Report Card- Derek Fisher
When the Lakers brought Derek Fisher back to LA, it was with the expectation that he would not only improve them at the point guard position from a talent standpoint- not exactly the tallest of orders, given he was replacing Smush Parker- but help add to and balance the leadership of (a then unhappy) Kobe Bryant in the locker room and on the floor. Fisher wasn't a player still needing to earn Kobe's respect and trust. He already had it.
Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson knew they weren't getting the Fisher who could run 30 or 35 minutes a night, as he often did during the Threepeat era, but hoped he could give them good minutes, and that between Jordan Farmar and Javaris Crittenton, the Lakers would be covered.
It's fair to say they got what they were looking for.
During training camp, Fisher told me that he saw his job, in part, as one of teaching the Lakers how to play with Kobe. It can be tough, he said, to run with a star of his drive and high expectations. "Kobe's a dominant basketball player, he's a dominant personality. You have to understand those things and still feel good about who you are as a player, and feel comfortable about going out there and doing the things you need to do," he said. "You still have your space. And that's what he expects from you as a teammate. He doesn't expect you to bend to his pressure. He needs you." Easier said than done, but Fish could lead by example.
Certainly having him around during the three ring media circus that was training camp and the early weeks of the season, with the constant trade talk and endless rumors, was invaluable. As the season went on, Fisher continued to provide leadership on and off the floor, a role that continued into the playoffs.
That Fisher could deliver the intangibles was a given. A larger question heading into the year was how much his play- his actual on-court production- would benefit the team. Remember, Fisher wasn't a top shelf starting point guard during his first stint in LA. Solid, but no superstar. Now three years later and into his 30s, some wondered how much impact have, and whether it would be enough. Again, Fish delivered. While he was no Chris Paul, Fish did what was expected of him, and (depending on your POV) perhaps more, registering career or near career highs in field goal percentage (43.6%), three point shooting (40.6%), free throws (88.3%), and scoring (11.7 ppg).
Defensively, while Fish would sometimes have trouble sticking quicker guards, he certainly constituted an improvement over Parker.
Like many supporting players, night to night Fisher's production would vary. He'd occasionally go cold from the floor (not surprising, since he's never been known as a true knock-down gunner), and suffered through a miserable February shooting slump. But breaking down his splits, it's clear that he was able to provide solid and steady production over all 82 games of the regular season. In the playoffs, Fish shot 45% from the floor, including 44% from downtown, while averaging just over 10 points a game. He struggled against Tony Parker and the Spurs, and like everyone else on the Lakers, wasn't able to exert his will against the Celtics, but overall played reasonably well in the postseason, especially when considering he was playing through a painful injury to his foot.
In the end, what Derek Fisher gave the Lakers this season isn't easily calculated simply by examining the stat sheet. But had his contributions stopped merely with leadership, it's easy to question if the Lakers would have made the run that they did. Relative to the rest of his career, especially, Fisher played well. Whether he's able to sustain it over the rest of his deal remains to be seen, but the Lakers certainly got their money's worth this year.
Grade: B+
BK
Mamba,
Damn, I knew something was missing from the blog. Thanks for coming home. Hope all is well in the world for you and yours. And thanks for the bandwagons.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | July 17, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Mamba24,
WTF? Where you been?
JSNV,
For 40 pesos not bad huh? We should go %$&* that all the $#@X~ time.
dave m,
Yes to Zo but he said on Michelle Tafoya's show 710 ESPN (Covering for Scott Van Pelch spelling) that he wants to play in Miami. Pay him and Kurt Thomas $13 an hour and they can back up Pau and Bynum for a year. Keep Lamar!
Posted by: Charles | July 17, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Say it ain't so.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9511
missed layup
missed layup
fumbled pass
missed layup
fumbled pass
missed dunk
These memories haunt my mind.
Posted by: Anthony "Pig Bill" Miller | July 17, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Mamba24 -
I used to be on the Yes for Artest bandwagon. But after thinking it through, I wondered if we really wanted a guy who said the following about then teammate Bonzi Wells:
"He called me last week. I told him if he leaves, then I'm going to kill him. Unless he wants to die, he's got to stay (with the Kings)."
And do we want a guy who beat up fans? Or who beat up his wife (allegedly)? Or who doesn't feed his dogs (allegedly), and then becomes a PETA spokesperson? Or who pulls down Paul Pierce's shorts during a game and then sings an awful apology song on national TV? Or who asks for time off because he's tired from recording his rap album? Or who was suspended for destroying a TV at Madison Square Garden? Or who applied for a job at Circuit City for the employee discount? Or who showed up to a Pacers practice in a bathrobe? I mean, people keep waiting for this guy to turn it around and he just continues to mess up, and he is not even close to being in touch with reality. I say no to all these things. Put me on the NO to Bill-Bill bandwagon. I'll take a sane Lamar and his 14 & 10, thanks very much.
Posted by: puddle | July 17, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Laker Tom, Charles Good to be back my friends. I been
fishing. It's a beautiful thing.
Posted by: Mamba24 | July 17, 2008 at 12:51 PM
giantsquid
The closest that kid has been to Boston is a can of Boston Baked Beans and that's only if his mom opened it for him.
He's just some silly child troll wanting to have some fun with the blog. I must admit that if he his a Celtic's fan, he hasn't changed my opinion of the typical green ones intelligence, or rather lack there of.
Be careful what you do say to him, he might start crying, plus the fact that he is a minor, under 13, could bring you into danger with the law. Child molestation is illegal in most states and countries of the world.
Regards, Fatty
Posted by: Fatty | July 17, 2008 at 12:55 PM
News about Kwame, Ty Lue and other Los Angeles Alumni
http://tinyurl.com/66s3bs
Posted by: Charles | July 17, 2008 at 12:57 PM
dave m
Good thinking!! Is that even an option? I heard whispers of him wanting to come back, but I thought he was done. Picking up Zo for a minimum contract would be awesome and he definitely is a defensive presence we could use if he can return to 2007 form. I just don't see him leaving MIA for peanuts!!
Posted by: JSNV | July 17, 2008 at 01:01 PM
BK,
By giving Fish B+ you’re basically grading Derek lower than LO. Let me give you my 5c observation, assuming we’re watching the same team :). If Lamar was given A-, Derek should be given AA+, the true also an opposite look, if Derek gets B+, Lamar should get not higher than C+. It was mentioned here many times but I would like to repeat, Fisher was signed not to be a scorer, or defender, or passer. He was signed to provide calming presence amid turmoil at the beginning of the last season, to be a mentor for young Lakers players, to compliment Kobe on the backcourt. Did he fulfill all of those? Yes, and many more not mentioned here. Meanwhile we are still awaiting “true Lamar” to shows up. Don’t forget Lakers waiting while still paying somewhat exuberant salary for the services provided by LO. His salary next year will be 3rd highest and with Bynum coming back next year, I’m pretty sure on majority of the nights he is not going to be even a 3rd option.
In the light of everything I’ve mention above I’m looking more interested in the trade mentioned here by our friend tha show involving basic swap Marion for Lamar with Miami. Marion much better defender than LO, can defend 2 and 3, yes his salary is higher than LO’s but also I’m pretty sure we seen best of LO already. His salary also coming of the books by the end of the next season, and if Mitch can do a magic Kwame’s salary, imagine what he can do with Marion’s, almost twice as higher.
Posted by: LAL_Fan | July 17, 2008 at 01:06 PM
Rematch
What I want to know is what is the date of the first game next year against the Celtics!?
John
Posted by: john_in_houston | July 17, 2008 at 01:10 PM
Pig,
Yeah. I really wanted Kwame Brown to succeed. His story is such that you really wanted to see him succeed. Instead he was out throwing bootie call clubs and cake during the regular season while missing countless layups and dunks. Urgh.
I think he might be able to fulfill a decent role someplace, if he wasn't the starter. The guy does not handle pressure well or negative reinforcement. I know this is absolutely twisted thinking, but on some level I think he owes it to Lakers to come back and play for the league minimum. I know that's insane thinking. I think somehow the "Kwame Brown Era" has somehow permenantly traumatized my thought patterns. It's difficult to explain.
puddle,
Anyone who thinks that Ron Bill Ron Ron d'Artest is going to come to the Lakers and somehow be transformed into a stable human being is delusional and/or lacking any fundamental understanding of human psychology. Ronald William Artest is a nutcase and will continue to be so. If you've ever had to spend a lot of time around a person with a certifiable psychological disease, you'll know how difficult that can be.
I would expect it to be any less difficult for our team.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | July 17, 2008 at 01:11 PM
MAMBA24???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back on the blog????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm away ONE morning and all heck breaks loose. Not only that, but I'm not on ANY bandwagon either. *TEAR* Add me to the "HELL TO THE NO TO RONRON" bandwagon please.
Welcome back Mamba24 - good to see your posts! I almost fell off my chair - LOL!
Jon "Bill" K - way to go man! Stir it up! Keep BK "Bill bad boy of bass fishing" hopping (or swimming as the case may be).
And - BTW - I accept BK's apology too. DFish is an A all the way!
I love this blog.
justanotherbillmambafan
Posted by: justanothermambafan | July 17, 2008 at 01:13 PM
Another Lakers hopeful?
This player has moved to the top of my board.
Olympic Qualifying is going on in Greece and he is the center of the Cape Verde team.
His name is Abdlai Faty - 6′ 9″
Numbers, not too good, but he's promising. He’s avg. 1 pt and .5 rebs per game. He's shooting 12% from the field.
But with a name like Faty, the Lakers can't go wrong, no??
Go Faty! Go Cape Verde!
Posted by: Fatty | July 17, 2008 at 01:14 PM
Is it 83 days until training camp???? Aaaarrggghhhh - that's way too long.....
Any news on Turiaf yet?
Or Bynum's training?
Or the Machine?
Posted by: justanothermambafan | July 17, 2008 at 01:16 PM
I would have thought Paul Pierce's gang signage inspiring a new NBA CIA department would have been worth a mention. It's an old story with new legs.
Congratulations to Paul. He's an innovator.
Posted by: Vman | July 17, 2008 at 01:17 PM
Woohoo!
Complete TV schedule of Team USA Exhibition Basketball
http://tinyurl.com/6ek6t7
Take note: Aug 5th its USA vs the Aussies. I'm predicting a hard fought game with Fatty downing at least two Fosters to honor our Lakers friends down under.
Posted by: Fatty | July 17, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Fish did his thing this season. Helped us loads, I mean really. I always felt good about a hard felt B+ rather than one I got when I barely worked and could have gotten an A. So I think Fish would be ok with this B+. Hope they take him upstairs when its over.
That being said, at what point do we address the actual point guard issue that has plagued us since GP cried his way out of town. Fish is solid and will be hopefully one or two more seasons, but I am not of the school of thought that believes Farmar is a starter in the league. He's just so small and easy to take to the block. He will be a heck of a back-up I think though. I really wish we could get Livingston in camp. I would not have thought it a good look for our system intially, but with the knee injury I actually expect him to lose a half a step, which is cool because with his court vision and size, he could be good in the triangle if his jumper is consistent. And CHEAP, I just knowit , and I'd bet he'd love not to leave LA. But we gotta do something. Some suggest its gonna be Sasha, if he can, all for it. But can he start at the 1???
Posted by: Najja aka Bonus | July 17, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Fatty,
"His name is Abdlai Faty - 6′ 9″ "
Supposedly he's a great teammate. I give him an A+
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 17, 2008 at 01:31 PM
WTH, not this Marion v. LO rubbish again. LO handles the ball much better than Marion (Marion can't really handle the ball at all). LO is a much better playmaker than Marion (actually Marion has no play making skills whatsoever). LO is better on the break. LO can cover the 3 and the 4. Marion's defense is a little overrated and LO's a little underrated, but I'll give that one to you.
LO averaged 1.38 points per shot. Marion 1.25. Marion shot 33% from behind the arc, not a great upgrade. As rebounders, it's a wash. I think Marion's plays his best defense off the ball and unlike Artest, who is very tough, I don't see Marion as a tough guy.
This would not be an upgrade, especially for a team that plays the triangle. In fact, it would be the opposite. As players, if I had to chose between Marion and Artest, the Lakers should go with Mr. PCP. He's better than Marion and his salary is reasonable.
Posted by: giantsquid | July 17, 2008 at 01:36 PM
By the way, the K bros. got LO's grade exactly right (IMNSHO).
Posted by: giantsquid | July 17, 2008 at 01:37 PM
Okay - getting some love for 'Zo! He says his leg's about 60% there and figures he'll be ready by training camp. I know the obvious money's on Miami resigning him but come on - Riles mismanaged them right into Palookaville!
Come on west, warrior!
Posted by: dave m | July 17, 2008 at 01:43 PM
Jon K -
LOL YES, I do know what it's like to be around someone with a certifiable mental illness. Ever heard of Munchausen Syndrome? I work at a hospital and people with this disorder test the very limits of my patience. Luckily, after dealing with these whackos I can return to my office where I know my new stress reliever - the Lakers blog - is waiting to keep me sane... only to read that the Lakers want to adopt a different kind of whacko to our squad and once again test the limits of my own sanity. Faaaaantastic.
Posted by: puddle | July 17, 2008 at 01:46 PM
AK and BK
Why not finals grades (maybe you already did thIs)? I think some people were emotionally overwhelmed by how badly the lakers played in the finals. Personally, I'd give Fish and Kobe each a B- or C+, Farmar a C+, Vlad a D+ (controversial I know considering his awful defense, but where the heck was the help; it was an obvious mismatch; where were the adjustments) Lamar a D, Sasha a D-, Walton a D- and Gasol a D- - (don't really want to fail anyone, we did make it to the finals).
Posted by: giantsquid | July 17, 2008 at 01:51 PM
Can we get over this Derek Fisher b+ thing. I love Fisher as much as anyone but like BK said the difference between an A- and a B+ is miniscule. Yes, he was a big part of our success this past season, but he's still an average PG, which equates to about a C+, and he gets an A for leadership, making a B/B+ reasonable.
Posted by: Xodus | July 17, 2008 at 01:51 PM
"Bill" K
I would fight Kwame Brown if I saw him on the street. He would kick my butt, but I would still fight him.
Posted by: Anthony "Pig Bill" Miller | July 17, 2008 at 02:03 PM
I honestly don't think the Lakers get off to that critical good start without Fisher. He get's an 'A'.
Posted by: DanS | July 17, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Giant Squid,
"AK and BK, Why not finals grades (maybe you already did thIs)? I think some people were emotionally overwhelmed by how badly the lakers played in the finals. Personally, I'd give Fish and Kobe each a B- or C+, Farmar a C+, Vlad a D+ (controversial I know considering his awful defense, but where the heck was the help; it was an obvious mismatch; where were the adjustments) Lamar a D, Sasha a D-, Walton a D- and Gasol a D- - (don't really want to fail anyone, we did make it to the finals)."
And go through everyone bitching about a new round of grades. Thank you, no. haha
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | July 17, 2008 at 02:05 PM
dave m,
From what I've read Zo isn't coming back until Dec. or Jan.
Posted by: Xodus | July 17, 2008 at 02:06 PM
AK
Good point.
Posted by: giantsquid | July 17, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Yi Li is in summer league team..
WHO IS THIS GUY?
Posted by: Disgruntled, Frustrated Laker Fan | July 17, 2008 at 02:09 PM
I love Zo, but there's no way he's coming to the Lakers. He knows nobody on the team, he's comfortable in Miami and in his entire life, he's never played on a team west of what, Toronto? Born in VA, college in D.C. (Georgetown), pro experience in Charlotte, Miami, Toronto (although he screwed them over and never played there), Miami again. Zo is an East Coast guy through and through. Plus he has one leg and an iffy kidney.
Posted by: puddle | July 17, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Xodus, the difference between an A- and a B- could mean a scholarship lol.
Or at the very least a 4.0 avg.
GO Lakers!
Posted by: Faith | July 17, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Mamba,
Long time no...
Did you say you went fishing, or trolling?
The vacuum you created went unfilled. Welcome back.
Sonnybelfast
Posted by: Sonnybelfast | July 17, 2008 at 02:20 PM
LakerTom,
Regarding offering Bynum a contract with lots of performance incentives, you wrote:
>>>And you would lose Andrew Bynum to free agency for
>>>sure! You do not risk making a crazy incentive-laden
>>>contract proposal
It's all in the presentation.
Mitch somehow convinced Memphis to take Kwame and Critter and a couple of low draft picks to swap the
Gasol boys. He must be one smooth talkin' mofo. I'm sure he could spin it right to not insult Bynum & his
agent.
The pitch must focus on the max earnable, not the least amount that could be made.
Have Dr. Buss and Magic present at the meeting in addition to Mitch. Having Kobe there might be a bit too
over the top, but they could do a little good news guy bad news guy scenario with Dr. Buss and Magic as the
good guys and Mitch as the bad news guy.
Then the pitch goes something like this...
"Andrew, David, come in sit down. Would you like some coffee?
Dr. Buss:
We've thought about your request for a max contract. As a business man, I can understand your desire to
negotiate for as much as your services are worth. And the thing is... for the most part we think you're right.
We think you have the potential to become the best center in the league. And so we think it's very reasonable
to offer you a contract that gives you a chance to earn 86 million dollars over 5 years - that would make it a
bigger contract than Dwight Howard's.
Magic:
What do you think about that? Do you think you'll be able to perform as one of the top centers in the league?
We think you have the potential to play at the level of the other top centers in the league like Dwight and Amare,
do you agree?
(enthusiastic response from Bynum here - his agent is mentally decorating his new 8 bedroom house and
upgrading from the 6 person hot-tub to the 10-person hot tub)
Mitch:
So we are going to offer you a contract that gives you a chance to be the highest paid young center in the league.
We think you're a unique talent.
(reinforce the idea that this gives him the opportunity to be paid more than Dwight Howard and the other centers)
Dr. Buss:
We want you to understand that this contract is a first for the league, as no team has ever offered this large a
contract to a player who hasn't made the All-Star team yet. But we believe with your special talents that you will
get to that level shortly, probably this season.
(reinforce that he's special and unique player and he's being offered the chance to earn what All-Stars earn,
even though he hasn't quite made it there yet)
Mitch:
That's right. But this contract is unique in another way. Since you're businessmen, you understand that we have
to be fiscally responsible as a team. With our cap situation the way it is, paying you this much money will make us
unable to explore any other options for many years to come. For the good of the team, we have to account for the
possibility that your knee could hamper you and prevent you from achieving your full potential.
(slight frown from Bynum)
If you look at several of our recent contracts, you'll see guys like Kwame and Chris Mihm and Brian Grant. They're all
quality players who could have really helped our team achieve more if they'd have stayed healthy and played to their
potential. Instead, they were frequently injured, and their large contracts left us unable to go attain quality players to
take their place.
(Bynum thinks about Kwame and Mihm and nods in understanding)
We feel that you can be much much better than any of those players, so what we're offering you will of course be much
higher than what we paid any of them. But with you having missed half of last season with this knee injury we have to
be concerned that your contract would hamper us even more than their contracts hampered the team.
So that led us to a dilemma. We want to give all the best to you and to make you happy, but at the same team, we
have to always consider what's best for the team as well. So we think we've come up with a solution.
We'll pay you a base salary that's similar to what other centers your age who are performing at your level are paid, but
we'll put in incentive bonuses that bring you up to the level of pay that you're asking for. We'll make the incentives very
reasonable; if you can play at the level you were playing at right before your injury you should make all of them easily
and maximize your earnings. And even if for some reason you're unable to make those incentives, you'll still be paid
at least 10 million every year and be one of the top 10 paid centers in the league.
(slight look of concern on agent's face... he mentally downgrades back to the 8 person hot tub.)
[Mitch now describes the incentive levels, and Bynum confirms that he's sure he can make each of them...
his agent is wishing Bynum wouldn't seem so eager]
So that's it. Since you feel you could make all of those goals, and since you've done most of them before,
you should be pretty confident that you will maximize how much you make on this contract.
Dr. Buss:
Of course, if you don't feel comfortable with a contract that only gives you a CHANCE to be the highest paid
young center in the league, you can play out this season to give us confidence that your knee is back to full
health. And then next summer you can come back to the table and we can offer you a contract with no
incentives, just the maximum payday that you're worth. We could have asked you to play out the season
before we offered you the extension, but we wanted you to know that we want you to stay a Laker for your
whole career and that we want to pay you maximum money.
Magic:
So what do you say Drew? Are you part of the team?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, so I'm not a great negotiator, but you get the idea: emphasize the max money he could make,
make sure he's comfortable that all the incentives are attainable, and point out that the team has to be
fiscally responsible (a very Mitch-like thing to say).
I can't see how Andrew or his agent could be insulted by an offer like that. I suppose there is a
chance that they would turn it down, but even in that case, I think they'd be back at the table next
summer. They wouldn't run off in a huff swearing to only take the 1-year tender as some have proposed.
And I think it's more likely that if Bynum truly believes that his knee is all better, he would take
an offer that keeps him with the team and very likely will pay him the max money he's asking for.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 17, 2008 at 02:21 PM
giantsquid,
>>>Heat sign Kwame for 18 million (4 yrs).
AAAAAHHHHHH!!! You got me. I was completely flabbergasted,
and actually clicked on the link to check it out.
I couldn't believe anyone other than Mike T would pay more
than the veteran's minimum for that stiff. I was right.
But you had me for a minute.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 17, 2008 at 02:23 PM
Mamba24 bandwagon all the time, anytime! Yeah!
Go Mamba24!
Go Fish!
Posted by: Faith | July 17, 2008 at 02:25 PM
If the Lakers want Kwame back, I would take him for league minimum to replace turiaf. In no way is he a legtimate center, hes just a big body to help fill the lane.
Posted by: DanS | July 17, 2008 at 02:25 PM
Kwame's going to lead the Hawks to the playoffs!
Why would anybody want to fight Kwame? He's the life of the party, just not so hot on the basketball court but off it he seems like a cool dude.
Posted by: Kwaminus My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard Brownicus | July 17, 2008 at 02:27 PM
Faith -
Not to be a stickler (well, yeah, ok I'm a stickler), but in AK's defense, an A- is actually only worth 3.67. Someone with all A- would have a 3.67 and someone with all B+ would have a 3.33. Thus the difference between a B+ and an A- is only .33 of a grade point :)
For the sake of everyone's sanity, we'll give Fish an 89.9%, the closest to A- as he can get.
Posted by: puddle | July 17, 2008 at 02:36 PM
I would punch Kwame once for every missed layup, twice for every missed dunk, and I would slap him in the face with an open hand to remind him of his dropped passes.
Atlanta fans will regret the day that Kwame Brown walked through the door.
just say no to Kwame Brown and Smush Parker.
Posted by: Anthony "Pig Bill" Miller | July 17, 2008 at 02:39 PM
hariyahu,
>>>Luke/Vlad+Farmar+Mihm for Kirk
NOT.
The reason Chicago is rumored to be looking to trade off Hinrich
is because they just drafted Rose, so now they have a glut of guards,
and Hinrich is the biggest contract among them that's tradeable.
Plus, with re-signing Deng and Gordon this summer, they're
going to push themselves into the luxury tax, which they'd
rather not do. Thus the idea is to have both a salary dump
and reducing the number of guards.
So first of all, making Farmar the centerpiece doesn't
make sense. They're more lacking in front court players,
so he wouldn't be high on their wish list.
Second, if it's a salary dump, then trading off Hinrich's
36.5 million remaning salary and taking back Walton's
35 million wouldn't make much sense. Rad's 18 million
might be more realistic, if it weren't for the fact that he's
somewhat redundant with Nocioni and Deng, both of whom
are SF/PF types that don't have much of an inside game.
As I pointed out, if you really want Kirk Hinrich, a more likely
offer would be to make him part of a three-way with Sacramento
where Sacramento gets Odom, the Lakers get Hinrich and
Artest, and Chicago gets Thomas (and maybe some cash
or a couple of second round picks or something).
Though Thomas is dead weight, his contract is less than
Vlade's and expires a year sooner. So with 3 million cash thrown in, Chicago would effectively save 20 million
dollars and get a couple of draft picks. And it might also
help them to stay out of luxury tax after re-signing Gordon
and Deng.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 17, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Edwin,
>>>Who is Nick Caner-Meley of Maryland Terrapins?
I mentioned him in a previous post. Big time hustle player.
Very high energy whenever he's on the floor. I wasn't blown
away by his talent but he held his own. 10 points and 5.7 boards
speaks for itself. If you put Ronny's on-court energy into a body
that looks like a tall frat boy, that's Nik Caner-Medley.
>>>A PF 6'8" 240 lbs. qualified for Mike T's physique.
No, he hasn't got the calves that Mike T loves so much.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 17, 2008 at 02:46 PM
Dude you wouldnt want to fight Kwame, have you seen his arms? The only one on Lakers that has bigger arms would be Mbenga.
Posted by: DanS | July 17, 2008 at 02:46 PM
Every time I see the amount of money that Luke Walton get's paid, I curse the basketball gods for not making me 6' 9".
Frickin' Poop Walton. Worthless.
Go ahead supporters. Lambaste me. I don't care.
Posted by: Anthony "Pig Bill" Miller | July 17, 2008 at 02:58 PM
BRENT BARRY SIGNS WITH......
HOUSTON
Posted by: VIOLATOR | July 17, 2008 at 02:59 PM
Well Jon "Bill" K
I agree, most bass fisherfolk look like they chug an Old Miliwaukee for a morning rush, shoot a deer from the bus, and whiz where they like. Well, maybe they don't shoot deer from a bus.
Sorry to hear about your being tethered to the PC, I have sporadic contact with the web, hence my erratic postings
If Ronny signs w/ GS, I'll root for him the same way I rooted for Mad Dog Madsen, have a good game and lose.
Thanks P & G R, I have ALWAYS been a JRR Tolkien fan since I was about 9 and I saw The Hobbit cartoon. I love the songs in those cartoons and the stuffy British accents. Soon we will have anoth Hobbitt movie to drool about. Sweet.
AK/BK thanks for keeping the blog alive, do you guys ever get stopped in the street by a blogger and after they are gone say something like, "I never thought mamba24 would look like that!" Just wondering. Of course, only mega-hotties blog here.
Posted by: Jamie Sweet | July 17, 2008 at 03:02 PM
Of course I speak in jest. I would lose any fight with someone of Kwame's stature.
I do hate his basketball playing guts though. And I might consider spitting in his general direction. While he wasn't looking.
Posted by: Anthony "Pig Bill" Miller | July 17, 2008 at 03:03 PM
A new Bynum video has surfaced.
This is for Lakers Tom only. No one else is allowed to look at it.
http://tinyurl.com/5gyjx9
I can not. I repeat, I can not be held responsible for your monitor breaking from Andrew repeatedly dunking on the screen. If you plan on ignoring my advice, then I recommend you viewing on an old computer you don't care about.
Posted by: Fatty | July 17, 2008 at 03:06 PM
I think a B+ is spot on, if not a little higher than I'd normally grade.
Smush was a D waiting to happen...
By D-Fish playing all 82 games and being on the same page as 24 gives him a C+. Half a grade for the locker room presence/on court leadership skills he brings...
But, who would have gotten an A?
Paul, Nash, D-Will, and maybe Parker.
He's a solid B...
Now, if the Lakers were smart, they'd get Kwame for DIRT CHEAP if they lose out on Rony, and use Kwame for what he is...a decent/solid back up who knows the triangle and can start when necessary.
Everyone hates on Kwame because they expected him to be Shaq V: The Man-Child Strikes Back when he came to LA...
He wasn't going to be. He was supposed to be a servicable center that could play D, rebound, and take up space in the middle. He did that.
But, we need insurance in case PG or Bynum go down this year (we know PG will for a little bit), so, bring in Kwame for cheap, he loves LA, and the locker room liked him. Plus, it'll give PJ someone to bag on and play at garbage time.
If we pay Rony that much to BACK UP two potential All-Stars, then we are going to really not be able to sign our other potential FA's next year...
Lamar
Kobe (he could opt)
etc..
I love Rony. Met him once at a club in Long Beach...(he was partying with Chris Kaman and ELTON BRAND), and the dude's stand up. Love him as a person. Great motor, but there is something called overpaying...(see James Posey).
I hope this is Shaq III: The Revenge of the Kwame.
(I'd also like for us to trade JF, keep Joe Crawford, re-sign Sasha, depart with Vlade and Mihm, keep Ariza, and find a way for Walton to get some bionic legs or retire...)
Three years from now...
C-Bynum/Brown
PF-Gasol/Odom
SF-Odom/Ariza
SG-Bryant/Sasha
PG-Crawford/D-Fish
Peace OUT!
Posted by: The Detective | July 17, 2008 at 03:07 PM
BK,
Is that B+ an 88 kind of B+ or an 89? If it is 89, I agree whole-heartedly with you. However, if that B+ is of the 88 variety, so help me I will join Jon K. and revolt and all hell will break loose.
Posted by: Long Live Chick | July 17, 2008 at 03:13 PM