I usually don't post at all in this forum but with all of this talk with the 2007 plan is killing me. Mitch Kupchak is building for the now and 2007 plan. Mitch is not sitting down and hanging with Jerry Buss's playmates in the playboy mantion throughout this off-season(although I might do that). Mitch is giving us options which is very valuable. We do not want to the the New York Knicks who have no options in relatity. Quite frankly all of these movies that Mitch has been making are impressing me. When Jerry West left, we had a dynasty. Mitch didn't need to make a lot of changes to make our team better because we had to keep our core players in place. So Mitch brought in guys like Luke, and Sasha who are made for the former team but not the one currently. Mitch became a real GM the day we decided to put our franchise in #8's hands. Correct me if I'm wrong but we offered Shaq a big contract extension so that he would still lead the league in money back in the beginning of the year. So we laid off after that ad just went through the season. I have a gut feeling that we all had a plan on trading Shaq from day 1 since he wanted more money than he was worth. By the time free agency came, Shaq was 33 and proved that he couldn't come into training camp in shape. Jerry Buss wanted a new outlook of the team. We wanted Kobe to be the man on our team not Shaq. Kobe has said that at that point that he was not going to play another season with the Lakers unless Shaq was off the team. At that point Shaq was off. Some of you might bask Kobe because of that but you know what, I would've done the same thing. Let's state the facts. Kobe was 26 years old entereing his prime. Kobe wanted to be the man now and lead his own team to championships. We would not win any more championships with Shaq anyway because the league got much stronger and Shaq was getting older and our other players were crap. So we look at our trade options and we don't have any because we will only trade him to the Eastern Conference. Although teams knew we were gettng desparate because of the free agency, we didn't have good offers and there was no way we would've got equal value in return. Shaq had a no-trade clause and could decide on where he wanted to be traded. Then we settled for the trade with Miami which I thought at the point was decent but I thought we could've done better. Shortly after we made a trade with the Celtics; Gary Payton & Rick Fox = Chris Mihm and Marcus Banks & Chucky Atkins. Many of you do not like Chris Mihm but he is a servicable center for us proabably top 10. But I would prefer him to be backup center. So we got a good decent starting center and a spark off the bench. Jumaine Jones proaved to be a decent defender and three-point shooter. Chucky has been a great three-point shooter for us but a horrible defender along with the rest of the team including Kobe.(yes Kobe too)Even though we couldn't get Banks as our point gaurd it helped in disguise for us because Jumaine suprrised alot of people. Those were two great moves in my opinion. We also got Rudy Tomjanavich as our coach. At the time I thought it was brilliant because of his player-coach style but his offense was way to dry. We watch Kobe do his thing and it broke down our offense at times which was bad. We had no teamwork. Starting from the draft I thinkk we had a great draft. With the 10th pick in the draft we drafted Bynum. When Bynum becomes our next great franchise center I don't want alot of you saying you liked him because alot of you hated the pick. But who should've we drafted? Sean May, Gerald Green a Shooting Gaurd. Cmon we got a guy with loads of potential. He's perfect for our team in the future. This team could turn turn into a Kobe Bryant - Andrew Bynum change after maybe 6 or 7 years. We had a steal with the 37th pick with Turiaf. I hope he gets better because no one deserves to have their career taken away from them. But he was a great rebounder and defensive player. Turiaf could've came in and helped us out on the front court. We also drafted with the 39th Von Wafer. Honestly I did not know who that was. All I knew was that I wanted Ukic the point gaurd. But this von wafer I clearly rememberd him in the slam dunk contest. Then I heard about his potential and he had a great summer league. Vonwafer could one day become a great spark for us off the bench as a shooting gaurd and point gaurd. The draft was awesome. After the draft, we signed Phil Jackson. When people say that we won't have a change to win in three years and that Phil is only here for three years, all I have to say is that coaches are overrated in the NBA. We need the players first. But a energized and reupgraded Phil was a huge upgrade from Rudy and Frank Hamblem. We got Phil, Kurt Rambis, Brian Shaw, Frank Hamblem, and a few guys that can be consultants like Kareem and Tex Winter. Then we made a trade with Washington. We traded Caron Butler, Chucky for Kwyame and Laron Profit. That was the only thing that dissapointed me so far in the Lakers plan. I loved the trade except for one tiny thing. I actually wanted to keep Chucky for a back-up point gaurd and that I rather wanted to give up Devean George. But hey they can prove me wrong witht his right. Here we are now with our team, I'm assuming: Pg - Sasha (2 Years with team Option)Smush Parker (1 Year with team Option) Sg - Kobe (5 Years with Player Option) Von Wafer 1 Year with Team option) Sf - Lamar (4 Years), Devean George (1 Year), Jumaine Jones (1 Year), Luke (I'm not totally sure but I think 1 Year with team option), Laron (No Idea but it's under 2 years) Pf - Kwyame Brown (2 Years with Team Option, Slava (1 Year), Brian Cook ( 1 Year with Team Option) C - Chris Mihm (2 Years), Vlade (Team Option now), Bynum (2 Years plus two team options) That is I think our current team. We have only Kobe and Lamar through 2007-2008 so we have a plan. Here's the plan. We have our core of players in Kobe, and Lamar our stars. But we have Bynum, and Kwyame as guys that we can evaluate and judge to see whether by 2008 that they have improved and can be big parts of our team in the future. If they don't pan out by that time, we can let them go and now we have free agent options. If only one of them pan out we can keep that one then let the other one go. We have options it's great. Many people think that we are just sitting her doing nothing until 2008. No way that's not true. We got a good comptetive team in the making if we can get a point gaurd or two plus a serviceable big man. So if they pan out we don't need Amare we will have Bynum and Kwyame then we can use the extra free agent space to get our needs. I'm telling all of you this is a championship team in the making. Be patient and we will be competitive next year. Go lakers :jam2: Ohh and one more thing it seems quiet with the Lakers currently and be patient. Do you want Mitch to tell the world what he is doing? wE don't have to know were fans and that's the way it is. We have real sources in Lakers Ground but not everyone can know what really is going on so back off. Guys just be patient and watch baseball. :bang: Well guys that's all I hope you guys just be patient and support the Lakers.
I like your optimism pimpdaddy33, however I've been disappointed with the Lakers since they traded Shaq. The Lakers did not have a blueprint in mind when they made the decision to trade Shaq, Mitch Kupchak has admitted to this, and I've come to the conclusion he still doesn't have one. Whether Kobe ran Shaq out of town or not, as a GM you can never let the inmates run the asylum. The Lakers held all the cards in negotiating with Kobe, because they could give him more money and a lengthier contract than any other team. Also, there was a risk Kobe could have been imprisoned if he was accused of rape, and this scared some teams off. Worst-case-scenario, the Lakers could have worked out a sign and trade with Kobe. Instead Kupchak blinked and lost complete control of the situation with Kobe, Shaq and Phil. Instead Kupchak calls up Pat Riley for some advice on how to fix the relationship, Riley tells Kupchak to set up a conference call and he'll work it out with Shaq and Kobe. But instead of shutting his mouth, Kupchak elludes he's ready to trade Shaq, and Riley jumped at the opportunity. Obviously the Lakers were not going to get equal value for Shaq, his contract was enormous, he was aging, and he wasn't in the best shape. However, without a blueprint, Mitch got involved in a terrible deal with the Heat. So the Lakers settle for Brian Grant, who can no longer play, Lamar Odom, who's signed for a lot of money for a long period of time, Caron Butler, who plays the same position as Odom, and a 2006 pick. This trade created a logjam at SF, weakend the frontline, and made it impossible for the Lakers to have any cap flexibility for 3 seasons, while Kobe will be in his prime. The trade was completely idiotic! This year the Lakers bring back Phil Jackson after he ripped the franchise player and Kupchak in his book. He signed for 3 years, but the Lakers won't be able to make any significant moves for two seasons. Then the Lakers draft a player in Bynum who's 4 or 5 years away from being an impact player, and then trade for a huge question mark in Kwame Brown. I wonder when Mitch figured out he was going to have to trade Odom or Butler, since they play the same position? Generally trading to get bigger works out, but then the Lakers waive their best backup PF, and only player with bulk, Brian Grant. Yes the same Brian Grant acquired in the retarded Miami trade. To add salt to the wounds, the Lakers still have Grant's contract count against their cap, and now he's signed with the Phoenix Suns (a division rival) at a mere $1.7Million. Now Laker fans are being duped into the 2007 pipedream, Kupchak is trying to sell. Not only is 2007 two years from now, but by the time it's 2007, Kobe & Odom will be both be 29 years old and on the decline of their prime years. The Lakers are coming off a last place finish, and it's hard to see them not finishing last again this year in the Pacific Division. To make it worse, the Lakers traded away their 2006 1st round pick. A lot of fans still think the Lakers can sign Amare Stoudemire, Yao Ming, or LeBron James when 2007 comes around. For those still caught up in this dream, do you honestly think any of those players are going to take $20Million LESS to join the Lakers and play second fiddle to Kobe Bryant? So instead of the Lakers adding some quality free agents this summer, who wanted to play, and were willing to sign the Lakers refused, to keep the 2007 pipedream alive. They are still hell bent on not signing anyone for more than a two year contract, yet they are only offering half the MLE. Who is going to settle on those terms? And if a person is willing to accept those terms, do you really want them on your roster? Kupchak can't even lock up Derek Anderson for crying out loud. Then I watch servicable role players like Jason Hart and Marc Jackson get traded for only a second rounder. What is Kupchak doing all day long to let these deals slip right by him? Kupchak could have made some shrewd moves by now to assure this team has a legit shot at making the playoffs. Getting to the post season should always be a goal, especially for a new group of young players. Right now the Lakers look more like a team heading to the lottery without a lottery pick. I'll still be a fan of the Lakers, but I think Mitch Kupchak needs to do the right thing and resign as the GM. Either he's not capable or creative enough or he doesn't have the power or respect he needs from Buss to be a GM in the NBA. Whatever it is he's not getting the job done. The bottomline, Kupchak panics at the wrong time, and is painfully patient at the wrong time.
How do you know that the Lakers didn't have a blueprint at mind? Let's just not support the Lakers and they can work under our hatred. It's just like soldiers at Iraq. I don't support Bush and his actions but I have family that has been over there and I support them because I want them to know that they are doing really good stuff by just working hard. But honestly if Jerry West has had his mistakes too. Teams don't want to help the Lakers. Mitch said that they are trying to keep things on the down low when it comes to media and stuff. Their making that a new policy this up andc oming year because it will improve chemistry and keep all trades and free agents etc. only heard from the organization and no one else.
Mitch said he didn't have a blueprint in the townhall meeting press conference earlier this summer. I said it in the first sentence of the thread above. I don't want any plans revealed, but I'd like to see more headlines saying the Lakers are going to bring in some legit free agents, instead of chasing players like Kareem Rush to fill out their roster. Or at least explain why he did not pursue the laundry list of free agents who have joined other teams. Honestly what direction is the team headed? Why are they planning for the future, when their two best players are in their prime right now? Shouldn't the Lakers be building around Kobe and Odom now, instead of banking on a project like Bynum or crossing their fingers Kwame Brown's lightbulb turns on?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Mitch said he didn't have a blueprint in the townhall meeting press conference earlier this summer. I said it in the first sentence of the thread above. I don't want any plans revealed, but I'd like to see more headlines saying the Lakers are going to bring in some legit free agents, instead of chasing players like Kareem Rush to fill out their roster. Or at least explain why he did not pursue the laundry list of free agents who have joined other teams. Honestly what direction is the team headed? Why are they planning for the future, when their two best players are in their prime right now? Shouldn't the Lakers be building around Kobe and Odom now, instead of banking on a project like Bynum or crossing their fingers Kwame Brown's lightbulb turns on?</div> Do you want false rumors? Do you want the front office to tell people that we are working hard to bring in guys. Mitch has done alot so far. But if he doesn't bring in a decent point gaurd and backup frontcourt player I'll go on your side and declare that Mitch has been the wrong gm. But for now I think we will get in a guy or two by the end of this week.
We are not building for the future. We are improving our team currently too. Our team is obviously better from last year's team with the upgrades of Phil and Kyame. With Phil, Kobe becomes the best player in the league, and he can transform lamar Odom along with the rest of the team. Seriously dude he is just giving us options. We have potential to be a top 4 team in the West. With Kobe on your team, we can do anything because of the way he can control games. Kg and Duncan aren't capable of doing that. But if our team can be a successful and coehesive unit then we can be a force in this league. I have my faith.
There's nothing wrong with the Lakers reporting they are working out players, or have an interest in bringing them on board. However, why aren't the Lakers working out Reggie Evans, Darius Songalia, Maurice Evans, Quentin Ross, Michael Finley, Eddy Curry, Eddie Griffin, Earl Watson, Devin Brown etc. ? These players are working out for other teams, so why aren't the Lakers in the mix for their services? How can the Lakers sell what they have to offer if they don't even bring any of these players in for a workout and do some wining and dining?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting pimpdaddy33:</div><div class="quote_post">We are not building for the future. We are improving our team currently too. Our team is obviously better from last year's team with the upgrades of Phil and Kyame. With Phil, Kobe becomes the best player in the league, and he can transform lamar Odom along with the rest of the team. Seriously dude he is just giving us options. We have potential to be a top 4 team in the West. With Kobe on your team, we can do anything because of the way he can control games. Kg and Duncan aren't capable of doing that. But if our team can be a successful and coehesive unit then we can be a force in this league. I have my faith.</div> It's not obvious to me the team has improved from last year. There's potential for the team to be better, but it has everything to do with Phil Jackson, and not much to do with the talent on the team. The Lakers still did not address their weakest positions from last season PG & the frontline depth. KG & Duncan are definitely capable of controlling and dominating a basketball game. Both are former MVPs, that title isn't just handed out to anyone. Let's give credit where credit is do. Kobe Bryant has the potential to be the best player in the league, but teaming him with PJax doesn't guarantee anything. Besides basketball is a team sport, and I'd rather see the Lakers win more games and make the post season than Kobe having a career year. If both happen, great, but I'll take a winning season over Kobe anyday. Right now the Lakers are simply one of many teams on the bubble in the West capable of making the playoffs. However, I think the Lakers are currently on the lower end of the bubble, and point the blame to the GM for it. The trio of Kobe-Odom-Kwame is intriguing, but the drop off of quality after those three is a glaring concern.
Pg - Our Point Gaurd Situation is weak we need to bring in one or two guys, I would like to have a combo of something like Derek Anderson & Tyron Lue, That would be good We can also have Sasha as a third point gaurd or maybe he can go to the NBDL Sg - Kobe (That's all I have to say) + Von Wafer, Tony Bobbit Sf - Lamar (Good for 35-40 Minutes a Game)+Luke, George, Jumaine Jones Pf - Kwyame (our bench for Power Forward is weak at this point) C - Chris Mihm (A good center for us but we need a capable backup If we can get 2 point gaurds: Derek Anderson or Jalen Rose and Tyron Lue or Janerro Pargo If we can get a decent backup center/powerforward, that would be my perfect dream off-season How do you know they aren't working out players? Do you think you know that because it isn't in the headlines. You don't know man just wait and see what happens.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The trio of Kobe-Odom-Kwame is intriguing, but the drop off of quality after those three is a glaring concern.</div> I've noticed that you have mixed feelings about the coming season. It's easy to feel that but I'm fairly optimistic as our lineup is better then it was last year. I can comfortably see us making the playoffs. The main problem last year wasn't the point gaurd but it was our defence. We seemed to have kind of solved that problem by getting rid of Caron, putting Lamar at SF and aquiring Kwame Brown. We should be a very good rebounding team that relies on alot of strength and power. We don't necessarily need a natural point gaurd. We need somebody who can defend, isn't turnover prone, has height, can pass and shoot well. We do have players like these in Deavan George and Jumaine Jones. I know how you feel about Deavan, but he isn't a bad defender, can shoot, has the height and he does have some speed.
I normally ride with Shape on most situations, but I have spent the majority of the off the post draft angry and scared for our future. I gotta go with the other guys on this "optimistic", thing. If (If) Phil is truly the coach that we all think he is we should be able to make this team work(optimistic). I think that even if the list of players that Mr. City mentioned: Reggie Evans, Darius Songalia, Maurice Evans, Quentin Ross, Michael Finley, Eddy Curry, Eddie Griffin, Earl Watson, Devin Brown etc is taken off the board we should be able to pick up some sort of help(optimistic) even if it is on the level of a third tier player like Jason Kapono,or Matt Bonner we should be able to find player who can "FIT" for cheap.<as a side note i hope to God that Evans and Songalia can be had for cheap>(optimistic). Anyway with the addition of Phil it is obvious that this team is going to be going to win the New England Patriots way: team work and Chemistry, and although this is not the Los Angeles Lakers way with flash and sparks and alley opps and wigglwarms and zipzorps. Maybe; just maybe we can get back to winning......cause that is the Los Angeles Laker way.(optimistic)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post"> The trio of Kobe-Odom-Kwame is intriguing, but the drop off of quality after those three is a glaring concern.</div> I dont get why lakers fans are making a big deal out of Kwame? what has this guy accoplished in his four years in the Nba? nut much at all...he probably wont even be a starter at first. But just becaues its la everyone has to be hyped.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting pimpdaddy33:</div><div class="quote_post">How do you know they aren't working out players? Do you think you know that because it isn't in the headlines. You don't know man just wait and see what happens.</div> If the Lakers were working out those players we would all hear about. There is no such thing as a secret workout. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont get why lakers fans are making a big deal out of Kwame? what has this guy accoplished in his four years in the Nba? nut much at all...he probably wont even be a starter at first. But just becaues its la everyone has to be hyped.</div> I agree, the Lakers success is going to ride on Kwame's performance, which is scary. He still has all the tools to be a superstar in the league, and has shown flashes. However, I'm worried he won't be able to handle the hype and criticism if he doesn't get off to a good start. The LA media will jump all over him. Point guard was definitely a major issue last year, because the minute Chucky stepped off the court, the second unit squandered leads because Tierre and Sasha were completely outplayed. I like the upgrade of Smush this year, but as a backup not the starter. Our current projected starter is Sasha at PG. I watched him the summer leagues, he was terrible playing against NDBL players. He still cannot play any ounce of defense and was back doored several times, just like last season. The off-season still isn't over, but the Lakers are running out of options, and up to this point it's been very disappointing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">If the Lakers were working out those players we would all hear about. There is no such thing as a secret workout. I agree, the Lakers success is going to ride on Kwame's performance, which is scary. He still has all the tools to be a superstar in the league, and has shown flashes. However, I'm worried he won't be able to handle the hype and criticism if he doesn't get off to a good start. The LA media will jump all over him. Point guard was definitely a major issue last year, because the minute Chucky stepped off the court, the second unit squandered leads because Tierre and Sasha were completely outplayed. I like the upgrade of Smush this year, but as a backup not the starter. Our current projected starter is Sasha at PG. I watched him the summer leagues, he was terrible playing against NDBL players. He still cannot play any ounce of defense and was back doored several times, just like last season. The off-season still isn't over, but the Lakers are running out of options, and up to this point it's been very disappointing.</div> You do realise that next year when we have the championship in our hands I'm going to have to bring this post up and embarass you for not having faith. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont get why lakers fans are making a big deal out of Kwame? what has this guy accoplished in his four years in the Nba? nut much at all...he probably wont even be a starter at first. But just becaues its la everyone has to be hyped.</div> Your right, he hasn't done anything, but we are making a big deal because we believe he wasn't treated fairly and also in the right way in Washington. He has shown flashes of brilliance playing against big stars and future hall of famers. This is why we have hope. Another reason is that we aren't used to losing. After the poor season last year, we believe that we will be back at the top and we have made the trades that we desired for. Kwame is considered as our "saviour" in some way's. Any "potential" that comes our way, we will all be screaming their names. Nobody can deny that Kwame is "potential," so we are all screaming his name left, right and centre.
