<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Los Angeles Lakers held their annual town meeting on Monday night. General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Head Coach Phil Jackson addressed a small crowd of season ticket holders. Questions were submitted prior to the meeting and were moderated by host Bill MacDonald. The following is a paraphrase of the hour long discussion On the team's poor defense (Phil Jackson): The team's offense runs at a faster pace than last year's team to take advantage of Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Smush Parker and Luke Walton's open court skills. More offensive opportunities also provide more shots for the opposing teams . . . thus higher scoring games on both sides of the ball. The defense wasn't really bad until the injuries overtook the team. Before the then the high scores were due to style of play. The last 2 1/2 months the defense has been poor because the team lost three starters (Kwame Brown, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom). The key to defense in basketball is point guard and center. Brown was out 41 games, the team's stopper and best defensive player. A recent change to address the deficiency has had Jordan Farmar starting over Parker (to which the crowd applauded vociferously). Sasha Vujacic has also done good things defensively specifically against the Phoenix Suns. (For the record, Jackson does not say Vujacic quite the same way that Sasha Vujacic does. Not to say the coach is saying it wrong; perhaps it's Sasha who is mispronouncing it). Ronny Turiaf also added to the starting lineup (again the crowd makes its approval well known). They have to keep Phoenix under 100 points which they achieved last week. Unfortunately Bryant and Odom were exhausted and unable to carry the scoring load. The playoff defense will be more deliberate. Defensive matchups will determine playing time. Turiaf will get a lot of time because he gives a ton of energy. They'll find the right combination of guards. Parker last year was effective playing full court defense last year. He was particularly adept at creating steals but hasn't been as strong this year. Some of that has to do with the back line of players who are missing. The team is far less capable with a young player like Andrew Bynum starting more games than a veteran like Brown. Keys to stopping the Suns (Jackson): The Suns use penetration and about 10-different forms of the screen roll. They're confident in a playoff series they'll be able to adjust to that. Essentially the game plan is to make Steve Nash a scorer instead of a distributor. They think they can win if he gets 30 ppg and seven apg instead of 15 apg. IF they play Phoenix . . . Kevin Garnett (Kupchak): Kupchak refused to comment on Garnett, but reading between the lines of what he did say. In general when there's smoke there's fire . . . but equally these rumors sometimes take a life of their own. No matter how many times they call about certain players, they can't make a deal go through if the other team won't give up a special player. If a player is a top ten player being traded, usually they'll be moved to the opposite conference. On the salary cap, luxury tax and draft (Kupchak): Kupchak explains the basic rules of the NBA salary system. For the authority on the subject, check out Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ. The Lakers don't expect to make the needed $10-15 million in cap room to sign a free agent over the next 1-3 years. Kupchak hopes Bryant stays even beyond his current contract and "his salary continues to grow." Laker owner Dr. Buss is willing to pay the tax as long as it's a "good basketball decision." Does Kobe Bryant scoring so prolifically cause his teammates to defer too much? (Jackson): "Yes" (Jackson drops a one-word answer). What Jackson and Bryant talk about pregame (Jackson): The basic concept is for Bryant to get his teammates involved and then take over in the fourth. If it's a team that is high scoring or the Lakers are little banged up, he might ask Bryant to be more aggressive early. Lately they haven't been able to stay in games without his early offense. Injuries have played a major part in how the season has switched back to the Kobe-dominant style of play. Parker has been inconsistent which is why they made the change to Farmar. The team is bothered by Parker scoring 20 points one night and four another. The injuries have also hurt the team's bench which was exceptional early in the season. Back up players have had to assume starter's minutes. That's led to more injuries to players like Brian Cook and Mo Evans. They needed Bryant's scoring streak to pull them out of the slump they were in. Vladimir Radmanovic's snowboarding incident (Jackson): He knew pretty much right away Radmanovic was lying. A day later he came clean and was worried about his contract being voided. That's not how the Lakers work as an organization. They don't just give up on players. Radmanovic hasn't "paid his rent" yet this year (performed well) but they believe in him and think he's going to. He learned a lot about professionalism which is a message Jackson been trying to communicate all season to Radmanovic. Vladimir Radmanovic's snowboarding incident (Kupchak): It would have been a lengthy legal battle through arbitration and the player's union. Docking $500,000 was significant and suitable punishment. He's a player with a skill set that they wanted because of what he can do . . . they just have to find a way to bring it out of him within the system. Would they trade Andrew Bynum for an experienced point guard? (Jackson): "We want to see Andrew age. You can't beat maturation." They took a chance on Bynum because they had two good centers in Chris Mihm and Brown. They expected too struggle to find minutes for him but injuries have afforded him 1,500-2,000 minutes for him. It's a tremendous amount of experience for Bynum and they're trying to patiently nurture him. "This isn't going to break him; it's only going to make him." Jackson spoke highly of his talent. The team is trying to develop his competitive fire. On Bynum (Kupchak): The Lakers get a lot of calls for Bynum. He was probably thrown too much this year but expectations were probably set too high after his strong start. Kupchak echoed Jackson's sentiment that they want Bynum to age as a Laker. The zone (Jackson): They won't be used too often in the playoffs. The team lost four games because they couldn't execute against the zone (Milwaukee Bucks twice, Detroit Pistons and most recently the Memphis Grizzlies). Lakers aren't a great spot shooting team. The triangle offense overloads a side which is how you want to attack a zone, but the team just didn't execute. Turiaf and Farmar are good at handling the zone. They improved in handling the zone but had a setback recently against the Grizzlies. Walton's future (Kupchak): Walton had a great start with a great training camp. He still hasn't fully recovered from his ankle injury. He was supposed to be out just one week but missed 6-7. His body hasn't gotten back to the same level. Hopefully the extra practice time throughout the playoffs will help him. They have the means to re-sign him and the inclination. They should be able to keep him and stay under the tax. He can leave as a free agent but they think he likes the current situation and expect him back. Rotations (Jackson): You go to a dance with your "beau" but may have a few dances with others throughout the night, but you always take your beau back home with you. (Jackson showing a bit of an old-fashioned side). The players with end-game experience have knowledge others don't. Recently Farmar finished a ballgame well with a big steal. He's been trying Turiaf as well. In general, Jackson simply prefers to use his starters to close out games. Draft (Kupchak): The Lakers have three picks (including the Charlotte Bobcat's second which should be about 35). Their pick should be about 18-20. Their scouts are looking through about 1,100 players right now. At their draft spot, they'll go with the best player available regardless of position. Kupchak tipped his hand a bit . . . "I'm not excited about having three draft choices. I don't think this team needs more young players. I would like to get prospects, but I don't think that's going to be the way we'll make this team better going forward," said Kupchak. "If there are opportunities to move a pick or several picks to get the veteran player we need. I think that's more attractive to me right now." Bryant is the oldest rotation player (28). One year of college rule (Kupchak): It made this draft a little deeper and it thankfully keeps Kupchak out of high school gyms. Kwame Brown's pain threshold (Jackson): After clowning around about it, Jackson told the story of Spencer Haywood who had a mystery injury that ended up being real. With that in mind he gives player's the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pain threshold. Brown's ankle sprain was bad but missing 41 games was unexpected. He just wants Brown to try to go on it. Brown is worried about his career. Mihm would have gotten a $30-70 million contract but will probably get about $2 million because of the ankle. Brown doesn't want to hurt the basketball team with his limited mobility, but Jackson wants to take that responsibility. Jackson will just pull him if he has to. A recent diagnostic showed Brown that the ankle is indeed stable, so he's more willing to give it a shot. They want him to work on his timing in practice so he can convert the layups he's been missing. Will Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf play major roles against the Suns in the playoffs? (Jackson): Last playoff Vujacic's lone job was to shut down Eddie House. Vujacic did an exceptional job. This year they want him to take on Steve Nash. Vujacic is very irritating and they want to channel that. Turiaf is a great example because some of the other Lakers are watchers. Turiaf is the one guy who will chase down rebounds with passion. Why no Allen Iverson at the deadline? (Kupchak): It was discussed but the Lakers weren't willing to give up 5-6 guys to get a player they didn't really need. They like and respect him but the Lakers are already a very high scoring team. They have other pressing needs other than points. What's happened to Bryant's defense? (Jackson): Obviously that person has been watching the games. Bryant has had operations on his knees and it's harder for him to get into a defensive stance. He likes to roam and take risks which can be good at times but not always. He's not picking up steals like he used to. "A defensive stance is a little bit like a bear taking a crap in the woods." Bryant doesn't move laterally as well as he used to without a drop step because of knee tendinitis. They're working with him to get to the level he used to reach. He's still capable and often rises to the challenges they present to him. Officials (Kupchak): There are channels to log complaints with the league. Sometimes a public message is sent by Jackson despite the fine it causes. The NBA deals with officials very seriously and they are reprimanded and fined when they make mistakes. Officials (Jackson): He tells a story about coaching the Chicago Bulls against the New York Knicks when he got a technical from Joey Crawford for just looking at him funny. The Kobe Bryant "Witch-hunt" (Jackson): The Lakers sent in tape of other scorers (doing similar things as Bryant) to try and prove that Bryant's motions were natural basketball acts. Chris Mihm's ankle (Kupchak): A severe sprain usually heals in 4-6 weeks. It didn't heal quickly. He rehabbed it over the summer but it didn't heal. They did arthroscopic surgery to take out bone/cartilage fragments. He still didn't heal. The Laker doctors wanted him to rehab through it. Mihm went to his own doctor for a second opinion and the decision was reconstructive surgery and cost the entire season. He is back on the court but nowhere near basketball ready. They hope he'll be back to peak form by summer. Then they'll talk to him about playing basketball for the Lakers next year. Using the media to send a message (Jackson): He likes to motivate players through the media. He challenges them directly in the locker room as well. The team has been playing well at times but not closing out games. That's the focus now. Some of that has to do with players who have not rehabilitated themselves fully yet from injury (Walton, Odom and Brown). Mo Evans (Kupchak): Evans had a great training camp. Detroit preferred to keep another player so he became available. He's an energy player who likes to score the ball. He's had swelling on his knee for eight weeks now (at times the size of a grapefruit). They look forward to seeing what he can do both this and next year. Mo Evans (Jackson): Jackson called Ron Harper (an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons) to get a feel for Evans before the trade was executed. Harper gave the thumbs up. Jackson says he's shown forward skills. Next year they hope to help him develop his guard skills. Hall of Fame (Jackson): Wishes there were some players inducted along with him. Asked Tex Winter to do his introduction but he's not likely to travel that far. He's pushing to get Winter in as well. Playoffs (Jackson): They may play Phoenix or Dallas. They'll know by Wednesday night if the Kings game is a "must-win." Regardless they'll go up to Sacramento to win. "In my mind's eye I would like to play against Phoenix. There are a couple of reasons . . ." (Jackson goes on to ignore the Suns matchup and discuss in detail the Mavericks). Even though LA only beat Dallas once, LA didn't have Odom for any of the four. He likes the Odom/Dirk Nowitzki matchup. "We're not intimidated by the fact that Dallas has such a great record this year. We think that we have a chance to beat them and that's the way we're going in to play this series . . . we have matchups that work for us. They have a deep bench. Stackhouse coming in gives them a great scorer off the bench and we have to worry considerably about that." (Bill MacDonald interrupts Jackson though it appears the question has sort of been answered though it's odd the response was all about the Mavericks). How can they win in the playoffs considering their recent play? (Jackson): Jackson says they've played good basketball but just haven't finished out games. Brown is back, Odom is getting better (though he doesn't have his outside shot), and Walton is getting his conditioning back. It's key they have their personnel healthy and available. If they have the bodies and a bench they "may have a chance to do some things." Coach Jackson praised Laker fans for their enthusiasm and loyalty and the discussion came to an end. The Bottom Line Luke Walton and possibly Chris Mihm will return. Jordan Farmar, Ronny Turiaf, Mo Evans and Andrew Bynum are keepers. It didn't sound like the team was prepared to break up the combination of Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. Trading draft picks for a veteran sounds intriguing but LA would have to send out some salary. Do the Lakers want to play Phoenix or Dallas? Plenty of material to chew on . . . </div> Source: Hoopsworld
