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Archive for the 'News' Category

Bynum strains rotator cuff on right shoulder

Published by Chris Manning on November 3, 2008 in News. 25 Comments

Bynum gets a small injury in practice but the big fella should be alright though!

O.C. Register: Andrew Bynum strained the rotator cuff in his right shoulder during practice but is expected to play Wednesday night against the Clippers. Bynum probably will be able to practice again Tuesday; the injury is considered that minor.

“It’s all right; it’s just a little tight,” Bynum said. Bynum got his arm bent back when he tried to block a dunk by Chris Mihm. “It’s just a strain,” Phil Jackson said. “I think he’ll be fine.”

Ariza’s contract deal also may take work

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 31, 2008 in News. 5 Comments

L.A. Times: Andrew Bynum on Thursday signed a four-year contract extension worth $57.4 million, but the Lakers aren’t done talking with agent David Lee.

Lee also represents forward Trevor Ariza, who will be an unrestricted free agent in July in what could be another lengthy contract negotiation.

Ariza has increased his all-around game, adding a three-point shot to an already intriguing mix of solid defense and burst around the basket.

He makes $3.1 million this season and could command at least double that number next summer if he continues to play as well as he has in a very young season. Through two games, Ariza is averaging 11 points and four rebounds in only 22.5 minutes a game. He has made four of five three-point attempts.

Ariza, 23, was acquired last November from Orlando for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans.

He worked hard during the off-season — “three hours a day,” his agent said — to improve his outside touch.

The Lakers have noticed. In fact, they’d like him to shoot more often.

“It’s not that he’s not a good shooter, it’s just that he doesn’t think shot,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “He’s looking to drive or penetrate. We try to get him to think [about] the fact that if you’re open, take a shot. This offense is an offense that creates shots for guys.”

RUMOR: Lebron likes Lakers for 2010?

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 29, 2008 in News. 31 Comments

Please, I beg of you… Take this as a grain of salt. Don’t call your friends, “Hey! I just read on TLN that Lebron wants to be a Laker!” None of that. This is just a rumor. That is all.

Yahoo! Sports: Donnie Walsh, the Knicks GM, had heard for years about Wesley’s influence, but never met him. The two didn’t talk about James, sources say, but it was a chance for the Knicks president to be around one of the most influential people in James’ decision-making process. The Knicks are working hard to get under the salary cap in 2010.

With the Knicks, there are two teams a source familiar with James’ thinking says intrigue him: the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

So just how serious are the Lakers?

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 28, 2008 in News. 9 Comments

Bunch of the folks over at the Forums, seem to like the idea that our Machine won’t be sporting any green but personally, I think it’s just a bit silly. What are your thoughts on this? Sound-off!

Inside The Lakers: I’ve been meaning to write this for weeks but never found the right outlet and just can’t bear to keep it in the can any longer because it’s too funny. But the other day, a bunch of us reporter types were chatting with Sasha Vujacic after practice, mostly about the Lakers season, what they could do, what the expectations are for the team. Then we got into how last season ended and Sasha immediately got serious, proclaiming pretty resolutely that he’s taken a personal vow not to wear green, the Boston Celtics colors, this year.

Seriously, no green. Not a thread of it.

“I’m serious about it,” he said, very seriously. “No green.”

Lakers Exercise Fourth Year Contract Option On Jordan Farmar

Published by Kam Pashai on October 27, 2008 in News. 8 Comments

Lakers.com: The Los Angeles Lakers have exercised a fourth year contract option for the 2009-10 season on Jordan Farmar, it was announced today. In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, the Lakers had until October 31 to exercise their option on Farmar. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Selected by the Lakers with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft, Farmar, a third year guard out of UCLA, averaged 9.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 20.6 minutes over 82 games last season (all career-highs).

Lakers waive Coby Karl

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 27, 2008 in News. 35 Comments

Lakers.com: The Los Angeles Lakers have waived free agent guard Coby Karl, it was announced today.

Karl, who was signed by the Lakers as an undrafted rookie free agent on July 30, 2007, appeared in 17 games last season, averaging 1.8 points and 0.8 rebounds in 4.2 minutes.

Karl also played in 17 games with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League last season where he averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 37.6 minutes while posting a .411 3-point field goal percentage. In the D-Fenders’ two playoff games, Karl averaged 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 37.0 minutes.

Karl, a 6-5 guard from Boise State, averaged 14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a senior and was named First Team All-WAC. Karl’s 1,698 career points ranks third on Boise State’s all-time scoring list while leaving Boise State as the all-time leader in games played (127) and three-pointers made (266).

NBA GM’s pick Lakers to Win Championship

Published by Chris Manning on October 22, 2008 in News. 5 Comments

L.A. Times: This time, the Lakers will defeat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

At least, that’s what NBA general managers would envision based on an annual NBA.com survey to be released today.

Almost half the general managers — 46% — predicted the Lakers would win the championship, while 19% picked the Celtics and 12% picked New Orleans. San Antonio received 8% of the vote and was not the preseason favorite for the first time in five years.

The survey was not without its surprises.

If the general managers are correct, Cleveland forward LeBron James will dethrone Bryant as the league MVP. James received 56% of the vote, Bryant received 37%, and New Orleans guard Chris Paul was a distant third with 7%.

Bryant, however, received 89% of the vote when general managers were asked which player they would want taking a shot with the game on the line. It was the seventh consecutive season in which Bryant received the most votes in the category.

Big things were also predicted for Bynum, who received the highest percentage of votes (19%) for the player most likely to have a breakout season.

Jermaine O’Neal To Bynum: ‘Be Patient’

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 21, 2008 in News. 11 Comments

RealGM: Raptors’ forward Jermaine O’Neal has advised young Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum to be patient regarding the knee troubles that have plagued him.

“It’s just important for him to be patient,” said O’Neal, who has dealt with some of the same knee issues as Bynum.

Bynum admitted on Monday that he had some swelling in his left knee last week, the first acknowledgment of anything resembling a setback since his return from a season-ending kneecap injury in January.

“I talked to him a little bit about his knee,” O’Neal said. “He’s still working through that. It’s going to be hard to tell (how well Bynum will play this season) until he actually gets healthy. But we all know what kind of talent he has.

“I just told him (Sunday), `Take your time.’ He was telling me he still has a little bit of things going on. But (I told him), `Just take your time.’ Longevity is on his side. They have enough talent, enough big guys to really step in and pick up the slack.

“So, it’s important for him to stay focused because he has a huge future in this league. He’s so young. I know he wants to get back out there. He just has to be patient.”