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Tuesday Oct 28 7:30PM
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TV: TNT
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Wednesday Oct 29 7:30PM
at Los Angeles Clippers
TV: ESPN
Lakers Standings
57-25, First, Pacific |
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The 08-09' Off-Season
Posted by: lakerfanryan on Jun 24, 2008 - 01:29 PM
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Haven't been around here much lately so I fugured I was overdue for one of my "plans" or rants some might call it. I made a "plan similar to this a season or two ago and had a lot of response. Here goes round 2...
"Trade Odom!" ...."WTF LO??" ...."WHY IS ODOM ON THIS TEAM?"
At the end of every season that Odom has been a Los Angeles Laker, he has been the scape goat. The guy to blame. The guy to trade. Is Odom really all that bad? Look at this year's playoff stats. Had a great 1st round....2nd round...and 3rd round aganist the defending champions. When the Finals rolled around Odom began to struggle. Showed some signs of life before floating back to the top of the fishbowl. By the time the lakers had lost game 6 Odom was to blame. Why? Because he chokes, or doesnt produce in key situations. Perhaps because of the Boston front line of Pierce who is to quick for Odom....Garnett who is to strong for odom,...and Perkins who is a semi truck with legs. Odom used his speed aganist the Spurs. Length aganist the Nuggets and a combination of both aganist Utah. Don't forget Boston has DPOY in Kevin Garnett and is also the #1 defensive team in the league. I am not an Odom supporter necessairly but I believe we have more problems to address then Odom.
Say we do trade Odom for a Richard Jefferson or Gerald Wallace or Shaun Marion. We will get what we really need in a true, starting quality SF but look at the jam in which we will create. SF Depth Chart:
1. ?
2. Radmanovic
3. Walton
4. Ariza
5. Newble?
5 Small forwards? Newble is unlucky to be resigned but the 4 guys we would have are all equal in talent. The next point to address is the need to TRADE one of these guys. We will get close to nothing for these guys. If we do intend to trade one how about Walton? Radman can hit the 3. Ariza can play D. And Walton....Is Walton. There are no talents that necessairly jump out at you. I would be just fine with trading him to a team such as Seattle who could buy out the contract or stash him at the end of the bench even if it meant we only got a 2nd round pick.
Moving on to the Free Agents...
Sasha.
A few years ago this guy was my least favorite Laker. I thought he was a ball hog and didnt do much for us. But after this year he is one of my favorites. He plays intense defense and can hit the open J. He is the perfect compliment to our second unit. Re-sign him Mitch but please dont go crazy. (i.e. Jason Kapono).
Turiaf.
The cheerleader on the bench. A lot of rumors are swirling around about Utah being very interested in him. I would hate to see him go. I think 2.5 million a year is fair for Turiaf. If Utah goes above this....I believe it will be the end for Ronny in LA.
Free Agents.
After watching the NBA Finals I found one thing we are truly lacking. A bruiser. We need a guy who can pound in the paint. Get in the way. Clog the lane on D and who can still produce on offense. After reading through the forums a bit and searching some FA big men I found our man. Desagana (sp) Diop. Shot blocker. Maybe not the best defender but he can create problems. He is surprisingly athletic for a big man and I think what we truly need is a guy like this. To clean the class, guard guys Gasol can't ang basically get in the way. You never know what can happen with Mitch running a franchise but keep your eye open for a big man this off-season.
As an addition to my precious post ion the forums I will talk about the Lakers draft situation. With only one pick in the draft, and it being second to last, this brings much speculation about what may happen on draft day. 2 days to go to the draft and only rumors thus far. Looking at our cap space, current salaries, and current needs, we are either going to pay a lot of extra money or get more draft picks. More draft picks are definitley an option. We have a few needs on this current Laker team. As I noted earlier, we need a bruiser, a tough post presence. But I dont think this is all. Say we do lose Ronny in free agency. Who is our back up Power Forward? Do we move Odom back to the 4 and start Walton? Doesn't sound like a good plan to me. A little more depth and post presence is all this Laker team is lacking. The older, LTB'ers know I am a fan of Danny Granger because he did come from UNM my hometown University. I may be biased but take a look at JR Giddens SG out of New Mexico. If your curious, look for him on you tube. Very athletic, can hit the J, and averaged around 7 boards a game as a SG. Andy Katz reported that on a one on one workout with Chris Douglas-Roberts out of Memphis that Giddens got the best of him and may be the third best player at his position. Wether I am biased or not, this would be a very safe pick if he was sitting there at 58. But, I would not be surprised at all if Mitch finds a way to get out of the draft completly or trade for a late first rounder or a few other 2nd round picks. Watch for a Luke Walton or Chirs Mihm deal on draft day. I also wouldn't be surprised if we also trade the rights to Sun Yue our pick from last year. With a jam at SF the last thing we need is a combo guard forward. Keep your television tuned in for the entire draft and get excited when Commisioner Stern comes up to the mic and announces "We have a trade to announce". Expect the un-expected.
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