LOS ANGELES -- Thirty-one years ago this month, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Paul Westhead after just 11 games and one infamous trade demand from Magic Johnson following a game in Utah. Friday they fired Mike Brown just five games into his second season after one infamous "death stare" from Kobe Bryant during a game in Utah.
Approach me on the street and accuse me of being an alcoholic, and I'll deny it. "Of course," you might say. "Denial is the first sign of being an alcoholic." True enough (according to the literature, at least), but it's also the first sign of not being an alcoholic.
With the season just around the corner, I texted two-time Grammy winner and lifelong Lakers fanatic Ben Harper to see if our buddy could drop by the studio to record a show. His response? "Gotta be done!
ANAHEIM -- Andrew Bynum is the Philadelphia 76ers' to worry about now. The Los Angeles Lakers have quite enough to keep them up at night as Dwight Howard continues to work his way back from offseason back surgery.
With Lakers Media Day approaching Monday, it dawned on me how Oct. 1, 2012, doesn't just mark the official launch of training camp and the 2012-2013 season. It also marks the five-year anniversary of the Media Day following Kobe Bryant's "radio tour.
LOS ANGELES -- Before Dwight Howard was introduced as the Los Angeles Lakers’ newest center last month, he took a quick tour of the team’s training facility. As he walked around Jeanie Buss’ office, he took a long look at the 10 Larry O’Brien trophies the team has won in Los Angeles since 1980 before gazing out her window at the retired jerseys on the walls surrounding the practice court.
Hey Dwight: How's it going? We haven't formally met, yet, but I'm Andy Kamenetzky. You'll be seeing a lot of me, as I cover the Lakers for ESPN LA and 710 ESPN. And I'm looking forward to you being part of the Lakers.
It has been an outstanding summer for Lakers head coach Mike Brown, and not only because he was able to take his first real family vacation since taking the gig last year. With the lockout in the rearview mirror, Brown now can prepare for the season as a detail-oriented man like himself prefers, dotting i's, crossing t's and creating a season's blueprint for his roster.
If idle hands do the devil's work, the Lakers have been saints this summer. The moves have been bold and plentiful. Steve Nash then Antawn Jamison then Dwight Howard, with Jodie Meeks and a re-signed Jordan Hill tossed in for good measure.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After months (and months and months and months) of speculation, the trade finally bringing Dwight Howard to Los Angeles came together quickly. So, too, did the press conference.
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