West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: LAKERS_FAN89 on May 30, 2007, 10:08:26 PM
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KOBE IS STAYING YES!
Bryant asks to be traded, then backs off
By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer
Steve Kerr: Has Kobe gone to far?
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Believing he had been insulted and misled, Kobe Bryant asked the Los Angles Lakers for a trade Wednesday and insisted nothing could change his mind.
Then something did. He spoke with coach Phil Jackson and backed off his request.
"I don't want to go anywhere, this is my team," Bryant told KLAC radio. "I love it here. I called Phil, man, he and I talked, it was an emotional conversation, but he just said, `You know what, Kobe? Let us try to figure this thing out.'
"Phil is a guy I lean on a lot."
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Some three hours earlier, in an interview with ESPN radio, Bryant said: "I would like to be traded, yeah. Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there's no other alternative. It's rough, man, but I don't see how you can rebuild that trust. I just don't know how you can move forward in that type of situation."
Bryant also told KLAC, the Lakers' flagship station, that he hadn't heard from owner Jerry Buss, indicating a conversation could go a long way toward resolving the matter.
Buss issued a statement after Bryant's request, saying: "We are aware of the media reports. However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded. We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career. We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."
Bryant told KLAC that his agent had contacted general manager Mitch Kupchak early Wednesday.
Bryant, who helped the Lakers win three consecutive NBA championships, has four years left on the seven-year, $136.4 million contract he signed July 15, 2004. That was a day after Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat.
Bryant became infuriated Tuesday when a Los Angeles Times columnist quoted a Lakers "insider" as saying it was Bryant's insistence on getting away from O'Neal that prompted the trade to Miami.
Bryant told KLAC he knew who the so-called insider was, but wouldn't identify the person.
Bryant also said he feels Buss misled him three years ago -- right before he re-signed with the Lakers -- by telling him one thing and Jackson something else about the team's goals.
Bryant said he was told the Lakers would immediately try to rejoin the NBA's elite. But he said Jackson told him Tuesday that Buss was not bringing him back as coach following the 2003-04 season because the Lakers were committed to reducing payroll and rebuilding long term.
"They said nothing to me about a long-term plan. Absolutely nothing," Bryant told KLAC. "They told Phil one thing and they told me another. Actions speak louder than words."
Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, didn't respond to several messages left by The Associated Press.
The Lakers won championships from 2000-02 and reached the NBA finals again in 2004, losing to the Detroit Pistons in five games. The team was broken up at that time. O'Neal was traded, Jackson left and other stalwarts -- Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and Rick Fox -- went elsewhere or retired.
The Lakers failed to make the playoffs the following season. With Jackson returning before the 2005-06 campaign, they finished seventh in the Western Conference in each of the past two years, but were eliminated by Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs.
The Lakers appeared to be title contenders through the first half of this season, going 26-13 despite several injuries. But they lost 27 of their last 43 games to finish 42-40 before bowing to the Suns in five games.
Bryant urged the team at season's end to do what it takes to get back into contention. He essentially repeated those comments last weekend in an interview with the Times.
On Sunday, he suggested former Lakers general manager Jerry West should return. West left the team in the summer of 2000 and was succeeded by Kupchak.
West, an employee of the Lakers for about 40 years as a player, coach and executive, is under contract as the Memphis Grizzlies' president until July 1. He turned 69 this week and has remained a close friend of Kupchak's. West has said he has "no plans to seek employment with any other organization."
It was West who brought Bryant to the Lakers, trading center Vlade Divac to Charlotte in the summer of 1996 for the rights to Bryant -- the 13th pick in the NBA draft. Bryant was only 17 at the time.
Bryant has made the All-Star team in each of the past nine seasons, clearly establishing himself as an NBA great before age 30. Only one active NBA player, Kevin Garnett, has a longer tenure with one team than Bryant. Garnett has played 12 seasons for Minnesota.
Bryant's anger boiled over Tuesday, when he did a series of interviews bashing the Lakers.
"That place is a mess," Bryant said, referring to the team's front office. "If we're not making strides here to improve this team right now, to be aggressive in that nature, then what's the point of having me here?"
That same day, the 74-year-old Buss was arrested in Carlsbad for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was released on bail later in the day.
"The fact of the matter is that many people don't know what really went down when I was approaching free agency because I have stayed quiet about it this whole time," Bryant wrote Tuesday on his Web site. "The real facts are that Dr. Buss requested a meeting with me during the '04 season long before I opted out of my contract, and he told me he had already decided not to extend Shaq, as he was concerned about Shaq's age, fitness and contract demands.
"Dr. Buss made it clear that his decision was final, his mind was made up, and no matter what I decided to do with free agency, he was still going to move Shaq."
O'Neal said on the Philadelphia Inquirer's Web site he believed Bryant "100 percent."
"There is no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth," O'Neal added.
Bryant said he was considering signing with the Clippers and Chicago Bulls three years ago before hearing from Buss.
"Dr. Buss promised me he would rebuild right away, and I believed him," Bryant wrote. "That is why I put my trust in the Lakers. But when stuff like this is coming from the 'inside,' all I can do is hope that someone from the 'inside' comes forward to support me and set straight the facts of what really happened. This is the TRUTH."
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Well, aside from Kobe acting about as sane as Artest lately, I have to say that I would think twice on "building a contender" around a person that has 1.) publically insulted me and the whole FO and 2.) tried to extort me into making major moves... If I was Dr. Buss, a rich senile fuck, I'd think twice about pleasing Kobe.
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youre not
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Well he's staying..for at least another 2 then he's off. THe clippers?......The knicks!!
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http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=981~2748~617~2760~615~1024&teams=11~11~11~13~13~13
something like this will happen.
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http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=981~2748~617~2760~615~1024&teams=11~11~11~13~13~13
something like this will happen.
LOL, I dont like that trade from a Pacer standpoint at all, no way we give up Granger and JO in the same package unless we get Kobe lol
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http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=981~2748~617~2760~615~1024&teams=11~11~11~13~13~13
something like this will happen.
LOL, I dont like that trade from a Pacer standpoint at all, no way we give up Granger and JO in the same package unless we get Kobe lol
Are you insane? You're getting Odom AND Bynum, plus Kwame's expiring contract. That's BY FAR the best you will get for JO. No way I'd do that.
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Well, aside from Kobe acting about as sane as Artest lately, I have to say that I would think twice on "building a contender" around a person that has 1.) publically insulted me and the whole FO and 2.) tried to extort me into making major moves... If I was Dr. Buss, a rich senile fuck, I'd think twice about pleasing Kobe.
If your star is being undeniably alienated by you and your front office, and that star is the best player in the world, then you'd be an idiot to think twice...Good thing you're not Jerry Buss.
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Kobe's not staying, he doesn't want to be traded...but he knows he should be traded...geez guys lol
and JO n Granger n Tinsley?!?!?!?! fuck u crazy?...aint happening , I'd hate the pacers forever for something so dumb lol
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Wednesday morning, to ESPN radio's Stephen A. Smith:
"I would like to be traded, yeah…. At this point I'll go play on Pluto."
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Midday, with ESPN's Dan Patrick:
"I don't want to go anywhere else. I want to be here for the rest of my career."
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Later, on L.A.'s AM 570 KLAC:
Phil Jackson said, " 'Let us try to work that out…. ' That made me feel a lot better."
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Finally, in a Times interview:
"It's just a matter of I don't want to go no place else." But asked if he still wanted to be traded: "Yes."
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Wednesday morning, to ESPN radio's Stephen A. Smith:
"I would like to be traded, yeah…. At this point I'll go play on Pluto."
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Midday, with ESPN's Dan Patrick:
"I don't want to go anywhere else. I want to be here for the rest of my career."
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Later, on L.A.'s AM 570 KLAC:
Phil Jackson said, " 'Let us try to work that out…. ' That made me feel a lot better."
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Finally, in a Times interview:
"It's just a matter of I don't want to go no place else." But asked if he still wanted to be traded: "Yes."
?
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Kobe's not staying, he doesn't want to be traded...but he knows he should be traded...geez guys lol
and JO n Granger n Tinsley?!?!?!?! fuck u crazy?...aint happening , I'd hate the pacers forever for something so dumb lol
JO's value = Odom's value (maybe JO has the slight edge, but value changes when a superstar is unhappy and wants to relocate to a specific location. Also consider Odom is younger and still growing, while most people would consider JO past his prime.)
Bynum's value >>> Granger's value (Bynum = number 3 overall pick in this years draft [number 1 in last years]. Teams are calling about him left and right)
Kwame's value >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tinsley's value (consider you're trading an expiring contract for someone who has a 1% chance of staying healthy AND is overpaid through 2011 :-X).
The Pacers would be NUTS to not take Odom AND Bynum (ANDDDD Kwame's expiring contract, which triples his value) in a deal for JO....
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Kobe = The Game of the NBA...
For real though - to me he saying that he loves LA, the Lakers, wants to retire there, etc. But however due to the circumstances he feels like he has to be traded. Basically saying that he got jerked and his hands are tied - nothing left to do but leave.
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Kobe = The Game of the NBA...
For real though - to me he saying that he loves LA, the Lakers, wants to retire there, etc. But however due to the circumstances he feels like he has to be traded. Basically saying that he got jerked and his hands are tied - nothing left to do but leave.
He's saying that the front office has been fucked, and if they can't fix the problems they've created that the last option is to trade him, despite him loving LA and wanting to be a Laker for the rest of his career. Dunno how that compares to the Game, but what Kobe is doing is definitely understandable...PeAcE
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Well of course at the very moment of the trade neither Pacer-Fans nor Laker-Fans will love the trade, cause both have to part with players they hold high. But after a few months it will become clear which team got the better end of the deal.
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Jermaine O'neal to the Lakers
Yes.. people.. this is not only a rumor but its a fact and it could happen within the next couple of weeks..
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More News On Jermaine O'Neal and now Camby?
Journal Times
Several NBA officials are convinced the Pacers will trade Jermaine O’Neal to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.
Lakers Talk With Nuggets About Camby
L.A. Times
The Los Angeles Lakers have begun talks with the Denver Nuggets regarding center Marcus Camby, the NBA defensive player of the year, who has led the league in blocked shots the last two seasons.
Camby, 33, averaged 11.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks last season. He has a decent midrange jump shot and doesn't demand the ball often in the post, doing most of his scoring with outside shots and after offensive rebounds.
The Nuggets are reportedly trying to lower their payroll, which would make Lakers center Kwame Brown a possibility in trade talks, a league source said.
Brown has only one year left on his contract, for $9.1 million; Camby has three years and about $26 million left on his contract. The Lakers might have to add another low-salaried player or a draft pick to make such a deal more equitable for the Nuggets.
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I don't get that lowing the payroll shit unless it is to get under the cap or something. Camby >>> Kwame. Would be a good deal for the Lakers to win NOW, since Camby is a lot older than Kwame. But obviously the Lakers have to go for the short-term solution now, hence trading Bynum, pleasing Kobe etc.
Some MLE nigga... Farmar
Kobe... Evans
Walton... Radmanovic
O'Neal... Turiaf
Camby... some Vet min nigga
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More News On Jermaine O'Neal and now Camby?
Journal Times
Several NBA officials are convinced the Pacers will trade Jermaine O’Neal to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.
:-X
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Marcus would Love to Play for the Lakers" - ESPN Radio
Marcus Cambys Agent said earlier today that Marcus Camby would love to play for the Los Angeles Lakers does not mean it will happen but let see what it do.
what yall think?
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Marcus would Love to Play for the Lakers" - ESPN Radio
Marcus Cambys Agent said earlier today that Marcus Camby would love to play for the Los Angeles Lakers does not mean it will happen but let see what it do.
what yall think?
Giving up Kwame's sorry excuse for a #1 pick for the defensive player of the year is definitely a great trade for the Lakers, especially if they give up Bynum for JO. But in other news, I have read that the Nuggets laughed at the Lakers for suggesting that uneven trade.
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Marcus would Love to Play for the Lakers" - ESPN Radio
Marcus Cambys Agent said earlier today that Marcus Camby would love to play for the Los Angeles Lakers does not mean it will happen but let see what it do.
what yall think?
Giving up Kwame's sorry excuse for a #1 pick for the defensive player of the year is definitely a great trade for the Lakers, especially if they give up Bynum for JO. But in other news, I have read that the Nuggets laughed at the Lakers for suggesting that uneven trade.
Source?
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Marcus would Love to Play for the Lakers" - ESPN Radio
Marcus Cambys Agent said earlier today that Marcus Camby would love to play for the Los Angeles Lakers does not mean it will happen but let see what it do.
what yall think?
Giving up Kwame's sorry excuse for a #1 pick for the defensive player of the year is definitely a great trade for the Lakers, especially if they give up Bynum for JO. But in other news, I have read that the Nuggets laughed at the Lakers for suggesting that uneven trade.
Source?
The Nuggets, who have no draft picks, have described guard Von Wafer as their second-round pick this year and believe he is more talented than anyone they saw at the NBA predraft camp. ... Word is the Nuggets laughed at the Lakers last week when they called dangling butter-fingered big man Kwame Brown for Marcus Camby. ...
http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_6048315
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Lakers News
Odom and Bynum plus Sasha are going to Indiana for Jermaine O'neal and Jamaal Tinsley. Also the Lakers are trading the #19 pick and Brian Cook to Sacramento for Ron Artest. i did it heard this somebody else did im going wait in sports central what they will say.
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Lakers News
Odom and Bynum plus Sasha are going to Indiana for Jermaine O'neal and Jamaal Tinsley. Also the Lakers are trading the #19 pick and Brian Cook to Sacramento for Ron Artest. i did it heard this somebody else did im going wait in sports central what they will say.
They'd really give us Artest for Cook and 19? I guess...
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Lakers News
Odom and Bynum plus Sasha are going to Indiana for Jermaine O'neal and Jamaal Tinsley. Also the Lakers are trading the #19 pick and Brian Cook to Sacramento for Ron Artest. i did it heard this somebody else did im going wait in sports central what they will say.
They'd really give us Artest for Cook and 19? I guess...
Impossible. The Lakers are over the cap thefore if any trade is made the salaries must match withen 12% Cook makes $3.2 million, Artest makes $7.8 million.
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lmao I'd rather waive artest before I trade him for cook :laugh:
btw JO and Tinsley for Odom, Bynum, Sasha doesn't work out salary-wise either :camp:
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Lakers News
Odom and Bynum plus Sasha are going to Indiana for Jermaine O'neal and Jamaal Tinsley. Also the Lakers are trading the #19 pick and Brian Cook to Sacramento for Ron Artest. i did it heard this somebody else did im going wait in sports central what they will say.
BS. Don't post shit like that as fact without a source.
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lmao I'd rather waive artest before I trade him for cook :laugh:
btw JO and Tinsley for Odom, Bynum, Sasha doesn't work out salary-wise either :camp:
Good, because that would be a terrible trade on our behalf... Artest doesn't currently hold much value... a 19th pick in a deep draft like this one is pretty valuable though.
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nik what are u talkin about this is some info i got.
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nik what are u talkin about this is some info i got.
Yea, and it's BS...
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Lakers News
Odom and Bynum plus Sasha are going to Indiana for Jermaine O'neal and Jamaal Tinsley. Also the Lakers are trading the #19 pick and Brian Cook to Sacramento for Ron Artest. i did it heard this somebody else did im going wait in sports central what they will say.
BS. Don't post shit like that as fact without a source.
How come you can?
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if u dont like its dont post shit then.
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if u dont like its dont post shit then.
It's not that I don't like it, it's just that it isn't true...
Lakers News
Odom and Bynum plus Sasha are going to Indiana for Jermaine O'neal and Jamaal Tinsley. Also the Lakers are trading the #19 pick and Brian Cook to Sacramento for Ron Artest. i did it heard this somebody else did im going wait in sports central what they will say.
BS. Don't post shit like that as fact without a source.
How come you can?
Are you sure that happened, or are you just riding my nuts again?
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well i dont know..the info i got it he post it up.
but its ridicolous.
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If LA was smart they would do everything they could to trade Kobe. They are a mess right now. They need to blow it up and rebuild and they cant do that if they are paying Kobe 20+ million a year to get knocked out of the first round every year.
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^^LOL@"smart" and "trade Kobe" in the same sentence...
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L.A. Times: The Times first reported the talks as a multi-player negotiation involving the Lakers, Minnesota, Indiana and possibly a fourth team. Sources now say the Lakers are dealing directly with Minnesota and disagree about the involvement of the Pacers and a fourth team.
The Lakers are reportedly offering the Timberwolves Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown for Garnett.
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Kobe will be boooed in L.A. this year
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The Lakers are reportedly offering the Timberwolves Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown for Garnett.
That's probably too much... :-\
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Kobe will be boooed in L.A. this year
Not if he stays and gets us to contention like he's trying...
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Lakers stay on Garnett watch
Front office scrambles, but Timberwolves seek youth, better draft pick and don't like Odom's deal.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
If Monday brought expectation and exhilaration to Lakers fans, Tuesday delivered silence.
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor met with team officials in Minneapolis and then left for a honeymoon in China without signing off on a deal to send Kevin Garnett to the Lakers for a package including Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom, which put the Garnett-to-L.A. scenarios back where they were a week ago — remote territory.
The buzz in the Lakers organization after owner Jerry Buss spoke with Taylor a few days ago was replaced by the fact that Kevin McHale's initial reaction to the trade proposal had carried over into Tuesday.
McHale, the Timberwolves' vice president of basketball operations, felt the Lakers don't possess a good enough pick in Thursday's draft (19th overall) or enough promising youth beyond Andrew Bynum to part with Garnett.
Furthermore, The Times has learned that the Timberwolves are not overly enamored with Odom's contract, which has two more years worth $27.4 million with no opt-out.
Garnett is due $22 million next season and he could opt out before making $23 million in 2008-09, which means the Timberwolves would be on the hook for more money with Odom than they would have been if Garnett had opted out next summer.
Still, the Lakers' front office is in motion, seeing what can be worked out in the hours leading up to Thursday's draft.
"We're trying to be as aggressive as we could be, which means a lot of phone calls are being made and a lot of phone calls are being received," said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak, speaking generally about the state of business at the team's training facility in El Segundo. "It is very busy and I don't anticipate that changing until the draft is over."
The head-to-head dealing isn't necessarily dead between the Lakers and Timberwolves, but a third team would probably have to be pulled into the mix to supply the Timberwolves with another youthful piece and a better draft pick. The Atlanta Hawks, with the third and 11th picks in the draft, would be a logical place to start.
But if Monday was any indication when a four-team deal centered around Garnett broke apart, another multi-team trade scenario might be difficult for the Lakers to assemble before the draft.
Also adding pressure to strike a deal is a $6.75-million trade kicker in Garnett's contract that could push the issue the next few days.
If he is traded before July 1, the kicker money can be split into two parts, over last season and next season, which would potentially lessen the luxury-tax impact by a team that acquires him. Beginning July 1, all $6.75 million would have to go toward next season's payroll, presenting more of a challenge for a team facing luxury-tax issues.
On July 1, the Lakers will be looking at a roster with only 10 players under contract for $58.4 million next season. However, that does not include money for draft picks, their own free agents — Luke Walton and Chris Mihm — and an estimated $5 million for the first year of a contract of a free agent signed via the mid-level exception.
The NBA's luxury tax kicked in at $65.4 million last season, with teams paying a dollar in taxes for every dollar they were over the threshold.
Beyond the Lakers and Timberwolves not initially connecting, a source close to the 10-time All-Star said Garnett has Pacific Division rival Phoenix higher than L.A. on a short list of preferred destinations.
"He definitely wouldn't mind getting alley-oops from Steve Nash," the source said.
Lakers center Kwame Brown is scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery this morning, his second operation since the season ended.
Brown had reconstructive ankle surgery last month and was expected to miss at least four months.
Brown, who has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors, will have a bursa sac and scar tissue removed from his right shoulder. A timetable for his recovery will not be known until after the shoulder procedure, although he is still expected back in time for training camp in October.
The surgery will be performed in Los Angeles by Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.
Brown missed 41 games last season because of his shoulder and, more prominently, his left ankle.
mike.bresnahan@latimes.com
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Mitch Kupshack Interview
Grey: Are the Lakers going to trade Kobe?
Mitch: We've had talks about this behind close doors between myself, Jerry Buss, and Kobe. And what was said in that meeting will remain between the three of us.
Grey: Is anyone on this Lakers team untouchable?
Mitch: No, no one on this team's untouchable.
Grey: When you said no one's untouchable, do you also mean Kobe Bryant?
Mitch: (pauses for 2 seconds) Uh, after the end of the season I made a statement that we *intend* on building this team around Kobe, and that no one on this team is untouchable, and we remain committed to that.
Grey: If you could appease Kobe by making a trade, do you believe you could make a big trade happen?
Mitch: There will always be trade possibilities available and we'll continue to explore that. We will do what is best for the franchise.
THANK YOU CLUBLAKERS FOR THE RECAP
Direct quote from Daily News:
Quote:
"As I said at the end of the season, with the exception of Kobe Bryant, who we intend to build this team around, nobody is untouchable," Kupchak said.
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Kobe will be boooed in L.A. this year
Yep I think so too Kobe should :-X
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Thank god he is staying
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Fox Sports: KG TO L.A. MAKES SENSE
Thanks to KobeNo1 for the find:
Garnett to L.A. makes sense
Charley Rosen
Special to FOXSports.com,
What with all the rumors, the affirmations, and the denials coming out of Minnesota, one thing is clear: The T-Wolves absolutely must trade Kevin Garnett.
The only other alternative is for Glen Taylor to start writing checks humongous enough to attract one or more blue-chip free agents like Chauncey Billups, Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter or Gerald Wallace. While doing this would certainly subject the Wolves to an equally humongous over-the-cap surcharge, necessity is often the forerunner of humongous profits. Since players do not receive paychecks during the playoffs, Taylor would probably recoup his expenditures should his team advance into the second round.
It's all about priming the pump. Spending money to make money.
Barring this foray into adventurous capitalism, there will be no way for the Wolves to significantly enhance their roster by any other means. Dealing Mike James and Justin Reed for Juwan Howard is not nearly enough of a tweak for KG to regain his lost enthusiasm and relish playing another season in Minnesota. Nor do the Wolves have sufficient remaining chips to make a meaningful trade.
The only real questions left are these: Where will Garnett wind up? And which possible destination is best for him?
Apparently, the only exchange that Kevin McHale will agree to with Phoenix is KG (and several warm bodies) for Amare Stoudemire (and several warm bodies). Too bad neither Garnett nor Stoudemire would find any degree of solace by changing places.
Garnett in Phoenix wouldn't work simply because KG cannot run with Steve Nash. Garnett has always been a go-from-a-stop player. Having to receive the ball, and then make appropriate decisions while at full speed would displace Garnett from his comfort zone. For sure, his occasional running dunk would be dramatic, but so would KG's turnovers, poor passes and weary legs.
Since Stoudemire is an excellent finisher and a subpar creator, he'll find that life without Nash will be a nightmare of battling his way through double-teams. Operating on his own, Stoudemire will be forced into putting up many more difficult shots than he's used to taking, and his shooting percentage will plummet.
Any swap involving Garnett for Stoudemire would be bad for both teams.
Another widely rumored transaction features KG going to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. In fact, this would be Garnett's best possible destination. Playing in the triangle would maximize Garnett's versatility, i.e., his ability to pass, and to score from both the high- and the low-post, as well as minimizing the body contact (invariably with bigger, stronger opponents) that working in other offensive schemes would subject him to. Garnett would likewise thrive in the unselfish game plan preached by Phil Jackson.
But the biggest plus in KG's suiting up for the Lakers would be the presence of Kobe Bryant. The fact is that Garnett is NOT a franchise player. He lacks the clutch-time charisma and reliability to carry a ball club deep into playoff competition. Only rarely does he reach out and grab a vital ball game by the throat.
Garnett is a counter-puncher, a shadow-boxer.
Living in Kobe's long shadow, and having Kobe responsible for producing in virtually all end-game situations, would free Garnett to play under greatly reduced pressure. Perhaps Garnett's scoring totals would decrease, but his shooting percentage would sky-rocket.
At the other end of the transaction, Odom would be a monster with the majority of Minnesota's offense going through him. He could easily post Garnett-like numbers with the Wolves.
Of course there's the problem of Odom's most recent shoulder surgery. There's obviously some kind of structural weakness in his left shoulder that the latest surgery either will or will not cure. However, with an agreeable prognosis from the surgeons, Odom would present a risk well worth the taking.
Bynum is a potential stud in the middle whose resume is insufficient in only two particulars: Experience. And work ethic. Hopefully, and presumably, Bynum's relocating from the Hollywood Lakers to the Wolves' winter wonderland would get him to take the game and his own considerable abilities much more seriously.
It's easy to project Bynum as eventually becoming an 18-10 man in the middle. A rare commodity.
Despite the pieces fitting so neatly together, it seems unlikely that McHale will ever enter into any deal with the Lakers. That's because there's too much bad blood still congealed in his memory bank from the fierce rivalry that existed between Boston and Los Angeles during his playing career.
The guess is that McHale would much rather do business with Danny Ainge. But with the Celtics' blockbuster trade on draft day, that avenue seems to be closed.
The latest entry into the Garnett sweepstakes is the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs would probably seek to unload most of their trash — Austin Croshere, Erick Dampier, Devean George and Jason Terry, while including bona-fide players such as Devin Harris or Josh Howard. While the Wolves might try to dump flotsam like Ricky Davis, Troy Hudson, Marko Jaric, Mark Blount and Mark Madsen combined with semi-legitimate talents such as Trenton Hassell and Craig Smith. But it's hard to imagine the Wolves accepting any package that fails to include Dirk Nowitzki.
Trouble is that a Nowitzki-Garnett swap would be a lateral move for both teams since both of these guys are high-scoring stars that fail in the clutch.
Nothing would be accomplished in this unlikely scenario except a change of address for a pair of big-name players.
The Warriors have also been trying to pry Garnett loose. Nearly everybody who's ever played for Nellie swears they've had a good time. That's because Nellie mostly lets his guys play one-on-one or two-on-two ball with few restrictions.
There's no doubt that Garnett might also enjoy running loose in Oakland. But does he really long to play harum-scarum basketball for a team that's perpetually destined to fall at the hands of the first disciplined team they face in the playoffs? If that kind of spectacular, individualistic, yet frivolous game plan appeals to Garnett, then all the less power to him.
In lieu of any other possible deals, the Lakers are the Big Ticket's best possible destination.
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Andrew Bynum Impressive. L.A. Times
NBA
Lakers can only wish on star player Kobe Bryant
With Andrew Bynum showing up daily to work out, impressing skeptics among the Lakers, they're now considering the possibility that their best move may be no move.
I don't care if Bryant does a feature-length movie in which he curses Bynum's name and offers to carry him piggyback to New Jersey to get Kidd. It's not impossible to imagine Bynum at 14 points and nine rebounds and the Lakers at, say, 48 wins.
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That might not do it, but if Bryant leaves — which is the way to bet in any case — they'll at least have a young 7-footer.
Of course, if Bryant goes to the East — how about New York! — the league office will praise his name.
Until then, this league still has a little problem.
Let's say Garnett becomes a Warrior, and David Stern still refuses to reseed any portion of the playoffs.
It can't get any worse than the San Antonio-Cleveland mismatch. Nevertheless, my heart doesn't beat faster at the thought of a showdown between the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, Jazz or Warriors and the plucky Chicago Bulls.
Stern's continuing denial preserves the East as the NBA's kiddies pool. Eyeing the other tykes, the Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith advised the Bulls to stand pat with their Mini-Me front line of 6-7 Ben Wallace, 6-7 Tyrus Thomas and 6-8 Luol Deng, rather than pursue Garnett.
"It probably will take another miserable, one-sided Finals or two for [Stern] to finally acknowledge the obvious and change the format of the postseason tournament," Smith wrote. "So why not be patient instead of breaking up what you have?"
Of course, with Bryant's exquisite timing, I expect him to go East … just in time to see Stern announce that they'll finally reseed.
I hate to get on Bryant day after day because it has really been a privilege to watch him. He's not even a bad guy, although he is an imperious one.
However, we're a long way from the first-person piece in Dime Magazine in early 2006 when he wrote, "I am determined to lead this organization back to the top. The people who once celebrated me are the same people who doubt me now. They say I don't have Shaq, that I can't win, that it's over."
One thing I never doubt about Bryant is his sincerity. Now to see which organization he has in mind.
mark.heisler@latimes.com
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lmao. Bynum is killing the franchise.