A primo matchup between two A-List players on national TV

Kwame "no hands less talent" Brown
Chris "buy me an ankle" Mihm
Lamar "all heart no passion" Odom
and as many draft picks possible

for

Pau Gasol
Brian Cardinal
Darko "maybe 4th team is the charm" Milicic

---- Given Memphis' current roster, they would appreciate us taking Brian Cardinal, he is like Kwame, so i dont expect much from him, in fact, if we bought him out, it would be to our benefit. How he got someone to sign him for what he got has to be total extortion. Given our propensity for injury we could use him.

---- Project Darko hasnt worked out well for the Grizz so far, here is to hoping that they are ready to start from square 1. Maybe we can get something out of him, Either way, we take a contract I'm sure they already regret off of their hands.

---- Pau Gasol, the "superstar" who just wanted to be good. Gasol is not a superstar. He lacks clutch and he lacks 'it" He is masquerading as the #1 in Memphis because they have no one else, but as a #2 or a #3 he could shine, damn he could be brilliant. Added to that, with Bynum, he wouldnt be required to guard the block thus allowing him freer range on his offensive side. Add to THAT, the fact that he would make any opposing 4 tired by having to cover him 1 on 1. He could relish the fact that he gets to play with his brother, and probably could lean on Memphis management to let him come to the Best Coast.

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

Mihm - just a throw in, contract comes off the blocks soon enough
Kwame - what could have been, supreme garbage, and it shows. Now forth, he will be known as the "expiring contract with Kwame Brown's signature"
Lamar - dude cant play the triangle. Just flat out, doesnt comprehend what it takes. Could be good in a free system

Draft Picks, 2008 1st and 2nd round(not protected) 2010 (unconditional)
---- ppl hold on to draft picks as they were gold, but usually in the end they are worthless, esp since we have such great young talent in the pipeline. Farmar, Ariza, Crit, Bynum, and this doesnt even include Marc Gasol, and Sun Yue. Who we couldnt bring over because of Roster limitations. We are already one of the youngest teams in the L, why not grow around this nucleus. Plus Gasol and Darko are still young enough to where they can be productive for years to come not to mention they are a known quantity with value as opposed to the unknown. You only go for the unknown if you desperate, ie Memphis. We on the other hand are contending for titles, we dont have the time and energy to take those picks and teach them up to be contenders, we need to concentrate on getting over the hump. True, this would put us over the cap, but honestly, we werent gonna be under it anytime soon. Kobe will take at least 17 mill, plus the extensions for bynum, farmar, crit, and the rest.

we would be set for at least a decade, even after kobe leaves, because gasol is still signed for a few years beyond Kobe. And quite honestly, im sure we can find the athletic wing players without a home to go with or fearsome front line of Gasol and Bynum. No one would ever challenge us ever again. Esp with farmar and crit serving the rock at the 1 and 2 (if kobe leaves) and ariza shutting down people at the 3 and bynum and gasol raking in the middle. we would be untouchable.

Apropos of this weekend, am I the only one to feel like

Kobe:LeBron :: Hilary:Obama?

Both are viewed as singular talents, one in a classical mold, the other as a new model. The former in each pair is viewed as more accomplished, coldly ambitious and carefully crafted. The latter is each pair is viewed as organically new and genuinely joyous.

Reasonable people differ as to who has more upside.

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

I can hardly wait to see Luke guard Lebron. That should be comical. I think the over/under on Luke getting 2 fouls is about 5 minutes.

Then Lamar can give it a shot. But if Lamar guards Lebron, who's going to guard the 4 and 5. I think we are going to have some BAD matchup problems. Ariza will be sorely missed today.

IT WILL TAKE A HECULES EFFORT TODAY TO BEAT CLEVELAND.

I think LeBron's team has way more warriors than the current Lakers roster without Bynum and Ariza inserted into the rotation. Remember this Cleveland team went to the Finals and this most of this Lakers team other than new and improved Farmar and D-Fish of what we have healthy was wiped out in the first round last yr.

We need this game and the NY game on Tuesday because if Detroit's motivated on Thursday, they are too deep and tough for our limited roster and lack of heart from Odom, Luke, and Kwame.

I HOPE KOBE CAN STICK IT TO LEBRON AND WE CAN WIN TODAY.

We need one bad!!

Eric M,

I think Laker Nation will be having nightmares about that for weeks.

please Mr kupchak trade enept players odom brown and walton to orlando for power forward howard he along wth bynum will turn the tables in the western conference call the owner of orlando u got nothing to lose

Some of you guys are just plain RIDICULOUS.

Lakerbake

15 rebounds has no impact????

You don't know what you are talking about. Lamar may not be playing as well as we would like him to, but 15 rebounds is a HUGE impact on the game.

Have you been watching the past few years the astounding lack of rebounding this team has gone through?? In 05 when Kobe and LO were out for big stretches Laker bball was almost unwatchable, not bec. we couldn't shoot or score, or even defend, but any and all good defensive plays would end with fumbled rebounds or straight out Offensive rebounds for the other team.

this trend has continued to a large degree on this team the past two years also. Not only is securing the boards a MAJOR part of the game of basketball, especially at this level, but it also has a huge effect on defensive effort.

The past few years, smushie included, it must have been terribly difficult for our perimeter guys to consistently give good defensive efforts, because more times than not when they did, rebounds weren't secured and the 20+ seconds of good D was squandered. Over 82 games this disappointment leads to players not putting so much effort into Defense. Like we've seen for HUGE stretches these past two years.

This year has been starkly different. We have outboarded most of our opponents. And when we do--we usually win. Why?? More possessions, and more faith in the effectiveness of playing solid D.

The biggest reason for this has been Bynum. The kid is a monster on the glass. But so is LO. The two together, if you remember not much more than a month ago--were dominating the WHOLE LEAGUE, even Kobe calling us contenders. This is because with these guys our glass was OURS. We maximized our possesions, didn't give up alot of second chance points and even got out and ran a little showtime even.

To see the proof just look at the last CAVS game. Varejeo dominated us on the glass, and bec. of that we squandered a lead, by not boxing out and getting boards.

IF LO gets 15 boards, he has had a huge Impact on the game. Would you like more?? 5 dimes and 15 points too?? Sure. So would I. And I think we all get frustrated with him bec. we've seen he can do it. But don't be delusional. Without what LO gives us on the glass this team would look more like 04-05 than championship contenders (+bynum and ariza of course).

Here's to LO having a better game. Here's to the Lakers. Here's to appreciating the contributions of our VERY GOOD team to give us basketball worth watching and competitive enough to keep KB24 around.

out

I was reading through the other thread on the Dallas game, and I'm rather surprised to see all the "hate" (for lack of a better term).

Honestly, what did everyone expect when Bynum went down? The dude had very clearly become our second best player, someone else the other team had to prepare for (other than Kobe), and made the other teams think before driving the lane.

Now that AB is out, we're back where we were last year. The pressure's on LO and Walton to score and be aggressive in doing so. The problem is, that's not either one's nature. Both are pass-first facilitators, and LO is a very good rebounder. For both of LO and Walton, scoring is not their strong point.

With this year's emergence of Bynum, both LO and Walton could comfortably slide into their more natural roles of passing, running the offense, and rebounding, with little to no pressure to put up big scoring numbers. The great thing is, it worked! All of a sudden everyone had roles they were much more comfortable with and we really clicked as a team.

Bynum goes out and it falls apart. Not that Bynum was all that by himself (but he was playing very, very well), it's more how his offensive prowess filled a much-needed gap and relieved a lot of pressure on our role players.

When we have Kobe as #1, Bynum as #2, and LO as #3, we're one helluva team; take out Bynum and try and force LO into the #2 spot and....well, you get what we're seeing now.

But as far as Kwame goes, holeeeee crap that guy is bad! I mean.....ugh....just awful. Whenver we throw the ball to him in the post, the other team just covers everyone else tight and waits for Kwame to throw a layup attempt over the shot clock.

It's really hard to watch.

trade odom brown and walton for orlandos howard

its nice to turn on game one on abc and watch cook and evans light it up. where the hell was this type of play on the lakers? sure its only one game but still...i dont think i ever remember seeing cook hit 3 straight 3's. however i still like the ariza trade a lot. its games like today where he is very useful and his presence will be greatly missed. like Eric M said, there is no way that luke can guard lebron. iits going to take a team effort today and like i keep saying we need superior pg play out of fish and farmar.

GO LAKERS

I was reading through the other thread on the Dallas game, and I'm rather surprised to see all the "hate" (for lack of a better term).

Honestly, what did everyone expect when Bynum went down? The dude had very clearly become our second best player, someone else the other team had to prepare for (other than Kobe), and made the other teams think before driving the lane.

Now that AB is out, we're back where we were last year. The pressure's on LO and Walton to score and be aggressive in doing so. The problem is, that's not either one's nature. Both are pass-first facilitators, and LO is a very good rebounder. For both of LO and Walton, scoring is not their strong point.

With this year's emergence of Bynum, both LO and Walton could comfortably slide into their more natural roles of passing, running the offense, and rebounding, with little to no pressure to put up big scoring numbers. The great thing is, it worked! All of a sudden everyone had roles they were much more comfortable with and we really clicked as a team.

Bynum goes out and it falls apart. Not that Bynum was all that by himself (but he was playing very, very well), it's more how his offensive prowess filled a much-needed gap and relieved a lot of pressure on our role players.

When we have Kobe as #1, Bynum as #2, and LO as #3, we're one helluva team; take out Bynum and try and force LO into the #2 spot and....well, you get what we're seeing now.

But as far as Kwame goes, holeeeee crap that guy is bad! I mean.....ugh....just awful. Whenver we throw the ball to him in the post, the other team just covers everyone else tight and waits for Kwame to throw a layup attempt over the shot clock.

It's really hard to watch.

Posted by: Jason F. | January 27, 2008 at 11:21 AM

Couldn't agree with you more.

Also I think as I have said before that Kwame's game is lack of confidence because he does not trust his ankle. He won't elevate. The problem is between his ears. If he can't work it out in his head he will never improve. Time to step up and save his career or retire unless he can find another sucker to pay him to play less than his potential.

AK/BK,

Do we know what Bynum's recovery timeline is? Like when he'll be cleared to run and jump and when he'll begin rehabbing his leg.

passionate Lakers Fan...what the heck's up with you? If you're gonna make an argument, make it. If all you're gonna do is slag somebody, then e-mail them and stop wasting our time. Seriously dude, wipe the foam from your mouth and chill a bit.
Posted by: Michael A | January 27, 2008 at 09:22 AM
I made my argument (regarding why Lamara/Kwamika/Puke/The Snowboarder are garbage).
Wipe the crud from yours eyes and read my previous post.
Idiot.

Holy cr@p!

Evans starting and playing 35 minutes?!??!?

Cook with 11 points in 8 minutes?!??!?!?

The world is upside down!

NEGATIVITY leads to FAILURE

so LO SUX. so KWAME can't handle an NBA game. so the CAVS are going to HIT the BOARDS like they playing a middle school team.

BUT

we can TRADE LO (like we did COOK), wait for Bynum to get well and Kwame's situation to RESOLVE itself and ELBOW Anderson VAREJO in the LOWER BACK acouple of times and get into his NURVES.

Yes we can

So why be so NEGATIVE.

the LBJ-KOBE match up is KOBE's, by far, for sure.

The below post is for the idiot Michael A.
Wipe the crud from your eyes and chill out yourself.
Long Time Laker Fan: stop putting down bloggers as if you are so high and mighty; I put down Lamara (do you like that name better)/Puke/
Kwamika as a result of their poor play; you put down bloggers if you consider them inferior to your "high" intelligence.
Michael A.: mind your own business (this is between myself and the all knowing Long Time Laker Fan).

The date: Saturday, January 26, 2008.
The time: 6:26 a.m.
The goal: vent my frustations.
Good morning, bloggers.
I'm sitting at my pc.
The sky is a funny colored Blue.
The clouds are puffy and dark.
Clearly, rain throughout the day.
Therefore, I will stay home, relax, watch movies, and blog with my new found family.
And now, I begin.
I have been a Lakers fan since the spring of 1980.
I was a kid back then.
Since then, I have been passionate about this team (thus my blogger's moniker).
When they win, I go to work happy.
When they lose, I go to work sad or angry (depending upon how they lost).
I have witnessed several Lakers front lines.
The current front line of LO, Puke and Kwamika is by far the weakest I've seen.
They have no heart.
They have no drive.
They have no soul.
This trio (along with The Snowboarder) must go.
I said it before in a previous post and I will say it again:
Drewski's injury (as frustrating as it has been) is a blessing in disguise.
His play allowed LO and Puke to become 3rd and 4th options.
His play allowed Kwamika and The Snowboard to stay hidden on the bench.
His injury has exposed them all.
This sad little foursome will earn a combined 32 mil this year.
32 mil.
32mil!!!!!!!!!
Sad.
When Drewski returns, this sad little foursome will "play well" again.
I just hope the front office understands this:
We need front line players who can hold their own in case KB24 and Drewski are out.
It is just that simple.
I'm tired of the post game comments from LO/Puke/Kwamika stating they will play better.
I'm tired of the child-like look of confusion on Kwamika's face during the game.
I'm tired of LO look of constipation after blowing an easy basket near the rim.
I'm tired of Puke's ankle (Isiah won a NBA title playing on a severely injured ankle).
I'm tired of The Snowboard period (has this dude played in the past 2 years?).
KB24, Drewski, Farmar, The Critter and The Razor (AKA: Trevor) are the future.
KB24: please, stay strong spiritually and physically.
When you win your 4th championship, you will smile for three reasons:
1) you will be thankful that management did not, "ship his ass out."
2) the world will see that you are a leader when surrounded by leadable players.
3) LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder will be long gone.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder: what a waist of money and talent.
You 4 are weak minded.
You 4 are causing the rest of the team to fatigue as a result of playing too many minutes.
You 4 have been exposed now that Drewski's is out.
You 4 are an embarrassment to Laker history.
Drewski: stay off your injured knee so that your swelling will go away.
Drewski: strenghten the knee and the ligaments surrounding it.
Drewski: use the next 2 months to lift weights to build your upper body to become a beast.
KB24: sleep, exercise, eat right, drink water, and meditate: "Drewski will return soon."
A healthy Drewski, a healthy KB24, and our young studs will produce a championship.
Front Office: do not allow LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder near the trophy.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder: you have broken my heart.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder: I have given up on you.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder: you do not deserve to wear the Purple & Gold.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder: you are an embarrassment to Lakers fan.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder: you will be exposed on Sunday on ABC.
Front office: paying LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder $32 mil is sad.
Front office: LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder must go.
*Sigh*
That felt good.
In the future, I will not talk about the Lakers at work.
My co-workers do not understand my passion.
You, my fellow bloggers, you understand me (becoming teary eyed).
And I understand you (a serene look upon my face).
Reading last night's blog gives me a ray of hope during this cloudy morning.
The call for LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder must go was loud and clear.
In closing:
Some will not agree with my next sentence:
I hope LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder (if he plays) are booed on Sunday.
Why?
The Lakers organization needs to hear loud and clear:
We do not want players playing on our team who use injuries as an excuse.
We do not want players playing on our team who will all of a sudden "play better" when Drewski returns.
LO, Puke, Kwamika and The Snowboarder will never-and I mean never-man up.
Thank you for allowing me to cleanse my soul (again: *sigh*).
Have a great day!!!! :)

Posted by: passionate Lakers fan | January 26, 2008 at 07:55 AM

hope kobe would play a team player today....

Turkolu for Lamar.

Boston's record without KG?

0-1.

The C's better hope that abdominal muscle heals quickly.

2. Kobe Bryant ... He's the NBA's equivalent of Jack Bauer. He survives everything, and even his harshest critics have to respect him for never giving up. It is going to be fascinating to see whether he can carry the Lakers over the next two months without Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza. If so, look forward to watching him dominate the playoffs.

-------
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008
/writers/ian_thomsen/01/25/weekly.countdown/2.html

Back to Blogging!

Congrats to Faith. She made te Internet LAT's 1st Page!

Baywood

Relax LAL fans!

Our guards are good, they will keep our head above water until AB gets back!

All we need from LO is get 15 rebounds+

Baywood

I see you missed the "chill" part of my post. Still foaming, I assume?

Cheers.

I'm going to assume this game is going to be more than Kobe vs Lebron, despite the media's attempt to sell it like that. My question is, are we going to rebound today, and will we cover Illgauskas effectively? From Cleveland's perspective, they need someone to hit outside shots, or their offence will flow like tar.

Let's be honest here. Today LeBron outplayed Kobe, who unfortunately, showed the worst part of himself during the fourth quarter. Probably people will forget this game, but this is the first time I have seen Kobe having is a... kicked this way. Is this the beginning of the end of Kobe as the best player in the league?