10/2: Training Camp Reports - Day 3

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register Blog wrote:Phil Jackson was matter-of-fact rather than angry as he said after the morning practice about Lamar Odom: “He’s not in shape. Lamar’s not ready to play.”

Odom has been seen dragging with the stragglers in practice-ending wind sprints, and Jackson said Odom’s take-it-easy summer has led to a somewhat slow start for him in trying to play more of a quarterback role in the early triangle-offense practices of camp. He said Odom, despite getting fatigued, has done “OK.

Odom said he chose to rest over the summer to ease the tendinitis that bothered him basically all last season. Odom especially had problems with his right knee that he sprained two seasons ago, costing him 21 games.

Jackson expressed some disappointment that Odom didn’t do more with his offseason given that he wasn’t having surgery, as he has so often before.

Jackson said it remains to be seen if Odom hurt himself — before he becomes a free agent at season’s end — by taking it too easy.

“He has to find that out for himself,” Jackson said. “That’s something you experiment with. But in our exit meetings (in June) with Lamar, we talked about the fact that he hasn’t had the opportunity to work on his body in the offseason for the past three or four years, actually. So this was really an opportunity to strengthen his shoulder and do some things that were going to help him in a pivotal year for him – not only for him, but for us.”

GinoDB wrote:we should be upset at Odom, but a lot of people here want him traded so hes just increasing the chances now, so I guess we should be happy.

JSM wrote:

GinoDB wrote:we should be upset at Odom, but a lot of people here want him traded so hes just increasing the chances now, so I guess we should be happy.

I really don't understand his thought process at this point.

If he wants to stay a Laker, he's going the wrong way about it. Even if he doesn't, he's still hurting himself and his value on the open market next summer. And unfortunately that also hurts his trade value to some degree.

I have no problem with him getting some R&R over the summer break, but it sounds like he didn't do anything related to basketball, conditioning, or weight training. He partied, drank, and hung out on the beach.

He's going to end up losing his starting spot because of that lackadaisical attitude. If I'm his agent, I'm pulling out my hair right about now.

Ramona Shelburne of the LA Daily News Blog wrote:Sasha Vujacic (ankle) didn't practice this morning, but was able to do some stuff on the side and said that he's hopeful to return to practice within a few days.

``I can walk, so that's good. I can't go sideways,'' he said. ``I still can't practice. I can walk, that's a good thing. I'm not limping anymore."

Ty Nowell of Lakers.com wrote:Notes from Phil Jackson’s post-practice media session on 10/02/08

* On Andrew Bynum’s performance this morning: “He’s was okay, alright.” On his performance last night: “He was okay. I had to jump him a little bit about not letting passes go into the post, but that was about the only time I felt like he was just too relaxed out there. Not enough effort.”

* When Jackson was asked about Andrew’s goal of scoring 20 points a game this season he replied, “Not possible. It’s not possible, there’s just not enough offense for everybody to do that kind of stuff. Pau’s going to do what he’s done in the past. Lamar’s obviously going to play a role that an accommodating role. Lamar’s a guy that can fit in and do a variety of things and doesn’t feel like he has to score, doesn’t feel the need like he has to do that. Kobe’s going to be a scorer. He’s going to shoot the basketball and Fish has to have shots to be effective.”

* One of Bynum’s goals that Jackson does think is realistic is snaring 10+ rebounds per game. “Ten rebounds. Three blocks. Some changed shots, shots that are adjusted because of his size. Maybe a charge a game or something like that. Those are the things we want to see happen with the defense. That’s going to make us a good team.”

* Phil talked about Lamar Odom running the point as something he would “fiddle with” in the preseason and see how it worked. The things that Jackson fiddled with last season led to an enormous amount of turnovers and never found their way into the regular season. The experiment with Odom could be held back by his conditioning. “He’s not in shape. Lamar’s not ready to play. That’s a conditioning thing that still has to be found. They’re starting to find that conditioning little by little.”

* Jackson praised forward Vladimir Radmanovic’s quickness and speed today, two things that don’t immediately come to mind when you think of #10.

Ty Nowell of Lakers.com wrote:Pau Gasol spent a while today talking x’s and o’s with the media, but he also talked at great length about developing a rapport with Andrew Bynum on and off the court.

Although the two have been teammates since February, they haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time together since Gasol was acquired soon after Bynum went down with an injury and began rehabbing away from the team.

The two don’t seem to share any immediate common interest, but it’s something they plan to work on. Listen below for all the details.

utcpla24 wrote:Now don't start those type of "rumors", because we don't know what that man did this summer, except for not working on his body. But to say the negative is crazy.

doodleee wrote:It's kinda sad when it looks like Vlad cares more then Odom.. I guess thats a good thing.. I like Vlad more then Odom any way.

Odom is dead to me. stupid Jamaican idiot from NY.

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register Blog wrote: So Sasha Vujacic read Wednesday’s blog post about how I momentarily thought he said he was “too tan” when he was talking about how he had bulked up to “210″ pounds.

We chatted briefly about it after practice Thursday. I said: “Funny, huh?”

Vujacic agreed, albeit not with extreme enthusiasm. I did get him to explain where the tan came from, and it’s a good explanation for Lakers fans: He spent a ton of time running up sand dunes in Manhattan Beach.

Vujacic reported improvement in his sprained left ankle, but he still has trouble moving laterally. So it’ll probably be at least a few days before he gets back to full on-court work. He said he’s not overly concerned and the medical treatments are working.

Broderick Turner of the LA Times wrote:His coach has called him "Space Cadet" and "My Favorite Martian" -- with affection, of course.

Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic has taken all the name-calling from Phil Jackson in stride, knowing that it never stopped Jackson from starting him last season.

Radmanovic won't start this season, but it's not because the name calling ceased during the first few days of the Lakers' training camp.

"He's given me a little break," Radmanovic said today, smiling. "It's doesn't mean he won't bring it back. But I don't really mind it. I'd like to say that as long as Coach is talking about you, it's a good thing. Once everybody stops talking about you, that means you're in trouble. 'Space Cadet,' I don't like it, but it's good."

Last season, when Andrew Bynum went down with a left knee injury, Radmanovic moved into the starting lineup, starting 41 regular-season games and 21 playoff contests.

But Bynum is back healthy and will start at center. Pau Gasol will move back to power forward and Lamar Odom will go to small forward, or it could be Kobe Bryant in that spot if Jackson's experiment of Odom playing point guard works out.

"I've been in a position where I started, I've been in position where I haven't started," said Radmanovic, who is entering his eighth NBA season and has three years and $19.4 million left on his Lakers contract. "I'm not going to say I don't care about not starting. But at the same time, I want this team to be as good as it can."

But there's a chance the 6-foot-10 Radmanovic could see his playing time significantly limited.

The Lakers staff likes Trevor Ariza's athleticism and Jackson has even suggested starting him at small forward.

So it seems as if Ariza will be the first small forward off the bench.

Then there is Luke Walton, recovering from right ankle surgery, who also is looking for playing time at small forward.

So the Lakers have five players who can play that position.

"There are going to be some guys who aren't happy," Radmanovic said. "Hopefully it's not going to be me."

Radmanovic is known for his outside shooting -- he made 43.7% of his field goals and 40.6% of his three-pointers last season.

But Jackson lauded Radmanovic's defense.

"Defensively, there are a lot of positive things he can do," Jackson said today. "He's got anticipation [to get] steals, he's got quickness to double team and trap."

Broderick Turner of the LA Times wrote:The Spanish basketball team was widely criticized for an advertisement prior to the Olympic Games in Beijing that appears to show all its players slanting their eyes.

Gasol, the Spanish team's center, said the players apologized and that the photo was a goodwill gesture and was not intended to offend or "harm" the Chinese.

"It was one picture that we did that we shouldn't have done, just to be safe from all the interpretation that people could make about it," Gasol said today. "It was something to bring us closer to Asian and Chinese culture, not to make fun of them, which wouldn't make any sense -- us going to China and making fun of them. It was unfortunate.

"We tried to be sensitive about it. We talked about it, we apologized if anybody got offended. It was a dead issue after a few days."