NBA Rumors: Lakers can reunite Bobby Portis with Darvin Ham this summer
The LA Lakers are looking forward to a busy offseason where they can get a chance to tweak their roster and have another crack at a playoff run. With a ton of promising players they could trade for, they've reportedly laid their eyes on a player that Darvin Ham used to coach.
Rumors have emerged about Los Angeles looking to add Bobby Portis to their frontcourt to strengthen their depth. Ham used to coach Portis back when he was still an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Portis is still under contract and the California team could pull some strings to make a trade work if they want to add the big man.
Report: Bobby Portis interested in joining Lakers to reunite with Davin Ham lakersdaily.com/report-bobby-p…
Portis finished his third season with the Bucks averaging 14.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals while making 37% of his shots from the field. The big man finished his 2022-23 campaign as a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
His contributions to Milwaukee have been tremendously felt as the team won 58 games this season.
Los Angeles could use a big like Portis as he's able to knock down shots from beyond the arc and put up a battle for the boards. Trading for him could be beneficial for the purple and gold as Anthony Davis has had a ton of injuries to deal with over the past two seasons.
Plus, Ham will be familiar with where he wants Portis in the system to make their offense effective while he's on the floor.
You might also be interested in reading this: “Because Lebron is moving to GSW” – Lakers planning to offer Austin Reaves $100 Million had NBA fans go berserk
Lakers' assistant coach has high praise for Kyrie Irving
As the offseason slowly approaches, rumors regarding the LA Lakers pursuing Kyrie Irving are being amplified once again. It garnered a ton of attention when Irving attended the Western Conference finals to watch LeBron James and company play against the Denver Nuggets.
Following their elimination from the playoffs, discussions about where Irving could land in the offseason started to emerge. Los Angeles continued to try to not give away information about whether they wanted to acquire the veteran point guard.
Due to this, the comments made by Phil Handy have given fans of the franchise a bit of hope.
"I will go on record and say this. Offensively, he [Irving] is probably the most skilled player to ever put on basketball shoes." Handy said.
“He’s the most skilled player to ever put on basketball shoes”
- Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy on Kyrie Irving 😳 https://t.co/7kYivjBGjP
While it isn't much, Handy's comments could mean that the team has been observing the All-Star guard closely. If the team decides to pursue the eight-time All-Star, it wouldn't be much of a surprise.
Also read: "10% chance LeBron James isn't back as a Laker" - NBA analyst predicts 4x NBA champion's future with Lakers