Kobe Bryant named to All-NBA First team, Dwight Howard on All-NBA Third team

Even with everything around him self-destructing, the Lakers could usually rely on one certain player.

Kobe Bryant.

He willed his team to win games it otherwise wouldn’t have won. Bryant’s fiery intensity may have frustrated some players, notably Dwight Howard, but it ensured they kept a sharp edge as they scrapped for playoff contention. Even with Father Time knocking on the door, Bryant threw a few good jabs at it in the form of endless dunks, jumpers and passes.

That’s why it’s hardly surprising that Bryant was named to the All-NBA’s First Team for the 11th time in his career and eighth consecutive season, joining the likes of Miami’s LeBron James, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, and the Clippers’ Chris Paul. By averaging 27.9 points on 46.3 percent shooting and six assists in his 17th NBA season, Bryant ties Karl Malone for the most All-NBA First team selections. Bryant had previously been tired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, Bob Pettit and Jerry West.
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Mitch Kupchak expresses optimism Dwight Howard will return and work well with Mike D’Antoni

Below is a Q&A with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who talked with this newspaper about Dwight Howard, his free agency and his relationship with coach Mike D’Antoni

Is it true, as ESPN Los Angeles reported, that Dwight Howard in his separate interview after his formal exit interview that he lamented frustrations about Mike D’Antoni, specifically about how he felt marginalized on the team?

“Criticism of a coach did not come up. Our coach did not come up. In terms of the way the season went and our talent, group and players and how they think in general, I would venture to say most of our players felt this was a frustrating season and that they didn’t get to show their talents as much as they would have liked to.

Some of that had to do with the coaching change because of one coach to another, no training camp and that all whole thing. Some of it had to do with injuries and some of it had to do with Mike making adjustments as the season went on so in general I would answer that question as to say I’m talking about Pau, Steve Nash and everybody felt the season didn’t go the way they wanted to. I think in general they all felt that there are ways to utilize their talent better going forward. That would include Dwight in that group.

What do you make of that feedback you were given?

There’s a lot to take from the season. Put aside the injury thing. We can’t really completely get off of. That had so much to do with the season. But I would say a season that ended with Kobe’s injury, we didn’t really have a chance to go much further at that point anyway.

But from the moment that Mike got here and assessing the talent on the team, he was searching and making changes and being flexible and learning the talent. I would say the same goes with the players on the team. They were getting a feel for what Mike wanted to see. It was a season of adjustments and once again it’s hard to go through a season with no training camp and the injuries we had. I don’t want to say it was a learning experience. That doesn’t fly. It really doesn’t. The bottom line is we got knocked out in the first round. All that stuff aside, that’s the bottom line.

How would you characterize Dwight’s relationship with Mike?

“I don’t want to start nitpicking. There are 13 guys on a team. The eight guys who don’t start don’t like the coach and the five who do start, there are usually two or three that aren’t happy either for one reason or another. I would venture to say at one point during the season for every player, they have a problem with the coach.

But being around as long I’ve been around, it doesn’t bother me when I hear at some point a player didn’t see eye to eye with a coach. Players don’t have to like coaches. They just have to play hard. In L.A., our coaches get evaluated on wins and losses and not whether our players like them or don’t like them. It doesn’t matter.”
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Mike D’Antoni doesn’t plan on staying with Team USA staff

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will remain as head coach for the U.S. Men’s Olympic team. But D’Antoni likely won’t stay as an assistant, according to a league source, because he wants to give full focus to the Lakers. D’Antoni served as an assistant under Krzyzewski in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

“He’s a great guy and we have fun,” said D’Antoni in February about Krzyzewski. “Great coach. It’s exciting to represent your country and do something that’s fun to do and be a part of what’s happening the last eight years and being around the best players in the world. It’s great. There’s no negatives.”

D’Antoni has two years worth $8 million left remaining on his contract with the Lakers. Despite the Lakers’ first-round sweep to the San Antonio Spurs, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has said D’Antoni will return next season.

RELATED:

Lakers grant permission to Phoenix Suns to interview Steve Clifford for head-coaching spot

Phil Handy expected to join Mike Brown’s coaching staff in Cleveland

TWC SportsNet to reveal Lakers’ top 50 plays of the season

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

Lakers grant permission to Phoenix Suns to interview Steve Clifford for head-coaching spot

The Phoenix Suns recently asked and received permission from the Lakers to talk with assistant coach Steve Clifford about their vacant head-coaching position, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.

According to league sources, Clifford also interviewed with the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday and with the Milwaukee Bucks last Monday for their respective head-coaching spots. No offers were made and no follow-up interviews have been immediately scheduled.

Former Lakers coach Mike Brown hired Clifford, and was one of five assistants retained when D’Antoni took over following a 1-4 start. Clifford first started out in the NBA ranks as an advance scout for the New York Knicks (2000-01) before moving up as an assistant coach (2001-03) under Don Nelson. He then worked as an assistant for Jeff Van Gundy with the Houston Rockets (2003-2007) and for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic (2007-2012).

RELATED:

Phil Handy expected to join Mike Brown’s coaching staff in Cleveland

Steve Clifford interviewed with Charlotte Bobcats for head-coaching position

TWC SportsNet to reveal Lakers’ top 50 plays of the season

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

Phil Handy expected to join Mike Brown’s coaching staff in Cleveland

Lakers player development coach Phil Handy is expected to join Mike Brown’s coaching staff with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to league sources.

Handy hasn’t signed a contract yet, but he reached what a league source called a “verbal agreement” to become one of Brown’s assistants.

Brown hired Handy as his player development coach last year his first season as the Lakers’ head coach. Since then, Handy has developed a strong reputation among the Lakers’ players for both his engaging on-court workouts and infinite willingness to work with them at all hours of the day. Handy will oversee player development with the Cavaliers, but will also have more added responsibility than he did with the Lakers.
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Steve Clifford interviewed with Charlotte Bobcats for head-coaching position

Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford interviewed Tuesday with the Charlotte Bobcats for their head-coaching position, according to a league source.

Clifford had also interviewed last Monday with the Milwaukee Bucks for their head-coaching spot, according to league sources. No offers were made and no follow-up interviews have been immediately scheduled. But Clifford could still be in the mix. According to one sources, Milwaukee also interviewed Nate McMillan and Houston Rockets assistants Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff and former Hawks coach Larry Drew.
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TWC SportsNet to reveal Lakers’ top 50 plays of the season

The lasting images surrounding the Lakers’ 2012-13 season hardly spark pleasant memories.

They lost in a four-game sweep in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers’ star studded lineup in Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol never showed consistent chemistry. The team’s overlapping injuries and Mike D’Antoni’s adjustment to an aging and slower roster didn’t help, either.

But as Time Warner Cable SportsNet still found enough highlights to put together an hour long show airing tonight at 8 p.m., a segment that will count down the 50 plays of the Lakers’ season.
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Phil Jackson expresses doubts about Dwight Howard returning to the Lakers

The man maintains he has no more interest in coaching, but that’s not stopping Phil Jackson from expressing how the Lakers could’ve fared better than an early first-round playoff exit.

He believed the Lakers misused Dwight Howard’s talents so much in the 2012-13 season that the former Lakers coach would sound hardly surprised if he decided to leave this offseason via free agency.

“Would you if you felt like your game wasn’t going to be featured?” Jackson said Tuesday on The Dan Patrick Show.
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Elgin Baylor maintains it won’t be hard emotionally to sell off memorabilia

The prized momentos plastered through two sets of rooms encapsulated everything that made Elgin Baylor such a great Laker.

The gold, wooden chair that Baylor sat on when the Lakers honored him in on March 22, 1969 dubbed “Elgin Baylor Night” at the Forum now sits in the center of the room. On one corner of the room, Baylor’s jacket commemorating the NBA’s 50 Greatest players (including himself) hangs on a rack. On another rack of the opposite side of the room features Baylor’s Lakers warm-up jacket.

On May 31st, Baylor won’t have those possessions. Instead, he will be auctioning those items off at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills with the proceeds benefitting to-be-determined charities.

“It’s been 41 years since I retired, but after a point in time people were constantly asking me,” Baylor said in an interview with this newspaper. “I decided fine. I’ll share some of this stuff and do it.”
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Elgin Baylor believes it’s equally critical for Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol to return to Lakers

A long 42 days remain until free agency hits, but that’s not going to stop the drumbeat regarding Dwight Howard’s future.

The Lakers spent plenty of time in their exit interviews three weeks ago stressing the need that Howard returns, ranging from the front office, coaching staff and teammates alike. That sentiment has also extended toward prominent Laker greats.

“It’s important to have a nice center of his talent,” Elgin Baylor said Monday in a wide-ranging interview with this newspaper. “Who knows who’s going to be here and not going to be here. But he’s familiar with his teammates. He seemed like he was getting better later in the season and fitting in with this team. He’s the most gifted center in the league.”

Baylor made those comments at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills where he plans to auction off memorabilia stemming from his 13-year NBA career with the Lakers on Friday to benefit to-be-determined charities. But Baylor also had plenty of things on his mind regarding the Lakers’ future, including his belief that the Lakers need to keep Pau Gasol regardless of whether Howard stays.
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