LOS ANGELES — Someday, someone might recall the visual of D'Angelo Russell, relaxing outside the team hotel during his first year, reclining on a bellman's luggage cart of all places.
And the caption to the mental picture might be something about how unbelievably cool and unique Russell has always been—how even as a rookie he was perched like a rare bird on that cart, his creative flow unstoppable at any body angle and his confidence caged only when he so chooses.
Someone might bring up how Julius Randle
spent so much of this same season—his second, but really his first, in the NBA—with his powerful frame folded into the Los Angeles Lakers bench with his arm curled up for his hand to hold his chin, a regular pose not unlike that of Rodin's "The Thinker."
Except Randle's face openly and consistently showed what he was thinking: frustration. And so the story might go that we could see back then how Randle was always uncommonly...
The contracts of Metta, Tarik, and Huertas have a deadline some time this week - if they remain with the Lakers, their contracts become fully guaranteed. The report is that the Lakers will decide by Friday.
This bit of news coincides with the availability of the 10-day contract.
Peace has the most minutes at 294, but he hasn't set foot on the court since December 7th.
Huertas has logged 232 minutes, and he has appeared in 11 of the last 16 Lakers games.
Black has appeared in only 8 games, the last on 11/24. Black has dominated in the D-league, averaging 21.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, and shooting 60% from the floor in five games.
Reading a bit into recent comments from Mitch, it doesn't sound like Black is seen as part of this core going forward. Black seems like the most likely candidate to be removed from the team. I think it's a colossal mistake, mind you.
For the past two decades, Kobe Bryant has mesmerized us. Something about his talent, his indomitable will, and his uncompromising desire to win drew us in. Fans and haters alike have watched year after year, cheering him, cursing him, and being amazed by him.
Now, with the light at the end of the tunnel growing brighter by the minute, Bryant gets one last opportunity to perform on Christmas Day. It will be the first time he has been healthy enough to play on Christmas since 2012, and no doubt the Black Mamba will be looking to put on a show.
In years past, Kobe has spent Christmas in a number of high-profile grudge matches, taking on Shaquille O’Neal’s Miami Heat, LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers and later Heat, Steve Nash’s Phoenix Suns, and of course Garnett, Pierce and Allen’s C Bags. In most cases these contests ended in a loss for...
