So this is how it ends for Kobe Bryant, huh? A top-10 all-time player, Bryant will spend his last four years as the face of arguably the most storied franchise in NBA history, watching it plunge into unprecedented irrelevance. What has happened to the Lakers happens to a lot of successful family-owned businesses. It was handed from the patriarch to the next generation, which was in over its head. It took its brand for granted and treated the competition with disdain rather
During the short amount of time I listened to Jeanie Buss on ESPN Radio last week, I saw great possibilities for the Lakers, but only if creators of TV series like Scandal and Nashville are willing to take up additional projects. Jeanie made it clear that as team president, she is the ultimate decision-maker for the Lakers. She admitted she was upset when her brother Jim, who is head of basketball operations, did not hire her fiancé Phil Jackson as coach, but that she
Every team has a different process when hiring a new head coach of GM. For the Golden State Warriors, a team with a plentiful collection of talent, is in no rush to select their next leader. [Read more…]
It’s going to be an interesting season for the Los Angeles Lakers. It is a time of obvious transition, but for a team that’s accustomed to being on top, it’s going to be much different than that. After a season in which they struggled to simply reach the playoffs, things might be even more frustrating for the Lakers in 2014. So before we dive into the upcoming season, a quick look at all the turmoil from a season ago should help
You can be an incredibly gifted scorer in the NBA, but these days, that skill alone won’t necessarily cut it for most teams. You have to understand the concept of team play on both ends of the court. Without it, you might not be good enough to stick around in the league, and that is especially true if you come with baggage. At this point in his career, Michael Beasley is that guy – a pretty good scorer that doesn’t defend
When certain NBA owners are unable to attain a coveted player via free agency, they seem to feel the need to lash out or downplay what that player meant to their franchise. Mark Cuban has done this a number of times: he said the Dallas Mavericks were better off by not signing Deron Williams in the summer of 2012, and basically said the same about Dwight Howard after missing out on the center this summer. We all know about the
After weeks of knowing that the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry would join the Brooklyn Nets, they were finally introduced at the Barclays Center on Thursday afternoon. While all the reports were out on how everything came about and what pieces were needed to successfully get a blockbuster deal done between the Nets and the Boston Celtics, there was never an opportunity to hear how the trio coming from Boston really felt about what went down. [Read
After billboard signs, a team meeting and a Time Warner Cable presentation, the Los Angeles Lakers lost the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Howard chose to take his talents to H-Town, joining forces with James Harden the the Rockets. [Tweet of the Night: Dwight Howard makes official announcement of his decision to play for Houston] The Lakers—as a team—are moving on without the All-Star center. However, it appears that the Lakers’ PR and marketing staffs are not on the same page with basketball operations. Golden