its still gonna be a lop sided trade because its the most dominant player for odom who if finally coming around but they could have got more for shaq
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinsanityVC15:</div><div class="quote_post">its still gonna be a lop sided trade because its the most dominant player for odom who if finally coming around but they could have got more for shaq</div> Not so sure of that anymore. You will never get back fair value for players like Shaq and KG and Duncan. But you can try to make a trade that will result in potentially fair value. And so far Lamar isn't doing too bad. If he continues to improve...
Well it all depends on your standpoint. Miami got the very liberal side of the trade, while the Lakers got a more conservative side. Getting Shaq is instant help without too much wait, but would start to deteriorate after a short period of time. Lakers took the slow but progressive approach, success not instant but will arrive and this playoff series so far is proving my theory for both. Shaq is suckin for Miami right now and Kobe is an offically respected leader for his team.
The decision to trade Shaq was always the right decision for the Lakers franchise. There's been various rumors on some of the other offers the Lakers received so it's hard to compare unless we know what the exact offers were. Bringing Phil Jackson back to the sidelines has made all the difference. His ability to get players to buy into defense, rebounding and playing as a team is making all of this work.
More To It Than Odom You guys have to see the whole picture in the Shaq trade, not just Odom. First of all, for the ageing Shaq, we got Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant. Ok, right now Lamar is arguably the most versatile unguardable player at his position. Hes is playing like a future allstar for next year. Then, we traded Caron Butler for Kwame Brown who is now playing big for us now and hopefully will only get better and better as time goes on. Then we released Brian Grant to get rid of his large contract which gave us more money to buy players in the future. Also, Shaqs only got another year or 2 left in him, Lamar and Kwame got probably at least 10 years left in their bones. Combine that with Shaqs close to 30 million dollar contract is less than Lamar and Kwames combined. Shaq was also overweight, outta shape every year in LA and continuously never got surgury on his big toe in the offseason and always complained and missed games because of it in the regular season. So in the trade we got Lakers Pros - A young versatile Lamar Odom who will play many years 2 come - A young and coming out Kwame Brown who is a monster on the defensive side and getting better on offence. Man Kwame sometimes had to guard Steve Nash and did it. - Cheaper contracts with LO and Brown so we have more money to work with for building - A double team of dominant rebouding in the front court - Kobe learns to be a leader and team player - Younger and quicker team with heart - Better team chemistry Lakers cons - Lose big fella whos been most dominant Center since Kareem - Have to take time to develope which is now paying off
Nice breakdown Robya, and in theory the Amnesty Cut of Brian Grant freeing up $10Million, helped pay for PJax's contract. Another pro is receiving the Heat's 2006 draft pick.
This is a excerpt of today's ESPN poll <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">1) Which player has been the top performer in the first round of the NBA playoffs? 54.5% Kobe Bryant, Lakers 15.6% Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks 15.4% LeBron James, Cavaliers 4.3% Gilbert Arenas, Wizards 4.0% Kirk Hinrich, Bulls 2.4% Ben Gordon, Bulls 1.3% Vince Carter, Nets 0.9% Michael Redd, Bucks 0.8% Steve Nash, Suns 0.6% Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers 0.4% Dwyane Wade, Heat 2) Which player has been the biggest disappointment in the first round of the NBA playoffs? 44.7% Shaquille O'Neal, Heat 27.7% Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets 12.7% Manu Ginobili, Spurs 10.2% Pau Gasol, Grizzlies 2.3% Jason Kidd, Nets 1.5% Ben Wallace, Pistons 1.0% Stephen Jackson, Pacers</div> http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation...tion16266=66565
I would of expected Nash to be in the disappointment sector... He was the guy to lead his team into the promised land, STOMP on the 7th seeded lakers, SHOW EVERYONE WHY HE'S MVP!!! Pft.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You don't become a wealthy NBA owner by making big mistakes, unless you inherited your team, which explains why the Knicks are run by Jim Dolan. Therefore, a few summers ago, when faced with his most important decision as Lakers owner, Jerry Buss listened to his basketball and business instincts over the stink raised about his two feuding superstars. The choice for Buss: Keep Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'Neal. The public already reached a decision about the two candidates, and it wasn't Bush-Kerry close. On this particular scale, a 330-pound All-Star was sitting on one end, so there was no doubt where it tilted. The public support centered around a center, one of the best in our lifetimes, and the pro-Shaq people were convinced the Lakers couldn't win without him. In so many ways in this intense debate, Shaq was enormous: in image and dominance to his supporters, in weight and salary demands to Buss. Buss heard it all: Shaq makes your team better. Shaq gives other teams a headache. Shaq will bring the Lakers back. So, of course, Buss went with Kobe. And, of course, Buss took a public-relations pounding. Of all the insults hurled at him in the aftermath, being called the second-best NBA owner in Los Angeles was the ultimate. But now, less than two years later, and two days after Bryant went Jordanesque on the Suns, Buss looks like the smartest person in basketball. Only one question remains: Do you apologize now or after the Lakers win the series? Kobe was never better than he was on the final possessions in regulation and overtime Sunday in Game 4, which says a lot, considering Kobe already has three championships and a lifetime of big shots. His drive to the hoop and one-handed fadeaway shot in heavy traffic just before the fourth-quarter buzzer was legendary stuff. The only other person who could've pulled that off is now standing in bronze outside United Center in Chicago. And then Kobe dribbled his way across the court in the final seconds of overtime, with two Suns tailing him, with everyone in the building knowing he would shoot, and once again he was money. "Amazing," Buss gushed to reporters after the game. Amazing? Buss should've said, "Told you so." The Lakers are up 3-1 over the Suns because Kobe is maturing, as Buss predicted two summers ago. Rather than taking every shot, Kobe is just settling for the biggest ones. He has deferred to his teammates all series. During the regular season, he led the NBA in scoring, partly to satisfy his ego, no doubt, but also because his center is Kwame Brown. Kobe had to score if this team of misfits was going anywhere. "A lot of people didn't expect us to be in this situation," Bryant said. Buss wasn't one of them. Following the Lakers' loss in the NBA Finals to Larry Brown and the Pistons in 2004, Kobe's contract was up and Shaq demanded a trade. Buss could've kept Shaq for the last year of his contract, but rather than risk losing Bryant to free agency, decided to send Shaq packing to Miami. Buss figured Shaq, who demanded a $100-million extension (and later received it from Miami), was on the downside and struggled to stay in shape. </div> Source Good read on the topic.
Its not so much how shaq is playing now but who the lakers could have gotten for him, when shaq was being shopped he was still considered by most to be still the most dominant player in the NBA, they could have gotten practically anyone they wanted even dirk's name was floated around for a bit. The lakers were a chmapionship contender with shaq and when they traded him they lost that.
