June 2008 Archives
The Lakers have extended qualifying offers to Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, who are restricted free agents. Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Lakers then have the opportunity to match the offer.
In some alternate reality, Kobe Bryant would've played his college ball at Duke for Mike Krzyzweski --it's where he committed out of Lower Merion High -- but instead he jumped directly to the pros.
Bonus points to anyone who can name (without looking it up) where Bryant was drafted...
Eleven years later, they're finally on the same team. Coach K being the head coach of Bryant's USA Basketbal squad. Here's what Kobe had to say about it as Team USA began its training camp in Las Vegas this weekend.
``It's everything that I thought it would be, and more,'' Bryant said. ``When I was in high school, he was my number one choice, but I had to wait about 11 years or so to play for him. He is a great guy and an incredible coach. I've learned a lot from him already. He has a passion for the game, a respect for his players and above all else, he wants to see his players play well. And he wants to win. He communicates that beautifully to his players. He's very clear on what he wants.''
Here are a few things to know about guard Joe Crawford, the Lakers' lone pick in the draft:
He's from Detroit.
He's got good range on his jump shot, out to the NBA 3-point line.
His favorite movie is "The Shawshank Redemption."
His favorite TV show is "Nip/Tuck."
His dream dinner party would include actress Ashley Judd and Michael Jordan. (Judd is a fellow Kentucky alum and a former Wildcats cheerleader).
He is not related to veteran NBA referee Joey Crawford.
GM Mitch Kupchak said late Thursday night, long after the draft had ended, that he would call the agents for restricted free agents Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf at 9:01 p.m. Monday, when the negotating period begins.
That wasn't much of a surprise. Kupchak has made it clear he wants Vujacic and Turiaf back for next season and beyond.
But then Kupchak said he would start talking to the agent for China's Sun Yue, the Lakers' second-round pick from 2007. Sun, a 6-foot-9 guard, will play for China at the Beijing Olympics in August.
"We're very optimistic we can get him on the roster next year," Kupchak said. "We feel (signing him after a one-year wait) is a better opportunity for him."
Wow, what a weird turn this Monday afternoon took. Earlier today, the gossip website TMZ.com posted a video of Shaquille O'Neal freestyle rapping at a New York club, and absolutely ripping his former teammate Kobe Bryant. The video
feels kind of like a scene from 8 Mile, and contains explicit lyrics, so if there are sensitive ears in the room, consider yourself warned.
The overriding theme of the freestyle is that Kobe can't win without Shaq, but among the highlights and/or lowlights: "I'm a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that's why I'm getting divorced."
Later on, Shaq did an interview where he backtracked quite a bit, and said it was all in good fun. Basically: ``the rap made me do it'' defense. No word yet on how Kobe is taking the verbal smackdown
Here's the latest from Shaq-fu:
"I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all. And by the way, don't forget, six albums, two platinum, two gold. Anybody who knows me knows I'm a funny freestyler. Check the NBA DVD when I was rapping about Vlade Divac during my first championship run. Please tell everybody don't make something out of nothing."
I almost didn't post this, because it's been assumed for so long. But the official announcement came down today. Here's a link to the roster:
Here's what Kobe said last week about his role on the Olympic team:
``I don't have as many responsibilities (on the Olympic team). There's still a leadership component, but in terms of basketball execution, my role is to defend and if they need to get points, I can do that too. But I don't have to do as much work because the USA obviously has a deep team.''
In the days that have passed since the Lakers season ended in Boston, more than a few people have drawn comparisons between these Lakers and the 1984 Lakers, who lost to Boston in an eerily similar NBA Finals. Remember that clothesline?
Here's what general manager Mitch Kupchak had to say about it:
`` In 1984, I sat basically in that same building, in that same cubicle when we got beat by the Celtics. So I know how they feel,'' Kupchak said. ``I also know as time goes on they will feel better. There is something to be learned through defeat. You learn a little bit about yourself, you learn about what you have to work on during the offseason. ... I think there's a learning process here that may benefit us in the future.
``It's my job to have some vision and I don't live in the trenches with the players and the coaches. I take the losses hard, but I do have to take a step back and look at the future. Of course, it all came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night, so the last two or three days there have been a lot of down players walking through our offices. They're starting to see some players smile a little bit and work there way through a tough time. I will say I do know how they feel.''
It's one of the oddest, least expected pairings you could think of, but Kobe Bryant is actually pretty tight with young shooting guard Sasha Vujacic. In years past, he's invited him to train with him during the summers, and seems to respect Vujacic's passion for the game. Now that Vujacic is a restricted free agent, here's the advice Bryant said he'd give his young disciple.
``With Shi-shi (Sasha). He should do what's obviously best for himself and his family. Obviously as a big brother, that's the best advice I could give him,'' Bryant said. ``I would love to keep him around for selfish reasons, because of his defense, his passion, and his shooting was obviously something that was invaluable to us this year. So for my own selfish reasons, I would love to keep him here, but as a big brother, he has to do what's best for him and his family.''
Then a reporter asked Bryant: ``If it got down to couple hundred thousand, would you kick in for it?''
Bryant, similar to the look he got used to giving when we'd ask whether he'd be picking up the tab for the Lakers team meals throughout the playoffs again, quipped, ``I'm not the richest one in this building homey, I don't know what you're looking at me for.''
The normally reserved, thoughtful Pau Gasol was downright feisty when asked about the emotions he'll carry with him from the recently concluded NBA Finals against the Celtics.
Gasol said that the pain from the loss will linger for a long time, as will his memory of Boston fans shaking the Lakers team bus as they drove away from TD Banknorth Arena Tuesday night.
``I'm definitely going to keep these feelings, because it wasn't pleasant to see all the Boston fans go crazy on us after the game and hitting the bus and all that crap,'' he said. ``It's just something I'm going to keep in mind all year long until we get there again.''
Ronny Turiaf said Thursday that he would not play for France at the Summer Olympics unless his contract situation has been resolved.
``I'm not going to play unless I've got a contract,'' Turiaf said. ``So I don't know yet. Everything will happen like it's supposed to. I have faith in it.''
Here's the story I just filed on the Lakers mood today, following their exit interviews with Phil Jackson and Mitch Kupchak
By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer
EL SEGUNDO - The taste in their mouths was still sour, two days not being nearly enough time to wash away their disappointing loss to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. No, that was the kind of loss that sticks with you deep into the summer months, the 39-point drubbing in Game 6 only adding an extra dash of humility to the already oversized bitter pill.
It hasn't been easy to swallow. Not with pundits questioning their toughness and character, labeling them as ``soft,'' or wondering aloud whether all of the ways the Celtics beat them in the NBA Finals have exposed weaknesses in them that cannot be fixed by a year of seasoning or a different set of X's and O's.
But somewhere in the hours between their season-ending loss in Boston Tuesday night, and their season-ending exit meetings Thursday with Lakers coach Phil Jackson and general manager Mitch Kupchak, the first painful attempts at digestion took place.
``Not to say that the loss doesn't sting, because it does and it will, but I get back up pretty quickly and start thinking about revenge,'' Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said, sounding a about a thousand times more positive Thursday than he did after the Game 6 loss.
``I think what it does for us, is it teaches us how to win. The hunger was there, but Boston's experience wore us down a little bit. We have a team here that's very good. Boston played better, they played more physical than we were, but at the same time, you look around at our roster and they're still kids, they're young kids.
``Being that we got this deep in the playoffs, with such a young club, helps us tremendously because it puts us ahead of the curve.''
But will he?
We just spoke with Ronny after he met with Lakers coach Phil Jackson and general manager Mitch Kupchak for his season-ending exit interview. Ronny was pretty unequivocal in saying his personal preference would be to stay in LA --he's a restricted free agent -- but that he wasn't sure what the future would bring.
``If they want me here, I for sure would be more than happy to keep on going on this journey I started about three years ago with all my teammates,'' he said. ``I built relationships here that are very strong and it would be tough for me to say goodbye to that. But when it comes down to it, this is a business decision for both sides. They have to worry about salary cap issues and I have to find the best situation for me as far as playing time, also as far as the financial situation.
I'm hoping to be here. You can write that in big, capital letters: Ronny Turiaf would like to be a Laker. We shall see what happens, I can't see the future.''
Here's a quick look at the contract status of the current Lakers. The biggest issues, as I mentioned last night, are Odom, Vujacic and Turiaf.
Who should be back:
Derek Fisher: Signed through 2009-10 season
Kobe Bryant: On-board for next year, but can opt out of his contract in June of 2009.
Pau Gasol: Signed through 2010-11 season.
Jordan Farmar: Signed for next year, team option for 2009-10, restricted free agent after that.
Chris Mihm: Player option for next season. Coming off injuries makes him likely to stay.
Vladimir Radmanovic: Under contract for two more seasons, player option for a third. Hefty salary would make him hard to trade.
Luke Walton: Under contract for five more seasons, would be very difficult to move that contract after subpar year.
Andrew Bynum: Signed through next year, restricted free agent after that. Lakers will need to decide whether to offer a long-term extension.
Who might be back:
Lamar Odom: $14.1 million expiring contract makes him very attractive in trades.
Trevor Ariza: Player option for next year. Lakers love him and will likely want him to stay.
Sasha Vujacic: Restricted free agent. Lakers can match whatever another team offers. They probably will if the price is right.
Ronny Turiaf: Restricted free agent. Lakers like him, but he could get a big offer from another club (like Orlando, Toronto, Golden State) that needs and likes athletic post players.
Coby Karl: Lakers like him, but he barely played and might have to fight off competition from this year's second-round draft pick.
Who probably won't be back:
DJ Mbenga: Versatile big man will become a free agent, could end up anywhere.
Ira Newble: Never learned the offense to Phil Jackson's satisfaction, though the Lakers could've used his defensive toughness in the Finals.
Well, at least that loss had some time to sink in, right? But now that this season in the books, where do the Lakers go from here? Was this just a bunch of kids running into a superior, veteran-laden team? Or did the Celtics expose fatal flaws in the makeup of this team.
Phil Jackson seemed to suggest there would be changes in the off-season after the game.
"We have to get some players if we're going to come back and repeat, to have that kind of aggressiveness that we need," he said.
How big those changes will be remain to be seen.
Right now, at 4:22 a.m. (EST), just about four hours after the season's final chapters were written, here are the three areas the Lakers will have to address this offseason:
1. How does Lamar Odom fit into their future plans. Odom and Pau Gasol were outstanding when teamed together the last few months of the year, but with Andrew Bynum coming back, Gasol will slide over to power forward and Odom to small forward. In the Lakers offense, the small forward needs to be a good outside shooter to stretch the defense. Hence, Vladimir Radmanovic's spot in the starting lineup. Odom told me a couple weeks ago that he's looking forward to the move, and that he's going to spend the entire summer shooting 3s. But is this the right fit for his game? That question will need to be answered quickly this summer and next season as Odom heads into the final year of his contract. If he's not a fit, his expiring contract will be attractive on the open market.
2. How much can they get out of Andrew Bynum. Everything, and I repeat everything depends on how quickly Bynum's knee recovers from his knee surgery, and how confident the Lakers are that he'll make a full recovery. If there are any doubts, the Lakers will need to look for a back-up center who can contribute at both ends. Is Ronny Turiaf that guy?
Well, that brings us to No. 3:
Turiaf is a free agent, and while he had a dreadful NBA Finals, he played well enough this season to interest many teams looking for a young, athletic big man with an under rated offensive game.
The other free agent the Lakers will need to decide on is Sasha Vujacic. He's only a restricted free agent, meaning the Lakers can match what another team offers him. The sense is that the Lakers would like to keep both players. They both have great attitudes, basketball IQs and upside. But how much will they be willing to pay to do so?
Celtics center Kendrick Perkins participated in the team's shoot-around this morning and said he will try to play today, according to the Boston Globe's blog.
Guard Ray Allen, who left Staples Center Sunday to deal with a health issue with one of his children, did not attend the shootaround, but is expected to play tonight.
Steve Dilbeck, myself and Elliott Teaford got in to Boston around midnight local time and happened to bump into the Celtics Glen ``Big Baby'' Davis at baggage claim, so we can confirm that the Celtics, who were delayed several hours with mechanical problems on their plane, have indeed arrived in Boston.
Before you ask: Glen Davis was not getting his own bags, but seemed to be meeting a friend who was on our JetBlue flight from Long Beach.
This time the Lakers punched back.
It wasn't the prettiest counterpunch in the world. Bernard Hopkins isn't worried. But when the Celtics came back from yet another huge second-half deficit, the Lakers didn't just cover up and wait for the final bell to ring, as they had in Game 4.
``We just kept playing,'' Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. ``This is for the NBA title, so what the score is in the first quarter or second quarter or third quarter is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the final score.''
Two times in the Lakers 103-98 victory in Game 5 Sunday night, they were able to take the Celtics' best shot and fire back.
And while those punches didn't exactly land cleanly, they did just enough damage to send the Lakers to a Game 6 in Boston Tuesday night, and keep their season alive another few days.
Three nights ago, that would've been hard to imagine. The Lakers had blown the biggest lead in NBA Finals history. They were down 3-1 in the series, with no room for error left. Emotionally, quite understandably, they were a wreck.
Two days of mourning, dissecting the loss, and regrouping could only do so much to heal their fragile confidence.
The prospect of sparing their home court from the spray of Boston's championship champagne was more than enough motivation.
``I know I didn't want to see the Celtics celebrating in my home floor with champagne and all that crap,'' Lakers center Pau Gasol said. ``As painful as it was, I think it definitely helped to build our confidence back up.''
As they had in Game 4, the Lakers came out swinging right away Sunday night, building a 17-point lead by the end of the first quarter to put the Celtics on their heels again.
This time, Boston answered much quicker, going on a 15-0 run over a five-minute span in the second quarter. By halftime, the lead was down to 55-52.
As flashbacks go, there was no subtlety to this one. For the second time in as many games, the Lakers had squandered a double-digit early lead.
At halftime, Lakers coach Phil Jackson made a joke of the situation.
``I just said, `Well, thank God we don't have a lead,''' Jackson joked. ``It's important we don't have something like that because we just don't know what to do with it.''
The levity seemed to help. Instead of freezing up with a case of déjà vu, the Lakers answered, building the lead back to 79-70 by the end of the third quarter behind eight, tough points from Pau Gasol.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers stretched the lead out to 88-74, on a jumper by Luke Walton.
Once again, Boston came roaring back. First Sam Cassell threw Sasha Vujacic to the ground, then he faked Jordan Farmar up into the air, and jumped into him -Brent Barry, are you listening? - banked in a wild shot and drew a foul.
All of a sudden, it was 88-79. Then, another nightmare from Game 4 resurfaced as James Posey hit a 3-pointer from nearly the exact same spot he broke the hearts of Lakers fans across the country on Thursday night to make it 90-86.
After free throws by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the next two possessions, it was 90-90.
``We expected them to go on a run,'' Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. ``We expect a fight from those guys. I mean, they're tough. They're a tough-minded team.''
Four minutes remained, entirely too long to cover up and run out the clock.
And that hadn't exactly worked the last time either. So the Lakers did what any desperate fighter would: They flurried.
Lamar Odom took the ball to the basket and got fouled, then Kobe Bryant poked the ball away from Pierce near midcourt. Odom was in the perfect spot to scoop it up, while Bryant bolted down court.
Odom's pass was perfect, in stride, on target. Bryant had broken loose from the Celtics hold and finally gotten free for an easy fast break dunk.
`` We kept playing tonight, and we kept playing in Game 3,'' Fisher said. ``People will say they were ugly games to get, but so far these are the only two games we've won. And we'll take what we can get.''
We just got a statement from the NBA explaining that Ray Allen was forced to leave Staples Center right at the conclusion of tonight's game due to a health issue with one of his children.''
Wow, what's going on? Chris Mihm is in the game. It's the first time he's played since April 15 . Since December 23, he's played only about 26 minutes.
He's playing in the spot Ronny Turiaf usually occupies.
Mihm just airballed his first shot.
Celtics center Kendrick Perkins is out tonight, and there's doubt about his availability for the rest of the series. Perkins said Saturday that there was a ``strong possibility'' of him playing with his injured shoulder, but something obviously changed overnight
Saturday at practice, Kobe Bryant was asked about his future, whether he now intended to be a ``Laker for life'' or whether he still plans to opt out of his contract after next season. Here's what he said:
Q. Kobe, there's been all this attention on all your gestures and, you know, what they mean for your relationships with your teammates. In that context, can you say, you know, is it still your position that you want to stay with the Lakers, and if they were to offer an extension this summer, would you sign it?
KOBE BRYANT: First of all, you're talking like the season is over. You see what I'm saying? So like for me to even answer that question and speculate what's going to happen this summer, this season ain't over. It's far from over. So for me to talk about that would be acknowledging defeat, and that's something I just don't do.
Q. I only bring it up in the sense that can you explain what the relationship is, with the gestures, if you seem to be angry with them sometimes? What is the relationship?
KOBE BRYANT: It's -- our relationship is great. I mean, I think people pay attention to it a lot more than you do when you lose than you do when you win. When you win it's great leadership. When you lose, it's -- you're a tyrant. You've got to take it and roll with it.
I came across a really interesting read the other day I thought I'd share. It's written by Tim Keown over at ESPN.com and I think it's right on. Basically, he argues that the Celtics foul eight times on every play, knowing the officials can't call all of them.
``First, a tangent: Not that anybody cares, or should, but I've coached a lot of youth-league basketball. I've learned if your team plays with some semblance of structure, and if they're pretty good with fundamentals, it sometimes works against them.Here's why: If the other team travels every third time it has the ball, or double-dribbles, oftentimes the referees shrug and say they can't call everything or we'll be here all night.
But if the team that plays well fundamentally takes an extra step, it almost always gets called. Why? Because it's obvious and unusual and they clearly know better. It's just human nature.
This is relevant to the Celtics-Lakers, kind of. The Celtics are the Eastern Conference tough-guy team. In the Finals, that's their role. The Lakers are the finesse, flashy, keep-their-hands-to-themselves team from the West. That's their role.
Is it even possible to expect the officials to ignore this, or somehow hold themselves above it? It's a version of the same principle that allowed Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux to use their pinpoint control to convince the umpires to expand the width of the plate.
''
To read the whole story, click here:
I went out to both the Lakers and Celtics practice this afternoon and found both teams in a very good mood. Yes, even the Lakers. There were two ways the guys could've been today: light and relaxed or serious and depressed. If you've known this team for any length of time, you're not all that surprised they'd be relaxed just two days after the worst collapse in NBA Finals history. There are a lot of easygoing personalities on the team --Odom, Walton, Fisher, Ariza, Radmanovic, Kurt Rambis, Phil Jackson -- and I just got this sense that the team had spent Friday licking its wounds and mourning the missed opportunity, and came back Saturday refreshed. Refreshed doesn't mean happy of course. No one seemed jolly or anything. But if you think about it, the pressure is kind of off the Lakers now. What's done is done.
Anyway, here's a quick update on the Celtics that I just filed:
Celtics notes
By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer
EL SEGUNDO - Celtics center Kendrick Perkins did not practice Saturday but said that he expects to play in today's Game 5 of the NBA Finals even though his injured left shoulder is still ``very sore.''
Perkins told reporters that there is ``a strong possibility'' he'll play, and that he expects to be in the starting lineup tonight, as the Celtics have a chance to close out their first NBA Championship in 22 seasons.
"It's the Finals,'' said Perkins, who was injured after slamming into the Lakers Lamar Odom in the third quarter of Game 4. ``You've got to suck it up and go all out. I feel like I can go (Sunday night). The doctor feels the same way.''
Asked if he would play if this were a regular season game, Perkins said, ``This isn't a regular season game.''
It is the same shoulder Perkins had surgery on two years ago, and injured earlier in the year in a game against Minnesota.
The news was even more encouraging from second-year point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been hobbled by a bone bruise on his ankle. Rondo wasn't wearing the hard protective sleeve under his sock that he had been, and showed no signs of a limp.
``The rest has been good for my ankle, and our whole team, because a lot of guys are banged-up right now,'' Rondo said.
!bold!Surgery for Pierce?!off! A report on SI.com Saturday suggested that the Celtics fear that ``Pierce has at least partially torn his meniscus and that he may need surgery when the Finals are over.''
The first assertions of blame were written today, the most dangerous, if you will, came from Bill Plaschke, who put voice to some of the hesitant whispers around L.A. by writing that the fall guy for the Lakers loss might actually be the Zen Master himself.
What do you think?
For either team...
The Celtics decision was easy to explain. First of all, they won last night and lead the series 3-1 so they've obviously been doing a lot right. Second, half the team is hurt.
But here's what Phil Jackson had to say about why he cancelled Lakers practice today:
``You know, just in the checking out how the guys were and how they felt, I just felt it was a good idea. We have to two days to work on things we need to work on. We have guys that are well-conditioned at this time, and we need rest and recuperation in this situation, probably more psychologically than we do physically.
``These young men are really resilient. That's one of the things I think I mentioned last night. I don't think there's any doubt that if we had to play this morning, we probably wouldn't feel that great about playing this morning, but fortunately we're not playing until Sunday, and we'll be back ready to go on Sunday.
``I just told them as a team, they had their heart ripped out. It's tough to recover from that, but they will. This thing is not over, and we want to force the action, want to continue to force the play.''
Also, if you're still looking for answers, or commiseration, head over to Kevin Modesti's blog and sound off in his look back on Game 4
Feel free to sound off:
Here's the story I just wrote on Thursday's Game 4 collapse, and how exactly the Lakers will be trying to regroup and get ready for Sunday's Game 5.
By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer
Wow.
Just, Wow.
What exactly happened inside Staples Center Thursday night?
How exactly did the Lakers go from being in it, really in it, tied up with the Celtics 2-2 in this best-of-7 series with a chance to take a 3-2 lead on their home court on Sunday, to ... um...Wow...
An hour had passed before Kobe Bryant offered his public thoughts on the Lakers epic collapse in Game 4 of the NBA Finals and all he could come up with was an invitation to drink ... as if Lakers fans all around the Southland hadn't already gone there.
``A lot of wine, a lot of beer, a couple of shots, maybe like 20 of them,'' Bryant said. ``Digest it, then get back to work tomorrow.''
But how exactly do you do that?
Put the biggest collapse in Finals history -at least as far back as there are records for that sort of thing - behind you, watch the film, get back to practice and give it a go again on Sunday like nothing happened?
This isn't the regular season. This isn't Game 1 or Game 2, or even Game 3. This was Game 4, the game where the home team gets to make it a series or starts making plans for summer vacation. The Lakers had it. It was going to be a series, and then, just...Wow.
``Right now, I think it's normal for everybody to be a little disappointed, a little pissed off,'' Bryant said. ``It's human nature. But tomorrow, you've got to get back to work tomorrow.''
DAVID STERN: Good evening. I'm sorry to interfere with your pregame preparations, but we had received so many media requests for responses from me that I thought it was best to do it here and allow as many questions as possible, given the time constraints.
I just want to say that as part of the investigation by the independent investigator, Larry Pedowitz, that every NBA official has been interviewed and asked the question whether they have made any calls other than on the merits of the calls, and that investigation with respect to all of our officials has been completed, although the report itself is not ready to be issued because it was always contemplated that it would be done after Mr. Donaghy was sentenced and against the hope that the request made several months ago from Mr. Donaghy's lawyer that he meet with Mr. Pedowitz would be responded to in a positive way, and that has been denied.
Second of all, I, in light of that, and the interviews of our officials, and really on behalf of our officials, didn't think it was fair for them to have to respond or anyone to have to respond for them against the allegations by an admitted felon that somehow all or a large swath of NBA officials had engaged in illegal conduct. But I would just say, in light of the media coverage here, we will go back and prospectively ask the questions of officials in effect again with respect of specific acts, even though they've all been interviewed, so that I could sit here in front of you, really on behalf of our officials, who don't engage with you on a regular basis, to say no, no, a thousand times no, and I don't know how else to give them, I think, the protection to which they're entitled.
This is a subject that I've been quite interested in for years. It's the subject of officiating. It's something that we decided five years ago that we would track literally every call in order to help develop our officials and make them better, and they really effectively are the most measured and metricized group of employees in the world.
That said, they get about 90 percent or so of the calls correct. Given the size of the players, the speed of the game, the position they find themselves, and as a result, there are always games, some of which are refereed, quote, better, with a higher percentage of correct calls than others. But that's the extent of it.
I think that's all I have to say, other than that I find it to be less than fair that our officials now have to defend themselves from allegations by one of their fallen brethren. But that seems to be what the media is demanding of me on their behalf, and I think that their attempt to do the best officiating job in the world under the most difficult circumstances, in an arena setting where the cameras are as close as they possibly could be to any action requires no less. I'm happy to answer any of your questions.
Q. Could I ask you a two-part question? First of all, are you saying that most of the attention has been focused on this allegation in Game 6 in the 2002 playoffs between the Lakers and Kings? Are you saying that his allegations in regard to that game, it's impossible for his allegations to be correct? And secondly, looking back, notwithstanding the fact that it's very difficult for referees to do a game, I think we all know that, was that a well-refereed match?
DAVID STERN: My memory recalls that that was not one of the best refereed games, so that's the second part.
What's the first part?
Q. The first part is are you saying it's impossible? I know you talked about him being a felon, and obviously we all know he's a felon. Are you saying that it's impossible that his allegations regarding that game are correct?
DAVID STERN: I'm saying I don't know how -- I don't want to argue with you on possible or impossible. I'm saying to you that the allegations about that are incorrect, are not true. I don't want to even fudge words, okay; they're not true.
Q. In light of the revelation by a former referee that Dick Bavetta that has been raised by federal investigators in their inquiries, do you have any concerns about Mr. Bavetta or anyone else?
DAVID STERN: I think I should explain that although the FBI and the U.S. Attorney never shared with us what Mr. Donaghy said to them, you know, the letter, the specifics were laid out in that letter. We had some idea about what was happening because we made available and they went out and sought interviews with many officials, present and former, who informed us of those interviews. So we knew that something had been said by Mr. Donaghy and that the FBI was investigating a variety of claims. That's what happens. Someone comes in, they make a variety of allegations as they seek to demonstrate their cooperativeness with respect to reducing a sentence, and then you identify people.
But guilt by association is not something that we engage in, and so we just allowed all those interviews to be done, and in fact, helped facilitate many interviews with both present officials for sure, but we knew about former officials, as well.
Just wanted to call attention to the story Jill Painter wrote for today's paper. It's on A1, so if you jumped straight to the sports section and missed it, here's the link:
Outside of Curt Schilling, the personal blogs of pro athletes aren't usually all that compelling , but I gotta say, Rajon Rondo's got a pretty good one going over at Yardbarker. He updates regularly and gives a lot of inside info like:
If you were watching the game you know that I injured my ankle in the third quarter. It happened on a fast break and I rolled it. I think I may have stepped on someone's foot, but I still haven't seen the play. It's a different feeling than I've ever had. I've injured my ankle before but this one is unlike the others. The pain is on the inside of my foot. All the other ankle sprains have been on the outside. I will be getting a lot of treatment tonight, tomorrow, Thursday to try to get it ready to go for game 4. I did try to go again in the fourth quarter, but I really couldn't make any hard cuts. No one is 100% at this point, but I was probably 50%. Coach made the right decision taking me out because I didn't have my quickness. E House did a great job filling in. When his name was called he was ready to play and that's big for us.There's no question this one is disappointing. We feel like we had a chance to really put them away and go up 3-0. Paul never had a chance to get in a rhythm because of foul trouble and we just struggled on offense. Even though we played very bad we still had a chance in the end. We just didn't get the stops down the stretch when we needed it. They were very aggressive tonight similar to the way we were in game 2. But in the end we still had a chance but let it get away.
Heading back to the hotel and will keep working on my ankle. Lots of ice and I'll keep it elevated. I'll have more later. Until then I'll holla.
I caught up with NBA commissioner David Stern this afternoon at a great event at the Boys and Girls Club in Santa Monica. He was on hand, along with a lot of other NBA dignitaries, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Derek Fisher, Vlad Radmanovic, Bill Sharman and Bill Lanier to present a new reading and learning center to the Boys and Girls club over on Lincoln and Wilshire.
These are some of the best things the NBA does, and you could tell the kids there were already making great use of their new digs. If you're in the area, it's worth a look.
But controversy waits for no good deed. And Stern has had to field questions every where he goes these days about the salacious allegations of game-fixing leveled by ex-referee Tim Donaghy yesterday.
Here's the latest:
``Obviously our guys have a very hard job. There are always fans who are upset on any particular call, and feel that it's incorrect. And online polls (about whether the public believes Donaghy) are fascinating, but the people who are participating are the ones who have the largest beefs, so it's not a great indication (about fans skepticism). But we have to do a better job of letting our fans know of how much our officials do, how it's metricizded and judged, how viewed and rated they really are.
``We just need to get it out there what a good job is done to make sure our officials are the best in the world. There's an observer at every game and he watches every play, then he goes hom and he reviews the video and then there are supervisors who view that, the referees themselves view the games, and then at the end of the season the coaches and general managers and the league officiating staff rates and ranks the referees. They're clearly the most rated and ranked group of employees in terms of their performance in all of sports. But each time an allegation is made, the media forgets what they learned last time and we have to start the education program again.
All of that said, we've added instant replay to help them out at games' end or when the period ends, maybe we consider other extensions of that. But most of the time, 90-91 percent of the time, our referees get it right. That's a fact.''