Latest news and updates about the Lakers
Last summer Tommy Lloyd had never made a Final Four, Chip Hale was coming off a trip to the College World Series, Brent Brennan was an embattled football coach, Caitlin Lowe’s team had fallen in the regional after a very successful debut season in the Big 12 and Becky Burke was trying to assemble a […]
The Lakers’ transition from a barebones front office to one as robust as the Dodgers is not something that can happen overnight. On top of the sheer volume of hires, ensuring the right people are hired is just as important. It makes sense, then, to involve two of the main figures of that Dodgers front […]
While the Lakers will have plenty of player movement with their roster this summer, there will also likely be a lot of front office movement as well. The arrival of Mark Walter as owner was always going to lead to filling out the front office. President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka acknowledged that the team would […]
When Jake LaRavia had it going for the Lakers, he looked like a genius signing for the franchise. He was knocking down so many threes against the Wolves to start the season that Anthony Edwards was asking who he was. Then the lights got brighter, and LaRavia began to dim. His shooting struggles from the […]
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals made it abundantly clear that we are clearly in the Victor Wembanyama era in the NBA. Few players have been as impressive at such a young age as he has been. To qualify it as just impressive, though, is underselling what he’s doing. Dominating a playoff game against […]
The Houston Rockets have some work to do, from a roster standpoint. This couldn’t have been made more obvious following Houston’s disappointing first-round postseason series against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing without their best player in Luka Doncic, while their second-best player in Austin Reaves was limited to just two games. The Rockets […]
After a rookie season where Bronny James primarily rode the bench, his sophomore campaign was much more positive. He didn’t have any huge scoring nights, but he continued to develop as an on-ball initiator and a solid defender. Late into the regular season, when the Lakers’ backcourt was depleted with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves […]
After both the Nuggets and the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, Lakers fans of the more petty variety could rejoice that their most recent and their most longstanding playoff rivals were no longer in contention to win the championship. Add in the Clippers and the Warriors not even escaping the […]
The moments Adou Thiero played for the Lakers were exciting and promising. As a young player with an incredible athletic burst, he had some of the best dunks of the year for the Lakers. The problem was that playing time was rare. Part of the reason for that was health-related. Thiero wasn’t able to play […]
What's been troubling the Best in the West?
The NBA, like most businesses, is people-based. Yes, having talented players is important, but plenty can hoop. What differentiates teams is their ability to maximize their rosters and bring out the best in their group. Lakers head coach JJ Redick has shown an ability to do that. He’s had back-to-back 50-win seasons, and that’s because […]
For years, the joke amongst Lakers fans has been that good shooters come to LA and immediately forget how to make threes. The list of 3-point marksmen who have donned the purple and gold and became Rajon Rondo-esque shooters is a lengthy one. Fortunately for this year’s Lakers, Luke Kennard bucked that trend. Technically, his […]
The ending of the Lakers season was certainly bittersweet. While they were able to get a playoff victory and go out fighting against the Thunder, it all came under a sense of what could have been after late-season injuries to Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić. While the former returned, the latter didn’t, meaning his incredible […]
LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Will he be leaving LA? After eight seasons with the Lakers, and 23 overall in the NBA, LeBron's whereabouts this offseason are legitimately up in the air. Insider Scoop B Robinson lists the three locales that are the teams to watch for LeBron, if he is to play a 24th NBA season. And a lot of it might have to do with where Giannis Antetokounmpo goes. Where is LeBron James heading next? @ScoopB listed the Lakers, Cavs, and Knick...
There are only two NBA players with explicit, contractual no-trade clauses: LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers). But what if players across the league DID have a clause? What teams would be at the top of their "no-trade" list? The Athletic conducted an anonymous poll of NBA players, and came up with a list of teams that they simply would NOT want to be traded to. NBA players voted on the number one team on their "no-trade" list: • Mem...
As anticipated, the Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to re-sign guard James Harden once free agency starts, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The Cavs traded Darius Garland at the trade deadline to acquire Harden, a major shake-up that shifted the outlook of the team for the near future. That includes more than the current season. Windhorst […]
Despite being one of the league’s very best at it this season, shooting threes still isn’t really Rui Hachimura’s “thing.” In fact, he downright doesn’t like it. When Rui joined the Lakers, he was known as an efficient mid-range scorer. However, in a league where shots were being pushed to the rim or the 3-point […]
The LeBron James era of the Los Angeles Lakers has featured lots of turnover. Lots and lots of turnover. For years, the constant was LeBron James and Anthony Davis. One player who worked himself into that mix and, eventually, became the new constant was Austin Reaves. No player on the roster has more experience alongside […]
When the Lakers traded for Rui Hachimura in 2023, they were acquiring a disgruntled wing, upset that the Wizards were not willing to commit to him long-term. The player who helped them to the second round of the 2026 playoffs years later had changed drastically, embracing his role on a team and franchise that has […]
After years in the LeBron James era under Jeanie Buss’s ownership, the Lakers quickly leapt into a new era last year. Months after acquiring Luka Dončić via trade, the Buss family sold their majority stake in the franchise to Mark Walter. In what seemed like the snap of a finger, the franchise shifted into a […]
With the Lakers having a new majority owner in Mark Walter, change has been happening quickly in Los Angeles. We’ve seen this in personnel moves, such as the franchise hiring Lon Rosen as President of Business Operations. There will also be other front-office additions, including the hiring of two assistant general managers. Beyond these hirings, […]
It’s clear that for right now, the Western Conference belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the San Antonio Spurs are next up, trying to take them down. That leaves the Lakers just out of the conversation and trying to improve enough to be a threat to these two young teams. One clear weakness the […]
The second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs has been … interesting. On one hand, there’s been two yawner series, with the Thunder comfortably (albeit not dominantly) sweeping the short-handed Lakers, while the Knicks swept a tired, limping 76ers team in the East. On the other, you have two thrilling (but not “beautiful”) series heading […]
After suffering a 4-0 series sweep to the reigning NBA champion OKC Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, the LA Lakers will approach a long offseason filled with questions. The biggest one will be surrounding the future of LeBron James. For the first time since 2018, James is set to hit unrestricted free agency. He […] The post Could a reunion with LeBron James be in the cards for the Miami Heat this summer? appeared first on Hot Hot Hoops - Miami HEAT NBA Blog .
While the Lakers could justify getting swept by the Thunder as them losing because they didn’t have Luka Dončić available, that would be a foolish take. Sure, Luka would’ve helped, and perhaps the Lakers would have won a game or two with him, but the gap is still considerable between them and OKC. When push […]