Jonathan Bender and the 17th pick have been rumored to be on their way to LA for Devean George and either Slava Medvedenko or Brian Cook, according to Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld.com. What?s not clear is the picks LA has to send in return. LA probably sends over the 2007 1st round pick, but that's speculation. If Mitch Kupchak negotiates well, it may be in return for one or more of the Lakers high second-round picks. The Lakers aren?t going after Bender as much as the 17th pick. Sun Ming Ming the 7'9" 19 year old center will workout for the Lakers on Friday, before he leaves for China, according to XTRA Sports 570's David Vassegh. It's the first time the Lakers will have seen him. Vassegh reported the Bucks are interested in Ming Ming also. Speculation is he's not ready for the NBA and needs to increase his strength.
I thought Bender was practically untouchable by Larry Bird. I guess not after this injury plagued season. I bet a lot of teams will be in the hunt for the high schooler that scored the most points in the McDonald's All America game.
This trade doesn't make sense to me if the Lakers are bringing Phil Jackson back. 1. Phil Jackson does not play rookies, and adding another 1st round pick is going to be a waste for at least a year. 2. Devean George and Slava are two of the five remaining players actually left who know the 'ins and outs' of the Triangle. Phil Jackson prefers having players who know his system and have experience over players with 'potential.' If Phil comes back I can see him wanting to bring back Tyrone Lue, Kareem Rush, and Mark Madsen who are all free agents.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kareem Rush</div> i would love to him back, not only does he know PJ's system, but he's also improved his game with playing time in NO so he'll get much more minutes,
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">This trade doesn't make sense to me if the Lakers are bringing Phil Jackson back. 1. Phil Jackson does not play rookies, and adding another 1st round pick is going to be a waste for at least a year. 2. Devean George and Slava are two of the five remaining players actually left who know the 'ins and outs' of the Triangle. Phil Jackson prefers having players who know his system and have experience over players with 'potential.' If Phil comes back I can see him wanting to bring back Tyrone Lue, Kareem Rush, and Mark Madsen who are all free agents.</div> All true, that is if phil comes back, and we dont know that yet. If he desides not to come back, then I can see this trade go down. When he gets healthy and with a lil more maturity bender can be a pretty good player. 17 pick isnt that bad either. If they deside to send the 2007 1 rounder u never know where it'll be if hit will be a lottery or a pik in the 20's because they have another season to imrove. This would be a good trade for the lakers, but it all depends what phil desides.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting authentiq:</div><div class="quote_post">i would love to him back, not only does he know PJ's system, but he's also improved his game with playing time in NO so he'll get much more minutes,</div> It was actually Charlotte that he was traded to, not New Orleans. On the topic of Jon Bender, no, don't want him. He's been injury prone so far throughout his entire career and, when he has been healthy, still hasn't done much. He's only really had one healthy season so far, and quite frankly, the Lakers don't need a guy who isn't going to stay healthy for em.
