According to this article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1862591 Rudy Tomjanovich has said he is pretty sure The Mail Man will be returing to LA. Gahhhhhhhhh! I was hoping he'd go to Maimi. Aww well its his choice.
this article is somewhat old and it means nothing really. some guy from fox just made an article on this because he knew that people would read it and blow it out of proportion, plain and simple. almost every laker fan will tell you he will resign because of his family and kobe. almost every one else will tell you that he said he was pissed when they traded shaq cuz he was robbed of the only reason he came here, they stabbed GP in the back (he wanted to play with GP), is probably concerned that they will do the same with him and trade him to another team, and the lakers most likely will not win another title before he retires. and no I'm not saying mailman will sign with miami so you need to dead it.
I hope he does sign with the Lakers. He'd be a big help and the Lakers would probably be forced to make a trade...which I'm hoping would send a few mediocre players (Cook, George, etc.) for a more talented player. It's a little out there, but it could happen.
well he'd be a real help to lakers if he does decide to stay yea!! out with Cook!! im not so sure about George though....
I give up on predicting whats going to happen with Karl. Guess we'll let everything take its course.....
Just to add my two cents to this... I honestly don't want Malone to be back with us next season. Yes, we can have arguments all we want about Malone's amazing defense on one of the best power forwards in the game, but let's not forget, this man is 40 years old, his body is already deteriorating and we sure witnessed that in the Finals, and he no longer has the offensive performances he used to bring in the past. Pretty much, the best thing a 40 year old man can do in basketball is mentor to the younger guys to make them better basketball players, and I don't think Malone wants to tarnish his legacy in that kind of fashion.
I can see your point on the issue of Malone returning. But I really think we need him. The Lakers will be a better team with him on the floor. He may not be as great as he was in the past, but I think his leadership will definately be a plus for this young team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting trenchteam:</div><div class="quote_post">I can see your point on the issue of Malone returning. But I really think we need him. The Lakers will be a better team with him on the floor. He may not be as great as he was in the past, but I think his leadership will definately be a plus for this young team.</div>Besides the points that trench makes, you guys got to realize that you are in a rebuilding process and that you need malone until you can find someone to replace him, like when david robinson wouldn't retire until the spurs could find a replacement for him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Emo:</div><div class="quote_post">Just to add my two cents to this... I honestly don't want Malone to be back with us next season. Yes, we can have arguments all we want about Malone's amazing defense on one of the best power forwards in the game, but let's not forget, this man is 40 years old</div> So you're saying you rather see slava or grant start instead?? 40 years old or 20 years old doesnt matter to me. He's better than who we currently have at PF. Just his defense alone is reason enough to keep him for another year
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting lakeshow:</div><div class="quote_post">So you're saying you rather see slava or grant start instead?? 40 years old or 20 years old doesnt matter to me. He's better than who we currently have at PF. Just his defense alone is reason enough to keep him for another year</div> Anything but Slava starting at power forward, but we need replacements for Malone. I understand about Malone's aggressive defense and pulling tricks out of the bag during the playoffs, but he no longer has offensive tactics anymore, he's very fragile at best, and whatever move he makes with those tarnished ankles can ruin his amazing career, and honestly it would kill me if Malone would have to sit another 50 games because of injury and therefore partly ruining his legacy. Malone needs to retire and just understand that some legendary players can't win a ring. Just wasn't meant to be. And to answer your question, yeah I'd like to see either Grant or Odom at the four.
I see Emo's point and I partly agree. The only thing is, I like the idea of Odom playing SF since that would cause mismatches. I'd probably put Grant at PF but Malone could really be useful if he agreed to coming off the bench.
Malone Will Be Our Robinson/walton <div class="quote_poster">Quoting heatfan83:</div><div class="quote_post">Besides the points that trench makes, you guys got to realize that you are in a rebuilding process and that you need malone until you can find someone to replace him, like when david robinson wouldn't retire until the spurs could find a replacement for him.</div> David Robinson and Bill Walton came back to win titles by supporting superstars like Tim Duncan and Larry Bird. Malone will do the same for Kobe and the Lakers. He recognizes a champion when he sees one and that's why he will come back and provide the leadership and toughness they need. With the Lakers he doesn't need to play 40 minutes like he would with Miami who has no front line. Just like Robinson and Walton, Malone will get his title with the Lakers.
^ Lakers didn't win a title with Malone, Shaq, Payton and Kobe, what makes you think they'll win one with Kobe, Odom, Butler and Malone? If he stays, he'll stay cause of loyalty. If he leaves, he will leave for a title or retirement. If he wants a title, he should join SanAntonio or Detriot. Those two are pretty much locks for the finals right now. If Malone joined the Spurs and was 100% then they would be SUPER-reloaded with him and Barry, they'd be downright unstoppable.
Payton was a cancer, good ridance [quote name='spawn']^ Lakers didn't win a title with Malone, Shaq, Payton and Kobe, what makes you think they'll win one with Kobe, Odom, Butler and Malone? Payton was a cancer and the Lakers will be better off without him, hopefully with JKidd, but even with a role player at point, this Laker team will be much more like the Pistons that dismantled our Shaq attack. The Spurs are good, but the game is changing, watch the Olympics or highlights of last years championship game, you need shooters and Kobe is the best in the game. Shaq's lack of movement and free throw shooting slowed the Lakers down and ulimately cost them the finals. Without Shaq the middle will open up and give passers like Vlade and Malone room to work. There is no such thing as a lock for the finals, just ask the 99.9% of the "experts" that picked the Lakers over the Pistons last year. If Jordan and Pippen could win championships with role players, then so can the Lakers with Kobe and Odom!
I think the Lakers will be a sleeper this year and will suprise alot of people. With Malone, I definately think they will be a better team. Like someone mentioned earlier, if Malone can play the PF and Odom can play the SF the Lakers will cause alot of mismatches in SF spot.
the lakers will definitely suprise a lot of non-believers thi season... Malone can provide an example to the younger members in LA. new players like Sasha,Odom,Butler can definitely give the lakers more depth i'd say they have a 75% chance of winning the championship!
I'd say you have a 90% chance of being crazy then. I do believe the Lakers will be better than everyone else expects, but I would be surprised if they got past the 2nd round ( if they even make it that far. I also believe we'll be a top team again in a year or two, but realistically unless the team goes through another huge trade and shakes up the roster even more, we aren't going far. As for Karl coming back I'm with Emo. The Lakers aren't going deep this season, and I would rather see us develop our young players. Don't get me wrong, I really loved watching Karl but I'd rather see him compete with another team and try to get his ring rather than stay with us. If he doesn't want to hop to another team and ruin his legacy, then he should just retire. He's one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and not having a ring doesn't take anything away from that. No matter what happens in the end, I support Karl's decision.
the way things are looking i could see malone going to the heat. i feel so sorry for payton maybe he can get traded there also or maybe even instead of jay will.
