Lakers Nation

Kobe Tweets Response to Retirement Questions After Announcement

Daniel Buerge — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:30:16 +0000

There was a lot of hype heading into the Sports Spectacular event on Sunday night. While it wasn’t expected to be much of a splash, rumors started circulating (none of which had much credence) that Bryant was announcing his retirement.

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While nobody realistically thought Bryant was going to announce his retirement via closed circuit television at a charitable event, Kobe still addressed the retirement rumors on Twitter after the event.

Really?? Me. Retire?? Soon, but not yet Vino still has work to do #35 #OG #kbvff

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 20, 2013

In typical Kobe fashion, he kept the fans on the edge of their seats until the very end before announcing his true intentions.

So while Kobe isn’t ready to hang up his shorts quite yet, he will be doing whatever he can to combat homelessness in L.A., which is what his announcement ended up being on Sunday.

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Kobe Announces Sports Spectacular Partnership To Fight Homelessness

Daniel Buerge — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:22 +0000

During the Sports Spectacular event on Sunday night, Kobe announced (via remote video) that he was teaming up with Sports Spectacular to help eradicate homelessness. Kobe, who’s been fighting homelessness in Los Angeles along with his wife and the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Foundation, wasn’t able to be at the event (something about a torn Achilles), but was still excited to share the news.

“I’d like to officially announce that we’re partnering with Sports Spectacular to help eradicate homelessness. We’re doing an event, it’s called Kobe: Up Close, and it’s about my past presence and future if you are interested. The event is August 15th at the Nokia Theater.”

For information on where you can get tickets, go to the Facebook page of either Kobe or Sports Spectacular and monitor their updates for information on how you can attend the event.

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Kobe’s fight to end homelessness has been a quest he and his wife have been on for several years. Seeing him team up with Sports Spectacular and Cedars-Sinai to continue these efforts is an encouraging sign. Los Angeles is still home of the highest concentration of homelessness in the United States, so having someone with the resources that Kobe has helping combat the issue is always a positive sign.

(h/t to Livestream for the video of the event)

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Kobe Bryant Involved In Sports Spectacular Livestream Event

Daniel Buerge — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:30:50 +0000

Last night on his Facebook page, Kobe announced that he would be making a surprise announcement tonight. The link he shared was to a Livestream event called Sports Spectacular, which was first established back in 1986. Sports Spectacular‘s Facebook page states that it ” brings the nation’s top athletes together with leading members of the community to support the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.”

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They also offer the ability to live stream the event (makes sense with a name like Livestream, right?). Below is the live event, which will ultimately (we think) have Bryant sharing his promised announcement.

Dwight Howard Not Close To Final Decision Despite Lakers’ Wishes

Daniel Buerge — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:10 +0000

During his exit interview at the end of the postseason, Dwight Howard stated that he intended to take his time to make his final decision on where he will play next season. So far, Howard hasn’t strayed from that train of thought.

—- Check out Lakers big man Dwight Howard’s player bio here! —-

When CBS’ Ken Berger reported on Sunday that Howard was intrigued by the Rockets and Mavericks, there was an interesting bit of information at the end of the article that might intrigue other Laker fans. Despite the team’s desire to know Howard’s decision sooner rather than later, so they know what pieces they need to pursue with the rest of their off-season, Howard doesn’t seem too interested in speeding up his process.

With the Lakers hoping for a swift decision from Dwight Howard on his free agency this summer, the All-Star center has given no indication he will rush the process and has privately indicated that he plans to give strong consideration to multiple teams.

As Berger indicated, two of those teams are the Mavericks and Rockets, both of which reportedly intrigue Howard for various reasons. Still, according to his sources close to Dwight, that will most likely only prolong the entire process.

One of the people briefed on Howard’s plans stressed that no decision has been made on his impending free agency. But with so many options available and issues in play, Howard doesn’t seem to be on track for the kind of quick decision the Lakers were hoping for so they’d have time to plan their offseason.

Obviously this is Howard’s prerogative as a free agent, but it won’t do a whole lot of good in establishing a good relationship between him and the Lakers, assuming he does re-sign with them this summer. Still, Dwight doesn’t officially become a free agent until July 1, but if he’s unable or unwilling to inform the team on where he’s leaning, Mitch Kupchak and company will most likely be increasingly frustrated with the situation.

In the end this isn’t much of a surprise, as it’s what we’ve expected from Howard since the initial trade to Los Angeles was completed last summer, but these latest reports from Berger and his sources seem to indicate that we could be in for yet another long, hot summer of Dwight Howard rumors.

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Lakers Rumors & News: Kobe Plans Special Announcement on Faecbook

Ryan Ward — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:30:28 +0000

After suffering the season-ending Achilles injury, Kobe Bryant had to take some serious thought about which direction to take moving forward. With Kobe considering retirement once his contract expires with the Los Angeles Lakers next season, many seem to believe he may decide to retire early depending on how he’s able to bounce back from the Achilles injury that has ended careers of prominent players in the league before.

On Sunday night, Kobe intends to make a special announcement via Sports Spectacular Livestream that has everyone buzzing. Former Laker great Shaquille O’Neal made his retirement announcement via Tout back in 2011, but it still remains uncertain whether Kobe will be taking the same approach.

Speculation will continue to run rampant between now and the official announcement on Sunday night. Although it is not beyond the realm of possibility, the idea that Kobe’s announcing his retirement (which is a popular one on social media) seems highly unlikely. Still, the consensus seems to be that the announcement will involve something completely different, but we can only wait and see.

Lakers Nation News

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Pau Gasol Tweets Updates For Western Conference Finals Game 1

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Lakers Nation Tweets Of The Week: Kobe, Phil Jackson And More

Kobe Bryant Has Surprise Announcement Tomorrow

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Lakers News: Jeanie Buss Says She Takes Kobe Over Jordan

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VIDEO: Phil Jackson Compares Jordan And Bryant With Jay Leno

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Lakers News

Phil Jackson Throws The Book At Kobe Bryant [LA Times]

Kobe Bryant Is Highest-Paid Athlete In LA [LA Times]

Kobe Bryant’s Private Family Matters Again Reach A Public Stage [LA Times]

Lakers Paid $129.5 Million In Salary, Luxury Taxes For Early Exit [LA Times]

Staples Center, LA Live To Offer Free Wi-Fi [LA Times]

‘Eleven Rings:’ Phil Jackson Savors Beating The Celtics In 2010 [LA Times]

Ding: How Phil Jackson Can Still Teach Lakers [OC Register]

Lawyer: Kobe Bryant’s Family ‘Torn Apart’ By Dispute With Mom [OC Register]

Mark Madsen Hired To Coach D-Fenders [OC Register]

The Next Evolution Of Big Market Muscle [Silver Screen & Roll]

Phil Has Plenty To Say About Kobe In New Book [Silver Screen & Roll]

The Work That Is Needed Will Be The Work That Is Done [Forum Blue & Gold]

Kobe Bryant’s Shooting Habits Aren’t What You Might Think They Are [Forum Blue & Gold]

NBA News

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder Say They Won’t Amnesty Kendrick Perkins [Sports City]

VIDEO: Chris Paul’s Top 5 Play Of 2012-2013 [Sports City]

VIDEO: LeBron James, Chris Paul Motivate NBA Prospects In 2008 [Sports City]

J.R. Smith Says He Wants To Retire With The New York Knicks [Sports City]

NBA News: Coach K Thinking About Coaching Olympic Team In 2016 [Sports City]

San Antonio Surge [SB Nation]

T-Mac In The Conference Finals Is Happening [SB Nation]

Tony Allen Trips Tony Parker [SB Nation]

Coach Pop Is Done With Fighting [SB Nation]

LeBron Takes Offense To Something That Pacers’ Head Coach Vogel Didn’t Actually Say [Pro Basketball Talk]

J.R. Smith, Likely Entering Free Agency, Says He ‘Wants To Retire A Knick’ [Pro Basketball Talk]

Lakers Rumors: Dwight Howard Leaning Towards Houston Rockets?

Daniel Buerge — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:46 +0000

It’s been a quiet off-season so far for the Lakers in terms of personnel changes. While there have been plenty of ideas thrown out by various media outlets, actual rumors coming from the teams themselves have been quiet. The league generally asks teams that aren’t involved in the playoffs to keep their rumors and chatter to a minimum until the playoffs are completed, which could explain the lack of talk coming from the organization.

—- Check out Lakers big man Dwight Howard’s player bio here! —-

Regardless, the big fish in Los Angeles this summer is Dwight Howard, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Howard has said multiple times that he expects to take some time to make his decision, but a new report from Ken Berger of CBS Sports states that while Los Angeles is still a possibility for the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, it’s the Houston Rockets that are intriguing him now.

With six weeks to go before Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent, the team that is said to intrigue him the most is the Houston Rockets, according to multiple people briefed on internal conversations surrounding Howard’s free-agent decision. The Rockets have a young star, James Harden, who has proved himself worthy of playing the leading role for the franchise; a budding 3-point shooting threat in Chandler Parsons; a defensive-minded coach in Kevin McHale; and Omer Asik, the kind of 7-footer Howard is believed to want next to him in the frontcourt.

The Rockets are a couple of minor moves away from having room to sign Howard; they have a team option on Francisco Garcia’s $6.4 million and Carlos Delfino’s $3 million is fully non-guaranteed, for example. If they chose to or needed to make a trade to create room, they have numerous attractive young players on tradable contracts, such as 2012 No. 5 pick Thomas Robinson.

This certainly isn’t what the Lakers want to hear.

Still, if there’s one thing we know about Howard and where he intends on playing, it’s that there will be a whole lot of rumors before a decision is actually made. For now, this is the latest news, and we’ll wait and see what he has in store for us.

Welcome to the Dwightmare 2.0, Los Angeles. Be sure to bring a friend.

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Did you see Phil Jackson stop by The Tonight Show to chat with Jay Leno? If not, check out our video below and don’t forget to click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

NBA News: Coach K Thinking About Coaching In 2016 Olympics

Ross Gasmer — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:00:22 +0000

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In a somewhat shocking turn of events, it sounds like Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is gearing up for another run as head coach of Team USA.

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Krzyzewski coached Team USA to back-to-back gold medals in 2008 and 2012 and after the games in London said he was wouldn’t be back for 2016. Rumors swirled that Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo would target Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, but it sounds like he’s convinced Krzyzewski.

Colangelo stated that the situation would be resolved in the next week or so as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant gear up for another run at a gold medal in three years.

Coach K took over an Olympic team that significantly underachieved in the 2004 games and has helped overhaul the entire program. As the head of the program, Coach K has made NBA players want to play in the Olympics as the players love playing for him.

For more on the story, head over to SportsCity.com.

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Did you see Phil Jackson stop by The Tonight Show to chat with Jay Leno? If not, check out our video below and don’t forget to click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Pau Gasol Tweets Updates For Western Conference Finals Game 1

Daniel Buerge — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:00:21 +0000

With his brother involved in the Western Conference Finals, Lakers forward Pau Gasol has been on Twitter talking about what’s going on with Marc’s Grizzlies. Today was no exception, as Marc and the Grizzlies played in their very first Western Conference Finals game. Pau, who’s known for his eternal optimism, had some thoughts for Memphis during Game 1.

San Antonio is shooting the ball extremely well, specially from the 3 point line. I doubt they’re going to be able to keep it up.

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) May 19, 2013

And, in typical Pau fashion, he posted his thoughts in Spanish, too.

San Antonio está tirando extremadamente bien, sobre todo desde la línea de 3. Dudo que puedan seguir así el resto del partido.

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) May 19, 2013

Later on, he shared what he felt Memphis needed to do better to overcome the Spurs.

If Randolph starts to work the paint, the Grizzlies will get close on the scoreboard and they could have a chance to win the game. #WFC

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) May 19, 2013

Then, when the game came to an end, Pau shared his thoughts on the series moving into Game 2.

The Spurs have played a very complete game. I’m sure that the next one will be a different story than today. #WCF

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) May 19, 2013

It’s always fun seeing players comment on other series, which is something that Twitter and social media offers us that was previously unavailable.

For more of Pau’s Twitter thoughts, you can follow him and the rest of the Lakers by checking out our ultimate social media follow list.

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Have You Seen Our Top 5 Kobe Dunks Of The 2012-2013 Season? If not, check out our video below and don’t forget to click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Phil Jackson Recalls Kobe Bryant’s First Words to Michael Jordan

Daniel Buerge — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:30:06 +0000

All the excerpts from Phil Jackson’s newest book, Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, have been rather fascinating so far. Whether it’s Jackson talking about the similarities and differences between his championship teams or the comparisons made between Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Jackson (not surprisingly) seems to have quite a bit of insight on the world of basketball.

—-Want to show off your Kobe love? Check out this VINO t-shirt!—-

One quote that’s come out is an interesting one, as it goes to show the competitive mindset of Bryant once again. We all know Kobe is a super competitor, but apparently the first time he met Jordan he had some harsh words to say.

“You know I can kick your ass one on one.”

This isn’t exactly a new story, as most of us have heard it before. But having Jackson recollect these moments and share these experiences is exciting for the fans. It’s always thrilling to get an insiders perspective, especially that of the man who lead Jordan and Bryant to a combined 11 championships in 19 seasons.

Jackson’s book is scheduled to come out Tuesday, May 21, and should bring with it plenty of exciting stories and anecdotes about Jackson’s time with the Lakers and Bulls.

There is also an event where Jackson will be discussing his latest book, and you can get details by clicking here.

(h/t to DimeMag)

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Have You Seen Our Top 5 Kobe Dunks Of The 2012-2013 Season? If not, check out our video below and don’t forget to click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Lakers Videos Of The Week: Mark Madsen Dances, Metta World Peace as Weatherman

Serena Winters — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:54 +0000

The Lakers season is over, but we still have plenty of videos to share! From Mark Madsen dancing, to Phil Jackson on the Tonight Show, and Metta World Peace trying out his talents as a weatherman, check out our top 10 videos of the week below.

10. Phil Jackson And Adam Sandler

9. SB Nation Thinks Kobe Bryant Faked His Injury

8. Metta World Peace Says At First Dwight’s Joking Did Bother Him

7. Metta World Peace Talks About Hit Contract Situation

6. Kobe Bryant Highlight Mix – The Vigorous Worker

Next Page: Metta World Peace As The Weatherman And Mark Madsen Dancing