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October 15, 2008 |  1:28 pm

Lamar_odom_smiles_as_the_lakers_cru As it's been for every season in which he's worn the purple and gold, Lamar Odom heads into the season as one of the biggest names on the trade market, status he'll keep until the Lakers actually move him, or sign him to an extension.  I don't see either happening fast, so in the meantime, get used to lists such as this one from Chad Ford at ESPN, discussing the big names already being bandied about in trade rumors. 

He hits, of course, on the long-discussed Odom-for-Shawn Marion swap, one I've never been all that fond of.  Despite myriad skills, I don't think Marion has the mental makeup to mesh well with the Lakers. He's not all that fond of playing third or fourth fiddle, and desperately wants a long-term, very lucrative extension.  How is this a good fit? 

Should the Lakers decide eventually to pull the trigger, I hope they consider doing it for role guys, not an A-lister.  They have plenty of frontline talent.  LO's value comes in part because, early-camp sniping aside, he's got high-level talent but doesn't demand shots.  He doesn't even want them all that much.  There aren't many star players (not calling Odom a star, but regarding getting one back in a deal) who would be content to slide into a 3A or 4th option role. 

BK


The comments to this entry are closed.

Comments

Amazing_Happens,

Why didn't Mitch think of that. Is it time to fire up firemitch.com? haha

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

1978 sez:

"BUTLER,

What are your thoughts on Marion? How would you feel if he teamed up with the Lakers to stomp the crap out of your Suns?"

Well, The Matricks will always be remembered as an incredible SUN who helped stomp the crap out of the lakers two years in a row in the playoffs.

His rebound and dish to Tim Thomas for the late three saved the SUNS in Game 5 a couple years back.

Matricks can do it all, fills all the stats.

I might just have to shoot myself if he became a laker!

But I don't think Miami would want lamar - they already have plenty at the SF-PF positions, and what upgrade would Lam-Od offer them at such a high salary? Marion is a much more valuable playa.

Besides, Pat Riley (who played for the SUNS) wouldn't want to help out kobey.


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.

BUTLER,

Bynum is one of the fastest centers in the league (he didn't have a problem dominating Golden State last season) and Pau moves very well for a big man. The worries about transition defense won't matter much when we're dominating the boards anyway.

Shaq on the other hand helped us ice our game against him when Pau got down the court quickly and picked up an and-1 because your guy was still laboring back up the court.

Have fun with that.

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.

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

LOL!

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

Say - tell us the truth, you really couldn't hate the SUNS any more than if Shack was with the team, could you? Maybe the Celts are hated more now...but Shack has to hold a special place in your heart for HATE.

Just let me tell you all - I love you.

I just can't stand the lakers. I was born in PHX, what do you want? At least I wasn't born in Sack-Ruh-Mento.


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

TO THE LAKERS BLOG

I'm reading (well re-reading) Phil's book "More Than a Game" for a sports history class I'm taking and I stumbled upon this gem.

"Going back several years, the Suns were forever being touted as being a team on the come, but in reality they were a team that had never arrived. The upshot was that the Suns' fans didn't totally believe in their team."

Beautiful.

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!!

I finally saw the light, the Suns are worthless, I've coming here just to see if perhaps I could be accepted as your fellow Laker fan.

A crappy job, a miserable life in this God forsaken desert and in top of that I'm completely depressed and tired of all the losing, this worthless existence as a Sucks fan..

First of all let me apologize for all those idiotic statements I see that they were a total waste of your valuable time and nobody thought they were funny.

PLEASE FORGIVE ME, my self-esteem totally depends on it.

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

Odom's salary in November is still bearable for the Lakers so why fix it, if ain't broke? The objective is to bring down below luxury threshold, if you trade LO now did we solve the problem? The best time to trade him is in February deadline that is if he does not pan out, he + Mihm and Luke are a good package for low draft picks and another defense oriented Center. However, if Lakers are on the verge of going thru Championship why destroy camaraderie and chemistry? As they say, don't change horses in the midstream, you lose the focus in crossing the river.

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.

Just wanted to inform the blog that Von Wafer had a game high 23 points on 7-9 spt shooting in tonights game, not too bad...

Lamar = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS

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

laker_sth... i'm catching up on blog reading late today but just wanted to add my thanks along with the others... that was a very cool post.

re: odom for marion - a no in my book. we go through the odom trade talk every season and it's totally fine and legit to have the debate. personally, i like the team we have and i'm really looking forward to seeing just how l.o. is used this season... i think all the question marks are actually healthy and positive.

for any who are interested, there's a good interview with vlad in hoopshype - he has real good stuff to say about his relationship with p.j... it's a smart and pragmatic piece.

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

lakers_sth - Nice report! Glad someone's there to update us on this stuff

Just wondering... which team was Sun Yue on? You mentioned he had good handles and a nice stroke, but he wasn't on the Purple/Green/White teams?

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.

how about

Walton Farmar and Odom for Heinrich and Gooden
or radmanovic odom and farmar for heinrich and gooden

get rid of a bad contract,wrap a decent player up for about what we would have wanted to pay Odom if he was here next year and get a tough role player to harden us up.

If odoms got to go then thats the trade

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

barney,

BK brought it up so blame him.

Most people want to see how this team as constructed works unless the perfect deal comes along and then Odom is out.

We need 3 point shooting and defense at the starting 3. We also need a cheaper 4th banana. We find someone that works for that and Odom is a luxury and not someone we need any longer.

He's sort of borderline a luxury now.

Why trade now?

The notoriously difficult to learn triangle, of course. Develop rapport with teammates, etc. Basketball players are not interchangeable parts. They are usually distinct personalities. The Sheeds that come in at the trade deadline and help a team win a championship are rare.

I like LO better than Radman plus Marion

POST OF THE WEEK:
BK Have you ever considered auditioning for the role of Lex Luthor? Just curious.
Posted by: Jon K. | October 15, 2008 at 01:38 PM

Jon K. You are insane! LOL!

LAMAR ODOM FOR "JOE THE PLUMBER"

Lamar is not going anywhere. He is 9Rings chosen
person to be picked on this year. PJ thinks this is the
year for the title so he's tring to bring out that "superstar
potential" in Lamar. And you know what?...It just might
work! Lamar = Laker for Life

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

15th Coming,

I think they're talking about signing Joe Crawford instead of Coby Karl because they'd have to pay Coby Karl more money based upon the conditions of last year's contract. Kind of sucks. I'm disappointed. I hope they still choose to retain Coby Karl.

Sonnybelfast,

How about those Clippers? 3-0! Beat your Kings last night without playing Marcus Camby, Al Thorton, nor Baron Davis! Rookie Eric Gordon scoring 33 points in his second game! Ex-Laker phenom Jelani McCoy scoring 12 points and 9 rebounds! Woohoo!

Go Clippers!

GO LAKERS!

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!

Butler,

You will only be forgiven after you have put on a sackclothe and sat in ashes and wept in sorrow for weeks.

You must repent!

Fire32 repented and now he is welcome in Laker Nation.

It is still not to late to save your soul.

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!

Benjamin,

Please listen to BK. I, too, really like Shawn Marion as a player, but he just doesn't fit our needs. Personality-wise (Shawn Marion doesn't want to be a third or fourth fiddle player) and skill-wise Shawn Marion does not benefit our team nor does his style of play complimented by the Triangle.

Be reasonable.

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.

From a skill perspective, Marion would give the Lakers what they need. But would he be willing to be the 4th option, and would the team want another long-term, large contract? I am guessing no to both.

I think that the current roster (not including Lamar) can take care of SF; I'm not sold yet on Farmar as a long-term starter, and it would be poor judgement for management to count on Sun for that. (Anything good from a second round pick is a bonus.) If they do trade Lamar, I think the primary target should be a point guard.

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.

Jon,

" think they're talking about signing Joe Crawford instead of Coby Karl because they'd have to pay Coby Karl more money based upon the conditions of last year's contract. Kind of sucks. I'm disappointed. I hope they still choose to retain Coby Karl."

I think that you are right about the $$$. Coby is claerly the one we would take if all things were even and it was just about which one of those players can help us the most this year.

Especially now with Sasaha's injury.

Good observation Jon, I was wondering what the hell the Lakers were thinking!

JSNV Laker Legacy,

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

"Sorry for the late report, as Charles knows it takes me a while to get home and then I wanted to watch the debate."

That looooong drive! Which gives you more props for being Laker blood!

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

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

Posted by: Xodus | October 16, 2008 at 09:09 AM

So crazy that it just might work. LOL

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.

Mamba24,

"MAMBA24 cries steals a kiss from Faith and EastCoastJessie and disappears to raise his Zombie/Vampire kids never to be heard from again."

Ummm... I thought you stopped eating peyote buttons first thing in the morning.

GO 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.

Our biggest concern right now is un-clogging the log jam at the 3 spot. If we decide to retain Odom, we need to dump Rad and Luke (in my opinion). Look at our depth chart based on players who can play those spots if they had to:

C:
Bynum, Gasol, Mihm, Mbenga
PF:
Gasol,Powell, Mihm, Odom
SF:
Ariza, Luke, Borat, Odom, Kobe, Yue
SG:
Kobe, Vujacic, Yue, Crawford
PG:
Fisher, Farmar, Yue, Vujacic

A team that can have at least 4 players that can play each position at anytime is adequate in my opinion. If we dump Luke and Vlad, and retain Odom, we still have enough coverage at both the 3 and 4 to do what we need to do. There are not any players in the league that we can do a 1:1 trade with Odom, and it be beneficial to the squad financially, and on the court. And I know Kupchak knows this, hence why he hasn't pulled the trigger yet on a deal. If we make a trade, it has to have a Mychal Thompson/Rasheed Wallace impact in that it puts us over the top of Boston. If this was NBA Live '09, I would do Marion for Odom yesterday, but this is reality, so we have to be smart about it.

>>>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

Great take on the Kobe practice session. Tiger Woods putts for 5 hours a day, then works out and practices.
A champion's heart and undaunted mindset drives that kind of practice session.

The take on Drew isn't a new one. The first observation of Drew's passivity came from Tex Winter. It's his hurdle to overcome. Kobe's parking lot rant might have stoked a fire in him last year. Maybe trying to ying to Pau's yang isn't instinctive just yet.

Drew's the future but LO's still the 3rd most consistent contributer on the Lakers until the kid at least makes it through a season.

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

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

 


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