ESPN

Andy and I participated in today's 5-on-5 at ESPN.com's NBA page weighing in on Metta World Peace's elbow to James Harden. Also joining the panel are ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz and Michael Wallace, and ESPN the Magazine's Chris Palmer. The five questions:

1. What was your gut reaction to the play?
2. How long should the NBA's suspension of World Peace be?
3. Should MWP's track record influence the NBA's decision?
4. How will this impact MWP and the Lakers going forward?
5. What's your take on violent play in the NBA?

Check out our takes, and leave your own in the comments section below.

Blazers owner Paul Allen is a rich man, and according to ESPN's Marc Stein and Chris Broussard, has his eyes and giant wallet aimed towards Mitch Kupchak to fill Portland's currently unoccupied general manager gig:

"Kupchak is one of the Blazers' top targets, sources told ESPN.com, in their quest to land an executive with experience running a franchise's basketball operations.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the Lakers would be willing to grant Portland permission to speak to Kupchak, who has spent more than 25 years in L.A.'s front office. Kupchak took over for Jerry West as the club's lead decision-maker in the basketball department in the summer of 2000 before gradually ceding that status to Jim Buss, who serves as the Lakers' executive vice president of player personnel.

Blazers president Larry Miller could not be immediately reached for comment and Kupchak did not immediately respond to messages left by ESPN.com.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Kupchak's latest contract with the Lakers is a lucrative multiyear deal. But Jim Buss -- son of longtime Lakers owner Jerry Buss -- is widely perceived to have the deciding vote on basketball matters with the Lakers and is regarded as the driving force not only behind the drafting of Andrew Bynum in 2005 but also L.A.'s decision to hire Mike Brown as Phil Jackson's replacement over Rick Adelman. And that has spawned a growing belief among several of Kupchak's peers that the architect of the Pau Gasol trade in 2008 that ultimately led to two championships would have some interest in listening to outside proposals."

Two points: First, Portland showing interest in Kupchak makes sense (why wouldn't they be?) but doesn't automatically mean Kupchak showing interest in Portland. Second, In a zillion years, I can't imagine the Lakers giving Kupchak permission to interview with a conference rival, so in that regard it feels like a moot point. Still, the report isn't insignificant, because as long as Kupchak's name appears in the rumor mill it lends credence to the idea the Lakers' front office isn't a totally happy place, one where basketball personnel not named Jim Buss don't have the authority to run a department.

Whether that's fair depends on who you ask, but either way is definitely the type of narrative Buss wants to dispel.

Good news out of El Segundo Monday afternoon. Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who left Sunday's win over the Warriors with 1:51 to play in the first quarter after landing on teammate Josh McRoberts' foot and rolling his left ankle, will be listed as "day-to-day" ahead of tomorrow's game at Staples against New Jersey.

Bynum spent the day with Gary Vitti getting treatment, but didn't require an MRI for what was called a "moderate" sprain during yesterday's game.

Whether he plays against the Nets or not -- if there's any question, he ought to sit -- it seems unlikely he'll miss extended time, obviously something the Lakers can't afford.

Ramon Sessions will make his first start for the Lakers on Friday night against the Blazers, but today's news isn't just about who is moving up in the rotation, but who is moving out.

Asked before the game whether the change might have an impact on playing time for Andrew Goudelock -- the logic being with Steve Blake playing again with the second unit, that group might need another guy able to create his own shot -- Mike Brown said it wouldn't.

"That's the first time this came up. I'm not sure you guys have noticed, but Goudelock has not played recently," he said.

We did, but that's neither here nor there. Goudelock, who averaged 13.2 minutes per game in February, played a total of two in L.A.'s most recent games in Houston and Dallas. Brown explained his reasoning, and it had nothing to do with the arrival of Sessions, or the rotation at point guard.

"[Goudelock] didn't [sit] because Ramon was here, he just hadn't played because I increased Metta [World Peace] and Matt Barnes' minutes and played those guys at the 2 and 3 together (Barnes at shooting guard, World Peace at small forward)," Brown said. "What I'm trying to do is it's getting down to stretch time. Goudelock has been good for us. He got some great experience. He needs to keep himself mentally and physically ready in case his number is called, but we're about to get busy right here. If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it with some guys that have been to the dance before. Matt has been there, and Metta has been there. So we'll see."

At this point, Brown's not looking as far down his bench during games. "We're shrinking [the rotation] a little bit. We're shrinking it a little bit, (yeah)," he said.

For the Lakers, that translates into an 8.5 man rotation, with Barnes, Blake, and some combination of Troy Murphy and/or Josh McRoberts filling in behind Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum depending on performance and matchups. There's always a chance someone like Goudelock or Jordan Hill might steal minutes here or there, but broadly speaking, it looks like Brown has settled on his core group going forward.

In news that ought not surprise anyone, having gone through the trade deadline without moving Andrew Bynum, the Lakers reportedly will go ahead and pick up the $16.1 million option on his contract for next season.

Certainly he's earned the money. This season, Bynum is averaging career highs in points (18.1), rebounds (12.9) and minutes (36.2), is shooting 57.8 percent from the floor and, most importantly, hasn't missed a game because of injury all year. He's been particularly dominant in 11 games since the All-Star break, with 23 points, 13.1 boards and 2.1 blocks, shooting 65.8 percent. This is the sort of thing that'll get a guy an award.

Determining exactly what path the Lakers will choose going forward from a personnel standpoint is difficult. It still seems like one of their big-ticket players, most likely Pau Gasol, could be traded at some point, though the acquisition of Ramon Sessions does add a little short-term clarity to what was a position of need. Bynum told ESPNLA today in Houston he'd like to sign an extension with the Lakers, certainly a very strong possibility, particularly if he can stay healthy through the end of the year and into the next.

But whether they plan to pot commit to Bynum or are still on the fence, one thing the Lakers are not going to do is let the guy waltz into free agency this summer.

Wow. Didn't see this one coming.

The Lakers have traded Derek Fisher to Houston for forward Jordan Hill. In addition, they will send the pick acquired from Dallas in the Lamar Odom deal to the Rockets. The eighth selection in the '09 draft, Hill is an athletic 4/5 who can finish on the break, rebound, and block shots, but doesn't create his own offense or stretch the floor. He's a young asset, and in his third season has had some strong moments in the league. How he fits into the rotation is an open question, though he certainly could see minutes backing up both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and could prove a very handy fellow to have around. Then again, he might not play much.

But Hill is not the news, here.

Derek Fisher hasn't been productive for a while now, and with the acquisition of Ramon Sessions becomes completely superfluous, and even a potential political problem in the Lakers locker room. L.A.'s ideal rotation at the point would have Sessions playing starters minutes with Steve Blake backing him up. That would leave Fisher on the bench, a place where he (understandably) wouldn't be happy. It would be a horrible setup, very difficult for Mike Brown to manage effectively. In the cold business of the NBA, you trade guys who can't help you but still cost money now and down the line, and that's what this is. The Lakers have no obligation to Hill next season, but would have owed Fisher over three million.

It's something that had to happen, but nonetheless feels strange.

On the court, frankly the Lakers lose very little losing Fisher. The transition comes is in the locker room. Beyond being Kobe Bryant's most trusted ally, Fisher was the ballast to Kobe incredibly strong personality. With Fisher gone, it will be interesting to see how Kobe changes his leadership style to accommodate the change, and who steps up into the leadership void. The natural candidate is Gasol, who moves up a rung on the locker room ladder. How this impacts his dynamic with Kobe will be something interesting to watch.

The bottom line is the Lakers, on a day where they have improved themselves significantly on the floor, also have set themselves up for a major adjustment off it.

Following consecutive losses against basement level opposition, ESPNLA's Ramona Shelburne reports frustration with Mike Brown's offensive system still runs high through the Lakers' locker room:

"... Sources say the team's ongoing struggles on the road -- with L.A. dropping to 6-14 away from Staples Center following a loss in Detroit by blowing a 21-point lead to the undisciplined Wizards -- has some veterans longing for a return to the trusty Triangle offense preferred by Brown's predecessor Phil Jackson.

ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard recently reported that Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher called a players-only meeting after a win against Portland on Feb. 21 to address concerns about Brown's style, as well as persistent trade rumors involving Pau Gasol.

While that meeting might have quelled some of the tension in the short term, these latest two losses have brought the issues right back to the forefront and perhaps even exacerbated the situation as the team nears the March 15 trade deadline with the Lakers continuing to languish in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference.

Sources told ESPNLosAngeles.com that multiple players have continued to meet privately since the initial team meeting to discuss running elements of the Triangle offense again.

"The players want to unify," one source with knowledge of the situation said. "They know how to win and they want to fix this. I don't know if they can, though. "

Following Sunday's win against Miami, Bryant said the Lakers understood their strengths as a post-first team. Fisher, referencing the aforementioned team meeting, spoke about a collective decisions to "buy in as a group." Two hideous losses later, it appears that buy in may have been overstated.

Interesting news, a week ahead of the trade deadline.

The news isn't exactly surprising, and frankly could have come a week or two earlier. Rookie point guard Darius Morris has been assigned to the D-Fenders, the team's NBDL affiliate.

The 21-year old Morris, who left Michigan after his sophomore season, has been glued to the bench since Steve Blake returned from his rib injury, playing a grand total of 10 minutes since seeing 18 minutes of burn against the Pacers on January 22nd. There just aren't any minutes for him, and if he's not going to play with the Lakers he should be playing somewhere. He'll get to do that with the D-Fenders, as Andrew Goudelock and Devin Ebanks have already this season.

Earlier this week, Matt Barnes declared Metta World Peace the Lakers' enforcer, and himself the enforcer's sidekick. If that's the case, then Andrew Bynum is the guy who just got out on parole and has to stay out of trouble.

I anticipate Sunday's game against Miami will be hard nosed and physical, but don't believe there will be any shenanigans in connection to the hard foul put on Kobe Bryant by Dwyane Wade in last weekend's All-Star Game. If I'm wrong, though, it likely won't be Bynum delivering the blow. As ESPNLA's Dave McMenamin reports, L.A.'s young center knows the NBA is watching this game -- and him -- closely:

"I can't do anything about (it)," Bynum said after the Lakers' shootaround on Saturday. "If I do anything, they're going to definitely hit me (with punishment). It sucks. It's not good. It's just unfortunate and something we got to deal with." By "they," Bynum was referring to the league office that suspended the 24-year-old two games last season and four games to start this season for hard fouls on the Minnesota Timberwolves' Michael Beasley and J.J. Barea, then with the Dallas Mavericks. "I got two (targets on me)," Bynum said. "I got Beasley, I got Barea and people blame me for the Gerald Wallace incident, but I didn't do anything in that particular one."

Barnes and World Peace are also under the microscope, Bynum said (Leaving, who, Andrew Goudelock to lay down the law?). Still, he said today the extra attention doesn't impact his play. "I still play hard. If I have to foul, I have to foul. That's part of the game... I can't do anything extra, obviously. No elbows. Nothing that looks crazy."

On the other hand, "You got to be conscious of it at this point, I mean, $750,000!"

That would be the amount of money (give or take) he's lost in salary thanks to suspension.

Dave McMenamin has the news out of this afternoon's shootaround:

"...[Kobe] Bryant passed a neurological exam, a baseline test for concussion management as well as a stationary bike test and treadmill test while visiting with Dr. Vern Williams before heading to the Lakers' practice facility to participate in an on-court test consisting of a game of 2-on-2, monitored by the Lakers' training staff. If Bryant passes the full-contact basketball test and remains symptom-free, he could play in the Lakers' game Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center.

Good news, for sure. As for the broken nose, Bryant has been fitted with a protective mask, and if cleared to play will test it out before the game then decide if he wants to wear it.

Not to impugn the importance of ears, noses, and throats, for a handy trio they make, but brain trumps all three. So when Kobe Bryant was sent Tuesday from an ear, nose, and throat specialist to a neurologist for an MRI, it seemed a little worrisome. Following practice in El Segundo this afternoon, the Lakers said in a statement the 16-year veteran had in fact suffered not just a nasal fracture in Sunday's All-Star Game, but a concussion as well following a hard third-quarter foul from Miami's Dwyane Wade.

Kobe will be re-evaluated ahead of Wednesday's game against the Timberwolves at Staples, at which point his availability can be determined. In a move that may or may not be related, the Lakers recalled Devin Ebanks from the D-League. He was at practice this afternoon, and could be active tomorrow.

Interestingly, the NBA adopted a new policy this year regarding concussions, creating a protocol determining when a player can return to action after suffering a head injury. Players now must be symptom free, then successfully complete a series of physical tests of increasing difficulty (stationary bike, jogging, agility work, non-contact team drills) while avoiding the return of symptoms. From there, the NBA's neurologist leading the program must be consulted before the player can return to the floor.

How all this impacts Kobe's timeline is something I don't yet know, though missing Wednesday's game certainly is a possibility. The protocol for clearance takes time.

Nobody doubts Bryant would play with a broken nose, but obviously concussions are an entirely different issue requiring far more caution. Hopefully his is mild and the doctor declares him good to go tomorrow, but the Lakers and Bryant would be wise to play this one very, very safe. Beyond the big picture issues of Bryant's overall well being, the last thing they need is for symptoms to linger.

Meanwhile, this will certainly add another layer of intrigue to Sunday's game against the Heat.

ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin has the news:

"While the Los Angeles Lakers were in Toronto on Sunday finishing off their six-game road trip, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was holding a private workout for free agent guard Gilbert Arenas, according to multiple sources. Arenas, who turned 30 last month, looked "slimmed down" and "explosive," according to a source with knowledge of the workout, but no signing is necessarily imminent as the guard flew back to his home in Orlando, Fla., from Los Angeles on Sunday night."

A couple weeks ago, as conversation surrounding Arenas increased, I laid out some of the reasons I wasn't wild about adding him to the roster, ranging from doubts about his health to the time and effort it would require to integrate him into the offense.

And I wonder how good Arenas will actually be, given his awful performance last season.

On the other hand, the Lakers obviously need help, something no less apparent in the seven games between that post and this one. This roster, despite a couple solid wins on the trip, isn't good enough to advance deep into the postseason and signs of real growth are tough to find. Arenas, at least in theory, ticks a few boxes on the need list, namely another guy who can create off the dribble, more perimeter shooting, and a secondary source of offense off the bench. The big caveat to my initial post centered around what else the Lakers might do heading into the deadline to improve this year's team.

If the Lakers have a real desire to upgrade now and a willingness to use resources (however limited) to get it done, experimenting with Gilbert doesn't make much sense. If they don't, it's worth trying to capture lightning in a bottle. My feel, and it's just that, is the Lakers are holding all their chips until Dwight Howard has a new home, meaning if the price for less-than-star-level-but-wholly-useful guys like Ramon Sessions gets too high, Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss won't bite.

The interesting thing about Arenas isn't so much how well he'll play, but what he represents. Should the former Agent Zero land in El Segundo, it could very well mean the front office is just crossing its fingers on the 2011-12 season and will try to reconstruct a more viable contender in the more structured environment of the summer.

Fifteen is now 14.

Tuesday afternoon, the Lakers released second-year forward Derrick Caracter.

Selected with the 58th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, the UTEP-via-Louisville product, who suffered a knee injury during the preseason, hadn't appeared in a game with the Lakers. In four games with the NBDL's Los Angeles D-Fenders, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 23.5 minutes.

Last season, Caracter shuttled between the D-League and the big club, played 41 games for the Lakers, averaging 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.2 minutes. He's a guy with some skill around the basket. Pretty good hands and good feet given his size. Unfortunately, the size issue with Caracter still constitutes a problem. For him to carve out a long NBA career -- and I do think he'll get a chance to play again in the league -- D.C. will definitely need to get slimmer and stronger.

(Read full post)

Dave McMenamin has the news.

Bottom line, the Lakers get some much needed help in the frontcourt behind Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Gasol particularly piled up minutes in games against Phoenix and Utah without Josh McRoberts and Troy Murphy available, so I'm sure he'll be excited to see them back.

Jason Kapono, who had been with his wife following the birth of twin daughters, will also be in uniform.

Steve Blake's absence -- he's not expected to play Saturday against the Clippers, either -- puts pressure on Derek Fisher, likely to get more minutes, and means a promotion for rookie Darius Morris, who played for the first time this season Wednesday in Salt Lake City. I don't think I'm revealing state secrets when I say the Lakers don't exactly have a wealth of depth at the point, so losing Blake even for a few games hurts.

Hopefully it's not much longer than that, because the guy likely to pick up at least some of the slack in ball handling and facilitiating is Kobe Bryant. He's more than capable, obviously, but has a pretty full dance card already.

With Andrew Bynum sitting the third game of a league-mandated four-game suspension and the franchise facing its first 0-3 start since disco ruled the world, the Lakers can't afford to go down another big heading into tonight's game against Utah.

Fortunately, they should take the floor reasonably whole.

Forward Josh McRoberts, nursing a sprain to his left thumb suffered on Christmas against Chicago, left Monday's loss in Sacramento at the 8:15 mark of the third quarter with a sprained left big toe and didn't return, but is expected to suit up against the Jazz. Starting at center in Bynum's absence, Pau Gasol wore a large pad on his right shoulder Monday protecting his own Christmas sprain, but suffered no additional damage and is also expected to play.

At Tuesday's shootaround, Mike Brown explained how losing McRoberts on Monday night put the team in a bind, forcing him to play Metta World Peace at power forward after Luke Walton was, in Brown's estimation, "laboring a little."

It was hardly an ideal setup.

"Metta has not had an opportunity to get a rep at the four in over 2 1/2 weeks. The first day or two, we started to give him some reps at the power forward spot, but I didn't like it at the time," he said. "I didn’t want him trying to learn two positions. He did not have another opportunity since about the first or second day of training camp to get reps at that power forward position."

With McRoberts available, World Peace can try to build on a strong performance against Sacramento from his reserve small forward spot. Gasol, meanwhile, is still looking for a true breakout game, though upon further review Brown had good things to say about his performance last night.

"He did a terrific job, going back and watching the tape, of facilitating. We played through him a lot, especially in the second half on the post, where he might not have scored, but man he made some very good passes to his teammates from that post up position," he said.

I asked if, with Bynum still out, Brown wants Gasol to be more "selfish," calling his own number more. “If he was I’d be OK with it, because he’s very skilled. But because he’s playing the way that he is, a lot of the passes that he made were set-up passes. Guys got some very easy looks from it, so I’m OK with that," he said.

"When I was in Cleveland, people asked me that about LeBron all the time. But when a guy is making the game easier for his teammates, you’ve got to be OK with that. Other guys will step up."