Latest news with #DanWoike
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 California Classic summer league schedule has been released
2025 California Classic summer league schedule has been released Heat, Spurs, Warriors and Lakers playing in California Classic — Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) May 28, 2025 Before the main Las Vegas summer league takes place, the Los Angeles Lakers and a few other teams typically participate in the California Classic summer league. It gives the players taking part in it a few extra games to hone their skills and get ready for what lies ahead, not just in Las Vegas but also during the NBA's regular season. Lakers fans are hoping to see Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, as well as perhaps a few other promising players, take part in summer league this year. James said he will play in Las Vegas, but it is unknown if he will participate in the California Classic, and it is unknown if Knecht will partake in either summer league this year. The schedule for this year's California Classic has been released. The Lakers will play against the Golden State Warriors on July 5, the Miami Heat on July 6 and the San Antonio Spurs on July 8. Afterward, the main Las Vegas summer league will start on July 10 and conclude on July 20.
Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Will the Lakers try to trade Austin Reaves? Not so fast
Hey everyone and welcome to the Lakers newsletter. It's Dan Woike, beat writer for the L.A. Times coming to you live from the Marriott attached to Wintrust Arena where all of the NBA's top decision-makers, including Lakers basketball executive Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick, just watched prospects scrimmage in five-on-five action while the pro scouts squinted at the rosters and the college scouts argued for their favorites. In the shadows, I was asking around about the Lakers' biggest story this offseason, at least according to the internet. My friend and colleague Bill Plaschke argued in those hallowed Times' pages that the Lakers must trade Austin Reaves to fulfill their needs for a big man no matter how painful the decision would be. Bill Simmons predicted on his podcast that Reaves 'will get traded' this summer. So what was the buzz at the combine about all this? Everyone is aware of the noise from the media and on the message boards (shoutout Lakers reddit), no one is acting like a trade is going to happen this summer for a couple of reasons. One, the Lakers and the most important people in the organization all love Reaves and his journey from undrafted free agent to a talent that people think is All-Star caliber. And, at just $14 million next season, he'll be one of the most productive players in the league per dollar minus some superstars on the very early stages of their rookie deals. Yes, Reaves struggled in the Lakers' five-game loss to Minnesota in the playoffs and, yes, the Timberwolves' bigger players like Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid feasted on mismatches. And, yes, he didn't shoot the ball well in the series. Yet according to people with knowledge of the situation, Reaves is still recovering from a serious toe sprain (though it's improving and not expected to require surgery). And it's not like the big moments have always brought out the worst of him as he helped build his reputation in the organization with the way he played in the Lakers' biggest games. Two, he's not viewed as 'untradeable' because almost no one in the NBA is untradeable. But if the Lakers are going to trade him for a center, they're going to want one that is foundationally important — a build-around type and not a fill-in toward the obvious need they have at center (and will need to address in other ways). If one of the best centers in the NBA were available, the conversations might be different, but at least now, during the first part of the offseason, that just isn't the case. Two, Reaves' trade value and his actual value are two different things. Reaves is eligible for a contract extension this summer, but the four years, $89.2 million the Lakers can offer is below market and he'll likely head for unrestricted free agency in 2026, assuming he declines his player option. When he hits free agency, he'll be one of the few top-level guards in his prime on the market. So any team that would trade for Reaves would need to, one, meet the Lakers' incredibly high costs, and two, do so with no guarantee that he'll re-sign. Reaves, though, is still facing an important summer when when he has to answer for some of his shortcomings if he wants to truly take another step toward stardom. All of this can change — things in the NBA change and when they do, it's fast. People around the league believe the series against Minnesota again showed that Reaves needs to be more physical (Redick's postseason 'championship shape' comments certainly applied). He needs to be a more reliable catch-and-shoot player alongside Luka Doncic, but the vibe is that Reaves has a fan in the Lakers' new star. People who know him best believe this round of speculation and a new layer of doubt over whether he can be a primary option on a contender will fuel him to meet the next challenge. Long story short, the reality is this: Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists this season. The only players to exceed all of those numbers are Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Doncic, Cade Cunningham, De'Aaron Fox and LeMelo Ball. That's the list and the Lakers know it. If they do trade him, it'll be because some team makes them an impossibly good offer. Not because they have to. 'Jesus, Etc.' by Wilco Being here in Chicago right now at this moment is to be living in a walking meme about the Chicago Pope (next fall on CBS). One of the best? Taking this Wilco beauty and photoshopping the new Pope's face onto the album cover. Just wonderful stuff. Plaschke: A painful truth, Lakers must trade Austin Reaves Gregg Popovich, NBA's all-time coaching wins leader, steps down as Spurs coach As always, pass along your thoughts to me at and please consider subscribing if you like our work!
Los Angeles Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Lakers solve one problem in Game 2 win over Timberwolves, but about the other?
Hey everyone, it's L.A. Times writer Dan Woike, welcome to the Lakers newsletter, a once-a-week look into the team Netflix comedy 'Running Point' is loosely based on. Nothing funny about the first two games of the Lakers' postseason, eight quarters of basketball that have been incredibly physical, mostly rhythmless and incredibly even. Yet there's one thing the Lakers can do to make things a little bit easier. Let's examine it. After the Lakers lost the series opener to Minnesota on Saturday, they had only two things they needed to fix. That was the good news. The bad news? The two things were the defense and the offense. The Lakers were able to even the series Tuesday night with a mostly dominant defensive performance in which they were able to play as hard and as physical against Minnesota while doing it smarter and more intentionally. It was an A-plus response on the defensive side. Yet the reality that's been hammered home is that the Lakers still haven't cracked the other half of the code, the offensive side of the ball, where their 94 points Tuesday were enough — but far from optimal. In six games against the Timberwolves this season, the Lakers have failed to exceed 95 points four times, including both playoff meetings. Their effective field-goal percentage, a metric that accounts for threes being worth more than twos, never has been 50% against Minnesota. They've been below 50% 17 times this season — and six (yes, SIX) have been against Minnesota. 'I think when we were organized in the right spots, we did … we ran some good stuff. And frankly, yeah, I thought we missed some open threes,' coach JJ Redick said. '[Austin Reaves] got some great looks. So other than just a couple disorganized plays we played good offense tonight.' To be fair, Redick gave that answer in response to the viral, rage-driven timeout he took in the third quarter that he called 'just coaching,' but anyone who heard him would've sworn he was 'just cursing.' There are plenty of four-letter words that apply to what's happened when the Lakers have tried to put points on the board. In two games of the playoffs, the Lakers' first-quarter offense has been terrific — 131.9 points per 100 possessions. In the second it drops to 100 points per 100 possessions. In the third it's back up to 120.5 but in the fourth it craters to an NBA-worst 73.2. So what's happening? One, Minnesota really can defend. 'You can start with them having really good individual defenders. Jaden McDaniels is a problem on that end of the floor. Ant's a problem on that end of the floor,' Reaves said, referring to Anthony Edwards. 'Nickeil [Alexander-Walker]. You can go through the whole line. Rudy [Gobert] does a good job of protecting the paint.' Luka Doncic has been able to put points on the board in the first quarter. He was more of a solo act in Game 1 while Game 2 was more about the Lakers in total playing in a better offensive rhythm. Another issue in this series is pretty bad shooting from the Lakers. Reaves has struggled from three despite a flurry in the third quarter of Game 1. He's made only three of 14 from three. LeBron James is just two of 10. Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith are a combined five for 15. When Doncic debuted in February, the Lakers were nearly a 38% three-point-shooting team. They're 21 for 70 against Minnesota, with everyone outside of Doncic making only 27% of their looks. 'I thought we had some great looks tonight. I know a lot of my shots in the fourth quarter were great looks that just didn't go,' James said. 'If we can continue to get great looks like that, I think we believe in our percentages. But we gotta continue to work the habits. We gotta continue to work the habits and continue to shoot the ball with confidence.' Maybe this is true. Or maybe their offensive struggles are a cost they have to pay to give as much as they've given on the defensive side of the ball. As the Lakers get ready for a massive Game 3 on Friday in Minneapolis, they know they've got to get their offense on track. But as they've seen time and time against these Timberwolves, that isn't going to be easy. Got seven minutes to spare? Doncic would like your attention. In a time when everything in our being tells us to skip through commercials, Doncic and Nike have produced a mini-movie in which he's in court — and not on it. 'Bad Luka' is Jordan Brand's ambitious campaign for the fourth version of Doncic's signature shoes, a spot shot over two days and directed by 'Eastbound and Down' co-creator Jody Hill. Bad Luka; good ad. 'Skyway' by The Replacements An ode to the floating skywalk that shields people from the frigid Minneapolis winters is this week's choice. So the Skyway is a connected walkway throughout downtown Minneapolis that links office buildings and shops and hotels. Funny story — my first trip there was when I was covering the Clippers for the OC Register and my current co-worker Brad Turner was on the Clips for The Times. I was fighting off a brutal virus, fever, chills, aches and more. Well, BT told me I didn't need to bring my jacket with me to the game (I was sweating like crazy) because we never had to walk outside. We covered the game, I survived, and as we walked back to the Skyway to head to the hotel, we learned it was locked. And it was like minus-10 degrees outside. The lesson? Don't trust BT. Or the Skyway. Lakers win a physically demanding Game 2 to even series with Timberwolves Lakers found true grit just when they needed it and silenced their critics Mavericks GM Nico Harrison 'didn't quite know' how important Luka Doncic was to Dallas fans Lakers confident 'winning on small details' will power series comeback against Minnesota 'We'll get better.' Lakers vow to improve after blowout Game 1 loss to Timberwolves After a Game 1 meltdown, the Lakers should still win their series but must adapt fast Luka Doncic had an epic playoff moment last year. Here's why it could happen again Lakers give Rob Pelinka a contract extension and new title
Los Angeles Times
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Lakers newsletter: How a free throw turned LeBron James' night around and led to a win
INDIANAPOLIS — Hey everyone, I'm Dan Woike and welcome to The Times' Lakers Newsletter, where we check in every week on a team that's had such a strange season, it retired an entire set of uniforms because it thought they were bad luck. True story! Anyways, LeBron James capped an eventful trip to Indiana with a buzzer-beater against the Pacers. Wednesday in Indiana, for the Lakers to win, they had to get lucky. It's the part of basketball that no one wants to put much weight behind because it's the part of basketball that you have the least control over. You can evoke the 'basketball gods' like JJ Redick has and you can slam the scorer's table and stomp your feet when teams do things to tempt them. But ultimately, basketball agnosticism is the safer bet. Any invisible hand that impacts the game is created by smaller decisions along the way that mysteriously, or in this case not so mysteriously, play a role in the outcome. Against the Pacers, James did everything to get those basketball gods on his side — talking on defense, cleaning up possessions on the glass, finding the open man and never pressing after his shots didn't fall. For the first time in his career, James played the first three quarters of a game without making a field goal, all six of his attempts coming up empty. He went on to make huge shots in the fourth quarter, including the biggest, a last-second, buzzer-beating tip-in to give his team the win after he built the lead early in the fourth by scoring eight straight points. But did the basketball gods turn to his favor because of his defensive effort and playmaking for others? Or was there another factor at play? With 3:38 left in the third quarter, James pounded the ball and forced Indiana into a three-second violation. Luka Doncic walked toward the line, almost like he was going to take the free throw, but told James, who was 0 for 6 from the field, to shoot it instead. He swished it, got into rhythm to start the fourth quarter and when the game needed it, put himself in position to make the big play. After the game, James acknowledged to The Times that the free throw was an important moment, a chance for him to see the ball go in the basket for the first time in the second half and just the third time all game (he made two free throws in the second quarter). That wasn't luck — that was thoughtfulness and understanding of what the moment required. Luck was that when the Pacer whistled for the three-second violation, Aaron Nesmith, tried to step out of the paint to reset the count, he misjudged it and kept his foot in the lane. Luck was the Pacers having two three-point shots overturned after it was pretty obvious they were taken with a foot on the line. Luke was Doncic's floater trickling off the rim and into James' fingertips with two-tenths of a second left, just enough for him to tip the ball into the basket. None of this is to say that the Lakers didn't deserve their win; they absolutely did. They played with more purpose, more consistency and created all kinds of great opportunities. It's probably bad luck that Austin Reaves missed a pair of really open fourth-quarter threes. But it's undoubtedly good luck that the Lakers caught these breaks and made these plays, the team badly needing some good news as it enters the final 10 games of the regular season Thursday in Chicago. It was good for the Lakers to be reminded that they can do enough to pick up a big win on the road, that they could create enough advantages to embrace the randomness that basketball produces. Friko – Where We've Been (FRET12 Session) Have I used this song already? Maybe, but definitely not this performance by one of the most exciting bands from Chicago in a minute. This is like a group of kids found a stack of Radiohead CDs. There are better songs about Chicago, and whenever I go back there near my hometown, I'll always listen to them. But this song FROM Chicago will be on my phone Thursday as I'm in the city, no question. Lakers can't find a way to talk through their defensive issues in loss to Magic Lakers' Bronny James scores career-high 39 points in G League game: 'I belong out there' LeBron James returns from injury, but Lakers look lost in blowout loss to Bulls Stephen A. Smith: 'I might have been wrong' about Bronny James' NBA readiness Bronny James credits focus on his game for career-best 17 points during loss to Bucks Luka Doncic's hot first quarter sparks Lakers to win over shorthanded Nuggets
