Mitch talks a little Sun Yue
On the Lakers' website, Mitch Kupchak discusses the Chinese point guard, a 2007 second-round draft pick looking to make the team this season and begin his Lakers career. Much of the interview centers on the contractual/legal complications involved with bringing Sun overseas, which folks may or may not find interesting. But there are a few details worth noting:
1) The Grizzlies apparently wanted Sun tossed into the deal that brought Pau Gasol to L.A. The Lakers, desiring to keep at least one of their overseas draftees, limited Memphis' bounty to Marc Gasol.
2) Yue's English is pretty good, a MAJOR plus for a player looking to find a comfort zone on and off the court. It's never easy starting a new job. Think about being the new dude at the office when everyone else is speaking Swahili. Mitch contrasted Yue's situation to that of Slava Medvendenko, who came America understanding no English at all. On one hand, Yue's ability with the local tongue does rob fans of classic interviews such as this one. But if you're thinking strictly along practical purposes, Yue is armed with a serious advantage. (While digging up the Bill MacDonald-Slava exchange, I stumbled across a couple of gems from the 2001 and 2002 championship parades. Chick never could get that whole "Medvendenko" thing down pat. I miss Chick.)
3) Aside from "Monkey King,"
you can feel free to call Yue "Q-Tip." I'm assuming it's a reference
to the lad's spiky hair, but who knows, maybe he's a seriously
ginormous fan of A Tribe Called Quest. (On
a semi-related note, I saw ATCQ about 9-10 years ago at The House of
Blues and Shaq ended up stage diving. I've never been more grateful not to be in the front row of a concert.)
Enjoy.
AK
The blitz -
Did we get straight about Kidd, Nash and KJ on the same SUNS team? Good.
Goran "Slovenian Magic" Dragic scrimmaged for the first time this morning with the SUNS. Word is his shot is already better than advertised. With some tutoring under the Greatest PG of all Time Steve Nash, young Goran should become a fine PG in the NBA.
Posted by: BUTLER | September 23, 2008 at 03:08 PM
Hey Laker Blog -- Hope all is well --
KL,
I'd like to hear how you justify putting Shaq above Kareem -- this should be a dusy.
Posted by: HmrHed | September 23, 2008 at 03:09 PM
KL,
How can you not put Jerry West on your list? There was a team called "The Lakers" before 1986, by the way.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | September 23, 2008 at 03:12 PM
humanomaly,
If you dug strait through to the other side, you would end up in the Indian Ocean below Madagascar.
Not very exciting... I know :(
Posted by: frank1rizzo | September 23, 2008 at 03:13 PM
I really think that Worthy is a little too high in terms of all time Lakers on some of these lists -- I believe that Magic made Worthy's game at the NBA level. I can't put Worthy above Elgin or Wilkes.
Posted by: HmrHed | September 23, 2008 at 03:16 PM
DJ Mbenga very foolishly wants more moola... his agent must be crocked out of his mind... gee, I wonder if DJ is still weighing the choice between Miami and the Lakers... boy, did that BS story backfire on his agent... it's one thing to bluff but... when your bluff is called... oh my...
CJ Giles, if that guy can keep his head together, the Lakers could look at him as a project. Give him a year to work with Kareem and he might become an interesting spot player the next year.
Posted by: Stay Thirsty My Friends | September 23, 2008 at 03:39 PM
about that Kwa-may website Jon K.
It's easy that there is a bigger bust than Kwa-may Brown. Chris Washburn from NC State who got drafted by the Golden State Warriors back in the 1986 Draft, 3rd Overall. That guy has Bust written all over him starting from high school. At least Kwa-may had a good high school bball career and Michael Olowokandi had a good season at Pacific University up in the Bay Area.
Top 5 Busts in NBA History:
1) Chris Washburn
2) Kwa-may Brown
3) Michael Olowokandi
4) Dennis Hopson
5) Bo Kimble
Jim Bowie would be number 6 but I think he was too saddled with the "picked before Jordan" theme. He had better career than Hopson or Kimble.
-blitz
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | September 23, 2008 at 03:41 PM
Edwin and nyla,
my email account was hacked into. So please ignore the email I supposedly sent you guys regarding some business.
Sorry about all this.
(I also apologize for the non laker related post lol).
Posted by: Faith | September 23, 2008 at 03:54 PM
Jon K-
Thanks for the Mitch interview on training camp. Thats some pretty interesting stuff. So soon....
Lamar = Laker for Life
GO LAKERS
Posted by: mrbarneydangles | September 23, 2008 at 03:57 PM
Humanomaly,
>>>>>How have you been? You're right about Mitch's cranium....Anderson School
>>>>>of Business, UCLA MBA program...from what I heard, my workmate went,
>>>>>a total turnaround from our working degrees, he went, I didn't...I think I should
>>>>>have gone as well. Like I said, I hate my job, but it pays the bills...
Don’t get me started on missed opportunities and the relationship between education and job success. I am sure that if I had finished law school or that masters program at UCLA in Comprehensive Health Planning, I would have ended up better off financially overall. Instead, I became an entrepreneur and embarked upon a roller-coaster business career.
>>>>>I will be on going through bay area twice in the next few weeks,
>>>>>I'll be watching the streets for you Tom.....
Howard, what part of the Bay Area will you be visiting and on what dates? Maybe we can meet one night and hoist a couple of cold ones in celebration of our Lakers. Let me know. Or give AK your email address to forward to me.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | September 23, 2008 at 04:10 PM
KL & JSNV
That Byron Russell flopper game was awesome but there were so many other classics you actually begin to forget them.I was starting to (you'll love this KL) think that maybe Kobe isnt that far away from Jordan...maybe a championship or two might make him Jordans equal but then I had myself a little Jordan U-tube party and I remembered....its not even close...not even close!
Theres the famous games of course - game six in utah,the flu game,game 1 in '92 against portland...but theres so many others that dont spring immediately to mind- 1993 for example and his 55 points and winning layup in game 4...
Theres just so many playoff games where he seemed to pull exactly the right thing at the right moment or have the right game at the right moment.When you catalogue it all and remember that there weren't any playoff series losses sandwiched between them,it becomes mind blowing and exceptionally hard to replicate no matter how good said player is.
My personal favourite Jordan moment is when he passes to steve Kerr for the game winner to clinch the 5th title.You see him nutting out what utah's going to do on the bench...then checking out Kerr...then he tells him to watch his man leaving him to double Jordan and Kerr knows its ok to put the ball up and you can see he gets a visible boost that Mj's giving him the green light.Ball goes in Jordan struts back to the bench like he owns the place...its brilliant.I'll see if I can find it.
Posted by: Kiwi | September 23, 2008 at 04:11 PM
humanomaly,
>>>>>Half-Chinese?....may I ask, what's the other half?
My dad was Chinese who came to the USA when he was 11 years old using a dead cousin’s name. Hence the ubiquitous second paper family. My mom was a white teenager who dropped out of high school and got a job waitressing in the dad’s paper family’s Chinese restaurant and met and fell in love with my dad.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | September 23, 2008 at 04:16 PM
Kiwi ,
>>>>>Laker Tom, I agree a hundred percent...anyone trying to argue that Mitch hasn’t
>>>>>done a fantastic job is insane. Its beyond fantastic its absolutely legendary.
Whasup, Dan. Mitch should have won the EOY award last year. Hopefully, he will finally win this year. You’ve posted some great comments lately, Keep it coming.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | September 23, 2008 at 04:20 PM
Mamba24,
>>>>>Hey! Don't forget Shannon Lee, LakerTom. LOL!
Or Jason Scott Lee, who did a great job playing Bruce in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Bruce was my first childhood Chinese hero with whom I identified because of his bi-racial marriage. I also loved Brandon and thought he was going to be a great star in the genre before his bizarre death like his dad.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | September 23, 2008 at 04:29 PM
dave m,
>>>>>Tom - Just wanted to pay my respects for the support you've given to Sun.
>>>>>None of us know how the kid will do but there's nothing wrong with being
>>>>>enthusiastic and you've articulated your points well.
Thanks. With a little support, we can all make it to training camp in one piece. I think Sun will turn out to be the perfect point guard for the Lakers. 6-8 and long is going to make it hard for some points guards to get open shots.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | September 23, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Lakertom, you're in the bay area?
I'm currently visiting here! lol.
Go Lakers!
Posted by: Faith | September 23, 2008 at 04:42 PM
"Did we get straight about Kidd, Nash and KJ on the same SUNS team? Good."
Butler here's what I mean: Kidd, Nash and KJ were never on the same Suns team AT THE SAME TIME. Kidd had it during the late 1990's, KJ had it during the early 1990. Nash had it during the later part of the the 2000's. Where they all on the Suns? Yup at different point in history.
So the answer is NO.
-blitz
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | September 23, 2008 at 05:18 PM
Blitz -
They were part of the same team, when Nash was a rookie. Look it up!
Nash didn't play much and showed little evidence that he would later become the best PG of all time.
Posted by: BUTLER | September 23, 2008 at 05:43 PM
thekobebryantblitz
When I read your post
you sound alot like Charles.
could you be?
Posted by: Magia32 | September 23, 2008 at 05:45 PM
'Nash showed little evidence that he would later become the best PG of all time.'
yes Butler there was a reason for that
Posted by: Kiwi | September 23, 2008 at 06:02 PM
No Magia32 I am not Charles, I am not Long Time Laker Fan. LOL!
-blitz
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | September 23, 2008 at 06:03 PM
"Nash didn't play much and showed little evidence that he would later become the best PG of all time."
Because Stevie didn't play in the right system. When he came to Dallas and played with Dirk and Don Nelson, he was in a good system and made his first All Star selections in Dallas. Nelson's system is another form of run and gun (different than D'Antoni's) and the big 3 in Dallas, Nowitzki, Nash, and Michael Finley was the Golden State Warriors of today. However Nelson's system in Dallas didn't make Nash the "leader" of the team and he didn't get double digits in assists. Only when he came to D'Antoni's system did he get double digit assists. Now place him in Terry Porter's "defense" and there goes Steve Nash's best opportunities to max out his IQ talents which made him a great point guard. He's no way comparable athletically as either D-Will or CP3 plus he's older so he can't be as effective as them.
To be honest, put Baron Davis in D'Antoni's system and he will have surprassed Steve Nash. That's my opinion.
Put Nash even in a good defense system like Larry Brown or Gregg Popovich, then all his limits are exposed and suddenly he's no longer the greatest point guard (he's not an athlete like Tony Parker).
-blitz
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | September 23, 2008 at 06:13 PM
"yes Butler there was a reason for that"
You mean, he found the devil and made a deal?
Posted by: BUTLER | September 23, 2008 at 06:21 PM
Faith,
>>>>> Lakertom, you're in the bay area?
>>>>>I'm currently visiting here! lol.
Cruise across the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County, cool off in the deep shade of Muir Woods, ride a mountain bike to the top of Mt. Tam, and finish it off with scrumptious eats and a superb martini at the Buckeye Roadhouse. Then maybe a quick toke to top off the mood. Marin County – Heaven on Earth.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | September 23, 2008 at 06:29 PM
Butler - Doesn't look like the experts feel the same way
Top Point guards of all time
1) Earvin Johnson
2) Oscar Robertson
3) isiah Thomas
4) John Stockton
5) Bob Cousy
2154) Smush Parker
2155) Steve Nash
Posted by: Kiwi | September 23, 2008 at 06:41 PM
Ok Butler sorry about my previous post that was a bit immature but in answer to your question I think its more accurate to say 'He found the deal then met the devil'
Word is theres a little habit starting to develop which the suns organisation is trying to keep mighty quiet...
Posted by: Kiwi | September 23, 2008 at 06:51 PM
LakerTom,
"Mitch should have won the EOY award last year"
No way!! He doesn't keep a wheelchair handy in case someone gets injured!
Posted by: exhelodrvr | September 23, 2008 at 07:18 PM
Lakertom,
That sounds lovely. Meanwhile I'm smack dab in the middle of downtown lol.
So when does training camp start? Hawaii yes?
Posted by: Faith | September 23, 2008 at 08:00 PM
The blitz sez:
" Now place him in Terry Porter's "defense" and there goes Steve Nash's best opportunities to max out his IQ talents which made him a great point guard. He's no way comparable athletically as either D-Will or CP3 plus he's older so he can't be as effective as them.
To be honest, put Baron Davis in D'Antoni's system and he will have surprassed Steve Nash. That's my opinion.
Put Nash even in a good defense system like Larry Brown or Gregg Popovich, then all his limits are exposed and suddenly he's no longer the greatest point guard (he's not an athlete like Tony Parker)."
BUTLER replies:
Actually, we don't know what Porter's system is yet. He says he wants more D which is to be expected. But let's not forget that Porter has more career assists than Nash and was a valuable PG in his day on a fast team. That leads me to think that he's going to put Nash in a position where he can make use of his talents, namely, offense.
And the thing is, Porter will have much more athletic and intelligent backups for Nash than D'Antoni ever had. The lack of D when Nash is on the floor will be offset by the availability of Dragic and/or Singletary and/or Alando Tucker, as opposed to just Leandro Barbosa, an underachieving defender.
Your point about CP3 (few in the league can keep him out of the paint - not kobey, not Farmar) is interesting because it highlights Nash's achievements as a short, relatively un-athletic white PG. If Nash had the body of a magic johnson or even Smush, no doubt he'd be more effective on D. Nash is great because of his mind, his ability to use what few gifts he has and still become the best. . If he avg 18-12 last season, or whatever it was, that's at least 42 points he's responsible for each night - not bad for a 35-year-old.
Like I said though, the SUNS have more athletes this season to throw at those stronger PGs out there, as opposed to just Grant Hill or Marion.
Baron Davis is great, one of the best. But - I question his ability to reach MVP status as Nash has. Baron is not a pass-first playa, so he wouldn't have made everyone around him as good (as in Oakland, where he excelled only because his teammates were also great scorers, not because he got them involved to the point where they had career numbers).
Put Baron at SG with Nash though, and that would be somethin too horrifying for the league.
So, are you saying Parker is a great defender? Let's say Parker played for the SUNS and Nash played for the spurs. Hard to imagine Parker replicating Nash's 42 points per night, since Parker is a scorer and not a playmaker; meanwhile, Nash would likely increase Duncan's offensive production as well as the rest of the team's, while also shooting a high % and likely putting up near Parker's avg points through shooting alone.
Parker is not the key to the spurs' D, so why would Nash need to be? They funnel things to Duncan and Oberto and cover the three-line.
Posted by: BUTLER | September 23, 2008 at 08:13 PM
Kiwi sez:
"Ok Butler sorry about my previous post that was a bit immature but in answer to your question I think its more accurate to say 'He found the deal then met the devil'
Word is theres a little habit starting to develop which the suns organisation is trying to keep mighty quiet..."
No worries, but I was a bit surprised - like, did his kid just get on the computer?? just kidding.
So Nash...wha???Wha's that you say?
Posted by: BUTLER | September 23, 2008 at 08:16 PM
Did we fire Joel Myers yet?
Bynum if healthy will be GREAT......Kobe will become overpaid. Might not be the worst thing to have happen him leaving to Europe. Will show all of the bandwagon Laker fans what other NBA fans have known about him all along, great player, but......to many buts.
Him leaving would leave a lot of cap space....and I know there are a few young free agents that would love to team up with Andrew..
Must sell when high....Kobe is not going to get any better.
And please fire Joel...
Posted by: Mikey | September 23, 2008 at 08:28 PM
I like Joel Meyers!
No one can replace Chick Hearn. No one. We have to come to peace with the truth that God blessed us with the best and be thankful for it.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | September 23, 2008 at 08:55 PM
kiwi
"Ball goes in Jordan struts back to the bench like he owns the place...its brilliant.I'll see if I can find it."
i believe we actually agree more than disagree. to be fair, [bleep] was on his way towards those moments, but the key thing is.....drum roll.....you have to be in the moment. sending shaq packing (at minimum, not stopping shaq from packing) basically took away 4 years of opportunities to shine in the big stage.
i'll give 2008 a pass considering everyone expected [bleep] to be in chicago.
2009 is going to be a make or break year. [bleep]'s not getting any younger if you know what i mean. shaq o'neal started declining at 32. getting old sucks my friend.
Posted by: KL | September 23, 2008 at 09:11 PM
By Mikey
"Kobe will become overpaid. Might not be the worst thing to have happen him leaving to Europe. Will show all of the bandwagon Laker fans what other NBA fans have known about him all along, great player, but......to many buts.
Him leaving would leave a lot of cap space....and I know there are a few young free agents that would love to team up with Andrew..
Must sell when high....Kobe is not going to get any better. "
------------------------------------------
That's borderline blasphemy right there.
Lamar Odom - Laker for Life
Posted by: Bynumite | September 23, 2008 at 09:20 PM
Greatest Lakers of all time?
1. Magic
2. Kareem
3. West
4. Kobe
5. Shaq
6. Wilt
7. Baylor
8. Mikan
9. Worthy
10. Goodrich
Posted by: SBPimp | September 23, 2008 at 09:25 PM
wow lots of us are so for Magic Man when he had way less accomplishments than the Captain. Personally if I could choose any Laker to be my first round pick it would be Kareem, not Magic Man though Magic Johnson would have been my 2nd if I couldn't choose Cap.
Lakers Top 10 (Just Laker wise, if it was Non Laker wise Chamberlain surprasses The Captain)
1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2) Magic Johnson
3) Elgin Baylor
4) George Mikan
5) Wilton Norman Chamberlain
6) Shaquille O'Neal
7) Kobe Bryant
8) Jerry West
9) "Big Game" James Worthy
10) Gail Goodrich
-blitz
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | September 23, 2008 at 09:44 PM
"...showed little evidence that he would later become the best PG of all time."
I suspect we may be waiting a good, long while for said evidence. In fact, I'll go way out on a limb and predict we'll never see it
Posted by: Badfinger | September 23, 2008 at 09:55 PM
BTW - why are we not starving the troll? Isn't it about time the poor little guy got back to school?
Posted by: justanothermambafan | September 23, 2008 at 08:05 AM
==============================
Its obvious that he is ditching classes to be here. It really shows on the intelligence level of its posts.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | September 24, 2008 at 12:18 AM
KL,
Thanks for the financial sentiment. I happen to be one of those Americans in a financial/mortgage bind right now. Although my troubles didn't really start until very recently, which has put me in limbo as everyone holds their collective breaths to see what this "bail-out" plan is all about.
Though, I'm seriously considering "bailing" on the bail-out and figuring this thing out myself, which is what I've always done in the best, usually to some handsomely profitable results.
The problem is that my normal avenues of safety have all dried up as the cost of energy has decimated the rest of the economy. So if I go it alone this time, I go without a net.
As a family man, this is scary. Before it was kinda fun, but failure didn't mean becoming homeless then.
At any rate, maybe we can reverse some of that Boston Ju-Ju back on themselves and we could get a break somehow? Is Bynum that break? Oh it feels sooo good. He looks sooo good. I'm so giddy, yet I'm trying my best to temper my expectations and be more realistic.
Trying, but ultimately failing miserably. I'm too exited, and summer is taking toooooooo long.
Even though I would love for the Lakers to storm out of training camp and put their "thing" down and let the league know that we mean business, I really think that we will come out kinda tepid as we really get a feel of our twin towers effect and the pecking order behind Fish works its way out.
Then, maybe 7-10 games into the season we hit our stride and really start to stomp on teams, building in momentum to a crescendo that launches us into the playoffs.
Scenerio #2 makes way more sense when you realize our coach is really ambivalent about pre-season and early season games. He uses those games to challenge players in unfamiliar situations to find out what they are made of. Said players often fail in those situations, at least early on.
Did I say early season? Heck, PJ doesn't figure out his rotation (to the chagrin of the ENTIRE Laker Nation) until after the All-Star Break.
So, guarded optimism is what I'm trying for here.
Thanks KL,
--Fearless
Posted by: Fearless | September 24, 2008 at 07:29 AM
LTLF,
That's what makes Magic the Greates Ever.
I don't think either Jordan or Kobe could play center for five minutes in either era.
But, Magic could play both Jordan and Kobe in the same game. Heck, maybe even at the same time.
Magic could just "do" things, ya' know?
He was one of those guys. There are like 5...maybe 10 dudes in all of American sports history who were like that.
BTW, it wasn't HIV that cut Magic's career short. It was the big country mouth of one Karl "I jus wanna dri my tractr" Malone.
--Fearless
Posted by: Fearless | September 24, 2008 at 07:35 AM
thekobebryantblitz,
When I read your post I checked the time to see if it was written really, really, really late. It wasn't. So I assume that you must have been smoking crack when you listed the following things.
Kareem is a Greater Laker than Magic...
Baylor and Chamerlain are Greater Lakers than Jerry "the Logo" West...
Shaq is a Greater Laker than Kobe...
Blitz, you're not only smoking crack, you are intramuscularly injecting meth whilst eating fistfulls of peyote buttons and smoking cigarettes dipped in formaldehyde.
Jerry West the EIGHTH Greatest Laker? EIGHTH? EIGHTH?
Dude, write me back when you sober up.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | September 24, 2008 at 07:51 AM
KL,
"getting old sucks my friend".
Some things, dude, though true, are better left unsaid.
Shaq declined at 32 because he didn't take care of himself. Kobe will indeed loose a step off his drive and an inch off his vertical by 32 for sure. But, he will be so much wiser by then that I really can't wait to see what kind of player he will become.
Though some people who think that Laker fans weren't alive when Jordan played and like to tout his higher FG% as evidence of his skill above Kobe (because people who actually watched Jordan play know he took the VAST majority of his shots at the rim in his first 8 years in the league), I realise Jordan didn't really develope his jump shot until about that age range himself.
What if Kobe's jumper gets better like Jordan's did? During the first three-peat, Jordan was like...dunk, dunk, dunk. Remember, in the second three-peat, Jordan was all jumpers, and money, money, money. Then, when you closed out on him, dunk, dunk, sick-rediculous-impossible-layup, dunk.
Kobe's jumper is pretty good right now. By 32 what could his jumper be? Add in a little Drew, and a little Pau, and maybe a sprinkle of Farmar/Sun. What are the possibilities?
What are the possibilities?
--Fearless
Posted by: Fearless | September 24, 2008 at 08:02 AM
I'm Lovin' this stuff.
I'm a first timer here and I Love the Laker passion that I see!
I'm suprised by the people who think Sun Yue will succeed. He just doesn't have the talent nor the athletic ability. He's a poor man's Coby Karl in my opinion (hello D-league).
Jerry West is in the top two or three all time Lakers because of his defense, offence, and he became the point guard on that '71-'72 team despite being the best off guard of the 60's. An all-time Laker team of West, Magic, Elgin, (young) Kareem, and (old) Wilt might just beat any all time NBA team. Is there a curse on Elgin, or what? The 33 game streak and championship started when Elgin retired; and of course there are the Clippers.
I wonder who would go on that other all time team along with Jordan Bird, and Russell.... Young Shaq I guess, and how about Pete Maravich (no), Isaiah Thomas (no),.. Stockton maybe. Oh well.
Here's to the Laker's !!!!
Call me,
GymAlien (self proclaimed Jump-Shot Guru)
Posted by: James Allen | September 29, 2008 at 10:00 PM