NBA Free Agency Notes: Are Lakers Losing Some Luster As Players Bypass Team?

In L.A., Dylan Hernandez wrote the Lakers are "nothing more than another rebuilding team at this point, their history and championships not sparing them the indignities that are subjected upon downtrodden franchises." Their "delusional fan base won’t want to hear this, but the Lakers belong in the class of teams that includes" the 76ers and Bucks (L.A. TIMES, 7/2). Also in L.A., Mark Heisler wrote top free agents “have short lists” of where they want to play, and the Lakers “don’t make any of them.” Heisler: "The Lakers once were The Destination of f the Stars. Now, their preference is Anywhere Else" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/4). The L.A. TIMES' Bill Plaschke writes the "greatest basketball mind in Lakers history just pulled a historic free-agent coup for the Bay Area’s team on a weekend when the Lakers were settling for free agency’s scraps." Warriors Exec Board Member Jerry West "supposedly talked" F Kevin Durant into signing with the team, and "this hurts." Plaschke: "Why isn’t Jerry West still hanging around making those calls for the Lakers?" (L.A. TIMES, 7/5).

Jackson's Knicks have not made the playoffs since his arrival in '14

STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT: In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote Knicks President Phil Jackson is trying to make the team “matter again,” and the “culture change that Jackson spoke of when he got to New York … turns out to be a smash-and-grab culture we understand completely in New York sports.” In addition to trading for G Derrick Rose last month, the team has signed free agents F Joakim Noah and Gs Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings. Jackson is a “smart enough guy” to know that he is “out of here after next season” if the Knicks miss the playoffs again. In “all the important ways, this off-season for Phil Jackson was go big, or go home” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/4).

BEAR ESSENTIALS: In Memphis, Ronald Tillery wrote it is “difficult to say another team had a better first day of free agency than the Grizzlies,” which signed F Chandler Parsons and retained a “homegrown pillar of the franchise” in G Mike Conley. The Grizzlies “swiftly dispelled any notion that they can’t lure top free agents, are cheap and are rebuilding” (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 7/2). Conley's contract is for an NBA record $153M, and CBSSPORTS.com's Matt Moore wrote for a player "who has never been the best player, or even top three, at his position ... the sticker shock is outrageous." However, the Grizzlies "had to give Conley this deal to keep him" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/2).

HARD TO SEE THE LIGHT FROM HERE: In Chicago, Barry Rozner writes the Bulls “seem to have absolutely no plan and no idea what they’re doing.” The Bulls traded Rose “because he couldn’t coexist in the same backcourt” as G Jimmy Butler, and now they have signed G Rajon Rondo who “can’t coexist with anyone.” The much bigger picture “is a muddled, fuzzy mess of contradictory statements from management about the process moving forward, and the question of how this gets the Bulls closer to winning an NBA title goes unanswered for another year” (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 7/5).