The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[GangstaBoogy]

^ did anyone else hear Smush Parker replaced Odom becaue he got injured?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^ did anyone else hear Smush Parker replaced Odom becaue he got injured?

Naah, it's not a new injury, he was resting his knee. But damn, Coop looked old out there...

[GangstaBoogy]

Ahh good, Odom getting re-injured would've really put a damper on the new lineup...



  don't tell noooobody!

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Latest on Jason Kidd to L.A.
Rick Bucher was just on ESPN radio before the game and said 2 things about us.

a) We had a deal in place to acquire Mike Bibby and the Maloof's pulled it at the last second because they couldn't bring themselves to help us.
b) We are trying hard to get Kidd and it is very likely that he will be in a Laker uniform come next week. Didn't give any terms.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Acquiring Kidd >>> Acquiring Bibby.

[LAKERS_FAN89]

GO LAKERS

[Vegasmac25]

Bibby>>>Kidd >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Smush.

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Vlad is out for 8 weeks with a fucked up shoulder 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Vlad is out for 8 weeks with a fucked up shoulder 

Another fucking injury to add to the list...Just what we needed.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Bibby>>>Kidd >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Smush.

Bibby wouldn't fit in the triangle alongside Kobe NEARLY as well as Kidd.

[GangstaBoogy]

Vlad is out for 8 weeks with a fucked up shoulder 

wow this shiet is un-real. these guys just can't stay healthy at the same time. now i know how jeff van gundy feels 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Radmanovic injured, out eight weeks

Lakers lose another big man after forward falls on a patch of ice in Utah and separates his right shoulder.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
7:25 PM PST, February 19, 2007

The Lakers can't even stay healthy during the All-Star break.

Forward Vladimir Radmanovic is out eight weeks after falling on a patch of ice Saturday in Park City, Utah, and sustaining a separated right shoulder.

Radmanovic told the Lakers he was walking when he slipped. Some pro sports contracts ban players from taking part in activities involving significant risk of injury, such as skiing and snowboarding. It is not known if Radmanovic's contract contained such language.

An MRI exam and CT scan conducted Monday in Los Angeles confirmed the injury as a separated shoulder.

"It's the latest incident in a season-long series of injuries," Lakers spokesman John Black said. "Guys are going to have to step up and fill the void."

Radmanovic, 26, has been a disappointment in the first season of a five-year, $30.2-million contract. He was slowed by a hand injury early in the season and is averaging only 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds a game.

His tendency to freelance in the triangle offense led Coach Phil Jackson to refer to him as a "space cadet" in December. More recently, Jackson criticized Radmanovic's penchant for shooting unnecessarily because "it just might feel good."

Radmanovic's absence will mean more playing time for Brian Cook, and it could cause the Lakers to take a harder look at 41-year-old Scottie Pippen, who said he would like to come out of a three-year retirement. Kobe Bryant has endorsed Pippen for consideration by the Lakers, although the former Chicago Bulls forward said he would prefer to play for Miami.

Cook is averaging 6.9 points and three rebounds a game. He has had an up-and-down season after signing a three-year, $10.5-million contract extension, finding points and playing time only in spurts.

He was admonished by Jackson two weeks ago for dropping his warm-ups in the lap of the Lakers' coach while checking into a game. Cook was immediately pulled from the game and was seething for several minutes at the end of the bench. He apologized to Jackson afterward and said it was an accident.

Forward Luke Walton is still sidelined by a sprained ankle and is not expected to play Wednesday against Portland. Center Kwame Brown, also sidelined by a sprained ankle, is out another two to four weeks.

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Nets May Be Moving Closer to a Deal Involving Kidd

By JOHN ELIGON and LIZ ROBBINS
Published: February 20, 2007
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Feb. 19 — The Nets are more serious than ever about trading their star point guard, Jason Kidd, by Thursday’s trading deadline, several Eastern Conference officials said Monday.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the front-runners, but their offer of young players, expiring contracts and a draft pick is probably not enough to get a deal done.

But according to three officials in the Eastern Conference who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no deal had been completed, the Nets have been trying to involve at least one other team in the deal.

Multiteam deals are difficult to make at the trading deadline and usually happen around the draft or before the season starts.

The Nets may also be hoping that other teams interested in Kidd will counter the Lakers’ offer with a better one.

Possible offers from the Lakers could include centers Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown as well as point guard Jordan Farmar. The Lakers have been unwilling to trade forward Lamar Odom, their No. 2 player behind the All-Star Kobe Bryant, or Andrew Bynum, their young center.

Ultimately, the Nets’ decision comes down to this: If they take that first big step toward rebuilding by trading Kidd, can they stay competitive after the breakup of a team that once had lofty expectations?

Trading Kidd, who is to make $40 million over the next two seasons, would probably lead to the end of Vince Carter’s time with the Nets as well. Carter, who is owed more than $16.3 million next season, can opt out of the final year of his contract at the end of the season. There is already a widespread belief that he will do that, regardless of what happens with Kidd.

Rod Thorn, the Nets’ president, said that before the season, Carter told him he would like to be a free agent. Trading Carter by Thursday could be difficult because most teams interested in Carter would also want assurances that he would re-sign. If the Nets do not trade Carter and he does opt out at the end of the season, the Nets could still use a sign-and-trade to get a player in return.

On Monday, Carter repeated that he had not been thinking about his contract this season. He said he hoped to talk with Thorn but was uncertain when that would happen.

“I wish I had something to tell you, but I don’t,” Carter said. “Honestly, I don’t. I don’t want to come out and say something that I haven’t thought about.”

Many executives throughout the league predicted that Kidd seemed the more likely to be traded of the two. But two Eastern Conference executives said they did not expect the Nets, who are not out of the running for a playoff spot, to trade either player.

Kidd and Carter returned to practice Monday night from their All-Star weekend activities , each saying that he was unaffected by the trade talk and that he was eager for Thursday’s deadline to pass.

“I’m an employee until they tell me otherwise,” Kidd said. “That’s the way this business works. Things change fast, and you just got to go with it.

“Come Thursday, it can’t come soon enough, all that stuff dies down and we try to make it to the playoffs.”

Kidd played basketball Monday for the first time in eight days because of a strained lower back that kept him out of the Nets’ final two games before the All-Star Game break.

During that time, the Nets (25-29) had a peek at what life would be like without him, and it was not pretty. They lost handily to the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors, who are four and a half games ahead of the Nets in first place in the Atlantic Division.

Although Kidd is having one of his best seasons in years, the Nets may have a reason to move him.

According to one Eastern Conference official, the Nets’ owner, Bruce C. Ratner, was concerned about the negative publicity surrounding Kidd’s contentious divorce from his wife, Joumana. But Ratner is said to be close to Kidd. He also has an affinity to Carter, who helped rescue the Nets two seasons ago in the wake of the franchise’s letting go of Kenyon Martin.

With the Nets expected to move to Brooklyn by as early as the 2009-10 season, this could be the time for them to start rebuilding. Even without Kidd and Carter, they have a solid young core in small forward Richard Jefferson, center Nenad Krstic and the rookie point guard Marcus Williams. Those three may be able to bridge the gap and keep the Nets competitive until the move.

[wcsoldier]

Vlad , you better kidding me... looks like B-Ball ain't his priority 

[Vegasmac25]

man fucking Vlad has been a big disapointment for the Lakers.Doesnt he look like Rambo?