KG Heads East, Not South
Kevin Garnett was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics today in what has become the biggest deal of the summer so far. It is nearly a consensus that the Boston Celtics just won big-time, and Boston sports fans can once again be excited about their team this upcoming season. Of course, for the Los Angeles Lakers the trade ends any thought of getting KG in a deal this summer. Had the Lakers been able to land KG, it would have answered any questions that Kobe Bryant had about whether or not Mitch Kupchack wanted to win immediately.
So after the initial jealousy that Lakers fans must be feeling right now, they are going to have to move on and start pining over other low-post options, like Pau Gasol or Jermaine O’Neal. One thing to look at on the bright side is that the Lakers will now have a much more focused search for the answer to Kobe’s demand. Cross off Kevin Garnett and start heading down the list. Will Kobe be willing to settle for anything less than KG, who would have almost certainly wanted to stay had he been in a Lakers uniform next year? I suppose we will find out soon enough.
Even though you can’t see Kevin Garnet with Los Angeles Lakers tickets very often next season, you can possibly get to a Lakers-Celtics game by getting tickets at StubHub.com.
More on the Donaghy Scandal
With the hubbub about the NBA ref scandal starting to boil with intrigue, there are all kinds of rumors and everybody has an opinion about Donaghy, the NBA, and how this whole thing is going to shake out. There was a very interesting article written a few days ago about what one of the most famous handicappers in the Vegas sports betting world thinks about the whole thing. According to Brandon Lang, who had a Matthew McConaughey movie called Two for the Money made about his life, the referee scandal probably goes deeper than just Donaghy. He imagines that, if the allegations against him are true, Donaghy will sing like a bird to the FBI, rat out more than a few NBA refs and the mobsters who he worked with, and then get set up in the witness protection agency.
Of course, many people have been proposing the idea that it was a mobster who ratted out Donaghy to the NBA in the first place. Which, of course, would make no sense at all. According to many sources, Donaghy was not under any sort of suspicion prior to the announcement that he was under investigation. So did he get ratted out by a mobster, another ref, or somebody else? Who knows… and the NBA and FBI are still going through with what must be extensive investigations.
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Lakers in the NBA Player Rankings
Kobe Bryant topped the CBS Sportsline player rankings chart last NBA season. Player rankings are based on a 100-point scale, and Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star shooting guard, was ranked as the best overall NBA player, with a player ranking of 97.82. He beat LaBron James, the runner-up, by just 0.46 of a point.
The rest of the Lakers team was… well… not as good as Kobe. Nobody else was in the top 25, or the top 50 overall. Andrew Bynum was ranked as the 21st best center in the league. Lamar Odom is the 24th best small forward. Smush Parker was the 26th best point guard, and Ronny Turiaf was the 43rd best power forward in the NBA. There are only 30 teams. Overall as a team, the Lakers were given a power rankings position at number 18 overall, right behind the Orlando Magic, and two above the Sacramento Kings. Though statistics don’t ever tell the whole story, they have most of t down pretty well. Hopefully, the Lakers can find a way to get somebody in who can give Kobe a little help before the season starts.
You can get some sweet Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.
Lakers Videos on YouTube
If you are tired of looking at that Kobe rant on YouTube, the one where he trashes the Kupchack and talks about his desire to leave town, you can take a look at some positive Lakers videos that might just pump you up if you are a Los Angeles Lakers fan. There is no shortage of goose bump-inspiring videos. Most of them are about the Lakers of old, though. There is one in particular that follows the dramatic victory of the Los Angeles Lakers over the Sacramento Kings in the fourth game of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. This is the one, you will remember, where Robert Horry hit the game-winning three point shot over the outstretched arm of Chris Webber.
There are a lot of great videos to watch which will get you pumped up, and there are definitely a lot of great Lakers moments from games back when they were title contenders. Plus, if you have any videos that you would like to post, you can let Lakers fans from around the globe see them. Check it out.
Once you’re done with that, you can check out StubHub.com to get some Los Angeles Lakers tickets.
Lakers Quotes
A couple of weeks ago there was a blog on this site about the reluctance Kobe Bryant has had with opening up to the media in recent days. Lately the Lakers star has seemed withdrawn, unwilling to engage us media writers with outlandish claims, whining demands and poor class all around. Nothing is more frustrating to a Lakers beat writer than to see that there is nothing to report, no Kobe tirades, no rape allegations, nothing. So, because it is a slow news day except for the referee scandal, I will regale you with the wit of Kobe, said weeks ago when he was asked about his current feelings about staying with the Lakers. Said Kobe:
“I’m not going to beat a dead horse in the head anymore.”
Standing alone, you might have thought that that quote was from Shaq. But no. It was from Kobe, probably said with a smile out of the side of his mouth that informs us that he doesn’t know that he’s butchering the phrase. Beating it in the head, if you will. Well that’s all for now. You can get Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.
Ref Scandal and the Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers will undoubtedly be thrown into the mix of musings about the latest NBA referee scandal. There are probably a lot of players searching through game films for games where alleged conspirator Tim Donaghy officiated Lakers games in the past few years. In fact, the NBA and FBI are doing that very thing as you read this.
So what will they find? Well, you will probably have to search back to a time when the Lakers were major title contenders in the NBA, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. There you will find a host of evidence of the Lakers and their opponents involved on both sides of very oddly officiated playoff games. As a Sacramento Kings fan, I can remember vividly arguing that the refs were fixing games to prolong the series, though those claims were often refuted by fans of the Lakers. Game 6 of the 2001 Kings-Lakers playoff series is a specific example of such a game. After all of the investigating is done, there might have to be some “I told you so” sessions from yours truly.
Until that time, you can still get Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.
Kobe Bryant Takes Over USA Scrimmage
The US Men’s National Basketball team held a scrimmage yesterday that was open to the public. The Blue and White Game pitted 17 of the invitees to the Las Vegas mini camp against each other in the finale of the weekend’s proceedings. The Blue Team beat the White Team 105-104, with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James going head-to-head for the games last few points.
Said coach Mike Krzyzewski after the game, “We’re really pleased. The mini camp went better than we expected I think because of all the veterans we brought in. They played that game very hard, and we need to build on that when we come back here in a few weeks.” The team might have played hard, but there has been a troubling precedent set here this weekend. If the US expects to get by in international competition playing the one-on-one style that is so popular in America, they might just find out that, once again, that kind of stuff doesn’t work in international ball. It is clear that the US team has probably the best talent pool in the world, but unless Kobe and LeBron realize that they are playing with other superstars on a team, rather than the Lakers or the Cavs, things are going to get rough when the tournament starts.
You can always check out StubHub.com to see Kobe play by getting Los Angeles Lakers tickets.
One Team Bryant Wants to Play for
Kobe Bryant’s future in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey, either this upcoming year or in a few years, is in great peril, but there is one jersey that we know for sure he wants to be in this summer, that of the US National Basketball team. Kobe Bryant has apparently lost over 15 pounds in his preparations to become one of the leading weapons in the arsenal of the US team as they prepare for competition in the World Championships.
Said one of the team’s coaches, Jerry Colangelo, “His competitive juices are really flowing, and that’s indicative of where he is. Kobe is in the best state of mind you could want a player to be in. I think we’re catching him just right. We look at his toughness and his ability to be a big factor with this group.”
Kobe Bryant will join a team that looks, on paper at least, like it will be in good shape to take on the rest of the world. Combined with the fact that Argentina will not be playing with several of its NBA stars, and other top countries are dealing with similar problems, the US looks like it could have a chance to really do some damage. When Kobe gets back from playing overseas, you can see him in action by getting Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.
Have the Lakers Gotten Better?
Have the Los Angeles Lakers gotten any better so far in the off season? Well, first we must remember that the off season is not officially over here for a while and that the Lakers still have time, and a little bit of room to make some free agency moves. But, according to John Hollinger at ESPN.com, the Lakers appear to have been one of the 15 teams that have already gotten better this off season- provided they don’t do anything damaging in the next few weeks. The article was meant to determine if teams got better for the immediate season, not for the long haul, which is why you will find both Portland and Seattle in the “Not improved” section.
According the Hollinger, the Lakers have improved their roster by adding size and experience to a position that needed both last season. The one glaring weakness of the Lakers last year was their point guard, and the Lakers immediately got better with the addition of their first round draft pick, Javaris Crittenton, and an old vet named Derek Fisher.
To see this new, better roster, you can get Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.
Bryant to Report to USA Hoops Camp
Kobe Bryant is expected to report to the Team USA basketball minicamp this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bryant is considered to be the highlight of the team, which will include, potentially, this list of NBA stars and soon-to-be NBA stars: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Shane Battier, Kirk Hinrich, Chauncey Billups, Amare Stoudemire, Michael Redd, Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, Tyson Chandler, Tayshaun Prince, J.J. Redick and Deron Williams.
Of course, like a lot of the latest superstar USA basketball teams, this one looks like it has a lot of talent on paper. The question will be, will the USA be able to compete? There are a lot of excuses offered up every year for why the US fails to dominate the international basketball scene, but fans like myself are getting impatient with the results. Last year’s team, whose premier star was LeBron James, managed to (barely) get the bronze medal. Will Kobe’s game help or hurt the team? We will soon find out- that is, if Kobe decides to play. Of course, you can always count on seeing him play live by getting Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.