Vlade Divac Waived From The Lakers...

[Tha G In Deee]

Day old news but I didn't know 'til today...

"HONOLULU (AP) – Vlade Divac was placed on waivers by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, apparently ending his long career.

The Lakers had the option of picking up a one-year, $5.4 million contract option or buying Divac out for $2 million. The 7-foot-1, 260-pound center, one of the first Europeans to make a significant impact in the NBA, will be owed the $2 million if he clears waivers, which seems a sure thing.

“If he could play, he would play,'’ Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. “Here it is, the first week of training camp, and he can’t play.'’

The 37-year-old Divac underwent back surgery in January, and played in only 15 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds. He averaged 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 15 previous NBA seasons – seven with the Lakers, two with Charlotte and six with Sacramento.

“We signed him to a two-year deal thinking he would play two years,'’ Kupchak said.

Divac was quoted last month as saying he planned to retire, but wanted to remain with the Lakers as an assistant coach and scout.

“We’ll talk about that down the road,'’ Kupchak said. “Certainly he could be claimed on waivers. I think it’s highly unlikely. The back concerns are the same.

“There’s a feeling he’ll never play again. Anticipating he’ll never play again, I don’t think there’s a doubt he’s the premier European player to play in the NBA.'’

Divac joins centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in league history to get 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.

Divac said several times he wouldn’t play again if he didn’t return to the Lakers, where he began his career in 1989 as the 26th overall pick in the NBA draft. He was born and raised in Yugoslavia, and played in that country’s top league before coming to the NBA. Divac became a U.S. citizen in the summer of 2000.

“We didn’t anticipate Vlade being here. I never heard from him during the offseason,'’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, adding that the decision to place Divac on waivers “was probably a good decision for both parties.'’

The Lakers also announced Thursday the signing of Adam Parada, a 7-foot center who last played in the NBA Developmental League. Parada, out of UC Irvine, averaged 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 13.8 minutes in 23 games for the Huntsville Flight.

Kupchak said Parada wasn’t signed to replace Divac, but to give the Lakers another big man in training camp. Kupchak didn’t rule out the possibility of Parada making the final roster, but that seems unlikely. Parada practiced with the Lakers on Thursday."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ai1mzKTtGjHprkgJg6YlEsKB0bYF?slug=ap-lakers-divac&prov=ap&type=lgns

[7even]

wow, big suprise, I wonder how they gon compensate that horrifying loss

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

There you go chasing Laker Fans in Every thread..get off our nuts you faggot

[7even]

There you go chasing Laker Fans in Every thread..get off our nuts you faggot

Im posting in basketball threads, you fucking moron. It's not my fault that most basketball threads are laker-threads, you fucking moron. I always speak the truth, which is not as much of a blessing as one would think it is.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

wow, big suprise, I wonder how they gon compensate that horrifying loss

LOS ANGELES LAKERS-Waived C Vlade Divac. Signed Center Adam Parada.

UCI Center Adam Prada led Big West Conference in FG%

--- Adam Parada led the Big West Conference in field-goal percentage for all games at 54.5 percent.

--- Adam Parada became UCI's career leader in blocked shots with 111 after three seasons and he is 10th all-time at UCI with 589 career rebounds. Parada ranks 16th in career scoring at UCI with 977 points.

[T-Dub]

Parada went to my high school

[acbaylove]

Oh Jesus!

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Oh Jesus!

 

[acbaylove]

Man i'm a little bit depressed. Our big men are K.Brown (a bust who needs to prove everything), C.Mihm (foul prone, can't play more than 25 mins per game), B.Cook (a SG with the body of a PF), S.Medvedenko (another SG with the body of a PF), C.Blount (c'mon!) and A.Bynum (not ready yet to contribuite, according to our GM Mitch).

Last year we started the season with L.Odom PF, K.Malone (he later retired), V.Divac (perfect fit for the triangle), B.Grant (coming from a good season) plus B.Cook and S.Medvedenko.

Honestly i cant say we've improved. I mean i was disappointed last season with that roster: you can't immagine how i feel now with Brown starting PF and with no bench at all.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Man i'm a little bit depressed. Our big men are K.Brown (a bust who needs to prove everything), C.Mihm (foul prone, can't play more than 25 mins per game), B.Cook (a SG with the body of a PF), S.Medvedenko (another SG with the body of a PF), C.Blount (c'mon!) and A.Bynum (not ready yet to contribuite, according to our GM Mitch).

Last year we started the season with L.Odom PF, K.Malone (he later retired), V.Divac (perfect fit for the triangle), B.Grant (coming from a good season) plus B.Cook and S.Medvedenko.

Honestly i cant say we've improved. I mean i was disappointed last season with that roster: you can't immagine how i feel now with Brown starting PF and with no bench at all.

You're being extremely dumb lately, I don't know why. You been sippin' on grandpas old cough medicine, haven't you? Kwame Brown is a bust, but he was bullied throughout his career in Washington and currently has a HUGE upside to him. Plus, putting him at power forward moves Lamar to his natural position (small forward). Do you realize how good this can work out under Phil's system? A line-up with Kwame at PF and Lamar at SF is wayyyy better than last years Lamar at PF and Caron at SF. If Brown is going to live up to his potential, like he's now expected to under Phil Jackson, then he will be GREAT. Now, Chris Mihm is no Shaq, but at least he's better than Bill Wennington and Luc Longley...Phil said he loved Mihm's potential last year when analyzing the Lakers...He can work even better with another big body in Kwame beside him in the triangle offense runned by PHIL. Mihm is not bad. Slava Medvadenko is said to be working hard on his defense as well. He's been showing a lot of positives in training camp. Brian Cook indeed is a SG in a PF's body, but who's to say that can't work out to his advantage coming off the bench for 10-20 mins? He can burn some of the bigger, slower PF's and he has a pretty nice touch...Phil will fit him in...But you know who I like better than both Cook and Medvadenko? Corey Blount...That's right, I think Blount is much stronger minded and willed than both Slava and Cook. Besides, I liked him in his first run with the Lakers and now he's an even wiser veteran...He can come off the bench to block shots, scoop up some boards, and basically be another STRONG (<key word) body to throw around...Bynum is not ready, but that's why we signed Parada. He should be able to play at an NBA level with his experience, and that's all we really need, because the triangle was never focused on the big men anyways...Aaron McKie, Devean George, Sasha Vuvajic, Luke Walton will be good roll players off the bench...You, my friend, are straight trippin'...PeACe

[Juronimo]

  Good riddance to Vlade. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. I never liked him, ever.

Now_Im_Blowed, I hope you're right about the front line because once you get past Brown and Mihm, our bigs are basically barely at the nba level, that's just the truth. Corie Blunt was a serviceable big man for us back in '98 but how much does he have left in the tank at age 35? Is Brian Cook actually going to grab a rebound instead of just launching 3's? Will Slava not suck horribly at pretty much everything he does?

The one good thing is that having Brown, who is basically at minimum a bigger body underneath is that hopefully Chris Mihm will stay out of foul trouble. I agree that Lamar Odom will be much more productive this year due to the coaching staff actually using his strenghts. That right there is a big improvement over last season. My concern is that Lamar Odom will be forced to shift to PF due to Slava and Cook being so bad and Blount being so old and Bynum not being ready. Remember how LO was in foul troube half the time? We don't need that.

There are too many question marks for me not to have concern over our front line. Hopefully Kwame Brown will break out and be a beast for us this year. We'll see when the season starts.

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

are big men suck,we have no shot blockers,kobe is the best shot blocking guard in the NBA but i rather have a PF/C who's the best shot blocker in the League...Brian cook is good @ taking charges but his 1 on 1 "D" sucks


Let's hope all the hard work A.Bynum is putting in Comes in handy this season    we have to be a solid perimeter defence of team,wich means we have to trap,be aggresive and get a lot of steals..Phil Jax said that in his press conference..

BTW..

Tommorow is the first Lakers Pre-season game

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Sinse this was supposed to be a Vlade thread,,let me say some thing about him..

He was a solid Center,He help Magic and the Lakers get back to the finals after Kareem retired,and after Magic got sick he again helped the Lakers get back to the Playoffs in only one year,he was a big part of those Laker Teams that advance to the 2nd round before shaq got there,and then he was apart of those Kings team that gave the Lakers a hard time and vlade some times got the better of shaq but shaq still fucked him up   

but um yeah,Vlade was a solid player

[acbaylove]

Now_Im_Blowed, I hope you're right about the front line because once you get past Brown and Mihm, our bigs are basically barely at the nba level, that's just the truth. Corie Blunt was a serviceable big man for us back in '98 but how much does he have left in the tank at age 35? Is Brian Cook actually going to grab a rebound instead of just launching 3's? Will Slava not suck horribly at pretty much everything he does?

That's what i'm talking about. C'mon Nik, our bench has Blount, Cook and Medvedenko. You go nowhere with those fools. They aint even European material. Face the truth. The only decent addiction was been Brown, but he's a bust who has to prove everything. And yes, Odom will play the 2nd and 4th quarters at the PF spot, according to Phil Jackson. We need at least another quality big man, that's 100% for sure.

The one good thing is that having Brown, who is basically at minimum a bigger body underneath is that hopefully Chris Mihm will stay out of foul trouble. I agree that Lamar Odom will be much more productive this year due to the coaching staff actually using his strenghts. That right there is a big improvement over last season. My concern is that Lamar Odom will be forced to shift to PF due to Slava and Cook being so bad and Blount being so old and Bynum not being ready. Remember how LO was in foul troube half the time? We don't need that.
There are too many question marks for me not to have concern over our front line. Hopefully Kwame Brown will break out and be a beast for us this year. We'll see when the season starts.

Like he said.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Good riddance to Vlade. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. I never liked him, ever.

Now_Im_Blowed, I hope you're right about the front line because once you get past Brown and Mihm, our bigs are basically barely at the nba level, that's just the truth. Corie Blunt was a serviceable big man for us back in '98 but how much does he have left in the tank at age 35? Is Brian Cook actually going to grab a rebound instead of just launching 3's? Will Slava not suck horribly at pretty much everything he does?

The one good thing is that having Brown, who is basically at minimum a bigger body underneath is that hopefully Chris Mihm will stay out of foul trouble. I agree that Lamar Odom will be much more productive this year due to the coaching staff actually using his strenghts. That right there is a big improvement over last season. My concern is that Lamar Odom will be forced to shift to PF due to Slava and Cook being so bad and Blount being so old and Bynum not being ready. Remember how LO was in foul troube half the time? We don't need that.

There are too many question marks for me not to have concern over our front line. Hopefully Kwame Brown will break out and be a beast for us this year. We'll see when the season starts.

Lamar WILL play power forward. Phil already said he will be using Odom at power forward (in fourth quarters especialy), but his primary assignment is point forward. He might even start at point guard with Luke Walton starting at shooting guard and Kobe starting at small forward...Phil said he likes what he sees, Kareem said he likes what he sees, Pippen said he likes what he sees, Magic said he likes what he sees, Kobe said he likes what he sees, and last of all, I like what I see...Pre-season starts today.