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Latest On Kyrie Irving

May 10th, 2019 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Would Kyrie Irving truly consider joining forces with LeBron James again? According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, it’s a real possibility (hat tip to Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype). Windhorst believes a reunion could be in the works, especially if the Lakers hire Jason Kidd as their head coach. Irving has even talked about it, according to Windhorst.

“That door, which was deadbolted, has been un-deadbolted and has now been cracked open,” Windhorst said. “… It might even be opening more by the day. And I say that just because I think it’s on Kyrie’s radar, it’s on Kyrie’s board. He has had discussions with people about playing for the Lakers.”

We have more on Irving, who becomes an unrestricted free agent once he declines his $21.3MM player option:

Irving’s poor performance against Milwaukee in the conference semifinals should concern the Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post opines. The Knicks will try to sign two top-level free agents but if they don’t get Kevin Durant or trade for Anthony Davis, Irving might be a poor fit because he’s only proven he can be the No. 2 star on a championship-caliber team, Berman continues. There is genuine debate within the front office whether they’d be better off chasing Hornets All-Star guard Kemba Walker instead of Irving, Berman adds.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart defended Irving against critics who believe Irving’s leadership skills led to poor chemistry in the locker room, according to an ESPN report. Smart feels Irving was thrust into a difficult situation. “Probably a few amount of people in this world know what Kyrie goes through. It was hard for him as well,” Smart said. “He was forced into a situation where it was business over the friendships. … This is Kyrie Irving we’re talking about it, and he’s worried about coming in and disrupting us. We took him in with full arms. We tried to understand. But like I said, we never really understood because we’re not in his shoes.”
It seems almost inevitable that Irving will sign elsewhere this summer, David Aldridge of The Athletic writes. When Boston’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge traded for Irving two years ago, it was a safe bet that he’d emerge as a mature and credible leader of a title-contending team, Aldridge continues. Irving came up well short of the mark, as he was AWOL emotionally much of this season, Aldridge adds.

Pacific Notes: James, Durant, Morant, Ball

May 6th, 2019 at 9:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s in the best interest of the Lakers to give LeBron James input on all decisions, Frank Isola of The Athletic opines. While the Lakers don’t normally take that approach with a star player, no one running the club has proven they can build a winner, Isola notes. When they signed James last summer, they knew they had to let his voice be heard, Isola continues. The expected hiring of his former head coach in Cleveland, Tyronn Lue, is an example of James’ already exhibiting his influence, Isola adds.

We have more from around the Pacific Division:

Kevin Durant‘s praise of Monty Williams has led to speculation that the Warriors star might consider the Suns in free agency, Jeremy Cluff of Arizona Republic writes. While Cluff acknowledges that scenario is unlikely, Durant gushed about Williams’ character and coaching ability. “He’s a leader and a teacher,” Durant recently told the media. “I’m excited he’s back into coaching and walking those sidelines again. … Especially when you’re talking to him on the basketball court, you have a group of guys that will get better.” Williams was an assistant with the Thunder during the 2015/16 season when Durant played there.
Numerous draft pundits and NBA analysts believe Ja Morant would be a perfect fit for the Suns, Cluff relays in a separate story. The Murray State point guard is expected to be a top-three selection and Phoenix has an obvious need for a floor leader.
Lonzo Ball said that former business manager and Big Baller Brand co-founder Alan Foster took advantage of his mother’s illness for financial gain, Arthur Weinstein of Sports Illustrated relays. Ball said on James’ TV show ‘The Shop’ that Foster took over the family’s finances after Tina Ball suffered a stroke two years ago. Ball sued Foster last month for more than $2MM in damages, claiming that Foster embezzled $1.5MM from his personal and business accounts.

LeBron James Speaks Out About Magic’s Resignation

May 4th, 2019 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James broke his silence on Magic Johnson’s surprising departure as president of the Lakers with strong words for his former boss, writes Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. James’ comments came on the latest episode of “The Shop,” his HBO show, which aired tonight.

“It was just weird for [Johnson] to just be like . . . ‘Nah, I’m out of here,’” James said. “And not even have [a heads-up] like: ‘Hey, Bron . . . kiss my a–. I’m out of here.’ I would have been okay with that. Like: ‘Hey, Bron, it’s Magic. Kiss my a–; I’m gone.’ It wasn’t even that.”

Johnson made the announcement in a session with reporters as the Lakers were preparing for their final game of the season. He didn’t talk to team owner Jeanie Buss or any of the players about his intentions before informing the media.

James said he was going through pre-game stretching exercises when Randy Mims, a friend and business partner, told him that Johnson just “stepped down.” James shared the news with Lonzo Ball and it spread through the locker room.

“We were like, ‘Damn, right now?’ It was literally 70 minutes on the clock before [tip-off],” James said. “[The team] is getting ready for a game. And you decide to do that right here, right now? I feel like there’s a time and place for things, and I believe that you knew you were going to make that decision. So why would you do it here? And why would you do it now?”

James’ reaction confirmed media reports that Johnson didn’t consult with him or agent Rich Paul before making the decision. James refused to talk with reporters after that game and didn’t attend an exit interview so he could be with Dwyane Wade for the last game of his NBA career.

Also on “The Shop,” James recalled Johnson’s recruiting message last summer in which he hoped to build a new version of “Showtime,” the Lakers’ team that dominated the 1980s.

“I came here to be a part of the Lakers organization [after] having a conversation with Magic,” James said. “[He was] really kind of breaking it down and saying how we were going to make this ‘Showtime’ again. I wanted to be a part of that process.”

L.A. Notes: Lue, Lakers, Nance, Clippers

May 3rd, 2019 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are seemingly poised to make Tyronn Lue their new head coach, as his representatives and the team are expected to touch base today to try to get a deal done, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

According to Turner, Lue has been the Lakers’ top choice throughout the process. Although Monty Williams was in contention as well, Williams’ decision to accept the Suns’ job didn’t change the Lakers’ plans — it just made them decide to act now, tweets Tania Ganguli of The L.A. Times.

Selecting Lue as Luke Walton‘s replacement figures to inspire plenty of skepticism and snark, given his ties to LeBron James, but sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link) that neither James nor agent Rich Paul told the Lakers whom to hire. Of course, the fact that LeBron would welcome a reunion with Lue, as Vardon notes, was certainly a strong point in Lue’s favor, but the former Cavs coach also received an endorsement from Phil Jackson and impressed the Lakers with his X’s-and-O’s knowledge, tweets Turner.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two L.A. teams:

Responding to a report that Lakers GM Rob Pelinka assured him he wouldn’t be going anywhere before trading him to Cleveland, Larry Nance Jr. tweeted this week to say “that is not the case.” According to Nance, “Rob and I had and still have a great relationship.”
Sean Deveney of Sporting News takes an extended look at the Clippers‘ upcoming offseason, including exploring the team’s potential dream scenario: Signing both Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard in free agency this summer.
After his team dispatched the Clippers in the first round, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr raved about his opponents, suggesting it won’t be long before the Clips go from playoff upstart to bona fide contender. “I love their future,” Kerr told Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “I think it’s great for the league and I’m happy for their franchise.”
Earlier today, we broke down the Lakers‘ cap situation heading into the 2019 offseason.

L.A. Notes: Pelinka, LeBron, Rivers, Lawsuit

April 28th, 2019 at 10:28am CST by Arthur Hill

All signs point to Rob Pelinka having full power to run the Lakers in the wake of Magic Johnson’s resignation, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Sources tell Amick that the team didn’t contact David Griffin, LeBron James‘ former GM in Cleveland, before he joined the Pelicans earlier this month. They also didn’t try to lure GM Bob Myers from the Warriors or consultant Jerry West from the Clippers.

Pelinka has orchestrated the coaching search ever since the team parted ways with Luke Walton, Amick adds. He identified Tyronn Lue, Monty Williams, Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd as candidates and organized their interviews.

Although Pelinka is running the show, the number of people with a voice in front office decisions has grown since Johnson left. In addition to Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, the interviews with Lue and Howard were attended by president of business operations Tim Harris, VP of research and development Joey Buss and assistant GM and director of scouting Jesse Buss.

There’s more today from L.A.:

James plans to stay out of personnel decisions and will trust Lakers management to assemble a playoff contender, Amick reports in the same story. LeBron bristles at suggestions that he serves as de facto GM wherever he goes and plans to stay out of the spotlight this summer. He released an Instagram video this week proclaiming his faith in the front office.
The Clippers‘ performance this year set a foundation for what could be a vastly improved roster next season, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Doc Rivers‘ team gained respect throughout the league by reaching the postseason after trading away leading scorer Tobias Harris in February. “When you are knocked out of the playoffs there’s obviously some times it’s a relief,” Rivers said. “And there are some times you just don’t want it to happen and last night was one of those points. Just the sense of disappointment — even though you know the group you had overachieved, you still don’t want it to end.”
A lawsuit contesting the Clippers‘ proposed new Inglewood arena is moving forward, reports Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt to block the suit, which was filed by Uplift Inglewood, a community group dedicated to affordable housing.

Stein’s Latest: Lakers, Sixers, Myers

April 16th, 2019 at 8:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka appears to be gaining more power inside of the team’s front office, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes in his weekly newsletter. The former agent is reportedly running Los Angeles’ search for a new head coach.

It’s curious that the team is searching for a coach before settling on an official head of basketball operations. Many organizations set up their front office structures prior to hiring a coach.

Stein provides more on the situation and passes along some additional nuggets in this week’s edition of the newsletter. Here are the highlights from his piece:

There’s chatter within league circles that Sixers assistant coach Monty Williams’ candidacy for the Lakers‘ gig is as strong in part because some within the front office fear giving the job to Tyronn Lue would hand too much control to LeBron James. Williams met with Pelinka to discuss the position earlier today. Lue and Juwan Howard are among the other candidates rumored to be in contention for the position.
The Sixers attempted to pry Warriors team president Bob Myers away from Golden State last offseason before deciding to promote Elton Brand to the role, Stein reports. Philadelphia also attempted to bring Rockets GM Daryl Morey to its front office.
Morey’s recent contract extension from the Rockets is estimated to pay the executive in the neighborhood of $8MM annually, Stein hears. Magic Johnson‘s salary as the Lakers’ team president was estimated to be $10MM per year and Stein argues that Los Angeles could feasibly offer a candidate double that salary if they wanted to lure a prized rival executive.
Stein writes that there is both “shock and relief” within the league that the Lakers haven’t attempted to poach a decorated rival executive, such as Myers, Spurs GM R.C. Buford, or Thunder GM Sam Presti.

Lakers Notes: Walton, Lue, Pelinka, Caruso

April 13th, 2019 at 1:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton‘s fatal mistake with the Lakers was not insisting that everyone else defer to LeBron James, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Tyronn Lue, who won a title with LeBron in Cleveland and is considered among the top candidates to replace Walton in L.A., established a clear order when he took over for David Blatt in 2016. Lue demanded that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love set aside any individual agendas and let James run the show.

Walton never made similar demands after LeBron came to the Lakers, according to Vardon. He was fine with several players serving as the primary ball-handler and didn’t adjust the offense much to feature his new weapon.

“We had our system coming into training camp, and it was similar to the last few years,” former Lakers center Ivica Zubac said after being traded in February. “We all knew LeBron was the guy, but no, that’s not how it was. Luke wants to play fast and he said it right after camp started. I think we played the right way until LeBron got hurt, and then we just didn’t have enough to win.”

There’s more news from Los Angeles:

The Lakers haven’t contacted Lue about their coaching job yet, but he is in much better health now than when he had to take a leave of absence last season, Vardon adds. Lue has lost 35 pounds, changed his diet and works out twice a day.
GM Rob Pelinka will be in charge of the search for a new coach, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. That’s one more sign that Pelinka’s position with the organization is secure after the departure of team president Magic Johnson. The front office talked briefly to Walton’s representatives to see if they could work out an agreement to retain him as coach, Shelburne adds (Twitter link). However, discussions didn’t go very far.
Alex Caruso, Johnathan Williams and Jemerrio Jones may not return next season, but they provided an inspiring effort after the Lakers’ playoff hopes were extinguished, relays Kevin Ding of NBA.com. After making his NBA debut March 31, Jones thanked Walton after each game for giving him a chance to play. Caruso expressed similar gratitude to Walton and Pelinka in his exit interview on Wednesday. Caruso also credits South Bay Lakers president Joey Buss for helping him to land a two-way contract last season. “Might not be here now,” Caruso said. “It’s all butterfly effect getting to this point.”

Lakers Notes: Pelinka, LeBron, Walton, Bullock

April 10th, 2019 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have been grouped together over the last two years as the top decision-makers in the Lakers‘ front office, but Pelinka won’t follow Johnson out the door following Magic’s resignation.

League sources tell ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the Lakers’ general manager will keep his job — if anything, Pelinka’s power will grow, Shelburne adds. That doesn’t necessarily mean the the franchise won’t seek out a new president of basketball operations, but after being caught off guard by Johnson’s announcement, the Lakers sound prepared to enter the offseason with Pelinka running the show.

Johnson revealed during his impromptu press conference on Tuesday night that he hadn’t informed owner Jeanie Buss of his decision to resign before announcing it publicly, and Buss wasn’t the only one surprised by the news. Shelburne reports that Pelinka also didn’t know it was coming and that LeBron James was “stunned” by the decision. However, LeBron stands behind Buss and the Lakers’ front office, a source tells Shelburne.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Head coach Luke Walton participated in exit meetings with players on Wednesday, sources tell Shelburne. That doesn’t mean that Walton is safe, but all indications are that he has a better chance of retaining his job with Johnson out of the picture.
Asked today about his level of interest in returning to the Lakers in free agency this summer, Reggie Bullock responded, “Very high. I love this city” (Twitter link via Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times).
With little else to play for as the season neared an end, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was auditioning for his next NBA job down the stretch, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “Man, I’m just out there playing,” Caldwell-Pope said earlier this week. “Yes, I’ll be looking for a job for next season, but my job right now is to play my best basketball for the Lakers and then we’ll see where things stand.” KCP enjoyed his best stretch of the season in the final month, averaging 19.9 PPG in his last 16 games, including 23.3 PPG in the last seven.
While Lakers fans may have been frustrated by the deadline trade that saw Mike Muscala acquired for Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley, Muscala hasn’t exactly had the time of his life since the deal either, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. “I guess these last few games have gone well for us, but I’m still kinda disappointed with how I played,” the veteran big man said. “…It’s kind of been a frustrating season for me, but there were still some opportunities. So I gotta focus on that. Injuries are a part of the game. You never want to use that as an excuse. I’ve always dealt with ankle injuries, and I know how to deal with them.”

Jeanie Buss Has Faith In Lakers’ Front Office Despite Lost Season

April 9th, 2019 at 2:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Lakers failed to put the right pieces around LeBron James during year one of The King’s reign in Los Angeles. Despite the disappointment, owner Jeanie Buss still has complete faith in both team president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka, a source close to the situation tells Bill Oram of The Athletic.

The two executives have had their share of missteps during their time with the team. For instance, as Oram details, when the Lakers signed James, neither Pelinka or Johnson put in the kind of research that rival organizations typically do when landing a top star.

When the Celtics traded for Kyrie Irving, the team made calls to former coaches and those around him in pursuit of intel on the point guard. Had the Lakers put in that type of work, they may have known, for example, that LBJ playing off the ball wasn’t going to be something they should plan around even if the four-time MVP had signed off on the strategy during July 2018 discussions.

The team will chase stars like Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson this summer, though the Lakers don’t appear to be atop any of those players’ lists, per Oram’s piece, which Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, Sam Amick, and Frank Isola also contributed to.

The thinking process may be shifting behind the scenes in Los Angeles as a result of the lack of interest in the Lakers. “You don’t need names, you need games,” a source close to James tells Oram. That differs from Johnson declaring last year that this summer would bring another superstar.

Regardless of which players the Lakers roster, Luke Walton is unlikely to coach them. Johnson clashed with Walton throughout the season with tension rising during an early-season meeting. Oram writes that Johnson delivered Walton with a “closed-door tongue lashing.” From that point on, Walton had reason to be concerned about his job security.

According to Isola, the Lakers reached out to former Bucks coach Jason Kidd during the season. However, a high-ranking official within the organization refutes the claim.

Oram shares more details from a lost season in the extensive piece, which is worth a read on its own. Here are some more of the highlights:

Kyle Kuzma was told prior to his trip to Charlotte for All-Star weekend that he would be a key part of the Lakers and that unless the team was acquiring one of the league’s best three players, it wasn’t trading him. Pelinka delivered a similar message to Larry Nance Jr. prior to the deadline last season. According to Oram’s source, Pelinka reassured Nance of the team’s plan for him and told the big man to buy the house he was pursuing in Los Angeles — Nance luckily was unable to complete all the necessary steps to buying the home before the team traded him to Cleveland.
Some within Walton’s circle felt that agent Rich Paul was attempting to use the Anthony Davis saga to get the team to fire Walton. If the team acquired Davis, the franchise would need a more decorated coach. However, the Lakers heard through back channels that Davis liked Walton and that bought the coach more time.
Members of the Lakers’ coaching staff had hoped that management would bring back the Julius Randle–Brook Lopez pairing last offseason. The team allowed both to walk in free agency. Sources tell Oram that Walton and his staff were not consulted about potential free agent targets last year until late in the process.
Oram writes that Johnson is seen as an “absentee executive,” as evidenced by Johnson’s lack of response when LaVar Ball made allegations that Walton was losing control of the locker room last season. Johnson was in Hawaii at the time and didn’t publicly back his coach.
Pelinka has been active in his involvement with the Lakers. He’s hands-on with scouting and coaches’ meetings, though his level of micromanagement has drawn criticism.
Johnson caught the attention of James for his comments during an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio. Johnson said the team needed to get the ball out of James’ hands because otherwise, the situation would be “Cleveland all over again and we don’t want that.” LBJ publicly said he wasn’t sure what Johnson meant.

Beck’s Latest: Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Knicks, LeBron, Durant

April 4th, 2019 at 2:13pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest article for Bleacher Report, Howard Beck looks ahead to an upcoming offseason that figures to feature a four-team, big-market battle for many of the NBA’s star free agents. The Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, and Nets aren’t the only four clubs that will have the cap space necessary to add one or two maximum-salary players, but they’re the clubs most frequently cited as top destinations for those stars.

While the Knicks and Lakers are popular choices to land marquee free agents, Beck asked 10 executives and scouts to evaluate and rank those four New York and Los Angeles teams based on basketball considerations( such as roster, coaching staff, front office, and ownership), and seven placed the Nets and Clips in the top two. Eight ranked the Knicks last.

As Beck explains, the Lakers and Knicks are viewed with skepticism because of doubts about their young prospects, a lack of faith in the Lakers’ management duo of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, and the poor reputation of Knicks owner James Dolan.

“Brooklyn and the Clippers have a decided advantage over the two marquee names because they’ve done far more in the last few years to position themselves to be sustainable than either New York or the Lakers,” one veteran GM told Beck.

Still, many Lakers and Knicks rivals wouldn’t necessarily be surprised to see those clubs do well in free agency, given the history and “mystique” attached to the two franchises.

“If the Knicks and Lakers get the guys, it means mystique and market really will matter more [than which franchise is run the best],” one GM said. “That’s terrifying.”

Here’s more from Beck’s piece, which is worth checking out in full:

LeBron James tells Beck that this will be a “critical summer” for him and the Lakers, and he fully intends to help with recruiting stars to Los Angeles. “I will be as active as I need to be for this franchise to get better. That’s why I came here. I came here to win,” James said. “And obviously, we need to get better, as far as our personnel. We have an opportunity to get better. And there’s a lot of talent out there, and a lot of guys that can help our franchise. So I’ll be as active as I need to be for us to get better and go from there.”
One assistant GM is skeptical that any star wings or point guards will want to team with LeBron, suggesting that the team will have to focus on star bigs. Rivals also view the Lakers as behind the curve in areas such as analytics, sports science, and player development, according to Beck. Still, the “glamorous sheen” attached to the franchise can’t be overlooked. “The Lakers can show up with a dead body in the room and not get arrested,” a rival official said. “It’s just the nature of the business we are in that they are perceived in this holy-grail-type situation.”
According to Beck, rival executives around the NBA are nearly uniform in their belief that Kevin Durant will end up with the Knicks this summer. While no one knows for sure yet, “virtually everyone believes he’s leaving the Warriors,” Beck writes.
Beck adds that it’s also “considered a given in NBA circles” that Durant and Kawhi Leonard won’t seriously consider the Lakers.
Despite a widespread belief that the Knicks will land Durant, people around the NBA have far more praise for their cross-town rivals, Beck writes. “I think they’ve turned around the Brooklyn era,” a scout said of the Nets. “They’re one or two steps ahead of the Knicks.” Another executive offered the following assessment: “Who would want to go play with the Knicks? Who are your teammates? [Kevin] Knox isn’t even that good.”