakers exploring ways to reacquire Lonzo Ball.
  • Within a story exploring which teams could put together the best packages for Damian Lillard, Anthony Slater of The Athletic says the Warriors have had internal discussions about pursuing the Trail Blazers guard. While it’s fun to imagine a Lillard/Stephen Curry backcourt, it’s worth taking the news with a grain of salt, since most teams have likely conducted similar talks internally — it doesn’t mean Portland will make Lillard available.
  • Baylor guard Jared Butler had dinner with Kings executives on Monday night and is visiting the team facility on Tuesday, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Due to a heart condition, Butler has been ruled ineligible – at least for now – to participate in on-court workouts, creating uncertainty about his draft status. He had been viewed as a potential mid first-round pick.
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And-Ones: Australian Olympic Team, James, Missia-Dio, Spurs

July 3rd, 2021 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Numerous current NBA players were named to the Australian national team’s final 12-man roster for the Olympics, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. The team is headlined by Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes, Matisse Thybulle, Dante Exum and Josh Green.

Projected lottery pick Josh Giddey is not on the 12-man roster but has been named as one of three replacement players, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Giddey will travel to Las Vegas for Australia’s exhibition games, Givony adds. He’s currently rated No. 9 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • LeBron James passed on the Olympics this year and it’s unlikely he’ll play for Team USA again, managing director Jerry Colangelo said on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin radio show (video link). “LeBron made choices these last couple of Olympics not to participate because he’s got a lot of things going on in his life,” Colangelo said. “So he put in his time, he made a contribution that is appreciated, but I think his time is over.” James’ last Olympic appearance came during the 2012 London Games.
  • Belgian forward Nathan Missia-Dio became the ninth player to sign with Overtime Elite, according to a league press release. The new development league will begin play in September. Missia-Dio, a 6’6” forward, played two seasons for Espoirs Limoges in France’s Elite U21 League. He is ranked 13th by Eurospects.com among international prospects born in 2004.
  • The Spurs are seeking a new naming-rights sponsor for their arena, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Longtime sponsor AT&T won’t renew its current deal, which expires in the fall of 2022. AT&T has also sold off its 7.23% share of the team. Front Office Sports first reported the news.
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LeBron: I Knew Rash Of Injuries Would Happen

June 16th, 2021 at 8:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James claimed on social media Wednesday that the quick turnaround between last season’s finish at the Orlando “bubble” and this season has contributed to the multitude of injuries to key players, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

In a series of Twitter posts, James said he predicted that the short period between seasons would lead to injury issues.

“Hey all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE RIM REST before starting back up.”

James, teammate Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Chris Paul, Jamal Murray, Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid are among the star players who either missed time during the postseason or have tried to play through injuries.

“This is the best time of the year for our league and fans but missing a ton of our fav players. It’s insane,” James wrote.

James was critical of the league’s decision, which the Players Associated signed off on, to start the season in late December. He was also unenthused when the league chose to hold an All-Star Game during the pandemic.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass refuted James’ claims about a significant increase in injuries to star players and in general, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

“Injury rates were virtually the same this season as they were during 2019-20 while starter-level and All-Star players missed games due to injury at similar rates as the last three seasons,” said Bass, while adding, “While injuries are an unfortunate reality of our game, we recognize the enormous sacrifices NBA players and teams have made to play through this pandemic.”

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NBA Announces 2020/2021 All-NBA Teams

June 15th, 2021 at 8:07pm CST by Eli Cohen

The NBA has officially announced the All-NBA First, Second, and Third Teams for the 2020/21 season, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way as the lone unanimous selection for the First Team.

Antetokounmpo and Nuggets‘ MVP Nikola Jokic were the two top vote-getters, combining for 998 out of a possible 1,000 points, with Warriors guard Stephen Curry following shortly behind. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic rounding out the top five.

The full All-NBA teams are listed below, with their vote totals in parentheses. Players received five points for a First Team vote, three points for a Second Team vote, and one point for a Third Team vote, so Giannis scored a perfect 500 — First Team nods from all 100 voters.

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Among the players who just missed the cut were Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (69), Wizards guard Russell Westbrook (44), Nets guard James Harden (41), Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (37) and Heat center Bam Adebayo (32). A total of 12 other players received votes. The full results can be found here.

Today’s announcement has major financial implications across the league. Tatum, who received more votes than Kyrie Irving but still fell 20 votes short of a final forward spot, will lose out on a projected $32.6MM on his rookie scale extension, as his next deal will start at 25% of the cap instead of the 30% he would have received if he’d been named to an All-NBA team. Likewise, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Adebayo will all receive starting salaries worth 25% of the cap on their respective extensions as a result of missing out on All-NBA honors.

Doncic, having been named to his second consecutive All-NBA First Team, will be eligible for a 30% extension that would be worth a projected $201MM+ and is almost certain to be offered this summer. Doncic has previously made clear his intentions to sign the extension when offered. It will go into effect for the 2022/23 season.

Embiid is now eligible for a super-max contract extension, which would run for four years, starting in 2023/24, and would be worth a projected $191MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. It’s unclear whether the Sixers will immediately put this extension on the table this offseason.

Bradley Beal‘s deal will not change with his first career All-NBA selection, as he is already eligible for a 35% contract extension on his next deal. Jokic, having been named MVP previously this week, also sees no change in his possible future super-max extension, which will be worth approximately $241MM.

Hoops Rumors readers accurately picked 12 of this season’s 15 All-NBA players in our poll. Devin Booker, Adebayo, and Tatum were your picks who didn’t make the official list.

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Pat Riley Fined $25K By NBA For Tampering Violation

June 9th, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

Heat president Pat Riley has been fined $25K for violating the NBA’s anti-tampering rule, the league announced today in a press release. The fine is a result of Riley’s recent comments about former Heat star LeBron James.

As we relayed earlier this week, Riley made his comments during a casual appearance on a live stream hosted by Dan Le Batard (video link). A glass of wine in hand during his appearance, the Heat president actually misinterpreted a question about whether he was still leaving a “key under the door mat” for Dwyane Wade, who is now a part-owner of the Jazz. Riley thought the question was in reference to James.

“LeBron, look, he’s one of the greatest of all time, and for four years down here, if we want to go back and remember what those four years were like, it was four years in the Finals, four years of excitement, two world championships… It was the best time for the Heat,” Riley said. “So I wish him nothing but the best, and if he ever wanted to come back, I’ll put a new shiny key under the mat.”

Riley seemed immediately aware he’d said too much about the current Lakers star, stating that his comments on LeBron “will just get me fined.” Still, a $25K penalty essentially amounts to a slap on the wrist when it comes to tampering violations, so the NBA is implicitly acknowledging that Riley’s violation was minor.

By comparison, Daryl Morey and the Sixers were each hit with a $75K fine earlier this week as a result of a two-word Morey tweet responding to Warriors star Stephen Curry. Morey tweeted, “Join ’em,” in reply to Curry’s post about his brother, Sixers guard Seth Curry.

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Pat Riley Talks LeBron, Butler, Ainge, His Own Future

June 7th, 2021 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Making an appearance on Dan Le Batard’s’s ‘Le Batard and Friends’ stream on Friday (video link), Heat president Pat Riley addressed a handful of topics, including his own future and Jimmy Butler‘s relationship with Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and the rest of the coaching staff.

Perhaps most interestingly, Riley spoke about former Heat star LeBron James, addressing whether he’d continue to leave a “key under the doormat” for James in the event that the four-time MVP wanted to return to Miami. Riley acknowledged that such a scenario is unlikely and joked that the key would be “rusted” by now, but said he’d welcome back the superstar forward who helped lead the franchise to four straight NBA Finals from 2011-14.

“LeBron, look, he’s one of the greatest of all time, and for four years down here, if we want to go back and remember what those four years were like, it was four years in the Finals, four years of excitement, two world championships… It was the best time for the Heat,” Riley said, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “So I wish him nothing but the best, and if he ever wanted to come back, I’ll put a new shiny key under the mat.”

Executives around the NBA have received fines for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy for comments similar to Riley’s, so it’s reasonable to assume commissioner Adam Silver will take a long look at Riley’s statement. After discussing LeBron, Riley noted that those comments “will just get me fined,” as Botte relays.

With the help of Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, here are a few of other noteworthy tidbits from the longtime Heat president of basketball operations:

On a report that there were some “testy moments” between Jimmy Butler and the Heat’s coaching staff this season:

“It’s normal. … Look, throughout my career as a coach, there wasn’t one player on any team that I ever coached, a key player, that I didn’t have disagreements with, didn’t have yelling and screaming matches with, and whether it was Alonzo Mourning or Magic Johnson or James Worthy or Patrick Ewing or whoever, LeBron, Dwyane, Chris. That’s just the way it is. And if it’s too nice and too quiet, then you want to create something where there’s tension. Otherwise, you’re going to be apathetic at what you’re doing all the time.”

On Danny Ainge stepping down from his role as Celtics’ president of basketball operations:

“I wish him the best. I have no hate in my heart, except for the Shamrock. But all of the people I competed against in Boston all those years, I wish Danny nothing but the best. He’s had 18 years up there. Believe me, I know how hard it is to do this stuff. So, he’s free of whatever it is he wants to get away from.”

On whether Riley would’ve considered retiring if the Heat had won the Finals in 2020:

“No… At my particular age, I feel that I have a lot more left, a lot of energy, and I feel like I’ve got a sharp mind. I know, over 60 years, I’ve collected a lot of wisdom and a reservoir of knowledge about what it takes to win and what kind of players we want, and all of that stuff. So I’m not in any hurry to go anywhere else other than, right now, on vacation and then come back and try to win a championship for the Heat. That’s what we do.”

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Lakers Notes: Drummond, Vogel, Davis, James, Gasol

June 4th, 2021 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Outside of his rebounding totals (11.0 per game), Andre Drummond wasn’t much of a factor in the first-round series against the Suns. He was even taken out of the lineup for Game 6, but Lakers coach Frank Vogel is hopeful the unrestricted free agent will re-sign with the team, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

“‘Dre was great for us,” Vogel said. “We’re hopeful that he’s a Laker for a long time. He really played well for us and was a good culture fit.”

GM Rob Pelinka, Drummond’s one-time agent, said that signing the veteran center after he cleared waivers was something he’d “do again and again,” Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. Pelinka added, “We’re proud of some of the big games and big moments he had,” but didn’t make any pledges about trying to bring him back.

We have more on the Lakers:

  • Vogel didn’t want to comment about the possibility of getting a contract extension, but confirmed he’s entering the last year of his deal, Goon adds in another tweet. Vogel was hired on a three-year contract in 2019. “Obviously I love it here,” he said. “I love this organization, and I hope to be a Laker for life.”
  • Some of Anthony Davis‘ teammates tried to talk him out of playing in Game 6 but Davis ultimately decided to give it a try, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports. AD lasted a little over five minutes before being sidelined by a groin injury. “I knew the only way I was going to be healthy enough to play was to get some rest, but time wasn’t on my side,” he said. “So, I tried to give it a go. I don’t regret anything.” A lingering high ankle sprain prevented LeBron James routinely attacking the paint, Haynes added, with estimations that James was about 85% health-wise for the series.
  • Marc Gasol knew his role would be diminished after Drummond was signed but family reasons helped convince him to remain on the roster, rather than pursuing a buyout, Goon tweets. His family had settled into the Los Angeles area and he didn’t want to uproot them.
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