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Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Lakers' unknown quantity; Radman.
By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register
ANAHEIM - Whether shopping for a sweater, car or free- agent basketball player, you're seeking for value for your dollar.
It is just hard to know exactly what you're getting. And that is where the Lakers are with their summer investment in Vladimir Radmanovic.
With Radmanovic having come to the Lakers right from the crosstown Clippers, there should be some buyer confidence. That's the thing with him, though; you can just as easily say this guy is coming from Serbia.
There are many opinions on Radmanovic, and they start with his jump from Europe to the NBA in 2001. That's when many scouts projected Radmanovic as a better candidate for stardom than Dirk Nowitzki, no matter that Nowitzki's blond bombing already had him on the road there.
Is Radmanovic, 25, on the cusp of meeting all those expectations? In addition to the 6-foot-10 size, there were predraft promises of surprising ball-handling and athleticism, innate passing instincts, great hands on defense, plus the Nowitzki-like three-point reliability.
Five years later, only the last flower has blossomed. Radmanovic had Rudy Tomjanovich spinning in place with eight three-pointers in a Staples Center showcase two years ago that beat the Lakers - the same season Radmanovic was invited to the three-point shooting contest at All-Star weekend. With the Clippers in the playoffs last season, Radmanovic hit 46.3 percent of his three-pointers.
The stroke is flawless. Just ask Kwame Brown, who swears Radmanovic made 200 shots in a row the other day.
If there is a textbook for shooting a basketball, Radmanovic has studied well: right elbow locked at a 90-degree angle; the release high, but not too high at the forehead level; perfect base for good elevation from the legs, yet nothing that is overexertion so as to fluctuate from shot to shot.
But for a five-year, $31million investment, the Lakers obviously see more in Radmanovic than a bigger Mike Penberthy. And that's where the dichotomy picks up again.
Is he the guy who sulked in Seattle whenever he wasn't starting? The guy so dollar- conscious that those around the SuperSonics say his mental focus slipped badly because of money? Radmanovic turned down a six-year, $42million contract offer in a gamble for a one-year, $3.1million tender in hopes of cashing in even bigger in unrestricted free agency.
Then there are the stories of Radmanovic's difficulty fitting in for his national team. Getting kicked off the team in 2002 for eating a banana in the corner during a coach's halftime speech? More trouble in 2005, when he supposedly mailed it in because he didn't like his role on the team?
But didn't Radmanovic take less money to join the Lakers compared with what he could have had with the Clippers? And didn't he show his drive to improve by playing for Seattle's summer-league team even after having two productive NBA seasons already on his resume? And isn't choosing to play with NBA scoring king Kobe Bryant an indication Radmanovic isn't abnormally self-absorbed?
By signing Radmanovic, the Lakers basically committed to a plan of Bryant, Lamar Odom, Brown and Radmanovic being their future - popping the bubbly dream of signing a superstar free agent down the road to go with Bryant and Odom.
Bryant did his work as a personnel consultant when the Lakers first were considering Radmanovic. Bryant's conclusion falls on the side of those scouts in 2001: "He has something inside of him that hasn't been tapped yet."
"Everybody that I've talked to that plays against him and plays against him in the summertime, they tell me that he has more to his game than he was able to showcase in Seattle," Bryant said. "So he's much more than a pure, flat- out shooter. He can put the ball on the floor, he can post, he can do more things. And as a player, you want to be able to showcase the myriad of skills, just 'cause it's fun."
Knowing firsthand how much fun, Bryant used that as his pitch in the conversation with Radmanovic that helped sway him to the Lakers.
So far in training camp, so good. Radmanovic has surprised acting coach Kurt Rambis with defensive tenacity and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak with ball-handling proficiency.
Kupchak would love to have gotten a brilliant buy in Radmanovic after going for brand-name recognition and established mileage in Vlade Divac and Aaron McKie in the recent free-agent markets and basically getting ripped off.
Consider Kupchak a wary investor who thought it worth $31million to get the sure thing that is Radmanovic's shot - and then wish for more.
"We're not looking for a player who is going to turn into one of the top three or four players in the NBA, although we'd be very happy if that happened," Kupchak said. "We have a team that needed certain components. With guys like Lamar and Kobe, you need guys they can deliver to who will make shots. We know he's a guy who can make shots."
LAKERS_FAN89:
Lakers vs. Phoenix
6:30 pm (TV: KCAL)
Thomas and Mack Center at UNLV
LAKERS_FAN89:
Doggystylin:
beauitiful^^
LAKERS_FAN89:
THX U^^^
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