A road once traveled
It was a long shot to begin with and when Thursday’s NBA draft finally concluded and Cal State Fullerton guard Frank Robinson did not get his name called, he knew the route he now must take. “I tried to watch the entire (draft),” Robinson said. “But when they got to the last…
June 30, 2008, 10:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
James Posey opts out of contract — Lakers next?
Did you see this Mitch? The Boston Globe is reporting that James Posey is not going to exercise a $3.2 million option and will officially become an unrestricted free agent, according to Mark Bartelstien, Posey’s agent. Posey is expected to get a lot of interest from a lot of teams, the Lakers…
June 30, 2008, 9:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Maggette’s a monster
The Orlando Magic are one of the teams that reportedly would vie for Corey Maggette’s services, should the Clippers’ swingman indeed exercise the escape clause in his contract today, as he stated as far back as last summer that he would do. That would send Maggette to the Eastern…
June 30, 2008, 9:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Bryant, other USA teammates start training
Kobe Bryant and the other members of USA Basketball team arrived in Las Vegas today to begin gellin’ as a team at a two-day mini-camp. The camp is the start of the team’s training for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. They will convene at Cox Pavilion at UNLV. The USA Team will resume its…
June 30, 2008, 8:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Exit interview: D.J. Mbenga
It’s exit interview time and the first appointment is with center D.J. Mbenga. D.J., you did not grow up playing basketball in the States, nor did you attend college here, so your basketball background is not as vast as others. The two years that you played in Belgium helped get you to the…
June 30, 2008, 8:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Interest for Artest?
One of the knocks against the Lakers, following their loss in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, was that the Lakers were too soft. Both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom received criticism for being physically mauled by the Celtics’ front line players. So, where to do the salary-cap restricted…
June 30, 2008, 8:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Could the Lakers use a Clipper?
Clippers swingman Quinton Ross will be an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday. While he is nowhere near the shooter that Sasha Vujacic is, Ross is a better defender and more capable of keeping opponents in front of him. Ross would not have allowed Boston’s Ray Allen to drive unscathed to the…
June 30, 2008, 7:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Does Shaq deserve to have his number retired by the Lakers?
He’s still playing for the Phoenix Suns, but he may also be playing out his welcome in Los Angeles. Shaquille O’Neal’s musical tirade aimed at Kobe Bryant is just his most-recent anti-Laker transgression. When he retires, should Shaq's No. 34 be retired by the…
June 30, 2008, 7:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Lakers make the first move
The Lakers took the first step in the second phase of the postseason by extending qualifying offers to restricted free agents Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, the team annnounced Monday. The players, both restricted free agents, can entertain offers from other teams and even sign an offer sheet, but…
June 30, 2008, 7:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Kobe Bryant says he is going for the gold
Kobe Bryant, joined the rest of the USA National team members for a media session in Las Vegas, where the team gathered for a weekend of practice. What do you think of this summer’s competition? When you start dealing with the teams that have been together awhile, that have played together…
June 30, 2008, 7:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Pac-10 should change it’s name to the Pac-NBA
What is James Harden thinking today? Harden, the silky guard from Arizona State, is the only non-millionaire on the Pacific 10 Conference’s first team. In fact, only three players from the all-conference first and second team didn’t get drafted Thursday. Those players, in case…
June 30, 2008, 7:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
A road once traveled
It was a long shot to begin with and when Thursday’s NBA draft finally concluded and Cal State Fullerton guard Frank Robinson did not get his name called, he knew the route he now must take. “I tried to watch the entire (draft),” Robinson said. “But when they got to the last…
June 30, 2008, 6:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
NBA DRAFT: In case you blinked, here’s where everyone went
The NBA is the coolest thing. It’s like watching “The Sixth Sense.” You have no idea when you begin watching the drama unfold how it’s going to end. And some of the players are dead, but they just don’t know it. Anyway, the NBA draft went off Thursday with the usual…
June 30, 2008, 6:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Love and Mayo change caps and cities
It turns out that UCLA’s Kevin Love won’t have to fret about gaining weight from that scrumptous Memphis barbeque. And it turns out that USC guard O.J. Mayo won’t have to splurge for a new wardrobe of winter clothes. In the biggest blockbuster draft trade Thursday night, the…
June 30, 2008, 6:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Bryant, other USA teammates start training
Kobe Bryant and the other members of USA Basketball team arrived in Las Vegas today to begin gellin’ as a team at a two-day mini-camp. The camp is the start of the team’s training for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. They will convene at Cox Pavilion at UNLV. The USA Team will resume its…
June 30, 2008, 6:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
The real GM
It’s exit interview time and the first appointment is with center D.J. Mbenga. D.J., you did not grow up playing basketball in the States, nor did you attend college here, so your basketball background is not as vast as others. The two years that you played in Belgium helped get you to the…
June 30, 2008, 5:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Shannon the Honeybee
Thanks to some fantastic people over at Hornets HQ, we were able to organize an interview and photo shoot with Shannon the Honeybee last Wednesday. It all went down at the New Orleans Riverwalk. Enjoy… (Click each image for a larger version.)To start, can you give us a mini-bio of yourself?…
June 30, 2008, 4:30 PM ET from Hornets247.com Blog
Honeybees at the Draft Party
If you didn't make it to the Hornets draft party last Thursday and you think you didn't miss much, well, you kinda did...(Click each image for a larger version.)(From left to right: Shannon, Martine, Jessica and Krista.)Okay, enough of that. In actual basketball news, free agency begins at…
June 30, 2008, 4:15 PM ET from Hornets247.com Blog
OPEN THREAD: Trade Exception Expires Today
The Trade Exception expired today. It's been a year since the Warriors traded JRich for BWright and 9.9million. It's been a year that we've all learned what and how to use the exception. It's been a year of reading about proposed trades, some worthy of blog space, many not. Hopefully we can now…
June 30, 2008, 3:45 PM ET from Golden State Of Mind
Open Thread: Derrick Rose press conference
Starts at 11am CST. Unfortunately, Bulls.com doesn't have a mention of live online video. It will be broadcast on Comcast Sports Net, as well as WSCR. This is almost the antithesis of the VDN presser. I was really interested in what the new coach had to say. I don't think Rose will say…
June 30, 2008, 1:46 PM ET from Blog a Bull
Interest for Artest?
One of the knocks against the Lakers, following their loss in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, was that the Lakers were too soft. Both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom received criticism for being physically mauled by the Celtics’ front line players. So, where to do the salary-cap restricted…
June 30, 2008, 12:00 AM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Vujacic, Turiaf are next on Kupchak’s do-to list
Onto the subject of free agency…. Now that the Lakers completed their 2008 draft by selecting Joe Crawford of Kentucky (and no one else), GM Mitch Kupchak will be focusing on the team’s restricted free agents – Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf. Kupchak said Thursday he wants to re-sign both…
June 30, 2008, 11:30 AM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Back in the fold
Tuesday is a big day in the NBA. It is the first day that teams can reach verbal agreements with free agents. There is a one-week moratorium between the time teams can agree to contracts with players and when those players can be signed. For the Lakers, who are far over the salary cap, the business…
June 30, 2008, 11:15 AM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
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