Ronny the Warrior
And we mean that literally. ESPN.com is reporting that the Lakers will not match the four-year, $17-million offer sheet Ronny Turiaf signed with Golden State, meaning he will officially become a Warrior. No official confirmation from El Segundo, but since the report essentially confirms what most have said would happen over the course of the week, I have no reason to question the accuracy. It's a disappointment, for sure, as Turiaf was about as well loved (deservedly so) as a Laker can be, but it's hardly a surprise, either. Given where he's projected to fit in the current rotation, that's a lot of scratch for the Lakers to pony up, especially with the Sasha Vujacic situation yet to play out.
As for Turiaf, he'll almost assuredly get more playing time up in the great north than he would have in L.A., though obviously it's a step down in terms of postseason hopes. I certainly can't begrudge him for accepting the offer. Best of luck from Lakers Blog.
BK
:-(
Posted by: Faith | July 18, 2008 at 07:53 PM
good for Ronny. Not a great player but solid. Agreed with most...hard to pay that much for a bench warmer.
Posted by: aloha land | July 18, 2008 at 07:58 PM
That is a real news that we have been waiting for, not a good news for losing a defensive player but a good news for the next move. What is the next move of the F/O? Who replaces Ronny as a defensive player in the 2nd string? Don't tell me we go back again to Walton-Vlad-Mihm, this is just a rehash of every years' debacle. Who will supply the energy among the Laker players? Is it Artest? If Artest, who is the exchange that will convince the Maloof to a deal. For sure there will be lakers move on Sasha. Here the hoopsworld discussion of life after Ronny Turiaf:
http://tinyurl.com/5jmw22
Good Luck Ronny and thanks for the entertainment.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 18, 2008 at 08:12 PM
Business is business.
Hopefully Ronny can come back like Fisher did.
Posted by: Rocky | July 18, 2008 at 08:26 PM
For you guys who think teams will overpay players to compete for Championship, well I think you have to consider on the current ramblings among Owners/GM moves especially with contending teams. They avoid paying luxury taxes.
One of the sticking point in Artest deal is the insistence of Sacto to include Kenny Thomas worth 18M. NBA teams like Miami, Mavericks, Lakers, they are interested only on Artest w/o any strings attached. Kenny Thomas is similar to long term contracts of Walton and Vlad, they are luxury taxes increment. Why bother? The same with Andrew Bynum, he hasn't played a single game since January, why discuss his upside and make some kind of wild imaginations....show us first that you are worthy for the money and we'll discuss business later. Teams are now turning conservative because there is parity among the teams. Like Celtics from cellar dweller in '07 became the Champion in '08 while Heat were Champs in '05 became cellar dweller in '08. See my point, they need to watch the bottom line. There is no sure formula that if you pay more luxury taxes on the players, it will surely yield Championship. It all boils down on chemistry, teamwork and individual athleticism from 1 - 15, so spread out the salary and evaluate as the season goes b/c an injury like what happened to the Lakers frustrate all dreams and plans as well as investments.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 18, 2008 at 08:27 PM
Ronny now goes from cashing a monthly check of 64,000
to 375,000.
I'm happy for him, but I wish it was Dr. Bush still signing the check.
Posted by: Fatty | July 18, 2008 at 08:29 PM
I have a bad feeling Mitch is going to make us an even bigger bunch of weenies than we've been.
You better do something cool, esp to improve our D and toughness.
Posted by: Benjamin | July 18, 2008 at 08:33 PM
July 18th, 2008
My beloved Los Angeles Lakers make huge mistake in NOT re-signing Ronny Turiaf !
There better be a huge deal coming out way to explain a few million dollars in luxury taxes ! And not the LO/Artest for Kenny puke Thomas deal !
A sad day in Laker history !
Posted by: LALAKERLOVER | July 18, 2008 at 08:38 PM
I believe it's imperative that we still sign Sasha. Continuity in players is very helpful to a team. Sasha has improved every year and provides extremely helpful outside shooting. He also seems interested in playing good defense and is willing to put in a strong effort in that regard.
The news about Sasha is going to reignite LakerTom's paranoia about low-balling Bynum.
It sounds like the Lakers are trying hard to minimize luxury tax burden in a very major way.
Given how poorly Mitch handled Kobe/Shaq, I don't have the greatest confidence he will make the best decisions here. He strikes me as a cold business-bot, not a guy that garners my loyalty and affection.
I believe it matters how you treat people in any business. Human capital is the most unique and valuable to any business. We'll see how this situation pans out, but it has me a little concerned.
"Word is talks with the Lakers and Sasha are not going anywhere fast and his camp is growing concerned that the Lakers may not be ready to pony up – Sasha has fired his agent Bill Duffy and is in the process of returning to Rob Pelinka in hopes of jump starting real discussions. Lakers sources say the change in agents basically starts everything over, and that a deal is not out of the question, it simply has to be in the right context and situation."
A deal is not out of the question? What the hell kind of rhetoric is that?
Posted by: Benjamin | July 18, 2008 at 08:40 PM
We now know Dr Buss has his limits.
We have an idea how much Dr. Buss wants to pay for next season as well.
Current salary is 75,000,000
Add Sasha 4.5 and maybe 3-4 mil more for fill ins like Karl, Garbo, Sun, etc...and the Lakers are at 82-84 million.
Add 11-13 mil in Lux penalties. 93-97 mil total.
Posted by: Fatty | July 18, 2008 at 08:40 PM
First the loss in the finals and now losing Ronny.
Damn you lux tax!
Posted by: Fatty | July 18, 2008 at 08:43 PM
What Faith said.
We will miss your heart, Ronny. Godspeed.
Posted by: Happy Camper | July 18, 2008 at 08:45 PM
No worries folks. Ronny will go up north and grow tremendously as a leader and mentor, just like Fish did, then come right back to us
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | July 18, 2008 at 08:49 PM
Aloha
Unless we were to land say Kurt Thomas or another PF that good, I really think this means Lamar will not be traded. One injury to Andrew or Pau could kill our chances without Lamar here. Aloha Ronny, good luck, you will be missed.
MH
Posted by: michael h | July 18, 2008 at 08:55 PM
BK
I'm bummed about Ronny leaving the Lakers, but at the same time, I feel honored to have been able to root for him as a member of my favorite ball club.
Although, I don't really know if him getting more PT up north is a "guarantee." On one hand, it seems a no brainer-- the Warriors lack front court depth, and a sort of big body forward of Turiaf's type. On the other hand, who knows if Nelson will like him as a main stay in the rotation. Right now with Jackson, Maggette, Harrington, Wright, Biedrins, all of those are the type of guys that Nelson doesn't mind playing in the front court.
If Nelson doesn't favor Ronny when the time comes off the bench, I'll be sad, because I loved watching that man play the game of basketball. And somethin tells me if this is the case, he won't be nearly as happy on the GS bench as he was for the Lakers.
Posted by: George | July 18, 2008 at 08:56 PM
Thank you Ronny. Best of luck to you but not against the Lakers! =P
Posted by: never | July 18, 2008 at 08:57 PM
VW,
If Ronny comes back, he's not only asking for 4.5M a year but double. If he is worth only 2M to be cut off by Warriors 4 years from now, that means he'll be a mere journeyman, just like the rest of players who chased for the money first and full ability later.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 18, 2008 at 09:04 PM
The Lakers seem to be coming to their senses. Turiaf was popular but he was too small to be effective over an 82 game season plus the playoffs.
Now the Lakers have to deal with Sasha. Sasha is a bit different, though, because he can actually shoot pretty well. The Lakers need that shooting from his position.
But anyway, the Lakers seems to be playing hardball, like they should have done with Walton. No matter what happens to Sasha in the open market the Lakers can match. That's not something they could have done with Walton but Walton was never a good defender so why he got 6 years and 30 million is beyond me.
Anyway, the Lakers with so many weak defenders taking up roster spots they but themselves behind the blackball in regards to signing Turiaf and Sasha. It would have been nice to sign them both, in theory, but the Lakers defensive weaknesses doesn't allow them to spend money on offense (Sasha) and a defender (Turiaf) who too small to really be effective at a championship level.
Then there's Bynum. We haven't heard anything about his injury really healing. I suspect Bynum's injury might be career ending or at the least a microfacture surgery situation.
Now, in theory, Bynum would have been the defensive presence in the middle. Without that idea that Lakers have serious problems. The Lakers are in serious need of a defensive low post player.
It's like this: No one, except the Knicks, are dumb enough to throw two scoring big men down low. (Randolf and Curry). Neither could play a lick of defense and the disaster was plain to see. What a team needs is an offensive minded low post player and and defensive minded low post player. That's balance.
Now there are hints that the Lakers might try to sign Kwame Brown. If this is so then they're probably waiting to see what Kwame can come away with on the open market before they make him an offer.
I mean take a look at the photo to your right under:
Your scene:
What do you see? Kwame, Bynum and Turiaf.
Bynum is injured in the photo. Turiaf is gone. And Kwame is available. (kind of like we should be preparing to seeing Kwame, again. That photo says a lot.)
Again, if Bynum isn't going to be ready to start the season and maybe longer then they might be interesting in resigning Brown for more than just back-up purposes.
From what PJ said at the end of the Celtics series...it would seem to make sense. He said we needed to get some phyical players iin here and that we needed to change our style of play. I don't think it's a big secret that the Lakers are going to be a defensive team next season. I think from Kobe's comments that it's a priority as a team philosophy.
So if this is true, then we know Gasol is too soft to really provide that type presence to play that style of ball. The Lakers clearly knew that Turiaf wasn't going to be able to really fill that role either. They let him walk.
If Bynum is a big question mark then it would make sense for the Lakers to try to sign Kwame and put Gasol at the 4 spot. Of course the Lakers would put Odom at the 3 spot. With Kobe and Fisher as the guards. I think that could be a very serious team.
Now if Bynum isn't ready for the beginning of the season but has to come in a few months later it would be interesting to see if the Lakers could establish a defensive philosophy with Kwame as the starting center. Then, as I mentioned, Bynum would come back a few months later and he would come off the bench to start with.
Now if this were the situation then the Lakers could dominate with Bynum coming off the bench to provide a serious transition unit with Kobe, Farmar, Ariza, Gasol/Odom and Bynum.
It was like when last season started and Kwame was the starting center and Bynum was coming off the bench and was killing. That would be scary.
Now, of course, this is based on the idea that Bynum will not be ready for the beginning of the season or maybe out for a whole year with microfacture surgery.
If this is how it plays out then the Lakers need some cap space and that would mean no Turaif. And no Sasha at a price beyond what they're offering right now. And the other situation to watch is how much Kwame can get on the open market. It's been mention that Kwame could probably get MLE with the right team. And if the Lakers don't match that offer then they would be stuck with Gasol as their defensive presence if Bynum is going to be on the self for a significant amount of time.
If this is the case then making a play for Kwame makes sense. You might want to watch how these things play out.
I think the Lakers are done with bending to the voice of the fans to the point where they sign players like Walton, Turiaf and Sasha for more money than they're worth. I think after what happened in the Boston series they've come to their basketball senses. They need someone who can seal the lane.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | July 18, 2008 at 09:06 PM
The Lakers need to shed some salary in the form or either Walton or Radmanovic to have some flexibility.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | July 18, 2008 at 09:08 PM
An easy call for the Lakers, and one that was forced by the incomprehensible decision to sign Luke Walton and Vlad to nearly identical contracts, despite neither being legitimate starters in the NBA.
Many fans were quick to heap praise on Kupchak when Gasol fell into his lap, but Kupchak's legacy was set when he spent consecutive summers trading an all star small forward (Caron Butler) for Kwame Brown and then spending $10+ million a year at the SF position for guys who can't start and can't be traded.
Odom for Artest (and whatever other players are needed to make this happen, even if that means Kenny Thomas) is now a necessity. The NBA finals were lost because the Lakers were terribly soft defensively. Adding a (hopefully) healthy Bynum is good, but not nearly enough. The Lakers need legitimate perimeter defense, and Artest is the only guy out there who can deliver that skill.
Odom for Artest, and re-sign Sasha and you have the 2008-2009 championship wrapped up. Do it Mitch.
Posted by: Leo | July 18, 2008 at 09:12 PM
This sucks.
There's a reason why everyone is unhappy about this.
I don't think the Lakers made the right decision.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | July 18, 2008 at 09:18 PM
Benjamin,
Yes, we need to sign Sasha. I think other teams were hoping we would match Ronny, which would make it harder for us to also match Sasha. That’s why they have been waiting. The fact that Sasha ended up dropping Duffy probably means that Duffy didn’t materialize the offers he told Sasha he would get for him. All of this means that we will not have a problem since nobody is left to offer more than the full MLE, except for the Grizzlies who won’t. That’s good news in my mind. My biggest concern right now is signing Garbo to replace Ronny.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | July 18, 2008 at 09:24 PM
Fatty,
>>>>> We now know Dr Buss has his limits.
I think you’re right about the how far over Jerry is willing to go. You can’t sign every player every time or you will lose any ability to bargain with players and agents. It was a sound fiscal move and basketball move. I’m grateful that Jerry is willing to go so far and that he too recognizes that even the Lakers have to have to draw the line somewhere. Now we know where he has drawn it.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | July 18, 2008 at 09:27 PM
Lakers management better not torch this team. It would be ridiculously stupid.
We need a fricken championship and now.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | July 18, 2008 at 09:29 PM
That photo of Kwame, Bynum and Turiaf says a lot. Maybe the Lakers, through their connections, are trying to tell the fans: Hey, this injury to Bynum is serious and we need to do something to protect ourselves if were not sure he's going to come back as quickly as we would want him to.
Look at that photo and what does it say to you? Bynum is injured!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | July 18, 2008 at 09:36 PM
Mike T,
"Now there are hints that the Lakers might try to sign Kwame Brown. If this is so then they're probably waiting to see what Kwame can come away with on the open market before they make him an offer.
I mean take a look at the photo to your right under:
Your scene:
What do you see? Kwame, Bynum and Turiaf.
Bynum is injured in the photo. Turiaf is gone. And Kwame is available. (kind of like we should be preparing to seeing Kwame, again. That photo says a lot.)
That photo of Kwame, Bynum and Turiaf says a lot. Maybe the Lakers, through their connections, are trying to tell the fans: Hey, this injury to Bynum is serious and we need to do something to protect ourselves if were not sure he's going to come back as quickly as we would want him to. Look at that photo and what does it say to you? Bynum is injured!"
Mike, those photos are sent in by fans and get randomly selected by the online staff at the Times. The Lakers themselves have absolutely nothing to do with whatever pic is chosen. For that matter, the Lakers have nothing directly to do with any facet of this blog. And even if they did, the front office has bigger things on their plate right now than trying to send subliminal messages through a tiny photo. You're seriously reaching with this theory.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | July 18, 2008 at 09:38 PM
Bye, Ronny. Best of luck. Hope you can come back to us someday.
More ink from the Bay:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/18/sports/s210640D29.DTL
Posted by: SamLL | July 18, 2008 at 09:39 PM
OK, this has to be an imposter or MikeT has become a parody of himself. Really. Unfortunately, it is true that in some cases Drew's type of injury could lead to microfracture surgery. The cartilage debris that had to be removed surgically is what indicates that this a possibility. I wish someone would clarify Drew's status. Soon.
Posted by: giantsquid | July 18, 2008 at 09:40 PM
So who do we get to replace Turiaf?
Why not Kwame?
Posted by: Rocky | July 18, 2008 at 09:46 PM
The Lakers were right not to sign Ronny for $4M+ per season.
But playing hardball with Sasha? That makes no sense. Foolish as the Lakers were to overpay for Walton and VladRad, trying to correct that by asking Sasha to return for cheap is insane.
Yes, I know there are Coby Karl fans out there. But he is an unproven commodity. Sasha has proven he can play backup at the 2. And KB24 will still be needed at the 3-spot from time to time, as well as needing a few minutes rest here and there. In fact KB24 should be playing fewer regular season minutes next season, so there's some extra gas in the tank for the Playoffs (and hopefully the Finals).
If the Lakers want to save a few bucks, leave that 15th roster slot vacant at the start of the season again.
My starting roster would be Bynum, Pau, and Trevor up front, with KB24 and Farmar in the back. My Bench Mob would be Fish, LO, Sasha, and Mihm.
Let's sign Sasha a.s.a.p. Let's go Lakers!!
Posted by: Rick Friedman | July 18, 2008 at 09:46 PM
Leo,
"The NBA finals were lost because the Lakers were terribly soft defensively."
The Lakers were not "terribly soft" defensively. Look at how the Celtics did offensively against the Lakers, compared to how they did during the regular season. The Celtics were a little better than the Lakers, which is why they won.
"Adding a (hopefully) healthy Bynum is good, but not nearly enough. The Lakers need legitimate perimeter defense"
Did you notice how close the first three Celtics victories were? Close as in the Lakers could very easily have swept the series. Ariza IS a legitimate perimeter defender. You add EITHER Bynum or Ariza to that roster, and the Lakers likely win. You add both of them to that roster, and the Lakers almost certainly win. Whether that will be true next spring we can't say for sure at this point, but it's an extremely reasonable chance to take.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 18, 2008 at 09:49 PM
I don't think I'm stretching when I say that Bynum is injured. He got cleared to start conditioning but that's far from being cleared to play.
This is the same type of stuff that Amare was going through before he got his microfacture surgery.
This kid is not in the clear. And as for my theory, I don't know if you're acting dumb (stupid) or not but I think I said: MAYBE!
Everyone knows how manipulative the marketing part of the NBA is. Hell, it's fact in advertising that you put pictures in people heads to condition them to think in a certain way. That's common knowlege...but the L.A. Times is pure and free of manipulation.
Yeah, right!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | July 18, 2008 at 09:52 PM
I'd like to see Kwame match up against Kendrick Perkins.
Posted by: Rocky | July 18, 2008 at 09:58 PM
Mike T,
"I don't think I'm stretching when I say that Bynum is injured. He got cleared to start conditioning but that's far from being cleared to play. This is the same type of stuff that Amare was going through before he got his microfacture surgery. This kid is not in the clear. And as for my theory, I don't know if you're acting dumb (stupid) or not but I think I said: MAYBE!
Everyone knows how manipulative the marketing part of the NBA is. Hell, it's fact in advertising that you put pictures in people heads to condition them to think in a certain way. That's common knowlege...but the L.A. Times is pure and free of manipulation. Yeah, right!"
I'm not saying you're reaching to say Bynum is injured (although to be honest, it's pretty obvious that you're actively hoping it's as bad as possible). But I can assure you that the photo on the blog has absolutely nothing to do with a "message" being sent by the Times, through the Lakers or otherwise. There are "your scene" photos all over the other blogs, too. It's pure coincidence.
For starters, the conclusion you arrived at requires reading through a LOT of lines a very specific way to arrive at very specific conclusions, which is the exact opposite of what you try to do while marketing. You want something simple and easy that people get right away. Beyond that, why would the Times be looking to send a "message?" What marketing could they gain from it? How exactly do they benefit from it?
Like I said, you're reaching and trying too hard, even as a "maybe."
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | July 18, 2008 at 10:01 PM
re Kwame Brown:
He averaged less than six minutes a game with Memphis. That would be the Memphis team with Darko Milicic and Jason Collins at Center. The Memphis team in the middle of rebuilding, who would (you would think) jump at the chance to sign an experienced, young backup center for relatively cheap. And yet they have not done so.
Doesn't that show you his value? Don't you remember his complete offensive ineptitude? Don't you realize the extreme, negative effect that his presence would have on the offense? You say that he would be good to bang up the other teams' bigs. First of all not many teams have bigs with strong post-up games, which is the ONLY area of Kwame's game that is not less than mediocre. You realize that his presence allows the other team's big the complete freedom to abandon Kwame, and bang up Gasol and/or Kobe. Now, who gets the best of that exchange? Not the Lakers. So why in the heck would you want to sign him, even as a back-up backup? Mbenga would be a better choice.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 18, 2008 at 10:01 PM
"Bynum is injured in the photo. Turiaf is gone. And Kwame is available. (kind of like we should be preparing to seeing Kwame, again. That photo says a lot.)"
OMG Kwame, Kwame, Kwame.....not again please! Are we going back to the past or move to the future? Laker fans don't need further suffering, booing and losing one self b/c of one player. Kwame should train first in NCAA how to catch, dribble, dunk, lay up before re-entering the NBA atmosphere. If Hawks are willing to get him, why would the Lakers stop them. He has been tried by three teams and did not pan out, is the ghost of Kwame coming back to Lakerland? Not again please!!!!
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 18, 2008 at 10:02 PM
"But playing hardball with Sasha? That makes no sense. Foolish as the Lakers were to overpay for Walton and VladRad, trying to correct that by asking Sasha to return for cheap is insane."
It's not a question of wanting to play hardball. It more of a situation where they have to play hardball. The situation is such that the Lakers' salaries at this point are dictating what can and cannot be done.
It's common knowledge and admitted by many in the organization, including Mitch, PJ and Kobe that the Lakers need two things. They need phyical presense and a change of basketball philosophy from offense to defense.
There's no way the Lakers can address these two things with the roster as it is and with the salaries as they are.
If they were to have signed Turaif and Sasha then things would have stayed exactly the same with a big gamble that Bynum would address both of their needs to be more phyical and emphasize defense. That's a big gamble for such big philosophical changes to hang on just one player.
No the Lakers need two or three different players to make that transition. But there's no way that can happen if they over pay for Turiaf or Sasha. If they pay Sasha then they still have to pay Bynum. What are we talking here? At least 10 million in luxury taxes with no changes to the roster that got killed by Boston. It doesn't make sense.
The Lakers have to make sacrafices and they're playing it right by waiting to see what happened with Turiaf and Sasha. Turiaf's situation played out and created a roster spot for the Lakers but they won't address it until Sasha's situation plays out. Then they'll probably have to make a move to somehow get rid of either Walton or Rad. That would create roster spots and a little salary releif just to get to where they are right now in thier salary situation.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | July 18, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Barca has been invited to play in the Lakers pre-season tourney at Stales.
Lakers-Clippers-Toronto-Barca
Oct 18-19?
Posted by: Fatty | July 18, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Kwame
LOL!
Posted by: Rocky | July 18, 2008 at 10:07 PM
exhelodrvr, you apparently watched a different series than I did. You actually think the Lakers could have almost swept the series? The Celtics controlled game 1 throughout, even while it was a sloppy game by both teams. Game 2 was a complete blowout but for a huge Laker comeback that was owed more to the Celtics easing up than anything L.A. did.
The Celtics had virtually no inside game in the finals. Perkins did nothing, and KG was mostly a jumpshooter. But the Lakers got killed on the boards and LA had absolutely nobody who could guard Paul Pierce.
Bynum will help on the boards, but who is going to play perimeter defense? You are placing an awful lot of faith in Ariza (a young guy I like, but a guy who has not come close to warranting a reputation as an elite perimeter defender--which you need to beat Boston).
After the post-Shaq lean years, the last thing the Lakers should be doing at this point is trying to be JUST good enough to win a title. Things happen, players get hurt. If a championship is within reach, you go for it with everything you have.
Taking perhaps the best perimeter defender in the league at the SF spot and teaming him with Kobe and Fish, with support down low from two 7 footers would make this the best team in the league by far. Standing pat (after losing Turiaf) and assuming Bynum is all they need to get over the hump seems to be cutting it awfully close.
If you were a Laker fan during the dark days of Del Harris then you remember what it was like to have a mentality of "we're good enough". Well, they weren't good enough, unless you're satisfied (like Del Harris) with just getting close....
Posted by: Leo | July 18, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Rocky,
Why worry about Perkins? Look at how he did against the Lakers. Foul trouble every game. 18 minutes a game. 4 points/3.5 rebounds per game. You think he would get in foul trouble guarding Kwame, like he did playing against Gasol and Odom? ANd I'm sure Gasol and Kobe would appreciate having the extra defender on them.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 18, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Leo and a whole bunch of others
like Ex said defense did not lose the series. We lost on offense. We scored 88, 91, 92 and 102 in the 4 games we lost. Defensively, we played well enough to win all but one. Remember this Laker team is an up tempo team, not a slug it out one. Dr Buss wanted show time back, even during the 3 peat years and Mitch has followed orders.
The good news is that the NBA is all about match ups. Andrew changes all of the match ups. Pau is not a banger, and Perkins is. But with Andrew back Pau moves to PF. Did anyone else but me notice that the one game that KG had to guard Pau, he went for 19 on 6-10 shooting, 12 boards and 6 assists. Why? While KG is a great help defender, he is not strong enough to keep Pau out of his spots.
But there are even more benifits to this senario. With Pau at the 4 Garrent will have to stay at home because Pau can face up, has a good mid range J and can drive. No more cheating off like he did with Lamar. And of course Perkins also has to stay home on Andrew or its dunk city. So this opens up lanes for Kobe and Lamar to drive to the basket. And with Pierce on Lamar, instead of KG, one of the bigs will be forced to help and we all know Lamar can distribute the ball.
And there will be defensive benifits as well. Pau did a good job defensively on KG and since Perkins is not a huge offensive threat, Andrew can roam allittle. But the biggest benifit will be Lamar on Pierce. Pierce is not a super quick 3. Lamar will be able to stay with him. Shut him down? Probably not, slow him down? Absolutely. And of course Trevor will also help. Lets face it, he hadnt played since January and it showed.
So guys no, this team will be just fine without a major trade. Especially since none of the top contenders have really helped themselves alot.
MH
Posted by: michael h | July 18, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Leo,
LOL! In each of the first three Lakers losses, the Lakers were within a possession in the last minute. Game 1 had some very questionable calls that went the Celtics way. The Lakers almost made a huge comeback, the Celtics did (barely) make a huge comeback. If you don't think that the Lakers played them very closely for the first five games, and could easily have won all five games, I suggest that you watch them again.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 18, 2008 at 10:17 PM
"At least 10 million in luxury taxes with no changes to the roster that got killed by Boston."
No, no changes at all. Other than Bynum and Ariza. Oh, and another year experience for the third youngest team in the league. And a preseason and training camp for Gasol, who only played thirty regular season games with this roster.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 18, 2008 at 10:20 PM
Leo
Amen Leo. That's what I've been trying to say too.
Standing pat isn't good enough. There was no doubt Boston was better than the Lakers. Even the 2 games we won against them didn't really feel like real wins.
We need to get better. Artest would push us over the edge of being better than the Celtics, with Bynum coming back, I believe.
But to just say, oh well when Bynum comes back, we'll be better than they are, is not good enough.
Like the trolls were taunting us with the whole series, they killed us twice during the regular season and Bynum played both games.
So how do you figure we beat them with Bynum? You think Gasol makes us better than the Celtics?
No sir that is not the case.
With Bynum it's a better series but I don't know that we win it last year or this year.
You add Artest, now we have 4 all stars, compared to other teams' 3. We would have the best starting lineup in the NBA. No question about it.
And the Kings have made the offer. It's out there for us. We have to take Kenny Thomas, but with Turiaf gone we need a PF anyway.
Sure we lose LO, and he's been great. But one more time, Artest is an all star. LO isn't.
Artest makes any team he plays for into a tough defensive team the first time he walks out on the floor for them. He did it everywhere he played.
Make the deal.
John
Posted by: john_in_houston | July 18, 2008 at 10:21 PM
ex,
I'm not worried about Perkins. He's sad. You know that. haha!
We have to guard Pierce to beat the Celts. I don't think Ariza is enough. Maybe having Bynum down low would prevent penetration, but I'm not counting on it. Bynum is a question mark until he shows up in the finals.
Maybe having Kwame down low to seal the paint might be a good insurance policy is all I'm saying.
Posted by: Rocky | July 18, 2008 at 10:21 PM
There's no way this roster can stay the same. What makes matters worse is that we have roster spots being taken up by Walton, Mihm and Rad.
Read this:
"But matching the Warriors' offer sheet to Turiaf would have caused further salary cap troubles for the Lakers, who are already $4 million over the luxury tax threshold of $71.150 million. The Lakers have about $75 million tied up in only 10 players so far."
Now put it together. 10 players, including Walton, Mihm and Rad taking up 75 million? That's like saying we have 7 players taking up that much money. Those three players are terrible defenders healthy or not. So our philosophical change can't be implemented so easily because these guys are taking up roster spot and salaries. Now you say sign Sasha? Now we have 11 players taking up 78-79 million if the Lakers sign Sasha to 3 or 4 million. And we still have addressed our defensive needs.
The Lakers are stuck and they will let Sasha walk if they can't trade Walton or Rad. If they trade one of those players then they can sign Sasha but it still doesn't address their defensive needs. To address their defensive needs and salary concerns they have to get rid of either Walton or Rad and let Sasha walk, too.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | July 18, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Mike T. you maybe right that JB and Mitch are trying trim down costs but they created albatross players in signing Luke long term w/o market check and Mihm for 2 more years with his recurring injuries. Lakers should sign Sasha before he slips away like Posey.
We see Garbo as replacement of Ronny and we'll know it based on his performance in the Olympics. There are some PF in the Summer League who can be trained for the future with the D'Fenders but Lakers have to take care of them as young stallions. Lorenzo Mata-Real is one and Nik Caner-Medley is another, right now both are raw but they are good defenders good for 10 minutes per game.
I'm sure something is cooking with Mitch right now and it will be revealed in the coming weeks of the negotiation, it's all inter-related: Can Bynum still play like the first half of past season? How much is the right price for Sasha? Can Garbo still play at NBA level? What does Sacto really want for Artest? How can the Lakers save from luxury taxes? All these questions are swirling at El Segundo trying to factor in the best alternative. It cannot be solved in great haste but it cannot also be solved through procrastination. I'm sure Mitch will make the right moves like the way he got Ariza and Gasol.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 18, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Rocky,
"We have to guard Pierce to beat the Celts. I don't think Ariza is enough."
You don't have to shut Perkins down, just make it a little more difficult for him. That is all it would have taken. And Ariza would give you that. Odom might, as well, although I have my doubts about him playing SF.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | July 18, 2008 at 10:29 PM
rock on, predator.
i'll miss ya.
your FAMILY deserves to be taken care of.
as of now, there is only one guy that can take your place, but not your spirit...
his name is kwame.
you will be missed, my friend.
rock the free world.
hope you STILL follow this page from time to time.
(BK...he read it a lot)
Posted by: The Detective | July 18, 2008 at 10:32 PM