The only way to argue with someone who says your team won't make the playoffs, aren't contenders, etc...is just to say that you're a fan for one reason: to support your team, no matter what, even if that means believing in what seems to be the impossible. If anyone saw Paul Hamm win the gold last night, it was almost impossible to do until he stepped up and won...and I had faith in him the whole time. Any fan of any other team should concern themselves with their own franchise instead of another...
Don't forget Kidd's wife, she dreams of being a media darling and I am sure she could find a nice morning show to host or the best dam sports show, etc. that are all based in LA. I'm sure Jack could find her a role in one of his movies. J KIDD DEMANDS A TRADE TO LA hey, it worked for shaq!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobe_8:</div><div class="quote_post">at least we're not warriors... who the ***** is warriors </div>real mature man, you look like a promising poster. Do you hear me claiming ridiculous claims about my team?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">Any fan of any other team should concern themselves with their own franchise instead of another...</div>Wow, are you kidding? So are you saying we should not have an opinion on any other franchise but our own? Don't you think this board would get pretty boring after a while?
To the person who said that the Nets wouldn't want to trade a player like Jason Kidd for cap space and players... who woulda thought that the Nets would let KMart go for 3 draft picks? Who woulda thought that they trade Kittles for basically nothing? The Nets want to cut salary, so a possibility of a trade always remains.
No they are not contenders but they are just one or two key players from being one again, perferbly a more reliable big man then Vlade. (not sayin he's bad but he's getting old) They aren't contenders this year, but they will be again in the long run. The only two contenders from the West IMO are T-Wolves and Spurs, one of these teams will make it out for sure. But once again, nothing is for certain. If the Nuggets went from the bottom to the playoffs and the Utah Jazz could almost make the playoffs with virtually no superstars then anything is possible, it all depends on chemistry and clutch performances. Actually, non of the teams should be counted out, it'll be a real dogfight for playoff spots this year, the only 3 teams that can distinguish themselves in the West in terms of regular standings are Twolves Spurs and Kings. The rest is up for grabs.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">Wow, are you kidding? So are you saying we should not have an opinion on any other franchise but our own? Don't you think this board would get pretty boring after a while?</div> In regards to how you stated that the Lakers were not going to be a contender...yes. You can simply say, "In my opinion, the Lakers will not be a title contender." Instead, you say, "The Lakers will not be title contenders this year. Stop dreaming." This, to me, is unnecessary. We may have a slim chance to be contenders, but to say that we are dreaming is almost like saying that there's no chance and that we are all just relying on wishful thinking.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">In regards to how you stated that the Lakers were not going to be a contender...yes. You can simply say, "In my opinion, the Lakers will not be a title contender." Instead, you say, "The Lakers will not be title contenders this year. Stop dreaming." This, to me, is unnecessary. We may have a slim chance to be contenders, but to say that we are dreaming is almost like saying that there's no chance and that we are all just relying on wishful thinking.</div> ^ Agreed
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers will not be title contenders this year, stop dreaming.</div> Dream while you still live. The US dreamt of winning the gold in basketball... and it sent the current Dream Team! Chris Mullin dreamt of the Warriors being contenders next season... and he signed Derek Fisher a $37 mil contract! We Laker fans dreamt of the Lakers being contenders next season... and we re-signed Kobe, traded an old grumpy player for one good role player (Grant), one future all-star (Odom), and one emerging star (Butler), signed a good role player center with good vision (Divac), traded a point guard who is past his prime for a good backup center (Mihm), good backup point (Atkins), good backup and tradable asset forward (Jones). We hope we had a dream that would not be as hard to justify.
Fellas, I know as Laker fans we can hope and dream about title #15 arriving in Los Angeles for the fourth time in six years, but let's face it here, we're not celebrating a championship next season. Sure, even if we get a realistic shot at landing Jason Kidd, we arguably have the best backcourt in the game, but the main problem we have is the center position and our bench as always. Shaq was the dominant force at the center position, and if you take 360 pounds away from powerful dominance, agility, and strength, how can you still be an intimidating team that can't be reckoned with? Chris Mihm was a guy we were looking at, and he can be a solid contributor off the bench, and there's no way Vlade Divac can replace the giant we once had. Plus, is he even dedicated to LA? Heck, he even pointed out that the Kings will always be his first love. We improved big time at the forward positions where we brought in Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, where we can finally have some balanced scoring instead of our other guys looking like spectators and watching Kobe do all the dirty work. I think 'Chak did a good job in those areas, but our bench is still one big question mark. Luke Walton and Brian Cook are second year players now, but I really feel they still have a lot of developing to do in a ton of areas. Who knows if Devean George can be an aggressive player rather than losing his confidence? And would Sasha develop into an excellent sixth man type player, or would he need a serious mentor to help him out at all costs? That we lost out on in trading away Payton and letting Fisher slide to Oakland. My point being is that we shouldn't dream about something that isn't going to happen this year. Give this organization at least two more years to get this franchise back on it's own feet, and our Lakers will rise to prominence again. Sixth seed guys. Nothin' but six. But if anything amazing happens in the playoffs, It'll be spectacular.
I'd just like to say that everyone needs to stop saying that the Lakers need a center. We have one...Vlade...and another in Mihm. What can they do? Not much, except they really don't need to. Does anyone really think about the West centers? Michael Olowokandi from the T-Wolves, Rasho Nesterovic from the Spurs...and so on. The only threat as a true center will be Magloire and Yao Ming...but I really think that Odom can do damage as a Laker, and the Rockets will have even more trouble containing Kobe now that Odom is around...because if we do get Malone, we can stick him on the centers defensively, against Magloire and Yao...because Malone will hold these guys like he did Shaq in the off-season last year (during Laker practices, he was really keeping Shaq away from the hoop). Karl's big body can still bang around with anyone in the league...and if there's no Karl, Odom has enough athleticism to play center during the Rockets and Hornets games with the Lakers. This can work.
i really do hope that we get Kidd... but the only problem with this is the Lakers are lacking shooters... guys that can hit it from the 3. can anyone please prove me wrong on this....?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting yanix:</div><div class="quote_post">i really do hope that we get Kidd... but the only problem with this is the Lakers are lacking shooters... guys that can hit it from the 3. can anyone please prove me wrong on this....?</div> We have shooters, but they became so lazy that they were like a few guys just standing out on the court. Rush can be a great player...George walkes the perimeter and waits for that one pass for a wide-open three, but if he would just be more aggressive and attack the basket, he'd be a better player also. Walton did this and proved to be effective, but now he'll be playing more minutes...in other words, the Lakers have no room for the word "inconsistency" and they need to pull together and move without the ball...work hard at crashing the boards and transition defense...and we'll be looking at a playoff spot, with or without Malone and/or Kidd.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">We have shooters, but they became so lazy that they were like a few guys just standing out on the court. Rush can be a great player...George walkes the perimeter and waits for that one pass for a wide-open three, but if he would just be more aggressive and attack the basket, he'd be a better player also. Walton did this and proved to be effective, but now he'll be playing more minutes...in other words, the Lakers have no room for the word "inconsistency" and they need to pull together and move without the ball...work hard at crashing the boards and transition defense...and we'll be looking at a playoff spot, with or without Malone and/or Kidd.</div> whew thanks man... i needed that... i was soo worried that the lakers didnt have any shooters... i forgot about rush, george and walton (hopefully) it would really help though if we had kidd and malone!! then the lakers are gonna be a way more better team than last season.. lakers all the way!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">In regards to how you stated that the Lakers were not going to be a contender...yes. You can simply say, "In my opinion, the Lakers will not be a title contender." Instead, you say, "The Lakers will not be title contenders this year. Stop dreaming." This, to me, is unnecessary. We may have a slim chance to be contenders, but to say that we are dreaming is almost like saying that there's no chance and that we are all just relying on wishful thinking.</div>Look, if you look at it realistically like Emo and a few other Lakers fans have, the Lakers just don't have the team to be title contenders this year. I'm not trying to knock them at all. They will still be good and they will still make the playoffs but there are other teams that are a lot stronger than them. Don't take things so personal here.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting yanix:</div><div class="quote_post">i really do hope that we get Kidd... but the only problem with this is the Lakers are lacking shooters... guys that can hit it from the 3. can anyone please prove me wrong on this....?</div> Chucky Atkins shoots the ball well from the perimeter if someone else creates the shot for him. Rush clearly can make the three but alot of his looks last year came off Shaq drawing some much attention in the post, so he might have some difficulty now that He will more or less have to create most of his own opportunites from downtown. But still a notable shooter none the less. Luke Walton defanitely improved his outside shot from Zona to the Lakers last year. And it should show more signs of improvement next year as his role on the team may increase. DG's jumpshot will probably be the most affect by the lost of Shaq. He spent the last 4 or 5 season just being basically a spot up shooter for Shaq when he got double, And know with that missing link in the post, he will be called on to make somewhat of a 180 degree turn and create his own perimeter shot. He probably will struggle. In the finals last year, when it was time for people to create there own perimeter shot due to the Pistons lack of doubling Shaq, DG folded. Kobe has range, Also Tony Bobbit if he can make the regular season active roster and find a nitch or role on the team, based on him at Cinny he can defantely shoot the basketball. And you never know his role might end up being a designated shooter off the bench. So the Lakers dont have that drop dead perimeter shooter but as a collective unit they will be alright from the perimeter.
Compare 04 Lakers To 03 Pistons <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Emo:</div><div class="quote_post">Fellas, I know as Laker fans we can hope and dream about title #15 arriving in Los Angeles for the fourth time in six years, but let's face it here, we're not celebrating a championship next season. Sixth seed guys. Nothin' but six. But if anything amazing happens in the playoffs, It'll be spectacular.</div> It is not a stretch at all to see the Lakers back in the championship game and sixth seed is a joke when you look at the west, to see how good this team is just compare to last years Pistons. A new coach with great experience and a great system-Rudy T. The best player in the league in a system that will finally let him play-Kobe. A smooth big forward with a questionable past finally coming into his own-Odom. An intimidating power forward-Malone, solid role players. Except for San Antonio, no body else in the west has proved anything. Kobe will become the next Jordan this season under Rudy T. and the Lakers will win title #15
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatthef?:</div><div class="quote_post">An intimidating power forward-Malone,</div>Is Malone still expected back in a Laker uniform? btw- I don't think others are too intimidated by him anymore.
