NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls and More

Injuries are an unfortunate part of sports, but they have hit some teams harder than others in the early going of the 2014-15 NBA season. As a result, rumors about free-agent pickups are circulating around the Association because of available roster spots.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls in particular are in need of some more healthy players, so it should come as no surprise that they are the teams in some of the most recent speculation. 

Read on to see the latest from Los Angeles and Chicago as well as some interesting developments in the fate of one of the top NBA draft prospects.

Los Angeles Lakers 

David Pick of Eurobasket provided an update on the Lakers:

Gal Mekel, Jordan Hamilton, Dwight Buycks, Quincy Miller, Tyrus Thomas and Roscoe Smith have all reportedly been called in for recent tryouts. There is everything from pass-first point guards to athletic forwards who can slash to the rim on that list, so it is difficult to pin down exactly what Los Angeles is looking for here.

The Lakers do have a disabled player exception thanks to the injury of Julius Randle and could land another one because Steve Nash is out.

Between season-ending injuries to both Randle and Nash and hamstring issues that have kept Ryan Kelly off the floor, the Lakers simply need healthy bodies. With so many players working out, it may take some time to evaluate which player to keep, if any. 

Of course, the Lakers have won two of three games, so perhaps the front office is seeing if the current roster comes together a bit with Nick Young healthy again before making any moves.

Chicago Bulls 

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune provided an update on the Bulls’ short-term plans:

Chicago plays the Utah Jazz on Monday as the next step in its current seven-game road trip. It is only November, but Derrick Rose has missed most of the season with various ailments, Pau Gasol has missed time with a calf injury, Taj Gibson is dealing with an injured ankle, and Kirk Hinrich is now out. 

With no Rose or Hinrich, the point guard duties fall on the shoulders of Aaron Brooks. While he has been an impressive player off the bench for the Bulls this season, it is asking a lot of Brooks to carry the majority of the load by himself.

The Bulls have dealt with injury issues for the past two years. A glass half-full approach would suggest that it’s better to have this spate of setbacks in November than closer to the playoffs, but it has become a worrisome pattern.

Some credit goes to Tom Thibodeau for directing his team into the playoffs recently at far less than 100 percent, but the Bulls are supposed to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference this season. The only way to do that is with healthy bodies, which may warrant a short-term roster move, as Johnson suggested.

Emmanuel Mudiay 

Emmanuel Mudiay originally gave a verbal commitment to SMU to play college basketball this season, but he decided to play professionally in China instead as a member of the Guangdong Tigers.

The 6’5” point guard is an athletic specimen who can blow past defenders off the dribble and hit from the outside. He is a potential top-five pick in the upcoming draft, which sparked rumors about his upcoming plans and anonymous quotes from front offices, via Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com:

His fast start is enough to spark speculation from front offices that Mudiay will leave before the regular season ends in mid-February to keep him healthy and keep his Draft standing high -- and keep him from the prying eyes of NBA scouts.

"They could," an executive said of the decision to shut down that Mudiay's inner-circle may face. "They could for sure."

Said an NBA general manager: "I could see, if his stock is raised, him saying, 'I'm checking out.' I could see that. Does he do it? I don't know. But look what happened with [Dante] Exum last year. It didn't really hurt him, did it? There's an argument to be made that [Mudiay] doesn't have to do anything."

Dante Exum’s situation was a bit different because his high school career ended in Australia before working out during the second half of the 2013-14 NBA season.

For what it’s worth, Mudiay himself responded to these rumors (via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv):

Emmanuel Mudiay denied reports he might leave China before their season ends in order to boost his NBA stock.

'This is all rumors, it’s completely false,' Mudiay told reporters in China, according to this report which was translated. 'The media are the ones that like to come out with these things, but it’s not the reality.'

Mudiay’s talent is well-known, but scouts have picked apart other top-notch prospects in the past. Between that and the injury risk that comes with playing in China, it is not hard to see why speculation has popped up regarding Mudiay’s plans.

However, it’s hard to argue with a statement from Mudiay himself.

Regardless of whether he finishes the season in China or not, Mudiay is an elite talent who will hear his name called early on draft day. The only thing that really matters at this point in terms of his NBA future is staying healthy.

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