Archive for the 'Adam Morrison' Category

Several Lakers Gather for Wednesday Workout

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on September 16, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell, Luke Walton, Off-Season, Ron Artest, Sasha Vujacic and Shannon Brown
. Closed

Training camp is still a few weeks away for the Lakers, yet several of the players gathered in El Segundo on Wednesday afternoon to shoot, lift and play some pick up ball.

As Shannon Brown explained in the above @Lakers Twitvid, he was joined by Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Ron Artest, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell and Adam Morrison in addition to some D-Leaguers (to round out a 5-on-5 run).

Prior to the full-court action, some of the players went through lifting and general strenghtening activities with Lakers Director of Athletic Performance Chip Schaefer (Walton and Brown specifically), others got some shots up (Vujacic and Farmar) while others worked with assistant coach Brian Shaw and advance scout/assistant coach Rasheed Hazzard on running L.A.’s offense (Artest and Brown).

“It’s just good to get back in here,” said Walton. “I think we’re all excited about the coming season and eager to get ready to go.”

It won’t be long, since the first preseason game is only three weeks away on October 7 against Golden State.

Morrison Misses Final Summer League Game

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 16, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Off-Season and Summer League
. Closed

After a solid week of action, Lakers forward Adam Morrison sat out of L.A.’s final Summer League game due to the stomach flu.

With Morrison back at the team hotel, the Lakers competed hard - grabbing 12 offensive boards to help overcome offensive struggles towards a 40-40 halftime tie with undefeated Houston - but the lack of scoring proved to be too much in the second half of a 92-77 defeat.

Chinemelu ElonuHouston outscored L.A. 27-12 in the third quarter thanks in part to second round pick Chase Budinger, who dropped 25 points in 26 minutes for the game. Meanwhile, L.A.’s second round pick Chinemelu Elonu wasn’t bad himself, leading the Vegas version of purple and gold with 16 points plus eight rebounds.

The Lakers shot just 39.0 percent from the field, failed to make a single three-pointer and stayed in the game largely due to hustle on the glass, which netted 19 offensive boards and a 41-37 overall edge. Ben McCauley went for an 11 and 10 point-rebound double-double, while an efficient David Monds added 14 points off the bench plus six boards in 18 minutes.

As for Morrison: He finished the week with a 20.8 scoring average on 29-of-69 shooting (42 percent), including 8-of-19 from three (42.1 percent) and 17-of-19 from the foul line (89.5 percent). He was shooting 47 percent from the floor before struggling to a 5-for-18 performance in the team’s Tuesday win over Oklahoma City, but Summer League Head Coach Chucky Brown praised Morrison for drawing most of the Thunder’s defensive attention, which produced open looks for his teammates.

The former No. 3 overall pick also averaged 5.0 rebounds, tossed eight assists and notched three steals with two blocks, and looked to be fully recovered from the torn ACL that occurred prior to the 2007-08 season.

Lakers Win Again, Start 2-0 in Vegas

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 11, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Off-Season and Summer League
. Closed

Chinemelu ElonuAdam Morrison’s 22 points paced L.A. in its second Summer League win in as many tries as the Lakers defeated Cleveland 88-82 on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

A day after scoring 24 points against Toronto, Morrison converted 8-of-16 field goals - including 4-of-6 from downtown - and pitched in four rebounds with three assists against the Cavs.

Lakers second round pick Chinemelu Elonu (pictured) used his 23 minutes of burn to put up nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, plus five boards and two blocks, a day after he played just 14 minutes.

It was a relatively easy win for the Lakers, who trailed just once early in the first quarter before steadily pushing the lead to as many as 14 in the fourth quarter.

“I thought everyone played hard, we were able to play really physical I thought we did a great job,” said Lakers Summer League Head Coach Chucky Brown to NBA.com. “We need to sharpen up our defense a little bit more and I think we’ll be alright.”

L.A. outshot the Cavs 50.8 to 42.6 percent, and made seven three-pointers to help cover a poor effort from the free throw line (15-of-27, 55.6 percent). The Lakers also held a seven-rebound edge (39-32) and had four players in double figures led by Morrison.

The Lakers’ Vegas crew has Sunday off before a Monday evening tilt with Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and the L.A. Clippers, set to tip at 8:30 p.m.

If you’re interested in watching the game, you can sign up for NBA SUMMER LEAGUE BROADBAND.

Morrison Leads Lakers to Summer League Win

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 10, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Off-Season and Summer League
. Closed

Adam MorrisonAdam Morrison scored 24 points - including the hit the game-clinching free throws - to lead the Lakers to a come-from-behind 85-84 win over Toronto to open the 2009 Summer League in Las Vegas.

Morrison converted 9-of-17 shots (52.9 percent) from the field and made all five of his free throws, adding five rebounds and three assists to the effort. He made 1-of-3 three-pointers, grabbed three of his boards on the offensive glass and added two blocked shots to his effort as L.A. made up a nine-point halftime deficit.

The former No. 3 overall draft pick in 2006 came to the Lakers via trade from Charlotte in early February and played minimally during L.A.’s title run, making Summer League important for him personally even though he’s signed through the 2009-10 season.

In other news, Lakers second round draft pick Chinemelu Elonu (59 overall) scored two points with three boards and a steal while taking just one shot in 14 minutes in the win, while NC State product Ben McCauley matched Morrison’s 24 points and added a game-high 14 rebounds.

L.A.’s next game is at 3 p.m. on Saturday against Cleveland; you can see by ordering the NBA’s Summer League Broadband package by clicking HERE.

Adam Morrison: Exit Interview

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on June 19, 2009
in Adam Morrison
. Closed

blog_090619adammorrisonAfter being traded to the Lakers from the Charlotte Bobcats alongside Shannon Brown for Vladimir Radmanovic midseason, Adam Morrison appeared in just eight games for the Lakers, playing a total of 44 minutes to score 10 points with eight boards and three assists.

Morrison, the former No. 3 overall pick, did not appear in a playoff game, but instead focused on really getting his knee to the point of full recovery after tearing his ACL at the beginning of the 2007-08 season.

Under contract through next season, Morrison talked about his personal goals at his exit interview:

- Morrison said that he would play for the Lakers in the Las Vegas Summer League.

- More than anything else, Morrison said he needs to continue to get his knee at full strength on one hand, and on the other, continue to learn L.A.’s offense.

- He said his knee “Feels pretty normal for the most point,” but that he “Still doesn’t have full range of flexibility but they say that’s how it goes.”

- The highlight to him in the postseason: Game 5 was pretty cool, but the Denver and Houston series kind of gelled our team together, the toughness (we had to show), especially late in those series.

- Morrison detailed that his chance to contribute to the team was by playing on the scout teams in practice trying to get the guys who played minutes ready to go. He impersonated players like Carmelo Anthony, Hedo Turkoglu, Ron Artest, Shane Battier and other forwards.

- Morrison wasn’t surprised at all by what Shannon Brown showed: “I knew Shannon could do that, he just didn’t really get an opportunity.”

- Of course it’s a big offseason for Morrison since next is the last of his rookie deal: “I have to work hard and maybe it’ll work out, maybe it won’t … Next year is hugely important, it’s my contract year.”

- Morrison cited assistant coach Brian Shaw for doing a lot to try and help him learn the offense in practice.

- He also talked about dealing with diabetes, but he doesn’t “look at himself as a poster child” for the condition.

- One thing he said he appreciated about Phil Jackson was: “If you’re not getting minutes (in games), you still get to play in practice, so that helps you keep your rhythm about you and improve even in you’re not on the floor.”

Adam Morrison: Manning the Sideline

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on June 13, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Finals and Practice News
. Closed

Adam MorrisonLakers forward Adam Morrison hasn’t played a single minute in the 2009 postseason, yet he, just like his other 13 teammates, is one win away from an NBA championship.

After coming to the Lakers in a midseason trade from Charlotte along with Shannon Brown for Vladimir Radmanovic, Morrison’s done his best to both strengthen his knee and improve his overall game, and said he’s understood and even appreciated his place on the bench despite never sitting on the sidelines in his basketball career. A talented scorer and a No. 3 overall draft pick, Morrison knows in his mind that he has what it takes to contribute to a winning team, but that this season just hasn’t been his time.

Before we got kicked off the floor prior to L.A.’s Saturday afternoon practice, Morrison sat down with us to talk about what it’s like sitting in his shoes.

 
icon for podpress  Adam Morrison Podcast [3:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Walton Feeling Zona’s Sweet 16

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 23, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Miscellaneous and Shannon Brown
. Closed

March MadnessA No. 12 seed into the Sweet 16, huh?

“I tried to tell everyone already,” said Luke Walton without too much prompting regarding his Arizona Wildcats. “My teammates were all getting on me for picking Arizona because I was showing favoritism to my school, but I’m a realist. I just told them what was going to happen. I have them going to the National Championship game.”

While ‘Zona still has a long ways to go to get there - they’d have to beat Louisville, the Michigan State/Kansas winner and likely either UCONN or Memphis - Walton’s already feeling pretty good. He correctly picked 38 of the 48 possible games played in rounds one and two, and was the only participant in our Lakers.com March Madness contest (he ranks third behind Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison) to correctly take Arizona to the Sweet 16, where they’ll face Rick Pitino’s squad.

“We have a tough matchup against Louisville, but we have two kids starting for Arizona that are from San Diego, which definitely helps,” said Walton, who coincidentally happens to be from San Diego. “We have a tough point guard in Nic Wise – you need a tough point to succeed in the tourney – and we have one of the best big men in the country in Jordan Hill. That’s the recipe for success right there.”

Now, if his teammates are talking trash, Walton’s not listening.

“The things is, my teammates aren’t even allowed to talk to me about it – except for Shannon (Brown) and Adam (Morrison), because they’ve got Michigan State and Gonzaga still going,” Walton explained. “If your team is out of it, you can’t speak to the people that have teams still playing for something. You can’t talk trash – I mean you can talk to me, just not about college basketball.”

So if Brown or Morrison wants to have a nice lil’ NCAA conversation with Luke, it’s all good. On the other hand, an example of guys who aren’t allowed to speak to Walton about college hoops are Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar, whose UCLA Bruins lost in the second round to Villanova.

“That’s what happens when you don’t win your conference or conference tournament, you get a higher seed and have to go up against a team playing great basketball in their hometown (Philadelphia),” said Farmar. “I took the hit in my Lakers.com bracket with my Bruins pick to win it all, but if I’m going down it’s going to be with my boys.”

Fair enough.

Lakers Acquire Adam Morrison & Shannon Brown

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 7, 2009
in Adam Morrison, Around the NBA, Practice News, Shannon Brown and Transactions
. Closed

Brown/Morrison
Just moments after arriving at Cleveland’s practice facility for a scheduled media session with the Lakers, it was quickly learned that L.A. had traded Vladimir Radmanovic to Charlotte in return for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown.

We’ll have Phil Jackson’s reaction on video shortly, plus audio from a conference call with Mitch Kupchak; until then, here’s the press release concerning the transaction: ***UPDATE: Here’s the multimedia extravaganza***

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired forward Adam Morrison and guard Shannon Brown from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic, it was announced today.

Morrison, currently in his 3rd NBA season out of Gonzaga, was selected third overall by the Bobcats in the 2006 NBA Draft after earning unanimous First Team All-America honors and garnering multiple National Player of the Year awards his senior year. Named to the All-Rookie Second Team following the 2006-07 season, Morrison appeared in 78 games as rookie including 23 starts, averaging 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 29.8 minutes while earning T-Mobile Rookie of the Month honors for November 2006.

Missing the entire 2007-08 season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in an October 20 preseason game against the Lakers, Morrison has played in 44 games this season including five starts, averaging 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 15.2 minutes with a high-game of 16 points November 11 vs. Denver.

In 122 career games (23 starts), Morrison is averaging 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.5 minutes.

Brown, also in his 3rd NBA season out of Michigan State, was originally selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Traded to the Chicago Bulls as part of the Ben Wallace deal in February of 2008, Brown signed with Charlotte as a free agent this past August. In 30 games with the Bobcats this season, Brown is averaging 4.8 points in 11.4 minutes with a season-highs in points (16), steals (4) and minutes (26) coming November 3 vs. Detroit.

In 74 career games (9 starts), Brown is averaging 4.5 points in 10.6 minutes