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So negative. I agree it doesn't look great right now, but how do we know? What if Gasol returns to his previous ways, and Bynum emerges as a dominant big man? It could happen. I'm not counting out the Lakers until they lose the 4th game of a playoff series. Until then, all things are possible.
So Jordan on the Wizards didn't happen? You think the Bulls are suffering because of that, or anyone thinks poorly of them because they didn't (stupidly) make sure he never wore another uniform?You can't reload/revamp around him this year. Even if they get Howard it means they're devoid of talent anywhere else on the roster this year. So, next year, right? How does that work? Who are they bringing in when Kobe is getting $28M and Howard is getting a max deal? Or the next year? Then Kobe's contract is up. You'll pay him how much to stay, and how are you building the team then?
I know for sure they're not better than Dallas, OKC, Chicago, Miami. They might be even with Boston, San Antonio. Probably still better than the Clips, the Griz, NYK, Orlando, Atlanta, Indiana. I could see Sac and GS giving them problems in the division (not finishing ahead, but not automatic sweeps either). Probably some teams I'm forgetting here, but you get the point.Gasol and Bynum playing like all stars is just necessary but not sufficient to win it all. Beyond that, what's really possible? Artest getting his top game back? Bynum staying healthy all year? Steve Blake playing a whole season like he did that one game for the Clippers at the end of the season 2 years ago? Ebanks an all-star? Some guy they sign for the vet min or someone somebody wants to dump for nothing makes a big impact? Really, I want to understand what scenario you've figured out that puts the Lakers at the top of this thing that's remotely realistic.
We shall see. Obviously the best case scenario is the superstar taking less money as his career winds down, but that has never happened. I wonder what the Spurs are thinking with Duncan, and how their fans feel, same with Dirk and Dallas. Hakeem's career is interesting. 17 years with Houston then traded to Toronto for one season. Bird and Magic's careers both ended suddenly, interested what would have happened there. The Celtics were loyal to McHale, so probably would have done the same with Bird. There is Stockton and Malone. Jazz were middle of the road for the last couple of years of their careers with Utah. Would Jazz fans trade the last few years with their duo, for rebuilding sooner? How do diehard Jazz fans feel about Malone in a Laker jersey?
Playoff success has a lot to do with matchups. The Lakers had a bad matchup last year against Dallas. Maybe they'll avoid playing Dallas this time around, and can play Oklahoma CIty instead. They may not be as good a team as the Thunder (though I'm not convinced of this necessarily) but the length of Bynum and Gasol might be enough of a matchup advantage to allow the Lakers to win a 7 game series. Same goes for the Heat if the Lakers can find their way into the finals. Admittedly, this would have all been easier to accomplish with Odom, but it's not impossible now.
Tim is still living in the past. Get off them rocks son, the Lakers are what we call in the medical field, VEGETABLES! They are still technically alive but really they are just taking up space in the Staples center now.
If Bynum stays healthy and makes the leap, LA has 3 of the top 15 players in the league. I don't understand why Gr00ves is so down already.
Zipp'em up tim. This fool trippin'.
Agreed. Not sure why Ok City is suddenly being elevated to a championship caliber team. We heard that noise last year and proceeded to zip them up.
The over-the-hill Lakers will have no shot getting past such a young juggernaut like the Mavericks.
Yeah, and 29 other teams would LOVE to have your "problem".Nope. That's the way it is. When you have a team that has been in roughly half of all the NBA Finals that have ever been played, any season that you don't win it all is a failure.It must suck to be a Lakers fan when you wonder if you have to struggle to make the finals...
As an outsider looking in - aside from my snide comments - Groover is making some good points, even if you think he's a Debbie Downer. KB's mindset - the same one that makes him a great player - is the same mindset that can work against a guy and make him want to hang on. Gr00v's point is that one day yinz are all going to wakeup one day and find that Kobe is overpaid, underwhelming and not wanting to restructure because he thinks he's still the same player he always was. Whatever the cap rules are, LAL are always scrambling to be creative. At some point, the team will be painted into a financial corner without a re-structure of his contract or trading him.
These are great points and I agree with you for the most part. However, the Lakers have rarely been of the 'scrap and rebuild' mentality. They have always rebuilt on the fly. Kobe will transition easily into a quality 3man with serious post game for the next 3-4 years. The problem is that he still has the 'I eat first' mentality which is stunting Bynum's growth. When the Lakers ran off the post all-star break win streak, it was with Bynum as the focal point in the post and allowing the guy to finally close out the last 4 min of the game so we can take advatage of his defense in the middle. It might be unpopular with Gasol fans but I believe you have to build around a young, skilled, defensive, true-size center. The rarity of it becomes your only advantage moving forward.Can Kobe allow that transition to be permanent? Because, the combination of Gasol and that trade exception is gonna allow the Lakers to definitely get creative in adding another star. We've seen Kobe reinvent himself following the Shaq deal and slowly become a more willing teammate, its just a wait and see if he can make another transformation into a second option and floor leader now. I wouldn't put it past him but it's gonna be interesting to see how it plays out.
Pretty sure you guys were ripping on Miami last year and they have a better 3 of the top 15.
So you think the Lakers will finish with a better record than the Clippers? Cuz I got money, sig bets, and women that says different.'tommyGunZ said:
How much?
I think I'd like some of this action too. How much do you want to bet, Dr. Gobbler?
I see the bolded as being the important question going forward. Can he/will he be asked to change his game going forward? Can he eventually be convinced that one day he won't be Black Mamba to something less? Can he adapt his leadership role to make rebuilding on the fly possible (e.g., take less/defer money to bring in added pieces or take a reduced role). Those are interesting questions.'DaveGrumbles said:
Not to me. I think many of you have jaded views of Kobe Bryant based on how he acted at times early in his career. I believe that Kobe Bryant has matured quite a bit since then. I don't think he will demand a trade. And I don't think he will insist on being "the guy" when his skills erode. In fact, I'm guessing he will be willing to accept a renegotiation of his salary if it will help the team at some point in the future. Kobe is all about winning.
I think the offensive changes, he will embrace just fine. We already know that Brown plans on using him out of the post much more than ever before. I'm also excited to see him and Gasol (if he's still around) playing the pick and roll. So I actually see a serious bump to Kobe's shooting percentage this year because of those changes. What's going to continue to slide them down the standings is their horrible defense, which just got more horrible with Odom leaving. More specifically, Kobe is too old to anchor that perimeter defense anymore and that is where his ego is going to come into play. Can he pull away from the silly one on one battles, trying to still matchup on the outside with guys 6 or 7 years younger and at least a step quicker?
Kobe hasn't covered the opposing teams best perimeter player in quite some time now.
So they were switching Derek Fisher or Artest onto the top level opposing two guards? Because that's not true. For the most part the Lakers remained true to their positions defensively so, yes, Fish would get stuck with the many superstar PGs like DWilliams, Paul, Rondo etc... but invariably when the crap hit the fan Kobe would still move over and cover those guys for extended periods of time. In fact, he did it to no success against CP3 in last year's playoffs.
I 100% disagree with this as does Stern and likely the potential buyer. That trade gave NO marginal talent, aged players, and saddled them with contracts and no flexibility. The NO trade gives them young talent, cap relief, a good player/expiring contract combo, and a lottery pick. Odom, Scola, and Martin are over paid and over rated and made little to no sense for the hornets. I'm not sure what the upside actually was for New Orleans with that trade at all.
I think they get Minnesota's pick in this trade. NOH got a better deal from the Clippers. I can't believe I just typed that.
1) Nets arent trading Deron for Pau2) Magic arent trading Howard for Bynum and ####ty draft picks
Do they start getting nervous about resigning Deron since they keep missing out on getting any other stars to come (assuming they don't get Howard)?
They got a near All-Star who is not yet 22 in Gordon. Plus a likely top 5 lottery pick. Plus they have taken on less salary, committed or otherwise. They got a much better haul from the Clips. Not even close.To a potential buyer:
Hired Brown and traded Odom without consulting with Kobe, Laker management has made it clear that Kobe is not running the show anymore.
The Lakers get Deron AND picks plus they get to unload MWP???
He might try to negotiate for more since his former wife is going to take half.
Not just half but half and monthly living expenses!!!He might try to negotiate for more since his former wife is going to take half.
$20 and a sig? The sig is really only for Tim, the rest just $20.I'll take all comers but it only counts if I quote and respond in the affirmative, so I can keep track of who owes me money, and the window closes on opening day.
Confirmed!
Confirmed!
