Contract Shtuff

I'm not one to usually defend Kwame Brown, but based on the market rate for a big man in the league, I think it's fair to say he's not overpaid. Sure, he takes up a huge chunk of cap space, but we need a big man, and if someone is willing to pay $10 million for Nene or $11 for Tyson Chandler, who's to say that Kwame is a rip off at $8.5? By the end of that contract he might be the biggest bargain in the league.

In regards to Mitch Kupchak, I think he does a good job putting together a team with the payroll we have. We're obviously paying $15 million for a guy who isn't on the team, but take that away and it's a financially well balanced team.

I'd like to see a list of which players were the best "value" in the league last year, where it shows there production on a per dollar basis. My guess is Smush Parker is in the top 10.

AK,

If New York is beyond the cap space, how do they manage still get Jared Jeffries with multi-year contracts?

With regards to Lakers, if the NY Sun treats Kwame as cap killer, then Bryant Grant could be the cap serial killer since '05 and still on the loose in '06. lol!

I agree with Andrew Z....woe....that's scary (LOL).

I do agree though that Mitch K. does an excellent job of putting the right players for the money we have available on the team. What many of you fail to realize normally is that things change from year to year causing the course of actions to be altered as well. Right now, it would seem that having Caron Bulter and Antonio Daniels on the team would have been the wise choice. However, the Lakers had no idea how things were going to play out last year. If the rumors were in fact true, they were waiting to see how the heavy hitters would decide their future destinations. IF the Lakers had signed certain contracts last year not knowing the outcome of them and then missed out on them because of it, we would have been complaining about that. Instead they went with safe choices last year waiting.

Now that things have played out, along with how well the Lakers played last season, they are now moving forward quickly. I honestly believe that the PROJECT has exceeded where they thought it would be at this point. Instead of it being possibly a 3 or 4 year plan, they are starting to believe that it could be a 2 or 3 years plan instead. That changes the decisions that they make.

As far as Kwame Brown is concerned, last year should not be used as a guage of his total worth. How can we expect a player that has had a poor showing consistently since entering the league to turn it around during 1 summer and tear up the league the following year simply because he switched addresses? VERY rarely does that ever happen. Instead, he had a gradually improving season last year and now can build on that. In years past he was hit hard by criticism and uncertainty. This coming year he will be entering as the probably starting center and will be expected/expecting major minutes on a nightly basis. He will also know what expectations are there as well as what system to run. I'm expecting major things from him this next season. Now, that doesn't mean an all-star season....the Lakers don't need that. They need a solid season, which he can provide.

Some of you have a serious problem of placing unnecessary requirements on guys. When you have a main player that is going to give you 30 a night, and a second player that is going to give you 15 a night, that's roughly half of your total output. Why would you want or think it necessary to have another player supply you with 20 a night which is a typical all-star output? If the remaining 10 players average a combined 55 points a night, that would mean 100 points a night for the Lakers. Take that 55 and divide it by 10 and you will see that less than 6 points a person a night would make up that 55 points.

As far as Andrew Bynum is concerned, I feel the same way about him as I do Kwame. When are we going to stop pressuring young players to produce quickly? Many times, when young players fail, a major reason is the others around them and the negative affects that they have had on them. AB is a young...very young....project that has shown signs of potential, yet potential does not mean reality now. I don't like it that Phil brings guys like Bynum along slow, but I do understand his reasoning. A guy that is 18 or 19, in theory has 17 to 20 years in this league depending on injury. That's a lot of seasons. Why bring them along rapidly and lead to them not lasting as long? A report came out the other day which spoke on the mileage that has been produced by Kobe Bryant's body. Just based on figures....he is possibly only going to be ale to offer serious production for another 5 to 8 seasons. That would mean 35. That is because of how much he has had to go through. No one says anything about it, but look at how many seasons, MJ played all together. He had 2 full seasons of rest plus some extra time out and still only played 12 seasons. How many players have played more than that? My point is that Bynum is being brought along slowly for his own benefit in the long run and I think it's a great move. I predict that he will be a force in this league in years to come. Think about it.....how many plus 7-footers are currently in the league at center? How many of them are power players? Even dwight Howard is only 6'11". When Bynum gets into his own, he will own this league because he was taught the basics and learned things at a decent pace.

Finally, as I have stated before, I like the Al Harrington trade talk. I believe that he would be a solid pickup for the Lakers. I don't believe that the money should be a factor if you are looking at championship potential within the next 2 years. I believe that he can fit into the system because of his versatility. Coming with a 3-headed monster of Lamar, Vlade and Al, would be the strongest forward core in the league. There is no other team in the league that would impose as equal a forward core. If Kobe can provide 25 to 30 points a night, and the 3-Headed Monster provide an additional 45 points a night, that would mean 70 to 75 points by those 4 players. Can you imagine how dangerous that could be? If the remaining lineup can't provide 25 points a night, something is wrong with them. I can't see why they couldn't. I like Harrington, and hope the Lakers work the deal.

Andrew Z ... I agree. The Lakers do a good job managing the payroll and associated talent of their roster ... without committing to too many extremely long contracts. Radmonovic at 5 years - $30 million is not such a risk because he is tradable at that level. The Brian Grant situation is unfortunate, but that was apparently necessary, and they cut their losses by taking advantage of the "Allan Houston rule". Other than that, they really do not have any bad contracts to speak of (now that Devean George is gone).

Certain positions (and skills) happen to command different salaries at different times ... no different than with any industry job markets (supply / demand). Therefore, Kwame Brown at 3 years - $26 million (or so) is reasonable for "his" market. Devean George at 2 years - $4.2 million is a waste of money. Odom at his contract is worth it considering the limited supply of forwards who can play both the 3 and 4, defend reasonably well, rebound, and pass, etc. John Salmons (combo guard) at 5 years - $25.5 million is a waste of money.

High demand (limited supply) and low demand (good supply) examples are as follows:

Limited supply: Smart, experienced and proven point guards who pass first and shoot second; play D. I believe Farmar will be this type of player.

Good supply: Combo guards without a particular high level specialty (3-pt shot; defense).

Limited supply: Tall (6-9 to 6-10) small forwards who can shoot the 3 and run the floor. Radmonovic, Stojakovic are such players.

Good supply: Athletic or even skilled 6-6 to 6-8 small forwards. These are unfortunately a dime-a-dozen. Caron Butler, a nice player, was not worth securing for this reason. He could be replaced with relative ease. Luke Walton (size limitation, skilled, but slow) may be expendable for this reason too (if he could play more 2, different story).

Limited supply: Power forwards with size who can rebound and defend and have some shooting range (Carlos Boozer, maybe Drew Gooden, Lamar Odom is in this category and can play 3 and even 1!).

Good supply: Power forwards who have no special characteristics other than size or have limited shooting range. Examples are Chris Wilcox, Reggie Evans ... having trouble getting the contracts they think they should have.

Limited supply: Centers who can play D and play significant minutes without fouling out. Kwame is in this category ... 3 years - $26 million (or so) is reasonable. Also centers who can score and do one other thing (like rebound or play D are of course extremely limited in supply; Yao Ming, Shaq).

Leo

Rayray,

I've never heard anything about them being interested in Kukoc, and I can't see why they'd sign him. He's well past his prime and they already have Vlad and Cook to shoot 3's. His knowledge of the triangle shouldn't be that big a plus, considering the majority of guys likely to get big minutes (Kobe, LO, Kwame, Smush, Luke, etc.) have already played a year in it.

As for Rush, I've heard they're both interested and not interested. Phil seems to like players he's already worked with. I'd personally be lukewarm at best about bringing Rush in. He still shoots at a bad percentage, he more or less did nothing with L.A. (outside of one big game in the playoffs) and I don't think he's improved much as a player. And while Phil questioned the timing when Bickerstaff waived him (and Phil's got a point), he also questioned Rush's work ethic in his book. But beyond all that, I don't know where they'd find a roster spot for him.

AK

Kobe is worth it.

Kwame is leaning back and forth. We shall see this season what he's about. Briant Grant is what kills the lakers.

I have to say I'm surprised, particularly by Andrew Z. I expected a verbal flogging for guaranteeing Kwame's contract, for trading for Brian Grant and for our salary cap problems. But it's all good.

I think under certain circumstances (like you know who demanding 30 mil a year that would have strapped us till the end of time)...we're doing pretty good. As it stands, we got good players for the least amount of money this season...I mean Vlad Rad for the MLE? I've been hearing and hearing how he's going to be better than Peja, and Peja got paid a whole lot. So in the sense, good shtuff!

As for paying for what you have, man I'd be sooo bummed if I was a Knicks fan, cause if there ever was a franchise that pays for nothing...that's it LOL.

Faith,

Come on, I'm not that bad! As for the Kwame deal, it's completely one way or the other. It's going to be the best contract in the league or the worst. I'm hoping it turns out for the best. As for our cap situation, we're in the same boat as mostly everyone else, which bodes well for us because outside of a couple teams we'll be offerring the same amount of money to free agents (the MLE) in the next couple years. If we progress as a team and look like a possible contender, our MLE will look more attractive than other MLE's and maybe we get the cream of the 'above average' player crop and things work out.

Besides, the only way for us to do anything in the free agent market for the next few years would be to deal LO for cap space. And if he starts the next season like he ended last we won't want to trade him.

Faith, Vlad isn't the shooter Peja is, and I haven't seen anything that indicates that he can do anything else well. I'm really not sold on this guy, never have been.

He might be healthier than Peja, but will he be as effective? I think that's questionable. I know a lot of people here have been psyched we signed him, but I suspect that's just because we signed someone with a name we recognize...

I'm not convinced that Antonio Daniels or Marcus Banks would be better for our team than Vlad Radmanovic. With Caron Butler it was not just the money, he brought us Kwame who we needed (we wouldn't have been in the playoffs last year if we had Butler & Adkins instead of Kwame.)
I think some combination of Evans, Smush, Sasha, Shammond and Farmar will work out better than Daniels or Banks.

JJ

I agree. Miami gave up their bright future to win 1 in the present. Just think with a line up like...

Alonzo
Haslem
Odom
Butler
Wade

after playing for 3 years (end of last season), they would be top of the east anyways.

i dont like how ppl call Caron a dime a dozen. that dude was just starting to blossom. he'll avg like 22 8 4 a season soon, just watch. he's also a great guy and teammate.

The ebb and flow in this blog is amazing. The rumors of a possible Al Harrington sign and trade generated even more posts than last years sighting of Ron Artest at a Lakers game or the news that Kevin Garnett was buying a home in Manhatten Beach. Now Kwame is being praised for his "reasonable" salary, Andrew Bynum's head is being put on the trading block, and someone will surely start a "45-Win Bandwagon" before tomorrow.

Relax Laker fans. Ignore the doomsayers and skeptics. Put away the loaded guns and tear up the applications for Clipper tickets. Forget about Shaq, Ron Artest, and Al Harrington. They really don't matter. The Lakers are going nowhere but up this year.

Remember, we have the best basketball player in the world in Kobe Bryant. We have the best basketball owner in the NBA in Jerry Buss. We have the best coach in NBA history in Phil Jackson. We have won nine NBA championships and we will be competing for our tenth championship this year. That is what Kobe Bryant believes and says. That is what Phil Jackson believes and says. That is what Mitch Kupchak believes and says. The best is yet to come.

We won 45 games last year and finished with a record of 14 and 4 over our last 18 games, including wins over the Kings, Sun, and Clippers. We then won 3 of the first 4 games in the first round of the playoffs against the Suns, making our record 17 and 5 before youth and inexperience led to our blowing the series. We were really just one rebound from playing for a championship last year that was won by a team we could have beaten.

This year the team's returning players will come back hungrier than ever and ready to build upon the success of last year. Kobe will be a better leader and team player. Lamar will expand upon his terrific play at the end of the year. Kwame will be more confident and able to contribute. Mihm will give us a top flight backup that we missed against the Suns at the 4 and 5. Luke will continue his resurgence. Smush will regain his confidence. Sasha will continue his hot shooting from the playoffs. Turiaff, Bynum, and Cook will be looking to improve their game and contribute more.

And the great job that Mitch and the front office did over the summer will give us new energy and depth. We basically have replaced our five weakest players with new guys that can contribute. Farmar will be our first "true" point guard since Magic. Radmanovic will give us a bonafide 3-point threat and great size as the 3. Evans will give us a solid backup to rest Kobe and a defensive stopper at the guard position. Williams will give us more shooting power and experience at guard. And Profit or Pinnock will give us another strong player off the bench.

I think this year's Laker team will be dramatically stronger and deeper than last year's team. The core of the team will be unchanged and will give us the base and stability upon which championship teams are built. The continued growth of our young players plus the quality additions that we acquired during the offseason will propel the team to the next level.

To win 55 games this year versus 45 last year, we have to reverse the inexplicable losses we suffered against lessor teams last year. In the West, we have to win 3 out of 4 against Portland, split our four games against San Antonio, Phoenix, and Memphis, and match last year's record against the rest of the teams. In the East, we have to split our 2 games with the Nets, sweep our 2 games with the Bobcats, Hawks, 76ers, and Celtics, and match last year's record against the rest of the teams. That surely seems to be a very reasonable goal.

It's easy to lose sight of the big picture and get lost in the details. We are better off to keep the team we have and continue to let it grow and develop than to auction off key parts and destroy the team chemistry we have built by creating fantasy rosters like the Knicks and Celtics have been doing.

Mitch and Lakers management have really put together a well balanced team with a good mix of youth and experience that not only has the ability to compete for a championship right now but also the potential to grow into another Laker dynasty. Next year, when Farmar and Bynum have some more experience and when we lose Brian Grant's salary, we will be able to add the final piece to the puzzle in the form of a top free agent who will be better than Harrington. We need to have the patience to build a winner the right way.

Finally, just a comment on Tex Winter's sobering comments about Bynum and Farmar and the team. As Roland said in his follow-up comments to the article on LakerNoise, Tex is the guy who always delivers the hard truth to the players. That is his job and his comments came on the eve before he was to negotiate an extension to his agreement with the Lakers. You have to read through what Tex is saying to understand that he does really believe that the team has great potential.

Tom

AK,

Yours and his arguments are valid on the surface, but the reality is that the long-term contract protects players who are good (but maybe not great) from blowing out both knees. A la Brian Grant. Or even Grant Hill.

Then, again. Maybe its the name Grant that needs the protection against career threatening injuries?

-Fearless

lamar Show,I would argue that Artest is better than Bosh, Amare (pending his comeback from surgery), AK47, T Mac, and J Kidd. The rest of the list is debatable but he could squeak in at 9 or 10 in best in the NBA. Is he better than Shaq, Yao, D. Howard, Chris Paul, The Truth, or AI? If so, then he might be in the top ten.

Lamar Show,

Here is my top 10 list. No certain order (except #1 of course haha).

1. Kobe
Shaq
Duncan
Garnett
Nowitzki
Wade
James
Artest
Iverson
Nash

PS: And you're right. It's hard to say anyone is easily in the top 10. I think there are quite a few players like Amare (depending on his health), Carmelo, and T-Mac (also depending on health) who are on the bubble.

Lamar Show,

Too many of the guys on your list are one-dimensional and/or have poor work ethics and/or lack heart.

T-Mac, Vinsanity, Pierce, etc. come quickly to mind. When evaluating the whole game, Artest IS top 10. He's like two guys in one by NBA standards. You can't buy that, anywhere.

Artest is for real.

--Fearless

Artest is a beast and he is easily a top ten player in the league. He defends, he brings the ball up, he has a post game and prolly a B guy on his shooting range and consistency. Him and Lebron to me are the strongest F/G in the league, anybody tryin to guard them will just bounce off.

As far as the lakers and the salary cap, they are doing fine and waiting for the next free agency morantorium to spend some serious cash, hopefully.

I never liked the lakers trading Caron Butler, he reminds me of Ron Artest. They both can rebound(20 rebounds in a playoff game against the cavs), imposing physically and he has a great personality. I wish he can find his way back playing with kobe, they seem to have jelled very well before the lakers traded me. However, all is fine in Lakers now, our team will "surprise" critics again, which won't be anythinh new.

Lamar show,
I also believe the heat will eventually suffer the consequences of trading caron and lamar. Shaq and Pat Riley only wanted this ring to cement their legacy and they did, however they left the heat in a bad shape. This is why the lakers need to build a real team and if the win a championship early, good for them, which I think the can do.

Laker Tom,
"We were really just one rebound from playing for a championship last year that was won by a team we could have beaten."

The Lakers were not better than the Suns. They caught them by surprise and then reality set in. And the Lakers would not have beaten Dallas.

dan:

Your are welcome. And I really DO think Smush will regain his confidence. And that Farmar WILL take his job. But bottom line that they BOTH will contribute to a great Lakers season.

Tom

GO LAKERS!

Will be back in 2 weeks.

mike

Faith,

;-)

mike

Sola
I really really really like Caron Butler. He was a great player and I was a bit upset that he got traded for a "bust". The guy averaged 18.5/10.5 during the playoffs. Wouldnt that have been great if Kwame couldve done that with absolutely NO TRUE C guarding him. The guy averaged 15/5 with us in 1 season as a Laker while we wait for our project that we traded to average those same numbers. How i wish we still had him. I think he'll turn out to be a great player and ill be very pissed off if he has a better career than Kwame but I wish him the best of luck. Maybe one day he can be a Laker again. You should check out what Hoopshype had to same as him.
http://hoopshype.com/players/caron_butler.htm
AND HE CAN CATCH!!!

AK and exhelodrvr:

First off, the Lakers did not catch the Suns by surprise. The Lakers were playing the best basketball in the NBA at the end of last season. What happened is that the Lakers youth and inexperience caught up with them and they lost their confidence. Secondly, I never said the Lakers would roll over the Clippers, Mavs, or Heat. I said that they would beat them because they were just as good and matched up well.

You have your opinion and I have mine but the evidence doesn't necessarily support your claim whereas I believe the matchups do support mine. I frankly don't believe that the Clippers, Mavs, or Heat were better teams than the Lakers at the end of the regular season last year, when the Lakers finished on a 14-4 run.

As for the Cllppers, they only won 2 more games than the Lakers did last year with the teams splitting their season series 1-1. In their last matchup, however, with both teams fighting for playoff position, the Lakers dominated the Clippers 100-83, with Kobe scoring 38 and Lamar scoring 15. If the Lakers had beaten the Suns, I believe they would have been the favorites over the Clippers and would have beaten them.

As for the Mavs, we won the season series from them 3-1 and the Mavs displayed their well-publicized inability to defend defend superstar guards when Kobe scored 62 in 3 quarters against them and again when Wade demolished them in the Finals. Since the Mavs won 60 games, they would surely have been favored but the Kobe would have killed them like he always does and the Lakers would have won the West.

Finally, as for the Heat, we split the season series with them 1-1 but beat them in the last matchup in January 100-92 with Kobe scoring 37 vs Wade's 34. Unlike the Mavs, we would have put Kobe on Wade and he wouldn't have gotten the superstar calls that he got against the Mavs. I believe the Lakers would have matched up much better against the Heat, Kobe and Lamar would have been unstoppable, and the Lakers would have won their 10th NBA championship.

Why do you think that Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson have both publicly stated that there is no team out there that the Lakers do not believe they can beat. This is the new age of parity in the NBA and there are no super teams like the Bulls of the 80's or the Lakers of the 90's.

Wake up and believe it because the Lakers will prove it this year but don't worry, we will still save a seat on the 55-Win Bandwagon for each of you.

Tom

Laker Tom,

Again, didn't say that the Lakers couldn't have beaten the Clips. I just said that I think the idea of "we were one rebound away from playing for a championship" is a little cart ahead of the horse. Simply my opinion and I think the facts (and simple reality) also support that.

And as far as Kupchak and Jackson's statements, what exactly do you think they're gonna say? "We think we can beat any team except the following squads?" That's very standard, run of the mill, "for the public to hear" talk. I'm not saying they aren't confident about the team's chances for success. I'm just saying you wouldn't hear them say otherwise if they weren't.

Trust me, I'll be plenty happy to have been wrong if the Lakers win 55. Nothing will make me more genuinely thrilled.

AK

AK:

I know you will be thrilled. I just didn't think you and exhelodrvr were giving the Lakers proper respect compared to the Clippers, Mavs, and Heat. Will see who is right at the end of the year. Your half empty glass or my half full glass.

I still respect your opinion, of course, but in this case your natural conservatism is showing.

Thanks.
Tom