Dim Sum?
http://tinyurl.com/57wd63

It's funny, the first one kissing him was traded. Now the one being kissed is written to be shopped, and the guy on the far left is well, rumored. I thought Shaq was the only kisser from Lakers Alumni.
http://tinyurl.com/68wrvq

Mike T,

>>>There's no way Walton or Mihm can be part of the regular rotation

Unless he gets back to his old pre-injury self, I'll agree with you on Mihm.

But as I've pointed out a number of times. Two of the top 10 five-man
teams in terms of productivity last season were:

Fisher-Bryant-Walton-Odom-Bynum
and
Fisher-Bryant-Walton-Radmanovic-Gasol

I'm not just stating a personal opinion here, as I wouldn't have believed
it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but statistical fact. Those
are two of the best 3 lineups the Lakers put on the floor last year
(the third being Fisher-Bryant-Rad-Odom-Bynum, which wasn't
as good as Walton with that group).

If you put Walton on the floor with a bunch of other role players
then he's okay to bad. If you put him on the floor with a few
starter quality players, then he makes the whole group function
better.

I took a lot of crap last summer for predicting a Sasha breakout year.
In fact, I was still taking crap in December from some people calling
him Vu-ja-wack and not actually watching how much he was
contributing on the floor.

And now I'm going to predict a Luke Walton breakout season for
next year (and probably take a load of crap about this one too).
Luke was injured going into last summer and he tweaked his ankle
a couple of times during the season. I think the biggest thing wrong
was that he never had his confidence. You'd see him hesitate
before shooting under the rim, giving the defender time to recover,
and that's often why he got blocked at the rim. The end of the Cleveland
game - he was open for a second. If he had Sasha's confidence
there, he would have shot that 3-pointer and maybe been a hero
for tying the game. Instead, he hesitated, then passed back to
Kobe too late for Kobe to get off a shot.

Luke is not injured right now. He will go out this summer and work
on his shooting. At the start of next season, he will be one of the
league leaders in 3-point shooting again, just as he was in the fall
of 2006. And by next summer, most of you (though not all) will be
saying that Luke EARNED his championship ring and his paycheck
in the 2008-09 season.

Mark my words.

"At least I don't feel Clipper's remorse."

Posted by: Charles | July 09, 2008 at 09:29 AM

Yes. That would turn the blog insane.

I like Ronny...

...but I'd rather have Posey. He's tougher AND more talented. Sign Posey and sign and trade Sasha for another PF.

PsychedLakerGirl,

Okay, we're cool.

Just as long as I get to be part of the Northern California viewing party. I'm in Antioch with a high probability of heading back to the East Bay in the next year.

Kwaminus Brownicas and Loyal to the Lakers,

I didn't think Brand had the Carlos Boozer in him. The Clippers should have learned from the Cleveland experience.

Regards,

Kiwi,

"Walton I think was a hangover from days where the lakers had less options and they undoubtedly regret that contract."

Nicely put. Also, ho could have predicted the huge decline in Walton's level of play? He hung out with Brian Cook, not exactly the best influence. He was injured and played horribly while injured. Did he have trouble adjusting to not being injured? To decreased playing time? I have no idea, but I feel like I was understanding and he still should have played better.

Next season will tell us for certain, but it looks like Mike T. may have been right about this one, painful as that is to acknowledge.

What - Up Fellas – Jon K, Charles and other elders.

Hate to see RT go. He plays the game with gusto -- but the prudent thing for the Lakers to do is to let him go and focus on Posey.

The Lakers will be just fine. After the Gasol deal I gave Mitch a one year "safe harbor" from banging on him. My moto for the next few months is "In Mitch I trust".

The Clipps on the other hand, they must have got on the wrong side of God at one point. I mean you'd think the Clipps were a D-League team in Anchorage. And if Davis could not get along with Nelly, who doesn’t care if anyone plays defense, how is he going to get along with Dunleavy.

I would not be shocked if Davis reneges on his oral agreement with the Clipps. Just the last blow to push the Clipps back to the stone age.

Its Official: James Jones signed with Miami.

Are FA Shooters becoming in short supply like gas?

Who's left? Sasha, Posey, Barry?

Well it's definitely time for some PF shopping. The problem (correct me if I'm wrong) is that we can't use the money we had earmarked for Rony for a new player. We still only have the MLE along with minimum salary. I asked a couple threads back but didn't get an answer... do we still have our bi-annual exception or did we use it last year?

Good luck Rony!

Fatty,

"AK Hoopshype gave your Ronny blog a good link to the site. They value your opinion, way to go AK!"

Fools, they are. Fools!

Haha. Actually, it was BK who wrote it, so the props should go his way.

AK

Sign Posey.

Trade LO and Sasha for Emeka Okafor and Matt Carroll. Charlotte does the deal to avoid losing Okafor for nothing to the Clips.

Okafor brings toughness and rebounding, plus he can play effectively at the 4 or 5, so he can be out there with Gasol or Bynum. All 3 play starters minutes, 30-35 a game.

Fish/Farmar
Kobe/Ariza
Posey/Walton/Radman
Gasol/Okafor
Bynum/Okafor/Mihm

Of course this will never happen...

Morning guys.

I pretty much figured that Turiaf was not coming back after a locker room interview he gave, I don't know why but his response made me feel that if someone threw more money at him he would go. I like the guy, but I don't like him enough to pay 17 mil for him. In all honestly how many minutes do you guys think he'd play a game? Are those minutes worth 17 mil?

Wes

I really think the the Lakers value Lamar's expiring contract more than a trade. With increasing payroll, LO's 14.5 coming off the books must look nice to Dr. Buss. Even if they extend LO, it will be for less. A trade will only extend the lux tax issues.

Now if Mitch can trade Rad, Luke and Mihm for Okefor then I will make an alter to Mitch and bow down and worship him as my idol in my LA Bus Terminal locker, where I currently reside.

"All Hail Mitch!"

Edwin,

I'm with you on Mihm. He's got one last chance to show us something. He might just be one of those players that doesn't play well unless he gets 25 minutes a game. With Gasol at PF, maybe he gets 20?

He owes us (and himself in terms of future contracts) his best.

I think it may be more up to his body than anything else. He's never struck me as lacking heart or work ethic.

As for Artest, what can you do? He wanted to ensure a payday from the Kings which I don't mind given how the Kings showed him so little dedication. FWIW, his side of the story is that one of his dogs was eating all the food so the other one starved. His care of his animals was not okay, but I think he did a good job acknowledging his mistakes and making up for them.

I haven't mentioned this before so I want to acknowledge it. His dysfunctional relationship with his wife (including instances of physical abuse) is also not okay. He needs to learn how to fix that. He needs to learn how to more constructively deal with strong emotions. I do think he's improved in that area on the court. Off court, he still needs work.

Artest requires more sensitive treatment than other players. When teams have shown interest in trading him or not keeping him (disloyalty), that's when he's become interested in rap albums and taken games off for "sore knees." It doesn't make it okay, but it does show that the team has some say in how he acts.

I know for new signees, you can't make a trade for 90 days. For a early termination option not taken, I'm not sure if a deal is available any time. If so and we lose Turiaf, we should seek out the Odom for Artest/Thomas deal. And we also need to pray for Kenny Thomas's health and Chris Mihm's ankle. Maybe we could get Abdur-Rahim instead of Thomas? Save us a few million, give us an injured vet that seems to do more than Thomas could? Abdur-Rahim instead of Kenny Thomas gives us 2 inches as well.

Maybe we have enough depth to cover 3/4/5 with

Ariza/Odom Walton/Vlad/Kobe
Gasol/Odom Vlad
Bynum/Gasol Mihm/Mbenga

If Bynum gets hurt again, we're in a pretty bad spot unless Mihm can play well enough to get 25 minutes at center, probably as a starter.

Don't despair Lakerville, Mitch will match Turiaf on the 7th day putting GS in quandary to replace Pietrus.

Why? Because Lakers are soft like marshmallows, too sweet but get bbqued when they faced with a strong power players like boozer, amare, aldridge and chandler. Turiaf can be trained so his salary will be matched or get 17.5 for 4 years. Lakers can only sign their own players b/c they're out of the loop with the others. There are no guarantees on MLE's with Posey and Thomas, they're being courted by other teams.

Lakers have to seek the best alternative in dumping Luke Walton (4 more years) b/c he's a luxury waste, occupies a roster space and the weakest link in many Laker games. It is a choice between Turiaf or Walton, I choose the former.

Darn. How's this.

Wes

Brian Kamenetzky

At least Baron Davis can do this all by himself in LA.

http://tinyurl.com/5ookbe

Haven't read the posts yet, so sorry if someone has already said this.

If Lamar is going to be a 6th man, Turiaf is not really needed on the court, and he probably wasn't going to get much time. His attitude would obviously be missed, and it could be a problem in case of injuries.

My guess is that they won't sign him, because they already have three players who aren't providing their money's worth (Lamar, Luke, and Vlad), but they might want to keep him for the depth.

If they are thinking about trading Lamar or letting him go at the end of the season, they would also be more likely to keep him.

Charles,

I always thought that Davis would fit in Denver. They have no true point. The contract may be too large for them.

Miami may make a run at him if Riles gets his way.

Ronny, it was great to have you here and you definitley lifted the spirits of all Lakers fans, but if we don't match, which is likely, good luck to you!!! Maybe one day he'll find his way back to LA someday, but for the next 4 years enjoy your stay in the Bay!! $4mil buys lots of escargot and bon bons!!

I want to say Brand's departure is a big surprise, and it is...but it really isn't!!! We're talking about the Clippers!! They've been in this major market for 20+ years and have been to the playoffs 3 times?? Hate to break it to you Clipper fans, but this franchise is a LOSER!! They will continure to be a loser until they burn it all down, especially the front office, and more specifically when Sterling leaves. Yeah, he may have opened his pockets a little more in recent years, but make no mistake, it's about what goes in his pocket more than it is about the fans. I made the mistake long ago, in the Manning Years, to be a Clipper fan, I was devistated when they let go of the talent one by one. I learned my lesson.

I remember speaking to friends after the B. Davis agreements, and though I wasn't sure Brand was leaving, I was sure that Clips would find a way to mess this up, and it happened. For you Clipper fans out there, at least you can be comforted by the fact that most Lakers fans are priced out of Staples, but there will always be some affordable seats for you to buy.

LTLF: I will join you in that breakout wish for Luke this season. He was roasted everywhere for his poor play so I am sure he has heard/read everything, etc. At some he has to make a decision: sulk/quit or go out and do the work to get better. I don't think his father will allow him to quit and sully the family name.

I also think Mihm will get redemption this year. The guy has been thru two really tough years and seems to have really put things in perspective. If he can put together a really good Summer and camp - we will have ourselves a reliable backup center. And we are still lucky in that we will have AB, Mihm, Gasol can play the 5 and even LO when need be. If we keep Mbenga - there's a banger to help us as well.

GO LAKERS!

With #21 gone, does that make it a good time to put Coop up on the wall?? They should do that during the Celtics game, that would be sick!!!!

SEE YA...

As much of a fan as I am of Turiaf's game, I agree with those who have been saying that the price is just too high, especially considering that it would actually cost the Lakers double (dollar-for-dollar luxury tax). Unfortunately, this is one of those moments we always talk about when this really is a business before anything else. As much as he is appreciated by the fans and his teammates, the effort and pure enthusiasm for the game is not enough, in my opinion, to justify the dollar amount, and when you look at the facts of the matter, he has never been a huge producer statistically. Clearly, Turiaf's biggest contribution over the years has been in those ever-present "intangibles", like effort, enthusiasm, and shear desire to play. But that alone isn't enough. You need to also produce, especially at those figures, and he simply does not. On top of all that, his role was going to be greatly reduced in the coming season. He was already seeing less PT, and with Bynum coming back, that number was only going to get smaller. Also, as has been pointed out, he wasn't even playing his natural position of PF, forced into playing C due to various circumstances. I would actually prefer to bring back a guy like Mbenga, a natural center, for much less, than to overpay a guy to play out of position, IF he plays at all.

In the end, I think Turiaf going might be the best for both sides. Clearly for Ronnie, he'll finally get paid like he deserves, and will probably (hopefully for his sake) get to play PF. As for the Lakers, they will actually free up some PT for guys down there who should really be on the court, like Pau, Bynum, etc., and then bring on guys like Mihm and Mebnga (and maybe another FA) who are intented to be backups and rest the true stars. And they will be getting paid accordingly. Unfortunately, business is business, the ulitmate priority is the Lakers team, not any single player. He's gone, and it's for the best.

CALI KING

Vman,

Of course I read your post. Although not as naive as bobie, your post reeks with cynicism in its description of Ronny's decision as "predictable". You also lament the loss of "loyalty" in the NBA...sarcastic or not, it's still a foolish sentiment. And I called you on it. Considering Ronny's realistic NBA value, he would be doing a serious disservice to himself, his agent, and any of his dependents if he turned this offer down. There was no need for the cynicism.

I apologize if I insulted you, because it is difficult to gauge one's intent thru an internet posting. But your post is atypical of the media's demonizing of athletes as greedy without taking the organizations to task for being equally if not more greedy.

Blkthght06