Radman is Dense

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Vladimir Radmanovic still has his individualistic moments, but he has shelved his game and his personality in deference to the priorities in Lakerland: championships or bust. SAN ANTONIO- The Lakers measure their basketball years in two ways.

There are seasons in which they win championships.

And there are states of emergency.

"You walk into the office and you see those trophies and it tells you what the expectations are," Vladimir Radmanovic said Monday. "That's why I wanted to play there."

Most NBA teams aren't like that. They build blindly toward a vaguely promising future. Once they get there, they take one shot. Then they regroup. The Lakers have endured some of that, but they rage against it. If they eliminate San Antonio, they will make their 14th NBA Finals in the past 29 years.

The larger world was aghast over Kobe Bryant's nonstop summer tantrum. But the storm passed because there was a bedrock understanding. Kobe wasn't being a brat for brat's sake. Kobe was outraged because he wasn't winning. He was being a Laker.

And being a Laker is different, as Radmanovic has learned in his three years. The self-indulgent shooter, of Seattle days, is working on defense. He is deferring. If he isn't quite a Laker, he's only a vowel short.

He is suddenly important, too. At 6-foot-10, he starts with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, because Andrew Bynum is out. Radmanovic is a classically European big-man bomber. Against San Antonio, he is presented with a first quarter mismatch, usually against Michael Finley, who is 6-foot-5. In the first quarter of Game 1, Radmanovic roamed inside and out to score 10 points, which is notable since he averaged 8.4 during the regular season.

It hasn't happened since.

"Everything went bad last night," he said, referring to the 19-point Game 3 loss. "It's not like I'm going to shoot all the time when I have that matchup. We have a lot of options."

He smiled.

"We have one real good option," he said, "but that's the way it should be, since he's one of the great players who ever lived."

This could be a redemptive playoff for him. Last year Phil Jackson dismissed him as a "space cadet" who "could be on Mars" and could not wean himself from the idea that a basketball was only meant to be shot.

Jackson wasn't the first coach to slap himself in the forehead over Radmanovic. The space cadet also clashed with his Yugoslavian team coach at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, losing his place because he ate a banana on the bench.

Then Radmanovic truly frosted the Lakers by separating his shoulder in a snowboarding accident, during the All-Star break. That breach of contract cost him $500,000. But first he claimed it happened when he slipped on a patch of ice.

He apologized for that. In an age where everything is on the permanent record, he finds that he has to keep apologizing.

"This year was a big one for me," he said. "Last year was rough in a lot of ways, and I had to try to put a lot of things in the past."

Still, there was the day Jackson tried to address Radmanovic's flaws and the Serbian stopped him by saying, "I think we should save it for the exit interview."

What's forgotten is that Radmanovic averaged double figures for three years in Seattle. He came in '01 after he played for the Red Star club team in Belgrade.

"I had a language barrier and I was a long way from home," he said. "Brent Barry (now with the Spurs) took me under his wing. But there were some culture shocks. In Europe everybody is out at night, out in the cafes, being with each other. Most cities in America, people get their Starbucks and then disappear, go somewhere else.

"The basketball was different, too. In our league we'd play 40 games or so, usually on Thursdays and Saturdays. Never back-to-back. Then maybe 15 or so games in Euroleague. We'd practice twice a day, prepare for each game. But at least now I can say I played in the best league. That is what kept me from going home the first year."

The Sonics traded Radmanovic to the Clippers for Chris Wilcox, and he shot 46.3 percent from 3-point range in the Clippers' '06 playoff run. He became a free agent and the Lakers struck quickly, with Jackson, Johnson, Bryant, ex-Laker Vlade Divac and general manager Mitch Kupchak all calling when the bidding window opened, which was at 5 a.m. in Serbia.

"The Clippers were a good team but their organization has different ambitions than the Lakers do," Radmanovic said.

Jackson was asked if he enjoyed dealing with these incipient champs more than the dissatisfied 2000-2002 three-peaters. He said those teams always gave the impression "they never played up to their potential. This one always tries to. I think that's where the joy comes from."

Winning is the only joy in Lakerland. These days, even a space cadet can sense the gravity.</div>
Source: OC Register

 

Eh, I wouldn't call that dense. I'm glad he realizes it. He doesn't get much media spin here when he's doing great for us, but when he's terrible he gets ripped apart. I hate that. He is a good player, but Phil usually breaks his streeaks because of his fucked up rotations.

Whenever Vlad is hot, Phil will usually sit him for a quarter to play Luke...and it completely kills Vlad's touch. When Vlad is on..his whole game is on. He hustles on D and plays DECENT defense...but when his shot isn't dropping, he doesn't give a damn.

 

He is definitely improved. He drives to the hoop pretty hard, he has a decent pull up jumper, and his defense is decent. A lot of people rip him for his defense, but I don't think it's that bad.

The one aspect of his game that he really needs to work on is his post game. He tends to get a lot of smaller opponents guarding him and he can't post them up. I'd love to see him develop a decent post game so he can take advantage of that.

 

Well I think down the line the Lakers are going to unload him or Luke Walton.

I'd rather see Walton unloaded, but I think it's going to be Vlad.

They both have atrocious contracts that will make it hard for the Lakers to keep Bynum, Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and the role players, together. Phil is a huge Luke fan...so I don't see Luke going anywhere.