March 2011 Los Angeles Lakers Wiretap

Spurs, Lakers Interested In Gustavo Ayon

Mar 30, 2011 3:41 AM

The Spurs are reportedly interested in 6-10 power forward Gustavo Ayon, who is playing in the Spanish league and is originally from Mexico.

Ayon has a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year.

Lakers' GM Mitch Kupchak recently scouted him in a game against Barcelona.

Diario.com (via Project Spurs)

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor

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Lakers Focused On Staying Ahead Of Mavericks

Mar 30, 2011 2:37 AM

The Lakers maintain that their attention is focused on the Mavericks, not the sliding San Antonio Spurs.

The Mavericks will play at the Lakers on Thursday and are trailing for the number two seed by one game.

The Lakers would like to achieve home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, but it's not their main focus.

"Without a doubt, you would always want to go for that," Phil Jackson said. "But right now, our sights are Dallas and Thursday night's game." 

Besides, Jackson said on Tuesday that it would be a "longshot" for his team to overtake the Spurs for the league's best record.

Los Angeles Times

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Lakers Assign Caracter To Bakersfield D-League Team

Mar 30, 2011 2:11 AM

The Lakers assigned Derrick Caracter to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.

The Lakers want to get their rookie power forward some playing time.

Caracter will join the Jam in time to play Wednesday night in Utah against the Utah Flash.

Los Angeles Times

Tags: Derrick Caracter, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, D-League

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Kings Move Could Hurt Lakers Big TV Deal

Mar 28, 2011 1:01 PM

If the Sacramento Kings are successfully able to move to Anaheim, the Los Angeles Lakers' lucrative 20-year television deal with Time Warner Cable won't be as lucrative as it once was, multiple Lakers sources confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Some reports at the time pegged the value of the pact at $3 billion, a figure Time Warner Cable and the Lakers have since refuted.

If a third NBA team moves into the market, the Lakers' television deal will decrease by about just under 10 percent, sources said.

The Lakers' best hope of reclaiming lost revenue is citing their potentially diminished television contract to elicit a hefty relocation fee from the Kings. Relocation fees in the NBA are "discretionary" and established by the league's board of governors.

Arash Markazi/ESPNLosAngeles

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, NBA

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Mo Williams: Derek Fisher Is The Hines Ward Of The NBA

Mar 26, 2011 1:22 PM

The Lakers defeated the Clippers by a 112-104 final on Friday night.

On Saturday, Williams delivered a Tweet about Derek Fisher in obvious reference to the confrontation at the end of the game.

"If yall didn't know, D Fish is the Hines Ward of the NBA," wrote Williams. "I don't know if that's a compliment or not. But don't let that nice guy fool u."

Chris Kaman was ejected in the final minute following a demonstrative argument with Fisher following a physical screen. Kaman made a gesture at Fisher to meet him in the parking lot after the game.

Fisher frequently uses his elbow when he is met with a screen on the perimeter.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Derek Fisher, Mo Williams, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Lakers, Clippers Oppose Kings Move To Anaheim

Mar 25, 2011 4:13 PM

The Lakers and Clippers strongly oppose the Kings' move to Anaheim, sources say, because it would bring a third team into their market playing out of a building (Anaheim's Honda Center) that sits just 30 miles away from Staples Center.

But the Lakers and Clippers would need 14 other teams to oppose the Kings' relocation when it reaches the voting stage.  But one source said there are already strong indications in circulation that the Kings will be able to secure the minimum 16 votes required (and maybe more) to clinch the simple majority needed to ratify any proposed relocation.

It would appear that the best L.A.'s teams can hope for is a hefty relocation fee that could dissuade brothers Joe and Gavin Maloof, who co-own the Kings. Relocation fees in the NBA are "discretionary," meaning that the fee established by the league's Board of Governors vary from relocation to relocation. The Seattle SuperSonics, for example, paid a $30 million relocation fee when they moved to Oklahoma City.

Marc Stein/ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Kareem Looks At Bynum With Obvious Pride

Mar 25, 2011 2:15 PM

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the special assistant coach in charge of mentoring Andrew Bynum when the Lakers drafted him in 2005.

"I've been waiting for him to do just what he's been doing," Abdul-Jabbar said Thursday. "I watched the San Antonio game and it seemed to me at that point he had it figured out, how to help this team. When he plays like that, all over the boards and blocking shots and changing shots, it makes it very easy for this team to win."

Abdul-Jabbar stepped back from his Lakers coaching duties in November 2009 when he was diagnosed with a form of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that produces cancerous blood cells.

He used to consult with Bynum at home games and practices, sometimes going to Bynum's home for extra video study and discussions about basketball history. 

"'Drew can get it done on the court now. He just has to be consistent. If he's consistent doing the things he's been doing recently, I definitely see the Lakers playing for the championship."

Los Angeles Times

Tags: Andrew Bynum, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Krzyzewski Has No Interest In Lakers Job

Mar 24, 2011 10:39 AM

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he’s not interested in the Lakers job, which will become available if Phil Jackson stays true to his promise to retire at season’s end.

"I've never thought of ever leaving Duke for another school but there were three serious times where I almost left to go to the pros," Krzyzewski said. "One was when Dave Gavitt took over the Celtics [in 1990], another was with the Trailblazers [in 1994] and the one that I took to a really far level was the Lakers situation. They were great with me. I just could not give up what I've done and gotten at Duke. It just wasn't worth it."

Krzyzewski, who has won four national titles at Duke, was reportedly offered a five-year, $40 million deal after Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak met with him around the time of the 2004 NBA draft.

Arash Markazi/ESPNLosAngeles.com

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference, NCAA

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Barnes Likely To Opt In, Brown Unsure

Mar 23, 2011 12:08 PM

Shannon Brown and Matt Barnes each have player options for the 11-12 season. Barnes is more likely to opt in than Brown.

"At this point, I want to win," Barnes said. "Unless it's something where people say, 'You're dumb for turning that down,' I don't really see myself making a move."

Barnes has only stayed with the same team for back-to-back seasons once.

"I don't know, man," Brown said Tuesday. "There's a lot that weighs in while thinking about this process."

Testing free agency would be "the best scenario, I guess. But unlike last year, when I was thinking about it and thinking about it, this year it really hasn't been on my mind as much because there's a lot of history that can be made this year. That really honestly has been my focus."

"A lot's going to depend on how they perform and how we perform as a team over the next two or three months possibly," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "From a selfish point of view, we hope they both remain with the Lakers next year and play even better next year and be in better situation a year from now."

Los Angeles Times

Tags: Matt Barnes, Shannon Brown, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Lakers Outlast Suns In Triple Overtime Thriller

Mar 23, 2011 3:17 AM

When the Los Angeles Lakers led Phoenix by 21 points in the third quarter, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom were pretty sure their night would end briskly and tidily.

After three overtimes, 276 combined points and a season’s worth of heart-stopping moments, Bryant and Odom were merely grateful to stagger out of Staples Center with a victory in a once-in-a-decade thriller.

Bryant scored a season-high 42 points, Ron Artest got five of his 18 points in the final two minutes of the third overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Phoenix Suns for a 139-137 victory Tuesday night.

“I wish we would have put them away when we should have,” said Odom, who had a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds.

Both teams traded improbable last-second heroics in what turned into just the fourth triple-overtime game for the Lakers since they moved to Los Angeles.

Phoenix rallied from a 21-point deficit and another nine-point hole in the final three minutes of regulation, forcing the first OT on Grant Hill's 3-pointer with 31 seconds left.

AP

Tags: Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, NBA

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Phil Jackson: Winning Title Propelled His Return

ESPN Los Angeles

Jackson Contends Lakers Wouldn't Be Title Contender Without Odom

Los Angeles Times

Spurs Ranked Number One In Fan Loyalty

Project Spurs

League Considered Suspending Bynum For Three Games

Los Angeles Times

Lakers Hope To Secure Second Best Record In League

Los Angeles Times

Steve Blake Likely To See Expanded Role

Fox Sports West

Lakers Successful In Defending Kevin Love

ESPN Los Angeles

GQ Finds Lakers Fans Worst In NBA

GQ

Long Playoff Runs For Lakers Usually Come After Strong Finish To Regular Season

Los Angeles Daily News

Lakers Fully Expect Bynum's Defensive Surge To Continue

Broderick Turner/Los Angeles Times

Players Overwhelmingly Cite Stan Van Gundy As Most Annoying Coach

Sports Illustrated

Kobe Thought Career Was Over When He Suffered Ankle Injury

ESPN Los Angeles

Kobe Tweaks Left Ankle, Returns To Game After Trip To Locker Room

Kevin Ding/Orange County Register (via Twitter)

Kobe Shoots Jumpers At Arena For More Than An Hour Following Loss

RealGM Staff Report

Abdul-Jabbar Reflects On How He Worked With Bucks On Trade

Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Kobe: I'm Still Trying To Kill People On Court

Howard Beck/New York Times

Lakers Playing Most Focused Ball Of Season

Los Angeles Times

GM, Owner Will Pick Next Coach Of Lakers

ESPN.com

Chuck Person Helping In Bynum's Defensive Surge

Dave McMenamin/ESPN

Fisher Day-To-Day With Sprained Elbow

ESPN.com