More boos for Radmanovic
Not every Laker had a throw-away visit here. Vladimir Radmanovic returned to the scene of his first four-and-a-half NBA seasons and, after adjusting to a chorus of boos, unfurled his most assertive game with the Lakers.
“I’m just trying to melt into the system,” Radmanovic said. “I thought it was going to be easier, but coach is really precise with what we’re running, which I understand.”
Radmanovic had 10 points on four-for-seven shooting Sunday against Seattle, again playing with a sponge wedged between the pinkie and ring finger of his shooting hand to alleviate the discomfort of a sprained ligament.
“Shooting-wise, he’s starting to feel much more comfortable shooting the ball,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “The physical strength it takes to wrestle a ball away is still a problem.”
Radmanovic’s effort wasn’t appreciated by SuperSonics fans, who seemed to forget that his scoring touch off the bench was a key to Seattle’s winning the Northwest Division in the 2004-05 season.
Instead, they booed, remembering that Radmanovic rejected a reported six-year, $42-million offer before last season that would have kept him with the SuperSonics. He then clashed privately with coaches over playing time and eventually wanted out, getting his wish and a one-way ticket to the Clippers.
“I just wanted to go somewhere else,” Radmanovic said. “With Rashard [Lewis] over there playing post and me just being on the three-point line, I felt like I wasn’t using my talent and abilities in the game of basketball.”
Radmanovic went from the Clippers to the Lakers during the off-season, signing a five-year, $31-million free-agent contract.
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It’s a new no-no, one that Kobe Bryant will have to adjust to.
Bryant was also called for a technical foul for slamming the ball off the bottom part of the basket standard after the Lakers were called for a foul midway through the fourth quarter. It is now an automatic technical foul to do such a thing.
“I didn’t even know,” Bryant said. “The time they had the meeting, I was doing rehab. I think they had it in Bakersfield” before an exhibition. “I didn’t even know. They surprised me with that one.”
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Jackson traveled for the first time since undergoing hip-replacement surgery a month ago and said he felt fine. “It’s a trip, it’s out of the comfort zone, but it’s good,” he said.
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