Kings power forward Trey Lyles is set to be in training camp with Team Canada this July, and will compete for a spot on this year’s Paris Olympics squad, per Mark Jones of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Jones, Lyles would have suited up in the FIBA World Cup last season, but wanted to preserve his body to avoid injury during a free agent summer. He’s not a lock to make the Canadian roster, but could provide valuable floor spacing from the frontcourt.
There’s more out of California:
- The Lakers are considering several candidates for their No. 17 first round pick in this year’s draft, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Time. Providence guard Devin Carter, USC guard Isaiah Collier and Duke guard Jared McCain are all intriguing potential fits for a team that could use some backcourt depth, says Woike.
- Longtime NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick, now an ESPN commentator and podcaster, is seen as a top contender to be hired as the Lakers‘ next head coach. If he’s offered the Los Angeles gig, he’ll need to truly weigh the pros and cons of leaving his current media position, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN (YouTube video link). “I have no doubt that J.J. is going to have a strong performance because he’s been preparing for this for a long time,” Windhorst said. “I think the question that’s being asked here is how much should J.J. really want this job? And that’s one of the reasons why I think there’s people in his life, in fact, I know there’s people in his life, who have said ‘Are you sure this is the opportunity you want? That this is what you want to leave for? Because this is such a challenging job.’”
- Lakers majority owner Jeanie Buss has been receiving blow-back recently after the team missed out on hiring Dan Hurley as the team’s head coach, as well as what many perceived as a muted response to the passing of L.A. legend Jerry West, writes Jim Alexander of The Orange County Register.