Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

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Lakers bring Russell Westbrook off bench in loss to Timberwolves

The 0-5 Lakers are still trying to find out the best way to utilize Russell Westbrook’s skill-set. Via ESPN.com:

Russell Westbrook came off the bench in a regular-season game for the first time since his rookie year in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 111-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and impressed his team by taking to the role.

“He was great,” said LeBron James, who said Westbrook’s energy “catapulted” L.A.’s overall effort. “He was great all game.”

Westbrook played 33 minutes, more than he had in any of the three games he started this season, and finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists. However, he shot 6-for-17 overall and 5-for-10 from the free throw line and was responsible for five of the Lakers’ 22 team turnovers.

Anthony Davis didn’t play, so LeBron started alongside a very limited supporting cast.

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Clippers face Lakers tonight

Via the OC Register:

The Clippers tip off against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in what is nominally a Lakers home game.

The Lakers are 0-1, LeBron James is wasting no time pointing fingers, and columnist Jim Alexander says it feels like they’re working on the next miniseries.

Into the Lakers’ old role as L.A.’s NBA championship hope step the Clippers, who have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both healthy for the first time in 16 months and their stars sounding like leaders…

In Las Vegas, the Clippers have the second-lowest odds to win the Western Conference (a consensus +325, close behind the Warriors) and the fourth-lowest (+662) to win the NBA title, and a win-total line (52½) as high as anyone except the Celtics.

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Lakers guard Russell Westbrook speaks on opening night injury

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook had something to say last night as the NBA season tipped off. Via the Los Angeles Times:

If deciding whether to start Russell Westbrook was Darvin Ham’s first big test as Lakers head coach, picking up the pieces after wild postgame comments is certainly the second.

With the Clippers up next in a 10-game gauntlet to start the season, Westbrook and LeBron James put some of the Lakers’ uncomfortable truths squarely in the spotlight.

First, following the team’s 123-109 loss to the Warriors in the opener, Westbrook said his hamstring injury was “absolutely” related to coming off the bench in the team’s preseason finale.

“I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do pregame,” Westbrook said. “Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. For me, obviously the way I play the game, it’s fast-paced, quick, stop-and-go. And I just happened to, when I subbed in, felt something.

“Didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to risk it in a preseason game. But definitely wasn’t something I was used to. Wasn’t warm enough.”

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Lakers waive Jay Huff, Shaquille Harrison and Nate Pierre-Louis

The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on guards Shaquille Harrison and Nate Pierre-Louis and center Jay Huff, it was announced today.
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Harrison, who was signed by the Lakers on Oct. 8, appeared in two preseason games and averaged 1.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 12.0 minutes per game.

Huff appeared in three games for the Lakers this preseason, recording averages of 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9.5 minutes per contest. He was signed by the purple and gold on July 27.

Pierre-Louis was signed by Los Angeles on Oct. 11. He saw action in one preseason contest, posting three points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in eight minutes on Oct. 14 at Sacramento.

Lakers hire Chris Jent, Jordan Ott, J.D. DuBois, Schuyler Rimmer and Zach Peterson as assistant coaches

The Los Angeles Lakers have named Chris Jent, Jordan Ott, J.D. DuBois, Schuyler Rimmer and Zach Peterson as assistant coaches on Head Coach Darvin Ham’s staff, joining Phil Handy, Dru Anthrop and Jon Pastorek, it was announced today.

Jent most recently served as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks from 2017-22. Jent spent time as an assistant with Sacramento (2013-15), Cleveland (2006-11), Orlando (2004-05) and Philadelphia (2003-04). He also had two stints as an assistant at Ohio State (2011-13, 2016-17) and was the head coach of the NBA G League’s Bakersfield Jam during the 2015-16 season. Jent was a member of the 1994 NBA Champion Houston Rockets and played for the New York Knicks during the 1996-97 season.

Ott most recently served as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-22 after spending three seasons as the video coordinator with the Atlanta Hawks from 2013-16. Prior to joining the Hawks, Ott was the video coordinator at Michigan State for five seasons from 2008-13. He also served as an assistant coach with the Dominican Republic national team in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City.

DuBois joins the Lakers from the Detroit Pistons, where he recently served as an assistant coach from 2018-22 after working with the Toronto Raptors in player development during the 2017-18 season. DuBois played collegiately at the University of Utah during the 2012-13 season after transferring from Loyola Marymount University where he played from 2008-12.

Rimmer joins the Lakers after spending the last four seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, serving as the team’s assistant video coordinator after working with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2017-18 season. Rimmer played collegiately at Florida from 2015-17 after transferring from Stanford where he played for two seasons from 2013-15.

Peterson most recently served as a player development coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, a role he occupied since joining the club prior to the 2019-20 season. Previously, he served as the head video coordinator for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2018-19 season. Prior to his time in Milwaukee, Peterson spent four years with the Atlanta Hawks, working in the video room and serving as head video coordinator in 2017-18.

Lakers sign Dwayne Bacon and Matt Ryan

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Dwayne Bacon and forward Matt Ryan.

The deals are likely non-guaranteed contracts, for training camp.

During the 2020-21 season, Bacon (6’6”, 221) appeared in all 72 games (50 starts) for the Orlando Magic, averaging 10.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 25.7 minutes per game. Across four seasons with Orlando (2020-21) and Charlotte (2017-20), Bacon has averaged 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.4 minutes.

Ryan (6’7”, 215) appeared in 30 regular season G League games (20 starts) last season for Grand Rapids and Maine, recording 19.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Ryan appeared in one game for the Boston Celtics last season, tallying three points and one steal in five minutes.

Lakers sign Dennis Schroder

Dennis Schroder is back on the Los Angeles Lakers. The team signed the free agent guard today.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Dennis Schröder back to the Lakers,” said Pelinka. “Not only do Dennis and Coach Ham share a player-coach history together, but they also reflect one another’s mentality of toughness with an extremely competitive edge. Dennis will add both depth and an on-ball defensive presence to our core at the guard position. He is also a proven scorer and playmaker. We are really excited for Dennis to get to camp and get back to work in L.A. after his highly successful run with his national team this offseason.”

Per the Los Angeles Times, “Schroder’s one-year contract with the team is for the veteran’s minimum, a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. Schroder, 28, turned down a lucrative contract extension with the Lakers during the 2020-21 season before leaving the organization the following summer in free agency.”

Schröder appeared in 64 games (29 starts) for the Celtics and Rockets last season, averaging 13.5 points (.344 3FG%), 3.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28.7 minutes. Schröder returns to Los Angeles after averaging 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 61 games (all starts) for the Lakers during the 2020-21 season.

A nine-year NBA veteran, Schröder has appeared in 621 career games (267 starts) for Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Boston and Houston, holding career averages of 14.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 26.5 minutes. In 52 career playoff games (12 starts) with the Hawks, Thunder and Lakers, he has averaged 13.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Jazz trade Patrick Beverley to Lakers for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson

The Los Angeles Lakers yesterday acquired guard Patrick Beverley in a trade with the Utah Jazz for guard Talen Horton-Tucker and forward Stanley Johnson, it was announced by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

“We are thrilled to add Patrick Beverley’s toughness and competitive spirit to our team,” Pelinka said. “We’re confident that Patrick’s ‘3-and-D’ style will fit in nicely with the other pieces of our roster and align perfectly with Coach Ham’s philosophy of hard work and smart play.”

Beverley (6’1”, 180) averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 58 games (54 starts) for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. In 526 career NBA games (438 starts) across 10 seasons with Minnesota (2021-22), LA Clippers (2017-21) and Houston (2012-17), he has averaged 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.4 minutes per game, shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range.

Across 65 career playoff games (54 starts) with the Timberwolves, Clippers and Rockets, Beverley has averaged 8.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 26.7 minutes per game, while shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Chicago native received All-Defensive First Team honors in 2017 and Second Team honors in 2014 and 2020.

Horton-Tucker (6-4, 233, Iowa State) is entering his fourth NBA season and in 2021-22 with the Lakers, averaged 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.0 steals in 60 games (19 starts). Originally drafted in the second round (46th overall pick) in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Chicago native has spent his entire professional career with the Lakers, appearing in 131 games (34 starts), owning career averages of 9.3 points, 2.8 boards, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steals in 22.1 minutes per contest.

Johnson (6-6, 242, Arizona) has seven years of NBA experience with the Pistons, Pelicans, Raptors, and Lakers, appearing in 419 career contests (104 starts), averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes per game. Originally drafted with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Pistons, the Fullerton, Calif., native saw action in 48 games (27 starts) in 2021-22, averaging 6.7 points on 46.6 percent from the field, 3.2 boards, and 1.7 assists.

Horton-Tucker will wear no. 0, and Johnson will wear no. 2 for the Jazz.