maybe we might be able to entice portland to trade dale davis or theo ratliff? i know neither of those guys is a huge offensive threat but with kobe, odom, caron...i dunno how much more offense we really need...we just need a big body that can muscle up centers and i think they both might be able to do the trick even though they are aging fast...
Dale Davis is in the same mold as Brian Grant, so I can't see why the Lakers would be interested in him...but I like the idea of Theo Ratliff...I brought it up in another thread...Portland needs someone to take young Telfair under their wings, they need to clear cap space (gp's contract expires after the season), and GP originally played at Oregon St...
I like the idea of Ratliff as well. I would like them to thrown in something else though so we can add George. I think GP would be happy in Portland and could be the main guy. It reminds me of his situation in Seattle where he had rising star Rashard Lewis along side him. In Portland, he would have rising star Zach Randolph along side him. I think Ratliff would help us out a lot and if Malone returns healthy they could be a good defensive force down low. Like someone else said were pretty much set on offense with Kobe,Caron and Odom. i would love to see this happen and it would increases the chances of Fish returning! :mrgreen:
As much as I doubt we will get Ratliff, if we did and Malone decided to come back we would have a VERY deep team. The PG spot will be thin and we will need to pick up someone, but we'll have a very solid rotation. I don't like the idea of the rotation having no one taller than 6'10, but we will have something like this: C - Theo Ratliff / Brian Grant PF - Karl Malone / Brian Grant / Lamar Odom SF - Lamar Odom / Caron Butler / Devean George SG - Kobe Bryant / Caron Butler / Kareem Rush PG - Fisher? / someone through free-agency / Sasha Vujacic That is a pretty stacked team, and although I don't think it is good enough to be a top team in the west, I do like it. Our PG spot will be very thin if we trade Gary, but if we can resign Fish and add a vet backup we'll be in good shape. Like I said the only problem I have with that lineup is the fact that our tallest guy will be 6'10, so we'll be giving up a lot of size.
Well, it sounds like malone is done...I don't think he wants to play here without Shaq...heck, i wouldn't be surprised if he signed with the Heat... In anycase, if the lakers can get ratliff, they will be an awesome defensive team..Butler and Kobe are all-defense material, and Ratliff is an intimidating shotblocker...Kobe and Butler are great rebouding swingmen and all Brian Grant does is rebound and defend so that should make up for Ratliff's lack of rebounding... If we trade GP, I'm pretty sure Fisher wil stay...all he wants is to start, and he'll get that opportunity as a LAker...as far as PG depth, remember last year the Heat was training Butler to be a point foward...in addition, Odom can take the ball up the court so I don't see it as a huge issue offensively... What i'd like to see is C - Theo Ratliff / Brian Grant PF - Lamar Odom / Brian Grant SF - Caron Butler / Lamar Odom SG - Kobe Bryant / Caron Butler / Kareem Rush PG - Fisher? / Caron Butler / Sasha Vujacic
Point guard depth to me, isn't a big deal. Kobe can take the ball upcourt and run the offense as he has shown in the past. Plus, Odom has all the skills in the world and he is also fully capable of running the point, as I believe he did from time to time as a Clipper. So, as far as depth at the point goes, the Lakers have others who can take the ball up the court and run the offense, so that's no big deal. But, onto the Ratliff thing. If he does end up coming to Los Angeles, which I believe isn't likely, it will make the Lakers a tremendously good defensive team. Kobe is an all league defender, Ratliff was and has been before, and Butler is a great defensive player also. So, that could definitely be a tough team out West next year. Only knock on it is the fact that the current roster has no one over what, 6'11"? Something like that. So the team would be a fairly short team. But, even if it is short, it will make up for that with some extreme athletecism. Odom, Butler, Bryant, all very young and very athletic players. So, I'm not worried too much about the size problem either. Currently the only thing I'm worried about is Kobe coming back, but that's a whole different subject. And, the only big man out on the market worth pursuing to me, is Dampier. But, the thing about him, you're not sure if he's going to have another season like the one he just had last year. Cause, something to consider, last year was his contract year. He might have just put forth all that effort to make his free agent value higher so he could get a bigger contract. Granted I don't believe he did that, I want to believe he really has became a truly great big man, or at least a good one. But, for the most part, outside of him, there isn't really anyone I can think of right off hand.
I don't think there is a more rampant myth out there than the "Damp only plays well in contract years." Of course I don't hold any non-Warrior fans at fault for not knowing it though, you have to watch all the games to see it. This was the first year that Damp consistently had guys (NVE, Robinson, and Dunleavy) keeping him involved on offense. The two years prior to that, Damp had to deal with guys like Jamison and Arenas dominating the ball and basically just telling Damp to play defense and rebound. Now I know you guys are familiar with the saying, "you've got to feed the big dog if you want him to protect that yard." It was basically the same thing with Damp in Golden State. Last year was simply the first year he was fed consistently.
