And now they (Kobe Bryant) are persuing Raja Bell.
Not "breaking news", but something worth discussing.
Steve Blake, 4 years $18 mil.
Derek Fisher, 3 years $10.5 mil.
I knew they were going after Blake but I didn't know they already signed him. I haven't been watching much television and it was somewhat under the [internet] radar with everything going on in Miami.
What are everyones thoughts on signing Steve Blake and the possibility of Raja Bell joining the Lakers? Farmar is gone, signed with the nets.
Jul 2, 2010 4:19 pm US/Pacific
Lakers Agree To Deal With Steve Blake(CBS)
Blake is considered the top free-agent point guard on the market. He spent last season with the Clippers and Portland Trailblazers.
Bringing on Blake will probably be the end of Jordan Farmar's stint on the Lakers. The former UCLA star is an unrestricted free agent and has said he doesn't get along with Coach Phil Jackson.
Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Blake had a deadline of this afternoon to accept the deal, otherwise the Lakers would have signed former Oregon Duck, Luke Ridnour to a smaller contract.
[link]
Free-agent buzz: Lakers, Spurs chase Bell
By Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers have long targeted Raja Bell(notes) in free agency, and now one of his biggest boosters within the two-time defending champions – Kobe Bryant(notes) – will be working to close a deal with an old, fierce rival, league sources told Yahoo! Sports
Bell is traveling to Los Angeles later this week for a visit that sources said is expected to include an audience with Bryant. After helping to keep Derek Fisher(notes) with a three-year, $10.5 million contract on Monday, the Lakers have one available spot in their rotation that comes down to Bell and Shannon Brown(notes).
The Miami Heat are tying to recruit Bell, but it appears the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs could be the two top remaining suitors for Bell.
The Lakers have a little less than $1.8 million of their midlevel exception left to pay Bell after agreeing to a four-year, $16 million contract with point guard Steve Blake(notes).
After agreeing with 2007 first-round pick Tiago Splitter(notes) on a three-year, $10.9 million contract, the Spurs have nearly $2.4 million left in the midlevel exception to offer Bell.
The Spurs had Bell in training camp in 2001, and always regretted cutting him before the season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich helped persuade Larry Brown to sign Bell later that season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Bell helped guard Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals.
Bell, 33, was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in November as part of the Stephen Jackson(notes) trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. Bell missed all but six games last season.
Bell famously dropped Bryant with a clothesline foul in the 2006 playoffs, but the two developed a mutual respect. Bell was ejected and suspended a game for the foul and complained about Bryant’s tactics in the postgame news conference.
“It’s a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face,” Bell said at the time. “That’s the only way I can put it. I’ve been playing as hard as I can play. I’ve been trying to do a good job, I’ve been trying to be what my team needs me to be, and I continually get hit in my face. There doesn’t seem to be any boundaries or limitations for what he’s allowed to do to me, and at that point, I kind of lost my cool and I took it into my own hands.”
Bell made a league-high 205 3-pointers in the 2006-07 season for the Suns under coach Mike D’Antoni, but his role changed the next season under Terry Porter and he was eventually shipped to Charlotte. Bell averaged 13 points in 45 games for the Bobcats in the 2008-09 season.
[link]
Not "breaking news", but something worth discussing.
Steve Blake, 4 years $18 mil.
Derek Fisher, 3 years $10.5 mil.
I knew they were going after Blake but I didn't know they already signed him. I haven't been watching much television and it was somewhat under the [internet] radar with everything going on in Miami.
What are everyones thoughts on signing Steve Blake and the possibility of Raja Bell joining the Lakers? Farmar is gone, signed with the nets.
Jul 2, 2010 4:19 pm US/Pacific
Lakers Agree To Deal With Steve Blake(CBS)
Blake is considered the top free-agent point guard on the market. He spent last season with the Clippers and Portland Trailblazers.
Bringing on Blake will probably be the end of Jordan Farmar's stint on the Lakers. The former UCLA star is an unrestricted free agent and has said he doesn't get along with Coach Phil Jackson.
Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Blake had a deadline of this afternoon to accept the deal, otherwise the Lakers would have signed former Oregon Duck, Luke Ridnour to a smaller contract.
[link]
Free-agent buzz: Lakers, Spurs chase Bell
By Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers have long targeted Raja Bell(notes) in free agency, and now one of his biggest boosters within the two-time defending champions – Kobe Bryant(notes) – will be working to close a deal with an old, fierce rival, league sources told Yahoo! Sports
Bell is traveling to Los Angeles later this week for a visit that sources said is expected to include an audience with Bryant. After helping to keep Derek Fisher(notes) with a three-year, $10.5 million contract on Monday, the Lakers have one available spot in their rotation that comes down to Bell and Shannon Brown(notes).
The Miami Heat are tying to recruit Bell, but it appears the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs could be the two top remaining suitors for Bell.
The Lakers have a little less than $1.8 million of their midlevel exception left to pay Bell after agreeing to a four-year, $16 million contract with point guard Steve Blake(notes).
After agreeing with 2007 first-round pick Tiago Splitter(notes) on a three-year, $10.9 million contract, the Spurs have nearly $2.4 million left in the midlevel exception to offer Bell.
The Spurs had Bell in training camp in 2001, and always regretted cutting him before the season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich helped persuade Larry Brown to sign Bell later that season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Bell helped guard Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals.
Bell, 33, was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in November as part of the Stephen Jackson(notes) trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. Bell missed all but six games last season.
Bell famously dropped Bryant with a clothesline foul in the 2006 playoffs, but the two developed a mutual respect. Bell was ejected and suspended a game for the foul and complained about Bryant’s tactics in the postgame news conference.
“It’s a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face,” Bell said at the time. “That’s the only way I can put it. I’ve been playing as hard as I can play. I’ve been trying to do a good job, I’ve been trying to be what my team needs me to be, and I continually get hit in my face. There doesn’t seem to be any boundaries or limitations for what he’s allowed to do to me, and at that point, I kind of lost my cool and I took it into my own hands.”
Bell made a league-high 205 3-pointers in the 2006-07 season for the Suns under coach Mike D’Antoni, but his role changed the next season under Terry Porter and he was eventually shipped to Charlotte. Bell averaged 13 points in 45 games for the Bobcats in the 2008-09 season.
[link]
