Jones Has Had a Sore Wrist

Eddie Jones went into Friday night’s game shooting only 36.9% the previous seven outings, dropping him to 45.4% overall, but the lost shooting touch apparently has nothing to do with the big minutes he continues to play. It’s apparently because of a sore right wrist the Lakers had not previously disclosed.

“We didn’t want to mention it, to let opponents know he was playing with an injured right wrist, so he toughed it out,” Coach Del Harris said. “But he said [Friday] he’s feeling better.

“He’s tough. He and Jerome Kersey have played through some injuries for us and been pretty effective.”

The strained right groin is a bigger problem these days for Jones, reducing his usual explosiveness. But he said that was not a factor in missing nine of 10 shots Wednesday at Utah.

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That wasn’t only Shaquille O’Neal and ex-Laker Derek Strong playing against their former teams Friday. It was also a reunion for Orlando center Danny Schayes.

“Of course,” Harris said, “it’s easy for him because almost everybody is his former team.”

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It’s a Kobe Bryant world: Kansas has sent a letter of intent to Maxwell Kupchak, the son of General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The five-week-old son.

But Mitch is 6-10 and his wife, Claire, is 6-2, so there’s no sense in waiting until home visits for the Jayhawks to make a push. Kupchak, loyal to North Carolina, called Tar Heel Coach Dean Smith and asked why they haven’t shown any interest.