ESPN

Kobe Bryant called into Max and Marcellus on 710 ESPN this afternoon -- I believe he appeared on the call screen as "Kobe in Orange County" -- and stayed on the phone for about an hour. Needless to say, with that kind of time there was an incredible amount of ground covered.

Listen to the whole hour here.

One of the more interesting moments came when Kobe was asked whether or not the idea of catching and perhaps exceeding Michael Jordan's ring count (that would be six) is a major motivating factor for him:

“To be really frank with you, I really do not look at it as that, for the simple fact that Michael has really taught me a lot. Really taught me a lot. The trainer of his, Tim Grover, he’s passed on to me and I work with him a great deal, and he’s shown me a lot. So I can’t sit there and say, well, I’m trying to catch Jordan at six, I want to pass him after six. That’s not how I approach that, because most of the things that I have learned, most of the things that I do, I owe to him. People don’t really understand that. They want to make it a me vs. him type of thing, and I just don’t feel that way.

I have a great sense of admiration and respect for the things that I’ve learned from him. I feel like I owe it to him, and I owe it to Jerry West, and I owe it to Oscar [Robertson], and I owe it to Elgin [Baylor] and I owe it to all those players who I’ve come in contact with and have passed on a lot of information to me, to carry that torch and to carry that mantle...

...It’s truly not [what motivates me]. I want to win as much as I can just because if anything else, you have to hear everybody talking about this is it for him, he’s done. The newer generation is taking over, and this that and the other. That’s more of a driving factor. If I win six and I end up tying M.J., that’s great, but he and I have had completely different career paths.”

Some won't believe him when he says chasing Jordan isn't a major motivation -- listening to the interview, certainly Max Kellerman doesn't -- and it indicates the battle Kobe faces having his career evaluated on its own terms. It seems like a mistake as well to distill Kobe's admittedly pathological competitiveness so neatly. The M.J. factor probably fits in there somewhere, since Bryant has said before he sees those legends coming before him as measuring sticks. But so do other factors like the desire to quiet those who doubt him, and an internal motivation fueled not just by intense desire to win, but a hatred of losing.

Kobe hates losing. Hates, hates, hates it.

More from the interview below, including comments on L.A.'s postseason championship odds, his relationships with Mike Brown and Jim Buss, Derek Fisher's battle with Billy Hunter and the NBPA, and more.

(Read full post)

It was team photo day at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility this week. Sitting smack dab in the middle of the front row of smiling participants was Jim Buss, wearing a black baseball-style Lakers cap with a line of players wearing yellow jerseys to either side of him.

Buss, the Lakers’ executive vice president of player personnel, was occupying the spot his father, Lakers owner Jerry Buss, usually takes when it’s time for the team to annually say, “Cheese.” It was a fitting scene, illustrating just how much the younger Buss has been thrust into the forefront of the Lakers’ franchise decisions as his father has watched him assume greater control over the family business.

Jerry Buss is still “the boss,” as Jim Buss says, and his absence from the team photo wasn’t an orchestrated move to pass the baton to his son or anything -- he was simply feeling under the weather the day of the photo shoot, according to a Lakers staffer -- but there will come a time when the Lakers are truly Jim Buss’ team.

Following the photo session, the normally reticent Jim Buss sat down with ESPNLosAngeles.com for a wide-ranging interview. As Buss sipped on a black coffee with three Sweet 'N Lows and scratched his beard that he decided to keep after growing out his facial hair for the first time in his life during the NBA’s 161-day lockout, the conversation spanned his increased role with the Lakers, the team’s championship aspirations, how the new collective bargaining agreement and revenue sharing arrangement will affect business, his relationship with Phil Jackson, and much more. (See Part 2 here.)

Q: What are your thoughts on this season?

“Well, I think it’s coming along just as we anticipated with the changing of the guard of coaches [and] new players. I felt that the second half of the season would be better than the first half. As far as up and down, every season has its ups and downs. To me, this is a normal up and down, so it’s OK. But I like how we’re hitting our stride going into the playoffs, so I’m happy.”

Q: Start with Andrew Bynum. He could be the best player on this team in the second half of the season, all due respect to Kobe.

“I’m not a guy that judges players in different positions against different players. It doesn’t make sense to me to compare a center to a guard. It doesn’t make sense at all. So, to say Andrew Bynum was the best player in the second half, I wouldn’t be comparing him to anybody. You got Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace, Ramon Sessions, Kobe [Bryant]. ... I think they all are the best player on the team in their position.”

Q: You would agree, though, that his performance on the court in terms of production has been the best it’s ever been.

“Yes, of course. If you wanted me to compare him to himself, he’s having his best year.”

Q: Has his attitude or any of his actions on and off the court taken away from some of that production?

“I don’t think so. I like what Phil Jackson said the other day [to the Los Angeles Times]. I thought that was the best way to look at it. The kid is coming into his own and there’s going to be some growing pains and just let him grow. So, I’m good with it.”

(Read full post)

Derek Fisher answered questions from the Los Angeles media for the first time since being traded before the Lakers played the Thunder on Thursday. The following is a full transcript:

Q: How strange are your emotions tonight?

Fisher: “My emotions aren’t really strange. I’ve kind of been through this dress rehearsal before a few times with a couple different teams. So, although it’s different, obviously different compared to what I’ve been through the last 4-5 years, but it’s a game. I play for the other team now and I’m looking forward to getting out there and competing tonight.”

Q: How about just seeing the fans and getting their reaction as well?

Fisher: “I’m most excited about seeing my friends and brothers, in terms of my ex-teammates, guys that I grew close to over the years and an extension of that, there are the fans and not just in the arena, but the entire city of Los Angeles. The love and support and appreciation that they’ve shown me over the years far exceeds anything that I could have imagined when I first moved here in 1996. So, I’m extremely thankful for everything and looking forward to playing in front of them one more time, actually a couple more times, before the regular season is even over.”

Q: Have your feelings changed now that you’ve had a week to digest this revolution and emotion? Have you changed your attitude and emotions at all towards the situation? Have you totally accepted the trade and of course, your delivering to the Thunder?

Fisher: “Yes. I know there have been a lot of statements made, including mine I guess, about what I thought I knew about the situation, whether I knew I was going to be traded, how I was going to feel about it, what my role would have been had I still been on the team, but I’m in a good place right now. Initially it was more shock then just pure disappointment. I’ve been in this business for a long time and not just for me personally, but for thousands of guys that have played this game, I’ve always thought that there were different ways to handle trade and waiver situations where there can be some more communication – not necessarily far in advance, but far enough not to have to find out from the mailman or at the post office that you’ve been traded. And I’m not saying that that’s what happened in this case, but I did wake up and I was traded.

“That’s the part that shocks you more than anything. You realize that it’s a part of the business and every guy in this league has to deal with those things, so, from that standpoint I’ve been good with it and I find myself in an extremely special situation in terms of the team of guys that I’m playing with now and the coaches and the front office, it’s just the right fit for me at the right time.”

Q: Part of the spin from the Lakers was that they worried if you would be unable to accept a lesser role in the locker room. That seems to go against everything you stood for. How do you react to that?

Fisher: “That goes against and flies in the face of not just what I’ve been since I’ve been in the NBA, but the type of team player I’ve been in every group I’ve ever been a part of. Team sports raised me in a sense. Besides my mom and dad and my family, I was raised on team sports and that meant and has always stood for sharing, sacrificing, giving of yourself so that the group can succeed. So, that’s what I’m explicitly focusing on doing for the Thunder now and I’m looking forward to finishing out this regular season and really trying to help a team that was great before I even showed up.”

(Read full post)

Late this afternoon, Kobe Bryant (shooting guard, Los Angeles Lakers, used to wear a mask) appeared on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland Show -- click here for the full interview -- and covered a lot of ground over about 12 minutes. He called the Lakers contenders, commented on his relationship with Mike Brown and the coaching staff, weighed in on the question of whether Ramon Sessions should start, and why the Lakers have struggled on the road.

The nugget likely to get the most attention came at the end, when he was asked about Jim Buss:

"We have a good relationship. People misunderstand that relationship. We’ve had good times. We’ve had dinner together, things like that. He’s a great guy. He wants to do the right thing, he wants to help us win a championship. The biggest thing is, the same with his father who he’s learned from, he’s not going to make rushed decisions. He’s going to be patient, he’s going to take his time, and the one thing I will say about the Lakers organization is that this is one of those franchises that always seems to land on it’s feet. Always seems to make the right choices, always seems to make the right decisions. Even the tough ones. He’s a great guy.”

Not that you'd expect Bryant to go Category 5 and blow up his boss on the radio, but his answer is still a lot nicer than many would guess, even if he's not being completely forthright. It doesn't make some of those things ticking Kobe off in recent months less real, but as a money quote could quell some of the whispers about major fractures in his relationship with the team. That's no small thing at a time where the Lakers are at a very uncertain place, caught between winning now and trying to prep for the future.

Among the other topics covered (arranged chronologically for your convenience)...

• His thoughts on Brown and his staff. "We have coaches on staff who are very smart and understand the temp of the game. [Ettore] Messina in particular, who has a great deal of experience in coaching overseas and brings more of a European style of play, that’s more fun to watch and involves more movement and things of that nature. Our coaching staff as a whole is very unselfish, and they don’t mind other coaches sharing ideas and players sharing concepts."
• How he can go shoot a combined 13-of-47 against Utah and Houston, then go 11-for-18 vs. Dallas.
• On starting Sessions. "I don't really see it as a major issue or a big deal."
• Why they struggle on the road, and how Sessions can help them improve.
• Lamar Odom's struggles in Dallas. It's not just lingering disappointment from the trade, but his role as well. "“You have to feature him. He was a playmaker for us. He was a point forward for us. We ran our offense through him and allowed him to make decisions. It’s tough to do that in Dallas, because they already have their structure.”
• His belief that this is a team capable of winning a title.

Finally, he was asked -- jokingly, of course -- if he and Derek Fisher would go easy on each other when the Thunder come to town next Thursday. "“The most disrespectful thing we could do to each other is take it easy on each other. That’s not what we’re about.”

There will, he said, be elbows thrown and bruises inflicted.

Earlier this season, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson's iconic press conference in which he told the world he had HIV. Sunday night, ESPN Films debuts "The Announcement," a documentary examining that day, one enduring not only a landmark moment in Los Angeles sports history, but a signpost moment in American culture generally.

Ahead of the premiere, we had a chance this week to speak with director Nelson George. We talked his memories of that day, of returning to the Forum Club with Magic as part of the production, Karl Malone, how Magic changed the way Americans look at HIV, and what the world of HIV awareness and prevention might look like had Magic never contracted the virus.

The list of shows more influential than 'The Simpsons,' if there is a list at all, is short. Now in its 23rd season Matt Groening's creation has completely altered the face of televised comedies, animated or otherwise. It has helped turn former writers like Conan O'Brien into late-night talk titans, added words to the dictionary, and made the principle characters into juggernauts of American culture.

Sunday marks the show's 500th episode, an astonishingly long run. To commemorate the occasion we happily welcomed producer and casting director Bonnie Pietila, who has been with 'The Simpsons' since its birth as a short on 'The Tracey Ullman Show' and was responsible for all the original casting. In a wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the show's development and evolution, how she found the right actors for the roles, and the multitude of guest stars who have appeared through the years, among other things.

Plus, she's a huge Magic Johnson fan, having attended Michigan State at the same time Johnson was in East Lansing.

Earlier this week, we had a chance to speak with Jon Huertas, starring as Detective Javier Esposito on ABC's "Castle," now rolling through its fourth season (Mondays, 10 pm PT). He's an interesting guy, thanks not only to roles he's played but a background including eight years in the U.S. Air Force.

Huertas' insight as a genuine military veteran who has played military roles on Hollywood was a central focus of the conversation, but we covered a lot of ground.

Click here to listen to the whole show. For a breakdown of topics, click below the jump.

(Read full post)

Back in 2004 when "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" was released in theaters, like many others-- the film didn't exactly go gangbusters at the box office-- I assumed it would be pretty bad and stayed home. This was before (a'la "Office Space") it became a huge hit on DVD. I watched it, I laughed. I wasn't sure the sequel, "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" would work. I saw it, I laughed. Now a third installment, "A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas", opens Friday nationwide. I had a chance to see a screening last week, and once again laughed. A lot.

Ahead of the opening, we spoke this week with John Cho (Harold), about what has made the franchise so successful, how they again manage to unleash a torrent of absurdly un-P.C. jokes without growing mean spirited, the renaissance of Neil Patrick Harris, and more.

Click here for the full interview, or feel free to jump around via the links below.

1:24- On whether he's surprised the franchise to reach a third installment: "I'll go further. No one is more surprised than me. With the first one, if you think about it, Kal [Penn, who plays Kumar] and I were sitting there getting a script that starred a Korean and an Indian guy, and I said "This is a hoax." I kind of thought that it was going to be a gag, and I was going to show up to the first day of filming and someone would punk me."

5:47- On expanding opportunities for minority actors: "I think times are changing... You know what's interesting, is I feel like Hollywood has been behind advertising. I see more people of color in the State Farm commercials during the game. I feel like what they're recognizing is, Oh wait a second, Asians or black folk or whoever, they have money and they want to spend it, too. Which is actually the very first thing you have to establish before you get anything changed, you know? That we want to take their money, as well."

8:08- N.P.H.! Oh yes, Neil Patrick Harris is back in "A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas," despite being shot to death outside a brothel in the second film. How? I couldn't explain it in this forum, even if I wasn't concerned about dropping spoilers. Cho tells a couple great stories about N.P.H., including how they accommodated the real life story of his coming out of the closet between the H & K Escape from Guantanamo Bay and 3D XMas.

15:23- After talking about director J.J. Abrams, with whom Cho worked with on the new Star Trek reboot, he tells a great story about working in the new film with Danny Trejo, one of the most intimidating actors Hollywood has ever produced.

As a group, the Lakers have taken plenty of criticism following their rather unceremonious dumping from the 2011 NBA playoffs. Individually, no single player has absorbed more heat than Pau Gasol. While nobody, Pau included, would defend the quality of his play, the big questions around El Spaniard now point to the 2011-12 season, assuming for the time being we actually get one.

Personally, I find the hand-wringing over Gasol's future kind of silly. He's a four-time All-Star, a two-time champion, and arguably the most skilled post player the NBA has to offer. These things don't disappear after one bad spring. It's worth noting, too, how well he responded to the public flogging following L.A.'s loss to Boston in the '08 Finals. Then as well, no Laker took more criticism individually. A few months later, though, Gasol outplayed Dwight Howard in the Finals and helped lead the Lakers to a title.

I expect Gasol will return to form, but others believe he's damaged goods. This is just one of the many subjects we covered in a phone conversation Friday afternoon.

Q: What was your reaction to Friday's labor news?

Gasol: "Obviously it's not good news for anyone. We want the lockout to come to an end, and want to get to a [solution] that's fair and positive to all of us. So it's not a great day. Not happy.”

Q: How are you following the talks? Are you someone taking a hard line, or are you leaving the leadership to do what they do? Some guys are more aggressive than others.

Gasol: "The guys that are already in the meetings, they’re obviously a lot more aware of the negotiations, and do the talking. Obviously I have faith in the guys that are representing us. If I was at the meetings, I'd have all the information and might be a little more vocal, but I think that players are supporting [them] being involved. It just tells people and our fans how committed they are to make this work, and that we want to play and have a season as bad as anybody. But aside from that, I don't think it's a good idea to talk too much about it if you don't know all the details."

Q: Looking at your summer, and reflecting on the end of last season, what did playing for the national team do for you?

Gasol: "It's always positive for me to play with my national team, as far as that atmosphere, competing, defending my country and trying to get championships and medals for Spain, and ourselves, too. It's always positive to be part of that. The downside of it is obviously you add up a little more load on your body, But this year worked out because of the lockout, and how we've been able to get rest, and a break for us to recover from the championships. So we have a great team, and it's always exciting and encouraging for us, and that we continue to make history for [Spanish] basketball."

Q: Physically, were you healthy going in, were you healthy coming out?

Gasol: "Yeah. I twisted my ankle during the championship, and had to miss a game because of it. But I was totally healthy going into it, not as healthy coming out of it. That's the price you sometimes pay to compete. Obviously you're exposed to risks when you're out there."

Q: Are you healthy now?

Gasol: “Yeah, absolutely. After a month and a week, more or less now, I think our bodies have had the chance to heal and recover."

Q: How important was it to get on the floor and play well, given how the season ended for you personally? Was that important to you?

Gasol: "That's kind of my need regardless. I love to play. I love to play well, and obviously last year didn't finish well for me personally, and for us as a team. I have a great desire to get on the floor and perform at my highest level."

Q: Have you reflected at all on the Dallas series?

Gasol: "I didn't dwell into it too much, but obviously I analyzed. It wasn't so much about the Dallas series. They played a great playoffs, not just against us. They won a championship, and became champions for a reason. Unfortunately, we weren’t at our best at our particular time. We self-analyzed things, but that’s about it. Hopefully it was a needed experience for us in order for us to continue to work, and continue to try and be the best [team] again."

(Read full post)

Last week was a big one over in the Land O'Lakers in regards to Hollywood. Hopefully you had a chance to listen to our conversations with Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, and veteran character actor J.K. Simmons (The Closer, Oz, Juno). If not, I'd encourage you to do so.

We also had the chance to speak at length with Shawn Ryan, the highly influential writer and producer of programs like Lie to Me, The Unit, and most importantly, The Shield, easily one of the most groundbreaking shows television has seen over the last decade. Over the course of 88 episodes spanning from 2002-2008, The Shield, which aired on FX, fundamentally re-wrote the rules for scripted drama not hidden behind a pay wall, as other landmark shows like The Sopranos had been.

We ran the gamut over about 75 minutes, talking TV, why some shows thrive while others fail, and how he handles the critics. A native of Rockford, IL, Ryan, who can be followed on Twitter here, is also a huge booster of Chicago sports. We touch on that city's sports culture, how Steve Bartman was treated, Phil Jackson (Bulls version) vs. Phil Jackson (L.A.), and more.

And of course, we get deep into The Shield, and not just because it's Andy's favorite show.

Click here to listen to the whole show, or use the links below to jump around.

Among the high points...

5:38- On making a city into a character, as he's done on The Shield, Terriers, and The Chicago Code. Why is L.A. such a great city to shoot?

10:08- On how he uses music in his shows.

14:27- The comeback of scripted TV. How The Shield helped play a role, and the challenges of producing envelope pushing, edgy programming on a station still needing to sell commercials.

21:15- Does he dwell more on success or failure? How does he react to critics? In his business, what is a good "batting average" for successful shows vs. ones that fade away?

29:06- On the nearly infinite number of ways a good script can go bad.

31:40- What makes Chicago unique as a sports town? Would winning ruin the charm of the Cubs? Plus some thoughts on Bartman, and how Cubs culture differs from Lakers culture.

43:45- Phil in Chicago vs. Phil in L.A.

57:20- What does he watch on TV, and why?

1:04- The evolution of "The Shield" into a serialized show after its first season. Why was that such a risk?

You've seen the headlines in steady succession since the NBA lockout began on June 30th. "So-and-so weighs overseas options" ... "Player X signs with Spanish club team" ... "Turkey, China, Italy, Belarus and Dijibouti lure Kobe Bryant."

OK, that last one might have some fiction to it. But there's some truth, too.

The biggest difference between the last NBA work stoppage in 1998-99 and the one the league is mired in today is that now there is a pipeline for players to find jobs overseas that didn't exist back then. There is an opportunity for players to not only to stay in shape while feeding their competitive fire, but to make real money doing it. New Jersey's Deron Williams is reportedly making $5 million to play for Besiktas in Turkey and Bryant was offered up to $6.7 million to lace them up for Virtus Bologna in Italy.

Lakers reserve guard Steve Blake won't be adding any stamps to his passport anytime soon, however.

"If we’re not having a season then I’m going to take the time to enjoy my kids and be with my wife and spend more time in Portland at my regular home, and just use the opportunity to just continue to work out and improve myself," Blake said in a recent phone interview. "I’ve prepared myself for this financially, so I don’t need to go overseas and do it for the money."

Blake and his wife, Kristen, have three young boys -- Nicholas, Jamison and Zachary -- but if he were a less-attached man he could see himself traveling the globe to continue to play basketball.

"More power to those guys," Blake said. "Let them go play basketball, the game they love, and make some money doing it. If they don’t want to let us play here, they’ll play somewhere else. If I didn’t have three kids and wife, I’d probably go play somewhere as well."

The rest of the wide-ranging interview can be read below. We cover what went wrong against Dallas, which famous athlete he went golfing with this summer, why it's OK that there's a viral video of him getting in a fist fight at practice, how his first meeting with Mike Brown went and more.

(Read full post)

As part of a continuing series, NBA players share how growing up in L.A. shaped their games.

Trevor Ariza is so deeply steeped in the basketball culture of Los Angeles, it's easy to forget he was actually born in Miami. He starred at Westchester High School, then played a season at UCLA before leaving college for the NBA draft. Selected with the 43rd pick in the 2004 draft by the Knicks, Ariza's greatest professional moment came as a member of the Lakers, as he was an integral part of their 2009 title run, averaging 11.3 points over 23 games while shooting over 47 percent from beyond the arc.

While he's no longer playing locally, fair to say Ariza takes enormous pride in his L.A. roots.

Land O’Lakers: Where did you play growing up?


Trevor Ariza: I used to play at Westchester Park a lot. I met a few of my friends there. Then I got on a traveling team and started to meet other people. I met a lot of my friends I’m still friends with today.

Land O’Lakers: Who specifically?

Ariza:Westchester Park, it started out being [L.A. Sparks guard] Noelle Quinn. She was just sick back in the day, when we were younger. She was the best player I ever met. This is when I was 9, 10 years old. Omar Wilkes was there. He used to play with us. Then I started to meet other people like Marcus Williams, Bobby Brown, Hassan Adams. People I went to high school with, though the AAU circuit and stuff.

Land O’Lakers: Describe the scene at Westchester. Was there a lot of trash talk?

Ariza: Not really. I used to play pickup with the older guys. They used to let me on the court and teach me things. I got my aggression playing at Darby Park, playing football. I just used to like contact all the time. My favorite player of all time is Deion Sanders, so football is my first love. When I was little, I focused more on football, definitely. That’s where I met Dorrell [Wright], and little DeSean Jackson [Eagles wide receiver], and a few other people that played there, too. [Cowboys defensive back] Orlando Scandrick, and all those guys.

Land O’Lakers: DeSean was a talker back then?

Ariza: Man, he’s been the same way since … probably when he came out of the womb. He was born talking. And any sport, he just talks. That’s his thing.

(Read full post)

Those two things, by the way, are only tangentially related.

It just so happens that on the very same Thursday we spoke to Matt Barnes for the podcast and ESPNLA On Air, he found himself in a scrap during a San Francisco Pro-Am game later that night. Barnes reportedly threw a punch, and didn't seem terribly remorseful for having done so.

PODCAST
Lakers forward Matt Barnes talks about the condition of his knee, what went wrong last season, and his charity golf tournament. Podcast

Barnes caught flak in the same league last season for slapping the coach of another team. In the grand scheme of things, Thursday's incident means very little except Matt Barnes apparently takes basketball games- all basketball games- very seriously and that he has a temper, both things we already knew. Lakers fans, though, should be more concerned about the state of Barnes' knee, one of the subjects we kicked around in the interview (at right). Given their relative lack of depth at small forward and the low level of production from the 3 during the '10-'11 season, the Lakers can't afford a setback for Barnes. He's not a star, but before the injury was outplaying Ron Artest. Other topics of conversation include what went wrong for the Lakers against the Mavs, whether Barnes would consider playing overseas during a protracted lockout, and his charity golf tournament coming up next week.

Here are some highlights...

On the state of his knee: “It’s starting to come along. There were some complications that we kind of kept to ourselves on my comeback [during the regular season]. I ended up pinching a nerve in my back, on the same side as my knee, and it ended up making my knee swell, and really hurt. I just couldn’t do anything. I was icing constantly and at the same time trying to strengthen it, but if I strengthened it I started to swell. So I really couldn’t do too much once I came back during the season. We were hoping in the playoffs it would feel better, but it felt even worse. Needless to say after my injury, my season was basically over.”

“We took about 10 weeks off after the season, got all the swelling out, all the pain out, and now we’re starting to rebuild it. Everything’s feeling a lot better now.

On a scale of 1-10, where are you? "I’m about an eight, which is a good thing. And I definitely don’t want to be locked out, but taking advantage of this time being off; it’s allowing me not to have to rush back and have to do anything extreme to make my knee right. It’s going to be able to naturally heal.”

(Read full post)

Thursday night in El Segundo, Lakers coach Mike Brown stepped away from the war room (or more technically, his office, where he was watching the draft and eating pizza with his sons) to speak with the media before the team eventually selected Darius Morris, Andrew Goudelock, and Ater Majok. While he didn't get into an enormous amount of detail, Brown did cover a wide range of subjects:

On his role in this year's Draft: “I’ve kind of just watched from afar and kind of learned and listened. Mitch [Kupchak] and his staff have been doing this the whole year. They have a plan, they know the direction that they’re going to go. I’ve watched them from afar, and they’ve seemed extremely organized and methodical about their approach, which is what I like. So I have the utmost faith and trust in the direction they’re going to go tonight with this draft.”

Did anything change about the approach once you came in, knowing what kind of players you would like? “We’ve talked about the types of players that I like, whether it’s guys who are already in the league, or guys who are going to get drafted. That’s about it. For me to come in and try to really influence my opinion on this draft doesn’t make sense, because those guys have been at it for many years, and not only that, they’ve been at this particular draft for the whole year, if not the last couple of years. Again, one of the things I always talk about is trying to build a culture of trust. Really, I’m here to show those guys support, but I trust those guys to do whatever they want tonight, and I’ll back them because I know they’ve had success in the past, and will continue having success.”

On whether he still believes this is a championship roster: “I love this team. I think this team is built to win a championship, or championships. I’m excited about coaching the guys that we have.”

On putting together the coaching staff: “I’m almost done. I’m really close to being done… I haven’t, in terms of putting a contract in front of people and letting them sign it, no, but I’ve come close to finalizing a few spots. So I feel pretty good about the direction that it’s heading... I didn’t interview that many, because some guys I knew that I’m hiring, and that I specifically wanted to go after. But there were a few guys. I probably interviewed probably about four or five. Those were guys that I didn’t know very well, but I wanted to sit down and talk to, to get to know better, and see how well they would fit.”

In meeting with players, what have you emphasized, and what have they emphasized with you? “For the most part, we’ve been getting to know one another. I think that’s the biggest thing. I don’t know any of these guys real well, and they don’t know me real well, either. We’ve been laying that foundation of respect for one another, and then trying to build on that from there. I’ve given them a little taste of some of the things I believe in on both ends of the floor. Nothing too complicated... “We talked a little offense, we talked a little defense. We talked about each other’s families, what you’ve got going now. Just basic stuff.”

On meeting with Kobe: “I feel good about it.”

Are you bothered that Kobe has not made a statement in support of you? “No. No. I’m more than ok with [Kobe].

How does the point guard role change in a different offense? “The one thing is it will be an equal opportunity offense where the one, the two, or the three can bring the ball up. Because all the smalls are interchangeable. So it’s not going to be too much different, because in the past here they had multiple guys, even including Lamar, bring the ball up. But the one thing we like to emphasize, we like to emphasize attacking the clock. We want to get the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt within the first four seconds or so, so that we can get to a second, a third, and sometimes a fourth option without our backs being up against the shot clock. So we’d like to get the ball up the floor a little quicker than what we’ve done in the past.”

(Read full post)

During his introductory presser, Mike Brown acknowledged European coach Ettore Messina -- who most recently coached for Real Madrid and won Euroleague titles with Virtus Bologna and CSKA Moscow -- would be among those considered for his coaching staff. Well, according to ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, Messina has been tabbed to join next season's staff, though while he'll be listed as an assistant coach, Messina's job will be more of a consultant. Whether his duties are similar to Tex Winter's former role with the Lakers or the responsibilities are more expansive remains to be seen. Also, nothing is official yet, thus a Laker spokesperson when asked didn't confirm the report.

Either way, Lakers Nation has its collective eye on Messina, so I reached out to Os Davis from BallinEurope.com (TrueHoop network), who was kind enough to answer some questions. As luck would have it, Davis is equally familiar with the current incarnation of the Lakers as he is Messina's career overseas, making his perspective that much more valuable. Here's what Davis had to say about Messina.

Land O' Lakers: How would you describe Messina’s offense/system? More half court or wide open? What’s the tempo? Does it have any principles or characteristics of the triangle?

Os Davis: Messina’s teams tend to play quite a slow tempo relative to that of most European leagues, particularly in Spain’s ACB, where Messina was for the past two seasons with Real Madrid and where the floor is wide open. Of course, there are exceptions to this. His 2005-06 CSKA Moscow squad could go into fourth gear early and run the court for the entire match. (Of note, too, is that this team was the ultimate fruit of Mikhail Prokhorov’s business labor, that CSKA dominated defensively in both the Euroleague and Russian Super League, and that Messina was named Euroleague coach of the year.) But the general rule on a Messina team is a slow tempo, half-court game on both sides of the ball.

Probably one of the bigger disappointments in his career -- and surely a source of extreme pressure on Messina from club management -- was Real Madrid’s inability over the past two seasons to get past rivals FC Barcelona. Despite the fact the seriously flexible system of player movement among top European clubs made the 2009-10 Madrid roster a revolving door throughout the season, Messina & Co. just couldn’t find the right combination of quick big men to counter Barcelona’s relentless attack and ability to open the floor at will.

In addition to his preference in the half-court, Laker fans will certainly be cheered by Messina's specialty of working with the post. Nobody in Europe, where frontcourts tend to be notably smaller but the bigs typically have the complete skill set in shooting, really employs anything like a triangle offense. But if Mike Brown was serious when he implied that some stuff with the triangle would remain in the playbook, you can bet that some of those Gasol-Bynum double post plays will have been tweaked/modified/perfected with Messina’s input.

Messina is also known for his defensive schemes, but again, this might not necessarily be adaptable to NBA play, as European teams basically always run zones.

LO'L: Would the Lakers roster as constructed flourish in Messina’s system? Are there areas where they might be lacking?

OD: If only they could send Derek Fisher back in time a few years, he’d be the ideal Messina point guard -- thrives in the half-court, best at setting up plays there and starting them off, etc. It will be interesting to see what Shannon Brown might learn under Messina’s tutelage.

Of course, one relationship that all will be watching is how Messina gets on with Pau Gasol. Can an All-Star get better? With his Continental resume and his most recent experience in Spain, Messina just might be the man to fully exploit all of Gasol’s many (and from this perspective, distinctly European) skills. Andrew Bynum taking tips on defense and post play from Messina? That’ll work. And as a big Derrick Caracter fan, I think he could be one to watch developing under Messina.

As for Kobe, Messina has coached some top stars, including Theo Papaloukas and some guy named Manu Ginobili, while employed in Europe and surely he has enough wisdom to handle the biggest name he'll have worked with.

Areas in which the Lakers are lacking, as you probably reckon too, are age and speed. I think any head coach, assistant coach or consultant might like to get a bit of help for these problems.

(Read full post)