The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Fuck that...we need rebounding (Odom) way more than we need scoring (Jefferson). I have a feeling we're gunna see approximately the same roster come training camp.

[wcsoldier]

The only thing we need is SF who can both D and shoot the open 3 ... I want Shane Battier on a Lakers uniform

[wcsoldier]

Fuck that...we need rebounding (Odom) way more than we need scoring (Jefferson). I have a feeling we're gunna see approximately the same roster come training camp.

It's not about scoring , it's about floor spacing ... Lamar isn't a shooter .. we have already try Odom experience at the 3 and it has been horrible ..

[7even]

Well, if this goes down all I can say is this: Sad for Lamar to be considered a contract instead of a player during his prime. LMAO. Nets only want him because he has a big expiring contract, they won't resign him, they are all about creating cap room to sign LeBron



Oh, and wcsoldier, you're the homie and all, but you badly need to update your sig. 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

The only thing we need is SF who can both D and shoot the open 3 ... I want Shane Battier on a Lakers uniform

ARIZA!

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Fuck that...we need rebounding (Odom) way more than we need scoring (Jefferson). I have a feeling we're gunna see approximately the same roster come training camp.

It's not about scoring , it's about floor spacing ... Lamar isn't a shooter .. we have already try Odom experience at the 3 and it has been horrible ..

What are you talkin about? Odom has been great at the 3...it's the 4 he's sometimes inconsistent at, but still, Odom is not the problem, interior defense was, and Bynum will be healthy for next season...PeACe

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Lakers envisioning a new team with Bynum, not Bynum with a new team

10:00 PM PDT on Friday, June 20, 2008

By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

EL SEGUNDO - The Lakers are optimistic about how good they can be once Andrew Bynum returns to the starting lineup.

They believe he can defend the paint and intimidate when he's not blocking shots, be a force down low on offense and the physical presence they lacked when they lost to the Celtics in the Finals.

Bynum, a 7-foot, 285-pounder, was having a career year, averaging 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots before he was injured in January. He missed the final 46 regular-season games and all of the playoffs after having season-ending surgery on his left knee.

"If and when Andrew is back, which we anticipate, it will be a different team entirely," Coach Phil Jackson said.

Bynum, 20, said the swelling in his knee "is almost gone" and he might consider wearing a brace next season.

Bynum has a year left on his contract that pays him $2.7 million next season and could get an extension this summer for a maximum of five years and $80 million.

"That's really for my agent to handle," Bynum said. "We'll see what happens. You always hope for the best. I would definitely be secure. I'd be able to take care of my family ...

"We haven't even discussed or started talking about it."

The dilemma for the Lakers is how much to pay Bynum after he lost half a season to injury.

"Clearly a player's ability to be on the court and show what he can do will affect his status in terms of a contract going forward," General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "But the injury is not a career-altering injury, which was our concern."

What to Do With Odom

The rumors about Lamar Odom already have started, and on Friday Kupchak rebuked reporters for writing that Odom could be traded in the offseason.

Odom, who has an expiring contract that will pay him $14.1 million next season, said, "This is where I want to end my career, as a Laker."

He would like an extension, but the Lakers may not be willing to offer one. If they do, it might not be for more than five years and $50 million.

Jackson said the "real issue" is moving Odom to small forward when Bynum returns to play center and Pau Gasol moves to power forward.

One scenario could have Odom with Derek Fisher in the backcourt as the facilitator -- a role he has played the past three seasons -- and Kobe Bryant on the wing as the small forward.

"You're just going to have to wait and see," Jackson joked. "It's going to be so exciting."

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Kupchak sees bright future for current Lakers cast
By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register
Comments 9 | Recommend 3

EL SEGUNDO -- Now that the Lakers' season is over without an NBA championship, Mitch Kupchak has his eye on a player who can take this team to the top.

" Andrew Bynum," Kupchak said Friday.

Kupchak, the Lakers' general manager, indicated he would rather keep his team intact for next season — getting healthy, re-signing restricted free agents Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf and probably letting his mid-level salary-cap exception go unspent in free agency for budgetary reasons.

"If we did nothing," Kupchak said, "and brought back the players that are our existing free agents, just by virtue of this team aging one more year and getting Trevor (Ariza) and Andrew back, I think we're right back in the hunt."

Managing the future payroll is another reason the Lakers might be more inclined to let Lamar Odom play out the remaining $14.3 million on his expiring contract in a prove-yourself season rather than trade him for another high-salary player with a longer contract such as New Jersey small forward Richard Jefferson.

When Odom met with Kupchak and Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Friday in their standard season-ending conference, the first thing spoken in that room was an apology from Kupchak to Odom for a local newspaper column suggesting Odom would be shopped this summer.

"We haven't even had those discussions," Kupchak said later. "How would anybody know what we're thinking of doing?"

Discussions involving Lakers owner Jerry Buss are upcoming in the next week about what Buss wants to do and how much money he wants to spend. What Kupchak did say about possibly matching a free-agent offer for Vujacic was this: "I think he'll be back. We intend to bring him back. We intend to bring Ronny back, too."

What discussions already have taken place include some between Kupchak and Jackson about how intriguing the lineup will be with Bynum moving Pau Gasol to his natural power forward position. That would open up something Jackson, Odom and Kobe Bryant always have dreamed of: Odom and Bryant fully alternating from game to game or even possession to possession at the shooting guard and small forward spots, depending on the opponents and situations.

"It would be a challenge to our coach," said Kupchak, who confirmed the concept of Odom back at guard, where he played the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons and late this season to maximize Bryant's scoring potency at small forward. "I think he (Jackson) is intrigued by it. The possibilities are endless."

It's even conceivable that Jackson — who concerns himself far more with having his best players on the floor at the end of games than the beginning — would start Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton or Vladimir Radmanovic at small forward and move Odom to the bench. From there, Odom could work more with the Jordan Farmar-led second unit that plays the up-tempo game Jackson believes suits Odom best.

Jackson declined to specify his plans, but he did obliquely say: "People will have to sacrifice."

Odom did not play well in the NBA Finals and was still noticeably downcast Friday, possibly because of the trade speculation that he said has been "going on ever since I've been here." Odom and Radmanovic were discussed on the Lakers' side in the Gasol trade negotiations in January, but Memphis wanted neither.

Asked if beating Boston would have meant more security for him as a Laker, Odom answered: "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, it would've helped everyone, right? I don't know. I don't know."

Jackson suggested the burden on Odom and Gasol in the NBA Finals would have been dramatically less with Bynum anchoring the back line of the defense. Jackson has instructed Bynum to focus this summer on two areas: lateral quickness (screen-and-roll defense) and jumping power (for pursuing rebounds and scoring on put-backs).

Bynum again will work with his personal trainer, Sean Zarzana, in Atlanta from mid-July to mid-September. The Lakers plan to wait to see how Bynum looks late in the summer before opening negotiations on a long-term contract extension.

"We haven't even started talking about it," Bynum said. "When we do, hopefully things go good."

Bynum said he might wear a brace next season but reported no pain around his left kneecap after May 21 arthroscopic surgery that removed a loose particle and cut back a flap.

"We don't think either one of those things is going to affect his ability to play basketball for the next 10-15 years," Kupchak said.

So Kupchak likes his future chances with Bynum, 20, and Bryant, 29.

"If he (Bryant) plays till 35 or 36, why don't we have at least a five- or six-year (championship) window?" Kupchak asked.

That promise for the future and the overall enjoyment of this season are why Jackson gave no indication he'll step away from coaching anytime soon: "I feel like this is a lot of fun for me," he said.

Kupchak shares that optimism, especially when he steps back and compares the "chipper" Bryant he saw Thursday to the way Bryant was not so long ago.

"It was certainly different than last year's exit meeting," Kupchak said dryly.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Well, if this goes down all I can say is this: Sad for Lamar to be considered a contract instead of a player during his prime. LMAO. Nets only want him because he has a big expiring contract, they won't resign him, they are all about creating cap room to sign LeBron



Oh, and wcsoldier, you're the homie and all, but you badly need to update your sig. 

NJ just wants cap space...that's why they're trading RJ as a contract. A lot of teams would love to use Odom as a lot more than just a contract.

I like the idea of playing Odom at the 2 and Kobe at the 3.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

^^Isn't Odom a little slow to be a guard?

Apparently Kupchak doesn't even want to use the Mid-Level Exception.

[7even]

Apparently Kupchak doesn't even want to use the Mid-Level Exception.

Are they pulling a Phoenix Suns there?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^Isn't Odom a little slow to be a guard?

Apparently Kupchak doesn't even want to use the Mid-Level Exception.

He's done it before...Only now, we'll have an inside presence too.

[wcsoldier]

^^Isn't Odom a little slow to be a guard?

Apparently Kupchak doesn't even want to use the Mid-Level Exception.

Odom has already done it ... he will be the triangle initiator ala Scottie Pippen.. the most important thing is Kobe will move back to the SF position offensive wise ... the spot from  where  he's the most efficient .. and by far imo

[7even]

Kobe at SF sounds tight, but Lamar playing SG for a whole season sounds 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^It's already been done and it worked great...also, they'll be switching off between sf and sg.