LakerBake,

I couldnt agree more with you. Bynum/Odom/Cook for Oneal is a great deal. Its a move forwards, not backwards. I understand most Laker bloggers dont wanna give up 2 players for the price of one and would consider it overpaying. You have to look at it in terms of what the team really needs. Kobe has proven that with an interior defender and finisher, he can push the team to championship contention. Now I understand JO is no Shaq, but he will be close, plus he can make more freethrows.

LO doesnt really have a natural position. Doesnt weigh enough for the post and can only go left penetrating so it makes it hard for him to breakdown defensive 3's in this league. Bynum doesnt have the urgency to wanna kill the rim everytime he sees it. The kid looks like he's stuck in mud when he catches the ball and hes only 19, not too athletic.

I just think its best to give up 2 okay players to get a player that can really play on the block on both ends.

KL

You have certainly made clear your opinion that Kobe shortcomings preclude him from ever leading a championship team. I think you're wrong, but you can certainly marshal evidence to support your theory, and have done so frequently.

What I don't understand is your theory that Kobe would rather have stats than wins. Is there any evidence to suggest that Kobe's not intent on winning? If anything, he wants to win too much and is an ass about it. I think it's clear that he feels like a trained circus freak because the Lakers have essentially used his prime to sell tickets rather than to compete for rings. Rightly or wrongly, (OK, wrongly), he's basically told Buss that he will not waste the rest of his prime performing meaningless, highly watchable miracles to keep the Lakers average. I think he's basically said he will not be the Lakers' Barry Sanders and will move on to become someone else's Emmitt Smith unless changes are made.

His actions may be poisoning the well, they may be self-defeating, and they could paint the team into a corner, but they are not the actions of a man treasuring stats or popularity over wins.

Generic-

I had a great day. Bright sunshine, mid seventies temp. I've always been a big fan of Seattle, especially in the summer. Great city.

fkillah-

The Lakers really have three PGs, in Crittendon, Fisher, and Farmar, which is normal. Unless something changed over the summer, Sasha hasn't shown he can handle the ball or pass it like a PG (he's good at neither). If Karl makes the team, it probably comes at Sasha's expense. As for having too many guards, they do need some help at SF and depth at PF if Mihm, Kwame, and Bynum are all going to be centers. But trading one of the guards isn't going to be easy. Farmar and Crittendon don't make much money, and getting quality in return for guys who are cheap isn't easy (better players tend to be expensive). Another team might have interest in the young guards, but Farmar ins't going to bring in top shelf talent or anything like that.

As for firing Mitch, none of what has happened this summer has been surprising. I thought it would be hard for the Lakers to make a big move this offseason, and it has. The reasons for firing Mitch or keeping him haven't substantively changed since the end of the year. If there was a better alternative available, I think they should look into it, but no GM would be able to make an instant winner out of this roster, I think.

BK

Andrew Z,

I didnt know that. So Brown could be pretty valuable this year in a trade.

b/c Odom makes so much money, I dont think theres a deal out there that can work with him staying with the Lakers and JO coming here also. or the Lakers will have to do the same thing the Celtics just did and send over at least3 to 4 players to make it work. how about Bynum/Brown/Vlad Rad/Farmar for JO.

Vlad Rad b/c the Pacer coach wants more 3's and Farmar b/c they will need a pg after Tinsley leaves. But who am I kidding, it wont be that easy and we will have to give up something more vluable like Odom to make it work. its just the way the ball bounces.

How cool would it be if the Lakers and Celtics both made it to the finals this coming year? Talk about a blessing for David Stern... perhaps he can reinstate Donaghy and have him officiate every Laker and Celtic game.

All joking aside, I agree with Andrew Z's most recent post. Lakers were never really in the running for the KG sweepstakes to begin with. Not the right parts, not enough parts, and not enough years have passed for McHale and Ainge not to bleed Celtic green. Here's food for thought - do you really think Mchale would help the Lakers with another championship so that Phil Jackson can stand atop NBA lore as the greatest and most successful coach ever? Another championship would put him over Celtic Legend, Red Auberbach. Not sure if that played a major part - but I'm sure McHale might have mentioned it to Ainge under his breathe whilst they were having High Tea in his office....

That being said - I think this year's Lakers team will be ok. They will be in the middle of the pack in the west but what's so bad about that? Utah and GS perfectly exemplified how wide open the West can be - that anyone can truly come out of the west. I attribute the Laker's Post-Season failure in the '06 campaign with their inability to play cohesive basketballl - which was brought about by their overstated injury issues. If what I hear about Bynum is true and if Odom can somehow find his groove, there may be a good chance we can surprise some people and make my dream finals match up come to fruition. If only the Celts can hold up their end of the bargain ...

Ahlayn

Quick side note - I take back my previous comment that Jessica Biel had the best backside in the industry - I have recently discovered Vida Guerra and there's no way Jessica can compete with her.

KL
I UNDERSTAND YOUR GREAT NEED FOR ATTENTION, which this blog seems to give, however a real man realizes that issues are more complex than you state them.

Most of your statements are assumptions out of personal and I realize that you do this for your own ego and to get a rise out the other bloggers. I originally joined to have a intellectual discussion about the past and future topics involving the Laker Organization.

So I have decided not play your twisted game and become a pawn, this will be last visit to blog, rather than lose my dignity I will move on.

Have a Good Life

TripGame is one smart cat.
I agree with you totally and nothing personal against Andrew Bynum but it's nice to see that someone else see's that little thing that he does not have.

For as long as I've watched hoops, the real good big men you'd see in college or straight out of high school would do one of 3 things well right from the beginning.

1. Dunk and attack the rim with ferocity. (See Shaq at LSU and Webber at Michigan)
2. Block shots with ferocity (See Ewing at Georgetown and Hakeem at Houston)
3. Use a jump hook of some sort (See Kareem at UCLA and Pat Ewing at Georgetown)

Bynum does none of the above well after 2 yrs.
The kid has a lot to prove but our leader and the only special gift we have is KOBE and he's ready to take off towards the FINALS but we need a "few good men."

Read TripGame's words above. He's on point and accurate

I take umbrage at these CHEAP SHOTS that the Buss' are cheap. If they are so cheap, what is this?
--------------------------
07/15/04: Kobe Bryant (LAL) signed a maximum salary contract. 7 year, $136.4 million with a player opt-out after the 5th season and a player option for the 7th season.

-------------------------

do you people comprehend what "maximum salary contract" means? With the salary cap, it has been estimated that if the Lakers keep Cook this season, it will cost the Lakers TEN MILLION DOLLARS in actual outgoing money. WAKE UP! This isn't the 80's or the 90's, this is the salary cap era. Under the old system, I bet there's a good chance Garnett could have ended up here, nowadays... you want to have 3 big salary guys on your team like Boston is doing and you're one injury away from total oblivion for the next 5 years minimum... who is going to be the PG for Boston anyway and who is his backup?

BK

I think Mitch should be judged this summer on how he handles this Jermaine O'Neal opportunity.

He should consider the big picture of all things that are reality. It starts and ends with Kobe since we are KEEPING him.

With that said, Mitch gets a pass for the KG situation because McHale and Ainge boxed him out. That's what Celtics do.
Isiah went and got Zach Randolph.
Pau Gasol is off the market.
The only other big that was available is still out there.

It's up to Mitch to manage this as best he can with Larry Bird.

All this is so if Mitch can do his job without Jim Buss meddling.

I think Jerry West was smart to sit out of this summer because he too might have failed until this point but West would have nailed 1 of the 4 being
1.Pau Gasol
2.Kevin Garnett
3. Zach Randolph
4. Jermaine O'Neal

******* I wish Jerry could have sent us a gift in Gasol as McHale did for Ainge. ******

Under the ESPN Trade Machine:

Vlad and Sasha or Cook or Bynum or Farmar all work for ARTEST. I'd do the first two in a heartbeat and i'd have to really think about Farmar or Bynum. Make something happen KupCake!

Rocky,

"Barry Bonds is like Kobe, he can't do anything right in the eyes of the people. Barry also has never won a championship. I guess Kobe has him on that one."

Yeah, but Kobe has never taken steroids either.

Lakerbake-

For me, the JO stuff is a toughie. The deal earlier this summer (Bynum, Odom, Kwame for JO, Murphy) wasn't a good one for L.A. Use all three trade chips at once and take on Troy Murphy's contract? And I don't think putting Bynum and Odom in a deal for JO makes them a whole lot better. The problem with the Lakers is they're not a "one move away" team, since any big move they make likely costs them so much that the net isn't very positive. Maybe it moves the needle a little, but not enough. To make that move, you have to have parts people want that don't fundamentally chance your team. Even Boston, bad as they are, had more of what Kevin McHale wanted than the Lakers did.

Nothing really has fundamentally changed this offseason, I think, in terms of evaluating Mitch. If you thought he should be fired at the end of last season, you probably still think that. If you believed that there was no real opportunity to make deals this summer, perhaps you give him the benefit of the doubt.

Generic-

I would have liked to get to Safeco for last night's game, for sure. Had I been staying overnight, I would have. But unfortunately, I had to come back.

BK

KL:

"how much you wanna bet that once kobe’s gone, we’ll start to rebuild again and when a real superstar joins LA, we’ll begin the road back to a championship………a la Shaq’s FA signing in 1996."

Damn KL... I don't know what's wrong with you, but your blindness saddens me. Who brought Shaq to LA? West, not Buss. Who was the architect of the Lakers 3peat? West, not Buss. Who is the only person that has had a direct hand in every Laker championship and Finals appearance since the '60's? West, not Buss. The Lakers are not the same without West, and now it is obvious that they never will be.

But, according to you, getting rid of Kobe is more important than getting West back. You said it yourself, Captain Ahab. You have made hatred and vengeance your number one priority, and by killing the whale, you destroy the team that you claim to love.

"I like your trade proposal (I'm a little nervous about the center spot though) but I didn't see where Bogans is going to play.
The 1 and 3 spot seems crowded and there are not going to be many minutes available at the 2"

--------------------------------

Bogans was mostly about making the salaries match up. He's a pretty good defensive 2/3, but I'd see him
as the guy who's inactive most of the year unless someone gets injured.

tha show, how did we get Jermaine back in trade without giving up Kwame and taking back a bad contract?

I really question why Bird would want Odom anyway. If they are rebuilding, what do they need Odom and his salary for? If you were Larry Bird, and you were looking at rebuilding, wouldn't you want to get rid of a lot of bad salary for draft picks and young up and commers? I mean... I can see how Jermaine ONeal has reached legendary status around here, like Charlie Bell before him... but... you would seriously give up Bynum AND Odom for one guy?

TaosHum,

"who is going to be the PG for Boston anyway and who is his backup?"

Rajon Rondo and either Earl Boykins or Brevin Knight.

Boston still has their MLE, their Veteran's minimum, and Bi-annual" exception.

Plus they still have a few decent young players in Kendrick Perkins, Tony Allen,
Leon Powe, and Glen Davis.

I think if they can pick up just a piece or two, they will be the favorites in the East.

LakerBake,

I appreciate it guy, glad im not the only one who really sees this. The only time i've said to myself, this kid can really play is when he catches the ball under the basket and just lays it in, no dribbling, no foot movement, just catch and lay it up. At 19, he should be running the floor, dunking, blocking shots, and just be energetic. He doesnt have it. The energy should be there at 19, just ask Turiaf.

Blaze1bx,

Although it worked in the trade machine, I doubt it will work in real life. The only way I see the Kings giving us Artest is if we give up Odom. which im not sure I would do, but I would consider it. I mean really, who wants Sasha, Vlad Rad, and Farmar? WE dont want them and you think there gonna give up there ALL STAR for those jokers. The Maloofs would only listen if you included Bynum which you mentioned, but I dont think they'll go for that either.

Lakers bloggers, stop overrating Bynum, he's not that good. he will be average at best. with all respect to Bynum!!!

Loosing KG to the Celtics may not be Mitch Kup-joke fault however come playoff time no one is going to think. Well its not Kup-joke fault, Boston and Minn. boxed him out. I think it about what he can do verses the choices he makes. As it stands now we are a recycled team.

BK
You might be right that the Lakers are not 1 move away.

However, I think this summer is totally about KEEP KOBE or TRADE KOBE.
YOU CAN'T TRADE KOBE.
We have to KEEP KOBE.

So if you are keeping Kobe then you have to make a move that will move the needle over some. I don't think the needle moves over by keeping Odom and Bynum because we have to hope they got tougher and more hungry. Odom is rehabbing. Bynum is still searching for his game and has minimal resume to draw from that makes him feel special, great, or have a SWAGGER about himself.

Jermaine O'Neal gives a whole lot of the hope of providing just that. In this NBA, I still feel that the DOMINANT personalities rise to the top. WE have one in KOBE but he needs some more accomplished and mature MEN to go to the mountain top with (THE FINALS).

Who cares how good the WEST is when it really comes down to the SPURS and SUNS having that confident swagger. Every other team in the conference has HOLES in how they feel about themselves. Utah is Utah. Houston has not won nothing. Dallas has DENTS in their pysche. Portland is TOO YOUNG.
All of these teams can be leap frogged.
Now it comes down to getting within a punchers CHANCE of the SUNS and SPURS.

I think KOBE can. He almost knocked out the SUNS with some terrified young boys 2 yrs ago.

BRING A MAN to town to help KOBE. We have 2 other MEN left in D-FISH and BILL WALTON's SON.

BK, Go to Mitch for us man!!!!!
Please I'm begging you!!!!

tha Show,
"instead of being depressed about missing out on kg, let's make a move for the next
best thing and make a deal for jermaine o'neal"

RIGHT ON! ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO GET ON THIS BANDWAGON?

This Celtic revival is cutting real deep.
I like the move for the NBA and it's way better than seeing PHOENIX get KG since BOSTON has suffered so much to my delight.

However, I NEVER WANT TO PLAY BEHIND BOSTON.

We gotta do something.

Imagine the FINALS and you know Lakers fans always IMAGINE the FINALS.

KOBE with this team has to take on 3 ALL-STARS or former ALL STARS in
KG
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce

Will ODOM and BYNUM help him beat them?

We know better deep down.

JO would step in the VACUUM as PHIL JACKSON SAYS!

Long time fan,

"Rajon Rondo and either Earl Boykins or Brevin Knight"

this is looking more and more like the old Houston team... Simmons was right, LOL!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070730

The East is so weak, Boston was looking good before this deal, but I still don't see them beating Phoenix, San Antonio or Dallas in the finals - if they get there. What has Cleveland done this offseason? Hey, good move for Boston. What does it have to do with us though? We would have been gutted to the core to get Garnett.

I don't understand the movement to panic and give up everything for Jermaine ONeal. He's a 2nd tier allstar at best and doesn't bring enough to replace both Odom and Bynum even if Bynum averages 10 points and 8 rebounds this year which is entirely feasible. Bynum is already better than Chris Kaman (the beautiful people) for crying out loud!!! LOL! And the year after it gets worse as Bynum blossoms and... we have Jermaine ONeal and his big contract...

I'd hate to do it. I don't think they'll do it. But if Kobe insists on being traded, Mitch should request that
he broaden the range of teams he would be willing to go to, and to do it publicly. The reasoning for the
public leak is to let any teams the FO contacts know that they aren't the only ones bidding. Very much
like the KG negotiations. If you have three or four teams making competitive offers, then you're more
likely to get something reasonable.

Here are some proposed teams to deal with - in each case, the deal leaves the team with enough parts
to still be competitive when Kobe is added, but gets some amount of value back. Not all the deals are
great value, but you can't ever get equal value for the best player in the league, so you have to think
of it in terms of, "would this trade make the Lakers better overall?" Also, some of the teams I'd talk to with
no intention of actually making a trade, just to get the other teams to give up more.

Chicago -

Ben Gordon
plus one of: Hinrich or Deng
plus one of: Thomas or Noah
plus whoever needs to be included to make salary match
plus future draft pick[s]

Atlanta -

Joe Johnson
Al Horford
Josh Childress
future draft pick[s]

Dallas -

Josh Howard
Devin Harris
some combo of Fazekas, Barea, Diop, Terry
future draft pick[s]

Denver -

Carmelo Anthony
Marcus Camby or Nene
JR Smith

Golden State -

Al Harrington
Steven Jackson
Brandan Wright
Marco Belinelli
future draft pick[s]

Indiana -

Jermaine O'Neal
Danny Granger
Shawne Williams
future draft pick[s]

Milwaukee -

Michael Redd
Dan Gadzuric or Andrew Bogut
rights to Yi
future draft pick[s]

New Jersey -

Vince Carter or Jason Kidd
Nenad Krstic
Marcus Williams or Sean Williams (only if Carter)
future draft pick[s]

New York -

Eddy Curry
Jamal Crawford
David Lee
Renaldo Balkman
future draft pick[s]

Philadelphia -

Andre Miller or Samuel Dalembert
Rodney Carney or Thaddeus Young
Kyle Korver
Jason Smith
future draft pick[s]

Toronto -

Chris Bosh
Jose Calderon
Andrea Bargnani or Jorge Garbajosa
future draft pick[s]

Utah -

Andrei Kirilenko
Ronnie Brewer
Paul Millsap
future draft pick[s]

Washington -

Gilbert Arenas
Caron Butler
rights to Juan Carlos Navarro
future draft pick[s]

generic_one,

not too bad i guess, just at times i much rather be back in cali, especially with the weather we are getting or not getting consistantly through out "summer". i stay in the everett area right now.

A date to bear in mind.

This Friday, August 3, is relevant for the Lakers trade plans.

As of that day, Critter will have been signed for 1 month, so he will be eligible to be included in trades.

Just a thought.