LAKERS NOTEBOOK: LUE FACES BATTLE FOR SPOT ON ROSTER SPEEDY GUARD HOPING HE CAN AVOID ANY SERIOUS INJURIES.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (born on May 3, 1977 in Mexico, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player who last played with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA in the 2006-07 season. He is currently an unrestricted free agent. lost last season to a bum right knee. He might soon face a more painful loss: his roster spot. The third-year Lakers guard says he's fully recovered from the knee surgery that robbed him of all but eight games last season. But now math is his greatest enemy: 11 players have guaranteed jobs, including four guards, leaving five guards competing for one spot (not counting the injured list). Coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. wants a small, quick guard in the mix - the 6-foot, speedy Lue fits the bill - but the Lakers also brought in free-agent guards Shawn Respert Shawn Christopher Respert (born February 6 1972 in Detroit, Michigan) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'1" 195 lb shooting guard, he attended Bishop Borgess High School, and he came to prominence while playing college basketball at Michigan State University (6-2) and Mike Penberthy Mike Penberthy (born November 29, 1974 in Los Gatos, California), is an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard from Master's College, Penberthy was not drafted by an NBA team but did manage to play for the Los Angeles Lakers for two years (2000-01 to 2001-02). (6-3) in their effort to replace the injured Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9 1974 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was with the Utah Jazz but asked to be released from his contract to care for his 10-month-old daughter, who has cancer. . An unknown two weeks ago, Penberthy is perhaps the Lakers' best shooter and has quickly become a favorite of the coaching staff. The last roster spot could very well come down to Lue or Penberthy, the 1997 graduate of The Master's College History The Master's College was founded as Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary on May 25, 1927 to meet the need for a fundamental Baptist school on the West Coast. . ``We have to figure that out,'' Jackson said. ``This will be a make-or- break time.'' Which means Lue can't afford too many mistakes or another injury. On Thursday, he rolled his right ankle in an exhibition game against the Washington Wizards. He was diagnosed with a mild sprain sprain, stretching or wrenching of the ligaments and tendons of a joint, often with rupture of the tissues but without dislocation. Sprains occur most commonly at the ankle, knee, or wrist joints, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty in moving the involved joint. . Lue said competition for a roster spot is the furthest thing from his mind. ``As long as my knee feels good, that's the best thing - it's 100 percent, no pain. So that's all I'm really worried about,'' he said. ``I mean, (Penberthy) is a good player, he's playing good, but I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if it's competition for me or who. I'm not really worried about it.'' But Lue admits that after playing in just 23 games his first two seasons, he does have something to prove. ``As long as I stay healthy, I can pefrorm the way I want to perform,''he said. There is money at stake, as well. The Lakers have until Oct. 31 to decide whether to pick up a $1.2 million option on Lue for 2001-02. They're taking a wait-and-see approach. Lue, the 23rd overall pick in 1998, already has cost the Lakers quite a bit. They traded All-Star Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during to Denver to obtain Lue and Tony Battie on draft day in '98. For those keeping score at home, Battie was later swapped for Travis Knight, who last month was packaged with Glen Rice to obtain Horace Grant. --Wizards win in Memphis: Richard Hamilton scored 19 points, including four free throws in the final 14 seconds, leading Washington to a 90-87 victory over the Lakers in Memphis. The second-year guard from Connecticut connected on 5 of 10 field goals and 9 of 10 free throws as the Wizards erased a five-point deficit in the final four minutes. Felipe Lopez added 12 points for the Wizards and Juwan Howard had a game-high 12 rebounds. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 19 points; Shaquille O'Neal had 12 points and six rebounds. The Lakers, who held an 11-point lead in the second quarter, led 46-42 at the half behind Bryant's 11 points. The Wizards tied the game 68-68 at the end of the third, erasing a seven-point deficit late in the quarter. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Juwan Howard of the Washington Wizards battles with the Lakers Shaquille O'Neal and Ron Harper. Lance Murphey/Associated Press |
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