Lakers Notes: Kaman, Buss Family, Jackson

The Lakers set a franchise record for their largest margin of defeat earlier this season, but Tuesday they put up the first 51-point quarter in team history during a rout of the Knicks. All of it still adds up to a lottery appearance, and Tuesday’s win only makes the job of landing a top-five pick tougher. Here’s more on the purple-and-gold:

• Chris Kaman made it clear early in the season that he’s not pleased with his role on the Lakers, and the team’s efforts to trade him at the deadline came up short. He made a rare appearance in the starting lineup Tuesday, but he’s still frustrated and isn’t on speaking terms with coach Mike D’Antoni, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times details. The 11th-year center, a free agent at season’s end, told reporters that he regrets not “doing due diligence” to investigate the team before signing this past summer.
• A majority of the Buss family was at one point reportedly in favor of Phil Jackson returning to the Lakers, but the family didn’t strongly support him for a role that would have placed him above GM Mitch Kupchak, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links). The family was, at best, split on that idea, Shelburne says.
• The specter of Jackson is a frequent media talking point, but Lakers players have put the issue out of their minds, as Jodie Meeks told reporters, including fellow ESPNLosAngeles.com scribe Dave McMenamin.