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The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent forward Shawne Williams, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
Williams, a six-year NBA veteran out of Memphis, was originally selected by the Indiana Pacers in the first round (17th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft and has appeared in 215 career games (23 starts) for the Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. The 6-9 forward holds career averages of 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.4 minutes.
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In another sign that suggests he may be fully healthy for the beginning of the season, Lakers forward Pau Gasol spent Labor Day weekend playing on the basketball court for the first time since the team’s first-round loss last April to the San Antonio Spurs.
“After this morning work, this evening I will get back to the basketball court wearing these!” Gasol wrote on his Instagram account, which featured a photo of his shoes.
It’s unclear what basketball drills Gasol completed, but the step marks another level of progress surrounding the rehab around his knees. He had played with a variety of ailments that kept him sidelined last season for 33 games, including knee tendonosis, plantar fascia in his right foot and a concussion.
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
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He will run up and down the court with bursts of athleticism, offering something the Lakers sorely need. Young will rarely meet a shot he won’t like, driving everyone crazy when they don’t go in and making everyone go wild when he goes on a scoring spree. And Young likely won’t play much defense since, well, he hardly has for much of his 6-year NBA career.
But at least for Labor Day, Young stayed away from the hardwood and stepped foot on the gridiron for an informal game of flag football at Rowley Park in downtown Los Angeles. As shown on Young’s Instagram account, he teamed up with former Washington Wizards teammate Gilbert Arenas among others to beat a team led by Detroit Pistons guard and former Dominguez High standout Brandon Jennings.
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
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Q: As a former Los Angeles Laker, what do you think about the situation with Dwight Howard leaving the Lakers?
Gary Payton: “It’s a player doing what he wants to do. The Lakers knew what they were getting into when they got him. They gambled and lost the game. Kobe Bryant, to me, is still the best basketball player in my mind. He played with me and he was in my era. I still love him to death. He’s a little brother to me. They’re going to struggle for a little while, and Kobe is on his way out. He has two more years to his contract and they will probably sign him back another two years and try to rebuild. They’re going to struggle. It’s going to be a hard time to the Lakers fan, but they will come back. It’s going to be a transition that they will get through.”
Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports
Basketball star Lamar Odom was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence early Friday after a California Highway Patrol officer saw his white Mercedes-Benz traveling erratically on a San Fernando Valley Freeway.
The husband of reality TV star Khloe Kardashian was stopped shortly before 4 a.m. and was arrested after a field sobriety test.
The CHP said Odom’s car was observed traveling in a ”serpentine manner” before he pulled off the freeway.
”Mr. Odom showed objective signs of intoxication and was unable to perform field sobriety tests,” the CHP said in a report. Authorities said he later declined to take a chemical test.
Reported by the Associated Press
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With [Dwight] Howard’s departure, it’s presumed Gasol will have a larger role in the post, a key factor that ensured the Lakers to three Finals appearances and two NBA championships. But an important variable remains unanswered in determining how successful Gasol becomes next season in what will be the last year of his contract worth $19.3 million.
His health.
Gasol recently posted a video on Vine showing his rehab efforts surrounding his knees, which suffered from tendonitis and tendonosis last season. Yet, it remains to be seen how fully healthy he can become.
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
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This hardly seems to be the episode Lamar Odom wants aired out on reality television.
Amid reports that Odom has suffered from drug addiction, it appears fewer and fewer teams are less interested in his services. After planning to officially sign veteran forward Antawn Jamison Wednesday at the veteran’s minimum worth $1.4 million, the Clippers no longer are interested in resigning Odom, according to a league source familiar with the team’s thought process.
Once Jamison’s signing becomes official, the Clippers will have 14 players under contract, one player shy of the NBA’s imposed maximum number of players allowed on a roster. But the Clippers plan to fill out the last roster spot at some point during training camp, which begins in late September, according to a source. The Clippers would welcome Odom to training camp, though it remains unclear if he’d be interested in just that. Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, hasn’t responded to numerous requests for comment regarding his client in recent days.
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
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Pau Gasol will sit out of the FIBA EuroBasket Championships in September in hopes of fully rehabbing his knees, but the Lakers forward plans to help his native Spain in a different way.
Madrid’s 2020 Olympic bid committee has appointed Gasol as one of its spokesman and will address International Olympic Committee during Madrid’s final presentation in Buenos Aires next month. Gasol provided an impassioned statement and indirectly suggested how hosting the Summer Games would provide a significant financial boost to Spain, which has battled a recession for most of the past four years and has a 26.3 percent unemployment rate.
“The Olympic Games are more than sport – I know this personally as an Olympian. Spanish sport and the people of Madrid need the boost the Olympic Games would provide, and Madrid is ready to face this challenge,” Gasol said in a statement. “But Madrid will also give something back to the Olympic Movement – we are a city that is prepared with a responsible bid plan that will help develop sport far into the future.”
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
Prosecutors have slapped down allegations that retired hoopster Scottie Pippen assaulted an autograph seeker outside a Malibu restaurant last June.
The Los Angeles District Attorney said Tuesday it will not press charges against the former Chicago Bull because the man who claims he was roughed up was legally drunk at the time, may have been the aggressor and did not have injuries consistent with the beatdown he claimed he suffered.
An investigator also found that while alleged victim Camran Shafighi complained of severe pain to his ankle and demanded a splint after the incident, staff at UCLA Medical Center later saw him walk without a limp.
The emergency room staff also said Shafighi faked seizures that would mysteriously disappear when a doctor ordered him to “stop it,” a DA filing obtained by the Daily News states.
Reported by Nancy Dillon of the New York Daily News
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Recently-signed Lakers rookie Elias Harris is spending off-season time with the coaching staff to improve his game before training camp.
“We see Elias almost every day, and he’s talking all the nuances of what (assistant coach) Dan D’Antoni is teaching him,” said Mark Madsen to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
Harris is working to make “his shot a more balanced and consistent shot,” according to Madsen. “His driving game is something he’s spending a lot of time with (player development coach) Larry Lewis on.”
Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)
