West Notes: Lakers, Russell Westbrook, Trail Blazers, Nuggets

Lakers

Power forward/center Anthony Davis was among those livid with the officiating after Saturday’s road overtime loss to the Celtics.

Davis was reacting to the missed call when LeBron James was fouled on a drive to the basket in the waning moments of regulation — which the league later admitted should have been whistled a foul.

“(Celtics forward Jayson Tatum) fouled him,” Davis said, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “He fouled him. Clearly. Clearly. It’s bulls—. … It’s unacceptable. And I guarantee nothing is going to happen to the refs. We got cheated tonight, honestly. It’s a blatant foul. … It’s unacceptable, to be honest. The refs were bad. They were bad tonight.”

Davis wasn’t the only one complaining. All of the Lakers were miffed, and they believed for good reason.

“I don’t understand. I don’t understand what we’re doing,” James said, via Dan Woike of the LA Times. “And I watch basketball every single day. I watch games every single day. And I don’t see it happening to nobody else. It’s just weird.”

• The Lakers continue to seek out trades centered on Russell Westbrook, though rival execs are skeptical they will be able to find one before the Feb. 9 deadline. We have much more on our Lakers page.
• Guard Austin Reaves will miss at least two more games with a hamstring injury, before having it re-evaluated on Feb. 2, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.

Trail Blazers

• Guard Josh Hart is “very available,” with multiple teams interested, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, via HoopsHype.
• As we relayed right here, the Cavaliers are among those interested. The Pistons and Warriors are some others, per Hoops Wire sources.
• The Blazers are on the lookout for athleticism in the frontcourt and “wing-shooting defenders” in trades, Fischer added.

Nuggets

Guard Bones Hyland is a name to watch ahead of the trade deadline, per Fischer.

“While Hyland still has two more years remaining on his rookie deal, an anticipation of (Bruce Brown‘s) next payday, plus Hyland’s upcoming second contract, has the tax-conscious Nuggets considering their options in the backcourt,” Fischer wrote. “Occasional clashes between Hyland and head coach Michael Malone‘s old-school mentality have also been a factor in Denver’s trade dialogue, sources said.”

• The Nuggets also have a $9.1 million trade exception they could use in a deal, without the need to give up a player, as relayed by Brandon Ewing of SB Nation.