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Carmelo Anthony rumors: future may be with Knicks or Lakers

Future of Carmelo Anthony may be with Knicks or Lakers

Carmelo Anthony reiterated that he wants it all: He wants to be a Knick for life, yet he also wants NBA teams — the Lakers, really — to court him when he becomes a free agent on July 1.

The Melo-drama Part II is under way in the wake of Anthony confirming that he plans to opt out of his contract next summer and become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. And for the first time, Anthony hinted that it is a two-team race between the Knicks and Lakers.

When asked about the long-held belief that the Lakers would pursue him, Anthony said: “What other team would they say? I don’t think they would say any other team. If you look at situations, that’s the only team that they probably would say.”

The Lakers will have cap space, and Anthony is close to Kobe Bryant. Also, Anthony owns a home in Los Angeles, and his wife, La La, is a working actress in Hollywood. Needless to say, if Anthony leaves the Knicks, it won’t be for a small market team.

Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Lakers waive Darius Johnson-Odom

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Darius Johnson-Odom, it was announced today.

Johnson-Odom, the 55th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was originally acquired by the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks on draft night. The 6-2 guard out of Marquette appeared in four games for the Lakers last season, where he totaled four rebounds and one assist in six minutes. Johnson-Odom also played in 13 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders where he averaged 21.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 39.8 minutes. After being waived by the Lakers in January, the Raleigh, North Carolina native spent the remainder of the 2012-13 season playing in Russia for BC Spartak Saint Petersburg. Johnson-Odom then proceeded to participate in the 2013 NBA Summer League games in Orlando and Las Vegas as a member of the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

Signed by the Lakers in September, Johnson-Odom played in three games this preseason, averaging 3.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 8.2 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 16 players.

Dwight Howard discusses leaving the Lakers

“Everybody’s saying I was a ‘coward’ for leaving [the Lakers], and I knew I was going to get that,” [Dwight] Howard said Tuesday. “But I think with the situation I had to do what was best for Dwight.

“I know when I wanted to leave Orlando, and I decided to stay, I wasn’t happy on the inside. I wanted to please everybody else and ended up hurting a lot of people by doing it the way I did. So, this time it’s like I had a second chance.

“I said, ‘You know what? People are going to hate me for whatever reason, so I can’t allow that to stop me from making my decision.’ I thought that my decision took a lot of guts because everybody’s saying, ‘How could you leave the Lakers and six billion fans?’ But I don’t care about being an outcast or about being somebody that may look bad. All I’ve got to do is win now, and I’m in the right situation.”

Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Lakers getting to explore China during preseason

The Lakers went to the Great Wall on Sunday afternoon, a two-hour trek on a charter bus that started on the bustling streets of China’s capital, continued along a narrow two-way road near a quaint Chinese village with farmers pushing wheelbarrows, and ended at the Mutianyu portion of the Wall.

Two days before their exhibition game here, the Lakers didn’t go to the more popular Badaling or Juyongguan sections of the historic site, eschewing the crowds and amusement park-like environments for more solitude. Or so they thought.

Crowds immediately formed as they disembarked from their shuttle buses. Players were shepherded along by a dozen guards wearing black hats, white gloves and “RISK CONTROL” on their shirt sleeves.

Then the Lakers went up a thin pock-marked path that wound through a hundred kiosks and overzealous vendors. Scores of passers-by thrust out scraps of paper and begged players to take photos.

An elderly vendor yelled “Paulo, Paulo,” and proclaimed, “Big, big size” as he held out an extra-large T-shirt to Pau Gasol that said, “I climbed the Great Wall.”

Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Steve Nash dealing with sore ankle

Just as he spent nearly his entire summer trying to become healthy, Steve Nash has suffered another ailment that he’ll have to monitor.

The Lakers point guard missed the final three quarters of the team’s 104-86 preseason loss Thursday to the Sacramento Kings at MGM Grand Garden Arena because of a sore left ankle after struggling loosen it up during pre-game warmups. Nash described the injury as a “minor thing,” though Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni suggested it could linger throughout the season.

“I’m not concerned,” D’Antoni said. “I think this will happen on and off on all year. But he’s going to give you a good season and good stuff. But we have to take care of him.”

Nash estimated initially feeling pain in his left ankle either a week or two before training camp started Sept. 28, an injury he said had since improved after initially being limited in practices.

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman learning to play together

Gasol and Kaman were an effective duo for spurts of the Lakers’ 104-86 exhibition loss to the Sacramento Kings at MGM Grand Garden Arena, displaying a dynamic skill set that suggested there is enough room on the court for both 7-footers.

Gasol twice fed Kaman with alley-oop passes that resulted in layups … in the game’s first seven minutes. Kaman was constantly in motion, knowing Gasol’s proclivity for finding teammates in favorable spots.

“Pau makes it easy for everybody because he’s such a good passer and playmaker for other people,” said Kaman, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds to complement Gasol’s 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Reported by Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times

Kobe Bryant return date: still weeks away

Kobe Bryant still weeks away from playing

Although Kobe Bryant is making steady progress in his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon, he’s still a few weeks away from playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant is back with the Lakers after a short trip to Germany to get treatment on his right knee, another trouble area for the 35-year-old guard. He sat on Los Angeles’ bench for an exhibition game Tuesday night, and he’ll travel with the team to China later this week.

But the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history isn’t committing to any return date until he gets in shape and figures out how his legs will hold up when he’s back in uniform.

“I haven’t said anything (about a return date),” Bryant said. “I just keep it all open right now. I don’t know why you guys are so hell-bent on deadlines. It’s like the most ridiculous thing to me. It’s entertaining. When I’m ready, I’m ready.”

Reported by the Associated Press

Los Angeles Lakers waive Eric Boateng and Dan Gadzuric

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Eric Boateng and Dan Gadzuric, it was announced today.

Boateng, a free agent center out of Arizona State University, has split time over the last three seasons playing for the Idaho Stampede and the Austin Toros of the NBA’s Development League in addition to playing internationally for the Greek Basket League team Peristeri and the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in Germany. The 6-10 center, who played one year (2005-06) at Duke before transferring to Arizona State University (2007-10), finished his collegiate career averaging 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes over 116 games. Born in London, Boateng is also a member of the Great Britain national basketball team.

A ten-year NBA veteran, Gadzuric spent the 2012-13 season playing with Marinos de Anzoátegui in Venezuela. In 30 games with the team he averaged 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 19.4 minutes. Selected in the second round (34th overall) by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2002 NBA Draft, the 6-11 center out of UCLA has played in 527 career NBA games with Milwaukee, Golden State, New Jersey (now Brooklyn), Toronto and New York, averaging 4.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 14.8 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 17 players.

Pau Gasol, Chris Kaman showing preseason chemistry

As they moved around the court in what marked their first time playing together in a competitive game, Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman became mirror images of each other.

They both played pick-and-roll. They facilitated up top. They posted down low.

Never did they do this at the same time. Instead, they fulfilled that job description by playing off one another. Add up all the ingredients in the Lakers’ 90-88 preseason victory Monday against the Denver Nuggets at Citizens Business Bank Arena. And it’s clear that both Gasol and Kaman won’t have problems working together.

They combined for 26 points on 11 of 22 shooting and 15 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes of work, leaving the two eager to pepper each other with compliments on why the chemistry instantly clicked.

Gasol praised Kaman’s mid-range jumper and spacing.

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Kobe Bryant health update

The current Lakers roster, minus the services of Kobe Bryant, has little chance of doing anything big this upcoming NBA season.

The roster with Kobe active… well, still not likely to do much and will face a very uphill battle simply qualifying for the playoffs, but they’ll certainly be more competitive and interesting to watch.

Here’s the latest on Kobe’s health:

Bryant, 35, is still recovering from surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon. There is no firm timetable for his return, but he has been able to do some light jogging and set shooting during the first week of training camp.

“Just keep grinding. Keep working hard and getting better,” Bryant said of his Achilles rehab Tuesday in a courtside interview with Time Warner Cable during the Lakers’ 90-88 preseason win over the Denver Nuggets. “I gotta get in shape, too. I’ve been sitting on my butt now for a while. I gotta get up and get moving.”

He previously said it’s too soon to know whether it will be possible to play by the Lakers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 29 but that he’s trying to get back as soon as possible.

Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

The NBA is better with Kobe on the court. Hopefully he’s back in action soon.