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Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who suffered a right wrist injury in Monday night’s game against the Clippers, was examined today by Dr. Steven Shin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic and underwent an MRI exam. Results show that Bryant has a torn lunotriquetral ligament.
Bryant will not play in tonight’s game against the Clippers and his status is day-to-day.
The apparent lack of a prenuptial agreement — coupled with 10 years of marriage — will likely significantly increase the size of Vanessa Bryant’s divorce settlement with Kobe Bryant, legal experts said.
Vanessa Bryant’s mother told The Times several years ago that the couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement when they tied the knot in 2001. If true, that would entitle Vanessa to half of their community property…
Some estimates put Kobe Bryant’s net worth at $150 million. Legal experts said Vanessa Bryant will probably receive at least $75 million in addition to ongoing spousal and child support.
— Reported by the Los Angeles Times “L.A. Now” Blog
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The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent forward/center Troy Murphy, it was announced today. According to the Los Angeles Times Blog, the deal is for one year and $1.4 million.
Murphy, who has averaged a double-double in five of his 10 NBA seasons, owns career averages of 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 656 games (481 starts) with Golden State, Indiana, New Jersey and Boston.
Ranked 16th among active players in rebounds per game and 29th in three-point field goal percentage (.389), the 6’11” New Jersey native finished the 2008-09 season as the only player in NBA history to rank in the top five league-wide in both rebounds per game (2nd/11.8) and three-point field goal percentage (3rd/.450).
Selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round (14th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft, the two-time consensus All-American out of Notre Dame has finished among the NBA’s top-10 league leaders in rebounds per game five times and has recorded 218 career double-doubles.
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Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum made it clear that it does not take offense to hearing his name dangled in deals and he refuted a recent Yahoo! Sports report that stated, “Bynum has privately been heard to say this offseason that he wants his own team.”
“I never said anything like that,” Bynum told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I don’t care … I’ll be happy anywhere I play, honestly. It doesn’t really matter to me. In Orlando, I’ll probably get more shots and more touches, but here, I think this year they’ll need me to step up here. So, it really doesn’t matter.”
What does matter to Bynum is changing his reputation as being a liability in the lineup because of his injury history. Bynum has played in just 204 out of a possible 328 games in the last four years because of various injuries, missing an average of 31 games a season.
— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles
Los Angeles D-Fenders Associate Head Coach Clay Moser has been hired by the Los Angeles Lakers to serve as an Advance Scout on Head Coach Mike Brown’s staff, it was announced today.
“We are extremely happy for Clay to receive such a tremendous opportunity with the Lakers,” D-Fenders Head Coach Eric Musselman said. “Clay is a great basketball mind and I am confident he will serve the Lakers well.”
Moser brings more than a decade of NBA and NBA Development League experience with him to the Lakers, most recently from the D-Fenders where he helped coach the team to a 7-3 start. Formerly serving on USA Basketball’s board of directors, Moser has also spent extensive time evaluating NBA-caliber talent as an advance scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-10), Orlando Magic (2007-08), Sacramento Kings (2006-07) and Golden State Warriors (2002-03). His other NBA experience includes time as Vice President of Business Development for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005-06), as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs 2005 Summer League Team and as a business consultant for the NBA (2005).
In 2010-11, Moser assisted on Musselman’s staff as Associate Head Coach with the Reno Bighorns, helping lead the team to a Western Conference best 34-16 record. Prior to his time with the Bighorns, Moser was tabbed by the Houston Rockets to be Head Coach of their D-League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, going 21-29 with the Vipers during the 2008-09 campaign. In addition to his Reno and Rio Grande Valley D-League experience, Moser has also worked for CBA teams that later would join the D-League; serving as an assistant coach, vice president and general manager with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (1989-94) and as CEO and general manager of the Idaho Stampede (1997-2001).
The Lakers were hit with a two-by-four of bad news Wednesday, Chris Paul heading to the Clippers and Dwight Howard heading nowhere.
The Lakers were privately fuming Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of their front office, when Paul, the New Orleans point guard, ended up in Los Angeles six days after the NBA vetoed the Lakers’ trade for him.
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak declined to comment through a spokesman but earlier this week said the NBA’s blockade was “completely unexpected.”
“We did the best we can to express our displeasure,” Kupchak said Monday.
— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times
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The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent forward Josh McRoberts, it was announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
McRoberts, a four-year NBA veteran, averaged career-highs in points (7.4), rebounds (5.3) and assists (2.1) while appearing in 72 games (51 starts) with the Indiana Pacers last season. In 155 career NBA games (54 starts), McRoberts is averaging 5.2 points on .525 shooting from the field, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.7 minutes.
An early entry candidate for the 2007 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Duke, McRoberts was originally selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the seventh pick in the second round (37th overall) before being traded to the Pacers following his rookie year.
Recruited to Duke by Hall-of-Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, McRoberts, the 2005 Morgan Wooten Award winner as McDonald’s High School All-American Player of the Year, was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2006, the All-ACC Second Team in 2007 and became just the second Blue Devil in school history to be named team captain as a sophomore.
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Lakers forward Derrick Caracter underwent successful surgery today to remove part of a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, it was announced by the team.
The surgery, which took approximately 30 minutes, was performed by Lakers team physicians Dr. Steve Lombardo and Dr. Daniel Kharazzi at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. Caracter is expected to be out a minimum of 4-6 weeks.
Caracter suffered the injury during practice on Monday.
Selected by the Lakers in the second round (58th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, Caracter appeared in 41 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 5.2 minutes.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Gerald Green, it was announced today. InsideHoops.com has not confirmed this but it is likely just a training camp signing and Green will have to prove himself to the Lakers in order to earn an actual regular season contract.
Green, a four-year NBA veteran originally selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (18th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft, has appeared in 181 NBA games (41 starts) for the Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, posting career averages of 7.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 16.0 minutes.
The 2007 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Champion and former McDonald’s High School All-American out of Gulf Shores Academy in Houston, TX, started the 2011-12 season in China where he was averaging 26.5 points on .545 shooting from the field through four games.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired the Dallas Mavericks’ first round selection in the 2012 NBA Draft in exchange for Lamar Odom and the Lakers 2012 second round draft pick, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. In addition, the Lakers will receive a trade exception.
The trade exception is worth $8.9 million, reported the Orange County Register.
Odom (6-10, 230) is a two-time NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year. The 12-year veteran holds career averages of 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 829 career games (678 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Lakers.
Originally the fourth overall selection in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Odom spent his first four seasons with the Clippers and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2000. He was traded to Miami in 2003 before being a part of the deal that shipped him, Caron Butler and Brian Grant to the Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O’Neal.
Once with the Lakers, Odom proved to be a dependable and durable asset playing in 455 of the possible 492 games over six seasons in L.A., including all 82 contests in 2009-10 and 2010-11. His ability to play any position on the floor proved to be valuable as Odom and Lakers won back-to-back World Championships in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, Odom was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year by defeating Maverick Jason Terry for the honor.
A native of Queens, N.Y., Odom played one year of collegiate basketball at the University of Rhode Island where he led the Rams to the 1999 Atlantic 10 Championship. Odom declared himself eligible for the 1999 NBA Draft after his freshman season at Rhode Island.