Pacers Insider(?) - Bynum for Artest or No Deal

An interesting post by a first-time CL member (reposted @ LG):

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ND:</div><div class="quote_post">Hello all,

Thought i might provide some info for you. I know how interested most of you are, and probably distracted by all of the supposed events. Seems to be a lot of info around, however most of it seems to be more a figment of peoples imaginations. Either that, or some people who have heard a few things and try to be creative in an attempt to bring some sort of credit to themselves.

First off, there is no deal done yet. Not with GS or anyone else. While entirely possible, theres no guarantee a deal gets done in the next week or so.

Now, as far as the Lakers go. Seems to be a lot of misinformation here. Lets address the Odom issue first. As many of you may know, the Lakers approached the Pacers this past summer regarding the availability of Artest. They actually were interested in a package of Foster and Artest or even possibly a package of Croshere and Artest, though the Foster/Artest package was definitely the package of choice. Odom was discussed and the Pacers informed the Lakers they had no interest in Odom. Primary reason being his contract. The Pacers, as most know, are in a mode of watching their financial situation, and they feel Odom would not be viable for them-they feel his best position is PF. They have JO there and really feel strongly about whatever moves that are made are made with the goal in mind of playing him in the PF slot and not center.

Hence Odom has very little interest to them. When recent discussions resumed, they intimated this to the Lakers again. They told the Lakers that if the Lakers could come up with a 3rd team that would want Odom, and that team had some pieces that would be attractive to them, then that would be fine. The Pacers havent had anything on that front brought to them by the Lakers.

So these 'no Odom, no deal' things you here are someones active imagination. As are the comments being made regarding Odom will not be traded to the Pacers for Artest. While true, its conveying a bit different meaning, but its more about spin than anything else. It appears some of the so called experts around here might be possibly being used as spin control experts in the event the Lakers dont get Ron. They can say they wouldnt trade Odom for Ron, no matter what, nevermind, that was never really an issue.

Heres the issue. Andrew Bynum. The Pacers made it very clear, early on, what they wanted from the Lakers. A package of Bynum, George and the Miami pick gets Ron. Any bigger package that might include Foster or Croshere must still include Bynum. And if Foster is in the package, then the Pacers want Kwame as well. The Pacers have Pollard and Benders contract that they would be willing to utilize to make a deal with the Lakers.

So far, the Lakers refuse to include Bynum, and thus there is no deal. Both teams seem steadfast in their stance here. I can tell you that from the Pacers side of things the following has been put before the Lakers as deals that would probably be doable.

Bynum, George, and the Miami 1st for Artest
Bynum, George, Kwame, the Miami 1st for Artest and Croshere
Bynum, George, Kwame, the Miami 1st for Artest and Foster(this would require the Pacers using a trade exception they gained in an earlier Phoenix deal-which the Lakers would then have-for Bynum's salary)

The Pacers have told them they will not trade both Foster and Croshere. Its one or the other only. They would be willing to include Pollard and Samaki in a deal for Slava, Cook, and Vujacic.

They have also added these options. If the Lakers do not reach the playoffs this season, the Lakers may keep the Miami 1st and replace it with a 2nd round pick of the Lakers choice. Also, Vujacic or Cook can be substituted for the Miami pick in any of the deals, and the Pacers would then use a trade exception which would then revert to the Lakers.

I will once again say Bynum has been the sticking point, as the Lakers have been willing to do the deal with Slava, Cook, or Vujacic as a substitute for Bynum, but have been rebuffed to this point.

It appears the Pacers have said "No Bynum, no deal". To which the Lakers have responded, "No deal".

And there you have it. Thats the Laker story with regard to Artest.

Whether a deal gets done with any team right away, is anybody's guess at this stage. The Pacers seem to have a feel for whos really interested, and have basically given those teams what they would be willing to take.

If no team satisfies those wishes, then it appears the Pacers are going to continue to wait and see what continues to transpire as the deadline approaches in late February. They have decided its better to wait this all out, even waiting till the offseason, than make a deal theyre not comfortable with.

Good Luck. My personal opinion is that Phil would probably be the best coach to deal with Ron. So, wanting to see Ron succeed, it would be nice to see if Phil could make it work. Phil seems to think he can. So time will tell if he gets the opportunity.

Thx,
ND</div>

Source

 

Hmmm, that is interesting.

I can see Bynum being a really important piece of the Lakers future in 5 years from now.

However it seems the Lakers' goal should be win a championship while Kobe is in his prime. Kobe is 27, so from now until the next 6 years (give or take) are Kobe's finest years. As well I don't know how long the Lakers have Phil Jackson, so they probably have a window on that for only 5-6 years.

Right now I can understand Bynum's importance for long term, but from what I see in what the Lakers have committed to winning now (Kobe + PJ), maybe acquiring Artest would be better for what the Lakers are suited for.

if Bynum, George, Kwame, the Miami 1st(or Vujajic) for Artest and Foster

Lakers would have:
C: Foster/Mihm
PF: Odom/Cook
SF: Artest/Walton
SG: Kobe
PG: Smush/Vujajic

The only real hole would be at PG... It still looks like a nice starting line. Mihm probably would be acceptable as a back-up center.

 

nice find mel. this is a very interesting situation for the lakers. give up a potential future star in bynum and recieve a present star in artest. hmmm...... very interesting. i dont know what i would do if i were mitch either. but anyways, it doesnt look like we're going to get artest since mitch wont trade away bynum.

 

I wouldn't do it.

Our team is built on youth right nowand I think we need to capitalize on that by keeping these young guys together and letting them develop and reach their potential. Bynum could be the cornerstone for this franchise 5 years from now with all the training he's getting, his innate inherent athleticism, and ambitious willingness to learn.

If we get Artest, we still wouldn't win the Championship. The Pistons and Spurs are too deep to give us a chance especially considering how weak our bench is. Artest can't save this team and he'll be off to New York once his contract is up anyway.

 

the only way i would trade away bynum is if we were going to get KG in return. lol.

 

I don't know about this, who is to say Bynum will become a future superstar? Who is to say he is going to be a bust? But, from the looks of things, I would keep him because he seems to know what he is doing.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SkiptoMyLue11:</div><div class="quote_post">Hmmm, that is interesting.

I can see Bynum being a really important piece of the Lakers future in 5 years from now.

However it seems the Lakers' goal should be win a championship while Kobe is in his prime. Kobe is 27, so from now until the next 6 years (give or take) are Kobe's finest years. As well I don't know how long the Lakers have Phil Jackson, so they probably have a window on that for only 5-6 years.
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the same thing goes for the pacers so im really surprised that bynum is what they are fighting for. o'neal is 27 and the time to look for a championship is now what the hell is going on here!

 

Bynum may look overweight and kinda like an elf, but he's still going to be good. Lakers chose him to be a project, and when he breaks out its going to be big. He has potential to be better than Jermaine O'Neal so why trade him for a troubled player like Ron Artest.

 

The arrogance with which this article was written keeps me from putting any serious stock into it.

However, since it is well documented that both Kobe and Phil really want Artest...than I don't know what's holding this thing up. You'd think the Lakers would want to win now seeing as their fans won't be patient for long. I know Artest won't bring us a championship, but he'll bring the Lakers a helluva lot closer to one.

With Kobe and Artest and Phil, the Lakers would be a very desirable team for FA's, meaning players might be willing to sign for less than their worth for a chance to play with this team.

I'd say trade Bynum, Lamar, hell- Trade Mitch if you have to, to get this trade done lol.

 

Interesting Trade propositions. Im not sure what I would do in this situation. I think we could win now with Artest, but so far from what little I've seen of Bynum, hes going to be star caliber.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting trenchteam:</div><div class="quote_post">Interesting Trade propositions. Im not sure what I would do in this situation. I think we could win now with Artest, but so far from what little I've seen of Bynum, hes going to be star caliber.</div>

Are you serious? An all-star calibar? I am sorry but this guy has the potential to be the next big thing.The guy is 17 years old. 17! And not to mention hes 7'1 and growing. This guy will dominate the league better then Amare, Shaq or any dominant big man we've seen in the past. I just dont understand why phil wont give this guy a chance. I know he doesnt like playing rookies but I mean give him Kwames role or Mihms. They both suck.

 

I'm glad somebody is seeing Bynums potential. Its frustrating for me that the Lakers fail to see it and rather play Kwame Brown at the C when Mihm gets into foul trouble after 40 seconds. Give Andy 15 minutes a night! Last I read from Andrew, he seemed to be frustrated with lack of minutes. We don't want to put him off, soon he's not going to put in the work because he's not getting any rewards from what he's produced so far. It must be hard from being the man in high school to a player who is lucky to get 2 minutes playing time.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Laker_fan:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm glad somebody is seeing Bynums potential. Its frustrating for me that the Lakers fail to see it and rather play Kwame Brown at the C when Mihm gets into foul trouble after 40 seconds. Give Andy 15 minutes a night! Last I read from Andrew, he seemed to be frustrated with lack of minutes. We don't want to put him off, soon he's not going to put in the work because he's not getting any rewards from what he's produced so far. It must be hard from being the man in high school to a player who is lucky to get 2 minutes playing time.

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Damn! Look at the pic... Just that frustrates me that he doesnt get minutes.

 

My thoughts are maybe there is a reason why Phil isn't playing Bynum, maybe Phil is trying to ease him into the nba grind?

I would think that Laker's staff, including Kareem would be able to make a better decision on how much to play Bynum than us.

However I will admit sometimes there are GMs (Babcock in the past, Isaiah) which seem to have a lot more information than us and still make bad decisions.

However Phil determines the minute distribution, not some struggling rookie coach. Could Phil be doing this in the best interest of Bynum?