Wow, I had no clue about Kwame's upbringing. You can't blame him for the issues that he has now. I hope that he can find a father figure in Phil Jackson also.
yo Shape- I would never say we're stuck with Devean George. He was hurt last season, but he's a solid player off the bench when he's healthy which he should be by now. Also, he along with Kobe and Luke Walton are the only remaining players that actually know the triangle. Even if he's not putting up great numbers, having someone in practice to help with the triangle is an invaluable asset seeing as Tex doesn't want to work more than once a week with the team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ilive4ball:</div><div class="quote_post">yo Shape- I would never say we're stuck with Devean George. He was hurt last season, but he's a solid player off the bench when he's healthy which he should be by now. Also, he along with Kobe and Luke Walton are the only remaining players that actually know the triangle. Even if he's not putting up great numbers, having someone in practice to help with the triangle is an invaluable asset seeing as Tex doesn't want to work more than once a week with the team.</div> I've just always been anti-Devean George. I've seen so many miscues by him throughout the years and he's just irritating to watch. He's always been a momentum killer for the Lakers and I couldn't believe they re-signed him for that kind of money. I was hoping he would leave and play for the TWolves when he was a free agent, instead the Lakers throw $5 Million at him. Yeah I realize he's one of the few vets on the team who knows how to play the Triangle, but the Triangle is going to be completely different then the Triangle they used with Shaq & Kobe. The Lakers have enough coaches to teach the new Lakers how to run the offense. Remember the Lakers have Brian Shaw, Kurt Rambis, Frank Hamblen, and Ron Harper running the practices. I'm just counting the days until he's traded for something because the only value he has IMO, is his expiring contract. I just don't see much improvement from him and he's still so inconsistent after 5 or 6 years in the league.
C'mon doubters. I'm not saying that Kupchak is a genius or that Kwame Brown is going to be a 7 time all-star but there are bunch of things working in his favor. First is that he was in an impossible situation in Washington, being drafted 1st overall by Jordon who called him a f****t and a P****y in practice every day as an 18 year old, and then being stuck in a city that was way down on an 18 year old after 1 year (I hope people aren't stupid enough to pull the same crap with Bynum). The other thing is that he's tall, athletic and scouts have been big on him even to this day for his potential. Most importantly, don't forget JERMAINE O'NEIL who did absolutely nothing during his first 4 years in Portland (Jermain avg 3.9pts and 3.3rbs in his 4th year in the league) and with a change of scenery, some maturity and training is probably the 2nd best big man in the East. Kwame has the talent, it's just a matter of him wanting to be great because he's going to have some good instruction.
Mitch Kupchak is the best GM in the world What is the over and under in the number of practices or games before Kobe and Kwame get into it? I understand his upbringing but when you have forces going against you, you have to be motivated not to go that route. You dont sulk and not play in playoff games because you are "sick." We cant use his upbringing as an excuse. Shoot at least with Artest he brings it every night and he was brought up in a similar way. I wouldnt touch Kwame with a 10 ft pole. The Lakers now have Andrew Bynum who wasnt named to New Jersey's All State this year and a certified bust, Kwame Brown. You have to love those Lakers. Way to go.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting HASAN33:</div><div class="quote_post">Mitch Kupchak is the best GM in the world What is the over and under in the number of practices or games before Kobe and Kwame get into it? I understand his upbringing but when you have forces going against you, you have to be motivated not to go that route. You dont sulk and not play in playoff games because you are "sick." We cant use his upbringing as an excuse. Shoot at least with Artest he brings it every night and he was brought up in a similar way. I wouldnt touch Kwame with a 10 ft pole. The Lakers now have Andrew Bynum who wasnt named to New Jersey's All State this year and a certified bust, Kwame Brown. You have to love those Lakers. Way to go.</div> I agree it's a risky proposition on the Lakers' end. However, they had to take a risk, you just wonder if this was the best offer available and whether or not the Lakers rushed into a bad deal or not. Bynum didn't make the team because he was injured most of the season. However, he was still the top ranked center for his high school class on Rivals.com.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MikeyMJL:</div><div class="quote_post">Hey shapecity I can't get the Kwame video to work.. is it working for everybody else?</div> nevermind shapecity i got it to work... he looks good in those clips, my favorite one was him putting some very nice defensive pressure on duncan and that nice pass to dixon for the layup... I've always been high on kwame and i've always liked him.. I can't wait to see how everything pans out for him in L.A. Im glad he's out of washington, they treated him like ****.. Now he has a fresh start
Kwame is an abover average post defender (not help defender). He has given everyone fits before, including Shaq. He is also a very good passer out of the post. People are blinded by the media's portrait of him, that's all I'm going to say. I've seen the kid play, I've know what he can and will do if he is given 10 shots a game. He will give you 14-17 ppg along with 8-9 rpg. Give him an opportunity or all these doubters will look dumb once he explodes.
About the JO remarks...like everyone else in lakerland (even though I'm representing from the 503 portland oregon) I hope Kwame becomes jermaine O'neal. That happens and they keep Odom then the lakers are set to win big for a while. But you also gotta consider that Jermain O'neals numbers were low not because lack of skill, but more likely because lack of playing time. He was stuck behind Rasheed Wallace, Brian Grant, and my personal favorite...Chris Dudley, oh and that big white fella Arvydas sabonis (moment of silence, he was the man). Anyways, yeah those clips were good...I haven't payed much attention to Kwame or the wizards honestly since MJ left, but I'm glad to hear Kwame's an above average defender. Watching him frustrate duncan like that was awesome... I sincerely believe he's going to break out in LA, and for the price were getting him at, and only 2 gaurunteed years...it isn't that big a risk. Mitch is finally getting his **** together. Now all he has to do is sign daniels....knock of Briant Grant and we'll be set lol.
come to think of it brown could be good for the lakers but they could've traded butler for a better PF. but the lakers seized this opportunity of the wizards lacking a SF thus offering butler for brown. a report says that daniels is interested in portland..where nate mcmillan will coach in the future. so who's left?
Somebody give us a description of both guys. Neither have the name recognition as Daniels I know that...
the only thing i dont like about this is, he might not be a positive role model to bynum. what if bynum starts slacking off because he sees kwame do it?
Marko Jaric is a 6'7 combo guard, he's a fairly good defender, better off the ball than on, and struggles against quicker guards obviously as he's 6'7, but is good against slower PG's and SG's [if the SG's aren't too strong]. He has a pretty good outside shot, and is a good passer, but not a scorer [which is good for the Lakers at point]. He also sport's a nice assist to turnover ratio [3.09 - 1], he won't make too many silly mistakes, though him and Brunson were a little shaky in crunch time this season. The jury is still out as to whether he's really a true playmaker, he showed the capabilities this past season, but in previous seasons, it wasn't there. The downside to him is that he's very injury prone as he's yet to play 67+ games or 1800+ minutes in an NBA season. Earl Watson is an athletic small PG. He's a good playmaker, passer and PG, but a little turnover prone [3.7 TO's PER 40, and 2.2 A/T]. He's a pass first guy that also has fairly good scoring ability, he can get in the lane, and make plays, and he's also a capable finisher. Watson is a very good and agressive defender, and can pressure the ball and play the lanes well. His shot is a little inconssitent, and he's not a big outside threat, but he's improved his outside shot in consistency and volume. He's also very durable, so he's not likely to miss many games. I personally prefer Watson mainly due to his durability, but Jaric is a good player too and would be a very good option if he doesn't get injured.
i think it's ok (im not saying its good) for the lakers to lose butler for a taller and more bulky power forward. one reason would be that odom would be a better player in SF than butler..odom would take advantage of mismatches there compared to when he played PF last season--he wasn't consistent. let's see if odom will dominate next season now that he's in the SF spot. we could've kept butler and also have kwame brown or any other athletic PF IF the lakers had more money. that would have given the lakers a very very powerful lineup with butler, bryant, odom, brown, mihm all starting. too bad it wont happen.
