The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Lakers: Observing the Lottery Closely

Considering the Los Angeles Lakers will hold the 19th pick at the end of the day, Tuesday's Draft Lottery may not directly impact the team.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak was explicit recently, indicating the Laker pick may in fact be on the block.

Still, Laker fans should pay very close attention to the lotto (on ESPN at 5:30pm Pacific).  With just draft picks and their Mid-Level Exception (MLE . . .  $5-6 million), the Lakers have limited means to improve this summer.  If they hope to make a big leap forward, they'll need the help from a trade partner.

Unless they get very lucky on the free agent market, the results of the Draft Lottery will set the stage for the entire offseason.

The Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are currently slotted one through three.  The first two picks are expected to be Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.  Though Durant has a shot to be number one, the general consensus is that Oden will receive that honor.

If the Grizzlies land Oden, they'd have a very solid defensive center to put alongside forward Pau Gasol.  Durant would give Memphis a nice perimeter scorer.  Unless Gasol aggressively pushes for a trade, a top two pick probably means he stays with the Grizzlies.

Laker fans interested in Gasol?  Root for Memphis to draft third or fourth.

If the Bucks land Oden would that signal that Andrew Bogut is on the block?  Though he could be given a shot at power forward in Milwaukee, he'd be an ideal triangle fit in LA.  Of course he wouldn't solve the Laker issues defensively but he'd be an interesting player to consider.

Though it's natural for a Laker homer to root against the Celtics . . . shouldn't it be the opposite?  Would there be any better team to beat in the NBA Finals than the Boston Celtics?

Where the lottery gets even more interesting is at the fourth slot with the Atlanta Hawks.  In what has become the increasingly worse Joe Johnson trade, the Hawks will be forced to give their first round pick to the Phoenix Suns if it's in the four to seven range.  That would give the Suns either a powerful trade piece or the opportunity to improve with a second-tier impact player.

The Hawks get to keep their pick if it's in the top three.  Kevin Durant might make Josh Childress, Marvin Williams or even Josh Smith expendable (though it's difficult to gauge where Atlanta stands with ownership still in dispute).

Laker fans should root hardest for the Hawks to climb at least a single slot.

Though a Kevin Garnett trade seems far from imminent, a lottery win might be enough to placate the fans, Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves front office.  A defensive core of Oden and KG would be quite formidable.  Durant would be an interesting compliment as well for Garnett.

Laker fans do not want to see the Wolves win a top three pick.

The same goes for most teams in the Western Conference like the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers.

The competition in the West is tough enough as is it.

By default, fans should pull for the New York Knicks (who will have to give their pick to the Chicago Bulls), Charlotte Bobcats and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, are a team the Laker faithful should root against.  Though no specific trade is ever likely, there is at least a reasonable chance that LA can acquire Jermaine O'Neal.  If the Pacers can pair him up with Oden or Durant they may think differently.

Indiana doesn't get to keep their pick unless it's top three . . . otherwise it goes to the Hawks.

The Bottom Line
Exactly who will be available in trade this summer will partially be determined by the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night.

Cheat sheet:

Root for the Hawks, Bucks and Celtics . . . but especially the Hawks.

Root against the Grizzlies, Wolves and Pacers.

Regardless of the outcome, at least there will be some closure.  Teams will know where they stand and begin to negotiate with each other.

The Lakers may benefit from a lucky bounce even if it has no bearing on where their pick falls.

KEY NEWSLINES
Basketball News: "The Lakers will likely go through a serious offseason makeover, with the primary objective is improving the post play and the point guard position. If they can grab [Grant] Hill at a minimum price, it would be an upgrade from Luke Walton, would allow someone else to create plays other than Kobe Bryant and would give Hill another legitimate shot at making a deep playoff run, which a class act like himself clearly deserves."

Chicago Tribune: "Bulls lead assistant Jim Boylan will interview for the vacant Indiana Pacers head coaching position, according to two league sources. Former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy is considered the front-runner because he already has interviewed twice. But a league source said the Pacers, who also have interviewed assistants Chuck Person and Johnny Davis as well as Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, haven't concluded the interview process."


Imagine Bogut in L.A. Unlikely situtation. But it looks like the Lakers have more flexability then I thought.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Report: Lakers' Brown to have bone spurs removed next week

Lakers center Kwame Brown will have bone spurs removed from his left ankle next week, the Los Angeles Times reports. The surgery casts some doubt over his playing status for the start of next season and could factor into trade possibilities for the Lakers during the offseason.

Ankle specialist Dave Porter will perform Brown's surgery in Indianapolis, the newspaper reports, and Brown's agent Mark Bartelstein told the Times that Brown will undergo reconstructive surgery if doctors deem it necessary.

"We're not sure if it needs to get reconstructed or not," Bartelstein told the newspaper on Friday.

"They're going to go in and test the strength of the ligaments and see if they need to repair them. He also has some bone spurs he needs to get cleaned out."

If Brown has reconstructive surgery, he would need months of recovery time. If his ankle doesn't need reconstructive surgery, Brown's rehab time would be less.

The Lakers begin training camp the first week of October.

"Until they get in there and see what needs to be done, there's no timetable," Bartelstein told the Times.

Brown, 25, has one year at $9.1 million left on his contract. He could have been a key part of trade talks for the Lakers this summer, but Brown's possible reconstructive surgery hampers that. Brown's expiring contract would be valuable to teams as a means of getting under the salary cap.

Lakers officials declined to comment to the newspaper.

Teammate Lamar Odom had shoulder surgery last week and will need four months to recover.

Brown hurt the ankle when he landed on the foot of Sixers' guard Andre Miller after blocking Miller's shot in a Dec. 31 game.

Brown sat out 27 games with the ankle injury before returning in March. He sat out seven more games over the next six weeks because of lingering ankle pain before coming back for the last two games of the regular season.

He averaged 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the first round of the playoffs against the Suns.

"I think he's anxious to get it right and get back to being 100 percent healthy," Bartelstein said.

[wcsoldier]

^^^^ another bad news.. there are more and more chances, nothing is going to happen this summer 

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Kwame Brown..

04-05: 42 games played

06-07: 41 games played

^ A nother injury prone player..He's probably not going to be any good next season.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Lakers' owner arrested on suspicion of DUI

By: North County Times

CARLSBAD ---- California Highway Patrol officers arrested the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team early today on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Carlsbad, authorities said.

Officer Tom Kerns of the California Highway Patrol said Gerald "Jerry" Hatten Buss, 74, of Playa del Rey in Los Angeles, was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m. after driving his gold Mercedes-Benz station wagon the wrong way on Mountain View Drive, which has double yellow lines.

Kerns said Buss was "relatively cooperative" and didn't try to resist when he was placed under arrest.

 
The officer said Buss was booked into the Vista jail on suspicion of drunken driving and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or above.

Shortly after noon Buss issued a statement through a Lakers' spokesman.

"Although I was driving only a short distance, it was a bad decision and I was wrong to do it," Buss said in the statement. "It was a mistake I will not make again."

The spokesman, John Black, said by phone that Buss was in the coastal Carlsbad vicinity because he has a home in north San Diego County. Black declined to say whether the home is in Carlsbad or elsewhere.

Buss had been released from the jail by 10:30 a .m. today, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department web site.

The final results of the blood alcohol test won't be available for about three weeks, said Kerns.

He said a 23-year-old woman, a resident of New York City, who was in the Mercedes with Buss wasn't arrested.

As far as the arrest, Kerns said, Buss came to the attention of Highway Patrol officers Sal Gutierrez and his partner, Julie Cahill, at 12:50 a.m. in downtown Carlsbad.

The officers were on Carlsbad Boulevard, south of State Street, when they saw the Mercedes traveling with its high-beam head lights on in the opposite lane, said Kerns.

He said the driver failed to turn off the high beams, so the officers made a U-turn and caught up with the station wagon. The Mercedes was traveling under the speed limit at about 30 mph, Kerns said.

"Suddenly, the driver slammed on the brakes and made a right turn onto Mountain View Drive," the officer said.

At that point, Kerns said, the station wagon began driving on the wrong side of Mountain View. He said the officers got behind the Mercedes and started their patrol car's emergency overhead lights.

"The Mercedes' (driver) failed to react and continued at 20 mph" before stopping at the Pacific Avenue intersection, said Kerns.

He said the officers gave Buss field sobriety tests and used a field alcohol screening device to determine that he was suspected of driving under the influence.

According to the Lakers Web site, Buss bought the Lakers, The Forum sports arena, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League in 1979 during a $67.5 million deal that was then the largest transaction in sports history.

The Lakers have won eight National Basketball Association titles since Buss bought the team.

The Web site also noted that Buss is a competitive high-stakes poker player.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Kobe on 710AM in 1 minute...

[GangstaBoogy]

I can see the headlines now "Kobe Bryant's outburst causes Lakers owner Jerry Buss to resort to drinking and driving"

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

LMAO@anyone questioning Kobe's will to win.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Interview will run again on 710AM at the top of the 5:00 hour.

[Bay Area Jat]

what did kobe say in the interview? he name any specific teams that he wants to get traded 2.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

No. He said he doesn't wanna get traded. he wants to win now WITH the Lakers.

[GangstaBoogy]

what did kobe say in the interview? he name any specific teams that he wants to get traded 2.

Fuck no! He basically said he's lost trust with the front office cuz they had plans other than what they were telling him. He wants Jerry West back cuz he trust him and he knows he'll do everything it takes to get them back to where they need to be. And he said if he wanted to be traded he would say so, he wouldn't beat around the bush.

[Bay Area Jat]

lol i figured that comment would cause a stir

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Kobe told SAS on his Radio Show he wants to be traded...he's out....you'll be miss kobe 

Lakers 4 life

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Kobe told SAS on his Radio Show he wants to be traded...he's out....you'll be miss kobe 

Lakers 4 life

He's not getting traded ala Magic Johnson.