<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-anthony-davis-lebron-james-warriors-trade-rumors-strange');   ga('set', 'title', 'Anthony Davis gives LeBron James to Warriors trade rumors ‘strange’ label');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Anthony-Davis-gives-LeBron-James-Warriors-trade-rumors-strange-label.jpg"></figure><h1>Anthony Davis gives LeBron James to Warriors trade rumors ‘strange’ label</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T12:29:40-07:00">October 15th, 12:29pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T12:29:40-07:00">October 15th, 12:29pm</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Anthony Davis recalls when the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-golden-state-made-shocking-effort-to-pull-off-lebron-james-trade-prior-to-deadline">Los Angeles Lakers nearly went through a wholesale change</a> at the 2023-2024 trade deadline that would have shaken up the entire league. The near-trade started with a rumor and ended with the Golden State Warriors attempting to send in an offer for LeBron James.</p><p>As the 2024-2025 season inches closer, Davis reflected on <a href="https://x.com/mcten/status/1846253120617435317" rel="noopener">the moment that he called “strange.”</a> The 31-year-old said that nothing about the rumor affected the team and was a mere abnormal afterthought for most of the players.</p><p>“I can’t remember how I heard about it, I think my dad called me,” Davis said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I don’t think it affected anything [but] I think that might’ve been the first time that [LeBron James has] been in trade talks in his career. That didn’t affect our team. It was definitely strange to hear in the sense of it was the first time he was talked about in a trade before.”</p><p>The rumors were confirmed when ESPN reported that the Warriors went all-in on pursuing the trade at the deadline but were shut down by both <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rich-pauls-role-in-scrapping-lakers-warriors-lebron-james-trade-talks">Rob Pelinka and James’ agent, Rich Paul</a>. Golden State owner Joe Lacob reportedly reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to inquire about James’ availability before general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. took over.</p><p>James had no desire to leave Los Angeles and ended the season with Davis on the Lakers. In the offseason, the team selected his son, Bronny James, with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, effectively guaranteeing that he would remain with the team for the rest of his career.</p><h2>Anthony Davis prepares to enter sixth season with Lakers</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Anthony-Davis_2045bd.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Entering his 13th year in the NBA, Anthony Davis is gearing up for his sixth season with the Lakers in 2024-2025. Davis is coming off arguably his best season with the team, appearing in a career-high 76 regular season games.</p><p>Davis’ health has been a major storyline throughout his career, having never played a full 82-game season. His 76 games in his fifth season with the Lakers marked the first time he appeared in over 60 games since his first year with the team in 2019-2020.</p><p>Ahead of the upcoming season the Lakers made the biggest change to the team by hiring JJ Redick at head coach but kept most of their roster intact from the previous year. Davis is expected to begin the year in the frontcourt alongside Rui Hachimura and LeBron James, the same lineup they ended 2023-2024 with.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Anthony Davis gives LeBron James to Warriors trade rumors ‘strange’ label

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-exploring-center-trade-options');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers exploring center trade options');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lakers-exploring-center-trade-options.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers exploring center trade options</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-10T13:16:17-07:00">October 10th, 1:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-10T13:16:17-07:00">October 10th, 1:16pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Heading into the regular season, the Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-expected-revisit-trade-talks-lebron-james-approved-target" rel="noopener">Lakers are trying to improve their roster</a>. More specifically, they’re trying to find ways to <a href="https://x.com/ESPNNBA/status/1844458415998775763">get better</a> at the center position, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.</p><p>“Sources tell me that the Lakers have been exploring potentially adding a big-man center to their roster,” Charania said on NBA Today. “Not exactly sure when that will take place, but they have started looking in the marketplace.”</p><p>The Lakers already have a few options at the position, but there are a lot of questions surrounding their health.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The Lakers have been exploring potentially adding a big man, a center to their roster." 👀 <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShamsCharania</a> makes his NBA Today debut with the latest on the Lakers' search for a big 💪 <a href="https://t.co/8iqVBTIGrJ">pic.twitter.com/8iqVBTIGrJ</a></p><p>— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1844458415998775763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Christian Wood remains sidelined, he’s got a knee issue. He had surgery recently, so they’re waiting for him to be back. Jaxson Hayes has really stepped up in training camp, has been a positive factor for the Lakers, but another thing to keep an eye on is Christian Koloko,” Charania said. “They signed him to a two-way contract before training camp. He was expected to play a potential reserve role on this roster. Doctors have felt confident that he will be cleared by the league’s Fitness-to-Play Panel due to his blood clot issue, but that is still an ongoing process.”</p><h2>What center could the Lakers trade for?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>David Frerker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There have not been many trade rumors when it comes to centers, but earlier in the offseason, there were rumors the Lakers might revisit trying to go for Jonas Valanciunas. The Lakers wanted to sign him in free agency, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-washington-stealing-lebron-james-lakers-target-free-agency">he ended up signing with the Washington Wizards</a> on a three-year deal. That left the Lakers with nothing to show for free agency, but that doesn’t mean they won’t <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsvPDizEtzM" rel="noopener">circle the block</a> on Valanciunas, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.</p><p>“There was some interest obviously. He was on LeBron’s list, so I think the Lakers will probably revisit that,” Buha said on his YouTube channel.</p><p>If the Lakers can pull off a trade for Valanciunas at the deadline and they’re in a position where they can make a postseason run, there’s no reason not to try and trade for him, but it depends on if the Wizards are also in playoff contention.</p><p>Valancinuas could of course help the Lakers on offense, as he’s able to stretch the floor. He could also help move Anthony Davis to the four, which is where he probably plays some of his best basketball.</p><p>As the season progresses, there will definitely be talks of more centers around the league on the trade block, and the Lakers will be in those talks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers exploring center trade options

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-the-time-lakers-tried-to-team-up-lebron-james-jj-redick-via-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: The time Lakers tried to team up LeBron James, JJ Redick via trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-The-time-Lakers-tried-to-team-up-LeBron-James-JJ-Redick-via-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: The time Lakers tried to team up LeBron James, JJ Redick via trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T21:56:12-07:00">September 30th, 9:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T21:56:12-07:00">September 30th, 9:56pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason has mostly been one of inactivity. It is certainly telling that the biggest move they made this offseason was hiring JJ Redick to be the team’s new head coach, replacing Darvin Ham in the process. The important factor that played into the hiring of Redick is that he seems to have the trust of LeBron James. As one would recall, Redick and James <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-final-send-off-podcast-host">once hosted a podcast</a> that dove deep into the Xs and Os of basketball, and they shared some very natural chemistry on the air.</p><p>One would think that Redick and James had spent time together as teammates, but they never got the pleasure of sharing a locker room with each other. Redick’s 15 years in the league were spent with the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Dallas Mavericks — teams that James did not ply his trade for.</p><p>But there was a time when the Lakers <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41518480/how-coach-jj-redick-lebron-james-lakers-got-here" rel="noopener">pondered the possibility</a> of bringing Redick in to bolster the team around 2020 or 2021, which would have allowed the two to team up earlier than they did in real life.</p><p>“Early in James’ L.A. tenure, the Lakers inquired about trading with New Orleans for Redick but nothing developed, sources told ESPN,” Dave McMenamin of ESPN wrote.</p><p>It’s unclear just how “early” in James’ stint with the Lakers did the team inquire about the possibility of a trade for Redick. The Pelicans were a sub-.500 team in the one and a half seasons that Redick spent with the team, so it’s likely that the Purple and Gold thought about acquiring one of the greatest shooters in league history during both 2020 and 2021.</p><p>Perhaps it’s more likely for the Lakers to have thought about acquiring Redick in 2020, when he was still a productive starter for the Pelicans. During 2021, Redick had fallen off, and the Pelicans soon traded him away to the Mavericks for some spare parts.</p><p>Regardless, now, the Lakers have Redick helming the bench, and they see him as a clear upgrade over Ham in that department. Only time will tell how smooth the transition to being a head coach of an NBA team will be for Redick.</p><h2><b>Can JJ Redick survive the pressure cooker that is the Lakers’ head coaching job?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JJ-Redick-of-the-Lakers.jpg"></figure><p>Being a head coach in the NBA is never easy. The head coach is almost always the easy scapegoat for when a team is struggling, and all the criticisms they receive can take its toll. But there may not be a more difficult gig in the league than being the head coach for the Lakers.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-message-close-people-who-thought-taking-la-job-was-bad-idea">Lakers job is not for the faint of heart</a>. The spotlight is always on them since they reside in one of the biggest television markets in the United States, and they have perhaps the biggest fanbase in the entire world, so the pressure is always on to deliver results.</p><p>Nevertheless, it seems as though JJ Redick has the character and the skill to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-cam-reddish-what-differentiates-jj-redick-coaching">survive in his position</a>. He also has deep tactical knowledge and the new-school willingness to incorporate analytics, which should help the Lakers polish their weaknesses under Darvin Ham last season.</p><p>Of course, the Lakers may need to pull off a trade or two to improve the roster so they could, perhaps, crack the inner circle of title contenders. But Redick appears to be the man for the job of laying down the team’s winning foundation.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: The time Lakers tried to team up LeBron James, JJ Redick via trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-dangelo-russells-dangerous-belief-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'D’Angelo Russell’s ‘dangerous’ belief amid trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0810.jpeg"></figure><h1>D’Angelo Russell’s ‘dangerous’ belief amid trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T20:46:31-07:00">September 30th, 8:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T20:46:31-07:00">September 30th, 8:46pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – If there’s one player on the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster who is used to hearing his name in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nets-dangelo-russell-lakers-trade-buzz">trade rumors, it’s D’Angelo Russell</a>. As recently as this offseason when Russell opted in to his contract, he still was being mentioned as a potential trade candidate.</p><p>But training camp and preseason is about to get underway and Russell remains a Laker. Perhaps that’s why when he took a seat at the podium on media day, <a href="https://x.com/Rachel__Nichols/status/1840832029954621637" rel="noopener">he greeted assembled media</a> with a, ‘surprise, surprise.’</p><p>It can be taxing on the mind for player to have to deal with constant trade chatter while trying to focus on the task at hand. Russell spoke about leaning on his confidence whenever things pop up during the season.</p><p>“I think just kind of trust in my craft, knowing that I’m a problem for an opposing team. . .team’s know what I’m capable of so I just keep that in the back of my mind knowing that I’m dangerous,” Russell said. “And keeping my confidence high throughout the ups and downs of the season. I think throughout adversity you get to really see the character of people. And I always try to hold my head high through adversity and always come out with confidence.”</p><p>D’Angelo Russell certainly is no stranger to trade talks. After all, he’s been traded four times in his career already. The most recent trade was during the 2022-23 season when the Minnesota Timberwolves traded him to the Lakers, reuniting him with the franchise the originally drafted him back in 2015.</p><p>Russell revealed that he actually tends to stay ahead of any trade chatter or media talk about him due to the people in his immediate circle.</p><p>“The people around me, I think my people around me are brutally honest,” Russell said. “So before I leave the house, I hear what’s trending about me. So my folks will say that before it’s kind of trending so I think that’s a positive.”</p><p>If the Lakers hope to contend this season, they will need D’Angelo Russell to be at his best. This past season, he appeared in 76 games, including 69 starts, at a little over 32 minutes per game. He averaged 18.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists with splits of 45.6 percent shooting from the field, 41.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 82.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

D’Angelo Russell’s ‘dangerous’ belief amid trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-failed-acquire-dejounte-murray-hawks-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Why Lakers failed to acquire Dejounte Murray in Hawks trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Why-Lakers-failed-to-acquire-Dejounte-Murray-in-Hawks-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Why Lakers failed to acquire Dejounte Murray in Hawks trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-11T20:49:59-07:00">September 11th, 8:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-11T20:52:16-07:00">September 11th, 8:52pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-fans-frustration-after-demar-derozan-joins-kings">Los Angeles Lakers struck out</a> on a laundry list of veteran targets this offseason. One of the most prominent ones was shooting guard<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-dejounte-murray-breaks-silence-surprising-hawks-trade"> Dejounte Murray, who the Atlanta Hawks traded </a>to the New Orleans Pelicans.</p><p>There was <a href="http://imagn.com/setImages/579173/preview/23052335" rel="noopener">one major roadblock that prevented</a> the Lakers from landing the 27-year-old, via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>“The Hawks went down this road last year with the Lakers. There was a time where there was a lot of momentum, at least on the Lakers’ side, where they thought they had a great chance to get Dejounte Murray,” Windhorst said. “At the end of the day, D’Angelo Russell being in that deal, and I don’t know if it was they were going to have a third team or whatever, but the Hawks weren’t down with that.”</p><p>Atlanta thought Murray, who scored 22.5 points on 45.9% shooting with 5.3 boards and 6.4 assists per game last year, demanded a top-tier return in a trade. It ended up with Dyson Daniels, Cody Zeller, Larry Nance, E.J. Liddell, and two first-round picks from New Orleans. Daniels is a 21-year-old shooting guard out of Australia, and was drafted eighth overall by the Pelicans in 2022.</p><p>Russell, however, isn’t near Murray’s level, and Los Angeles didn’t have the same level of draft capital and depth pieces to offer as New Orleans did. “DLo” scored 18 points on 45.6% shooting with 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 rebounds per game last year.</p><p>While the trade was generally considered a fair one around the league, it received a couple votes as both the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/40669074/nba-offseason-survey-best-worst-most-shocking-moves" rel="noopener">worst and most surprising moves</a> of the offseason by a panel of 18 NBA coaches, scouts, and executives, via ESPN.</p><p>However, the Lakers and Hawks may still make a deal.</p><h2><b>The Lakers could be a destination for D’Andre Hunter</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Hawks-DeAndre-Hunter.jpg"><figcaption>© David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Los Angeles may be a good fit for Hunter, via ESPN’s Tim McMahon (same Hoops Collective podcast).</p><p>“The Hawks have been looking to unload De’Andre Hunter who is owed about 22 [million] this year, 23 [million] next year and 25 [million] the year after,” MacMahon said. “That’s not a great contract. Is it worth a team like the Lakers taking on that contract?”</p><p>Hunter, who averaged 15.6 points on 45.9% shooting with 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game last year, could provide the Lakers’ front-court with some extra punch. However, Los Angeles will have to make sure it can fit his hefty price tag under its salary cap.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Why Lakers failed to acquire Dejounte Murray in Hawks trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-didnt-actually-offer-cedi-osman-training-camp-invite');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers didn’t actually offer Cedi Osman a training camp invite');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-Lakers-didnt-actually-offer-Cedi-Osman-a-training-camp-invite.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers didn’t actually offer Cedi Osman a training camp invite</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-09T09:47:03-07:00">September 9th, 9:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-09T09:49:12-07:00">September 9th, 9:49am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>NBA free agent Cedi Osman is heading to Greece. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-ex-cav-cedi-osman-rejected-lakers-greece-move">Osman signed a contract with Panathinaikos</a>. However, contrary to a report by Eurohoop’s Nikola Miloradovic, suggesting Osman turned down a training camp invite from the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA insider Marc Stein is <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/this-week-in-can-only-focus-on-the?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=148647051&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">saying that was never the case</a>, per The Stein Line.</p><p>“It has been reported in Europe that Turkish swingman Cedi Osman turned down a training camp invite from the Lakers before signing with Panathinaikos in Greece,” Stein said. “But sources close to the situation told<i> The Stein Line</i> that no such offer was extended by L.A. despite LeBron James’ well-known fondness for Osman dating to their days as Cavaliers teammates.”</p><p>As a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Osman played one season with Lakers superstar LeBron James in 2017-18. Some believed Osman’s turned down a contract that was offered to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-alex-fudge-lakers">Lakers’ Alex Fudge, a recent two-way signing</a>. However, with 15 guaranteed contracts on payroll, the Lakers don’t have enough cap space to sign Osman for the upcoming season.</p><p>“The Lakers have 15 guaranteed contracts and are less than $50,000 away from crossing into second apron luxury tax territory, so there would be no reasonable pathway to add Osman to the team even had he come to camp and played well,” Stein added. “Sources say that the 29-year-old, who played in San Antonio last season, signed a one-year deal with Panathinaikos in hopes that he can play his way back to the NBA next season.”</p><h2><b>Cedi Osman says signing with Greece club team was an ‘Easy’ choice</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cedi-Osman.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cedi Osman was selected 31st overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft. After playing six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one with the San Antonio Spurs, Osman is excited for his new opportunity with Greece’s Panathinaikos, which for him, <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/09/cedi-osman-easy-choice-to-sign-with-panathinaikos.html" rel="noopener">was an easy choice</a>.</p><p>“It was a long process, but, obviously, it was an easy choice for me,” Osman said, per Hoopshype’s Rory Maher. “I have known Panathinaikos for a lot of years. I played against them as a kid. And Ergin [Ataman] was my coach since I was a kid. There were links with other teams, but it was not a really hard choice for me.”</p><p>Osman signed a one-year deal with the Spurs and averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 17.6 minutes last season. In a minimized role compared to being a starter in his second and third year with the Cavs, Osman’s stats were a far cry from the 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists he averaged in 2018-19. But he did shoot a career-best 38.9% from three during his time in San Antonio.</p><p>Perhaps a stint overseas will help the 29-year-old guard fulfill his next opportunity in the NBA.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers didn’t actually offer Cedi Osman a training camp invite

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-jarred-vanderbilts-status-lakers-camp');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Jarred Vanderbilt’s status for Lakers camp up in the air');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Jarred-Vanderbilts-status-for-Lakers-camp-up-in-the-air.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Jarred Vanderbilt’s status for Lakers camp up in the air</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-06T16:45:45-07:00">September 6th, 4:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-06T16:45:45-07:00">September 6th, 4:45pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the 2024-25 NBA season as the only team in the league who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-biggest-mistake-in-2024-nba-free-agency">did not sign a new free agent</a> in the offseason. A big part of that was due to their salary cap restrictions, and they’ll be hoping for improved on-court cohesiveness under new head coach JJ Redick with virtually the same roster as last season. One player though who is set to return to the court is Jarred Vanderbilt, although <a href="https://x.com/LakersLegacyPod/status/1832057408652444106" rel="noopener">he might not be ready for Lakers training camp</a> as per Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet.</p><p>During a recent episode of the LakeShow Podcast, Bresnahan speculated that Jarred Vanderbilt may miss the start of Lakers training camp while he continues to recover from a foot injury he suffered back in February. He also mentioned that there is hope Vanderbilt will be ready for the regular season, though.</p><p>“Vando’s going to be interesting. I’m not sure he’s going to be ready for training camp or even for the preseason games,” Bresnahan said. “He opted not to have a procedure in season, got hurt in February, and so we’ll see if he’s ready to go. I don’t have a lot of details on it, but I’m not sure he’ll be ready for training camp. Regular season, different story, hopefully he’s ready by then.”</p><h2><b>Jarred Vanderbilt is one of the Lakers most versatile defenders<br></b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Jarred-Vanderbilt-during-pregame-warmups.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen Lew-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While Vanderbilt might be limited offensively, the energy and productivity he brings on the defensive end as well as on the glass is near unmatched from any of the Lakers role players. His fit alongside Anthony Davis is shaky due to his inability to be a consistent offensive threat, but he brings the ability to guard multiple positions.</p><p>The Lakers acquired Vanderbilt in a three team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz ahead of the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline. His addition helped spark the Lakers to a strong regular season finish and a Western Conference Finals run.</p><p>But Vanderbilt was limited to only 29 games during the 2024-25 season due to injury. He suffered a heel injury early in the regular season, and then once he returned to the court he suffered the foot injury that kept him out for the remainder of the year. He returned to the active roster late during the Lakers first round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets but did not see any on-court minutes.</p><p>In the games he did play, Vanderbilt averaged 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 51.8 percent shooting from the field, 29.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 66.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Jarred Vanderbilt’s status for Lakers camp up in the air

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-la-rumored-luka-doncic-interest-beer-warning-robert-horry');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ rumored Luka Doncic interest draws ‘beer’ warning from Robert Horry');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Lakers-news-LAs-rumored-Luka-Doncic-interest-draws-beer-warning-from-Robert-Horry.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ rumored Luka Doncic interest draws ‘beer’ warning from Robert Horry</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-04T08:08:37-07:00">September 4th, 8:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-04T08:11:07-07:00">September 4th, 8:11am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a recent episode of the “Big Shot Bob” podcast, former Los Angeles Lakers forward Robert Horry expressed skepticism about the team’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-have-sights-set-on-luka-doncic">rumored interest in acquiring Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic</a>. The discussion, prompted by one of the Shaqcast producers, Rob Jenners, addressed the financial and practical challenges of bringing Doncic to Los Angeles to potentially team up with Anthony Davis in a post-LeBron James era.</p><p>Jenners highlighted the financial enormity of such a move, stating, “You’re gonna end up paying Luka Doncic, I mean insane money to try and get him out of Dallas, but I don’t foresee a scenario where he leaves Dallas.” This remark set the stage for Horry’s comparison to past Lakers ambitions that never materialized.</p><p>Drawing parallels to the Lakers’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECB9J20Ku3s" rel="noopener">previously reported but unsuccessful plans</a> to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo before he signed a max extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, Horry reflected, “Do you remember we had the same scenario about two or three years ago we were talking about Giannis, like the Lakers were playing a long game to get Giannis… I think he signed that huge deal. It’s either these Laker lovers who are just trying to throw rumors out there or these people who are just sitting around just saying what insane stuff can we say.”</p><h2><b>Robert Horry voices concerns about the Lakers’ reported interest in Luka Doncic</b></h2><p>The conversation took a humorous yet critical turn when Jenners added, “It’s the dumbest thing we can drum up, how about Luka Doncic to the Lakers, there you go.”</p><p>Horry then expressed concerns about Doncic’s age and fitness at the time his current contract with the Mavericks would end. “You got to think about this, Luka is gonna be how old, like 31, 32? By the time his deal’s up? He ain’t the best defensive player now and that’s the Lakers’ problem. You got to have some athletic guys that can play some defense,” Horry explained.</p><p>Horry also alluded to concerns about Doncic’s conditioning, a factor crucial to his potential fit with the Lakers, “and Luka, he can score with the best of them but we also know you got to take beers out of his hands cuz he ain’t the one that stays in shape… He ain’t gonna be what you need probably.”</p><p>As the Lakers navigate these speculative future scenarios, the focus remains firmly on capitalizing on LeBron James’ enduring capabilities while he is still in peak form. For now, it seems prudent for the Lakers to prioritize the present, maximizing LeBron’s longevity with strategic in-season trades to bolster their roster. One such potential acquisition that has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brian-windhorst-lakers-trade-jonas-valanciunas">continued to garner interest is Jonas Valanciunas</a>, whose presence could significantly enhance the Lakers’ frontcourt strength.</p><p>The speculation surrounding Doncic and other future prospects will likely continue, but for the Lakers, the immediate goal is clear: leverage their current assets and seek immediate improvements to remain competitive in the ever-evolving NBA landscape.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ rumored Luka Doncic interest draws ‘beer’ warning from Robert Horry

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-rich-pauls-role-in-scrapping-lakers-warriors-lebron-james-trade-talks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Rich Paul’s role in scrapping Lakers-Warriors LeBron James trade talks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NBA-rumors-Rich-Pauls-role-in-scrapping-Lakers-Warriors-LeBron-James-trade-talks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Rich Paul’s role in scrapping Lakers-Warriors LeBron James trade talks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-18T08:29:29-07:00">August 18th, 8:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-18T08:57:54-07:00">August 18th, 8:57am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Many NBA fans <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lebron-james-stephen-curry-team-up-slapped-with-harsh-reality">would love to see</a> LeBron James and Stephen Curry team up for their final seasons in the league. That doesn’t look to happen, according to a rumor. It appears James’ agent Rich Paul is squashing <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/all-the-latest-around-the-league?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=147819504&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">that possible scenario</a>, per The Stein Line Substack.</p><p>Paul pushed against the notion that James would go from southern California to northern California to join the Golden State Warriors, according to the outlet. The agent was also reportedly concerned over backlash James might face for changing teams yet another time in his lengthy career.</p><p>Stein reports there were some preliminary discussions between front office management with the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers over a possible transaction. It seems that the idea is now completely kaput, especially since the Lakers drafted and signed James’ son Bronny to a four-year contract. Bronny James <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-carmelo-anthony-son-bronny-james-nba">was selected 55th overall</a> in the 2024 NBA Draft.</p><h2>LeBron James and Stephen Curry soared for Team USA</h2><p>NBA fans were at least able to see James and Curry <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-team-usa-players-signing-autographs-for-each-other-has-fans-buzzing">team up together</a> for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The duo were arguably Team USA’s best players, as the squad won gold in Paris. James finished the Olympics as MVP. The 2024 Paris games are considered to be possibly the last time Curry and James will play in the event.</p><p>Curry was a star for the team though in many people’s eyes. The Warriors guard hit a flurry of three-pointers to lift Team USA over Serbia, in a semi-final game. The guard then poured in another 24 points for the Americans to push past France in the gold medal game.</p><p>James and Curry will go down as two of the best players to ever grace an NBA basketball court. James won four NBA championships, as well as four NBA Finals MVP awards. Curry has four titles as well. He was named NBA Finals MVP once, during the 2022 campaign.</p><p>There’s still time for James and Curry to add to their collection of hardware, but it looks like it won’t again happen together.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Rich Paul’s role in scrapping Lakers-Warriors LeBron James trade talks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lebron-james-stephen-curry-team-up-slapped-with-harsh-reality');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: LeBron James, Stephen Curry team-up slapped with harsh reality');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LeBron-James-Stephen-Curry-teaming-up-slapped-with-harsh-reality.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: LeBron James, Stephen Curry team-up slapped with harsh reality</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-13T18:02:27-07:00">August 13th, 6:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-13T19:53:22-07:00">August 13th, 7:53pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2024 Paris Olympics did not just mark the end of an era for Team USA men’s basketball. It also provided many fans with the opportunity to realize one of their hoops fantasies– seeing LeBron James and Stephen Curry play in a legitimate competition together as teammates.</p><p>Some believe the dynamic duo’s triumphant display on the world stage is but an appetizer for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-kendrick-perkins-stephen-curry-lebron-james-team-up">what can come in the NBA</a>. Though, it might be more prudent to view this mash-up of icons as a special and once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.</p><p>Visions of James and Curry both wearing Lakers or Warriors uniforms might be evaporating into thin air after the <a href="https://x.com/AmicoHoops/status/1823508040177340626" rel="noopener">latest bit of insight</a>.</p><p>“Did (unnamed TV analyst) really say something about LeBron and Steph teaming up someday?” an NBA source rhetorically asked Sam Amico of Hoopswire.com. “That will never happen. In fact, they will never be on the same team again. Cool Olympic run for sure. But those two as teammates is over for all eternity.”</p><h2><b>LeBron James and Stephen Curry have an amazing two weeks in Paris</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LeBron-James-and-Stephen-Curry-embrace.jpg"><figcaption>Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The NBA’s all-time scoring champion and the greatest shooter the league has ever known led their country to a hard-fought Olympics gold medal, with each future Hall of Famer stepping up at different moments to ensure that Team USA officially remains the preeminent basketball power for at least another four years. James served as the group’s anchor while Curry exploded in the final two games.</p><p>Debates have raged on regarding <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/stephon-marbury-lebron-james-olympics-mvp-stephen-curry-heroics">the tournament MVP award</a>, but both men were needed to secure victory <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-mens-basketball-avengers-counterparts">for “The Avengers.”</a> The image of them celebrating in uproarious excitement following their epic comeback win over Serbia in the semifinals is bound to pull at the heartstrings of Lakers and Warriors fans. Though, there is currently no feasible path that leads with them representing the same NBA franchise.</p><p>LeBron James appears to be ensconced in Purple and Gold, especially now that his son is on the team. Stephen Curry is synonymous with Golden State and is a San Francisco Bay institution at this point. Losing can always change circumstances, and both of these squads did compete in the Play-in Tournament last season, but it is still difficult to envision an opportunity that would bring these two together once again.</p><p>While sharing the court in an NBA All-Star Game is obviously not the same as going for gold in the Olympics, it might have to do. Instead of lamenting what could have been or what should be, it might be healthier to just appreciate this legendary Team USA union.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: LeBron James, Stephen Curry team-up slapped with harsh reality

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-disney-espn-working-on-2020-the-bubble-documentary');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Disney, ESPN working on 2020 ‘The Bubble’ documentary');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Disney-ESPN-working-on-2020-The-Bubble-documentary.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Disney, ESPN working on 2020 ‘The Bubble’ documentary</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-24T21:16:21-07:00">July 24th, 9:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-24T21:16:21-07:00">July 24th, 9:16pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2019-20 NBA season was on the brink of a complete cancellation in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that ensued to prevent further transmission of the virus. But the league decided to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-3-word-reaction-as-he-reminisces-las-bubble-run">revive the season</a> and continue it in a closed environment called the NBA Bubble in the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida, giving fans some of the most memorable moments in playoff history amid a trying time.</p><p>Four years later, Disney, the parent company of the NBA’s primary broadcast partner in ESPN, is <a href="https://x.com/ScottGustin/status/1816256903023829218" rel="noopener">reportedly working on a documentary</a> showing an exclusive “behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Pandemic-era NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals in quarantine at the Walt Disney World Resort”, per Scott Gustin of Nexstar.</p><p>There was a lot of work that had to go behind the scenes to ensure that the remainder of the 2020 regular season and the entirety of the playoffs that followed went smoothly. Disinfecting the practice and playing courts was a necessity to ascertain the safety of players, while making sure that they underwent daily testing needed a lot of logistical coordination, to which fans will be more privy to with the release of the documentary.</p><p>But beyond all the rigorous preparations that went into making sure that the 2020 NBA bubble was a success, there were also plenty of storylines within the association that made that moment in time such a unique spectacle. 2020 may not have provided plenty of good memories due to the global pandemic, but the basketball during that time was memorable, for better or for worse.</p><h2><b>The 2020 bubble was a unique time in the history of the NBA</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/James-at-a-press-conference-1-1.jpg"></figure><p>When the dust settled in the bubble, it was the Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that stood tall, capturing the franchise’s 17th championship in the process. The Lakers were the cream of the crop in the Western Conference all season long, and they were the team that had the most mental fortitude which allowed them to navigate the difficult Orlando bubble.</p><p>Aside from the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-anthony-davis-sends-fiery-message-to-haters-of-2020-bubble-championship">Lakers’ triumph</a>, there were plenty of entertaining narratives that made the bubble such a gripping watch. Damian Lillard and TJ Warren both played at an incredible level, with the former taking home bubble MVP honors. The Phoenix Suns also showed a glimpse of what was to come, winning all eight of their games in Orlando and falling just short of a playoff berth.</p><p>And then there’s the playoffs; the Miami Heat shocked the world and eliminated the team that had the best record in the NBA in the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks, en route to making it to the NBA Finals. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-jimmy-butler-reveals-truth-behind-playoff-jimmy-narrative">legend of playoff Jimmy Butler</a> was born in the bubble.</p><p>Who could ever forget the Los Angeles Clippers’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-lou-williams-shocking-nba-bubble-admission-has-fans-mocking-la">legendary 3-1 collapse</a>? The Denver Nuggets also made history by becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from two separate 3-1 series deficits. Luka Doncic began his run as one of the greatest postseason performers of the past five years in Disney World, etching his name up in lights with a memorable game-winner against the Clippers.</p><p>Lakers fans will definitely be tuning into this documentary. So will Heat fans, even though they weren’t able to claim the Larry O’Brien trophy in the end. But Clippers fans may want to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-ex-paul-george-teammate-threatened-knock-him-fk-out-nba-bubble">avert their eyes</a> from this one.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Disney, ESPN working on 2020 ‘The Bubble’ documentary

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-brian-windhorst-lakers-trade-jonas-valanciunas');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Brian Windhorst hints at Lakers trading for Jonas Valanciunas during season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Brian-Windhorst-hints-at-Lakers-trading-for-Jonas-Valanciunas-during-season.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Brian Windhorst hints at Lakers trading for Jonas Valanciunas during season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-23T07:54:50-07:00">July 23rd, 7:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-23T08:55:21-07:00">July 23rd, 8:55am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Brian Windhorst of ESPN believes the Los Angeles Lakers <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti2xOgGQUJg&amp;t=1110s" rel="noopener">may be a landing destination</a> for Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas during the 2024 season.</p><p>“Do we think Jonas Valanciunas will be an offer from the Wizards midway through the season… I wouldn’t rule out Jonas Valanciunas eventually ending up as a Laker this year,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective, via NBA on ESPN. “That’s all I’m gonna say.”</p><p>Valanciunas is a veteran center with a proven track record. Los Angeles has often been linked to centers over the years, whether it is for the purpose of depth or perhaps even a starter alongside Anthony Davis. Windhorst thinks LA will emerge as a potential suitor for the big man should Washington make him available at some point during the 2024-25 season.</p><p>Of course, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-still-among-teams-linked-cam-johnson-trade">Lakers are seemingly always mentioned</a> in trade rumors. Rumors do not always become reality. However, Valanciunas will be an intriguing trade candidate.</p><p>Washington is not expected to compete during the upcoming campaign. Valanciunas’ veteran prowess and ability to control the boards will catch the attention of contenders. The Lakers will likely be a contender this season, whether it is for a playoff or play-in spot.</p><h2><b>Jonas Valanciunas will catch Lakers’ attention</b></h2><p>The 32-year-old center will likely be a popular trade candidate during the 2024-25 season. He is not necessarily a star, but Valanciunas is consistent. He is going to give a team around 13 points and 10 rebounds per game.</p><p>Valanciunas shoots in the mid-50s from the field and can even knock down the occasional 3-point shot.</p><p>He played in all 82 games for the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2023-24 season. Valanciunas averaged 12.2 points per game on 55.9 percent field-goal shooting. He added 8.8 rebounds per game. His numbers were down from his career averages, but he still recorded respectable statistics.</p><p>If the Lakers find themselves needing help in the paint this season, expect Valanciunas’ name to be mentioned as a trade candidate.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Brian Windhorst hints at Lakers trading for Jonas Valanciunas during season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-warriors-get-eye-opening-links-to-bruce-brown-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers, Warriors get eye-opening links to Bruce Brown trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Lakers-Warriors-get-eye-opening-links-to-Bruce-Brown-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers, Warriors get eye-opening links to Bruce Brown trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-22T13:01:07-07:00">July 22nd, 1:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-23T15:54:34-07:00">July 23rd, 3:54pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a rapid-fire succession of moves to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lebron-james-leads-2024-nba-free-agent-class">start NBA free agency</a>, things have been quiet, with some organizations working behind the scenes to upgrade their roster continually. A player who has generated a lot of interest among some contenders is Toronto Raptors swingman Bruce Brown.</p><p>The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors have quietly emerged as possible <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lauri-markkanen-trade-talks-reed-sheppard-dominance-nba-summer-league">suitors for Brown</a>.</p><p>“Speaking of the Raptors, they continue to explore the market for interest in veteran swingman Bruce Brown, who is entering the final year of his contract at $23 million,” said ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel.</p><p>Brown is highly regarded around the league for his positional versatility as well as his ability to make winning plays that don’t always show up in the stats. The 27-year-old <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/brownbr01/gamelog-playoffs/" rel="noopener">held a big role</a> during the Denver Nuggets’ championship run in 2023, and his expiring contract will be appealing to several playoff-contending franchises.</p><p>The Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are two teams that showed interest in Brown last season, sources said, and Los Angeles maintains interest in him this offseason. One team whispered to have interest in Brown and was quietly mentioned as a possible suitor months ago is the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>While unlikely to occur, the Warriors have the ability to move Andrew Wiggins, who is making more than $26 million this season, in a package from Toronto that includes Brown and other assets. This would open up more financial flexibility for the Dubs moving forward.</p><p>For the Lakers and Warriors, adding Brown makes almost too much sense for either team. His playmaking ability and versatility are beyond underrated, and more importantly, he has championship experience after his time in Denver. However, which team can make a more attractive offer to acquire Brown from the Raptors?</p><h2><b>Who could make the best Bruce Brown trade offer?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bruce-Brown-Versus-Warriors.jpg"><figcaption>John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Ultimately, it will depend on what the Raptors want for Brown in any trade negotiations. Although Toronto is trying to become a playoff threat with Scottie Barnes leading the charge, they still have to acquire assets and pieces that can flesh out the final vision.</p><p>With that in mind, it’s good to remember that, to acquire Brown, three first-round picks, and Jordan Nwora, the Raptors sent Pascal Siakam to Indiana. Considering that the Raptors were able to get so much from the Pacers, they’ll likely be looking for equal value when sending out Brown in a possible trade.</p><p>So considering that the Lakers have the salaries of D’Angelo Russell, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, and others to plug into a deal, there could be some traction if the Raptors like the fit of any player alongside Barnes.</p><p>However, Los Angeles is limited asset-wise elsewhere, especially when it comes to draft picks, so that could make it difficult to finalize a deal since Toronto is likely looking for more than expiring salaries to complement and upgrade their roster.</p><p>That’s where the Warriors, who could use All-Star forward Andrew Wiggins as a bargaining chip, enter the fray. Dangling an All-Star-caliber wing who would help accelerate the Raptors’ rebuild, could be a much more enticing offer for Toronto, especially with Golden State having more moveable first-round selections.</p><p>Again, it all depends on what the Raptors want in a possible Brown trade. But for now, the Warriors can make a much more attractive offer than the Lakers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers, Warriors get eye-opening links to Bruce Brown trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-still-among-teams-linked-cam-johnson-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers still among group of teams linked to Cam Johnson trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lakers-still-among-group-of-teams-linked-to-Cam-Johnson-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers still among group of teams linked to Cam Johnson trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-22T11:37:28-07:00">July 22nd, 11:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-22T11:37:28-07:00">July 22nd, 11:37am</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a>Matt Wadleigh is the lead NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball editor for ClutchPoints, and he also specializes in MLB and NFL coverage. He was born and raised in Oceanside and resides in Fresno with his wife and two dogs. Matthew is a huge Southern California sports fan and a retired member of the Fresno State drumline.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-power-rankings-2024-25-paul-george-major-free-agency-moves">NBA free agency</a> frenzy has slowed down drastically over the last couple of weeks. Still, some teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, continue exploring the market. The Lakers missed <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-gm-never-spoke-klay-thompson-signed-mavericks">out on several stars,</a> including Klay Thompson, and they require adding talent to the roster to try and make another playoff run.</p><p>The Brooklyn Nets have already traded away Mikal Bridges, and Cam Johnson could be the next player moved in Brooklyn. The Lakers are one of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lauri-markkanen-trade-talks-reed-sheppard-dominance-nba-summer-league">several teams still linked</a> to Johnson, per ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel.</p><p>‘Remaining in the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets are another team taking a step back and looking to rebuild to ensure future success. After trading Bridges, the Nets and general manager Sean Marks have signaled to the rest of the league that they are willing to move their talents for the right price. Ben Simmons, who is entering the final year of his contract and set to make $40.3 million, holds zero trade interest around the NBA this offseason, league sources told ClutchPoints. It is possible that a team looking to clear up immediate cap space for 2025 could want an expiring contract like Simmons’ ahead of the trade deadline. Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Bojan Bogdanovic are the three forwards teams around the league are labeling as the next names to be on the move. Out of this grouping of players, Johnson is the one generating the most interest. In addition to the Kings inquiring about Johnson, the Rockets, Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and San Antonio Spurs have been linked to the former first-round pick, sources said. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has also reported that the Toronto Raptors have shown interest in Johnson. If they look for a more affordable option, Finney-Smith would be a plausible target for Ime Udoka and the Rockets.’</p><p>Other teams who have shown interest include the Raptors, Rockets, Kings, Cavs and Spurs, per Siegel’s latest intel. And, many Nets players could be moved as they enter another chapter in the rebuild. Siegel also mentions that Dorian Finney-Smith and Bojan Bogdanovic are other trade options for the Nets, and Ben Simmons is a tough one given his deflating interest across the NBA. But, Johnson is the favorite for many teams in the league, and for a number of reasons.</p><h2><b>Cam Johnson linked to the Lakers again </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/0d3ac44e-3da9-11ef-96f5-66479fb447ac.avif"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Johnson had <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nets-cam-johnson-lakers-trade-interest">been linked to the Lakers</a> previously, so it’s no surprise that his name is mentioned again for LA. The 2019 first-round draft choice began his career with the Phoenix Suns before being traded to the Nets in the Kevin Durant <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kevin-durant-trade-winners-loser-suns-nets-blockbuster-deadline">blockbuster trade</a>. In 2023-2024, he played in 58 games, averaging 13.4 PPG with 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists, so he can provide quality minutes to a number of teams across the NBA.</p><p>The Lakers’ options are quickly dwindling, and Spencer Dinwiddie agreed to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-spencer-dinwiddie-contract">one-year deal</a> with the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. The trade targets across the league are fewer than before, so Rob Pelinka and company might not have many choices left at this juncture. With Summer League at its end, Johnson might be on the move at some point soon.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers still among group of teams linked to Cam Johnson trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-why-lakers-are-struggling-upgrade-roster-this-offseason');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Why Lakers are struggling to upgrade roster this offseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Why-Lakers-are-struggling-to-upgrade-roster-this-offseason.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Why Lakers are struggling to upgrade roster this offseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-16T14:29:07-07:00">July 16th, 2:29pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-16T14:29:07-07:00">July 16th, 2:29pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>General manager Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers have somehow managed to have an eventful offseason that has simultaneously not gotten the team any closer to true contention in the Western Conference. While the hiring of JJ Redick and the drafting of Bronny James were storylines that dominated the national media cycle, the teams <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lebron-james-reacts-jayson-tatum-autograph-rejection-story-made-him-cry">around the Lakers</a> in the standings have actually made moves to get better, causing fans to have even more <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-biggest-mistake-in-2024-nba-free-agency">frustration with Pelinka</a> and the rest of the front office brass.</p><p>Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Lakers star LeBron James would be willing to take a pay cut if it meant that the team could lure in a prized free agent such as Klay Thompson or DeMar DeRozan. However, neither of those moves materialized, and James opted to take his full potential salary for the next two years.</p><p>Now, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5639681/2024/07/16/lakers-rumors-roster-trade-free-agency/" rel="noopener">more light is being shed</a> on why exactly the Lakers are struggling to do much of anything this offseason.</p><p>“One of the reasons the Lakers have been unable to make any signings and had to explore trades is that four roster holdovers who were given second-year player options last summer — D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish — opted in due to their performances last season and the tight free-agent market,” reported Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “The latter three players, in particular, and the presence of developmental projects like Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis and Bronny James, have created a rough backend to the Lakers’ roster. The team has several players who appear unlikely to contribute meaningfully next season and wouldn’t be in the rotations of most playoff teams.”</p><p>Indeed, the Lakers have several players who underperformed last year either during the regular season or the playoffs and thus decided to take their player options and the guaranteed money that came with them as opposed to testing the market, which has hamstrung the Lakers’ ability to make any real moves so far.</p><h2><b>What is the Lakers’ ceiling?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/James-with-Team-USA.jpg"><figcaption>Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Probably not very high, as currently constructed. While James and Anthony Davis are both still top fifteen players, the Lakers’ supporting cast doesn’t have enough defense or shooting to truly compete with teams like the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, or the Dallas Mavericks.</p><p>Buha did note that Los Angeles isn’t completely out of options when it comes to the rest of the offseason.</p><p>“The most straightforward way the Lakers can add talent is to make a consolidation trade,” reported Buha. “They can either send out more players than they receive in a deal or salary-dump Reddish, Wood and/or Hayes, along with a second-round pick or two, onto a team with roster and financial flexibility.”</p><p>Even if Los Angeles is able to swing a trade for a solid piece or two, it’s hard to envision the team taking themselves from first round exit to championship contender at this point in the NBA offseason.</p><p>In any case, the schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign is set to be released in August.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Why Lakers are struggling to upgrade roster this offseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-trade-situation-obstacle-gary-trent-jr');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers’ tricky trade situation an obstacle to signing Gary Trent Jr.');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Lakers-tricky-trade-situation-an-obstacle-to-signing-Gary-Trent-Jr.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers’ tricky trade situation an obstacle to signing Gary Trent Jr.</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-12T08:58:20-07:00">July 12th, 8:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-12T08:58:20-07:00">July 12th, 8:58am</time><address><a>Gerard Angelo Samillano</a>Gerard Angelo Samillano is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, with his focus primarily on the NBA, NFL, MLB and Gaming. When he's not writing for CP, Gerard can often be seen playing VALORANT or playing pick-up basketball. He's also working on his BS Mathematics degree.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to add more shooting to their lineup. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-completes-klay-thompson-acquisition-in-historic-6-team-trade">missing out on Klay Thompson</a>, Los Angeles has been heavily linked to another shooter available in the market: Gary Trent Jr. Trent Jr’s shooting will be mighty helpful to Los Angeles… if they can sign him, that is.</p><p>Unfortunately, the Lakers are running into some problems with their pursuit of Gary Trent Jr. As you could guess, it’s because of luxury tax. Marc Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/my-nba-trade-talk-and-free-agency" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Los Angeles needs to get well below the second tax apron in order to make a run at signing the Toronto Raptors guard.</p><p>“One source close to the process cautioned this week that the Lakers, until they can move farther away from the second luxury tax apron, can’t even make a run at Trent … no matter how available he appears to be. The Lakers, remember, are only marginally distanced from the second apron after LeBron James signed a new two-year deal that was less than $3 million shy of the $104 million maximum he could have received.”</p><p>The new collective bargaining agreement added a second tax apron that further limits what a team can do with their contracts. The Lakers are just shy below that apron <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lebron-james-gets-real-on-if-new-lakers-contract-could-be-his-last">after re-signing LeBron</a>, and signing Gary Trent Jr would catapult them over that apron quite easily. GTJ is a great piece, but LA seems to feel that acquiring him is not worth the trouble of the second tax apron.</p><p>Naturally, the solution is to shed salaries. However, Stein notes that the Lakers can’t even do it that easily due to them being over the first apron.</p><p>“The Lakers are known to be exploring pathways to shed some additional salary via trades to create sufficient wiggle room needed under the second apron to make use of their $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. Yet even those kinds of moves likely require some form of second-round draft capital attached and taking in a player via sign-and-trade, as a first apron team, is not permitted under the league’s new rules.”</p><h2><b>Lakers’ goal for 2024-25 season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Gary-Trent-Jr-shooting-against-Lakers-Austin-Reaves.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Lakers’ goal remains the same: win a championship. Ever since winning the Larry O’Brien in 2020, Los Angeles has found mixed success. There was that Western Conference Finals run back in 2023, but that is surrounded by early-round exits and even completely missing the postseason at some point. This postseason, the Lakers were nearly swept in the first round by the Denver Nuggets.</p><p>This season will be quite interesting to watch for the Lakers. They have a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-admits-terrifying-behind-scenes-scenario-head-coach">new head coach in JJ Redick</a>, a first-time coach. Redick has surrounded himself with capable assistants, but it’s still going to be quite the challenge. Los Angels has not done much on the roster too. Part of that is due to financial constraints, but it’s still quite frustrating to watch for fans.</p><p>Trent Jr should be a solid option for the Lakers. There are questions about his defensive capabilities and his one-dimensionality on offense. However, there was a time when Trent Jr was a solid defender for the Raptors. If they can tap into that, it would be great. And while Trent is as one-dimensional as a piece of paper on offense, he brings elite volume shooting (38.6% shooter from the outside) that the Lakers badly need.</p><p>At this point, the Lakers need to act quickly. Trent is arguably the best available free agent left, and teams will be lining up to sign him. Can LA find the space to acquire GTJ?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers’ tricky trade situation an obstacle to signing Gary Trent Jr.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-raptors-plan-key-free-agent-good-news-lakers');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Raptors’ plan for key free agent is good news for Lakers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Raptors-plan-for-key-free-agent-is-good-news-for-Lakers.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Raptors’ plan for key free agent is good news for Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-09T08:52:43-07:00">July 9th, 8:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-09T11:45:29-07:00">July 9th, 11:45am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Toronto Raptors are rebuilding, and in their first offseason since trading Pascal Siakam, Toronto has signed young cornerstone Scottie Barnes to a max extension and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-2-threats-that-caused-raptors-give-immanuel-quickley-175-million-contract">re-signed Immanuel Quickley</a>. But the Raptors are reportedly not keen on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-linked-to-raptors-sharpshooter-lebron-james-contract-decision">bringing back Gary Trent Jr.</a>, one of their key rotation players over the past few years, at the same price — and that may be the best possible outcome <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-2-lakers-most-likely-salary-dumped">for the Los Angeles Lakers</a>.</p><p>While the Raptors have committed a lot of money to Barnes and Quickley — about $400 million over the course of their contracts — Toronto has, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, been hesitant to re-sign 25-year-old Trent, who is an unrestricted free agent <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/nba/lewenberg-toronto-raptors-launch-new-era-with-big-bets-on-scottie-barnes-immanuel-quickley-1.2146154" rel="noopener">following the</a> conclusion of the three-year, $51.8 million contract he signed with the Raptors in 2021.</p><p>“Per a source, the Raptors were willing to bring the sharpshooter back at an annual salary of around $15 million when the negotiation window opened last month, but Trent’s camp was looking for a raise on the $18.5 million he made last season,” Lewenberg wrote. “Something in the $25 million range was believed to be the ask, a misread of a market that hasn’t been kind to players of Trent’s ilk – a very good three-point shooter (38 per cent as a Raptor) who has shown flashes in other areas but hasn’t been able to sustain them, especially on defence.</p><p>“Now, with the market drying up, one league insider suggested Trent would be ‘lucky’ to get the mid-level exception, valued at $12.5 million. A few reports have linked him to the Lakers, where it’s possible he could only earn half of that.”</p><p>Lewenberg reported that while the proverbial door is not completely shut yet — the Raptors and Trent’s representatives are expected to have another meeting this week — the team is “prepared to move on” from Trent.</p><h2><b>Gary Trent Jr. to the Lakers?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GTJ-and-Reaves.jpg"></figure><p>For a player like Gary Trent Jr., a valuable yet typically replaceable rotation piece, free agency can be a bit like gambling. Some players test the market and hit the jackpot, as seen by Paul George, who signed a four-year, $211.6 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers after months of extension negotiations with the Los Angeles Clippers. But as seen by Caleb Martin, who reportedly declined a four-year, $58 million extension by the Miami Heat and wound up settling for a deal reportedly worth between $32 million and $40MM.</p><p>Trent may soon, unfortunately for him, officially become part of that second group and join Martin. Any $25 million-per-year contract seems almost impossible now, and with teams seemingly being more selective with their mid-level exceptions, it would appear Trent may be taking a pretty steep pay cut wherever he ends up this year. There are several teams that could sign Trent to the non taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth about $12.8 million in Year 1, but if teams decline to do so, the Lakers could be huge beneficiaries.</p><p>Since the Lakers are well into the tax and are right below the second apron, the mid-level exception they can deploy is much smaller than the one a team like the Raptors can. If the Lakers were to give their full taxpayer MLE to Trent, he would earn $5.2 million this season and could only sign for two years at most (non taxpayer MLE deals can be up to four years), although a shorter deal would be best for Trent anyway if he is trying to increase his value for next offseason.</p><p>Trent, who began his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to Toronto during the 2020-21 season, averaged 13.7 points in 28.1 minutes per game and shot 39.3% on threes last year. In terms of availability, Trent has played no fewer than 58 games since his rookie season.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-final-send-off-podcast-host">New Lakers coach JJ Redick</a> would certainly love to have a career 38.6% three-point shooter to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-new-contract-gets-major-update">complement LeBron James</a> and Anthony Davis, especially with the departure of Tauren Prince, who shot 39.6% from three last season in L.A., and the potential exit of D’Angelo Russell, who was the Lakers’ best three-point shooter last season (41.5% on a team-high 7.2 attempts per game).</p><p>What kind of pitch the Lakers could make to Trent to lure him away from potentially more lucrative offers remains to be seen.  If Trent were to settle for the $5.2 million MLE, the Lakers should expect quite a bit of competition from teams similarly straddling the second apron, which would serve as a hard cap if the taxpayer exception is used.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Raptors’ plan for key free agent is good news for Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-2-lakers-most-likely-salary-dumped');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 2 Lakers ‘most likely to be salary dumped’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2-Lakers-most-likely-to-be-salary-dumped.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 2 Lakers ‘most likely to be salary dumped’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-09T07:23:10-07:00">July 9th, 7:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-09T15:57:29-07:00">July 9th, 3:57pm</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers have made a few moves that have caught the attention of the masses, like re-signing LeBron James, naming <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-final-send-off-podcast-host">JJ Redick as the</a> new head coach, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-mase-camron-have-key-fix-bronny-james-summer-league-struggles">drafting Bronny James</a>. But other than that, L.A. has been pretty quiet, although that could change soon.</p><p>In his latest YouTube video, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha said that the Lakers <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzkorZqKB3s" rel="noopener">are interested</a> <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-linked-to-raptors-sharpshooter-lebron-james-contract-decision">in either Gary Trent Jr.</a> and Spencer Dinwiddie for their taxpayer midlevel exception. He also mentioned that the Lakers could choose to use the more than $5 million MLE on a big man, but that would require L.A. to trade Christian Wood or Jaxson Hayes, their current backup big men.</p><p>“As I’ve also said before on here, I’ve heard Christian Wood and Cam Reddish would be the two most likely guys to be salary dumped,” Buha said. “Now, maybe a team pushes to get Jaxson Hayes, and when it comes down to it, the Lakers decide that there isn’t much of a difference between Hayes and Wood.</p><p>“But my understanding, the Lakers would prioritize keeping Hayes in comparison with Wood and Reddish.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><h2><b>Cam Reddish and Christian Wood expendable to Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Russell-Reddish-and-Wood.jpg"></figure><p>Both Christian Wood and Cam Reddish signed “prove-it” deals with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason. Wood, who has played with a number of teams since going undrafted in 2015, inked a two-year, $5.75 million deal in September.</p><p>The results proved to be less than stellar as Wood’s role under Darvin Ham was relatively minuscule. Wood averaged just 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in March.</p><p>Reddish, 24, was one of the Lakers’ first free-agent signings last offseason. Once a promising prospect who played one year at Duke alongside Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, Reddish arrived in L.A. as a reclamation project of sorts.</p><p>However, like Wood, Reddish did not break out under Ham as his offensive woes continued. He shot 38.9 percent from the field (his worst season percentage since 2021) and a career-low mark at the free-throw line. Reddish also missed most of the second half of the season dealing with knee and ankle soreness.</p><p>With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-gets-brutally-honest-whiffing-on-top-targets">LeBron James taking</a> slightly less than the max on his new two-year deal, the Lakers have snuck under the second apron, allowing themselves the freedom to aggregate outgoing salaries in a trade. But with the team being limited to taking back no more salary than it is sending out in any trade, including players like Wood or Reddish will probably be necessary at some point.</p><p>Wood, who exercised his player option late last month, will make $3,036,040 this season, while Reddish, who also picked up his option, will earn $2,463,946. Neither player will be the centerpiece of any trade, but if D’Angelo Russell (who is the Lakers’ third-highest-paid player at $18.7 million) were to be traded, for example, Wood and Reddish’s combined $5,499,986 could help facilitate the deal.</p><p>There is also the possibility, as Buha mentioned, that the Lakers attach a second-round pick to contracts like Reddish’s or Wood’s and trade them for essentially nothing in return to free up a little more cap space and use the taxpayer midlevel exception without breaching the second apron.</p><p>However it ends up, the Lakers’ top priority for the time being is retaining the relative flexibility that being under the second apron provides.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 2 Lakers ‘most likely to be salary dumped’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-linked-to-raptors-sharpshooter-lebron-james-contract-decision');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers linked to Raptors sharpshooter after LeBron James contract decision');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lakers-linked-to-Raptors-sharpshooter-after-LeBron-James-contract-decision.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers linked to Raptors sharpshooter after LeBron James contract decision</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-07T13:08:38-07:00">July 7th, 1:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-07T13:08:38-07:00">July 7th, 1:08pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Last week, it was announced that LeBron James was going to be agreeing to a maximum contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers for two years, with a player option after one, to the tune of over $50 million per campaign. This came after it had been suggested that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-fans-frustration-after-demar-derozan-joins-kings">James would be willing</a> to take a pay cut <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-new-contract-gets-major-update">if the Lakers</a> were able to lure in a prized free agent; however, that never came to fruition, and the star will now add to his pile of billions.</p><p>While the Lakers may not have been able to get DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, Paul George, or other marquee names, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still enticing options on the market for Rob Pelinka and company to explore. One area where the Lakers could use <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5621333/2024/07/07/lebron-james-lakers-contract-nba/" rel="noopener">some roster depth</a> is at the shooting guard position, and just adding shooting to their roster in general, and if the latest reports are any indication, the Los Angeles brass could be interested in doing just that.</p><p>“Gary Trent Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie are two names to watch for if the Lakers clear enough space to use their taxpayer midlevel exception, according to league sources,” reported Jovan Buha and Shams Charania of The Athletic.</p><p>Trent has spent the past couple of seasons in a Toronto Raptors uniform and remains a bona fide sniper from beyond the arc, while Dinwiddie joined the Lakers midway through last season and had some solid moments for the team.</p><p>The pair also broke down how the Lakers could be looking at trying to move on from one or two of their veterans in order to free up room.</p><p>“James’ new contract puts the Lakers at just under the $188.9 million second apron. If the Lakers can salary dump a couple of their veteran minimum contracts — attaching a second-round pick to entice a trade partner — they’d create two roster spots and the flexibility to use the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception,” reported Buha and Sharnia. “The Lakers have preferred to enter previous seasons with only 14 players on their roster for flexibility in trades and on the buyout market.”</p><h2><b>Can the Lakers compete with this roster?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/James-at-a-press-conference-1-1.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Probably not.</p><p>Even if Gary Trent Jr. does sign or Spencer Dinwiddie does in fact return to the Lakers, the team has still done essentially nothing to address the defensive issues that plagued them throughout last season. The reality of the situation is that Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell are not compatible together defensively as a backcourt. If they had prime LeBron James flanking them on the wings, it could make up some of the difference, but James at 39 is not exactly the same stopper he was on that end of the court ten years ago.</p><p>Still, adding more shooting would at least help the Lakers if they aim to take a “track meet” style approach to the game, simply trying to outscore other teams, even if it means giving up 120 or more points per game.</p><p>In any case, the schedule is set to be announced next month.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers linked to Raptors sharpshooter after LeBron James contract decision

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-trae-youngs-chilly-trade-market-hit-with-lakers-spurs-updates');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Trae Young’s ‘chilly’ trade market hit with Lakers, Spurs updates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7578587430.jpeg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Trae Young’s ‘chilly’ trade market hit with Lakers, Spurs updates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-05T10:21:16-07:00">July 5th, 10:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-05T10:21:16-07:00">July 5th, 10:21am</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-trae-young-sparks-wild-trade-buzz-with-just-1-emoji">Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young has</a> been in trade rumors since last season where the the team was in the process of splitting the tandem between him and Dejounte Murray. Even with Murray traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, there is still speculation of Young being moved for a rebuild, but his market is in question in terms of a recent report by Zach Lowe of ESPN.</p><p>The two teams that have always been rumored to trade for Young, and even rumored to be his preferred options, have been the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, but even they have reportedly shown little interest. Lowe would even go as far as to say that Young’s trade market <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/40496545/clippers-nuggets-convenient-fear-second-apron-first-week-nba-free-agency" rel="noopener">“is as chilly as it has ever been.”</a></p><p>“The Lakers, too, have shown little recent interest in Young, sources said,” Lowe wrote. “That could change if the price drops to L.A.’s liking. But the market for Young is as chilly as it has ever been.”</p><h2><b>How the Hawks and Spurs view a trade involving Trae Young</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Trae-Young-taking-the-ball-up-the-court-during-a-Hawks-game-on-April-10-2024.jpeg"><figcaption>Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-perfect-trae-young-trade-offer-hawks">The Hawks could potentially</a> be heading towards a rebuild with a younger lineup, even more youthful than Young who is still only 25 years old. Lowe would talk about Atlanta’s viewpoint and how they had the No. 1 overall pick in the last draft where they took Zaccharie Risacher and believe Jalen Johnson, who is 22 years old, to be “untouchable.”</p><p>“The Hawks are resetting their roster and going somewhat younger behind No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher,” Lowe wrote. “Trae Young seems perhaps slightly out of place with that direction, but he’s only 25. Jalen Johnson, the team’s one true untouchable, is 22 — between Young and the coming youth movement.”</p><p>While the popular thought was to pair a point guard like Young with a huge talent like Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, the team “has not shown much interest” in trading their bevy of first round picks that they control through 2027. San Antonio could be on the come up and build around their 20 year old player by utilizing the draft than trading assets for an established player like Young.</p><p>“Young is potent enough to keep the Hawks around .500, and they don’t have much incentive to tank so long as the Spurs control their first-round picks through 2027 thanks to the original Murray trade,” Lowe wrote. “The smoothest way to reclaim those picks is trading Young to the Spurs, but San Antonio has not shown much recent interest in that, sources said. The Spurs understand the potential value of those picks, and they (for now) appear to favor holding them hostage over swapping them back to Atlanta.”</p><h2><b>Other teams coming for Trae Young due to trade value decreasing?</b></h2><p>However, with the possible notion around the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-why-trae-young-trade-lakers-still-unlikely">league that Young’s trade</a> value could be diminished, it could sprout some other teams who do not have a huge amount of assets to get the Hawks guard at a lower price. One team that comes to mind is the Miami Heat as they don’t have as much draft picks as San Antonio, but have young, up and coming stars to give like a Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic.</p><p>The problem there is that they would also have to trade a sizable contract since they are near the dreaded second apron and can only give more than they receive in terms of money. Young is in the midst of a five-year, $215 million deal where he will cost around $43 million this upcoming season.</p><p>Still, the Lakers could use a player like Young who is a dynamic scorer, can facilitate the ball, and obviously work well off of players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, they are also in financial troubles like the Heat so they might not believe the hassle is worth it.</p><h2>Trae Young likely staying with the Hawks</h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-spurs-among-trae-youngs-preferred-trade-destinations">Last season with the Hawks</a>, Young averaged 25.7 points, 10.8 assists, and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 43 percent from the field 37.3 percent from beyond the arch. He has spent six seasons with Atlanta where he was drafted with the fifth overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the famous trade swap for Luka Doncic.</p><p>There has been success with the Hawks where Young led them to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, it has been first round exits in the playoffs and even last season where they lost the first play-in tournament game against the Chicago Bulls.</p><p>At the very moment, it seems very likely that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-zaccharie-risacher-gives-honest-review-potential-atlanta-impact">Young stays with the Hawks</a> unless another team jumps out of nowhere and gets him since he could be at a lower deal. However, depending on Atlanta’s mindset, Young can help out the younger players like Risacher and Johnson in fortifying a foundation for the future as they look to improve after finishing with a 36-46 record which put them at the tenth seed.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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