Let me quote ESPN’s Chris Broussard on this one:
[quote]3. Lakers trade Pau Gasol and Darius Morris to the Houston Rockets for Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry
Without Gasol, the Lakers don’t win their last two championships, period. But time moves on — and so do players, even stars. The Lakers need a shake-up and with Howard (at least in the above scenario) going to the next-door neighbor Clippers, the Lakers can’t rely on Superman bailing them out. So I suggest moving Gasol to the team that nearly had him in December, the Rockets.
Houston is dying to add a star, any star, and it will pay handsomely for one. In Houston, Gasol can return to the post (Mike Brown has him playing on the perimeter in L.A.), where he could give the Rockets a nice inside-outside punch with Kevin Martin. Morris could battle Jonny Flynn for backup minutes behind Goran Dragic.
As for the Lakers, this is just what the doctor ordered. While it doesn’t make them the Western Conference favorites, it certainly gives them a significant and much-needed upgrade at point guard. One of the Lakers’ biggest problems is their inabilty to contain quick point guards. Well, Lowry is a tough, gritty and quick point who has improved dramatically as an offensive player. The Lakers’ already stout defense would improve in an instant, and Lowry also would add to the offense as another playmaker and creator.
And with Scola, the Lakers wouldn’t lose one of their strengths — their size. Bynum and Gasol are the best center-PF combo in the game, but Bynum and Scola wouldn’t be much of a drop-off.[/quote]
Chris Broussard has come up with a scenario that is viable, sensible and actually possible. With the Lakers needing to make any form of move, the trade offers a myriad of possibilities that each team might be happy with.
The Lakers on the other hand would welcome the addition of Chase Budinger while adding Derrick Caracter or Andrew Goudelock. Budinger adds accurate 3-pt shooting for the Laker bench that needs a big time upgrade from that department while Houston will not hesitate to add such minimal piece if it meant they are getting Gasol.
Thoughts?
After being a witness of the past 3 Laker games has led me to believe that I have to go back to my drawing board and feed my appetite for destruction. A trade is always the swiftest and most-promising change a team can do in order to bring hope to an organization. I have too accept the fact though, that such deal-making paranoia of mine is not necessarily the best course of action. But atleast it supplies a temporary form of “fix” to what I consider to be a hopeless team. We could be worse though. But thats just me.
In an effort to improve the Lakers, as currently constructed, I have brought to the table a concept that would be illogical to most but might make sense for an offensively-challenged coach like Mike Brown. Such proposal, if you may, would solve alot of the problems that I see with the team.
Raptors send:
Andrea Bargnani
Jose Calderon
Leandro Barbosa
Lakers send:
Pau Gasol
Luke Walton
Steve Blake
Andrew Goudelock
Incoming Salaries: $26,630,991
Outgoing Salaries: $28,867,754
The Rationale:
On offense, the Lakers add scorers. They add a multi-dimensional scorer like Bargnani who is an effective pair for Bynum (since Pau has been playing high post anyways) and upgrades on PG. Barbosa is a jolt of energy off the bench and adds a dimension the Lakers currently don’t have: Speed and Athleticism.
Jose Calderon gives the Lakers the ability to run pick and rolls and someone who has ball-handling skills we have never had for quite awhile. He is a career 38% 3-point shooter and has a very good range to be effective points-producer on an offense that features Kobe and Bynum in the post.
Defensively, the team is expected to suffer. Bargnani has never been known to be a sound defender, very much different in dimension to the game that Pau Gasol offers. He doesn’t block shots, he isn’t an aggressive rebounder – something the Lakers would now have to live with.
And why exactly does Toronto do it? Because the team has nowhere to go right now. Fans are clamoring for decency with the team since Chris Bosh left this team cold. They scream for any form of stardom – someone that possibly fits the rebuilding scheme. If anything, Gasol’s 19M per year is a big turn off. But considering that it is a year shorter than Bargani’s deal that isn’t exactly cheap, paired with Calderon’s significant salary, then deal makes more sense in the long run.
For the Lakers, its a chance to be younger. Bargani is a good 5 years younger than Pau and his deal is cheaper on a per year basis. When the Lakers finally decide to amnesty Metta World Peace, the Lakers can be economically sound once more in the payroll side of things in 2 years time when the tax penalties become stiffer for repeat offenders.
Consider it a bit, imagine the PNR with Bynum or Kobe and kickouts that lead to open shots. Thats exactly what we don’t have at the moment. Off the bench, you can run a fast team with Morris, Barbosa, McRoberts and Barnes to have a nice change of pace from the starting unit.
In the end, its about making the team better. I think this one does the trick.
Record: 10-7
Points Per Game: 92.1 (21st overall)
Rebounds Per Game: 44.9 (3rd overall)
Assists Per Game: 21.9 (6th overall)
Points Allowed: 90.1 (5th overall)
Home Record: 9-1 (tied for 3rd)
Road Record: 1-6 (tied for 25th)
At 1st glance, it shows that the team’s success is coming from the defensive end of the floor. Top 3 in rebounds and Top 5 in points allowed per game. We feature 2 legitimate 7-footers in the starting unit, 2 of whom might be all-stars this shortened season.
On the other end of the floor is where the massacre is happening. Weird when you have the league’s leading scorer and the planet’s best player and competitor. What’s not quite consistent is that while the offense is actually stagnant most times, the team thrives at passing, averaging some 21.9apg as a team (6th overall) with no real PG.
More Stats:
Kobe Bryant: 30.8ppg (#1)
Kobe Bryant: 5.7apg (#20)
Andrew Bynum: 13.6rpg (#3 behind Howard and Love)
Andrew Bynum: 53.5% FG% (#11)
Andrew Bynum: 1.92bpg (#7)
Pau Gasol: 9.4rpg (#16)
Pau Gasol: 51.8% FG% (#20)
Pau Gasol: 1.29bpg (#22)
Ok so we have the league’s leading scorer, 2 of the best big men in the game and yet we cannot score? Well that’s coz the bench has been just terrible. The next most-glaring thing to note: the 37yo Derek Fisher being the team’s lead PG. Backup PG Steve Blake is injured and out for 3 more weeks and the next in line there is rookie PG Darius Morris.
The SF position supposedly belongs to Ron Artest errr Metta World Peace. But just like his name change, his game changed. Thus the position has gone to veteran Matt Barnes. 2nd year forward Devin Ebanks plays like Trevor Ariza, he even looks like Trevor Ariza… but his game isn’t there yet. He has impressed management during the very short training camp but has fallen off the rotation so far.
Have I mentioned about the terrible bench?
Darius Morris: overdribbling
Andrew Goudelock: shot selection
Luke Walton: slower than a schoolbus at school
Jason Kapono: not very efficient this year
Troy Murphy: no hops
Derrick Caracter: injured
Devin Ebanks: confidence
Steve Blake: injury
Metta World Peace: lost
Josh McRoberts: adjusting
Its important to note that the Lakers are dead last in 3pt shooting. Its not just the bench, its the whole team. The percentages are outrageous and they just either have to wait for the law of averages to gain back or just stop shooting them altogether. With 3 post threats in Kobe, Bynum and Gasol, the least-effective 3ball percentage certainly doesn’t help.
So that’s the team in a nutshell thus far. There will be nights when we can beat the best of them… and lots of moments, especially the most-recent Florida road trip where we just don’t deserve to have that 10-7 record.
So, anything we can do Mr. Kupchak? Lets assess our assets:
Draft Picks: LAL 12 1st, DAL 12 1st*, LAL 13 1st, LAL 14 1st
Other Assets: 8.9M TPE (via Lamar Odom deal)
In my post sometime ago about the possibilities there are for us, using the minimalist concept in making moves, these are the players that are available.
So we have 4 options:
1. Stand Pat, hope for chemistry, hope for the best.
2. Use minimal assets to improve the team
3. Making big trades A
4. Making big trades B
Option 1: Suggests that the Lakers, being tired and old and lacking a good time together, will gel right in time for the playoffs. Thats if we make it. With how quick the rest of the league are developing into their groove, a loss tomorrow to the Pacers could wipe us out of the Western playoff seeding. As is, the current team exactly how it is and just healthy, can do serious damage. But how far does ‘serious damage’ take you? It ranges from a wildly disappointing 1st round exit, or a magical playoff run en route to banner #17. We’re gonna need alot of health, alot of things right and everything to go perfect. Its about a puncher’s chance only, but nonetheless its possible.
Option 2: The use of minimal assets such as Luke Walton’s 2-yr deal, the 2nd rounders cheap salaries and Steve Blake’s manageable deal. The best of which would be 3 1st round picks (LAL 12, DAL 12 and LAL 14) and the much-hyped Lamar Odom Traded Player Exception.
Like I mentioned, the players available for that are limited. We cannot expect maximum gains for minimal assets. Most likely, we will be getting a 2nd-grade talent or talents. Remember, any dollar we spend out means double. And any salary we take back beyond 2014 means having to pay more than dollar for dollar. Ouch.
Option 3: Trade Big. Dwight Howard. Deron Williams. Both. Name it, but as long as you do not move Bynum or Gasol or both, this will not happen. Doing a homerun deal, this time around, make little sense to me. But thats me. Everyone wants Dwight. Everyone wants Deron. More than everyone want them both to suit up as Lakers. But I don’t see it happening, unless you have better ideas.
Option 4: Rebuild. Basically, the opposite of what we’ve all been trying to do. After all, management has already taken the 1st step trading Odom to Dallas for a TPE and a heavily protected 1st rounder. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next move was to trade Gasol for an expiring player and some assets and cheaper players or to a team who has cap space like Indiana. After all, we’ve already traded Gasol once, we just ended up with him still.
At the end of the day, game 17/66 has shown us the possibilities and probabilities that our team has. We have 3 guys earning a combined 59 million enough to cover the whole salary cap. Safe to say, we won’t have any cap space anytime soon. The vaunted Laker bench combine for a total of 25 million. Safe to say, not many other teams are bugging us for any of them. Couple that with our current injury status (posted below) and you got yourself a very good idea what we have.
Injuries:
Kobe Bryant: Torn wrist ligament; Avulsion fracture; a funny pinky finger; recovering bum knee; bum ankle.
Pau Gasol: injured right shoulder
Josh McRoberts: injured toe
Steve Blake: injured ribs
Ron Artest: back spasms
Which option do you see best?
Brook Lopez has to undergo surgery on a broken foot.
So on a day where the Lakers decided to part with 4 of their experimental scrimmage bodies, some news appeared to be more relevant than them. Over at Brooklyn, Brook Lopez is to repair his broken foot. In the same light, the Nets have acquired veteran center Mehmet Okur from the Utah Jazz for a 2nd rounder in what would constitute as a good patch for NJ, and a salary dump for Utah.
But between the Nets inability to piece together a deal that is set towards the major prize that is DWIGHT HOWARD, to the Lakers playing an impressive pre-season game anchored on young center Andrew Bynum, and finally to the Magic center failing to show up impressive in the 2 pre-season games they had vs Heat, the Lakers suddenly find themselves in an unusually intriguing position – ahead. Ahead of the Dwight Howard Sweepstakes.
Lets examine several facts that have helped come up with this conclusion:
1. Brook Lopez, the meat of the Nets offer to the Magic will now be out atleast 5-7 weeks the minimum. For a season thats compacted and smuggled in so many ways, Lopez’s recovery + the time it will take him to come back 100% is on question. He will however, still be able to come back come March 15th deadline.
2. Mehmet Okur makes 10.8M this year. His salary is counted against what would have been enough to absorb the remainder of the Hedo Turkoglu deal which the Magic will surely insist on trading along with Dwight Howard.
3. Andrew Bynum just played the best game of his career albeit pre-season. Yes it doesn’t count, but it counts when you are scouting someone. The Lakers/Clippers series is one of the most-hyped and most-anticipated pre-season games in the NBA’s history and the atmosphere in the game surely did not only feel like a regular season game, but a playoff game.
4. Dwight Howard flunked out of his return. You can say all the right things infront of the media and say all the necessary PR things to keep you from being fined, but his demeanor and enthusiasm says it all.
At then end of the day, there is no basis to say that the Lakers and Magic are any closer to where they are 2 weeks ago compared to today. These are all but surmissions of an observer that for the 1st time in a long time, trading Dwight Howard to the Lakers no longer feels like a pipe dream but instead has become a logical option for the Magic.
Just sayin…
Don’t forget that during a shortened season, while tired legs may cause occasional discomfort, experience wins. Of course this is solely based on the last shortened season.
Basing it off on that, it would also mean an 8th seed will make it to the Finals and cause a league-wide stir only to fall to a more fundamentally-sound team.
There is much to criticize about the team as is, but It could be worse. Those that criticize the Odom move continue to piss me off coz saying that we “dumped” him altogether is ignorant of Odom’s trade request which Mitch acted upon swiftly rather than be an in-season distraction. Of course that trade request emanated from the failed CP3 bid, but then again, while most of us didn’t like it, we saw it was a necessary move to make.
The Lakers are not a perfect team as is. I have been the strongest advocate for change since the lockout ended. But I wasn’t necessarily advocating Cp3 or D12 either. There are other deals that can be done to rejuvenate the team, or make us a better team in the short term and the future.
Odom’s departure provides a must-do situation for Bynum, which, for the most part has 3 consequences:
1. He is the beast center we were babying him after all these years.
2. He proves that he is nothing but a Greg Oden who has mount olympus as his potential but can never get through it.
3. He is good enough to warrant a deal to get Dwight Howard w/o involving Pau Gasol or taking back Hedo.
The move also forces MWP to man up. Either that or a complete implosion.
The move may bring a miracle heal to Luke Walton’s back.
The move may enable Kobe to trust his teammates more.
The move may bring back the old Steve Blake, who for the most part, isn’t much, but much better than last year.
The move may draw out a steal of a player in McBob… or a rejuvenation of Murphy or the resurrection of showtime, this time Gerald Cupcake Green version…
I could go on… but overall the point will always remain – ANY CHANGE IS GOOD – for this ruined bunch, who is now dangerously being touted as a fringe playoff team.
That + Kobe’s divorce.
I wouldn’t put a great deal of dollars on the Lakers this year, but I would not wager a single dollar against us either.
Before you proceed to reading, this post is not about the movie. Its about the title and atleast how a Laker fan thinks of the world after becoming the 2nd-most-interesting basketball team in LA. In case you hadn’t heard yet, CP3 is on his way to the Clippers and that makes a pretty interesting team. Add insult to injury, the Lakers were supposed to be the proud owner of a very good point guard named Chris Paul, if not for God errr Stern decided twas a bad deal despite what the world thinks. For now,we’d have to make use of paper, sticks and stones. In particular, Fisher, Blake and Morris.
Several days ago when news of CP3 supposedly heading to LA, I made a post regarding possible deals that could go on for us if and when this happens. That said, I referred to Mo Williams getting lost in the shuffle at Clipperland with all the collection of PGs that team has now: Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Eric Bledsoe, Mo Williams. The suggestion doesn’t come out of desperation, its actually part of what I think is LA’s bigger plan.
And that is?.. 2013 cap space.
Say what? Why?
Yes folks. Its crazy. Its far-fetched and probably a figment of my imagination. Its probably my silly attempt to rationalize what Mitch Kupchak has done to the team. No matter how ugly or nonsensical you think the moves may be, the move actually makes sense. So the Lakers have gone on to sign Gerald “lights out on your cupcake” Green, has reportedly auditioned stretch 4/5 Troy Murphy, and used the mini MLE on Josh McBob on a 2-yr 6.1M deal. These moves are actually in accordance to what Mitch told us he planned to do, given the limited assets that they have.
So how does this work Yoda?
If my conspiracy theory is correct, the Lakers have now a plan F in the works. In fact, plan F is postponing the big move to 2013 when it all matters anyways. Maximize Kobe’s window now, ask questions later. Make sure the deals we take are 2-yr deals and no salary beyond 2013.
As if to align the stars to my “secret knowledge” of things, the Lakers have supposedly asked Dwight to stay in Orlando, decide his fate next year, and to look even better, try to wait it out for 2 seasons with Orlando so as not to get the Lebron effect. Essentially, Dwight will give the Magic 2 seasons for him to play GM and if that doesn’t result to a championship, which probably never will, then he’s out. Ironically enough, CP3 has agreed to opt in of his 2012-2013 contract that will give him 2 full years under other LA team. This will enable the Clippers to get the most out of him in ticket, jersey and marketing sales before he realizes Blake Griffin isn’t exactly the guy he wants to play with, instead its Dwight Howard.
Last I checked, the Lakers have 61M in salary commitments with just 4 players: Kobe, Gasol, Artest and Blake. Assuming projections are that the economy is bound to improve in 2 years, the salary cap will be an estimated maximum of 60M if now lower. So how then will that work?
Pau Gasol will just turned 31. Kobe is already 33. We still have our amnesty by this time and we still are pretty much a team.
So the guess is,
1. Kobe restructures his salary as provided in the new CBA, more years, no longer 30M.
2. Pau Gasol is traded by the Feb. 2013 deadline for draft picks and peanuts.
3. Steve Blake + 1st round pick is traded for an exception.
3. Ron Artest is amnestied.
VOILA!
The Lakers now have w/e Kobe’s new salary is and 2 max cap space available to secure CP3 and Dwight.
Of course it woulda been just easier to trade Pau and Odom for CP3 and then Bynum + everything else for Dwight. But that belongs to a different reality. CP3 is a Clipper now.
In the midst of the controversial Lamar Odom for nothing deal, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak assured the Laker-faithful (and disheartened ones) that there are big moves left to do. Yet for the most part, the puzzle arouse from saying that he “expects” the Lakers’ Big Three of KB24, PG16 and AB17 to stay.
Really? How?!
Lets examine the Lakers roster in the light of all these speculation and, for a moment, leave the Dwight Howard scenario behind.
5: Andrew Bynum – Chris Daniels*
4: Pau Gasol – Derrick Caracter – Ater Majok*
3: Ron Artest – Matt Barnes – Jason Kapono – Luke Walton – Devin Ebanks
2: Kobe Bryant – Andrew Goudelock* – Elijah Millsap*
1: Derek Fisher – Steve Blake – Darius Morris*
Salary Cap: 58M
Kobe Bryant – 25.2M (3)
Pau Gasol – 18.7M (3)
Andrew Bynum – 15.1M (2)
As it is, the entire Lakers salary cap has been occupied by its 3 stars.
Ron Artest – 6.9M (3)
Luke Walton – 5.7M (2)
Steve Blake – 4.0M (3)
Derek Fisher – 3.4M (2)
Matt Barnes – 1.9M (1)
Derick Caracter – 0.8M (1)
Devin Ebanks – 0.8M (1)
The next 5 guys on the Lakers’ roster (Artest, Walton, Blake, Fisher, Barnes) take up 22M in salaries thereby increasing the payroll to 82M.
In contemplating deals, its also important to note what “other assets” other than players the Lakers have with them in order to know what possibilities are there we can do:
3.0M Mini Mid Level Exception
8.9M TPE (Lamar Odom)
5.4M TPE (Sasha Vujacic)
Mavericks 2012 1st (heavy protection thru 2017)
Lakers 2012 1st (own)
Lakers 2013 1st (own)
Lakers 2014 1st (own)
$3M cash
Come to think of it, TPE’s of Odom and Vujacic CANNOT BE COMBINED to acquire a player with larger salary. It may however be able to pickup players that have salary within that range.
The options we have, to be honest, is very limited. We need:
1) Starting Point Guard
2) Backup Center
3) Backup PF
With our best efforts to try and come up with the possible additions, now in the light of our options just became harder. We still need that guy behind Kobe, hoping so much that a combination of Ebanks and Goudelock will somehow suffice. But as is the 3 biggest needs we have are very limited in our abilities to acquire these players without taking back salary. And since Odom was probably the best trade chip you have, along with 2 1st rounders without hurting your big three, now it seems we’re down to our final assets that, when all used, would balloon our payroll back to the 95M level.
I also could not fathom how the Lakers can expect to convert the contracts of Fisher or Blake or Walton into other contracts even assuming they are longer and worse, that other teams would be willing to send us.
Even with these hesitations I still try to find such players, regarded by most teams to be “bad contracts” sending our own semi-bad ones for worse ones but hoping to squeeze 1 last juice out of them.
Candidates:
Corey Maggette, CHA – 10.2M (2)
DeSagana Diop, CHA – 6.9M (2)
Anderson Varejao, CLE – 7.7M (4)
Daniel Gibson, CLE – 4.4M (2)
Ramon Sessions, CLE – 4.2M (2)
Baron Davis, CLE – 14.0M (2)
Al Harrington, DEN – 6.3M (4)
Chris Andersen, DEN – 4.3M (3)
Ben Gordon, DET – 11.6M (3)
Charlie Villanueva – 7.5M (3)
Jason Maxiell, DET – 5.0M (2)
Andris Biedrins, GSW – 9.0M (3)
Luis Scola, HOU – 8.6M (4)
Kyle Lowry, HOU – 5.8M (3)
Mo Williams, LAC – 8.5M (2)
Ryan Gomes, LAC – 4.0M (2)
Mike Miller, MIA – 5.4M (4)
Stephen Jackson, MIL – 9.3M (2)
Drew Gooden, MIL – 6.2M (4)
Darko Milicic, MIN – 4.8M (3)
Brad Miller, MIN – 4.8M (2)
Travis Outlaw, NJN – 7.0M (4)
Anthony Morrow, NJN – 4.0M (2)
Johan Petro, NJN – 3.3M (2)
Jordan Farmar, NJN – 4.0M (2)
Emeka Okafor, NOH – 12.5M (3)
Trevor Ariza, NOH – 6.8M (3)
Jarrett Jack, NOH – 5.2M (2)
Hedo Turkoglu, ORL – 10.6M (3)
Jameer Nelson, ORL – 7.3M (2)
JJ Redick, ORL – 6.5M (2)
Chris Duhon, ORL – 3.5M (3)
Elton Brand, PHI – 17.0M (2)
Andre Iguodala, PHI – 13.5M (3)
Lou Williams, PHI – 6.5M (2)
Andres Nocioni, PHI – 6.7M (2)
Josh Childress, PHX – 6.0M (4)
Channing Frye, PHX – 5.6M (4)
Hakim Warrick, PHX – 4.3M (3)
Jared Dudley, PHX – 4.3M (5)
John Salmons, SAC – 8.5M (4)
Francisco Garcia, SAC – 5.8M (3)
Richard Jefferson, SAS – 9.2M (3)
Jose Calderon, TOR – 9.8M (2)
Amir Johnson, TOR – 5.5M (4)
Linas Kleiza, TOR – 4.6M (3)
Al Jefferson, UTA – 14.0M (2)
Mehmet Okur, UTA – 10.9M (1)
Devin Harris, UTA – 9.3M (2)
Paul Millsap, UTA – 6.7M (2)
Raja Bell, UTA – 3.3M (2)
Rashard Lewis, WAS – 22.0M (2)
Andray Blatche, WAS – 6.4M (4)
Take your pick.
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So he’s probably one of the thickest non-North American figures you see. He also is included in one of the rather-elite group of one-named wonders like “cher”, “sting”, “elvis”, “madonna”, “ellen” and “prince”. The exception, however, those celebrities are worth billions combined in net worth and have changed the world in 1 way or another. “Nene” in this case, is more like an aberration coz I wonder why he deserves such a name.
Maybner Hilario – I bet most of you don’t know that – is his real name. He is 29yo, 250lbs and is measured at an inch shy of 7-feet. He is tough, he is heavy and the guy has skills. But he’s neither Dwight Howard on defense or is he Zach Randolph on offense. In fact, he’s neither. He is just a talented big man who has a power move here or there, and is one of the very rare breeds in the league you call “center” nowadays. But what is he really worth?
2 summers ago, the Portland Trail Blazers decided to shell out some $63M over 5 years on someone that was instrumental to the Orlando Magic’s success in the playoffs. The Magic finished the runner up, managing to win 1 game (almost 2 if Courtney Lee’s alley-oop-lay-in went in) against the LA Lakers. Hidayet Turkoglu, also a 1-name wonder in a sense, more famously known as “Hedo” all over the league, took what was the Blazers’ offer.
Why exactly did the Blazers offer that? They sure didn’t need a tweener forward at that time… I was told, that at that time, the Blazers felt they should pay someone for what would be their final year of having cap space for a long time. Better snag someone for overpaid money rather than sit on your cap space and not give yourself a chance to improve.
With all the bad luck surrounding the organization lately, namely the Roy forced medical retirement and the countless of Oden “setbacks” the Blazers pulled 1 rabbit out of the hat because Hedo ultimately cancelled his Portland signing and decided to sign with Toronto instead! And the rest as they say, is history. Its not hard to imagine that such an awful contract would still be tradeable more times than Dwight Howard. In fact, for you out there with short-term memory, Hedo was traded from Toronto to Phoenix, then subsequently from Phoenix to Orlando. Asked why Orlando’s Otis Smith did the unthinkable? The best answer we could come up was “better the devil you know…”
So assuming it was, for the life of me, yet an addition to the Blazers’ string of bad luck, the team would’ve been stuck with such a player (whom they didn’t really need at that time) on a monster contract, declining and succumbing to father time JUST BECAUSE THEY HAD CAP SPACE.
And so I lead you back to the present time where the Brazilian 1-named-1-testicled wonder called “Nene” is about to get paid a rich $69M contract over 4 years. He will be receiving something like 15M as his starting salary, and during the ripe young age of 32, will be paid somewhere around 21-22M.
US dollars and not Brazilian Real people.
Does Houston or New Jersey really do this? Really?
Fellow laker fans, its NOT just about Dwight Howard.
Amidst reports that Chris Paul will soon be a Clipper a good GM recognizes the ripple effect it causes to the entire league. So you get to see Blake average 10 dunks a game… and the thunderous Staples Center crowd is now roaring for – guess who – THE CLIPPERS.
But you know what, I’m ok with that. I’m fine with the little brother being the more famous sibling now. It releases the pressure of having to be the main man. But what I also know is the winning is the ultimate cure. So as long as the team performs above par, we will be right on the thick of things.
Of course when we say “thick of things” its not just about being .550 or .570 team… the Lakers are too good for that. Kobe alone will do that to you… playing beside Walton, Kwame and Smush. When we say thick of things we refer to the Lakers possibly fielding a 48-18 team still on this lockout-shortened Laker season.
This post is about the Lakers relative to its cross-locker rival, and how we can possibly take advantage of the situation. If the reports are true, the Clippers will be sending big man Chris Kaman, Eric Bledsoe, Al Farouq Aminu and the much-hyped unprotected Wolves 2012 1st. Using this info we now have:
5: DeAndre Jordan
4: Blake Griffin – Trey Thompkins – Brian Cook
3: Caron Butler – Ryan Gomes – Travis Leslie
2: Eric Gordon – Randy Foye – Willie Warren
1: Chris Paul – Mo Williams
Do you see what I see yet? Someone in there is earning some 8.5M this year and combined 17M for 2 years that fits LA’s needs perfectly. His salary, as currently constructed, is also perfect for the team. His game is also a nice compliment to Kobe’s ball-dominating game coz he can spot up, handle the ball and score if necessary. And to top it all off, this guy is very well-versed with coach Mike Brown he might just be our next starting point guard.
Lamar Odom is very well loved. Trading him to Dallas created a TPE that enables us to swoop in the guy I refer to in the above puzzle.
Just sayin’.
– Warren
Mike Brown steps into a muddy but good terrain… he expects the vets to act like adults in the locker room. Esp with a team filled with consummate professionals, he comes over and tries to sell them his lowkeyness by virtue of his work.
When the Zen Master decided to leave for good, he knew that LA was in transition. Whether that Dallas series was a fluke or not, whether the Lakers feel like they are strong enough to contend with what remains of that team, the writing on the wall was clear – the word is TRANSITION.
The Lakers transition into a dynamic defensive coach – from a laid back super genius, we now have a blue collar hard working coach that never fails to demonstrate his emphasis. Mike Brown gives you a very good idea what he wants his team to be, and with that said, anyone putting up less effort than he is, doesn’t deserve to be on the team.
When the news broke out that the Lakers were using Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to acquire CP3, the writing on the wall became even clearer. The Lakers will be using the leaving of Phil, or the hiring of Mike Brown, as the revolution that brings a new attitude and color to the team. If there was any other time to do such moves, it will be this year.
Out with the old, in with the new. The Lakers will have alot of new things this year, and while we all thought that dealing with the old would be good enough, unlike all of you, I have come to the conclusion that the Lakers, as they were, were a ruined bunch.
How do you expect different results when you keep doing the same things? Albert Einstein mentioned that only an idiot would expect different results given that he is doing the exact same things as before.
And so here we are… as teary eyed as we may be for having lost Lamar, to Dallas or Indiana or Toronto or Miami, it didn’t matter. Change has come. Our comforts with the familiar will all be rocked. There is no more of the old, we start by changing things around here.
The best thing we can do is accept, move on and have faith. The Laker management, Jim Buss included, will not stand and see star by star pass the Lakers by. If anything, the Cp3 deal was the exact opposite of what many thought Jim Buss is.
Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like the guy as much as I adore his father, but I gotta give him props for doing things right and doing the right things, even though at this point, not many of us can see through yet.
Let me be the 1st to sign in on CHANGE and the beauty of the butterfly as it transitions from caterpillar to coccoon and ultimately to the beautiful creature.
I will forever love and cherish Lamar Odom, same with any other Laker present and past, but it will not waiver my faith into a team that has 4 decades of greatness to show for.
– Warren.
Mind Over Matter 