Farmar was ridic tonight man, really glad to see him come around again. I KNEW Fish and Lamar would bounce back, there wasn't a doubt in my mind, that's why I get so pissed when people start talking after just one game. Kobe was sick as usual, awesome game from him. Man, we looked really nice out there tonight, most importantly, defensively as well. I don't see anybody beating us right now.
The Lakers are playing the best basketball in the post season and are going to be tough for any of the remaining teams to deal with. The Lakers put a lot of offensive pressure on teams and now their defense is starting to come around. The physical series with Utah really prepared the Lakers for the Spurs and they are playing with an edge I have not seen the last 3 years. Fisher has been the catalyst with his toughness and it's rubbing off on Sasha and Odom. We have to carry this confidence into San Antonio now and win at least 1 game there. The Lakers bench has dominated San Antonio in the first two games and the Spurs haven't been able to capitalize when Kobe goes to the bench. The Spurs are getting a lot of wide open looks, but the players the Lakers are leaving open aren't knocking down their shots. They said in the post-game show the Spurs bench needs to go for 30 to 35 points to keep San Antonio in the game if the Lakers bench continues to produce.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (illmatic @ May 24 2008, 03:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Farmar was ridic tonight man, really glad to see him come around again. I KNEW Fish and Lamar would bounce back, there wasn't a doubt in my mind, that's why I get so pissed when people start talking after just one game. Kobe was sick as usual, awesome game from him. Man, we looked really nice out there tonight, most importantly, defensively as well. I don't see anybody beating us right now.</div> Nobody was talking after just one game. It's in the long run, Odom isn't a top priority if he doesn't settle for $8-$10 million/year. Making sure we keep Kobe, lock up Bynum, and have enough room to lock up Gasol is more important than locking Odom up if he doesn't want a "cheap" contract. That is where the "talking" comes in.
I want to see Bynum play another season without side effects before I give him priority. I don't think he's such a lock anymore.
I don't think you make a player like Odom, who is at his max potential, the priority over a young stud like Bynum.
I don't think we need to be focusing on potential anymore. Odom should get locked up first (unless Bynum plays the same way again next year), precisely because you know what he brings to the table.
It's just not going to happen, though. Mitch has already stated that Odom's contract is not a priority. He is focused on Bynum, like he has always been. It's not going to change because of one freak accident.
I don't know if Mitch was expecting the recovery process to end up like this though. No one saw this burst in Odom's production either. As far as body of work is concerned, Odom has the edge.
The recovery process isn't on Bynum. All that was needed was a knee scope and rehab, yet the staff felt like they could rehab him back without the surgery. They took way to long to decide on surgery. I just don't know how you can justify Odom, who is at his peak, being a contractual priority over a young stud like Bynum. Not many true C's come through this league anymore, Bynum is one of them.
I think it is because you're underestimating what we've been getting from Odom over the last 40 games. He's on par with Bynum and he doesn't have to come back from any surgery. Of course if he goes crazy during negotiations we'll have to let him go, but Bynum played 35 games this year, and it would have remained that way even if the medical staff had handled his case perfectly this year. He's easily the riskier option, we can't be playing around during Kobe's prime years.
It would have remained that way, but he would've been back for the playoffs. It's a two month recovery/rehab period for the scope surgery. I'm not under-rating Odom's impact since we've got Gasol, I'm just prioritizing based on potential, age, and impact earlier this year that Bynum had. Bynum was our second best player until he went down because of a freak injury. You don't put a player like that on the back burner when it comes to locking them up. Isn't that what Golden State did with Arenas...and he got away. You just don't take the risk with Bynum. It is much easier to find a SF or a PF who will have an impact on the game than a C. That's why you gamble on Odom taking no more than $10 million/year. If he wants more, you've got to let him go.
You risk destroying the chemistry we have by letting Odom go, he also has a special skill set for a third option. Because of that he's not just any overpaid Tweener, and we know what we're getting from Odom; we've seen him stay healthy. I also don't know why Bynum needs to be asking for so much money after such little history with the team. With the exact same roster next year we know we can compete for a title, with Bynum (minus Odom) we don't know how he'll develop his game, or if he'll be in the right kind of physical condition at the most crucial moments of the season (he could cost us home-court advantage in the West, or a series, for example).
He's not asking for the money, it's the money the kind of player he has the potential to be, demands. And I don't mean verbally demands..I mean his skill set, his impact, and his presence deserve that kind of money. Odom is going to be one hell of an attractive trade piece next year...what is he, a $15 million expiring contract? And yeah, you can risk letting Odom go. He wasn't much of anything until Gasol got here. It's not hard to find a 3 in this league that can be a 3rd/4th option behind Kobe and Gasol. I'm not selling Odom short here, his impact has been awesome, but his offensive impact is easily replaceable. His rebounding impact will be replaced by Bynum. The only thing we'd really miss was his size and his passing abilities.
The Lakers don't have to rush any decision they make in locking up Odom or Bynum. The Lakers have Odom under contract for another season along with Bynum. Let's see how this current year plays out and also track Bynum's progress from his knee surgery for next season. The Lakers have always taken care of their players if they are worth keeping and I think the plan is to bring everyone back. Odom knows what it's like to play for a lousy franchise (Clippers) versus the attention you get playing with the Lakers. I'm sure he'll take a paycut to stick around and continue to play with Kobe and the best franchise in the NBA. The same should hold true for Bynum. The team really took a flier on him and have invested a lot in him. We can also thank Al Jefferson for negotiating a smaller deal when we extended with the TWolves. He's getting a fair contract at $11M with annual increases of $1M per season. I think his contract should be the blueprint for Bynum's extension, assuming Bynum returns to his pre-injury form.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Black Mamba @ May 24 2008, 05:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He's not asking for the money, it's the money the kind of player he has the potential to be, demands. And I don't mean verbally demands..I mean his skill set, his impact, and his presence deserve that kind of money. Odom is going to be one hell of an attractive trade piece next year...what is he, a $15 million expiring contract? And yeah, you can risk letting Odom go. He wasn't much of anything until Gasol got here. It's not hard to find a 3 in this league that can be a 3rd/4th option behind Kobe and Gasol. I'm not selling Odom short here, his impact has been awesome, but his offensive impact is easily replaceable. His rebounding impact will be replaced by Bynum. The only thing we'd really miss was his size and his passing abilities.</div> Well I certainly think we will have both, because of what Shape stated. However, we have no idea how some other Tweener/SF/PF will do in this offense, or if he will have the intelligence to mesh quickly enough in the triangle. I would say one can risk letting Bynum go. Especially if we win a title this year, you just don't mess with a roster like that for some kid coming off surgery who's played well for less than half a season in his only productive year. You fear Gasol getting pounded over an entire season at center but imagine what Bynum will have to go through. I'm not certain he has adjusted to this grueling 82-game pace. We can't just say, "yeah he'll be back for the playoffs and be just fine". This is an evolving opinion of mine, and at the current moment, this is how I see it because we will win everything this year.
