You and me both Andrew Z. What a waste of airspace.

Faith, AZ-

Now that Steve Mason show? That's good programming. Especially when those delightful Kamenetzky Brothers are featured. (haha)

BK

PS- Jon K- thanks for the nice note about our podcast. I missed it yesterday. It was a crazy day, trying to beat down the spam filter.

If Mitch can pull this trade. He should win the GM of the Year.

1 He did not trade Bynum
2 He kept Kobe
3 He went after Kidd for just a cent (Kwame).
4 He went after Kenyon Martin for just a dollar (Odom).
5 He went after Ron Artest for just a quarter (Walton).

Bynum, Martin, Artest, Kobe, Kidd = 4 championships!

Listen to Kobe and PJ. It's only a fast start. The Lakers started 26-13 last season and look what happened.

They had a home heavy schedule in the beginning of the year and then the injuries came in.

Who wants Kidd and Ruin the current chemistry and not fulfill our need for a big? Say Aye!

Who wants a PF-Banger that will help back our front court health issue?
Say Nay!

Never mind I found the site I used last season.

Here it is for anyone who doesn't live in LA and/or can't watch the games on League Pass because they'll be out of town for the holidays like I will.

I know Jon K. has been looking for a site to use.

http://www.thegamelive.com/basketballnba.html

I used to rag on Sasha. Thought he was scary and timid. A non factor. Now. I love him. That boy can shoot, and he loves making sure the fans get their tacos. Oh by the way, this team is going to win the division, and earn the 2nd seed. They are starting to really get it. It's not just the wins, but the way they're earning them. Look for them to pull ahead of Phoenix these next 13 games, when, except for a tough 3 game stretch against Phoenix, Utah, and Boston starting christmas, they have 10 winnable games, and this is after they've gone 6-1 in the last 7.

Charles,

>>>David Lee and Turiaf as Pf's would be amaizing?

Yeah, but there's absolutely no way Isaiah would trade away David Lee. The only way it would happen is
if the Knicks dumped Isaiah and hired a new GM who wanted to clean house to rebuild.

>>>How is Q doing in Isiah's system?

Lousy. But Isaiah keeps playing him.

furthermore, would we be having this discussion if the lakers are on a 3 game losing streak? The trade would be a no brainer if that was the case.

No trade for Kidd, no trade all. Keep the team as is and let them continue to jell. Another trade would cause a let down like when Cook and Evans were traded. The guys had a little shock and it affected the players for awhile. The move was great, it is giving sasha confidence. Ariza shows signs of being a force, defense, rebounding and willingness to drive to the basket strong. Vlad, Walton and Turiaf accepting their roles and making the most of it. Farmar and Bynum showing they really belong, will they be able to handle the length of the season? JC waiting patiently. Minh before the injury 16 pts a night but defense was lacking, good to have. Kwame, we need a thug like him, strong and intimidating (sometime), but those hands? Fisher, the calming affect. Kobe, must be feeling it does not have to score 40 and wear himself out. he goes scoreless in the 4th and the team still wins and decisively. PJ has a good rotation going and has a complimentary of players to use depending on match up. This is a good team bordering on awesome, no trades unless someone comes along that we just cant refuse. and as far as i know I see no one. These guys are working together as a team. Leave them alone. Dallas, Spurs, Phoenix and Detroit are showing signs of being beatable. What I cannot wait to see is LAKERS/Boston. The league would love to see this rivalry become intense as it once was. The difference this year then last is Kobe is not doing it all on his own. He leads by example and the team is see's and follows.
GO LAKERS GO, the second coming is here.

Mike T,

Your man-love for Kwame Brown has, quite frankly, become tiresome and boring. All your stats about games with and without Kwame are worthless.

How the team first played without him is meaningless, right now. All the chemistry was disrupted by his injury, Ronny's injury, and Walton's injury, to say nothing of Lamar's rust when he first came back, and Mihm's rust which continues to plague him. Oh, yes, and the trade of Cook and Evans, which also affected the Bench Mob, big time.

The only games that matter have been over the past two weeks, when things started to gel again. Would having Kwame back help? Absolutely. But all the good things he can do are irrelevant if he can't play. Right now, Kwame is less valuable than a family heirloom in my mother's china cabinet, but even more fragile.

Ultimately, the front office and coaching staff will determine whether Kwame belongs on the shelf with the other breakables, whether to play him, or whether his expiring contract is more useful to another team. Until Kwame can suit up and play, all the debate points pro and con can go in a circular file.

Nay!!!!!!!!!

Mike T,

Sorry but I needed to find out for myself on this one. I'm counting the Chicago game where Kwame went out as an "Out of the line-up" game since he got injured a little over 3 minutes into the first quarter.

So, drum roll please....

Point differential with Kwame in the line-up: +3.63 (5-3 record)
Point differential with Kwame OUT of the line-up: +6.31 (10-6 record)

Oddly enough the winning percentage is exactly the same the only difference is we're beating teams by twice as much with Kwame riding the pine.

He's not as important as you think, sorry dude.

A lot of guys are asking for the front court bruiser thinking he can guard Duncan/Boozer.

We already have that guy if GOD would keep him healthy for the rest of the season.
His name is Kwame Brown.
I know he's a sore spot and I'm not in his fan club but when you look around the league there are NO 'bigs" and we have one just like the rest of them who is good at guarding the post.

If we're not using him to bring Jason Kidd or something of that type of upgrade like an Artest then keep Kwame.
Odom is the guy that could be moved.
Odom will rebound but he is soft in post defense.

We gotta pick what we want.

You want Odom's skills for this yr and next with his defensive downside in the POST.

Or

do you want Kwame's POST defensive and physical presence if healthy (that healthy thing goes for Odom too, odds say he's hurt in 2 months) and lose his expiring deal along with get his suspect hands.

What does the team need more?

KWAME's defensive presence or
Odom's #3 scoring /star option at best.

If Jason Kidd comes it will even itself out.
If he doesn't come then there is really no need to trade Kwame's expiring deal because if you're not robbing someone then you're just getting
someone with something good and bad about them just like KWAME back in return.

We can use what Kwame's strengths are. We don't need his weaknesses as Bynum has developed.

Long Time Laker Fan

You are not going to get a better defensive presence big for Kwame Brown, nor a younger player because they don't make enough.
Why take on a stiff and the young player to make contracts work and the contract of the stiff is more than 1 yr.

There is nothing big out there for KWAME. Why would he attract a big that can play. The team would keep the big.

Andrew Z

We can get Jason Kidd without gutting the team.
I think if Odom goes it works better because you keep Kwame's size for the 2nd team and he can run the floor with them.
I think we can't lose if we get Kidd.
We give up Odom or Kwame, (who cares)
We have 2 FARMARs and 2 Luke Waltons as far as I'm concerned.
Crittenton and VladRad/Ariza can make up for Farmar/Walton leaving or vise versa.

Javaris Crittenton is the keeper though!!

Xodus

Read my other entry
This is not going to happen

Your statement below:

"Kwame is potentially a piece of a larger puzzle or trade bait for the bruiser power forward we need since his contract is expiring. "

NO ONE WILL GIVE UP A MORE VALUABLE BIG MAN FOR KWAME BROWN, not going to happen!
Kwame for a small or medium player or just keep him and re-sign him for his real value (about 2 million per yr for 1 yr with a team option on the 2nd yr) or let him roll off.

TSUNAMI not sumani

What's up with LeBron dissing his coach with a shoulder bump during a time out in the 4th quarter of the Knicks win? I'm not hearing anything from the msm. Imagine if, say, a superstar on the Lakers did such a thing!

Go Lakes!

Tonight's game against the Cavs is a real good tester for all the Lakers. Cavs got their butts whipped in MSG last night and will be smarting from that defeat. Kobe vs. LBJ is another potential minefield. Kobe is not at his best physically and musn't get into an ego thing with Lebron. It's all about the "W", which I think the Lakers can get if they control their defensive backboard. Cleveland is a strong offensive rebounding team. If the Show allows Big Z, Drew Gooden and Varejao to control the boards, they won't win. Keys for the Lakers could be Ronny T. and Chris Mihm, who need to play well off the bench if the opportunity arises, which I think it will. Baby B. needs to stay out of foul trouble, so that the bench rotations are out of strategy and not out of need. I think my team can do it.

Go Lakers!!!!

On another front, I think that this year's version of the Show will present the Suns with a big challenge. With a trio of defenders such as Farmar, Fish and Sasha, the Lakers may have the weapons needed to slow down Steve Nash. PJ may even try Ariza on him, similar to the way that San Antone throws Stevie a different look with Bruce Bowen. Cut off the head and the body will die. I mentioned Sasha because, to me, he looks much improved on defense. He is getting over the top of screens better and brings a lot of energy off the bench. Plus, at 6'7", the Machine can grab a few of those long rebounds that the Suns missed three pointers always seem to generate.

Finally, it's kind of sad to see what's happening down Miami. I'm not going to front...I loved Shaq when he was a Laker. Although I felt that the Laker front office made the right decision at the time, it was sad to see him leave the Purple and Gold. I believe that Shaq's biggest downfall is that he didn't work hard enough to sustain his God-given talent. Last night's devastating knee injury to Alonzo Mourning only worsens the situation down there. Of course, if Smush Parker could stop fighting with parking lot attendants, maybe he could help turn things around for the Heat. Dude probably put a couple of scratches on the Smushcalade! Smush ain't having that!! LOL!!

10-6 without Kwame, 5-3 with Kwame. Same winning percentage. The W-L record with/without a particular player has been proclaimed as the only way that that player's impact can be accurately measured. Kwame apparently provides no overall benefit to the Lakers over whoever replaces his 20 or so minutes in the lineup.

LakerBake,

I don't believe Kwame can bring in a bruiser power forward either, so if we can't do that we might as well keep him for his defense and re-sign him at a MUCH cheaper price. The point is, Kwame is NOT the difference between a first round loss and a championship year. He's a piece that could one day help us along the way.

Ron,

If we can keep it close I think we have a chance.

TaosHum,

>>>Farmar, as they say, has a ceiling that is lower than Crittenton's.

I disagree with this one. Yes Crittendon is taller and a bit more athletic, but Farmar has shown more leadership.
Farmar carried his NCAA team to the finals. Critter carried his team to a first round loss. Until Javaris gets some
regular playing time, it's only speculation who has the higher ceiling.

Xodus,

Thanks!

GO LAKERS!

And here's my attempt at a Kidd trade :)

3 team trade: Lakers, Nets, Miami and Kings

Heat get Bibby and Coby Karl.
Why? Heat are desperate to get Bibby (once he gets well), and all they give up is a couple of expiring contracts and some potentially promising young players. Bibby is an expiring contract next year, so this helps them next year as well. Karl could prolly spell for both Wade and Quinn immediately.

Kings get Kidd, Sean Williams and Dorrell Wright
Why? Bibby hasn't played, SAR will not play, and Artest's departure means more for their Garcia and Salmons. Plus they get a couple of potentially good players in Williams and Wright to lend balance to their roster. And Kidd playing close to his hometown might be enough to negate the fact that they may not be a contender this year - though they have been playing better than expected.

Nets get Farmar, DCook, White Chocolate, Kwame and A Johnson
They are getting nearly 18M$ in expiring contracts, which allows them to become a player next year in the FA market. Farmar is a young prospect who, with Marcus Williams, should be able to spell for Kidd. DCook is a good back-up for Vinsanity and Johnson gives them some size upfront. Maybe they get a draft pick or two (from Miami) to sweeten the deal even more.

Lakers get Artest and Sharif Abdur-Rahim's contract.
Artest could be the missing piece. SAR, if he recovers can spell adequately at the PF spot next year. Plus, the fact that he is not playing this year means insurance pays for this year at least :) Yes, we lose Farmar, but hopefully Crit will be able to rise to the occasion. After all, didn't Farmar play decent minutes last year as a rookie?

Fish/Kobe/Artest/Odom/Bynum is a good starting 5.

What do you think?