Jon K.,

That haiku should be on the Purple and Gold Band that says Lakers 2007-2008 with the picture of Kobe and PJ, on the Latimes Lakers page. That was good.

Rick,

>>>>>I'm disappointed by everyone ready to give up on Jordan Farmar
>>>>>after only two seasons. He has the potential to be a Jason Kidd
>>>>>style point guard without all of Kidd's character flaws.

I agree the blog has been overly critical of Jordan without giving him his due as far as his contribution or potential go. As big a Farmar fan as I am, I don’t see him being a Jason Kidd type of pass-first, defend-tough HOF point guard. But I do see him being a more versatile version of Tony Parker, a guy who is unstoppable on the open floor and can get to the rim relentlessly but a better passer, defender, and long range shooter. I think that is very possible.

The thing is that there is no guaranteed magic formula for what kind of point guard is best, at least not unless you’re Magic Johnson (Are you reading this, Sun Yue). The range of styles of championship point guards ranges from the 6-9 Magic to the diminutive Tiny Archibald to the defense only K.C. Jones to the afore-mentioned Tony Parker, Finals MVP. Basically, what really matters is what the team needs from the point guard position

The Triangle Offense doesn’t necessarily require a true point guard to be effective, although a good point guard will make it more effective. And if the Lakers are going to turn on the jets as I have predicted and run a lot more, then Farmar’s value will skyrocket because that’s his game. Furthermore, if the Lakers play Drew as their free safety and press and trap to get steals, force turnovers, and ignite fast breaks, Farmar’s speed and athleticism suddenly become a plus factor defensively whereas half court D can unmask him.

So who’s to say that Jordan Farmar can’t be a championship point guard down the road. I might argue that with Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom, that Jordan might even have a better chance than Deron Williams, who will have to leave Utah to win one, or Chris Paul, who may have to do the same. After all, we don’t need our point guard to be the #1 or #2 or #3 scorer on the team. We need him to be the kind of glue role player who may be underappreciated by the media but not by his teammates.

You can’t have an all-star player making an all-star salary at every position. Farmar may be the perfect fit down the road for the Lakers in part due to the fact that he fits it well, is a home grown Laker, is liked by the fans and his teammates, and could end up being a pretty damn good ball player – good enough to end up with a fistful of rings. That’s what I think about JF.

Tom

I just noticed that Skinner signed with the Clips? I kind of like what they're doing... B. Davis & R. Davis, Camby, a decent draft pick with Eric Gordon, etc... they could be fun to watch this year.

Rick,

>>>>>I'm disappointed by everyone ready to give up on Jordan Farmar
>>>>>after only two seasons. He has the potential to be a Jason Kidd
>>>>>style point guard without all of Kidd's character flaws.

I agree the blog has been overly critical of Jordan without giving him his due as far as his contribution or potential go. As big a Farmar fan as I am, I don’t see him being a Jason Kidd type of pass-first, defend-tough HOF point guard. But I do see him being a more versatile version of Tony Parker, a guy who is unstoppable on the open floor and can get to the rim relentlessly but a better passer, defender, and long range shooter. I think that is very possible.

The thing is that there is no guaranteed magic formula for what kind of point guard is best, at least not unless you’re Magic Johnson (Are you reading this, Sun Yue). The range of styles of championship point guards ranges from the 6-9 Magic to the diminutive Tiny Archibald to the defense only K.C. Jones to the afore-mentioned Tony Parker, Finals MVP. Basically, what really matters is what the team needs from the point guard position

The Triangle Offense doesn’t necessarily require a true point guard to be effective, although a good point guard will make it more effective. And if the Lakers are going to turn on the jets as I have predicted and run a lot more, then Farmar’s value will skyrocket because that’s his game. Furthermore, if the Lakers play Drew as their free safety and press and trap to get steals, force turnovers, and ignite fast breaks, Farmar’s speed and athleticism suddenly become a plus factor defensively whereas half court D can unmask him.

So who’s to say that Jordan Farmar can’t be a championship point guard down the road. I might argue that with Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom, that Jordan might even have a better chance than Deron Williams, who will have to leave Utah to win one, or Chris Paul, who may have to do the same. After all, we don’t need our point guard to be the #1 or #2 or #3 scorer on the team. We need him to be the kind of glue role player who may be underappreciated by the media but not by his teammates.

You can’t have an all-star player making an all-star salary at every position. Farmar may be the perfect fit down the road for the Lakers in part due to the fact that he fits the budget, is a home grown Laker and fan fave, is liked by his teammates, has a great heart and work ethic, plays well in big games, and could end up being a pretty damn good ball player – good enough to end up with a fistful of rings. That’s what I think about JF.

Tom

Wow, you all are sure quick on the trigger to jump on Artest.

First of all, while honest, that was incredibly stupid thing for Yao to say about a new potential teammate.

If Kobe got traded and a likely soon-to-be teammate said they hoped he wouldn't be on dealing with legal proceedings for raping women in hotel rooms, that prospective teammate would look pretty stupid too, right?

Reading between the lines, it does sound like Artest believes Black culture and ghetto culture are the same or closely tied. For him, I'm sure it is. As a whole, it is a racist notion. Artest is almost certainly more ghetto than Blacks a whole having grown up in about the poorest possible situation so he doesn't represent an average. He makes the mistake of assuming because he's a certain way so does his group identity. It's a very common group assumption. It is bigotry.

troy made an excellent post about how to take ideas about culture in context. Easily the best post from the guy. I concur with his thoughts.

I appreciate the fact that Ron says he hasn't changed. I like his honesty too. While sometimes he gets a little confusing, he really does speak his mind honestly which the vast majority of the NBA does not. David Stern sees to that some, and subtle corporate and mainstream influences coercively see to it as well.

Because Ron Artest is less influenced by superego (societal influences), he's more willing to cut through the facade.

His willingness to defer to Yao as a team leader and Yao and Tracy as more alpha teammates does demonstrate intelligence and good teammate personality. His idea that Yao should have called him before making the public statement is right on too.

Dieselpower,

>>>>>What are the odds of us getting LeBron two years from
>>>>>now? We're all assuming he's going to the Knicks or
>>>>>Nets. Why not LA?

We don’t need him as he really doesn’t fit with the players we have and would have to break up the team to be able to afford him, not to mention the fact that LeBron is NOT going to want to play second fiddle to Kobe or vice versa. Bring in LeBron would mean Kobe would leave. Has our multi-tasking attention-fractured chaotic society made fans incapable of not getting weekly adrenalin fixes. More coverage breeds more coverage breeds change just to change. LOL.

We have such a great core of young players who made huge strides last year and could easily do the same this year. While so many fans are worrying if Drew can come back, the smart thinkers are dreaming of how much BETTER he will be this year – he has to be the leading candidate for comeback player of the year. I am thinking Drew will average 20/13/5 with 3 blocks next year, while physically dominating and mentally intimidating every center he faces bar none. He will earn the moniker of the Beast several times over before next year.

Farmar, Ariza, Vujacic, and Odom also should come back better. Fans ignore how much more Lamar attacked the rim and improved his shot selection and one-on-one defense last year. Or the games he won with clutch foul shooting after intensive practice shooting free throws. And Kobe, Fish, Luke, Ariza, Bynum, and Mihm will all finally be fully healthy again. Who knows Coby Karl could come out smoking in camp and preseason and earn some PT. Mihm might be all the way back with his old explosive hops rather than the flat footed “oomph” of this year. And to top it off, there’s a reasonable chance that next year’s team will win it all.

Ex said it well the other day. The Lakers didn’t stand pat. They just did not foolishly abandon their well laid out plans or lose confidence in their players, whom they have always valued more than other teams. In case you have forgotten, I think last year proved they were right. You don’t come within 2 games of the championship without the #3 center in the league without having a pretty damn good team. For sure, good enough to be given a chance to prove it next year. That’s what the Lakers planned to do all along. Once again, the deals you don’t make often turn out to be the best decisions of all. The Laker will own the NBA next year,

Tom

LakerTom,

You make it sound like we should treat players dramatically differently if they are not Lakers.

While I will always root for the Lakers, I still the the players as people and still enjoy watching the individual games of many talented players in the league. That of course is if those players are not Celtics in which case adject hatred is the only option, even for a guy whose game I've always liked in KG.

I've been less quiet about Artest because I don't want to be that madman tooting the horn of one player incessantly. I also try to be realistic and have recognized that Artest's potential instability does represent a risk that's not present in other players similar to to him that we could use, but that aren't as talented. There's simply no other 3 that can guard any team's best 2 and half of the starting 4s in the league.

If we don't make serious moves for Battier, Gerald Wallace or Josh Smith, our front office is stupid and should be fired.

If Artest should suddenly become available (which is possible, remember Indiana pulled out of a straight up trade for Corey Maggette) and the Kings obviously want to unload him, I still want us to take a shot at him.

In other words, don't get all happy to cast Artest as the villain just yet. He hasn't joined the Rockets yet and there was a little bump in the road.

Laker Tom,

>>> Farmar may be the perfect fit down the road for the Lakers in part due to the fact that he fits the budget, is a home grown Laker and fan fave, is liked by his teammates, has a great heart and work ethic, plays well in big games, and could end up being a pretty damn good ball player – good enough to end up with a fistful of rings. That’s what I think about JF.

Thanks for speaking out for JF. This blog has long been out of kilter when it comes to Jordan. When you go to a game, it is clear he is a crowd favorite.

Oh man oh man it is so fun to watch those US Olympics guys. If all you GM/bloggers out there want to make the Lakers a great team, you should sign all of those guys.

I find it interesting the people continue to debate Odom trades while it has been continuously stated by the front office that Odom will start the season. They would be foolish not to give this line up a try. Sure, if Odom is not a fit, they have until February to make a trade, which is how they are sizing up the situation.

What sense would it make to trade Odom away before the season even starts, jeopardizing chemistry and the team's future?

I can only shake my head at these trade giddy bloggers.

Lamar Odom Laker 4 LIFE!

Benjamin,

"Wow, you all are sure quick on the trigger to jump on Artest"

1. You are right about that.

2. However, this was before Artest opened his big mouth and made an idiot of himself.

3. I never wanted Artest on the team, he's a cancer.

4. There's a disturbing element of Laker Nation that loves players who create drama. I don't get it.

5. I wonder if many of these Artest-lovers (or Isiah Rider lovers or Smush lovers) have ever played team sports. I've been on that team with the jackhole teammate. It's a distraction. It doesn't help. Having a good teammate isn't just about a player's athletic ability. It's also about his psychological and emotional strength as a human being. Artest is sorely lack on those fronts.

GO LAKERS!

Laker Hopeful,

Yao is pronounced "Ya-o," so that has two syllables

I share the same last name, and it's one syllable.

Good morning everyone.

-bozz-

Laker Tom

I agree with your post from late last night, coverage breds change for changes sake. Look at how the landscape of MLB juts shifted tectonically to the West. All because teams were looking at disgruntled, big contract players who they felt were going to jump ship.

I am an Angel fan, always have been. I like to think the laker snad Angels are run in similar ways: grow from within rather than add a perfect ingredient to a volatile mix.

We will be getting a potentially great and definitely helpful players back out there in Bynum and Ariza.

We'll be getting a big lift off the bench in Mihm, who I think might be the hungriest guy out there to show he's still got what it takes to start in this league. Will he start for us? I sure hope not, but if Andrew goes down, we know that Chris is as capable as Ronny was, with a vastly different style. hris needs to work on moving those feet on defense again, he used to be really good at altering and blocking shots. He has a decent jump hook and he bodies up well on other big men. If Mihm plays well, he'll make everyone forget about our favorite son from Martinique.

I think Radmonavich will come back improved. He was pretty good last year, not his best year, but an improvement from year 1. We need more, more rebounding and a little better defence and he will eat into Luke's time. I think the staff is going to give the lion's share of bench minutes at the 3 to Ariza next year to start. I think we'll see a lot of Sasha and Fisher/Farmar together next year with Kobe at the 3. I could also envision, late in games, a Sasha/Kobe/Lamar/Gasol/Bynum line up.

I don't see too many minutes for Luke, unfortuenately as he has been a favorite of mine from his rookie year. Who can resist his twisting, lunging scoopity hook shot runners in the lane. Or when he boxes out and gets all pissed off going for boards. Plus he passes so well. But he has to score 10+ to break into the rotation. Just being a facilitator isn't going to be enough for me next year. The coaching staff might feel differently, but we need Luke to be a scoring threat to keep defences honest.

I think Vlad Rad with his peremiter shooting and Ariza with his ability to slash and finish with or without the ball are more valuable than Luke's Funky Honky Style. I'm just glad that Houston got Artest, we didn't need him.

C'mon Friday.

Tom - I agree about JF - he's a solid young PG with the right attitude. Apart from being undersized (in the classic Jacksonian regard), he's just the type of guy that that suits our system.... I'm sure that the players, coaches and management are all happy to have him.

AK/BK, your new scheme on those bookmark and digg.com are really hurting the propensity of getting more posts. Your tech people are exploiting the popularity of this site and could also cause more frustrations to bloggers like us. The more tinkering it does like slowness in booting up, freezing the cursor, messing up the browser, posting our name info more often in every post become cumbersome and a little bit frustrating. We have been spoiled by the old older and changes upset the usual blogging practices in the past. In my case, it messed up my system big time in altering default in the security area. I am providing you these criticisms for your own good, sometimes we don't realize it but we become victim of our own success and if you don't act on it immediately, you can lose whatever goodwill have been established.

"Starve the Trolls!"

Mr. Pig: I'd prefer if you jus keep your mouth shut.

All Paul Pierce has to do is invite you and Starlet Bryant over to his house and show you his Championship Ring as the #1 guy AND Finals MVP award.

All this other poop is jus poop. Kobe this, Kobe that: Blah!

Starlet hasn't done a darn thing except show that he's talented like Dirk Nowitski and Stevie Nash. Kobe hasn't done a damn thing when it comes to winning.

Without Shack O'neal, Kobe's jus another Dominic Wilkinds. Someone who's talented as hell, but not a winner.

hahhhhhhhhahah

"I'm going to Disneyland" Paul Pierce after winning the Finals MVP award.

haha

Sweet Jamie: The ole projecting on to others routine.

Comparing Lebron to Kobe. Lebron is doing thing Starlet can only dream of doing. Someday, Lebron will win a title as teh #1 guy and be crowned Finals MVP while Starlet sulks at home.

hahahahahahahhah

Pathetic.

Also, Lebron is a winner who encourages his teammates to do better. Yoos don't see Lebron saying stupid thins like "I can get off at anytime".

"I can get off at anytime"
--Kobe bryant the night before being blown out and sorely embarassed by my Bostan Gaadan team.

hahaahaahah

Watched team USA
They are looking real good
Kobe needs some rest

Head in chest, crying
Fricken gang sign throwing wimp.
Paul Pierce is a tool.

Artest is confused
Educated at St John's
Grew up in Queensbridge

Go Lakers!

All Paul Pierce has to do is invite you and Starlet Bryant over to his house and show you his Championship Ring as the #1 guy AND Finals MVP award.

---------

Oh, you mean Paul Pierce's house, in LOS ANGELES?

Ha ha ha. Your "hero" can't even stand to live in your city!!!

How come the Lakers blog page takes 5 times as long as the LATimes main page to load?

The main blog page has way too much stuff on it and is excruciating to watch load.

Can anything be done about this?

Charles,
"Laker Hopeful,
Yao is pronounced "Ya-o," so that has two syllables
I share the same last name, and it's one syllable. "

'Hopeful' only has one syllable? Are you sure?

pig - thanks for posting that article. also, re: tech issues, it seems like the glitches might have been remedied? i haven't had any problems with freezing, etc., today or yesterday.... how about others?

Charles

I think I'd pull the trigger on that trade, except for that Noccionni hasn't ever really impressed me for a full season. But, he flat out brings it every game and doesn't space out like Our Favorite Martian has a tendency to do. Also. it leaves us vulnerable if Bynum goes down. We'd be left with Mbenga. Not a pretty picture, unless of course we move Gasol back to the 5.

Interesting, I wonder if the Bulls are mulling it over

"Pig" Miller

That link should be required reading.

Not surprising how the Lulz addicts he covers are abused children hopelessly trying to change the behavior of people cause they couldn't handle the ones in their own home.

The "deverb" idea has merit. If you can't help but read a troll, imagine the post with no verbs.