I just got a call from him that he was interviewed by KCAL and plugged the Lakers Nations. Am not sure when it will be on. News tonight, maybe.
If anyone can capture it for us and post it online we will be very grateful. Post it in the comments.
Thanks!
Heard it from some executives and Magic Johnson confirmed it. Thoughts?
Video coming later tonight…
Here we are, on the brink of a new season. As the City of Los Angeles unites again tonight at STAPLES Center, it is important that we come together and support our beloved team.
The Kobe trade talk is done. As of now, just like he has been for the past 12 years, he is OUR guy. Amid everything off the court, I have yet to see the day he has never performed on it. As fans, the millions of us have backed Kobe through everything, and no matter what you think of him during these avalanches of trade demands, the message was simple: Improve the team and get Kobe some help. Kobe voiced what EVERY single fan on EVERY Lakers forum has been screaming about since Shaq’s departure.
This has never been about Kobe lacking love for his fans in this city, it has only been about the only thing we as fans care about: Winning. If he believes he can win here, he will…and so will we. Being Lakers fans, we take the road less traveled, but we have the best stops.
TheLakersNation.com – “We Follow Because We Believe.”
Looks like Bynum and Farmar will be Lakers for a very long time. Well, another year or two. Thoughts?
ESPN: The Los Angeles Lakers have exercised a fourth-year contract option on Andrew Bynum, and picked up the third-year contract option on Jordan Farmar.
Bynum, taken by the Lakers out of high school with the 10th selection in the 2005 NBA draft, averaged 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.56 blocks while playing in all 82 games last season. The 7-foot, 285-pound center averaged 21.9 minutes per game.
Farmer, a guard chosen by the Lakers with the 26th pick in the 2006 draft, appeared in 72 games last season, averaging 4.4 points and 1.9 assists in 15 minutes. He also played three games for the team’s D-League affiliate and made NBA history on April 1 when he became the first to play for both a D-League and NBA team on the same day.
So it has begun already… This should a very dramatic Lakers season. Sound of in the comments… BAH! You know the drill.
Yahoo!: Charles Barkley is calling out Kobe Bryant again for dogging it.
Barkley criticized Bryant on Monday for the way he asked the Lakers to trade him, then for not appearing to give his full effort since owner Jerry Buss said he would consider a deal.
So when Barkley goes on the air Tuesday night for TNT’s season-opening doubleheader, he will probably have some strong words about Bryant for the second time in three years. He said Phil Jackson’s questioning of Bryant’s effort over the weekend was the “final straw.”
“What Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was like they’re at the point of no return now. There’s a point where you know you can make a marriage work, but what Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was the end of it,” Barkley said at a luncheon with fellow studio analyst Kenny Smith.
“That’s the one thing I respect most about Kevin Garnett. Even though he played on terrible teams, there is not a player in the last 10 years who played harder than Kevin Garnett. And that’s the one thing that disappoints me. Phil said that Kobe’s just going through the motions. … And if your coach tells you you’re just going through the motions, that’s pretty much the end of the straw.”
Barkley called Bryant “selfish” after Game 7 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff loss to Phoenix in 2006, after Bryant took just three shots and scored only one point in the second half while the Suns pulled away. Bryant told Barkley he was upset in some text message responses, then made a guest appearance on TNT’s coverage later in the playoffs to discuss the matter with Barkley on the air.
Continue reading ‘Barkley likely to criticize Kobe tonight on TNT’
Tuesday 7:30 Lakers Standard time.
Television: TNT
‘Make no mistake, this is it’
This has been the ‘Mother’ of all off seasons. We’ve been analyzing, debating, arguing, wearing out the trade machines, and for some of us, even ‘plotting,’ to storm the Staples Center. And why? Like you need ME to tell you. Because of two simple statements. The first, ‘Do it and do it now!’ The rallying cry for all Lakers Nation Fans. Those words got we bloggers excited, didn’t they? ‘Cmon, Mitch! Do it!’ That was followed by the hard one, the two words that hurt to the core. ‘Trade me.’ It’s been tough, I must admit. But now, ‘this is it,’ its time for the Lakers Season, our season to begin.
So, where will you be tonight? Just as the Kenny Logins song chimes, “This is it, make no mistake where you are….. the waiting is over” There’s no mistake, even with all the turmoil, with all the talking going on between us, we are all still a family of Lakers Fans first.
Its also my hope, that wherever you will be, you will be watching the Lakers. And of course, enjoying yourself, (this time, get out the beer, popcorn and candy) because Lakers Basketball for the 60th year in a row, is on the air!
How good are you at predicting the outcome of Lakers Games?
Luck won’t win you this contest. To score well, you have to study game match ups, team trends, the injury reports, predict well, and do it for every game in November to stay ahead of the competition.
It officially Starts Friday with the Suns Game and ends November 30 (15 games in all).
We will do a ‘Trial Run’ on Tuesday against the Rockets. (So everyone will get the bugs out) Then it starts for real on Friday against the Suns.
This should make you feel a bit more comfortable… ok, or not…
L.A. Times: It’s more business as unusual, always, for the Lakers, who begin the season Tuesday against Houston amid the usual trade rumors, this time an Internet report that the Lakers and Chicago were stepping up discussions about Bryant.
Lakers officials declined to comment on the record, although, as one said, “You can go to sleep tonight without worrying about a thing.”
Mind you, this is all rumors. But this deal had us thinking. Is this a deal you would actually consider? Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think!
Chicago Tribune: One general manager on the periphery of the Bryant talks says he believes the “dark horse” to make a deal with the Lakers is the Washington Wizards. The consensus is the Wizards have hit a plateau, but have the star power in Gilbert Arenas to make a deal.
Arenas is talking about opting out of his contract after this season. He’s from Los Angeles and has become a star, one of the league’s highest-scoring players and an engaging personality who would embrace the Hollywood scene. He would meet the Lakers’ demands for an All-Star player if they trade Bryant.
“Watch out for them,” the general manager said, meaning the Wizards.
The Lakers probably would want a power forward, which the Wizards don’t have. The biggest obstacle, though, may be Bryant’s no-trade clause, along with the fact he hasn’t indicated any interest in Washington. Still, with Bryant, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, the Wizards would have a three-star set that could match up in the East.
Special thanks to Justin Page 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.
The Los Angeles Lakers are less than a week away from setting out on an 82 game journey that most likely will be Kobe Bryant’s last in the purple and gold. For the majority of this past summer and pre-season, the Kobe stories have dominated the headlines, and for good reason. But there is a season to play, and barring any kind of last second deal that sends the Kobester packing, it looks like he will be suiting up for L.A.
This is the real “A Season on the Brink.” And it’s taking place in Hollywood, of course.
So what’s it going to take for this team to have a realistic chance in the competitive Western Conference? It’s going to take a lot more than what they have been displaying in the pre-season; particularly on Tuesday night when they were completely out-hustled and out-played by the Utah Jazz (I am almost positive I was more excited about watching that game than they were about playing it). Let’s all remember, it’s just pre-season basketball (and they played without Odom and Walton), but it’s frustrating as a fan to see the same mistakes are being made that occurred down the stretch of last season when the Lakers had a horrific collapse.
Kobe aside, the current make-up of the Lakers roster is a young and uninspired group that simply doesn’t put in the kind of effort on the defensive end that gives them a realistic chance to win in this league. Being young is one thing, but being uninspired is unacceptable. Playing good defense requires effort at all times, strong character, execution of fundamentals, and intelligence. This team doesn’t display any of those, not one.
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