Byron Scott is a former Laker himself and he has a great relationship with Kobe Bryant, so he would seem to fit in just right. Scott is also known to be a tough coach who will not tolerate any nonsense, which is what this Laker team needs.
Good News Laker and Kobe fans, it seems as if Kobe Bryant is back at full strength after tearing his achilles and then fracturing his knee. He sat down with Jimmy Kimmel and explained where he’s at health wise and basketball wise recently.
During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel last week, Bryant revealed that his body is back to full strength and he’ll now spend the next five months working himself back into top basketball shape.
“From a health standpoint [I’m] 100 percent,” Bryant told Kimmel. “I’m not there yet [from a basketball standpoint]. I’ve started doing a lot of on-court training, so I’m back into my routine and then I’ll start lifting and start doing the running – which I hate – but by the time the season comes around I’ll be ready to go.”
Mike D’Antoni will be back as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach, according to The Orange County Register.
After 10 days of soul searching, the key figures in Lakers management are agreed on bringing back D’Antoni for a third season as coach, a source with knowledge of the deliberations told the Register.
The Lakers have yet to inform D’Antoni of anything, but they intend to keep him, absolving him of blame for the 27-55 finish without Bryant and Steve Nash for 141 of a possible 162 games.
If these reports are accurate, it probably means that Pau Gasol is gone and Kobe has no say in any of the team decisions. The reason I say Kobe has no say is because, it is known that Kobe does not want to play for D’Antoni. Why bring him back, knowing that your star player doesn’t want him there? It’s just a ridiculous move if true.
University of Kentucky head-coach John Calipari could become the new coach of the Los Angeles Lakers if Mike D’Antoni is fired, according to reports.
Rex Chapman, a former NBA executive, NBA shooting guard and Kentucky Wildcats himself said that Calipari to the Lakers is a “done deal.” Coach Calipari, has denied the reports, and so have the Lakers.
As the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire. We’ll see if these rumors are true of not in the upcoming months. One thing is certain though, the history of the Lakers franchise, could attract anyone. Not to mention that the weather is always a plus.
Nick Young’s home has reportedly been burglarized. The incident happened while he was playing in a game against the Orlando Magic.
From ESPNLosAngeles.com
Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young said close to $100,000 in clothing, shoes, jewelry and luggage was stolen from his Los Angeles area home while he was playing in a game at Staples Center.
Young said he returned to his Sherman Oaks house after the Lakers’ 103-94 win Sunday over the Orlando Magic to find an upstairs window broken.
“I came in, I seen my drawers and everything open and clothes all over the floor and the glass was broken from the window,” Young said after Lakers practice Monday.
“I think they knew that I had a game that day, I think they scoped it out a little bit. Obviously they knew nobody was in the house and they knew we had a game. So, they came at the right time.”
The 28-year-old said he called police and checked into a hotel after discovering the robbery.
Young also says that a pair of the coveted Red October’s were stolen from the home.
Bryant, in an exclusive interview with ESPN, revealed that he has formed his own company called Kobe Inc., and is building a team around him to start new businesses and evaluate investing in others.
“I have always had ideas and always had a vision of where I wanted to go going back to 2000, but they are just ideas,” Bryant said. “Now, once the Achilles injury took place, I’m sitting at home for months not moving, a couple things set in. One is that there is only so many Modern Family episodes a person can watch. And then two, what do I do now?”
Bryant said he then put pen to paper and began executing his vision, which included a mission statement.
“We want to own and help grow brands and ideas that challenge and redefine the sports industry while inspiring,” Bryant said. “If it doesn’t have the limbs of the sports industry, which I understand extremely well, then I probably won’t touch it.”
After returning from an achilles injury, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, has suffered a setback.
The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Thursday that Bryant is expected to miss at least six weeks with a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee.
Bryant suffered the injury Tuesday night during the Lakers’ 96-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The injury is a major blow to the Lakers, who in November gave Bryant a two-year, $48.5 million dollar contract extension.
The team also announced Thursday Steve Nash, who has just played in six games this season, will miss another month because of nerve root irritation.
Jordan Farmar will also miss another week as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
With injuries to their backcourt, the Lakers quickly moved to add depth. They agreed to a deal with Kendall Marshall on Thursday night. Marshall, who was taken 13th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2012 draft, had been playing in the D-League for the Delaware 87ers where he was acquired off of waivers earlier this month after having what has been a disappointing beginning to his career.
This recent injury to Bryant itself will not require surgery, only rest. But since it is on the same leg that he tore his achilles, one can wonder if the two are connected or if he came back to soon.
After returning to the court on Dec. 8, Bryant was averaging 13.8 points and 6.3 assists in six games, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and averaging 29.5 minutes. Although his numbers have not been very Kobe-like, they were getting better over the past couple games. His shooting percentage was going up slightly, and he was committing less turnovers. Bryant was starting to get back into basketball shape after having missed training camp and being months without doing any basketball activity
In the game in which he was injured, Bryant tied his season high with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Bryant also hit a deep 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help seal the win, which is remarkable because it appears as if he suffered the fracture in the third quarter.
The Lakers were 2-4 since the return of Bryant and 12-13 overall which puts them in 11th place in the tough Western Conference.
With no Kobe, Nash, and Farmar, the Lakers are in trouble. We will see what the Lakers will do within the next couple weeks.
joshcolon 