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The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to make the finishing touches on an incomplete roster, but there’s one free agent the team likely isn’t signing.

DeMar DeRozan hit free agency after the Sacramento Kings waived him. The team explored trade options for the DeRozan, but nothing transpired and the two sides mutually agreed to part ways.

According to ESPN insider Dave McMenamin, the Lakers aren’t considered a potential landing spot for the veteran guard.

There were rumblings regarding the Lakers’ interest in DeRozan, since the two sides had mutual interest most notably in 2021. However, DeRozan is no longer a fit for the Lakers heading into the 2026-27 season.

LA’s roster is missing a versatile wing defender and backup center. DeRozan is neither.

While the Lakers may not have any interest in DeRozan, he is a top free agent of the summer and should likely garner interest from other teams around the league.

General manager Rob Pelinka has orchestrated a massive overhaul with the Lakers set to look much different for the upcoming campaign. The Lakers have already made a majority of their offseason moves, but the team is working to sign free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.

The 23-year-old reportedly isn’t enticed by the current Lakers offer, which leaves Pelinka with the tall task of maneuvering players in order to acquire more cap space to sign Kuminga. That’s easier said than done, but the Lakers have limited options as many free agents are already off the board.

The Lakers got their backup big man when Kevon Looney signed a one-year, $3.9-million deal on Tuesday, people not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.

The 6-foot-9 Looney won three championships with the Golden State Warriors, in 2017, 2018 and 2021. He played last season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Looney, 30, is an 11-year veteran who went to UCLA. He’s a strong rebounder, very good defender and sets solid screens for teammates.

Looney will be the backup behind starter Walker Kessler, who was acquired in a trade from the Utah Jazz and agreed to a four-year, $130-million deal. The Lakers traded last season’s starting center, Deandre Ayton, and backup Jaxson Hayes signed with the Jazz.

The Lakers now have a 14-man roster and have room for another player.

Jonathan Kuminga is a player the Lakers are after, according to people with knowledge of the situation who said L.A. is looking at a two-year, $20-million deal for Kuminga, the sort of athletic wing player the Lakers need to start at small forward.

He has the size (6-7) and is young (23). He averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds and shot 33.3% from three-point range last season while playing for the Warriors and Atlanta Hawks.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

A quiet offseason and the Los Angeles Lakers don't exactly mesh.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has been busy this summer, finding deals and bringing in players to help mold the purple and gold into championship contention. His latest move is adding a former three-time NBA champion into the fold.

Los Angeles agreed to sign veteran free agent center Kevon Looney to a one-year deal worth $3.9 million, Life Sports Agency CEO Todd Ramasar told ESPN.

Looney was one of the top available backup centers in the free agency pool, a position that L.A. needed to address. The Lakers made a deal to get Walker Kessler as their starter. They dealt last year's starting center, Deandre Ayton, to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two future second-round picks. Last year's backup center, Jaxson Hayes, signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Utah Jazz.

Jayson Tatum gives first reaction to Celtics' Jaylen Brown trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown formed one of the NBA’s best duos for many years. But that tandem is no longer intact after the Boston Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers last week for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

It was a stunning trade that saw Brown go to a longtime Celtics rival, one that knocked Boston out of the 2026 playoffs with a Game 7 win at TD Garden back in May.

Tatum spent nine seasons as a teammate of Brown’s in Boston after being drafted in 2017.

He reacted publicly to the trade for the first time Tuesday night at an event in Newton where he was promoting his new children’s book.

“To be honest, it’s weird,” Tatum told the crowd, as seen in the video player above. “You play on a team with a guy for nine years, who I was fortunate enough to go to the Finals with twice, and win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today.

“The NBA is an incredible business, it’s an incredible job, but there are some downsides to the business that we’re in. And moments like this, where you just kind of feel like you’re going to be on the team with somebody, because that’s all you know.

“And then it’s just like, one day you find out that they’re no longer on your team anymore. And we’re all humans. We feel all those emotions. Going into the facility, and knowing that you have different teammates, and somebody that you’ve been to war with, essentially, is on a different team.”

He continued: “It’s tough. But it just makes you appreciate the moments and times that we had. Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t super successful. Some great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization.”

Tatum and Brown helped the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference Finals five times and the NBA Finals twice during their time together, including a championship in 2024.

The Celtics’ roster will look plenty different next season. In addition to Brown’s departure, the C’s have added George (trade), Mitchell Robinson (free agent) and Mike Conley Jr. (free agent) to the team so far this offseason.

“The tough part is you miss teammates, but then you have new teammates, and you want to welcome those guys and accept them and move forward with them,” Tatum said. “So there is a balance there.”

Former NBA star Lamar Odom is expected to enter a plea deal in a DUI case in Las Vegas, according to his defense attorney.

Odom, 46, was arrested Jan. 17 and later charged with driving under the influence, speeding and failure to stay in a driving lane. He pleaded not guilty in March.

Odom plans to enter a no-contest plea that will reduce his initial DUI charge to a reckless driving charge, according to his attorney, Michael Becker. Through a no-contest plea, Odom will accept the terms of the Clark County District Attorney’s Office without admitting guilt.

He was scheduled for a bench trial Tuesday in Las Vegas Justice Court, but the court hearing was continued for a plea entry later this month. He is not expected to appear in person, according to Becker.

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately return requests for comment.

On Jan. 17, a Nevada State Police Highway Patrol trooper observed Odom speeding along a Las Vegas highway and switching lanes without a turn signal, according to the arrest report. When pulled over, Odom allegedly had bloodshot eyes and smelled of marijuana, the trooper said in the arrest report.

Odom denied drinking alcohol and told the trooper that the passenger was smoking marijuana, according to the report. The trooper found the field sobriety tests “unsatisfactory,” saying Odom failed to touch the tip of his nose with his finger and lost his balance.

Odom won championships in 2009 and 2010 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks during a 14-year NBA career.

His 2013 marriage to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian was tabloid fodder, and the couple’s wedding was showcased on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” They divorced months later. That same year, Odom was arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles. He later pleaded no contest and received three years of probation.

In 2015, Odom made headlines after suffering a medical episode during a stay at a legal brothel in Nevada called Love Ranch. In the arrest report, Odom allegedly told the trooper that he had 12 strokes and six heart attacks and was “poisoned at the brothel in Pahrump.”

Warriors reportedly don't match Grizzlies' $30 million Quinten Post offer sheet originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors are losing a valuable member of their frontcourt to NBA free agency.

After center Quinten Post signed a three-year, $30 million offer sheet with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors reportedly have decided not to match it, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday, citing sources.

Golden State had until 8:59 p.m. PT on Tuesday to match the Grizzlies’ offer sheet. Instead, the 2024 No. 52 overall pick out of Boston College appears to be on his way to Memphis.

Per Charania, it’s the first time since 2020 that an NBA team has lost a player to an offer sheet, when the Sacramento Kings declined to match the Atlanta Hawks’ four-year, $72 million offer to Bogdan Bogdanovic.

In two seasons with the Warriors, Post averaged 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.9 minutes across 109 games (49 starts). The 7-foot stretch big man was a key 3-point threat for Golden State, shooting 36.4 percent from behind the arc on over four attempts per game.

Though he carved out a significant role in the Bay, the Dutch native was set to enter the 2026-27 NBA season as the No. 3 center on the Warriors’ depth chart, behind returning veterans Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis.

In the end, as Golden State persists in their courtship of LeBron James this offseason, general manager Mike Dunleavy apparently decided $30 million was more than they were willing to offer Post right now.

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After making a flurry of signings early in free agency, the Lakers appear to be fully focused on Jonathan Kuminga as their next target.

Since the Hawks declined his team option to make Kuminga an unrestricted free agent, the Lakers have been linked to the five-year wing. Now that Rui Hachimura has joined the Clippers, the Lakers are even more in need of Kuminga’s services and continue to talk with his representation.

On Tuesday, Anthony Slater of ESPN reported that the Lakers met with Kuminga early in free agency but haven’t yet made an offer that’s convinced him that LA should be his new basketball home.

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to actively pursue unrestricted free agent wing Jonathan Kuminga, but they have not yet given him an enticing enough offer to commit, league sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
After his $24.3 million team option was declined by the Atlanta Hawks on June 29, Kuminga met virtually the next day with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick, who pitched him on a vision of being a high-minutes wing next to Luka Doncic in a spacious on-court environment conducive to his skill set, league sources told ESPN.

With how fast free agency moves, the Lakers couldn’t sit around and wait on Kuminga.

They’ve made multiple moves since that first conversation, including trading for Walker Kessler and adding Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Slater also reported in the piece that the Lakers are continuing to talk to Kuminga’s agent and have made it known he will likely start if he signs.

Pelinka has remained in touch with Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, subtly improving their offer in recent days, league sources told ESPN, while reiterating to Kuminga his importance to what the Lakers are building around Doncic, a likely starting role and what the opportunity could do for his career.

The fact that they’ve spoken with his agent again and improved their offer indicates they remain very interested in bringing him on. This deep into free agency, one could easily argue that Kuminga is the best wing available. With the Lakers focused on win-now moves, grabbing a player with his upside would be huge.

Considering how much of LA’s cap space is accounted for, it’s no surprise that the talking points President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka is selling to Kuminga during these meetings include his role and the opportunity to play well in an environment that gets a ton of national attention.

Kuminga being a starter with the Lakers sets up a scenario where he can take a deal here, bet on himself and improve his value around the league. The Lakers have gotten players before on deals where they came to LA to accomplish this.

Deandre Ayton is the most recent example. The Blazers bought him out and he came to the Lakers on a modest deal. Though that didn’t necessarily work out with Ayton now reportedly being traded to the Wizards, the idea is a good one and could work for Kuminga.

Still, Kuminga hasn’t bought what the Lakers front office is selling. Slater notes in his piece that Kuminga is still waiting for potentially improved deals, which could come as “offseason dominoes continue to fall.” Considering the Cavs are also reported as one of the teams interested in him, it appears there’s a LeBron-sized elephant in the room.

Pelinka has made some big moves this summer, so we’ll see if he can pull off another by bringing in a relatively young wing with tremendous upside.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.