At the heart of the swirling vortex of NBA trade rumors this week is a whopper involving the Lakers -- the chance to bring in All-Star point guard Jason Kidd. It’s the big topic on local and national sports talk radio, basketball message boards and barstool conversations. It’s the sports talk equivalent of Anna Nicole this week. You probably don’t want to be Kidd’s wife, but being his teammate makes a lot of sense for......

Dear LAist, I understand you allow for anonymous reporting? I was at the ESPY's last night at H&H Kodak... Thought you might be interested that while Janet Jackson's beau Jermaine Dupri did pose for photos with her on the red carpet at the ESPYS, he shied away from the camera when Janet met up with Pat O'Brien for a TV interview after she presented the first award. After the interview, she went back to......

You made Shaq leave LA. You made Payton leave LA. You even made Coach Jackson leave LA (temporarily, as life is an ebb and flow, etc.) The Big Fella moved to Miami and the Glove ended up there with him. Pat Riley came out of coaching retirement and right now LAist is sitting in front of our plasma screen watching Gary Payton nearly cry from winning his first ring. That 81-point game of yours......

The basketball world won't quite be the same tomorrow when Karl Malone officially announces his retirement. Malone may leave the game without the championship he so desperately sought, and without the all-time scoring record he nearly broke, but the Mailman can take soleace in retiring as the greatest power forward of all-time. Malone redefined his position after years of perfecting the pick-and-roll with John Stockton, but when he came to LA, he redefined himself.......

It might not be a stretch to say that no player has hurt the Lakers more than Gary Payton. As a point guard in Seattle, Payton always seemed to save his best games against LA. As the Lakers point guard, Payton played so poorly, he may have cost the Lakers a championships. Now even as an ex-Laker, Payton is wreaking havoc. After demanding a trade out of LA, Payton rescinded it, and now refuses......

The Gary Payton era in LA sure didn't last long. The playoff stiff was traded today to the Boston Celtics along with Rick Fox and a draft pick for Chris Mihm, Chucky Atkins, and Marcus Banks. The truth is that "The Glove" never fit in LA. Despite coming to the Lakers knowing they ran the triangle and that he'd be the third or fourth option, he complained relentlessly about the triangle and being the......

After exercising his $5.4 million option to remain with the Lakers, Gary Payton now wants out of LA. So now let's recap everything for you: 1.) Gary Payton takes less money to play for the Lakers knowing full well they run the triangle offense, that in all likelihood he'll be 4th (or at best 3rd) option, and that he's expected to play the great defense which earned him the nickname "The Glove." 2.) Payton......

After turning the basketball world upside down for the past few days, Mike Krzyzewski has calmed everything down, by opting to remain at Duke. Perhaps Coach K really does want to go to the NBA, but has little interest in being a part of the Lakers psychodrama. Perhaps, he's just happy ruling over college basketball. But whatever the reason, this is probably not great news for the Lakers. Without Coach K, Kobe Bryant may......

According to the Los Angeles Times, Rudy Tomjanovich is the leading candidate to become the next coach of the Lakers. While Tomjanovich is no Phil Jackson, this is good news for Lakers fans. In today's NBA, there is no coaching job more strenuous and complex than the Lakers', and Jerry Buss could not get away with handing the keys to the franchise over to a less-experienced coach like Jim Cleamons, Kurt Rambis, or Brian Shaw.......