The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a tough loss, but are preparing for their upcoming game as the news and rumors ramp up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Kobe, Rondo Have Breakfast
Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo had breakfast on Thursday morning ahead of the Lakers and Celtics Friday night game, leading to rumors that Bryant is trying to get Rondo to sign with the Lakers in the offseason.
Rondo will be an unrestricted free agent, although the Celtics are trying to re-sign him.
He could also be traded if the team can’t reach a deal with him, although even in that case he could be a free agent after this season unless he chose to extend his contract with whomever he’s traded to.
ESPN reported that there are no active talks between the Lakers and Celtics involving a trade for Rondo, but that the teams did discuss a deal a few months ago.
“Their willingness to engage in talks regarding Rondo is merely informational at this point, sources said. However, the Lakers have long held interest in the point guard, who helped Boston defeat them in the 2008 NBA Finals, and sources indicate he is high on their list of free-agent targets this summer,” it reported.
“Should the teams re-engage in discussions about Rondo, sources indicated Boston likely would ask for at least one first-round draft pick.”
Bryant and Rondo have made known in the past that they appreciate each other’s style and ethic, and Bryant has said he'd like to play with Rondo.
Lin a ‘One-Year Player’
Jeremy Lin is struggling for the Lakers so far, and he might not be back with the team next year.
The Lakers acquired him from the Houston Rockets during the offseason in part because he has an expiring contract and will become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Bringing Lin in was thought by some to be an audition of sorts, and things aren’t going too well so far.
“I think this Lin is a one-year player with the Lakers,” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo said in an interview on The Beast 980.
“He’s a backup point guard in the NBA. He’s obviously be thrust into a bigger role because of who they have [on the Lakers roster], with the injuries and with Steve Nash being out for the year.”
Lin has particularly struggled to mesh with Kobe, although he has synced well with some other players such as Jordan Hill.
“You can see that Lin’s confidence is not there,” Wojnarowski said. “There’s not a great chemistry between Kobe and Lin, that’s obvious.” Lin was 0-for-10 against the Washington Wizards.
Lin, though, says that he and Bryant have a mutual respect and that they’re working on improving their chemistry. And although he prefers the free-flowing offensive systems that he was in in Houston and New York, he’s adjusting to the Princeton-based offense run by coach Byron Scott.
“That’s not what we have here, but that’s OK. I feel like I’m further in my progress as a player where I can be effective in different ways,” Lin, who is in his fifth NBA season, told the L.A. Daily News.
“It’s just a matter of seeing what your team has and what is your personnel. A spread run-and-gun, open floor pick-and-roll system might not be what’s best for us given our personnel. It’s just learning to play and be effective within whatever system Coach puts me in.”
Young, Davis in Starting Lineup?
Scott has said recently he’s considering changing the starting lineup, and that could include plugging Nick Young and Ed Davis in, replacing Carlos Boozer and Wesley Johnson.
“At this point, why not? The only other option is to keep playing Eastern Conference teams, but I don’t think the schedule lines up that way. Either way, it’s not as though mixing up the lineup could really hurt their chances anyway. A starting lineup with Young and Ed Davis would be interesting, and it could perhaps give the Lakers a much-needed jolt to start games,” wrote ESPN analyst Baxter Holmes.
“The only way to get through to certain players is to reward them for good play and punish them for poor effort,” added Romona Shelburne.
“The Lakers consistently have the same issues on defense, which means the corrections Scott is trying to get across to his team either aren’t being digested or, worse, are being ignored. A lot of the guys Scott is referring to with this threat have been known as offense-minded players. It'll be hard to sacrifice those points by cutting their playing time. But Scott needs to prove that he will hold players accountable for their failures at the defensive end.”
Another analyst, Arash Markazi, suggested another change--start rookie Jordan Clarkson over Lin. Lakers Nation analyst Suki Thind agrees.
“The benefits are that he would be the primary ball-handler with the second unit, and would have a solid option in Nick Young — who is effective both with the ball in his hands and off-ball — to run with. Additionally, Lin displayed an offensive chemistry with Ed Davis early on this season, and the two coming in together off the bench could provide a solid spark. Davis, for his part, has fallen off drastically in the offensive department as of late, so the move could be mutually beneficial,” she said.
“Similarly, if a fluid offensive game is generated between the three aforementioned players, it would more than likely translate to added energy on the defensive side of the ball as well.”
Scott did tell Lakers.com in late November that he’s considering playing Clarkson at backup point guard instead of Ronnie Price.
“I’m going to have to give him a real small menu of plays that I want him to run, just so I can keep him from getting himself into trouble,” Scott said.
Noting that Clarkson is a shoot-first player, Scott added: “He still has to learn how to run a team…I’ve got to get him to fight against his instincts for the first 15 seconds of the shot clock, just to try and get his teammates involved.”
Wayne Ellington or Price could also start at point guard if Lin was moved to the second unit.
Scott Confident in Front Office
The Lakers are having a rough year, but Scott says he has confidence in the Lakers front office, that they will rebuild the franchise.
“I truly believe that,” Scott told the Daily News. “We may be a little down this year. Next year will be better and next year we will be back where we belong. It’s a process. We all have to bite the bullet a little bit and take it. But we do see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The Lakers notably lost Pau Gasol over the offseason, and also failed to acquire high-profile targets such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
The Lakers had to settle for re-signing Nick Young and Jordan Hill, among others, and bringing in Lin and Boozer.
Scott said the team can “absolutely” still attract free agents, and said general manager Mitch Kupchak and executive Jim Buss provided good insight on their vision during his interviews for the head coach role. Scott also believes the Lakers can do better this season.
“I’m holding up. Every now and then, I wouldn’t say I lose it, but I let them know how I feel,” said Scott, who has occasionally questioned his team’s effort after losses. “I’m not used to losing. I don’t think anybody in that room wants to get used to it. If you get used to it, it’s time for you to move on to another team. We all know it’s going to be a tough year and hard year. But we can still be competitive and we can still win basketball games. That’s still our goal.”
Man Charged in Death of Ellington’s Father
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The man accused of killing the father of Lakers guard Wayne Ellington Jr. has been arrested on a murder charge.
Authorities say 34-year-old Philadelphia resident Carl White was arrested Thursday in the shooting death of 57-year-old Wayne Ellington last month.
Police say the elder Ellington was found shot in the head in the driver’s seat of a car in northwest Philadelphia on the night of Nov. 9. Officers took him out of his vehicle and to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead nearly three hours later.
Police say an argument sparked the fatal shooting. They did not provide further details.
It was unclear if White has an attorney.
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