Lakers Updates: Saturday

All of the day's updates about the Los Angeles Lakers will be gathered in this post.

6:39pm: Steve Blake announces (via Twitter) that he'll be healthy for a return this upcoming Tuesday. 

2:16pm: Despite all the turmoil surrounding the team, sources tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News the Lakers have no intention of firing D'Antoni, and still plan to re-sign Howard this summer.

10:28am: The Buss family released a statement dispelling rumors that the Lakers are for sale. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News has the transcript:

"We unanimously agree that we have no intention of ever selling the Lakers, and intend to keep ownership of the team in our family for generations to come," the statement read.

9:21am: Kobe Bryant discussed Dwight Howard's adjustment and the center's future with the Lakers with Sam Amick of USA Today:

"I don' t know what the future holds," Bryant said. "I don't know if (Howard will be traded)…But I know that as long as he's here, I'm going to continue to help him, mentor him, help him be great. That's all I can do. I'm a problem solver. I try to figure things out, come hell or high water."

8:39am: With the Lakers reeling after a four-game losing streak, Mike Trudell of the Los Angeles Times reports that GM Mitch Kupchak and Executive Vice President Jim Buss met with head coach Mike D'Antoni and gave him their vote of confidence. The Lakers defeated the Jazz Friday night, 102-84.

According to Trudell's report, Buss and Kupchak gave D'Antoni permssion to continue running his offense the way he had been previously, and handle all lineup and personnel decisions himself. D'Antoni commented to the Los Angeles Times that he saw no reason to change things:

"I just find it amusing that people want us to play a different way," he said. "And I don't know why we don't look at the top five teams and play that way. You know, San Antonio, Miami, Oklahoma City — they're all playing small and fast and moving the ball. The league has changed a little bit. We're not trying to get to mediocrity. We're trying to get to be better."

There had previously been speculation that the Lakers were considering firing D'Antoni after the team got off to a rough start under him. D'Antoni replaced Mike Brown, who was fired five games into the season after a 1-4 start.

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