From Hawaii With Love
From Sporting News:
The floor of the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu is littered with all the trappings of training camp -- errant balls, discarded headbands, rolls of tape, unidentifiable long-shot roster hopefuls (Von Wafer? Adam Parada?). Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, casually clad, Hawaiian-style, lounges in the stands. Hall of Famer James Worthy chats with Kobe Bryant while another Hall of Famer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, plays mock defense on new power forward Kwame Brown....
As much as playing defense, as much as winning games and earning a playoff spot, limiting the drama seems to be a priority for this version of the Lakers. No theatrics, no juicy tabloid stories, no Jim Gray interviews -- just basketball. That's a difficult proposition, of course, considering the rumor-hungry nature of the Lakers' market and the team's built-in soap opera. That would be the relationship between Bryant, the brooding superstar, and anointed genius coach Phil Jackson, a relationship that will be analyzed as much as any pairing in Hollywood....
But there was Jackson two weeks ago, cracking a wide smile when the first question from the media came after the team's first practice. "So," Jackson was asked, "is Kobe Bryant coachable?"
"I don't know; I didn't talk to him," Jackson said.
That will be the approach the Lakers take when it comes to the Bryant-Jackson relationship -- they're not going to talk about it. Jackson says he approached Bryant and told him he will not disclose any details about their relationship, no matter how many times he is asked. Bryant says he never read Jackson's book in the first place and is looking only to the future....
From the Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Playing in the tiny town of Homer, La., just across the state line from Arkansas in what could be called Karl Malone country, Von Wafer nearly went unnoticed his first three years as a high school basketball player. "I was going to a Class C school. It had like 150 students K-12," said Wafer, who averaged 32 points a game almost anonymously as a junior at Pineview High, "so nobody really ever came to see me play."
It didn't matter. An AAU team out of Little Rock, Ark., found Wafer and helped put him on the national radar. By the end of his senior year, Wafer had a scholarship to Florida State and an invitation to play in the McDonald's All-America game....
Maybe it's not such a good idea...to bet against Wafer as the 20-year-old guard tries to make the team out of training camp. After all, Wafer said he won't merely be content with a spot on the roster; he wants to carve out a 10-year career in the NBA....
Exactly where Wafer fits is in question. He connected on 48 percent of his 3-pointers in summer-league play and could be the shooter the Lakers need off the bench. But he has little experience handling the ball, part of the job description for a guard in the triangle offense....
Wafer probably will have to beat out second-year guard Sasha Vujacic for a spot on the Lakers' active roster. Another possibility would be for the Lakers to send Wafer to the NBA Development League while retaining his rights....
He also is a testament to just how young the Lakers will be this season. A year ago, the team still held out hope that Malone would play after recovering from knee surgery. Now the Lakers have a player in Wafer whose father played against Malone in high school.
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