Laker Updates

Watched the Lakers lose again. LeBron is hurt & Davis is acting hurt.

I don't know who any of these,guys are. Just LeBron, Street Clothes (Davis) & Westbrook. The other night Davis was in street clothes for the game. I would have moved heaven & Earth to deal that guy during the off-season.

Our new & improved Lakers are 0-4. There's no where to go but up.

Anthony Davis is back out. This time with a stress fracture in his foot.

There was an ancient story about Gary Payton in today's news. That he wasn't a popular addition. Kobe liked Gary because Gary helped Kobe improve his defense. But any Laker fan at the time could have told you Payton would chafe at Tex Winter's triangle offense. Walk the ball up the court, toss it in to the center. Wait for it to come back out. (Or not.).

The biggest (quite literally) problem with that squad was O'Neal's girth. The Pistons ran circles around a fat Shaquille O'Neal. It was after that series, Kupchak made it clear the team would be rebuilding around Bryant. O'Neal's wittle feelings got hurt & he demanded a trade.

I'll never forget seeing Shaq in a Boston Celtics uniform.

Anthony Davis (foot) 'had another great day' Monday and will be re-evaluated Wednesday morning, Mark Medina of NBA.com reports.

Davis has been making steady progress on the road to recovery from a right foot injury. The Lakers continue to keep their plans for Davis' return quiet, though a timetable could emerge shortly after Wednesday's evaluation if all goes well. Los Angeles is scheduled to face off against the Spurs on Wednesday night.

Lakers owner gifts replacement rings to former player who sold originals to raise money for Ukraine

Story by Ryan Morik • 9h ago

Back in July, former Los Angeles Laker Slava Medvedenko sold his two championship rings in order to raise money for his native Ukraine.

Medvendenko sold the rings for $253,534 with all the proceeds going to his Fly High Foundation, which focuses on repairing sports facilities that have been affected in the war.

"We want to restore gyms because the Russian army bombed more than a hundred schools," he told The Associated Press by phone in July. "Our country, they need a lot of money to fix the schools. Sports gyms are going to be last in the line to fix it. In Ukraine, we have winter and kids need to play inside."

Medvedenko said he decided to sell the rings after going to the roof of one of the tallest buildings in his Kyiv neighborhood and watching rockets launched by Russian forces streak through the night sky.

"In this moment I just decided, ‘Why do I need these rings if they’re just sitting in my safe?’" Medvedenko said. "I just recognize I can die. After that, I just say I have to sell them to show people leadership, to help my Ukrainian people to live better, to help kids."

Medvedenko was a candidate for Kyiv City Council in the 2020 election. He was 11th on the election list and his party only managed to win nine seats.

Beyond his humanitarian efforts during the war, Medvedenko has long-term goals to help his country.

"After the victory, we will definitely return to that question of quality changes in sport," he said. "Ten years in the United States, I saw how it works. I hope I have ideal model in my mind to change Ukrainian sport."

Medvedenko joined the Lakers in the 2000-01 season, winning the NBA championship in that season and the following.

Lakers Rumors: LA Interested in Trading for Scoring Guard Who is a Favorite Player of LeBron James

Story by Ryan Menzie • Yesterday 5:30 PM

Any scorer to help lighten the load for LeBron James is a good one.

A tough injury history for Caris LeVert has kept him under the radar, but when healthy, he is one of the top young shooting guards in the league. His ability to score at will is a perfect fit for the Lakers — especially off the bench —. He's also someone that Lakers superstar LeBron James heavily endorses.

Over his career, LeVert has averaged 14.4 points a game on 44% shooting from the field. At the height of his career, with the Indiana Pacers in 2020, he averaged nearly 21 points a game.

It's clear his ability to score puts him in the conversation among elite off-the-bench talent. Pairing him with a pass happy player like James seems too good to pass up, and the Lakers may have him on their trade radar (via Hoops Wire).

So far everyone from the Pistons to the Hornets to Clippers and Jazz has expressed an interest in LeVert. And yes, even the Lakers have kicked around the idea of a LeVert trade in their scanning of rival rosters in their search for more help, sources told Hoops Wire. (In fact, it’s been said that LeVert is a favorite of LeBron James.)

The Lakers want to get younger and the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for better perimeter shooting. The Lakers have assets they can give up, but with LeVert's contract coming to an end, they will have to be prepared to pay them in order to get value from the potential trade.

With the links that DeMar DeRozan had with the Lakers, LeVert provides a similar skillset, and is a much cheaper option at the moment. However, the potential for LeVert is off the charts, and could provide some real value for the Lakers if they look to pursue this trade.