Tag: Troy Daniels

Former Lakers guard Troy Daniels agrees to join Denver Nuggets

Recently cast-off Los Angeles Lakers guard Troy Daniels has agreed to join the Denver Nuggets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It didn’t take very long for Troy Daniels to find a new job with a contending team after being let go by the Los Angeles Lakers on the first day of March. After a brief time sitting on the shelf, Daniels has agreed to sign with the Denver Nuggets who are currently sitting in the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Daniels had a couple of games this season where he scored in double-figures for the Lakers but he was mostly out of the rotation. However, despite shooting below his career averages, Daniels is still a career 40% 3-point shooter and has experience taking and making high-pressure shots in the postseason.

As for the Lakers, they still have an open roster spot after bringing veterans Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith each in for workouts earlier this week. They have yet to make a decision on the matter but they have plenty of time as it doesn’t look like the Lakers are slowing down anytime soon.

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Lakers are waiving Troy Daniels, opening up additional roster spot

The Los Angeles Lakers created some extra roster flexibility by waiving the sharpshooting guard on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Lakers have tipped their hand, ever so slightly, that they will be looking for another player to sign to their team ahead of a playoff run later this spring. After much speculation about who would get cut, the axe came down on Troy Daniels’ short Lakers tenure.

Vogel confirmed the roster move to reporters during his pre-game media availability in New Orleans, after it was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The move was done on Sunday first and foremost to create flexibility, but they also did right by Daniels in the circumstance. By releasing him on Sunday instead of Monday, Daniels still has a chance to sign with a playoff team.

A career 39.7% 3-point shooter, Daniels shot just 35.7% from the 3-point line in his limited minutes with the Lakers. He had a season-high 17 points in the Lakers Jan. 15 home loss to the Orlando Magic.

It’s on the record that the Lakers are expected to meet with free-agent guard Dion Waiters tomorrow in Los Angeles. There are other guards such as Tyler Johnson, J.R. Smith, and Allen Crabbe, available on the market. Crabbe, an L.A.-native, was bought out by the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this weekend.

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Lakers plan to meet with free agent Dion Waiters on March 2

The Los Angeles Lakers could still make a move to their roster, according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.

In the final minutes of last night’s exciting victory for the Los Angeles Lakers against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans, news broke indicating the Lakers aren’t done tinkering with their roster as they prepare for the franchises first playoff run since 2013 and their first real shot at a championship since their last title in 2010.

Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, who also does sideline work for TNT, reported during last night’s game that the Lakers plan to meet with free agent guard Dion Waiters on March 2. Waiters was traded from the Miami Heat to the Memphis Grizzlies and then bought out by the Grizzlies. The connections to the Lakers for Waiters are strong and deep. Lakers President Rob Pelinka used to represent Waiters and now Waiters is represented by LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.

After a career season in 2016-17 with the Miami Heat, where he averaged 16 points and four assists per game, Waiters’ career has been littered with injuries. Waiters was also suspended three times by the Heat this season for several violations of team rules. However, Waiters would give the Lakers another sturdy defender and some additional shot-creation that they currently lack.

A reason why the Lakers are waiting until March 2? First of all, they have a three-game road trip that starts on Thursday. Then they will be back in L.A. to start a stretch of six games in Los Angeles, with one “road” game against the Clippers, over the next two weeks. That would theoretically give the Lakers plenty of time to acclimate Waiters into their system with some actual practice time at their facility.

Another reason why the Lakers would wait until March 2 is so that any players that they waive, whether it be Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook or someone else, would not be eligible to play in the postseason for another team. However, it remains to be seen whether the Lakers will make the necessary move of waiving someone to add Waiters to the squad.

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Anthony Davis limps to locker room after knee from Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Los Angeles Lakers had an injury scare early on in their game on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court on Friday night but they lost one of their most important pieces early on in their game against the Memphis Grizzlies, as star forward Anthony Davis was forced to go to the locker room after catching a knee to the back of his left leg.

The Lakers began their final stretch of the season tonight against the Grizzlies as L.A. is looking to keep their vice-like grip on the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. However, the Davis injury has made things considerably more complicated for a Lakers team that has found strength through their two major stars.

There is no official word yet on whether Davis will return but given the contact he received and the road ahead for L.A., it would be tough to expect Davis returns tonight.

The Lakers have a strong lead for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and although tonight could be a playoff preview against Memphis, there is absolutely no need to stretch Anthony Davis on a mostly meaningless February night.

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Report: Markieff Morris ‘plans’ to sign deal with Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers got another forward and they plan to give Kyle Kuzma more minutes at the small forward spot, per Shams Charania.

The Los Angeles Lakers look even closer to making a move that will change their bench, as recently waived forward Markieff Morris now has his ‘plans’ set on signing with the Lakers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. As part of the report, Charania reported on the vision the Lakers have for Morris to play more at power forward and have Kyle Kuzma play more minutes at small forward.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the move plays out and what the other move is that the Lakers make to accommodate Morris. The Lakers currently have a full roster of 15 players and have to cut someone in order to add Morris. The Lakers have several end of the bench players who have hardly played, injured center DeMarcus Cousins and 13-year veteran Rajon Rondo to choose from. But the most likely answer appears to be Troy Daniels or Quinn Cook.

The Lakers have yet to officially announce the move. They play in less than four hours at Staples Center against the Memphis Grizzlies.

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Troy Daniels believes Lakers chemistry is ‘one of a kind’

Los Angeles Lakers guard Troy Daniels says that the team’s chemistry is unlike anything he’s ever experienced in the NBA before.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the court tonight and as they build towards the postseason, they will continue to rely on team chemistry that has helped them get to the top record in the Western Conference. Earlier this week, I made the case that the Lakers chemistry is so special they shouldn’t mess with it, but that topic is also being discussed in other Lakers circles.

Reserve guard Troy Daniels, who has played sparingly but the career 40% 3-point shooter is likely to have a role later in the season, discussed how the Lakers chemistry is “one of a kind,” in an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Heavy.com. According to Daniels, even when the big personalities butt heads, it gets resolved quickly.

Maybe sometimes Kuz and Ron [Rondo] will butt heads, or maybe DG [Danny Green] and Ron will butt heads, or maybe AD [Anthony Davis] and somebody will butt heads, but at the end of the day, it all comes back to us being brothers and then we’ll figure it out. Which is weird because usually with a team it would drag on. I’ve been on plenty of teams and it’ll drag on for games and you’ll be like man c’mon man let’s get it together…but [here] you will literally snap out of it in the next five or six minutes…

And ‘Bron I’ve seen him plenty of times – he’ll get mad, and he’ll apologize right to you like right after that and say my apologies, I shouldn’t have done that, I apologize…You don’t get that all the time. I don’t think he did that early in his career, so it’s like a weird aura, like the chemistry and the bond we have with the team, I’m telling you it’s like one of a kind.

Daniels isn’t the only Laker who believes their chemistry is unique in the NBA, with Danny Green saying a similar thing much earlier in the season.

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Opinion: Lakers shouldn’t get caught up in arms race with Clippers at risk of team chemistry

Team chemistry has been a point of pride for the Los Angeles Lakers all season long and messing with that is not worth the potential gain.

It’s hard to blame any Lakers fans, or even members of the Los Angeles Lakers team themselves if they’ve gotten a little jealous over the past couple of weeks as they’ve seen the neighboring Los Angeles Clippers load up with even more talent. After trading for Marcus Morris and acquiring Reggie Jackson, the depth for the Clippers has gotten even better. But I have a warning the Lakers should heed over the final few days of the buyout season: don’t mess with this team’s special chemistry for a marginal upgrade.

With all due respect to J.R. Smith, the Swish God, Dion Waiters, or anyone who could get bought out like Moe Harkless, getting rid of one of the players currently on the Lakers roster in order to sign him, would be a gross miscalculation of what those players bring to the table versus what they would lose if they got rid of someone from their current team who has been through it all.

Earlier this season, Danny Green told LeBron Wire that he believed their trip to China, perhaps because of the bizarre circumstances, brought the group together in a way he has never experienced before in his 10-year NBA career. Not even with the 2014 Spurs, who played some of the most beautiful basketball the game has ever seen.

“I’ve been a part of some really good teams where the chemistry on the court was unbelievable but I’ve never been a part of a team where the chemistry has been … I think the China trip really helped us. It’s been unbelievable off the court,” Green told LeBron Wire. “We talk to each other, we talk to each other in our group chat, we hang out off the court, we plan things together. I think the China trip is what really helped us. I’ve never been part of a group that clicked this early, everybody hanging out with everybody, this early in the season. Yeah, that’s what makes it special for me. We’re having a lot of fun off the court together; that’s something I’ll never forget. I think these are memories that guys will keep close to them and hold them because of the group we have and how special it’s been off the court.”

Chemistry is a buzzword in the NBA that a lot of teams throw around, but few teams actually have it and this year’s Lakers are one of those teams. Also, the rub with signing someone like Smith, Harkless, or Waiters, is that they would also have to get rid of one of the players they signed this season that could also help them in the postseason.

Take Troy Daniels, for example. Daniels has never been to the NBA Finals like Smith has but hitting big shots in the playoffs? Daniels has done that and he’s a career 40.7% shooter from the 3-point line in 14 postseason games. As instrumental as Smith’s play was to the Cavs 2016 title and the defense of Moe Harkless was for the Blazers over the past four years, I want the guy LeBron calls “layup” catching passes at the 3-point line come playoff time.

Then there is Jared Dudley, who was instrumental in helping last year’s Brooklyn Nets put a scare into the Philadelphia 76ers and knock them off in Game 1 of their first-round series just last year. Dudley has played in 33 playoff games over his 12-year career and he is a career 43% 3-point shooter in the playoffs. And that’s without even mentioning what Dudley brings to the table in the locker room.

Finally, we have guys like Quinn Cook and DeMarcus Cousins. Cook hasn’t had a great year but he’s had to step in and play big minutes in the playoffs when Steph Curry was injured for the Warriors. Not only that, Cook’s personal connection to the Lakers, due to his late father’s love for the team, would make it unusually cruel to waive him, especially when he can provide experience and utility.  Meanwhile, the Lakers keep playing up the chances that Cousins returns at some point in the postseason despite tearing his ACL back in August. Cousins, too, has been noted as an instrumental part of the Lakers chemistry all season long and he could be a wild card in the playoffs.

So with all due respect to J.R. Smith, Dion Waiters or Moe Harkless, this season is not the right time to bring them in. The Lakers already have guys that have proven they can be effective in high-pressure situations throughout their career. While the guys deep on the bench have rarely shown that, they deserve the chance to do so come playoff time. Because as great of a leader as LeBron James is, this Lakers team shares a special bond that cannot be replicated by adding someone new to it with 29 games left. There will be no more trips to China or hunkering down like they did in the preseason. That ship has sailed. It’s time for the Lakers to roll with who they’ve got.

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LeBron James hooks up teammate Troy Daniels with several new shoes

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was generous with a large gift of his signature shoes to teammate Troy Daniels.

It may not be Christmas anymore but LeBron James was very generous with a gift to his Los Angeles Lakers teammate, reserve guard Troy Daniels.

Only a day before the Lakers left on a five-game road trip that will take them to Houston, New York, and Boston before ending in Philadelphia against the 76ers. They begin that five-game trip tonight and Daniels himself may be tasked with taking more shots, as he has for the past few games without Anthony Davis. Daniels is averaging nine points per game over the four games that Davis has missed, including a 17-point outing against the Magic on Wednesday.

Even though the Lakers lost the game, LeBron hooked Daniels up with quite the gift of several pairs of his signature shoes.

After seeing Markelle Fultz do some damage against LeBron himself while wearing some LeBron 17s, perhaps Daniels thinks it’s gotta be the shoes.

The Lakers face off against the Rockets later on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET in a nationally televised game on ABC.

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LeBron James, Lakers take in early screening of ‘Bad Boys For Life’

LeBron James and some other members of the Los Angeles Lakers got an early screening of the latest installment of the Bad Boys saga.

Before the Los Angeles Lakers took off for their quick two-game trip to Dallas and Oklahoma City, LeBron James and other members of the squad were able to get together for an early private screening of the third installment of the Bad Boys saga, “Bad Boys For Life.”

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, the two stars, were both guests on the latest episode of LeBron’s HBO/UNINTERRUPTED talk show “The Shop.” Lakers reserve guard Troy Daniels posted about getting into the screening and thanked LeBron for hooking him up with the early viewing. The movie is set for theaters in about a week on January 17.

James and Daniels also gave their rousing endorsements for the movie.

During the appearance of the two “Bad Boys” stars on The Shop, both talked about what it was like to film the original film that became a classic and spurred the series to what it has become. Smith and Lawrence have also been cited as major inspirations to LeBron in his life.

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MRI on left knee of Troy Daniels comes back negative, he’s questionable tonight in Phoenix

MRI on left knee of Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Troy Daniels comes back negative, he’s questionable tonight in Phoenix against the Suns.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Troy Daniels is battling a sore left knee and underwent an MRI on Monday. Fortunately, the MRI was negative and there is a chance he will be able to play tonight in Phoenix against the Suns. The sharp-shooting Daniels–who LeBron James dubbed “layup” because his threes are like layups–connected on 3-of-5 field goals from beyond the arc during Sunday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors while finishing with 11 points in 17 minutes.

Daniels knocked down 4-of-8 triples during the Lakers first win of the season against the Utah Jazz, but went relatively cold from distance since then prior to breaking out on Sunday. According to Mike Trudell of Spectrum Sports, Daniels will enter tonight’s matchup against his former team as questionable on the injury report.

Whether he is able to go tonight or not, Daniels is one of the long-range shooters Los Angeles will need more consistency from as the season continues. In order to open up driving lanes for LeBron and others, L.A. will need to shoot it better than the 31.1% from deep that currently has them ranked No. 27 in the league in 3-point shooting as a team. Daniels is a 39.8% 3-point shooter for his career who is only connecting on 31% of his triples through these first nine games of the season. During the 2017-18 campaign with Phoenix he shot 40% from deep and last season with the Suns he connected on 38.1% of his triples.

The Lakers will meet an overachieving Phoenix squad tonight who has been the surprise of the NBA thus far. While off to a 6-3 start, the Suns are shooting 38.4% from deep which has them ranked No. 5 in the NBA in 3-point efficiency. Devin Booker is leading the way for Phoenix with 25.8 points and 5.4 assists per night. The veteran Ricky Rubio, meanwhile, is averaging 13.6 points, 8.6 assists and 6.8 rebounds.

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