Report Card/Exit Interview: Kwame Brown
Report Card: Give Kwame Brown credit. There are many ways folks will describe his career, but "boring" ain't one of them. There always seems to be something to discuss when it comes to the team's starting center. Off the top of my head, this season alone featured a myriad of injuries (one of which prompted Phil Jackson to implement prop comedy to cajole a return), a brilliant Game 3 sandwiched between four other pretty ordinary playoff efforts, and an off-court incident that really ... wait for it ... takes the cake.
Came up with that all by myself, folks. Such witticisms are just one reason I make a living as a writer.
Kwame remains a hotbed of debate in part because everyone isn't demanding the same things from him. If you're hoping for a two-way player, the bobbles and blown layups leave one more frustrated than Tom Sizemore's sponsor. But for me, the muffs fall somewhere between "laugh to keep from crying" and "head-shaking." Honestly, the biggest reason I hate when Kwame fumbles the rock is because it not only represents a potential turnover or fruitless possession, but because Kwame's actually a pretty good passer, a skill often negated by an inability to keep ball movement flowing. When it comes to Kwame's offense, I'm less concerned with how many points he scores as just simply being a threat to score, period. As long as attention must be paid by whoever's guarding him (so the Lakers aren't playing four on five), I don't really care if Kwame puts up the "15" from the "15/10" card Phil Jackson gave him during the last off-season. It would be sweet, of course, but I won't lose sleep over it ...
... assuming the "10" part is covered. And there lies my biggest beef with Kwame. Whether because he doesn't anticipate a ball's flight well, doesn't try hard enough for loose balls not in his immediate vicinity, doesn't want the rebound enough to rip the rock from a teammate's mitts (or, as I suspect, all of the above), Kwame's simply not a good enough rebounder. His 10.4 rp48 isn't great compared to other NBA centers or even his fellow Laker bigs. He's barely out-boarding Brian Cook, who doesn't exactly have a glass-eater's rep. Any post player who prides himself on D will pride himself on rebounding, which is why I expect it--among other things--from Kwame if he's going to become a true (and complete) defensive force.
Obviously, there's no denying how well Kwame does bodying up the Tim Duncans of the world and denying position. He could be among the league's top five at that particular skill set. But there's more to patrolling the paint than just being an immovable one-on-one force. He needs to rotate better, prevent more layups by guys other than just his man, block more shots and generally create a greater variety of havoc. Even if Kwame becomes nothing more than a poor man's Ben Wallace, no worries. You can do considerably worse than that. But at this point, he's more "Homeless Man's" Big Ben than simply "poor." If defense is destined to become Kwame's calling card, his needs to be better-rounded. And if he's concerned about making an impression on the Lakers--or another team--during a contract year (I mention this because he later mentions it), it would serve him well to improve upon these aspects I'm mentioning. Final Grade: C+
-AK
Kwame Brown's Exit Interview
Q: What do you think at the end of the season, with the team starting out 26-13, then everything gradually coming to a halt? How disappointing is that for you?
Kwame Brown: It's very disappointing, especially sitting and watching and being hurt. Being injured. We talked in our exit interview about (me) being out there for 75, 80 games and not missing 41 games. It wasn't my fault that I rolled my ankle, but at the same time, I did miss a lot of games.
Q: Have you decided when or if you'll be having surgery?
KB: I gotta go see a doctor tomorrow about my shoulder and then I see another doctor Wednesday about my ankle in Indianapolis.
Q: So your summer vacation starts when?
KB: (Smiles) It's not a vacation. Summer rehab starts now. I'm gonna leave next week, Monday and I gotta be there next week to see (ankle specialist) Dr. Porter.
Q: Is it the bursitis in the shoulder or something else?
KB: Yeah, well it's always bursitis. I have a torn supraspinatus and we're going to take out the bursitis. I've been playing with it, so I just gotta deal with it now.
AK: Pretend for a second that I don't know what a suprapinatus is.
KB: It's part of your rotator cuff.
Q: It'll require surgery to fix that?
KB: We're not sure. I don't want to jump the gun. We'll let the doctors decide.
Q: What about the ankle?
KB: Ankle's he same. I'm gonna go see Dr. Porter. He's gonna give me three weeks to lay off it and see if it calms down.
Q: If you have surgery on both parts of your body ...
KB: It's going to be a long summer. (Laughs)
Q: Can you have it all at once?
KB: I don't know.
Q: I thought the shoulder had gotten better, that the pain had gone away. Has it gotten worse?
KB: It went away because I haven't been lifting on it and doing any training on it. I'd just been rehabbing it and icing it. That's about it.
Q: Will that set back your training some?
KB: Yeah, but hopefully, I can either do one or the other. If I have to do ankle surgery, then I won't do the shoulder surgery. I'll just wait.
Q: Which is the bigger priority?
KB: My foot.
Q: Is the shoulder something you can play with?
KB: Yeah, I can just rehabbing it and just play with it. But the foot, you definitely gotta fix.
Q: What do you think this team can do to get yourself to the next level?
KB: Well, we gotta get healthy for one. And then we gotta play together more. I think at times of adversity, we just split up. I think we gotta be more of a team unit and support everyone. Not just think you have to do it on your own.
Q: What were some of the things Mitch and Phil talked to you about during your interview?
KB: Mine was interesting. (Laughs) They talked about playing. I've been hurt for so long, so we just addressed what am I gonna do, when am I gonna do it, how fast am I gonna get back here to start rehabbing.
AK: The '05-'06 season ended with you on a very nice roll and then you started this season hurt. Do you think that hurt your chances of continuing that flow?
KB: Yeah, of course. Any time you get injured, you gotta take a time period to get back into rhythm and get back into shape. This year's been crazy for me because most of the times, I didn't practice. I've just been playing in the games.
AK: Does the season almost feel like unfinished business, in a way?
KB: Unfinished business, if that's the way you want to put it. I feel bad, because I wasn't there for most of the season. 41 games is a lot of games. When I got hurt, we were playing a lot of the four-games-in-five-nights type of deal. Back to back to back.
Q: Kobe has expressed some frustration the last couple days, talking about changes needing to be made. Do you feel the same way? What do you feel about the way this team is headed?
KB: That's not my job. My job is to get as healthy as possible and be the best I can to try to help the team. I don't talk about making changes. When you start talking about that, then you're not a basketball player, you're a personnel guy. That's not me. I'm a basketball player.
AK: Aside from just getting healthy, what do you want to work on in terms of helping this team get to the next level?
KB: Once I'm healthy, I have confidence that we're a better team and I'm a better player. I just have to get through all these injuries. We had a good thing rolling once I got back from the shoulder. We were winning a lot of games. Then I got hurt, went down with the ankle. Tough adjustment.
Q: It seems like there's two schools of thought. One that the Lakers are young and a lot of guys were hurt, so if you put the same team out there, healthy and a year older, that's how you get better. Then there's the other school that says changes need to be made. Do you think you fall into the first one?
KB: When you lose like we have, there's really no right or wrong answer. Hindsight is 20/20. Everybody's a genius after it's over. Who knows? You could make changes and end up worse. You could stay with the team you have and end up better. Or worse. But I think the longer you have guys in this system, and this is not an easy system to learn, you get adjusted to it. The longer you have guys in the system, I think the better it's gonna be.
Q: Are you gonna be interested in the developments coming out of Laker camp this summer? Or are you just focusing on your own things?
KB: I'm just focusing on me. I'm at the point where I gotta get healthy. It's definitely a critical summer for me with all the injuries I've had. It being a contract year next year, I definitely gotta be real focused on this summer.
"It being a contract year next year, I definitely gotta be real focused on this summer." - Kwame
In the previous years, summertime is party time, next year it's time for showmanship being a contract year, they should not forget the importance of Charlie Brown ooops, I mean Kwame.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | May 09, 2007 at 06:12 PM
AK/BK-
Is it possible to alter Kwame's contract so that he is paid the amount of money that he should be getting paid?
Posted by: ajax | May 09, 2007 at 06:14 PM
I like Kwame...but man, "It's a contract year...I definitely gotta be real focused" ? How about the other year that we signed you for, maybe it was good to be focused then?
Really I'm not hating on Kwame...I love what he does on defense and really I think we need him so bad, we'll take the fumbling (which incidentally is all mental)...but he should always be thinking about improving every season, not cause it's a "contract season." To each his own I guess.
Get healthy Kwame, and use the speed you've shown us...we need your defense.
Posted by: Faith | May 09, 2007 at 06:18 PM
As I said the other day ...that 'being in a contract year' thing irritates me.it shouldnt make a difference to a guy like him...I also found an interview the other day where Kwames asked about his poor rookie eating habits and he says something along the lines of 'you dont get to where I got to if you dont look after yourself'.Money does seem to be a focus and I think to a certain degree he feels by making it to the NBA and making some cash hes done enough...
Having said that because he is Kwame ...people tend to forget the good and remember the bad...people dont give him enough leeway for the injuries and see to choose to forget the effect on the teams performance when he is not in the lineup and forget the context of his ending last season and starting this one with a good attitude only to get injured....and when he does what he is supposed to do it is a different team.I also think he deserves some points for handling the development of Bynum with class.
I also have said recently that while he is overpriced (and it is tough to have a team when the guys you are paying big money arent really producing) I think people also choose not to look at what other centres are being paid.Do you pay extra becasue Kwame was deemed to have potential? sure.
The lakers invested alot and gambled to get him becasue they knew they needed a big guy and it hasnt really paid off.I can see why people would want him gone but I think its also worth remembering that what he contributes (even now) isnt that easy to replace so it needs to be approached with caution.Its not the same as ditching Smush...while trading for Artest might seem ok I think going into next season with Bynum and Mihm at centre would be a mistake.if we have learnt anything from this season it is that band aids dont work and if you want to compete you simply have to have legit players...and in the west particularly it means a quality defensive big man of some sort.
what we do...I dont really know I think it is really complicated.But I do know if we are going to move Kwame we need to get at least a servicable big man back somehow...and thats not easy to do (otherwise the lakers probably wouldnt have traded for Kwame in the first place.)
Posted by: Kiwi | May 09, 2007 at 06:25 PM
"The Lakers Are In A Pickle: Call it Déjà vu, but haven’t the Lakers been here before? Star player says massive changes need to be made… coach says massive changes need to be made - this is not new ground for the Lakers. Kobe is genuine when he says he wants changes made. He doesn’t hold a ton of leverage, but when he speaks people tend to record it and play it over and over again. Phil Jackson is not that far behind Kobe in saying he wants improvements. Kobe Bryant holds an option for free agency in July of 2009, Phil Jackson is playing with a contract extension, but unwilling to anchor himself to a mediocre ball club. Lakers management seems reluctant to give away their chips to satisfy Kobe’s short-term needs, but the time is coming were they will need to make a choice for their fans – win now, or build for the future – the Lakers simply do not have the assets to do both. Kobe wants Jermaine O’Neal or Kevin Garnett – the fans wants Jermaine O’Neal or Kevin Garnett, the question will management answer the request, or simply re-shuffle and hope that Kobe wants to win enough to carry 12 guys into the post-season again?" - Hoopsworld.com
This is our image in the league, on stalemate. We want good players but who wants our players?
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | May 09, 2007 at 06:32 PM
I love Kwame's defense, but for us to get a really good, or great player his expiring contract is gonna be a huge key. I wouldn't mind us keeping the same squad as this year but unless everybody is healthy for 82 games (which is highly unlikely) we'll end up in the same situation. I've got love for the guys that have held us down these last few years (Smush, Kwame, and Sasha), but now it's time to make a change.
Posted by: Weave-Man | May 09, 2007 at 06:36 PM
Kwame a good defender..........Where? he's an average post-up defender....doesn't intimidate or alter anyones penetrattion, very very weak rebounder, and shot blocking is basically non existent.... and how many more times are we gonna scream DUNK and watch someone more agressive and atheletic block his shot.
Detroit has about 4 guys at the power forward position that would give you way more than kwame with the same amount of minutes played.......offensively and defensively. Webber, Rasheed, Mcydess and a young rookie called Amare Johnson..........
and were still trying to consider whether kwame is a keeper.........Get real. we need a serious upgrade immediately. if were going through another season with that type of player at that position..........the season is already half way over before it starts.
when kobe said do something now.......trust me.......KWAME was included.
Posted by: Dion | May 09, 2007 at 06:42 PM
Sorry, but i said this months ago.......if you know that smush just doesn't have the skills why waste a whole season letting him advertise for some D-leauge teams bench. We could have used those minutes to futher develop farmar at the position..........it definitely couldn't have made the season any worse.
How long will we make excuses for Phil............that's just ignorant
Posted by: Dion | May 09, 2007 at 06:53 PM
Edwin...
I think if we can posssibly do a deal to bring in the right guy or guys in we should do it...if we cant that is where it gets complicated ..or downright scary.
Im with Kobe on this one (despite the fact he should have kept his mouth shut publicly for a multitude of reasons)...I mean when he resigned they must have promised him that they would build around him to compete again as soon as possible.If they can make some reasonable moves by trading they youngsters they simply have to do it and I think they will as long as the deal is reasonable...I just hope someone wants them and it doesnt become a case of the team being forced to accept the best player available who isnt really all that good.
Posted by: Kiwi | May 09, 2007 at 06:56 PM
kwame brown C++++??????????, You must be nuts!!!. I will never forget the time when he kept looking for his headband instead of going back to defense. Let's face it would be the worst 1st draft pick if it wasn't for olowokandi
Posted by: karl | May 09, 2007 at 07:02 PM
Dion...we would have gone a long way with a 19 year old centre and a rookie point guard...this season wasnt about developing Farmar...it was about putting the best guy out there and like it or not Smush was the best guy...I didnt see Farmar do much to steal Smushes spot.
We didnt know the season was going to be a right off when it started...
Chris Webber good defensively? are you sure? I think his current teamates probably make him look ALOT better than he is...wheras kwames very likely make him look worse.
Posted by: Kiwi | May 09, 2007 at 07:06 PM
Phil definitely should take some of the blame for how he handled this 'injured' squad. What I sincerely hope is that there is not a conflict between Phil and Mitch. If there is I don't put it past Phil to 'favor' his guys. If this is also what happened this year, then I hope Phil learned that nobody wins with this type of cooperation.
The comments about Phil wanting more personnel control in any new contract was what brought on the paragraph above.
Posted by: Craig W. | May 09, 2007 at 07:08 PM
Karl,
"kwame brown C++++??????????, You must be nuts!!!. I will never forget the time when he kept looking for his headband instead of going back to defense."
Fortunately for Kwame, I did forget when making out the grades. That was pretty bad. And in fairness, I only gave him one "+," not four. haha.
All kidding aside, I wavered between a C+ and a C. I basically went + in sort of a "tie goes to the runner" kinda way. Whatever the hell that means.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | May 09, 2007 at 07:27 PM
Kwame Brown's Report Card:
Passing D+
Rebounding C-
Scoring D-
Agility A-
Speed B+
Vertical A-
Defense B
Durability F
Hustle D+
Basketball IQ F-
Consistency D-
Coordination D+
Likeability/Chemistry C
Leadership F
Notes:
Final Grade is D. Just like Luke Walton, Kwame can potentially be a decent NBA player, as long as he is surrounded by three to four legit or potential all-stars to cover for his many deficiencies. Lakers will NEVER win a championship if Kwame is one of the MAIN pieces of the team.
Conclusion:
NO PASS. His expiring contract will be a huge asset for the Lakers in any big trades this summer.
Posted by: mitchell | May 09, 2007 at 07:29 PM
Lakers Blog:
So we all agree we need some help at point guard now that Smush has departed. So here is a list of all of the point guards now in the NBA, their team, and their current salary. I have ranked the list so that the highest paid and presumably more experienced and talented player in most cases are at the top. So who on this list do we think could help the Lakers? My favorites are Jason Kidd and Andre Miller.
Player Team Salary $M
Iverson, Allen Denver Nuggets $20.10
Marbury, Stephon New York Knicks $20.10
Kidd, Jason New Jersey Nets $19.70
Davis, Baron Golden State Warriors $16.40
Francis, Steve New York Knicks $16.40
Bibby, Mike Sacramento Kings $13.50
Johnson, Joe Atlanta Hawks $12.70
Wade, Dwyane Miami Heat $12.50
Arenas, Gilbert Washington Wizards $11.90
Nash, Steve Phoenix Suns $11.40
Hinrich, Kirk Chicago Bulls $11.00
Parker, Tony San Antonio Spurs $10.50
Miller, Andre Philadelphia 76ers $9.40
Williams, Jason Miami Heat $8.90
Terry, Jason Dallas Mavericks $8.30
Ford, T.J. Toronto Raptors $8.00
Claxton, Speedy Atlanta Hawks $6.80
Billups, Chauncey Detroit Pistons $6.80
Snow, Eric Cleveland Cavaliers $6.70
Ridnour, Luke Seattle SuperSonics $6.50
Fisher, Derek Utah Jazz $6.40
Tinsley, Jamaal Indiana Pacers $6.30
Cassell, Sam Los Angeles Clippers $6.10
Hudson, Troy Minnesota Timberwolves $5.90
Watson, Earl Seattle SuperSonics $5.80
Daniels, Antonio Washington Wizards $5.80
Jackson, Bobby NO/Oklahoma City Hornets $5.70
James, Mike Minnesota Timberwolves $5.60
Barbosa, Leandro Phoenix Suns $5.60
Barry, Brent San Antonio Spurs $5.60
Gordon, Ben Chicago Bulls $4.90
Alston, Rafer Houston Rockets $4.50
Livingston, Shaun Los Angeles Clippers $4.40
Stoudamire, Damon Memphis Grizzlies $4.30
Knight, Brevin Charlotte Bobcats $4.20
Jones, Damon Cleveland Cavaliers $4.20
Harris, Devin Dallas Mavericks $4.00
Jasikevicius, Sarunas Golden State Warriors $4.00
Arroyo, Carlos Orlando Magic $4.00
Williams, Deron Utah Jazz $4.00
Banks, Marcus Phoenix Suns $3.90
Sura, Bob Houston Rockets $3.80
McInnis, Jeff Charlotte Bobcats $3.60
Paul, Chris NO/Oklahoma City Hornets $3.60
Dooling, Keyon Orlando Magic $3.60
Lue, Tyronn Atlanta Hawks $3.50
Ollie, Kevin Philadelphia 76ers $3.50
Felton, Raymond Charlotte Bobcats $3.20
Duhon, Chris Chicago Bulls $3.20
Atkins, Chucky Memphis Grizzlies $3.00
Boykins, Earl Milwaukee Bucks $3.00
Roy, Brandon Portland Trail Blazers $2.90
Dixon, Juan Toronto Raptors $2.90
Johnson, Anthony Atlanta Hawks $2.80
Dickau, Dan Portland Trail Blazers $2.80
Foye, Randy Minnesota Timberwolves $2.60
Telfair, Sebastian Boston Celtics $2.50
Calderon, Jose Toronto Raptors $2.50
Hunter, Lindsey Detroit Pistons $2.30
Redick, J.J. Orlando Magic $2.00
Allen, Tony Boston Celtics $1.90
West, Delonte Boston Celtics $1.90
Spanoulis, Vassilis Houston Rockets $1.90
Williams, Mo Milwaukee Bucks $1.90
Nelson, Jameer Orlando Magic $1.90
Vujacic, Sasha Los Angeles Lakers $1.80
Williams, Shammond Los Angeles Lakers $1.80
McCants, Rashad Minnesota Timberwolves $1.80
Udrih, Beno San Antonio Spurs $1.70
Rondo, Rajon Boston Celtics $1.40
McLeod, Keith Indiana Pacers $1.40
Blake, Steve Denver Nuggets $1.30
Robinson, Nate New York Knicks $1.30
Douby, Quincy Sacramento Kings $1.30
Armstrong, Darrell Indiana Pacers $1.20
Payton, Gary Miami Heat $1.20
Hodge, Julius Milwaukee Bucks $1.20
Williams, Marcus New Jersey Nets $1.20
Jack, Jarrett Portland Trail Blazers $1.20
Martin, Darrick Toronto Raptors $1.20
Carter, Anthony Denver Nuggets $1.10
Head, Luther Houston Rockets $1.10
Brown, Shannon Cleveland Cavaliers $1.00
Ager, Maurice Dallas Mavericks $1.00
Farmar, Jordan Los Angeles Lakers $1.00
Lowry, Kyle Memphis Grizzlies $1.00
Pargo, Jannero NO/Oklahoma City Hornets $1.00
Vaughn, Jacque San Antonio Spurs $1.00
Collins, Mardy New York Knicks $0.90
Rodriguez, Sergio Portland Trail Blazers $0.90
Ivey, Royal Atlanta Hawks $0.80
Stoudamire, Salim Atlanta Hawks $0.80
Wagner, Dajuan Golden State Warriors $0.80
Greene, Orien Indiana Pacers $0.80
Hart, Jason Los Angeles Clippers $0.80
Parker, Smush Los Angeles Lakers $0.80
Greer, Lynn Milwaukee Bucks $0.80
Williams, Louis Philadelphia 76ers $0.80
Wilks, Mike Seattle SuperSonics $0.80
Mason, Roger Washington Wizards $0.80
Ray, Allan Boston Celtics $0.70
Gibson, Daniel Cleveland Cavaliers $0.70
Wafer, Von Denver Nuggets $0.70
Blalock, Will Detroit Pistons $0.70
Ellis, Monta Golden State Warriors $0.70
Lucas, John Houston Rockets $0.70
Conroy, Will Los Angeles Clippers $0.70
Ewing, Daniel Los Angeles Clippers $0.60
Wright, Bracey Minnesota Timberwolves $0.60
Diener, Travis Orlando Magic $0.60
Price, Ronnie Sacramento Kings $0.60
Miles, C.J. Utah Jazz $0.60
Taylor, Donell Washington Wizards $0.60
Barea, Jose Juan Dallas Mavericks $0.40
Harrington, Junior Memphis Grizzlies $0.40
Hite, Robert Miami Heat $0.40
Quinn, Chris Miami Heat $0.40
Brown, Dee Utah Jazz $0.40
Farmer, Desmon Seattle SuperSonics $0.30
Roberson, Anthony Golden State Warriors $0.20
McCray, Chris Milwaukee Bucks $0.20
Graham, Stephen Portland Trail Blazers $0.20
Livingston, Randy Seattle SuperSonics $0.20
Bozeman, Cedric Atlanta Hawks $0.10
Williams, Alvin Los Angeles Clippers $0.10
Chase, Brian Utah Jazz $0.10
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 09, 2007 at 07:31 PM
Good post Kiwi.
Posted by: Faith | May 09, 2007 at 07:33 PM
There's no doubt that Kwame has significant value as someone who can guard the elite post players in the L one-on-one. At say $5 mil per year, he'd be a luxury for an elite team coming off the bench for said match-ups.
A reliable starter, however, he is not and likely will never be (although he is not so old as a big to write him off just yet).
That being said, I'm on the fence with what to do with the guy. He's a potentially valuable trading chip as a veteran big with an expiring contract. However, if we used him as part of a package to acquire the low-post offensive threat that our team so desperately needs, we would then be giving up the player that could do a great deal to ease that low-post player's defensive responsibilities vs. the elite teams. Yes, quite a pickle.
Posted by: Sean P. | May 09, 2007 at 07:41 PM
LakerTom,
Thanks for the list. If the Lakers didn't employ the triangle, I would like Jason Kidd, but not at $19 million. Kobe, Lamar and Kidd would take up about $52 million out of the projected $55 million salary cap.
Andre Miller is not very athletic. His defense and three point shooting (very important in our system) are average at best. Don't you remember him on the Clippers?
I like Antonio Daneils and Earl Watson. They both play pretty solid D and are farily cheap, but these guys are borderline backup point guards in the league.
I would love to see Mo Williams from Milwakee, who is a free agent. He is tenacious, athletic, very quick, plays very solid D, has good outside shooting, and is young. He will definatelyl demand more than the mid-level, but if Jerry Buss was being serious about willing to go over the cap, than Mo Williams would be a perfect fit. My #1 choice would be Billups, but it seems pretty certain he will resign will Detroit.
Posted by: mitchell | May 09, 2007 at 07:58 PM
Is anyone else watching the end of this UTAH GS game, we should get Dfish back as our pg. that would be perfect
Posted by: Gabe | May 09, 2007 at 08:35 PM
Dion,
you need to get over it man!!!
Playing Smush was our only option if you want the team to do good in the playoffs THIS YEAR.
if he could've played the way he did last year or improve on it, we would've been the 6th or 5th seed. At the very least, we would've played against the Suns better.
So you cant have it both ways. You cant rebuild and play Farmar and at the same time WIN and take a gamble with Smush.
If Farmar woulda played big minutes all year, we would not have been 26 -13 to start the season. You saw how Nash schooled him in the playoffs. Farmar had a very good learning experience this year. Watchout for tha kid next year. but for this year....
Phil tried to win now and play the guy with more experience. Hoping he would come around.
How can you fault him for that?
C'mon man!!!
Posted by: Korey | May 09, 2007 at 08:35 PM
Kiwi,
my bad. I said basically the same thing as you.
Good post on your part!!!
Posted by: Korey | May 09, 2007 at 08:38 PM
Guys and girls i know its not about kwame but golden state are about to tie the series........And now to kwame Brown.......I hate to say it but something tells me that his contract is going to play a very big part in what the lakers choose to do this summer...GRADE......D+.....that plus is for the good playoff game ....the D is because we didnt get to see enough of him through out the year.I think that we need to see a complete season without any injuries and then i think he probably would be able to get into a FLOW and improve like he did last season........and maybe not throw cake at anyone
Posted by: Thirty 2 | May 09, 2007 at 08:49 PM
D Fish should never have been let go. He got 6 years for 30 mil and it should have come out of Jerry's loose change. We would have won the Phoenix series last year with Fish and we got absolutely nothing for the MLEs we spent in the interim. Could have gone over the cap to sign him since he was a Laker.
They figured young run and gun with Rudy T but they figured wrong... again. He wouldn't have been the difference but he would have been a difference.
Meanwhile, a celeb whose tight with the Laker org told me he heard talk of MO, LO, Bynum for JO. If that's really what INdiana wants for him, that would be yet another mistake in a long line of them. Love the rumors though, this is a lot more fun than the season was.
Posted by: Vman | May 09, 2007 at 09:25 PM
Didn't PJ seem to indicate in his interview we needed to uprade that position, getting someone more reliable? I didn't hear the interview, just your thoughts earlier.
Fatty, loyal to my Lakers since 1963. And D*^^%, did GS ever blow it !!!
Posted by: Fatty | May 09, 2007 at 09:34 PM
WOW ...did golden state blow it or what..They had that in the bag
Posted by: Thirty 2 | May 09, 2007 at 09:45 PM
This blog has been rocking the last few days, excellant thoughts, good humor, and only a little silly hating going on.
Kudos to the blog and props to AK/Bk "Those wild and crazy guys" for making these exit interviews work nicely.
Perched high a top Arizona, Fatty
Buenos Noches, Bloggerinos !!!
Posted by: Fatty | May 09, 2007 at 09:54 PM
I think if anybody had saw the Jazz game on wed. we all can say the first mistake Mitch and the guys did when retooling the lakers after the lost in the finals to the pistons was to let Derek Fisher. And if anything Kobe needs or neededFisher and it is just unfortunate. Fisher is a class act and I'll always rout for him no matter what team he plays for. As for Kwame, he will be part of a trade package so yall can kiss him goodbye. Sorry Faith.
Posted by: wow | May 09, 2007 at 09:57 PM
It was absolutely fabulous to see D. Fish have that finish.
That said, the Lakers let him go because GS gave him that absurd contract. Because of Utah’s situation, they could absorb the contract and get all that grit and heart. Los Angeles CANNOT absorb D. Fish’s contract, period, period, period.
Let’s not take this any farther.
P.S. His contract was for approx $45M, not $30M, and the Buss's don't have unlimited pockets. I realize we fans find that hard to believe, but it is true and this is still a business. They are not Mark Cuban and even he is starting to reign it in.
Posted by: Craig W. | May 09, 2007 at 10:01 PM
V-Man, you are so right about D-Fish. The guy is clutch and has enough heart for an entire team
Meanwhile, it's going to be hard to deal Kwame until everyone can see how he comes out of his surgery. Trades are never official until a guy passes his physical.
That means, we have precious little trade bait outside of young Andrew, Cookie and VladRad until late in the game.
We've all got our expectations sky high for next year, but wow! How do we meet them?
Posted by: Rick Friedman | May 09, 2007 at 10:08 PM
BRING BACK DEREK FISHER!!! Do it cupcake. offer a second round pick or something.
Posted by: Gabe | May 09, 2007 at 10:10 PM
ANSWER I'D MOST LIKE TO HAVE SEEN IN THE EXIT INTERVIEW:
Q: What do you think this team can do to get to the next level?
A: Trade me.
Posted by: Jay Jay | May 09, 2007 at 10:12 PM
Kwame and Cook for Jermaine would be better ! We need a third scorer..Maybe Pierce from Boston !
Posted by: LALAKERLOVER | May 09, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Kwame is not a team guy, the comments that he made about thinking of himself because of contract year, and saying it wasn't my fault that I got hurt. it wasn't but he could've played injured like Lamar and Luke, Lamar was in worse shape than he was.
I think the people in washigton had it right about Kwame, he only cares about him and that's it.
Hopefully he's gone next year
Everybody from the Lakers tried to welcome him, Kobe telling him not to worry about anything that the pressure was on Kobe not on Kwame, Lamar trying to lift his spirits by saying he was the strongest player in the nba and Phil saying the team needed Kwame to be good and none of that made Kwame try hard, so he just doesn't have it.
Posted by: lakofan | May 09, 2007 at 10:37 PM
i veto any further involvement of the lakers and Jermaine O’neal
like we’ve seen so far, systems do really make or break players, and jermaine would certainly be broken in the triangle. As such i've created a list of players who could or could not be on the team they play for now, next year! With the trade assets the lakers possess now some of them could be had for the right price
players who I think would fit into the current system:
Andrei Kirelenko
Zack Randolph
Zaza Pauchulia
Earl Watson
Morris Peterson
Ben Gordon
Pau Gasol
Andre Iguodala
Posted by: adam kiley | May 09, 2007 at 10:39 PM
I'm lossing patience with Kwame. He doesn't really care about the Lakers. He care more about himself. His offense is terrible and his defense is incomlete. No heart, no place in this team.
Posted by: gdchild | May 09, 2007 at 10:40 PM
Lamar and Kwame are injured and probably will require surgery.
Other than that we seem to think we can get silver for the crumbs we have on the table. Arggggggh! Get realistic. There will probably be a trade this summer, but I doubt any of us will celebrate it much.
Posted by: Craig W. | May 09, 2007 at 10:40 PM
i think 6 for 36.8 mill. is the correct ammount, not 45 or 35.
so about 6,125,000 a year
Posted by: adam kiley | May 09, 2007 at 10:44 PM
Jermaine is not leaving Indiana he said so today, he said he would never ask for a trade, that he's loyal to the pacers.
He never said he would like to play for the knicks or any team, he said IF the team wants to trade him, he would leave, but he would not ask for a specific team, that he trusts the owner of the pacers.
Posted by: lakofan | May 09, 2007 at 10:48 PM
what are you tallking about! was that directed at me?
kwame, bynum, this years first rounder, and the next could entertain many teams. As could either brian cook or vlad radmanovic who can shoot, and every team is always looking for more shooters.
my suggestions
kwame, vlad, et all, and 2 second rounders for either randolph or kirelenko
bynum, next two first rounders, and cook for zaza pauchulia and their first rounder
sign morris peterson to the MLE
somehow trade for earl watson, but i don't know how with whats left. Maybe sasha and maurice
Posted by: adam kiley | May 09, 2007 at 10:51 PM
Lets say a prayer for Derek Fisher's little baby girl, she had cancer surgery today and she's just a baby. Lets pray for Derek and his family.
Derek will always be a Laker and he needs the support of the Laker fans in this very hard time for him and his family.
God bless Derek and his family, specially his little girl.
Posted by: lakofan | May 09, 2007 at 10:55 PM
Vman,
You're absolutely right. Mitch Cupcake, so stressed out in parrying blows with Shaq in 2004 in protecting his boss, Jerry by bellyacking on the media at the same time, so concerned of Kobe's serenading to the Clippers, hastily moved the big Baby while forgetting the contract of "0.4 clutch shooter" D'Fish which was expiring as well. Fisher never complained when Gary Payton took his job. That was a pathetic BLUNDER by cupcake to let this fish go out of LA, up to now I haven't recovered just the thoughts of that incident. C'mon how can you forget Fisher who started with Kobe. As you have heard what Magic said on TNT, one of the reasons why Lakers were won those three consecutive championships because of the great role players in the team like: Horry, Fisher and Fox. Fish was our Laker flopper who puts his body at risk just to get that ball. This is just one farewell stories that's hard to forget in the Southland (It is like the story of Georgia Frontiere, from nobody to somebody after assuming the ownership of the Rams as a result of mob hit (?) on Rosenbloom then in 1995 the high class call girl decided to move the team to St. Louis after all the trouble of Anaheim in accommodating her silly capriciousness.)
Whatever Cupcake did afterwards were series of PG Karma, venturing from Tierre Brown, Chicky Atkins, Smush Parker and the latest is Jordan Farmar. Combined these four PG's you can't equate them to Derek Fisher 0.4 clutch with the heart of Champion and a perfect gentleman. We may move on but there are some characters that are hard to forget and also some characters that are hard to forgive.
I pray for his daughter, I hope she survives her crisis..
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | May 09, 2007 at 11:05 PM
Jay Jay,
Haha, wouldn't that be lovely. Sad but true.
Posted by: fkillah | May 09, 2007 at 11:25 PM
God bless Fisher and his daughter.
Too bad the Laker management let Horry and Fisher go after they both asked for higher salaries.
Posted by: gdchild | May 09, 2007 at 11:52 PM
Craig W
D. Fish made 5.3 last year. It's a 5 year deal in Utah, it was 6 yrs in the original GS deal. That adds up to somewhere in the 30's and I was told he would have taken a bit less to stay put. We don't want him now, but back when he knew how to play with Kobe, never quit, didn't shrink in the clutch, played D, was a class act and deserved a pay day. It basically was sub mid level Vlad money and who would you rather have on the floor? We've been Smushin' our way through seasons ever since that deal went down.
Posted by: Vman | May 10, 2007 at 12:03 AM
Awww i didnt know that about Fish's daughter, I'll keep them in my prayers
We love you Derek "0.4" Fisher, Come back, PLEASE!
Posted by: bobie | May 10, 2007 at 12:05 AM
Ak,
You covered Kwame Brown so well it doesn't leave any room for additional comments (at least for me)
Great writing and the best part:
"But for me, the muffs fall somewhere between "laugh to keep from crying" and "head shaking."
I just wish you'd comment more on Kwame's $9MIL salary. When I compare his salary to Eddy Curry $9MIL, Dwight Howard $6MIL and Mehmet Okur $8.5MIL than I have to "laugh to keep from crying" and "head shaking."
Cyrus
Posted by: Cyrus | May 10, 2007 at 12:25 AM
Derek Fisher,
You have the heart of a TRUE Champion. We feel for you. Every single person in my family is praying for your baby girl.
We love you and we miss you.
You were the soul of the Lakers.
Best of Luck
Posted by: Cyrus | May 10, 2007 at 01:32 AM
Ack!! Don't say "Tierre Brown"!
I have, up 'til now, blocked that from my memory.
wow, I'm having flashbacks to David Rivers trying in vain to feed KAJ in the post...the horror.
Posted by: E Homp | May 10, 2007 at 01:56 AM
Faith your post was good too...we are of a rare breed...maybe we should start the 'able to see both sides of the Kwame argument bandwagon' haha
Korey...you summed it up well...and Dion of course Phil has to shoulder some blame for the way the team collapsed.But he also has done a very good job on the whole the last couple of years.If you look at specific decisions from any coach theres always going to be bad ones and with Phil he is unorthodox so some of his specific decisions look really senseless...but you cant argue with the guys results overall in his career or with this team the last two years...as a coach you make a call and you sometimes dont have alot of control as to the outcome.If it works you are a genius and if not you are an idiot....on a bad team its just that much harder to look like a genius.Alot of things you are making decisions about on a bad team are a no win situation anyway.
Posted by: Kiwi | May 10, 2007 at 03:34 AM
On the topic of what needs to be done, here is an article which I thought would provide an objective view on what teams, particularly the Lakers, need to to in the off-season to improve themselves. I was wrong. The author is just another hater trying to sell an article at the expense of Kobe and the Lakers. Check it out...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/paul_forrester/05/08/blueprints/index.html
Posted by: The Waterboy | May 10, 2007 at 03:45 AM