Laker Nation

L.A. Times: The game is the same, as is the goal: win it all and bring home a gold medal from the Beijing Summer Games. Kobe Bryant sat down with The Times on Sunday to talk about Team USA before departing for New York, where he and his U.S. teammates — including Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — [...]

Will Sasha and Turiaf look for a better offer? Sound-off in the comments… O.C. Register: Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak is expected to be on the phone shortly after 9 p.m. Monday when the NBA free agency period begins. First he will call Sasha Vujacic’s agent. After getting some idea of which way the restricted free agent is leaning, Kupchak [...]

L.A. Times: Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced his arrival as a businessman 13 years ago, when he took part in an unusual meeting with gang leaders from the Bloods and the Crips. At the time, Johnson was building a movie theater in Baldwin Hills. Would the gang members, Johnson asked, be kind enough not to shoot it up? “I just laid [...]

Press Enterprise: This week the Lakers and Clippers will enter the free-agent market, both teams shopping for players and looking to improve. The problem is that this year’s free-agent class is not considered strong. The only All-Star-caliber talent available is Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, both of the Washington Wizards, and they will be commanding the kind of money that [...]

To nobody’s surprise Kobe didn’t fuel the fire some more… Canadian Press: Bryant had little to say about a rap video by former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal, who rapped that “Kobe couldn’t do without me.” Asked how he took the video, Bryant shook his head and said, “I didn’t take it any kind of way whatsoever.”

Fox Sports: Because teams, players, coaches and referees all reveal themselves in various ways, every play of every game is fraught with meaningful revelations. And the pressure inherent in a championship series certainly ups the ante. So then, here are some nuggets of transcendent meaning that can be gleaned from the latest Lakers-Celtics set-to. - While Doc Rivers did a [...]

If you think Perkins doesn’t make a difference for the Celtics, just find out how many combined rebounds Gasol and Odom had… Yeah, 24! Oh, and Odom had only 4 blocks. Boston Herald: … Perkins faced the real possibility that he had played in his last NBA Finals game. “I would say that would probably be doubtful,” coach Doc Rivers [...]

ESPN: The Los Angeles Lakers should know by now not to expect any pity. The Lakers surely understand that they traded away their rights to sympathy, maybe permanently, when they shipped so little to Memphis and stole Pau Gasol. The infamous foul that wasn’t called on Derek Fisher in the San Antonio series won’t soon be forgotten, either. So … [...]

O.C. Register: As if there wasn’t enough history in this colonial city and in this classic Lakers-Celtics rivalry, the opportunity to make more has arrived for Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. Somewhat inaccurately defined by their separate determinations to win championships — Bryant portrayed as borderline maniacal in his single-mindedness, Jackson long criticized for playing only with stacked decks — [...]

Should have Kobe passed the ball more during OT or instead pass the ball to his teamates? Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think… L.A. Times: Kobe Bryant will play Wednesday, I learned Monday. Actually, I didn’t learn it as much as divine it from years of watching Bryant, who would play if they had to wrap [...]

HOOPSWORLD: HOOPSWORLD has learned that Trevor Ariza of the Los Angeles Lakers has been cleared by a second independent doctor. Sidelined for months with a broken foot, Ariza has now sought out two additional opinions hoping to get back on the floor to help the team in its ongoing playoff run. The Lakers’ physician has been conservative as Ariza’s CT [...]

Kam and I met with Elie Seckbach and conducted an exclusive interview for TLN. Members submitted their questions, and we asked him. It was a very candid interview, and the stories he has for our blog are definitely worth reading. We spoke about his career, NBA Players, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, the TLN Bumper Stickers, and a whole lot more. [...]

The mere mortals in Los Angeles are used to living alongside some high-powered stars, but the hero worship lavished upon the Lakers star, the newly minted NBA MVP, transcends all. L.A. Times: It has been two days now since his coronation, and we remain a city in a twitter. Kobe Bryant is the MVP. One more time, let’s chant: MVP. [...]

Kam and I met with Elie Seckbach last week and conducted an exclusive interview for TLN. Members submitted their questions, and we asked him. It was a very candid interview, and the stories he has for our blog are definitely worth reading. We spoke about his career, NBA Players, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, the TLN Bumper Stickers, and a whole [...]