Lakers & Clippers Media Day

I checked out both the Lakers and the Clippers annual Media Day festivities today. For those of you not familiar with media day events, it's the first time a team is fully assembled in one place for the media to grill the coaches and players on the upcoming season.

Various teams and sports handle their respective media days differently, but the most common sights are countless interviews and promo shoots for the team's broadcast partners. So be sure to be on the lookout for the latest Lakers and Clippers promotional spots on FSN West and Prime Ticket very soon.

Here are some of my observations from both sessions.

• Thirty minutes into the Lakers proceedings, there was still no sign of Kobe Bryant. Despite reassurances from the team's PR mastermind, Jon Black, some were beginning to think Kobe would not show. And then suddenly, #24 emerged from the training room in full uniform only to be surrounded by a swarm of reporters, cameras and microphones. Better late than never.

(Courtesy: LA Times)

• After making the rounds of promotional shoots, Kobe finally answered questions from the assembled media. Despite a tumultous summer where he demanded a trade and called out the front office and some of his teammates, Kobe put on the good face and toed the company line saying, "I'm a soldier, man. It's not a soldier's job to question whether or not he should fight the war. You've got to go over there and fight. It's not my place."

• On Lakers owner, Jerry Buss, Kobe said, "What I understand about Jerry is that he has kind of been out of the loop for the last two years. My understanding is that he's kind of going to be back in the mix now."

• As for his future with the organization, Kobe said, "I think the important thing for everybody to understand is that I want to bring a title back to L.A. That's priority No. 1 for me, is to bring a title back here. I just have to trust that we're all on the same page in terms of getting that done."

(Courtesy: LA Times)

• I ran into Andrew Bynum and almost didn't recognize him. That might be an understatement since he is 7 feet tall and wearing a uniform with his name on the back of it. But his body has changed so much over the summer that he did not appear to be the same Andrew Bynum I last saw in April. He hired a personal trainer to work with him in the off-season and completely changed his diet. And the results are obvious. If he gets enough minutes on the court, this could be a coming out season for the Lakers future cornerstone.

• There was a moment when Kobe, Phil Jackson and newly re-acquired Derek Fisher posed for a photo. The trio comprising the last link to the Lakers last championship in 2002. Five years never seemed so long ago.

(Courtesy: LA Times)

• Speaking of Phil Jackson, he was using a cane to get around to all of his required stops. Remember, he's still recovering from his second hip-replacement surgery within the past year. He also seemed to be in a much better mood than previous media days. Maybe he was putting on the good face for the franchise and Kobe tried to do. Or perhaps, he's still in the afterglow of his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame this past summer. Say what you will about his "learn-on-your-own" tactics or his Zen-like way of life, but you have to give it up to the man. He is one of the best coaches to ever man a sideline. Congrats again, Phil!

• The Clippers version of Media Day was not nearly as heavily attended as their Staples Center roommates, and the reasons are obvious. 1) Kobe and the Lakers made way more noise in the off-season.. and 2) the injury to Elton Brand has already placed a dark cloud over the Clippers season, although that might be a bit premature.

(Courtesy: LA Times)

• Speaking of injuries, both Brand and Shaun Livingston were getting around pretty well considering how much time has passed since their respective injuries. Livingston told me that he feels great and plans to beat his prescribed goal of being back on the court in February or March. He wants to start playing again in January, which would be less than a year since suffering one of the most devastating in-game sports injuries ever witnessed live or on television.

• Back to Brand for a moment. I actually visited Elton at his house a week before Media Day. We shot a long interview which will be used for an upcoming edition of "In My Own Words." In addition to updating me on the rehab of his ruptured achilles tendon (it's an all-day affair starting at 6 am which includes stationary bike work), he also told me why the fans should not jump off the bandwagon just yet (read: newly acquired free agents Brevin Knight and Ruben Patterson) and when he plans to be back on the court (not long after Livingston). I'll post some excerpts from that interview soon.