Los Angeles Lakers Blog – Page 133 – NBA Blog

Jazz reach agreement with swingman Raja Bell

Tim Buckley of the Deseret News reports:

The Jazz have reached an agreement with free agent Raja Bell, a veteran swingman who played previously in Utah and last was with the Golden State Warriors.

Details of the agreement, which the Jazz did not confirm, were not immediately known.

Bell is coming off recent wrist surgery that curtailed his 2009-10 season.

The deal is contingent on Bell passing a physical exam.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Good signing for both parties. Old Bell can still provide defense and veteran experience off the bench, plus he can trip opposing players with his cane.

Lakers re-sign Derek Fisher

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed free agent guard Derek Fisher, it was announced by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy terms of the contract were not released.

Fisher, a five-time NBA Champion with the Lakers (2000-02, 2009-10), returns for his fourth straight season with Los Angeles and 12th overall. A 14-year NBA veteran, the 6’1” guard, who played in all 82 games in 2009-10 for the fifth straight season, ranks second among all active players with 413 consecutive regular season games played.

With the Lakers’ victory over Boston in the 2010 NBA Finals, Fisher won his 33rd career playoff series, tops among all active players in the NBA. The combination of head coach Phil Jackson and Fisher has now accounted for 108 postseason victories, the third highest total for a player/coach duo in league history, trailing only Jackson/Kobe Bryant (114) and Jackson/Scottie Pippen (110).

As an individual, Fisher ranks among franchise leaders in playoff games played (3rd/183), regular season games played (9th/790), playoff steals (3rd/205), regular season steals (8th/829), playoff 3-point field goals made (2nd/212) and regular season 3-point field goals made (2nd/759). League-wide, Fisher’s total of 224 playoff 3-point field goals made ranks him 6th in NBA postseason history while his total of 43 3-point field goals in the NBA Finals is 3rd most all-time.

Originally selected by the Lakers in the first round (24th overall) of the 1996 NBA Draft, Fisher entered the league alongside then-rookie Kobe Bryant and spent eight years (1996-2004) with Los Angeles before signing with the Warriors as a free agent in 2004. Since returning to the Lakers prior to the 2007-08 campaign after two seasons in Golden State and one in Utah, Fisher has helped the Lakers to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two consecutive NBA Championships. In 1,028 career regular season games, Fisher is averaging 9.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.08 steals.

Derek Fisher will stay with Lakers

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles reports:

Derek Fisher has decided to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Credit Kobe Bryant with the assist.

“I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles,” Fisher said in a statement. “While this may not be the most lucrative contract I’ve been offered this offseason, it is the most valuable. I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin.” …

“Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made. He and I have played together for 11 seasons, came into the league together as kids, and has been loyal to me even when others had doubts. We have won five championships together.”

Jordan Farmar will join Nets

The New Jersey Nets have reached an agreement in principle with free agent guard Jordan Farmar, Nets President Rod Thorn announced tonight. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released. The agreement is contingent on the passing of the required physical.

The deal is for three-years, $12-million, reports the Los Angeles Times.

“Jordan will be an excellent complement to Devin in the backcourt,” said Thorn. “He comes to the Nets with championship pedigree, which will prove to be invaluable to his teammates.”

Farmar, 6’2”/180, is a four-year NBA veteran with career averages of 6.9 points and 2.1 assists in 18.1 minutes over 301 career games with the Los Angeles Lakers. The UCLA product was selected by the Lakers in the first round (26th overall) of the 2006 NBA draft. Farmar helped the Lakers win back-to-back championships in 2008-09 and 2009-10. In 69 career postseason contests, Farmar holds playoff averages of 5.9 points and 1.4 assists in 15.0 minutes per game Last season, Farmar appeared in all 82 games for the Lakers, posting averages of 7.2 points on 43.5% shooting and 1.5 assists in 18.0 minutes per game.

Clippers sign Brian Cook

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent forward Brian Cook. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

Cook, 29, appeared in 15 games for the Houston Rockets last season, averaging 1.4 points and 0.6 rebounds. A seven-year NBA veteran, the six-foot-nine, 234 pound Cook has appeared in 349 career games with the Rockets, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, tallying career averages of 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.3 blocks.

The former University of Illinois star was originally drafted by the Lakers with the 24th overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. As a rookie, Cook appeared in 35 games and 13 playoff contests as a member of the 2004 Western Conference Champions. Cook played four complete seasons with the Lakers, making a career-high 81 appearances in 2005-06, the same season he averaged a career-best 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds.

In his career, Cook has played in 31 total playoff games, averaging 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds. A career 39 percent three-point shooter, Cook has attempted over 80 three-pointers in five different pro seasons, shooting nearly 43 percent from beyond the arc in 2005-06.

Cook joined the Orlando Magic in a trade on Nov. 20, 2007 where he played in 66 total games from 2007-2009. The Lincoln, Illinois native was then traded to Houston on Feb. 19, 2009 as a part of a three-team trade. The Rockets waived Cook on Feb. 19, 2010.

The 2002-03 Big Ten Player of the Year and Third-Team All-American selection as a senior, Cook averaged 20.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in his final college season and finished his Illinois career as the third leading scorer in school history.

Cook’s father Norm was a star at the University of Kansas and played in 27 NBA games with the Celtics and Denver Nuggets from 1976-78.

Laker sign Steve Blake

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard Steve Blake, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy terms of the contract were not released. We’ll add deal info later today.

Blake, a seven-year NBA veteran, appeared in 80 games (38 starts) last season with the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 27.0 minutes. Coming to the Clippers as part of a February trade involving center Marcus Camby, Blake posted his first career triple-double (23 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) in the team’s regular season finale against the Lakers and finished the season ranked 13th league-wide in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.97).

Originally selected by the Washington Wizards in the second round (38th pick) of the 2003 NBA Draft, Blake has averaged 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 499 games (299 starts) while shooting .393 from behind the arc for his career.

A 6’3” guard, Blake started in the backcourt as a junior on the University of Maryland’s 2002 NCAA Championship team. The first player in ACC history to record at least 1,000 points, 800 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals, Blake finished his collegiate career as the Terrapins’ all-time leader in assists with a total of 972, then the fifth highest total in NCAA history.

Lamar Odom, Khloe Kardashian land reality show

Kelly Magee of the New York Post reports:

Newlyweds Khloe Kardashian, 26, and Lamar Odom, 30, are adding to the family business with yet another reality show.

Let’s hope it works out better for them than it did for “Newlyweds” Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

The show will chronicle shock-jock Khloe’s quest to get pregnant by her multi-million-dollar Laker husband, in addition to other gripping storylines — like furnishing her McMansion — according to reports.

Nuzhat Naoreen of HollywoodCrush MTV reports:

Although E! has not confirmed the details, the show will apparently center around Khloe’s desire to start a family with Lamar, as well as her role as a stepmom to his children (sounds very “Adventures in Babysitting” to us!). Side note: are we the only ones left in the world who didn’t realize he was already a dad?

We don’t doubt that Khloe will be able to carry her own show, as she tends to be the most out-spoken and animated of the three sisters, but we are a little worried that this will lead to Kardashian overload. After all, they are kind of everywhere (they’re practically the royal family of Twitter). Don’t get us wrong, we’re not complaining yet, but we do wonder whether they might be close to their exposure limit.

InsideHoops.com editor says:

It’s a victory for humanity that the Kardashians will finally receive some much-needed television exposure! But seriously, it’s too bad this show can’t be merged with “Basketball Wives” on VH1 or something.

Clippers meet with Mike Miller

Frank Burlison of the Los Angeles Daily News reports:

Some 24 hours after meeting with the star of the most publicized period of free agency in NBA history, the Clippers had another discussion with a member of the class Saturday.

Mike Miller, a 6-foot-8, 30-year-old forward who averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Washington Wizards during his 10th season in the league, met with team president Andy Roeser and general manager Neil Olshey at the team’s complex…

Miller, who hit .480 on 3-pointers and .501 overall, averaged a career-best 18.5 points per game for Memphis during the 2007-08 season.

Cavaliers hire Byron Scott as head coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers have named 26-year NBA veteran Byron Scott as the team’s new head coach, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Quicken Loans Arena, in downtown Cleveland.

Coach Scott, 49, played in the NBA for 14-years, primarily with the Los Angeles Lakers where he participated in winning three championships in 11 seasons with the team. After retiring from the NBA, Coach Scott played one season overseas (1997-98), winning a championship for Pananthinaikos in Greece.

He then went on to coach 12 seasons in the NBA, 10 of them as a head coach. After two seasons (1998-2000) in Sacramento as an assistant to Kings’ Head Coach Rick Adelman, Byron was named head coach of the New Jersey Nets where he led the franchise to back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships and back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in his 2nd and 3rd seasons as the Nets’ head coach.

Coach Scott has the 8th highest career playoff game appearances as a player and head coach combined in NBA history and is within 15 more playoff game appearances from moving to ranking 4th in NBA history. In addition, Coach Scott’s .579% winning career playoff percentage is the 4th highest among all current NBA head coaches. trailing only Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Stan Van Gundy.

“Byron’s combination of high-level success and depth of experience, both as a head coach and as a player, is a tremendous asset for our organization. He is a strong leader with a proven track record of winning in both the regular season and the playoffs. We’re confident Coach Scott will positively impact the strong culture we have put in place here in Cleveland over the past five years.” said Cavs General Manager Chris Grant. “We’re very excited for Coach Scott to get started. His experience and leadership will be a critical element in our drive to achieve the franchise’s ultimate goal.”

After four seasons with New Jersey, Coach Scott was hired by the New Orleans Hornets where he improved the Hornets by 38 wins, from a lowly 18 victories in 2004-05 to a 56-win campaign just three years later in 2007-08. This win total is the New Orleans’ franchise record and earned Coach Scott the Red Auerbach trophy as the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year. Coach Scott also led the Hornets to an appearance in the Western Conference Semifinals that same season, as well as leading the Western Conference All-Star Team as its head coach in the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans where, ironically, the west lost to the eastern conference, and its All-Star Game MVP, LeBron James.

In his second year with the Hornets during the 2005-06 season, Coach Scott guided the Hornets to a 38-44 record, an NBA best 20-game win improvement from his first season in New Orleans, despite Hurricane Katrina displacing the team from its hometown and forcing the Hornets to play in four different home arenas throughout the 2005-06 campaign. Coach Scott followed the 2007-08 effort by leading the Hornets to 49 regular season wins and back to the playoffs in 2008-09.

Prior to his stint in New Orleans, Coach Scott led the New Jersey Nets to the most successful run in franchise history. In his first season in 2000-01, he spearheaded rebuilding a New Jersey team with a 26-56 record before guiding them to a franchise-high and Eastern Conference best 52-30 record followed by the Nets’ first-ever trip to the NBA Finals in 2001-02. The 26-win improvement marked the sixth-largest year-to-year improvement in NBA history and the team also won its first Atlantic Division title in franchise history. Scott also earned head coaching honors for the 2002 Eastern Conference All-Stars. (Coach Scott is one of just six coaches to earn the honor for both conferences)

The following season (2002-03) he guided the Nets back to the NBA Finals after winning a second consecutive Atlantic Division title.

“I want to thank Chris Grant and Dan Gilbert and the entire ownership group for this great opportunity. In meeting with Dan and Chris I could tell they have a solid team and family approach to everything and that really impressed me,” said the Cavaliers’ new skipper, Byron Scott. “The deeper we got into these discussions, the better I felt about the situation. This is a great job and an impressive organization and I am very happy to be a part of it. Everything about it just felt like a really good fit for both me and the team. I am anxious to get going and to build on the success the Cavaliers have experienced in recent years.”

Prior to his successful coaching career, the Inglewood, California native enjoyed an outstanding NBA playing career. Selected 4th overall in the first round of the 1983 NBA Draft, by the San Diego Clippers, Scott played 14 seasons with three different teams (the Lakers, Indiana Pacers and Vancouver Grizzlies), winning three NBA titles with the Lakers in 1985, 1987 and 1988 as a key starter on the Lakers famed ‘Showtime’ era teams.

In 1,073 games (717 starts), the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 14.1 points on .482 shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.1 minutes per game. In 183 postseason games (122 starts), he posted career playoff averages of 13.4 points on .482 shooting, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29.3 minutes per game. Coach Scott has been a consistent winner as both a player and a coach. In his 14-year playing career, Scott experienced 12 winning seasons and his team reached the playoffs in 13 of those 14 seasons.

The Cavaliers new head coach attended Arizona State, where he finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,752 points. As a senior, he was named First Team All-Pac 10 after averaging 21.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Off the court, Coach Scott’s non-profit organization, The Byron Scott Children’s Fund, has raised more than $6 million dollars over the past decade, with the proceeds going to various children’s charities.

Phil Jackson will return to coach Lakers in 2010-11

Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson has decided to return to coach the team for the 2010-11 season, it was announced today.

“Count me in,” said Jackson. “After a couple weeks of deliberation, it is time to get back to the challenge of putting together a team that can defend its title in the 2010-11 season. It’ll be the last stand for me, and I hope a grand one.”

Jackson, who most recently guided the Lakers to the 2010 NBA Championship, their second in a row, has won five titles as head coach of the Lakers. Overall, Jackson has guided his teams to eleven NBA Championships, the most of any coach in NBA history.

A member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Jackson established a new Lakers franchise record for regular season victories earlier this year, earning his 534th career victory with a win over the Charlotte Hornets on February 3. The fastest coach to 1,000 career victories, his total of 1,098 regular season wins ranks him fifth all-time while his .705 winning percentage is the best in league history. Additionally, Jackson ranks first all-time in NBA postseason history with a .697 winning percentage (225-98). His 225 playoff victories are also the highest postseason win total for any head coach in league history.

“We’re extremely pleased that Phil has decided to return,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “With this most recent championship, we’ve now won five titles in the ten years he’s been our head coach and have been to the Finals in seven of those ten years, which is amazing. He’s not only the best coach for this team, but quite simply the best coach in the history of the NBA.”