Stay up to day with the latest news, updates, and press conferences from your Los Angeles Lakers.
A statement released on Thursday evening from Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak:
We have entered into discussions with Ron Artest and it is our intention to sign him to a contract at the conclusion of the moratorium period.
The free agency moratorium period started on July 1, when free agents were allowed to speak to NBA teams, and concludes on July 7, setting July 8 as the target date for the potential, official agreement between the Lakers and Artest.
Kobe Bryant did not opt out of his current deal and remains under contract with the Lakers for two more seasons, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.
The Finals MVP will once again have an option to opt out of his contract at the conclusion of the coming 2009-10 season, while the team is guaranteed to Bryant through 2010-11.
This information, confirmed due to the July 1 deadline for the ETO (early termination option) clause in Bryant’s contract, came as no surprise. Bryant had steadily insisted throughout the season and in his exit interview that his contract was not an issue: “You know I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
As Josh Powell and D.J. Mbenga are now under contract through next season and the team has until August 1 to decide whether or not to terminate Sun Yue’s contract, the Lakers currently have 11 players under contract for 2009-10.
Unrestricted free agents Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown are allowed to speak with any interested parties - including the Lakers - during the ongoing free agency moratorium period which lasts through July 7.
Power forward Josh Powell and center D.J. Mbenga will remain on the Lakers’ roster for the 2009-10 season after L.A. opted not to terminate their respective non-guaranteed contracts by the July 1 deadline, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.
Powell and Mbenga each had a year left on their contracts, and since neither was acted upon, the 6-10 and 7-0 post players are guaranteed through the coming season.
Powell averaged 4.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.7 regular season minutes and 2.1 points with 1.2 boards in 5.2 postseason minutes during L.A.’s championship run. He showed his value when afforded ample playing time, highlighted by a 17-point, 9-rebound performance on March 11 at Houston when the Lakers were without Andrew Bynum (injury) and Lamar Odom (suspension).
Mbenga won the rights to L.A.’s third center position as the Lakers sent Chris Mihm to Memphis for a draft pick, and made the most of his 7.9 minutes per game in the regular season by blocking 1.04 shots in that time. He even inspired his own cheering section of the upper deck with fans often sporting “Banging with Mbenga” t-shirts.
Mbenga will join the Belgian National Team this summer in preparation for EuroBasket 2009, while Powell, star of J-Peezy’s Playlist, is currently working out in his hometown of Atlanta.
Rookie guard Sun Yue currently has one year left on his two-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Lakers, and according to team spokesman John Black, L.A. has until August 1st to decide whether or not to terminate his contract.
In the meantime, Sun said in his exit interview that he’s deciding whether or not to play with the Chinese National Team this summer.
When you watch “Forrest Gump,” it takes just a few seconds to realize that Tom Hanks can do a bit of acting.
Observe President Obama give a speech, tune in to see Albert Pujos hit a baseball or listen to Jay-Z perform one of his songs, and your conclusion makes itself in a flash.
That’s about how long it takes to notice that Shannon Brown is some kind of a freakish athlete, and upon further consideration, literally one of the world’s best.
Surely if you observe the raw, explosive nature of Brown’s body movements going up and down the basketball floor, it’s easy to imagine an extensive weight lifting and training program that’s been followed for years and maximized in the NBA. After all, this is the guy you saw raise up to destroy a Mario West layup attempt in February and climb over the outstretched arms of Chris Andersen for a hammer dunk in the Western Conference Finals.
His 44.5-inch vertical - measured prior to his rookie season at the Lakers’ predraft camp - was in part of gift of genetics, but it would be assumed that Brown’s well-muscled arms didn’t just appear from nowhere. We assume he lifts some serious weights. Right?
Not really.
In fact, late in the season, Brown explained to us that while he did do some lifting in high school and at Michigan State, he has basically stayed away from weight training since entering the NBA.
Huh?
“Whatever Shannon accomplishes or doesn’t accomplish in the NBA is not going to be for lack of athleticism, and the risks involved with trying to be too clever with him would be ridiculous,” explained Lakers Director of Athletic Performance, Chip Schaefer. “We’re very open ended and we like to listen to the athletes, so when Shannon came … I had no problem with him sticking to (his program).”
Schaefer, who’s in charge of the team’s strength and conditioning, instead worked to supplement Brown’s routine with some fine tuning. Accordingly, to get a better understanding of why Brown sticks mostly to push ups and does little to nothing with his legs, we sat down with Schaefer for a podcast:
Up next in our run of post-championship locker room series is Shannon Brown, who came to the Lakers midseason from Charlotte before realizing his childhood dream.
I’m really numb, to be honest. My teammates were holding me back telling me not to cry. It’s just something you work so hard for. This is why you play the game, to be a champion on the highest level of basketball, to be considered one of the greatest teams ever to do it … I can’t explain it. I’m numb man. I’m numb.
Sure enough, Brown was particularly emotional while trying to sum up his feelings, leading in part to our calling up his father Chris to really understand Shannon’s journey.
Alas, to watch the locker room interview, CLICK HERE.
It’s already been 15 days since the Lakers used a 99-86 drubbing of the Orlando Magic to win the franchise’s 15th NBA Championship.
A lot’s happened since then, including the NBA Draft, exit interviews, the comical premiere of “Real World Cancun” (year 22?!) and even the melancholy passing away of the King of Pop.
Thus, in case you need a memory refresher, we’ll be posting periodic videos from the immediate postgame locker room, starting with a conversation with Jordan Farmar just minutes after the final buzzer when he said this:
Growing up in L.A. watching the Lakers do this for years before I got here was special, I felt part of it as a fan,” said Farmar. “To go through so much this season, have an injury, fluctuating playing time and all types of adversity makes it all worth it. This is what we all sacrificed for from day one. I can’t even put it into words right now.
To watch the full video, CLICK HERE.
The Lakers selected Chinemelu Elonu from Texas A&M (via Nigeria) with the 59th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. A 6-10 junior, Elonu was drafted after the Lakers traded the draft rights to Patrick Beverley - whom they’d selected at No. 42 - to the Miami Heat for a future second round pick.
“Basically it’s keeping in line with our philosophy with the draft,” said Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak. “We ranked the players in the draft and we ended up getting the guy that we thought would be the 34th best guy in the draft at 59.”
Kupchak said that Elonu would likely play for the Lakers in the summer league and have a chance to make the team depending on if he’s “as good as we think he is.”
“He’s a wonderful person,” Kupchak added. “Great kid. Plays hard. He’s developing, every year he’s getting better and better.”
A quick transcription of Mitch Kupchak’s initial reactions after L.A. traded its first pick (29) and took Patrick Beverley*** (who played in Ukraine this past season) with its second (42). Kupchak talked about why L.A. traded the pick (for cash and a future second rounder) and addressed the move in relation to L.A.’s unrestricted free agents.
***UPDATE: The Lakers traded Beverley’s rights to the Heat for a future second round pick.
- “We think we did the right thing. As I’ve indicated, there’s a chance if we can keep our team together that we really wouldn’t have roster space for draft picks. This year’s draft we felt was not as strong down in the 29 range. We had made provisions that if a player had dropped … We could have gotten that player. We didn’t feel that would happen, and it didn’t happen. We didn’t want to committ to a player for two years if there was a chance he wouldn’t make the team. The best deal ended up being (with New York).
- On if it helps retain Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown: “I don’t know what the market’s going to be. After tonight, the draft is behind us and we start to focus on July 1. I don’t know what the free agent market is going to hold for us. If a competing team makes an offer that we don’t think is a good basketball decision, we won’t try to match that offer. We’ve done that in the past. The fact that you sell a pick and get a future pick doesn’t mean it’s going to translate into a player on July 1, but it certainly won’t hurt.”
- On Patrick Beverley: “He played overseas last year, it’s something that remains possible (leaving him overseas). At the 42nd pick there may or may not be guaranteed money and we’ll see if he can make the team.”
Here’s a release from USA Basketball detailing Trevor Ariza’s invitation to Team USA Mini camp in Las Vegas:
Twenty-five top rising NBA players have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate in the 2009 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp that will be conducted July 22-25 in Las Vegas, Nev. The selections were announced by USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo.
The July USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp will feature practice sessions on July 23 and July 24 at Valley High School, and the mini-camp will be capped by the USA Basketball Showcase, a Blue-White intra-squad game, on Saturday, July 25, 8 p.m. (PDT) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2009 USA Basketball Showcase, with seats priced at $10 to $75. Tickets can be purchased through www.UNLVtickets.com or 702-739-FANS.
Accepting an invitation to attend the July 22-25 mini- camp were: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers / Texas); Trevor Ariza (Los Angeles Lakers / UCLA); D.J. Augustin (Charlotte Bobcats / Texas); Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers / Arizona); Ronnie Brewer (Utah Jazz / Arkansas); Glen Davis (Boston Celtics / LSU); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies / Connecticut); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers / New Mexico); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder / Georgetown); Blake Griffin (University of Oklahoma); Devin Harris (New Jersey Nets / Wisconsin); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona); Kyle Korver (Utah Jazz / Creighton); David Lee (New York Knicks / Florida); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets / Stanford); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies / USC); Paul Millsap (Utah Jazz / Louisiana Tech); Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers / Ohio State); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls / Memphis); Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers / Washington); Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks / Oak Hill Academy, Va.); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA); and Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers / Georgia Tech).
USA Basketball announced on May 21 that Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano, Utah Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, Detroit Pistons assistant Dave Cowens, former New Orleans Hornets assistant Kenny Gattison, and innesota Timberwolves assistant Jerry Sichting, would serve as the staff for the 2009 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp.
“While we look to continue to build continuity within the USA national team program and continue to improve, in 2009 we will get a look at some of the top young NBA players who haven’t been involved in USA Basketball at the top national program level previously. Although some of these players have represented USA Basketball in the past, this is their opportunity to be considered for the next generation of players who will help make up the USA Basketball National program. As was the case in 2005-08, the roster for the national team program will be fluid in 2010-2012 and we will make adjustments to the roster each year to help insure we have the strongest program and the strongest teams possible,” said Colangelo.
Twenty-one of the expected 25 mini-camp participants have prior USA Basketball team experience.
FROM LAKERS.com
