akajae
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- Sep 2, 2005
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ESPN BREAKING NEWS:
Lakers trade Cook & Evans to Orlando for Trevor Ariza
Lakers trade Cook & Evans to Orlando for Trevor Ariza
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Quote:
Turiaf doing more than leading cheersing lineup even when Odom returns.
By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:21 PM PST, November 7, 2007
It was as if Phil Jackson could no longer ignore the bouncing pogo stick at the end of the bench.
Ronny Turiaf was little more than an energetic curiosity piece his first two seasons with the Lakers, carving a part-time niche by collecting rebounds, floor burns and fan admiration with his short bursts of intensity at power forward -- not to mention his twisting, gyrating dances from the end of the bench after all Lakers plays deemed worthy of a celebration.
Now he's a starter, practically doubling his points, rebounds and minutes while showing a reliable mid-range jumper to partner with his trademark hustle around the basket.
"It's nothing different from what I've done in the past," Turiaf said.
Turiaf, 24, is averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25.8 minutes, eclipsing the 4.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 13.1 minutes he averaged during his first two seasons. He is also shooting 60%, making 18 of 30 shots through four games.
It looks as if he'll retain his starting job, even when last season's starting power forward, Lamar Odom, returns to the lineup Friday.
Jackson is not giving any definite answers, but is expected to move Luke Walton to the second unit and slide Odom into the small forward spot.
Walton "would be really good to help that second team," Jackson said coyly on Wednesday.
Either way, Turiaf has moved a step beyond towel-waving status.
"There's some things Ronny's doing that are very good for our team," Jackson said. "His energy is good on the floor there."
It's good timing for the Lakers, who can move Odom a little more out of harm's way by using Turiaf to bang against the league's power forwards.
It's also good timing for Turiaf, who is in the last year of a three-year deal that pays him $770,610 this season, a relative bargain for the Lakers.
Turiaf will be a restricted free agent after the season, with the Lakers able to match if he signs an offer sheet with another team. He cannot be signed to an extension during the season, but he doesn't seem concerned about it.
"I haven't thought about it," he said. "I haven't even talked to my agent about trying to get an extension and stuff like that.
"Do I look like I don't like where I'm at? No. Do I look like I don't love my teammates? No. I love the way the city embraced me, the way they've been supporting me throughout my career here.
"If the Lakers want me to stay here, I'm going to be here. If they want to go in a different way, then, sadly, I'm going to have to go a different way."
Turiaf has come a ways since being drafted 37th overall in 2005.
Just like most second-round picks, he would have come into the league with a non-guaranteed contract. Initially, though, he had other things on his mind.
Turiaf had open-heart surgery in July 2005, the thought of which left him in tears at a pre-surgery news conference in which he pledged to play basketball again but also acknowledged, "I'm scared of dying."
He underwent successful surgery to have an enlarged aortic root repaired, missed most of the 2005-06 season and became a rotation player last season, appearing in 72 games.
Things have changed for the better for him.
"I'm really enjoying the ride," Turiaf said. "I'm just happy that Coach Jackson has given me the chance to showcase and be able to help the team more than I used to."
Odom practiced with contact Wednesday for the first time and could start Friday against Minnesota.
"Lamar looked good . . . really good," Jackson said. "There's still some things that he's going to have to get adjusted to as far as offensive things and being in sync with the guys, but he's doing well. I'd probably start him [Friday], all things being equal."
Odom averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season.
www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakerep8nov08,1,3960138.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-lakersTEAM LAKERS1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002...
Originally Posted by LamarOwnsem
I say 5 years, 55 mil for Bynum.
This is just a rumor but: Lakers acquire Julian Wright from NOH for Sasha Vujacic and 1st rounder
That trade will really help us........
become the youngest team in the League (we're already 2nd)
Who is Julian Wright? I thought i knew my players, but apparently not.
I thought it was the UNC guy at first
Wouldn't mind knowing what this guy does for a livingOriginally Posted by FrenchBlue23
If he was famous we'd know who he is. He's probably just filthy disgusting rich.
Originally Posted by CP1708
Kobe stays or goes
Quote:
Bulls insist no deal near for Bryant
Paxson's comments from Chicago about the rampant speculation get a hearty amend from Kupchak and Jackson.
By Mike Bresnahan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 2, 2007
And on Thursday, the Lakers finally felt a mild breeze of tranquillity, thanks to a strong issuance out of the Windy City.
Chicago Bulls General Manager John Paxson ended the notion that Kobe Bryant would be dealt to Chicago, halting the unchecked speculation that a deal was close to being completed.
Paxson said he wanted to address the situation to "end all the rumors swirling around . . . because there's not a deal that ever was on the verge of being done, ever close to being done or is going to be done right now. It's not there. So that's that."
Back at the Lakers' training facility, General Manager Mitch Kupchak concurred, in not so many words.
"Well said, John," Kupchak said after hearing Paxson's remarks. Kupchak declined further comment.
Bryant had been connected to Chicago in numerous Internet and TV reports suggesting the Lakers and Bulls were imminent trade partners.
Paxson's comments left the Lakers . . . where, exactly?
"Maybe with our cake and eating it too," Coach Phil Jackson said with a smile, apparently not unhappy that Bryant would be with the team for the near term.
Then Jackson straightened up.
"The idea obviously still stands -- as Dr. [Jerry] Buss reiterated many, many times, we do not want to trade Kobe Bryant, but we will listen to any comments that come our way that give us equal parity for him," Jackson said. "I say a window's closing on those things, and so now it's the business of basketball. Now we have to go about playing the game the right way."
At the same time, any team at any time could visit the possibility of trading for Bryant before the deadline in February.
"I don't think anything ends," Jackson said rhetorically. "Do things end just because a day goes by? I know your paper did [last night], but they become partridge-cage fodder."
Partridges?
"Or pigeons."
Jackson and the Lakers could afford to be glib.
Bryant had been eyeing the watered-down Eastern Conference, and the ever-improving Bulls, since demanding to be traded in May, but a few things would have stood in his way, namely his contract ($88.6 million over the next four seasons), the trade kicker in it ($9.6 million to be paid over the next two seasons by a team that acquires him) or the fact Bryant could terminate the contract in two years.
Not to mention that the Bulls' refusal to part with up-and-coming forward Luol Deng was seen as a non-starter by the Lakers.
Bryant had already spoken to reporters by the time Paxson's comments were publicized, talking in platitudes when asked if he heard the numerous trade scenarios, accurate or otherwise.
"I have, just to keep tabs on how my teammates are reacting to it," he said. "I don't want it to be a distraction for them. They're all just rumors. We've been doing a pretty good job here of staying focused on what we have to do as a ball club."
For those keeping score, there are now public shoot-downs from two potential trading partners -- Paxson and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban -- as well as an unlikely trading partner, Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld, who felt it important to debunk a light-hearted newspaper item that proposed a Bryant-for-Gilbert Arenas trade.
Still, Paxson shed some light on why Bryant would want to go to the Bulls -- besides the fact they're a young, deep team.
"The interest in us started because [Bulls Chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] and I flew out when Kobe was a free agent a few years ago and presented ourselves as an organization to him and he liked what he heard," Paxson said. "For that reason, he likes the Chicago Bulls, which is obviously flattering. But there's more to it than lining up players and figuring out a way to get something done. There's money involved. There's a trade kicker involved. It's complicated."
Meanwhile, the Lakers play tonight against one of their least-favorite opponents, the Phoenix Suns, who have beaten them in eight of their last 10 regular-season meetings and eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons.
"They're a team that really gets under our skin in terms of knocking us out of the playoffs the last two years," Bryant said. "We want to get to their level. To do that, you have to gain some confidence by beating them every once in a while."
After making only 18 of 27 free throws in Tuesday's season-opening loss to Houston, Bryant said he sank 50 consecutive free throws before Thursday's practice.
"You get a gift of 27 free throws, you've got to knock down at least 26 of those," Bryant said. "That's a Christmas present if I've ever seen one."
Forward Lamar Odom went through a personal workout Thursday, two days after sustaining a mild concussion in an auto accident in Hawthorne.
"It could have been worse," he said. "I'm glad [the other driver] is OK and I'm glad I was able to walk away. I've been through a lot, so I understand that life is fragile and I'm glad that nobody got hurt."
Odom is week-to-week because of soreness from off-season surgery in his left shoulder.TEAM XBOX360.:Flowsomuch:.TeamLakers
LAKER FANS, FEELIN' YOU!TEAMSANDIEGOCHARGERS
With that said, in the business of the NBA, winning is all that matters, and Chris Mihm may not be a Laker much longer. If the Lakers can land All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, who reportedly wants out of New Jersey, Mihm would likely to be packaged in a deal including Kwame Brown and shooting guard Sasha Vujacic. Sometimes a change a scenery can be the perfect tonic for a career. Mihm will adapt if he is traded or becomes a free agent. He's not glitter and glamour, so he can live without the Hollywood lights. Cox/Oxford Press
If Lakers can do a Kidd/another big for Mihm/butterfingers/Vujasuck trade...
But then our front lineup will be weak...
Originally Posted by tupac003
If we get 50 or more win kobe should be mvp.
If the sonics are really going to have a fire sale
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=981~1016~2421~846~1731&teams=25~25~25~13~13&te=&cash=
MAKE IT HAPPEN MITCH!
[h2]Los Angeles Lakers[/h2]
Outgoing Players: Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic, Kwame Brown[th=""]Incoming Players[/th]
Chris Wilcox
Salary: $6,500,000 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 13.3 REB: 7.4 AST: 1.0 PER: 17.27
Kurt Thomas
Salary: $8,091,188 Years Remaining: 1
PTS: 6.7 REB: 9.9 AST: 1.4 PER: 15.54
[h2]Seattle SuperSonics[/h2]
Outgoing Players: Chris Wilcox, Kurt Thomas[th=""]Incoming Players[/th]
Vladimir Radmanovic
Salary: $5,632,200 Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 7.4 REB: 2.7 AST: 1.6 PER: 11.37
Sasha Vujacic
Salary: $1,756,951 Years Remaining: 1
PTS: 6.3 REB: 1.5 AST: 1.1 PER: 15.47
Kwame Brown
Salary: $9,075,000 Years Remaining: 1
PTS: 4.7 REB: 5.0 AST: 1.4 PER: 10.77
Trust me man...I understand he is the future. But if he feels he can play (and as a young kid you know he is going to go as soon as possible) then lethim, unless you know for sure that if he goes early it will hurt, let him play.Originally Posted by Kookcle
Originally Posted by tupac003
^ But they said he did not have ligament damage.
I am telling you I don't think he will be out 8 weeks. 6 weeks tops. He has the best medical staff and they will do everything they can for him.
We must put in phone calls to C. webb and PJ brown. PJ can back up kwame and I believe webber can play the 4 so lamar can run the 3 so we can still have those mismatches that he won't take advantage of because he will miss open lay up. I still can't believe he hurt bynum....damn odumb! TRADE HIM!
but the thing is this kid is only 20 no reason to rush it...he's the Future
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Biggest issue is that he gets on the refs for no-calls and doesn't hustle back. Only gets intense when someone actually embarrasses him. Those are big issues in my book.
Team Los Angeles Lakers "It Ain't Over till Pig Miller Sings!"