HoopsHype.com Rumors

Mychal Thompson: Respected Kevin McHale immensely. When I first met him as a freshman at Minnesota, I realized how talented and special a player he was. He was a very confident player and carried that over into the NBA. One of my favorite players to go against because I had so much respect for him and his abilities. He was a great winner, and we will always be good friends off the court. Now on the court, we wanted to kill each other [laughs]. I had a lot of respect for him and he was one of the toughest guys I had to go against. SLAM

Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin McHale, Mychal Thompson 

SLAM: You won back-to-back chips; you have seen so many big Playoff matchups, tell us the most intense game you ever participated in the postseason. MT: I can’t say an exact game, but I would say our series against the Pistons was very physical. The game back then was just so rugged. It has been cleaned up now and they have stopped a lot of the physical play. The flagrant ones and twos they call were just regular fouls they called in the ’80s. So when you played against a physical and smart frontline like the Pistons, sometimes I felt like the only thing missing was shoulder pads and helmets. SLAM

Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Mychal Thompson 

The Lakers announced Monday they signed radio play-by-play announcer John Ireland and color analyst Mychal Thompson to multi-year contract extensions. Ireland just completed his first season at the mic after serving as a TV sideline reporter for many seasons. Thompson, who played on the Lakers' NBA championship teams in 1987 and '88, will begin his 10th season as a radio analyst in 2012-13. Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers, John Ireland, Mychal Thompson 

The Lakers have agreed to multiyear deals with broadcasters Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz, making them the centerpiece of the team's move to a newly created Time Warner Cable channel next season, The Times has learned. Macdonald is in his first year as the Lakers' play-by-play announcer, and Lantz is in his 25th year as their color commentator. After a decades-long partnership with Fox Sports West and Channel 9, the Lakers begin a 20-year deal with Time Warner Cable next season. It could be extended to 25 years and total more than $5 billion if the Lakers pick up an option for five more years in 2032. Macdonald was on a one-year contract this season after replacing Joel Meyers and becoming the Lakers' third play-by-play announcer since Chick Hearn. Radio broadcasters John Ireland and Mychal Thompson are also expected to be retained next season by the Lakers, though nothing has been finalized. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Media, John Ireland, Mychal Thompson, Stu Lantz, Bill Macdonald 

Sam Amico: Actually, it's official: Cavs have waived Mychel Thompson. He started past 3 games. Twitter

Cleveland Cavaliers, Mychal Thompson 

As the NBA lockout moves toward December and the prospect of more canceled games, including the league's Christmas showcase, looms larger, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Baron Davis says he hasn't yet lost faith a resolution can be found. "I'm optimistic. I'm very optimistic that there will be a season," he told 710 ESPN's John Ireland and Mychal Thompson. "You've just got to keep hoping, and just keep waiting patiently, and I think that both sides will figure it out." ESPN.com

Lockout, Mychal Thompson 

Former Washington State star Klay Thompson, frustrated with the NBA lockout that has delayed his pro debut, has expressed increased interest in taking his game to Europe as long as NBA arenas remain dark. “He’s more interested in the European option now that they continue to postpone the start of the season,” Thompson’s father, ex- NBA star Mychal Thompson, said Thursday. “He’s tired of waiting around, so if he gets a decent offer to go across the pond (Atlantic Ocean), I think he’ll take it.” Scout.com

Washington Wizards, Klay Thompson, Mychal Thompson 

Mychal Thompson, former No. 1 overall pick of Portland who went on to win some rings with the Showtime Lakers, is among that majority. He spoke about it during a promotional push for Radioflag.com (more on it below). “Sure the players have to protect their interests… but from a players perspective, if I was in the league now, I’d think a 50/50 split is fair,” Thompson told ProBasketballTalk. “You work out the particulars from there. I don’t see how it cannot be worked out because there’s common ground. “Okay, so (the players) don’t get everything we want, we sort of got all the gravy the last 10 years, now it’s time to readjust, reassess things and we may have to give back some money. But my goodness, we’re still going to be making a lot of money even if we have to take a 10 to 12 percent pay cut.” NBCSports.com

Lockout, Mychal Thompson 

Former NBA player Mychal Thompson, who hosted an ESPN radio show in Los Angeles until losing his job under new management in December, is being given a tryout with KXTG (95.5 FM “The Game”) in Portland, where the 1978 overall #1 pick spent the first nine seasons of his 15-year career. Thompson, who has also worked as a Lakers radio analyst for the last eight years, will begin an audition on Wednesday to host the 10 a.m.-to- noon slot. Media Bistro

Los Angeles Lakers, Media, Mychal Thompson 

The Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love broke a modern-day NBA record Wednesday for consecutive double-doubles (points-rebounds), but if he were left-handed, he said, he might not be playing basketball. Mychal Thompson, the former University of Minnesota Gophers great who was in town recently as radio analyst for the Los Angeles Lakers, talked about what a phenomenal baseball player Love was as a youngster. "A Little League legend," Thompson said. St. Paul Pioneer Press

Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Love, Mychal Thompson 

Thompson knew because his sons played baseball with and against Love and watched him pitch perfect games growing up in Lake Oswego, Ore. Love passed up playing baseball in high school to focus on basketball despite a fastball clocked in the low-90s mph as a ninth grader. "I always wanted to be like (future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher) Randy Johnson because he was 6-10," said Love, who also is 6 feet 10. "But he was a lefty. If I was a lefty, I'd probably still be playing baseball. I still love baseball, and I always think about what if I were out on the mound." St. Paul Pioneer Press

Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Love, Mychal Thompson