What's up, chums? Sorry I've been off the scene here the past few days. The high-intensity Fishmore lifestyle has been taking its toll on your homey Dex. How's about we get caught up with a quick stroll through the Lake Show news ticker?
Pau to the Timberwolves?
This rumor is still bouncing around out, though not in any believable form. Minnesota's interested in Pau, the Lakers are interested in moving up in the draft, and why wouldn't either of those things be true? The problem is the absence of any mutually agreeable terms of trade. Earlier today Jerry Zgoda, the T-Wolves beat writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, tweeted that the Wolves won't be offering Kevin Love or the number-two pick and certainly not both.
In other words, if the Lakers feel like trading Pau for Michael Beasley, Darko and some magic beans, Kahn's willing to listen. But the only two Minnesota assets the Lakers would actually want are off the table. Cool story, bro! Either Jerry's wildly off base, or this deal is dead like Ned Stark.
CBA Talks: "Turning Point" Negotiations Coming Tuesday (But Not Really)
There's a bargaining sesh scheduled for this Tuesday involving the league and the players' union, and David Stern is talking it up as a crucial inflection point in the CBA process. Yesterday he told reporters, "Tuesday is a very important day in these negotiations.... I really think that the time to have an optimistic or pessimistic view is at the close of the day on Tuesday." It's not clear, though, what makes Tuesday important other than Stern's declaration of its importance. It's not like you couldn't reach terms on a deal a month from now and still start the 2011-12 season on time.
Stern's rhetoric should be read as an effort to sew panic in the players' union and get them to cave on one or both of the key issues: a hard salary cap and the revenue split between players and owners. As a Laker fan, I find talk of a hard cap especially alarming, as it would eradicate the Lakers' ability to convert their financial advantage into an on-court competitive advantage. Are you listening to me, Derek Fisher? KILL THE HARD CAP!
The Draft Is Next Week
And once again the Lakers have no first-round picks. They would be drafting 27th, but they shipped that pick to New Jersey in the Joe Smith deal. Just in case you weren't feeling depressed enough today.
The Lakers do, however, have four picks in the second round, so that'll be exciting. One bro they're rumored to have interest in is Julyan Stone, a point guard from UTEP. Literally everything I know about Juylan Stone is in that sentence you just read. But NBADraft.net has more about him here, and on Tuesday morning our resident college-ball expert Ben Rosales is going to wreck your shit with a draft preview post to end all draft preview posts.
All's Good Between Kobe and Mike Brown
Have you been hoping Kobe would "bro down" with Mike Brown? Mark Heisler of the LA Times has the good news. From his Twitter feed earlier today....
PEACE IN LAKES' TIME! Despite Kobe's ominous silence, Mike Brown won him over - Last seen on court in El Segundo going through plays together
PEACE, LAKER-STYLE: So why won't Kobe say anything? He's angry at Buss & Buss leaving him out of loop, letting his silence speak for itself
DEJA KOBE: Yes it's like ‘07 when KB called Jerry B "liar," demanded trade, zipped it up all summer so Lakes didn't even know if he'd report
I got no problem with Kobe clamming up. He doesn't work for the Lakers' PR department, and it's not his job to run media interference for team ownership. If Jim Buss wanted Kobe to help sell the coaching hire, he shouldn't have shut him out during the search.
The Drew League Is Back In Action This Weekend
Head on down to Colonel Leo H. Washington Park in Watts if you want to catch it live. There's also a semi-decent UStream you can use to watch from your computer machine. Kevin Durant is down there today - and dunking on fools left and right, from what I hear. (H/T Mark Travis.)
Follow Dex on Twitter @dexterfishmore.