As the Lakers prepare to host the Heat in ABC’s marquee Christmas Day matchup, let’s check in on a few items related to the Kobe Bryant-less club:
- When the Lakers were finalizing their deal for Steve Nash in the summer of 2012, GM Mitch Kupchak jokingly asked Nash if he’d make the team look bad for giving him three guaranteed years. As Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News points out, that anecdote looks awfully ominous now.
- Kendall Marshall is still adjusting to life with the Lakers, and tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that he has “no hard feelings” about being traded by the Suns, even though he had no idea the move was coming. Coro also spoke to former Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni, who says he looks back on his time in Phoenix as one of the highlights of his career.
- While the Lakers are typically regarded as one of the NBA’s biggest spenders, the team is currently relying on minimum-salary players like Jordan Farmar and Nick Young, writes Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report.
- We heard earlier today that the Lakers reportedly received a trade offer from the Grizzlies centered around Jodie Meeks and Jerryd Bayless.