Rui Hachimura

Stein’s Latest: Irving, Russell, Wizards, M. Williams, Raptors

May 28th, 2023 at 8:58am CST by Arthur Hill

If the Lakers opt to pursue Kyrie Irving in free agency, the Mavericks wouldn’t be interested in taking back free agent guard D’Angelo Russell as the primary player in a sign-and-trade deal, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack column.

There hasn’t been any concrete information that trying to sign Irving is part of the Lakers’ offseason plans, Stein adds, but there’s plenty of speculation that LeBron James would like to reunite with his former Cavaliers teammate. L.A. was heavily rumored as a possible destination for Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he asked the Nets for a trade in February.

James’ retirement talk after being swept by Denver is widely seen as a message to the Lakers’ front office that a roster upgrade is needed, but Stein isn’t convinced that they’ll be active on the free agent market. He states that the team’s preferred plan is to reach new deals with two of its own free agents, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. It’s less certain that L.A. wants to keep Russell after his disastrous performance in the Western Conference Finals, Stein adds.

The Mavericks appear committed to keeping Irving after paying a high price to acquire him from Brooklyn, according to Stein. A report last weekend indicated that a “handshake deal” may already be in place for Irving to remain in Dallas.

Stein passes along more inside information:

Teams around the league are expecting new Wizards president Michael Winger to be aggressive in trying to reshape the roster this summer, but Bradley Beal‘s no-trade clause may complicate his plans. Stein points out that Beal has four seasons left on his five-year, $251MM contract and can’t be sent to any other team unless he agrees to the deal. Stein also wonders how the front office change will affect Kristaps Porzingis, who reportedly began extension talks in March.
Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee were set for second interviews this week for the Pistons‘ head coaching vacancy, but Stein hears that the team hasn’t given up on its pursuit of Monty Williams. The former Suns head coach reportedly turned down a “big-money” offer from Detroit, but some members of the organization are hoping he might reconsider.
A source tells Stein that Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez is a legitimate candidate to become the Raptors‘ new head coach.

Lakers Rumors: Russell, Point Guard, LeBron, Hachimura

May 26th, 2023 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he was traded from Minnesota to the Lakers in February, D’Angelo Russell was believed to be seeking $100MM over four years on his next contract, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Russell, who will be a free agent this summer, had an up-and-down postseason and only played 15 minutes off the bench in the final game of L.A.’s season, so Fischer is skeptical there will be bidders at that price point.

Still, Fischer hears from sources that Russell was viewed as a “positive presence” in the Lakers’ locker room and speculates that the two sides may be able to get a shorter-term (and less lucrative) deal done. Los Angeles could even keep D-Lo off the free agent market altogether by signing him to an extension on or before June 30.

Because he was traded within the last six months, Russell would be ineligible to sign an extension longer than two years, and Dave McMenamin of ESPN hears that the Lakers won’t pursue a two-year deal worth the veteran guard’s maximum number (approximately $67.5MM). However, Fischer suggests that something closer to $40MM over two years might make sense for both sides.

Given Russell’s playoff struggles, it’s certainly possible the Lakers will explore alternatives at point guard this summer, but their flexibility will be limited if they intend to bring back free agents like Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, as has been reported. Within his ESPN.com story, McMenamin explores the different paths L.A. could take at the point guard spot, noting that the team might be able to package Malik Beasley ($16.5MM) and Mohamed Bamba ($10.3MM) in a trade to bring someone in without requiring cap room.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

There’s “widespread skepticism” that LeBron James will retire this offseason, according to Fischer, who says LeBron’s post-game comments on Monday surprised many team staffers. McMenamin, like, some other reporters earlier in the week, cites a source close to James who believes LeBron will return in 2023/24. Nonetheless, if only as a thought exercise, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores what the Lakers’ next steps might look like if the future Hall-of-Famer does decide to call it a career this offseason.
While retirement may not be in the cards for James this summer, foot surgery could be. After McMenamin reported this week that LeBron isn’t ruling out the possibility of undergoing a procedure to address a torn tendon in his right foot, Shams Charania of The Athletic says that surgery would likely sideline the 38-year-old for about two months, with an expectation that he’d be ready for training camp. James is undergoing further evaluations to determine whether it’s necessary.
During extension negotiations with Rui Hachimura last fall, the Wizards initially offered a contract in the neighborhood of $12MM per year and eventually bumped that offer to $13-14MM, according to Fischer. Hachimura’s camp was seeking something in the four-year, $60MM range, so a deal didn’t get done. The Lakers forward appears to be in good position to match or exceed that number after a strong finish to the regular season and a productive postseason — Fischer views $15MM per year as a possible floor for Hachimura.
The Pacers and Suns could be rival suitors to watch for Hachimura, per Fischer, who notes that both clubs pursued him on the trade market during the winter. The Pacers, who will have cap room this offseason, are better positioned to consider an offer sheet for Hachimura than the capped-out Suns would be.

“Several” Cap Space Teams To Show Interest In Austin Reaves?

May 24th, 2023 at 8:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers‘ Austin Reaves is an impending restricted free agent, and the second-year guard is expected to receive “interest and potential offer sheets” from “several” cap space teams this offseason, multiple team and league sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

However, Buha is the latest reporter to say the Lakers plan to match possible offer sheets for both Reaves and fourth-year forward Rui Hachimura, another restricted free agent. Buha actually goes a step further, as his sources say the Lakers would match anything up to those players’ maximum salaries.

L.A. only has Reaves’ Early Bird rights, so his max from a rival team would be a back-loaded deal worth approximately $100MM+ over four years. Hachimura’s max over four seasons would be worth about $144MM. Those projections are based on a $134MM cap.

I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Reaves, who has said he wants to stay with the Lakers, got his full max offer sheet from a rival team that really likes him and wouldn’t mind putting the squeeze on the Lakers at the same time. The reason I say that is because, for the Lakers’ purposes, he would be making about $37.5MM annually over the final two seasons.

On the other hand, a potential offer sheet team with cap space would be paying Reaves about $25MM for each of the four years. While a rival can offer $100MM across four years, the Lakers can only directly offer about $52MM over four years, but they can match any offer sheet up to his max.

For a point of reference, such a deal would be comparable to the contracts signed by Anfernee Simons (four years, $100MM) and Jalen Brunson (four years, $104MM) last summer. I’m not sure how likely it is Reaves actually gets an offer that high, but still.

Reaves, who turns 25 next week, averaged 13.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 3.4 APG on .529/.398/.864 shooting line in 64 regular season games in 2022/23 (22 starts, 28.8 MPG).

Interestingly, it turned out he was the perhaps the primary beneficiary of the Russell Westbrook trade, as his production and usage continued to rise after the move. Reaves averaged 16.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 5.0 APG on an elite .577/.456/.843 shooting line over the last 27 games (29.5 MPG) of the regular season, with the Lakers going 18-9 over that span despite LeBron James being sidelined for 13 contests (they went 8-5 without him).

Reaves was the team’s third-best player in the postseason as well, bolstering his averages with 16.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 4.6 APG. His efficiency dropped a bit, but he still shot an excellent .464/.443/.895 over the Lakers’ 16 playoff games (36.2 MPG).

Hachimura was acquired in January from the Wizards. He averaged 9.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG on .485/.296/.721 shooting in 33 regular season games with the Lakers (22.4 MPG), and followed that up with a scorching-hot postseason, averaging 12.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .557/.387/.882 shooting in 16 games (24.3 MPG). I’d be more surprised if Hachimura signs an offer sheet simply because the Lakers can offer more money and potentially more years than a rival team can, which isn’t the case with Reaves.

Lakers Notes: James, Pelinka, Reaves, Russell, Thompson, Hachimura

May 23rd, 2023 at 7:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James hinted at retirement following the Lakers’ elimination from the postseason on Monday night. General manager Rob Pelinka said on Tuesday that James has earned the right to do whatever he wants with the career, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“LeBron has given as much to the game of basketball as anyone who has ever played,” Pelinka said. “When you do that, you earn a right to decide whether you’re going to give more. … Obviously, our hope would be that his career continues, but we want to give him the time to have that inflection point and support him along the way.”

Pelinka said that he and coach Darvin Ham would talk things over with James in the coming days, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers have only five players under contract next season, with just three on guaranteed contracts, and Pelinka gave a strong hint he’d like to retain many of the team’s free agents.

“We ultimately got knocked out by a team that has great continuity,” Pelinka said. “They’ve got a group of players that have been together for several seasons, and it shows in the way they play. We feel like we’ve got special players in the locker room that enjoy playing with each other. We know there’s more growth and improvement in that group, especially if we get a training camp together.”

We have more on the Lakers:

Austin Reaves, headed to restricted free agency, said he’d like to stick around, Lakers reporter Mike Trudell tweets. “I want to be here. It feels like home to me, in a sense … the way the fans support me. Players, coaching staff, front office,” he said. “This is definitely somewhere I want to be, but we’ll see what happens.”
The Western Conference Finals didn’t go well for unrestricted free agent, D’Angelo Russell. He struggled with his shooting and got removed from the starting five in Game 4. However, he labels his second stint with the Lakers a “complete success,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. “I really can’t complain about anything except the ball going in when I wanted it to,” Russell said.
Tristan Thompson, who played 10 minutes in Game 4, would also like to return as he heads to free agency, Trudell tweets. “I’m all about winning. I’m two feet in for whatever the team needs. I love it here,” he said.
Rui Hachimura, who will be a restricted free agent, says his experience with the Lakers since being traded from Washington was “one of the best moments,” the team tweets. “I learned a lot of things from LeBron, AD, the coaches,” he said. “It was great for my career.”

Lakers “Determined” To Re-Sign Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura

May 22nd, 2023 at 4:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers could have a significant amount of roster turnover yet again this summer, but they’re “determined” to bring back restricted free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, sources tell Marc Stein at Substack.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stated a couple days ago that the Lakers were virtually certain to match any offer sheets that Reaves and Hachimura receive in free agency.

Stein writes that, based on his knowledge, “there is frankly no scenario” in which Reaves won’t be on the roster next season. The Lakers are “quite eager” to re-sign Hachimura as well, according to Stein.

The Lakers can only offer Reaves, a second-year guard, about $52MM over four years. Due to the Gilbert Arenas provision, his maximum offer sheet from a rival team would be upwards of $100MM over four years. The Lakers could match, but it would be harder to stomach if it approaches that figure.

Let’s say Reaves gets an $80MM offer sheet from a rival team, which seems possible based on his strong play in the second half of the season and playoffs. His starting salary in the first year, from the Lakers’ perspective, would be limited to the full mid-level exception ($12.2MM), followed by a 5% raise in year two. However, over the final two years, his salary would come in at an average annual value of about $27.5MM. He’s a good player, but that’s a lot.

Hachimura, a fourth-year forward whom the Lakers acquired from the Wizards in a January trade, had an uneven regular season with L.A., but has performed quite well in the postseason, averaging 12.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG on .588/.528/.867 shooting in 15 games (23.1 MPG). His four-year max offer from a rival club would be $144MM+, but there’s virtually zero chance of that happening. Something like $60-70MM over four years could be within reach, however.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Davis, Bamba, Reaves, Hachimura

May 20th, 2023 at 7:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

General manager Rob Pelinka reshuffled the Lakers‘ roster to give LeBron James and Anthony Davis their best shot at another NBA title, but the two stars haven’t lived up to expectations so far in the Western Conference Finals, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.

L.A. trails the series 2-0 after letting a pair of winnable games slip away in Denver. James missed a layup and botched a wide-open dunk in the second quarter Thursday, while Davis shot just 4-of-15 from the field after a 40-point night in Game 1. Amick notes that neither player is as dominant as they were when L.A. defeated Denver in the 2020 conference finals, which is understandable with James considering that he’s 38, but it’s more puzzling for Davis, who should still be in his prime at age 30.

“I got the same looks,” Davis told reporters after Game 2. “… I liked all the looks that I got today. Just a lot of them (were) short. I’m going to continue to shoot those shots and I’ve got to be better, more efficient, (to) help the team win. So, I’ll be better.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

James isn’t concerned about his three-point shooting, even though he’s off to an 0-for-10 start in the series, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James shot 32.1% from beyond the arc this season, his lowest figure in seven years, but his teammates are encouraging him to keep shooting whenever he’s open. “It’s LeBron James. I don’t think anybody bats an eye when he shoots a shot or questions his shot,” Austin Reaves said. “We want him taking whatever he feels comfortable with, just because he’s a winning basketball player for his whole career and that’s all he wants to do, he wants to win.”
Coach Darvin Ham altered his starting five for Game 2, but the change he made wasn’t the one he needed, contends Kevin Pelton of ESPN. There was speculation that Rui Hachimura might start after he did an effective job guarding Nikola Jokic late in Game 1, but Ham opted to replace Dennis Schröder with Jarred Vanderbilt instead. Although Vanderbilt controlled Jamal Murray early on, he bogged down the offense due to his lack of shooting range. Pelton argues that Ham should consider starting Hachimura and Schröder while bringing D’Angelo Russell off the bench.
Mohamed Bamba, who hasn’t played since April 28 because of left ankle soreness, may be able to return in Game 4 or 5, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Lakers are virtually certain to match any offer sheets signed by Reaves or Hachimura, who are both restricted free agents, Wojnarowski states on the latest edition of his podcast (hat tip to Silver Screen and Roll). “I don’t see any scenario where the Lakers would not match on both,” Wojnarowski said. “They have to. … They’ve proved themselves to be win-now players with LeBron and Anthony Davis on their timeline (and) these are both starting-level players.”

Suns Notes: Lee, Vanderbilt, Hachimura, Williams

May 15th, 2023 at 8:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Damion Lee saw his playing time diminish after the trade deadline, but the Suns guard still appeared in 74 games during the regular season and posted solid offensive numbers, averaging 8.2 points in 20.4 minutes while shooting a career high 44.5% on 3-point attempts and 90.4% from the foul line.

After signing a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Suns last offseason, Lee feels confident as he heads back into free agency, Dana Scott of the Arizona Republic writes.

“You guys know the numbers: essentially top five all year in NBA 3-point percentage, that’s huge on a team that finished top four in the West; and the number one 3-point percentage in the fourth quarter all year. That stuff matters,” Lee said of his year with the Suns. “That’s not something I’m saying to toot my own horn, but that stuff to me matters because it put away all doubt that he’s here for a favor, stepped out by the grace of God. A lot of people counted me out that, ‘He’ll go to Phoenix, he won’t do anything, he’ll fizzle out.'”

We have more on the Suns:

Phoenix was involved in trade talks for Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt, both of whom wound up in Los Angeles and helped the Lakers end their season, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic notes. The Suns tried to acquire Vanderbilt from Utah along with Bojan Bogdanovic prior to the season while attempting to deal Jae Crowder. That proposal fell through when Utah balked at trading Vanderbilt. In January, the Suns tried to work out a three-team deal involving Crowder and Hachimura.
Monty Williams developed a winning culture within the organization. That’s now threatened by the Suns’ dismissal of Williams last week, according to Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. If new owner Mat Ishbia wants to sustain what Williams built, he and the front office will have to nail this coaching hire, Bourguet writes.
The Suns are casting a wide net for their head coaching opening with as many as 10 candidates on the early internal list, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse and Suns assistant Kevin Young are among the candidates who have previously been mentioned as potential candidates.
In case you missed it, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul could also head out of door as the Suns desperately search for a championship.

Lakers Notes: Preparation, Davis, Hachimura, Role Players

April 18th, 2023 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ja Morant is listed as questionable for Game 2 on Wednesday, which makes the Lakers‘ preparations a little more complicated, Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register writes.

“It’s difficult,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “It’s so big of a question mark. You don’t know if he’s going to play, if he’s not going to play. We just take care of our work and prepare for everything, every possible outcome, both ways. So that’s really the plan going forward.”

We have more on the Lakers:

Anthony Davis sparked the defensive effort against the Grizzlies and Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. in Game 1. Davis racked up 12 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals while committing just one foul. He also made defensive contributions that didn’t show up on the stat sheet. “On the offensive end, for him, people are double teaming him. And he always makes the right decision and always tries to find the right man or the open man,” Dennis Schröder told Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “But on the defensive end, he’s our anchor. He does so much for us.”
Rui Hachimura, a restricted free agent after the season, erupted for 29 points in 30 minutes in Game 1. Memphis guard Desmond Bane is skeptical that Hachimura can come close to that production again in the series, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. “It’s probably the best game of his career. It’s a seven-game series. Let’s see if he can do it again Wednesday,” Bane said.
With Reaves, another restricted free agent, and Hachimura leading the way, the Lakers’ role players made a huge impact in Game 1. Davis believes those players are the key to a deep playoff run, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. “We’re going to continue to need those guys,” Davis said. “I think the playoffs is all about, obviously, guys are keying in on the stars, me and (LeBron James), trying to figure out how they can take us out the game. But you win playoff games with your role players.”

Lakers Notes: Schröder, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Reaves

April 12th, 2023 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

A starter in 50 of his 66 games this season, Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder came off the bench in Tuesday’s play-in game, but proved to be a difference-maker in Los Angeles’ overtime win. Schröder scored 21 points and was a team-high plus-22 in his 33 minutes. And while it didn’t end up being the game-winner, his three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in regulation was the biggest clutch shot of the night.

“Whatever the team needs right now, I just try to get it done,” Schröder said of shifting to a reserve role, per Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register (subscription required). “I didn’t even know before I got here. I see my name, that I’m not starting. End of the day, to play with those guys is easy, whether I’m coming off the bench or I’m starting. So, we are just competing on the highest level. We showed it again, and I’m glad we got the win.”

A free agent last summer, Schröder had to settle for a minimum-salary contract with the Lakers. That deal only covered one season, meaning he’ll be back on the market this offseason, and he’s making a strong case for a larger payday this time around. Since the Lakers will only hold his Non-Bird rights, it’ll be tricky for them to give the veteran guard much of a raise, but head coach Darvin Ham sounds like someone who’d like to see the team figure something out.

“Yeah, man, the kid is just – his heart, his competitive spirit, just his ability to make big plays and take tough matchups in the biggest of moments, his attitude, his confidence,” Ham said after Tuesday’s victory. “He’s unbelievable, extraordinary.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Fourth-year forward Rui Hachimura, a restricted free agent this July, played nearly the entire fourth quarter against Utah on Sunday and has showed that he’s capable of handling a larger role as the postseason begins, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Hachimura, who averaged 22.4 minutes per game in 33 regular season appearances with L.A., played 27 minutes in Tuesday’s play-in win — the Lakers outscored Minnesota by 20 points with Hachimura on the floor.
Since joining the Lakers two months ago in a deadline trade, Jarred Vanderbilt has established a reputation as the team’s “Energizer Bunny” capable of making “Dennis Rodman plays” with his defense and energy, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Unsurprisingly, Buha says the Lakers fully intend to exercise their team-friendly option worth $4.7MM on Vanderbilt for the 2023/24 season.
In a Q&A with Shams Charania of Stadium (Twitter video link), Lakers guard Austin Reaves discusses a handful of topics, including his upcoming restricted free agency. “I want to be a Laker, so hopefully we can get this done and I can stay there for hopefully my whole career,” Reaves said.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, AD, Russell, Bamba, Offseason

April 5th, 2023 at 9:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers stars LeBron James (right foot soreness) and Anthony Davis (right foot stress injury) are both active for Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, tweets Mark Medina of NBA.com. Both players had previously been considered game-time decisions, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, the availability of the team’s two best players was up in the air leading into tonight’s game after going to overtime to defeat the Jazz in Utah on Tuesday night. James played in 38 minutes, while Davis played 42 — both high marks since returning from their respective foot injuries in March and January.

“The extra five minutes definitely didn’t help,” James said. “It definitely didn’t help but we needed to get the win.”

Wednesday will also mark the first time Davis has played in back-to-back games for several months, McMenamin notes, with the Lakers’ medical staff concerned about a possible re-injury due to overuse. Head coach Darvin Ham said the team wouldn’t risk jeopardizing anyone’s long-term health for a short-term situation — the Lakers and Clippers are tied with identical 41-38 records.

“If we see that they won’t have any issues, in terms of their health, and we’re not putting them at risk, then we’ll proceed,” Ham said. “If there’s any kind of question marks, we’ll walk through them, talk through them, and go from there.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Guard D’Angelo Russell (left foot soreness) was ruled out of Tuesday’s game for precautionary reasons, tweets McMenamin. Ham said Russell has been dealing with the issue for over a year and called it “bad timing” that it started to bother him recently. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said on Get Up (YouTube link) that there was optimism Russell would be able to return on Wednesday and that was indeed the case — he started at point guard.
Backup center Mohamed Bamba, who has been out for a month with a high left ankle sprain, was initially probable for Wednesday’s game (Twitter link via McMenamin) and was later upgraded to available. It will be interesting to see if Bamba gets minutes over Wenyen Gabriel, who has played well this season off the bench.
In another story for ESPN, McMenamin explores how the Lakers can retain six players who helped reshape the roster. The six are Russell, Bamba, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Davon Reed, all of whom could be free agents in the offseason, though the Lakers are extremely unlikely to release Vanderbilt, who only has a small partial guarantee ($300K) on his team-friendly $4.7MM salary for 2023/24 (it becomes fully guaranteed if they don’t waive him by the end of June).

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