UPDATE: The Vittiz have been shipped as said on the 21st, you should be receiving them shortly. Want to pimp out your Vittiz? Please submit pictures of you sporting them at our e-mail. Thank you.

Archive for August, 2007

“One on one” with Kobe Bryant

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 26, 2007 in USA Basketball. 1 Comment

It was a special day, even for him, who has won everything, or does he? Because for Kobe Bryant, who has three NBA championship rings with the Lakers, there is one debt still pending: a gold medal with his country’s national team which he is representing for the first time in this FIBA Americas Championship 2007 in Las Vegas.

People even sang you “Happy Birthday” during one of your free throws, what did you feel?

It was sweet. This is the first time in my life that I have to play on my birthday.

Is it special, even for someone your age, to represent Team USA for the first time?

It’s very special. It’s a great honor to represent your country, wherever you are from.

After three rings in the NBA with the Lakers, what Beijing would mean to you?

It’ll mean everything. Playing for your country; winning a gold medal in a World Championship should be great, but nothing compares to winning one in the Olympics.

Did you watch last year’s World Championship in Japan?

Yes.

Continue reading ‘“One on one” with Kobe Bryant’

Team USA puts the hammer down on Canada

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 25, 2007 in USA Basketball. 2 Comments

ESPN: LeBron James threads a low bounce pass to Kobe Bryant cutting baseline. Bryant goes up and under for a reverse layup. The Thomas and Mack Center crowd goes wild.

Dwight Howard blocks a Team Canada baseline jump shot attempt. Jason Kidd scoops up the ball and flicks it fifty feet to a sprinting Carmelo Anthony for an emphatic dunk. The fans roar.

Anthony underhands a ball, like a bowler, to Bryant. Another big dunk and another giddy huzzah from the stands.

There are sweet, sublime moments aplenty when Team USA takes the floor for a FIBA Americas Championship game. The highlight reel is full of them.

But if the all-star team’s offensive exploits are a given, they aren’t definitive, they aren’t what characterizes this team in action.

If Saturday’s 113-63 win over Team Canada is any indication, the heart of Team USA ’s game, the essence of their identity, is an unrelenting collective will, a nasty killer instinct.

They’re not just beating teams in this tournament, they’re driving them into the ground, pounding Venezuala by 43 points, Virgin Islands by 64, and now Canada by 50.

Continue reading ‘Team USA puts the hammer down on Canada’

Kobe can. But can we?

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 25, 2007 in User's Take. 36 Comments

Special thanks to John ‘Fatty’ Fatland for writing this take and giving us the privilege to add it to TheLakersNation.com. Again, if you guys see anything Lakers related that you think deserves to be put up, just e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.

“I can handle him,” Kobe Bryant speaking about Ron Artest on a recorded cell phone conversation.

Kobe can do a lot. All of us know that. The guy is truly amazing.

But ‘baby sit’ the person we all affectionately call Ron Ron? The guy we all definitely call a “nut case.” That’s one tall order for even Mamba 24.

Ron Ron, is one gifted NBA Player. One of the few defensive stoppers in the NBA. A former Defensive Player of the Year. And the man can shoot. He can pass. He can post up. Some have said, he’s one of the most versatile players in the NBA. And, he is paid relative peanuts by NBA standards ($7,800,000).

It’s because of these gifts, that some teams have developed selective memory issues. You know, repressed memories. When things hurt so bad, you simply forget them. It’s a way us humans can deal with terrible stuff.

I think this is the case with Artest. I hear people saying, ‘Ron Ron isn’t all that bad.’ ‘He’s just misunderstood. He’s a good boy at heart.’ ‘Why, he even went to Africa to feed people.’ Of course, even there, a monkey took issue with him and wanted to fight. Ron Ron showed great restraint and didn’t swing back. Maybe he his a changed man after all?

Continue reading ‘Kobe can. But can we?’

Pacers CEO says team not receiving calls for O’Neal

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 25, 2007 in Articles. 7 Comments

Thanks to Alec Eginli for sending us this article. Again, if you guys see anything Lakers related that you think deserves to be put up, just e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.

SI.com: After all the rumors and denials, it looks like Jermaine O’Neal will remain with the Indiana Pacers.

The All-Star forward was one of the players most discussed about in trade rumors this summer, with talk he might end up in New York, Los Angeles or New Jersey.

Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said Friday that Indiana’s roster was virtually locked. When asked whether it was safe to say O’Neal would be a Pacer at the start of the season, Walsh said: “Yes, it is. That’s the way we’re thinking of it.”

Walsh didn’t rule out a trade completely, but he never does.

“Trades can always come up, but in our minds, Jermaine is here and our team’s intact,” Walsh told The Associated Press.

He even offered that the Pacers aren’t receiving calls about O’Neal any more.

“That’s done,” Walsh said.

O’Neal averaged 19.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 2006-07, one of the best seasons of his 11-year career. But the Pacers went 35-47 and missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.

In the weeks after the season ended, O’Neal said he respected the Pacers but wasn’t interested in being part of a rebuilding project.

Continue reading ‘Pacers CEO says team not receiving calls for O’Neal’

Plan D

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 24, 2007 in Articles. 11 Comments

Thanks to Ajay for sending us this article. Again, if you guys see anything Lakers related that you think deserves to be put up, just e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.

HOOPSWORLD.COM: August is traditionally the vacation month for the NBA and news surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers has been notably quiet. Other than the recent signing of a camp invite (Larry Turner), there really hasn’t been much to write about.

The Lakers have tried to upgrade the team but Plan A died hard when Kevin Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics.

Plan B stalled when the Indiana Pacers refused to back off their demand that both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum be sent for Jermaine O’Neal. The Lakers are equally steadfast and no deal appears possible.

Plan C might be considered a trade with the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest. That seemed to lose life once the Kings managed to sign free agent Mikki Moore. They’ve yet to find a suitable package for either Mike Bibby or Artest. Until they have fully committed to the rebuilding process, there’s no reason to tear apart the team incrementally.

Jumping down to Plan Z for a moment . . . trading Kobe Bryant appears to be the last choice after nearly an entire alphabet of “letting them gel.”

With the top three choices apparently off the table, Plan D would be the focus.

Plan D is some off-the-radar deal that lands the Lakers some unexpected help.

Continue reading ‘Plan D’

Rumors, rumors, and more rumors…

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 24, 2007 in User's Take. 29 Comments

Special thanks to John ‘Fatty’ Fatland for writing this take and giving us the privilege to add it to TheLakersNation.com. Again, if you guys see anything Lakers related that you think deserves to be put up, just e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.

Thanks to JCool, we have another rumor to digest. This has no substantiation meaning, no reporter, news organization nor radio station has even mentioned this. But, it has “intrigue value,” which simply means, in my book, it made me say, uhm!

Here’s the rumor. Lakers trade Kwame, Farmar, Mo, and a 2008 #1 to Milwaukee for Yi and Bobby Simmons.

Seeing as we have little else to talk about, I decided to do a little research on the players involved in this trade.

First of all Yi. This has been a “what if” possibility since the Bucks drafted him. From the very beginning, Yi’s people were very clear, NO MILWAUKEE! But the Bucks foolishly didn’t listen and now have a problem… Yi won’t sign. So what do the Buck’s do? They trade him. But you have a problem. As the #6 pick in the draft, Yi’s trade value has been set by CBA rules, a little over a mil. Not much for a player with such potential. So what does a team do to compensate for the loss of trade value? You throw in someone with a lousy contract and look for takers. In comes Bobby Simmons, 9 to 10 mil for 3 more years.

Continue reading ‘Rumors, rumors, and more rumors…’

GM Challenge Final Results

Published by cyrus on August 24, 2007 in Challenges. 47 Comments

We didn’t expect the kind of overwhelming response to our GM Challenge and we thank you all for your participation and suggestions you submitted to improve the roster of our beloved Los Angles Lakers.

Our Judges worked really hard to comb through all trade proposals and scrutinized each and every suggestion to achieve a fair assessment.

We based our evaluation on 3 criterions:

  1. Practicality: Was the suggested trade attractive enough to both teams to initiate trade talks
  2. Simplicity: More teams and more players involved in a trade make it so much more difficult
  3. Helping Lakers: Would the suggested trade improve Lakers’ roster?

Judges’ assessments are final and not negotiable. Judges graded all trades independently without consulting each other. So, it’s all fair and square; four different and independent opinions.

Continue reading ‘GM Challenge Final Results’

Shoutbox is back on!

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 24, 2007 in Announcements. 2 Comments

Hopefully, this time it will stay there. :) It took me a good six hours or so to get up there again. *sigh*

Live Game Chat is still on, maybe. I’ll have to test that later tonight but I’ll keep you guys updated through this post — Click on this link to know more what Live Game Chat on theLakersNation.com will be all about.

Am off to see Superbad…

Thanks for the understanding,
The Nugget