Motown bakeries, be on alert!

Hallelujah! Now if we're lucky, Mike T. will go with him. Anyone think he'll play any more per game than he did at Memphis? I doubt it.

I wish Kwame good luck, and by all accounts he seems to be a decent man, but I'm very happy we don't have to go through that again.

I like the way the Clippers are looking. There's a lot of good players on that team. If only Dunleavy would open it up for these guys.

The guy has never been a good coach. I don't know how he keeps getting these great jobs. He did not do a good job when he coached the Lakers. We had Magic and Worthy in their primes and didn't win against an inexperienced Bulls team? That was a terrible coaching job.

Why would you keep making Magic waste his energy bringing the ball up on Pippen? It made no sense then, it makes no sense now.

Go Lakers!

Please God let Mike T join a Pistons board.

This definitely falls under the category of "one less thing to worry about". Big thanks to the Pistons, and a sincere best of luck to Kwame.

first?????? Boy i love advertising, just looked at espn .com 2001 No. Pick Brown agrees to deal with pistons(lol) how does that sound versus Kwame Brown agrees with Pistons!!!!!!! At first read it can catch almost anyone off guard, just like Kwame is when someone passes the ball to him> Well lol(lots of luck) Pistons, Fans, and Kwame. May your 2years be filled with no blown passes, dunks,or layups, no boos from fans, and no thrown cakes.

Good Luck Kwame.

May you find success over there.

:D

Bye Kwame. We will miss your magnificent calves and your hands of stone that threw cake so well.

Best wishes Duh-troit - I think your name says it all.

And good riddance (?!) to Mike T - the Laker blog now only has to deal with the ordinary run-of-the-mill trolls. Best of luck in your new digs - hope they have good therapy classes (or at least bars on the windows).

Looks like Kobe's dream team of Luke, Radman, Smush and Kwame is never going to happen now. Tough luck, Kobe, just can't get a break.

Dang, never liked Detroit much but never did i wish such dire on them. LOL!

Best of luck to Kwame - he was always a good guy and I sincerely hope he has better luck in Detroit.

THANK GOD.

Now if only ALL Kwame supporters would follow him over there and leave this blog in peace.

Kwame fans BE GONE!

four million a year?

four million a year?

four mil *SLAP*

thanks, I needed that.

The NBA, where a guy who would be making $5.75/hr somewhere if he was four inches shorter getting another GM killing contract happens.

While I'm not a Kwame fan, I do find some relevance in Kwame's value to the Lakers after watching Pau Gasol get man handled and cower down to the Celts like a scared little girl.

On paper, Pau is a much better player than Kwame, but as I said a few weeks ago, it's not being better, but being effective, that wins championships (example; the Dallas/Warriors series a few years back- the Mavs were the better team, the Warriors were more effective. Same for the Mavs v. the Heat championship). No doubt, Pau's legacy, both with Memphis and the Lakers, is that he's a good, yet ineffective player.

Who would have helped us more in the championships? Pau or Kwame?

We will never know the answer to this. We can only speculate about Kwame's defensive/size presence versus Pau's so called offense.

Kwame probably would have been a better rebounder, but not as good a passer. Pau would have proved more valuable offensively than Kwame, but he was too afraid to shoot he ball.

I honestly don't know who would have been more valuable to us in the Celt series. Yes, it's obvious Pau brings more to the table during the regular season when the pressure isn't on, but when we needed him, he let us all down. Would Kwame had done the same?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

You have to wonder if this is going to hurt or work for the Pistons. They musta thought it would.

On the one hand they get themselves a legit defender against Bigs. I think Kwame can hold his own against KG, and DH.

But on the other they need an inside presence. One that can score and rebound. Unfortunately they don't get that with Kwame.

Then again, if you look at NO, they had a previous one dimensional player in Chandler (rebound), and by making him just do what he does, he works great for them. They're not asking him to score down low, all they're asking is for him to do what he does. Maybe Detroit will do the same for Kwame.

Like I've always said, thank you for the memories the Kwam. And thanks for Pau. We hope you the best!

Go Lakers!

Its one thing to say the Pistons are this and the Pistons will beat the Lakers now because of Kwame ...But please lets not forget that Kwame has had a terrible run with injuries and is lazy......Lets hope Billups,Rip and Prince work out how to pass the ball to Kwame otherwise he wont be able to catch it...And if he does catch it lets hope he can make a 1 inch lay up,if not the Pistons fans will eat him alive...That Pistons bench will be mighty warm with those huge calves resting on it....

Kwame Brown told you Fakers to bugger off?

hahhahahahahahhhaha

this trade works. Do it Kupchak.

http://games.espn.go.com/
nba/features/traderesult?
players=1724~2996~1016~2027&teams=
13~13~8~8&te=&cash=

I consider all of you and myself bullet dodgers now.

Faith,

"You have to wonder if this is going to hurt or work for the Pistons. They musta thought it would. On the one hand they get themselves a legit defender against Bigs. I think Kwame can hold his own against KG, and DH. But on the other they need an inside presence. One that can score and rebound. Unfortunately they don't get that with Kwame.

Then again, if you look at NO, they had a previous one dimensional player in Chandler (rebound), and by making him just do what he does, he works great for them. They're not asking him to score down low, all they're asking is for him to do what he does. Maybe Detroit will do the same for Kwame."

That's a pretty big oversimplification of what Chandler does for the Hornets. Aside from the rebounding, he's a solid shot blocker and among the better help defending bigs in the league. He came in 9th for DPOY voting in '07 and 11th last season. Kwame's never even received a vote, to the best of my knowledge. He also may not be a "scorer," but he can be depended on to do it. Unlike Kwame, he's a good finisher. The "Paul to Chandler" alley oop was a very big part of their game plan, which not only helped their success, but meant Chandler- unlike Kwame- always had to be accounted for. That opens up breathing room for David West.

Chandler helped NO more than Kwame helped the Lakers because Chandler is a much better player. It's really that simple. Unless Kwame can find more than one way to be consistently useful, I don't see him helping the Pistons more than he did here.

AK

What I'm concerned about is having a decent backup so Bynum and Gasol don't have to pile up the minutes, especially at the beginning of the season. Yeah, I get it, Gasol will rotate up to Center when Bynum rests. However, Gasol has been shown to be somewhat injury prone so I'd rather he not have to bang with the behemoths too much and Bynum, even though he is supposed to come back in BEAST condition - according to his mouthpiece... I don't want to start the guy off at 35 minutes/game either...

I want to hear that Chris Mihm is going to become a BEAST this summer! Beat up little kids and take their candy, hang around ATM's daring somebody to rip you off, grow a nasty, scraggly beard, stop combing your hair, get some tats, frighten Chris Anderson with a war whoop when you see him...

Warning for local Detroit restaurateurs... DUCK!!! If Kwame is around it's going to be either a ball or a cake flying at your head...

Benjamin,

Don't be coy, tell us how you really feel.

Kwame better than Pau even in defense, no way. Kwame is slow and all muscle but his defensive stop has a quantum liability that he gives away in offense. He creates T/O's like Walton in bunches, can't make a decent shot no way should we compare him to Pau Gasol. Perhaps, Kwame can excel in 3 by 3 basketball setting, where there is no need of running much, no 3 seconds and a game of thuggery in bumping, shoving, a semi street fighting in basketball.

With regards to Clippers, they have a good team not necessrily a quality one, good for their market of fans just enough to win over .500. As Baylor, he got Davis as a specialist to do certain task needed by a role player. He is better than Walton but less than Vujacic as a bench player. My question to Jon K, if Quintin Ross is a pick up why did the Clippers let him go? Why are there no teams going for him? Is Ricky Davis better than Quintin Ross?

What do you think of the Lakers? Are they done in signing new people or working on a trade?

This will be interesting. Until he joined the Pistons, Billups had been a major disappointment if not a bust. Ben Wallace was picked up from Orlando for Jeff McGinnis. Rasheed became a great team player and possibly the primary reason the Pistons became perennial contenders.

After the Lakers, the Pistons are my favorite team (nearly everyone else in my family was born and bred in Detroit; parents, grandparents, all my aunts and uncles etc. I was brainwashed). I'm not at all disappointed by this signing. Like AK said this may be the best possible fit for Kwame.

AK,

I meant more in that unlike his previous stint in Chicago, Chandler is helping NO more because of what they ask of him.

They're not asking him to score, instead they're asking him to do what he does. Rebound, shot block, etc. These are things he did and did well in Chicago but he wasn't making as much a difference as he does now in NO.

And in doing so, it opens up things for him in the offense as well...i.e. alley-oop.

Considering we didn't get passed the 1st round with Kwame in the team (though he doesn't lead us)...and we got all the way to the finals with Pau...I'd say Pau-Wow helps us that much more.

Go Lakers!

Faith,

"I meant more in that unlike his previous stint in Chicago, Chandler is helping NO more because of what they ask of him. They're not asking him to score, instead they're asking him to do what he does. Rebound, shot block, etc. These are things he did and did well in Chicago but he wasn't making as much a difference as he does now in NO. And in doing so, it opens up things for him in the offense as well...i.e. alley-oop."

You're right that NO doesn't have hopes of a 15-20 ppg guy like Chicago probably hoped they'd get upon trading for Chandler. But NO does look for him to score, which is what I was getting at. Again, he performs a very specific and effective function within their offense. Kwame, at this point, can't be counted on for that. And even if NO allowed him to "play his game," his game has more facets than Kwame's. In your original description, you made it sound like all the Hornets ask him to do is shag misses. He does much more for that team.

I would also contend that his impact is felt more in NO than Chicago in large part because the Hornets are a better team and unlike Skiles, players not named "Kidd" like Byron Scott.

I guess what I'm saying is that if it were that simple (basically, Kwame being able to find great success by bodying people well and being average or below at just about everything else), he'd have already helped a team more than he has.

AK

How many dropped passes and missed lay ups before Detroit fans start to boo Kwame?

The Kwame - Detroit Honeymoon won't last long.

Not necessarily because everywhere he's been he's been asked to do more than he's capable of. Including us. This may be revisionist history but I seem to recall his best stint with us came when he was coming off the bench. Mostly because coming of the bench, he was logging a lot less minutes to mess up, and in those minutes we often didn't require him to score (at best we asked him to throw mighty picks for Kobe). In those minutes we pretty much just asked him to help with pick and roll, and some man-to-man D. When he started though, we often went out our way to throw him the ball in the paint and ask him to do something with it, we know what happened then lol.

Also the very fact that the Hornets are a better team is why they can afford for one player to just stay within himself.

Ding How's Restaurant has the The Kwame Brown Special today - A large bowl of Egg Drop Soup.

Faith,

But again, you keep missing the point (or I'm not making it well). Chandler "staying within himself" offers a team more than Kwame "staying within himself." If Chandler could literally only do one thing well (as is more or less the case with Kwame), his effect would be considerably different while staying "within himself," I'm guessing. In a lot of ways, this is comparing apples to oranges, because one player is a lot better than the other. Chandler offers a team way more than Kwame, so he'll naturally add more to their success "doing his thing" than Kwame doing his, because the first guy is doing more.

AK

I believe MJ did permanent damage to Kwame's psyche. I sincerely hope he succeeds in Detroit against everyone except us. I'd honestly like to see him become a success in his profession of choice. Otherwise, MJ should pay for his counselling.

I'm not saying Kwame is a better player. No way, no how. And for a one dimensional guy, there isn't one that's more one dimensional than Kwame.

All I'm saying is, provided they don't ask too much of Kwame, he may very well "pan" out (in a small scale) for them.

Faith,

"I'm not saying Kwame is a better player. No way, no how. And for a one dimensional guy, there isn't one that's more one dimensional than Kwame. All I'm saying is, provided they don't ask too much of Kwame, he may very well "pan" out (in a small scale) for them."

I guess so. But at the same time, if the expectations, responsibilities and maybe even PT get decreased so much in order for Kwame to "succeed," is he really actually succeeding? If it's as small a scale as you're suggesting, then I doubt Detroit's season would have turned out much differently if he was on the team or not. I don't consider than "panning out" as much as simply not screwing up as much. There's a difference.

AK

AK

Faith,
"he's been asked to do more than he's capable of. Including us."

Not the last couple of years with the Lakers. Unless by "more than he is capable of" you mean basic help defense, getting in position for a rebound, and catching the ball. They did NOT look for any polished offensive performance from Kwame after they realized he had a hard time maintaining his focus, and had horrible hands.

Are there any interesting possibilities out there for the Lakers to pick up on the cheap?

Ex, we asked him to score. Esp in the playoffs against the Suns.

We went out our way to throw him the ball in the paint and ask him to do something with it. We know how that turned out.

AK, re: decrease...much like PJ has to curtail our rotation so that our role players can go out there and show off their stuff without overstaying their welcome (haha)...I think Detroit can do something somewhat similar. Now it depends on him whether the minutes are 5 or DNP haha, jk.

Good. I wish him all the luck, just didn't want him dropping our passes and missing our layups (should be dunks).

Now we need to sign Drew so it doesn't get too expensive later one. I'm pretty sure his knee is ok and he will start picking it up around the same time he did last year. I don't think he will come out hot because he will have so many emotions and will need to get back in the "feel" of an NBA game. But I'm 100% positive Drew will be the Socks we got to know and appreciate last year.

Lamar = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS

Faith,
But not using any offensive "skill". All he was expected to do was catch passes close to the basket and dunk/shoot layups. He wasn't expected to "create his own shot."

And if you remember, his production dropped off after his night partying and the assault charge. Had he not been out partying in the middle of the playoffs ...

Kwame Brown is 100% cruddy at 100% of basketball activities.

Thank goodness he'll be warming some other team's bench.

Faith,

I think you're right.

Chandler is the better player, although he would get pushed around by Perkins too. Kwame wouldn't. It's all about the calves. haha

justanothermambafan/fatty,

I hate Detroit, so I cannot root for Kwame there.

It's all over. Like everything in The Cakethrower's life. It's over.

One of the psychologically weakest players in the NBA has chosen to go to a team with some of the most brutal fans.

His agent should be dragged into the streets and kicked to death. Moron.

I liked Kwame. I wanted him to succeed. I wanted him to come back to the Lakers.

Now that he's a Piston, it's over. The guy will receive the karma he deserves for overpartying when he should have been standing in his driveway trying to catch a basketball covered in vaseline 10,000 times until he got it right.

Life is filled with tragedy. It happens.

GO LAKERS!

Thank you Pistons! thank you thank you and thank you very much!

Good luck Kwame, don't.. don't drop the ball. LOL

giantsquid:
I understand your point about nobodies becoming stars, but Ben Wallace was not traded from Orlando for Jeff McInnis, he was traded with Chucky Atkins for Grant Hill. Big difference!

my guess is that, Detroit needs kwame to bang with elton brand?

Anybody who questions whether Kwame would have been better for us than Gasol need to realize that if we didn't get Gasol, we would not have even made the playoffs or at best would have been one-and-done. Kwame has the least amount of basketball skills than any starter in the NBA that I can remember. I'd take Chris Washburn, Gheorge Muresan or Jerrod Collins over Kwame.

C'mon JonK - have a little heart. Kwame's a good guy who was way over-billed by MJ. Always trying to live up to something you're just not can never be good. He's damaged goods, but not deserving of retribution. Can't we just wish him well and hope he gets some self-confidence back (except for against the Lakers)?

Hello lakers family!

I think most of us here misunderstood why Detriot wants Kwame Brown... They are not taking Kwame for offensive purposes...they have plenty of that in Rasheed, down low... chauncey, rip, and Prince... What they are taking Kwame for is the defensive presence inside...especially on help defense... Kwame is good at it as well as 1-on-1 defense on the likes of Perkins, JO, etc... Maxiel is too small... Mcdyess is a PF.. so is Rasheed... Theo is old. They don't have a ligitimate center actually.

And most especially, they are taking Kwame for the purpose of upseting the relative advantage of the Boston Celtics on the low block, and bang around with Perkins... this is what Detriot is looking down the road...

I still beleive that.. Detriot would have taken the Celtics out if they have somebody that could have pushed Boston's bigs out of the paint.. you will notice this in the Boston-Detriot series... Garnet and Perkins was having thier way in that series.

With this signing... Detriot is sertting itself up for a repeat of their battle with the Celtics dreaded bigs...

I love Kwame as a person and as a defensive backup center... not as a starting center... for that.. he is more than capable. This is where most of you people are amiss. The Lakers brass and coaching staff knows this. That's why they were sending fillers to bring him back to the Lakers fold.

Please,

Anyone who is lamenting this occurance, (Jon K.) go and watch any tape you can find of Kwame Brown actually playing basketball. Just do it. Watch the tape of him being booed by his hometown fans. Watch the tape of layup after missed layup, when he should've been dunking the ball. Watch the dropped passes. Every pass. Watch it. Don't give me the garbage about him being a good defender, because he isn't. He's a foul prone, big bodied oaf. He does nothing spectacularly, or even marginally well.

The thing that everyone is forgetting here, is the fact that in his time with the Lakers, Kwame had one full season of play.

05-06: 72 gp
06-07: 41 gp
07-08: 23 gp after offseason surgery then traded

KWAME STINKS! AT LEAST MBENGA CAN CATCH A PASS! KWAME BROWN WOULD NOT HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE FINALS! YOU'VE ALL GONE MAD!

Please, stop it.

For once can't we just give the man some love? It was not his fault that he was taken that high on the draft... it was a judgment mistake by MJ and the washington wizards...

Go Kwame! I hope you find success in MOTOWN!!!!

of course... GO LAKERS!!!!

rdlee

you're absolutely right and i knew that was the trade.

I was in a hurry and read the following incorrectly

"In 1999, Wallace was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Tim Legler, Terry Davis, and Jeff McInnis for Ike Austin.
On August 3, 2000, he was traded along with Chucky Atkins to the Detroit Pistons for Grant Hill, in what was at the time considered a one-sided trade."

vi lakerfan,

>>>2001 No. Pick Brown agrees to deal with pistons(lol)
>>>how does that sound versus ...

Well, actually they should have put "Biggest bust in the history
of the NBA Draft Kwame Brown agrees..." Though it doesn't
roll off the tounge real smoothly.

If any team can take Kwame and turn him into a start, it's
Detroit. Ask Ben Wallace or Chauncey Billups.

IN DEFENSE OF OUR 6 WHITE GUYS…

If you listen to what Mitch has been saying and watch what has been happening, it is reasonable to presume that this is what the Lakers 2009 opening roster could look like, assuming we re-sign Mbenga and Karl from and add Sun Yue and a free agent:

CE: Bynum Mihm (Mbenga-13)
PF: Gasol Odom (Free Agent-15)
SF: Ariza Radmanovic Walton
SG: Bryant Vujacic (Karl-14)
PG: Fisher Farmar (Sun-12)

What’s interesting is that this Lakers roster includes 6 white players, which means that the Lakers probably lead the league in white players. Naturally, the number of white players leads to inevitable questions as to whether this is why the Lakers played so soft, the general media consensus after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Additionally, Lakers fans have brutally disrespected, traded, or cut some or all of these 6 white players on the blog this year. In fact, you would have to conclude that these guys were even worse than Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, or Brian Cook, which of course is not true at all since these 3 players were true cancers whose departure was a blessing. –

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at each one of these guys:

PAU GASOL – No doubt that the media jumped all over Pau as the primary culprit in the Lakers soft play against the Celtics. They forget that the guy is a power forward and was playing out of position against the Celtics due to Andrew Bynum’s injury. Or that Gasol played Kevin Garnett to a standstill when he was matched up against him. Or that he was the player who saved the franchise and lead us to the Western Conference championship. While Pau may not have the body of a banger, he is going to be an all-star again with the Lakers next year at power forward, his natural position. He will be a starter at power forward and the first backup of Andrew Bynum at center.

VLADE RADMANOVIC – Aside from Luke, nobody gets more criticism than Vlade for not showing up and not playing up to his potential. Lakers fans have to remember that he is not a rebounder or defender. He was signed to do one thing – make 3-pointers, which he did at a very respectable 40% last year. While I would love to have Ron Artest or Shane Battier or Tayshaun Prince at small forward, it would be foolish for the Lakers to trade their best long range shooters of their front court players. Guys who can bury 40% of their 3-pointers will always have a place in a center dominated Triangle Offense. He will be the first backup at small forward behind Trevor Ariza.

SASHA VUJACIC – I was surprised that more teams didn’t make offers to Sasha. I think that was definitely because they knew the Lakers would match any reasonable offer and didn’t want to tie up the cap space to try it. All you have to know about Sasha is 44%, which is the 7th best percentage from beyond the 3-point line in the entire NBA. Without a doubt, Sasha is the best shooter on the team and has a chance to etch his spot in Lakers history as our version of Steve Kerr. Aside from that, who would want to send away Faith’s favorite Laker? They would be never hear the end of it from Faith. LOL. He will be the first backup at shooting guard behind Kobe Bryant.

LUKE WALTON – The poster boy for the ESPN trade machine. LOL. I would like Lakers fans to step back for a second and forget about the ill-advised 6-year contract that Luke jumped at when offered to him and that every one of us would have done the same. Imagine instead the Luke of the first half of 2007, when he was playing great, burying 3-point shots from the corner, making crisp passes for assists, and hitting the boards hard. We all know it is just confidence that is keeping Luke from being that player again. He has enough physical skills and basketball IQ to be a player again if healthy. Bottom line, he is probably the best 11th man on any NBA roster. He will be the second backup at small forward behind Trevor Ariza and Vlade Radmanovic.

CHRIS MIHM – It’s hard to be optimistic about Chris’ ankle and foot problems since they have basically cost him over a year and a half of his career but the Lakers and Chris both feel that this time he will be able to get his athleticism and explosiveness back. If that is true, then we will have the best backup center in the NBA and a guy who can put the ball in the basket and block a few shots. He was not a banger before his injury and won’t be the answer to toughness but as a backup center and probably the 12th player on the roster, there is a lot to like that Chris is still a Laker. He will probably be the third backup at center behind Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

COBY KARL – What is there not to like about Coby. I think he can be a 3-point specialist as a shooting guard. He has size, good skills, and is a natural shooter who should only get better. He knows basketball being the son of an NBA coach and the fans love him. He may not dance like Ronny but he will take over the bench mascot position by default. And the for the 14th player on the roster, Coby definitely has potential. He could well be one of the best 15th player on any NBA roster.

Bottom line, we all know that “in general” that White Men Can’t Jump but urban legend has it that they are smarter, better natural shooters, and have better fundamental skills. But all of the players who make it all the way to the NBA have great talent and skills no matter their what color. And the 6 white guys who – with Lamar – always seem to be the ones who are maligned on the blog, all have something to contribute to the Lakers becoming a championship team. Personally, I got no problem going to battle with this roster, including the 6 white guys. I think they’re going to help us win championships and in the end I am grateful that we have them on the Lakers. Let’s root for our team.

Tom

phred,

>>>>>The NBA, where a guy who would be making $5.75/hr somewhere
>>>>>if he was four inches shorter getting another GM killing contract happens.

Actually, I think Kwame could get a job at In-n-Out for $11 per hour to start. Once he plays out his two years and is cut by the Pistons, do you think he would go overseas to play basketball? I doubt it. The guy has no drive. He is not really a basketball player, just a guy who grew too big.

Kwame’s a nice guy to hear him talk and articulate for someone who didn’t go to college. He’d do well at In-n-Out. LOL. A #2 with spread and lettuce, Kwame. To go, like you.

Tom

What is good for Pistons is not good for the Lakers. Did that, done that so got to move on to the next level. Do we have better players to talk about than scrubs of NBA? I have seen better NBA thugs than Kwame and they can shoot like Mahorn, Oakley, Moses Malone and the today's players like Kristic, Foster, Chandler, Artest, Okafor, Howard etc. They hustle on defense and know how to handle the ball going to the hoop. In other words, they know the ABC of Basketball while in the case of Kwame, he may just be a role player in charge of defense but still he is one out of the five players out there capable of doing good things or miserable T/O's for the team. What's good of a role player if he makes more turnovers than defensive stop? Yeah, I say Mbenga is better than Kwame if given enough playing time.

Outside of Mbenga, Kwame, Mihm are there any other players out there who could help Bynum when he gets into foul trouble or just an insurance in case of slow healing on that knee injury?

Pau Gasol is obviously a better player than Kwame Brown, hands down.

That's not my contention.

What I'm saying is that, within the basketball structure of the LA Lakers, particularly against physical teams like the Celtics, it's debatable whether or not Pau would have been as effective as Kwame.

In order to appreciate what I'm saying, you have to understand the difference between a good player and an effective player.

Dirk N. from the Mavs is perfect example of a good player that is not effective. You don't have to be good to be effective. James Posey isn't considered a "good" player, but he is effective in what he's suppose to do.

Pau is just the opposite. He's a good player, who isn't effective in what he's suppose to do, and that is proven by the fact that he never led his old Memphis team out of the 1st round of the playoffs, and he was roundly panned for his poor play during the championships.

Kwame, on the other hand, is not a good player, but in the right circumstances, he can be effective. We needed a defensive presence in the Celt series, and Kwame could have proven to be exactly what we needed.

Good versus effective. Pau or Kwame.

LakerTom,

6 and a half white men. Forget Farmar?

AK, I think for all the faults you see in kwame he provided a decent defense and rebounding. Looking at the Lakers lineup at present, theyre overloaded at sf sg position but could still use some help at pf/c and pg position. Are they really bringing over Sun yue? Who will provide back up at pf/c? I read a lot about Elton Brown why dont they sign him to replace Turiaf? He could come a lot cheaper.

troy,

>>>>> Who would have helped us more in the championships? Pau or Kwame?

>>>>>We will never know the answer to this. We can only speculate about Kwame's
>>>>>defensive/size presence versus Pau's so called offense.

The only reason to ever include a bust like Kwame Brown’s name in the same sentence as an accomplished star player like Pau Gasol is the fact they were traded for each other. Anything else is an insult to Pau and jury worthy evidence of your early senility.

And to speculate that Kwame could have been more effective than Pau Gasol against the Celtics in the Finals is like wondering if Michelle Wie could have done a better job in the U.S. Open than Tiger Woods.

Do you ever wonder why the ONLY person in the world to agree with you is the Fool? Think about that, Troy. The only other person in the world.

Tom

Jus10,

"AK, I think for all the faults you see in kwame he provided a decent defense and rebounding."

Kwame's actually a pretty mediocre rebounder. He's a 7 foot center with great hops, great athletic ability, and plays VERY close to the basket, but he's only averaged 7 boards once in his entire career. His per 48 numbers always rank very low against other centers and typically among his teammates. He doesn't anticipate ball flights well, doesn't box out well and is typically a step behind in reacting.

I did (and always have) acknowledge Kwame's ability to body in the post. I don't think that talent alone can make up for the other shortcomings. He'll sometimes do a nice job showing on pick and roll, but he's a terrible help defender, not nearly as good of a shot blocker as he could be, and, as I said, not a good rebounder. Thus, his defense, as well as his game, isn't rounded enough to make a consistent difference, in my opinion.

AK

Laker Tom,

You are making excuses, eloquent and articulate yes, but they are still excuses. With the exception of SAsha, there is no defense for the Laker white players. All of them suck, and that's been proven by their play. Lets call it as we see it.

RICO TICO,

>>>>> My idea is , maybe we should keep one on the bench so we have a team that >>>>>scores even with our bench is in the game. The question is who ? The most
>>>>>likely would be Lamar Odom or Andrew Bynum . I like Bynum for he can run
>>>>>with the younger guys and make that BENCH MOB nasty.

>>>>> Any thoughts?

Well, you had a 50% chance of being right, but also had a 50% chance of being wrong. Sorry but there is NO way that Andrew Bynum is NOT going to start at center, especially after the Lakers sign him to $65M 5-year extension before the start of the season.

But there is a lot of support on the blog for Lamar becoming our 6th man so I do think you were on the right track there. The 2nd string five do look strong but remember that they will never play together. There will always be one or two starters on the floor.

Tom

This is just my comment on racial posts, there is no need for defense of white guys, black guys, asians, euros as Lakers. Call it a spade, a spade. If they suck let us say it with conviction whether they are white, black or what not? And if they need all the props and praise, do it also whether their character does not reflect their game. Lakers should maintain a team standard, a player standard in order to continue to compete year to year in the upper echelon of teams for Championship. From what we saw in the last season, there are kinks out there that need to be addressed. Yes, we had helped from Gasol and Ariza arrival and improvement of some players, that bynum and Ariza were hurt, there should be no excuses to the remaining 9 members of the team. Basketball should not be imbued with politics by accommodating someone because they came from our favorite alma mater, favorite race or country, favorite good looking face, favorite ethical chararacter, etc., the modicum of standard should be based on playing good basketball only. Every season Lakers should evaluate their best players, it is like taking care of your garden, cultivate the land, plant new trees or flower plants but have to remove the fast growing weeds too whether they are black, white or red in order to preserve the overall health of your plants.

LakerTom,

Is there some preconceived notion that a team with 6 white guys cannot win?

If there is, I haven't heard it.

I don't find it to be very interesting at all that we have 6 'white guys' on the roster.

You need to get back on your game. You're writing posts like you got Mike T on your mind.

Go Lakers!

KWAME will punish the bigs in the East. Kwame is made for the East. Kwame will be better this year than any year he played.

Kwame, Maxiell, Afalo and Stuckey, pretty beefy!

troy,
"With the exception of SAsha, there is no defense for the Laker white players. "

LOL! Just a little racist there. Gasol sucks? Hardly. Borderline all star, who helped the Lakers to a superb record during his time with the team. Mihm sucks? I suppose if you consider that he hasn't contributed for two years because he's been injured, and if you ignore the level of his play prior to his injury, you could say that. Walton sucks? Seeing as he was playing through injuries all year, and the previous year he played fairly well, you can't say that, accurately that is, either. Vlad is mediocre - very good shot, not much defense, but he doesn't "suck." Karl - too soon to tell with him.

Like all racist comments, this one was stupid, and a reflection of the person who made it.

jus10,
For the umpteenth time, Kwame DID NOT provide decent rebounding. And overall, he is NOT a good defensive player. Poor help defense, poor shot blocking.

p ang

>>>>> 6 and a half white men. Forget Farmar?

No, but everybody but Staples and the Fool consider Farmar to be black. And it’s really something that nobody talks about because it has its roots in the infamy of slavery in this country where 1 drop of black blood defined a person as a slave and thus property.

But it’s even more insidious than that because I am half-Chinese and half-white but have always been considered to be Chinese by everybody since I was a child. My nephew is half Mexican and a fourth Chinese and fourth White but is considered to be Mexican.

It’s a reason why so many Americans who are multi-racial like myself are thrilled to have stars to root for like Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter and Jordan Farmar, not to mention a future bi-racial president in Barrack Obama, who understands what it is like growing up in between cultures. Hopefully, he won’t be too black and or too white to get elected.

Tom

Another Davis on the Clip roster... is Paul Davis still there too?

I can see Kwame finding some success in Motown, it is as AK reminded us the ugly Eastern conference and his game fits the bill. But if Detroit really wants to beat boston, I say they consider acquiring Nash, Varejao or Ginobili because as we all witnessed, acting helped Boston steal what should have been ours and these guys sure know how to sell it.

Edwin,

>>>>>Kwame is slow and all muscle but his defensive stop has a quantum liability
>>>>>that he gives away in offense. He creates T/O's like Walton in bunches,
>>>>>can't make a decent shot no way should we compare him to Pau Gasol.

LOL. You definitely have a way with words, Edwin. Quantum liability! The perfect adjective and noun to define Kwame. Bravo!

Tom

I feel like one of those old Frosted Shredded Wheat commercials....

The grown-up in me says "Good for you Kwame"

but the kid in me says "Detroit got taken!!!!"

LakerTom-

Perhaps our standards for In&Out are different. I haven't lived in SoCal for several years now, maybe that aren't the pinnacle of burger providing that they once were. I would, to be fair, as he has shown an ability to show up for work every day and not complain, start him as a table wiping guy and let him move up to the guy who has to decide when to stop flipping to onions for a second to check the fries. I think he could do that. But how much does that guy really get paid?

AK- Hopefully, this day won't go down in history as the day that the great AK had nothing better to do that get in a semantical argument with Faith. Jon K made a much more dubiouser and silly statement, if you had just waited a few posts. I agree, she dissed Chandler, but her analogy was arguable. I have nothing but respect, but jeez. One day, you tempt the gods by slighting Kobe his plus, the next day, you ask inhuman exactitude from one of the best. Come on, jeez, I say again.

Oh yeah, I was inspired by the haikus, I'm working on a sonnet. Errrbody hold their breath now.

THE SON OF ODIN DECLAREST; TIS ALL ABOUT THE LOVE

WAIT, WHAT? WHO IS THIS SON OF ODIN SHNITE?

GO LAKERS

Troy, I saw one play where Sasha lost Ray Allen on cross over move at the top of the post, then picked up by Gasol just breezed his way against the 7 footer. Of course, that was only one play but it represents the whole series why we lost against the Celtics. We lost the game because of D and Kobe's D was also hurt with that injured pinky and he could not use it for effective blocking or grabbing balls. We missed the Kobe defense in that match up. It is like a prized fighter who was given a handicap of fighting with one hand while hiding the injury on the other hand in 10th round, he was nor free to throw his favorite shots because it could create opening for counter punches so he fought valiantly but conservatively.

Okay, JUS10

Ronny signed for I believe just less than 5 mil/annum. Kwame signed for just over 4 mil/etc

not really what I would call significantly cheaper. But considering how everybody else just jumped up to smack you simultaneously, hey, welcome to the blog, man.

If by chance you aren't new to this, than just say you are and take the excuse. Just my advice

THE LOVE IS SITTING AROUND AND WONDERING WHY BASEBALL ISN'T AS INTERESTING AS IT WAS WHEN THE LAKERS WERE OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND.

GO LAKERS

This is too funny...had to share this with everyone...

http://www.channingfrye.com/blog/?p=100

Jon,

>>>>> Life is filled with tragedy. It happens.

You’re an amazingly empathetic (and at times a belligerently hostile) blogger but I love you, but please stop it with the sympathy for Kwame. The Detroit that you and I know ain’t going to be where Kwame spends his $4M per. Most likely he’ll end up in a chick-filled mini-mansion in Grosse Point while you’re stuck in your every day digs in dismal Cleveland. And he won’t be worrying at all about those mean, ungrateful fans in LA.

Tom

The Royal Historical Society of the Sacred MIHM - I think you're definitely onto something here. Mihm's new m.o. - "thug-life".

Hear, hear Edwin Gueco.

There is no room for the race card here. It's 2008.

Go Lakers!

LOL! Just a little racist there. Gasol sucks? Hardly. Borderline all star, who helped the Lakers to a superb record during his time with the team. Mihm sucks? I suppose if you consider that he hasn't contributed for two years because he's been injured, and if you ignore the level of his play prior to his injury, you could say that. Walton sucks? Seeing as he was playing through injuries all year, and the previous year he played fairly well, you can't say that, accurately that is, either. Vlad is mediocre - very good shot, not much defense, but he doesn't "suck." Karl - too soon to tell with him.

Like all racist comments, this one was stupid, and a reflection of the person who made it.

Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 28, 2008 at 10:12 PM

Wow, so many good doses of sanity today. Much appreciated!

ex, when you're right, you're right.

And you, my Lakers fan brother, are oh so right.

troy,

>>>>>You are making excuses, eloquent and articulate yes, but they are still
>>>>>excuses. With the exception of SAsha, there is no defense for the Laker
>>>>>white players. All of them suck, and that's been proven by their play.
>>>>>Lets call it as we see it.

First, I appreciate your courteous response and apologize for the tone of my comments. I really didn’t mean to be disrespectful of your opinion. In fact, I do understand the point that you are trying to make, which is that Kwame might have given us some of the toughness that Pau didn’t against Boston. And that might be valid except for one big problem: Kwame is not now nor has ever been a “tough”? player. Even Phil called him a pussy. Have you ever seen him act in anger towards another player? Or glare like KG? He’s just a big body who can keep another big body out of the paint but that is the extent of his ability.

That is where your entire argument goes awry. If it were Ron Artest, bloggers would be choosing sides. But with Kwame Brown, everybody is saying you’re crazy but don’t really mean it; they’re just amazed that anyone besides the fool would post what you did. But I understand where you are coming from and it is a valid point of view and strategy. You just chose the wrong guy to use it on. Like I said, if it were Ron Artest we were talking about, it’s a different story. Understand what I am saying? Your logic is right. You just unfortunately applied it to the wrong player.

And the wrong situation, because I could conceive of a situation where the Lakers were being dominated inside by a player like Shaq or Duncan in their primes. But Boston didn’t beat us with Perkins. It was their overall experience and tougher play than the Lakers as a team. It was a team problem and attitude more than any individual player, although the Beast would have changed the entire situation. So again, your theory is a very solid but it doesn’t work well when you apply it to the wrong player and situation.

Hope that shows that I was listening and appreciated your posts and comments. Thanks.

Tom

Troy

Ok its obvious that you didnt actually get to watch the playoffs so I will fill you in on what happened. First of all the Lakers played good enough defense to win. remember we are built per Dr Buss's wishes to run not for smash mouth half court basketball. It was our offense that failed. In the 4 losses we scored 88, 102, 91 and 92 points, not enough for our style of play.

Match ups are everything and Pau does not match up well with a banger like Perkins, and he was able to push him out of his spots. fortunetly with Andrew back he will be guarded by KG who he went 6-10 for 19 points, 13 boards and 6 assists on in the one game that KG guarded him. See KG isnt strong enough to keep him out of his spots.. Oh ya thats the defensive player of the year. But on defense Pau had a very good series. He was matched up on KG and this is what KG did against him:
9-22 shooting 24 pts
7-19 17 pts
6-21 13 pts
7-14 16 pts
6-11 13 pts
10-18 26 pts

KG is a 1st ballot hall of famer right? What exactly sucks about Pau effort against him on D? Who outside of possibily Tim Duncan would have done any better? Just a thought, Try watching the games in the future befre commenting on players performances.

MH

troy,

PS. The “white guys” reference was just a jab at political correctness and the coincidence that “tough” Boston had no white players while “soft” LA had 6 of them. Nor was it an assertion that the white players are the worst on a team in a black dominated sport. It just so happens that when we got rid of our worst 3 players, who were at that time all black, we just happen to end up with a bunch of white guys in the 10 to 15 slots of the roster who make too much money.

Of course, this all belies the fact that we know that “white men can’t jump.” LOL.

Tom

Kwame Brown?

Kwame "Stone hands" brown?

I don't even have to be Mike T to know that it was "stupid" to have a 2nd year player option on Brown's contract. What is the point? You know he's going to take the second year..Stupid!

Kwame Brown won't help the pistons win a championship just like he didnt help the lakers get out of the first round.

The lakers didn't need Kwame Brown..Bynum is all they need..And he won't need microfracture surgery!

The beast is coming....

Glad Kwame got some money, I do like the guy, but Joe D must be loosing marbles to give him 4 mil a year. Now I would not have given Ronny 4 a year either, but if I was picking between the two, Ronny quick.

I like Kwame though, and I have since he was drafted. I always felt like he got a bad rap for a decision he had no part in. MICHAEL JORDAN is the person to blame for Kwame Brown being the #1 overall pick in the draft, not Kwame. What was he supposed to do? Say,"Naw, that's ok Mike, I'll just sit and wait a few picks, I aint quite #1 material. Yeah right. So I rooted for him from the beginning. But I must say, he frustrated me when he was a Laker because he seemed like he felt his mistakes were no big deal. He'd miss a rebound and do that damn clapping of his hands he would do after every misstep and I would just want to throw the tv. I hope that he has better luck in Detroit.

Rocky,

Thanks for your comments. The “white guys” reference was really just an attempt at a wry jab at political correctness and the coincidence that the “tough” Celtics happened to have 0 white players while the “soft” LA Lakers had 6 of them. The fact that I predicted the Lakers would beat the Celtics kind of proves that I didn’t think having 6 white players would keep the Lakers from winning the championship.

But I also don’t think that these 6 white guys are the bunch of stiffs like everybody seems to think they are. While most of them are probably overpaid, they each still have a valid reason for being on the roster and are capable of contributing to winning championships. That’s the main point that I was trying to make, which I didn’t mean to be overshadowed by the cheap attention grabbing “white guys” reference. Mike who? Oh, the Fool.

Tom

troy,

There is one other thing, this stuff about good player versus effective player. I just read michael’s excellent response to you on Pau’s performance in the Finals and he is right. Again, I think you had a sound idea, which is that there is a big difference between being a good and an effective player. You see, Pau although he is soft is a “very” effective player. He was not as effective as he could have been if he had not thrown up all those damn weenie shots, but somehow he got the job done, maybe not good enough to win the series, but nowhere nearly as bad as portrayed by the media and the blog.

You’ve got some solid concepts that you have expounded but you just need to be more careful and analytic about the players and situations to which you apply them. Sometimes you just have to take the hits and come back better armed the next time. Good night.

Tom

The thing about Brown is that he ripped off Wash. and the Lakers for Millions and the fact he never once tried too improve his game. Thus why would anybody feel sorry for a guy who doesn't care just basically steels from all. There is no reason for him to start trying now for someone was dumb enough to pay 4 million to this lazy piece of waste.

Edwin,

>>>>>This is just my comment on racial posts, there is no need for defense of
>>>>>white guys, black guys, asians, euros as Lakers. Call it a spade, a spade.”

I was really just jesting with everybody about the white guys thing but couldn’t believe the “call it a spade, a spade” comment in your post, which was otherwise very serious. I have to confess, when I started reading it, the comment made LMAO. I know it was not politically correct to take it like I did but you do know the origin of the quote, don’t you? At any rate, after I finished reading the rest of your post, I was embarrassed for my earlier laughter. Sorry if I started something with my “white guys” stuff. And yes, I agree that race has no place insofar as judging players or bloggers. I’ll try and be a good boy.

But – is it true that most white and female bloggers are fundamentally better typists? LOL. Sorry, to be honest, I’ve even laughed at a few racist Asian jokes in my time. Not very PC. My wife just grits her teeth in public company and hopes for the best.

Tom

Really there were only three Lakers who suffered constant beat-downs from the Laker blogosphere this year, two white players and one black. Race had little or nothing to do with the criticism of these players. Vlad and Luke had poor years. It was a particularly bad year for Luke. Yes he was hurt, but being hurt wasn't responsible for the terrible decisions he was making with the ball nor did it cause him to consistently miss chippies. I like Luke and Vlad. I think both have valuable skills. But neither one played up to their potentials this year. Not even close. The third Laker who was often criticized this year was Lamar. I don't understand this. Overall, he had a very good year. He had personal bests for shooting percentage and rebounding. He played decent defense all year long. And he was particularly effective at the offensive end of the court once Pau joined the team. He was awful against Boston but what Laker wasn't?

Even though I think the criticism of LO was unjustified, I know it had nothing to do with his skin color. Unfortunately, although Luke and Vlad did have poor years, some people felt compelled to tinge their criticism with bigoted notions. When you make bigoted comments, you're only revealing your own ignorance.

As Mark Twain wrote, "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

Had to resign Sasha.

Every combination with our second two best players in the frontcourt (but who can't shoot from distance) involves Kobe going to small forward when Bynum or Gasol rest and that will bring in two deadly shooters in with Odom and one of the big guys at center. That will let us rest our front court line-up for 3/5 of the starters by bringing in Sasha, and then of coarse we need Sasha for when Kobe goes out. That’s 4/5 of the resting of the starting rotation that Sasha can cover without showing any weakness. That and with Fisher and Farmar switching off at point, and you can see how we have an extremely strong team (much more than just last year) with seven of our most solid players rotating. That was our biggest problem last year, our bench mob, got wrecked against the elite teams of the league. Of course over the season we’ll need Carl, Mihm, Luke, etc. to cover the grind of the season, Memphis’s, and garbage time.

If everyone stays healthy, we will no longer have to watch the bench mob get spanked against the top teams, but rotate the front court starters one at a time in the playoffs. That means Sasha is critical. Then if we can get Ariza as a lock down defender, we have a great team without any more additions. Of coarse, that’s if everyone stays healthy, so we can use an additional front court addition who has a jump shot, defense, and that can play both power or strong forward. That can be Artest next year (“trade” Vlad to Siberia if he doesn’t shape up to make the money work next year). Until then Sasha will be the huge sixth man.

AK,

Do you think the lakers have any shot at Josh Smith? if so, how do you think he'll fit in?

richard,
your an idiot. prince aint that good. The trade is lop sided, and the Lakers would lose points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Where is your logic coming from?
http://virgotex.files.wordpress.com/
2007/11/logic-youre-doing-it-wrong.jpg

Aloha

One more reason why I am very optimistic about the coming season. There is all of this talk about which players we need to add etc but we tend to lose focus on one big key on why we will be better. Our young guys will be better. We forget that andrew was 20, jordon 20/21 and sasha 22/23. Lets take a look at similar players at the same age.

Dwight Howard in 32 minutes
12 points 10 rb 1.7 blocks
Andrew in 28 minutes
13.1 10.2 2.1

Steve Nash at 22
3.3pts 2.1 assists 42% shooting
9.1 pts 3.5 assists 45% shooting (at 23)
Jordon at 20/21
9.1 pts 2.7 assists 46% shooting

michael Redd at 22
11.5 pts 48% shooting 21 minutes
Sasha at 21/22
8.8pts 45% shooting in 17 minutes

It's nice to keep a players age in mind before wanting him traded. Even Kobe took a few years and he is a 1st ballot hall of famer. Now if we can just stay healthy, this team I think will be one of the most improved in the league, even without a major trade. Also if they are healthy, you have to believe that Luke, Mihm and Ariza will all improve over last year as well. What Mitch has done is truely remarkable. He has built an elite contender, while building for the future. I mean, how often does that happen?

MH

America, the land of opportunity....

Kwame got a good payday....it's amazing thought to think of all those people in this country (or world), who work hard, try to do a good job, and will never see that kind of paycheck...If someone is willing to pay it, then you can't blame him for creating it. Personally, I have an empty feeling in me now, thinking of the $4 million dollars that I will never make because of genetics. Including what the Lakers paid him, that's like $7 million a year over a 5 year span.

I had In N Out yesterday, they pay higher wages than other "fast food" businesses, however, the workers there really work hard. There's something funny about that company too, they put scriptures on the cups and the wrappings for your food...sad, maybe they're trying to subliminally affect their consumers. Personally, many people rave about their burgers. I will agree that the ingredients are fresh, however they are giving you less fries now than before....my girlfriend and I used to have plenty with one order, now 2 orders of fries barely cuts it. Don't slam on me, because there is plenty of ethnic talk on this blog, but there does not seem to be a proportionate amount of minorities that work for them. Their typical workers are white, 20 to late 20's...I did not see any minorities working at the one I went to yesterday, and in my neighborhood (20 miles East of Downtown Los Angeles, you would expect to see a little more representation of minority employees. I think they probably weed them out in the hiring process. Which is fair, if done fairly. Does not make it right, but as long as it is fair...I'm not screaming for affirmative action here, just making observations, for those of you who don't know what In N Out Burger is about. It is very popular, at lunchtimes you will see cars lined up 5-8 deep, waiting at the drive thru, as most of them are drive thru, they do have sit down one's as well....It's not the greatest burger, but it is fresh, it is consistent, and it is reasonably priced. Most importantly, it does not reek of that fast food smell, that will linger in your car as you drive home, and remain there for an extra day or 2. Personally, I kinda like Fatburger....

Back to the blog....Kwame...what a lucky MOFO (master of financial offerings.....) I guess he won't have to worry about lifes silly things, like how much things cost....that's just for people who aren't in the NBA....

Sorry if I offended anyone...his deal was kinda shocking...

exhelodrvr, Didnt know calling a player decent rebounder and defender would elicit such reaction. I didnt even call kwame a good reboundr or defender. I would consider 8 pts 6 rebounds 1.2 blocks 1.8 assists decent. Considering he was injured most of the time but im not trying to defend kwame its just that im dumbfounded by this hatred. To phred, read man dont glance. I said Elton Brown not kwame ...

The problem with kwame is his hands . he cannot catch a ball. you have tobe able to do that in order to be effective. even though you're just a defender sooner or later the ball will be given to you. and that turn over will lead to a great offense by opposing team. that is the greatest liability in basketball, i think

Seems like theres a lot of kwame haters here. Cant even call him a decent player anymore. Anyway he's out of your hair now so take it easy. I didnt even call him good. Btw phred please read dont glance, I said Elton brown could come cheap not kwame. I was just asking coz there's this article i read saying lots of good things about him and that he wasnt given a chance to play in the NBA.

If the lakers could have signed Kwame for $2 mil a year it would have been great to have him but someone was always going to offer about 4mil - we were never going to get him.

I wish him luck but Kwame's officially become a journeyman now.He's not expected to become anything anymore and will play well.Watch.

So much for the genius of Joe Dumars.
It will be great to laugh and laugh at this move for the next 2 years. And at 4 mil a year I am rolling on the floor right now.
LMFAO

Tom,

Loved your gutsy post from the white man's disease angle. You are qualified to write from this angle.

Whoever Kwame's agent is should be voted to the Sports Agent All-Time Hall of Fame/Shame. $4 million?

"Kwame is made for the East"

DOn't the Wizards play in the East?

"he won’t be too black and or too white to get elected"

Just too inexperienced and naive.

This one is for Mike T.
Lakers center Andrew Bynum is nearly a week into a physical conditioning program in Atlanta, after being cleared and released by his physical therapist.

Bynum is able to do extensive on-the-court basketball-related activities. He was examined last week by the Lakers’ medical staff and his surgically-repaired knee showed no swelling and little atrophy in the surrounding muscle region
Orange County Regester

LakerTom,

That was just about the dumbest post ever. You are either a racist or stupid. Pick one.

Edwin and Laker Tom,

Please answer me this.

Did Pau Gasol fulfill his role as the Lakers number 2 guy in the Celtics series.

Yes or no.

Exhelodrv,

Lighten up on the racial thing. Laker Tom didn't mean anything by it, and neither did I.

When I made the comment that Luke Walton is the poster boy for the NBA Affirmative Action program, classy blogger like Faith understood the jest in my words.

Most of the white players on the Lakers do suck. That's a shared opinion, not just mine.

Edwin G.

Would you say that Pau Gasol's play was effective in the Celtic series?

Laker Tom,

I don't know if Michael T agrees with my offerings or he doesn't, and neither he nor I care if he does/doesn't. II know you have a running dispute with Michael T. I take no sides in any flame war. I like both you guys, and read your post with interest.

Mike T's one of my favorites, although he can be a bit arrogant. Yes, I do agree with some of the things he says, but I agree with you too, LT.

Laker Tom, your posts are always well written and informative.

Both you guys, along with the Laker Cheerleaders and the trolls, make this blog what it is; interesting, provocative, informative, and entertaining. If we're all in this thing come next season, I predict a very entertaining season of blog reads.

So long, Mike T. & thanks for all the fish!

troy,
"That's a shared opinion, not just mine"

LOL. Maybe shared by people who don't understand basketball. Of course, having read your other posts ...

[Thanks to John Schuhmann our friend over at NBA.com with his first report about Sun Yue. John has promised to give us scouting reports and updates throughout the Olympics]

http://tinyurl.com/6m69d2]

Kobe was asked if he know’s anything about Sun Yue, the 6-9 Chinese point guard who will be in Lakers camp this fall.

“Not yet,” he said. “I’ve spoken with Yi about him. He’s says he’s a very talented basketball player, so I’m looking forward to seeing him first hand. I really don’t judge a player until I have the opportunity to play against him.”

He’ll get that opportunity on Aug. 10, when the U.S. opens the Olympics competition against China.

Michael H,

Yes, I religiously watched every Laker game in the season, as well as the playoffs, with the exception of the final game in the Celt series because I couldn't stomach it.

Let me explain this again.

There is a difference between an effective player and a good player. This is something many bloggers just don't seem to understand.

Good Player: A player who does well in the regular season. He puts up good numbers that reaffirms that he's playing well on the court. He plays well enough to be considered an All Star, and his play warrants game play adjustments from opposing teams.

An Effective Player: Usually someone who's good, but not dominant. Stats are so-so; really no All Star considerations. He plays decent enough in the regular series, but when it comes to the playoffs/championships, he does some little thing in the games that makes key moments flow in his team's direction. And the little things he does he does consistently.

Here are examples:

Good Player- Dirk N. Dominant in the regular season, great numbers, perinial all star, no doubt about his abilities. However, come playoff time, what ever he's known to do either doesn't work, or he doesn't do it. There's no firm explanation as to why this happens, but it happens, and it happens consistently enough to where his team doesn't win it all.

Effective Player: Ron Harper (remember him). Did nothing spectacular during the Laker season leading up to their championship run, but come the playoffs, Ron consistent ran the offense to perfection, had key defensive stops, and hit numerous key shots.

James Posey is another good example. In individual play, if you compare the IMPACT (key word here) that Posey had versus the IMPACT that Pau had, you'd clearly see who was effective and who was not.

Pau Gasol is a great player, but he has failed to be effective in the post season. We made it past Denver because everyone played well. We got past Utah because Lamar Odom was dominant and Kobe did his Kobe thing. We got past the Spurs because of Kobe and because Phil put together a decent game plan. When I watch the Jazz and Spurs series (I taped them), I see that Pau STRUGGLED and was not nearly as effective as he was during the regular season.

And this is the essence of my argument against Pau Gasol.

You guys keep throwing up his stats; I told you stats don't mean anything when it comes to championships. Stats can be very misleading, and you guys should know that by now.

You guys keep saying he was key in getting past the Jazz and Spurs. No, not from what I see when I review the tapes. He sucked pretty much in the Jazz series. He did okay, but not great, in the Spurs series.

When it came to the Celt series, forget it.

I'll say it again, Pau Gasol is a good player, but he's not an effective player. If we want to win championships during Kobe's final playing years, we need effective players that will get us over the top. We had those players in years past (Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, Kurt Rambis, Ron Harper, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, so forth), but we don't have them now. Sasha is the closet we have, but Pau...no way.

So I got some time at work and here are my thoughts:

We need 2 things on this team:
1) A backup rebounder/shot blocker/put back...er
2) PERIMETER D!!!

With this trade we rid of bad contracts (i.e. Walton & Radmonivic)...we pick up 3 expiring contacts.

This deal works for the Lakers because they get to take flyer on Morrison & May. 2 guys who haven't proven anything, however, in the right circumstances Morrison could be what Vlad already is, a great shooter with terrible defense and May is the guy Lakers initially wanted instead of Bynum. May takes Turiaf place as the 3rd string PF & Morrison takes Vlad's as the spot up shooter. All he has to do is shoot for the bench mob! Can you imagine all the 3's we will be taking with Farmar, Sasha & Morrison (And you can't under estimate a man with that great of a mustashe!!!) and all the while we upgrade Odom with Marion! I think that this deal looks great on paper for the Lakers.

Now, can Kuppy sell the Cats & Heat on it? I hope so.

Give me your thoughts AK?

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/
traderesult?players=617~1016~2027~
3218~510~3201~2776~3016&teams
=14~30~14~30~13~14~13~13&te

sorry but some people on here must be drinking ... and smoking something. How anyone can come out and even attempt to compare kwame to pau is beyond me. I mean, we were all witnesses; remember the game where kobe passed to him 3 consecutive times for 3 consecutive turnovers? Or how he would blow an open layup and then clap his hands in frustration just to mention a few. Youtube kwame brown if you want more. If you want to talk defense, people forget what pau did in the western conference playoffs against some of the best players in the game. Without pau, we would never have made it to the western conference finals, not to talk of the finals. Kwame doesnt rebound, doesnt block shots, and yet people come in here and talk about great man to man defense. Hell, I play great man to man defense too and I never made 9 mil a year ... yet. Its just plain sad that some people here just wont let their go of this kwame thing. I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder.

ExHelo,
>>Don't the Wizards play in the East?

LOL

Don't you feel like you're banging your head against a wall when it comes to Kwame and his lack of skills?

Kwame brown statue outside of Staple center bandwagon, please.

Troy,

Mmkay, so how's this for a trade proposal:

Pau and LO for Linas Kleiza, Paul Millsap, Ime Udoka, 2007 Boobie Gibson and 2006 Gary Payton from the Heat championship team? They were all instrumental in their team's success. That way, we can ride on Kobe's coattails as he'll be our "good" player, and then these other fellas will dominate in the "effective" category and we'll cruise through the playoffs.

Or this one (I'll keep it in this decade):
AB for Freid Hoiberg from the 2004 WCF runner-up T-Wolves. We could use the outside shot that only Freddie could provide. Oh snap, I forgot, he's white, so I guess that trade's out the window.

Please, to think that Pau was anything but a help and that Kwame Brown could've changed the outcome of the Celtics' series is ridiculous. Scratch that, he would've changed it, we would've been swept.

-bozz-

J.C.,

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/
features/traderesult?
players=617~1016~2027~
3218~510~3201~2776~3016&teams
=14~30~14~30~13~14~13~13&te

Now, can Kuppy sell the Cats & Heat on it? I hope so. Give me your thoughts AK?"

Well, since you specifically asked me...

I can't see why on Earth Charlotte would make this deal. They'd be giving up two former lottery picks to get Vlad Radmanovic, an underperforming role player with 3 years on his deal. I also don't understand why Miami would pull the trigger. If they're after LO, why not just trade straight up for Marion (assuming the Lakers want him) with someone like Crawford or Karl thrown in to match salaries? What's the incentive to take Walton? I can't imagine Miami wants LO that badly, especially with him being able to leave them after this season as a FA.

This proposal is extremely one-sided in the Lakers' favor.
Remember, when you're creating trade ideas, you need to realistically consider why it appeals to the other team. If the idea is just "Mitch sells them on it," then it's not likely to happen.

AK

I love it when people argue just for the sake of arguing, without any real point.

You're not providing any proof Troy. You're making wild extrapolations based on intangible performance metrics that only you define, hence your argument has no weight. The reason that people use statistics to measure performance is because they are hard and fast measurements of actual performance. You can't simply define a new measurement like your "effectiveness" and then make that the case for your argument. You have to use universally agreed upon metrics, and then base an argument upon those metrics. Otherwise, it's just you spouting off at the mouth about a player whose game you're not fond of, and whom you believe should be the scapegoat for the Finals loss.

Pau was as effective as any other Lakers player in all of the series' the Lakers played in, and just like the rest of his teammates, when he wasn't effective the Lakers lost.

effective - (1)successful in producing a desired or intended result; (2) fulfilling a specified function in fact, though not formally acknowledged as such

I would say that Pau Gasol fit the bill for both of those definitions according to his statistical performance during the playoffs.

All I can say is... thank God.

I'm glad Detroit picked him up. Why they were willing to pay 4 mill a year, I don't know...

The disgraced NBA, (Troy Donahue) Donaghy I mean got only 15 months in jail and the other (possible co-conspirators are set free, unscatched from criticisms) That's too liberal. I would follow Donaghy, earn a million by fixing games and just get 15 months of free board and lodging. If he were living in China and it happens to be Olympic year, he will be a poster boy for a honest society given only one bullet sentence in the right temple. What about Stu Jackson, the head honcho of the referees, what's the penalty? What about David Stearn, the NBACommisioner, where is command responsibility? Who said life is fair?

why is everyone still overreacting to the finals??? pau better than kwame against the celtics? freakin joking me.

we are under the assumption that socks will be back and eventually 100%. if our assumptions are right, we do not have room for kwame (or even turiaf). this is also under the assumption we keep LO.

what we DO need is pau and LO to stick their jumpers. case closed.

LAKER TOM

So are you of the opinion that we should use LAMAR ODOM off the bench even though we are paying him over $13M a year ?

I do agree with you that we should keep atleast 2 on the court at all times. We have 4 guys that can give you 14+ pts per game. KOBE 25ppg GASOL 17ppg BYNUM 15ppg ODOM 14 ppg

AK,

"Remember, when you're creating trade ideas, you need to realistically consider why the other teams would go for it. If the idea is just "Mitch sells them on it," then it's not likely to happen."

Exactly.

If I have to put up with 75 more days of totally crazy trade scenarios, I'm going to totally go Michael T. on this blog!

Just say no to crazy trade scenarios!

GO LAKERS!

AK (aka "Andrew de Kamenet"),

What do you think of Mike Dunleavy as a coach?

GO LAKERS!

Who the hell is Elton Brown?