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Lamar Odom has been ejected from his first game with the Dallas Mavericks.
Given a standing ovation when he entered during the first quarter Sunday, Odom still had fans cheering him when he walked off shaking his head midway through the third.
Odom was called for charging and didn’t like the foul. Whatever he said about it was bad enough to draw a pair of technicals and an automatic ejection.
— Via the Associated Press
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Kobe Bryant felt his body falling apart, so he did something about it. Twice.
Bryant went to Germany on two occasions during the off-season, The Times has learned, undergoing innovative procedures on his ailing right knee and, in a previously unreported development, his chronically troublesome left ankle, according to people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Bryant aggravated his ankle while moving across the lane on defense in the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the New Orleans Hornets last season. It was a non-contact injury, his foot buckling under him without any contact. He left the arena that night on crutches but did not sit out any games.
He visited molecular orthopedist Peter Wehling about six weeks later in Duesseldorf to get treatment on an arthritic joint in his knee, as The Times first reported. After deeming it a success, Bryant went to see Wehling for his ankle around the time of a promotional appearance for Nike in Italy in October.
— Via Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times
The NBA announced today that due to the shortened 2011-12 season, the league will reduce the season-opening suspensions for Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlie Villanueva of the Detroit Pistons.
Villanueva’s five-game suspension for initiating an on-court altercation with Ryan Hollins of the Cleveland Cavaliers and attempting to escalate the altercation by entering the Cavaliers’ locker room has been reduced to four games. Since Villanueva already served one game of his suspension last season, he will miss the first three games of the 2011-12 NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.
Bynum’s five-game suspension for making unnecessary and excessive contact to J.J. Barea of the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s playoffs has been reduced to four games. He will miss the first four games of the 2011-12 NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.
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Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said his injured right wrist was less swollen Thursday and he expects to play in the season opener Sunday against Chicago at Staples Center.
“I should be fine,” Bryant said.
Bryant’s definition of “fine” is a little dicey, though. He also said: “It’s not really going to heal. It’s gone. The ligament’s gone. There’s nothing I can do about it.
“But I’ve dealt with so many hand injuries, it should be all right.”
Bryant said he tried to practice Tuesday with unsatisfactory results, which told him there was more significant damage. The MRI on Tuesday revealed the torn lunotriquetral ligament in his right (shooting) wrist.
— Via Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register
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Matt Barnes said the Clippers should be feeling some positive vibes after adding Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler and re-signing DeAndre Jordan this month, but thinks they may have gone overboard in showing that enthusiasm.
“They definitely have a much improved team here and are looking to make a push towards the playoffs,” Barnes said Thursday after the Clippers beat the Lakers in a pair of preseason games on Monday and Wednesday. “They have a lot of reason to be excited, but all the celebration after dunks and all that kind of stuff, I mean, I just kind of think it looks amazing and it makes ‘SportsCenter,’ but I mean, let’s just play basketball.”
Count Barnes as one person not exactly thrilled by the “Lob City” Clippers.
“They act like they won the dunk contest after every dunk,” Barnes said. “So, as players, people aren’t going to tolerate that.”
— Via Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles
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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).