Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers may have trouble moving point guard Russell Westbrook if they look to trade him before the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported the following in his latest mailbag:

The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported this week that the Lakers have had internal discussions about possibly trading Russell Westbrook, but according to my sources around the NBA, the appetite for that player making $44 million this season and $47 million the next is low.

Maybe a team with a playoff-hungry owner could convince themselves that Westbrook’s competitiveness would push their team into one of the top 10 spots in each conference and maybe past the play-in round. But would those teams want to send back the kinds of players in a trade that would help the Lakers win, weakening their own position to do so? Again, the chances of that are low.

On Wednesday, Amick reported on the Lakers' interest in trading Westbrook, noting the team's splits with him on and off the court before adding this note.

All of which explains why sources say the Lakers showed some covert interest in discussing a possible Westbrook trade with rival executives earlier this season. A deal appears extremely unlikely before the Feb. 10 trade deadline, if only because his deal that was once seen by so many as untradeable is such a massive obstacle. But inside the Lakers, it seems, there is some recognition that this hasn’t gone as (James and Davis had) planned.

Westbrook, 33, is arguably having his worst statistical year since his 2008-09 rookie season.

Per Basketball-Reference, Westbrook's 15.9 player efficiency rating is his lowest mark since that year, when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder. His 109 defensive rating is also tied for the third-worst mark in his career.

FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR player evaluation system places Westbrook 227th in the league with a -0.4 WAR (wins above replacement). He has a negative 1.9 net rating, per NBA.com.

The nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion and 2016-17 NBA MVP is still very productive, as has been the case for his entire career. He's averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game.

Westbrook has also helped filled the offensive production void with Anthony Davis and LeBron James both missing time due to injuries this year.

The Lakers are on a good run of late, winning their last three games and four of their last five to move over .500 at 20-19. Malik Monk has notably starred during that stretch, but Westbrook has fared better from the field by shooting 46.2 percent while averaging 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.2 assists.

Ultimately, it appears Westbrook will be in town at least through this season. It's been a rough start, but recent games show that the Lakers may have finally gotten out of the malaise that has affected them nearly all season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are guaranteeing the contracts of Avery Bradley and Austin Reaves for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported the Lakers planned to keep the pair of guards on their roster.

Keeping both players was of little surprise, given that both have become fixtures in the rotation. Bradley is averaging 6.4 points and 2.5 rebounds while starting in 26 of his 31 appearances, while Reaves has averages of 5.6 points and 2.5 boards coming off the bench.

Reaves has been a reserve revelation, knocking down threes and playing solid defense on the perimeter. The Lakers are outscoring opponents by a jaw-dropping 12.6 points per 100 possessions when Reaves is on the floor. 

“I think it’s just [being] willing to do whatever on the court,” Reaves told reporters. “If it’s play defense, dive on the floor for loose balls, take charges, just all those little things that can either win or lose you a game are the things I’m kind of here to do. Those things, and making winning basketball plays.”

Bradley is in his second stint with the Lakers after being part of their 2019-20 championship roster. 

LeBron James is a contender for the Most Valuable Player award after an impressive stretch of games, but the Los Angeles Lakers star is more concerned with team success.

He discussed with reporters what being in the MVP conversation means to him on Thursday (8:40):

"If my name continues and my name starts to be in the MVP conversation, then I'm happy about it in the sense that it means the Lakers are winning basketball games," James said. "And that's what I want. That's all I care about."

An MVP seemed out of the question earlier in the season, considering how far the Lakers were down the standings. However, the team has looked better recently, winning three games straight to improve to 20-19 on the year.

The team entered Thursday with the sixth-best record in the Western Conference, which would be just ahead of the play-in bracket.

James has been playing at a high level, averaging 34.3 points and 9.8 rebounds over the past nine games. He is averaging 28.6 points per game on the season—his highest since 2009-10 during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers—while adding 7.4 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has been considered a favorite to win MVP through the first half of the NBA season, but LeBron currently averages more points, assists and rebounds per game this year and even has a higher effective field goal percentage (.593 to .545).

James has four career MVP awards, but he hasn't won since 2012-13 despite putting up consistently impressive stats each year. He finished second in voting behind Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2019-20 but was out of the conversation during an injury-plagued 2020-21.

A bounce-back season has reminded fans and voters that he is still among the best players in the NBA, although he will need the Lakers to win more games to take home a fifth MVP.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said he stands by his tweet criticizing Washington Wizards analyst Glenn Consor for his remarks on Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr.:

Porter hit a game-winning three-pointer with nine-tenths of a second left to lead the Rockets to a 114-111 road victory over the Wizards on Wednesday.

That prompted Consor to say that Porter Jr., "like his dad, pulled that trigger at the right time" as the NBC Sports Washington broadcast showed the replay.

Porter's father, Bryan Kevin Porter Sr., went to prison for four-and-a-half years for first-degree manslaughter in 1993, per Analis Bailey and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. He was shot and killed in 2004:

Porter Jr.’s father, Bryan Kevin Porter Sr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in a shooting death of a 14-year-old girl in 1993. He was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. Porter Sr. died in 2004 after being shot in a South Seattle bar. The Rocket’s star was 4 years old when his father was killed.

Consor's remarks prompted James to issue this tweet Thursday.

Consor explained his side of the story later in the morning, saying he believed Porter was the son of former Washington guard Kevin Porter.

Porter played in the NBA for 11 seasons (1972-1981 and 1982-1983), with six of them occurring with the Washington Wizards franchise. He led the NBA in assists on four occasions.

As of Thursday evening, neither the Wizards nor NBC Sports Washington had issued a statement regarding Consor's comments.

The basketball used in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final regular-season game is going up for auction. 

Per the official listing on TheMintCollective.com, the ball has a starting bid of $50,000 with an estimated value between $300,000 and $400,000. 

Bidding is currently under way at  Lelands.com and will run through Jan. 29. 

Per TMZ Sports, the actual sale price for the ball could go up to $500,000. 

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 121-117 on April 23, 1989, at the Forum.

Abdul-Jabbar scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in 26 minutes in his final regular-season game. He finished his career with 38,387 points, which is still the highest total in NBA history. 

Abdul-Jabbar signed the ball, and it comes with a certificate of authenticity. The ball is also inscribed with "Last Reg. Season Game Ball 4/89" and "38,387 PTS Lifetime."

The 19-time All-Star did play 15 more games in the postseason, including eight home contests. The Lakers were swept in the NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons. He had 24 points and 13 rebounds in Game 3 of that series.

Abdul-Jabbar was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. He was also inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2006. 

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday they have signed Stanley Johnson to a 10-day contract.

It's the second 10-day contract with the Lakers for Johnson, who averaged 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in five games (three starts). He scored 10 points in 23 minutes in a 139-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, finishing plus-25.

In those five games, the Lakers were 5.0 points better per 100 possessions when Johnson was on the court, per Basketball Reference.

LeBron James praised the 25-year-old, saying he brought "toughness at the wing position."

"I like the physicality that he has," head coach Frank Vogel said. "He's not just a quicker guy, but he's strong as hell too."

That physical play could help the Lakers climb the standings. The squad has won the last three games to improve to 20-19.

Johnson has bounced around the league since being drafted No. 8 overall in 2015 by the Detroit Pistons. He averaged 7.1 points per game across three-and-a-half seasons in Detroit before a 2019 trade to the New Orleans Pelicans.

After spending the last two years with the Toronto Raptors, Johnson struggled to find a home in 2021-22. The forward joined the Chicago Bulls earlier in the season but never saw action.

He will get another shot to prove himself in L.A.   

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly looking into the possibility of parting ways with center DeAndre Jordan and guard/forward Kent Bazemore.

Appearing Wednesday on ESPN's NBA Today, ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported that potential trades of Jordan and Bazemore could be made to create roster spots.

Windhorst noted that the Lakers already created a roster spot by trading point guard Rajon Rondo to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they want more in order to have the flexibility to explore the buyout market when such moves are made.

Los Angeles signed both Jordan and Bazemore during the offseason as part of a roster reconstruction around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The 33-year-old Jordan is a one-time All-Star, two-time rebounding champion, two-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection and three-time All-NBA selection dating back to his time with the Los Angeles Clippers.

He hasn't had a huge role with the Lakers this season, though, appearing in 27 games and averaging 4.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in a career-low 13.2 minutes per contest.

Jordan has been used especially sparingly of late, having not appeared in a game for the Lakers since Dec. 23.

Bazemore is a 32-year-old journeyman known primarily for his three-point shooting ability and perimeter defense. Due to those assets, he was a key role player for the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors in the past.

This season, Bazemore is averaging 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game over 22 contests.

Like Jordan, Bazemore's playing time has waned recently, as he has not appeared in eight of the Lakers' past nine games.

James has been starting at center lately with Davis on the shelf because of a knee injury, and veteran Dwight Howard has been the top center option off the bench, leaving Jordan out of the rotation.

In terms of wings and guards, the Lakers have been leaning on Malik Monk, Avery Bradley, Trevor Ariza, Talen Horton-Tucker, Carmelo Anthony and Austin Reaves, which has left Bazemore with few opportunities.

Finding buyers for Jordan and Bazemore would allow Los Angeles to bring in some impact players at or around the Feb. 10 trade deadline either via trade or the buyout market.

It has largely been a disappointing season for the Lakers, as they are just 20-19, but they are in the midst of a three-game winning streak and in sixth place in the Western Conference, meaning they could be positioned to go on a run with some savvy additions.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to Twitter to express his support for teammate Dwight Howard, agreeing with a tweet that said the center deserved to be named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Howard admitted to feeling like he was snubbed from the list when it was announced.

"I think that what I have done in my career, there's no way it cannot be recognized," Howard told GQ in November (h/t Hoops Hype). "It was upsetting, at first. But, I didn't take it too seriously. I felt before that I wasn't gonna be on it because it felt like [the NBA] was trying to phase me out."

While he may not be the force that he once was, Howard was arguably the most dominant big man during his heyday. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year made the All-Star team eight times, was a First-Team All NBA in five consecutive seasons and led the league in blocks twice and rebounding five times.

Howard is coming off a 14-point, 14-rebound performance in the Lakers' win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Los Angeles will be back in action on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.

Stanley Johnson is reportedly staying with the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the Purple and Gold will "likely" sign the 25-year-old to a 10-day contract Thursday. Johnson appeared in Sunday's win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and just finished a 10-day hardship exemption contract with the team.

The University of Arizona product has appeared in five games for the Lakers this season and is averaging 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists a night while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from deep.

While his career three-point shooting of 29.7 percent leaves something to be desired, Johnson's defense and ability to guard multiple positions has helped the team go 3-2 when he is on the floor.

There was a time when Johnson was seen as a potential building block for the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit selected him with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft, but he never lived up to the expectations that come with being a top-10 choice. In fact, he has never averaged better than 8.7 points per game in his career.

Johnson also played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors before joining the Lakers this season.

He likely wasn't in the team's plans to start the campaign, but injuries, COVID-related absences and inconsistent play has forced L.A. to look elsewhere. The Lakers are just 20-19 and sitting in the No. 7 position of the Western Conference standings.

A second straight trip to the play-in tournament could be in the cards if they don't turn things around, and Johnson will look to help them do just that.