UPDATE: According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles, Brown's agent, Mark Mark Bartelstein, said Tuesday that Brown would make a decision "sometime next month" on his option. He has until June 30 to do so. --- Lakers reserve guard Shannon Brown has a $2.4 million player option for next season. But according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, he's unsure if he'll exercise it or not. Janis Carr of the Orange County Register also offers this: "The reserve shooting guard wants to go on vacation, see what happens with the collective bargaining agreement expires June 30 and figure out if he wants to be a starter on another team before deciding whether to exercise his option year for roughly the same amount of money with the Lakers." Considering the Lakers are in a state of flux, Brown may also try and get a handle on possible moves by the team before he makes a decision. If Brown decides to head into free agency and declines to exercise the option, it's possible a team like the Bulls -- who are looking for an upgrade at shooting guard -- could come calling. Yet, they're probably looking for a better player than Brown -- who started the year well but sputtered a bit at the end -- that can come in and start, which could mean they'll target the likes of Jamal Crawford or Jason Richardson. Brown could also factor in for any team looking for a spark off the bench in the backcourt next season.
FUCK SHANNON BROWN I want him out of here. Ever since the Lakers were shockingly swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, people have been wondering what exactly happened to rattle this team so badly. It’s not often that you see a defending champion go out in such stunning fashion, and many believe that there had to be something going on in the locker room that was causing the Laker players to lose focus on their goal. Laker center Andrew Bynum pretty much told us what we knew all along when he said the Lakers had “trust issues” after a Game 2 home loss saw Los Angeles heading to Dallas down 0-2. The main target of the speculation was Lakers All-Star Pau Gasol, one of the premier bigs in the NBA who never did show up during these playoffs. Gasol’s numbers dipped dramatically amid speculation that he had a confrontation with an unnamed teammate who’s wife had broken up Gasol’s engagement to Silvia Lopez Castro. Of course, any time you hear “Lakers” and “internal strife” the first person that comes to mind is Kobe Bryant. While he may be an assassin on the court, Kobe isn’t necessarily the most street smart player in the league, and has been known to break a “Man Law” on occasion. So naturally, many have assumed that Kobe told his wife Pau had a girl on the side and Vanessa Bryant caused the rift by telling Ms. Castro, thus leading to her breaking off their engagement and Pau playing softer than cotton candy. If you are one who believes that story then congratulations you are wrong! Well, sort of. After speaking to sources very close to multiple NBA locker rooms and specifically the Lakers locker room, here is the worldwide exclusive of what really happened, remember where you heard it first! The Gasol-Castro relationship is definitely on the rocks as their engagement has been put off for now, and it definitely played into the surprising decline in numbers and confidence that we saw from Pau throughout the playoffs. However, surprisingly it isn’t Kobe and Vanessa who are behind the rift, although they do have a part in it. In fact it is a bench player for the Lakers who may have cost the team a chance at a three-peat. The word I’m getting is that Shannon Brown, yes the same Shannon Brown who is married R&B singer Monica, slept with Castro during the season, and the affair was discovered by Gasol towards the end of the regular season. silvia-castro-2 silvia-castro-3 silvia-castro-4 silvia-castro-5 silvia-castro The confrontation we’ve been hearing about did indeed take place, but it was between Gasol and Brown, who nearly came to blows in the locker room and caused a rift that the Lakers were never able to recover from. The word is that Mrs. Bryant and Ms. Castro engaged in a bit of a cat fight, that ultimately lead to Castro saying that Vanessa sleeps around, and Mrs. Bryant basically announcing to anyone who would listen that Castro is really the one sleeping around, specifically with Brown. That’s right Laker fans, the reason your team is home right now instead of heading towards a Finals series with Lebron and Co. could very well be Shannon Brown. While many may believe this to be nothing more than gossip, remember where you heard it first when Brown is traded or let go during the off-season. Source: http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2...-exclusive-the-truth-behind-pau-gasol-rumors/
