Handful of small forwards on the market?

[Gerald3Wallace]

There are a handful of small forwards that are believed to be on the market including Richard Jefferson (New Jersey), Josh Howard (Dallas), Gerald Wallace (Charlotte) and Prince

I wouldnt go after Rjeff or Jhow..but i would go after prince and Gerald...or better yet..if artest is willing to come here for MLE then DO IT MITCH!!

[hermes]

2 handfuls if you include ours

[what would jack bauer do?]

Tayshaun Prince is the best SF we could dream of landing. I take him over Artest, Battier, Jefferson, and Wallace. He's a team player, he has a high bball IQ, physically he has the best longevity (he'll be a great defender until he's 35+, just like Bowen), and lastly he doesn't go for the home run defensive play; instead he just focuses on staying in front of his man and contesting the shot. Having a guy at small forward with that length that doesn't gamble would do wonders for our defense. Not to mention he can shoot the 3 ball at a high clip and he can drive/handle the ball better than Luke and Radmanovic combined.

That said, I'd give up Odom and Farmar for him. Obviously I'd try Odom for Prince straight up, but if they don't bite I'd throw in Farmar (and hope they throw in Afflalo in return). If they wanted Luke they could have him too.

[Sedition]

Prince on the block? To me, this is a no brainer. Prince gives us absolutely everything we were lacking. We'd lose a little rebounding by giving up Odom, but I don't see that being as big of a problem when we get Bynum back. Prince is more useful to us than the likes of someone like RJ, who provides perhaps slightly more on O but mediocre D. I hope to God that Kupchak is on the phone right now trying to make something work. Bring this LA boy back home.

[Kilroy]

This is not what I thought before I watched the exit meeting interviews, but...

I think an Odom who:
A: Wants to retire a Laker
B: Has the respect of his coaches and team-mates
C: Embraces, is willing to work towards, and beleives in, a move to SF
D: Has a contract that doesn't have to be restructured at the moment

Is more valuable to our tean than any of the other options out there.

At least untill Odom as a combo 3 with Kobe is proven to work or not work... Maybe by the trade deadline...

[Sedale Threatt]

Prince on the block? To me, this is a no brainer. Prince gives us absolutely everything we were lacking. We'd lose a little rebounding by giving up Odom, but I don't see that being as big of a problem when we get Bynum back. Prince is more useful to us than the likes of someone like RJ, who provides perhaps slightly more on O but mediocre D. I hope to God that Kupchak is on the phone right now trying to make something work. Bring this LA boy back home.

My feelings exactly. He could be a bit better shooter, but all in all, Prince is a tailor-made solution to our black hole at the 3 -- great defensive player, great team player, intelligent, strong local ties, virtually no ego. Nothing against Lamar, but if there's a legitimate opportunity to swap him for Prince, we should pounce on it.

[TommyTheCat]

i'm with those liking the idea of prince at the sf. i'd also like to see wallace.

would the pistons even be interested in odom?

larry brown's got a big woody for odom

[Gerald3Wallace]

hmm...

its wierd that the pistons board would do a prince for wallace swap immediately.

is there something we dont know??

aynways..i would go after prince, wallace, or artest...if we keep odom, or get one of those 3 guys i listed, ill still be confident that we will win next year.

[Gek]

their team is losing and needs offense???^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[marik1234xx]

I don't know who I would go after between Prince and RJ. I would love Artest the most and want him the most obviously, but he'll undoubtedly be the hardest to get because the only way is if he opts out and signs with us through the MLE, or a 1 year contract because the Kings will NEVER trade with us. Prince's D is a lot better than RJ's, but RJ's offense is uncomparable to Prince's, it's just so much better.

[tlifeset]

A couple of points ...

Artest clearly makes the most sense because the only way they could probably acquire him is if he opts out. Which means we give up nothing but salary cap room. No brainer.

But, just something else to consider, Lamar Odom is in the last year of a deal that pays him 14 mill next year. Look, I love Lamar in the 3rd role, but my biggest issue is that what are you realistically willing to pay him as a free agent and are you willing to let him go for nothing in return? It's likely that he could be seeking a 5 year, 55 million dollar extension. I'm not really sure how I feel about that. And if this Lakers team is going to be in contention next year--they obviously aren't going to trade him during the season.

With all that said, I think RJ and Prince are very realistic possibilities if Artest is out of the equation.

[Kweli]

I agree with those that said Prince would be best for us at SF. I would want either him or Battier. They would be the perfect role players next to Kobe, Bynum and Gasol

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

Prince of LA!!!! Do it!

[TruSkool]

i must be terribly out of my mind because i always thought that out of odom, jefferson, marion, kirilenko, artest, and prince...prince would by far be the worst player, and sticking to odom would be our best option...besides defense, what am i missing?

personally, i think if mitch gets rid of odom, our most ideal player at the 3 would be ron artest...he can shoot, he can definately defend, hes "tough"-as phil suggested we need a tough guy, and he can even create his own shot.
kirilenko and prince are about the same from my perspective, prince having a slight edge on offensive consistency.
jefferson has the most polished offensive game of all the players mentioned above, but offense isnt needed much more if you have kobe and gasol on the same team.
marion would be a headcase for kobe. he cant create his own shot. he cant dribble. besides, we already have a poor man's marion in trevor ariza, so id pass on that.
odom is by far the most versatile and best rebounder(which we need very badly) can u imagine a forward and a center averaging 9 or more rebounds a game get out rebounded by just offensive boards? well that was our status vs the jazz and celtics series. odom can create, he can board, pass, but hes a liability on the jumper, which is very important for a 3. hes also shown inconsistency.

if odom plays upto his potential day in day out, theres no one better than him. if he doesnt, RON ARTEST is the way to go....at the trade deadline, not now! wait for 5 months for the longest frontline in the nba to try n gel together...if not, peace out lamar.

[KObe Bryant]

we really don't need to trade him. we just came up short in the finals but we already made it so far after the drama last off season. odom gave everything for this team. especially in the playoffs.

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

Well if we dont trade Odom (for wallace please!). Then id atleast like to sign posey and resign sasha and Ronny. and maybe pick up another big for LLE.

[Magic Mamba]

We need Battier he is solid on d amazing behind the arc and would shut down Pee Pee next time we play them

[bynumite120]

i personally would like the lakers to give him a chance at sf and if the lineup of odom/gasol/bynum dont work then trade him at the deadline which is when his value will be very high. remember who we got last year for kwame's 9mill a year expiring contract. If odom workd on his lateral movement which isnt bad and works extremly hard on his 3pt shot he may be just what the doctor orderd.

[what would jack bauer do?]

Yeah I really worry about our rebounding if we end up trading Odom, especially with how injury prone all of our bigs are. I think bringing Kwame back no matter what is a no brainer. Getting Bynum back will help us immensely and being able to throw Kwame at Duncan, KG, Dhoward, and Yao would be awesome. As poor as Kwame is on offense he's already shown he's able to defend those guys at an elite level.

But yeah having Bynum and Kwame back would help us greatly, but I really want us to become one of the best defensive teams in the league. Adding Prince, Battier, or Artest would be a surefire way of doing that.

It's tough to weigh the value of keeping Odom and just signing a Pietrus and Kwame vs trading Odom to get a proven defensive small forward. Maybe just a Pietrus signing and benching Luke/Radmanovic is enough if you factor in big Bynum will be back. I think Odom could do a good job against the small forwards of the league, but I'm not so sure if that'll do his body any good. His knee tendinitis has been a factor the last couple years; I'd much rather have a guy that's ready to grind it out every night. For that reason I would only put Odom as our nominal starter and have him get the bulk of his minutes playing back-up 4.

But man just thinking of a Fisher/Kobe/Prince/Gasol/Bynum starting line-up makes me sh#@ a brick. Seriously think about the stability we got from going to Fisher from Smush; going to Prince from Radmanovic would be insane.

[Gerald3Wallace]

man i hate the odom for battier deal