West Rumors: Lakers, LeBron James, Nuggets, Warriors, Draymond Green

Lakers

Star forward LeBron James seemingly doesn’t want to just break the NBA’s all-time scoring record. From the sounds of things, he intends to smash it.

“I’m going to do it,” he told reporters of breaking the record, currently held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “It’s just a matter of time when I’m going to do it. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be in this league for at least a few more years.”

• James finished Tuesday’s win over the Knicks with 28 points, 10 rebounds and passed Mark Jackson and Steve Nash for fourth on the all-time assist list (10,338 overall).
• Lakers coach Darvin Ham on James, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN: “Regardless of how much he’s been criticized for a while for not taking the last shots and the overpassing, he’s just making the right plays.”
• The Lakers continue to search for trades centered on guards Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley. They have been in contact with the Hornets lately, sources said.

Nuggets

Guard Bones Hyland has been among the hottest names on the trade market, but indicated he’s not letting it impact his play.

“I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me at all,” he told Harrison Wind of DNVR. “I don’t pay no mind to it. Whatever happens, happens. I know God’s got me. I don’t really care.”

Hyland added he hasn’t spoken with anyone in the front office about the rumors.

“Naw, I just go day-to-day with it,” he told Wind. “Whatever happens, happens. I know I’m in God’s hands with whatever happens. I’m good regardless. I really don’t care.”

• Hyland is indeed open to being traded, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report/TNT. The Nuggets have found there are “a handful of teams” that are interested, Haynes added.

Warriors

Several rival front-office types think the Warriors should trade forward Draymond Green before he can opt out of his contract, which he is widely expected to do this summer, per Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports.

“They should [trade him this year],” a Western Conference executive told Deveney “If they made the decision that they’re not giving up any of the young kids, then that’s fine, but are you going to just keep chugging forward with what you’ve got? Obviously, the Draymond punch with (Jordan Poole) was a bigger deal than they let on, it is still dragging down that team. No doubt about it.”

Another West exec thinks there’s a “pretty strong” chance that Green leaves in free agency after the season.

“If they win a championship again this year, there will be pressure to keep things together, but the stuff with the punch in the preseason, that probably put the nail in it,” the exec told Deveney. “There was already a good chance he would go just because his production is not what it was and he is getting older (32). It would be hard to justify paying him $20-something-million a year.”