The Lakers chase after Christian Wood, an ex-Laker joins the Heat, and a peek at Kawhi Leonard's timeline. Stay sane during the offseason with these NBA rumors.
Even during the dog days of the offseason, the NBA is still pretty active. Get a glimpse of how teams are preparing for this next season.
NBA rumors: Lakers after Christian Wood
The Los Angeles Lakers have "internal optimism" that they can make things work with Christian Wood, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. Earlier this summer, Rob Pelinka revealed he was interested in adding another center, but nothing concrete has emerged so far. If you're the Lakers, Christian Wood may be your guy.
Although Christian Wood is not a premier defender, he is a very capable scorer that could stretch the floor effectively for the purple and gold. He's one of the better free agents available. Plus, Wood can fill in nicely offensively if Anthony Davis gets hurt. Which, let's face it, is probably bound to happen. Last season, Wood averaged 16.6 points per game, shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.
NBA rumors: Ex-Laker joins Heat
Shams reported that the Miami Heat picked up ex-Laker Cole Swider.
Last month, the Lakers released Swider, making him a free agent. The Heat have a real knack for developing underappreciated talent and seem to embody the manifesto of one man's trash being another man's treasure.
Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman, Swider's deal does not become official until the Heat sign another player to a standard deal. Essentially, this is a camp invitation for Swider. The Heat have signed Swider to an Exhibit-10 deal, meaning it's a one-year, minimum-salary NBA contract.
Swider averaged 15.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a game for the G League's South Bay Lakers. The Heat have a proven track record of developing players like Swider, i.e. Duncan Robinson. Finding another shooter is crucial for a Heat team that just lost Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in the offseason. The fact that Swider shot 43.6 percent from beyond the arc last season bodes well for him as he prepares to step into a similar role with the Heat this season.
NBA rumors: Kawhi's timeline
Here's something every Clippers fan is tired of hearing: Kawhi Leonard is ruled out for tonight's game. Hopefully, for the Clippers, all that may be in the past. According to Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue, Kawhi Leonard is on schedule to be ready for training camp this year.
Since being drafted in 2011, Leonard has missed 298 games due to injury. In fact, this past season, the Clippers only had their star duo of George and Leonard for 38 games because of injuries. This has obviously frustrated Clippers fans because when Leonard is healthy he's one of the better players on the court. However, Lawrence Frank, President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers, said that the Clippers will continue to build around Leonard and George.
This is the second time in three seasons that Leonard has suffered a right knee injury during the playoffs. With Kawhi being one of the more talented postseason players, this is incredibly unfortunate for not only the Clippers but all basketball fans. In the Clippers' first round against the Suns, Leonard averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Hopefully, Kawhi can make a smooth return and reignite the Clippers' hopes of winning a championship.