farmar's future with the lakers - short and long term

[Tommy Trojan]

Jordan could easily turn out like Nash

Are you serious dude? Nash huh hmmmm

[DEEP3CL]

I see him as the first piece moved if we make changes in the transfer window. His attitude and respect towards the coaches has been questioned and his recent demotion to 3rd string PG is a clear reason for the need for a move. Along with Rad and LO, he should be on the shop list by now.

I also have read few articles where he would have attitude problems with the coaches/players.
That only creates a dysfunction within the group/team.

I think this the main problem with Farmar, he's not receptive to being coached because he has a " know it all " attitude. When the media wrote that story on him and then brought up his disdain for being coached............that was a red flag.

[supaflash]

Harris was a great defensive player already and was much more consistent then Farmar. Jordan's never been a great fit for the triangle and if he doesn't get it by now in this system he's not going to. Struggles are one thing but this is his third year. Phil allowed the second unit to run on a large part due to Farmar's style of play but after so many blown leads Phil (or at least Tex) appears tired of the second unit not being able to stick with the triangle.

Sad fact is there just isn't much out there. AND we are so overbudget as well we can't really take on more money. Portland does have a couple extra PGs who are both decent in Blake (i agree he's hugely underrated and a great team guy) and Sergio. I like Watson, he's always been a tough defender and a pass first guy and at least we'd get another Bruin back

Maybe a Keith Bogans or a Jarret Jack might be gettable. Maybe Luther Head?

Honestly though another possible direction might be to pick up another backup 2 guard. A big defensive presence. Afterall, we don't need a true PG. I've been saying for some time that we dont' need a penetrator or elite ball handler. Mostly just a guy who can hit the open shot and play great defense. We've got guys like Kobe, Lamar, and Luke that can really handle the ball if they try to pressure. Miles pointed it out in another thread that our best PG right now might be Sasha and I tend to agree. I think Sasha fits great as a triangle PG. Honestly I think he should start. Having Fish and Lamar with the second unit would really stabilize it and help it run the triangle. That way you would always have at least Kobe,Pau,Drew or Fish,Lamar, Drew/Pau on the floor. I think the shorter bursts would give Fish a little lift on D as well.

I think there are a few decent SGs that could do well as a triangle guard. A Deshawn Stevenson might work. Raja Bell? Quincy Douby maybe, Charlie Bell... There are a few out there that are both decent shooters and decent defenders. Look at what Boston was able to do last year with Eddie House, he is not a PG but yet he's able to run the second unit. Especially when we have guys like Lamar to run the offense through. Anyway, just a thought.

At worse why can't we see Sasha start at PG a few games? See what happens? Do it Phil, the machine needs to play PG!

[J Rob]

I think everyone is over-reacting a little.... He's not playing great but he has his slumps like everyone else... Many of our players are finding it hard to find their groove and Phil's roatations arent making it much easier.... I think Farmar stays with the team unless we can get someone like Hinrich for a bargain

+1

I agree, although like Sedale said I cannot understand why there is almost zero defensive effort when this kid wants to get minutes.

Just being a guy who can deny paint penetration would warrent at least 25 minutes a game at this point.

[Anklebreaker702]

Very good thread dcash! I think he's going to be gone soon. Everything you stated in your post is correct. He is starting to have more short comings than upsides. Also remember when we got Pau, Mitch publicly came out & said he did not want to include Javaris in that trade so I'm sure there was something to that

[howard2]

From RealGm
Dec 15,2008
http://www.realgm.com/src_fromtherafter ... st_season/

Which Players Have Risen Or Fallen The Most Since Last Season?
Biggest Drops

- Jordan Farmar: -2.9 (9.9, 12.8)

I've been a big believer in Farmar and thought he would eventually give the Lakers a boost of youth at the point guard position, but his field goal percentage has dropped from 46.1% to 40.4% while his assist/turnover ratio have regressed as well. His offensive rating is down to 98 from 109 last season.

[hermes]

As usual.. at the start he was doing well and now.. what happened? I mean he has the built for speed.. why are guys blowing passs him... I mean Nate scoring so much isn't just his fault, but fisher is veteran player so it's expected.. but farmar?...

his stock has definitely gone down as with vlad. Maybe phil is trying to take a crack at them so that they'll try harder.... or else.. trade rumors continue on hehe

i blame his ears, i mean they are not aerodynamic at all

[Erik Eleven]

^ They don't call him wing-nut for nothing.

[Tommy Trojan]

Article on LA Times:

"Farmar seemed disgruntled, the telling sign coming when Jackson yanked him out of the game against New York 4:01 into the fourth quarter and the 6-foot-2 guard stormed off the court and exchanged words with his coach"

Who does Farmar think he is? The article goes on saying Jackson only played him 9 minutes. I also read few days ago that Farmar went off on few of his own players in practice.

Here is the article http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lak ... 2688.story

[Jajwanda]

This is starting to get a little annoying.

[dockingsched]

the most informative quotes:

Now, Farmar said, Jackson wants him to be more precise, to run the triangle offense and throttle down on the fastbreak when it's not there.

"I asked them what they wanted me to do so I can go out there and do it and not be confused about my job," Farmar said. "They're not looking for me to do anything personal -- just run our offense. It affects my performance and what I do.

"I'm a guard coming off the bench playing limited minutes so I got to make those minutes count and do what the coaching staff and the organization wants."

Jackson is not trying to stifle Farmar's creativity, but he wants the 22-year-old to be a better decision-maker.

"I think there are some things about playing his game kind of thing and conforming to our style," Jackson said.

Farmar also said he has issues with the team's defensive concepts.

"I was trying to go out there and do what I was told. Every time I would do what they asked me to do, it seemed like it was the wrong thing at that time, the wrong choice. I'm just trying to figure it out and do what they ask me in any capacity, whatever it is," Farmar said.

"I want to have decision-making opportunities, but if that's not in their plans right now, I can't let what I want go over what the team wants. I love these guys and we have a chance to be special, and I'll sacrifice as much as I have to for us to win."

the bolded part stuck out at me, not just cause it addresses his defensive woes that we all harp on, but its kinda befuddling. this is his 3rd yr with the lakers, same coaching staff. how in the world could there be so much confusion about playing defense? its not rocket science. that quote tells me there is some serious coach to player communication issues going on, cause farmar isn't some idiot player. playing defense shouldn't be so damn hard.

[Tommy Trojan]

In the same article it talks about how Farmar had words for Jackson when he was pulled out of the game.

[Kobay]

Farmar's head for every position should be thinking run the triangle as quick as possible and not waste the clock trying to do things on his own. He probably has a ego as big as his ears, its not a bad thing to have it but he is not on that level.

I always give players 3 to 4 years window to prove me unless there are great trade opps. Only thing farmar has to do is to study the triangle and the game...perhaps make a use of his athleticism on defense as well.

[hermes]

but like miles (think it was miles) said do we have the time to wait for him to get it together?
we want to win now, and if he's preventing us from winning then maybe he has to go, or something needs to be done (someone brought it)

[Erik Eleven]

Borrowed time.

[Erik Eleven]

I read that whole article about Farmar meeting with Phil, and there is a positive — he really wants to do understand better what Phil wants him to do out there. Just thought I'd point that out in case someone missed it.

[Sedale Threatt]

I had the same reaction that Cash had -- it's curious indeed that Jordan and the staff are having such trouble getting on the same page.

I'd tend to blame Jordan, given his hot temper and the obvious lack of effort with which he's been playing, but then again I've had numerous moments over the past year or so where I wonder about how well this team is coached from a technical standpoint. Especially on defense, where we often seem to be simply running around with no clear idea what we're doing.

Quality defenses not only get stops, they seem to have an uncanny knack for dictating who gets what kind of shots. We, on the other hand, can't even hustle back half the time, and there doesn't seem much urgency to fix it. Phil makes a snide comment or two to the papers, and the same thing happens the next night with no apparent repercussions.

Not exactly a ringing endoresment for either party, I'd say.

[what would jack bauer do?]

about the defense... (if you ignore that farmar has just been playing terrible defense) I think the system that we do have set up is sending mixed signals to a lot of our players. To me its just horrible... we're switching everything... trying to force defenders into our shotblockers... and we're making Bynum and Gasol extend their defense by closing out hard as hell against 3 pt shooters. This scheme is really frustrating. They tried to cater to what our players like to do on the floor instead of forcing them to play defense the right way. Phil needs to just simplify the defense and I'm beginning to think we are dire need of roster changes. I mean I'm among the ones that wants to trade Odom for a defensive sf, but in all fairness LO has done everything right on the floor including playing defense the way the coaching staff told him to in his limited minutes.

[Jajwanda]

The defensive problems we've seen so far have been scheme related for the most part. It's against the Celtics that we will see the PG and SF mismatches.