Laker News

Sun is not even close to being the biggest star in China. However, he brings an unual skill set by being able to play point guard at 6'9". The last Laker to be able to do that was Magic Johnson. Coach Jackson has always preferred tall PG's to run his Triangle offense.

With the Chinese national basketball team, Sun has alternated coming off the bench with Chen Jianghua, behind the team's starting PG Liu Wei. He was initially slated as the top point guard for China by the 2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament in Beijing, with his exceptional size and passing ability, but with the rise of Chen, there is now doubt as to who will be the better Chinese point guard in the future.

During the Orlando Pre-Draft camp, he was measured with a 34" vertical leap, a 6'9" wingspan, a 8'9" standing reach, a 5.1% body fat ratio, and a time of 10.68 seconds (ranking in the top 3 times at the camp) in lane agility.

For the Lakers he could come off the bench and possibly play PG, SG, or SF.

JamFan

The achievements of Shaq are well documented. Unfortunately for the Suns, none of them have occured in the last couple of years. The last two seasons have been a litany of injury after injury, comeback after comeback, stuggles with weight and conditioning, and ending with declining numbers and his first exit from the All Star game. Who would vote for him now? Not many.

At age 35 and still carry a load of weight, things are unlikely to get better for Shaq. You can eventually recover from some of the injuries that he has had. But when your hips start to go....well....it's not like a hammy. When hips start to go bad they usually never fully recover. Eventually they end up with a hip replacement. Just ask PJ.

So one has to wonder what the Suns were thinking. They run a quick strike offense and the only thing that Shaq can strike quickly is Fatburgers. They will be playing offense four on five. One has to also wonder what their doctors were thinking. The last report I read on his hip was that he was heading towards surgury to clear out some junk. They must have decided that it can wait until summer and gamble on his being able to make through the season.

They have rolled the dice. If he doesn't make it, they could go into the playoffs without Shaq and Shawn Marion. If that happens this trade will spell doom for the Suns. Even if it doesn't happen, they have spent 40 mil on a player that the Heat were happy to unload. It is just a matter of time until father time catches up with Shaq. If he hasn't already.

Either way, mark you calenders for Wednesday, February 20 at 6PM. Speculation is that Shaq will make his debut at home in Phoenix against....you guessed it, the Lakers.

JamFan

Many Laker fans have been clamoring for such a trade with the thinking that what the Lakers really needed was a legitimate power forward that could help propel the Lakers to another championship, or at least be in contention to go to the finals. This season Pau is scoring 19 PPG, with 9 RPG, while hitting 50% from the floor. This move allows the Lakers to permanently move Lamar Odom to small forward, and when Andrew Bynum returns, they will have one of the most formidable front lines in all of basketball.

Moreover, in a recent report out of Spain, Pau's brother is reportedly one of the dominating forces in the Euro league playoffs and is a candidate for MVP. The Lakers drafted Marc Gasol in the second round last summer. One has to wonder than when they drafted Marc, they did so knowing that Pau was going to be their primary target all along. However, the Lakers had to send the rights to Marc in the deal. They also did a sign and trade with Aaron McKie to make the salary numbers work. There is also cash considerations involved and the Lakers receive a future 2nd round pick from the Grizzlies. Certainly having both Gasol brothers together on the Lakers roster would have made quite a story, especially with them being on the floor together at the same time. Now, that will never happen.

This seems like a great trade for the Lakers. They gave up Kwame whose contract was expiring anyway and has been on the butt end of endless jokes by Laker fans because he has never lived up to being a #1 pick in the draft, and we gave Caron Butler to get him, which was a big mistake. Critt, is a future star, but he was the Lakers 3rd PG and rarely used. And as for giving up a couple of future 1st round draft picks, well, the Lakers future is now while Kobe is in his prime and we are definitely not rebuilding.

Rejoice Laker fans, Kobe's wish has come true. When we get everyone healthy there will be no excuses anymore. We have all the pieces in place, We have all the horses to make a run. Hopefully we will be peeking into Chick Hearn's refridgerator over and over again.

Jamfan