The Lakers did give up some size trading away Brian Cook, although I'll make the argument Ariza plays "bigger" than Cook ever has or will. The Lakers are thin upfront with Kwame and Turiaf banged up and Chris Webber is an unsigned free agent.</p> The Lakers flirted with him last year, but Webber wanted to be guaranteed minutes with the starters. PJax wasn't going to make that promise so Webber ended up going to Detroit.</p> Webber has the skillset to be a productive player in the Triangle offense, and the Lakers pace is slow enough for him to keep up.</p> Another option could be signing Ernest Brown to a contract. He was decent for us in the preseason and showed some toughness.</p> Jackie Butler is another big man I'd be interested in bringing in. He spent a year with the Spurs and was traded to the Rockets in the Scola deal. He's a decent shotblocker and has size.</p>
Well we have an open roster spot. With Brian Cook now gone, and Kwame Brown injured, we look really thin up front. I think we will end up signing a free agent, I have no idea who. I definetely wouldn't mind Chris Webber, or maybe even PJ Brown. But we definetely have to do something because we are really thin up front.</p> Btw, I read that we also got the Magic's injured player exception (or something like that). They got the exception from Tony Battie, who is out for the season, and threw it in the deal to make the salaries work. I don't know exactly what it is, but I'm guessing it's like a trade exception, and we can use it to sign a free agent</p>
It's $2.5M available for the team to spend without worrying about the salary cap.</p> On a sidenote, it looks like Turiaf is playing tonight so we aren't as thin upfront anymore. But signing another big for insurance would make a lot of sense.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pablitocesar)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> anderson varejao is a good option for the PF, what do you think?</p> </div></p> I like him, but Cleveland still owns his rights and if we signed him for only $2.5M they would match it right away.</p> </p>
Webber is going to want a starting spot. I don't think it's in the Lakers' best interest to promise something like that. Plus, I don't think he's that good anymore that he's worth the hassle (and I do think he's a hassle).</p> Jackie Butler sounds like the right prescription here.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shapecity)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> It's $2.5M available for the team to spend without worrying about the salary cap.</p> </div></p> Does it sound a bit odd to you that the Magic had the 2.5M exception, and Webber said he wouldn't mind playing for the Magic? The Magic then said they have no interest in Webber and went on and traded for Brian Cook? So they basically chose Cook over Webber? That doesn't quite strike me the right way. I mean, I still wouldn't mind him, but I don't like the fact that he's coming in and demanding a starting job, and maybe an x amount of minutes per game. He has to earn his way onto the team. I've never liked the guy in Sacramento, and I sure as hell hated him in Philly. The guybrought nothing to the table and had a horrible attitude. Given his past, he is certainly not a winner. It seems like whichever team he goes to gets the "Webber curse." I don't really want him, or his attitude rubbing off on our young players. I'd much rather go for someone like PJ Brown if he's still interested in playing. Or maybe another young body in Jackie Butler. Another thing about Webber is that he does not play defense. We should be focused on our defense before anything else</p>
There are better options out there. If he's demanding a starting spot, then screw him. Our chemistry is at a high right now, I don't want him to ruin that. From what I remember, his defense isn't all that great...I remember back in Washington, Kwame Brown torched his ass a couple of times, there has to be a better defensive prospect out there.</p>
