Purple Reign | Los Angeles Lakers

[Jumpman14]

Russell ready to restore Lakers glory alongside Nance, Brown
By Drew Garrison @DrewGarrisonSBN on Jun 28, 2015, 8:46pm





D'Angelo Russell was the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, and he chose the No. 1 jersey with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The point guard from Ohio State clearly isn't trying to hide from those enormous expectations resting on his 19-year-old shoulders.

When he accepted that gold uniform from general manager Mitch Kupchak on Monday, Russell welcomed the blinding Hollywood spotlight trained on him as he attempts to restore the Lakers to championship contention.

"I consider myself the top basketball player in the draft," Russell said when asked if his athleticism matched the best players in his draft class. "If that's me being the most athletic guy or non-athletic, I'm going to get the job done."

With some help from his fellow draftees, the rest of the Lakers' young core and Kobe Bryant, Russell has a chance.

Three days after Russell became the Lakers' highest draft choice in 33 years, he was formally introduced at their training complex along with fellow picks Larry Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown. All three rookies are hoping they'll be big parts of a reboot for a proud franchise coming off its worst season.

Russell and Nance have already spoken to Bryant, the five-time NBA champion who will return in the fall for at least one more season. Russell already appeared to be reflecting his new mentor's ethos when he emphasized his mental toughness and determination - two attributes that Bryant has redefined in Los Angeles.

"I've always been a guy that was overlooked, so I respect my work ethic," Russell said. "(The Lakers) are not used to getting a top-five pick, so the expectations are high. I'm happy. My mentality is, learn from the best and just keep working and grinding."

Russell said he was "extremely shocked" to be chosen at No. 2 by the Lakers, although he later clarified that the draft-night process was more shocking to him than his destination. Russell repeatedly referred to himself in underdog terms, citing his rise from his native Louisville to a private prep school in Florida to a single season in Columbus.

"It forced me to mature at a young age," Russell said. "I moved out there at the age of 15. I was in a boarding situation, so I had to do my own laundry, all these other things that guys had to do when they get to college."

Russell realizes the Lakers face a long road back from their 21-61 season, but he doesn't have to do it alone.

Shortly before the three new Lakers were introduced, Julius Randle went through a spirited workout at the other end of their practice court, culminating in an alley-oop dunk. The power forward from Kentucky was the seventh overall choice in last summer's draft, but was lost for the year after breaking his leg in the season opener.

The Lakers also have Jordan Clarkson, the second-round pick from Missouri who made the NBA's all-rookie first team last season as a point guard.

Russell's arrival should allow Clarkson to play a more natural role as a shooting guard, but neither youngster seems particularly interested in labels and positions. Russell watched Clarkson play in college, and he sees no reason they can't play together.

"I really want to be known for working hard, and then let the Showtime come along," Russell said. "These guys aren't used to losing. This is one of the most winningest franchises ever. Showtime usually comes with winning, so when we can win games, that's when it will start being fun. I feel like we'll grow together. The chemistry we build on and off the floor will just help us grow together."

[Jumpman14]

Lou Williams signs 3-year, $21 million contract with the Lakers
By Drew Garrison @DrewGarrisonSBN on Jul 21, 2015, 3:21pm





The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Lou Williams to a three-year, $21 million contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Williams was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year last season and was a scoring threat off the bench for the Toronto Raptors.

Williams averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game with the Raptors, becoming a huge part of their push to the Eastern Conference playoffs. He'll join a guard rotation featuring No. 2 pick D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Nick Young and Kobe Bryant. The latter two, based on how the Lakers' roster has come together thus far, look like they'll spend significant time at small forward.

Financially this is a tight fit for the Lakers' salary structure. Roy Hibbert will account for approximately $17 million due to the trade kicker in his contract, and LA was said to be trying to shed additional salary during negotiations with the Indiana Pacers.

Lou is 28 and should provide some additional veteran guidance to the Lakers' young backcourt duo. Williams was great at drawing fouls last season, averaging 4.9 free-throw attempts while shooting 86.1 percent from the line, and was a deadly corner-three shooter.

The Lakers lacked a backup point guard as both Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price are unrestricted free agents. Lou has spent his career playing off the bench in a sixth-man role, and should continue filling out that role for Los Angeles.

[Trent Booty]

Good to see you back!

[Jumpman14]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trent Booty

Good to see you back!

Appreciate it man. Hope I don't run into any more problems.

[Jumpman14]

Lakers officially acquire Roy Hibbert for a second round pick
By Drew Garrison @DrewGarrisonSBN on Jul 21, 2015, 4:56pm





The Los Angeles Lakers have finalized their trade to acquire center Roy Hibbert from the Indiana Pacers, according to the Pacers' twitter feed. In exchange for Hibbert, Indiana will receive a future second round pick as compensation. Hibbert, a 2012 and 2014 All-Star, will presumably start at center for the Lakers, thus filling the team's largest remaining need of the offseason.

After some worry that the DeAndre Jordan hostage situation free agency recruitment could lead to some complications in the Hibbert trade, the deal that was reported July 4th will now seemingly go off without a hitch. Hibbert all but confirmed as much this morning, changing his Twitter profile background to the Lakers' logo.

The Lakers released a statement of their own regarding the trade, and general manager Mitch Kupchak said "We're happy to add a veteran big man to the roster... Roy is a proven All-Star center that will help improve our front line. In addition he is a consummate professional and we look forward to having him on the team."

Acquiring Hibbert could be a big win for the Lakers, and now that the trade is done, Lakers fans can officially start to get excited about the move, and the big man's fit next to returning sophomore Julius Randle.

[Jumpman14]

Lakers sign Brandon Bass
By Drew Garrison @DrewGarrisonSBN on Jul 22, 2015, 4:21pm





The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent power forward Brandon Bass, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Details of the contract were not immediately available. Bass is a 10-year veteran who has spent the last four years with the Celtics after stints with the Hornets, Mavericks and Magic.

Bass is a solid rotation player that should help round out the Lakers' frontcourt rotation. It's unclear what the plan is at power forward, however, as Julius Randle has been the supposed starting four as the Lakers move forward. Bass could be a productive veteran off the bench that helps with the development of Julius. Brandon averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season with the Celtics, He started in 43 of the 82 games he appeared in through the year.

The Lakers have been tweaking the roster since moving on from DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge, acquiring Roy Hibbert and Lou Williams along with Bass all in the last 24 hours.

[Jumpman14]

Lakers officially sign Jonathan Holmes to a 'multi-year' contract
By Drew Garrison @DrewGarrisonSBN on Aug 13, 2015, 11:29am





TThe Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Jonathan Holmes to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

In five games for the Celtics� entry in the 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Holmes averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steals in 21.8 minutes per game, while shooting 55.6% from the field. The 6�9�� Holmes also appeared in three games for Boston in the 2015 Utah Jazz Summer League, and in his eight games (seven starts) between the two competitions, shot a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line, and 13-28 (46.4%) from beyond-the-arc.

Undrafted after spending four seasons at the University of Texas (2011-15), Holmes averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game over 127 contests with the Longhorns. The San Antonio native was named All-Big 12 Second Team and team MVP as a junior after averaging 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 50.5% shooting, and was an All-Big 12 Honorable mention as a senior with averages of 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game, while hitting 1.3 three-pointers per contest.

[Jumpman14]

Lakers sign undrafted rookie Michael Frazier II
By Drew Garrison @DrewGarrisonSBN on Aug 17, 2015, 5:43pm





The Los Angeles Lakers have signed undrafted rookie guard Michael Frazier II to a partially guaranteed deal, according to Adam Silverstein of OnlyGators.com. Frazier averaged 12.1 points, 1.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds for Florida as a junior during the 2014-15 NCAA season.

Eric Pincus of the LA Times reported that Frazier's contract includes $50,000 guaranteed, and that the guard will likely join the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers' D-League affiliate, should he fail to make the parent team in training camp.

Frazier will look to bring shooting to a Lakers team that was notoriously three averse last year (25th in three point attempts in the 2014-15 NBA regular season). The 6'4 shooting guard shot a scintillating 43.2% from behind the arc during his time at Florida. Frazier played for the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas Summer League, where he missed all 11 of his three point attempts and failed to display the shooting prowess he demonstrated in college. If his shot falls a little more frequently over training camp/ the preseason for the Lakers, he potentially could be a nice find for a Lakers team that has done fairly well at finding talent in the second round (Jordan Clarkson) and the D-League (Jabari Brown) in recent seasons.

More likely, Frazier will spend the majority of his time with the D-Fenders this season, but given the Lakers rate of attrition in the last couple of years, it is not unthinkable that Frazier could end up playing a role for the team at some point this season.