From Broderick Turner: Lakers coach JJ Redick understands there’s a “human element” to players looking for more minutes so they can score more points. He knows future contracts are important and his team isn’t immune to focusing on that.
The Lakers have five players on the final seasons their contracts and three more that have player options, making it eight potential free agents for the Lakers this offseason.
Redick broached this subject of contracts after the Lakers lost 112-104 to the Clippers on Thursday night at Intuit Dome for their sixth loss in nine games.
“Guys are worried about their futures,” Redick said. “And that’s what happens when you got a team full of free agents and player-options. I think it’s just natural that you’re gonna worry about the offense … and I’ve been there. (It gets) in your head a little bit: ‘Played five minutes (and) haven’t got a shot yet.’ And that’s a human thing. It’s not anybody’s fault.”
LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and Jaxson Hayes are all in the final year of their contracts. Austin Reaves has a player-option for next season, but he’s going to see what he can earn in free agency. The Lakers can offer him the most — up to five years and $241 million.
DeAndre Ayton and Marcus Smart also have player-options.
When a team is in a tailspin — much like the Lakers, who’ve lost 10 of their last 17 — playing time and points can become major issues for players looking for new contracts.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LeBron James downplayed any suggestion of a rift between him and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss on Thursday following an ESPN report that detailed how the now-minority owner of the team had started to turn on the Lakers superstar.
“Quite frankly, I don’t really get involved in that, or the reports, or whatever the case may be,” James said after the Lakers lost 112-104 to the Clippers at Intuit Dome.
The report detailed how years of in-fighting between the Buss siblings led to the family selling a majority stake of the team to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last year. As the franchise struggled to recapture the magic established under Jerry Buss, Jeanie had grown distant and resentful, the report said, that James didn’t take accountability for involvement with the decision to acquire Russell Westbrook in 2021. She reportedly floated the possibility of trading James to the Clippers in 2022 and didn’t believe James was grateful when the Lakers drafted Bronny James in 2024.
Rams have intercepted plans
From Gary Klein: Kobie Turner makes his living as a pass rusher and run defender for the Rams, not a defensive back.
But the last time the Rams played the Seattle Seahawks, the third-year defensive lineman snatched a Sam Darnold pass near the goal line for his first career interception.
“It was like time almost stopped,” Turner recalled Thursday. “It was a perfect spiral. It was beautiful.”
Turner’s turnover was one of seven the Rams forced in two games this season against the Seahawks, including six interceptions.
Of the Rams’ 16 interceptions this season, more than a third came against the Seahawks.
The Rams aim to continue their torrent of takeaways against the Seahawks on Sunday when they play in the NFC championship game at Lumen Field.
NFL playoffs schedule
All times Pacific
Conference championships
Sunday
AFC
Noon
No. 2 New England at No. 1 Denver (CBS, Paramount+)
NFC
3:30 p.m.
No. 5 Rams at No. 1 Seattle (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 8, 3:30 p.m., NBC, Peacock
Where will Kyle Tucker fit in batting order?
From Ed Guzman: The Dodgers made the signing of free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker official Wednesday, capped off with an introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium.
Tucker’s four-year, $240-million deal included a $64-million signing bonus, and the $60-million average annual value is the second-highest in baseball history, without factoring in deferred money, behind Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million in his 10-year deal with the Dodgers.
Despite lucrative offers from the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays, Tucker went with the two-time defending World Series champions, who made room on their 40-man roster by designating outfielder Michael Siani for assignment.
“It’s a big decision, so you still got to weigh out everything,” Tucker told reporters, “but this team and this city and the fan base kind of makes it a little bit easier to make some decisions. That is just ultimately what we wanted to do, is come here and be part of that and try to win another World Series.”
With Tucker firmly in place, here are three takeaways from Wednesday:
USC women lose to Michigan State
Kennedy Blair scored 21 points, and the No. 13 Michigan State women held off USC’s late surge for a 74-68 victory on Thursday night.
Michigan State opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run to stretch its lead to 66-54 with 5:15 remaining. Jazzy Davidson scored the last five points in a 10-0 run to help pull USC to 66-64 with 4:10 left before the Spartans sealed it from the free-throw line.
Kara Dunn scored 23 points and Davidson added 21 to lead USC (11-8 overall, 3-5 in the Big Ten). Kennedy Smith scored 15 points.
Darcy Kuemper cleared to return
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, one of three netminders on Canada’s upcoming Olympic hockey roster, has been cleared to return after suffering a neck injury against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
Kuemper said after returning to practice Thursday that he lost feeling in his arm when Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski ran into him in the first period of the game. He said he tried to shake it off, but had to be replaced by Anton Forsberg.
“Yeah, kind of got hit on the side of my neck, and it pinched my neck and pinched the nerves, and my arm went dead,” Kuemper said. “So, yeah, wasn’t allowed to come back in until we did some further testing yesterday.”
This day in sports history
1944 — The Detroit Red Wings defeat the New York Rangers 15-0 to set an NHL record for consecutive goals.
1959 — In the NBA All-Star game in Detroit, St. Louis’ Bob Pettit and Elgin Baylor of Minneapolis become the first co-winners of the MVP award, leading the West to a 124-108 victory.
1979 — Willie Mays is named on 409 of 432 ballots and elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
1980 — George Gervin of San Antonio scores 55 points in a 144-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
1987 — Hana Mandlikova upsets Martina Navratilova 7-5, 7-6 to win the Australian Open.
1988 — Steffi Graf wins the Australian Open with a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Chris Evert.
1993 — Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers sets an NHL record when he reaches 30 goals for the 14th consecutive season. Gartner, with three goals in the Rangers’ 8-3 victory over the Kings, surpasses Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull and Wayne Gretzky.
2001 — Sam Cassell scores 22 points and the Bucks hit a franchise record 14 three-pointers to beat the Knicks 105-91 and snap New York’s NBA-record 33-game streak of holding opponents to under 100 points.
2005 — Jennifer Rodriguez becomes the first American woman in nine years to win the World Sprint Speedskating Championship.
2008 — Baylor, which waited 39 years to get back into the Top 25, plays five overtimes in its first win as a ranked team. Curtis Jerrells scores a career-high 36 points, including 11 in the fifth overtime to lead No. 25 Baylor to a 116-110 win over No. 18 Texas A&M.
2010 — Lindsey Vonn makes it five wins in five downhills this season. Her 30th World Cup victory ties her with Croatia’s Janica Kostelic for eighth place on the career list and nearly halfway to Austrian leader Annemarie Moser-Proell’s 62 wins.
2011 — Francesca Schiavone wins the longest women’s match in Grand Slam history — a 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova that takes 4 hours, 44 minutes at the Australian Open. Schiavone saves six match points, then converts on her third match point in the longest women’s match at a major in terms of time in the Open era.
2011 — Aaron Rodgers runs for a touchdown and makes a saving tackle, B.J. Raji returns an interception for a score and Sam Shields has two interceptions to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears in the NFC championship game. The Packers, with road wins in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago, become the first NFC No. 6 seed to advance to the Super Bowl.
2011 — The Pittsburgh Steelers advance to their third Super Bowl in six years with a 24-19 victory over the New York Jets.
2012 — Skylar Diggins matches a season high with 27 points and No. 2 Notre Dame routs No. 7 Tennessee 72-44, holding the Lady Vols to their lowest scoring output in modern school history.
2015 — Klay Thompson sets an NBA record for the most points in a quarter, a 37-point third period that powers the Golden State Warriors to a 126-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Thompson makes all 13 shots and finishes with a career-high 52 points.
2022 — Buffalo wide receiver Gabriel Davis scores an NFL playoff record four TDs in the Bills’ epic 42-36 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in their divisional-round playoff at Arrowhead Stadium.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.