July 2008 Archives
Wow, didn't see that one coming. The deal won't be consummated until Aug. 14 --because it includes Houston rookie Donte Green who signed on July 14 and must stay on the roster for a month --but everything is in place, according the the Houston Chronicle
Here's my read of the situation, as far as it pertains to the Lakers. Whenever you saw a story about the Lakers being interested in Artest, it almost always originated from the Sacramento papers. Which makes sense, because those proposed deals (Lamar Odom for Artest and Kenny Thomas) would definitely have given more to the Kings than the Lakers.
The Kings would've rid themselves of Artest's baggage, Thomas' bloated contract and picked up a solid player in Odom who has a sizable expiring contract: magic words in the NBA these days. The Lakers would've gotten Artest (who brings the defensive presence they desperately need) a big body in Thomas, but lost one of their best playmakers, added a bad contract that would still be on the books for the all-important summer of 2009 (when they might have to re-up with Kobe Bryant on a max contract extension).
The other key factor is that the Lakers really, really want to see what Odom can do alongside Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Whether moving him to his more natural small forward position, or even using him as a point forward, would allow him to excel and be more consistent.
Anyway, you get the point. All those Artest to LA rumors you kept hearing about were not going to fly. At least not as currently constructed, and not during the offseason. One league source I spoke with said the talks could be more viable during the season, if the Odom-Gasol-Bynum experiment wasn't working out.
It's all a moot point now. Or it will be on August 14, as long as the deal holds up.
Just got back from Sasha Vujacic's press conference this afternoon and got the answer to the question you always have to ask a free agent who has just cashed in:
``I heard a rumor that guys who sign a contract don't keep working to get better, but I don't agree with that,'' Vujacic said. ``I will definitely keep getting better. I'm a gym rat. That's how I am.
``My goal is to be the best shooter in the NBA and if I keep working hard, I think I can do that.''
It's no coincidence that the Lakers and Vujacic agreed to a three-year deal. From the team's standpoint, it means that the Lakers can see how he develops over the next three years, if he gets better, or if he's reached his ceiling, without committing to six years. From Vujacic's standpoint, it means that he's in line for a much bigger payday in three years, when he'll only be 27 (the prime for most NBA players) if he continues to develop.
Vujacic is taking on some risk of course. If he doesn't improve, or if the Lakers don't play as well as a team, his value in three years might be lower, not higher. To compensate him for that risk, the team upped its original offer of about $12 million over three seasons to $15 million over three seasons.
In other words, Vujacic got paid, but still has plenty of incentive to work on his game.
He said that because the negotiations took so long, he's only planning to go home to Slovenia for about a week, then return to Los Angeles and get back in the gym.
Here's the story I just filed:
By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer
It took awhile, as it tends to do with restricted free agents in the NBA these days. And somewhere in the interim the Lakers got a firsthand lesson on the new challenge to the NBA's pre-eminent status on the world basketball market emanating from across the Atlantic.
But at the end of the day Friday the Lakers got their man, or rather, their ``Machine.''
General manager Mitch Kupchak confirmed that the team had reached a verbal agreement with restricted free agent Sasha Vujacic on a new three-year, $15 million dollar contract.
The deal will formally be announced at a news conference Monday afternoon.
``We're happy to have him back,'' Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday. ``He got to where he is because he's a gym rat that loves to work and there's no reason he can't continue to improve if he keeps that up.''
After three tepid seasons in the league, Vujacic had a breakout year this season. He averaged 8.8 points a game, while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and a team-best 43.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Despite that, he received no offers from other NBA teams once he became a restricted free agent on July 1. The Lakers' $2.6 million qualifying offer being the only substantive offer on the table.
A little over a week ago, Vujacic began receiving interest from European clubs hoping to entice the Slovenian-born guard back to the continent. Vujacic had also played professionally in Italy before coming to the NBA.
``It's something new we're dealing with,'' Kupchak said. ``It's a new variable in what we do as general managers.''
Earlier this week, Atlanta Hawks swingman Josh Childress set a precedent by accepting a three-year, $20 million deal from the Greek club, Olympiakos.
Vujacic's overseas offer, Kupchak said, was believed to be more substantial that what he ended up agreeing to with the Lakers on Friday.
``From what I understand --whether it was real or unreal you'll never be able to know -- but what they were offering was substantially more that what he got from us. If that's the case, then he made a decision based on his want and desire to remain in the best league in the world,'' Kupchak said. ``You want to get paid, but clearly he's a Laker at heart.
``I spoke with (Sasha) today and he said, `Mitch, I've tasted what it's like to be in the locker room in the NBA Finals and I want to win a championship. It's important to me.' That's what's important to us too.''
Vujacic could not be reached for comment Friday, but after the season he made it clear that his intention was to return to the Lakers.
``But we are a great team, we have great chemistry. Who wouldn't want to keep that together?'' he said after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals.
For their part, the Lakers had always maintained they wanted both Vujacic and forward Ronny Turiaf back. Turiaf though, landed a four-year, $17 million contract with the Warriors that was heavily front-loaded, making it especially difficult for the Lakers to match.
Still, Kupchak maintained, the money Vujacic was ostensibly being offered overseas didn't force the Lakers into a deal.
``We weren't going to do something that didn't make good business sense,'' he said. ``I think what it ended up doing was moving the process along quicker.
``We wanted both Ronny and Sasha back, but we tried to make prudent basketball decisions. With Ronny, we got an offer we didn't feel justified the minutes he might be playing next year with our team. But with Sasha, we felt the minutes would be there and we were able to arrive at a reasonable financial arrangement.''
!bold!Kupchak's take:!off! So just what --if anything -- should be done about European teams trying to poach NBA players away from their salary-cap strapped teams.
``The NBA doesn't react in a knee jerk fashion to anything. It's not clear yet whether this is a blip on the graph or if it's going to be a sustained environment we have to deal in,'' he said.
``My guess is they'll monitor it, but there may not be anything they can do. From what I understand, the revenue generated overseas doesn't come close to the revenue generated in the NBA, so I don't know if they can sustain paying those types of salaries.''
!bold!Filling out the roster:!off! Now that Vujacic's deal is done, the Lakers have 11 players under contract for next year, leaving two spots to be filled.
The team has had ongoing conversations with the agent for Sun Yue, the second-round draft choice from 2007 and Kupchak affirmed that he expected Yue to be with the team in training camp. Yue just needs permission from his team in China to come to the U.S., and his agent said that process has already begun.
Also in the mix for a roster spot will be this year's second-round pick Joe Crawford, and fan-favorite Coby Karl.
``Assuming one of them (Yue, Karl and Crawford) makes the team, that brings you to 12 and then we'd probably look for a big player, a front-court player or a young developing player because there might not be that many minutes available for that person.''
Kupchak dismissed the the numerous trade rumors that have swirled around the Lakers this summer--most notably with Chicago and Sacramento-- as speculative.
``Our main focus was to try and get Ronny and Sasha back in the fold,'' he said. ```Now that that's done, we can look around a little bit, but there's really been no effort to make moves other than trying to bring this team back together.''
Just got word that the Lakers have reached a verbal agreement with Sasha Vujacic. Press conference is Monday afternoon. I'll have more specifics in a few minutes
The Lakers have had daily conversations with Sasha Vujacic's new agent, Rob Pelinka and ``remain optimistic'' about re-signing Vujacic, their restricted free agent, according to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.
``We're hopeful we can make a deal sometime in the near future,'' Kupchak said.
In the last couple of days, in light of Hawks guard Josh Childress' shocking signing with a Greek team, there has been renewed concern among NBA general managers about foreign teams approaching NBA stars with offers of more lucrative contracts. This is a concern with Vujacic, who is from Slovenia and played professionally in Italy before coming to the NBA, but Kupchak said that he does believe Vujacic wants to remain in the NBA.
``There is a vibrant European market that we're aware of, much more so of late,'' Kupchak said.``I don't think it'll go away soon. Until you have a players' signature on a contract, you're always concerned.
``I do believe he wants to play in the NBA, but he has an obligation to seek out a deal that fits what he wants as a free agent and only he knows what that is.''
Just got done speaking with Andrew Bynum's agent David Lee for a quick update on how Bynum's knee is doing. Bynum was in Los Angeles earlier this week, worked for the Lakers team doctors, and was cleared for everything, according to Lee.
Bynum is now down in Atlanta with his personal trainer. The Lakers, Lee said, have a standing invitation to drop in on Bynum down in Atlanta and see his progress.
``He's absolutely fine, he's going to come in as a beast,'' Lee said. ``He's got no atrophy anywhere. The kid's in great shape. Maybe it comes with being 20 years of age.''
As for the negotiations on Bynum's contract status, Lee said that the discussions have been tabled until September.
``We aren't going to talk again until September until they have a chance to see what they're getting,'' Lee said. ``But I don't have any concerns about it.''
Lee said that once negotiations begin, it was ``very important'' that the extension be completed by the time the season starts. Lee of course, will be seeking a max (five years, $80 million) extension.
``I know what we want, I know what the rest of the league thinks of Andrew. I just hope the Lakers are on the same page,'' Lee said.
I got an email today from Sade Council, from 360i on behalf of NBC Olympics, detailing all the cool interactive ways fans can keep up with Kobe and the US Olympic basketball team in Beijing.
Head over to:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/widgets/
There are widgets for:
Top News, Videos and Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Medal Count (currently a countdown clock but will automatically change once the games begin)
News and Results (also currently a countdown clock)
Kobe's also got a pretty extensive profile page
So guess who pays attention to women's basketball?
Apparently, Kobe Bryant and the US men's basketball team.
Speaking with reporters in Las Vegas today, Bryant said he jumped up when he saw the highlights of the Sparks-Detroit Shock brawl on ESPN last night.
The brawl began when Detroit's Plenette Pierson got tangled up with the Sparks' Candace Parker. Parker fell to the ground, Pierson aggressively tried to stand over her, Parker pulled Pierson down and all heck broke loose at the Palace.
"Candace is going to be a target. She's an incredible player," Bryant said. "I think it's good for her that she didn't back down and I think it's good for her teammates to step in there."
In case you were wondering, here's a quick look at the schedule for Kobe Bryant and the USA Olympic team once the preliminary rounds begin in Beijing.
August 10
9:00 a.m. Russia - Iran
11:15 a.m. Germany - Angola
2:30 p.m. Spain - Greece
4:45 p.m. Lithuania - Argentina
8:00 p.m. Australia - Croatia
10:15 p.m. USA - China
August 12
9:00 a.m. Iran - Lithuania
11:15 a.m. Croatia - Russia
2:30 p.m. Greece - Germany
4:45 p.m. China - Spain
8:00 p.m. Angola - USA
10:15 p.m. Argentina - Australia
August 14
9:00 a.m. Germany - Spain
11:15 a.m. Australia - Iran
2:30 p.m. Angola - China
4:45 p.m. Lithuania - Russia
8:00 p.m. USA - Greece
10:15 p.m. Argentina - Croatia
August 16
9:00 a.m. Greece - Angola
11:15 a.m. Russia - Australia
2:30 p.m. Croatia - Lithuania
4:45 p.m. Iran - Argentina
8:00 p.m. China - Germany
10:15 p.m. Spain - USA
August 18
9:00 a.m. Iran - Croatia
11:15 a.m. Australia - Lithuania
2:30 p.m. Greece - China
4:45 p.m. Angola - Spain
8:00 p.m. USA - Germany
10:15 p.m. Argentina - Russia
Quarterfinals on August 20, Semis on August 22, Finals on August 24.
The Lakers ended summer league play with a 92-79 loss Saturday to the Denver Nuggets, finishing their eight-day stay in Las Vegas with a 2-4 record. Joe Crawford, the Lakers' lone draft pick last month, scored 17 points on 8-for-18 shooting and Coby Karl added 13 points.
Crawford and Karl are hoping to sign with the Lakers and earn a roster spot for next season. Crawford said when he was drafted that he hoped to prove he belonged in the NBA, and it appeared he accomplished that goal.
Karl is hoping to be re-signed after playing 17 games last season with the Lakers.
The ball is in GM Mitch Kupchak's hands now.
The Lakers conclude their six-game summer league schedule in Las Vegas with a game today against the Denver Nuggets (3:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center). They fell to 2-3 after an 89-71 loss Friday night to the Toronto Raptors. Pat Calathes scored 10 points and Lorenzo Mata-Real (UCLA) had five points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers. Joey Graham led Toronto with 20 points.
Ronny Turiaf officially joined Golden State tonight when the Lakers declined to match a four-season, $17-million offer from the Warriors. Turiaf will get more playing time next season with the rebuilding Warriors than he would have with the Lakers. GM Mitch Kupchak said tonight he would now pursue Sasha Vujacic full bore. Kupchak had hoped to retain both Turiaf and Vujacic.
Andrew Bynum was cleared to resume offseason conditioning and basketball activities, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said this afternoon. Bynum is expected to recover fully from a left kneecap injury that cut short his season and to be the Lakers starting center for 2008-09. Pau Gasol will move from center to power forward. Bynum is set to begin his offseason workouts next week.
Luke Walton underwent successful surgery on his right ankle today. Dr. David Thordarson performed the surgery, removing bone spurs and scar tissue and also cleaning out cartilage debris. Walton is expected to be fully recovered by the start of training camp in October.
Nothing new to report, but I just found out that the Lakers have until midnight tonight to match the Warriors' offer sheet to Ronny Turiaf. I expect the Lakers to take every last minute before letting Turiaf walk to Golden State. The Warriors' offer of $17 million over four seasons is too rich for the Lakers. Turiaf told our sister paper, the Contra Costa Times, that he's been "chilling" at home while awaiting word.
No word yet on whether the Lakers have declined to match the Golden State Warriors' offer of $17 million over four seasons to restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf. Check back this afternoon, when Turiaf is expected to join the Warriors. There also could be news on what the Lakers plan to do to replace Turiaf, a backup forward-center.
Joe Crawford made a running jump shot with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a 95-93 victory Wednesday night over the MInnesota Timberwolves in the Las Vegas Summer League. Crawford, the Lakers' lone draft pick last month, scored 10 points. Nik Caner-Medley led the Lakers (2-2) with 19 points and Coby Karl added 14. The Lakers play the Toronto Raports on Friday night.
Sasha Vujacic recently left agent Bill Duffy for Rob Pelinka after leaving Pelinka for Duffy. Vujacic, a restricted free agent, has yet to receive an outside offer and talks with the Lakers on a new conract haven't gone anywhere yet despite a stated desire by the player and the team to get a long-term deal done.The Lakers extended a one-season qualifying offer of $2.6 million to Vujacic, which ensured their right to lock him up as a restricted free agent.
Coby Karl scored 18 points in the Lakers' 81-73 loss Tuesday night to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Las Vegas Summer League. Karl scored in double figures for the third consecutive game, making a statement so far in the summer league.
Karl, a guard who played 17 games with the Lakers last season after signing as a free agent from Boise State last summer, needs a new contract for 2008-09. He's been impressive while leading the Lakers' summer league team in scoring.
Joe Crawford, the Lakers' lone draft pick last month, added 16 points Tuesday.
The Lakers (1-2) continue summer league play against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 5:30 tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
We'll be sure and follow up with Jordan on this when he returns. It sounds like quite a trip. But for now, here's the release:
Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, in partnership with the Peres Center for Peace, will be hosting basketball clinics for Israeli and Palestinian children in Israel from August 4-11,2008. The trip will serve as a follow up to Farmar's visit in 2006 to the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine. This program uses sports to bring together Israeli and Palestinian children. The children play different sports together, and discuss the shared problems and challenges in their daily lives.
Luke Walton will undergo surgery Friday to remove bone spurs from his right ankle, the Lakers announced. Walton's recovery period will be determined after surgery. He suffered from nagging ankle, hamstring and hip injuries during the season.
The Lakers probably won't swap Lamar Odom for Sacramento's Ron Artest this summer. But the Kings and Miami Heat could be more likely trade partners, according to the latest report on the Artest saga in the Sacramento Bee.
The Kings could deal Artest and Kenny Thomas to the Heat for Shawn Marion, a trade that would seem to make more sense than the aforementioned Odom-Artest swap. Artest's expiring contract of $7.4 million doesn't match Marion's expiring $17 million (and change) deal with the Heat, so Miami would have to take another player to make the numbers work.
Thomas is making $18 million over the next two seasons.
Interested though they may be in acquiring the muscular Artest, the Lakers are believed to be dead-set against trading Odom. They want to see the 6-foot-10 Odom play alongside 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum next season.
The Lakers also don't want Thomas and his bloated contract.
Lamar Odom and Dwyane Wade played only one season together with the Miami Heat before Odom was traded to the Lakers. But Wade remains an Odom booster, mainly because he would like to play with the 6-foot-10 forward again some day.
"I love L.O. as a person and, of course, as a player," Wade said in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "We had one year together. I wish we could have had more.
"It's a guy who I've always said it's a possibility when he left that he can maybe come back. ... A player like that, we would love to have a chance to get because he's so versatile."
Once unrestricted free agent James Posey signs a new contract (probably with the New Orleans Hornets early this week), then you can expect more signings to follow. Other free agents have been slow to sign because they've been waiting to see what kind of deal Posey receives and from whom.
Later in the week, you can expect the Lakers to let restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf walk, refusing to match the four-season, $17 million offer sheet he received from the Golden State Warriors. It's just too much for the Lakers to spend on a backup.
Once they let Turiaf go, then the Lakers probably will focus their efforts on signing a replacement. As previously reported, they could sign free agent Jorge Garbojosa, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Spain who has played with the Toronto Raptors. Kurt Thomas also could be a possibility.
The Lakers also hope to re-sign restricted free agent Sasha Vujacic. Talks are ongoing, which you can take to mean that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and Bill Duffy, Vujacic's agent, are still a ways apart on a new contract.
No other team has stepped forward to make Vujacic an offer, so the Lakers' hopes to get a deal done soon are very much alive. This could be the week that everything starts to fall into place around the league.
The Lakers are believed to be interested in trading for Ron Artest, but aren't willing to send Lamar Odom to the Sacramento Kings to get him -- that's the bottom line.
The Lakers know they need more toughness, but are eager to see the 6-foot-10 Odom with 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on their front line next season.
Artest swapped e-mails with an ESPN.com reporter over the weekend, indicating he would welcome a trade from Sacramento and second-guessing (again!) his decision to stay with the Kings rather than opt out of his contract July 1.
The Lakers reportedly have coveted Artest for quite some time, going back to the days before they acquired Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies last Feb. 1. They believe Artest could mesh with Coach Phil Jackson and superstar guard Kobe Bryant.
They just don't want to deal Odom to get Artest.
Coby Karl scored 16 points on 4-for-13 shooting, Cedric Bozeman (UCLA) added 12 points and Joe Crawford nine in the Lakers' 85-76 victory Sunday night over the Memphis Grizzlies in Las Vegas. O.J. Mayo (USC) led Memphis with 15 points. The Lakers next play the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Coby Karl scored 14 points and rookie Joe Crawford had nine in the Lakers' 84-73 loss to the Detroit Pistons in their summer league opener Friday night in Las Vegas. The Lakers next play the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
The diagnosis is in:
According to the Boston Herald:
An MRI showed that there is no significant problem that will hinder the captain and NBA Finals MVP into next season."It's what we thought all along," Danny Ainge said. "He had a sprained MCL and a bone bruise, and he'll be fine."
The Lakers have shown an interest in Spanish free agent Jorge Garbajosa, according to a report out of Spain. Garbajosa, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward, played only seven games last season with the Toronto Raptors because of a serious left ankle injury.
He was injured March 26, 2007, suffering a dislocated left ankle, a ligament tear and a fractured fibula. He had surgery the next day and again on Dec. 11. The Raptors released him June 18.
Garbajosa, who says he is sound again, could replace Ronny Turiaf next season. Turiaf signed a four-season, $17-million offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors, and it's possible the Lakers will not match the offer and retain the restricted free agent.
Garbajosa, 30, could serve as a backup to countryman Pau Gasol, who will shift from center to power forward with the return of center Andrew Bynum from a season-ending left kneecap injury. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 67 games with Toronto in 2006-07 after signing with the Raptors as a free agent.
Ronny Turiaf has signed an offer sheet from the Golden State Warriors for $17 million over four seasons. The Lakers have seven days to match the offer or let Turiaf go.
The Lakers finalized their summer league roster for their opener Friday night against the Detroit Pistons at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Here's the roster ....
Cedric Bozeman, guard (UCLA).
Pat Calathes, forward (St. Joseph's).
Nik Caner-Medley, forward (Maryland).
Joe Crawford, guard (Kentucky, second-round draft pick).
Bryant Dunston, forward (Fordham).
Sharrod Ford, forward (Clemson).
Taj Gray, guard (Oklahoma).
Davon Jefferson, forward (USC).
Coby Karl, guard (Boise State, Lakers reserve last season).
Marcelus Kemp, guard (Nevada).
Yi Li, forward (China).
Lorenzo Mata-Real, forward (UCLA).
Dwayne Mitchell, guard (Louisiana-Lafayette).
Brian Roberts, guard (Dayton).
Michael Southhall, center (Louisiana-Lafayette).
James White, guard-forward (Cincinnati).
No word yet on whether Ronny Turiaf has signed an offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors. Turiaf reportedly has agreed to a four-season deal worth $17.5 million from the Warriors, but he hasn't signed it as of this moment. The Lakers have the right to match the deal because Turiaf is a restricted free agent.
The Lakers have called the Sacramento Kings about swapping Lamar Odom for Ron Artest, according to a report in the Sacramento Bee. Their salaries don't match up, so the Kings would have to throw in a player to make the deal work under the league's rules.
Odom will make roughly $14 million in the final year of his deal and Artest will make $7.4 million in the final year of his. The Bee's story indicated the Kings would want the Lakers to take Kenny Thomas and the $18 milliion he is owed over the next two years.
As mentioned in a previous post, the Lakers could use someone with the muscle of Artest. They were punished repeatedly by more physical teams during the playoffs, especially during their loss in the Finals to the Boston Celtics.
Artest comes with his share of baggage, no doubt about it, but it would be interesting (and entertaining) to see him paired with Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
Ronny Turiaf has been offered a four-year deal worth $17 million by the Golden State Warriors, according to late-night reports on the web sites of our sister paper, the Contra Costa Times, and the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
The Lakers have seven days to match the Warriors' offer sheet to Turiaf, a restricted free agent. The question is: will they?
The Lakers have salary cap issues and they haven't filled out their roster for 2008-09 yet. The cap has been set at $58.680 million for next season (up from $55.630 million last season) and the luxury tax will kick in at $71.150 million (up from $67.865). The Lakers' payroll could be somewhere around $80 million if they match the Warriors' offer for Turiaf.
With Andrew Bynum returning to form after suffering a season-ending left kneecap injury, Pau Gasol under contract for three more seasons and Chris MIhm available for another year, the Lakers would seem to be well-stocked up front.
Look for the Lakers to pursue veteran Kurt Thomas if they decide against retaining Turiaf.
The league's dead period comes to an end Wednesday, with teams able to sign free agents.Nothing has changed in the last few days for the Lakers, whose plan going into the July 1 negotiating period was to re-sign guard Sasha Vujacic and forward Ronny Turiaf, two valuable reserves on their Western Conference championship team last season.
However, there appears to be a backup plan in place in case GM Mitch Kupchak can't get deals done with Vujacic and Turiaf, who are restricted free agents.
Kupchak reportedly has expressed an interest in signing unrestricted free agent Brent Barry in case he can't get a deal done with Vujacic. Kupchak also has talked with the agents for swingman James Posey and forward Kurt Thomas in case he can't retain Turiaf.
Kupchak also hopes to sign Chinese guard Sun Yue, a second-round draft pick in 2007.
The next few days could be busy ones for Kupchak.
Andrew Bynum expects to resume his workouts "pretty much full bore" next week, Sean Zarzana, his personal trainer, said Tuesday afternoon. Bynum was in New York completing his rehab work on his surgically-repaired left kneecap, but he and Zarzana will travel to Atlanta to start their offseason routine "sometime next week."
Bynum has no lingering pain or inflation in his kneecap and there are no limitations on what he can do, Zarzana said.
Bynum hired Zarzana last summer in the wake of criticism from teammate Kobe Bryant. Bynum arrived at training camp in the best shape of his career and was averaging career highs of 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds when he injured his kneecap Jan. 13.
A quiet holiday weekend has turned into a quiet Monday afternoon. The Lakers have been talking to the agents for restricted free agents Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, but there's nothing significant to report so far. The Lakers can re-sign Vujacic and Turiaf starting Wednesday.
The Lakers also can sign outside free agents.
Word from Boston is that unrestricted free agent James Posey isn't happy with the Celtics' attempts to re-sign him. The Lakers are one of a number of teams that have shown an interest in signing Posey, a key backup on Boston's NBA championship team.
Also, I left a phone message with Andrew Bynum's personal trainer this morning to see when they might start their offseason workouts. Bynum has been cleared to resume his workouts after missing the second half of last season because of a left kneecap injury.
Haven't heard back, but will post an update when I do.
The Lakers' summer league roster won't be finalized until Thursday, but they gave us a sneak-peak this afternoon. Here's a look at some of the names on the list:
Cedric Bozeman ... Former UCLA guard.
Joe Crawford ... Second-round pick in last month's draft from Kentucky.
Davon Jefferson ... Forward from USC.
Coby Karl ... Backup guard with the Lakers last season.
Marcelus Kemp ... Undrafted guard from Nevada.
Yi Li ... Forward from China.
Lorenzo Mata-Real ... Undrafted forward from UCLA.
Here's the Lakers' summer league schedule (all games in Las Vegas):
Friday vs. Detroit, 5 p.m., Cox Pavilion.
Sunday vs. Memphis, 5 p.m., Cox Pavilion
July 15 vs. Philadelphia, 5 p.m., Cox Pavilion
July 16 vs. Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., Thomas and Mack Center
July 18 vs. Toronto, 5:30 p.m., Thomas and Mack Center
July 19 vs. Denver, 3:30 p.m., Thomas and Mack Center
Today I join with Seattle fans in mourning the move of the SuperSonics from the Emerald City to Oklahoma City. I'll miss the mist and fog and rain of Seattle. I'll miss the rare sunny days in mid-winter. I never had a bad meal in the city. I always enjoyed the crowds at the KeyArena. There wasn't a bad seat in the place. It just didn't have enough luxury suites to make the team as profitable as new ownership would like. New ownership that hails from Oklahoma, by the way. Not since the Grizzlies moved from Vancouver to Memphis has there been such a bad trade.
The Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat are expected to be among the teams interested in obtaining Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings once the NBA's dead period ends July 9. Kings general manager Geoff Petrie figures to receive plenty of calls about Artest and his expiring $7.4 millon contract, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. No reason to think Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak won't call, too.