Marc Stein's outlook on the Lakers' future (Kobe, Phil, Odom, Bynum, etc.)

[wcsoldier]

Caron Butler MADE sense, we were jacking up 3s like crazy and hadn't no interior presence.. Kwame didn't live up to the expectations though on the offensive side.. but I won't repeat the same old shit 100 times.. Jrome post summed it up well

[Antonio_]

The guy really doesn't know what he's talking about. Caron Butler was about to become a free agent, and with Kobe and Lamar already under contract, it was almost impossible for us to re-sign him anyway. So we had to trade him. To say that our problem is that we traded Caron is straight ignorant. You can disagree with the fact we traded him for Kwame (i did), but that's it. We had to trade him (like we had to trade Shaq, in that situation), period. Mitch probably thought Lamar was the 2nd star Kobe need to win the title: now we can probably say (i like Lamar and shit, but let's face it) that he's more like a perfect 3rd star for a team, not a co-star good enought to win a title. So what we really should do is to find a co-star. If we can do it without trading Odom fine. If we can't let's trade him. But we don't have to trade Bynum. He's our project, we should keep him: he's still 19, damn. You don't trade a young promising prospect like him unless it's for a co-star (i mean unless you can keep Kobe & Lamar and get another superstar type of player).

[wcsoldier]

^^^^ y'all expected way too much from Bynum.. how many bigs were promising ? a lot, how many bigs succeeded in being dominant ? a very few.. we ain't got time to waste on him.. he has the skills but not the right mentality imo.. anyways if our plan is to wait for him to develop to be in position to win a championship, Kobe will be gone til a long time.. as good as he can be, you have to be insane to choose him over KB24.. I just don't get the point of this whole situation, I'm tired of hearing this rebuilding shit.. we'll have plenty of times thinking about it when Kobe retires in 6-7 years, now it's about DAMN time to be a SERIOUS contender.. if this fuckin organization doesn't understand that, our franchise is in BIG trouble..

[GangstaBoogy]

That reminds me, with everyone weighing in on the "Where are the Lakers going from here?" debate, it has to be mentioned that their overall game plan never, ever, EVER made sense. Why waste two years of Kobe's prime by trying to develop young players like Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown over targeting gamers (dealing Caron Butler never made sense) and using expiring contracts to acquire playoff-proven guys (for instance, they could have had Kidd if they included Bynum in the deal). How could they allow all those contracts (over $10 million worth of expiring deals) to simply expire without taking a flier on someone like Stephen Jackson? And why aren't Lakers fans more furious that their team willingly threw away Kobe's prime like this? I don't get it.

- Bill Simmons

Threw away Kobe's prime? Bill Simmons needs help, Kobe is still 28. And LMAO@"dealing Caron Butler never made sense". I'm sure he really knows what he's talking about there. Lakers were stuck with no low-post presence, we'd be 3 years out of the playoffs had we never dealt for Kwame...

Lol you just refuse to be real if it means saying anything not worshiping the Lakers.

The Lakers GAVE away Butler (a future All-Star who was oozing with potential) for Kwame Brown (arguably the biggest bust ever). We had Mihm, we ended up drafting Bynum/Turiaf, keeping Butler was the smart thing to do.

[Antonio_]

^^^^ y'all expected way too much from Bynum..

Me? Not really, no. Let me explain it, homie. I didn't even know him when we drafted him so high, so i couldn't expect a thing from him. The "problem" is that the Lakers Organization chosed to select with the #10 a 17 years old center we knew wasn't ready for the NBA and who probably had to be sent to the d-league for 2-3 years. We've made a long-term project with him, and we knew when we selected him that he had to be at least 23-24 years old (so 4-5 more years from now) to start to play like he could. So to trade him now that he's 19 years old is just stupid. I'm not saying he's a superstar or that i'm sure he'll be an all-star player, but we have a project on him, we're spending big time, we spent a #10 draft pick on him, and we're having Kareem coaching him. He's in the perfect situation. All he need is time to develope into a good player. I think we could keep him, man. For the reason the Organization saw in him great potential and they potentially saw an all-star center. The only way i could see us trading him is to get a superstar in return. Somebody ready now, but already an all-star material. Example: KG, JO, Kidd. But without adding Odom in the mix. If we trade Bynum and a bunch of other guys (ex. Brown+Mihm+others..) for one of those superstars i'll accept it. But if we trade Odom AND Bynum to get one of those then no, i'm not down no more. That's how i feel about it. We should trade him only if we could get a co-star in return to play with Kobe AND Lamar. So that we can really try to win the title.

[Halu Sination]

That reminds me, with everyone weighing in on the "Where are the Lakers going from here?" debate, it has to be mentioned that their overall game plan never, ever, EVER made sense. Why waste two years of Kobe's prime by trying to develop young players like Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown over targeting gamers (dealing Caron Butler never made sense) and using expiring contracts to acquire playoff-proven guys (for instance, they could have had Kidd if they included Bynum in the deal). How could they allow all those contracts (over $10 million worth of expiring deals) to simply expire without taking a flier on someone like Stephen Jackson? And why aren't Lakers fans more furious that their team willingly threw away Kobe's prime like this? I don't get it.

- Bill Simmons

Threw away Kobe's prime? Bill Simmons needs help, Kobe is still 28. And LMAO@"dealing Caron Butler never made sense". I'm sure he really knows what he's talking about there. Lakers were stuck with no low-post presence, we'd be 3 years out of the playoffs had we never dealt for Kwame...

Lol you just refuse to be real if it means saying anything not worshiping the Lakers.

The Lakers GAVE away Butler (a future All-Star who was oozing with potential) for Kwame Brown (arguably the biggest bust ever). We had Mihm, we ended up drafting Bynum/Turiaf, keeping Butler was the smart thing to do.

we were fuckin stacked at the small forward position. butler was expendable, his style of offense wouldnt even have matched the triangle anways

i think we should've traded caron for MORE than wut we actually got, but at least kwame provides interior defense that bynum severely lacks. mihm is injured and wont even get re-signed this season, so i wont even talk about him.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

The guy really doesn't know what he's talking about. Caron Butler was about to become a free agent, and with Kobe and Lamar already under contract, it was almost impossible for us to re-sign him anyway. So we had to trade him. To say that our problem is that we traded Caron is straight ignorant. You can disagree with the fact we traded him for Kwame (i did), but that's it. We had to trade him (like we had to trade Shaq, in that situation), period. Mitch probably thought Lamar was the 2nd star Kobe need to win the title: now we can probably say (i like Lamar and shit, but let's face it) that he's more like a perfect 3rd star for a team, not a co-star good enought to win a title. So what we really should do is to find a co-star. If we can do it without trading Odom fine. If we can't let's trade him. But we don't have to trade Bynum. He's our project, we should keep him: he's still 19, damn. You don't trade a young promising prospect like him unless it's for a co-star (i mean unless you can keep Kobe & Lamar and get another superstar type of player).

 
We don't need a better co-star, we need an improved SUPPORTING CAST.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^^^ y'all expected way too much from Bynum.. how many bigs were promising ? a lot, how many bigs succeeded in being dominant ? a very few.. we ain't got time to waste on him.. he has the skills but not the right mentality imo.. anyways if our plan is to wait for him to develop to be in position to win a championship, Kobe will be gone til a long time.. as good as he can be, you have to be insane to choose him over KB24.. I just don't get the point of this whole situation, I'm tired of hearing this rebuilding shit.. we'll have plenty of times thinking about it when Kobe retires in 6-7 years, now it's about DAMN time to be a SERIOUS contender.. if this fuckin organization doesn't understand that, our franchise is in BIG trouble..

I don't think we expect too much out of Bynum...He has amazing hands, a soft touch, great footwork, length, agility, even a nice shot...He has all the tools to being a dominant center in 2-3 years, which is NOT when Kobe's retiring. In fact, that's when Kobe will really hit his prime...So calm down and have patience. Especially when The Captain tells us so...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

That reminds me, with everyone weighing in on the "Where are the Lakers going from here?" debate, it has to be mentioned that their overall game plan never, ever, EVER made sense. Why waste two years of Kobe's prime by trying to develop young players like Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown over targeting gamers (dealing Caron Butler never made sense) and using expiring contracts to acquire playoff-proven guys (for instance, they could have had Kidd if they included Bynum in the deal). How could they allow all those contracts (over $10 million worth of expiring deals) to simply expire without taking a flier on someone like Stephen Jackson? And why aren't Lakers fans more furious that their team willingly threw away Kobe's prime like this? I don't get it.

- Bill Simmons

Threw away Kobe's prime? Bill Simmons needs help, Kobe is still 28. And LMAO@"dealing Caron Butler never made sense". I'm sure he really knows what he's talking about there. Lakers were stuck with no low-post presence, we'd be 3 years out of the playoffs had we never dealt for Kwame...

Lol you just refuse to be real if it means saying anything not worshiping the Lakers.

The Lakers GAVE away Butler (a future All-Star who was oozing with potential) for Kwame Brown (arguably the biggest bust ever). We had Mihm, we ended up drafting Bynum/Turiaf, keeping Butler was the smart thing to do.

YEA! Keeping Butler (who was about to sign with another team) woulda REALLY been the smart thing to do! You know, huh? LOL. Caron Butler did NOTHING for us. He's a perimeter player to begin with and doesn't fill ANY of our needs. Lamar Odom would be an all-star in the east too, what's your point? Kwame is what got us into the playoffs these past 2 years. He's been our starting center and was our main reason for any success we had in that great stretch at the end of 2006. Without Kwame, we'd still be tryna figure how to get back into the playoffs...If our low post offense/defense is bad now, think about where the fuck we'd be without Kwame...So next time you post, please try to think it out beforehand...PeACe

[wcsoldier]

^^^^ y'all expected way too much from Bynum.. how many bigs were promising ? a lot, how many bigs succeeded in being dominant ? a very few.. we ain't got time to waste on him.. he has the skills but not the right mentality imo.. anyways if our plan is to wait for him to develop to be in position to win a championship, Kobe will be gone til a long time.. as good as he can be, you have to be insane to choose him over KB24.. I just don't get the point of this whole situation, I'm tired of hearing this rebuilding shit.. we'll have plenty of times thinking about it when Kobe retires in 6-7 years, now it's about DAMN time to be a SERIOUS contender.. if this fuckin organization doesn't understand that, our franchise is in BIG trouble..

I don't think we expect too much out of Bynum...He has amazing hands, a soft touch, great footwork, length, agility, even a nice shot...He has all the tools to being a dominant center in 2-3 years, which is NOT when Kobe's retiring. In fact, that's when Kobe will really hit his prime...So calm down and have patience. Especially when The Captain tells us so...

Do you really think Kobe is gonna waiting 2 or 3 more years ? I don't think so... Will you be able to stand 2 or 3 years of mediocrity too ? I'm a huge fan, I know you're a huge fan too,  I personally can't stand that shit anymore...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^^^ y'all expected way too much from Bynum.. how many bigs were promising ? a lot, how many bigs succeeded in being dominant ? a very few.. we ain't got time to waste on him.. he has the skills but not the right mentality imo.. anyways if our plan is to wait for him to develop to be in position to win a championship, Kobe will be gone til a long time.. as good as he can be, you have to be insane to choose him over KB24.. I just don't get the point of this whole situation, I'm tired of hearing this rebuilding shit.. we'll have plenty of times thinking about it when Kobe retires in 6-7 years, now it's about DAMN time to be a SERIOUS contender.. if this fuckin organization doesn't understand that, our franchise is in BIG trouble..

I don't think we expect too much out of Bynum...He has amazing hands, a soft touch, great footwork, length, agility, even a nice shot...He has all the tools to being a dominant center in 2-3 years, which is NOT when Kobe's retiring. In fact, that's when Kobe will really hit his prime...So calm down and have patience. Especially when The Captain tells us so...

Do you really think Kobe is gonna waiting 2 or 3 more years ? I don't think so... Will you be able to stand 2 or 3 years of mediocrity too ? I'm a huge fan, I know you're a huge fan too,  I personally can't stand that shit anymore...

Nobody said we have to be mediocre in the meantime...It takes growth as a team to reach a certain point, especially mentally. If we can play like we did to start the season for 82+, we're easily contenders in todays league. Now, add a reliable point guard to the mix with the MLE, maybe another vet with the Vet Min. and there's no question that we're no longer "mediocre"...Plus, Jordan Farmar a year removed from his rookie season, Bynum with another year under his belt, a healed Luke, Odom, Vlad, Kwame, (maybe even Mihm), etc...AND YOU GOT YOURSELF A TEAM!

[GangstaBoogy]

That reminds me, with everyone weighing in on the "Where are the Lakers going from here?" debate, it has to be mentioned that their overall game plan never, ever, EVER made sense. Why waste two years of Kobe's prime by trying to develop young players like Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown over targeting gamers (dealing Caron Butler never made sense) and using expiring contracts to acquire playoff-proven guys (for instance, they could have had Kidd if they included Bynum in the deal). How could they allow all those contracts (over $10 million worth of expiring deals) to simply expire without taking a flier on someone like Stephen Jackson? And why aren't Lakers fans more furious that their team willingly threw away Kobe's prime like this? I don't get it.

- Bill Simmons

Threw away Kobe's prime? Bill Simmons needs help, Kobe is still 28. And LMAO@"dealing Caron Butler never made sense". I'm sure he really knows what he's talking about there. Lakers were stuck with no low-post presence, we'd be 3 years out of the playoffs had we never dealt for Kwame...

Lol you just refuse to be real if it means saying anything not worshiping the Lakers.

The Lakers GAVE away Butler (a future All-Star who was oozing with potential) for Kwame Brown (arguably the biggest bust ever). We had Mihm, we ended up drafting Bynum/Turiaf, keeping Butler was the smart thing to do.

YEA! Keeping Butler (who was about to sign with another team) woulda REALLY been the smart thing to do! You know, huh? LOL. Caron Butler did NOTHING for us. He's a perimeter player to begin with and doesn't fill ANY of our needs. Lamar Odom would be an all-star in the east too, what's your point? Kwame is what got us into the playoffs these past 2 years. He's been our starting center and was our main reason for any success we had in that great stretch at the end of 2006. Without Kwame, we'd still be tryna figure how to get back into the playoffs...If our low post offense/defense is bad now, think about where the fuck we'd be without Kwame...So next time you post, please try to think it out beforehand...PeACe

He did fill our needs, he could score without Kobe spoonfeeding him. If Kwame is the reason for our "success" I guess that explains why the Lakers don't know what the 2nd round feels like.

And LMAO @ Odom being an All-Star in the East. I don't recall him making the 04 All-Star team while in Miami.

[Antonio_]

What the fuck is up with Caron Butler now? Shit, he's a good scorer, but do i have to remember y'all our final record the year he played in L.A.?

[Halu Sination]

anyone see abc on the west coast rite now? norm nixon, rub fukuzaki, curt sandoval, and even stephen a. smith all agree with this topic. have kobe convince KG to get kevin mchale to agree to a trade, keep odom, and deal bynum (and if we must, kwame).

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

That reminds me, with everyone weighing in on the "Where are the Lakers going from here?" debate, it has to be mentioned that their overall game plan never, ever, EVER made sense. Why waste two years of Kobe's prime by trying to develop young players like Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown over targeting gamers (dealing Caron Butler never made sense) and using expiring contracts to acquire playoff-proven guys (for instance, they could have had Kidd if they included Bynum in the deal). How could they allow all those contracts (over $10 million worth of expiring deals) to simply expire without taking a flier on someone like Stephen Jackson? And why aren't Lakers fans more furious that their team willingly threw away Kobe's prime like this? I don't get it.

- Bill Simmons

Threw away Kobe's prime? Bill Simmons needs help, Kobe is still 28. And LMAO@"dealing Caron Butler never made sense". I'm sure he really knows what he's talking about there. Lakers were stuck with no low-post presence, we'd be 3 years out of the playoffs had we never dealt for Kwame...

Lol you just refuse to be real if it means saying anything not worshiping the Lakers.

The Lakers GAVE away Butler (a future All-Star who was oozing with potential) for Kwame Brown (arguably the biggest bust ever). We had Mihm, we ended up drafting Bynum/Turiaf, keeping Butler was the smart thing to do.

YEA! Keeping Butler (who was about to sign with another team) woulda REALLY been the smart thing to do! You know, huh? LOL. Caron Butler did NOTHING for us. He's a perimeter player to begin with and doesn't fill ANY of our needs. Lamar Odom would be an all-star in the east too, what's your point? Kwame is what got us into the playoffs these past 2 years. He's been our starting center and was our main reason for any success we had in that great stretch at the end of 2006. Without Kwame, we'd still be tryna figure how to get back into the playoffs...If our low post offense/defense is bad now, think about where the fuck we'd be without Kwame...So next time you post, please try to think it out beforehand...PeACe

He did fill our needs, he could score without Kobe spoonfeeding him. If Kwame is the reason for our "success" I guess that explains why the Lakers don't know what the 2nd round feels like.

And LMAO @ Odom being an All-Star in the East. I don't recall him making the 04 All-Star team while in Miami.

That's cuz he was robbed by Jamal Magloire that year...Odom is an all-star in the east, I don't know where your argument is. He's easily a better overall player than Butler...Butler is a great scorer, but again, our need for a reliable low post threat and a true point guard was much greater. If you knew anyhting about the Lakers, you woulda known this. Everyone was saying how the Butler trade was an excellent move on Mitch's behalf last season, before Kwame played this whole season with a battered body. No trade for Kwame means no playoffs these past two season. I guarantee it. That means we'd currenly be two steps behind where we are now!...PeACe