World Champion Lakers Visit The White House

President Barack Obama welcomed the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to the White House Monday, praising the team for their accomplishments on the basketball court and their service in the community. An avid basketball fan himself, Obama said he gets enormous pleasure from watching excellence on the court—and nobody exemplified excellence more than the Lakers last year, as they won their 15th league title, defeating the Orlando Magic. Obama said he was especially excited to meet Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, who has won 10 championships, though he didn’t hesitate to point out that six of those victories were with Obama’s hometown Chicago Bulls. “You remember that,” Obama joked with former Lakers all-star Magic Johnson, who was on the losing end of the Bulls 1991 victory.

Watch the Lakers Visit The White House Video

Obama commended the Lakers players not only for their athletic achievements, but also their work off the court. The players held a fitness clinic for Washington-area school children Monday, and several players are donating money to relief efforts in Haiti. The Lakers added to Obama’s collection of sports jerseys, presenting him with a bright yellow jersey with the president’s name stitched on the back

Kobe Trains with Olajuwon

Monday Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was in Houston for a two-hour workout with Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon said Bryant reached out to him for help with his moves in the post. “He gave me the biggest compliment,” Olajuwon said. Bryant said, “You are the best at the mid-post and post move. “He wanted me to show my moves to him.”

Olajuwon said his style of play in the paint is really suited for a guy like Bryant. “In my mind most of my moves for a guy (with) that agility can use it better than the big guy,” Olajuwon said. “Because my moves are not really for the big guy. “It’s for the guards and small forwards. So he would benefit most on the post because of his agility. “It was so much fun because how he picks it up. I worked with him for two hours, step by step.”

Olajuwon expects Bryant to be even better than he was last season when he led the Lakers to the NBA Championship. “Adding those moves to his game, watch out for him this year,” Olajuwon said. “I understand his dedication. His desire to win and stay on top. “That’s what I respect most about him.” By the way, Olajuwon said he would never have held one-on-one sessions like this if he was still playing. “You don’t want to give them your secrets,” Olajuwon said.

Is Shaq Going Back to the Lakers?

According to NBC Sports, NBC Shaquille O’Neal wants to join the Los Angeles Lakers after next season. In an effort to promote his new reality show he said that he would like to play out this final year of his contract in Cleveland, then see if returning to the Lakers is an option for next year.

Not in the least based in reality, but a great marketing comment. Already one LA television morning program talked about it today, I’m writing about it and you can bet sports talk radio will squeeze that in between Brett Favre talk today. And every time it’s mentioned his new reality show gets another free plug. But Shaq is not coming back to the Lakers. There are as many reasons as Shaq has had nicknames though his career.

First, remember the preseason game before Shaq was traded to Miami when he ran down the court screaming at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, “Pay me! Pay me!” because he wanted a contract extension. I guarantee you that Buss does, and that he still fumes a little at that. Those comments greased the rails for Shaq’s slide out of town, and Buss does not forgive that easily.

Breaking News – Lamar Odom and Lakers Come to Terms on 4 Year Deal

According to reports by 710 ESPN’s Michael Thompson reported that J.A. Adande confirmed Lamar Odom agreed to a 4 year, 33 million dollar deal.  ESPN’s Shelly Smith reported the Los Angeles Lakers would hold a team option on 4^th year of the contract.  It is believed that if the Lakers didn’t pick up the 4^th year option that Lamar would receive a buyout worth several million.  Smith also confirmed that Portland had on Tuesday the Portland Trail Blazers had offered Odom a 5 Year 40 million dollar deal which he rejected because at the end of the day, he always wanted to remain with the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers.  Now the Lakers can go into the 2009/2010 season as strong favorites to repeat as NBA champions for their 16^th NBA title. 

Let’s agree that Lamar Odom was worth a 5 year 50 million dollar contract, but the economy and existing bad contracts the Lakers were on the hook prevented the Champs from paying Odom more. Give Odom some credit for not taking it too personally and fleeing to the Blazers or Heat.  Lamar Odom is one of a kind and let’s celebrate his return to Purple and Gold. 

KB at Press Conference in the Philippines

After 2 years, NBA MVP Kobe Bryant of LA Lakers, once again visited the Philippines, as promised last 2007 for his Asia Tour. In the press conference in the Manila Peninsula, Kobe states their awaited chemistry of former rival, Ron Artest, whom will be playing with the Lakers next season.  Bryant also gives another vote of confidence that the Lakers will be bringing back free agent, Lamar Odom.

Watch KB at Press Conference in the Philippines

With the warm welcome of his fans at Bonifacio High Street, Kobe gives Php 100,000 to GAWAD KALINGA to support the children to be active in sports rather than vices.   Right on Kobe!

Lakers Need to Do the Right Thing and Pay Lamar Odom

I’m no Alan Greenspan when it comes to finance, but let’s start with a very basic premise, no advanced degree required: The Lakers and the luxury tax seem about as comfortable together in the same sentence as Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. I bring up the salary cap talk up because the Lakers seem to be playing the luxury tax card as they talk vaguely about what they can and cannot afford to pay their free-agent forward, Lamar Odom. The versatile Odom that created match-up problems for Lakers opponents every game, made about $14 million in 2009. Now there are hints about offering him the mid-level exception of $5-plus million, something like a 60% pay cut. You want to cut somebody? Ask Andrew Bynum to give some of that 52 mil back.

Now, it’s not my place to spend Jerry Buss’s money. If he wants to blow some of it on poker, 21 being a great number for both blackjack and girlfriends, that’s his business. But riddle me this: If the Cleveland Cavaliers can pay THEIR power forward, the klunky Anderson Varejao, $50 million and he’s about a quarter as good as Lamar Odom, are the Lakers telling us they can’t pay a talent like Odom $8 to $10 million?   And if the Cavaliers — remember, the market is Cleveland — can live with being $14 million over the cap, which they are today, why are the Lakers crying poor about being $12 million over?  Twelve million dollars? Isn’t that what it costs to park at Staples? Doesn’t $12 million represent about 20 games’ worth of profit from those yummy chicken burritos they jack you for at about $8 bucks a pop there?  Oh, and before we even get into how much the Lakers franchise is worth, the Dallas Mavericks are $26 million over the cap.  Mark Cuban spending to win while Jerry Buss cuts corners? Say it ain’t so. Now, the Lakers have been pretty clever in selling us on the cap. But if it’s a snow job, does that make it like the candy, Sno-Caps? Lessons in capology are coming out of Mitch Kupchak’s office every day. Lakers beat writers then dutifully carry the message to the public without investigating the profit side of the ledger, so we don’t get a balanced story where Lakers finances are concerned.

Right now the cap propaganda is getting so thick, I’m starting to think Kupchak has moved his office to the Kremlin.  Jerry Buss bought the Lakers (and hockey’s Kings, the Forum and a ranch in Bakersfield) for $38 million. Today most major financial publications estimate the Lakers’ worth at between $650 million and $900 million!  I believe this is known as a substantial profit. Wait, I mean windfall.  And boo hoo, they’re crying about a few mil in cap money?  I’ve known the good doctor Buss for 35 years and never once in all that time has he ever acted like Charlie Cheapskate. So in that context this Odom business, hard-balling such a key championship ingredient, does surprise and disappoint me.

The Lakers don’t sell cheap. They usually leave that to the team down the hall.  When you’re on the cusp of starting another run of championships, with two, three or even four in a row feasible, this is no time to channel Donald Sterling.  While you’re basking in the glow of the ’09 title, look around, Dr. Busschak. The Cavs got Shaq, the Celtics got ‘Sheed, the Spurs got Richard Jefferson and the Blazers are on the brink of getting Paul Millsap.   This is not the time for the Lakers to penny-pinch and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_5o-mxH4wget left at the starting gate.   Cry about the cap? What’s next, passing the hat?  Besides, Odom’s been a good soldier. Occasionally, a great one, a three-star general.

Ask Lamar to start, he starts. Ask him to be sixth man, he’s sixth man. Ask him to bail out Andrew Bynum every time the kid is called for two fouls before he gets off the bus, which was just about every game in the playoffs, he bails out Bynum. Ask him to help you win a championship, you win a championship.   So don’t diss Odom, either. Show him the respect and appreciation he’s earned. Just because the market’s turned in the Lakers’ favor is no excuse to take undue advantage of it.   

Ten million a year for Lamar? A little too much. The market has changed. Money’s tighter. Lamar’s gonna have to live with it; it’s a fact of life.  But if you’ve given Ron Artest about $6.9 mil per when he has no history with the Lakers, other than getting in Kobe’s grill from the enemy side, then give Lamar at least the same annually. Or a little more because he’s been there for you. Say 8 per … $16 million for two years and call it a deal.  Dr. Busschak, nothing less than your reputation for doing the big, important things right and stylishly rests on it. Only that and winning the championship again next season.

Watch Lamar Odom Slap Kevin Garnett’s Celtic Ass

Article Written by Ted Green (Green formerly covered the Lakers for the L.A. Times. He is currently senior sports)

Lakers Officially Sign Artest and Brown

Ron Artest and Shannon Brown both officially signed with the Los Angeles Lakers after the moratorium was lifted on Wednesday.  Artest played with the Rockets last season but decided to join the champions. He brings career averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 10 seasons.  He adds some defensive intensity as well, having earned the 2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.  Last season, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists for a short-handed Rockets team that lost to the Lakers in the playoffs.

The Lakers acquired Brown in February as part of a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. He played in 18 regular season games for the Lakers and averaged 3.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.6 minutes.  Brown appeared in 21 playoff games during the Lakers’ run to the NBA title, averaging 4.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 13.1 minutes.  The 6-foot-4 Brown was originally selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 draft.  The move leaves Lamar Odom as the Lakers’ only remaining unrestricted free agent.

Shannon Brown Agrees to 2 Year Deal with Lakers

Shannon Brown has reached an agreement in principle to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers for $4.2 million over two years, ESPN.com learned Monday.  The deal will bring some stability to the life of one of the NBA’s youngest journeymen.  Over his three-year professional career, the 23-year-old has played for Cleveland, Chicago, Charlotte and the Lakers, who at different times last season used Brown or Jordan Farmar as the primary backup to starting point guard Derek Fisher.

A source said all the money is guaranteed for Brown, who was an unrestricted free agent despite playing in the NBA for only three years. The Bobcats signed him as a free agent a year ago after his rookie contract was not extended, and he was dealt to the Lakers in the Vladimir Radmanovic trade in early February.

He averaged 4.1 points last season, and supplanted Farmar as the primary backup ball-handler late in the regular season before coach Phil Jackson went back to Farmar late in the postseason.  Brown cannot sign his contract until Wednesday, when the NBA’s moratorium on trades and free agent signings ends.  Article was written by Chris Sheridan of ESPN.

Phil Jackson Agrees to Return to Coach Lakers

Phil Jackson will return to coach the Los Angeles Lakers next season, getting a clean bill of health following a record championship season. The Hall of Fame coach turns 64 in September and said on the team’s Web site Friday he got the go-ahead for another season after consulting the team doctor.

Jackson led the Lakers to their 15th NBA championship and his 10th title in June, breaking the mark he shared with the late Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach. “I feel confident that I can gainfully pursue an NBA season with another long playoff postseason,” he said. “All things point to go!” He signed a two-year contract extension last season and holds the option on a second year. Last season, Jackson missed two West Coast road games because of pain and swelling in his lower legs caused by plantar fasciitis, a problem he had checked out. He blamed late-night flights that aggravated the condition. He has undergone two hip replacement operations since October 2006—using a cane at various times—and walks with a noticeable hitch in his step. He underwent an angioplasty in 2003 to open a clogged artery in his heart.

Jackson became the Lakers’ coach in 1999, and guided the team to NBA titles in each of his first three seasons. He left following the 2003-04 season but returned the following season. Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s. His .705 regular-season winning percentage is tops in league history and his 1,041 victories are sixth best.

Artest Claims He Will Sign with Lakers

According to CBS Sportsline, Ron Artest will be signing with the Los Angels Lakers.  Artest, whose versatility and toughness have made him one of the most coveted and combustible players in the NBA, told CBSSports.com Thursday that he’s signing with the Lakers.  “I’m definitely going to L.A. — to sign, yeah,” Artest said in a phone interview. “Lakers, Lakers, Lakers. I’m in L.A. right now.”  Artest said he met with Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss Thursday and previously had spoken with Lakers coach Phil Jackson. He was en route to his financial manager’s office, where he planned to huddle on the phone with his agent, David Bauman, to finalize details. 

Artest’s exuberance — he spent the whole summer in L.A., including several appearances at Lakers home games during the NBA Finals — got ahead of the process a bit. Other teams that made overtures for Artest — including the Cavaliers — have not yet been notified that Artest is signing with the Lakers. (Consider them notified.) Bauman has spoken with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, but parameters have not yet been agreed to. Still, it’s pretty clear where Artest is going.  “I don’t really care about the money,” Artest said. “I’ll play there for nothing. … L.A. was very interested in me, and they got me.”

UPDATE: Lakers spokesman John Black declined to comment on Artest’s assertion, but another person with knowledge of the situation corroborated Artest’s account that he will sign with L.A. pending the financial parameters being finalized.  Only 24 hours earlier, the buzz was focused on Artest joining LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal in Cleveland in what would’ve made a potent Big Three on the shores of Lake Erie. It would’ve been, well, eerie, too: Artest’s internal combustion engine, combined with LeBron’s exquisite dominance and Shaq’s alpha-male, all-round Shaq-ness would’ve been something to see.  But Artest said talks with Cleveland “never got that far.” Told that Cleveland, by all accounts, had extreme interest, Artest said, “I don’t know how extreme. I love the Cleveland Cavaliers, though. I love LeBron and Coach (Mike) Brown and Shaq.”

But what he really loves is L.A.  “L.A. is what it is,” Artest said. “I’ve been here for the whole summer, and it’s pretty good. It’s good for me. I know Lamar Odom, so that’s pretty cool.”  Artest spoke as though Odom would return to the Lakers to join Artest and Kobe Bryant for another title run. The addition of Artest would mean the Lakers have to choose between Odom and Trevor Ariza. Obviously, Ariza would be the odd man out and already has expressed displeasure with the Lakers’ efforts to lure him back with only the mid-level exception.

UPDATE: The addition of Artest is a coup for the defending champion Lakers, who have faced the prospect of trying to retain their own free agents, Odom and Ariza, and have seen other contenders make major efforts to improve. Most notably, the Celtics dispatched their Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, along with coach Doc Rivers and managing partner Wyc Grousbeck to Detroit on Thursday to offer free agent Rasheed Wallace a mid-level contract. Cleveland’s acquisition of Shaq put the Lakers, Celtics, and Magic on notice that the Cavaliers were making a serious push for a title next season. The Cavs’ pursuit of Wallace, Artest, and Ariza signaled that they weren’t finished after the pre-draft trade for Shaq.  “I talked to Coach Phil, and I was happy to talk to him,” Artest said. “Big fan of Coach Phil. My agent talked to Kupchak, and I met with Dr. Buss. I’m very, very excited.”  Read the Original article at CBS Sportsline.