<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>C'mon Lakers: It's time to get rid of Lamar Odom. Lamar has overstayed his welcome in LA with his inconsistent play, and right now fits the mold of the "can't-hurt-you-but-can't-help-you" player who fills box scores but doesn't assert himself as a winner. Odom can be extremely versatile, but he rarely hits those turn-the-tide buckets or game-breakers that the Lakers need so damn badly. For the Rhode Island, alum it's a question not so much of skill as of of heart. But given the last two early playoff exits, that seems to a common theme in LA. Consider that Steve Nash wins MVPs not because his stats are crazy, but because he makes those plays that make coaches scream "YES!" Odom, on the other hand, will make a great entry pass here or a spectacular block there, but he gets too caught up in rushing the triangle and then relying on second-chance points after a play has dissolved. So does Kobe, but that's another article. It's hard to argue the point too strongly right now, when the Lakers, according to several rankings, sit atop the NBA—but cracks always widen, and Odom represents missing pieces to a championship puzzle. If Mr. Odom could settle into a role—rebound machine, for example—instead of trying to play Mr. Everything, it would give the team more of a stable identity. Trust me, the Lakers are good. They're a little weak on defense, but they buckle down when they need to. But still there's the confusion of roles in running an already complex offense. It comes down to this: Who's setting up? Jordan? Sasha? Luke? Lamar? Kobe? Odom can handle the ball, but the fact that he can doesn't mean he should. He's made too many ticky-tack turnovers and on-court miscues—which have spelled points for the other squad and bench time for him. Odom may see himself as a Scottie Pippen type, but to play that act with Kobe is fruitless, because Bryant wants to get out of the 1-2 thing he had with Shaq and instead go five-strong. Odom's talent just doesn't jibe with that philosophy. It's like Jerry Buss and Phil Jackson got together and said, "If we could get one player who could be like two, and still have money left over, who should we choose?" Their answer was Lamar. Wrong answer. Players like Shawn Marion or Marcus Camby would have been better choices—besides the cost, they play better defense, grab more boards, and have playoff heart. As a side note, if the Lakers do deal Odom, they should ship off Kwame Brown too, because... 1. He has horrible hands. 2. He would scream if a mouse ran in the locker room 3. He missed two layups that would have given Michael Jordan a triple-double in the last game I ever saw him play. Anyway, back to Odom: Cut a deal Lakers. I can't take another night of him and Luke Walton combining for 4-of-21 shooting.</div> http://bleacherreport.com/articles/6798-NB..._and_Bro-170108
man i so agree with this article. it irks me so much to see caron play so well in washinton, we on the other hand have odom. does he still have that star on his head? cause his underachieving ass needs to shave it off.
Judging by our luck, had we traded Lamar instead of Caron to Washington for Kwame, Lamar would have turned into an allstar calibure player, while Caron would have turned into a super bust
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 18 2008, 12:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Judging by our luck, had we traded Lamar instead of Caron to Washington for Kwame, Lamar would have turned into an allstar calibure player, while Caron would have turned into a super bust</div> No way would Butler be a bust. He actually enjoys playing basketball and working on his skills. Odom and Kwame are players who love the NBA lifestyle, but don't have a passion for the game. Odom is the same player he was when he first entered the league. He hasn't added jack to his game. He still can't finish with his right hand, he has no back to the basket game, he doesn't know how to free himself up by moving without the basketball, has no mid-range jumper, and is clumsy. Odom is your typical street ball basketball player masquerading as an NBA player. Kwame has digressed every season he's been in the league. I think he might have finally played himself out of the league after last night's performance. Mitch did a good job of cleaning up his Brian Cook mistake and now he needs to continue cleaning house and bringing in gym rats who have a passion for the game. Farmar is a keeper, JCritt is a keeper, Turiaf is a keeper, Ariza is a keeper. Those guys love playing ball and you can see it with their development. Odom, Kwame, Puke, Sasha, Radman all need to eventually be off the roster.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 18 2008, 02:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 18 2008, 12:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Judging by our luck, had we traded Lamar instead of Caron to Washington for Kwame, Lamar would have turned into an allstar calibure player, while Caron would have turned into a super bust</div> No way would Butler be a bust. He actually enjoys playing basketball and working on his skills. Odom and Kwame are players who love the NBA lifestyle, but don't have a passion for the game. Odom is the same player he was when he first entered the league. He hasn't added jack to his game. He still can't finish with his right hand, he has no back to the basket game, he doesn't know how to free himself up by moving without the basketball, has no mid-range jumper, and is clumsy. Odom is your typical street ball basketball player masquerading as an NBA player. Kwame has digressed every season he's been in the league. I think he might have finally played himself out of the league after last night's performance. Mitch did a good job of cleaning up his Brian Cook mistake and now he needs to continue cleaning house and bringing in gym rats who have a passion for the game. Farmar is a keeper, JCritt is a keeper, Turiaf is a keeper, Ariza is a keeper. Those guys love playing ball and you can see it with their development. Odom, Kwame, Puke, Sasha, Radman all need to eventually be off the roster. </div> If Kwame was asking for a roughly 4 or 5 mill (MLE) per year contract would you want to re-sign him?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 18 2008, 02:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 18 2008, 12:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Judging by our luck, had we traded Lamar instead of Caron to Washington for Kwame, Lamar would have turned into an allstar calibure player, while Caron would have turned into a super bust</div> No way would Butler be a bust. He actually enjoys playing basketball and working on his skills. Odom and Kwame are players who love the NBA lifestyle, but don't have a passion for the game. Odom is the same player he was when he first entered the league. He hasn't added jack to his game. He still can't finish with his right hand, he has no back to the basket game, he doesn't know how to free himself up by moving without the basketball, has no mid-range jumper, and is clumsy. Odom is your typical street ball basketball player masquerading as an NBA player. Kwame has digressed every season he's been in the league. I think he might have finally played himself out of the league after last night's performance. Mitch did a good job of cleaning up his Brian Cook mistake and now he needs to continue cleaning house and bringing in gym rats who have a passion for the game. Farmar is a keeper, JCritt is a keeper, Turiaf is a keeper, Ariza is a keeper. Those guys love playing ball and you can see it with their development. Odom, Kwame, Puke, Sasha, Radman all need to eventually be off the roster. </div> I would still want to keep Sasha. He looks like he trying very hard out there and his shot and defense has improved. I also love his energy he brings off the bench. Last few years I didn't like him but this year he's impressing me. Radman I wouldn't mind keeping, if he can stay healthy. He was shooting the lights out before he injured both of his wrists. But Odom, Kwame and Luke have to go. Luke looks completely lost out there, especially when he tries to drive in, he either gets it stripped or his weak shot swatted. I rather have him go back to his old move where he'd post a defender up and then shoot a fade away. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>If Kwame was asking for a roughly 4 or 5 mill (MLE) per year contract would you want to re-sign him?</div> Fisher didn't even get that much. No way in hell I would do it, but that seems like the average deal big men are getting.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumpman @ Jan 18 2008, 10:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>If Kwame was asking for a roughly 4 or 5 mill (MLE) per year contract would you want to re-sign him?</div> Fisher didn't even get that much. No way in hell I would do it, but that seems like the average deal big men are getting. </div> Fisher is gettin 4.3 mill this year, 4.7 and 5 for the next 2. Average big men get big contracts. Jerome James 30 mill over 6 years, Damp got like a 50 mill contract, Rasho makes 8 mill a year and it was a long contract, Nazr is making at least MLE, Dalembert got like 50 mill, Nene got a 50 mill contract I think, Foyle was being paid like 8 mill per year, Brian Grant was making like 15 mill per year, and so forth. I could see a few teams offering anywhere between 3.5 mill and 5 mill. I wouldn't expect any contracts for more than 3 years though.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 18 2008, 02:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 18 2008, 12:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Judging by our luck, had we traded Lamar instead of Caron to Washington for Kwame, Lamar would have turned into an allstar calibure player, while Caron would have turned into a super bust</div> No way would Butler be a bust. He actually enjoys playing basketball and working on his skills. Odom and Kwame are players who love the NBA lifestyle, but don't have a passion for the game. Odom is the same player he was when he first entered the league. He hasn't added jack to his game. He still can't finish with his right hand, he has no back to the basket game, he doesn't know how to free himself up by moving without the basketball, has no mid-range jumper, and is clumsy. Odom is your typical street ball basketball player masquerading as an NBA player. Kwame has digressed every season he's been in the league. I think he might have finally played himself out of the league after last night's performance. Mitch did a good job of cleaning up his Brian Cook mistake and now he needs to continue cleaning house and bringing in gym rats who have a passion for the game. Farmar is a keeper, JCritt is a keeper, Turiaf is a keeper, Ariza is a keeper. Those guys love playing ball and you can see it with their development. Odom, Kwame, Puke, Sasha, Radman all need to eventually be off the roster. </div> sasha has been great for us this year. He plays hard, and appears to love the game. His issue is that he thinks too much and presses because he's trying TOO hard, but at least you know the effort is there. He is the perimeter Turiaf in my mind. I like his spirit, we need more guys with his attitude on this team
I've swayed my opinion on Sasha this year. He's hit some big buckets and seems to be hitting his jumper more often than previous years, HOWEVER, once he hits a couple...he starts throwing shit up. Last night was a perfect example. He came in and hit a few big threes, but then bricked a lot of shots. He needs to let others get him shots and not force things up. He isn't Kobe or Farmar...he can't create for himself.
^ I agree man. Sasha, can shoot, but once he hits a couple he thinks he's Kobe bryant or something Starts shooting everything. Those two big three's were nice but he just kept throwing them up... He looked pretty gassed out too.
Odom is utter crap......I just wish we dropped him, he's not worth anything in the market, his scoring consistency is once in a blue moon, never thought he was good material, he looked good when he played for the clippers, cause all were mostly garbage, so he looked awesome from the bunch.
I wouldn't say Odom is crap, he's just not what this team needs. He's got all sorts of talent, he just doesn't know how to bring it the court every night. He also settles for jumpers far too often instead of driving to the hoop, something he's much better at (even if he can only go left). And I also wouldn't go so far to say he's worth nothing on the market. His massive expiring contract next year is going to be worth a whole lot, even if he isn't playing well.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lavalamp @ Jan 18 2008, 10:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 18 2008, 02:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 18 2008, 12:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Judging by our luck, had we traded Lamar instead of Caron to Washington for Kwame, Lamar would have turned into an allstar calibure player, while Caron would have turned into a super bust</div> No way would Butler be a bust. He actually enjoys playing basketball and working on his skills. Odom and Kwame are players who love the NBA lifestyle, but don't have a passion for the game. Odom is the same player he was when he first entered the league. He hasn't added jack to his game. He still can't finish with his right hand, he has no back to the basket game, he doesn't know how to free himself up by moving without the basketball, has no mid-range jumper, and is clumsy. Odom is your typical street ball basketball player masquerading as an NBA player. Kwame has digressed every season he's been in the league. I think he might have finally played himself out of the league after last night's performance. Mitch did a good job of cleaning up his Brian Cook mistake and now he needs to continue cleaning house and bringing in gym rats who have a passion for the game. Farmar is a keeper, JCritt is a keeper, Turiaf is a keeper, Ariza is a keeper. Those guys love playing ball and you can see it with their development. Odom, Kwame, Puke, Sasha, Radman all need to eventually be off the roster. </div> If Kwame was asking for a roughly 4 or 5 mill (MLE) per year contract would you want to re-sign him? </div> Nope I wouldn't even want him for the vet minimum. We just need a big man with size and good fundamentals. There's plenty of them every year in the draft and also a lot of guys playing overseas. Our front office needs to do a better job of scouting International players who can step right in and play. His small hands is myth as well. For his size they might not be proportionate, but they are a lot bigger than most people. He just has bad hands plain and simple.
I think you guys are being overly critical. Kwame's got a lot of pressure on him with Bynum being out, but when Bynum was in...Kwame was a very serviceable center. I'll gladly take him back for about 2-3 million a year.
If he wants to come back for cheap, then yes I would probably still resign him. He is a pretty good backup center, just not starter material. I don't like Kwame, but if you look around the league, a lot of backup centers probably wouldn't make great starters either. We still have Marc Gasol overseas. Any chance he comes over next year?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 19 2008, 08:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If he wants to come back for cheap, then yes I would probably still resign him. He is a pretty good backup center, just not starter material. I don't like Kwame, but if you look around the league, a lot of backup centers probably wouldn't make great starters either. We still have Marc Gasol overseas. Any chance he comes over next year?</div> I totally forgot about Gasol. I heard he's been doing great in Europe, he'd be like an Oberto for us. So if Gasol is sure to come back, then I say we let Kwame walk. Sun Yue is probably going to come back too.
I'd be surprised if Sun Yue gets any kind of burn. We've got Fisher and Farmar already taking all the minutes up at PG. Where are Yue's minutes going to come from? What a waste of a pick...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Black Mamba @ Jan 19 2008, 09:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'd be surprised if Sun Yue gets any kind of burn. We've got Fisher and Farmar already taking all the minutes up at PG. Where are Yue's minutes going to come from? What a waste of a pick...</div> He can still give minutes if anyone gets injured at PG, SG and SF. He also very versatile, like Lamar Odom. He also has great timing on his blocks and can defend very well with his length. He can be a very good role player if he keeps working on his game and bulk up.
Really? Hmm, I've read nothing positive about Yue. Do you have any links to anything positive about him?
Yue's had a couple of good plays. I've only seems a couple of clips from him, but there really isn't that much news about him. Same with Marc Gasol. I haven't heard a thing about him ever since he got drafted. Yue is 6'9, so he can play more positions than just point guard.
