Phil Jackson is a great coach. Triangle is proven as a great offense, and when you have the right players... its hard to stop. You dont need stars at all the positions for it to work, but the role players need to fit the role. Unfortunately we dont have guys that completely fill these roles. So its not as smooth as it should be. I personally do not like the Triangle as a fan. I find it pretty boring to watch most of the time. Its our offense and there isnt much we can do about it now. Now if i was Phil, i would make these changes..... 1. I would bench Smush Parker. He is too much of a liability on defense. On offense he is a guy who spends himself on a few plays all bunched together in one shift.... then he dissapears for the rest of the game. Smush normally has one or two stretches in which he scores points... during the rest of the game he is just another player. And one that cant guard anyone. I would use him as an Earl Boykins type player. A sparkplug off the bench. And he could come in and be the perfect backup for Kobe. When Kobe goes out we lose alot of offense of course. In comes Smush for 5 minutes and just attacks the basket, and shoots his 3's. He does his little run that he always does... then you take him out. Or you leave him in a little when Kobe comes in and you play Kobe at the SF... like we do alot of anyway. And you can also use Smush a little at the backup PG spot. I think if you limit Smush to around 20 minutes per game, and you limit him to guarding the other teams backup SG/PG instead of their starting PG.... then you limit your teams overall defensive liabilty. 2. Start Sasha. Yes Sasha has his faults... huge faults, but his brand of defense is sounder than Smush. They both dont have good defensive ability, but Sasha never quits on a play, while Smush lies down on plays all the time. Smush will try to overcome his lack of ability by trying to get the steal. Smush will overcome it by crowding the player and trying to force him to get frustrated and mess up. They both will get burned.... but Sasha will at least raise his hands each time a guy shoots. And his length + his tenacity seem to fluster smaller PG's. Although i dont think Sasha is or will ever be the answer at PG, i think for now he is our best option. He at least does a good job of not turning the ball over. Sasha lately has been showing a better ability to penetrate and kick out. If he can continue doing that.... Phil will look to him as the starter. 3. Play both of our bigs TOGETHER more often. Kwame and Mihm's play is elevated when both are on the floor together i believe. Thats how the game starts, and then the rest of the game Phil has one or the other as the center, and Odom is at PF. When either big is at center he is the the only player left guarding the lane after our weak PG's allow penetration. If both guys are there, it makes it harder for the offensive player to get off a good shot. And it also mitigates the foul situation. Both guys in there would share the duties of having to be the guy who fouls to stop a cheap basket... so isntead of one guy getting into foul trouble and having to sit out, the fouls are spread even and both players stay out of trouble. Offensively i think the triangle works better with Kwame and Mihm on the floor together. Kwame has a hard time making his move inside when the other teams bigs can focus on him in the paint. But when Mihm has the high post locked down, Kwame only has one player on him in the low post. And the same vice versa for Mihm. Its alot harder to double with your bigs in the paint, when the other team has two 7 footers on teh floor at teh same time. They should both be playing between 32 and 36 MPG. 4. Remove the "point forward" responsibility from Lamar Odom. He needs to be more agressive going to the basket, and he needs to look to score. I dont want him taking over 15 shots a game, but just under that is fine. 14 shots a game puts Odom squarely at his "pre-Laker" production levels. See there is this huge misconception with Odom. People believe his offense has taken a huge dive since he became a Laker. Truth is that he is just 1 point off last years point pace, and he is just 3 points off the pace he had in Miami. Last season he took about the same amount of free throws as he has this season, but he took 1 less shot per game. That one shot easily explains the 1 point he is scoring less. In Miami he took 2.5 more shots per game as he does today. He also took 1 more freethrow than today. The truth of the matter is that he had a worse FG percentage in Miami than he has had in either of his LA seasons. His 3pt percentage is even better with teh Lakers. So with those extra 2.5 shots, and extra 1 free throw... Odom was scoring about 3 points more per game as he is today. Would we be complaining if Odom averaged a little 17 ppg ? Not soo much would we. If Odom concentrates more on his offense, taking those extra 3 shots per game, getting to the line just a tad bit more, and its at the price of being less of a setup guy.... our team would do alot better. Odom scored 17 PPG, 10 RPG, and 4 APG in Miami. I would take that with the Lakers, i would give up an assist or two for a few more points. And Odom did this while playing 2 less minutes per game, keeping him a little fresher and a little better defensively. 5. Stop going with the super small lineup all the time. We have big players, lets play to our strengths. Why are Smush, Sasha, Kobe, and Devean together for such long stretches of game. Im all for more Devean... but not at PF. If anything i wouldnt mind seeing more Kobe at the point and Devean at the two for a change. The one thing i never want to see is Odom at center. Heck i dont even want to see him at PF much except when we DO decide we need to go small. Small for us should be Cook, Odom, Devean, Kobe and either Smush or Sasha at the point.
6. More playing time for Devean. I want him to be our main guy off the bench, a true 6th man. Its been happening more and more lately, and i would love it to continue. He is a guy who should get starters type minutes on this team. 30-35 MPG. He brings another defensive presence that this team lacks in the starting lineup, and he brings energy and hustle to the floor. I used to hate the guy but now i love watching him play. He and Kobe seem to play well off each other too. George is reminding me of Caron Butler more and more... except Butler was better at going to the hole, but in the little things, they both are very similar. 7. PLAY ANDREW BYNUM ALREADY. Is 10 to 15 minutes per game that much of a liability ? I mean we have Smush in there for 38 minutes a night and he cant guard his shadow.... what the heck is Bynum gonna do thats soo bad. Phil is being stubborn. He should be Chris Mihm's primary backup... end of story. 8. Use Brian Cook a little more.... but not too much. Have him be Kwame's backup. Playing him along with Bynum as to not crowd the interior for the young guy. Cook like the permiter anyway, and having to play with another post player might be a little difficult for Bynum since he is still learning the offense. Cook getting 12 to 16 good minutes a game to come in and spread the defense with his shooting will only help the team. And we mitigate his bad defense with the shot blocking ability of Bynum in the paint. And if we pair him with Bynum like i say, we can use Bynum as the last line of defense... blocking shots or fouling whomever comes though the lane. Its not like Bynum is gonna be in there for long, might as well use up his 6 fouls as defense. 9. Make Kobe Byrant do more of his Mr. Triangle act. You know what im talking about.... Some games in which Kobe starts out the first period in a very "facilitator" mode. He takes shots in the offense, and tries to get his teamates involved. Second period rolls around and Kobe continues facilitating by working off the high post, but he gets his jumper rolling, looking for his own shot a little more. Throw in a 3 or two for good measure to keep the D off balance. His defense maybe a little loose as he paces himself to save up energy for later on. Third period comes along and Kobe ditches the facilitator tag and goes into full scorer mode. Attacking the basket and hitting those outside shots. Fourth quarter time, Kobe continues what he did in the 3rd, but also tightens up his defense as he switches to the opponents best perimeter player. This way Kobe still scores his 35-40 pts, gets himself 5 or 6 assists, gets his teamates working it early so he can pace himself... and builds confidence in his team. And also quite possibly maybe get the critics off his back for a bit.... nevermind, that last part will never happen 10. Luke needs to hit the weight room, (and become a better shooter if possible). He doesnt work as a 'regular' SF in my book. I do think the guy has talent... unlike most of you. I just think he has the right body for his skillset. He is a good passer, but he isnt a good enough ballhandler to get himself in position to make great passes. He ends up trying to do more than what his body allows him to do. So i say... forget about trying to be the quick SF who is a playmaker.... its not gonna happen. You arent quick enough or slick enough with the ball to be or guard SF's. Instead try to be the small PF who comes in and does alot of little things for your team. He already is a hustle guy, he comes in and makes stuff happen (sometimes bad stuff), and he is a really nice rebounder, specially offensively.. and that is sorely needed on any team. As a PF Walton would now have a few advantages. He would be quicker and more agile than most PF's, a better ball handler as well. If he puts on say 10 or so pounds of muscle and gets to a little over 240 lbs he will be able to guard PF's alot better than what he can do now with SF's who are too quick for him and PF's who are too strong for him. Add to that the nice passing abilities that he has, and his quickness from growing up as a 'small', and you have a nice little NBA niche right there. He could be a slightly shorter version of rookie David Lee from NY. And if he keeps working on that shooting, then he might just become a real nice player afterall. He could turn out to be a Sogaila type of player, or Reggie Evans with passing ability, or even a poor mans Boris Diaw... at least offensively that is. My Roster would be... PG: Sasha, Smush, Kobe SG: Kobe, Devean, Smush SF: Odom, Devean, Walton, Kobe PF: Kwame, Cook, Odom, Turiaf C : Mihm, Bynum, Kwame, Cook
Now all that was if i was Phil, but if i was Mitch.... First i would shoot myself, but since i fail at everything i would hopefully use my second chance to do some good. 1. I would try to move Odom. Moving Odom for players that fit the 07-08 plans would be a priority. I sincerely think that Odom has the talent to be a good player and do good things for us, but if its not happening.... its not happening. Why try to fit a square peg into a round hole. I can honestly say that i believe that we would be able to replace Odoms contributions pretty well. a) the easiest move i see for Odom is the New Orleans Hornets. They are trying to move up in the standings and at the same time build some legitimacy. They just lost a tall rebounder to a drug ban for 2 years. Odom could replace those rebounds and some scoring very well. The team currently has no need for Speedy Claxton as Chris Paul has proven to be the best player in the draft. And Desmond Mason cannot seem to break out of Byron Scotts dog house. I would offer them Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and Devin Green for Desmond Mason, Speedy Claxton and a 2nd round pick. I think this is a deal that they would accept very easily. The Lakers might not not want to receive so little for Odom, but its worth it in the long run. another move that could be made is to trade Cook, Walton, or Sasha to Minnesota for Marcus Banks. Contrary to most beliefs, Banks can be traded even before the 2 month window. The CBA's fine print allows for the provision. Banks could come in and solidfy our defensive PG situation right away. c) another option would be to try to nab Reggie Evans and Rico Brunson from Seattle. Two players that arent used much if at all and who could be had for cheap. Brian Cook and Luke Walton would fit into their system quite well. Although they would love to have Kwame Brown be their starting PF, we would have to take on Fortsons contract in that deal, but its similar to Kwame's. So that deal could also take place. d) the Bobcats are in the same situation as the Hornets as far as having a veteran PG that is no longer needed much. They love draft picks in Charlotte and im sure we could pry Knight from their hands for Smush Parker + a 2nd round pick. I would do it in a heartbeat. Smush can play shooting guard for them and might excell in that role. And they have had a hard time filling up that slot. So lets say one or two of these deals go through for me. I get Mason and Claxton for Odom, Green and Sasha. And we get Evans for Walton. That would leave us with.... PG: Claxton, Smush SG: Kobe, Wafer SF: Mason, George PF: Kwame, Evans, Turiaf C : Mihm, Bynum, Cook I could live with that. Plus the extra 2nd rounder. And all the contracts are expiring... So that leaves us with cash to try and land some good free agents. How bout we offer Mourning the chance to start again for a 2 year 12 million dollar deal with an option for a third year at 7 million. We sign Mike James for the MLE 5.5 million. Jalen Rose for the LLE 1.1 million. Re-sign Devean George to a 2 year 5 million dollar deal with an option for a third year at 3 million. Roster would be.... PG: Mike James, Smush Parker SG: Kobe, Rudy Fernandez SF: Devean George, Jalen Rose PF: Alonzo Mourning, Kwame Brown, Ronny Turiaf C : Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum, Cook Then we wait for the 08 plan
I like the direction of some of those ideas, I think it's clear this team needs a shakeup, but just like last year I don't see Mitch being capable of pulling it off. After getting ripped in the Shaq trade, his credibility is completely shot, and other GMs will never let him get the best of them. I'm sure he's one of the laughing stocks in the league amongst his peers after some of the moves he's done and the draft choices he's made during his tenure. There also seems to be differences between him, Jimmy Buss, and PJax in the direction they want to build this team. Mitch doesn't have the leverage to trump either Buss or PJax so his decisions don't have much weight anyways. Step 1 - Fire Mitch Kupchak As far as coaching, PJax needs to start listening to Tex Winters. Early in the summer Tex said Lamar Odom is the wrong decision for being the initiator. He doesn't have the BBall IQ Pippen had, nor the court vision. Plus Odom has no idea how to move without the ball. I'm not sure anyone is capable of filling the role, so Step 2 is finding a new initiator. Laron Profit would have been ideal, but unfortunately he had a freak injury. Step 2 - Find a new Initiator via trade ideal canidates would be (Luke Jackson, Jarrett Jack, Brent Barry, Eric Snow, Chris Duhon, Josh Childress, or Tony Delk) Step 3 - NEVER have Brian Cook and Luke Walton on the floor together. They are both liabilities on defense, and far too, inconsistent on offense. Step 4 - Ditch the Kwame project and start utilizing Bynum more. I'm tired of reading he's not conditioned yet and struggles getting up and down the floor. I see him doing just fine running up and down and he's definitely not sucking wind out there or tugging on his shorts. He's 18 years old, he should be able to run all night long. He's so far ahead of Kwame in his development it's a shame he doesn't get consistent time out there. Step 5 - I agree with you, Smush Parker needs to be put in the dog house. For starters he woke up late and missed a team flight. He's also fallen off the map in the defense department. I think all the talk about him being most improved has gotten to his head. He's definitely not the hungry player he was during the summer and earlier in the year. Give his minutes to Sasha and Devin Green. Tex also feels Devin Green is perfect to be the initiator for the Triangle. I can definitely see him evolving into a B. Shaw/R. Harper type player. Step 6 - Get more physical and bring energy on defense. I'm hoping Turiaf is the answer here. Ron Artest would have been PERFECT. This team is designed completely wrong for Kobe Bryant. They need defensive oriented players, and people who know how to move without the basketball in their hands. Odom fails on this team, because he needs the ball in his hand to be effective. He needs set plays called for him and has no idea how to read and react against a defense, which is what the Triangle is.
I wouldnt mind firing Mitch, he completly destoryed this team with his 07 plan. But thats what we have to wait for, dont have another choice.
First Step 1. Fire Mitch and bring back Jerry West. He ****** up on the Miami deal and the Kwame deal. No way we getting back to the finals with Mitch there. 2.Ship Kwame, this project is never going to work, new York would probably want him. Try to get Q. 3.Trade Lamar for someone before his stock goes down. Trade him to New Orleans for Jr Smith and a veteran. 4.Play Bynum try to develop him into a role player. 5. Put Sasha in the weight room.
West isnt coming back, he got his contracted extended. The only way he might come here is he being fired.
