Los Angeles Lakers Blog – Page 125 – NBA Blog

Los Angeles jury rules in favor of Clippers against Elgin Baylor

The AP reports:

A jury has rejected Elgin Baylor’s claim of age discrimination and harassment, giving the Los Angeles Clippers a major victory against their former general manager.

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Wednesday declined to award Baylor any damages. He claimed he was forced out of the job he held for 22 years.

The Clippers had contended that Baylor left the team on his own.

InsideHoops.com reports:

The following is a statement from Los Angeles Clippers’ General Counsel Robert H. Platt, concerning today’s legal decision:

Today’s verdict was inevitable and it represents a complete vindication of all of the baseless claims asserted by Mr. Baylor.

For more than two years, Mr. Baylor’s counsel has gone to extraordinary lengths in a fruitless effort to fabricate a case. This was a case of FIRE!, ready, aim. The jury saw through their baseless rhetoric and quickly realized that there were no facts to support any of Mr. Baylor’s allegations.

Mr. Baylor initially sued the NBA, only to dismiss the League on the eve of trial in exchange for the League agreeing not to pursue a malicious prosecution case against Mr. Baylor.

In addition, Mr. Baylor and his lawyers held a loud press conference claiming race discrimination. However, the Court threw out Mr. Baylor’s meritless race claims just one day before the trial was set to begin.

Solely on principle, my clients refused to settle this lawsuit despite having the opportunity to do so. Even when faced with endless, public, malicious attacks, they were resolute in their demand that they be fully exonerated by a jury. That moment has now come.

My clients are to be credited for their willingness to see this through. Personally I am gratified to know that this was a day on which justice was well-served.

Anaheim City Council approves funding for Kings

The AP reports:

The Anaheim city council unanimously approved a $75 million bond deal Tuesday night to entice the Sacramento Kings to relocate to Orange County.

The city council twice voted 5-0 for the lease-revenue bond measures, resulting in a round of applause from the audience at its packed City Hall meeting room.

“Anaheim took a giant step closer to bringing an NBA team to Anaheim and the Honda Center,” Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said. “I am thrilled. A better word is stoked.”

Tait repeatedly emphasized the city is borrowing no money and has no financial risk in the deal. According to every Anaheim official at the meeting, the city is merely acting as a conduit for a private investment by Henry Samueli, the billionaire owner of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

“I’d like to recognize this is a historic moment for us,” Council Member Harry Sidhu said. “This is going to be a great economic engine for us. A lot of jobs are going to be created, and I’m fully confident in that.”

Samueli, who also manages the city-owned arena, is financing the deal, which includes $25 million in upgrades to Honda Center, including a practice court and new locker rooms. Another $50 million will be working capital for moving costs that could include relocation fees paid to the NBA’s other owners.

Lakers assign Derrick Caracter to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned forward Derrick Caracter to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Caracter, selected by the Lakers in the second round (58th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, has appeared in 40 games this season, averaging 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.3 minutes.

The 6’9” rookie out of UTEP will be available to play for the Jam tomorrow night in their game against the Utah Flash in Utah.

This marks the second D-League assignment for the Lakers this season, having also assigned rookie forward Devin Ebanks to the Jam for six games from December 27- January 9.

Lakers hold off Hornets, go to 15-1 since All-Star break

The AP reports:

Phil Jackson always keeps his Los Angeles Lakers far more focused on the day-to-day journey than the destination during the regular-season grind, even though the last five weeks of their trek have been awfully smooth.

The New Orleans Hornets? They were reminded they’re heading down a perilous road without David West.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, Pau Gasol had 23 points and 16 rebounds, and the Lakers inched closer to the top of the overall NBA standings with their 15th win in 16 games since the All-Star break, 102-84 over New Orleans on Sunday night.

Andrew Bynum added 13 points as the Lakers jumped to an 18-point lead in the first half and weathered the Hornets’ fourth-quarter rally to sweep the four-game season series with a possible first-round playoff opponent…

Carl Landry had a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul had 10 points and nine assists in the Hornets’ second game without West, their injured scoring leader.

Jeff of Inside Hoops, the editor of InsideHoops.com, in a Ron Artest rap video

OFFICIAL RON ARTEST GO LOCO VIDEO

The Ron Artest “Go Loco” official video is here:

RON ARTEST GO LOCO OFFICIAL VIDEO FILMING

By Jeff Lenchiner

I’ve been visiting Los Angeles since 2011 NBA All-Star weekend in mid February and have enjoyed wild, fun adventures during my extended time in Hollywood. And just when I thought this week, which already featured three straight days of Playboy parties, including two days at the Playboy Mansion, couldn’t get any more interesting, I stumbled into getting cast as a giant panda in the new Ron Artest rap video for his song “Go Loco.”

Relaxing in a trendy hotel lounge in Hollywood Tuesday evening, I ran into famous rapper Fat Joe and his manager Macho, who I know well thanks to the wonderful world of street basketball. (Be sure to check out the great EBC Rucker Park streetball documentary “The Blackout,” featuring Fat Joe, Jay-Z and more.)

Fat Joe, it turned out, was there to film a rap video. I wound up getting invited to attend the taping, and headed downstairs to the video set in legendary exclusive spot Beacher’s Madhouse, for a Ron Artest song called “Go Loco.” Celebs on set for the shoot included Joe, B-Real of Cypress Hill, actor and basketball fan David Arquette, TV host George Lopez and others. Artest and fellow Los Angeles Laker Matt Barnes came later in the evening, a bit late after edging the Phoenix Suns in an intense triple-overtime thriller.

Also on hand for the Artest video shoot were several little people (the video features an area identified by a sign as a “Midget Bar”), a few other interesting characters, and a large heap of very pretty girls who were very good at shaking all sorts of body parts in a wide variety of directions.

Most of the Go Loco filming taking place that night focused on Artest and others relaxing in the club, bouncing around to the song’s beats. I mostly stayed in the back with friends of the rappers by the bar area.

As hours went by with most of the video successfully filmed, celebs and their friends called it a night, leaving me and a fairly small handful of people hanging out to watch until the very end. “Final set,” yelled one assistant.

A producer then came to me and asked how I’d feel about wearing a giant panda costume. I assumed he was kidding and that it was his way of telling me to move or get out. But he was serious; it was in the script. Very few guys were left in the room at the time, and the wearer of the costume had to be tall, so there were actually very few candidates. I stand 6-3 and could handle it.

Faced with a choice, I could call it a night and leave with no involvement in the video, or rock a panda costume in a club.

How could I pass on such a prestigious opportunity? I said yes.

I’ll leave it to you to check out how the video turned out, but I will describe my scene: A flock of hot girls, a giant chicken and a panda bear (me, the editor of InsideHoops.com) enter the nightclub. And… that’s it. The rest got cut.

The video was fun. Check it above.

Lakers edge Suns in 3OT

The AP reports:

Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 42 points, Ron Artest got five of his 18 points in the final 2 minutes of the third overtime, and Los Angeles outlasted Phoenix for a 139-137 victory Tuesday night in an enormously entertaining rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

“I wish we would have put them away when we should have,” said Lamar Odom, who had a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds while playing over 55 minutes filling in for suspended center Andrew Bynum. “But we found a way to win, and that’s all that matters…

“We really needed this game,” said Phoenix’s Channing Frye, who had a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds. “This one hurts.” …

Gasol added 24 points and 13 rebounds in just the Lakers’ fourth triple-overtime game since they moved to Los Angeles in 1960. The Lakers hadn’t hosted a triple-OT game since 1969.

The stakes were higher for the 10th-place Suns (35-34), who are scrapping to return the playoffs. Steve Nash had 19 points and 20 assists, while Marcin Gortat added 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Suns’ fifth loss in seven games.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson thinks city will lose Kings

The AP reports:

Sacramento’s Mayor is already preparing for life without the Kings.

In a strongly worded blog posted on his website Tuesday night, Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson wrote the franchise’s possible relocation to Anaheim “feels like a slow death” and this “will likely be the Kings’ final weeks in Sacramento after 26 years.”

Johnson met with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof last month and has believed since that the Kings will leave after this season.

After years of not receiving public dollars to build a new arena in Sacramento, the Maloofs began discussions with Anaheim officials about relocating the franchise to Orange County. An attorney representing the Kings also filed for at least four federal trademarks registrations: Anaheim Royals, Anaheim Royals of Southern California, Orange County Royals and Los Angeles Royals.

Andrew Bynum suspended two games for foul on Mike Beasley

Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended for his actions during a game on Friday, March 18, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

Bynum has been suspended for two games without pay for his Flagrant Foul, Penalty Two against Michael Beasley of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The incident occurred with 6:16 remaining in the fourth period of the Lakers’ 106-98 victory at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Bynum will serve his suspension when the Lakers host the Portland Trailblazer at 9:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. PDT at the Staples Center today and on Tuesday, March 22 when the Lakers host the Suns at 10:30 p.m. EDT/ 7:30 p.m. PDT.

Man with knife arrested on Staples Center court

The AP reports:

Police engaged in a roughly 20-minute standoff Saturday with a knife-wielding man on the floor of Los Angeles’ Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers were set to play later in the day.

Police tackled and apprehended the man after the face-off on the court near the visitors’ bench area.

Some spectators for the 12:30 p.m. game had begun filing into the arena, but were evacuated once the standoff started.

The Press Enterprise blog reports:

During that time, Staples Center was essentially in a lockdown. A few players — as well as the Clippers’ dance team — were on the court when the incident began but were quickly removed. Those in the building’s backstage area confined to wherever they were as the incident began. For most of the players on both teams — save for the later-arriving Cavaliers players, who were unable to get in — that meant being held in their locker rooms, or the section of hallway in front of them.

For a time, players on both teams, as well as various other personnel, crowded around one of the small monitors used by a broadcast crew, watching a live feed of the incident from the court, wondering how the standoff would be resolved.

Andrew Bynum is a big man

Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News reports:

Others are taller and some weigh more, but is there a bigger big man than Andrew Bynum in the NBA? Bynum, officially listed at 7-foot and 285 pounds, certainly measured up against the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard, who’s 6-11, 275.

“He’s a big guy, man,” Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson said of Bynum after the Lakers rallied to defeat the Magic 97-84 on Monday night at Staples Center for their 10th victory in 11 games since the All-Star break.

“He’s a handful,” Nelson continued. “It’s like he’s out there and you think you’ve got the ball, and he has it in his hands. You’re jumping for the ball, but he’s just standing there tipping it to himself to get those extra shots.”

Bynum scored 10 points and matched his career high with 18 rebounds Monday, his fourth consecutive game with 10 or more points and his sixth straight with 12 or more rebounds. He’s had a big impact on the Lakers’ winning ways since the All-Star break.

After rounding into form slowly following offseason right knee surgery that sidelined him for the first 24 games of 2010-11, Bynum has become a force in the paint for the Lakers. His season averages have risen to 11.6 points and 8.8 rebounds.