March 2010 Los Angeles Lakers Wiretap

Thorn Doesn't Expect Phil To Be Candidate For Nets

Apr 30, 2010 10:11 AM

Nets president Rod Thorn said on Thursday that he will begin interviewing coaching candidates over the next "couple of weeks" but also said it's unlikely that Phil Jackson would be part of that process.

"I don't see him leaving there," Thorn said. "I think he will probably stay there until he retires."

Jackson's girlfriend Jeanie Buss made very revealing comments on Thursday.

"I know Phil will be coaching next year, somewhere," said Buss, the daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss. "Whether it's here or someplace else I don't know. There's going to be a lot of good jobs that come up this summer."

New York Daily News

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, NBA

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Fisher Denies Reports Of Fight At Waffle House

Apr 29, 2010 3:58 PM

Lakers point guard Derek Fisher is denying reports that he was involved in altercation with a man at a Waffle House in Oklahoma City last week.

"It has been brought to my attention that media in Oklahoma City is reporting I was in an altercation with a man last week while the team was in town for the playoffs. These reports are false," Fisher said. "I was not involved in any altercation and would have hoped that the media would check their sources and facts before reporting or insinuating that I was in any way violent."

Fisher said an altercation did take place last year and he was an innocent bystander.

"To be clear, over a year ago, I was a witness to an altercation at a Waffle House in Oklahoma City after a regular season game," Fisher said.

"The police were called after a fight broke out between two patrons. I reported what I had seen, was thanked by the police for my assistance and returned to my hotel. I was an innocent bystander and simply assisted police that evening. I will not be making any further comment on the matter."

ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Jeanie Buss Thinks Jackson Will Coach Next Year

Apr 29, 2010 7:33 AM

Lakers vice president Jeanie Buss believes that longtime boyfriend Phil Jackson will return to coach in the NBA next season.

"I know Phil will be coaching next year, somewhere. Whether it's here or someplace else I don't know," Buss said. "There's going to be a lot of good jobs that come up this summer."

Buss didn't elaborate on which jobs may interest Jackson, but she was emphatic in saying that his only choices won't be returning to the Lakers or retiring.

"I know that he can't just retire," she said. "I'm like, 'Honey, what are you going to do? Are you going to help your kids go change diapers and stuff?'"

Jackson has yet to give a concrete answer on what his future holds.

Buss added that she believes Phil would return to chase a three-peat if the Lakers where to win another championship.

ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Kobe Wanted To Guard Westbrook

Apr 28, 2010 4:34 PM

Kobe Bryant approached Lakers coach Phil Jackson about guarding Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook in Tuesday night's Game 5.

Jackson said Bryant approached him and said, "I'd like to guard Westbrook."

He added: "It takes a much higher activity level (to guard Westbrook). It's every play. There's no time off on defense. It told me what his determination was, whether his knee was better or not (I don't know)."

Westbrook ended up scoring 15 points on 4-for-13 shooting as Los Angeles was victorious.

"I enjoy the challenge," Bryant said. "He's been playing sensational, and if we're going to be eliminated I don't want to go into the summer thinking I could've done something about it, so I accepted the challenge."

Los Angeles Daily News

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA

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Kobe Beats LeBron In Jersey Sales For 09-10

Apr 28, 2010 12:25 PM

The Los Angeles Lakers? Kobe Bryant once again tops the NBA?s list of most popular jerseys, where he has reigned as No. 1 since the start of the 2008-09 season. The list is based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and on NBAStore.com since the start of the 2009-10 NBA season through April 2010.  Both stores are having record sales years with a combined increase of 20 percent over last year.

Thirteen players competing in the 2010 Playoffs appear on this year?s list. The Cleveland Cavaliers? LeBron James remains No. 2 and the Boston Celtics? Kevin Garnett climbed one spot from last year to No. 3. Chicago Bulls sophomore Derrick Rose continues to make a name for himself, coming in at No. 4, while the Orlando Magic?s Dwight Howard rounds out the top 5. The Oklahoma City Thunder?s Kevin Durant debuts in the top 10 for the first time, landing at No. 9, while the Denver Nuggets? Carmelo Anthony moves from No. 15 to No. 10.

Press Release

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Game 5 Is 'Must-Win' For Lakers

Apr 27, 2010 7:44 AM

Lakers forward Pau Gasol sees the team's Game 5 battle against the Thunder on Tuesday night as the biggest game of the season.

The teams are tied at two games apiece.

"It's a must-win for us," Gasol said after Monday's practice. "They can afford to lose the game and then go back to Oklahoma and try to do their thing again and force that Game 7 ... We can't afford to lose this game.

"It's really a game where we want to establish ourselves and send a message to them that they might be playing well, they're played really well at home, they got two games, but that's all they're going to get ... We got to play harder, we got to play smarter than them and make sure we make a statement in that Game 5 and make them understand that there's no chance, there's no light."

Oklahoma City dominated Los Angeles in Game 4, but coach Phil Jackson wants his team to forget about the outcome.

"We have to let that one go down the drain and flush it down the toilet and let it go," Jackson said. "You don't have to bring it back up again and analyze it."

ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA

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Shannon Brown Expects To Opt Out

Apr 25, 2010 11:00 AM

Lakers guard Shannon Brown says it would "make a lot of sense" to opt out of his current contract this summer.

Brown cited the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, which will expire soon, but he won't make a final decision until after the playoffs.

He signed a two-year, $4.148 million deal using the biannual exception last summer.

"It would definitely make a lot of sense with how my contract is," Brown said. "It would make a lot of sense. But I'm going to play the rest of these games out and then think about it then."

Brown added that he doesn't want to leave the Lakers.

Los Angeles Times

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Artest Still Learning Triangle Offense

Apr 25, 2010 10:54 AM

Ron Artest has done an admirable job defending Kevin Durant this postseason, but he's still having issues learning the Lakers' complex triangle offense.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times wrote Saturday, "Long before tipoff, just past noon on Saturday, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were instructing Ron Artest after the Lakers' shoot-around."

The pair were trying to help Artest find the best angles for entry passes.

"We were trying to show him how to do certain things," Gasol said.

Phil Jackson told Artest beforehand to pass more often, but the Lakers' coach isn't frustrated with him… yet.

"He's a na?ve, innocent lamb," Jackson said. "I think he's mistaken in a lot of ways, put in the same category as Dennis Rodman. There couldn't be a bigger disparity between people."

Los Angeles Times

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Brooks: Thunder Did What They Were Supposed To Do

Apr 25, 2010 10:30 AM

The Thunder evened up their first-round series with the Lakers thanks to a blowout win in Game 4.

"It's all on us," said Kevin Durant. "We control our own destiny at this point."

Oklahoma City is guaranteed a trip back home and two more wins would complete one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.

"We did what we were supposed to do," coach Scott Brooks said. "We have to somehow get a game in L.A."

Oklahoman

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA

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Jackson Finds Stern's Warnings 'Heavy-Handed'

Apr 23, 2010 9:04 PM

Phil Jackson believes commissioner David Stern's threat of harsher punishments for comments critical of NBA referees was a "heavy-handed" way to deal with what he called "gamesmanship" by coaches in the playoffs.

"When you start throwing one- and two-game suspensions in the threats, I think that means a lot to both ball clubs and to coaches," Jackson said before practice Friday. "It seems awful heavy-handed to me, but David is one, he isn't shy about being heavy-handed.

"There's a certain gamesmanship that goes on that obviously he feels cheapens the game."

SI.com

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Artest: Lakers Thought They Had Game 3 Won

Yahoo! Sports

Kobe Breaks West's Playoff Scoring Mark

ESPN

Durant Tired Of Talking About Jackson

Oklahoman

Jackson: Lakers Need More Consistent Effort

ESPN

Fisher Not Planning On Retirement

Los Angeles Times

Playoffs Didn't Feel Any Different To Durant

Christopher Reina/RealGM

Brooks Defers To Wife On Potential Fines

Christopher Reina/RealGM

Bynum Again Practices Without Pain

ESPN

Mbenga Has Emergency Laser Surgery

ESPN

Durant: Thunder Won't Back Down

Yahoo! Sports

Bynum Practices Without Pain In Achilles

ESPN

Jackson Unsure Why Comments Upset Durant

ESPN

NBA Fines Jackson $35k For Comments On Referees

Press Release

Lakers To Honor Hearn With Statue

ESPN

Lakers, Knicks, Wolves To Play In Europe

ESPN

Lakers Will Face Thunder In First Round

Brian Reynolds/RealGM

Randolph Looking For Extension From Grizzlies

Fanhouse

Bynum Unlikely To Play This Week

Orange County Register

Kobe Won't Sit Out Final Two Games

ESPN

Pau Gasol Doesn't Want Any Rest

Los Angeles Times