The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[GangstaBoogy]

Small piece of info. NBA.com finally changed Kobe's jersey number on the roster

 24       Kobe Bryant      G      6-6      220      08/23/1978        Lower Merion HS (PA)      10

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Cook feels at home in LA

By John Supinie
Copley News Service
Published Saturday, August 12, 2006


CHAMPAIGN — Brian Cook gripped a basketball for the first time in a month late Thursday night, when a group of former and current Illinois players met at the Ubben Basketball Complex.
 
Cook broke his thumb during a pickup game at a Los Angeles sports club last month. With the pin removed last week, the Lincoln native is back to preparing for his fourth season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I’m really glad to be back with the Lakers,” said Cook, who was signed to a $1.8 million extension for the upcoming season. “I’m trying to do another extension and prolong my career there.”

Cook recently bought a house in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and he would like to find a home in the Lakers’ rotation. Last season was Cook’s first in coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.

“I love the triangle offense,” Cook said. “It suits my game real well for a passing big guy, a shooting big guy, a team player. It’s a great fit for me.”

The Lakers signed Vladimir Radmanovic to a five-year, $31.7-million contract, and the power forward’s free-agent move from the Clippers to the Lakers could make it tougher for Cook to see playing time.

Cook and former Illini Jerrance Howard, of Peoria Central, directed a camp at Judah Christian High School in Champaign this week. The highlight came Friday, when former Illini, including Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown played in a game featuring former and current Illini.

Williams earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie team last spring. The Utah point guard has set higher standards heading into his second season.

“My goal for the rest of my career is to be an all-star every year and win a championship,” he said. “(His rookie season) was a learning experience, fighting through adversity of not playing. It was like adjusting from high school to college, except 10 times worse.”

Head’s job with the Houston Rockets is to play defense “and get the ball to Yao (Ming),” he said.

Brown, who was taken in the second round by the Utah Jazz, wouldn’t comment on European reports that he was contemplating an offer to play overseas. “No matter what happens, I’m still going to go out there and play hard,” he said.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Props 2 PLANT.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

[Doggystylin]

lmao^^^

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Rick Fox & Lakers Acting.

I'm never terribly confident about projects involving David Arquette (although thankfully, it sounds like the spazzy one will remain behind the camera), but I'd tune in to check out Rick Fox's work. Fox is that rare athlete-turned-thespian that can actually act his way into a puppet show. He did a nice job in a small "He Got Game" role and was absolutely terrific as prisoner Jackson Vayhue on "Oz". I have a few movie geek friends who are huge "Oz" fans and don't follow sports whatsoever. They assumed Fox was a professional actor who happens to be very tall. Considering how critical these guys are, thems are hard earned props. I talked with Fox a few times about acting when he was on the team and it's a skill he treats with respect. He took (and may still take) private instruction and wasn't satisfied simply cashing in on his famous name (the "Kazaam"-esque route most athletes use to get into film).


I imagine Fox's role on "Dirt" will be more demanding than Luke Walton's upcoming acting debut (which BK and I will review), but I'm open to being surprised. And who knows what dramatic layers Luke may add to his scenes playing one-on-one ball? All those years spent listening to drunken yahoos imitate Big Red may provide an internal fire the novice can bring to his performance. Until I see proof otherwise, I'm keeping Daytime Emmy hope alive.

Just out of curiosity, which current Laker would you peg as the best legit actor and why? You could obviously go a lot of ways with this question. If Kobe Bryant's ability to chew out a ref translates onto the big screen, he's perfectly capable of a dramatic scene. And he does have that "stare" going for him. Frankly, Kobe's oft been accused of acting since the moment he entered the NBA. Ronny Turiaf certainly has the requisite energy a performer needs and he's obviously not afraid to risk looking silly. Smush Parker spends much of his time poker faced, making him perhaps ideal for an undercover agent role ("Smush Brasco," anyone?). Jordan Farmar is an L.A. native who's barely left the city limits over the course of his lifetime. Hard to believe a little of "the industry" hasn't seeped into the kid. And you obviously can't discount the acting tips Lamar Odom may have picked up on set of "Van Wilder" while playing "Coolidge Chickadee Player."

But I'm gonna go out on a dark horse limb and say Sasha Vujacic is your winner. In his two years as a Laker, I've seen endless variations of "The Sasha Face" each time he's called for a foul. Just when I think it's not humanly possible for Sasha to pull out another version of his classic "What??? Me??? Why???" look after an obvious whistle, the guy finds a way to keep it fresh. So much emotion! So much expression! So much bewilderment as he can't understand how he managed to pick up that foul 30 feet from the action. And while actors often have trouble working in their second language, if Sasha's capable of channeling such emotion into a meaty supporting role, kid's got "Oscar" written all over him.

[GangstaBoogy]

One more move will happen before training camp begins.

You guys can lock this topic now. This will be my first and maybe my last post. I just want to give you guys a heads up. Those of you who aren't expecting any trades will be quite surprised. A small move that boosts this team. Mitch did his homework this time.

I saw someone post that on the Lakers forum. Don't know how true it is, but hopefully there's another move being made...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

One more move will happen before training camp begins.

You guys can lock this topic now. This will be my first and maybe my last post. I just want to give you guys a heads up. Those of you who aren't expecting any trades will be quite surprised. A small move that boosts this team. Mitch did his homework this time.

I saw someone post that on the Lakers forum. Don't know how true it is, but hopefully there's another move being made...

Please do us a favor and don't post blatantly non credible BS like this in the OFFICIAL Lakers thread.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Definitely looks like there won't be a Laron Profit or Kareem Rush in the Lakers near future...


http://www.insidesocal.com/nbaplayoffs/

It took Laron Profit nearly seven months just to be cleared to play again after undergoing surgery in December. Now the free-agent guard is trying to find an NBA job.

With Profit rehabbing after the surgery in Los Angeles, the assumption has been that he would come to training camp with the Lakers and try to win a spot on the roster. But Profit's agent, Andre Buck, said several teams have shown interest in Profit, provided he can prove he is healthy.

The Lakers also added two veteran guards this summer in Shammond Williams and Maurice Evans, leaving Profit to question the role he would play with the team. Profit was averaging 4.2 points and playing 11.2 minutes a game before his injury.

"He would have loved to go back to the Lakers," said Buck, who did not rule out such a return. "But he wants to be somewhere he's going to have the opportunity to contribute the same way he did with L.A. last year until his injury."
Buck said Memphis has shown the strongest interest of any team in Profit. Other interested teams include Denver, New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Washington and the Lakers. Profit has yet to start auditioning for teams, Buck said, but likely will spend August and September doing so.

Another player who probably won't be coming back to the Lakers is guard Kareem Rush, who was released by Charlotte with nine games left last season. Lakers coach Phil Jackson defended Rush at the time, even as the Bobcats questioned Rush's commitment.

"I have had some conversations with the Lakers, but with the recent trades, signing Kareem does not seem likely," agent Aaron Goodwin wrote in an e-mail. "Teams are interested, but Kareem has been put into a position where teams are wondering about his supposed attitude before they focus on his basketball capabilities. His release from the Bobcats created a bunch of untrue rumours that had to be addressed.'"

It's hard to measure how damaging those words were. Goodwin said Rush thought he had a deal with Orlando, but the team got cold feet about Rush's reputation.

[rik]

^ fuckin sucks man. Profit showed signs of being really good last year and Rush was one of my favorite players on the Lakers when he was with us.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^ fuckin sucks man. Profit showed signs of being really good last year and Rush was one of my favorite players on the Lakers when he was with us.

I had no hopes for Profit, he can't hold up anyways, but the fact that we're not targeting Rush is very disappointing...Especially since Phil loves him and we coulda' picked him up for really cheap...I pretty much knew it was out of the question once we signed Shammond Williams though...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

LOL@Jome editing the original topic to include "Sticky" in the title...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Panaggio to lead Lakers' D-League squad

Ross Siler, Staff writer
 
The Lakers intend to hire Marquette assistant coach Dan Panaggio as head coach of their new NBA Development League team.

Panaggio has experience in basketball's minor leagues, having coached the Quad City Thunder for nine seasons in the Continental Basketball Association.

In addition, Panaggio spent four seasons as a Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach and one season as an assistant at Indiana University.

Panaggio's connection with the Trail Blazers came through head coach Maurice Cheeks, who once was an assistant at Quad City.

Panaggio's career record as a CBA coach was 313-191, with his 1994 and 1998 teams winning CBA championships. 

All nine of his teams made the playoffs and Panaggio was recognized as the league's coach of the year three times.

The Lakers are the first NBA team to own their own Development League affiliate. The D-Fenders, as the team has been named, will play home games this season at Staples Center, either before or after Lakers games.

- Ross Siler  



Looks like a nice choice...

[Jome]

LOL@Jome editing the original topic to include "Sticky" in the title...

Why shouldn't I ?
With 4-6 sticky topics on top, it looks messy, now it's easier to tell the sticky from the regular threads.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

LOL@Jome editing the original topic to include "Sticky" in the title...

Why shouldn't I ?
With 4-6 sticky topics on top, it looks messy, now it's easier to tell the sticky from the regular threads.

I know why you did it, but at least do it with every section...It was better back in the day when sticky topics had their own icon...