Lakers author and critic makes prediction about internal issues with LA head coach, star player, manager

Ronald Lazenby, author of “The Show: The Story of the Spectacular Los Angeles Lakers,” was recently interviewed about the state of affairs on the LA team front, concluding that there are two separate camps when it comes to where the NBA squad is headed, according to the “True Hoop” ESPN blog posted Wednesday, Oct. 17.

Some people want the Lakers to make every last effort in immediately obtaining the best talent out there so the team can adequately tap their potential to win a championship title while team star Kobe Bryant and head coach Phil Jackson are still in the picture. Others would like to see Bryant and Jackson be patient with recruitment and work on young developing talents, such as Andrew Bynum, according to the blog.

“Jerry Buss is a lot of things, but fool isn’t one of them,” Lazenby wrote via email according to the blog. “Isn’t it amazing the way he just trumped Phil and Kobe? They seemed ready for one of those season-long PR wars, with Phil, Kobe, the team and Jeanie Buss lined up against Jim Buss.”

Lazenby goes on to write: “Phil wants another championship and he wants Jim Buss out of the way so that he can do it. It was Jim Buss, supposedly, who talked his father Jerry into firing Phil in 2004, so this thing has some history. [Jerry] Buss seems to prefer building around Kobe, but not on Phil’s terms. Would Buss actually trade Kobe? Only if he has to thwart Phil and save Jim Buss’ position with the franchise.”

Who knows what will happen next with the Lakers’ state of internal affairs, but one thing’s for sure – they are going to happen fast and they are going to most likely happen soon. Don’t miss out on any of the action and be sure to catch the next game. Get Lakers tickets right now at Stubhub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 17, 2007 - Post a comment

Phil Jackson Interview

In an exclusive interview with the NBA media staff, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson has revealed how he sees the season shaping up and his plans for the team in order to utilize the players most efficiently and make the Lakers as successful as possible, according to a story published Oct. 15 on the Laker’s official team Web site.

“Well, we have to get ourselves an organized plan as to how we’re going to play,” Jackson said. “We’ve got some additions with Derek Fisher this year. We’ve got guys back from injuries. We’ve got three centers that are returning—all of them expecting to play and start.

“Andrew Bynum got a lot of time last year simply because we had injuries to our starters, which were Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown, and so all three of them have come back now ready to step into that spot and contest so we’ve got some new personnel to take position. Fisher’s addition to the lineup will change the way we play and once we get organized and find ways to how we’re going to play, who’s going to start, who’s going to bench players, we’ll be a pretty good team.”

To learn more about the Lakers or to read more of Jackson’s interview, visit www.nba.com/lakers. Still haven’t snagged a pair of Lakers tickets for the next game? Get over to Stubhub.com and check out all the latest deals and offers right now.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 16, 2007 - Post a comment

Fisher to Play Sparingly

Los Angeles Lakers’ point guard Derek Fisher won’t be overplayed this season – in fact, his average of 38 minutes per game from last season will look more like 28 minutes this upcoming season, according a story published Sunday, Oct. 14 on the Pasadena Star News official Web site.

“I feel like I can still play 30 minutes a game,” Fisher said in the Oct. . “I know the minutes will be big minutes no matter how [many they turn out to be]. I have to be ready to play whether I’m starting or coming off the bench,” Fisher said. “I want to make a difference when I’m out there. If (Jackson) feels he needs to keep me within a range until the playoffs, when he might bump it up, then that’s fine.”

The 33-year-old Fisher will enter his 12th season in the NBA and said the reduced play-time is welcomed if it means he can play more intensely during the coming months, according to the article. Coach Phil Jackson has said that he will try to get the most of Fisher without overplaying him and critics have speculated that Jordan Farmar will use up Fisher’s leftover minutes as a back-up point guard.

Still haven’t secured your seats for the next game? Visit Stubhub.com for Lakers tickets today.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 15, 2007 - Post a comment

L.A. Times reveals more comments from Lakers owner Jerry Buss about Bryant, Bynum, family

Discussion about Jerry Buss’ 38-minute interview on Wednesday is still circulating and many of his comments that were published by big-time media organizations, such as the L.A. Times, are generating more and more questions from fans who wonder what the team’s next move might be regarding NBA all-star Kobe Bryant, according to a follow up article published today in The Times.

The 74-year-old Lakers owner has publicly admitted that although he doesn’t want to disappoint fans and lose the star of his team, that if the right offer from another team was put on the table, that he would consider trading Bryant.   Buss also had this to say about Bryant during the media interview: “”I think what he’s thinking is, ‘Let me play basketball with some people I know I can win with.’ When he’s on the All-Star teams and all these things, I can imagine how it must feel for him — everybody catching the passes and everybody just doing everything right. It is frustrating. It must be more frustrating for him playing than it is for me.”  At this moment, it appears the all-star will be sticking out the season, but speculation about offers for Bryant continuing to roll in has been rampant.

Have all the rumors and Bryant-trade talk left you intrigued? Check out Lakers tickets for the up coming games at Stubhub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 12, 2007 - Post a comment

Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss considering trading NBA star Kobe Bryant

In an exclusive press conference Wednesday,  Los Angeles Lakers Jerry Buss discussed the possibility of trading the team’s and the league’s top scorer – Kobe Bryant. Bryant, who has been voicing his frustration with the team throughout the off-season, has been the topic of discussion surrounding the Lakers all summer and now, as the season starts up, Buss decided to speak publicly for the first time since his team’s off-season disarray, according to a story published Thursday, Oct. 11 on the Los Angeles Times’ Web site.

Buss admitted that offers have been streaming in from other teams all summer but made it clear none of them were good enough to follow through with. Bryant, who has four years left in his $88.6 million contract, has the option of pulling out two years early in 2009 because of a gaping hole in the agreement, according to Buss. That would leave $47.8 million of Bryant’s money on the table but would also leave the Lakers in a hard spot – Bryant is one of the most dynamic players to set foot on the Lakers’ home court in the team’s 60-year history. But Buss has admitted that he is keeping the possibility of a reasonable trade offer in mind.

At a June meeting in Barcelona between Buss and Bryant, the owner said he tried to talk the Lakers star out of his request to be traded to another team. “He was very, very respectful,” Buss said. “I told him when I walked in that I was going to try to talk him out of it. And he said, ‘I’ll listen carefully.’ And he did. He listened very carefully for 30, 45 minutes. I tried to explain to him how much the city of Los Angeles loved him, and that to leave 10 million sweethearts for unknown territory might not be the right thing to do. But when I was finished, he said he basically felt the same way. And I said, ‘OK. With that, I will proceed to see what’s available.’”

Still hunting for good seats for the next game? Snag a pair of Lakers tickets at Stubhub.com and get all the best deals.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 11, 2007 - Post a comment

Lakers Lose to Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors, 111-110, Tuesday evening after the Warriors’ Troy Hudson hit a jumper with less than 1 second left to play in the teams’ preseason opener, according to a story published Wednesday, Oct. 10 by the Associated Press on the Lakers’ official Web site.

The Lakers played the Golden State Warriors in Hawaii, where the team has been undergoing its intensive training camp for the last week, and the team fell behind from the very beginning, with the Warriors up by 21 points after the first quarter of play. Led by Vladimir Radmanovic, who had 20 points, Los Angeles caught up with the Warriors during the other three quarters and rallied to take the lead during the last 7 minutes of play, with an alley-oop from rookie Javaris Crittendon to Andrew Bynum, bringing the score to 95-93. Crittendon scored 18 points, Kobe Bryant followed closely with 17 and Sasha Vujacic with 15.

Don’t miss a second of the action – visit Stubhub.com for snag a pair of Lakers tickets now and prepare for an action-packed season!

Permalink - Posted in General on October 10, 2007 - Post a comment

Lakers dedicate new Reading Room in ‘Ewa Beach, Honolulu for Boys & Girls Club

The Los Angeles Lakers team and some of the Lakers Girls will be on hand in ‘Ewa Beach, Honolulu, today to dedicate a new Lakers Reading Room for the Hale Pono Boys & Girls Clubhouse, according to an article published Oct. 9 on the Honolulu Advertiser’s Web site.

The Lakers conduct their pre-season training camp on the island every other year and call the state it’s second home, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. The Hale Pono reading room is the second that the Lakers Foundation has sponsored in the past three years as part of the NBA’s Read To Achieve program and is a facility that is designed to “promote literacy and the joy or reading among kids, to help them develop a lifelong love of reading,” according to Eugenia Chow, the Lakers’ community relations director.

In 2005, the Lakers contributed $15,000 toward the Spalding Clubhouse Reading Room and plan to do the same for the ‘Ewa Beach facility, which will hold a video projection machine, big-screen TV and portraits of the Lakers in action. Lakers star Kobe Bryant and four other teammates are expected to be present for the dedication. Secured season tickets for the Lakers yet? What are you waiting for! Grab your pair of Lakers tickets at Stubhub.com today!

Permalink - Posted in General on October 9, 2007 - Post a comment

Bryant and Bynum stories contradict: Is everything patched up or going down the tubes?

Apparently, Kobe Bryant has decided that fibbing is OK when it comes to looking good in the public’s eyes – either that or he’s confused about how to work those new-fangled gadgets they call cell phones. The Los Angeles Lakers star, who has been voicing his displeasure with the team’s front office for the past several months in regards to finding new talent and forming  a championship-winning team, was noted last spring for blasting Andrew Bynum – the 7-foot-tall sophomore center – who Bryant suggested should be traded for Jason Kidd. “Who wouldn’t want to get Jason Kidd?” Bryant is quoted saying, according to a story published Oct. 2 on the LA Times Web site.

Bryant was asked back in July whether he’d had any interaction with Bynum since voicing his opinion, and the Lakers star responded that he had talked to Bynum through text message. “Andrew and I didn’t talk, but we texted each other,” Bryant said. “That kid, he’s 17 years old. I don’t think he knows how to answer a phone,” the Kobester says. “He texts. I was in Rome and I texted him and he hollered back. I just let him know I was sorry how that stuff came out. He said he understood kind of where I was coming from. The frustration that I feel because I want to win right now. And that was that.” But when asked by an LA Times reporter at training camp this past Monday, Bynum repeated several times that he’s had no contact with Bryant, not even a text message from Rome. “Rome? Maybe that explains it; I didn’t get any text message,” or send any, Bynum responded to the reporter when asked about Bryant’s side of the story.

Regardless, the two teammates have seemed to put the incident behind them as much as possible and things seem to be running smoothly for the team at training camp in Honolulu. Now, as the team gears up for the season, speculations have turned over to which teams have a chance. The Lakers have pretty good odds according to most critics so far. Still haven’t got seats for this season? Get Lakers tickets at Stubhub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 8, 2007 - Post a comment

Walton, Fisher Eat Bananas in Hawaii

Luke Walton and Derek Fisher both sustained minor injuries in practice the other day, reports ESPN. Apparently Walton strained his right hamstring and Fisher caught an elbow to the head, causing a gash. Walton did not come back to practice, and will be reevaluated on a day-by-day basis. Fisher’s cut did not require any complicated procedure, and he returned to finish out the drills. As you probably know, the Lakers are in Hawaii completing their annual training camp. Injuries at a time like this can be frequent, and a veteran coach like Phil Jackson knows that sustaining injuries while players are getting into playing shape is just part of the deal.

The Zen Master had his own take on the state of Walton. Without naming him, Jackson labeled Luke a “toilet tissue paper player.” Later in the article, he muses about Luke Walton’s diet. Said Jackson, “We’re aware that he’s sweating a lot — low potassium here in Hawaii. He’s got to eat more bananas.” And here we were thinking that an apple a day would do the trick.

To get Los Angeles Lakers tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 5, 2007 - Post a comment

Lamar Odom ‘wants to retire as Laker’

In a recent interview with Lakers’ team member Lamar Odom, who is currently recovering from soldier surgery and has been at the center of trade talks all summer with the Phoenix Suns and the Indiana Pacers, the NBA star said he is pleased that a resolution has finally been made. As training camp takes off in its first week, Odom learned that he will stay on with the Lakers, making this his fifth consecutive season with the team since he was traded from Miami. Odom, 27, said he is a bit relieved to hear the news in an article published Oct. 4 by the Los Angeles Times.

“I kind of expected it because we lost two years in a row in the first round to the same team,” Odom said. “This is an organization that plays for championships. Of course, when you go out there [and play] hurt, it hurts a little bit, but it’s part of the business as well. I don’t want to be traded, This is where I’d like to end my career - L.A. is L.A., and it’s also my second home.”
Coach Phil Jackson has said that he expects the team veteran to come back this season after recovering from his surgery with a bit more edge in his game. “He obviously wants to prove himself as a player,”Jackson said. “I thought he was having a great year last year. He shares the game with players and I think that’s a real important aspect of it.” Odom, who is expected to be the second highest leading scorer, top rebounder and second or third most successful assist man on the team again this year, is currently undergoing therapy for this shoulder surgery, which was the player’s second since he has been a part of the league, he said.

Looking to snag a pair of Lakers tickets for this season’s games? Visit Stubhub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on October 4, 2007 - Post a comment


 Page 2 of 3 « 1  2  3 »