From the public relations desk:
EL SEGUNDO - The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Tony Gaffney, it was announced today.
Gaffney, an undrafted forward out of Massachusetts, finished his senior year at UMASS averaging a double-double with 11.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. The 6-8 forward was ranked 3rd in the nation in blocked shots (3.8) and was named the 2009 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year. Gaffney was a member of the 2009 Lakers summer league team where he averaged 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in four games played.
In seven preseason games with the Lakers, Gaffney averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.7 minutes.
The Lakers roster now stands at 13 players.
In a conversation we had Thursday with Mitch Kupchack subsequent to the passing of the NBA trade deadline, the Lakers General Manager offered some reaction on the trade that sent center Chris Mihm to Memphis for a future second-round draft pick.
Q: On how the move was easier to make considering D.J. Mbenga’s place on the roster, Josh Powell’s solid play and Andrew Bynum’s expected to return to the team:
We had two players at that position – D.J. Mbenga and Chris Mihm – and with a healthy Andrew Bynum, neither one of those players played much at all. With Andrew getting injured, I was curious to see if Chris’s time was going to go up dramatically, and it really didn’t. He did play a lot of minutes two nights ago (vs. Atlanta, Feb. 17) in a game, but other than that Phil (Jackson) really chose to play Lamar (Odom) and Pau (Gasol), and also Josh Powell.
So here we are again, with Andrew - knock on wood - expected to return and even with the injury, neither Chris nor D.J. were getting much time. At that point you had to look at what was best for the organization and take into consideration Chris’s loyalty and his future as well. I think if you asked him, he would have preferred to stay here; I think there’s a degree of comfort that goes along with being in a certain place and I know he wanted to be a part of this. But I’ve been here for many, many years, and he really needs to go to a place where he’s going to play, get confidence – not only himself but confidence that other people who watch him play can feel. He has to be in a position where this summer he can pick a place to finish his career, because he’s still relatively young, and that’s tough sometimes for a player to understand. It was a painful thing for him; we kind of lived his frustrations here the last four years. Every time he had a surgery or went down with an injury, we felt it as well. It’s tough to part ways, but we get a roster space, we get some flexibility down the road and we get a trade exception. Chris has to go some place where he has a chance to play and set himself hopefully for next year and thereafter.
Stay tuned for more trade deadline reaction from Kupchak.
The Lakers have acquired a conditional second-round draft pick in 2013 from the Memphis Grizzlies for center Chris Mihm, it was announced on Wednesday by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
Here’s the press release from L.A.
The Los Angeles Lakers have traded center Chris Mihm to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
Mihm, currently in his 5th season with the Lakers, is averaging 2.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 5.8 minutes in 18 games this year. His best campaign came in the 2005-06 season, when he averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
“The last two years have been difficult and frustrating for Chris in coming back from his ankle injury,” said Kupchak. “But Chris has handled himself with true professionalism the entire time. With the depth of our roster, especially at the center position, Chris has not had the opportunity to play that he deserves. At this point in his career, and especially as someone who will be a free agent this summer, we felt it was in his best interests to go to a team that would give him a chance to play. Chris has made significant contributions to our team over the past five years. We’d like to thank him and wish him the best of luck for the remainder of his career.”
Lakers head coach Phil Jackson is expected to address the trade further prior to Wednesday evening’s game at Golden State. We’ll have full coverage for you on Lakers.com.
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
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
