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Lakers Notes: Free Agents, Young, Mozgov, Ingram

August 17th, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Six players with NBA experience participated in the Lakers’ free agent mini-camp today, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Attending the camp were Xavier Henry, Jeff Ayres, P.J. Hairston, Johnny O’Bryant, Orlando Johnson and Travis Wear. A swingman, Henry played 43 games for the Lakers during 2013/14, but was waived after just nine games the following season. Ayres is a six-year veteran center/power forward who played 16 games with the Clippers last season. Hairston, a swingman, has been in the league two years with the Hornets and Grizzlies. A power forward with two years of NBA experience, O’Bryant played 66 games for the Bucks last season but was waived in June. Johnson, a shooting guard, has four years of NBA experience and had brief stops last season with the Suns and Pelicans. Wear, a small forward, was out of the league last season after playing 61 games for the Knicks in 2014/15. “What we’re looking at here are known players,” GM Mitch Kupchak said in a video on the team’s website. “We do have roster spots open in terms of our team, but also we have roster spots open in terms of training camp.”

There’s more out of Los Angeles today:

It’s unlikely that Nick Young will be on the Lakers’ roster when the season starts, states Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Young recently expressed a desire to end his dispute with D’Angelo Russell, but Ding doesn’t believe he’ll get that opportunity. In a video on the Bleacher Report website, he says the Lakers have been trying to trade Young for a long time and will likely waive him if they can’t find a taker. He has two seasons and more than $11MM left on his contract. The league deadline for teams to use the stretch provision is August 31st.
Timofey Mozgov was able to participate in a full practice with his Russian team today after an injury scare last week, reports Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Times. Mozgov, who joined the Lakers on a four-year, $64MM deal last month, suffered a groin injury Friday and was forced to miss two tournament games. The Lakers said he reported no more pain after undergoing an MRI Saturday and has no more restrictions.
The Lakers held off on signing first-round pick Brandon Ingram and free agent center Tarik Black so they would have cap room for deals like the one today with Yi Jianlian, Medina tweets.

Qualifying Offers: Clarkson, Dellavedova, Galloway

June 30th, 2016 at 8:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status. A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. You can read more about qualifying offers here.

Here’s the latest QO activity from around the league:

The Cavaliers tendered point guard Matthew Dellavedova a qualifying offer worth $1,434,095, making him a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Lakers have submitted qualifying offers to Jordan Clarkson ($2,725,003), Tarik Black ($1,180,431) and Marcelo Huertas ($1,074,636) making all three restricted free agents, but declined to tender one to Ryan Kelly ($2,155,313), making him an unrestricted free agent, Pincus tweets.
The Knicks submitted a qualifying offer to guard Langston Galloway ($2,725,003), but declined to do so for forward Cleanthony Early ($1,180,431), making him an unrestricted free agent, Pincus relays (via Twitter).

Lakers Rumors: Bryant, Scott, Clarkson, Young

April 14th, 2016 at 7:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

After Kobe Bryant gave the NBA an unforgettable 60-point sendoff Wednesday, the Lakers faced the first day of the post-Kobe era, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “Sometimes you cannot help but think about it,” coach Byron Scott said of his 17-65 team. “When you have the type of season that you have, changes will be made.” The changes may start with Scott, who has one year left on his contract, although Medina says the organization recognizes the difficult position he faced with trying to balance a young roster and Bryant’s retirement tour.

The Lakers will have an estimated $55MM in cap space this summer, with much of that being opened by the end of Bryant’s $25MM contract and the expiration of Roy Hibbert‘s $15.5MM deal. The only guaranteed contracts for next year belong to D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., Anthony Brown, Nick Young and Lou Williams. The Lakers would like to keep restricted free agent Jordan Clarkson, and Brandon Bass may be back with a $3.1MM player option. More difficult decisions surround Hibbert, Metta World Peace, Marcelo Huertas, Tarik Black, Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre.

There’s more out of Los Angeles:

Clarkson believes he will be a Laker again next season, Medina tweets. Clarkson made $845,059 this year, and L.A. must make a $3.2MM qualifying offer to retain the right to match competing bids through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. “I feel confident I’ll be back here,” Clarkson said in today’s exit interview. “I want to be here.”
Two other free agents also prefer to remain Lakers, Medina relays on Twitter. “This is a great place for me and I love it here,” said Sacre, who made $981,348 this season in the final year of his contract (link). “I’d love to be a part of this process of flipping it around,” said Kelly, who earned more than $1.724MM this season. “But we’ll see (link).”
Young may not be brought back despite having two years and more than $11MM left on his contract, but he understands the need for changes, Medina writes in a separate story. “You never know what’s gonna happen, but you know something’s got to happen,” Young said. “I know the Lakers are gonna make decisions for the Lakers. We did win 17 games after all.” L.A. expected to try to deal Young in the offseason and may seek to negotiate a buyout if trade talks are unsuccessful.

Western Notes: Conley, Mavs, Suns

January 31st, 2016 at 8:14pm CST by Will Joseph

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace gave a strong indication that Memphis intends to re-sign Mike Conley this summer when the point guard becomes a free agent, Matt Moore of CBSSports.com reports. Conley will be eligible for a projected maximum starting salary of $24.9MM for 2016/17. The Grizzlies are also not interested in trading Conley prior to the deadline, according to Moore. This jibes with earlier reports that stated the top priority in free agency this summer for Memphis is re-signing Conley, who has already said how much he would like to remain with the Grizzlies.

“If you look back at the five years since the tide has turned for this franchise, we have re-signed every core player for the Memphis Grizzlies,” Wallace told Moore.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Mavs owner Mark Cuban said “nothing is really tempting” as the trade deadline nears, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. Cuban added that he likes how the Mavs are currently constructed. Dallas is 27-22.
The Suns project to have a crowded backcourt next season when Eric Bledsoe returns, so Eric Saar of Basketball Insiders suggests Phoenix could make a trade to make room for Devin Booker, who has shown an ability to make plays consistently and run the offense.
The Lakers have recalled Tarik Black from the D-League, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter).
The Clippers have recalled Branden Dawson from the D-League, the team announced, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register relays (via Twitter).

L.A. Rumors: Griffin, Russell, Gasol, Black

January 30th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s investigation of Blake Griffin‘s fight with an assistant equipment manager is complete, according Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. An announcement is expected next week, and the Clippers have been talking to league officials about disciplinary action. Griffin is expected to be sidelined for about two months after breaking his right hand in a January 23rd altercation with Matias Testi at a Toronto restaurant. “He feels awful about it, and he’s let everyone know that,” coach Doc Rivers said of Griffin. “That’s all you can do. You have to forgive people at some point. I believe that.” A source tells Broussard that Testi won’t be fired and will probably rejoin the team next week.

There’s more tonight out of Los Angeles:

Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan are both more valuable to the Clippers than Griffin, contends Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group, who thinks the team should pursue a trade. The columnist cites Griffin’s defensive failings, his tendency to dominate the ball and L.A’s record (now 14-3) without him.
Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell has heard plenty of criticism this season, but he tells Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times that he tries to be hard on himself as well. Russell is averaging 3.4 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game in an up-and-down rookie year, but he thinks he understands the prescription for improving his game. “Don’t take plays off on the defensive end, and on the offensive end don’t be nonchalant.” Russell said. “No player in this league — they might be really, really good and they look like they’re playing nonchalant, but they’re not. Me, at this point, I tend to be nonchalant at times — just getting it out of my system.”
Pau Gasol had mixed emotions about leaving the Lakers for the Bulls in free agency in 2014, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Gasol talked about a discussion he had with Kobe Bryant before deciding to move on. “Whatever we talked about, which was probably a year-and-a-half ago in free agency, stays there,” Gasol said. “I did tell him that I wanted to play if I could with him forever. But I was ready to move on and put myself in a situation where I thought I was going to be a lot happier and play the way I’ve been playing.”
The Lakers have assigned center Tarik Black to the D-League, tweets the team’s affiliate, the D-Fenders.

Pacific Notes: Green, Kings, Black

January 18th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Will Joseph

Draymond Green, who re-signed with the Warriors this past summer for five years and $82MM, drew some high praise from LeBron James, Joe Vardon of Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. Green, who leads the league with eight triple-doubles this season, often takes the assignment of guarding James later in games, as Vardon points out.

“I knew one thing: Whatever team got him was going to get a very smart, complete guy,” James said. “Any guy who is able to get a triple-double in the college game, that means a lot. Not many possessions and the game isn’t that well-rounded in college. He did it multiple times in East Lansing and for the most part if he comes from under [Michigan State coach Tom Izzo] you’re going to have some basketball IQ. He has all the intangibles.”

Here’s more on the Pacific Division:

The Kings are hoping their roster can continue to improve while they explore options to add another defender, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute, whom the Kings voided their contract with over the summer after a failed physical, has all the traits Sacramento is looking for, Jones adds. “Every team likes his intangibles,” Kings coach George Karl said. “He’s not a stat guy; he’s a low-maintenance offensive guy, so you don’t have to run anything for him and he’s happy.”
While Lakers coach Byron Scott seems unsatisfied with the development of Tarik Black, Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff wishes Houston still had the center on its roster, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details. Scott said Black has been “OK” and has not provided an impact off the bench. The Rockets waived Black last season. “We loved him,” Bickerstaff said. “We wanted to keep him around. We had to make a move for a roster spot [to sign Josh Smith.] He was kind of a casualty of that. He’s a heck of a player, brings great energy. Defensively, he communicates. He’s good in the pick-and-roll. He’ll rebound the ball. Doesn’t back down from anybody. Accepts all challenges from all comers. We love him.”

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Butler, Barnes, Ezeli

January 11th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rajon Rondo has earned the complete trust of DeMarcus Cousins, which is no easy task, TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Rondo, who’s on a one-year, $9.5MM contract, is “the most unselfish player I’ve ever played with,” Cousins told Aldridge. Rondo said to Aldridge that he signed with the Kings in part to mentor the center, adding that he’s wanted to play with Cousins for the past four or five years. It’s all cast against the backdrop of a Sacramento team that’s just two games out of a playoff spot, and the presence of Caron Butler has had much to do with the team’s improvement, Rondo contends. The Kings reportedly promised to trade Butler last month, but he’s still with the team. See more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob, the son of co-owner Joe Lacob, hinted at the team’s willingness to pay whatever it takes to re-sign Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli in restricted free agency this summer as he spoke in a recent radio appearance on 95.7 FM The Game’s “NBA This Week” show. Host Matt Steinmetz has the transcription. “Both those guys are a part of the core,” Lacob said in part. “Hopefully we’ll have this team for a number of years to come. If it costs a lot of money, it’s going to cost a lot of money. It probably will. A lot of our players have come up in free agency the last year or two and if they continue to perform we’re going to continue to pay them. We’re 34-2 [now 35-2], we’re trying to get a second championship here. There’s a lot of room for improvement of course, but there’s a lot of power to continuity.”
Numbers suggest that Julius Randle is on track to have a career similar to that of Drew Gooden, a sign that he’s not on the path to stardom the Lakers hoped for him, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com in an Insider-only piece co-authored with Chad Ford. D’Angelo Russell is the only one among the Lakers’ young players who has a strong chance to become an above-average starter, Pelton contends.
The Lakers have recalled Tarik Black and Ryan Kelly from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). They went down to the D-Fenders together on Friday. Black averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in two D-League games this weekend, while Kelly posted averages of 26.0 points and 6.5 boards a night.

And-Ones: Papanikolaou, Fredette, Kelly

January 8th, 2016 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Combo forward Kostas Papanikolaou was surprised by the Nuggets waiving him prior to Thursday’s leaguewide guarantee date, his agent George Sfairopoulos told Greek radio station Sport FM, according to Eurohoops.net. “Papanikolaou had many talks with people of the team, both from the front office and the coaching staff, and also I have spoken with assistant general manager Arturas Karnisovas. We have been told that the team will pick up his option for the rest of the season. However, that’s life and we are ready to respond to every situation,” Sfairopoulos said.

The agent also noted that if Papanikolaou decides to return to Europe to play, Barcelona of Spain would have the first opportunity to sign him. “Barcelona has his rights for Europe and the first word. If Kostas gets an offer from an other team, Barcelona can match it and sign him,” said Sfairopoulos. “At this point Kostas wants to get minutes on the court. That’s his number one priority.”

Here’s more from around the league:

While he would prefer to be on an NBA roster, combo guard Jimmer Fredette is enjoying the opportunity to play he is receiving in the D-League, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports writes. “It wasn’t necessarily a letdown because I knew I had to do some things to get onto a team where I can thrive,” Fredette told Spears about being in the D-League. “That wasn’t going to be the case at the beginning of the year if you get to that 15th roster spot and then you sit there and don’t play much. It was kind of a breath of fresh air to go out and know you’re going to get some playing time, be able to play, do what you do, gain some confidence and get some reps. That was the biggest thing for me when I talked to my agent and my family, was to get reps, get confidence back and be able to show people what I can do again.”
Fredette also told Spears that he considered overseas options in Italy, Greece, Serbia and Australia before deciding to join the D-League, and returning to the NBA is his primary goal. “I am playing basketball for the love of the game, but I also want to do what’s best for my career and my family. So whatever that is, we will take that path. We will see what happens in the future,” Fredette said.
The Lakers have assigned Tarik Black and Ryan Kelly to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the fourth stint with the D-Fenders on the season for both players.
The Thunder recalled Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.

Lakers Likely To Keep World Peace, Black, Huertas

January 6th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers are likely to retain Metta World Peace, Tarik Black and Marcelo Huertas through Thursday, the final day the team can waive their non-guaranteed contracts before they become fully guaranteed, a source tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The team has 12 other players on fully guaranteed deals, so locking in three more limits the club’s roster flexibility. The trio of non-guaranteed Lakers are on minimum-salary deals, though the cost of each to the team is different because of their varying levels of experience.

World Peace’s contract calls for a full-season salary of $1,499,187, since he’s a 15-year veteran, though the Lakers would be responsible for only $947,276 if they indeed keep him. Black, as a one-year vet, is scheduled to make $845,059 for the full season, while Huertas is drawing the rookie minimum of $525,093. They’ve already earned roughly 42% of their respective salaries by virtue of sticking on the roster as long as they have, and while the Lakers could end up paying no more than that percentage if they waive them, it appears they’ve decided against doing so.

The Lakers are fond of World Peace’s locker room mentorship, according to Bresnahan, who points out that his playing time in Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Warriors represented his first appearance after a string of 14 consecutive DNPs. Huertas, who’s seen somewhat more action even as he’s battled hamstring injuries, set a career high with nine points Tuesday, fellow Times scribe Eric Pincus notes (Twitter link).

The case of Black is slightly more complicated. He’s been on D-League assignment three times in the past month, and coach Byron Scott has turned more often to veteran Brandon Bass at his position.

“Brandon Bass is playing really well right now,” Scott said, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “If he starts to slump, then I’ll turn to Tarik.”

The Lakers like Black’s energy, strength and positivity, but they want to see him work on his mid-range and post-up skills and become more of a physical presence inside, Medina notes. Still, it appears he’s done enough to secure his full-season salary. He, like Huertas and World Peace, is on a contract that expires at season’s end.

Do you think the Lakers should keep all three of their non-guaranteed players, or would they be better served to open a roster spot or two? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Lakers Notes: Kupchak, World Peace, Black, Huertas

January 3rd, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said the team can’t move on from its current situation until Kobe Bryant is retired, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. Kupchak touched on a number of subjects during a speech today to season ticket holders. He said it’s going to be “virtually impossible” for Jordan Clarkson to leave the team in free agency next summer (Twitter link), rookie D’Angelo Russell has a chance to be an elite player but has to grow up first (Twitter link) and that he’s concerned about losing the 2016 first-round pick (which goes to the Sixers if it’s outside the top three), but players and coaches are being instructed to try to win (Twitter link). Kupchak also believes the Lakers will be in a stronger position to attract big-name free agents next summer (Twitter link).

There’s more out of Los Angeles:

The Lakers will have three decisions to make this week on non-guaranteed contracts, Pincus writes in a separate piece. Action must be taken by Thursday to provide a 48-hour waiver period before the official cutdown date, which is January 10th. L.A. has to decide whether to keep Metta World Peace ($1.5MM), Tarik Black ($845,059) and Marcelo Huertas ($525,093).
Bryant says age and the nearness of retirement have changed his philosophy about basketball, according to Paul Flannery of SB Nation. “I think I’ve matured quite a bit as a person,” Bryant said. “I think at the same time, I’ve lost a lot of the edge because with maturity comes a more docile approach to the game. Whereas back in the day there’s no compromise. There is no understanding. It’s this or nothing. As you get older you start to get more perspective. It’s a great thing as a person, but as a player not so much.”
With the league’s second-worst record, the Lakers currently have a 19.9% chance at landing the top draft pick, which will likely be LSU’s Ben Simmons, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Pelton analyzes the top nine contenders for Simmons and says if the Lakers stay in the No. 2 slot, they will have a 55.6% chance at remaining in the top three and keeping their pick.