Lakers in the News 5/22/12: Lakers will debate overhaul - Ramon Sessions exit interview

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Lakers will debate overhaul after playoff exit

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer
Posted: 05/22/2012 09:27:24 AM PDT
Updated: 05/22/2012 09:55:36 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES—Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol spent the final minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers' final game arguing in Oklahoma City, disagreeing on the best way to run a pick-and-roll play.

It might have been the tandem's last few minutes together with a franchise that has little patience when even great players stop bringing home rings.

The Lakers were eliminated in the second round for the second straight year Monday night with a five-game loss to the Thunder. Although the Lakers had a solid season despite getting no real training camp to make the enormous switch from coaches Phil Jackson to Mike Brown, they weren't as good as the NBA's best.

"I'm really not used to it, so it's pretty odd for me," Bryant said of another early-by-Lakers-standards exit. "I'm not the most patient of people, and the organization is not extremely patient either. We want to win and win now, so I'm sure we'll figure it out. We always have. I'm sure we will again."

"Come hell or high water, we're going to be there again," said the 33-year-old Bryant, who has repeatedly stated he'll never leave the Lakers.

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Kobe Bryant adamant that Lakers are staying put
By Reid Cherner, USA TODAY
Updated 1h 42m ago

CAPTIONBy Mark D. Smith, US PRESSWIRE
For all those writing eulogies for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant wants you to put the pen down.

"Come hell or high water, we're going to be there again," said the Lakers superstar after his team was ousted by Oklahoma City last night.

The Lakers have now been knocked out of the playoffs early the past two years, and Bryant wants to get back to the days where seasons ended with downtown parades.

"It's kind of unfamiliar territory," Bryant said. "I'm really not used to it. It's pretty odd for me. I'm not the most patient of people, and the organization's not extremely patient either. We want to win and win now. I'm sure we'll figure it out. We always have and I'm sure we will again."

It goes without saying but Bryant let us know anyway that being a shrinking violet is not in anybody's future.

"I'm not fading into the shadows, if that's what you're asking. I'm not going anywhere. ...We're not going anywhere. It's not one of those things where the Bulls beat the Pistons and the Pistons disappeared forever. I'm not going for that (stuff)."

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Lakers' Ramon Sessions disappoints in series against Thunder

The point guard had 15 assists and 11 turnovers and struggled to guard Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook.

By Ben Bolch
May 22, 2012, 5:00 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers can only hope that their point guard of the future is better than the one of their recent past.

Even if the player who fits both descriptions is Ramon Sessions.

After providing a considerable boost upon his acquisition in March, Sessions was a disappointment for most of the Western Conference semifinals.

His performance in the Lakers' season-ending 106-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 on Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena may have been a new low.

Two of Sessions' playoff-worst six turnovers triggered big runs by the Thunder.

There was a cross-court pass intercepted by Thabo Sefolosha late in the second quarter, leading to a flagrant foul on the Lakers' Metta World Peace as Sefolosha went in for a breakaway layup. Oklahoma City scored the final four points of the quarter on an ensuing flurry of free throws, wiping out the Lakers' one-point lead.

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Game on: Bryant, Lakers need to resolve identity crisis

By Tom Weir and Reid Cherner Updated 1h 48m ago

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs in five games by the young Thunder.

TW: The first step for Team Kobe is figuring out who they are. Do they continue to rely on being big in the middle, do they return to their Showtime roots or do they bring back the triangle offense?

Whatever path they choose, it's clear the Lakers' title hopes were lost when David Stern vetoed the trade for Chris Paul. Now they've kept Pau Gasol a year too long, and good luck unloading that $19 million salary after having his softness showcased against Oklahoma City.

If you are going to jettison Gasol or Bynum you need to send them as far away as possible. Both could haunt you a long time if you don't. The Lakers could be re-energized with a good draft pick, a key free agent and a pep talk that includes "Andrew grow up, Pau grow tougher and Kobe share the basketball."

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Thunder give their best Lakers impression in semifinal win

Posted May 22 2012 9:33AM

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The crowd stood in full roar the final 16 seconds as the Thunder crossed half court and dribbled out the remnants of Game 5, a celebration that was longer and maybe louder than anything that had gone on before Monday night, if that's possible.
Kevin Durant walked from the bench down the sideline to share a handshake with the defeated Lakers coach, Mike Brown, as time was still running out. Daequan Cook stopped on his way to the locker room to sign a ticket stub for a fan, an uncommon act of kindness the likes of which are common here. General manager Sam Presti, content to stay in the background despite a starring role in the franchise ascension to title contender, stood among the customers at a corner of the court to shake hands and slap backs with players and staff as they exited the stage.

This was their moment of celebration, the players, management, coaches and fans. They defeated the Lakers in Game 5 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday night and took the series. That is an important point.

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2011-12 Lakers overachieved

Updated: May 22, 2012, 4:37 PM ET
By Scoop Jackson | ESPN.com

In the next 48 hours, there will be many columns written about the future of the Lakers.

Stories about how they need to blow up the team, how they are too old; columns about Mike Brown's job status, Kobe Bryant's shot selection, and whether Pau Gasol and/or Andrew Bynum -- who went a combined 2-for-11 and scored seven points in the second half of the elimination game Monday against the Thunder -- are any longer the answer. Some will call for Jim Buss' head, while others will call for Phil Jackson's return.

[+] Enlarge
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
At least for now, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant are headed in opposite directions.
Every column will be based on fact. Yet not one will come to this logical conclusion.

Truth: The Lakers overachieved this season. They did better than any of us should have expected, better than they did last year. Think about it: In the 2011 conference semifinals against Dallas, they were swept. This year, they went out in five games. See, better.

Once everything is taken into consideration, no one -- including other writers who will write "What Now?" columns about them -- can sit up here and write that the Lakers' season should have turned out any differently.

They lost the greatest coach of all time in Phil Jackson. They lost longtime assistant coach and heir apparent Brian Shaw. They lost the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in Lamar Odom. They lost (albeit at the trading deadline) the point guard who led them to five championships when they traded Derek Fisher. They lost his primary backup when they lost Shannon Brown to the Phoenix Suns. They lost Ron Artest.

Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless debate who the Lakers should get rid of.

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Kobe Bryant and the Lakers face uncertain future after early playoff exit

By Marc J. Spears | Yahoo! Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY – The crowd packing Chesapeake Energy Arena roared as red and blue streamers fell onto the court late Monday, signaling the Oklahoma City Thunder's entrance into the Western Conference finals and yet another ignominious second-round dismissal for the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant congratulated Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and the rest of the Thunder before leaving the floor and walking into what should be an interesting summer. Bryant is certain of this much: He's not done chasing his sixth NBA title.
Bryant will be 34 years old by the start of next season, but his age and health should rank far down on the Lakers' list of concerns. The Lakers' talented big men, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, frustrated the team with their inconsistency and occasional indifference during the playoffs. No one will be surprised if the Lakers explore trade offers for one – or even both – of them. Point guard could again become a position of need. The Lakers also were limited by their slow adjustment to coach Mike Brown.
And yet Bryant is willing to gamble considerable stakes against any critic who suggests the Lakers' championship window has closed.
"Put your house on it," Bryant said. "I would put my house on it. I ain’t going nowhere. They can put their house on it, but I don’t think they want to bet that because they’re not stupid. They’re foolish, but they are not stupid."

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Lakers' roster-refurbishment options are limited

After second straight West semifinals loss, Lakers are too far over luxury tax threshold to add a major free agent and their only draft pick is 60th overall. That leaves trades, but they need partners.

By Mike Bresnahan
May 21, 2012, 10:25 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY -- So . . . now what?

After another crash in the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers don't have many future alternatives after their season-ending 106-90 loss Monday in Game 5 against Oklahoma City.

The only way to drastically change their team is via trades, which require willing partners and, of course, the absence of NBA vetoes.

The Lakers are so far over the luxury tax threshold that their main free-agent tool is the "mini" mid-level exception, which tops out at about $3 million in the first season.

The Lakers have already committed $78.4 million to only seven players next season, including a $16.1-million team option for Andrew Bynum that will be exercised before the June 30 deadline, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said.

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Changes coming to Lakers

By FRANK ZICARELLI, QMI AGENCY
Last Updated: May 22, 2012 4:09pm

Lakers forward Pau Gasol walks off the court after being eliminated by the Thunder in their NBA Western Conference semifinal series at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., May 21, 2012. (STEVE SISNEY/Reuters)
TORONTO - And so begins the autopsy of the L.A. Lakers: The questions that aren’t so easily answered, the future that is so uncertain that virtually any move is possible and the debate as to whether Kobe Bryant will ever win that elusive sixth championship.

Whatever unfolds in an off-season that officially began around the time midnight struck on Monday — a time that would usher in the post-season end for the Lakers — this much is certain: Changes are afoot, changes that could potentially reshape this iconic hoops franchise.

“Come hell or high water, we’re going to be there again,” an emphatic Bryant said in the immediate aftermath of his team’s five-game loss to the OKC Thunder, a team that now gets set to play the San Antonio Spurs with a berth in the NBA final on the line.

There’s no youth in L.A. like there is with the Thunder, no depth like they have in San Antonio and no immediate remedy for all that ails the Lakers.

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Ramon Sessions 'definitely' wants to return to Lakers

By Mark Medina

May 22, 2012, 3:42 p.m.

*Audio of Ramon Sessions exit interview

After talking with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak on Tuesday at his exit interview, Ramon Sessions knows the Lakers would like to keep him.

""It was clear leaving the meeting they wanted me back," Sessions said. "It was 100% clear."

Sessions said he "definitely" wants to return to the Lakers and described his experience with the team as a "dream come true." But he said he doesn't know how he's going to proceed regarding his player option worth $4.55 million next season. Though The Times' Mike Bresnahan reported Sessions was expected to opt out of the option in hopes of getting a long-term deal, Sessions was noncommital on the issue Tuesday.

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Lakers' Brown wants to add muscle

Whicker column: If the Lakers do make changes, it’s obvious that Mike Brown wants the type of physical play Kendrick Perkins gave the Thunder.

By MARK WHICKER
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
mwhicker [ at ] ocregister.com

The Lakers coach feels football and basketball overlap. He kept saying the more physical team would win the Lakers-Thunder series. He strode onto the court to slap five with Pau Gasol during Game 5, when Gasol took several hits to grab a rebound.

And he spoke enviously of the Thunder's key player. It wasn't Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook.

"To me this is a completely different team if you take Kendrick Perkins out of the equation," Brown said before the Lakers lost Game 5, set and match to the Thunder.

"He is like the heart and soul. He'll start behind you (on defense), he'll push you out, he'll get out front, he'll root you out, he does it on every flipping possession. What he is basically is the right offensive guard. Durant is the quarterback, Westbrook the running back, James Harden the receiver. But what Perk brings to the table, you can't replace."

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Lakers Season Review: The Front Office

May 22nd, 2012 at 10:18 am by Chris ShellcroftRecaps

Normally when a team with title aspirations falls apart in the second round of the playoffs in consecutive years all eyes shift towards the front office. While that will always hold true no matter the circumstances it is hard to find fault in what the Lakers tried to do to address their needs. Let’s not forget that for all of a couple of hours Mitch Kupchak had Chris Paul in a purple and gold jersey until David Stern stepped from behind the iron curtain and crushed the deal.

From the CP3 dilemma on down to the Derek Fisher deal, it was nothing but drama for the Lakers with every move that was made this season. But even before the season began there were warnings that the tide was changing in the Laker front office.

Jim Buss is now running the show as his iconic father slowly fades into the background. Jim’s first order of business was to leave his stamp on the franchise by moving quickly to hire Mike Brown while unceremoniously firing some long serving staffers without so much as a phone call.

Those same impersonal tactics weren’t limited to staff members though. Jim Buss took the same approach when it came to handling his players and coaches.

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Metta World Peace reflects on year

Updated: May 22, 2012, 8:51 PM ET
By Dave McMenamin | ESPNLosAngeles.com
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Metta World Peace was the first Los Angeles Lakers player to address the media following his exit interview on Tuesday and could not let go of what could have been as he sifted through the rubble of a second consecutive season that ended with a second-round playoff exit.

"(We) definitely underachieved," World Peace said. "We were the best team in the NBA and lost in five (games). The best team in the NBA should be up 3-2 and playing tomorrow, but the (Oklahoma City Thunder was the) better team that took advantage of the moment, that took advantage of their time, they seized, they grabbed it and they held on to it."

The Lakers lost to the Thunder 106-90 in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday, losing the series 4-1.

Despite the seemingly lopsided series result, the Lakers squandered late leads in Games 2 and 4 and World Peace believes that his team isn't far off its championship standard.

"I like this team," World Peace said. "You look at the team, you all saw some of the amazing things we did. OKC, we had those guys beat fairly easy. Fairly easy we had those guys beat, but that's the difference between a team that's been together that added Derek Fisher, and that team has been together so they knew exactly how they're playing together in the fourth quarter, versus a team that hasn't been together."

Added World Peace: "We had them beat. Stunned. So stunned. It's stunning."