Paul George, who is a current Pacer and Southern California native, has been on the Lakers radar recently due to his restricted free agency next year. This past season, Paul George was named the Most Improved Player as he averaged 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. Although spending some time in early July working out in Los Angeles, George is extremely loyal and comfortable with the Pacers. George is currently at USA Basketball’s minicamp in Las Vegas, and mentioned he is happy to be in Indiana and believes it wouldn’t be a smart move if he came to the Lakers:
“I’m happy to be in Indiana. I’m happy to be where I am. If I was going to leave Indiana and come to the Lakers, it just wouldn’t be a smart move for me. We got a great thing going right now.”
Nick Young is returning to Los Angeles this season to play for the Lakers, but cites “the opportunity” of playing for the purple and gold his main motivator, not just returning to his home town.
“I’ve been waiting for this. We got some legends on our team this year that’s fighting to get back as fast as they can.”
Jordan Farmar also decided to take an almost $10 million dollar paycut to come back to Los Angeles and play for the Lakers with his current signing. One thing is for sure; both Young and Farmar understand the potential of this organization and want to be here. Those are the kinds of players the Lakers need to keep signing.
Just shy of the Finals, the Lakers had an impressive Summer League showing. The starting five for the Lakers Summer League team consisted of a starting lineup of Lester Hudson, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Marcus Landry, Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. All starters did well, but it was the bench that disappointed this tournament. Dan D’Antoni stood up for his decision to play the bench more than expected, saying the Summer League is all about player development. Josh Basili of Lakers Nation finishes up the recap here and dishes out player evaluations. Leave a comment about whether or not you agree with his assessment.
Here at Lakers Nation, we are all about the fans. Every week, you guys spend time on the Lakers Nation Facebook page to give their thoughts on everything Lakers. We wanted to acknowledge our favorite Lakers Nation Facebook comments from the last week. Check them out to see if you made the cut. Also standing out was a great piece of Instagram art. Check out this picture of the week from GoldenKnightgfx that shows encouragement and hope for Kobe to silent the critics during his comeback from an Achilles injury.
One thing is for sure; Lakers VP Jim Buss believes Kobe will come back strong. Although the Lakers season schedule will not be released until August, he says the Black Mamba might be back sooner that expected.
“He’s real sharp in taking care of himself and he’s not going to rush anything just to get back and prove a point. He’s going to come back when he’s right. He’s a machine. He’s inhuman. I see him coming back at the beginning of this season. I can’t believe how much he’s progressed so far.”
Lakers Nation News
Lakers News: Summer League Recap And Player Evaluations
Nick Young Signed With Lakers For The Opportunity, Not To Come Home
Lakers Nation Instagram Picture Of The Week: A Kobe Graphic
Top 10 Lakers Nation Facebook Comments Of The Week
Former Laker Darius Johnson-Odom Impresses in Raleigh Pickup Games
Paul George Thinks Leaving Pacers for Lakers “Wouldn’t Be A Smart Move”
Lakers News & Rumors Recap: Lakers Out of the Summer League Finals
Lakers News
Worrying about Kobe Bryant’s miraculous recovery [Silver Screen and Roll]
Lakers’ Jim Buss Puts His Odds on Kobe Bryant Coming Back Early [LA Times]
How the Lakers’ Salary-Cap Reality Makes the LeBron-Carmelo Summer of 2014 a Pipe Dream [Grantland]
Expect Lakers to Provide Grins Rather Than Glory [LA Times]
Metta World Peace Says Kobe’s Decision to Play Longer Sealed the Deal for Dwight [Examiner.com]
Farmar Comes Home [THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS]
Will Lakers Appeal to Paul George? [Yahoo! Sports]
5 Reasons Lakers Head Coach Mike D’Antoni Isn’t Going Anywhere [Yahoo Sports]
Could Philadelphia 76ers Help Lakers Ditch Luxury Tax? [Lakers Now]
Lakers Will Not Have Quite as Much 2014 Cap Space as Some Think [ProBasketballTalk]
Expect Lakers to Provide Grins Rather Than Glory [LA Times]
Nick Young Joined the Lakers Partly Because He’d Have a Significant Role [Inside the Lakers]
Paul George Says He has No Plans to Leave Indiana. Sorry Lakers Fans. [ProBasketballTalk]
Marcus Landry a Fan of Mike D’Antoni’s System, Hopes to be a Laker [Lakers Now]
Jordan Farmar Says He Felt He Belongs with Lakers [LA Times]
NBA News
Los Angeles Products All Grown Up at Team USA Select Team Minicamp [SB Nation]
10 Dark Horse Candidates for 2013-14 College Basketball Player of the Year Award [Bleacher Report]
Jonas Valanciunas Named 2013 Las Vegas Summer League MVP [CBSSports.com]
NBA Summer League 2013: Five Standouts Under Different Circumstances [SB Nation]
George Not Planning on Leaving Indiana [TrueHoop Blog]
Blazers GM: No Comment on Aldridge [HOOPSWORLD]
Spurs to Withdraw Qualifying Offer for Gary Neal [ProBasketballTalk]
Lillard Bitter About Lack of Respect [HOOPSWORLD]
Warriors Top Suns 91-77 for Vegas League Title [Yahoo! Sports]
Ian Clark, Golden State Warriors defeat Phoenix Suns [ESPN]
How and Why NBA Coaches Communicate Advanced Metrics to Players [SB Nation]
Mbah a Moute Needs a Number [Bruins Nation]
Team USA Would Love to Have Derrick Rose Back if He Wants to Play Next Summer [ProBasketballTalk]
2013 Las Vegas Summer League: Eye on Basketball Awards [CBSSports.com]
2013 NBA Summer League | Schedules, Stats, Scores and Highlights | Orlando: July 7-12 [NBA.com]
The NBA Amnesty Clause, Punitive Luxury Tax and the Playing Field [SB Nation]
DeMarcus Cousins looks to make most of second chance with USA Basketball [ESPN]
Krzyzewski Ready to go For Third Straight Gold [NBA.com]
Dwyane Wade Reaches Settlement With Ex-wife. Let’s Hope This Goes Away. [ProBasketballTalk]
Who Will Be Team USA’s Answer to Marc Gasol? [SB Nation]
Greg Oden Nearing Decision, Will Host Three Teams, Including Miami Heat [ESPN]
Utah Jazz sign free agent John Lucas III [ESPN]
NBA Free Agency Grades: How Did All 30 Teams Do? [CBSSports.com]
Andrew Bynum’s Contract Contains No Performance-Based Incentives, Just $6 Million Guaranteed [ProBasketballTalk]
