ANDREW BYNUM SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

CENTER ANDREW BYNUM  A SURGERY IN DISCOVERED TEAR IN HIS MENISCUS IS SUCCESSFUL.

BYNUM WILL BE EXPECTED TO FULLY HEALTHY WHEN THE REGULAR SEASON BEGINS THIS NOVEMBER.

KOBE BRYANT NBA CHAMPION

L.A LAKERS 2010 NBA FINALS IN DVD

Kobe Bryant has Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

On Friday, the Lakers obliged, releasing a statement detailing a successful arthroscopic surgery on the right knee of the two-time defending Finals MVP:

In response to recent media inquiries, it has been announced today that Kobe Bryant recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The successful surgery was performed last week. Bryant is currently undergoing rehab and is expected to be fully recovered prior to the start of the Lakers’ training camp on September 25.
 

MATT BARNES AND THEO RATLIFF TO LAKERS

The man who usually guard Kobe in a game will be in Lakers uniform in coming days,Matt Barnes will sign to L.A after several team offers and opted to go to L.A to team up with the defending champ,Lakers offered Barnes the remaining 1.8 million in their cap space.

After Josh Powell left L.A and went to Atlanta the L.A find one man that can change the position of Powell that is Theo Ratliff a 15 year veteran in NBA.

With these moves the L.A are now much better than last year and still a contender for the title.

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/100722mattbarnes_signs.html

STEVE BLAKE NEW L.A GUARD

 


Steve Blake Opening Statement:
"I want to say that I'm extremely excited to be coming here with the Lakers as a player who wants to win. (I've) won championships at every level except the NBA, and I think (L.A.) is the best place to be. As a point guard, (I'm excited about) being able to play with the best player in the world in Kobe Bryant and other players like Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest ... and to play for the best coach, Phil Jackson. I'm extremely excited. There couldn't be any better opportunity for me out there than to come here. I'm extremely happy that Mitch wanted me here and I look forward to playing my role to the best of my ability.

STEVE BLAKE INTERVIEW

STEVE BLAKE TO LAKERS

 

If the announcement that Phil Jackson agreed to return as the Lakers coach in pursuit of his fourth three-peat was the team’s biggest offseason news, up next came the signing of free agent point guard Steve Blake, which the team stated on Thursday.


Blake played the final 29 games of the 2009-10 campaign across town with the Clippers after nearly three seasons in Portland, averaging 6.8 points and 6.1 assists, while turning in his best performance of the season with a triple-double finale against the Lakers.

On April 14, the 6-3 guard made 8-of-12 field goals (4-of-6 threes) for 23 points, dished 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds with two steals in a 107-91 win over the Purple and Gold in a game that now seems like an audition.

To reflect on that game and Blake’s tenure with the Clippers while keeping an eye towards how he might fit in with the Lakers, we called up Clippers play-by-play man Brian Sieman, who watched Blake up close and personal from February through April.

We recorded the podcast on Tuesday - thus the “we have nothing official until July 8″ you’ll here in the introduction. To listen, click play below:

Summer League is for Teaching

The name “Bill Bertka” carries considerable weight in basketball circles.

The long time coach, scout and executive - currently L.A.’s Director of Scouting/Basketball Consultant - has quite literally been working with the game’s best players for longer than any current NBA player has been alive, and enters his 30th season with the Lakers alone.

We mention Bertka because before L.A. played the Kings in their fourth summer league game in Las Vegas, he revealed the primary purpose of the summer sessions for the Lakers: to see how potential senior team roster prospects (see: Ebanks, Devin and Caracter, Derrick) fit into the triangle offense.

Towards that end, Bertka and Lakers summer league head coach Chuck Person and assistant Rasheed Hazzard spent six practices teaching their players the basics of the triangle, and continued to preach the key elements of the triple-post offense through four games, with one final contest to come on Thursday.
As such, while the Lakers are trying to install perhaps basketball’s most intricate system, most other teams run more simple offenses in Vegas.
In related news, the Lakers have lost all four games, most recently Tuesday evening’s 90-84 defeat to DeMarcus Cousins (19 and 12) and Sacramento.
The triangle, after all, can take years for NBA veterans to learn, so one can imagine what it looks like when a group of guys with no previous triangle experience try to get their Tex Winter on.

But as Bertka explained, that’s the whole purpose heading into training camp in October.
“We’re trying to show these players how to operate the triangle in a short period of time,” he said. “There’s a long way to go, but we’re pleased with the progress they’ve made. (Tuesday night) was the best they’ve run the offense thus far.”
Indeed, after shooting just 33 percent in a Monday loss to New York, L.A. converted 45.5 percent of its shots against the Kings, including Caracter’s 6-of-9 performance for 14 points, as he grew more comfortable with where to be on the floor.

“My goal has been to understand the offense overall in general, continue to learn and take the things that my coaches are telling me,” said the team’s No. 58 pick. “I think I’ll be a lot better once everybody else knows the triangle in training camp.”

It’s much the same in the NFL, when teams hold OTA (Offseason Training Activities) primarily to integrate their rookies and young players into the team’s offensive and defensive schemes.
And, after four games, reports on both Ebanks and Caracter are positive.
“They’ve done well with the basic parts of the triangle,” said Person. “It’s a simple but complicated offense, so the fact that they’re making the right reads, have the right foot work and are trying to do the things we do with our regular (Lakers) team.

“I think Caracter and Ebanks are definitely NBA players.”
All the post-draft buzz about Ebanks (43rd pick) centered on his defense, and while he didn’t disappoint in that aspect, he showcased a more-developed-than-was-reported offensive flair, averaging 17.3 points in the first three games before a 12-point performance against the Kings.
Caracter, whom NBA.com had atop the rookie ladder (with Ebanks third) after he posted double-doubles in the team’s first three games (17.7 points, 10.7 rebounds), posted 14 points with five rebounds and four blocks against No. 5 overall pick Cousins, who had a true size advantage against which Caracter battled ably.
“Cousins is a legitimate center in this league, and Caracter is a little bit undersized, but he has a good nose for the basketball, has good hands and he can jump, is quick off his feet,” Person continued. “I think he fared well, and as he continues to lose weight and get in shape and get acclimated into our system, he could (play) for us down the line.”

“Down the line” is what matters anyway.
“We’re looking for these guys to come into camp well versed in the things that we like to do out of Coach (Phil) Jackson’s system, so I was very impressed with what they did tonight,” Person concluded. “We try to get guys in the right positions to make the right reads out of the triangle, and I’ve been impressed and excited with the way things have worked out so far.”
That’s just how Bertka likes it.

L.A.’s 2nd Rounders Atop Rookie Ladder

 

Each summer, NBA.com compiles a “Rookie Ladder” that ranks the website’s top 10 rookies in the Las Vegas Summer League.


The list is generally filled with lottery picks and a few sleepers, but after most teams have played two or three games, Lakers second round picks Devin Ebanks (43 overall) and Derrick Caracter (58) can find themselves atop the ladder, right there with top picks John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.

NBA.com’s ROOKIE LADDER RANKINGS (draft position)
1) Derrick Caracter, Lakers (58)
2) John Wall, Wizards (1)
3) Devin Ebanks, Lakers (43)
4) Gani Lawal, Suns (46)
5) DeMarcus Cousins, Kings (5)
6) Eric Bledsoe, Clippers (18)
7) Magnum Rolle, Pacers (51)
8) Ed Davis, Raptors (13)
9) Landry Fields, Knicks (39)
10) Matt Janning, Suns (undrafted)

With the 43rd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Lakers selected Devin Ebanks, a 6-9, 215-pound sophomore out of West Virgina.

“I’m so happy right now, you don’t understand,” said Ebanks to L.A. media members over the phone. “The world champions … I get to play with the best player in the world, Kobe Bryant … I don’t really have too many words to say, I’m just happy.”

Ebanks was named to the All-Big East Third Team as a sophomore after making the Big East All-Rookie and All-Tournament teams as a freshman.

He developed a reputation as a defensive stopper on the wing, and played some of his best basketball in the NCAA Tournament while helping West Virginia to the Final Four. He posted a 12-point, seven-rebound effort against Kentucky in the Elite Eight, a team that had five players selected in the first round.
“We did project (Ebanks) higher in the draft, we thought he’d be drafted much higher,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “We’re pleased. He’s an athletic small forward, a good defensive player (who) has potential to grow … really good upside.”
Kupchak explained that the Lakers wanted to get someone to back up Ron Artest as they’re unsure how Luke Walton’s back will be heading into the 2010-11 campaign, though neither Ebanks nor No. 58 overall pick Derrick Caracter is guaranteed to make L.A.’s roster.
They’ll get their first chance to show what they can do in the Las Vegas Summer League, and if they play respectively well, both will be invited to Lakers training camp in the fall.
Like Lakers forwards Lamar Odom and Ron Artest, Ebanks is originally from Queens, N.Y.; he attended the St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn.
“Lamar Odom, my uncle grew up with him,” said Ebanks. “He’s from my neighborhood, Ron Artest (too). I live two minutes from Ron Artest and 10 minutes from Lamar. I see those guys all the time. Being able to play with them is a great opportunity.”

Ebanks, who was named Big East Player of the Week after totaling 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists at Seton Hall, explained that he’s ready to work.

“I’m willing to learn,” he said. “They just won the NBA championship, so I have a whole bunch of stuff to learn about the NBA and what better team than the Lakers?”

He was asked about what he might offer to the team from a defensive standpoint.
“Toughness, my length,” Ebanks responded. “I don’t have a problem guarding the (other team’s) best player. I take defense very seriously and I take it personally.”

Kupchak added that Ebanks has a “lively bounce to his step,” and is “very active and versatile” on the perimeter. A younger guy at just 20, the Lakers think Ebanks has a chance to grow, which is also the player’s hope.

“Just getting better,” he said of his expectations. “I’m playing for the best team in the world. I want to go in there and try to learn from the veterans, and hopefully my career can take off from there.”

Fisher spurns Heat offer to stay with champ Lakers

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Although Derek Fisher thought about joining that burgeoning superteam in Miami, he's staying in the Los Angeles Lakers' own collection of stars.

The veteran point guard said Monday he'll re-sign with the Lakers, sticking with Kobe Bryant and the defending two-time NBA champions after speaking with several teams as a free agent.
"I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles,'' Fisher said in a statement on his website. "While this may not be the most lucrative contract I've been offered this offseason, it is the most valuable. I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin.''

The five-time NBA champion said he considered contract offers from several teams in the past two weeks after playing a key role in the Lakers' championship repeat. He spoke with the Heat in South Beach last weekend, entertaining the prospect of running an offense for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who all left free-agent money on the table to sign teammates of Fisher's ability.
The idea was enticing, but not enough to uproot his family and career from Los Angeles, where he has spent 11 of his 14 NBA seasons.
"At the end of the day, there's one person I could not turn away from,'' Fisher said. "Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made. He and I have played together for 11 seasons, came into the league together as kids, and has been loyal to me even when others had doubts.''
While Miami has commanded the basketball world's attention in the past week, Fisher's decision is the second positive development already in July for the Lakers' threepeat hopes: Coach Phil Jackson also decided to return for another season 11 days earlier.

Fisher likely isn't bluffing about larger offers from other teams. The Lakers' payroll already is stretched to the limit of the salary cap with the rest of Los Angeles' veteran core signed to multiyear contracts, including Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom.
But Fisher decided he valued winning and consistency over a late-career cash grab - and the other time he left the Lakers for a big-money deal, he endured two miserable seasons in Golden State and one better year in Utah before returning to the Lakers in 2007.
Fisher first joined the Lakers in 1996, when Jerry West drafted the unsung guard from Arkansas-Little Rock and the franchise nurtured him into a consistent playmaker and occasional scorer. Since his return to Hollywood, he has started every regular-season game for the Lakers over the past three seasons.
Fisher averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 assists last year. Although he sometimes struggles against quicker point guards, Fisher still has the veteran guile and poise necessary to perform at important moments - and that's the quality Bryant values most in his longtime teammate.

"We've got to have him back,'' Bryant said last month shortly after the Lakers' victory parade. "Fish knows we need him, and we know we've got to keep him.''
Fisher raised his game in the postseason, starting all 23 games and averaging 10.3 points and 2.8 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight title. He was particularly effective in the Western Conference semifinals against Utah's Deron Williams, and he largely matched the efforts of veteran Steve Nash in the conference finals against the Phoenix Suns.
Fisher's return means the most significant parts of the Lakers' championship roster will return this fall. General manager Mitch Kupchak now must hunt for bargains and unsung players to fill in the gaps on his bench, which wasn't particularly deep last season.

Los Angeles let free agent Jordan Farmar leave for New Jersey on Monday after signing Steve Blake last week. Blake, likely to be Fisher's backup, is overjoyed to join a talented veteran team, while Farmar is convinced he should be an NBA starter after four inconsistent seasons with the Lakers.
High-flying backup guard Shannon Brown opted out of his contract to become a free agent, but says he hopes to stay with the Lakers.