October 2007 Archives

The Staples Center fans weren't happy with how this one finished, with two semi-controversial calls. First, the refs ruled that Kobe Bryant didn't get off a 3-point shot and instead gave him two free throws. Then, the game ended with the ball getting knocked away from Bryant -- a non-call -- before he could get off a last-gasp lob at the net.

What a bizarre game. Not very well played for the most part, and it came with the drama of Kobe Bryant getting alternately booed and cheered. It's going to be quite a season...

The Lakers are finally moving the ball well and resembling a cohesive team. But they waited until they faced a double-digit deficit before they started to get going. It seems as though the Rockets will have enough to hold them off, as they hold an 88-78 lead with 2:30 remaining.

He's got ``that'' look about him right now. You know, the one in which he looks as though he's going to single-handedly take over the game. And if the Lakers are going to win tonight, he must. Bryant is only 1 of 4 from the field in the fourth quarter, but he's driving to the basket and drawing fouls. Houston leaeds 77-68 with 6:39 remaining. Bryant has a game-high 31 points and he's going to the line...

Chuck Hayes airballed a free throw and the Lakers had to call a timeout because Chris Mihm's shoe came off.

When does the regular season start?

This quarter is just as sloppy as the first and the Rockets have a 74-62 lead 2:18 into the period.

The Lakers just put the ball in their own basket. A loose ball under the Lakers' basket bounced high and Luke Walton tipped it...right into his own net. Walton and Kwame Brown stood at looked at each other for a moment, and the stunned crowd didn't even boo. When's the last time that happened?

Things are slip-sliding away for the Lakers, who trail 62-52 with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

There's no booing, or much of anything. McGrady just hit a short jumper and Derek Fisher threw up his hands in frustration as the Lakers called a timeout. The Rockets lead 49-43 just 1:18 into the third quarter.

Houston has outscored the Lakers 22-11 in this quarter and took its first lead of the game on a Mike James 3-pointer with 2:46 left in the quarter. Other than Kobe Bryant, the Lakers have no offense, and even he's not so hot this period. Houston leads 38-36 with 2:02 remaining in the half.

After their miserable start, the Rockets are back in the game. They tied it 29-29 on Mike James' 3-pointer midway through the second quarter and now they have tied it again at 31. The Lakers got in some trouble once they went to the bench, while the Rockets' transition seemed much smoother. Evans, Cook, Farmar and Bynum are a combined 1 for 7 from the field. There are six minutes remaining in the half.

That's two fouls in three minutes for Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers' second unit is sputtering and the Rockets are back in the game. It's probably up to Kobe Bryant to provide all the offense for a while.

Lakers lead 25-21, two minutes into the second quarter.

For the Lakers, it would be Ronny Turiaf, who has responded well to his starting role. Turiaf has made 2 of 3 shots from the field and also has three rebounds, one steal and one block.

The Lakers lead 17-10 with 2:40 left in the first period. Kobe Bryant is 2 for 7 from the field, for three points with three rebounds. The Rockets are 4 for 17 from the field. At one point, they were 2 for 13.

Also, Jack Nicholson just arrived, so the Lakers' real star is in the building.

A rough start for both teams. The Lakers and Rockets were a combined 1 for 10 from the field until Kobe Bryant scored on a driving layup three minutes into the game. The Rockets missed their first seven shots.

For the record, Bryant was also booed on his first touch, although not as loudly as during warmups. Of course, when he scored, cheers prevailed.

It's 7-4 Lakers, five minutes into this sloppy game.

Well, that was interesting. I think everyone wondered what the reaction to Kobe Bryant would be inside Staples Center, and it was overwhelmingly negative. As soon as his picture appeared on the video screen during introductions, the vast majority of fans roared with boos. It was a direct contrast to the reaction given to Derek Fisher, who received huge cheers.

Marge Hearn, Chick's widow, did the introductions. She also got much more applause than Kobe.

In his pregame media session, Phil Jackson said Derek Fisher, not Kobe Bryant, will be the primary ballhandler. That flies in the face of what the Lakers worked on for much of training camp, when Bryant settled into his ``facilitator role.''

``It's the turnover factor,'' Jackson said. ``We're trying to cut down on the number of turnovers we had in training camp.''

Jackson said he didn't expect Bryant's sprained wrist to be a factor.

``Maybe in the shooting,'' Jackson said, ``but I thought it went well today (in the morning shootaround).''

The first thing I encountered, upon walking out of the parking structure, was posters, on the concrete pillars, of James Worthy and Lamar Odom. Apparenly, the Lakers are honoring all of their non-playing greats...

It's odd to be at Staples Center on the night of the season opener, and hear everyone talking about the Dodgers. Clealy there's more than one dysfunctional team in town...

Stay tuned for updates throughout the night, starting with Phil Jackson's pregame session with the media...

Kobe Bryant didn't practice today, because of his sprained right wrist, but there are bigger issues. Phil Jackson was asked a simple question after practice today. Do the Lakers look better to him now than they did at the start of training camp? Here's where Phil went with it...

``It was my feeling, from a conversation with Kobe (before training camp), that he was going to work at this thing and put his full being into this,'' Jackson said. ``Right now he's having a hard time doing that.''

Wait, back up. Did Phil just say that Kobe's problems are more mental than physical?

``Yeah, mentally getting himself here and playing hard.''

Uh oh.

And is this having a negative impact on the players?

``I think that they were, that they are, a little bit confused,'' Jackson said. ``Obviously (Bryant) hasn't thrown his heart and soul into performing on the floor, and I think that hurts a little bit. I think they're enjoying their time together right now. I think they liked the game. I think they had a good time together last night, and it was good for them. But I think there's a certain sense of, `How does this all fit together?' It's just natural. They're young and they haven't seen a situation like this before.''

There's not much reading between the lines needed here. Phil thinks Kobe is still sulking and isn't giving the Lakers 100 percent. So, Jackson was asked, does he bear the responsibility to pull Kobe out of his funk?

``I think in a certain manner, yes,'' Jackson said. ``But in this regard, I've been working on it since June 1. Is that about the day the whole thing started? The issue started with Jerry West. ... Here we are, going on June, July, August, September and October. Five months. So it's a five-month, kind of, `What is it?' situation. So we're happy the season is starting and it's real ball.''

Jackson was asked if he needed to go to Bryant and flat-out say, ``You're not going to be traded,'' in hopes of getting Kobe focused on the Lakers.

``Well, those aren't the words that Dr. Buss spoke,'' Jackson said. ``We made an agreement that's honorable and we plan to honor that agreement. Chances are very slim (of a trade). When it's fire-sale time, not too many people come out and deal honorably at fire-sale time. And this is not a fire-sale time.''

Jackson was asked if Buss' comments in Hawaii, about trading Kobe and about loyalty, etc., had harmed the situation.

``I don't want to respond to that, in those terms,'' Jackson said. ``I just think that Dr. Buss spoke the truth. The headlines might not have belied it.''

Finally, Jackson seemed to make a last-ditch effort to reach Kobe through the media and turn the situation around.

``This is Kobe's legacy, the Lakers,'' Jackson said. ``This is where he's grown up and gotten married and had kids, the whole bit. We're still devoted to seeing that, hopefully, still be a part of what he is.''

And what about Kobe? He was in a good mood until Jackson's comments were relayed to him. Afterward, not so much...

``That's the least of his concerns, or anybody's concerns,'' Bryant said. ``You don't got to worry about that.''

Asked if he was worried that his situation might impact the team negatively, Bryant said, ``I don't know what situation you're talking about. I told you, I'm not going to talk about it no more. Just because me not wanting to be a distraction. If they want to talk about it, if management wants to talk about it, then let them talk about it. I'm not going to let this linger. I'm not going to talk about it. I'm going to talk about the season and what we can do to get better, and that's it.''

So, there you go. The wrist was too sore for Bryant to practice today. The Lakers are taking Sunday off and will practice Monday in preparation for Tuesday's season opener. Bryant said he expects to play Tuesday, and Jackson agreed. At least they agree on something...

Kobe Bryant has been diagnosed with a sprained right wrist. X-rays were negative but Bryant will not play in tomorrow night's exhibition finale against Sacrament. Phil Jackson said he expects Bryant to practice Saturday and said he ``anticipates'' that Bryant will be able to play in Tuesday's season opener.

Due to the fires in the San Diego area, the Lakers will not play Friday's preseason game against Utah, which had been scheduled for the iPayOne Center in San Diego. Refunds for tickets will be available at the point of purchase and the Lakers have also made a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross.

"There is simply too much devastation in the area and too much uncertainty about what will happen in the next few days," said Tim Harris, the team's Senior Vice President, Business Operations. "After many internal discussions about many different factors, we've concluded that this is simply the right thing to do. The people of San Diego have been very supportive of us over the years and in turn we want to be supportive of them in this time of crisis."

Before tonight's preseason game in Anaheim, coach Phil Jackson said Lamar Odom could miss the first five games (or two weeks) of the regular season. Odom is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

"It could be five games, it could be one or two games. We don't know," Jackson said. ``It'll just be until Lamar's able to play and keep up with the game, and that may take a little bit of time. But we've been without him since we started training camp, so we have a way to play. Last year we played without Kobe and won our first two games of the season. So we know that there's a way to patch this up if you're ready to play.

``I know Lamar's anxious to play, and he wanted to play in the opening game, but the consensus is to give him a little more time. I mean, he's on the court and active with us in almost everything but the serious contact we get into.

``He did have a little bit of drill sequence two or three weeks ago where he got into some physical contact, and it was still evident that he wasn't ready. So we backed off at that time considerably. But he's still getting his running in and his shooting in, so I think it could be just a simple step to go back on the court and get back in the swing of it."

The Lakers today requested waivers on Elton Brown, Andre Patterson and Larry Turner.

Here's what Kwame Brown had to say to the media today, regarding his playing status and the return of Kobe Bryant to practice...

Here is the transcript of Phil Jackson's session with the media after today's practice...

It's all Kobe, all the time in El Segundo.

Is his car here? Is he practicing? Is he playing tomorrow? Is he talking? What's in his locker? What does he think about the Colorado Rockies, or Iran's possible nuclear development?

The answers, in order, are: yes, yes, likely yes, no, probably some smelly socks and...I don't really know.

According to Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant most likely will play tomorrow night in Bakersfield against Seattle. Bryant practiced for the majority of the session but was on the sidelines by the time media was allowed in the gym. He declined to speak with reporters after practice, perhaps because his Hired Help wasn't there to assist.

Jackson declined to go into specifics, such as how many minutes Bryant would play. Some of the other Lakers said the situation hasn't been a distraction, but at the same time admitted that they don't really know what's going on with Bryant on a day-to-day basis.

Chris Mihm had to leave practice early with a busted lip, reportedly courtesy of Kwame Brown's elbow.

Quotes to follow, from Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher and Kwame Brown...

As many have probably already heard from breathless media reports, there was a rumor this afternoon that Kobe Bryant had cleaned out his locker and told the Lakers that he had played his final game for them.

The report had Kobe and his agent meeting with Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak (or maybe it was the president of Iran and a few Martians. That will be tomorrow's talk, probably). Additional rumors had Kobe on his way to Dallas or Chicago (or, one of the options he presented this summer, Pluto).

According to Kobe, none of it is true. Draw your own conclusions based on what we know for certain...

-- Kobe didn't practice again today, and apparently it was because of a ``mutual decision'' with Phil Jackson and not because of injury concerns.

-- Kobe didn't emerge from the training facility until 2:40 p.m. -- ostensibly after treatment on his knee -- at which point he told reporters the following...

Q: We've heard reports that you've cleaned out your locker. What's going on?

KOBE: I didn't clean out my locker.

Q: No?

KOBE: Uh-uh.

Q: Did you guys have meetings at all today, with Jim Buss and Rob, your agent?

KOBE: No.

Q: The fans are wondering, what's your status with the Lakers? Have you played your final game as a Laker? Will you be a Laker when the season starts?

KOBE: I don't... I don't know. You need to, you know, talk to Mitch and Mr. Buss about that. I don't know. I'm just getting ready.

Q: Would you still like to be a Laker?

KOBE: Yeah, if I'm here I'm ready to strap it up.

Q: So the ball is in the front office's court?

KOBE: Yeah, it's not... My job is to play the game and get ready to play the game. That's what I'm doing.

Q: Once again, there's all the mystery and all the rumors surrounding your situation...

KOBE: Yeah well, you know, I guess people are just intrigued by what's going on around here. I understand, but I've just got a job to do.

Q: How unsettling is it to you?

KOBE: Um, you know, it's crazy to deal with this. The one thing that I said in training camp is that I didn't want this to be a distraction. That's why, you know, it was all our understanding to kind of not bring up the situation and not talk about it. To kind of have this go on now, it's a bit of a distraction.

Q: Does it seem like what Dr. Buss said kind of fanned the flames again?

KOBE: Well no, I mean, like I said, we just wanted to keep things quiet. You know what I mean? We just wanted to go about our business, so it kind of caught me off guard a little bit but I've just got to get back to basics and just get ready and go from there.

Q: After what he did say, would you like something to happen, one way or the other, soon?

KOBE: I just... Like I said, it's my job to play basketball. It's not my job to, you know, worry about what management is doing and this, that and the other. Like I said, I'm just going to get ready and let them do their job.

At this point, after one minute and 45 seconds, two members of Kobe's Hired Help -- neither of whom are employed by the Lakers or the NBA, yet still manage to gain access to the training facility and manage his media availability -- pulled him away from the stressful task of answering questions.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's drama...

This should do it for today's Media Day coverage. Thanks to Ramona Shelburne for contributing these items on Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown.

Check back on this blog for daily updates from Hawaii this week as the Lakers get started with their 2007 training camp...

With Derek Fisher back in the fold for the Lakers, here's what he had to say on the eve of training camp...

Here are some lengthy comments from Lamar Odom about Kobe Bryant, his own health and why he thinks the Lakers are championship contenders this season...

Luke Walton had some interesting things to say about Kobe Bryant and the future of the Lakers...

Here's what healthy center Chris Mihm had to say at media day...

Kwame showed up with a short haircut, without his trademark braided hair. He also spoke to the media before Kobe Bryant made his appearance, so again it illustrates the amount of confusion that was going on.

Here's the Kwame Brown quotes...

Here's how it looked as 570-AM's Matt Smith attempted to interview Kobe Bryant...

A couple things...First, a little while after Bynum talked to us, we discovered that ``I feel really good'' actually means that he has a strained muscle in his knee. Hmmm... Second, Bynum at first claimed to have little knowledge of the Kobe video, but later seemed to indicate that he was aware of its content. Third, Bynum also indicated that he didn't hear from Kobe this summer, which is in contrast to Kobe's later statement, in which he said he and Bynum exchanged text messages. Finally, this interview was done early, before Kobe showed up in the gym, so it illustrates the kind of confusion that was going on before Kobe arrived.

Here's the interview...

As I said earlier, Phil seemed to have better mobility than he did in July on his surgically repaired hip, but he's still using a cane to get around. The line about Hillary Clinton is classic Phil. For those who don't get the joke, Hillary has been accused of ``cackling'' when she's asked a tough question. Here's what Phil had to say at Media Day today...

Here are all of Kobe Bryant's comments today. Whenever Kobe moved around the gym, he was met with a wall of cameras. It was interesting to watch Kobe's interaction with the rest of the team when he took various publicity photos. He exchanged brief small talk with Phil Jackson and had a huge smile upon greeting Derek Fisher.

Here's the Kobe stuff from today...

The event was, to the surprise of nobody, a complete circus. Although I must say it has improved. A couple years ago, the Lakers tried to keep the print media out of Media Day -- how they figured that, I'm still not sure -- but the access was good today and all of the players were very cooperative.

It was quite a scene when all the players walked into the practice gym...except Kobe Bryant. For about 20 minutes, the word was that Kobe wasn't showing up. With the media buzzing, anticipating a huge story, Kobe walked in at 10:34 a.m. He stopped to greet Joel Meyers, Stu Lantz and Lawrence Tanter, then went about his business of doing different photo shoots and live reads. The most awkward moment of the day? That would be when Kobe crossed paths with Andrew Bynum. You know, Bynum, the guy Kobe REALLY wanted to ship to New Jersey. Kobe gave Bynum a shake and an emphatic pat on the rear, and they went their separate ways.

Finally, the media got a crack at Kobe. He spoke mostly in platitudes and didn't do much to address the events of this summer. Kobe said he was focused on winning and bringing a championship to L.A. and that he didn't believe there would be problems with teammates. I've got a ton of interviews to transcribe but I'll get to Kobe's first, because I know he's the center of attention today.

One thing struck me...how many PR representatives does one player need? The Lakers had a capable staff of four PR people in the gym, but Kobe had two more of his own, and guess who was calling the shots? You had Nike's Jacie Prieto directing Kobe from station to station, and then some gentleman -- I'm told his name is Jerry Sawyer -- actually ended Kobe's session with the media by throwing out a terse ``That's a wrap'' after a whopping seven minutes and 15 seconds. Thanks Jerry, whoever you are. Derek Fisher spoke for about three times as long, and he did so without the benefit of a single personal employee. Amazing!

Some news: Andrew Bynum has a strained muscle in the back of his knee and will be out of practice for the next couple days. Lamar Odom said his shoulder feels great, but said he doesn't expect to play in any preseason games in Hawaii. Phil Jackson walked around with a cane but seemed to have better mobility than when I saw him in July. Almost all the players had closely-cut hair, except for Sasha. It looked like they all walked out of the first scene of Full Metal Jacket. Derek Fisher's daughter is in good condition but still, it seems, not quite out of the woods yet.

Stay tuned...like I said, I've got tons of interviews to transcribe. If anyone has any questions, feel free to throw them out.

The Lakers have signed forward Andre Patterson, who some might remember from UCLA before he transferred to Tennessee. Patterson played 50 games for the D-Fenders last season, started 36 and averaged 10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.62 blocks in 32.3 minutes. Patterson also played for the Lakers' summer team this summer and averaged 4.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in four games.

Check back here throughout the day for full coverage of the Lakers' media day. Whatever Kobe Bryant says, or whatever others say about Kobe Bryant, it will all be here. It's the kickoff to the start of the season, and our man Elliott Teaford will also be in Hawaii this week providing full coverage of the start of training camp.