NBA At 2: Kobe: Urgency Lacking
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is a rare breed of professional athlete. He’s focused in a way that few players are zoned in, and his five championship rings are a direct result of his unwavering determination to be the absolute best every time out. This season his Lakers have struggled at times, seeming to lack the sense of urgency they’ve had in being easily the Western Conference’s best team over the last three seasons. HOOPSWORLD talks with Bryant about his team’s motivation, the importance of Andrew Bynum in the grand scheme, the fatigue factor, and finding a sense of urgency in this exclusive interview:
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Stojakovic Buyout Looms
When the Toronto Raptors acquired Peja Stojakovic from the New Orleans Hornets their primary intention was, of course, to create significant cap space when his $14.2 million contract comes off the books. There was never an intention for Stojakovic to actually be a long-term rotation player, and the thinking was he would either be used as a trade chip in a subsequent deal or simply bought out.
It’s taken some time, but sources close to the situation tell HOOPSWORLD that a buyout is now imminent.
Stojakovic has not been with the team for some time, having been granted clearance to return to his home in New Orleans and work with his personal trainer as he seeks to fully recover from some nagging injuries. Make no mistake about it, however, Stojakovic is ready to play and expects to finish the season with a team that can and will use him, preferably a playoff team.
If and when the Raptors buy out Stojakovic, there is a 48-hour waiting period before other teams can talk to him or offer him a contract. Once the 48-hour moratorium passes, expect to see a team like Dallas, who has lost Caron Butler for the season, or perhaps Miami, who could use another scoring option, to be right at the front of the line looking to have a conversation about adding Peja.
There’s no doubt that Stojakovic can still play on a high level, he just needs to be in the right place with the right team to take advantage of his offensive game.
Update:
The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have released forward Peja Stojakovic. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed.
"We were clear from the beginning that our trade with New Orleans was made with the future in mind, so a buyout or trade of Peja’s contract was a likely option," said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. "Although he did not fit into our plan of developing our young core talent, I’m sure that Peja will add significantly to any veteran team that signs him."
Mavericks Give Pavlovic 10 More Days
It took five games, but Sasha Pavlovic finally rediscovered his NBA legs. After getting close consideration from both the Miami HEAT and the Boston Celtics prior to the start of the 2010-11 season, Pavlovic finally found a home . . .at least temporarily . . .in Dallas. With Caron Butler on the mend, Pavlovic stepped into a major role right away and had a hard time handling his unexpected opportunity, going just 3-for-10 and scoring ten points, collectively, in his first four games for Dallas. He also got a broken nose for his trouble.
Last night, however, playing what could have been his last game as a Mavericks, Pavlovic poured in 11 points in 24 minutes helping the Mavericks upset the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. Small wonder, then, that the team announced this morning that Pavlovic has signed another 10-day contract with the team.
One good game does not a rotation player make, but it was a strong showing for Pavlovic in a significant game for the Mavericks. It’s clear that he has an opportunity in front of him, and if he can put a few more solid games together he might even find a home for the rest of the season.
{AUTHOR_BOX}Communication An Issue for NBA, Players
In case you’re wondering why the NBA and its players are having such a hard time figuring out what they want to do with the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, today’s news cycle offers us some insight into the situation. This morning Steve Kyler ran a story talking about how the players and the league would not be holding their customary meeting during All-Star weekend, including the following quote from Maurice Evans:
"They don’t even want to meet with us at All-Star break," Evans told Sam Amick of Fanhouse. "You’re telling me you can’t pull a few guys and some owners into a room for an hour and try an update what’s important? What’s important is us continuing our league and not having a work stoppage, so if it was really important to them, I would think they would want to find time to do that."
"They don’t want to do it because they don’t want to have the LeBron James and the KGs (Kevin Garnetts) and the Kobes (Kobe Bryant) and all these guys in one spot where they can come in and look them in the eye and address them," Evans said. "It’s easier to look at Mo Evans and Derek Fisher and Keyon Dooling and Etan Thomas and guys like us and Theo Ratliff (all of whom are members of the NBAPA executive committee).
"It’s easy to come in and look at guys who aren’t making $20 million (per season) and aren’t franchise players, and say, ‘Hey we need (salary) rollbacks. We don’t have enough money. This model isn’t working, blah blah blah blah.’ But tell that to LeBron James. You can’t lie to those guys, because you know it’s working."
Well, as it turns out, the league was, indeed, planning to meet with the players. Earlier today NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed that the NBA and its players are scheduled to meet in Los Angeles during the February 18-20th All-Star break.
I guess this is where Homer Simpson says: "D’OH!"
Hopefully the two sides will communicate more effectively during the meeting than they have been able to about the meeting.
More Twitter: HOOPSWORLD has launched a new Twitter module where we will be releasing more breaking news and insider-type information via Twitter. Make sure you are following all of our guys to insure you are getting the very latest from our team: @stevekylerNBA, @AlexKennedyNBA, @jfleminghoops, @TheRocketGuy, @EricPincus, @joelbrigham, @TommyBeer and @YannisHW.
NBA Chats: There are three NBA Chats today starting with HOOPSWORLD rookie Stephen Brotherston at 12pm EST. Stephen covers the Toronto Raptors and the Eastern Conference for HOOPSWORLD. Senior NBA Writer Joel Brigham will host his weekly NBA chat at 4:30pm EST. HOOPSWORLD rookie Lang Greene will host his NBA chat tonight at 8pm EST. Lang covers the Atlanta Hawks and the Eastern Conference. Get your questions in early. You can always find the next NBA chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.
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