Nice video, but let's not get too excited, folks. Just a bunch of newbies playing each other, and the other newbies represent the Griz. None of them would look so good going up against Pierce, Garnett, and Allen.

I don't know about you, but the reason I keep checking the blog is for an update on the Sasha signing. What is everyone waiting for (Mitch) (Sasha) (Sasha's agent) (anyone)?

Happy Monday, everyone! Go Lakers!

It's fun watching the young fellas out there, but I don't put much stock in it. I remember watching Devean George dominate about 7 years back LOL

On a team like the Lakers, the most any of these kids can hope for is to be the 14th or 15th man. I'd rather be that guy though than #1 on the Grizz or Clips.

Another Bombshell for the Commish. Everyone knows the odds of being only 1 cheating ref are low. No wonder the military was called in.

BD

AK,

Thanks for attempting to direct conversation away from Ron Bill Ron Bill. Urgh.

Coby Karl seems to be playing well. Good.

GO LAKERS!

Coby Karl, nice kid, nice jump shot, needs to BULK UP. He needs Weight Gain 3000. He will get punished in the NBA if he plays in any situation except garbage time (which is what Summer League is really all about, 48 minutes of garbage time, I know, i used to watch the lake Show at the CSULB Pyramid in Long Beach, my home). I know that he's an inspiration and that he was our secret weapon against the Nugs, but seriously, he won't be NBA ready for another couple of years at best.

Re-sign Sasha. He's just testing the waters, he wants to be a Laker (beleive what he said in print BEFORE he met with his agent, most players say what their agents tell them to say, Sasha said he wanted to be a Laker for life, than met with his agent and said he'd see what was out there. That's just good, smart business)

Also, people should lay off Luke and Vlad Rad, they contributed to a CHAMPIONSHIP RUN. Wether they are over-paid or not isn't the question. It's how to get them to the next level. Both are young, both are getting hungry, I should think especially so in Luke's case (I would want to have my own legacy to banter about the Walton table o' grub) let's see what a summer of work and focus from both the players and the staff can bring to the table.

I wish that we could wave some sort of wand and make all GM's as maleable as those in charge of the Grizzlies, but these guys work hard to craft a roster that not only blends talent and persoanlity, but a chance to win in the most competitive sport, and in our case, the most competitive conference in sports today.

The Lakers were the best team in that conference. Not because they had the best player or the best coach or the best team plane, but because they were the best team. Why dissect and dismantle a great team? Especially before you ever see it at full strength. I think that the Yankees have proven that big contracts and lots of star players do NOT win championships, they create ego wars. They bog down franchises. That Boston hunger that we were faced with this year has been sated, that's why I think they'll be one and done, the fans will not be as rabid, the older players will either be gone (PJ Brown and Sam Cassell) or feeling entitled (Paul Pierce and Ray Allen) which is going to leave KG and his big heart wondering where all that defensive fire went. I think Doc Brown was able to reach those guys on a level that is rarely seen in sports. It reminded me of Mike Soccia, but basketball is much more transitory than baseball. Attitudes change drastically from year to year (See our Kobe Bean Bryant) and NBA athletes seem to have a great capacity for self-satisfaction and let down.

Re-sign Sasha, let Ronny go (I do love him, but he's more replaceable...business) and don't move LO before you see what this team can do. Give the team a chance to get it done. They proved everybody wrong last year and here's one fan who thinks that they can go all the way next year.

GO LAKERS!!!!

guys, the reason sasha isnt doing anything is because the league is waiting to see what happens to turiaf. if he is resigned, then GMs might feel that we're too far into luxury tax to match a midlevel offer and try a slightly lower figure. but if he isn't resigned then they'll be a bit more anxious about tabling a bid for sasha knowing that we'd likely resign him and would probably end up offering more money than they would otherwise in hopes that we don't match

anyhow thats my take on why we're not hearing anything

I just called Doc Rivers Doc Brown.

Heh.

One point twenty-one jiggawatts!

What the hell is a jiggawatt?

Hey dudes, I was hoping some of you guys could give me some feedback on some of my latest pieces in between our Bill Artest arguments.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080714/NEWS/746330123

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080624/NEWS/300530157

http://tinyurl.com/5tyok3

AK,

So are you saying that we shouldn't be thinking about bringing Kobe off the bench next season. Phew...don't want a shooting guard controversy. We'll leave stuff like that to Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

Thank you Charles, i wasn't too sure, I thought it might be a cocktail measurement for a London Buck.

MMMMmmmmmm. London Buck.

JustLakerFan

OK. Memphis was a much better team when Gasol played center than they were when he played PF. I guess that's not relevant. The fact that Gasol was listed as a center the year he made the all-stars is probably also irrelevant except for the fact that you brought it up.

http://tinyurl.com/657fgy

Posted by: giantsquid | July 14, 2008 at 02:04 PM

----------------------------
Giantsquid,

Actually I did not bring up center position in Memphis. But still that is not the point of debate. Regardless of the position in Memphis it will make no difference in LA due to the surrounding talent around him. In Memphis he could be keyed in on but not in LA.
So the point is forget the point differential of the teams you named because it will be different with LA with better talent freeing him up more. That is my point.

Charles,
"It's that thing that goes to eleven for the extra push to Rock Out."

LOL! You're dating yourself!

AK,

You need to check out this article posted in the last thread. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381842,00.html

It's super incriminating against Scott Foster.

Excerpt:

"The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided “picks” to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13."

AND

"Donaghy might logically communicate with other referees he was officiating with, and there are many such calls in Donaghy’s records. But Donaghy and Foster did not referee a single game together during the 2006-2007 season.

Donaghy also had three other cell phone numbers registered in his name, all of which he used. But he called Foster using the phone the feds say he designated for mostly gambling-related use.

The short calls with Foster stopped abruptly in mid March 2007, when Donaghy is believed to have stopped his gambling."

Holy crap!

JustaLakerfan,

Training camp won't start until early October (Oct. 1, I believe). We've still got a long way to go. At least college football and the NFL start soon!

Sir Exhelodrvr,

"LOL! You're dating yourself!"

I am ahem; single...

JustLakerFan

You implied that Gasol was playing PF when he made the All-star team didn't you?

Memphis Grizzlies

With Gasol at center +7.3 pts/48 min
With Gasol at PF and Milicic at center - 19.8 pts/ 48 min
Without Gasol and with Milicic at center -8.7 pts/48 min

Memphis was better with their star player on the bench than with him at PF. And much better with him at center.

It's the only metric other than Jerry West's eyes to judge how well the Laker's might do with Gasol playing PF

I didn't get to read all the posts, so I apologize in advance if this point has been made already.

Can Coby Karl be the next Sasha Vujacic?

Seriously.

Size wish, it's a wash. Coby gives up a couple inches but he's much stronger.

Coby tested top of the class on lane agility at last year's pre-draft camp, so the ability is there.

AK/BK both have stated on numerous occasions the kid's work ethic is off the charts (see running, and running, and...)

So what's the difference?

Sasha was great this year (comparatively speaking) but we all remember him as nothing more than "The Face" beforehand. He sucked. Completely. For years.

I watched the game last night and I absolutely know that the Summer League is not the best indication, but Coby Karl has ability.

Plain and simple, he's better than Sasha was at year two of his career.

Let's say an opportunity presents itself to trade for a difference maker and it means Sasha can't be resigned, I say go with Coby.

Anyway, it's something to talk about besides Artest.

Just came out of my "Lakers dominated in the finals" induced sports coma.

Nice to see you all are still holding down the fort. :)

Andrew Z,

I think Coby is probably in Sasha's league as a shooter, but I don't know if he'll ever catch Sasha on D. Sasha isn't an all-league defender by any means, but he's made himself into a pretty good defender.

Puddle,

I heard that.

giantsquid

Are you really still trying to compare "Donnie" Darko Millicic to Andrew Bynum? Seriously, man, Pau would've been better paired with Samaki Walker than with the Disappearing Darko. Darko is a 7 footer who loves to shoot from 20' out. He is not a post player, he's a third wolrd Dirk Nowitzki. Maybe. Pau shouldn't be penalized for dragging around a Sisyphusian weight around. Neither did he have a legitimate second threat on the team, for all his millions, Mike Miller is a streak shooter that doesn't play defence or take it to the hole. Name another Memphis Grizzly player without looking up the team roster online...oh yeah, Mighty Mouse Damon Stoudemire. Well, we all saw how he impacts a game, just ask Gregg Popovich why he didn't play him in the WC Finals. I understand the argument that Pau isn't your typical banger of a 4-spot, but he does have a number of skills that make the Lakers nearly unguardable as a squad. Numbers lie all the time, just look at how ESPN's power rankings are totally out of whack, or a player effeciency rating. Those stats, while fun and probably helpful for Fantasy Leaguers, are VERY misleading.

I'd take Andrew and Pau and Odom as a front court any day of the week.

patience is a virtue, Laker fans, let's show a teeny bit.

Giantsquid -

You're correct in pointing out that Gasol is more effective as a center. In truth, his advantage as a center (his quickness) is more pronounced than his advantage as a PF (his length) and his primary disadvantage (his strength, or lack of it) is the same, regardless of the position.

But ultimately, that point is moot. Even playing PF, he's better than every NBA PF not named Brand, Garnett, Nowtizki, Bosh, Stoudemire or Duncan, and is probably on par with David West and Carlos Boozer. The best Laker lineup will feature Gasol AND Bynum together, and there's no way Bynum plays the 4, so the argument is moot unless you're suggesting trading Pau or Bynum (something I wouldn't advocate, but to which I'm also not diametrically opposed).

Is Luke Walton much bigger than Coby Karl? Could Phil give Coby a try with Luke's minutes next season?

Bring Sasha back. We need the hair.

-bozz-

-Lakers and Bill are not a good fit-

http://www.hoopsworld.com/story.asp?story_id=9467

Sonnybelfast