>>>SUN YUE WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE TEAM THIS YEAR.

I actually agree with Andrew Z on this one. Maybe two or three
years down the road he could contribute to the team, but he has
never played at the NBA level and it's going to take him some
time to adjust to the higher level of play (if he is able to do that at all).

The only way I could see him getting more than 4 or 5 minutes
of garbage time this season is if someone gets injured.

LongTimeLakerFan,

It’s been a while since we chatted. I see you still haven’t dropped the habit of putting words into my mouth.

>>>“First of all, Wade, Roy, and Monta Ellis are SG's, so you can take them off of your list (or if you prefer, you can add Kobe, Ginobili, Kevin Martin, Allen Iverson, etc to your list).”

Rather than looking at box scores all day, please get NBA League Pass and you will have noticed that Wade, Roy and Monta Ellis have played many and important minutes at PG. Although Roy played much more minutes at PG during his rookie season, he proved he was very capable in that role. Wade has also played plenty at PG, pre-Shaq and after-Shaq. Before Shaq arrived, I felt the most effective lineup was with Wade at PG, Caron at SG, Rasual Butler at SF, and Lamar at PF. I also read that Nellie wants Monte to be the PG of the future for GS with Baron’s departure. In one of last year's playoff games, Nellie actually benched Baron, and Monte played PG in the second half. Of course Kobe, Ginobli and Kmart do not belong on that PG list, but AI most certainly belongs.

>>>”Okay, so you don't like Farmar. But you know what? NBA players aren't judged on a standard of "How much LAKER TRUTH likes them".

First of all, I NEVER said I don’t like Farmar. I said I LIKE Farmar as the backup of the future. We're talkin' about the great Lakers franchise, and my opinion was meant as a compliment. Lookie here LTLF, I don’t know about you, but I’m expecting a dynasty from this squad. Even when Kobe gets past age 35 and slows down, I am expecting Bynum to continue the dynasty torch. With an older, less athletic Kobe, coupled with the current trend of turning into a PG’s league, the importance of the PG position will be heavliy magnified. Look at my list, and add Rondo, or whoever else that comes to mind, and there is no way you can be comfortable with Farmar as the future starter of multiple dynasties (one led by Kobe, the other by Bynum). I’m sure you want dynasties as well, but if you compare Farmar with the PGs today, he’s at the bottom of the pack. I don't want bottom of the pack, or even middle of the pack, for such a crucial position. I want an ELITE starting PG, to compete with the Chis Pauls, Derons, etal. Farmar has proven to me that he has what it takes to be a very good backup on an elite team, even a decent starter on an average team. But an elite starter on multiple dynasties?? I don’t think so.

>>”Why don't we use a simple stat that IS used in evaluating players - PER. Farmar had a PER of 15.43 last season. You know who that makes him better than? Mike Conley, Rafer Alston, Javaris Crittenton, and Kyle Lowry, for starters.”

If you read my post, I said “All of these PGs, with the EXCEPTION OF A FEW are better and/or have more potential than Farmar”. And let’s not argue about PER again. You can use your PER and pick Carl Landry and Luke Walton for your dream team if you wish. Rafer (when healthy) plays against starters, Farmar came off the bench, and played with Bynum against second stringers. There are too many factors that PER ignores. I'd rather judge players by watching the games. Although, IMO, I think Critt (rookie last year) and Conley (injured for much of the year) have more potential than Farmar, I’ll agree with you that the Grizzlie trio is currently below Farmar when it comes to performance.

>>>”You know who else he's better than? DJ Augustin and Derrick Rose... until they PROVE that they are able to play better than him. You are probably someone who ranked Kwame Brown as the best center in the league for the next 10 years when he got drafted. “

LOL…Why are you bringing up Kwame? I had no opinion about Kwame because I never watched Kwame play in high school, but I watched every UCLA game Farmar played in, and plenty of college games from DJ and Rose. Although Rose has not played an NBA game, based on potential, Rose is in a different league than Farmar. I'll go out on a limb and predict that EVERY single GM would take Rose as their starting PG of the future over Farmar. Rose has the potential to be an ELITE PG to compete with the Chris Pauls and the Derons. Thus far, although Farmar has shown potential, he hasn't shown THAT kind of potential.

Mitch made the right decision. Three Lakers in the Olympics!

I expect Sun Yue's value will go up after the Olympics, especially after being put in the NBA spotlight by playing against Kobe in China. Signing him now means profiting from a better negotiating position.

Good work, Mitch.

According to nba.com, it's never too soon for Soon because it's later for Sun as son..

Sun Yue is reportedly pronounced SOON you-AH.

[ www.nba.com/summerleague2007/summerleague07_
teamguide.html ]

I'd like to know what whether Yue agreed to terms on the 8th (probably at 8:08 am in China).

The news was broken in the U.S. at 5:29 pm on the 7th which would be 8:29 am on the the 8th in China.

Dang Ex! you are a genious

Long Time Lakers Fan,

"The Lakers defense was fine. It held the Celtics 5% below their regular season shooting percentage. The Lakers defended Boston as well or better than any team that faced them in the playoffs."

What you fail to acknowledge is the fact that Boston wasn't a hearlded offensive team. They could play terribly on offense because their defense championship caliber.

When the series was broken down to defense vs. defense it was Boston all the way. It was Boston's defense that led to baskets.

I saw game 6 and I saw the Boston bigs push Gasol out of the lane, which allowed the Celtics to attack the rim practically at will. That's what everyone saw and has been writing about since the season ended. But now you say it isn't so?

mike t.

Happy 08-08-08 Day! Go Capre Diem on this propitious day as you'll find Lady Luck on your side. Get lucky in more ways than one -- NBA transaction, Lotto tickets, romance, marriage, business startup, etc.

Michael C. Teniente,

Nice to see you making rational posts again.

Yeah, we should be signing big defensive-minded players, not string-beans.

GO LAKERS!

Even Mr. Alien Head, Sam I Am, played better team defense than you foos.

Don't forget, Sam I Am is 150 years old and blind as a bat.

Benjamin,

It doesn't matter when the Lakers sign him..If he blows out a knee during the olympics then fine..You can blow out your knee at anytime whether practice or pick up game. No reason to wait. When if his stock goes up and he kills the americans in the olympics? They he will want 30-50 million..Better to get him now for cheaper just in case! :)

Matt, of the worchester Matts

"Let's go Celtics is not a Celtics fan. He's just someone trying to pull your chain."

I've said that all along.

Great Kobe Bryant line on the Euro money:

"Naturally, this has become a very popular topic among the NBA elite. If Childress can get $20 million, imagine what a player like LeBron James or Kobe Bryant could earn. Believe me, they have.

"You can't turn down $40 million (a year), I don't care who you are," Bryant said. "If someone turns down 40, I'm beating them up."

LOL!

mike t.

Not that John Hollinger is the end-all, be-all of basketball knowledge, but what he said about Sun Yue is more than slightly disconcerting...

John Hollinger: "I saw China's national team last year in Macau, wasn't impressed with any of their backcourt players. Lakers have the rights to Sun Yue, a 6-8 wing, but I don't think he's an NBA player."

From most accounts that I've read, Yue is woefully underweight and so he gets pushed around against bigger guys. Plus, his outside shot needs work. He's a terrific ballhandler and he sees the court well, however, and has great height for a guard. Sound like anyone we've ever heard of??

Shawn Livingston, Part II?

The Lakers just signed Sun Yue?

Well, I guess we can make that 125 pts per game.

LOL!

mike t.

2. Kobe Bryant
This was the oddity of the night. Behind the Chinese president and the entire national team, the one athlete who appeared to get the loudest ovation was none other than Kobe Bean Bryant. The moment was so odd that even U.S. journalists were looking at each other in puzzlement. The Russian, Chinese and American presidents were here, but Kobe was the head of state tonight.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=cr-ceremony080808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I would like more D on this team.

That said, someone who can consistently hit shots from 15 to 20 feet would really improve us. All year long it was Bynum or Gasol inside with LO sometimes slashing inside. Kobe is great everywhere, but he becomes our only consistent midrange threat because Sasha, Jordan, Radmonovich and even Fisher for long stretches are inconsistent.

Our D's biggest hole was down below. Bynum should help that. If Sun Yue has the ability to consistently get us some midrange game, I'm in.

GOooooooOOO LAKERs!!

LAKER TRUTH,

>>>LOL…Why are you bringing up Kwame?

Okay, so let's extend the Kwame to Derrick Rose analogy.

When Kwame was drafted #1, pretty much everyone was
saying that he was going to be a dominant center in the league
for many years to come.

The year before Kwame came into the league, the Pistons
acquired a backup center who had never done anything
with Orlando. And he had a pretty good year with Detroit.
Nothing spectacular or All-star like, but 6 points and 13 boards
and worked hard on his game. He eventually became their
starting center, despite being undersized for the position.

At that point in time, if I'd have said do you, I'll trade you
my #1 draft pick Kwame Brown for your undersized center
who averaged 6 and 13, you'd have jumped at the chance.
You'd have been drooling over Kwame and all of his potential (and his massive calves).

And you'd have gladly given up Ben Wallace right before
his prime years to get Kwame Brown.

I'm not saying Farmar is a guaranteed All-star and will take
over the team when Kobe leaves. But he has already proven
a solid base level of competence at the NBA level. Derrick
Rose has not. While it's probable that Rose will eventually
be a better NBA player than Farmar, it was also probable that
Kwame would have been a better NBA player than Ben Wallace.

But probable doesn't always turn out to be fact.

And if Jordan never becomes an All-Star level point guard,
but continues to work hard on his game, and continues to
have a winning mentatlity, he will probably be a good enough
point guard to start for a dynasty.

And if he does, you may see him get rewarded with an
All-Star appearance at some point in time, like BJ Armstrong.

The Sun also sets.

Picks I hope.

Good ones.

Let the Machine tutor him in jump shooting skills.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

Work is done. Yipee!

Mike T,

>>>I saw game 6 and I saw the Boston bigs push Gasol
>>>out of the lane, which allowed the Celtics to attack
>>>the rim practically at will. That's what everyone saw
>>>and has been writing about since the season ended.
>>>But now you say it isn't so?

Nope. That happened. And Boston shot 49% for that game and
50% on 3's. Where it really broke down was in the 2nd
half when the Lakers tried to press to get back in the game.
Boston broke down their press surgically and got layup after
dunk after wide open 3-pointer.

But you know what, Mike T? The NBA finals isn't a single
elimination game.

Did you also happen to catch game 5? In that game, Perkins
was out and it was the Lakers who were shoving people around
in the lane. And Boston shot 43% for that game.

Or did you happen to watch game 1, where the Lakers held
the Celtics to 42% shooting? Or game 3 where they held them
to 35% shooting?

The fact is that there were only 2 games where the Celtics
played at or above the level they played during the season -
game 6 and game 2. And the Lakers almost managed to
come back and steal game 2.

You can't base your entire analysis of how well the Lakers
played defense on 1 game of the finals. In the series as a whole,
the Lakers made the Celtics offense play worse... just not as
much worse as the Celtics defense made the Lakers offense
play.

LAKER TRUTH,

>>>Let's Go C's is KLBeast. I am absolutely certain of this.

Absolute truth. I totally agree with you.

Long Time Laker Fan,

I was making the same posts as you were about 2-3 weeks ago. But no one is going to listen to the facts. All they wanna say is the Lakers are soft because it's the easy way to to analyze what happened.

Any coach will tell you that they'd be happy if they held a team to 4 points below their average ppg and 5% below their FG%. We just ran into one of the best defensive teams of the past 30 years. The Celtics had the 3rd best defensive efficiency in the last 30 years.

The problem was that we allowed Boston to disrupt our offense. Even finals MVP Paul Pierce and KG were below their averages in points and FG% in the Finals, yet people say we lost because we couldn't defend.

Everyone just wants to remember Game 6 and keep saying the word soft.

Let's go C's/KLBeast is the cancer of this blog. Misinformation, hatred, dumbness, jealousy, ridiculous are the characteistics of that person's blog.

Oops forgot to add link

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/
la-sp-lakers9-2008aug09,0,5935221.story

wait a minute! wha? wha? Sue Yue is shrinking already. The articles say 6'9", now this article says:

John Hollinger: "I saw China's national team last year in Macau, wasn't impressed with any of their backcourt players. Lakers have the rights to Sun Yue, a 6-8 wing, but I don't think he's an NBA player."

now he's 6'8", when is he going to be 6'7"?

did anybody believe Turiaf was 6'10"? how about Farmar, who some services had him at 6'3" before the draft?

I'm guessing Yue is about 6 feet, 6 1/2 inches without shoes... then, depending on the shoes, that puts him up at 6 ft, 7 1/2 inches to 6'8" or so... if he goes Gene Simmons on us, that could push him up to 6'9" though I don't know if he would go for that same hairstyle or not... though it might be a bit frightening to see a 6'9" asian guy with a Gene Simmons frizzy hairdoo... just think, he could paint his face, stick his tongue out... wow, wouldn't that be rad? Think of the team picture... better than those old, awkward Elmore Smith pictures...

Posted by: Chris the Catherine Zeta Jones of Backups Mihm | August 08, 2008 at 03:11 PM

================================
In reply to all who doubt Sun Yue is 6'9" , they just need to see the pre draft work out video posted on this thread and many other previous threads.

Sun Yue is measured by Laker staff member and is measured at 6'9". Go watch video and see for yourselves.