Los Angeles Lakers Blog – Page 9 – NBA Blog

Lakers sign Thomas Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Thomas Bryant.

His deal is reportedly a one-year contract for the league minimum.

Bryant appeared in 27 games (nine starts) for the Wizards last season, averaging 7.4 points (.520 FG%) and 4.0 rebounds in 16.3 minutes. Bryant returns to Los Angeles after appearing in 15 games as a rookie for the Lakers during the 2017-18 season. Across five seasons with Los Angeles and Washington, Bryant has appeared in 170 games (108 starts) with career averages of 10.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.1 minutes, while shooting 59.0 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from three-point range.

Per ESPN.com, “Bryant was originally drafted by the Lakers in the second round of the 2017 draft, but he was waived after a rookie season that saw him play in only 52 games. He gives this Lakers team more frontcourt depth and a starting-caliber center to pair alongside Anthony Davis.”

Lakers sign Lonnie Walker IV

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Lonnie Walker IV, it was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Walker’s deal with the Lakers is reportedly a one-year, $6.5 million contract.

Walker IV appeared in 70 games (six starts) for San Antonio last season, averaging a career-high 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and a career-best 2.2 assists in 23.0 minutes per game. In four seasons with the Spurs, Walker IV appeared in 208 games (56 starts) with career averages of 9.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 20.4 minutes, while shooting 34.3 percent from three-point range.

Lakers sign Troy Brown Jr., Damian Jones and Juan Toscano-Anderson

The Los Angeles Lakers yesterday signed Troy Brown Jr., Damian Jones and Juan Toscano-Anderson.

Brown Jr. appeared in 66 games (seven starts) for Chicago last season, averaging 4.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 16.0 minutes per game, while shooting a career-best 35.3 percent from three-point range. In four seasons with Chicago and Washington, Brown Jr. appeared in 221 games (39 starts) with career averages of 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Jones played 56 games (15 starts) for Sacramento last season, where he averaged 8.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.2 minutes, shooting 65.8 percent from the field. Jones returns to Los Angeles after averaging 5.4 points (.941 FG%) and 3.3 rebounds in eight games for the Lakers during the 2020-21 season. In 199 career games (74 starts) for Golden State, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Sacramento, the two-time NBA champion has averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes, while shooting 66.5 percent from the field.

Toscano-Anderson appeared in 73 games (six starts) for Golden State last season, averaging 4.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 13.6 minutes. Across three seasons with the Warriors, Toscano-Anderson appeared in 139 games (28 starts) with career averages of 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He appeared in 14 playoff games for the Warriors last season, helping the team to the 2022 NBA Championship.

Lakers sign Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider to two-way contracts

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider to two-way contracts.

Pippen Jr. appeared in 36 games (all starts) for Vanderbilt last season, averaging 20.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals in 33.1 minutes. The 2021-22 All-SEC First Team selection led the conference in scoring and was the first SEC player to average 20 points in back-to-back seasons since 1996. Pippen Jr. also led the NCAA in made free throws last season with 224 such shots, a Vanderbilt single-season record. In three seasons as a Commodore, Pippen Jr. averaged 17.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 90 career games.

Swider appeared in 33 games (all starts) for Syracuse last season, averaging 13.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.5 minutes. He shot over 40 percent from three-point range in each of the last two seasons, hitting at a 41.1 percent mark in 2021-22 (81-197 3FG) and a 40.2 percent mark in 2020-21 (35-87 3FG). Across four years at Syracuse and Villanova, Swider averaged 7.8 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range.

Lakers exercise team options on Wenyen Gabriel and Stanley Johnson

The Los Angeles Lakers have exercised their team options for the 2022-23 season on Wenyen Gabriel and Stanley Johnson, it was announced today by Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Gabriel appeared in 19 games (five starts) for Los Angeles last season, averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 16.4 minutes while shooting 50.5 percent from the field. Gabriel has played 77 career games, averaging 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.8 minutes.

Johnson played 48 games (27 starts) for the Lakers last season and averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 22.8 minutes per game. Across 419 career games, Johnson has averaged 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes

Magic trade 35th pick in 2022 NBA Draft to Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired the 35th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft from the Orlando Magic in exchange for a future second round pick and cash considerations.

Orlando will receive the better of either the Lakers or Washington’s second round pick (which is owed to Los Angeles) in 2028.

The 2022 NBA Draft will take place tonight at 5 p.m. PT from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

LeBron James wants an NBA team in Las Vegas

A growing number of people, including many fans as well as those in the business of basketball, would be happy to see a Las Vegas-based NBA team in the future. Well, add LeBron James to that list. Via ESPN.com:

LeBron James, whose net worth was recently valuated north of $1 billion by Forbes, has made it known for years that he plans to own an NBA team when he is finished playing.

Now that vision has a location.

“I want a team in Vegas,” James said in a clip from the latest episode of his talk show, “The Shop,” that will debut Friday. “I want the team in Vegas.”

James, who is already a part-owner of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, said last season that his “goal is to own an NBA franchise,” adding, “and it will be sooner than later.”

The guess continues to be that if the NBA does add expansion teams again someday, Vegas and Seattle are the favorites to land squads.

Now official: Lakers hire Darvin Ham as new head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Darvin Ham to a multi-year contract as head coach, it was announced today by Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

“When someone begins his NBA coaching career at the G League level and goes all the way through playing an integral role on the front bench of an NBA Championship team, it really speaks to a certain strength of character. Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do,” said Pelinka. “When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach.”

Ham, 48, will be the 28th head coach in franchise history and the 24th of the Los Angeles era.

Ham enjoyed an eight-year NBA playing career (1996-98, 1999-2005), suiting up with Detroit, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Washington, Indiana and Denver. He was a member of the 2004 championship team with the Pistons.

Per the Orange County Register, “by now the broad strokes of Ham’s career are familiar to most Lakers fans: Ham was a journeyman player who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, followed by a long tenure as an assistant with the Lakers, Atlanta and Milwaukee. He’s coming from the Bucks, with whom he won a championship in 2021 under Mike Budenholzer. Ham’s previous experience with the Lakers – a two-year stint under Mike Brown – mattered in the hiring process. On Friday morning as they officially acknowledged the hire, the Lakers re-shared a 10-year-old Twitter post of Ham working out with Kobe Bryant.”

Per ESPN.com, “Ham will be tasked with turning around a Lakers team that went 33-49 this season and missed the playoffs, leading to Frank Vogel’s firing… The Lakers also interviewed Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts and former Warriors coach and current ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson, sources told ESPN.”

After his successful playing career, Ham began coaching in 2008 as an assistant coach with the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA Developmental League before taking over as general manager and head coach of the team in 2010. In 2011, Ham joined the Lakers as an assistant coach, spending two seasons with Los Angeles. He would then spend five seasons as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks (2013-18) and joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach in 2018, helping the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship.

A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Ham graduated from Texas Tech and played internationally in Spain, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Los Angeles Lakers 2022-23 preseason game schedule

The Los Angeles Lakers 2022-23 preseason schedule was announced today.

The Lakers will open preseason on Monday, October 3 in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena versus the Sacramento Kings. Los Angeles will then head to Las Vegas for back-to-back games against the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers will play their final three preseason games on a California swing against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, at home versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, and on the road at Golden 1 Center versus the Sacramento Kings.

2022-23 LAKERS PRESEASON SCHEDULE
All Times Local

October 3: vs. Sacramento, in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena, 7:30 p.m.

October 5: vs. Phoenix, in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, 7:00 p.m.

October 6: vs. Minnesota, in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, 7:00 p.m.

October 9: at Golden State, in San Francisco at Chase Center, TBA

October 12: vs. Minnesota, in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena, 7:00 p.m.

October 14: at Sacramento, Sacramento at Golden 1 Center, 7:00 p.m.

Chauncey Billups praises Lakers’ choice of Darvin Ham as new coach

Here’s the Los Angeles Times, via the Detroit News website, with reaction to the news that the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach is going to be Darvin Ham:

The news of Ham’s hiring — which still hasn’t been announced by the Lakers — has been met with endorsements from those who crossed paths with Ham during his career: former coaches, teammates and colleagues lauding the Lakers for handing things over to a first-time coach.

“He’s going to be honest as a coach of the Lakers, which is what I think you need in the NBA today — somebody that’s going to be honest but know how to be honest without actually just tearing you down,” former teammate and Pistons great Chauncey Billups, now the coach in Portland said Saturday. “What can you say? He’s won as a player. He’s won as a coach. I mean, this dude is more than qualified for the task at hand. I’m so happy and proud of him. I spoke to him last night and he was so excited.”

Billups thinks the Lakers got it right.

“He’s ready for this job. He’s the right guy for this Lakers job,” Billups said.