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Kobe Bryant declares himself obsessed with winning

Kobe Bryant isn’t sure he’ll be ready to play when the Los Angeles Lakers open the season on Oct. 29, although he remains ahead of schedule in rehabbing his surgically repaired Achilles’ tendon.

Bryant turns 35 next week and he vowed that his 17-year career is “definitely not over.”

“I just want that jewelry,” he said, referring to the possibility of claiming his sixth NBA championship.

“People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.”

Bryant made his comments to late night host Jimmy Kimmel during “Kobe Up Close,” a one-on-one conversation with the NBA superstar on Thursday night at Nokia Theatre across from Staples Center.

He had a one-word answer when Kimmel asked whether he would finish his career with the only team he’s ever played for: “Yeah,” Bryant replied.

Reported by the Associated Press

Lakers sign forward Elias Harris

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Elias Harris to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “Although the Lakers agreed to terms with Harris in July, the paperwork wasn’t finalized until Wednesday. Harris played in five games for the Lakers’ summer league squad in Las Vegas, averaging 10.2 points on 44.7% shooting. Harris will make $490,180 in the first year of his deal, although only an undisclosed amount is guaranteed. His second year is at $816,482 and that is believed to be non-guaranteed.”

Harris, a two-time All-West Coast Conference Team selection out of Gonzaga University, helped the Bulldogs to a 32-3 record in 2012-13 and the school’s first No. 1 national ranking, averaging 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 27.8 minutes in 34 games. Harris’ 1,857 career points ranks fourth on the Gonzaga all-time scoring list and his 979 career rebounds are the second most in school history. In four seasons at Gonzaga, the 6-8 forward averaged 13.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 28.0 minutes in 135 games.

A German native, Harris played for Team Germany in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey and in the 2009 European Championships held in Poland.

Most recently, Harris 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.

Lakers assistant Johnny Davis says team needs to become a real unit

Recently hired as an assistant to Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni, Johnny Davis hopes to help the Lakers become more of a bonded unit.

“The key is that we really and truly and sincerely have to be a team,” said Davis said to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com on Thursday. “Not just a collective of guys wearing the same color uniform, but truly a team so when you are practicing or doing anything, you don’t want to let your teammate down.”

Davis, who recently served as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors, was added to the Lakers staff in late July. Davis also has head coaching experience with the Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers. He also won an NBA title in 1977 as a point guard with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Lakers limited by NBA luxury tax

The Lakers have struggled to improve their current roster because they are limited by the NBA’s new labor contract. As a “luxury-tax team,” the Lakers have fewer tools to sign players than teams with much lighter payrolls.

For example, the move that allowed the Lakers last summer to bring in Steve Nash is gone. Nash, a free agent, was acquired via a “sign-and-trade” with the Phoenix Suns for draft considerations.

But as a tax-paying team, the Lakers are now forbidden to sign-and-trade for players — one of the many rule changes limiting big-budget franchises.

Longer-term, the Lakers’ rebuilding plans will depend in part on how willing they are to pay the NBA’s increasingly punishing taxes on teams carrying big payrolls.

Each year the NBA sets a spending limit that triggers the luxury tax. In eight of the last 10 seasons, the Lakers have willingly crossed that line. The penalty has been a dollar-for-dollar tax, costing the Lakers a cumulative $113.7 million since the 2002-03 season.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times

In interview, Mark Madsen describes Kobe Bryant as a great leader

New Los Angeles Lakers player development coach Mark Madsen speaks with Lakers.com

Mike Trudell: How do you reflect back on your time with Bryant?

Mark Madsen: I’m grateful to have had Kobe as a teammate, because he helped me grow. There were times when he put his arm around me after a tough loss, and other times where he pushed me to be the best I could be. I think he has a nice combination of knowing when to pat somebody on the back, and when to get after somebody. I was a better player because of Kobe. His talent speaks for itself as one of the best to ever play basketball, but I think his leadership is extremely strong. You don’t win the five championships he’s won without being a great leader. He leads vocally and by example. You’re going to find very few players out there as great as Kobe is who also study film, who study opponents, who study other team’s sets. When he’s on the court, he has scripted ways he can take advantage of other team’s sets.

MT: Kobe has taken some criticism for how he was with his teammates particularly early in his career, when you played with him, but what you just said implies you didn’t see it that way?

Madsen: No matter who you are when you’re at the top of your profession like Kobe is and has been, there are going to be people who will put forth their opinions about you. But as a teammate, I’m grateful for Kobe’s influence on my game and how he helped me. He really helped me a lot on and off the court.

MT: A dedicated, hard worker is a teammate he’ll always like. Now, if a player isn’t willing to give it his all…

Madsen: Kobe has a goal to win an NBA championship every year. One thing I like about Kobe is that’s not an individual goal — that’s a team goal towards which he puts forward his best, and expects everyone on the team, coaching staff and in the organization to give their best.

Reported by Mike Trudell of Lakers.com

Kobe Bryant ahead of schedule in recovery

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant said he is way ahead of schedule in recovering from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

The scheduled time timetable for recovery is typically six to nine months. Bryant, who was injured in April against the Golden State Warriors, suggested that he could be ready in time for training camp in September.

“The surgical procedure was different … and because of that the recovery has been different,” Bryant said while recently on tour in China, according to NBA.com. “The normal timetable for recovery from an Achilles, we’ve shattered that.”

Reported by the Sports Xchange

Pau Gasol meets with Syrian refugees in Iraq

Lakers forward Pau Gasol was moved by his recent trip to Dohuk, Iraq, to visit with Syrian refugees.

“Most of the people didn’t know who I was. They didn’t know what I do,” Gasol told The Times on Friday via telephone from Spain. “They saw someone that cared for them who was there to help them. That was there to listen to them, to play with children and be their speaker and be their voice and carry a message for them. It was a great experience. ”

Armed conflict in Syria has caused more than 1.7 million people, many of them children, to flee their homes.

Gasol, an ambassador for UNICEF since 2003, found his visit both challenging and heart-warming.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Magic Johnson uncertain if Lakers will make playoffs next season

For a brief moment, Magic Johnson didn’t appear in the mood to laugh or smile. That’s because the famed Laker couldn’t help but acknowledge the unsettling reality surrounding the purple and gold, including their championship aspirations and the rehab surrounding Kobe Bryant’s torn left Achilles tendon.

“It’s going to be a tough season especially with Kobe being out,” Johnson said in an interview with this newspaper before a recent brunch at the Skirball Cultural Center for his self-named foundation. “Kobe has to get back healthy. That’s the key. If Kobe is back healthy, are they a legitimate championship team? I don’t think so. Are they a playoff team? I think they can be a playoff team if he’s back healthy. It’s all up to Kobe and his health status.”

Bryant hasn’t experienced any setbacks with his injury, even traveling to Italy in recent weeks while fitting in his rehab work. But contrary to the recent optimism expressed from Lakers executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss, Bryant isn’t expected to return during training camp. When Bryant suffered the injury April 12 against Golden State, the Lakers estimated he’d stay out at least for six to nine months. That timetable hasn’t changed. Bryant also has publicly circled November or December as his return, keeping the possibility he could play by or near the season opener.

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

Lakers hire Kurt Rambis, Johnny Davis as assistant coaches

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Kurt Rambis and Johnny Davis as assistant coaches, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The pair will join Lakers assistant coach Dan D’Antoni, who returns from last season, in addition to Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis, who were hired earlier as player development coaches.

“Kurt and Johnny bring many years of NBA experience both as coaches and as former players to this team,” said Lakers Head Coach Mike D’Antoni. “Kurt is a great basketball mind, extremely good at working with big men and his experience as a head coach in this league is going to prove very helpful to our staff. Johnny is a two-time NBA head coach with years of experience playing as well as coaching in this league. The vast array of NBA knowledge he brings to the table will be invaluable to us.”

Rambis previously served three stints with the Lakers as an assistant coach, first from 1994-1999, before taking over as head coach 13 games into the 1998-99 season. He tied a then-NBA record with nine consecutive wins to start his head coaching career and led the team to a 24-13 mark and into the Western Conference Semifinals. Rambis then served as Advisor and Assistant General Manager from 1999-2001, and then as Vice President of Business and Basketball Integration for half of the 2004-05 season.

Rambis also served as an assistant coach with the Lakers from 2001-04 and from 2005-09, helping to guide the team to two NBA Championships (2002 and 2009) as well as NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2008. Rambis then went to Minnesota, where he was the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2009-11.

In addition, Rambis played during the Lakers “Showtime” era and helped the team win NBA titles in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. Rambis spent the 2012-13 season serving as a basketball analyst for ESPN and Time Warner Cable Sportsnet.

Davis joins the Lakers with over two decades of NBA coaching experience. The Detroit native most recently spent the previous two seasons (2011-13) as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. Before joining the Raptors, Davis worked six seasons as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies (2007-11), Indiana Pacers (2006-07) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2005-06). Davis spent two seasons (2003-05) as head coach of the Orlando Magic, where he was an assistant coach from 1999-03 before being promoted eleven games into the 2003-04 season. His stint with the Magic was the second head coaching job for Davis, who also spent one year (1996-97) at the helm of the Philadelphia 76ers. The 23-year coaching veteran has also worked as an assistant coach for the Nets (1997-99), Trail Blazers (1994-96), Clippers (1993-94) and Hawks (1990-93). Additionally, Davis served two games as the Grizzlies interim head coach in January 2009.

Before joining the coaching ranks, Davis, who holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology, spent three seasons (1987-90) in the front office of the Atlanta Hawks where he served in a variety of roles including Director of Community Affairs, Assistant to the President, and President of the Atlanta Hawks Foundation. Selected by the Trail Blazers in the second round of the 1976 draft, the University of Dayton alum played with four teams (Trail Blazers, Pacers, Hawks and Cavaliers) in ten years (1976–86), winning an NBA Championship in his rookie season with Portland.

Andrew Goudelock signs one-year deal to play in Russia

After failing to field any NBA offers that entailed guaranteed deals, Andrew Goudelock has accepted a one-year deal to play with the Russian basketball team BC UNICS Kazan.

The offer is worth “considerably more” than Goudelock would’ve made with an NBA minimum salary worth around $1 million, according to a source familiar with the details. But exact terms weren’t immediately provided.

The Lakers declined to grant Goudelock a $1.1 million qualifying offer, which would’ve made him a restricted free agent and enabled the Lakers to match any offer sheet he fielded.

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