Bryant and Howard both shared their thoughts about the floating rumors, from Eric Pincus of Los Angeles Times: “It’s just funny. We’re losing. Every little story that comes out is geared towards breaking our team up,” Howard said. “We’re bigger than that. We’re stronger than that and we’re not going to let anything divide us.” Bryant dismissed the report as inaccurate. “It’s not true. We all try to be professional about what we do,” Bryant said. “I guess some people skate around that a little bit.” “Obviously there are fake stories coming out, somebody has something against our team,” Howard said. “It’s not us. Me and Kobe don’t have a problem with each other. We’re not beefing. So for somebody to come out with a random story and say me and him got into a fight?” “It’s ridiculous,” continued the Lakers center. “I just think it’s funny.”
The Lakers appear to be in serious trouble, as all three of their primary big men suffered injuries against the Nuggets on Sunday, from Pincus: “Dwight Howard has suffered a torn labrum — a shoulder injury — and will be sidelined indefinitely, the Lakers announced Monday. Howard hurt his shoulder against the Clippers on Friday night and aggravated it on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets. Howard will travel with the team and will be reevaluated in a week. “I don’t need surgery,” Howard said. “It should keep me out for a while but [I need] to make sure that I’m cautious, to make sure that I get healthy, that’s the most important thing,” Howard said… Additionally, Pau Gasol suffered a concussion against the Nuggets when he took an inadvertentJaVale McGee arm to nose late in the game. He’ll be put through the league’s concussion policy, unavailable to the team until he is cleared. Finally, Jordan Hill has a hip issue and will be examined on Monday by team doctor Steve Lombardo.
- Jalen Rose believes Steve Nash may be the ultimate downfall of the Lakers. See what he said in the video below:
- Magic Johnson went off on everything that is wrong with the Lakers on twitter:
I'm tired of blaming the coach, the responsibility is on the @Lakers players.
@MagicJohnson
Earvin Magic Johnson
.@DwightHoward has to stop complaining and start dominating on offense....@PauGasol has to stop playing soft and get back to 18pts & 10rebs!
@MagicJohnson
Earvin Magic Johnson
.@MettaWorldPeace has to stop making great quotes and start playing great defense...@JMeeks20 has to start making better shot selections.
@MagicJohnson
Earvin Magic Johnson
The @Lakers big men have to stop giving up easy offensive rebounds...the perimeter players have to start getting back … http://t.co/F3NLrwk9
@MagicJohnson
Earvin Magic Johnson
Coach D'Antoni has to start teaching better pick & roll defense and better defensive rotations...He also has to make s… http://t.co/X5aYjdgr
@MagicJohnson
Earvin Magic Johnson
All 12 @Lakers players need to understand what it means to be a member of the @Lakers.
@MagicJohnson
Earvin Magic Johnson
Updated: Scott Skiles and the Milwaukee Bucks have shockingly agreed to part ways, according to Sam Amick of USA Today: “Milwaukee Bucks and coach Scott Skiles have agreed to part ways, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the team had yet to announce the move. Skiles has been the coach of the Bucks since the 2008-09 season, compiling a record of 162-182, with one playoff appearance. Overall, Skiles has a record of 443-433 in 13 seasons. The Bucks are 16-16 this season and have lost four straight games. NBA.com reported earlier that Skiles told the Bucks he didn’t want to come back after this season but that the team had asked him to keep an open mind and that they might be willing to offer him about another deal.”
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports cites one possible reason for Skiles’ departure:
Close coaching friend of ex-Bucks coach Scott Skiles tells Y! Sports: "Scott hated his team."
@WojYahooNBA
Adrian Wojnarowski
- Skiles’ assistant will take over as the interim coach, from Woj:
Milwaukee has made assistant Jim Boylan its interim coach, league source tells Y! Sports.
@WojYahooNBA
Adrian Wojnarowski
Dirk Nowitzki expressed concern over the future of the Mavericks, from Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas: “It’s going to be tough now,” Nowitzki said after the Mavs’ home overtime loss to the Western Conference cellar-dwelling New Orleans Hornets. “I always liked to think you don’t want to build your franchise on hope. “We hoped for Deron last year. We hoped for Dwight. Why would he leave the Lakers? To me, it makes no sense. He’s in a great situation. Why would CP3 leave? [The Los Angeles Clippers are] the best team in the league probably right now. They’re probably the deepest team. So are you going to hope that we get something? “Maybe Cuban has something up his sleeve. Maybe you have to take a chance on a bad contract to get him in here and make something happen. I mean, I don’t know. That’s something we’ll have to see this summer. We’re going to play out this season.”… As for the players the Mavericks did bring in, Nowitzki, talking earlier in the week, said he and Chris Kaman have not logged many minutes together since Nowitzki’s return because they are both defensively challenged.”Chris and myself both can’t guard nobody,” Nowitzki said.
- The Celtics appear to have great interest in acquiring center DeMarcus Cousins, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE:
#Celticstalk: The name that keeps coming up with everyone I speak with about the #Celtics and trades, is #Kings stud DeMarcus Cousins.
@SherrodbCSN
A. Sherrod Blakely
More on the grand scheme for the Celtics, from Blakely: “In the first of what will likely be more moves by the Boston Celtics, the C’s have waived rookies Jarvis Varnado and second-round pick Kris Joseph… Two league sources contacted on Sunday said that the Celtics will look to bolster their roster via a multi-player trade. And now that the C’s are starting to play better, the C’s will have more attractive trading pieces to work with. While it’s unlikely the Celtics will look to move any member of their big Three – Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett – league sources confirmed that there’s “growing” interest in Courtney Lee who might become more expendable with the return of Avery Bradley. Brandon Bass is another possible Celtic on the move, one league source said.”
- Despite what Boston may want, Sam Amick of USA Today tells us that Cousins remains off the market:
DeMarcus Cousins is not going to the Celtics. Teams continue to be told that he's not available. That is all.
@sam_amick
Sam Amick
Should the Celtics fail to acquire Cousins, they could also go after Rudy Gay or Marcin Gortat, according to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: “If the Celtics can’t land Cousins, Rudy Gay is another star player that Boston has been linked to recently. Gay is another player who could help improve the Celtics today while also fitting into their long-term plans. Gay’s commitment to the Memphis Grizzlies has been questioned for awhile. When Gay signed his five-year extension with the Grizzlies, it was because he couldn’t pass up the $80 million, not because he’s committed to Memphis long-term. According to several reports, Gay is being made available in trade talks and he could be another player that Boston targets. Sources made it clear that Cousins to Boston is more likely than Gay, but wouldn’t rule out the latter as a possibility, especially if the Celtics and Kings can’t work out a deal for Cousins. Marcin Gortat of the Phoenix Suns has also been mentioned as a possible target if a Cousins deal falls through.”