An injury to Bryant opened the door for Udoka to sign with the Lakers on a 10-day contract, playing four games during the stretch before being forced back into the NBA wilderness. “We enjoyed Ime and liked him a lot,” said Jim Cleamons, an assistant on that Lakers staff. “He was competitive and understood. The only problem was that most of the guys had guaranteed contracts. It’s a numbers game. . . . We as a staff loved his competitiveness. His heart. His character. I’m sorry we couldn’t keep him.”
Tag: Jim Cleamons
Jim Cleamons was a first-round draft …
Jim Cleamons was a first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971. He played in the NBA until 1980 and has spent the past 40 years coaching the game at just about every level. On Wednesday night, the former NBA swingman is heading to Lompoc High. Cleamons is hosting an instructional and motivational session at 6:30 p.m. in the Lompoc High library. The event is sponsored by J-SMOOV and hosted by the Lompoc High girls basketball program.
Jackson’s triangle magic didn’t work in …
Jackson’s triangle magic didn’t work in New York. Rosen can count the reasons and blames Jackson for not finding the right coach. “Hiring Derek Fisher was a mistake for a lot of reasons,’’ Rosen said. “He wasn’t ready. And there was a division in the coaching staff between Derek’s OKC guys [Brian Keefe, Josh Longstaff, Dave Bliss] and Phil’s guys [Kurt Rambis, Jim Cleamons]. Fisher’s guys didn’t want anything to do with them.’’
“They always gave him a hard time,” …
“They always gave him a hard time,” said Jud Buechler, who played in Chicago from 1994 to 1998. “The [Krause] thing made it very difficult for him at first,” said Jim Cleamons, a longtime Jackson lieutenant. “It was unfair to Toni, honestly.” Kukoc recognized any ill feelings were about Krause — not him. He was strong enough to play through it. “Toni was just himself,” Cleamons said, “and that was his salvation.”