Mamba in the Morning: CDR talks Kobe, Yahoo ranks Lakers

LAKERS NEWS

The Lakers are just one day away from tipping off the regular season. With the start of the season comes the influx of NBA news. First, Yahoo Sports released their preseason power rankings, with the Lakers coming in at 18th. Their brief comments focused on Kobe Bryant’s uncertain status.

"A surprisingly cautious Kobe Bryant will miss the season opener against the Clippers on Tuesday. It’s uncertain when he will debut; Bryant has not even practiced yet. Stay tuned."

Lakers fans should be happy with the ranking, as they were 10th Western conference team listed, a fairly reasonable, if not optimistic outlook upon the season.

Former Laker training camp invitee Chris Douglas Roberts shared a story on the Black Mamba via his Instagram.

A lot of ppl wondered why Bean spoke so highly of me last yr. First day of camp Mike Brown tried to throw me in the fire right away. Made me & Bean 1 on 1 partners for the whole first practice. What Mike Brown didn't know is that's what I was waiting for. That whole day we went head up. At one point it damn near came to blows bc Bean will do anything for an edge. So he was elbowing me on the low for separation & I couldn't let that go as a competitor. As a man. The refs were too scared to call the foul bc he was intimidating them all practice. But at then end it was all love. The respect is mutual. Gave me some pointers that are priceless. It's a misconception on Bean. Ppl think he's a sucker...hard to play with. It's just that he expects the most of his teammates bc he works so hard. Easily realist hooper I've met. He never lies and I respect that. #ClosestThingtoJordan #HeNeverSleepsEither #ImOut
A lot of ppl wondered why Bean spoke so highly of me last yr. First day of camp Mike Brown tried to throw me in the fire right away. Made me & Bean 1 on 1 partners for the whole first practice. What Mike Brown didn't know is that's what I was waiting for. That whole day we went head up. At one point it damn near came to blows bc Bean will do anything for an edge. So he was elbowing me on the low for separation & I couldn't let that go as a competitor. As a man. The refs were too scared to call the foul bc he was intimidating them all practice. But at then end it was all love. The respect is mutual. Gave me some pointers that are priceless. It's a misconception on Bean. Ppl think he's a sucker...hard to play with. It's just that he expects the most of his teammates bc he works so hard. Easily realist hooper I've met. He never lies and I respect that. #ClosestThingtoJordan #HeNeverSleepsEither #ImOut

CDR spent last training camp with the Lakers and was the final cut. He spent this summer on the Lakers summer league squad, then spent training camp with the Knicks. However, he was cut this weekend from the squad. We certainly wish CDR the best.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Wizards and Suns made news this weekend when the Suns sent center Marcin Gortat to the Wizards for Emeka Okafor and a first round pick in the 2014 draft. Also included in the deal were Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee and Kendall Marshall. Brown, as you may recall, is a former Laker and reportedly, there is interest in some capacity in bringing him back.

DID YOU KNOW?

Former Laker head coach Bill Sharman, who passed away late last week, invented the morning shootaround?

MAMBA TWEET OF THE DAY

The Black Mamba has been eerily quiet across social media platforms since getting the all-clear on his Achilles. While he’s posted a couple pictures on Instagram, it’s nothing within the last two weeks. Therefore, we’ll take a look at a different Lakers twitter, who sums up all of Lakers Nation’s thoughts right now…

Don’t forget to “LIKE” the Lake Show Life’s Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for up-to-date Lakers news and analysis right from the comfort of your news feed.

Schedule