"**Should "the fun" include shots of you burning storefronts or jumping on cars, you might want to keep those to yourself. "

What if there is a black box over my eyes?

"**Should "the fun" include shots of you burning storefronts or jumping on cars, you might want to keep those to yourself. "

What if there is a black box over my eyes? Posted by: exhelodrvr | June 16, 2009 at 08:29 AM

Now cut that out. LoL!

I ate some coldstone ice cream.

Here's a picture:

http://bit.ly/Dn3uW

I have footage of Staples/LA Live BEFORE the trees got uprooted and cop cars got bashed. Unfortunately, my computer is on the blink. As soon as it gets fixed, I'll upload to You Tube and post here.

BK,

Nice idea.

WE ARE THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND WE RISE!!!

What do we play for? RINGS!!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!

I also would like to see any kind of live coverage (live blog anyone?), for all of us that are too far away of the central fun tomorrow. ¿Any Justin TV link for the parade? I hope so.

GOOO CHAMPIONS!!!

OK we won the NBA Championship, what is next?

I will take the left field here b/c I read posts that we're worried of the luxury taxes the JB will pay, we're worried of the annual pay of Lamar and/or Ariza, we're worried of the pay cut or increase on Kobe's opt out contract, now WHO IS WORRIED ABOUT THE LAKER FANS WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED OR UNDER EMPLOYED?

If NBA truly cares, it's not only teaching the kids how to read but helping their parents get re-training and become more competitive in the new markets of the 21st Century. In inner cities, there are lots of people dependent on hand outs and gov't social welfare yet our multi-millionaire players are not making any statements on that matter. Of course, they are not the public officials but merely public figures, but their popularity and leadership commands attention. How many of them among our NBA players in general can imitate Dikembe Motombo in aiding fellow Americans live prosperously? How do we cure hooliganism, riots etc? Then help create decent jobs, the jobs that will make Kobe's shoes, Gasol's jerseys, Laker Championship caps etc. i.e. labor directed and produced here at home at the industrial area of LA. It's a quid pro quo with the fans. "we will watch your games, if you could find us some money to spend through decent labor." Personally, I am just fed up of the endless political promises from left or right, from exploitation of the powerful and the ignorance of the governed. Passion should be redirected towards the improvement of one's family and raise their own level of living not totally focused on the entertainers' welfare. I am aware that I am asking impossible tasks but if nobody will try to solve it, then these are really unsolvable problems. Therefore, I throw the challenge again to hierarchy, after the celebration of Championship, what is next? Will it be deja vu all over again?

I will quote here 4 stanzas on Longfellow's Psalm Of Life as inspirations to the victors:

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

So...

We've got to retain Kobe, Lamar, and Trevor, get rid of Sun Yue, develop Adam Morrison, and pray to God that He blesses us with an improbably good draft pick.

I'm down for keeping Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga while we're at it.

We do that and we should have another Championshp next year.

This team SHOULD be better next year... which is fantastically awesome.

WE ARE THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND WE RISE!!!!

What do we play for? RINGS!!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!

LakerTom -

Per your request:

From John Hollinger (excerpt)

*****************************
The common refrain is that in a 30-team league, you need to find a few breaks along the way to win the championship. And certainly, the Lakers have had moments of good fortune in winning this one -- from Pau Gasol's sudden availability in the middle of last season to the unavailability of the Cavs or Celtics as a Finals opponent this season.

Yet what stands out the most about the Lakers' championship this season is how many things didn't go right for them, even during a championship season.

Remember how Andrew Bynum was supposed to be the difference-making big man the Lakers lacked a season ago? He was largely a nonfactor in the postseason. In the series-clinching win Sunday, he was responsible for the Lakers' only stretch of poor play, missing seven shots in the first five minutes and committing a turnover while the Magic raced out to a 15-6 lead. For the Finals as a whole, he had 30 points and 21 fouls.

Remember how the heir apparent at point guard, Jordan Farmar, was there to alleviate any age questions for Derek Fisher? Farmar bounced back a bit late in the playoffs but was such a basket case for most of the second half of the season that he lost minutes to scrap-heap pickup Shannon Brown. The Lakers ended up riding it out with Fisher, 34, at the point. Fisher shot 39.3 percent for the playoffs and 28.4 percent on 3s, and averaged 8 points per game, but L.A. won anyway.

Remember when Sasha Vujacic could make a shot? "The Machine" shot 43.7 percent on 3-pointers during the 2007-08 season and earned a three-year, $15 million deal as a free agent. He was supposed to be the guy to burn double-teams off Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Instead, he went 0-for-The-Finals and was relegated to a bit player in the Lakers' rotation during the final two rounds of the playoffs; in the final seven games, he saw only 33 minutes.

All those things happened, but the Lakers won anyway. And in the end, they did it pretty easily. Houston gave them in a test in terms of the number of games played, but the Lakers notched their final two wins in the conference semifinals by 40 and 19 points. Denver gave them a good run, too, before the Lakers turned up the defense in the final six quarters and ran the Nuggets out of the gym. L.A. won the title without trailing a series worse than 1-0, and had a comfy 2-1 lead with home-court advantage at the three-game mark of every series.

And when you combine their championship trophy with all the bumps along the way and look ahead to next season, there's one obvious team to install as a clear favorite: the Lakers...

...Although Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza both will be free agents (as will be Brown), the Lakers have the financial wherewithal to keep the team together if they so choose. As ESPN.com NBA writer J.A. Adande noted, the Lakers earned an extra $4 million from each of their 12 home playoff games thanks to the Staples Center revenue machine, which means they can afford to pay the luxury tax for a winner.

Even if they decide they can't keep both players, they still have the might to go after somebody else -- much as they did when Gasol unexpectedly became available from Memphis and the Lakers were the only team willing to go deep into the tax to add him. For one example, Adam Morrison's $5.25 million expiring contract could be a tasty morsel for a team looking to dump a more onerous contract belonging to a genuine contributor.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
Plagued by injuries the past two seasons, Andrew Bynum may be ready to break out in 2009-10.
Additionally, L.A. is young for a champion. Fisher is the only starter older than 30, while Kobe Bryant will turn 31 in August but has kept himself in outstanding shape. The other key players are all either in their prime (Odom and Luke Walton, 29; Gasol, 28; Vujacic, 25) or still very much on the upswing (Farmar, 22; Bynum, 21).

In fact, Farmar and Bynum are probably the biggest reason the Lakers are the league's scariest team: They still can get a whole lot better. As well as L.A. played in the final two rounds, it arguably was playing even better during the first two months of the season when Bynum was dominating at the defensive end and overpowering smaller centers.

He hurt his knee midseason, however, and was never the same afterward. When I talked to Bynum on Saturday, he still put his health at 80 percent and said it was frustrating that he couldn't do some of the things he used to.

Even in his diminished state, he was helpful simply because of his size. "We thought we'd helped ourselves by getting Andrew Bynum back again to give us some depth at the interior part of our game, shot-blocking, rebounding, sizewise," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of his team entering the playoffs.

But now that the season is over, Bynum can take a step back and focus on fully rehabbing his knee instead of playing in games. And if he comes back as the player he was at the start of this season (or the season before, for that matter), L.A.'s already lofty ceiling moves several floors higher.

Farmar, meanwhile, is just as talented as he was a season ago, and he appeared to turn a corner late in the postseason. He'll have to cure his wayward shooting stroke (33.6 percent on 3s and 58.4 percent from the line during the regular season) and learn how to use his quickness better at the defensive end. But on a team that has lots of money locked up elsewhere, he's still the best hope for a quick upgrade at the point. And as much as he struggled this season, nobody doubts that he has the ability to provide such help.

Finally, the Lakers have another big advantage: Nobody seems ready to challenge their status as the elite team in the Western Conference. Although the Nuggets certainly were a strong contender this spring -- "Denver was physical and quick. They're an elite team," Jackson said -- the Nuggets still have to establish that they can compete at that level for an entire season. Plus, they will be facing a lot more financial constraints than L.A.

The other Western contenders have similar warts. San Antonio's age questions were laid bare in a first-round defeat, Houston has yet to show that its best players can stay upright for an entire season, and Utah is facing a potential luxury-tax whipsaw while trying to retain multiple key free agents.

*********************

I cut some stuff out about the Eastern Conference teams but this is definitely most of it.

the entire Lakers Blog Family: You guys are the best. This blog is where I go in moments of extreme happiness AND disappointment. It's my oasis in the desert of crappy journalism. You guys are the best. Posted by: The Outlaw | June 16, 2009 at 09:31 AM

Hey Outlaw! How did Baby Outlaw like the beginning of his very own dynasty. Some kids have all the luck. LOL Thanks for the kind words my brother and right back at you. Take care man & have a good summer.
Larry(Mamba24)

Buttler is probably crying in a corner somewhere. Not only did the Lakers win the championship, they had an ESPN poll asking if Gnash would ever win a ring with the Phoenix Duns. 85% said no. His poor little heart is cracking.

LA Lakers, 2009 NBA Champions

Anyone know if Kobe gets any sort of performance bonus with Nike? IMO, he should re-up with them, not the Lakers.

In my ideal scenario for Kobe, confers with Odom and Ariza to take less money and make the most of their run together AND he renegotiates with Nike to make more money than Lebron based on performance and sales. Winning is a bigger and better product to sell than potential.

JMHO.

#4

Utz, i think he was arrested for starting a riot, damaging public and private property and for being in possession of a loser team jersey.

Still celebrating but this in the Times "Money Talks"

"Sasha Vujacic will make $10.5 million over the next two seasons,"

Just a thought, ever since he moved in with Katie Cassidy, who was a "factor" or at least around when Matt Leinart went from a starting to the bench, Sasha turned a break out into a bust. Mitch needs funds and we need the championship core back.

THis is where the Lakers Most Valuable Asset, Jerry Buss, dominates. He needs to ante up and if Sasha remains on the payroll next season, maybe offer some relationship advice. Experience with dysfunction being the best teacher, he dominates that court as well.

Jugglin' the numbers, a summertime of Laker fun and some of the blog's best work.

Hey Mamba24 and everybody else... I know it's probably been pretty slow around here but I wanted to drop by and say hello.
I would give anything to be in L.A. celebraing tomorrow. Instead I'll be watching from my office in Boston. If anyoen knows who will have a live feed, please post it.

After tomorrow, we sit back and watch what the Lakers will do with the contract situations. Iknow DJ Mbenga is supposed to be released by June 30th so I won't be surprised when that happens but I want to watch out for the Odom, Ariza, Kobe (opt-out) stuff.

"You can learn more about the Lakers and championship basketball reading this blog than anywhere else online"

Tom

------

Totally agree. Not only reading AK and BK, some of the bloggers have an outsanding knowledge.

Here's the official announcement with details on Wednesday's celebration:

The parade to salute the 2009 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers will take place this Wednesday, June 17th. The parade will begin at STAPLES Center and travel south on Figueroa Street to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where a victory celebration will take place in front of an expected capacity crowd of 95,000 Lakers fans.

Beginning at 11:00 AM, double-decker busses carrying the players, coaching staff, Lakers executives and City officials will depart from STAPLES Center at Figueroa and Chick Hearn Ct. and travel a nearly two mile parade route along Figueroa to the Coliseum where the "official" championship ceremony will take place beginning at noon.

All Lakers fans are invited to stand along Figueroa to cheer the Lakers players having just won the fifteenth NBA Championship in the franchise's history. The first 95,000 fans to arrive at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be invited inside to attend a ceremony during which City and team officials, Coach Phil Jackson and several players will address the crowd. Coliseum gates will open beginning at 9:30 AM for early arriving fans who will be able to watch the parade on giant video screens in addition to being entertained by the Laker Girls and other special guests.

Please be aware of the following street closures planned for Wednesday, June 17th. Figueroa will be closed from Olympic to Exposition Park from 8am-12pm. Chick Hearn Court will be closed from 9am-4pm. Cherry will be closed from Pico to Olympic from 9am-2pm. In addition, the Exposition Blvd, Martin Luther King Blvd, Adams and Olympic exits from the 110 freeway will be closed from 10am until the end of the parade.

Puddle -

Thanks for letting us read the Hollinger article. I appreciate it!

MAMBA24 -

Hope you're enjoying everything out in L.A. If I may humbly ask, would you please put me on the BUTLER watch bandwagon? I'd like to hear what kind of apology will be offered to the blog crue.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Good Morning Charles...Good Morning Everyone....

so now it's the official off season and time for organizations to try to build a team to compete and win a championship..

there are a lot of free agents out there (LTLF how about a complete list) and the draft coming uip, as well as trade options available for teams to utilize in their quest...

the other 29 teams in the league ultimately have one goal this season and that is to try to build their teams to beat the Lakers...

in the East, teams will be building not only to get thru the Eastern play offs but then to compete and beat the Lakers...

in the West all teams have to beat the Lakers, it's that simple for them...they probably won't even look past that to plan on an opponent in the East...

The Lakers have their priority as well...and that's continue to build a Dynasty....they indeed have many pieces in place...

of course their free agents are their most pressing matter and how they can sign them using the salary cap and possible trades to free up the money they need...

the Lakers also have what I feel are some very tradable assets if they so choose to use them...Morrison and his expiring contract, Sasha, Walton, Sun, Farmar etc...

not that I advbocate trading any othe above, other than Morrison possibly, but we do have some options to try and improve this team...

I have faith in Mitch that he will do just that somehow, as well as re-signing all three free agents...

there is also the distinct possibility that a quality veteran will sign on the cheap just to be a part of this Dynasty...

this will prove to be a very interesting summer to say the least...

AS ALWAYS, AS EVER, YET ANOTHER GREAT DAY (AND CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON) TO BE A LAKER FAN !!!

GO LAKERS !!!

Butler,
are you a spineless jellyfish or just having a hard time coming up with excuses? Step up to the plate little man, we all read your crap this year, it's time to pay the piper..

"They" refers to Lakers management.

There isn't a (potentially) good replacement for Ariza currently on the roster. I see his re-signing the most likely of the three.

How much money they are willing to give Odom will depend on how confident they are that Bynum will have a relatively injury-free future. A healthy Bynum makes Odom a luxury, not a necessity. A decent PF/C backup is needed, though, but can probably be signed for less than what Odom would make. (Not sure about Powell; he looked good in limited time during the regular season, and I thought showed promise for filling that role, but I was disappointed in his play during the playoffs.)

What do they think about the future of Farmar and Vujacic? That will determine how much they are willing to spend to re-sign Brown.

(Note that I don't see much potential in Morrison, Yue, or Mbenga. I think that they are just roster fillers.)

LakerTom,

The day after the draft to the day before training camp is the longest, most boring time of the year.

Summer league gives me a quick fix, but otherwise it's like watching paint dry.

Urgh.

Lakerholicism is a cruel mistress during the offseason.

Ugh.

WE ARE THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND WE RISE!!!

What do we play for? RINGS!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!

I think the Lakers should trade their first round pick. No need to pay guaranteed money for someone who won't play.

puddle,

Thanks for posting the Hollinger article. My Insider subscription had lapsed and I was so pissed at ESPN that I vowed I wouldn’t renew even though it is peanuts per month. Anyway, this was probably the best article I have ever read from Hollinger.

Here was what I thought were a couple of very interesting excerpts, including some information on how much playing in the playoffs helps a team profit-wise.

>>>

And when you combine their championship trophy with all the bumps along the way and look ahead to next season, there's one obvious team to install as a clear favorite: the Lakers...

NOW THE INSIDER STUFF, THANKS TO PUDDLE:

...Although Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza both will be free agents (as will be Brown), the Lakers have the financial wherewithal to keep the team together if they so choose. As ESPN.com NBA writer J.A. Adande noted, the Lakers earned an extra $4 million from each of their 12 home playoff games thanks to the Staples Center revenue machine, which means they can afford to pay the luxury tax for a winner.

[Maybe we should have let the series go to 7 games to make another $8M – about what we will have to pay Lamar. LOL.]

Even if they decide they can't keep both players, they still have the might to go after somebody else -- much as they did when Gasol unexpectedly became available from Memphis and the Lakers were the only team willing to go deep into the tax to add him. For one example, Adam Morrison's $5.25 million expiring contract could be a tasty morsel for a team looking to dump a more onerous contract belonging to a genuine contributor.

[Hollinger is the first analyst to understand that the Lakers are in a great position – We are the Yankees of the NBA right now.]

Plagued by injuries the past two seasons, Andrew Bynum may be ready to break out in 2009-10. Additionally, L.A. is young for a champion. Fisher is the only starter older than 30, while Kobe Bryant will turn 31 in August but has kept himself in outstanding shape. The other key players are all either in their prime (Odom and Luke Walton, 29; Gasol, 28; Vujacic, 25) or still very much on the upswing (Farmar, 22; Bynum, 21).

In fact, Farmar and Bynum are probably the biggest reason the Lakers are the league's scariest team: They still can get a whole lot better. As well as L.A. played in the final two rounds, it arguably was playing even better during the first two months of the season when Bynum was dominating at the defensive end and overpowering smaller centers.

He hurt his knee midseason, however, and was never the same afterward. When I talked to Bynum on Saturday, he still put his health at 80 percent and said it was frustrating that he couldn't do some of the things he used to.

Even in his diminished state, he was helpful simply because of his size. "We thought we'd helped ourselves by getting Andrew Bynum back again to give us some depth at the interior part of our game, shot-blocking, rebounding, sizewise," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of his team entering the playoffs.

But now that the season is over, Bynum can take a step back and focus on fully rehabbing his knee instead of playing in games. And if he comes back as the player he was at the start of this season (or the season before, for that matter), L.A.'s already lofty ceiling moves several floors higher.

[You can see that Hollinger has been doing his homework and reading the blog. LOL.]

Farmar, meanwhile, is just as talented as he was a season ago, and he appeared to turn a corner late in the postseason. He'll have to cure his wayward shooting stroke (33.6 percent on 3s and 58.4 percent from the line during the regular season) and learn how to use his quickness better at the defensive end. But on a team that has lots of money locked up elsewhere, he's still the best hope for a quick upgrade at the point. And as much as he struggled this season, nobody doubts that he has the ability to provide such help.

[An excellent analysis of Farmar, who contrary to blitz’s opinion, is a far better point guard prospect than Shannon Brown, who does not have the skills to play the point as a starter.]

Finally, the Lakers have another big advantage: Nobody seems ready to challenge their status as the elite team in the Western Conference. Although the Nuggets certainly were a strong contender this spring -- "Denver was physical and quick. They're an elite team," Jackson said -- the Nuggets still have to establish that they can compete at that level for an entire season. Plus, they will be facing a lot more financial constraints than L.A.

[Another walk-through for the Lakers to get to the Finals compared to a dog fight between the Magic, Celtics, and Cavs. I like it. I think it will Boston against us next year as Dwight joins LeBron for a fishing expedition. LOL.]

>>>

Tom

Mr. Nano.

>>> Utz, i think he was arrested for starting a riot, damaging public and
>>> private property and for being in possession of a loser team jersey.

Loved the ‘loser team jersey” bit. LMAO. Good jab, Mr. Nano.

Tom