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JSM
Clublakers Site Manager
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
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Location: Atlanta
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 Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 3:43 am Post subject: Laker News for 11/4/03 |
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Laker News
Phil gave Gary the green light
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LA Times: he returned Monday night for tonight's game at Bradley Center with all of the emotion you might expect — "Just another game, man. I'm just going to play. I'm playing for the Lakers now, just going to get a win," he said
"We're going to have to find a little energy," Payton said. "If we find energy to [run], it's going to be good."
Even in the second games of back-to-backs, Jackson said, he wants Payton to go, go, go, and that everyone else will just have to adapt, adapt, adapt.
"I really believe that Gary will push and drive the team," he said. "I think he'll drive them to run. That's one of the features … of his game, that he'll really drive his teammates forward. When he smells blood in the water in a game, he's going to take it at them. If he sees opportunity, he's going to drive it at them. I think that's going to be important for us. I think guys are going to sustain. I've already seen added effort in a lot of ways from guys trying to stay up."
"He's handling the things we've asked him to do as far as distributing the ball, organizing the offense, getting people involved," Jackson said. "What bothered me [Saturday] night [in Phoenix] was he had eight assists at half and one in the second half. We really didn't move and allow him the opportunity to do the creative things he does for us with the ball and run the court with the same kind of determination we had in the first half." |
Payton talks about his short stint with the Bucks, and there are a few other stories mentioned here
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LA Daily News: "I was only there for two months," said Payton, who had a falling out with Sonics management and was traded for Ray Allen. "It ain't like I'm looking forward to going to Seattle, neither.
"That's over with. I'm here playing with the Lakers now and I'm just looking forward to winning basketball games. All that stuff is over with."
"When the fast break ain't working, we got to set up and try to play the triangle," Payton said. "I'm comfortable now, it's just that we ain't running it because I'm running up and down the court so much."
"I think there's a lot of expectation," Karl Malone said. "I think it'll give us a little test where we're at early on in the season."
Jackson added: "We're tested this week. A couple of good teams and a couple of young teams in Milwaukee and Memphis. We're going to have plenty of chances to improve our game."
"He's a strong guy and that's the kind of defense I'm going to get out there," O'Neal said. "We're starting our own playoff series. Best out of 100. And he's leading 1-0."(Shaq was talking about Malone) |
Jackson expect the lakers to win three out of their next four games, which are on the road
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| LA Times"We're just going to kind of work our way through that San Antonio-New Orleans back-to-back," he said. "That's really the key to this next road trip. … I think we'll be not quite ready for San Antonio. The level they're playing at right now might be a little bit higher than we do, because they've got more guys used to the system down there." |
Karl Malone and his shoe company, Dada Footwear, will donate 1,000 pair of shoes to victims of the Southern California wildfires
Sources
LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakerep4nov04,1,2125122.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-lakers
LA Daily News
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~29583~1742332,00.html |
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JSM
Clublakers Site Manager
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 70472
Location: Atlanta
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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Laker News
Slava may play during the 4 game road trip
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| LA Times: Slava Medvedenko underwent an MRI exam on his bruised left heel. It was negative. The club hopes he will be able to play sometime on the trip. |
If Kobe were to leave, where would he end up
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Yahoo Sports: Dallas. From a trading standpoint, the Mavericks make sense. Dallas could offer Michael Finley and Steve Nash for Bryant and Derek Fisher. The Mavericks are creative when it comes to transactions, and team owner Mark Cuban is willing to pull the trigger on big deals. None would be bigger than landing Bryant. The distaste Cuban often has expressed for the Lakers, though, is mutual, and these would not be the happiest of dance partners. If the Lakers deal Bryant, it probably would be to an Eastern Conference team.
New York. Sending Bryant to the Knicks not only would give him a team that's built around him, it would give him the world's biggest stage. The Knicks would be a playoff lock in the East with Bryant in blue and orange. A deal for Kurt Thomas and Allan Houston (with the Lakers throwing in Kareem Rush and Devean George) would give the Lakers exactly what they would need: a long-range scorer and a hard-nosed backup big man.
Chicago. Bryant always has tried to walk in the footsteps of Michael Jordan. Why not take his locker? Chicago is a huge sports market itching for a superstar on the level of Jordan and Walter Payton. The Bulls have the pieces to give up-how about Scottie Pippen, Tyson Chandler and Marcus Fizer? Though it's tough to part with Chandler, the chance of landing Bryant is worth it and, as he would for the Knicks, Bryant surely would punch the Bulls' ticket to the playoffs.
Memphis. Bryant considers former Lakers executive Jerry West a mentor, and if West still were around in L.A., Bryant's feud with O'Neal probably would not have gotten so heated. Now that West is in charge of the Grizzlies, might Bryant join him? Rumors that Memphis will clear out salary-cap room next summer to make a maximum pitch for Bryant have little basis in reality-the Grizzlies have drafted, signed and traded for players whose salaries ensure the team will be over the cap next summer. Memphis probably is not the stage Bryant is looking for, and the Grizzlies have little of value to offer in return, anyway (Lorenzen Wright, Pau Gasol and Shane Battier?).
Detroit. Would the Pistons be willing to part with Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton to get Bryant? If so, they could be a good match for the Lakers, and Detroit has enough big bodies in reserve to maintain a decent front line. (A deal for Corliss Williamson, Tayshaun Prince and Elden Campbell probably would look better from the Pistons' perspective.) With Bryant, Detroit immediately would be the best team in the East, and perhaps one that could keep pace with the title contenders in the West.
Boston. A straight swap of Paul Pierce for Bryant would give the Lakers a star-caliber wing man and a hometown product, to boot. Pierce is not Bryant, and he would be forced to accept a reduced role, but he would benefit from not taking the pounding he subjects himself to in Boston. For the Celtics, Bryant would be a smoother version of Pierce-a better shooter and passer. |
Phil's agent and Mitch are working on a contract extension for Phil
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OC Register: Lakers coach Phil Jackson did give some consideration to negotiating his own contract extension with club owner Jerry Buss, as Buss preferred.
"Sure," Jackson said Monday, "we met a couple times after the (past) season."
But ultimately Jackson decided he would prefer the guidance of his agent and friend, Todd Musburger. When Musburger was in Los Angeles for the Lakers opener last week, he apparently made significant progress on the extension in negotiations with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.
"He and Mitch had a chance to sit down, so there's definitely some movement and some update," Jackson said.
Buss suggested Sunday evening the two sides were going through the formal process of trying to meet somewhere in the middle.
Buss said he believed that a deal would be done by now if it were just he and Jackson talking, though.
"Some of the details are best just left to people who do that as a business," Jackson said. "But definitely I have a very good feeling toward Dr. Buss."
Jackson is expected to extend his contract for two seasons beyond this one, the last of a five-year, $30 million deal he signed in 1999. |
Phil talks about coaching and his future plans
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Chicago Tribune:"I wasn't frightened," Jackson said, speaking of a heart-bypass procedure he underwent on May 10 after doctors diagnosed a condition they sometimes call "the widow maker."
"That upset my kids, how close I was to perhaps having a stroke or heart attack," Jackson said. "I do feel fortunate, though I wasn't anxious about it. Having a teammate and friend like Dave DeBusschere die [May 14] was a real shock and let me know you can pass on very quickly and suddenly and leave people you love unfulfilled.
"But basically, I have this feeling I've heard people express in different ways, that when your number is up, you die. I kind of have that philosophy that it's preordained. If it's your time, you go ... obviously, it wasn't."
He turned 58 in September and probably is the most successful coach in professional sports history. He had long ago decided to end his career on the sidelines before he reached 60, but now owner Jerry Buss has asked him to stay another two seasons after this one. Jackson would like to but remains uncertain.
"I have some wiggle room as far as approaching 60," he said. "If I coach three more years, it will be one year after 60, which is something I have to compromise, change my mind. I guess people do that. But the next thing is to assess how this job is going to affect the rest of my working career, and this is kind of a trial year as to how I deal with stress in the regular season."
With that, Jackson paused, that familiar bemused expression creasing his face.
"I certainly have picked a doozy of a year to make it a trial year," he said.
"I really want to have a good quality of life when I'm through with basketball," Jackson said.
"We've talked about two [more] years," Jackson said. "Jerry wants to win another two titles, which would mean a lot to him and the Lakers franchise, tying them with the Celtics for most titles. It certainly would be a feather in his cap being an owner 25 years and winning eight titles, the most successful owner in pro sports. So he asked me if I would continue, and I said I would.
"But I want to make health a priority, and this is the year I can determine that. My working [in the future] will reflect a lot on this year and how well it goes and how I feel."
"I always seem relatively relaxed," Jackson said, "but it has changed the way I look at and live life. I hate to use the term, but I'm happier and relaxed. I feel much more carefree about my life and feel I have a bit of a lease on life. I've had the good fortune of having the opportunity to do more than I've done in some areas."
Jackson says the discussions over continuing in the organization have included time beyond coaching, though he doesn't see a role yet.
"They've got people with ample knowledge about basketball, and [general manager] Mitch [Kupchak] is having a remarkable year in rebuilding this franchise," Jackson said. "I still think I can be an adviser, maybe even to [Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger."
You have to laugh when you're around the Lakers these days. It's just one of Jackson's many messages.
"I know this season is fraught with all kinds of danger signs for a coach--older players, superstar Hall of Fame-type players, people giving up salaries in hopes of winning a championship, the obvious Kobe Bryant incident, a lot of things looming large," Jackson said. "But it's one of those problem-solving situations I've inherited that's really intriguing. I'd love to be able to sort it all out and be part of watching it come together because I believe it can happen for us. And then [I'd like to] see the continuity with Kobe and Shaq and the players we obtained this year wanting to come back and play another year and continue on."
With Jackson as well. Basketball would miss them all. |
Kobe has turned to MJ for advice
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| Chicago Tribune: Word is that Kobe Bryant has been relying on Michael Jordan recently for advice in dealing with the media, the public and his Lakers teammates. This isn't new: Bryant admitted in 2001 when he first was openly feuding with Shaquille O'Neal that he had consulted Jordan. It wasn't appropriate then because Jordan was running the Washington Wizards. |
Would Kobe go to Miami
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Chicago Tribune: One rumor around for some time has been the sale of the financially troubled Miami Heat, which may have led to Pat Riley's coaching resignation. How about that triumvirate: Jordan, Bryant and Riley.
Jordan wants a team, and so does Bryant, though in a different way. Forget all that hokum about Lakers harmony and Bryant being satisfied being a piece of the pie. He's ready to go out on his own, and what his friends know is he wants to be a high-scoring star on a team he can bring from nowhere, like Jordan did with the Bulls.
"Like Kobe said, he's going to leave," said Warriors guard Nick Van Exel, a former Lakers teammate. "He wants the team to be built around him. He wants to prove he can win it without Shaq, and vice versa."
The Lakers now fear trading Bryant, but that could change if they believe they'll lose him. One popular option for Bryant as a free agent is the Spurs, who will be well under the salary cap after the season. They've been saving money to re-sign Manu Ginobili, but would give it to Bryant, who would team with Tim Duncan and could come back and beat O'Neal and the Lakers.
But Bryant is said to want to be the principal on his next team, like Jordan was. Who could show him better how that works than Jordan? And who but Bryant could give Jordan credibility and success again as a league executive? Jordan as owner could even agree to eventually bring Bryant into the organization as an inducement. It could be the next true Dream Team. |
Sources
Chicago Tribune
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-031103smithonnbacolumn,1,245311.column?coll=cs-bulls-utility
OC Register
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=64943§ion=SPORTS&subsection=PRO&year=2003&month=11&day=4
Yahoo Sports
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ifkobegoeswherewillhego&prov=tsn&type=lgns |
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