After showing signs of life last week with consecutive wins over the Raptors and Pistons, the Lakers have since lost three straight and now sit at a disappointing 5-16. They don’t play tonight, but that never prevents the Lakers news from flowing out of Hollywood. Here is the latest on the purple and gold:
- Byron Scott thinks the Lakers will be “right back where we belong” for the 2016/17 season, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, and in position to try to convince Kobe Bryant to stay past his contract, which runs through 2015/16. GM Mitch Kupchak isn’t optimistic that Kobe will keep playing, as he says in Aldridge’s weekly Morning Tip column for NBA.com. “All indications are, to me, from him, that this (two-year contract) is going to be it,” Kupchak said. “If somebody’s thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that. Don’t wait. Do it this year.”
- Kupchak and Lakers part-owner Jim Buss have told Scott that his first two years as head coach might be difficult as the team rebuilds, Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune writes in a profile of Scott. According to Smith, Scott had long wanted to return to Los Angeles, where he grew up and played professionally, but was leading the franchises in New Orleans and then Cleveland the previous two times the Lakers had head coaching vacancies.
- Kupchak had wanted to bring offseason acquisition Jeremy Lin to the Lakers for the entirety of the point guard’s career, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Lin, born in Los Angeles and raised in Northern California, has had a rocky start to his stint in L.A. and was recently removed from the starting lineup. The Lakers acquired the fifth-year guard from the Rockets this summer.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.