If the Lakers do take Artest and K-9 (woof!), it'll cripple their chance at resinging Biyum who is going to command at least 10 mil per year when he is a free agent. As a Kings fan, I wouldn't mind that deal. I think Miller, Lamar, Salmons, Martin, Beno would be a very good starting lineup with all the guys being able to score and pass, and they would have a much better offensive flow without Ron's ball hoginess. They would also get rid of the cancer known as K-9, and seeing Ron ruin the Lakers offensive flow would be hilarious.
Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove
If the Lakers do take Artest and K-9 (woof!), it'll cripple their chance at resinging Biyum who is going to command at least 10 mil per year when he is a free agent. As a Kings fan, I wouldn't mind that deal. I think Miller, Lamar, Salmons, Martin, Beno would be a very good starting lineup with all the guys being able to score and pass, and they would have a much better offensive flow without Ron's ball hoginess. They would also get rid of the cancer known as K-9, and seeing Ron ruin the Lakers offensive flow would be hilarious.
I don't see how that can be. Bynum has yet to stay healthy for a full complete season, so him wanting Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James type money is out of the question. Let Bynum play a full complete season and maybe he is worth that type of money. As for Artest, get rid of Odom for Artest. LALKERS MUST DO something to return back to the finals and this time win the whole thing. Coming back with the same team is not on option for them. They must make a move.
We wont have the same team as last year though, we are adding Bynum and Ariza to a team that made it to the finals. I dont know if Artest is the answer but panicking and thinking we have to make a move is a mistake. If last season showed Laker fans anything its that building team chemistry and letting our players improve instead of trading for big names is the way to go. Having said that it does seem that Lamar's days are numbered, if he can be moved for SF who can defend and make the outside shot then he will be gone. I do think that Lamar could be valuable if we lose Turiaf though to play some back up PF as well as SF. The offseasons only just getting started though (unfortunately) plenty of time to improve the team, i think only a few small role players need to be added though.
10 million dollars is not Bryant, Wade or James money.
There money is more like 22 million to about 14 million.
Boris Diaw makes 9 million, Ben Wallace makes 14 million and Radoslav Nesterovic makes 8.4 million so Bynum getting around 10 million dollars per season isnt really that surprising.
There will be teams that will offer that type of cash for him.
Originally posted by koolruningz
We wont have the same team as last year though, we are adding Bynum and Ariza to a team that made it to the finals. I dont know if Artest is the answer but panicking and thinking we have to make a move is a mistake. If last season showed Laker fans anything its that building team chemistry and letting our players improve instead of trading for big names is the way to go. Having said that it does seem that Lamar's days are numbered, if he can be moved for SF who can defend and make the outside shot then he will be gone. I do think that Lamar could be valuable if we lose Turiaf though to play some back up PF as well as SF. The offseasons only just getting started though (unfortunately) plenty of time to improve the team, i think only a few small role players need to be added though.
Yeah, but you still have to become a better team. It doesn't matter that Bynum is back. Who is going to come in for him when he goes and gets rest? Same can be said for Gasol, someone has come in and play well. What the Lakers have did not work at all..
Originally posted by Smasandian
10 million dollars is not Bryant, Wade or James money.There money is more like 22 million to about 14 million.
Boris Diaw makes 9 million, Ben Wallace makes 14 million and Radoslav Nesterovic makes 8.4 million so Bynum getting around 10 million dollars per season isnt really that surprising.
There will be teams that will offer that type of cash for him.
You missed the point I was trying to make. Andrew Bynum is not worth the kind of money that Bryant etc makes. Bynum will be asking for that kind of money and he is not worth it right now. He needs to play a full complete season and then when his time comes up and its time to negotiate a nice contract for him then I see the Lakers signing him to a nice lucrative long term deal.
I think Lamar has had ample time to help. KR, I love to see a healthy Ariza play. He can beat out Walton
Lakers aren't panicking IMO. Aren't signing Turiaf, use that $ and u have a tough guy in KThomas coming off the bench and Artest in the starting lineup. Can u imagine 4 All Star Players
U always make good points KR, but remember having Andrew is great. He has to healthy and u can't play him and Pau 40 minutes a nite. That's where KT wil help
Hopefully, the Lakers will upgrade. Kobe's window is shortening. I wanna see my guy play 3-4 good years and get some rings. So sad, with that debacle
Originally posted by BruceSkywalker
Yeah, but you still have to become a better team. It doesn't matter that Bynum is back. Who is going to come in for him when he goes and gets rest? Same can be said for Gasol, someone has come in and play well. What the Lakers have did not work at all.
It doesnt matter that Bynum is back? You dont think we could have used a long armed 7'1 true center averaging a double double plus 2.5 blocks in the finals? Adding Bynum covers most of our weaknesses that were exposed against the Celtics, you have to imagine Bynum coming back even stronger if you look at how he has improved every year.
As for our back ups, you just move Gasol to center when Bynum goes out and Lamar to PF when Gasol switches. Thats the beauty of having a versatile team, Kobe, Ariza, Vlade and Luke can all play SF when Lamar is on the bench to. We do need to add a vet PF if Turiaf leaves but Mihm and Mbenga are adequate 3rd string centers good for a few minutes if our bigs are in foul trouble. Plus these guys know how to play together, thats an important factor that gets overlooked when throwing names around in trades.
Originally posted by koolruningz
It doesnt matter that Bynum is back? You dont think we could have used a long armed 7'1 true center averaging a double double plus 2.5 blocks in the finals? Adding Bynum covers most of our weaknesses that were exposed against the Celtics, you have to imagine Bynum coming back even stronger if you look at how he has improved every year.
As for our back ups, you just move Gasol to center when Bynum goes out and Lamar to PF when Gasol switches. Thats the beauty of having a versatile team, Kobe, Ariza, Vlade and Luke can all play SF when Lamar is on the bench to. We do need to add a vet PF if Turiaf leaves but Mihm and Mbenga are adequate 3rd string centers good for a few minutes if our bigs are in foul trouble. Plus these guys know how to play together, thats an important factor that gets overlooked when throwing names around in trades.
Yes it does matter that Bynum is back. He would have made a huge difference. But the Lakers have no bench. The bench failed miserably. The Lakers need people to back up Gasol and Bynum. I do not see them playing 40+ minutes a night. All that will do is tire them out in the playoffs. Sasha can't hit a 18 foot shoot. As for his 3 point shoot, that one turned invisible very fast. Sasha needs to learn how to knock down better shots. As for VladRad he disappeared waaaaaaaay to early. He isn't worth the money he is being payed either. And the great Luke "I'm not my father" Walton is a nothing but a pure joke of a player. All he wants to do is stand around , dribble the ball and pass up shots
It sounds as if you are letting a poor showing in the finals make you forget all the good things that happened last season.
Rad and especially Walton were appalling for the most part but Sasha actually had a good season and even though he missed a lot of easy shots in the finals he was a big part of our win in game 3. Remember that Vlade is moving back to the bench now and he could be useful for spreading the floor.
We are unfortunately stuck with Walton and Vlade (although Vlade can be useful if he's shot is falling), their contracts are insane and nobody will take them on (even Isiah would think twice if he was still with the Knicks).
Our bench does need a few minor tweaks but they played well all season long and were a big part of us getting to the finals. Remember they brought us back in game 5 against the Spurs when we were down 20. They were outplayed by the Celtics veteran bench but young players have to go through that to improve. A guy like Posey would have been a great pickup, Kurt Thomas would be great off the bench. Thats the sort of small moves i think we need to make, just add a couple of proven vets to the bench and we are golden.
Originally posted by guy222
I think Lamar has had ample time to help. KR, I love to see a healthy Ariza play. He can beat out WaltonLakers aren't panicking IMO. Aren't signing Turiaf, use that $ and u have a tough guy in KThomas coming off the bench and Artest in the starting lineup. Can u imagine 4 All Star Players
U always make good points KR, but remember having Andrew is great. He has to healthy and u can't play him and Pau 40 minutes a nite. That's where KT wil help
Hopefully, the Lakers will upgrade. Kobe's window is shortening. I wanna see my guy play 3-4 good years and get some rings. So sad, with that debacle
Sorry man, missed your post.
I really hope Phil gives Ariza playing time this season, no reason Walton should be ahead of him in the rotation (especially if Phil is serious about making defense a priority).
Kurt Thomas would be my pick for a back up PF now it looks like Ronny is gone, solid vet that can make the mid range jumper and play good post D if he backs up the center spot. Im still not sold on Artest, he just has so much baggage that it sets off alarm bells with me.
One thing i did read today that made sense to me was an Odom for Heinrich trade (obviously Hinerich wouldnt be enough salary so we'd have to take another player). We get a big point guard that is one of the best defenders at his position and can knock down the 3, plus Fisher moves to the bench to add some vet presence. We have more than enough SF's with Ariza, Kobe, Vlade and Luke so maybe getting a PG like Heierich would be a better option than going after what could be a disaster in Crazy Ron.
Originally posted by RocasAtoll
Why is every Laker fan calling Odom's head? He was playing out of position. With him, Bynum, and Gasol, the Lakers have the largest front court in the NBA. No one can match up against if they kept Odom as a SF.
The main problem with Lamar is that he doesnt have a position, he is not strong enough to play the 4 and not quick enough to play the 3. Now on paper having Lamar at the 3 sounds good because he can post up any 3 in the league, the problem is that both low and high post spots are gonna be manned by Bynum and Gasol leaving Lamar out on the perimeter where hes lack of outside shooting will be exposed. That said if he can work on his jumper this offseason and make himself a threat from 3 and mid range then i would be happy for him to stay.
The great thing about Lamar is that he is a team first guy, never complains about getting touches and always looks to make plays for others. With Kobe, Bynum and Gasol sharing the scoring load then Lamar is the perfect guy to fill in the blanks, but he has to make himself a threat from outside or teams will just sag off and pack the paint (like the Celtics did in the finals).
Defensively i am intrigued about the Lamar, Bynum and Gasol front court, we will own the glass and with that kind of length we will be deadly in the passing lanes to. If it was my choice i'd at least see how it works out before looking at any trades, but most reports have the Lakers shopping Lamar so naturally you have fans weighing up the options.
Originally posted by BruceSkywalker
Yeah, but you still have to become a better team. It doesn't matter that Bynum is back. Who is going to come in for him when he goes and gets rest? Same can be said for Gasol, someone has come in and play well. What the Lakers have did not work at all..You missed the point I was trying to make. Andrew Bynum is not worth the kind of money that Bryant etc makes. Bynum will be asking for that kind of money and he is not worth it right now. He needs to play a full complete season and then when his time comes up and its time to negotiate a nice contract for him then I see the Lakers signing him to a nice lucrative long term deal.
Your point is that he isnt worth the amount of money Bryant is making, but my point is that 10 million dollars isnt the amount of money Bryant is making but 21 million dollars.
Thats an extra 10 million dollars but compared to what 10 million dollar players get, Bynum could get that. Strangelove's point is if they want to keep Bynum, they cant go after Artest.
Kupchak, I don't think is goin to pay Lamar $14M for the third option. Rumors persisted during the yr. Saying that, Lamar could take a pay cut. The big lineup would be incredible. Lamar has to be consistent for every game. I'm not putting the blame solely on Lamar in the debacle but 40 minutes and not one field goal. With Kobe, double and triple teamed, he has to take over. Shouldn't have been afraid of Kendrick Perkins
I hear Mihm will stay for the $2.5M
Phil has to play these guys. Trevor and Chris should be healthy and can help the team. As I said earlier, u can't play Andrew or Pau 40 min a nite
Originally posted by koolruningz
It sounds as if you are letting a poor showing in the finals make you forget all the good things that happened last season.
Rad and especially Walton were appalling for the most part but Sasha actually had a good season and even though he missed a lot of easy shots in the finals he was a big part of our win in game 3. Remember that Vlade is moving back to the bench now and he could be useful for spreading the floor.
We are unfortunately stuck with Walton and Vlade (although Vlade can be useful if he's shot is falling), their contracts are insane and nobody will take them on (even Isiah would think twice if he was still with the Knicks).
Our bench does need a few minor tweaks but they played well all season long and were a big part of us getting to the finals. Remember they brought us back in game 5 against the Spurs when we were down 20. They were outplayed by the Celtics veteran bench but young players have to go through that to improve. A guy like Posey would have been a great pickup, Kurt Thomas would be great off the bench. Thats the sort of small moves i think we need to make, just add a couple of proven vets to the bench and we are golden.
I am because the final result should have been a title and not nothing else. I like talking to you. You're a cool guy and a Lkaers fan.
Originally posted by guy222
Kupchak, I don't think is goin to pay Lamar $14M for the third option. Rumors persisted during the yr. Saying that, Lamar could take a pay cut. The big lineup would be incredible. Lamar has to be consistent for every game. I'm not putting the blame solely on Lamar in the debacle but 40 minutes and not one field goal. With Kobe, double and triple teamed, he has to take over. Shouldn't have been afraid of Kendrick PerkinsI hear Mihm will stay for the $2.5M
Phil has to play these guys. Trevor and Chris should be healthy and can help the team. As I said earlier, u can't play Andrew or Pau 40 min a nite
Co-signed
Originally posted by BruceSkywalker
I am because the final result should have been a title and not nothing else. I like talking to you. You're a cool guy and a Lakers fan.
Thanks man, ultimately we (Lakers fans) want the same thing (championships). Im proud of the season we just had though, sure it would have been better to win it all but nobody thought we'd get that far in the first place. Its a hard road to get back to the finals but i think the desire will be there for some of our more inexperienced players having got so close. That coupled with the return of our starting center and any tweaks to the roster leaves me feeling comfortable with our chances.
That being said i still vomit in my mouth whenever i see a Celtic player on TV, its good to have that bitter rivalry back after so long.
Peace man.