Gasol would not be a good fit for us in our system. Plus he is a weak big man, I would rather have someone like a KG who can score inside, rebound, play defense, block shots. He has the best post moves in the game and he is a good leader. And considering he wants to be moved(we all know it) to a better team with another superstar who can take some of the weight off his back so the load is mutual. I see us getting him but Gasol I would rather not have. He can be someone we end up settling for but should not be in the top 5 of players to go after.
Kidd KG and Billups should be our first priority, if we don't get them then we can settle for a player like Gasol but I would rather get a PG first and foremost.
Kobe needs help.
Billups would be the perfect triangle PG (defense, outside shooting and high hoops IQ), but come on why would here leave the Pistons? The only way that happens is if Joe D pulls a Ben Wallace and lets him walk which i cant see happening 2 years in a row. The only PG i would like more than Billips on our team is Hinrich and thats only because he is younger.
KG is too big a contract to take on, it would take Lamar, Kwame, Bynum and more to match the salaries and while KG is great it would leave us in worse shape than we are now to trade for him. Like Teampac said its better to let him opt out and then go after him, he has already had his big payday and would likely take less to win a title. A core of Kobe, Lamar, Bynum (if those 2 stay) and KG will get it done. Kobe, KG, Walton, Sasha, Vlad and Farmar will not.
I said Billups because a lot of Laker fans on a number of forums think we could possibly get him, he would be perfect and it would be a slap in the face of Wuta. 😛 😛 😛
I think the latter would still work, Kobe and KG could get it done. Hell I think if we just added Kidd to what we have now it would work. He changes everything, I believe we would score more, play better defense and he could be one to help Bynum get better looks at the basket furthering his develoment and also helping Kwame out getting him easy and open looks. Kobe would not have to do so much, preserving his energy and taking over games more because he has more energy. Kidd changes everything, which is why I think he is our first priority. I don't care if people think he is way past his prime, he is still the best all around point guard in the league.
No Kidd unless we include Bynum, thats why the deal fell apart at the trade deadline. Bynum makes a fraction of what Kidd makes so its basically the KG scenario again where we have to give up either Lamar and fillers or half the team and keep Lamar.
The biggest contracts we have are 1)Kobe 2)Lamar and 3)Kwame. To get any superstar back we have to give up Lamar because of his salary, but he doesnt make near what KG, JO or Kidd make so we have to add either some more young talent (Bynum) or another large contract (Kwame - who most GM's wouldnt touch unfortunately).
The only useful quality players we can get who kinda match Odoms salary are Gasol, Jamison, J Johnson (not gonna happen), Pierce, L Hughes (no thanks), K Mart (hell no), Sheed, Yao (yeah right), RJ, Shard Lewis, AK47 and Boozer. Most of those guys wont make us much better than we are right now because we lose Odom who while inconsistent brings more versatility than any of those players. This is why the front office has such a challenging task ahead, they are gonna have to get very creative.
Originally posted by koolruningz
Billups would be the perfect triangle PG (defense, outside shooting and high hoops IQ), but come on why would here leave the Pistons? The only way that happens is if Joe D pulls a Ben Wallace and lets him walk which i cant see happening 2 years in a row. The only PG i would like more than Billips on our team is Hinrich and thats only because he is younger.
Joe D didn't resign Big Ben because he wanted to have the cap to resign Billups 🙂
Originally posted by Lord Evolution
I said Billups because a lot of Laker fans on a number of forums think we could possibly get him, he would be perfect and it would be a slap in the face of Wuta. 😛 😛 😛
Over my left nut. 😱 🙂
But really, I think Bibby or Kidd are a more likely happen to Billups, Billups will probally get a max, or close to the max deal while Bibby and Kidd would be both willing to take a cut to play for a contender, and seeig how Detroit has the cap, is championship caliber, and Billups loves it here, I like our chances of signing him over the Lakers.
Originally posted by Lord Evolution
Gasol would not be a good fit for us in our system. Plus he is a weak big man, I would rather have someone like a KG who can score inside, rebound, play defense, block shots. He has the best post moves in the game and he is a good leader. And considering he wants to be moved(we all know it) to a better team with another superstar who can take some of the weight off his back so the load is mutual. I see us getting him but Gasol I would rather not have. He can be someone we end up settling for but should not be in the top 5 of players to go after.Kidd KG and Billups should be our first priority, if we don't get them then we can settle for a player like Gasol but I would rather get a PG first and foremost.
Kobe needs help.
I'm talking about what is realistic. Of course I'd love to have KG but we dont have a chance at him unless he demands a trade here. I'm pretty sure he'd like to play alongside Kobe but I dont think he has the balls to call out management and say "I want to play in LA". Gasol is not the best low post threat but I said a combination of Kobe/Gasol/Odom would be great. Then we could use the mle on either a veteran big man like Magloire or a solid point guard like Blake.
I'd love to have Kidd and Billups but I'd prefer an allstar big than an allstar point guard next to Kobe. It gives us a legit inside-out game. Besides, we dont have a chance at Billups either and we'd be giving up too much for Kidd.
No one to give up? Bynum, Farmar, Odom, draft picks, yeah we have people to give to them but that's not the problem. And if they trade him they would more than likely ask him where he would prefer to go. Teams have done this for their players in the past because what they have given to the franchise. And KG has given EVERYTHING to that franchise with 0 attitude.
And from what I heard Mchale and KG have a good relationship.
Originally posted by Lord Evolution
No one to give up? Bynum, Farmar, Odom, draft picks, yeah we have people to give to them but that's not the problem. And if they trade him they would more than likely ask him where he would prefer to go. Teams have done this for their players in the past because what they have given to the franchise. And KG has given EVERYTHING to that franchise with 0 attitude.And from what I heard Mchale and KG have a good relationship.
Mchale will not trade to us unless KG straight out calls LA. He's a Laker hater and it would seem more likely that they trade with an Eastern team. You're being a little too optimistic Evolution. A team like the Celtics and Bulls can pull out better deals with Minnesota using their young but talented players and draft picks.
I'm telling you, we have a better shot at JO. I just have that feeling that if we are getting an allstar this offseason it's JO. Pacers want to rebuild while Minnesota still wants to build around KG. Plus Oneal said he wants to talk with management after this season if they didnt make playoffs and he's already said before that maybe he should move if his time with the Pacers arent successful.
We'll see what happens. I have no faith in our management right now with Jim Buss and Mitch calling the shots. Hopefully West thinks about coming back to LA since he's leaving Memphis.
Espn even hinted at a JO scenario.
Read this:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=LakersFuture