The Los Angeles Lakers hosted LiAngelo Ball for a workout this week as he goes through the draft process.

But the Lakers are not believed to have any intentions to add Ball to their program, even for the G League.

Ball is the younger brother of Lonzo Ball and played in Lithuania this season.

"The NBA executives I have spoken to about LiAngelo Ball have all said that they don’t feel he’s talented enough to play in the G-League," said Jeff Goodman.

Kobe Bryant has announced he will publish a book titled The Mamba Mentality: How I Play.

Bryant's book will be released on October 23, 2018 and include introductions by Pau Gasol and Phil Jackson.

Bryant retired following the 15-16 season.

"The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" book comes out October 23, 2018! Learn how I approached the process and the craft, accompanied by 20 yrs of photos from the incomparable @ADBPhotoInc. Intros by @paugasol & @PhilJackson11 https://t.co/Na41sWLmtp pic.twitter.com/POFZnOwZPm

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 29, 2018

The New York Knicks are in talks to hire Jud Buechler on the coaching staff of David Fizdale.

Buechler has coached as an assistant under Luke Walton with the Lakers, where he worked in player development. 

Keith Smart is also expected to be hired as a top assistant coach under Fizdale.

Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell headline the 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie Teams as unanimous selections.

Jayson Tatum nearly was a unanimous selection as well, earning 99 out of 100 First Team Votes.

Kyle Kuzma and Lauri Markkanen round out the First Team.

2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team
Donovan Mitchell
Ben Simmons
Jayson Tatum
Kyle Kuzma
Lauri Markkanen

2017-18 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
Dennis Smith Jr.
Lonzo Ball
John Collins
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Josh Jackson

The Dallas Mavericks are expected to pursue DeAndre Jordan, DeMarcus Cousins and Julius Randle in free agency.

Jordan and Randle are natives of Texas.

Jordan agreed to sign with the Mavericks in 2015 before ultimately changing his mind to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Cousins was widely expected to re-sign with the New Orleans Pelicans until he ruptured his Achilles and the team continued to play well without him. The Mavericks have an extensive history of working with Cousins' agent Jarinn Akana.

The Los Angeles Lakers have informed rival teams no player on their roster is untouchable in trade scenarios.

The Lakers would prefer to keep their young core in place, particularly Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart.

The Lakers have worked to position themselves for the 2018 and 2019 free agent classes ever since Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were hired to run their front office.

Some around the league believe the Lakers would be Kawhi Leonard's preferred destination should he be traded by the Spurs this offseason.

Julius Randle will be a restricted free agent this offseason and his future is almost certainly tied to how the Los Angeles Lakers fare in pursuing max free agents.

The teams with the most cap space this offseason figure to be those that are likely a few years away from contending.

“I just want to be in a great situation where I can continue to grow as a basketball player,” Randle said at the NBA Draft Combine on Thursday. “Going into my fifth year I really want to compete. I see the playoffs and the intensity and that’s something I really want to be a part of and experience ... That’s really all I’m looking for, just to have fun and compete in playing basketball and continue to grow as a player.”

Rob Pelinka sat down with Lonzo Ball at the end of his rookie season and implored him to get stronger this offseason.

"It was crystal clear," said Pelinka. "We sat down with a picture of MVP and First Team All-NBA type players, and we said 'Here is their body when they were 20. Here is their body when they were 23 and they became All-Stars or MVPs.' What you see in that transformation and it was a commitment to the weight room and to getting strong. 

"For us to succeed, Lonzo knows he has to be able to physically take an 82-game season and then a playoff stretch and to do that he has to improve his body. We challenged him there. He's already in the weight room working on that."

Pelinka said Ball is very well conditioned but he needs to add strength to stay healthy.

In discussing the Los Angeles Lakers' draft evaluation of Kyle Kuzma last year, Rob Pelinka talked about the type of players he and Magic Johnson are attempting to assemble.

"Magic and I are trying to build a team of interchangeable, versatile, positionless players," said Pelinka. "Kyle fits that for sure."

The Lakers could have two max contract slots this summer.

Pelinka was also asked about the role young players could play in trying to sign free agents.

"I think it's essential. The playoffs, this year, I think have revealed young players can be difference makers. In fact, as the game gets faster and more athletic, you need that to compete in today's NBA. So, we feel like our young core is incredibly attractive. The other thing we've restored is just sort of the ethos of the Lakers. It had become a little bit stagnant. Free agents weren't looking at the Lakers as a destination. To use a metaphor, it became a little bit like Blackberry versus Apple."

Kobe Bryant is enjoying his post-playing career life more than he anticipated.

“It’s actually better than I dreamed of or imagined it could be," said Bryant on Fox Sports Radio. "I’m very fortunate to be able to have found something that I love just as much as I loved basketball. It’s the same process, it’s a lot of work, a lot of attention to detail and getting up early, staying up late. Finding the right people to work with that share that same passion, love and obsessiveness for the craft. And when you do that, when you work with great people, the results tend to be great as well … I’m loving every minute of it.”

Bryant has won an Oscar and an Emmy since retiring.