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KOBE Arrives in LV
>
June 27 :: 2008
Kobe and Team USA arrive in Vegas name="680">
Kobe and Co.
href="http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2008/06/27/bryant-other-usa-teammates-start-training/">arriv
ed in Las Vegas today
for a two-day minicamp in preparation for the 2008 Summer Games in
Beijing.

And the camp is being filmed for a TV production called "The Road to Redemption". The
first of the five-part series will air at 4pm on Tuesday, July 2 on ESPN2:

Road To
Redemption presented by NIKE
width="300">

EpisodeDateTimeNetworkLength
One7/02/084:00 PM PTESPN21
Hour
Two7/21/084:30 PM PTESPN230
mins
Three7/31/084:30 PM PTESPN230
mins
Four8/05/084:00 PM PTESPN230
mins
Five8/05/084:30 PM PTESPN230
mins

Elsewhere, not much noise from the Lakers on draft day
yesterday, mostly because the team did not have a first-round pick and took Kentucky's Joe Crawford
with the 58th pick. Before you dismiss the idea of him making the team, keep in mind the Lakers have
had recent success while drafting in the second round (Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf, to name
two).

Check out an href="http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Joe-Crawford-219/">in-depth scouting report on
Crawford
from the pre-draft camp in Orlando earlier this month:

Crawford’s
spot-up jump shot has very good form, boasting a fairly deliberate release (but not in a bad way),
with near textbook mechanics and a high and consistent release point. It’s important to note,
though, that this is only talking about his spot-up jumper, as his mechanics don’t stay quite so
great when he’s pulling up off the dribble, contested, or coming around a screen. He doesn’t do
a great job keeping his feet underneath him when coming around a screen or when he’s contested,
throwing his balance off and resulting in some questionable shots. He also can rush his mechanics at
times when contested, and is prone to not holding his follow through in these situations. His
shooting percentages fall off considerably when he’s contested, though not very much when he’s
pulling up off the dribble in space.

In terms of the rest of his offense, Crawford does a good
job finishing off cuts and in transition using his leaping ability and ability to adjust in traffic.
He’s a decent ball-handler and a decent passer, though is by no means a point guard, and it’s
questionable if he stands out enough in any one area to find a niche in the
league.

Defensively, Crawford plays a fundamentally sound, focused, and aggressive game, doing
a good job with both on and off ball defense. Off the ball, he doesn’t give up and always contests
shots, though he has some trouble getting around screens, as most college players do. On the ball,
he has good lateral quickness and reflexes, while doing a very good job moving his feet and
pressuring his man, rarely getting beat off the dribble or giving up an open shot. At 6’4, he
could have some trouble guarding 2’s at the next level.

Watch as he is
announced as the Lakers pick, and see some college highlights href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=0RPdCpjRwxg">here.

Finally, NBA free agency begins on
Monday night at 9:01 PT. And it sounds like the first call Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will make will be
href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers27-2008jun27,0,5994985.story">
to Sasha Vujacic
:

"I intend to contact him at 9:01 on Monday night," Kupchak
said.
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value="678" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">06.25.08 :: Kobe is B.E.T.'s
Male Athlete of the Year
value="671" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">06.17.08 :: Game 6 tonight in
Boston

value="659" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">06.06.08 :: Quotes, reaction
from Game 1 value="648" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.30.08 :: Coming Friday
night: Kobe sits down with Stephen A. Smith value="643" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.22.08 :: KB24 Member Contest
:: We have a winner! value="639" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.19.08 :: Team dinner
tonight value="635" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.15.08 :: Kobe Receives
United States Sports Academy's Athlete of the Month
value="614" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.06.08 :: MVP Day
Round-Up value="x" style="background: black; padding: 3px;">April 2008 value="594" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">04.23.08 :: Game 2
notebook value="591" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">04.21.08 :: "Gold Rush" by
LD2k

value="561" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">04.02.08 :: The shoes Duke
never wore



value="531" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">03.11.08 :: Have you seen these
ZKIIIs?
value="x" style="background: black; padding: 3px;"> value="525" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">02.27.08 :: ZKIII/Genius: Kobe
as Carver (4th of 5)

value="512" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">02.15.08 :: L.A. Times: Kobe
will play Sunday, but...

value="493" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">02.01.08 :: Kobe on trade:
"It's exactly what we were looking for" (audio)





value="448" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">12.20.07 :: Kobe on matchup
with LeBron: Overhyped value="446" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">12.19.07 :: Sam Smith goes
one-on-one with KB
value="437" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">12.13.07 :: 2008 All-Star
voting: First returns are in

value="426" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">11.29.07 :: Kobe counsels
Vasquez value="418" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">11.20.07 :: O'Brien: Kobe is
'best in the world'
value="413" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">11.13.07 :: Doing the Texas
two-step
value="387" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">10.09.07 :: Can you believe
it's game night? value="x" style="background: black; padding: 3px;"> value="366" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">08.27.07 :: Kobe hounds Barbosa
in Team USA rout value="361" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">08.23.07 :: Happy Birthday,
Mamba value="344" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">07.24.07 :: Kobe Team USA
desktop wallpaper value="341" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">07.20.07 :: Who's Now? Kobe vs.
A-Rod



value="314" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">06.07.07 :: Supernatural in
Asia value="x" style="background: black; padding: 3px;">May 2007 value="305" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.29.07 :: Audio: Kobe on AM
570 value="300" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.23.07 :: Draft
predictions value="294" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.21.07 :: Kobe and family
attend "Pirates" premiere value="287" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">05.10.07 :: Kobe named
First-Team All NBA for 5th time

value="278" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">04.26.07 :: Get ready for the
Kobe Show



value="235" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">04.02.07 :: Kobe's 13 assists
lead Lakers to victory
value="231" style="background: black; color: #cb9300; padding: 2px;">03.29.07 :: Fans show off their
Zoom Kobe IIs