The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[GangstaBoogy]

Mitch Kupchak reaches out to Chris Webber and PJ Brown

The Lakers have 14 players under contract and can add one more if they wish. They have reached out to free agent Chris Webber and might contact P.J. Brown, each of whom are forward-center types who have not played this season.

"We're going to look at replacement players and if there is a way to get another big player that can help us win games," Kupchak said. "Can you replace Andrew? Of course not. The list is short on the kind of players that if you picked them up, they would play and help you win, but we'll look at it."

I'd love it if we could get PJ Brown. But I recall him saying he was retired at the start of the season. He'd be a great pick-up and he'd be great to have for when Drew gets back.



Radmanovic and Sasha coming back?

Vladimir Radmanovic likely will be back from his ankle sprain Thursday against Phoenix, and Sasha Vujacic could join him as his sore back has improved.

Thank God. The 2nd unit needs them back.

[wcsoldier]

PJ Brown would be GREAT ... bring D , can hit the 15 jumpers, fit perfectly the triangle ... no Webber please , dude cannot D

[7even]

Just when I've started to find Kobe a good player, he gets back to his old pathetic ways...

[Hatesrats™]

Name another Player that can take it there whenever he wants to?
And this includes Michael Jordan.

Kobe is on another plane when it comes to scoring.

[7even]

Name another Player that can take it there whenever he wants to?
And this includes Michael Jordan.

Kobe is on another plane when it comes to scoring.

Obviously my comments were not to be taken literally. It's just very obvious that the Lakers are a much better team with Kobe going for 15 attempts and Bynum dominating, with a productive bench contributing. Kobe impressing niggas with his offensive abilities will not cut in for the Lakers in the long run. Fact. Let's see how they adapt to Bynum's absence.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Name another Player that can take it there whenever he wants to?
And this includes Michael Jordan.

Kobe is on another plane when it comes to scoring.

Obviously my comments were not to be taken literally. It's just very obvious that the Lakers are a much better team with Kobe going for 15 attempts and Bynum dominating, with a productive bench contributing. Kobe impressing niggas with his offensive abilities will not cut in for the Lakers in the long run. Fact. Let's see how they adapt to Bynum's absence.

Of course a balanced offense is gunna be much more effective than an unbalanced one. It's called common sense.

[7even]

Name another Player that can take it there whenever he wants to?
And this includes Michael Jordan.

Kobe is on another plane when it comes to scoring.

Obviously my comments were not to be taken literally. It's just very obvious that the Lakers are a much better team with Kobe going for 15 attempts and Bynum dominating, with a productive bench contributing. Kobe impressing niggas with his offensive abilities will not cut in for the Lakers in the long run. Fact. Let's see how they adapt to Bynum's absence.

Of course a balanced offense is gunna be much more effective than an unbalanced one. It's called common sense.

Thank you. That is also why it's common sense that Kobe is a faggot if he keeps scoring 50 points per game.

[GangstaBoogy]

Just when I've started to find Kobe a good player, he gets back to his old pathetic ways...

Lmao wow

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Name another Player that can take it there whenever he wants to?
And this includes Michael Jordan.

Kobe is on another plane when it comes to scoring.

Obviously my comments were not to be taken literally. It's just very obvious that the Lakers are a much better team with Kobe going for 15 attempts and Bynum dominating, with a productive bench contributing. Kobe impressing niggas with his offensive abilities will not cut in for the Lakers in the long run. Fact. Let's see how they adapt to Bynum's absence.

Of course a balanced offense is gunna be much more effective than an unbalanced one. It's called common sense.

Thank you. That is also why it's common sense that Kobe is a faggot if he keeps scoring 50 points per game.

You're the dumbest dude alive if you're not joking. When there is no balance in the Laker offense, Kobe takes over. Watch the games, homie.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Without Bynum, Lakers could see flashback of dark days

For the next two months, life in Lakerland is going to look awfully similar to how it has been over the past few years. There will be brilliant nights from Kobe Bryant. There will be nights where he's criticized for trying to do too much. There will be thrilling wins. There will be unexplainable losses.
 
As strange as it sounds, the absence of 20-year-old Andrew Bynum, the center Bryant so badly wanted to discard at this time last year, affects L.A. that much. Deemed out roughly eight weeks with a dislocated left kneecap and bone bruise, Bynum will be forced to sit and watch as his Lakers struggle without his imposing presence inside.

Already, the Lakers have had to suffer through the final possession of victories over Memphis and Seattle, two of the less difficult teams in the Western Conference. Opponents have had free reign in the middle thus far, with L.A.'s remaining big men unable to provide any resistance at the basket. In recent losses, Pau Gasol and Nick Collison looked like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

"The process of us monitoring the season for eight weeks without him," said coach Phil Jackson, "as big an influence as he's been, is going to be difficult."

There's an understatement. Jackson can always be counted on to correctly assess situations and use the right vocabulary to capture the essence of what's happening with his team. In this instance, the term monitoring is a good one. Massaging, managing and manipulating would also work.

Bryant needed 44 shots to score a season-high 48 points in order to help L.A. survive in Seattle against a team that managed 121 points despite failing to reach 100 since Dec. 29. The Lakers were lucky that Jeff Green and Kevin Durant are still too raw to correctly take advantage of opponents, because if those two weren't rookies, that game goes down as a loss.

Green was abused defensively, unable to limit Bryant the way he might be able to a few years from now given his length and athleticism. Durant was game in trying to match Bryant's heroics, but still lacks the know-how late in games that only experience can teach to realistically compete in that type of showdown.

In fairness to Bryant, he goes down as a hero for helping the Lakers survive, but had he scored 46 instead of 48 on those 44 shots, the media ultimately jumps all over him for not involving teammates more. All of a sudden, Jackson might be talking to him about being too "thirsty."

The soap opera is ready to start back up after a few weeks of tranquility. We don't need Hollywood's writers to come off their strike. This script writes itself. Bynum's legend and Bryant's scoring average will grow as the Lakers struggle to survive with Kwame Brown and Ronny Turiaf trying to cover the middle. Meanwhile, the team's record will suffer.

Hopefully, Bynum can pick up where he left off, because there are no guarantees that two months of inactivity won't curb his momentum and result in another season sacrificed to a first-round exit. Lakers fans need to enjoy being considered one of the elite teams in the league while they still can, because that might be coming to an end.

[Hatesrats™]

I'm Warming up to a Possibility of having C.Webb, fuck it how can it hurt.
If anything it will be just like having a smaller Kwame but with handles and Passing Ability and
a spot-up 20Ft Jumper, wait a minute, Yo Mitch Call up Webber Bro!!

I wonder what Type of condition dude is in?

[wcsoldier]

 Webber does not D but will be a great fit on the offensive end ... I do not care what people think, without this unlucky injury, I did not see any team stoppin us this year  .. now it is going to be a pain to watch Kwame missing dunks and lay ups .. at least I hope he will be back in shape to be efficient on the defensive end .. things will not be easy but this team is better than last year so I stay confident ..  if we can go 16-11 or 15-12 without Drew we will be all right ... we can save a 5th spot until March without a doubt imo

[7even]

Name another Player that can take it there whenever he wants to?
And this includes Michael Jordan.

Kobe is on another plane when it comes to scoring.

Obviously my comments were not to be taken literally. It's just very obvious that the Lakers are a much better team with Kobe going for 15 attempts and Bynum dominating, with a productive bench contributing. Kobe impressing niggas with his offensive abilities will not cut in for the Lakers in the long run. Fact. Let's see how they adapt to Bynum's absence.

Of course a balanced offense is gunna be much more effective than an unbalanced one. It's called common sense.

Thank you. That is also why it's common sense that Kobe is a faggot if he keeps scoring 50 points per game.

You're the dumbest dude alive if you're not joking. When there is no balance in the Laker offense, Kobe takes over. Watch the games, homie.

Me being the dumbest dude alive? You must be the dumbest dude alive, if you're not joking. I might have reached a little with my statement, but you're reaching for the stars with that statement, buddy.

Webber will become a problem when Bynum comes back. Dude will not willingly warm the bench for the minimum, that's for fucking sure.

[GangstaBoogy]

Webber's New Home? The Los Angeles Lakers were rocked by the knee injury to Andrew Bynum. While eight weeks sounds like a long time, the franchise is just happy the damage was not nearly as serious as it could have been.

The timeline for Bynum's recovery is padded to make sure Bynum is completely sound before returning. Don't be surprised if he's not itching to get back on the court in five weeks or so.

In Bynum's absence the Lakers appear close to signing free agent Chris Webber.

Word is that the Lakers have reached out and a source close to the situation says that Webber has responded positively. While he still is going through the motions of courtship, there's a good chance he ends up a Laker in the coming week.

Webber had a long list of teams that he was supposedly in negotiation with but the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic have both publicly made indications that he's not a consideration.  Apparently Webber would rather play for a contender in LA than a team like the Miami HEAT who are no longer an attractive option considering their record.

With word breaking that Vladimir Radmanovic may be out a couple more weeks (ankle), the Lakers certainly need the help.  Webber can play either power forward or center.  LA only has 14 on the roster so waiving a player is not an issue.

While the Lakers are still awaiting Webber's decision - it looks like it's just a matter of time before he joins the squad.

The Lakers have also contacted PJ Brown - who fits the defensive mindset the team has forged this season - but he's still holding out to see what the Chicago Bulls do at the deadline.  Brown could end up prospering from a sign-and-trade for a lot more should the Bulls actually trigger something big.  Whether they do or don't is immaterial - it's in Brown's best interest to wait before accepting the league minimum the Lakers have to offer.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=6937


Aye NIK what is PJ Brown's situation? If dude is under contract how is he just sitting at home?

[Halu Sination]

webber might be a good fit for us offensively, but i think all-in-all, PJ brown mite be better for our team. i think c-webb should go to pistons and pj brown should come to LA