Artest is a tough choice to actually want, his brain is just not always connected and that can come back at a team, coach and even the fans....He is intense and much better defensively than Odom but still has the same propensity to do the knucklehead stupid play that we have continuously seen out of Odom. Apples or Oranges. LO is a Laker now and has persevered, he is a good fit here now.I would love to see Artest if we could keep Odom. Odom might even be the best bench player starting for us. His starting role/ position would go to Posey in a playoff situation tomorrow. Posey is and always will be a better clutch player, along with Robert Horry. Sorry LO fans his IQ is just lame and he doesn't know how to make the adjustment to play hard and harder in the postseason. HIs effort is good but his productivity on offense and stupidity on defense is a shameful sight when the game is on the line. This guy has all the tools to be one of the most amazing players the league has ever seen. He just can't capture it and execute all of his skills from that big bundle of talent in a huge game. On again off again doesn't get you championships.
We were close and with a healthy Bynum and not losing too many players form the bench we could be just as good especially if Farmar, Sasha, Ariza and guys like Coby Karl can get into the mix and improve like the last off-season. I really liked Carl and think he could be a huge asset a Jeff Hornacek kind of player, no frills but a steady releiable tough player that I beleive might be a great shooter soon.
Posey is a definite 'wish list' guy and bringing anyone of that mould could help us immensely. Tough and long. I think we didn't use Turiaf enough and could have even benefitted from Mbenga in the Finals but Phil just doesn't work those rotations into a game, a shortcoming of his-too bad. Can't wait for next season. I just hope Kobe can get totally healthy before training camp with all this USA BBall.
GO LAKERS

Haven't been on the blog in awhile, letting the sting of defeat wash from my pores. Man do i hate those SI Boston championship run package where i have to watch PP loopy jump shots actually go in the basket.

Here's a poll we should all take:
Is Boston a one and done Larry O' winner?

I say yes. They are going to lose Posey to somebody willing to go a mil or two higher than the Celtics. There is no way that Doc Rivers can inspire those guys the same way again. PP will come in 10 pounds over weight and will prepare his title defense the same way Shaq does...by partying hard. KG will get pissed at his teammates because they do not share his drive and passion. Ray Allen will miss 30 - 40 % of next season due to injury and I'll never understand how Eddie House suddenly played like an All-Star. Oh wait...it was that championship starved Boston crowd that demanded release. That and the ghost of Red, haunting LA one last time.

Well Red, I'm calling Dan Akroyd and Bill Murray and they're strapping on some proton packs and are gonna bust your %&*#.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ztTVWvtG9Ec

I hope that the Lakers DO match Ronny (even though I know they wont) but if they did sign him to that deal I would rather he go somewhere in a sign and trade. We need Sasha because he not only provides stingy defense and offensive continuity off the bench, but if Kobe gets hurt. Then we will need to really be able to stretch the opponents defense in order to give Gasol and Bynum room to pound inside. If Kobe gets hurt, we will become an even slower team with almost no fast break. Sasha's 3 point shooting is the most reliable on the team and he will keep a roaming defender honest because he has a quick release and isn't afraid to take the ball to the hole (what he does once he's at the hole...well hopefully he address' that in the off-season). I know it sounds strange talking about Kobe being hurt, but we're all human and accidents happen on and off the court. While noone can fill Kobe's shoes, they can at least give our coaching staff some options on the floor that change the dynamic of the game. We must resign Sasha.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

Lakers should do it
Artest is more consistent that LO
He has better defense
He averages about 21 ppg
Also we dont need LO he only grabs rebounds and we dont need them so much now because we will be getting help by andrew bynum with the rebounds
SO DO IT

More Summer League notes -

A couple of people may have earned their way onto a spot in the
Lakers training camp roster with their play (if they keep it up) -

Dwayne Mitchell - a guard who was in the D-League all-stars
last year. Attacks the rim with no fear. Quick hands on
defense - 8 points, 4 boards, 3 steals and an assist.

Nik Caner-Medley - okay, so his name sounds like a twit
character in a Monty Python sketch, but he hustles all the
time on the court. He got 7 points, 8 rebounds and a couple
of assists in 20 minutes and didn't take a single minute off.

Cedric Bozeman - another solid game for Ced. 12 points on
5 for 5 shooting, 4 boards and an assist.

I think it would take a big leap by one of these guys to make
the regular season roster, but they've already shown enough
that it wouldn't surprise me to see one or more of them get at
least a look in the pre-season

BTW, NBA.com has been giving Coby Karl some love in their
coverage of the summer league.

I would absolutely love to have Ron Artest on this team. There aren't many guys in the league that I like watching play more than him. The dude plays his heart out every second on the floor and the fact that he is absolutely crazy makes it even better. Do you think KG would have been doing all that yelling and chest pounding if Artest was on the Lakers? Hell no!! He would have been freaked that Artest would go nuts and eat his children. He would be the absolute perfect fit on this team, craziness, bad shot selection and future contract extension included.

Let's get him in here pronto!!!

This just in Jordan Farmar might be barack Obama's running mate...on the break. J Farm was spotted at the Balboa Bay Club visiting the Democratic Presidential Nominee. Farmar to Obama, he shoots, he scores!

Fun.

Gueco,
are you really telling us that from what you saw in summer league, Coby Karl should've got some tick in the NBA Finals?

Now maybe he really does deserve tick, but using the summer league as a basis for that is crazy right?

Coby Karl IMO would have no chance vs. Pierce, Allen, Posey or whoever the Celts had.

Let's not overdo summer league...

One more Summer League note -

There was one SICK sequence in the first half - Coby Karl
blocked a jump shot by OJ Mayo, a teammate threw it ahead
to Coby on the wing in the front court, and then Coby threw
an alley oop to a teammate.

Mayo made all the highlight reels with his drive past Karl and
two other Lakers for a circus reverse layup, but I thought
Karl's sequence on defense-to-offense was more poignant,
as it showed him excelling on both ends of the court.

The main problem the Lakers have with bringing in Artest, is that even if "Ron/Bill" behaves himself and keeps his head on straight. The team will end up losing two “bigs” or “power forwards” (Ronny and Lamar) in the process.

And this is the problem with Artest not opting out when he had the chance.

Now to bring him in via a trade you have to “give to get.” Thus while you very well may solve the issue at the SF slot. You create another problem at the PF position. For who is going to back-up Gasol now?

When Pau has to rest, picks up two early fouls, has to move over to center when Andrew goes out of the game, gets injured (God forbid), ect. Who are you going to bring in?

Luke Walton?

Therefore, the Lakers reluctance to part with Lamar here is quite understandable in light of what will almost assuredly be Turiaf’s earlier exit.

Andrew Z

Absodamlutely. Who would Paul Pierce and players that look like him, least like to have waiting for them at half court?

Billron is a walkin' wanted poster. You don't post him up for fear of turning your back on him and you definitely don't go KG on him.

On a team where all he has to do is guard his man and hit a wide open shot, he's the best bargain in the NBA.

But the issue is LO as it has been since he arrived.
Is it worth LO? I doubt they'll pull that trigger.

A major consideration on the Artest/Odom question will be what the F.O. thinks it would take to re-sign each of them for subsequent seasons.

LakerTom,

>>Why would you be surprised that an intelligent, educated, entrepreneurial, tolerant, pot smoking, basketball loving, tech embracing, biracial, pre-baby boomer, independent voter like myself would prefer a smart, young, dynamic, inspiring, charismatic, consensus building, basketball loving, tech savvy, biracial senator in the prime of his life

As one of those people who clutches to his religion and right to hunt, I found his comments made up in San Fran very offensive. Dress it up however you want, but it's one reactionary left wing socialist feeling comfortable with another.

You might want to cut back on the weed since it is proven to impair mental abililty.

Long Time Laker Fan

From the summer league news you need to know, to the most meaningful stats and contract considerations, you remain, the best damn basketball blogger period.

I think Artest would be a GREAT fit for our team, but not if it's gonna cost us LO. I've said this before, but we need BOTH of them. If we can't find a way to get Artest without giving up LO I think we should look to make a trade with Houston.

I know they just signed Barry but he's not gonna be able to contribute much more than 10-15 mins a game so here's a trade I think benefits both teams:

Houston gets:
Ariza
Radmanovic

We get:
Battier
Chuck Hayes

This gives them a shooter they can start if they want, and a young athletic defensive player to replace Battier, and we get the defensive stopper we need, and help inside to replace Turiaf.

Good article about the Spurs; gives some insights into the decisions that front offices have to make when putting together a team.

http://tinyurl.com/6lonbt

brian and andy kemenetski brothers what is the status of the los angeles times blogs lakers background colors. can we get some flavor flave in this house. i will say that if we could get bill it was a risk i would ok. lamar was given several oportuniyes and could not deliver like united states postal service and carl malon. it is indeed a time for a change. i would like to resolve sascha to a contract to if we may. i canot understand that he has not received offers from other nba teams. in my humbly opinion sascha is worth more cash moneys than rony. sascha played a lot of time this season even in closing games. i would like a veteran to assist our team. we were to young and it showed in the finals last month. ok its a hot one today and i will refresh my. remember the tight ones for now.

ding how in prattville.

I wonder if anyone has offered Posey an incentive laced contract.

It's pretty clear that nobody wants to pay him a full MLE for four
years or he'd already be signed.

Maybe he'd sign for a somewhat gimmicky contract, like...

5 years at 4M, 4.5M, 5M, 5.5M, 6M base pay
player option on the 3rd year
team option on the 4th year
plus these performance incentives:
+ 1 million each season if the Lakers make the finals
+ another million each season if the Lakers win the championship
+ the team option on the 4th year goes away if the Lakers
win a championship in any of the first 3 years.

That gives him a chance to earn MORE than the MLE for
5 years and also gives him incentive to play hard, as getting
to the finals and winning in the finals will mean big bucks
for him.

Long Time Laker Fan

You implied that Karl has a guaranteed spot on the Lakers team and he doesn't.

I don't know about the Artest thing.

First, I think Odom is a better all around player. Better at driving to the rim, better rebounder, quicker, probably better passer. Artest is a better defender and shooter.

But what really, really, really makes me mad, makes me wonder about both Artest's judgment and intelligence is how immediately after signing his option with the Kings he publicly lamented it and requested a trade.

What an idiot. We could have signed him with the midlevel and kept Odom. Odom may not have been dominant against the Celtics, but he was against the Jazz. He played magnificently against Boozer, in fact, I believe that Artest would not have fared as well against Boozer.

So the fact that he wants us now to just throw Lamar away so he can join the team, when HE COULD HAVE joined the team already by opting out, makes me say...no.

Thanks, but no. We'll see you next year when you become a free agent. You did this buddy. You sold your shot at a ring for, what, 1.something million?

You could have been a Laker. You chose not to be. See you next year, unless you can make yourself so distasteful that the Kings offer to take back some of our bad contracts when we take on some of theirs.

Man, this Artest guy is an idiot. He'd probably help against the Celtics, but what about the WC where Odom finally played like the stud he is? I don't know that Artest makes us better against those foes. Because of this and Artest's passed chance to become a Laker, I say no.

Wes

Thirty Two,

So far Calathas is not making any kind of impression that will give him an opportunity to be in the 2nd team roster. Is he the brother of Calathas who might join Team Greece in this Olympics? Let's us see in the other games.

BD & Korey,

I know, I know it's only Summer League but the way Coby Karl moves like Bob Cousy, a player in the sixties assists, shoots and rebounds. Luke is reluctant to shoot and no confidence on his shooting. This kid can score and nimble in the post, there are times he's overpowered by crossover artists but he can play. Maybe, he might not be prepared for the playoffs but we really don't know b/c he was tried only for short minutes and it was against Denver. In this Summer League, he's rocking the Lakers, worth for the show and he's guarding marquee players who got a name in the NC's and good rookies last year like Stuckey, Affalo, Mayo and Critt. For two consecutive games, Coby is the top scorer for the Lakers. Folks, if this kid is healthy and have more playing time, Bynum will get a lot of good balls from him, Pau will easily alley hoop his passes and he can play with Kobe. The primordial concern is that he should be healthy.

By the way, for those of you who are near Pauley Pavillion, you'd see Farmar and Love for pick-up games.

JustaLakerFan

I was reading your post response from the other blog thread.

I think you put wayyyy too much into the Lakers using Odom's 14 million expiring contract potentially.
That would be a disaster of a move.
Odom's 14 million rolling off would leave us over the cap or only 1-2 million under the cap at best.

Now who exactly do you think we can get for 1-2 million a yr to replace Lamar Odom's impact or do even better.

Trust me on this one.

We need to get Odom to extend now (we don't want to), or move him this summer (perhaps) , or at the very least move him before the All Star break (Might not get the right piece at that time by waiting around but there will be options))

Oh one more thing, now how to get out of Luke Waltons contract? lol.

I know the Lakers are playing POKER but Sac Town is not going for a Memphis blunder.
Kwame Brown was expiring so he had some value outside of his play.
Radmanovic has 3 yrs left and no one covets him now with that contract.
Why would Kings give up an expiring guy for guys with longer deals?

If we don't throw in ODOM, nothing will happen.

BD wrote:

“I sure hope Turiaf isn't signed this week. 4 year deal at 17M...no way no how...way to much. But to think that we can't sign Turiaf sucks when we have Vlade and Luke signed for 100million at 30 years. It sucks! Why did Luke get that contract and why didn't Lakers cancel out Vlade when he goes snowboarding during the season?”

“Anyway I hope they don't sign Turiaf and get this deal done for a real 3....RON ARTEST.”

“I want him on the Lebrons and Pierces of the league, I don't want to watch Luke and Vlade try to play D anylonger.”

“Dr. Buss get Artest! ..Lakers need some Toughness!”

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

But BD;

What do you suggest the Lakers do about the now “lack of toughness” the team will have at the PF position. Due to the loss of both Ronny and Lamar?.

Who is going to play behind Pau now?

The Lakers may have toughened up at the 3, but are now softened-up at the four through personnel depletion.