From Yahoo:

"Around the league, the reaction of executives and coaches was unanimous: What a nightmare for us. When reached with the news, one Western Conference executive said simply, “Are you kidding? (Expletive) me.”

Time to get that swagger back..Lakers for the Championship..Gyeah!!!

Now that we have all the ingredients, it takes a good cook to prepare the right food and work with these ingredients. No matter how good they are individually if there is no chemistry, there will never be any chemical reactions. Let's go one day at a time. We don't know how Drew and Ariza will contribute after being sidelined for 10 games. It takes sometime before Pau get to use to offense so Lakerville, temper your excitement with realistic expectations. Championship is attained by people who wanted it, not only to the people who looked like championship caliber. They have to blend, they have to work and finally, they have to win at all times.

BK,

Why do you even suspect we couldn't sign all 3 of the players, (Vujacic, Turiaf, and Ariza.)? Aren't they all restricted F/A's? Isn't it simply a matter of money and the luxury cap? Jerry Buss is preparing his personal Laker legacy. The team will resign all 3 players and win the next 4 NBA championships. Take it to the Bank!

Just like Smush Parker, Kwame is already a history. I hope we have no more ill feelings, no more Kwame to kick around. Just like any gentle Laker fan would do, wish him luck to his new venture. It is not pleasant to put someone down when they are already gone. What good deeds you wish to our former players will come back to us in ten fold. These are some corny sayings on chinese cookies, but think about it, it's better to be nice to our former players or voyagers than be angry.

BK,

I truly expect the ESPN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc., etc., to all change their NBA "Standings" over the next few days. I think we'll see a lot of, "x-clinched playoff berth" in front of the Lakers. HA!

"Who is this "we" that you're talking about, Mike? Please don't lump us Laker fans with the likes of you. You are disingenuous and IMO nothing but an attention w#ore. Your accusations and insight don't even make sense anymore, and to secretly hope that AB will need microfracture surgery is just low."

Are you serious? I posted a link where a doctor stated that Bynum's injury has a high risk of recurrence. What that means is this: If Bynum reinjured his knee, which is possible because of the "high recurrence" factor, then the Lakers would ask themselves this: Should we put Bynum on the self for another "minimum" of 8 weeks? Probably not! Because if it occurs, again, that probably means it'll continue to occur, again, and again. If it happens for a 2nd time the Lakers will probably move towards some type of surgery. From what I've read that would be microfacture surgery.

To pretend that this situation doesn't exist is outright stupid. Like, as if though, by stating the obvious is a bad thing or something. It's the true situation.

And if you think being a Laker fan is high on my priority list...it's not! I've been following the Lakers since I was 10 years old. And this blog has allowed me to see the political side of the game and I don't like it. Usually, without the blog, I would have just followed blindly because I couldn't/wouldn't have been able to say anything about it. But the Blog allowed me explain in detail what I was seeing. I could give a shyt about the Lakers. As far as I'm concerned they are nothing but a political machine that operates straight out of a Hollywood mentality.

The Lakers aren't going to win anything for the next 10 years. And the only thing I'm going to do is come on the blog to mock the foolishness of the owners when it happens.

Mark my words. The Lakers are going to get killed when they get pasted the weak teams.

Those idiots like Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Norm Nixon operate and think along the lines of "showtime" basketball. That's how they interpret the game. This isn't a showtime team and never will be. With Kobe Bryant the Lakers should have been building for defense. Gasol is the weakest defender in the league. And these fools think this is going somewhere?

That's why Magic Johnson is a part owner and not a GM. Part owner because Jerry Buss felt sorry for him. The guy is stupid! The guy can barely speak correctly.

James Worthy? The guy is so stupid that he has an opportunity to be a legitmate basketball analysist and work for ESPN or something but he doesn't even recognize it. The guy is so dumb and such a Lakers "homer" that the big opportunity has passed him by. If a stuttering fool like Bill Walton can get an ESPN gig why not James Worthy? Because he doesn't think that big. He's not Big Game James. He's No Game James. He had a perfect launching point to get into basketball coverage with the big boys but his game is too weak. He's been on LTV and KCAL 9 for how many years? Gee...you would think a guy with that type of opportunity would grow.

He thinks like Magic Johnson speaks. I don''t got no money! Magic Johnson speaks in double negatives. Through all the negative stuff he's been through as a speaker he still can't get that though his head.

Hey Magic. It's not: I don't got no money. It's: I have no money! The don't and the no are both negative. Used in the same sentence it's called a double negative. The guy is that dumb. Not dumb because of the double negative he uses but because Howard Stern used to clown him about his speach. And to this day Magic still does it. LOL! Wow! And these are the Lakers basketball "experts." Listen to Magic Johnson speak! He has to speak so slow because he'll tangle up his words. LOL! Now that is dumb!

Norm Nixon got traded because, I read, he was a crackhead! He got traded for a rookie. And Norm Nixon was one of the better point guards at the time. The guy is so stupid that he was chasing crack in the off-season and threw NBA Championships away for some crack. Need I say more about Norm? Look at him! He looks like he's barely 5 years out of the gutter.

There's a reason these guys are stuck having to rely on the Lakers' business connections to get jobs.

They're uneducated fools and nothing is going to change that. Can you believe that guys like Van Gundy, Barry, Doug Collins, and Tom Tolbert have worked and do work ESPN and James Worthy and Norm Nixon are stuck in L.A., where a lot of ESPN is broadcast from, and are still doing local TV? And these are NBA Champions!

Uneducated fools I tell you!

mike

So to talk about the game, only 5 turnovers for the Lakers? Wow, they're playing better already! So will Pau be ready for the next game?

When healthy, we were already at the top of the league. This trade puts us over the top.

A few thoughts:

Every other contending team in the West is sick about this trade.

Do not trade for Kidd.

The Cav's FO is looking pretty unimaginative and lazy right now in LBJ's mind. He will want to leave when opt-out time comes. He wants to play in LA for several reasons (endorsement incentives, playing for an organization whose history befits his personal greatness, chance to play alongside Kobe whom he idolizes, etc.) He can sign for the max and we'll have 2 players to trade for him., LO and Gasol.. Can you imagine KB, LBJ & AB in the same line-up?

Lakers make it to at least Western Conference finals this year.

Get used to being the favorites again, Laker fans.

Laker Kev

CRANK UP YOUR TRADE MACHINES!!!

For all of his scourge-of-the-earth qualities, Mark Heisler has revealed some interesting parts of the Gasol back-story.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-heisler2feb02,0,6314802.story

While Kupchak was lighting up the phones, both Lamar Odom and VladRad were cards on the table, waiting to be dealt. Why didn't Memphis want LO? With Odom making $13.2 million this season and $14.1 million next, the Griz weren't interested. VladRad was part of an offer from the Bulls, but the Lakers didn't want Ben Wallace.

I'm betting that LO and VladRad's days in Purple & Gold are numbered, if Kupchak can find any takers. Too much money for too little reward.

Ok, trade machine addicts, which teams have players with expiring contracts who might help the Lakers take LO and VladRad off the books, so we can keep Sasha, Ronny, and Ariza?

That's right, I have to update my roster in NBA 2K8. This is gonna be awesome!

(I'll miss Kwame too)

Mike T-

"This is where it shows that Memphis is the 2nd worst defensive team in the NBA and that was with two 7-footers."

Yeah, and one of those 7-footers was Darko. Pretty sure he's not in the "Bruce Bowen" school of defense. Him and Kwame should get along VERY welltogether. I almost feel bad for Memphis fans.

ALMOST.

Mike T,

Why you upset my man? Didn't somebody comment that Gasol was for the Latinos? Get on board hermano.

Mike T,

You are sounding increasingly unstable and incoherent in your posts. It was about basketball before. Now you're just raving mad. Get help, man

Also, I'd rather have Magic Johnson's way of speaking over George W. Bush's. A double negative would be an improvement for him.

exhelodrvr,

>>>This is definitely going to affect who they re-sign this summer...
>>>This trade effectively makes Lamar the SF, which moves Walton, Vlad, and Ariza one step
>>>farther down the list. Walton and Vlad are on the team for several more years, so it will be hard
>>>for the team to give Vujacic, Turiaf, and Ariza what their market value will be. (The team is
>>>farther over the cap now then it was before.) So expect them to not resign at least one,
>>>possibly two, of those three.

I don't think it's as bleak as you think, and I think it all depends on performance.

You do know that playoff games are basically pure profit for the owner. I don't know how much
they make per game, but let's throw out a round number and say the Lakers make 1 million in
profit for each game played at Staples. The players and coaches contracts are annual, so unless
it's specifically written into their contracts, they don't get paid any more by the team if they win
a championship than if they make the lottery. (The league does pay a bonus, but not the team).

So let's say when Bynum comes back, the addition of Gasol sends the Lakers to the Western
Conference Finals. And lets say they end up playing 9 games at Staples. That's 9 million extra
income, which more than offsets the difference in salary (including the luxury tax) for Pau Gasol
vs Kwame + Critter.

And if that's the case (Lakers to WCF), then Buss will be motivated to keep the team together, as
currently constructed. This season, Vujacic and Turiaf have been vital components of the Lakers,
and Ariza showed a ton of promise when he was playing. But none of them looks like a max
contract player or anything like that. Playing as they are, I'd put Turiaf in the full MLE range this
summer, and Vujacic and Ariza slightly below that. And what's more, I think that all three of those
players would accept slightly less from the Lakers than from other teams - a combination of
loyalty to the team and wanting to play for a contender.

Of the three, I'd say Ariza is the least likely of the three to be re-signed if they keep both Odom
and Gasol. Lamar and Luke are both perfect SF's for a team that has so many good scorers in
Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Fisher, Farmar, Vujacic, etc. They are both low-ego players who are happy
to defer to other players, which is useful (ask Phoenix about Marion and Stodamire if you don't
believe me).

But if Ariza comes back and plays a significant role in the playoffs, then I could see them making
offers to all three players, luxury tax be damned. They'd be in the state that Phoenix is in right
now, but with a slightly better team.

And here's one other thought... I could see Buss as being more generous with those three players
if Odom was willing to sign a multi-year extension for less than he's currently making. For example,
if Odom would agree to extend for 3 years at 8 million per (going 9 million, 8 million, 7 million), then
that would make a little bit of a buffer for the extra cash for Ariza/Vujacic/Turiaf.

And there's one other possibility. And this is more likely if the Lakers have an early exit from the
playoffs... They could trade either Gasol or Odom this summer. (I'll do a separate post about that).

Nice one Mike, way to show you're not an attention wh#re.

As you admit, you're not a fan. You're just a troll now. Go away.

Also, while we're on the subject of correcting grammar, it's 'past', not 'pasted'. That's just dumb.

OK, I'm ready for the saturday blog now. It's not like anything big happened yesterday, what's taking you guys so long to track down all your links?

LTLF,
I like your analysis for the most part. But Ariza is a Defender, of whom the Lakers have too few. Odom is way overpriced for what he delivers, and the Lakers will never deal Walton, as much as I wish they would. LO and VladRad are our best bets to go if the team is to have a realistic roster price. Also Mihm will have an expiring contract at the end of next season, and he could be on the block as well if there were any takers. Let's get rid of these three underperformers and use whatever money is available for guys who show they can be the team's future.

Weatherman,

I'm working on it. I also allowed myself to sleep in a bit. It's a Saturday, my man.

AK

Mike T,
Pls. tell Kwame to ask the grizzlies for contract buyout and return to the lakers for the minimum vet contract..

Who ever thought A. McKie would be useful in a trade?

"They're uneducated fools and nothing is going to change that. "

Mike T,

You haven't shown a modicum of intelligence or education ever since you've been on this board. If you don't care about the Lakers, then leave this board and let fans discuss things. Your aimless ramblings have reached a new low; you've resorted to call men who have a higher salary than your own "uneducated" and somehow get this pathetic notion that the Lakers are a "political machine" stuck in your head.

If anyone needs to stop chasing the crack rock, it's you.

Edwin Gueco,

Yes, Wallace "chewed him up" to the tune of 3-13 for 6 points and 4 rebounds. And Kwame wasn't guarding Prince. Hmm, I understand if you didn't watch the game, but at least look at the box score!!

On a different note, should I be happy that Hollinger is calling the Lakers favorites? Who'd he pick before the season again? *cough*Houston*cough*

Wanna know the definition of IRONY?

It's when you make fun of someone's speech by misspelling the word "speech". Idiot I tell you, IDIOT!!!!

"Not dumb because of the double negative he uses but because Howard Stern used to clown him about his speach."

Posted by: Michael Teniente | February 02, 2008 at 12:37 AM

Alec,

Well said!

By the way, am I wrong, or is the real winner here Aaron McKie?

BK