Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

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Steve Nash set to return for Lakers

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles on old,  banged-up Steve Nash and his expected return to action for the Lakers:

steve nash

Sunday marked the 10th straight game that Steve Nash missed because of nerve root irritation in his back and hamstrings, but Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said he expected to have him back when the team returns to practice Tuesday after an off day.

Nash spent last week in Vancouver, British Columbia, working out with his longtime personal trainer, Rick Celebrini, while the Lakers were on a three-game trip through Washington, Brooklyn and Detroit.

“I think he made some improvements, but we’ll see,” D’Antoni said of Nash.

Nash, 39, is averaging 6.7 points and 4.8 assists this season while shooting 26.1 percent from the field.

Lakers waive forward Elias Harris

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived forward Elias Harris, it was announced today.

Harris appeared in two games for the Lakers this season, tallying a rebound, an assist and a steal in 11 minutes. The two-time All-West Coast Conference Team selection out of Gonzaga University started all five games for the Lakers’ 2013 Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.0 minutes.

The Lakers roster now stands at 14 players.

Lakers sign Kobe Bryant to two-year contract extension

Lakers sign Kobe Bryant to two-year contract extension

The Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant really like each other. And want to stick together. And have put it in writing.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak announced today that the Lakers have signed Bryant to a two-year contract extension. According to ESPN reporter Chris Broussard, the deal will pay Bryant $23.5 million in the 2014-15 season, and $25 million in the 2015-16.

“This is a very happy day for Lakers fans and for the Lakers organization,” said Kupchak. “We’ve said all along that our priority and hope was to have Kobe finish his career as a Laker, and this should ensure that that happens. To play 20 years in the NBA, and to do so with the same team, is unprecedented, and quite an accomplishment. Most importantly however, it assures us that one of the best players in the world will remain a Laker, bringing us excellent play and excitement for years to come.”

Bryant, a five-time NBA Champion, has earned numerous accolades over the span of his 17-year career, including being selected as the NBA MVP in 2007-08 and winning the NBA Finals MVP award in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The 15-time NBA All-Star has also led the United States to gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. Bryant has earned All-NBA honors in each of the last 15 seasons and has been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Team 12 times.

The Lakers have appeared in postseason play in all but one season (2004-05) of Bryant’s 17 campaigns with the team, and have reached the NBA Finals seven times, winning championships in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010. The 6’6” guard scored a career-high 81 points (55 in the 2nd half) on January 22, 2006, the second highest game and half point totals in NBA history.

Originally acquired by the Lakers from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Vlade Divac on July 11, 1996 after being selected by the Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, Bryant is the Lakers all-time leading scorer and currently ranks 4th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

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Shawne Williams explains scuffle with DeMarcus Cousins

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog on some positivity involving the Lakers:

shawne williams

In a sign that the Lakers’ team unity goes beyond sharing the ball and accepting roles, forward Shawne Williams believed he made a bold statement when he aggressively confronted Kings center DeMarcus Cousins after he bumped Lakers guard Jordan Farmar to the floor.

“Everybody in this locker room is part of a team,” Williams said following the Lakers’ 100-86 win Sunday over the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. “We’re family. Anybody who tries to mess with our family or do a dirty play, I’m going to stand up for them on the court.”

Williams believed Cousins tried to do that.

After bumping Farmar to the ground, the Lakers guard appeared agitated by the contact. But Cousins offered to pick him up. Before that happened, Williams intervened and signaled to back away.

Lakers recall Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris from D-League

Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris have been recalled from the Los Angeles D-Fenders to the Los Angeles Lakers, it was announced today.

Kelly and Harris have both appeared twice for the Lakers this season. Kelly has recorded six points and two rebounds in his seven minutes of action and Harris has posted a rebound, an assist and a steal in his 11 minutes. They will both rejoin the Lakers for tomorrow night’s game versus the Golden State Warriors.

Billy Hunter claims Kobe Bryant meddled in NBA lockout negotiations

Here’s the Los Angeles Times blog reporting on some alleged details of that horrible thing called the NBA Lockout:

Former NBA players’ union executive director Billy Hunter has claimed that Lakers star Kobe Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka, acting on behalf of union president Derek Fisher, meddled with his efforts to end the 2011 lockout.

In a Los Angeles Superior Court filing Thursday that is part of his wrongful-termination lawsuit, Hunter stated that he received a call from Bryant and Pelinka the night before he was scheduled to meet with league officials in October 2011. According to Hunter, the player and his agent told him to agree to a 50-50 split of basketball-related income.

“On the phone call, Bryant told me to agree to the new CBA [collective bargaining agreement] at a 50-50 share of BRI, saying, ‘I know that tomorrow is a big day. You can put this thing to bed. Do the deal,’ and also telling me, ‘I got your back,’ ” Hunter said in the court filing. “What Bryant and Pelinka were telling me is that a 50-50 deal had already been completed behind my back.”

Lakers assign Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate.

The assignments are the ninth and tenth of the 2013-14 NBA D-League campaign and are the first for both Kelly and Harris, who become the sixth and seventh NBA players to be assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate this season.

Pau Gasol has been playing with strained foot

The Los Angeles Lakers face a difficult season, and Pau Gasol not being fully healthy makes it even more of a challenge. Here’s ESPN Los Angeles:

pau gasol

Pau Gasol underwent an MRI last week that showed a muscle strain in his left foot, the Los Angeles Lakers forward revealed to reporters after his team’s 116-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.

“I had a strained muscle there,” Gasol said. “It’s feeling better now. It’s feeling a little better.”

Gasol missed 20 games last season after suffering a plantar fascia tear in his right foot, and he said the two injuries could be linked.

“Now it’s the left foot, maybe compensating,” Gasol said. “Things like that happen. … Hopefully we can keep it under control.”

Said Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni before the game Tuesday: “He’s a big guy that takes a pounding, but he knows how to deal with it.”

Lakers home sellout streak ends at 270 games

The struggle is real. At least, that’s what the cool kids like to say these days. Anyway, here’s the Los Angeles Times Blog:

The Lakers suddenly have some catching up to do with the Clippers, and not just in the Pacific Division standings.

The Lakers’ home sellout streak ended at 270 games Tuesday night when the team drew 18,426, just short of the capacity of 18,997, during a 116-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center. The Lakers had sold out 320 straight games including the playoffs.

The last non-sellout for the Lakers at Staples Center came Dec. 6, 2006, against New Orleans/Oklahoma City, when they drew 18,535.

Steve Nash frustrated by persistent injuries

Point guard Steve Nash has had an amazing NBA career. But he’s now consistently hurting, and a shade of his former self. Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog:

steve nash

The stoic demeanor masked Steve Nash’s frustration. His graceful movement walking down a Staples Center hallway also camouflaged his pain.

But as he’s realized through a full offseason, a complete training camp and only two weeks into the regular season, no amount of work Nash has done thus far can cover up the persisting injuries that’s emerged all over his 39-year-old body.

He sat out the entire second half of the Lakers’ 113-80 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Timberwolve because of persisting back issues. Nash will then see back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins on Monday before deciding what to do next.

As he stood in a Staples Center hallway shortly after the Lakers’ loss, however, the early returns don’t sound pretty.

“You can call it the back. You can call it the nerves,” Nash said, referring to the feeling he still has in his surgically repaired left leg. “The pain in the hamstring. They’re all the same things. It gets a lot of convoluted. It’s basically the same thing.”