This trade talk about Lamar Odom is much ado about nothing.

Lamar's not going anywhere.

Lamar Odom = Laker for Life.

GO LAKERS!

Play it out first guys. Then decide to move LO.

I visited the Trade machine after reading this article and only one trade looked realistic to me. Odom for Wally Szerbiak. This would be a straight salary dump if the uncertainty about Odom's role this season and contract next season was proving to be a distraction. If our SF corps is healthy I'd expect us to buy Wally out afterwards.

The fact is the team can't afford to pay Odom and Bynum. Bynum has more upside and they'll back him. If we can't pay Odom, we won't be able to pay some other guy or combo of guys either. Other teams might want to lay Larry Hughes or Vince Carter on us, but we'd be cash strapped for years if we did with guys who won't help. Guys we'd want, like Turkoglu (I'm sticking with the teams labeled interested in the story) + someone else, probably aren't avaiable and would STILL put us over operating revenue (~80 mil).

So the only thing that would make sense for the bottom line would be to expedite the removal of Odom's contract from the books. And we'd only make that move if he really does seem distracted and its hurting the team. We'd get the same advantage by playing him through the year and letting him walk as by waiving Wally, but if Odom pouts or doesn't want to play on the bench, then the team has to do what it will.

I like Odom and appreciate what he's given the team. I'd hate to see it go down like this. But this seems like a very plausible outcome given everything we know. Ideally, he'd accept whatever role we need him to take. He could still excel in a 6th man role. Antawn Jamison and Manu Ginobli have. He'd get starter minutes and potential suitors next year should understand the situation while appreciating his team first mentality. That's how I'd like it to go down. But I know Odom and that he can be deeply affected even if he's trying to do the right thing. If something needs to be done, this would be the move I'd expect.

And how bout those Cavs if they did swing that??

I for one don't understand the hurry to trade Lamar. The problem the Lakers have where LO is concerned, is a good one - where and how do we play this multi-talented player to ensure that we get the best from him, in terms of winning a championship. Every other team in the L would love to have Lamar Odom on their roster, and I have to believe that the Swiss knife will find his fit as the season goes along.
That the guy's also terrific trade bait is also a "good" problem. I predict that some other team will make the Lakers an offer they won't be able to refuse between now and the trading deadline.

I'm a fan of an Odom for Marion swap.

I don't like any other options nearly as much. I like David Lee, but we don't need a power forward and I don't think he can play the 3.

I think Gerald Wallace and Josh Smith are largely locked up. Artest isn't available. Maybe Battier might become available? Igoudala? Mike Miller?

If we can get Marion, get his Bird rights in the trade, and offer him a contract that allows us to match the market, we can resign him at a reasonable price.

I like Marion's game a lot. He's a role player, but a very high profile one that can do a lot.

Personality could be an issue, but I think he might appreciate a real chance at a title rather than PHX's canard of a chance. I also trust Phil to manage his personality just fine.

I can't think of a better player likely available should we decide to part ways with Odom. I put the chance of us doing that at pretty close to 50/50 right now. Odom needs to mesh well and perform and it's pretty unclear whether he's going to be able to do that.

I'm with BK on Odom for Marion - doesn't make sense on many levels, I wouldn't do it - then again I am not the GM or the Owner. I still think rolling with the squad we have for an extended trial period is the way to go. See how the various lineups mesh. If there are issues, figure out who it makes sense to move - and I mean realistically not any of those great for the Lakers unloading Luke and Lamar or Vlad for multiple All-Stars etc. - you all know what I am talking about I hope. This is going to be a fascinating season for the Lakers. Full of a lot of hope and promise - a true title contender - not just a hope of die hard Laker fans wishing it to be so. (You know - kind of like Butler thinking the Suns are the best franchise in NBA history when they haven't won anything more than a Western Conference Title. I am sure that is a nice accomplishment, but not quite as good as winning the O'Brien Trophy.)

Cheers,
Eagleboy

Just got back from the Lakers Open Practice. Season ticket holders filled about 4 sections in the lower bowl. The requisite schwag was a Lakers coffee tumbler. Here's a rundown of what went on.

Warmups:
Players started off by getting loose and shooting. Chip Schaeffer came out and stretched the guys. Alex McKechnie ran them through some cross court movements wearing stretch bands tied between their thighs and wrists.

Drills:
PJ got them going on fast break drills. Started off 4 on 4. PJ would pick a player and throw them the ball. That person's defender had to run to the baseline before retreating back on defense, creating a 4 on 3 situation. Then they went to 3 on 3. After that they broke up into 4 groups running basic triangle rotations in each corner of the court. The premise of this drill was to get all 5 players used to the basic movements of all 5 positions. Then they broke up into three teams (purple, white and green) and ran some half court sets.

During this time, B Shaw was answering questions from the STHs. My fellow STHs always surprise me. Fans come in all shapes and sizes and some of them are just plain weird. People were asking B Shaw what he thought about the NBA forcing players to do one year of college or what he thought Joe Crawford was going to bring to this team. Some fans were yelling at Lamar about coming off the bench. Another fan was asking how much the team practices D (and added he was asking because he's not seeing the results on the court). B Shaw said training camp has been about 80/20 more focused on D. He also revealed that PJ designated Rambis the "defensive coordinator" of the staff. The funniest question came from a fan who asked why Drew was wearing his shorts backwards (which he was).

Scrimmaging:
Purple was the starting unit (Kobe, Fish, Vlad, Drew and Pau). They pretty quickly got smoked by the Green team (Mihm, Giles, Ariza, Heath and Karl). The green team then lost to the Whites (Farmar, Crawford, Luke, Mbenga and Powell). When purple came back in, LO replaced Drew. Drew then replaced Pau when he lost his shoe. And Pau then moved to the white team. When it was all said and done, the Purple team woke up and won the final scrimmage created mainly by some great hustle defense capped off by a Kobe break-away dunk and alley-oop dunk on back-to-back posessions. They were banging pretty hard out there. Powell got popped in the head enough to have Vitti take him in the locker room. At one point, Kobe threw Jordan down on the floor while they were in transition.

At the end, the team ran their sprints (Kobe won and threw his hands up in the air again). The team only missed 4 free throws and practice ended.

Most of the beat reporters were there from the scrimmages on. Jim Hill was on hand as well.

Observations:
Certain players practice harder than others. If you wonder why Mihm's still on the team? He was probably the hardest working big out there. He hustled, played really aggresively and scored over Drew more than once. Mbenga as well. Although DJ shoots way too much. Ariza looked fantastic as did Farmar. Both were really active and "captained" their respective teams really well. Sun Yue showed really nice handles and a very smooth stroke. Both Powell and Giles were very active inside. The starters were really lax today. It was only at the very end where they played with intensity.

I can see why Drew's been criticized in practice. Mbenga, Mihm and Pau all took turns scoring over him relatively easily. One thing he does on defense which I noticed in games as well as today is, on rotations, if the ball goes to a wide open shooter, Drew will opt to find the nearest big and put a body on him rather than go out on the shooter (when he's the nearest player). When Drew does play the shooter or ballhandler, he gets burned b/c nobody rotates over to his big (helping the helper). The bottom line is, Drew needs to up his intensity big time at all times - not just save it up for games. I think they should run a rebounding drill where he has to repeatedly go up against Powell and LO for boards.

One big positive was how well the team seemed to get along. Everyone was chatting it up with everyone else. There were no lone wolves or any amount of tension whatsoever.

Lakers_sth -

Awesome report. Thanks for taking the time to write that.

lakers_sth,

Awesome write up. Thanks.

GO LAKERS!

thanks for the breakdown, lakers_sth! any pics?

Jon K,

>>>Lamar's not going anywhere.
>>>
>>>Lamar Odom = Laker for Life.

Okay, so let's consider how that could be possible. Which of
the following do you think will be the thing that happens that
allows Lamar to stay with the Lakers...

a. Kobe opts out and takes a contract for 8 or 9 million less per season

b. Buss agrees for the team to lose money for several years

c. Lamar agrees to accept an MLE level contract to stay

d. Mitch manages to dump off Luke and Rad and get back
players that play as well as those two, but for 1-2 million
per year.

e. Bynum agrees to sign for more like 7 or 8 million per instead of a max deal to help out his buddy Lamar.

f. Kobe opts out and accepts the deal in Greece, so the Lakers
have some money to throw at Lamar.

Those are the sort of things that would need to happen to
keep Lamar with the team beyond this season.

I hate to say it Jon K, but if you think the Lakers are going
to keep Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum, then I seriously doubt
Lamar is a Laker for Life.

Kiwi,

>>>2) Do that and what happens with these guys - you
>>>have basically blown up the team...welll not blown
>>>upbut changed round significantly

Look at the teams surrounding Kobe & Shaq. The other players
on the team changed significantly from year to year, and
not one of them was an all-star (a few aging past all-stars).

When Lamar was the second best player on the team, it
was critical to keep him. Now that he's the 4th best player
on the team, it's not nearly as critical. Kobe + Pau + Drew
plus any good set of role players gives you a pretty good
shot at a championship every year.

Long Time Laker Fan,

I think Lamar is going to take less money and a recent article in the Orange County Register on Lamar Odom seemed to imply that was a real possiblity of occuring. Lamar said something to the effect of "my agent is going to be really angry with me, but that's okay."

Lamar Odom = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS!

So BUTLER,

Did you notice that Shaq has already started ripping his
Phoenix teammates and he hasn't even left the team yet...

http://tinyurl.com/3ed7mq

Thanks everyone. Did my best trying to put together that recap. Sorry I don't have any pics. They were pretty strict about cameras.

One thing I forgot to mention was how crowded the floor looked. I sat in the third row and what you notice immediately is that the players look really similar in height and the floor feels really congested, almost like they have no room to move around. It looks a lot different than the perspective from tv.

I have two big hopes after today. That Andrew gets some intensity about him. I know PJ is zen. Kareem and Pau are both mellow. Kobe turns it on when he wants to. The kid is going to have to turn the fire on himself. Last year, it came about as a result of the success he was having on the court. He needs to exceed that this year. He can't just be named The Beast, he has to embody it and right now he isn't.

My other big hope is that the coaches really do get their act together on improving the defense of the team. B Shaw and Hodges hang out with the players and would probably rather still be playing. Rambis is fairly mellow and I wonder how he'll take to being the "defensive coordinator". Cleamons is a drill sargeant but only at certain moments. Hamblen is old. Looking at the staff, it makes sense why the team acts a little more "relaxed" than people would like.

Laker_sth,

Nice observations. One thing that does concern with AB. He's the guy whose best defense is most likely around the post where he can use one hand to handcheck. Otherwise on the outside he can't use his hands and against screen and rolls he got into foul trouble.

Long Time Laker Fan,

Out of all the options the best option is if Lamar accepts the Mid level exception and he has hinted he could take a lower salary to stay in LA. That being said all the other examples are either unlikely (Buss losing money for a few years) or not good (Kobe going to Greece).

-blitz

Laker_sth--

Thanks for the report. I felt like I was there.

Since were trading for Wally S, why don't we complete the line up for Big Bird, Bert, Ernie and the Cookie Monster?

I'm not sure the lakers will want to face teams like the Hawks or Clips this season.

Fast, athletic teams will have gasal and byenumb running ragged trying to keep up. Today's NBA doesn't really favor height at the expense of speed.

"The reason for Parker's freedom to drive was that Grant Hill had his hernia strained from an appendectomy, and couldn't play the spurs series. That killed the SUNS' perimeter D, as Grant had previously guarded Parker quite well in the reg season."

Actually, Grant Hill had a Yeast Infection complicated by Urinary Tract Infection. His Gyno recommended he not play so hard that series.

THE SPURS OWN THE SUNS!!! You don't need to make any excuses!! Thank GOD you drafted Robin Lopez, AKA Soft Anderson Verajao, the answer to Tim Duncan!!! hahahahaha, what a clown!!

SBPimp

Get over your man crush on Fish

The debate is whether Fish is a great ball handler not if he started for the Lakers when Shaq was dominating.

Never and I mean never have I heard or read a reputable analyst paint fish as a great ball handler and I doubt you could find evidence to the contrary.

And by the way, WHO did Fish replace when he came back?????? Exactly. Of course the Lakers got better.

What a maroon

YOU EVER NOTICE

I was strongly opposed to trading Bynum for pretty much anyone, especially Jason Kidd. However, I am strongly FOR trading Lamar Odom while we can get something of value for him. Since we really don't have any slots open, one of the best, cheapest alternatives is trying to get a high draft pick for him and maybe somebody's bad contract which would expire after this season. Then, next year, Farmar gets a raise, Bynum gets more money, Kobe gets more money and we keep this core of Kobe, Gasol and Bynum together for another 3 years or so and see what happens.

If Odom stays, somebody else will have to go, there's just not enough money to pay all these guys, even if Odom comes down to $7m/year.

BUTLER,

In case you hadn't noticed we don't care about your prognostications.

I mean you keep harping on about how we don't have big man depth when there is a good chance LO will be coming off the bench this season. How is that not depth?

And you're saying we're going to have problems getting back in transition when your starting center is one of the slowest players in the NBA.

"A lineup of Devin Harris, Vince Carter, Lamar, Brook Lopez,
and a hole at SF looks made for LeBron."

So you want to create another powerhouse in the East?

That's just what we need!

I like your Bull's senario better thank you very much...

mrbarneydangles,

'Hear me out. This team hasn't failed yet. "
---------------------------------------------------------

Then what do you call last years' Finals? If we had won the Championship last year NOBODY would be traded or be considered for a trade Period.

By failing last season, the Lakers players' waived those rights!

And don't even bring up the "No Andrew in the Finals" as an excuse. There was nothing that Andrew could have done to stop that bum-rush.

Jon,

"The Clippers are taking the Suns' playoff spot this year! "

I usually don't root for the Clippers, but this will be the exeption:

Go Clippers!!

Go Lakers!!

dan

Xodus sez:

"And you're saying we're going to have problems getting back in transition when your starting center is one of the slowest players in the NBA."

Shack aint a gazelle, but he doesn't need to be. Amare at PF is faster than other PF's and centers. With Lopez as a backup, the SUNS are going to be fast and big in the frontcourt.

What I'm saying is what Phil jackson pointed out yesterday - the twin 7-footers are making the lakers a plodding team when playing transition D. At least odum has speed, if not much composure.

You have to hand it to Sean Singletary, the SUNS' draft pick.

He scored 15 points tonight in ATL to help beat the Hacks. Singletary is the only playa in ACC history to have 2000 points, 500 assists.

He's probably the best new PG in the NBA, like Chris Paul only better.

Good to know that the Lakers training now focuss more on D.

1978-

We were not supposed to make it out of the first round last year and we made it to the Finals. I would call that a pretty remarkable season, anything but a disappointment or failure.

We are supposed to make it back to the Finals and even win it all this year. If we don't even reach the Finals or even lose in the Finals like last year, that will be considered a failure and it will be time for Lamar to go. But until then, this team is doing nothing but exceeding expectations.

And I know the Lakers were favored in the Finals last year, but looking at the season as a whole, we definitely beat expectations...by a lot.

Lamar = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS

BUTLER,
He's probably the best new PG in the NBA, like Chris Paul only better."
----------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a long off-season for you huh??

You're turning this blog into the diary of a madman!! lol

I have already forgotten how it feels to only play until May.

Go Lakers!!

Oh snap!

Say goodbye o Coby :(

------But now it appears, based on their play in training camp, that backup center DJ Mbenga has earned a roster spot and that rookie guard Joe Crawford will get the nod over Coby Karl, who made the team last season as an undrafted rookie free agent.-------------

-From the L.A. Times

I couldn't agree more. Man, I wish people would start appreciating Odom for the player he is.

Shawn Marion would be a disaster in the triangle. The triangle demands players with all-around skill. Marion is a player who cannot create his own shot or create for others. Marion is an athlete that just happens to play basketball.

I think Odom would excel as the Lakers 6th man. He'd be my pick to win 6th Man of the Year too. I hope that happens for LO so that he can silence his critics.

Long time laker fan...

'Kobe + Pau + Drew
plus any good set of role players gives you a pretty good shot at a championship every year.'

Yes and no....Kobe, Pau,Bynum is not Kobe and Shaq particularly this year while we find out how good Bynum is and how well he can play with pau.

I guess a Kobe.Pau,Bynum team would always be at the top end of the west but theres a big difference between that and being a team coming off the finals.You get new role players in and Fish is on the bench.I'd be concious of chemistry.We've got it (essentially) so why mess with it

And hey maybe we'll be better off trading Pau down the line and Keeping Lamar? you never know...I just think this is a stand pat season.I 'mNot saying you're wrong but in my opinion this lamar sucks thing over blown and I cant really see any realistic better option out there.

did you have anything in mind?

Yes and

I really doubt that we will trade Lamar unless there was a severe injury to a key player( Kobe). The 1st thing to consider is this, with Bynum getting an extention that kicks in next year, I doubt that Dr. Buss will want to take back salary, when Lamars falls off.

And of course there is the injury factor. Andrew went down and Pau missed some time last year and we became very average without at least one of them in the line up. With Lamar we know we still have a chance of winning it all if either Andrew or Pau go down for the season. With out him, I am not so sure. Plus having Lamar creates a situation where Andrew and Pau do not have to play as many minutes. I think PJ will figure it out, its a good problem to have.

MH

I like LO. I've seen him just dominate a game or two and wonder what would happen if he just became "consistent" on the court. I would hate to trade him but when he shows up at training camp out of shape... that just doesn't sit well with me. I like him, he's got incredible skill and I don't mind paying him $14mil, I'd just like to get more value out of him that's consistent of what I know he is capable of.

Sorry for the late report, as Charles knows it takes me a while to get home and then I wanted to watch the debate. I read laker_sth's comments and for the most part I couldn't agree more. Most of his analysis was spot on. I would only correct a few things and add few as well.

On the issue of cameras, they had no problem with personal cameras, but asked that no one used professional or video cameras. I took about 15 pictures, and if someone can tell me where to post them I would be glad to.

To answer Robert Chen's question from above, Sun sat out most of the scrimmage and then joined the green team later on. Might have been the white team, not sure but definitely not the purple team. On a side note when he was sitting out he was wearing a red jersey. I have no idea why.

I must totally agree with laker_sth about Luke Walton. I thought he looked great. I was not a Luke fan last year at all and had no expectations for this year, but the truth is he looked great. In my opinion the player who looked the best (besides Kobe of course, dude is always running at a 10) was Trevor Ariza. I don't know if he has a great grasp of the Triangle or if he just has a high BBall IQ, but he is always at the right place at the right time and he attacked the basket ferociously. I am not sure why LO cannot do the same.

Lastly I want to know if laker_sth noticed the semi-heated exchange between Farmar and Kurt Rambis during the scrimmages. It was in the corner and not necessarily easy to see from parts of the crowd. Basically Farmar got trapped in the corner and was slightly forced out of bounds by another player (Luke or Pau I believe). Rambis who was acting as referee called the play Out of Bounds on Farmar and did not call a foul as Farmar wanted. I expected him to laugh it off (it is a scrimmage after all), but he started arguing with Kurt and then after a few seconds he threw the ball at him. (I want to be clear here, he threw it hard, but at his feet) The kind of thing a player might do in the heat of battle in real game and would definitely result in a technical, maybe two. It was not an attempted pass! Kurt then gave him a very dirty look and yelled at him as he ran back down the court. It was obvious that Kurt was not happy. Unfortunately I could not hear what he said, and I am hoping laker_sth heard something.

Kobe's last two dunks to end the scrimmages (breakaway and alley-oop) were the highlight of the show. Also Kobe throwing Farmar to the ground as laker_sth said above was quite funny as well. No foul called of course.

I am a huge Bynum fan, but I must agree here as well with laker_sth as I was not impressed with his effort or efficiency. To be honest if that was my first look at the Lakers I would think he was the third string Center behind Mihm and Mbenga.

Not sure if he was serious, but at one point PJ asked the ushers to close the curtains between the arena and the concourse as he felt it was affecting the players shots. Wind? You got me.

Actually my favorite fan question was this one. "When is the open practice for the Laker girls". Classic....

Lastly I want to comment on Kobe Bryant. I have always been a huge fan (some might even say apologist), but it kind of bothered me when people would say that Kobe practices away from the other players and that Kobe tends to rag on the other players a bit. I don't like the primadonna superstar attitude. I now understand completely after watching the practice today. First off Kobe is the only one practicing at game speed (possible exception of Ariza) He is the first one to finish the sprints each time (second oldest player I might add). And while he is practicing his shots at one end, the other players are screwing around at the other end playing HORSE or some other minor competition. Kobe takes 10-15 shots from each location on the court, and then does it again with bank shots, then free throws, then short shots in the lane, etc.... He is extremely consistent, methodical, and ridiculously accurate. He took about 30 shots from about 4 feet away right in front of the basket. Then he moves back a few feet and takes more, then a few more feet until he gets to the free throw line. That is how you get a great midrange game, not by jacking up three's with your buddies at the other end. Anyway that is my addition to the report from laker-sth. If anyone can tell me how to post photos I will do so.

pslakerfan

I like LO better than Radman plus Marion

LAMAR ODOM FOR "JOE THE PLUMBER"

How will the Lakers keep L.O. , Drew, Pau and Kobe.
OK. The Lakers win the title this year. Kobe goes overseas and makes an obscenely huge
Salary for one year while the Lakers resign L.O. Kobe is then brought back by David Stern
due to sagging NBA attendance. His one year overseas Salary together with some under
the payment money from Nike - Like they did with Jordan when he was like the 55th highest paid player
in the NBA - compensates for the minimum from the Lakers. The Lakers win 3 more titles in a row.
Kobe is declared the GOAT over MJ. MAMBA24 cries steals a kiss from Faith and EastCoastJessie and
disappears to raise his Zombie/Vampire kids never to be heard from again.
THE END

Laker Nation,

Please. I'm begging you. Consider my request.

Let's put all this trade talk aside for now. Sit tight. Wait to see if Phil Jackson and the Coaching Crue can put together some beautiful basketball and THEN talk about whether or not we need a trade.

Screaming reactively about how we need to do a trade NOW just drives me nuts, particularly when we have such an amazing team.

GO LAKERS!

Lamar Odom for Wally Sczerbiak is the dumbest trade I have ever heard of.

Don't suggest trades just to suggest trades, especially when we don't need one.

It's totally crazymaking.

GO LAKERS!

Glenn,
"I for one don't understand the hurry to trade Lamar. "

The advantage to trading Lamar sooner rather than later is that it gives the new player time to fit in prior to the playoffs.

Good Morning Guys.

Kiwi,
I like the first trade scenario however, Walton still has 4-5 years in his contract and that may not suit well for the Bulls.

JSNV Laker Legacy,

How are you compadre's? JSN thanks for the reply. Time for Tickle me Elmo trades?

Yeah, trading for Wally is the craziest thig I've ever heard.

Jon K,

>>>I think Lamar is going to take less money and a recent
>>>article in the Orange County Register on Lamar Odom
>>>seemed to imply that was a real possiblity of occuring.

I saw that article (even posted a link to it here), and I think if
Lamar is willing to sign a deal where he's paid 7 or 8 million
per, then he might be able to stick around. Even that will
put the Lakers salaries at over 90 million, but if they stay at
the top of the Western Conference, I think Buss may be willing
to do it.

But go re-read that article. Lamar says he might be willing
to take a pay cut, but that he's got to look out for his own
interests (I'm paraphrasing). If he's saying, I'll take a pay
cut to 10 million per, but not to 8 million per, then he may
be pricing himself off of the Lakers.

lakers_sth

>>>One last thing that completely slipped my mind was how
>>> good Luke Walton looked out there. Not rusty. Great
>>>shooting stroke. Great passing. I wonder if we'll see the
>>>Luke that started off great two seasons ago

That could be awesome news. If Luke could play at the level
he started the season two years ago, I think he would be the
clear choice as the starting SF.

In that time frame, he was shooting 3-pointers better than
Radmanovic (and most of the league for that matter), he's
a better defender than Rad, and almost as good as Lamar
at defending the SF position. He's a very willing and
able passer, who would have four great targets to pass to
in Kobe, Fish, Bynum, and Gasol... in fact Luke was the
BEST on the team at throwing the alley-oop to Bynum.

Remember that last year, even before the Lakers acquired
Pau, they made it to the top of the west based mostly on
slight to significant improvements in several of their role
players (slight - Rad, significant - Farmar, Vujacic, Drew).

If they get a few little improvements again this year... if
Drew becomes a consistent starter-quality player (and stays
healthy), if Farmar improves a bit, if Walton gets his mojo
back, if Rad is just a little better, if Lamar accepts the role
as the Bench Beast, this team could be absolutely dominating.

>>>Grant Hill had his hernia strained from an
>>>appendectomy, and couldn't play the spurs series.

WHAT!!!?!?!??!!!

Grant Hill got injured and let his team down?????

HIGHLY unlikely.

Just say it with me... Big Can't Grant.

He's the anti-Robert Horry

How about Wally S and Darko M and Jamaal T for Kobe?

Or Bynum Gasol Vlad for Zebo, Eddy "Spicy" Curry and Nate Robinson?