Yesterday, I spent a few minutes on the phone with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak to discuss the details of the multi-year contract extension given to Andrew Bynum.
Here’s the link.
To be honest, the whole situation is very simple: Kupchak and the Lakers know Bynum better than anyone, and thought it was well worth it to sign him for under what he would almost certainly demand next year. The risk factor of a potential injury would still exist should the Lakers have waited until the summer, when it seems obvious that several teams would have throw the max at L.A.’s center.
Alas, today at noon, Kupchak addressed assembled media members at the Lakers’ practice facility. We didn’t learn anything new from yesterday, but you click here to what Mitch had to say.
The Lakers waived Coby Karl on Monday to trim the current roster down to 14 players.
An undrafted free agent signed by the Lakers last season, Karl appeared in 17 games to average 1.8 points and 0.8 boards in 4.2 minutes.
Karl was terrific, however, in 17 games with the L.A. D-Fenders of the D-league, as he averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 37.6 minutes while posting a .411 3-point field goal percentage. In the playoffs, Karl managed 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 37.0 minutes.
The 6-5 guard from Boise State averaged 14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a senior and was named First Team All-WAC. He scored 1,698 career points to rank third on Boise State’s all-time scoring charts, and is the current record holder for games played (127) and threes made (266).
The Lakers requested waivers on guard Joe Crawford and forward CJ Giles on Monday, opting to keep guard Coby Karl on the squad perhaps in part due to the condition of Sasha Vujacic and Kobe Bryant.
Phil Jackson acknowledged how tough it is to cut young guys this late in training camp, particularly as both Crawford, Giles and Brandon Heath (waived last week) gave maximum effort for L.A.
Crawford was the 58th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Lakers after the 22-year old completed four season at Kentucky, where he averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 boards and 1.5 assists in 127 games. The Detroit, Michigan native averaged 2.8 points in 7.3 preseason minutes for the Lakers.
Giles, a 6-11 forward who finished his collegiate career at Oregon State after playing two seasons at Kansas, managed 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in ten games last season for the Beavers. He competed in four preseason games for L.A., averaging 2.0 points and 2.5 boards in 7.2 minutes.
Click here for the Press Release
The roster’s down to 17 after Brandon Heath was let go Monday morning. Here’s the press release:
The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on guard Brandon Heath, it was announced today.
Heath, a 6-3 guard out of San Diego State spent last season playing in France for Entente Orleans 45 where he averaged 12.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25 games. In five preseason games with the Lakers, Heath averaged 1.4 points in 8.6 minutes.
The Lakers’ preseason roster now stands at 17.
With training camp around the corner the Lakers took another step toward filling out their roster as they re-signed Center DJ Mbenga.
Mbenga bounced around last season, first going to training camp with the Dallas Mavericks and then playing the first part of the season with the Golden State Warriors.
After signing multiple ten-day contracts with the Lakers, Mbenga was brought aboard in January for the remainder of the season, appearing in 26 regular season games and seven postseason games.
The Lakers roster now stands at 19.
With training camp just three weeks away, the Lakers made a move towards filling out their roster as they signed former San Diego State Aztec guard Brandon Heath.
Heath spent last season in France playing for Entente Orleans 45 where he averaged 12.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25 games.
Click here for the full press release
A few weeks after agreeing to terms, the Lakers have officially signed guard Sun Yue to a multi-year contract.
Since originally agreeing, Sun has spent time starting alongside NBA players Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian for the Chinese National team in the Beijing Olympics.
Although China was ousted in the first game of the medal round, Sun played well, averaging 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
