It is time for some changes in LA. We should have actually made them for this year after nearly losing to the Kings. They exposed our lack of depth and age, yet we did nothing to improve our team in the off-season. Change needs to start at the top, and I'm referring to the GM who is scared to pull the trigger, Mitch Kupchak. He missed out on the Keon Clark bargain and he was foolish in not signing Jim Jackson to the minimum. Jim Jackson would have given us a legit 3rd scorer and would give us a player who can actually play at a high speed pace against teams like the Mavs & Kings. He also passed up the opportunity to get Reef and Terry for Horry, Fox, & a draft pick. And we missed out on getting Tim Hardaway. He showed he still has a little game left and can knock down the clutch shots. So now here we are with an early exit in the playoffs, the streak is done thanks to POOR management. So how do we fix the Lakers? A big plus is veteran players still are attracted to wearing the Purple & Gold. Pippen, Brown, & Malone would be nice 1 or 2 year rentals for us. There are a lot of free agents available and we still have the MLE. There is no excuse for us not to get a legit free agent. Juwan Howard, Gary Payton, Keon Clark, etc. Lakers need to consider cutting ties with Fisher, Fox, & Horry. Fisher has not been the same since his multiple foot injuries. He is also one of the only PG's in the league who can't make a simple layup. His defense is horrendous and he cannot hit the 3point shot consistently. Fox is too slow and does not make the effort on the defensive end that he once did. He has resorted to reaching and grabbing. Devean George should be ready to start next season anyways. Horry is the toughest to cut ties with. He's one of our best defenders still, and is a great locker room guy. I don't if his desire to play is still there. He has always put basketball second, nothing wrong with that, but he might be thinking retirement or a move closer to his Houston home.
i think the team will end up like this c-shaq/walker pf-malone/medvedenko/madson sf-pippen/george sg-kobe/shaw pg-fisher/pargo
Karl Malone and Gary Payton would be great additions, then they will win the championship next year. I think they need a reaplacement at PG thats why i mentioned GP. Karl Malone will bring some more experience(not that they really need that), rebounding, and more scoring if they need it. They're only weak in the PF and PG positions, and you can leave Devean George at SF.
i think they should play medvedenko more he has a pretty nice shot he can be a 4th scorer if the lakers could sign malone...shaq needs back up and malone could do that....kobe will only improve next year...and i thnk george will hav his break out year
i would never think Malone would want a backup spot, so if they sign him it would be for starting PF. yeah medvedenko has an amazing shot
add me to the team.. when Im guardin somebody you know how they back you down.. ill just try to get freaky with em lol, theyll give the ball up for sure.. ill just be like "oh baby let me get a hold of the ball" <--- they just dont know which ball im talkin about.. then after the game is over its SHOWER TIME
Lakers Rebuilding Steps 1) Sign and Trade Robert Horry in a 3 way deal with the Rockets and Warriors. Horry goes back to Houston to be with his daughter, and the Lakers get Danny Fortson in the trade. He was a league leader in rebounds a couple of seasons ago, but has sat on the bench ever since. He could really contribute to the Lakers. 2) Draft Marcus Banks at #24. 3) Draft Kendrick Perkins at #32. 4) Let Tracy Murray and Samaki Walker walk. 5) Sign Mark Madsen for a 2 year deal. 6) Sign Brian Shaw, just not as a player. This guy knows the game, he is smart. We could really use him in management. 7) Sign Eric Piatkowski for a minimum deal. 8 ) Sign Jannero Pargo to a short term deal, if he doesn't look good in Training Camp, release him...if not, might aswell keep him. 9) Convince Scottie Pippen and P.J. Brown to split the $4.5million exception. Pippen is basically only playing one more year, and with Fox out...he could possibly start at SF. Brown is just the type of PF they need. He can get 10ppg and he is a defensive stud. Both of these guys want a ring. 2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers Lineup PG: Derek Fisher/Marcus Banks/*Jannero Pargo SG: Kobe Bryant/Eric Piatkowski/Kareem Rush SF: Scottie Pippen/Devean George/*Rick Fox PF: P.J. Brown/Danny Fortson/*Mark Madsen C: Shaquille O'Neal/Stanislav Medvedenko/Kendrick Perkins * = stashed on the IR Analysis: George and Pippen would alternate starting jobs. When Rick Fox gets back in time for the Playoffs, move Pippen to backup PG and put either Banks or Perkins on the IR. Scottie Pippen and P.J. Brown are awesome defenders, with their help, the Lakers could be a top defensive team in 2004. Shaq and Kobe will have one of the best supporting casts they've ever had. Piatkowski will be a sniper from long range. Rush will get more PT than he did last year, but still less than 20mpg. Perkins will play about as much as Rush did this year, but he will primarily be the Lakers replacement for Shaq when he retires. Both Banks and Perkins have a lot of potential. Danny Fortson and Madsen give the Lakers a big/fierce pair of backup PFs that are both monsters on the glass. Medvedenko will hopefully play like he did in the last two games against San Antonio. Banks will get around 10mpg and play in around 65 games. He will eventually be our starting PG down the road. With this lineup, the Lakers have a very experienced team and they have an excellent chance of winning the title this year. The best part about it is, all of this stuff is realistic.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "shapecity":</div><div class="quote_post">Fisher has not been the same since his multiple foot injuries.</div> What?! It was his injuries that accelerated his career. If it wasn't for his foot injuries, he wouldn't have a great jump shot. Fisher is a warrior, he is always fighting for loose balls, and he has a tremendous amount of heart. Trading him would be horrible.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "Damian Necronamous":</div><div class="quote_post"><div class="quote_poster">Quoting "shapecity":</div><div class="quote_post">Fisher has not been the same since his multiple foot injuries.</div> What?! It was his injuries that accelerated his career. If it wasn't for his foot injuries, he wouldn't have a great jump shot. Fisher is a warrior, he is always fighting for loose balls, and he has a tremendous amount of heart. Trading him would be horrible.</div> he doesn't have the lateral movement he once had. go back and watch how quick he was at anticipating and beating other pg's to the spot before his injuries. since the injury he has become a liability on defense because he is forced to cheat and tries to draw a flopping foul instead of beating his man to the spot. fisher constantly runs into the pick tries to flop and consequently gives his man too much space to shoot an open jumper. yeah fisher is a warrior and definately does a lot of the intangibles, but i think the Lakers need an upgrade at PG. we need a consistent scorer and someone who can keep up with the quick PG's in the league. or someone who can punish the smaller PG's inside the paint, like the Glove would do. fisher would be a great backup, but his days as a starter on championship are over. i also wouldn't call fisher a great shooter or attribute better shooting to his injury. he has become a better shooter, but that comes with practice and more experience in the nba.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "Damian Necronamous":</div><div class="quote_post"><div class="quote_poster">Quoting "shapecity":</div><div class="quote_post">Fisher has not been the same since his multiple foot injuries.</div> What?! It was his injuries that accelerated his career. If it wasn't for his foot injuries, he wouldn't have a great jump shot. Fisher is a warrior, he is always fighting for loose balls, and he has a tremendous amount of heart. Trading him would be horrible.</div> he has a sweet shot when its on...when its of it looksworse than shaqs freethrow
i like fish and everything that he brings...but i just think we need someone else to start at the PG. need a PG that can create his own shot and also run the fast break. need an upgraded version of pargo. i really believe that the key for fisher is the right amount of playing time...if he doesn't get enough minutes, he's never gonna find his rhythm out there...but we also can't rely on him playing too much. if the lakers got pippen to play PG, he might not create his own shot necessarily but he'll cause matchup problems for the other team. if the lakers got GP, he give us another wrinkle in the offense which would allow him to post up.
