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Last night, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, but the evening’s biggest storyline had nothing to do with the game. During the telecast, Greg Oden joined the Blazers’ broadcast team to deliver a message to the fans in Portland.

"Tell them I’ll be back soon," Oden said.

However, the message quickly turned sour when the center started discussing his rehabilitation process. After undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee back in November, Oden admitted that he still has a lot of work ahead of him.

"It’s still really early in it," Oden said. "I’m still doing two-leg strength, body weight stuff. It’s still pretty early, you know, I’m not really doing too much where I can really tell [how it's going]."

When asked when he would be able to resume basketball activities, Oden revealed that he may not be ready to play by the start of next season.

"Very far down the road," Oden said. "I can say over five months away. I won’t start running until then."

If Oden can’t even start running until September, there’s a chance that he’ll be sidelined to start next season, which puts a new wrinkle into his upcoming free agency.

The transition from contributor to spectator has been very difficult for Oden. He hasn’t played since December of 2009 and the last time he was on the floor, he was alongside teammates such as Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, Juwan Howard and Martell Webster, all of whom have left Portland. After missing nearly a year and a half, Oden misses the competition.

"I wish I was out there," he said. "Every game, not just [against] the Lakers. Thinking about every play I watch, what I could have done out there and what I could have brought to the team if I was out there."

Even though his recovery is still in the early stages, Oden is looking forward to playing with Gerald Wallace when he’s healthy. He believes that Wallace has given the Blazers new life and praises the veteran for his effort and energy.

"Yeah, you know, I talk to everybody about it, just the hustle he brings out there," Oden said. "He just plays harder than everybody else. It’s definitely great to have somebody like that on your team, diving for loose balls, going out of bounds and making hustle plays."

The former number one overall pick wants to be on the floor making hustle plays, but he has to take his rehab one step at a time in order to avoid reinjuring his knee. Oden is only 23 years old so he still has plenty of time to put together a productive career, even if it means starting next season on the sideline to ensure his long-term health.

Bryant Endorses Shaw: With Phil Jackson retiring after the season, there has been plenty of speculation over who would take over as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. While names such as Byron Scott and Mike Krzyzewski have surfaced, it seems that the most realistic candidate to fill the vacancy is currently sitting on the Lakers’ bench.

The general consensus around the league is that Brian Shaw will be the next coach of the Lakers. Jackson has given his assistants permission to search for other jobs, but Shaw’s next gig should only require him to move down Los Angeles’ bench.

He is familiar with the personnel, has developed close relationships with the players and would run the team similar to Jackson. Rather than bringing in a new head coach, philosophy and system, Shaw seems like the safe choice that would keep the Lakers in contention.

It also doesn’t hurt that Kobe Bryant completely endorses Shaw as the team’s next head coach.

"I feel all of the players believe in coach B-Shaw," Bryant told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. "We have such a rapport with him. He’s been with us for such a long time. We all have a bit of a bias towards him."

{AUTHOR_BOX}"I don’t want to get in the way of management," he continued. "But we’ve all kind of had our eye on him for a while."

Bryant and Shaw played four years together before the latter retired in 2003. The duo won three championships together before Shaw moved to the center of the huddle.

"We go way back," Bryant said. "It’s an honest relationship. What I mean by that is he doesn’t tell you what you want to hear. He tells you what you need to hear. That’s something I respect in people. I don’t like ass kissers. Never have. I have a great deal of respect for him."

"He’s been around Phil for a long time," he continued. "He has a great deal of knowledge and understands the game. He communicates very well. He’s tough. I think when his time comes he’ll be ready.

While Bryant endorses Shaw, he won’t go out of his way to influence management’s decision.

"It’s not my responsibility to do that," Bryant said. "It’s their responsibility to come to me and say, ‘What do you think about X, Y and Z?’ I’d be more than happy to give my opinion. I’m not just going to march up there and say, ‘Do X, Y and Z.’ If they want my input, they know where to find me."

If Shaw does get the job, league sources believe that he’ll hire fellow Oakland native and good friend Gary Payton as one of his assistant coaches.

Nets Fined 50,000 Dead Presidents: After Kentucky defeated North Carolina to clinch a Final Four berth, a special guest waited for them.

Jay-Z stood outside of Kentucky’s locker room and as the players approached, he offered high fives and congratulations. The group initially stood in shock, but broke their silence by throwing up their Roc-A-Fella diamond signs and chanting, "Hov! Hov! Hov!"

The rapper then made his way into the locker room to talk to the players and pose for pictures. This likely wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t for Twitter. Several players tweeted out pictures and video from the locker room, and they spread like wildfire.

Because Jay-Z is minority owner of the New Jersey Nets, it didn’t take long for the NBA to step in and investigate the situation for tampering and foul play. After reviewing the facts, the league has fined the Nets $50,000 because of his contact with undeclared college players, league sources confirmed.

In the past, the league has been strict about the rule, most recently fining the Boston Celtics $30,000 because general manager Danny Ainge chatted with Kevin Durant’s mother during the Big 12 tournament in 2007.

HOOPSWORLD Chats: There is one chat on today’s schedule. Susan Bible, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and NBA for HOOPSWORLD, will be taking your questions at 11 a.m. EST. As always you can check out our entire upcoming chat schedule.