A Little Wednesday Audio

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Last night was simple:

The Laker Organization (Cupcake, etc.) have put together a MEDIOCRE team with one good player. So a loss like last night is not suprising.

When is the organization going to come realize that Lamar Odom just does not fit in the Triangle Offense. I can understand KOBE having an off night especially after his 5 Superman Perfomances. BUT last night was a prime example of why Lamar Odom needs to be traded. He scored 7 points, took less shots then Walton, Smush, Vujacic, Cook (in 9 minutes), & same amount as Bynum (7). He is supposed to our second best scoring option. BUT the problem is that his game doesnt fit the Triangle. He is not a great shooter and he is always on the outside. He is also WAY to passive. How can our best player be passive & the funny thing is that HE HAS ALWAYS been like that. He took 7 Shots!!!!

Next why is that Sasha Vujacic either swishes a shot in or just totally bricks. His game is starting to remind me of Antoine Walker.

Make that 0-2 when Phil tries to diagram a play for someone other then KOBE to take the final shot. Honestly i dont care if they have 20 guys on KOBE thats who should take the final shot PERIOD!!!

I am a frustrated fan who sees no progress with this team. I just only hope that the Laker Management FINALLY realizes that this team will not cut it and changes need to be made

Would anyone with ESPN insider mind posting Hollinger's article on overpaid players? I could use something to drown my misery in...

Hollinger on ESPN Insider:

For about 20 of the NBA's teams, this is the time of year when things get really exciting. They're either pushing for a playoff spot, or already have one sewn up and are gearing up for their postseason run. Either way, the focus is entirely on the here and now.

For the league's bottom-feeders, however, summer can't come soon enough. And inevitably, talk of summer produces talk of free agency. So with visions of offseason glory starting to dance in the heads of the league's lesser lights, it's time to drag out a cautionary tale.

Remember, signing a player to a big-money deal isn't necessarily a good thing -- in fact, sometimes it can be downright disastrous. And until I started researching this story, I didn't realize just how bad it could get.

My task was to come up with the worst contracts in the NBA, and man, there are some doozies out there. Since the season is nearly complete, I'm approaching this task with a particular spin -- those players who gave the least for their team's money in 2006-07.

Amazingly, even though I extended it to include 25 players, it took a jaw-dropping lack of productivity to crack this list. Being merely overpaid wouldn't get you close -- "dead weight" is more what we're looking for here.

As it turns out, there are four different varieties of bad contracts. Thus, I've separated them by group and counted the worst in each category. The envelopes, please:

CATEGORY I: ALREADY WAIVED

These players are still getting paid by their former teams, even though a couple of them haven't suited up in ages. A few others are double dipping, cashing checks from both a former team and a current one.

1. Michael Finley, Mavericks ($16.1 million)
Contrary to what you might think, the worst-case contract scenario isn't paying a lot of money to a guy who can't play. It's shelling out for a guy who can play and then waiving him, allowing him to sign a below-market contract with your closest rival for the championship. That's the case for the Mavs, who are paying Finley superstar money to try to beat them as a Spur. Blame the luxury tax amnesty rule, which offered the Mavs so much savings that they couldn't afford not to cut Finley.

2. Brian Grant, Lakers ($14.8 million) and Celtics ($1.9 million)
Grant is getting paid by two different teams to sit at home and watch his dreadlocks grow. What a country. Chronic knee problems forced him to retire after delivering mighty little as a free agent in Phoenix a year ago (in fact, although the Celtics are cutting the checks, the Suns are the ones paying his salary), but that's a pittance compared to what he's getting from the Lakers.

L.A. made him a luxury tax amnesty cut in 2005 after his salary was included as ballast in the Shaquille O'Neal deal; the outlandish contract to pry him from Portland was originally cut by Pat Riley during his "let's wildly overpay for veteran role players" phase. Speaking of which …

3. Eddie Jones, Grizzlies ($14.9 million)
Riley made the Jones mistake the same summer he picked up Grant, but he's rebounded nicely -- Grant was converted into Shaq, of course, while Jones went to Memphis in the brilliant multiteam deal that netted Jason Williams and Antoine Walker.

Now Jones is back with the Heat while the Grizzlies are stuck with the tab.

4. Chris Webber, 76ers ($17.6 million)
They'll be paying C-Webb next season, too, after reaching a buyout agreement with him earlier this year. Worse yet, Webber miraculously healed as soon as he landed in Detroit.

But as a Sixer, he gave very little -- just 38.7 percent shooting and matador D in 18 contests.

5. Derek Anderson, Blazers ($9.7 million)
Anderson's body started to quit on him almost immediately after he joined Portland on a six-year, $48 million contract in a sign-and-trade with San Antonio. The Spurs got a pair of sharpshooting Steves who went on to announcing careers (Kerr and Smith), and best of all they didn't get stuck with the bitter pill of the final few years on this deal. Anderson ended up being an amnesty cut in 2005 and "won" a ring from the sidelines as a member of last year's Heat.

6. Vin Baker, Celtics ($5.2 million)
I almost hit the floor when I read this, but Baker -- whom Boston released in February of 2004 -- is still getting paychecks from the C's. He's due $5.2 million this year from the leftovers of his behemoth contract, which the Celtics tried to void in 2004 when they released him. The original contract was supposed to expire in 2006, but the two sides agreed to pay out a reduced amount over a longer time period.

Baker also had the privilege of being cut a second time, as the Celtics made him a luxury tax amnesty subtraction in 2005, even though he'd been gone more than a year. Nonetheless, his Boston money will supplement whatever pittance he collected in three appearances in November for Minnesota.

7. Aaron McKie, 76ers ($5.6 million) and Lakers ($2.5 million)
McKie was a luxury tax amnesty cut by the 76ers in 2005, but this didn't deter the Lakers from immediately giving him a two-year, $5 million deal. Unfortunately, this would have been one of those rare times where trusting Billy King's judgment would have been prudent, as McKie has been hobbled and all but worthless for L.A. Between the two bad contracts, he's collecting $8.1 million this year while appearing in 10 games.

8. Calvin Booth, Bucks ($6.6 million)
Booth's still getting the Bucks' bucks after they made him a luxury tax amnesty cut in 2005 -- just months after the Mavs had dumped Booth on Milwaukee in the Keith Van Horn trade.

He's also collecting checks from the Wizards as a third-string center, but he makes only the minimum in D.C.

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CATEGORY II: KNICKS

Despite a bevy of buyouts, the league's official dumping ground for bad contracts still has plenty of inventory:

1. Steve Francis, Knicks ($15.1 million this year; two years remaining after this one)
He can still be an impact player when he feels like it, but he's not exactly wowing his latest employers with his effort level.

A quick anecdote: Watching the Orlando-New York game on Monday night, I saw Orlando's J.J. Redick drift out to the 3-point line, catch the ball and calmly drain a triple with no pressure. Stunned, I hit rewind. My eyes didn't deceive me -- there was no screen for Redick, nor any kind of deceptive move or cut off the ball whatsoever. The man allegedly guarding him -- Francis -- just stood there and watched Redick walk out to the perimeter and shoot it.

On the next trip Francis stood like a statue on the weak side while Darko Milicic went down the middle for a screen-and-roll dunk. As I thought to myself, "If I was coaching right now, I'd call timeout just to yank the guy," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas did just that, inserting unheralded rookie Mardy Collins.

Quoth Thomas after the game, in his glass-half-full way, "I just felt [Mardy Collins would] give us more defensively." Um, yes, that's one way to look at it. Zeke just as easily could have said, "I felt a traffic cone would give us more defensively." Methinks there's another buyout in the Knicks' future.

2. Stephon Marbury, Knicks ($17.2 million this year; two years remaining)
He's a rarity on this list in that he still has a pulse, but Marbury's deal is so gargantuan and his reputation around the league so tattered that his deal is still radioactive. Besides, his numbers have dipped the past two years -- he's testing his career lows in scoring and shooting this season -- and they don't figure to get better over the final two years of his contract as he gets into his 30s.

3. Jerome James, Knicks ($5.4 million this year; three years remaining)
A spectacular bust even by the standard of recent midlevel exceptions, almost all of whom have been busts. James did have six points and two rebounds on Monday, but fantasy players shouldn't pick him up thinking he can provide the coveted 6-and-2 combo every night -- it was only the fifth time he's done it this season.

4. Malik Rose, Knicks ($7.5 million this year; two years remaining)
While Rose is still marginally useful as a fifth big man, he's a 6-7 frontcourt player who turns 33 in November, and he's shot 37.4 percent and 38.6 percent the past two seasons. Rose is the one truly bad contract the Spurs have inked in the past decade.

They unloaded their mistake, but it came at a price -- one of the draft picks from the Rose trade became David Lee.

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CATEGORY III: ALREADY-WAIVED KNICKS

Amazingly, there's enough overlap between the first two categories to produce a third one. The New Yorkers are paying nearly an entire salary cap to guys who haven't played a game for them this season, and that's without adding Francis to the list.

1. Jalen Rose, Suns ($14.6 million)
In a bizarre move, the Knicks bought out Rose less than a year after trading for him, granting the Raptors enough cap space to rebuild their Euro-roster and coming away with only a first-round pick that became Renaldo Balkman.

Had New York hung on to Rose's expiring deal, it might have been able to pry Pau Gasol from Memphis at the trade deadline. Now we'll never know.

2. Maurice Taylor, last seen with Sacramento ($7.5 million)
The veteran big man was well past his prime when Houston unloaded him on the Knicks in a baggage swap -- the Rockets got Vin Baker and Moochie Norris. Let's just say that trade left the league's balance of power unaffected. Like Rose, Taylor was bought out before the season and played 12 games in Sacramento before being waived in January; one presumes that was his last NBA stop.

3. Shandon Anderson, MIA ($7.2 million)
No, that's not a Miami abbreviation, that's "MIA" as in, "We can't prove that he's still alive." Nonetheless, he's collecting $7.2 million from the Knicks this year to do whatever it is he's doing right now.

But he better save up -- his contract expires this year, more than two years after his departure.

4. Jerome Williams, Madison Square Garden Network ($7.0 million)
At least the Knicks are getting something out of him -- he's working as a TV commentator. Also, Junkyard Dog was a luxury tax amnesty cut.

The other players on this list actually cost the Knicks double their contract amounts because of the league's dollar-for-dollar tax on high-payroll teams, which as you've probably guessed is a club the Knicks will belong to for some time.

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CATEGORY IV: STILL STUCK

These players' teams are still stuck with their contracts, and in every case but one there are multiple years left on the deal. Good luck unloading them now.

1. Kenyon Martin, Nuggets ($12.1 million, four years left)
Here's what I imagine Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke asking for the next four years. "Is it 2011 yet? No? OK, how about now? No? Um, how about now?"

Martin, who as far as anyone knows is the first player to undergo microfracture surgery on both knees, was a stretch at this dollar amount even if fully healthy. Worse, he gave the Nuggets just one good season before he started breaking down. But he'll be on the books through 2011 thanks to a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets that also also cost the Nuggets three first-round draft picks -- two of which the Nets flipped to Toronto in the trade for Vince Carter. Moreover, the cost of his deal effectively doubles next year, when the Nuggets will be well over the luxury tax line.

2. Raef LaFrentz, Trail Blazers ($11.5 million, two years left)
The Mavs' decision to give LaFrentz a seven-year, $70 million deal in 2002 was generous, yes. But it didn't seem like too obscene a stretch at the time -- people forget now, but he nearly led the league in blocks and was deadly from outside. But what Dallas didn't know was that LaFrentz's knees were about to betray him. He's only 30 now, but it's 30-going-on-90 -- LaFrentz is shooting 23.7 percent in 17 games for Portland.

3. Theo Ratliff, Celtics ($11.7 million, one year left)
Ratliff and LaFrentz were traded for each other this summer as a sidebar to the Sebastian Telfair-Brandon Roy deal. Getting one less year of dead-weight contract was a key reason Boston did it (though I'm guessing the Celtics would take it back if they could).

Nonetheless, I would argue that Ratliff's three-year, $36 million extension from the Blazers was the single worst contract decision of the current decade. At the time he was 31 with a bad hip and was already in severe decline, as anyone in Atlanta could have told them. But he played well for his first few weeks as a Blazer and his giddy new owners overreacted. Hampered by injuries, Ratliff played only two games this season, and that might be two more than he gets in a year from now.

4. Adonal Foyle, Warriors ($8.1 million, three years left)
Chris Mullin has inked some bad contracts in his time as Warriors general manager, but this one takes the cake. Foyle is a prince of a guy, but he's 32, can't score and will soak up over $25 million over the next three years while he lies on the outer fringes of Golden State's rotation. He could be a decent backup center for a team that played a more traditional style, but who would trade for his contract?

5. Larry Hughes, Cavaliers ($13.4 million, three years left)
As with Marbury, Hughes hasn't been horrible -- he just hasn't come close to justifying the dollar figure on his contract. I thought he'd rebound from a disappointing first season in Cleveland, but instead he's been even worse this season. Not only are his numbers down across the board, but he's also forgotten how to make a foul shot (65.6 percent). One bright side: The brittle guard is on pace for 69 games, his most in five years and nearly double what he gave a season ago.

6. Speedy Claxton, Hawks ($6.9 million, three years left)
Despite some warning flags (he's small, injury-prone and can't shoot), Claxton played so well for the Hornets a season ago that the Hawks gave him a four-year, $25 million deal. Oops.

Hampered by bad knees that eliminated his one skill, Claxton's per-minute scoring rate is less than half of what it was last season and he's shooting a ghastly 32.7 percent from the floor.

7. Danny Fortson, Sonics ($6.6 million, expires this year)
Armed with a bad knee and a worse attitude, Fortson has rarely been available for the Sonics this season.

But if you do see him on the court, don't blink -- at the rate he fouls he won't be out there for long. He's averaging nearly a hack every four minutes, and he's a turnover machine because he gets tagged with illegal screen violations so often. But give him this: The dude can still rebound.

8. Austin Croshere, Mavericks ($7.3 million, expires this year)
Sample Size 101: Like a lot of guys on this list, Croshere was paid based off one strong stretch of play (the 2001 Finals), despite a much larger body of work that was far less impressive. Not surprisingly, he's disappointed since.

He's shooting 35.2 percent as a deep sub for the Mavs this season, though he did have one glorious night when he exploded for 34 on the Sonics. But he has only four other double-figure games this season.

9. Eric Snow, Cavaliers ($6.1 million, two years left)
The summer of 2003 is precisely when things started going severely downhill for the Sixers -- they signed Derrick Coleman and Kenny Thomas (a narrow miss on this list) and gave Snow a multiyear extension for no apparent reason.

Thanks to that last decision, he's still earning midlevel money even though he's been a minimum-salary player for about three years now -- in that time, he's averaged 7.0, 6.6 and 7.0 points per 40 minutes. Ecch.

KobeBEAN,

to say that sasha is starting to remind you of antoine walker is pretty much paying the highest compliment you could ever give sasha.

look, i dig odom's all around game. but 3 effin points against the grizzlies? ridiculous.

while the lakers finally did not turn the ball over too much, they still made some pretty stupid passes.

kobe had a tough night.

fakerz doesn't get it.

he claims that the kobe lovers need to wake up when it is fakerz hate for kobe that makes all of his posts downright stupid.

almost as stupid as the lakers looked last night.

I think Lamar fits great in the triangle; the problem is that he is not a good second scoring option. And having no offense from the center, and inconsistent offense from the SF, just makes that more apparent.

Gee , how do we get the guy like Barbosa ???

show,

As I suggested before, try to ignore people like fakerz and etc. By replying to their posts you're in the way starting conversation and I don't think you want to do this.

Lakers became one man show not just yesterday. On Kobe's off night, we did not have anyone to take the ball. Instead of busting Zone with cuts and penetration they kept shooting 3s over and over.. The only one sure thing for Lakers, the lack of talent around Kobe, even when they had winning streak. Infact winning was possible because of Kobe's hot shooting.

As we approach the offseason, the Lakers must decide what the quickest path to a Championship is. I believe it is to build around Kobe, but he will need at least an NBA point guard who can defend and a 20-PPG scorer who can do it on a smaller number of shots. It would be nice to keep Bynum, but everyone other than Kobe is on the table for discussion.

If we just come back with small changes, we can't win. Look at last night. Probably Kobe's worst game of the season and what happens? We lose to the worst team in the NBA (Shorthanded, no less) at home in a critical game.

In effect, it was like not having Kobe. So what does that say for the Lakers 2 through 12? That they are probably one of the worst teams in the NBA 2-12? Certainly a lottery team, but maybe even a 15-20 win team.

If the MVP is about wins and losses, maybe Kobe ought to win. He might be worth 20-25 wins to the Lakers.

Thanks LAL!!!

the shaq deal is really showing its true effect.

and not soley because shaq is gone.

mainly because of HOW BAD THE LAKERS WERE RIPPED OFF IN THIS DEAL.

we traded shaquille o'neal for:

lamar odom
caron butler
brian grant
a future first round pick

wow.

read that back to yourself one more time.

wow.

for the best center in the game, we got:

odom: a good player, never will be great.
butler: a decent player, an all-star in the eastern conference. just another player in the western conference.
grant: an overpaid vet with achy knees that made the salaries match.
a future first round pick: which became jordan farmar.

and after the dust has settled (trades, amnesty clauses, drafts, etc.):

the lakers essentially have as a bi-product of the shaq deal:

lamar odom
kwame brown (via caron butler)
jordan farmar (via future first round pick)
brian grant's hefty contract (via amnesty clause, which the lakers are making the final $14.9 million installment this season)

wow.

read that to yourself.

talk about a horrible business decision.

wow.

a good player.
a first pick bust with no hands.
a potentially servicable point guard.
and paying $29.8 million for a guy who doesn't play for you.

wow.

wow.

wow.

talk about dismantling a team (the lakers) and ressurecting another (the heat).

wow.

thanks again kupchak.

AK & BK brothers,

what do you think the lakers will do this offseason? stand pat? make some deals? remove some excess fat?

how realistic is acquiring kevin garnett? or even a jermaine o'neal?

thanks.

LAL Fan,

agreed.

so are the players just not listening to phil?

or is phil not coaching the players?

when is kobe going to finally start demanding more from these guys?

whether kobe is a leader or not, he is the only player on the team that has the credibility to lead. why doesn't kobe tell kwame & socks to step up the intensity (even if it means a flagrant foul now and then)? or tell sasha & cook to quit jacking up jump shots every time the ball is passed to them? or telling lamar to score a few more points? or telling smush that the head band he wears makes him look even more foolish than he already is?

we need both kobe & phil to take this team by the reigns & demand better performances. and if anybody's feelings get hurt along the way, remove them. enough coddling & nuturing this roster, it's time we seperate the men from the boys. keep the dedicated, strong minded kats - and remove all the lazy, weak minded players.

35 three point attempts? that's ridiculous versus ANYBODY.

the lakers were KILLED by points in the paint. 46 for memphis and only 26 for the lakers.

is it coaching?

is it stupid, talentless players?

something has got to give.

and by the way, the la times has nothing better to write than farmar's opinion on ucla's chances this weekend?

pathetic.

almost as pathetic as the lakers were last night.

damn.

tarence kinsey has a season high in points and matches his season high in rebounds.

who?

exactly.

where?

only in la.

lakers cannot contain undrafted rookie guards on poor teams, yet they will be able to stop the elite guards of the western conference elite?

damn.

It is completely evident to me that there is ONE piece missing from the Lakers. If you look at all of the best teams in the league, there are at least THREE consistent scorers on the team. And some teams even have the benefit of four consistent scorers. Take a look at the numbers:

Top teams players' scoring per game:

Dallas:
Dirk - 25
Howard - 19
Terry - 17

Phoenix:
Amare - 21
Nash - 19
Barbosa - 17
Marion - 17

Spurs:
Duncan - 20
Parker - 18
Ginobli - 17

Detroit:(most balanced team - all 5 are consistent)
Rip - 20
Chauncey - 17
Tayshaun - 15
Wallace - 13
Webber - 12

Now look at the Lakers...
Bryant - 31
Odom - 16

The next highest scorer has 11 (Walton & Smush). Not good. It's as if they are playing 4 on 5 every game out there. There is WAY too much mediocrity on this Lakers roster to get anywhere in the playoffs. There needs to be a SET and RELIABLE starting 5 players on the floor each night. Not a new line-up every game.

Kobe has literally carried this team. Odom can be very good when he is healthy, and I don't think he should be constantly bagged on.

Notice also that on every one of the best teams, the PG is a top 3 scorer. That person needs to be a leader, a facilitator, a scorer, and someone to rely on to run the offense when the game is on the line. We don't have that right now.

Yes, it was Upchuck and Buss, not Kobe as many across the country and in Lakertown beleive when they say "Kobe ran Shaq and Phil out of town."

Do you think Phil would write in his book that he left becuase he wnted to be payed more? Waited a year while the Lakers missed the playoffs only to come back as the "hero" with the pay day he wanted?

I didn't think so.

Does anyone remember Shaq's contract talks going sour mid season? He was trying to push Kobe out by demanding so much money.

Oh, well. I'm still holding hope. I want to beleive that PJ is messing with scouts so the Spurs or Suns wont know what to expect from the Lakers. I think the worst thing for the team is to go in to the playoffs hot. They need to "sneak" in looking poor so they can steal a road win. Only chance.

yeah tha show,
That's why Cupcake is the Lakers biggest liability now. The man is too lame as GM.
I wish Magic would take his place, at least he has respect and love for the Lakers.
Just bring some key people next season and get rid of this crap players as you described.

i am trying to put together a chohesive list of reasons deserves the MVP. i dont think i can stomach another season of him getting shafted.

please drop your 2 cents here
http://mittelmitte.blogspot.com/2007/03/top-8-reasons-kobe-should-get-2007-nba.html

tha show,
That was the Decision of Dr. Buss. Not Mitch. Shaq pissed off the owner and wanted to make sure they paid HIM all the money so that Kobe would leave.

It's a tough decision, but Buss had no choice. The Lakers demanded Wade, but Miami wasn't going to budge and Miami was the only team Shaq would approve. So what would you do?

The only other option was Shaq would be a free agent this year and sign with Miami if Kobe had stayed. If Shaq stayed, Kobe would have left. Common sense is to pick the younger guy who actually was dedicated and stayed in shape.

LAL_Fan
I dont see how we can improve this team in the summer . Maybe Lakers management can somehow find a way to get us a dominant player worthy of KB work ethic.
It seems LA factor (Hollywood, exposure, stars) does not attract players to our beloved city anymore.
Plus the prospect of grinding it out on the bad team with slim chances of winning the West loaded with talent (on Dallas, Pho, SA, UT and even Hou).
Its easier to go East and go to the finals having played only one series (Eastern finals).

AK/BK or anybody for that matter:

How does Brian Grant coming off the books at the end of this year affect our salary cap situation? 15 mil is a pretty damn big deal but does it give us any flexibility whatsoever? Did it hurt us to lock in Kwame for next year? This salary cap stuff gives me a headache.. could someone with b-ball business knowledge help a brotha?

Joe

Okay, we all need to chill out a bit about this team. What we watched last night was a lack of maturity. The Lakers do not psyc themselves up for lesser opponents becasue they think they don't need to. Lesser opponents are the most dangerous teams to play during the regular season. Reason being, they have nothing more to loose, and how great would it be to knock off a contender for at least a night. The Lakers have talent...there should be no question from any of us there. The problem lies in the maturity. Look at teams like Dallas & Phoenix......these guys beat the crap out of the little guys becasue they understand how dangerous they can be. If the Lakers had the same mindset against the lesser teams as they do against the contenders, their record would show it.

Now to address the talent on the team: This team gels when they play together. With all the injurys, it has been all but impossible for them to really build that chemistry. There are 11 games left to get them to the point of being unified. I don't know how many of you play team ball, but even at an intermediate level, team chemistry on the floor is something that takes time. The Lakers are missing that part of the rythem. They will have it, all the signs are there.

In terms of individual play last night, my biggest dissapointment was not Lamar, but it was Bynum. The lack of aggression, follwed by to him pouting on the bench is just ridiculous. I can hear time & time again Stu Lantz talking about how wet he is behind the ears, but give me a break...he is making a ton of money, suck it up & grow up!

Also, the lack of Lakers driving the lane was ridiculous. I think only 2 Lakers had free throw attempts last night...Kobe & Lamar....and Lamar had his in the final 2 minutes of the 4th! The Lakers are scared of that Zone Defense. For some reason, they want to shoot instead of breaking it down with 2-3 quick passes.

Anyway, don't jump off the Laker Wagon just yet. There is a ton of talent on this team, they just need to grow together....and they will.

tha show
I absolutely agree with you.
I thought the same all that time.
The problem was , not that many teams wanted Shaq.
Ok , a lot of teams wanted Shaq, but NOT A SINGLE TEAM WANTED TO GIVE UP THEIR STAR PLAYER for SHAQ.
Remember the opinions discussed around Shaq trade times ?
Would SA and Min give up TD or KG for Shaq.
The answer was NO WAY ! Not a simple NO but NO WAY !!!
It seemed Lakers were under big stress trying to unload Shaq by any means , you know why !!!
We all know. No 8 made it vry clear , if Shaq stays He is staying at Staples as well , on the different floor.

KB is still my man.
I am not blaming him , no way.
I am saying we need help , pretty badly.

Show,

You got a lot valuable points, but all of them in the past. Lakers traded Shaq because between Shaq and Kobe Dr. Buss went with Kobe and, I hope, absolute majority of Lakers fans agreed with them. It all in the history.

Biggest question - what do they need to do in order to change current status quo, because, as you all know as it stands now, this team not a title contender by any stretch of imagination. This summer Lakers will not have a lot room under the cap if any plus they need to take they own players (Luke, Turiaf to name a few). KG trade is looking pretty remote unless he explitely ask to be traded to LA.

I believe Dr. Buss position to pick kobe over Shaq was right.
Now, sorry last year we should have built a real team around Kobe.
We need important pieces to accomplish that. Bring KG and a good point guard. Let's start moving out guys like Odom, Kwame, Smush, Cook and few others.
We need a real support team to help Kobe. That way we have a shot as a contender.
Make it happen

zen,

alright then, it falls on dr. buss.

dr. buss chose to get rid of shaq for less than shaq's worth.

dr. buss let both kobe & shaq dictate the fate of the laker franchise.

dr. buss hired kupchak & has retained his services all these years.

dr. buss chose kobe over shaq by prematurely trading shaq to miami for a cup of coffee and a bag of peanuts.

dr. buss couldn't out negotiate pat riley for dwayne wade, and settled for caron butler instead.

cool, mitch kupchak had ZERO to do with it.

that makes me feel better already.

kupchak is the gm, right?

albert,

i see your points.

it just bugs me why buss didn't wait for a legit offer for shaq. two first round draft picks should have the minimum, along at least one all-star player and two other quality players.

if the season came around and there were no offers, and shaq chose to sit. fine.

if kobe chose to leave, then so be it. that money could have been used for replacements.

i just wish dr. buss showed more loyalty to the franchise than to kobe or shaq.

if both wanted out, then so be it.

we could have used that $50 million on other players who wished to suit up for the purple & gold.

and since dr. buss made his choice with kobe bryant, he should have surrounded kobe with much better talent with the money available from the departing shaq. half of which is STILL being used to PAY BRIAN GRANT!

poor business & sports decision.

what we got for shaq was just simply unacceptable.

albert,

It was a bad trade no matter how you look at it. I remember the feeling of disgust I had the day the Lakers traded Shaq away. I recall thinking, "THIS is what we got in return?!?!"

They should have gone after a bad team with a high draft pick the following year. Get one or two talented players and a higher 1st round pick.

What did we do? We got a TERRIBLE contract in Briant Grant, a player that needs the ball alot in Odom, and another shoot first player that wasn't as good as Kobe.

They needed to go out and get another big man or power forward, and they brought back smaller players that don't compliment Kobe. Absolutely AWFUL trade.

We're still being haunted by this trade with today's team.

DR,

I also think it should be noted that each of the top teams have more than one guy who can go off for 30 or more on a night and carry the team offensively. We don't have that. Other than opening night, what's LO's highest scoring game this season? After that? When he goes for 25-28 its a huge game. And it's not Smush or Luke's job to be that guy so they aren't going to carry a team. If Dirk is off, Howard or Terry can go for 40, Duncan is off, Manu or Parker can carry a team. That's what we need, at least one guy who can step in, or up.

LAL Fan,

i agree it's in the past. however, the trade's effect on the present is simply too difficult to ignore.

DR,

thanks for the back up.

the lakers roster is simply too weak for a that traded it best player only 3 seasons ago.

the likes of smush, sasha, shammond, mckie, evans, cook, kwame, mihm on a team that traded shaq o'neal only 3 seasons ago is pathetic and an embarrassment.

DR
it was a bad trade , no doubt about it.
It puts into question an ability of Lakers management to make deals in future trying to improve the team.
I think KB does everything and more carrying this pathetic team on his shoulders.
While we still waiting for consistency from Lamar , defense from Cook and Smush and communication on defense, Kobe has been carrying this team and some *knowledgeable fans* still have the nerve to ask him to do more .
They claim his defense has gone away.
They say we should trade him and all of the sudden Sashas , Smushes, Cooks , Snowboarders and other elements are going to become better ??????
How dumb.
Kobe does not have to answer to his teammates , its the other way around.
If their stupid buts stop someone 2-3 times a game more , Lakers/KB might win more games.

I don't miss Shaq, but a better trade could have been engineered by a 12 year old. Good point by DR; they did just bring in a boken, over piad has-been along with more guard/fwds. that do not compliment our best player.

Shaq is gone. Period. Yell at your boss in front of thousands of people and see if you are around much longer.
The best thing we have going for us is Kobe. Period. Kobe's hand was played to the hilt and in some ways I almost wish he would have become a Clipper just because too many idiots will always hang the whole losing Shaq on his head. Shaq was losing control and guys like Karl Malone came and saw just how much work Shaq really didn't do, so he was exposed and many more personal battles with Phil and Kobe had more to do with losing in the finals, that made Shaq want out. Don't accept responsiblity point the finger- the blame game, weak stuff. That is where I have always been cool with Kobe he takes ownership. He goes down for a bogus rape charge against a physco little nympho and comes out with the truth, yeah I "I fell for it, and yeah I cheated", but he knew he was right and she knew she was in it for the money. Tough price to pay, but he accepted it and has done a great job of getting his life right. Doesn't blame or point fingers at others, good character. Besides, Dr. Buss wanted Shaq out.

Why would any loyal Laker fan suggest trading Kobe? He was the best thing that has happened since Magic and although MKupchak and Phil both were too stupid or lacking in diplomacy skills to keep Shaq and Kobe together, well they were awesome and that is over. Shaq can be a in the league for 3-4 more years if he continues to play his 40 games a year and limited minutes as well. He is that dominant and he demands that much attention. The west has enough to take the Finals back this year though. Detroit is best in the East again and may have enough to sit Shaq down especially if Dwayne Wade doesn't heal well.

Phil might bail out on us after this season, and that is a huge problem unless we are truly going to revamp this team. Any coach will be easier to work under and assimilate the offense and defensive schemes. I personally think PJ is great and definitely hope's Jeanie is waxing him up real nice so we can enjoy his 2nd coming along with Kobe.
The defense is too weak and the confidence that Kobe and Phil have so patiently been working on during this coddling season of mental midgets just never took. The lack of any emergence along with a band-aid a week of the few quality players to pick from has taken its toll. The Lakers are basically not ready for the playoffs and the embarrassment should be enough to make Dr. Buss become a much more proactive owner this off-season.
Our early season easy schedule should have been a super high for the whole team but injuries and Kobe being what Phil wanted him to be cost us a lot of wins this season. I am glad Kobe is back to attack mode and I do think his game grew this year in areas I though he could not adapt, but once again he proves us all wrong. The league won't recognize his MVP status but he is the best player in the league hands down if the players are voting. So trade him? ?????? Whatever...the guys does everything he possibly can to motivate players around him and adapt his game and some of you clowns say trade him.
What’s next some huge idiot will be writing all about the soul and MVP of the team being Kwame Brown and bashing Luke Walton for knowing how to make everyone on the floor better. When the season is over once again we will be talking about how this team didn't have time to get it together and maybe next year the will be healthy and maybe this or that. Live for today and get all you can while you have such an unreal weapon like Kobe. Get a clue the Lakers need 1-2 more quality up and coming huge players - A big Power forward that can rebound, catch and put the ball in the hole inside 12 feet and a penetrating Point Guard. Period.

tha show,

The final decision on that BIG step falls on Buss - not Mitch. Do you REALLy think Mitch made that trade without any approval from Buss? What are you smoking? Buss made that decision. You still have not answered WHAT YOU would have done in that situation? Basically you would've had no choice in the matter. Would you have kept Shaq and let Kobe go?:

Tha show,
if we had your way then, Kobe would be gone and we would have no great guard to run with Shaq. Either way, we wouldn't be winning now AND Shaq would be getting old.

"I don't miss Shaq, but a better trade could have been engineered by a 12 year old"

Jerry West couldn't have made a better trade. Shaq and Kobe going public with their issues, and Buss with the fact that he wasn't going to pay Shaq $30M, took away almost all the bargaining power Kupchak had. Because the other teams KNEW that he was going to have to trade Shaq, or lose Kobe. So the other teams could hold out; RIley, and everybody else, knew tha Kupchak would have to trade Shaq. And Shaq was not the player he used to be, so teams were not going to get into a "bidding war" for him. Kupchak did the best he could under the circumstances.

Pete's a smart man. Well put.

Pete Maguire,

nice post.

Yes. It is what it is. Let's move on. Kupchak can't doing anything right now because of the cap.

zen
Not Shaq would be getting old , we would be commited to him for 3-4 more years for 25mil year.
I dont see Shaq doing anything in the Western playoffs. Its too tough for him.
Remember what players said behind closed doors about J Kidd ?
He could not make it in the West so he went to the East .......

zen,

well i actually only smoke the good stuff. purple haze, as a matter of fact.

and yes it falls on buss. however kupchak (if he was a real gm) would have told buss, 'i know you want shaq gone, yet kobe isn't a lock. let's wait for a better deal this summer, or maybe the heat will finally bend and include wade on the deal. there's also some lucrative free agents we can sign should kobe leave, such as: nash, ginobli, mcdyess, and boozer'

THAT'S WHAT A GENERAL MANAGER DOES. THAT IS HIS PURPOSE.

and if buss were told this, maybe he would have waited for a better deal & let kobe choose between the clippers & lakers.

as for what i would have done, it is as simple as this:

search for better deals for shaq (maybe a team with a high draft pick). possibly the charlotte bobcats, and draft emeka okafor. if one comes along, make the deal. if not, continue to search.

demand that wade be included in the shaq deal instead of butler.

if kobe re-signs, great!

if he doesn't, that sucks. yet i can use that money to sign one or two of the following free agents at the time: steve nash, manu ginobli, antonio mcdyess, and/or carlos boozer.

if kobe stays, starting lineup is:

dwayne wade
kobe bryant
luke walton
lamar odom
chris mihm

if kobe chooses clippers:

nash
wade
lamar odom
boozer
chris mihm

so there you go zen.

you asked, and you received.

hind sight is 20/20, yet that's what i would've done.

oh, it's 4:20! gotta go.

yeeeaah boi!!!

"Would you have kept Shaq and let Kobe go?"

Absolutely!!!!!!!!

With Shaq we would have been a contender for these past years, instead of the bottom dwellers that we are.

***** THE ONE THAT MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN AWAY *****
DR provides an excellent analysis that highlights the Lakers lack of a third scorer to go with Kobe and Lamar. Unfortunately, the ideal option to fill that role was as well as helping defend and rebound was Jason Kidd. He may be the one that got away as the Lakers bet the bank on Andrew developing into a superstar dominant center. I agreed with the decision at the time but have had second thoughts like most of us since the Lakers went into the tank. Kidd was really a perfect fit for the Lakers.
I was disgusted that none of the Lakers seemed to be able to play well against the weak zone that the Grizzlies put up last night. Where this team is weak is that we do not have anybody who can get into the lane no matter what. Specifically, we do not have a point guard who can penetrate and then dish or score. Not to mention defend. Smush is basically Smudge and I will be happy when he goes away in free agency to Denver or some other NBA outpost. I dislike his game and his attitude. Farmar was fearless in college and could always get into the lane. Now he looks afraid to penetrate and afraid to try a teardrop shot. Maybe he can put it together this summer but he is not going to help us much less start anytime this year. Mea culpa!
Our primary focus in the off season is to replace Smush. Getting a talented point guard who can get to the rim, make other players better, and stop the revolving door of easy lay-ups and quick fouls on our big men is our top priority in the off-season. We should look again at Jason Kidd. Maybe we can swing a deal without Bynum because Kidd will be a year later. I also like Andre Miller a lot. He is a great penetrator and finisher, either with the dish or the bucket. And I like that he takes midrange jumpers rather than living beyond the 3-point line. One way or anther, the Smushcalade needs to hit the road. Despite his size and talents, he is not the right player for the Lakers. I just wish Phil would realize that. We would have been better off giving Farmar the ball early and letting him grow. Had we done that, we would today be in a better situation than we now find ourselves. Even I have a hard time imaging winning the NBA championship with Smudge Parker at the helm.
Tom

Berkley,

Getting Grant off the books helps the Lakers in the sense that it allows them any flexibiltiy at all. Without losing that 15 mil, they'd be pretty much deadlocked. That said, they were way over the cap to begin with, so the wiggle room gained is minimal.

And yes, giving Kwame an extra year basically killed any flexibility heading into the offseason. 9 million bucks ain't nothing, even by NBA standards. Regardless of whether you think it was a good move (in terms of what he brings to the team), from a purely finanical perspective, Kwame's deal more or less offset the effect of losing Grant's contract.

AK

BerkeleyLaker:
Joe, it’s really simple. Despite Brian Grant coming off the books, the Lakers are hopelessly over the salary cap and will not be able to sign any free agent for more than their MLE (Mid-Level Exception), which means around $5M per year or what we gave Vlade this year. That is the same boat that all of the other better teams are in.
This means that you either get a castoff star cut by the Knicks or 76ers or some other team who is still being paid by the other team to sign for the minimum – or you trade. And even when you trade, you can only take back 125% of the salaries that you send in the trade, which means that Kwame and/or Lamar will have to go for any other high paid player to come here.
The salary cap rules make it difficult for a team to really revamp its lineup via trade or free agency unless you totally get rid of everybody and start new, which is what the 76ers and other clubs are doing. If the Lakers bomb in the playoffs, look for several major trades to give Kobe a new cast of players. Most likely, like Mike T is worrying about, Kwame will be the guy to go. He will have a $9M expiring contract and will thus be in greater demand than his abilities would call for.
Tom

so we extended kwame's deal another year because he had a decent series versus the phoenix suns sans amare stoudemire?

the whole amnesty clause on brian grant's deal that is expiring in two months now means NOTHING?

wow.

hey zen,

your boy kupchak is a gem. oh wait, you'll probably blame dr. buss for this one too.

time for accountability with the los angeles lakers.

wasting good money on the likes of brian grant, kwame brown, brian cook, and vlad rad FALLS ON THE INEPT SHOULDERS OF MITCH KUPCHAK.

unless of course you are like zen, who believes all poor signings & trades are soley the fault of dr. buss

***** LAKERTOM VOTES THUMBS DOWN FOR COACH PHIL JACKSON *****

I started to listen to Phil’s audio but was unable to finish because I got so mad when he said that the last shot really was designed for Smush Parker to take that I smashed my computer.

What the f#ck is wrong with this guy. We are on a five game win streak due heavily to the superhuman performance of Kobe Bryant, the greatest and acknowledged most clutch player in the NBA today. We needed to pull out this win badly.

So right after Kobe nails a deep 3-point shot to bring us to within a point and we get the ball back trailing by only 2 points with seconds left, Phil has the gall to call a play for Smush Parker, renown for his late game inability and choking? Astonishingly stupid! Incredibly ill-timed! Blasphemously dumb. I actually thought for a minute that “dan the man” had truly been hired to replace Mitch Kupchak. How else to explain this travesty!

Way to go, Phil. Way to reward Kobe for his efforts. Way to give the entire Laker nation a downer. You were probably responsible for all of the fights between spouses, kids sent to bed without dinner, and drunk drivers going home from Staples last night. Hopefully, all you killed was the good vibes that the Lakers had been building over the last few weeks.

If you wanted to do something different, how about benching the guards that let Memphis players penetrate the lane time after time? Or the idiot players who launched 3-point shot after 3-point shot instead of penetrating? This is not the time to building confidence in guys who are not even going to be here next year. This is not the time to be blowing games that we could have won. This is not the time to be showing faith in Smush Parker, who is probably the worst point guard in the entire NBA. Give the f#cking ball to Kobe next time, Phil. No more jacka$$ moves, Please!

Tom

I just read an article by ESPN's bill simmons underrating kobe's 50 point outburst. He left out a few things to prove his point. Bill, if you're reading this blog. read this.

Bill,

1. Jordan NEVER saw the annoying ZONE defense

2. since handcheck was not that strict before, players use it to gain advantage in defense (including MJ)

3. offensive fouls are not even "present" before. you can drive your way inside easier.

4. most important, jordan had a far far better team. makes it easier for him to operate.

I don't see the 80s and 90s as harder times.

lfan,
"With Shaq we would have been a contender for these past years, instead of the bottom dwellers that we are."

Without Kobe, or his approximate equivalent? That's ludicrous!

Here's a not-so-original idea:

Kobe should re-neg his contract for lesser money in order to free up cap space. I don't think money is #1 to him at this point in his career. If they have a FA or a trade & sign opportunity for a J O'neal or KG I would imagine he'd go for it so he can have some legit help.

Not only would it improve the Laker's roster, it would prove that KB24 is about titles, which I truly beleive he is.

Has anyone brought this up yet?

Tha Show,

They actually extended Kwame well before the playoffs. I don't know if that makes you feel better or worse, but that's when it happened, at any rate.

As far as the question you asked earlier, when it comes to resigning their own free agents, the #1 priority seems to be Walton. And I think he wants to come back, even though he'll likely put out feelers on the open market. Hopefully, the fact that he's happy in L.A., is probably smart enough to know he'll thrive more in the triangle than other systems and doesn't have a pressing financial need (supporting a family) can work in the Lakers' favor, since other teams can outbid them.

From there, I sense they're interested in resigning Turiaf, but it'll just come down to the financials involved. That said, while he'll undoubtedly garner some interest, I don't see Turiaf sparking much of a bidding war and he seems to like it here. I also wouldn't be shocked to see them resign Mihm as a backup, which may be feasible. Mihm's misfortune could end up the Lakers' gain, in that his asking price, even as a 7 footer, will undoubtedly drop after so much time off the court. The abilty to sign a capable big using Bird rights (and at a potentially reasonable cost to boot) could be a tempting prospect. Plus, I think Mihm likes it in L.A. quite a bit.

I don't see Smush back next season unless he's cool with the idea of being a backup (and less dough than he'll potentially get offered elsewhere). Shammond Williams also strikes me as unlikely (although never say never, I guess, since he won't break the bank and knows the offense). And the only way Aaron McKie's coming back would be as a member of the coaching staff (which I actually think he'd be great at).

AK

We discussed this Shaq Trade a long time ago, had several posts/replies with AK last summer. not in trading Shaq but the type of players that were absorbed. The troubled waters have traveled under the bridge, now part of the ocean so let's just move on with what we have. In Chess, the position we are in, is untenable and we are on the run, avoiding being checkmated at the wrong time. Anyway, whatever the outcome of the remaining games just go with the flow and enjoy if they win and if they lose don't feel bad, it is expected to the Lakers of '06-'07 that has no pride of wearing purple and gold. Discussing trades at this time is not also suitable simply because they are still playing and Mitch Kupchak became an absolute prisoner of his own picks. No sane GM would absorb his garbage, that was the attitude of Rod Thorn GM of NJ when they were discussing JKidd. Many NBA players dream of playing with the Lakers but with this GM, he has no charm to get a player like Harrington, CWebb, JKidd aside from being unlucky, he has no bargaining chip to offer to the player and to the team, that's why he no good choices. If he is a class person, he should have resigned a long time ago for failing to right the ship after trading Shaq. No, he just try to polish his image by going from one radio station to another and also on this blog so fans forget the current dilemmas. I don't think we can get Jerry West, he's now fully retired moving back to West Virginia nor Magic Johnson who is busy managing his Group of Companies including those MJ Theaters plus a part owner of the Lakers as well, To be a GM is a demotion for Magic. (By the way, I mailed the letter I post several week ago addressed to the owners of the Lakers. Perhaps, Mitch threw in the garbage can in disgusts.) However, there are still many Laker talents from the Showtime era who are capable of becoming a GM from Kurt Rambis, Michael Cooper, Bryon Scott, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich and many more names who have proven their talents in and out of the basketball court.

Last summer, nobody made a trade with Kupchak, all they were asking consistently is when are the Lakers going to unload Kobe? I don't foresee anybody talking to Kupchak this summer based on the propaganda we're showing to the league that only Kobe can score with the Lakers. To answer the question paused in one of the posts with regards to Brian Grant, his $ 15M contract will disappear in the books but it has no effects at all in '07-'08 because our total salary cap for next year is $ 57M (above the cap of $53M) w/o signing any of our free agents namely: Luke, Smush, Shammond, Aaron, Ronny and Chris. All we can get are: one 1st rd draft, two 2nd rd draft, MLE & BAE. In several posts, I have been asking how can we get KG? We navigated different ideas but the best scenario will mainly depend on KG getting opt his contract and Lakers cherry-pick in dropping out players without getting anything in return. ( It is like you conducted a garage sale and nobody bought your garbage merchandise so you bring them to Goodwill or Salvation Army begging to unload them there. lol!)

With regards to Phil coaching, I think he has done the best he can and he's trying to show his best face in public and in interviews. Don't you think he's not suffering from the humiliation in absorbing the garbage plays going on with this team? Do you think he has planned this scenario in this manner while he's being considered as HOF Coach? As you have seen Cookie threw his tops on his lap, Smush pouted on him and threw his head band, Bynum yelled at him back, Sasha insisted on doing his style after he has been reprimanded several times. As a baby boomer Phil, he's controlling himself and playing ZEN on his temper for he's dealing with kids that belonged to a different generation. If he has the given powers, he could have terminated, dropped the erring players from the team to put in the riight perspective. The problem, he will have only one player left if he wields his power to sideline every erring player. I would guess that Phil is just controlling himself and I have a haunch that he might not renew his contract after the playoffs, it will be another emotional breakdown similar to summer of 2004 not because of anybody's fault but just like Rudy T. they're just fed with the results, totally embarrased to continue further. It is a resignation, avoiding to tarnish their image in handling MEDIOCRITY from the owner's son, GM and their chosen players. Just my point of view I hope I am wrong.

Riley and company felt the urgency to win now when Shaq came in. D Wade, ZO and the boys won games as Shaq ran his mouth.

Miami is the model for building within the cap. You can't wait for development in today's league. Name me an NBA team that built a lasting dynasty waiting for youth to develop?

We have no consistently contributing, mid level money vet role players on this team like Miami has. Hell, we'd be better if we had kept Fish. Who did we get for the mid level money he was asking for that has helped this team?

Well said AK. All good points.

Fish, who undoubtedly loves LA...signed for another team for more money (to be honest, more than he's worth frankly)...do you see that possibly happening with Luke? I know you said that not having a family, being comfortable and all that...but I can feasibly see him garnering 8-10 for 3 and I don't think we will/should match that.

"Name me an NBA team that built a lasting dynasty waiting for youth to develop?"

Correct me if I'm wrong...San Antonio Spurs?

Faith,

I don't know. It's a ways off and who knows which teams will be interested (or what the Lakers will offer)? Or how Walton will finish the season.

But for what it's worth, Fish (before getting traded to Utah) admitted (in so many words) that he regreted to some degree taking the money, since the experience in G.S. sucked. Maybe that's something Walton will think about when it comes to a contract.

That said, I think Luke will be getting some MLE offers (maybe even higher). Think about the guys who got MLE's last season. Vlad, Speedy Claxton, Marcus Banks, Tim Thomas, Mike James, Joel Pryzbilla, etc. With the possible exception of Thomas (on the rare days he's motivated), Walton is as good or better than all of them.

AK

"With the possible exception of Thomas (on the rare days he's motivated)"

LOL. You just love saying that lol.

LakerTom,

Relax. I'm sure PJ was doing his bullsh*t response to the media that he always does... he thought it would sound better if he CLAIMED the last shot was intended for Smushy Smudge, that way he wouldn't have to admit that the defense actually prevented and shut down his plan A.

Here's something I didn't see anyone mention. When Kobe got that rebound, there was still three full seconds left on the clock. Normally, Kobe is very smart about counting in his head so he knows how much time is left, but when Smudge got the ball and chucked that three, Kobe lost all his senses... with three seconds, he could have easily dribbled left and got a clean shot. He may have even been able to drive to the rack for a buzzer beater on the broken defensive play!

I'm sure Kobe was not pleased with the outcome on NUMEROUS levels.

This said, PJ still gets a Thumbs Down from Tim-4-Show strictly on poor personnel substitutions last night.

Faith,

I just purchased ":07 Seconds or Less," SI writer Jack McCullum's book about spending 2005-2006 following the Suns. He had unbelieveable access to the team. I'm eventually gonna do a book report of sorts for the blog, since some of the book gets into last year's playoffs. It's supposed to be a very entertaining read.

At any rate, the book opens with a cast of "characters" (players, coaches, front office, etc.). I give you his description of Tim Thomas:

"Forward, picked up on waivers late last season. Relentlessly upbeat. Hits big shots. Doesn't exactly distinguish himself with hustle."

And there you have it. Frankly, dude oughta be relentlessly upbeat. He keeps stepping into money. haha

AK

There is great article on NBA.com about 95-96 Bulls winning 72 games.
Every Kobe hater should look at the pictures ( about 60 of them) and look at the PLAYERS MJ PLAYED WITH.
Harper , Kerr, Pipp , Rodman (4 rebounding titles) , Kukoc (6th man title) ..........
Give MJ Smush , Cook , Lamar, Kwame , Evans and I would like to see Bulls 95-96 record. LOL.
42-40 ? Ok .....45-37 .

Gee , let me say more.
Put Kerr, Pippen, Rodman, Harper , Kukoc in their prime on the Lakers team alongside with Kobe and see what happens.....

AK/BK,
What are the chances of Kobe re-neg'ing his contract to allow for some help to come in? Shaq did it after his 1st year with the Heat (drove me nuts because that year he loast weight and took less money, 2 things he would not do here) and in NFL, Peyton Manning just did it. I doubt he's hurting for cash now that he's "marketable" again. I'm willing to bet he'd take a shot at a title for a pay cut.

???

AK,

"Plus, I think Mihm likes it in L.A. quite a bit."

Why not, this better than Club Med, getting $ 4M for ankle injury and possibly another $ 4M for back pains, can't find financial security better than this? These players do not have any heart like Willis Reed and an akle injury that never healed. Why not aim for a younger player that can play hard. and help the Lakers immediately.

With regards to Luke, if you will give him $5M that get's us into the luxury threshold, question from me and Mike T. - are there any players out there better than Luke Walton? If the answer is none, then sign him. If there are players there like Chauncey Billups, Rashard Lewis, Chris Webb or any of the drafts, F/A here and Euro League who are within the vicinity of $ 7M, I would go with a proven player to complement with Kobe. The same question paused on Chris Mihm? Why will you try a player who has proven to have NOT ENOUGH ABILITY? Surround Kobe with talented players better than crappy ones we have at this time.

Erratum: not ankle but elbow injury on Chris Mihm. I have the habit of referring to Lakers injuries as ankle injury, because I have never heard that many occured in one single year.

Edwin,

If you think the Lakers would be better off using their money on someone other than Mihm, no worries (although it does make me wonder why you've peppered BK and I with questions about a return ETA, especially when the answer was always the same: "Probably ain't happening."). But to infer that he's not doing his best to get back is inaccurate. He's been busting ass in his rehab and I've never heard of anyone describe his condition as one you might play through. This was a pretty severe ankle injury.

AK

AK,

He is doing his best but not enough. In business when you cannot retrieve a long playing payables just charge it to BAD DEBTS. haha! If his injury does not heal will you re-sign him again like Brian Grant? Before signing Mihm, he has to provefirst his worth in the playoffs.

His absence is magnified when we have no serviceable center available and the team is losing because nobody could stop on Pau Gasol.

Edwin:

Problem is that we can't sign a player for more than the MLE, which will be close to $6M next year, because we are over the salary cap. That means that any higher priced free agent that we want to get will have to be via a sign and trade deal, which means the team has to want to do as well as the free agent. It doesn't mean we can't do it. It's just less likely to work. That's why a trade is the more likely way that we'll make a change in the roster than wll have an impact.

Tom

Edwin,

Again, if you don't think Mihm's proven himself enough to be resigned, fine. I have no problem with that. But what does "he's doing his best, but not enough" even mean? It's very grandiose, but also very vague. Are you suggesting he should be on the court right now or not (and by not being on the court, he's not doing everything he can)?

AK

AK,

I got your ire on that silly remark huh! Well, it just a frustration when I read your post that we can possibly re-sign him again since there are no 7 footer available in the F/A. As LakerTom has noted sign of crankiness of loyal fans nowadays. haha! Remember last summer, we were debating on the value of Chris Mihm and you were equating him to Deng or Duhon while Faith and I were defending him using your trend of thought that there are no 7 footer in the NBA, don't trade them with a guard. I admit that was a huge mistake, we could have traded Mihm to a good PG and the season could have been different. So you see I'm also a poor GM like Dantheman, so I hope you don't get upset AK when you read unpalatable remarks that does not mean anything but mere venting on frustrations lol!

albert:

Imagining MJ playing with the current Lakers roster or Kobe playing with MJ’s Bulls roster is an innovative way to compare Kobe and MJ. The problem with all such comparisons is that you’re comparing Kobe’s unfinished career with MJ’s finished career. You really have to wait until Kobe puts his sneakers up before you can sensibly do that. All we can say now is that Kobe might well end up as a greater player than MJ. I happen to think that he will, but he still has half a career to do that.

Tom

LakerTom,

My problem is, supposing nobody wanted to trade with us, what is our alternative? Can we drop some players and absorb their contracts?

How did the Mavericks $92 M and Knicks $139 M got on trading and they are over $ 40M over salary cap.? They paid luxury taxes isn't it. So can we not go over the cap and pay taxes as well?

Edwin,

No worries. I was just trying to get a straight answer from you. haha

For what it's worth, a Mihm for Duhon swap (the Bulls would never have agreed on Deng) might not have gone through. Chicago's doctors would have eventually given Mihm a physical and they may have discovered the additional damage in his ankle that later turned up. That would have negated it.
AK

The reason i think that Phil let Smush to shoot the ball, because Phil didn't want to play overtime, he is lazy man, with 6 seconds left ,KObe can get drive to the basket. When the season starts, you could see the problem with Lakers, they don't show the will, consistent from players to coach to jump to the next level, with easy schedule at home, they did not take an advantage, they wait and wait to play on the road. If you win a game in Memphis and go home and lost to the worst road team of NBA, the team missing 3 players, that's a shame man. This playoffs will show to us the true color of Luke, and Lamar. Kwame always want more money because he thinks he is the best low-post defender, it's a joke. Last season, if Bynum played more times, this year he plays much better,same to Farmar, if Farmar play this season, next season he will get much better, like Tony Parker of San Antonio when Tony he made mistake on the floor, Greg Popovich called time out and teach him, that's why we need a coach on the floor. Young team need a coach to coach them on the floor not in the room to watch video. When people keep telling you Phil is a great coach, the problem still continue because great coach doesn't need to do anything man.

AK doesn't get paid enough to get the Alex Rodriguez treatment lol.

***** THE LAKERS WILL RE-SIGN CHRIS MIHM *****

The above statement is a slam dunk. The Lakers must upgrade the point guard position in the off season and will have to trade either Kwame Brown or Andrew Bynum to do so. No disrespect to Turiaf, but that means that the Lakers will take advantage of Chris Mihm’s injury to re-sign him as our own free agent for the same pay that he is currently drawing, around $4M.

We already know that the Lakers were planning on starting Mihm with Kwame this year and despite Mike T’s opinion, Chris has talent and plays hard. He is a huge offensive upgrade over Kwame and Andrew at this point and a viable candidate to play some minutes at power forward as well as center. And he will be much cheaper than Kwame Brown. I still believe that Bynum will be a dominant center down the road but it’s not going to happen for 2 or 3 years.

I wish there was some way to keep Kwame because I love his post man-on-man defense but I think the team’s need for a strong point guard and third scorer to support Kobe and Lamar will lead to trading Kwame. We may be able to make the trade with the Nets for Jason Kidd in the off-season, especially since Kidd will be one year older. While I also like Andre Miller, I still think that Kidd with his defense and rebounding would turn the Lakers into an elite team instantly.

I still have hopes that this team will get it together but last night’s game really bothered me. It’s the vision of Smush in the playoffs that offsets all my optimism from Kobe. And Phils’ incredibly dumb decision to call a play for Smush instead of Kobe. That has really shaken my confidence. Time is running out and Phil is fiddling when he should be fine-tuning.

Tom

Jim Buss will appear on AM 570 radio between 1 to 4pm, Jeanie Buss talked on ESPN after Lakers lost to NY at home, and Minnesota on the road, she said Dr. Buss and Jim Buss sometimes wonder why Phil did not call time out. Some people said Lakers should find someone to stop Steve Nash, San Antonio did not find somebody to stop Fisher of Lakers , they find Tony Parker and Manu, Lakers have to worry about them, it's like a chess game, you should let people worry about you instead you worry about them, that's the way to build team.

Right you are, Tom. Just like last year, our lack of an NBA-caliber point guard on the roster is why we will not be able to pull off an upset. In the West, forget about winning anything until you can either contain or match the likes of Nash, Tony Parker, Terry/Harris or Deron Williams.

Edwin:

The Knicks and the Mavs ended up way over the salary cap by overpaying for their own free agents, which is the only way you can do it today. You can’t really add much salary via trade or free agency. To compete down the road, the Lakers will have to re-sign all of their key players and eventually accept going over the luxury tax threshold, which is around $10M higher than the salary cap. This will give them the players and salaries to make a major trade to improve the team.

There are three levels of teams: those over the luxury tax threshold (Knicks ($37.2), Mavs ($17.3), Magic ($7.8), Pacers ($4.7), Grizzlies ($3.7), Spurs ($0.9) last year), those under the salary cap (Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Toronto last year), and teams over the salary cap but below the luxury tax (Lakers, Sun, Jazz, Clippers, and every other team. As you can see, if you want to compete with the Mavs, you are going to have to go over the cap eventually. The Suns are struggling to avoid that but will have to in order to keep their roster together. They are already on the brink.

In some ways, signing your own players even if you plan to trade them will probably be required if the Lakers are to compete with the Mavs and Suns. It is the only way you can really add salaries or increase your payroll. And higher salaries allow a team to assemble more talent. If you are over the cap, then you cannot sign any free agent for more than the average NBA salary (the mid-level exception). And if you trade, you have to send away players earning approximately the same salary as the players you receive. That is why we will probably re-sign both Mihm and Walton, even if we overpay.

Once you’re way over the cap, you can then trade those players for players with approximately the same amount of salaries from other teams. Kwame Brown will be a blue chip fantasy player for the Lakers next year with a $9M expiring contract. That is why he is probably going to be included in a major trade by the Lakers to get help at the point guard position. I am hopeful that we can deal Kwame to New Jersey in the off season as part of a deal to get Jason Kidd, without having to give up Bynum.

Kwame’s expiring contract will be very valuable because he is also a tantalizing player who is not over the hill. Trading for players with an expiring contract or letting your own high priced players become free agents are the only two ways to reduce salary to get below the salary cap so that you can sign a high priced free agent, ala the Bulls last year. There will be a good number of high quality free agents next year that will only be able to be signed by a few terrible clubs. The only hope they have to go to a good team is via a sign and trade, which is much more difficult to put together than a straight free agent signing.

Tom

LakerTom, who are they going to trade kwame to? With that contract? Not unless there are other players included in some kind of multi-player swap. Nah, at $9 million, I think he's staying here.

with Aaron McKie not expected to come back next year, i hope the lakers try to get Laron Profit back - if he can still play after the Achilles heel ordeal. he could play some PG.

and on the cheap.

playoffs will be interesting. the offseason SHOULD be more interesting.

Wow, LakerTom that's amazing for the salary cap seminar.

I like the way you described Kwame, a tantalizing player who is not over the hill. I also like your optimiism that other teams will trade with us if we just increase the salary of our existing players. Based on their present salaries alone, I doubt if anyone will bite the bait. Anyway, let's see how it will work this offseason. JKidd is good but at 34 he's near over the hill, what about the younger draft who are fast and good shooters? (Hey, that fits the description of Smush) Actually, Smush was playing good last night at first half moving around , making cuts, defense and he was making shots. At that point, he should have been benched because the next acts were terrible, bad decision makings as a PG. Going back to future Lakers PG, I'm still worried that nobody will trade with the Lakers just like the event last summer then, it will be another year to be wasted on Kobe with a tweak roster a combination again of veteran scrubs, rookies and so-so MLE and BAE players while Spurs and Suns kept on upgrading their foreign recruits and never fall into trap of any kind of threshold, salarywise or talentwise.

Tha Show, LAL Fan, Pete McGuire, Laker Tom, Andrew Z, DR, Albert, Faith, Exhelodrvr

I just wanted to commend you all on your posts. You all provide excellent comments, insight, and knowledge of our team as well as the game itself on a consistent basis. Keep up the great dialogue. To everyone who was dismayed ( and rightfully so ) with the last shot that theoretically was drawn up for Smush, it could have been worse, it could have been designed for Lamar. AIR BALL. Lol. Let us all take a moment and pray that Kobe does not have a rare horrible game again any time soon. That happens about as often as the big self promoter ( Shaq ) turns down a Krispy Kreme. We unfortunately witnessed first hand who on this team will step up and help us defeat a mighty opponent like the Grizzlies ( minus 3 starters ). NOBODY. Ouch. Take care and keep the great posts coming gang. That obviously excludes Judith and Fakerz ( no explanation needed )

AK and BK,
I just wanted to take a minute to thank you guys for this blog. This is a great haven for all of us die hards who love the Lakers. Whether we all are able to celebrate together our teams victories and great performances or commiserate and vent after the diappointing losses, it is great to have this escape to share a common passion. The information, insight, knowledge, and opinions you share are outstanding and greatly appreciated. Thank you and keep up the great work.

Mitch R-

Thanks for the note. We do our best to make the site entertaining (and hopefully informative), and I'm glad you're enjoying it.

BK

" I'm sure PJ was doing his bullsh*t response to the media that he always does" Aint that the truth. The sad part is many in the media, excluding AK and BK , buy it and write it into their stories with ZERO follow-up. This is where I appreciate a write like TJ Simmers because he wouldnt let PJ weasel his way out with such lame statements. The question should have been, hey nine rings why is a guy with ZERO points in the 4th quarter taking the last shot with the greatest closer in the game on the floor.

I just read every comment. Best Lakers blog online.

AK,

the fact that kwame's deal was extended before last year's playoffs makes me feel worse.

thanks for the clarification though.

it's tough to right a ship when the guy who is steering it (kupchak) doesn't have a clue what he is supposed to do.

Michael A and Edwin:

If we assume that the Lakers do not want to trade Kobe or Lamar, then it becomes obvious that the only guy with a large enough salary to be traded for a player with a large salary on another team is Kwame. That’s why he was the primary player from a salary standpoint in the proposed trade with the Nets for Jason Kidd. The salary cap prevents teams over the cap from making deals unless the salaries of the players they receive are less than 125% of the salaries of the players they send.

When you have your salaries tied up in three players (Kobe, Lamar, and Kwame), including two that you won’t include in a trade, it becomes very difficult to deal for a player like KG without having to include every other player on your roster just to get enough salaries for the deal to qualify under the salary cap rules. That was part of the problem with the Nets deal. We would have had to go out and find three scrubs that weren’t as good as guys we traded to fill out the roster to 15 players.

With his expiring contract next year, Kwame will most likely be traded unless the Lakers really pull it together and have a great playoffs. And there will be buyers out there who will appreciate his top level man-to-man defense and be willing to bet some more NBA cash on his “potential.” That’s why Mike T. is in such a bad mood lately. He is smart enough to see the writing on the wall. Kwame is most likely gone in the off-season if the Lakers hope to trade for backcourt help. And Mihm is most likely going to be re-signed as a free agent to play center with Drew.

Tom

Laker Tom,

In your mentioning how difficult it is when so much salary is tied to 3 players (very true), it's worth noting how much Kobe's salary plays into that. Because of his vet status, he's getting a max deal that eventually pays almost 25 mil a season. It's way higher than what the recent CBA agreement allows guys to fetch these days. Thus, he's really taking up a big chunk of space.

Mind you, this isn't about Kobe not being worth the money. Clearly, the guy earns his paycheck. But because newer school guys like LBJ, Wade, Melo (etc.) make a max deal that's about 8-10 mil less than Kobe (depending on who), it becomes easier to build around them. Kobe's numbers make it harder to add pieces.

AK

AK:

Excellent point. I had not considered that. What are the rules about redoing Kobe's contract? Do you know? Thanks.

Tom

Laker Tom,

I wanna say Kobe can't just start up a new deal while in mid-contract, but that's sorta just spitballing. I really have no idea. Sorry.

AK

Ak & LakerTom,

Just to be specific on Kobe's contract, he will receive in
'07-08 - $ 19.4M
'08-'09 - 21.2M
'09-'10 - 23.0M
I want to clarify that before Kobe max'es his contract that will be season '11-'12. By that time the CBA could have been adjusted based on inflationary rates i.e. if Kobe is still the Kobe that we know at this time.

With regards to the idea trading Kwame with lingering questions on his marketability, Lakers could find another package that will be more than attractive than Kwame's exit

Salaries in '07-'08

Kwame - $ 9.0M

Other Alternative

Vlad - $ 5.6M
Cook - 3.5M
Bynum - $ 2.1M

Total - $11.2

I think the second alternative is more attractive than forcing the issue of a player who could not catch the ball, having difficulty in dunking and have only one specialty i.e. to check p/f's of other teams. The priority player heavily sought by fans LakerTom is not Jason Kidd but KG through straight trade, three team trade or mega trade as long as KG ends up in Lakers uniform. That move will contribute tranquility to restive Laker fans and bring excitement in this blog. If by next season, we still have the same set of players plus rookies and a couple of so-so MLE, then you will have a fan flight, it is hard to justify that kind of excuse to a fan who is paying $ 2500 per game and mega thousand on club boxes. If Toronto Raftor could rebuild their franchise out of Euro players + drafts, Chicago Bulls have better players than us as whole, in our case we are the 2nd biggest market in the league, I think there is a need of correcting that hiring philosophy at the Front Office

LakerTom

After dismantling the importance of Kwame, if KG comes to the Lakers in exchange of Vlad, Socks and Cook we have:

1Shammond/Farmar
2Kobe/Mo
3Lamar/Luke
4KG/Ronny
5Kwame/Mihm

That is not bad at all to have Kwame at 5 with KG as a back-up if he falters don't you think so?

LakerTom, I'm not disputing that if the Lakers want to improve quickly, trading Kwame is likely the best way, due to the salary. My question is, trade him to whom? Who's going to want him at that salary? That's one reason, from what I hear, that the Nets trade never came off in the first place. kwame needed to be a part of that from the Lakers perspective frot he salaries, but the Nets didn't want anything to do with him.

You need two teams to make a trade.

I would like out to point out one thing that hasn't worked out in the Lakers favor over the last few years. Off season aquisitions have simply not panned out and have left the team depleted and relying on untested and unreliable players. The list includes the two Vlads, Divac and Radmanovic, Aaron McKie, Shammond Williams, Brian Grant and Jim Jackson (a non-productive midseason hire). The Lakers haven't caught a break with any of these players and it shows with the product that they are putting on the floor these days.

In addition, the team has missed a few prime opportunities in the draft. In 2002, the Lakers chose Chris Jeffries At # 27 then traded him to Toronto for Kareem Rush and a flipflop of draft choices the following year. The power forward that they have been lusting after for years was still on the board and went at #35. His name was Carlos Boozer. Still is.

In 2003, the Lakers got Brian Cook at #24, missing out Carlos Delfino at #25, Leandro Barboso at #28 and Josh Howard at #29.

While I realize that hindsight is 20/20 and it's easy to handicap the draft after the fact, my point is that the Lakers haven't been lucky with the draft or their veteran acquisitions for a while and it shows. I believe that the management became complacent during the 3peat years and did not have a plan for replenishing the team or feel an urgent need to. After all, the expensive seats at Staples have waiting lists. It's time that the Lakers show some out of the box thinking and make an effort to get back up on top. Simply put, they need to get some better players. This past preseason, Devin Green was allowed to get away despite showing promise because they didn't wan't to eat either Williams' or McKie's contract. Yet they have paid Brian Grant almost 30 million dollars over the last two years. I guess it's not my money. I just hope that my beloved Lakers don't become a bottom line type of deal for the Busses. I hope winning hasn't lost its priority with them.

LakerTom and Edwin and whoever,

Players are not allowed to restructure their contracts according to the CBA. So Kobe can't go and re-do his deal in order to clear cap space for the team. Would have been a nice thing to do though.

Michael A,

The only reason I see a team wanting Kwame is because his $9 million will be expiring next year. He will be extremely valuable at the trade deadline next season. Hell, if he was expiring this year we probably could have been in the Gasol or any other star trade talks.

Too bad we didn't keep Brian Grant. You think a Brian Grant $15 million expiring deal, Andrew Bynum, and a 1st round pick wouldn't have looked good to Minnesota for KG?

AZ,

In the case of Shaq's contract with Miami, did they redo it or renegotiated to a new one w/c went down to $20M 5 years?

No way will JB would pay luxury taxes on a player who is not playing for the last two years.

Edwin,

He signed a new contract. He played the last year of his old contract and got paid $24 million or something, then signed a new extension at the aforementioned $20 per for 5 years. He wanted $30 million per for 3 years from the Lakers. He made more money overall on the Miami deal, just less per year.

Not signing Shaq was a smart business move by the Buss Family.

AZ & LakerTom,

Supposing we get KG $ 21M contract, can we excahnge it with three players with $ 11M total plus 1st rd draft pick, future 1st rd draft pick plus cash difference. Is that allowable? What is the $ value of those draft pick in the trade?