Ariza > Brown > Odom > Mbenga > Powell. Wow, Powell really took a nose dive to end the season. I think Ariza and Brown are both more viable options than Odom, barely. Mbenga should be back if he settles for the minimum again. He is a good piece to have, a good 3rd string C.
Signing Ariza should be our main priority. Man, I hope that Kobe's gonna be willing to take a huge paycut so that we can be able to re-sign those players.
If we win the championship, Buss will most likely keep the team together. If not, I see us retaining Ariza and Brown, and letting LO walk. Ariza is a starter, Brown is (could be) a future starter, while Lamar will always be a bench player with Drew/Pau. Most likely we package Farmar with Morrison and a pick to grab a backup PF.
I don't think these decisions are difficult any longer. The Lakers priorities should be bringing back Ariza and Shannon Brown. Those two are gamers, young, and have a lot of upside. They compliment the star players on this team and are only going to get better with more experience in the Triangle offense. Lamar Odom I don't mind bringing back, but he has to take 75% pay reduction. He only shows up 25% of the time so he's only worth 25% of his current salary IMO. If Andrew Bynum didn't injure himself again, Lamar Odom would really be after thought for this team. I'd like to bring back Mbenga & Powell, but I think they'll find better pay days after their run in LA. Unless we clear out some room by dumping Sasha or Walton, they'll both be cap casualties and replaced by cheaper talent.
It'd be nuts to let Odom go. He's at worst your backup at all three frontcourt positions (indirectly when he rests Bynum and Pau moves to C). Plus, Bynum hasn't shown he can play a full healthy season. Imagine the team with both of them gone, who's the frontcourt?
I love LO, but quite honestly, I'm sick and tired of his inconsistent play. He had a great Game 5, but was invisible in the first four games, and got owned in the Houston series. If he could play hard and play towards his talents every single game, he'd definitely be an allstar, and we'd have the championship on lock. But as you've stated, LO doesn't show up. Even if he does decide to take a paycut, I think the team would benefit if they could find somebody who can give us solid production night in and night out from the bench. Instead of three or four invisible games, followed by one monster game, I'd rather get a guy who can string together five solid games in a row. LO's a loveable guy, and he's someone you love to root for, but his game has always annoyed me. Shape, if we don't bring back LO, who are some realistic targets we could be interested in during the offseason?
He said he would take a paycut to stay. Regardless though, there aren't going to be too many players in free agency this year, and those who are, I cannot see any team offering more than 7-8 million dollars.
I agree with most of you guys about making Ariza top priority and Odom... well hes gotta go. Lakers probably won't have much money left after re-signing Ariza and Odom probably won't play for what they would want to pay him. But all is not lost in lala land. Lucky for you guys there's some good vets out there that could definitely try to latch onto a contender on a 1 year deal. Antonio McDyess, Rasheed (less likely), Leon Powe could come cheap having under gone another knee surgery, Joe Smith, Varejao (hes got a player option), Gooden, Zaza Pachulia are all FAs, unrestricted I believe though I could be wrong on a few, and could come cheap. Also you guys have a nice looking D-Fish + Ammo combo of expiring contracts that add up to 10.3 mil of salary cap space. The Lakers could be well served to take advantage of the teams that are looking to dump salary at all costs and land a good player for virtually nothing. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if Fish was bought out in such a deal and came back to the L's 60 days later or whatever the time limit is.
I'm not sure if the Lakers would be willing to trade D-Fish, for whatever reason, but I never thought of the buyout option. If we wanted to though, we could package him and AMMO, for a total of 10 million in expiring. Maybe throw in a young point guard prospect Jordan Farmar, and a pick, we'll have a very attractive trade package. Most likely, if we do not retain either Trevor or Lamar, we'll trade for a replacement. Vets like Mcdyess and Smith would be nice, but for some reason I don't see them coming here. I doubt Smith leaves Cleveland, and IMO Mcdyess probably retires. Would be a good pickup though. But if we're going to be going after someone like Rasheed for MLE money, I'd actually rather just resign Lamar to the 7-8 million dollar contract (assuming he accepts), even though I'm not a big Lamar Odom guy...
Valid points, I agree on most. For whatever reason, I don't see al ot of those old guys latching onto LA. I see McDyess trying to get with Cleveland or Boston with the darkhorse being Orlando just because hes from the south. I can't see Sheed going to LA to be a backup either. Also don't see Smith leaving Cleveland but who knows if they decide to go with McDyess instead. Powe is a legit possibility though, I'd bet he values being close to home and as I mentioned before good contract offers could be slim due to his knee surgery. Boston fans have told me that they can only afford to retain one of Powe or Big Baby and Big Baby won Boston over so I doubt Powe gets much of an offer from the Celts. Gooden is also a possibility just because I don't think anyone will want him so his contract demands could get pretty low. Seems like a good fit on the Lakers with his rebounding and general scoring ability. Shitty defender though but still a good reserve.
Well I heard Sheed wants 8 million next year to come back, or at least that's what I read. Personally, judging by the way he played this year, I doubt he has too much left in the tank. So again, I'd rather hold onto Lamar if it came down to it. I agree with McDyess and Smith. Dice probably wants to stay East, and I see no reason why Smith would want to come to LA when he's already playing with a contender. Powe is a legit option, but isn't this his third major knee injury? That scares me, I'd rather stay away from him unless he comes really cheap. I know Shape would be thrilled though. Drew Gooden probably stays in San Antonio, wouldn't be a horrible option, but I'd rather look elsewhere if possible. He doesn't play any defense. I think these guys are all valid options, and I'm sure Mitch will be monitoring them in the offseason. But I believe the most realistic option is by trade. We have a lot of good trading pieces, plus it saves money because we don't have to take on extra salary. Regardless though, I expect guys like Morrison, Farmar, Sasha, Luke, and probably Fish to be shopped around, along with our first round pick. A package of Morrison-Farmar-Fish-1st rounder looks quite appealing to be honest, especially when you think about what we gave up for an allstar in Pau Gasol. I'm not worried about the offseason. It'll be fun after we win the championship this year (). Mitch has really won me over lately with his trades. The latest trade for Shannon Brown was genius. I have faith he'll do anything possible to improve this team and will succeed.
