According to a respectable clublakers.com poster, the Webber deal is off... http://www.clublakers.com/forums/tnts-sage...,start,570.html Search through that thread, the members name is Gumbygld and he's very well respected over there. He was the first to report about Ariza going to the Lakers, before the deal was even made official, before any media outlets reported it. Take his word for what you want, but according to them, he's very notable. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Lakers might be closer to signing DJ Mbenga, a 7-footer who was cut last week by Golden State. Mbenga, who attended Thursday's game, averaged 1.2 points and 1.9 rebounds for the Warriors in 16 games.</div> http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/n...4&cset=true Ok guys, he is our man! He will be an instant crowd favorite: <div><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T1rZBxn3Zx8&"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T1rZBxn3Zx8&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /></embed></object></div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ToddMacCulloch11 @ Jan 18 2008, 07:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That video is pretty much better then anything Chris Webber ever did.</div> lol
I'm not excited about adding DJ Mbenga at all. He doesn't have the experience factor, his offense is raw, and he doesn't have any girth to clog the paint. He's a good shot blocker, but the problem is he goes after everything and that leaves the weakside wide open for players to make easy baskets, like Nick Collison was getting in the Seattle game. Webber makes more sense for us if we can get him. I also would prefer to take a flyer on Chris Anderson ahead of DJ Mbenga.
Alright who the hell is DJ Mbenga, and why would anyone choose him over Chris Webber. The guy is a career scrub, he has never done anything in the league. Whatever, we'll see what happens, but I am not excited at all
I found some interesting facts about him on his Wikipedia page. (Didier Mbenga = DJ Mbenga) Early life and how he discovered basketball: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Didier Mbenga was born in and lived in Zaire (the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for seventeen years as the son of a family involved in the Congolese government. When his father's term was over, the new regime hunted down everyone who worked for the previous leaders. His father died in unknown circumstances and it is unclear if the new regime were the ones behind it. During the war between the Tutsis and the Hutus Didier was falsely accused of being Tutsi and was put in a prison with execution waiting on him in the long run. In the year 1999, after a whole nine months being heavily mistreated in prison, Didier managed to escape after his brother bribed one of the prison guards. Fearing for their lives, Didier and his mother got on a flight out of Congo as soon as possible. The first available flight lead him to Belgium where they were given political asylum. Later on, he would also pick up the Belgian nationality. Once in Belgium, Didier stayed at an asylum center in the town of Kapellen, where he was spotted on the streets by Belgian basketball legend Willy Steveniers. Impressed by his physical appearance, he offered to teach Didier the game of basketball. In the time to come, Steveniers would serve as Didier's personal basketball mentor as well as substitute father. The duo's dream of Didier once playing in the NBA became reality in 2004, when he joined the Dallas Mavericks after spending a few years in various Belgian basketball leagues.</div> Road to the NBA <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Didier Ilunga Mbenga had not even seen a basketball until the age of 19. He is seldom used in games by the Mavericks' coaching staff. Although he's shown spurts of defensive talent in very limited playing time, mostly at the end of games which already have been decided, the African native hasn't show much on the offensive end. However, he retains a devoted following of fans in Dallas and the UK. So much, in fact, that the Mavericks have recently started selling his jersey shirts, which have sold with surprising success.</div> Player Profile <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Didier Mbenga is a solidly built big man that runs the floor extremely well. Due to his inexperience and lack of basketball experience, he aggressively goes for blocks that often lead to fouls or open shots for the man he is supposed to be guarding. His offensive game at the moment is very limited to non-existent. Nonetheless, he remains a coach's favorite,[citation needed] for his willingness to compete and the heart he puts into the game of basketball. On February 13, 2006, Mbenga had a career high 5 blocks in 15 minutes against the New York Knicks. In the 2006 playoffs he was suspended 6 games without pay for entering the stands. He saw coach Avery Johnson's wife being disturbed by some fans, and reportedly went into the stands with owner Mark Cuban to help usher Mrs. Johnson to the locker room. Regardless of his intentions, the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson maintained a hard line against players entering the stands (a direct result of the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl of 2004-2005), suspending him for six games without pay.[2] On February 7, 2007 against Memphis, Mbenga hurt his knee late in the fourth quarter and limped off the court. It was originally thought that he had only strained his knee and should be right after a week or so, however later scans found Mbenga had torn an anterior cruciate ligament, which required surgical reconstruction. As a result of the injury, Mbenga missed the rest of the 2006/07 season.[3] Mbenga speaks many different languages including two languages from the Congo, French, Portuguese, and limited English.</div> I find his backround to be quite interesting. He has a great story. I also like the fact that he ran into the stands to help Avery Johnson's wife. lol. Still, Webber > Mbenga
Yeah he seems like an interesting guy with a great personality, but he doesn't have the fundamentals to produce for us. He's relatively new to the game and it's going to be tough for him to learn the offense. The Lakers don't need anymore projects, we need a stop gap replacement for Bynum and I think Webber is a top candidate to fill that void.
coach jackson says we dont need offense, we need defense, and weber can't D at his age anymore .. all according to phil
Supposedly it's a done deal and Mbenga is coming in for a physical tomorrow! I'm happy about it I guess, he's a big guy who played decent defense on Andrew. What I'd really like to see though is for him to step up and be an enforcer for this team. He's got the bulk and the strength to give out hard fouls when need be, to step up when Kobe takes a hard foul.
Is there any reason why we signed a career scrub over Chris Webber? This doesn't make sense to me, especially since all reports were saying that Webber was interested in playing for us.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 19 2008, 10:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Is there any reason why we signed a career scrub over Chris Webber? This doesn't make sense to me, especially since all reports were saying that Webber was interested in playing for us.</div> defense
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 18 2008, 01:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'm not excited about adding DJ Mbenga at all. He doesn't have the experience factor, his offense is raw, and he doesn't have any girth to clog the paint. He's a good shot blocker, but the problem is he goes after everything and that leaves the weakside wide open for players to make easy baskets, like Nick Collison was getting in the Seattle game. Webber makes more sense for us if we can get him. I also would prefer to take a flyer on Chris Anderson ahead of DJ Mbenga.</div> Pretty accurate there Shape. I would say that he is a space-eater though, he's listed at 7'0 250lbs but he is a real specimen and ripped as hell. Think of a 7 foot Ben Wallace, only less talented on defense/rebounding. He'll give you decent man defense on the monster C's of the league, he'll change and block some shots but he does go for them too often like you said. His offensive game is pretty bad and his hands are suspect. Every few games he will give you a couple of minutes of good production and energy where he's all over but he'll usually follow it up with a poor performance. He's a decent stopgap backup C but shouldn't be in the long term plans.
Do you really think Webber can defend the big men in the west guys? I'm all for passing on Webber if DJ can be a defensive anchor in the middle. We're not asking him to be Bynum, we're asking him to convert on the open layups/dunks that Kwame can't. That's all. Some of you guys are being a little overly critical. I like Run's assessment about his defense.
what about trading kwame for samuel dalembert from the sixers? do you think they would do it? they do want cap rellief but are they willing to give up sam for it? i think we could get it done but then again i dont really know much of the sixers so maybe they would never do it, what do you think?
So is Mitch planning on signing anyone? Or are we just going to be shorthanded for the next 8 weeks or so?
