Kurt Helin

Don't go there. Don't even start. Tonight the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Lakers, and that means talk-radio hosts and columnists looking to stir the pot are going to say it's time for the Lakers to trade for Kevin Garnett. Laker fans need an intervention on this topic. It's not going to happen -- the Lakers can't begin to afford him if he opts out of his deal after this season, and to trade for...

The coolest new thing at Staples Center is that it feels like the old Fabulous Forum. Call it throwback lighting -- for the Halloween home opener the Lakers dimmed the lights on the crowd and hung special new lights to brighten the court. They called it "Lights Out," but we long-time fans (I guess in transient LA remembering something from a decade ago counts as long-time) thought it felt like the Forum. There are...

Turns out it's fitting that the Lakers and Phoenix Suns are opening their seasons on Halloween: Both are dragging battered limbs and other body parts into the Staples Center. And it's going to be dark. The start of the season brings optimism for most sports fans, but Laker fans' hopes are tinged with worry. Foremost on the list of concern is Kobe Bryant's knee -- he had "minor" surgery back in July and is...

His IMDB page is not going to impress you, but Dr. Jerry Buss is a star in this city. By whatever nebulous definition we seem to have for it. So somebody bought him one -- the Lakers owner gets a star on Hollywood Boulevard at Highland today (at noon, if you have nothing better to do). The official reason is for his help starting Prime Ticket, the local sports network that has morphed into...

Laker fans can seem impatient. Sure, fans of lesser franchises would probably go with the word "spoiled", but in the past Laker fans simply ignored those comments as they were driving to parades through downtown. They even thought Mark Madsen's dancing was cute; winning will cloud your judgment that way. But after two whole seasons without a Finals appearance some fans this summer called for a BIG move. Fortunately, the more rational fans among them...