"The Laker girls."

Lawerence Tanter is so cool.

He's probably the model for Dos Equis' 'Most Interesting Man in the World'.

"Too many steps."

GO LAKER GIRLS!!!!!

They are Fatty's favorites..... lots of cellulites on the bellly. haha!

LTLF,

What do you think of these trade scenarios by JDrizzle Blog on FoxSports.com?

"Odom's absence will not be painful as long as the Lakers get a solid player in return. Odom is expendable, especially at $15 million. Think about it... Artest, Smith, Prince, Billups, Turkoglu, and Nocioni all make half of what Odom makes and I'd take any of these players over Lamar.

Last year, I was dreaming of Smith wearing purple & gold playing alongside Kobe. If there's a player out there who could resemble Scottie Pippen, it's Smith.

When Bynum returns, he'll be even better. Having said that, which trade scenario involving Odom do you like better?"

Here's the rest of his blog:

http://tinyurl.com/62p6fk

.

AK/ BK,

Am I being punished for my time away. I been asking you guys questions on most days for the last couple of weeks, but I cant get any comments in return. What ya'll need me to do to get back in the fold here?

Poor Adam.

Najja,

I didn't notice the question. What was it?

AK

Now we need pictures of the Lakersblog dancers. AK, you go first.

Najja,

To be honest, I'm not sure Magic hasn't been offered a GM role over the years. Just because he's never held the gig or been publicly courted doesn't mean it hasn't been floated to him at some point. He may just not be interested. Magic has got a bunch of different, very successful businesses going at once and from everything I've read is very hands-on. He may not want to step back from that to be a GM, since that's a full-time job (and then some). Plus, he's involved with the Laker operations as it is (VP/owner). He may feel like he's getting the best of both worlds, on some level, which means there's no need to be a GM somewhere.

Granted, I also have no idea if that's the case. For all I know, he'd like to be a GM and nobody is knocking on the door. I'm just saying, I wouldn't automatically assume that's the case.

AK

Najja aka Bonus

Magic Johnson as a GM? I think if he really wanted the job he could get it somewhere.

I know he is very busy in his own business endeavors.

I kind of feel he his like the Grand parents when it comes to children. They love to play with the grand kids, but at the end of day, the parents have all the responsibility. He likes to tinker as a consultant with the Lakers, but Mitch gets to do all the diaper changing, while Magic gets to go on and build his personal business.

And it appears, he's very happy with his role.

Is Sasha Vu-ya-CHICK trying out to be a Fakergirl?

Dude can't play ball worth crap.

Soft as butter on the court and flops and pretends like a little girl.

You ladies put your hopes on so-called "machines" like Miss Sasha?

Lakers are a bunch of Fakers.

I feel you guys. I think it is his how well he handles his role with the Lakers amongst his other ventures that makes me want to see him run a team. But AK, you and Fatty make a good point. For a man involved in so much, being a GM might pidgeon hole him. I have to remember the world is bigger than the NBA. Well if he ever slows down enough to run a team or even better buys his own team, I will be extremely happy to root for that club.

Picturing Mitch changing diapers is hilarious.

Would i be going to far in suggesting another player out there?

Shannon Brown form the Cavs....Please dont shoot me yet...
But although he had a rough time with the Cavs he has good size and can handle the ball well....Gibson was the love child for coach Brown so Shannon didnt get much run..He is stuck between a shooting guard and a point..He would be cheap and better than the summer league guards besides Coby Carl......Invite him to camp and see what happens.....

Just some fantasy thoughts comming from a city thats -1.5 degrees this morning...

"John McCain says that he's been tested, re-tested and tested again. And that's just his prostate." --Jay Leno

LOL!

Go Lakers!

Laker Exile,

"I have read the blog for a long time and enjoy it immensely. AK/BK do a great job but I sometimes think they are censored in what they cover. Today I read an article on HoopsHype regarding the power struggle and personality clash of Jeanie and Jim Buss. But that is not the story! The story is that Andrew Bynum our once and future savior has alienated himself from the team because of Jim Buss and it has affected his abiltiy to come back 100% to help the team this year. What gives??"

First things first, we're definitely not "censored" in any way in terms of what we covered. Let's get that out of the way right now. If we haven't covered something, it's either because we weren't aware of a certain specific or felt it's been covered in the past.

The Roland Lazenby story you're referencing (which will be posted in a bit) says that Bynum isn't really "alienated" from the team, but more Jim Buss' pet (which everyone knows anyway), creating a situation where can work outside them if he feels like it. I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing, but it's different than being "alienated," which either is the team shunning Bynum or Bynum creating a problematic dynamic for himself (which I've never heard, at any rate). But there are a couple areas where I would disagree with Lazenby's characterizations.

For starters, the notion of Bynum not playing in '07 SPL strikes me as anything but a "bombshell," even if the team thought he might play. Drew was going into his third season and had gotten about 20 mpg in his second season. Most third year players with that experience don't play SPL to begin with. I remember specifically writing that SPL would be a waste of Bynum's time. And it's hard to argue with his strategy, given how much those Atlanta workouts helped.

As for Bynum's knee, I honestly don't know enough about the medical end of this to say how much going outside the Lakers doctors helped or hurt. He may have avoided a procedure recommended by the Lakers' doctors, but you also can't say for sure that following their advice would have gotten everything right. Granted, it also very well could have hindered his healing process. Like I said, I'm not a doctor. But in any event, it's not entirely uncommon for a player to go outside a team's medical staff. Remember, when Kobe was in Colorado, the team had no idea he was even having the surgery, much less in another state to do it.

I also would disagree with you that this story centers around Bynum. It's all about the oddball Buss family dynamic. Bynum is just somewhere between "caught in the middle" and "beneficiary."

AK

I never expected the Laker girls to be bioengineers, but damn, that was hilariously depressing.

Well, the Birdman signed with Denver. Cross one more off the list. I know the plan is to alter as little as possible, but we do have a Ronny sized hole on the bench and it'd be somewhat comforting if the Laker F.O. added one more piece before the end of the summer... and resigned Sasha!

I still hear nothing about Bynum and his workouts. Is that a good thing?

Wow.

What an incredible sense of relief I felt when the last woman could spell Vujacic.

Few things are more depressing than a beautiful woman being mentally incompetent and then laughing it off as if it is unimportant.

Nothing quite as lovely as having an argument with a beautiful woman who cares nothing about logic or reason. {Oh God, I'm flashing back to the majority of my past romantic relationships! NOOOO!!!!!!}

Let me just say this, that hot blonde who could actually spell Vujacic was INCREDIBLY hotter to me than the ones who could not and just laughed it off.

GO LAKERS!

Guys,
The tryout at the 1:04 mark on the first video and the 1:19 mark on the second video is the cute one. Mmmm. Brunettes.

Richtown,
Thanks for the link.

richtown,

When I read that Roland Lazenby article, I literally began to feel sick to my stomach.

{Please, God, not more of this...}

I wasn't upset at the notion of Kwame Brown returning. I'm becoming more at peace with the idea, and I'm sure it will give Laker Nation plenty to squabble about, which is sometimes fun (sometime not).

It was the notion of this civil war between the Jeannie and Jim Buss factions and Jim Buss mucking up Andrew Bynum's understanding of his role in the organization.

Urgh.

Me, if I could pass the torch from Dr. Jerry Buss to one of his kids, I'd have him pass it to Jeannie. Her heart has always been in the right place. She truly loves the Lakers. She loves the Lakers like we do.

(And unlike Jim Buss, she doesn't have her personal bartender on Lakers payroll.)

So, in any case... NO MORE DRAMA! Drama bad! Drama not good for Lakers! Bad! Bad! Bad!

{Still feel a little sick to my stomach. We are so close right now to a return to Dynasty. Please don't muck it up.}

GO LAKERS!

Any of you dig the movie "Bowfinger"? "K.I.T. - keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together..... "

I love Roland Lazenby as a writer, but the guy does have his biases (against Phil Jackson, for Tex Winters, etc.).

Still...

That article was pretty upsetting.

It will be hard to handle more self-destructive drama when we are so close to a return to Dynasty.

GO LAKERS!

Thirty2,

With that kind of weather, I'm surprised you know more about liquor other that Vodka.

Hi you are good! I’m a poet too, though not as good as you. You have such a great potential. Keep it up! Busby Seo Challenge

The tryout at the 1:04 mark on the first video and the 1:19 mark on the second video is the cute one.

Charles

Your right, and belonging to Lambda Lambda Lambda this is all I think about. Those dumb jocks, all they think about is sports. You wouldn't happen to be Tri Lambda yourself would you?

RE: Lazenby Article

I am a fan of Roland Lazenby and his work and admire what he has done in the past, but that article was just National Enquirer-esque garbage. The next time I hear someone reference an "insider" I'm going postal. I know reporters have to protect their sources, but seriously, you can't throw "stuff" out there without some credibility behind it.

Listen, I'm guessing there is some drama within the organization (can't remember when there hasn't been) but at the end of the day, Dr. Buss is a smart man who deeply cares about his Lakers and what it takes to succeed and I can guarantee that if things got to a boiling point he'd take care of it.

The reason guys like Mitch and Jerry are such good GMs is that they have been through the NBA. They have gotten hurt, rehabbed, come back. they have won, they have lost.

Jim Buss? I'm sorry, maybe he got a tip that Bynum was a beast in the making, but he is a rich man's son. He hasn't worked hard for anything, except his beer belly. As glad as I am that we didn't draft Sean May, I have never been a fan of a father simply handing the keys to the kingdom to the prince in waiting. There is no better way to ruin a legacy than to put someone who doesn't understand how the world works in charge of a world class organization.

Jim Buss is that prince. I don't care about his lifestyle, in fact I admire his famialal hedonism, but Jerry always left the basketball to the people who know and made sure the ladies are taken care of. That's why his model is so successful. But Jim seems to want to add his fottprint in the sand to his father's, except that he's stumbling along instead of striding.

Starnge relationships in sports are hardly new, especially bewteen a player and the guy responsible for bringing him up, but in this case it sounds like something more divisive. I hope it's not the case.

AK/BK...I know you are LA Times guys and not Laker staffers, but I'm sure the Laker Nation is turning a wary eye towards this issue.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

Good Morning Edwin,

I followed blog rules with the "haha'" after my comment to show it doesn't bother me. In fact I love it when people tease me about my name. It just makes me tough, like Lakers tough. lol

And believe me, by the time I was in 3rd grade, i heard every joke. I just wanted to give you some Fatty background.

As much time as we've spent on the continent, we have never been to Sweden. Its very expensive and now with the weak dollar, almost prohibitive. Besides, when you only have 2-3 weeks for holiday, I find my self very content to spend that time on the Costa Brava or in Provence.

Best regards,

Fatty