July 10th: "Bynum Stands Tall" "Farmar takes quickly to Lakers’ offense"

[Phil]

Young Bynum Stands Tall
12:19 AM PDT on Monday, July 10, 2006
By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

LONG BEACH - Andrew Bynum didn't like losing his first summer-league game with the Lakers on Saturday. And he didn't like the way he played.

William Wilson Lewis III / The Press-Enterprise
Marcus Slaughter and Andrew Bynum (17) try to thwart the shot attempt of Dallas' Jelani McCoy during their summer-league game. Bynum was a force with 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.

So Bynum set out to do something about that when the Lakers played the Dallas Mavericks' summer-league team Sunday at the Pyramid.

He was a defensive presence. He was a strong rebounder. He was an offensive force.

Bynum displayed many skills and a passion for winning while helping the Lakers defeat the Mavericks, 97-69.

Bynum had 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots and intimidated countless Mavericks who dared venture into the lane.

"I just played a little bit harder," he said. "I was getting a little bit more aggressive."

The Lakers used their No. 10 pick in last summer's draft to make Bynum the youngest player drafted into the NBA. The plan was to let the 17-year-old develop and not rush him.

A year later, the Lakers see progress following Bynum's first two summer-league games. He has been working out since the Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs.

"He's still a project," said assistant coach Kurt Rambis, who is running the summer-league team. "We think he's going to be a very good ballplayer at some point and time, and this is what he needs. He needs time out there on the floor."

[Phil]

Lakers won't sign Banks

Snippet:

"Apparently the Los Angeles Lakers don't have any interest in signing free agent and former Wolves point guard Marcus Banks after spending their midlevel exception on Vladimir Radmanovic. Banks could be back in a Wolves uniform."

[Phil]

Farmar takes quickly to Lakers’ offense

By Ben Azar
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
bazar [ at ] media.ucla.edu

LONG BEACH — Jordan Farmar isn't wasting any time proving he belongs in the NBA.

The new Los Angeles Lakers guard shined in his first two professional games over the weekend at the Long Beach Summer Pro League.

In a Lakers loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in front of a sold-out Walter Pyramid crowd of 5,000, Farmar wowed the Lakers-fan-dominated crowd, scoring 17 points in 30 minutes on the floor.

Farmar's follow-up game wasn't too shabby, either. He scored 13 points, dished out six assists, and had four steals in a 97-69 Lakers rout of the Mavericks.

Lakers summer league coach Kurt Rambis was impressed with what he saw of Farmar.

"He has good instincts; he makes good reads, good decisions," Rambis said. "I appreciate the fact that he's out there trying to run the offense. He, as well as anybody, has picked up the offense the quickest. He seems like he's been studying it or something. He knows what he wants to do."

[Phil]

Farmar leading the way

SPL: Lakers rookie beginning to make a name for himself.
By Earl Williams, Staff writer



LONG BEACH - Jordan Farmar, the Lakers' No. 26 pick in the NBA draft out of UCLA, showed poise in the triangle offensive, took advantage of what the Dallas Mavericks' defense effortlessly gave him to lead Los Angeles to a 97-69 win at the 37th annual Southern California Summer Pro League on Sunday at the Walter Pyramid.

"He has a good understanding of what we want him to do," Lakers SPL coach Kurt Rambis said. "He has good instincts. He has grown up playing point guard. He makes good reads, good decisions. He is going to have to out there and execute against bigger, stronger players that are just as great and fast as he is. It's always that way against any player who is undersized."

How can he possible earn significant playing this upcoming season?

"He is going to have to earn every second he gets out there on the court," Rambis said. "If he earns it (this year), we'll play him. It's really up to him. With the little practices we had, he has done an exceptional job."

[Now_I_Know]

Prosecutors reject assault claim against Lakers' Brown


LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors rejected a sexual assault claim against Los Angeles Lakers center Kwame Brown on Tuesday because of a lack of evidence.

The allegation was made during the Lakers' first-round Western Conference playoff series with Phoenix and had been under investigation since. Brown had denied any wrongdoing and was never arrested.

Deputy District Attorney Darci Johnson wrote in an evaluation of the case that the decision not to prosecute was made after "a medical exam of the victim was reviewed and revealed no signs of forcible sexual assault." There was also no corroborating forensic evidence found and Brown's attorney refused to allow him to talk to police.

The woman claimed the assault occurred in the early-morning hours of April 29, hours after Game 3 of the playoff series, which Phoenix went on to win.

In reasoning against filing charges, the evaluation described the claim as a "one on one" allegation.

The woman "admits engaging in some consensual activity" with Brown prior to the alleged assault and she remained in his home for several hours afterward, it said.

The woman's statements were consistent, the evaluation noted, but "the lack of physical evidence or a statement by the suspect means the case cannot be proven at the appropriate standard."

The Lakers referred inquiries on the decision to Brown's representatives. Telephone messages seeking comment were left at the office of agent Arn Tellem and for attorney Brian O'Neill.
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