Butler you forget Pau Pau guarded Timmy and KG the 1st and 8th greatest Power Forwards in history. If Pau can guard Timmy and the Kidd there is without a doubt he can guard STATL (Standing Tall and Talentless).

When the Big Mistake or STATL can guard Tim Duncan and shut him down then maybe some merit will be done.

Tim Duncan will have the better career than the Big Mistake will have (It's true Timmy will be better when all is said and done, I don't think Shaquille won't win that much awards anymore).

-blitz

mamba24,

I'm sure as the season goes along and ass the media starts hyping the record (72 wins) up (remember detroit a couple years back) more people will jump aboard.

haha team prophet, super delegate, nice man.

Go Lakers

Butler,

I would put Gasol or Bynum on Shaq. Shaq is washed up and is too old to keep up with either one.

thekobe,
I don't think Amare will be able to guard Pau without getting in foul trouble.

Tha blitz sez:

"If Pau can guard Timmy and the Kidd there is without a doubt he can guard STATL "

Pau hasn't shown it going back to memphis days. AMARE is much more athletic than Duncan and if you tell me the Pau shut down KG in the Finals I am going to be forced to laugh. Duncan has shown a vulnerability to larger defenders such as Yao, SHACK, and other 7-footers who are slower - like Pau.

SHACK has already exceeded expectations with his play last season, and the training staff in PHX says he's already nearly at peak form for the coming season.

Many questions surround the laker frontcourt - that knee, the chemistry, shot distribution, defense, an awfully thin bench...team defense is what the lakers need, and with the PF and PG issues, I don't see how the D has improved yet personnel-wise.

>>>who will guard Amare? It will be Pau since Amare will
>>>be playing PF like Pau will be like.

And there's a league rule against having a C guard a PF and
vice-versa, right?

Look. Shaq is a non-threat. You could pretty much have
Fish guard him at this point. Amare is one of the top centers
in the league... except when he plays against Bynum. Drew
absolutely pwns him. And Phil knows that. I see no reason
why the Lakers won't put their best post defender on the
best offensive post played on the Suns, and that means
Bynum on Scat.

thekobebryantblitz,

"if we were talking about Jordan and hyping him up would you have complained?"

No, of course not. Not because I have a crush on Jordan Farmar or something bizarre like that, but because we've seen Farmar play two seasons with the Lakers. We've seen enough of him to reasonably discuss his potential.

We haven't seen squat of Sun Yue except for a few Olympics games. It's simply not enough to evaluate a player, especially since we haven't seen him play consistently against NBA players. All this hype is unbalanced.

I have nothing against Sun Yue. I want him to succeed as a Laker and be "The Monkey King", it's just all this hype towards an untested player borders on hysterics.

We have roughly the same knowledge of Dwayne Mitchell and Joey Crawford, but I don't see people gushing all over these players. It's weird.

GO LAKERS!

If Byenumb is defending AMARE, then that will draw the lakers' best shot blocker out of the paint to try to stop those sweet mid range jumpers...perfect!

So should we consider the suns to be like all those extra bodies that NBA teams bring in for training camp? You know, sparring partners with no real shot of making it. The suns, just one of those teams that the Lakers can practice their plays on.

http://tinyurl.com/5xpry7

Some think the Funs will be a team in despair by the end of this season.

I tend to agree. I think Denver definitely looks to be the "from decent to terrible" team this year, but the Funs aren't far behind. It just seems like such an odd mix of players, lacking the right blend of youth and experience, or complementary skills. Their depth chart is horribly shallow, with Rookies or inexperienced players backing up three positions. I can see their second line-up looking like this:

Drajic/Singletary
LB
Diaw
Tucker
Lopez

That unit is going to get run off the floor by quite a few others. Too raw, with no true leader.

Me thinks the Suns will be setting in the West for a while, starting this year.

SHACK WILL LEAVE WITH 6 RINGS
Oh yes.
Posted by: BUTLER

In that last game vs. LA, the SUNS lost by 6, their first game with SHACK.
Defensively, the SUNS will be the victors!
Posted by: BUTLER

And Houston has a better coach than LA.
Posted by: BUTLER

To quote Billy Madison: what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Jon,

>>>>>I have nothing against Sun Yue. I want him to succeed as a Laker and be
>>>>>"The Monkey King", it's just all this hype towards an untested player borders
>>>>>on hysterics.

>>>>>We have roughly the same knowledge of Dwayne Mitchell and Joey Crawford,
>>>>>but I don't see people gushing all over these players. It's weird.

I disagree, Jon. There are major reasons why Sun Yue is a far more viable prospect than Mitchell or Crawford.

First, we saw Sun Yue play in the pro summer league last year as part of the Chinese team and he had some excellent highlights and impressed many people. We have only seen Mitchell and Crawford play against college players. While the D-League is not the real NBA, it has more competitive players than college.

Second, we say Sun Yue play in the Olympics against some excellent players such as the Lakers own Kobe Bryant, who was impressed with Sun. He had some excellent highlights during the Olympics including a great block on Dwight Howard and some excellent ball handling and passing, especially for a 6-9 point guard.

Third, the Lakers saw enough potential in Sun Yue to sign him to a 2-year guaranteed contract, whereas Mitchell or Crawford have only received non-guaranteed contracts and will basically be fodder to fill out the roster in camp but have little chance of making the roster. Sun Yue is guaranteed to be on the roster the next two years.

Fourth, if all of that is not enough to convince you, think about the fact that the guy has come out and chosen Jet Li’s great portrayal of the Monkey King to support his request for Lakers fans not to call him the Chinese Magic Johnson out of respect for Ervin. As a martial arts guys and Jet Li fan, how can you not put a check mark next to Sun Yue’s name for his moxie in choosing to be nicknamed after a rascally showboating Chinese fantasy character? It would be akin to Drew choosing the Hulk as his nickname to send a message. Ballsy enough that you should have clapped, which I recall you did.

Chill out, Jon. Sun Yue is a true prospect and guaranteed Laker for the next two years. Mitchell and Crawford will soon be forgotten and heading to Europe of the D-League to play while the Monkey King dons Lakers’ purple and gold with a billion Chinese fans already chanting Sun Wukong. A little Magic and a little Coop is my prediction and I stand by it. So should every Laker fan. The kid has a shot to be a player.

Tom

Laker Blog:

Oh -- how far the so called "mighty" have fallen –

1. D’Antoni, went from "we bust them every year" to road kill in 6 months.

2. The Suns went from tops in the pacific to being mentioned with the likes of the Knicks, Nuggets and Clippers in less than a year.

OMG .... HAHAHAHA ... God is a Laker fan.

http://tinyurl.com/5xpry7 (Thanks Pig)

The kid has a shot to be a player.

I've got to say it.

Which player on the Lakers would you not say that about Tom? You like every player the Lakers have under guaranteed contract. I don't think I've heard you say that you didn't like something about the Lakers, even once!

LakerTom,

-"First, we saw Sun Yue play in the pro summer league last year as part of the Chinese team and he had some excellent highlights and impressed many people."

In all honesty, I saw more impressive highlights from Coby Karl and Dwayne Mitchell during summer league. I've also seen very impressive highlights from Kwame Brown, that doesn't make him Wilt Chamberlain.

-"Second, we say Sun Yue play in the Olympics against some excellent players such as the Lakers own Kobe Bryant, who was impressed with Sun."

Yeah? So what? I've seen Smush Parker make excellent plays against Steve Nash, does that put him in the same league as a caliber of player as Steve Nash? Hell no!

Regarding Kobe's statements, what do you expect him to say? Do you expect him to insult an incoming teammate and Chinese citizen when he's in China being worshipped by Chinese fans? Give me a break.

-"Third, the Lakers saw enough potential in Sun Yue to sign him to a 2-year guaranteed contract, whereas Mitchell or Crawford have only received non-guaranteed contracts"

This is a decent argument, but it doesn't say much. We gave Chucky Atkins and Smush Parker guaranteed contracts. The fact of the matter is that he's a middle second round draft pick for a reason and no matter how mediocre Sun Yue is as a player, he's a winner for the Los Angeles Lakers. Why? Merchandising.

Kobe has already become a major media figure in China. Adding a Chinese player to the Lakers roster adds additional enthusiasm for the Lakers in this expanding (and lucrative) market. Selling official Lakers merchandise in China makes the Lakers money and have I mentioned that there are 1.3 billion people in China who are desperate to have international heroes? The guaranteed contract means nothing.

-"Fourth, if all of that is not enough to convince you, think about the fact that the guy has come out and chosen Jet Li’s great portrayal of the Monkey King to support his request for Lakers fans not to call him the Chinese Magic Johnson out of respect for Ervin."

I love the name "The Monkey King" but I have so far seen nothing that he refuted the name "The Chinese Magic Johnson" out of respect for Magic Johnson.

Paul Pierce called himself the best player in the world. Damon Jones said he is the best shooter ever in basketball. Neither are correct. Quite frankly, despite loving the name "The Monkey King" I find it a little disturbing that the guy would give himself a nickname. That's usually a bad sign, not a good one. People who talk too much of the capabilities are usually trying to cover up insecurities.

Dude, all I'm saying is that we should watch him play in a full NBA preseason before we start calling him the anointed one.

Tom, I love enthusiasm, but it should be rooted in reason.

GO LAKERS!

thekobebryantblitz,

"Does that mean 2nd Round picks can't succeed in the NBA Jon K. ?"

Of course not. We often see second round, even undrafted picks succeed... but the truth is that they usually don't.

And when they DO succeed the large majority of the time they earn a role on the bench or as a valuable backup.

So, that's the pattern and unless you have solid evidence to support a player being an exception to the rule (solid evidence being something like experience in 10 NBA games), one should reasonably expect the pattern to manifest, even as one roots for the best for the player and the team.

That's just being reasonable.

Being unreasonable is obsessing on a player who has yet to prove themselves because there's something about the player (ethnicity, name, nickname, life story) that you like.

I mean, who here hasn't argued with Michael Teniente about Kwame Brown? At least Michael Teniente had reasonable evidence (NBA player experience) to support his unreasonable obsession with Kwame Brown.

Come on!

GO LAKERS!

Pig,

>>>>>Which player on the Lakers would you not say that about Tom?
>>>>>You like every player the Lakers have under guaranteed contract.
>>>>>I don't think I've heard you say that you didn't like something about the >>>>>Lakers, even once!

Oink! Oink! Get off my back, Pig. The problem is yours and other Lakers fans who think this team is soft and not championship quality. We got 7 proven players I love, 2 unproven prospects I think will be great, and 6 guys who won’t do much at all.

If you really read my posts, you would see that I don’t expect much from these six: Vlade, Luke, DJ, Josh, Chris, or Coby. In the end, they will not play much or contribute much. I have tried to post some positive aspects of these players on occasion because they are on our roster and our GM has thought enough of them to sign them to contracts. I also agreed that Ronny was a bust because he wouldn’t take the ball to the rim but instead kept throwing it back outside.

Kobe Bryant is my favorite player and Andrew Bynum right behind. I also love Pau, Lamar, Sasha, Derek, and Jordan Farmar, who have all proved they are players. The jury is still out on Trevor and Sun Yue is still really an unknown but I like the positive defensive possibilities that they both “could” provide. If you really read all my posts, that is what you would have learned. Fair enough? Peace.

Tom

KBros and all,

I wrote this letter to Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic, who happened to mention to someone while hosting a radio show that he believed bloggers simply steal their information. Thought you might enjoy.

"Dan,

I heard your comment this morning on the radio about bloggers and how you think they just steal other people's information. That seems rather hypocritical coming from someone who has a blog. Also, there are quite a few legitimate news sources now that employ full time bloggers as reporters, as well as blogs that are free-standing and have some insightful and original content and info. Henry Abbott at ESPN.com is a blogger. How do you know his information sources to be attributed to anyone other than him? How about Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don't Lie? Or maybe Bethlehem Shoals at Free Darko? How are these bloggers any different than you? I guess in the end, there are two points I have:

1. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. You have a blog on a reputable website, yet criticize bloggers.

2. It's unfortunate that you should find it necessary to criticize a group of people as a whole, simply based on your assumptions of the group. Perhaps there are some bloggers out there that steal their info, but there are also many that don't.

Your attitude reflects the Old Guard of journalism, and were newspaper men like yourself more prescient, perhaps the print world wouldn't be dying as quickly as it is. I look forward to hearing your response on the air at ~ 6:40 on Monday morning."

I really hope he responds. I'd love to hear the logic.

Pig Miller,

You write him that email and don't mention this blog? What if Bickley happens to publish it? Free pub down the drain! For shame, my man. For shame.

Seriously, though. Nice letter. Way to make yourself heard.

AK

Lakers_sth,

you wrote: hobbitmage - My point wasn't about Farmar and Bynum specifically or their potential, only that people tend to judge a roster for the new season by how those players played last season and rarely factor in off-season improvement in their assessments. Both Jordan and Andrew were on a mission last off-season to improve both their bodies and their skills, so they came into the camp having taken a quantum leap forward rather than a baby-step or even a step backwards like other players.

my response: You're making a statement about Jordan &
Andrew, after the fact, that we didn't know about last
summer. The *proof* of their working out manifested
during the season.

Consider: Bynum is considered the future of the Lakers &
his agent is trying to get him max dollars AND he hasn't
played a full year at starter yet. The enthusiasm & hope
about Bynum before the start of last season was off
the charts & he hadn't played very much.

For the record, I used the your argument with
the kobebryantblitz for Ariza. He was completely
unmoved and is committed to Odom at SF. [ No blitz.
I am not starting the discussion again. I will let Phil
work things out. ]

Hey Butler,

Who do you think has/will have a bigger contribution to the Suns, Shaq or Charles Barkley. And my second question is, if Shaq and Barkley had a race who would win?

Regards,

MJT

Looks like the Lakers have a deliquent player now to test Andrew Bynum in training camp.

http://tinyurl.com/4gp5hu

GO LAKERS!

Pig,

>>>>>My criticism is directed at your comments about Yue, and how you seem to gush
>>>>>about almost every player on the roster. I'm merely questioning whether or not you
>>>>>see any negative in the Lakers, ever. It only seems to have come in hindsight,
>>>>>such as the Ronny thing you spoke of.

I posted those same comments about Ronny all season long. And I just listed 6 players on the Lakers who I said wouldn’t do anything this year. You have to wonder about people who can’t stand to see somebody else be optimistic to the extent that they criticize them. Buddy, you can put lipstick on a pig but it it’s still a pig. Just scroll on by in the future. Have a good day.

Tom

LakerTom,

"Buddy, you can put lipstick on a pig but it it’s still a pig."

Sometimes you become controversial based on your beautiful prose and added a poetry that is not needed. Pig Miller is not Sarah. LOL!

A story about Sam I am Cassell

http://tinyurl.com/3lo6ay

HAHA! First he wants to join Mike Dunleavy's coaching staff now the Celtics!

The Los Angeles Clipper traitor. Hope the Lakers also boo his butt.

-blitz

Ex ...well hopefully Bynum realises tha.You're right but stranger things have happened.Heres to a drama free season and some chenistry!

JustaLakerFan,

I don't want to get into yours and AK's argument, but I want to say this. If we were depending on the likes of Mbenga and Newble to swing the Finals in our favor think about how deep into the doo doo we must have been.

Mbenga and Newble! lol

Posted by: Xodus | September 11, 2008 at 05:23 PM

===================================
Xodus,

No problem. I think the blog is here so anybody can give an opinion.

But yes the fact remains we were deep into the doo doo and I belive Mbenga and Ira would have helped in spurts because the guys in front of them were injured and not 100%. That means in deep doo doo.

TA was just back and out of sinc and not fully healed and Luke was sucking the floor up probably do to his injuries, to give him the benefit of the doubt. Mihm before Mbenga. Please Mihm has not played basically for 2 years and probably still had mental reservations as to if the foot would hold up. Mbenga played and did contribute through out the end of season and playoff series against Denver.

But as AK and I agree to disagree and that is what we did. You can too or we can debate our views as you wish.

Thanks

JLF

SHACK WILL LEAVE WITH 6 RINGS

Oh yes.

Posted by: BUTLER | September 11, 2008 at 10:59 PM

=============================
Laker Nation,

I have to agree with the troll on this one.
1) 4 championship rings
2) 1 wedding ringe saved by crawling back to Shauna.
3) 1 retirement ring when booted out of NBA

Total 6 rings.

Here's a videod of Drew's last game before his injury.

http://tinyurl.com/0

We have a lot to look forward to this summer.

Posted by: Xodus | September 12, 2008 at 07:27 AM

====================
Xodus,

This link did not work but I have seen it before. It was against Phx if I remember right and Drew was 8 for 8 at the time he slammed on Amare.

Thanks for the nice memory.

S.I.

>>>Jordan just has too many individual accomplishments
>>>that seperate him from Kobe,

If Kobe were to retire today, that is entirely true. But you seem
to neglect the fact that Kobe is in his prime and still will be
for at least 3 or 4 more years. If he pulls off a couple more
championships, a couple more MVPs, a 100 point game,
a 73 win season, and other malarkey like that, then even
the staunchest Jordan worshipers will have to admit that
it would be worthy of discussion whether Kobe or Jordan
was better.

Honestly, I don't think Kobe can catch him, but I admit there
is still the possibility.

>>>the 5 mvp's,

Kobe probably won't equal that. I could see him getting
up to 2 or 3 though.

Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | September 12, 2008 at 08:47 AM
===============================
LTLF

I see the point you are making but have to disagree on its premise.

Because JF had more MVPs for instance is illogical.
Kobe was hands down the best plyer in the NBA the last 5-6 years and Nash got 2 MVPs over Kobe is a complete farce. So to say MJ got more MVPs thus is better is not a valid point.

I could go on but will rest my point on that.