I'm really bummed about this trade.

Artest would have been so great for us.

The only way we could redeem ourselves for missing this opportunity is if we get Battier, Josh Smith, or Gerald Wallace. Battier is the right price, the others have sick upside and are worth building around.

humanomaly,

Actually, just watched a DVD movie called Doomsday (Good action flick. Great female lead), where the heroine fights off zombies and road warriors ala Mad Max in Glasgow, Scotland driving one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen – a Bentley Continental GT Speed – the most powerful production Bentley ever produced, boasting a 600hp twin-turbo W12 engine, a 0-60mph time of 4.3 seconds, a top speed of 202mph, and all the comforts, refinements, and class that you expect from a Bentley.

http://www.uncrate.com/men/cars/sports-cars/bentley-continental-gt-speed/

Now that would get me out of my Beemer but I would have to sell my house. LOL. You’d have to be an NBA player to afford one of these. Costs $200K. Nothing for even an NBA bum like Kwame.

Tom

BAH! Why does the West just keep getting stronger? I guess we don't really have to worry about the Suns too much this year though. Go Lakers!

Thank you. No more Lamar for Artest gibberish. I think the deal definitely makes Houston a much better team, but not an elite team. Don't forget that Houston has Mcgrady, who has never gotten out of the 1st round. Thats a pretty crazy curse for someone of his talent. Anyways, couldn't be happier that Lamar will ultimately stay with the Lakers for at least this season. All you doubters will be proven wrong by Lamar's great upcoming season. Just like all you people that wanted to trade Bynum for Kidd or JO. You are crazies just like Ron Artest haha jk.

Lamar = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS

Posted by: mrbarneydangles | July 29, 2008 at 11:32 PM

When Odom continues to be inconsistent and vaporize his brain before 1/5 games and is traded, I'll be there to have you eat crow too.

And for the record, I never predicted we'd get Artest, but I was obviously pretty up on getting him.

That's what I predict will happen. As a Laker fan, that's not what I want to happen. But human nature is fairly consistent. Odom has shown himself to be someone that isn't going to be worth keeping around.

I don't think I'll ever understand the blind devotion to a super talented, incredibly built player that is such an incredible underachiever and represents the worst of laziness and lifestyle-pursuers that is far too much of the NBA.

There are still some viable players to trade out there so I wouldn't get too excited just yet. Your prediction that he plays for us may yet be proven wrong.

On a less disagreeable note and since you brought it up, what are your predictions for Odom this coming season?

What position will be play (minutes per game)?
What will be his pts/rbds/asts/blks/tos?
How will his focus be?
How effective will be on defense? Who will he seriously disrupt?

And of these predictions I request, what are your hopes versus your realistic expectations?

I'm not asking so I can disagree with them. I'm genuinely interested in your perspective because it's obviously very different from my own.

Oh yeah, and Luol Deng is almost certainly resigning soon with the Bulls. I don't know his game that well, but I do know he had a pretty mediocre last season. It's probably a bigger lost opportunity than it appears to me in my ignorance.

ya know ... I find it interesting that there's so much
love and desire for a player who's never sniffed
an all-star game.

This year is Lamar's big year. Last year of his contract.
Coming off a whipping in Boston. Publicly labeled soft.

So y'all didn't want to upgrade the SF position with
a better defensive player and you want to hold on to
a backup PF/ too gangly & slow SF.

Ok. I'm ready to be proved wrong. If Lamar is an all-star
at SF I'll recant.

I hope Ariza is working out like a fiend!

I think It’s just unfortunate that the sour ending to the Boston series causes fans clamor for changes to the Lakers roster and feel we’ve missed out on something here, before they’re really sure changes are necessary to begin with.

Again, this team hasn’t been fully tested yet with all its players in place. And the poor showing against Boston is only of limited value to determine if any major personnel changes are necessary considering our starting center Bynum was u/a, Ariza returned late and rusty, and well as Mihm after a 1 1/2 year absence due to injury.

I mean, I’m not saying a player like Artest could not have helped, had he kept his head on straight (a big “IF” to many B-ball analysts). But it would have been a risky move by the FO nevertheless, since it would have been an attempt to repair something which may not exist to begin with.

So yes, if its broke then try and fix it. But you’ve got to make sure it’s truly broken first by allowing these guys a fair chance to play together awhile first.

Getting Artest is big for Houston, and things just got tougher in the West, but Laker fans lets take a different perspective on this. We are getting back Bynum who is a big! It's like he is a new player coming in a trade because he never played a minute with Gasol and didn't have any impact in our playoff run last season. So basically Houston added Artest, NO added Posey, and the Lakers added Bynum. Think about that! If you put it into those terms it looks like we had a pretty good off-season. Remember we are the defending WC champs not Houston or NO. We made the finals last year without Bynum, so adding him is like adding a new player to your roster. Any GM would take a big over a wing player any day and both Posey and Artest are wing players. I admit I think the Lakers are still a little weak at 3 and I would love to dump Walton and Vlad but with their contracts I don't think there are any takers for those two right now. Something big could be in the works, but seeing the history of how Mitch operates I would say no. He is not a gambler and plays more on the side of caution waiting for players to develop and for the right players to come along at the right price. Odom for Thomas and Artest was too much anyways especially with us being above the luxury tax.

The Lakers are in for a up hill battle, this team has no room for injurys nor three game losing streaks if the Lakers start out the gate slow their season could be over before Christmas.
Everyone has upgraded interms of personal and improved athletism, we on the other have remained silent and our frontline depth consist of Mihm, Walton, and no solid banger to keep the paint honest!
PJ 's defensive philosphy has put our team in a very vunerable position and Mitch has added to our decline by keeping Luke Walton! I am not prejudice! Luke just doesn't get it done on a consistant basis for me. He is slow and injury prone, lacks the athletism to keep up with todays nba players, don't mention his IQ a parrot has more!

Will this be a season to remember? or to forget?

lakers85,

Amen! Couldn't have said it any better myself.

-bozz-

I still can't get over this article. I know it's been posted but, it's nice to hear some of the San Antonio Fans give props to Kobe underneath that link.

http://tinyurl.com/6go4kk

On a less disagreeable note and since you brought it up, what are your predictions for Odom this coming season?

What position will be play (minutes per game)?
What will be his pts/rbds/asts/blks/tos?
How will his focus be?
How effective will be on defense? Who will he seriously disrupt?

And of these predictions I request, what are your hopes versus your realistic expectations?

I'm not asking so I can disagree with them. I'm genuinely interested in your perspective because it's obviously very different from my own.

Oh yeah, and Luol Deng is almost certainly resigning soon with the Bulls. I don't know his game that well, but I do know he had a pretty mediocre last season. It's probably a bigger lost opportunity than it appears to me in my ignorance.

Posted by: Benjamin | July 30, 2008 at 02:59 AM

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

Whats up Benjamin?

Yea, I see where you and everyone come from with Lamar's inconsistency. I would hope you would agree that Lamar played excellent during the second half of the season. It is unfair to say that Lamar chocked in the Finals as well. Kobe sure didn't show up for 48 mins during the six games, and Sasha, well he only had one good game (I believe). Yea, Lamar struggled some (so did everyone else), but he did show up for a few games and played well.

As for my predictions..

1. What position will he play (minutes): I believe he will play mostly the 3 but also some 4 when Gasol is out. Odom will and should start next year, he will start at the 3. Last year, Odom would always start the 2nd quarter with the second unit, this is when he will slide over and play the 4. So, mostly 3 but some 4 with the second unit. As far as minutes, it will vary. He will ultimately end up being the 4th option on this team (assuming Bynum can play the same offense he was playing pre injury) so his minutes will definitely be lower then they were last year. Especially if one of the bench players is having a good game, I see them eating up some of Odom's minutes (although Phil could again possibly take Gasol out and slide Odom to the 4). This is where Lamar becomes to valuable. I know there are many players that can play the 3 and the 4 but I like Odom at both. I think he's in a gym somewhere right now working on his midrange jumper. He can hit the outside shot but its inconsistent at the moment, this will change next year.

2. Stats: I believe Odom will average something like 11/12/7/2/3, these are my hopes as well as my expectations. With the starting lineup, Lamar won't be depended on to score, which is fine by him. He will still get his but I don't expect too many monster games. A couple dunks, a couple Js, and a few free throws, nothing miraculous but enough to help the Lakers win. Lamar's biggest strength is his rebounding. With Bynum in the lineup he will mostly be snagging the boards but whenever Drew is out its Lamar Odom's deal. We just can't expect Pau to be a monster on the boards where as when you watch Lamar on the boards you can see some pride and the fight he puts up for every rebound. I remember Lamar having a couple of 20 rebound games next year, I expect more of those next year. As for assists, I see and hope Lamar will lead all 3/4's in assists. Ofcourse, Lamar is lucky to have Kobe/Bynum/Gasol to pass to. Makes it pretty easy on Lamar, who definitely has the ability and skill to find the open man. My favorite plays of last year where the ones where Kobe would pass to Lamar who would very quickly find Pau for the jam, assist Lamar. As for blocks, with the twin towers it should be pretty easy for Lamar to come over on help side and pick up a couple of blocks per game. This could be lower or higher though, haven't put all too much thought in to it. And for TO's, Lamar will still kinda suck in this category and average around 3 TO's a game. As a 3/4 he is asked to do a lot of ball handling and so forth, while he is a skilled ball handler and passer, he isn't the best by any means. The turnovers will just happen and I will be fine with it as long as he isn't walking in bounds without passing the ball in first (I'm sure you know the play I'm referring too). So my expectations and hopes are by no means outrageous with his strengths being rebounds and assists.

3. His focus: I think his focus will be perfectly fine. Will he have some really bad games? Ofcourse, thats part of the game (unless you're Kobe). I expect his focus to be solid all year long though. This is mostly just a guess though, theres no real stat that measures focus (maybe turnovers). He was extremely focused during the second half of last year and I see that carrying over into this year.

4.Defense (disruption): I think Lamar will have an extremely solid defensive season. He is and will be quick enough to stay with the 3's in this league and like always, his length will be bothersome. Again though, Lamar is lucky because of our monstrous front court. Lamar will be able to funnel his man right into Bynum/Gasol, not pretty for the guy driving to the basket. Like always, Lamar will clamp down on the likes of a Dirk and so on. I can't think off the top of my head other stars that he matches up well against but I know he's more than capable of doing it. Lets just put it this way, I don't see this blog complaining about Odom's defense anytime soon.

I think the key with Lamar is the fact that he is such a gifted player and he is extremely low maintenance. He just suffers from the same problem Luke does, they get paid too much. Lamar isn't and never will be a solid second option a la Scottie Pippen, but he will be one hell of a role player and help the Lakers do all the small things while coming up with a monster game here and there and being consistently well at rebounds and assists. I look for Lamar to again fall short of an All Star game but ultimately winning over all of his doubters and getting another deal with the Lakers next offseason. Thats my biggest hope.

Lamar = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS

haha Pierce calls out Kobeef for what he is, a Faker.

haha

Also, Ron Artest gave you Lakernation the big "up yours".

Can someone in Lakernation of whinners please tell me why nobody but Laker fan like Kobe and why no NBA free agent of any sort of good standing want to play in LA with Kobe "I can get off at anytime" Bryant?

The only decent player to join the Laker is Pau and he was traded.

Pathetic.

Still laughing at you foos.

Faith,

Bio-Chronologically speaking, Artest is strongly effected by his social environment. A small city like Sacramento is best for him psyhcologically speaking. Houston is a big city with distractions and issues. He'll soak up the worst elements of Houston and it will come out in the form of dysfunction.

GO LAKERS!

Paul's "I'm the best player" self proclamation remind you of someone? Someone that said "he is a classy guy." Get the irony?

MDE

Wait....WHAT!?!

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20080730/
SPORTS0102/807300362/1127

I'd rather them just sign and bring back Mbenga than that guy

Ya don't know till they jump it up but Houston looks more than formidable. With 2 Kobe inhibitors, they'll join Portland as being a team we'll have trouble with all year.

LO was too much for Ron but RA was just what the Doctor should have ordered. The Lakers like Luke and Vlad, why don't other teams?

In today's news, ESPN reports that Lakers were hurt by the signing of Ron-Ron, the monster with the Rockets. There is a new Gorilla applying to be a Laker, his name is Robert Traylor who is serving in halfway house b/c of tax dodging and a close relationship with his drug dealer cousin.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080730/SPORTS0102/807300362/1127

This could be another white elephant sitting on the bench. I would rather go with DJ MBenga. DJ is taller, better shooter, lighter, familiar with Laker's triangle and has a purpose driven life. With Traylor, he is a convicted felon. LAKERS WANT A FELON, I hope Mitch is not losing his senses in mixing him with celebrities on the front row seats at Staples

REPOST...

LTLF: nice points about a Battier/LO trade. It definitely got me thinking. But LO's versatility is way more beneficial to the Lakers than to the Rockets.

Adelman is a positional player coach and there's not much fluidity to his offense. I always felt the Kings were a bit chaotic when he coached them. Although, I think he has learned from his ways.

The bigger question of the Rockets is does this trade get T-Mac and Yao out of the first round.....finally???

If their guys can stay relatively injury-free - their nucleus can compete against any team in the NBA. But that's a huge "IF" for the Rockets as T-Mac and Yao are brittle. And the rest of the team now is pretty old.

I would have to guess their fans are saying look what they did without Yao and now they have both Yao and Artest. That's a good team. I don't think they beat New Orleans or the Lakers though to come out of the West. I still think it will be the Lakers this year with a close series from NOH.

As for Lakers - nothing doing. We still have what we are going to have heading into camp. The Lakers are holding pat, Dr. Buss is off to Europe for rest of Summer and Mitch will be watching the Olympics because 3 of his "assets" (20%) are on national teams. Two of which take up a significant amount of the payroll and luxury tax.

We will have Lamar until the Feb. trade deadline barring calamity. Get used to the team folks - it will be a shorter rotation and a lot more minutes to our key guys. I see only MVP and Fish getting less minutes during regular season. LO, Pau and AB will be taking the brunt of the time on court.

GO LAKERS!

Why is everyone so worried about this last player? Is there any chance that this player will get many minutes? Let's be honest. Whoever it is won't be playing more than a couple of minutes per game on average. That will put the big man total to 5 once he signs up, and at that point the minutes are slim. So what if it's Traylor, or anyone else.

Stop freaking out about every little thing!

While I like Lamar, if he doesn't hit the 18 footer consistently, we're going to have to trade him and his expiring contract for someone who can.

I would say Lamar is now a true PF, more than a SF. He's even bulked up a little bit. So while it'll be fun to watch this experiment. Ultimately, my basketball senses tell me it's going to be exposed, leaving Kobe and Fisher out there as the only shooters we have to offer in our starting lineup.

Lamar at the SF is going to be open all day. Will he make the shots?

Toad,

Yeah, I played on Monday...I beat my opponent Lisa 5-1. Tomorrow's opponent wasn't one of the best, but at this point, it all comes down to the questions. If I know them, I'll roll, but it's so random now that anything could come up and snake bite me. I've got to win 3 more matches to win a cruise to Mexico. I need the vacation, trust me. Luckily, I'm great at one thing, and that's trivia based game shows. It's a limited skill set, but it pays off every now and then.

The only big man worth considering at a cheap price is Juwon Howard. He plays good defense, can knock down a 15-footer, can play the 1 or the 2 and give the Lakers a solid 10-12 minutes a night.

No big deal.

Artest is available next year as a free agent and can be an addition without parting anything but money.

Rotate Kobe to small forward periodically until then with Sasha at guard and we have all the shooting and length we need. Getting the team to play defense will be the key to the championship next year. Bring back Fox as assistant coach.

Jon K,

If that's the case with Houston I'm hesitant to wonder what would have happened had he landed here. Artest and LA? I think a recording company would have been the least of our worries.

Tully,

Yeah, Pierce, once a dou***, always a dou***. He got his 15 minutes, he better enjoy them, because he'll never sniff that trophy again. Punk.

I'm really curious about your trivia skills. Some have called be the Trivia King of the Upper Central Midwest States (not), so I also consider myself somewhat of a trivia buff, especially pop culture. I'd love to challenge you sometime if there was a format in which we could do it in. Best of luck tomorrow though, I'll be pulling for ya.

-bozz-