2023-24 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

well the other owners sure as hell aren't going to be happy about that figure

72 mil to coach the pistons?!

 

Holy f*** Batman!

This can potentially be $100m deal for a coach not named Phil Jackson. He's coached his teams to a whopping ZERO titles.

From Shams

Good for Monty. Highest paid coach in the NBA. Still owed $21m from the Suns and goes to a team who's not expected to contend for a long time.

 

What a contract, wow.
It will be interesting to follow. He has shown he can be a top coach and will have an opportunity to create a culture and lead the franchise's strategy moving forward.
They have some interesting guys in Ivey, Cade and the bigs. They got unlucky in the draft but have already a few interesting pieces for the future

 

You know maybe the Lakers just needed a few scores here and there, all the games with Denver were close right? I thought he made a connection with Lebron when AD was out. Bryant had a talent for catching the ball in traffic. Also it coulda made AD's job easier if he concentrated on defense like some nights.
But if you're sold on Bamba, then the best option is to retain everyone. I remember when the Lakers lost to the C Bags in 2008 Bynum was injured. When he was healthy, the Lakers went back to back. Personally I already liked this team. I just thought about Bryant. He's not related to Kobe, but I felt we coulda use a Bryant against Denver. Nope, DeAndre is definitely not better than him. If Jokic has been real good lately, maybe because Bryant is playing him in practice.

 

The Kyrie thing just will not die.

 

Its worth noting that a lot of the recent moves from this front office have come out of nowhere, which is pretty remarkable given how much chatter there is around the franchise traditionally and how eager some of the actors (LeBron/Klutch/Jeanie) typically are to leak stuff. We didn't hear anything about a Russ trade before it happened. We knew they were looking at Russ trades but DLo was never mentioned. Kyrie isn't going to happen, and if we're hearing about DLo for FVV that almost makes me think its not happening either.

 

You like it enough to take a discount to play 41 home games there next year?

(The answer is no, but one can hope)

 

Scotto and Buha on Kyrie

 

I don't like his answer between Lakers and clippers he said it don't matter it's LA

 

Thanks for posting all these articles and quoting the relating sections to the appropriate threads JSM

 

Dan Woike chiming in.


Lakers


View in browser
Austin Reaves walks off court after the Lakers were eliminated from playoffs. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Welcome to this week’s Lakers newsletter, I’m Dan Woike, beat writer for the L.A. Times. This is the first newsletter of an offseason in which the team is set for big changes … or maybe not very many at all.

Let’s get right to it in a bit of a rapid-fire format, a bunch of quick thoughts on everything I’ve seen, noticed or heard since the end of the Lakers’ season last week.


On to the quick hitters
—All signs continue to point to what has been a widely-held belief around the Lakers — that they have prioritized Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura in restricted free agency.

—The Lakers’ open stance about matching offers for the two could end up saving the team money, particularly with Reaves. After a terrific postseason debut, teams with cap space don’t have much optimism they’ll be able to pry him free, which means the Lakers’ four-year, $52 million-ish max offer might be the most he gets. People around the league, though, seem to think Reaves is worth more, but the rules prohibit the Lakers from giving it to him unless they’re matching another team’s offer.

Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times

Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.

—It’s funny how Reaves and Hachimura have been linked considering the two became a bit of a comedy act in the playoffs. In Golden State and Denver, the two sat next to each other and would playfully argue. Before one game, Hachimura pulled me aside, told me to get out my camera to film Reaves giving him a hard time. “Tell him I’ve got an entire country behind me,” Hachimura said with a laugh.

—I haven’t spoken to anyone who thinks LeBron James is retiring. The biggest reasons given to me for his comments after Game 4: fatigue from the season, frustration with getting swept and a reminder to the front office that the Lakers’ title window is closing, keeping a sense of urgency in the foreground.

—D’Angelo Russell’s future with the Lakers is fair less certain. Sign-and-trade possibilities exist — the Lakers have endlessly been tied with Kyrie Irving, and Fred VanVleet’s name has been mentioned since even before he joined Klutch Sports, though the Lakers could again be in a position where they’d be forced to part with one or more draft picks in a deal. Russell’s postseason struggles were probably a little overblown after a disastrous Western Conference finals, but expect the Lakers to look at upgrade options. There’s still a chance Russell returns on a good deal and the Lakers actually get the continuity they’ve spoken about building.

—Malik Beasley has value, either as a floor spacer or as a tradeable expiring contract. Those elements certainly factoring into the Lakers’ decision with his $16.5-million team option. There are strong arguments for picking up that option.

—There’s less optimism on Mo Bamba’s deal, which guarantees for $10.3 million on June 29 according to contract savants Spotrac. That’s a week after the NBA draft. It’s also the same day by which the Lakers have to make their decision on Beasley.

—Speaking of the draft, the Lakers are in an interesting position at No. 17. The last time they drafted in the teens was 2007 when they took Javaris Crittenton.

—Some players picked No. 17: Shawn Kemp, Jermaine O’Neal, Josh Smith, Danny Granger, Jrue Holiday, Dennis Schroder and Trey Murphy III.

—The Lakers have generally taken a “best available” approach to drafting. And the list of rookies to make significant postseason impacts is short. Since 2012-13, only 38 rookies have started two or more playoff games. Only six started 10 or more.

—The Lakers were well represented at Klutch Sports’ pro day where center Derrick Lively II impressed scouts with his length, touch and athleticism. Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr. also left scouts impressed with his handling and shooting.

—The Lakers can trade their 2023 first-round pick on draft day and not violate the Stepien Rule that prohibits teams from dealing picks in consecutive years. The Pelicans have the rights to the Lakers 2024 pick (New Orleans could elect to take the 2025 first instead)

—Word was Pepperdine wing Maxwell Lewis performed well at his workout with the Lakers last week.

—Last year’s second-round pick, Max Christie, has people around the Lakers very excited with his potential as he heads into a big summer.

—Darvin Ham left plenty of people in and around the Lakers impressed with his run during the postseason. “We’ve got a good one,” one Lakers player said after Game 4.

—Nuggets in 5.

 

How's Max playmaking? Can we swing DAR for a Center and get Max to split the "PG" duties with Dennis?

 

Max seems like more of a pure 3&D guy. Maybe he can develop some playmaking skill down the line, but for next season he’ll probably be just a catch and shoot guy.

 

AR is our best(not a point guard)at running the show.

 

Well let’s hope for more than that since we’ve already seen him work on moves to get off shots in the mid range and all the way to the rim. Why assume we’re going to just make him stand behind the arc always for shots, especially on hard close outs. Same as Rui and Austin. I’m assuming Handy is working with him on handles, moves and all that. So far he has looked multi dimensional to me.