The San Francisco Chronicle (Scott Ostler) reports: Jerry West’s fingerprints are all over this shiny championship trophy, just like they’re all over the other nine. West hired Phil Jackson as Lakers coach. In ’96, West traded for just-drafted Kobe Bryant, a high school kid bypassed by 12 teams, including the Warriors. West has remained Bryant’s friend, confidant and adviser through some very hard times for Kobe, personally and professionally. It’s possible Bryant would have left the Lakers had it not been for West’s voice-of-reason counsel and friendship. The Lakers got Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies in ’08. West was the Memphis general manager from 2002 to ’07, and I know he has enormous respect for Gasol. You can bet that before that trade went down, West filled Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak’s ear about Gasol.
Team, city to split cost of 2009 Lakers championship parade
Economic conditions in Los Angeles, California and the country and world in general won’t prevent fans of the Lakers from getting to enjoy a championship parade. The Los Angeles Times (Julie Cart) reports:
In the end, the team and city will split the cost — each kicking in about $1 million for the festivities, which for the first time includes the significant expense of renting the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The city will pay for police, transportation and general staff, said Mark Szabo, spokesman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The mayor said Sunday that it was “untenable” not to have a parade, even though city officials had been meeting behind closed doors to find hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.
Rowdy celebrations in Los Angeles after Lakers win championship
The AP (Christopher Weber) reports: Hundreds celebrated in the streets outside Staples Center after the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA title win Sunday night, with some revelers damaging police cruisers, throwing rocks and bottles at officers and setting bonfires in the street, authorities said. About 25 people were arrested, most part of a rowdy crowd that split off on to surrounding streets after police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, officer Karen Rayner said. Several police cruisers were damaged and reinforcement officers were called in from throughout the city to help disperse the crowd, Rayner said. Aerial television footage showed people jumping on a police car, rocking vehicles attempting to pass through the crowd, setting small trees on fire and throwing fireworks and flares set up by police. No injuries were reported. A gas station was looted and several cars, buses and a news van were vandalized, police said.
Lakers win 2009 NBA championship
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The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the 2008-09 NBA championship, the franchise’s 15th title.
Kobe Bryant led the way for Los Angeles, shooting 10-of-23 for 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks.
Lamar Odom (5-of-12) had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Trevor Ariza added 15 points and 2 steals, Pau Gasol (6-of-9) had 14 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks, and Derek Fisher scored 13.
The Magic led by two after the first quarter, but the Lakers went on a huge run and won the second quarter 30-18. And the Magic scored just 15 points in the third quarter.
Orlando shot just 41.5% from the field and were an awful 8-of-27 from three-point range. And they hit a mere 10-of-16 free throws.
The Lakers won the rebounding battle, 47-36. They had 13 offensive rebounds, including 4 each from Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The team dished just 13 assists.
No one stepped up for the Magic. All five starters had double-digit points, and two players had 10 rebounds, but no one shined. Rashard Lewis led his team with 18 points (on 19 shots), 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee each scored 12. Dwight Howard was very quiet with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The 2009 NBA Finals MVP award was given to Bryant, who enjoys his 4th championship.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson now has 10 NBA titles as head coach, the most of any coach in league history.
Phil Jackson fined for criticizing refs
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has been fined $25,000 for criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. The Lakers were also fined $25,000 for their coach’s comments.
Jackson and the Lakers have been fined for his comments made on camera between the 1st and 2nd periods during Game 4 of The Finals.
Utah Jazz exercise option on Kyrylo Fesenko
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has exercised its option on center Kyrylo Fesenko for the 2009-10 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not released.
The 7-1, 22-year old native of the Ukraine has appeared in 30 games over two seasons with the Jazz, holding career averages of 2.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.60 blocks while shooting .519 in 7.5 minutes per game. He appeared in 21 games (one start) in 2008-09, averaging 2.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.71 blocks, hitting .583 (21-36) shots from the field in 7.4 minutes per game. Fesenko’s best game came against Yao Ming at Houston on December 27, 2008, where he posted career highs of 12 points (6-8 FG) and 11 rebounds along with three blocks in 34 minutes.
Fisher clutch, Lakers beat Magic, take 3-1 lead
The AP reports: Derek Fisher hit two key 3-pointers—one with 4.6 seconds left in regulation, the other with 31.3 seconds to go in overtime—as the Los Angeles Lakers moved within one win of their 15th championship by beating the Orlando Magic 99-91 on Thursday night to open a 3-1 series lead. The 34-year-old Fisher, in his second stint with the Lakers after stops in Golden State and Utah, was best known for his turnaround fling with 0.4 seconds left in the 2004 playoffs against San Antonio. He’s got two more shots that rank right with it… Dwight Howard was magnificent everywhere but at the free-throw line. He scored 16 points with 21 rebounds and a finals-record nine blocks. But he made just 6 of 14 foul shots, and it was his two crucial misses with 11.1 seconds to go in regulation that doomed the Magic… Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol each had 16 for Los Angeles. Ariza, traded by Orlando to L.A. in 2007, had 13 of the Lakers’ 30 points in the third quarter.
Derrick Rose statement on flashing gang-sign
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has issued a statement in response to this photo that has been circulating:
Recently, a photo has been circulating on the Internet which appears to depict me flashing a gang sign. This photo of me was taken at a party I attended in Memphis while I was in school there, and was meant as a joke…a bad one, I now admit. I want to emphatically state, now and forever, that Derrick Rose is anti-gang, anti-drug, and anti-violence. I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with any gang and I can’t speak loudly enough against gang violence, and the things that gangs represent.
In posing for this picture, I am guilty of being young, naive and of using extremely poor judgment. I sincerely apologize to all my fans for my mistake. I pride myself on being a good citizen, and role model, that young people can look up to and I want to urge all my young fans to stay away from gangs and gang-related activities.
Read fan discussion and post your own opinion in this forum topic.
Rashard Lewis must ignore contract talk
The AP reports during the NBA Finals on Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis: Lewis was Orlando’s best player through the first three games, the leading scorer on a team that on Tuesday won a finals game for the first time. And for $110 million, the Magic should expect Lewis to be their go-to guy. Except they signed him because they knew he didn’t need to be, and Lewis won’t change his demeanor or his style to justify his paycheck. ”The contract is there and it’s not going nowhere,” Lewis said. ”They can’t take it from me and all I can do now is go out there and play basketball and try to win ballgames for my team, not go out there and put up big numbers to show everybody that I’m worth this contract.”
2009 Mavericks free agent camp
The Dallas Mavericks free agent mini-camp will take place June 11 and 12, 2009.
Click that link to see more info and a list of the players involved.
There are 20 free agents playing at it. I would guess that the best player, or couple of players, will have a good shot at being invited onto the Mavericks summer league team. And if one guy really stands out, perhaps the team will offer him a contract; probably something short, like one year, maybe two at the most, probably nonguaranteed.
Most of the players on the list are known guys.