10/18 Preseason Gm #5 - LAC @ LAL - 7:30pm

[Dr Aki]

i think hes playing at least something worth 3-4mil per at the moment, and why wouldnt u opt out if it looked like you were going to receive a multi-yr deal at a higher salary for more years?

For one Aki, only 2 of 28 teams are under the cap. And if Shannon is serious about winning he stays here.

shannon's situation is a bit different to trevor's one...

trevor's agent was a douche, and everyone but david lee knew that there was absolutely no way trevor was getting anything above a MLE deal (which was market price for trevor in the end anyway)

its very different for shannon because the way the cap operates is that even if you're over the cap, you can still operate without your hands being tied by the salary cap, hence the MLE/LLE provisions... (but you know shannon wont be leaving for another LLE deal.)

shannon and his agent were very shrewd when he signed a 2 yr LLE deal with the 2nd yr a player option. we all saw how well he picked the triangle up, we all saw his trampoline acts, we all saw that he could reasonably stay in front of most 1/2 guards with his athleticism. but it wasnt a big body of evidence that he could sustain that consistency (only 4 months of good play) on his CV, hence shannon signing a LLE deal with that opt-out clause. this is something he will be hoping to correct with a full year with the lakers and by the looks of how he's playing, it looks as if PJ will be more than willing to give a lot of minutes to shannon purely because he plays good defense and can still spread the floor.

teams are always on the lookout for decent young role players that can fit in and play defense. like trevor, he came and found his niche backing up derek fisher and providing PG defense.

noone can claim that the economy is that bad that he wont even be offered a contract as a FA next summer and judging by the FA class, theres going to be a lot of money thrown around. hes playing pretty damn good basketball and teams will take notice and when it comes around to deciding whether hes taking 2.1mil next year and having to play in a contract year, or opting out and getting more per year, with more years (ie security), hes obviously going to look after shannon brown first and foremost.

now mitch kupchak isnt a muppet. he did his homework and he knew what trevor was worth and essentially told trevor to find another team thatll give him a MLE deal and then the lakers will match it. kupchak will do his homework over the course of 2009/10 and will know what shannon brown will be worth this time next June, and barring any longterm injury, it will be over 2.1mil.

how far above 2.1 mil? well certainly not the MLE but it will be somewhere in between because theres wriggle room underneath the MLE figure (unlike trevor, whose agent wanted 7-8mil instead). and the lakers are half-tied because shannon brown wont have any early bird rights (just like this season) and will have to use part of their MLE to sign him. (no LLE/biannual exception since it was used this yr on shannon brown).

if it so happens that shannon brown somehow gets 4mil per, i dont think the lakers will match.

[Slava]

The bench was amazing and Artest had an assured performance.

Jordan Farmar: Shows his talent time and again at the start of the season. He was hitting shots and making plays in B-Diddy's face. Much more assured with the ball and solid in getting to the rack at will. I just hope he plays the entire season like this because it's suck to waste this kind of talent and see him not resigned after this season.

He's much more assured handling the ball and making plays than Shannon Brown but I like these guys in the back court together.

Ammo finally decides to do what he does best. Score. That's been his strength in college and thats what should earn him his bread in the league. So I see that Phil's statements of him being the best shooter on the team bar Derek Fisher are true but I do not want to see him just spot up like Sasha, he's much more talented than that. I can see him score off the dribble. Would be great if he can get his confidence back.

Josh Powell seems to have worked on his offensive game. The post ups and hook shots are impressive and he's making a good percentage of them. Good insurance on the bench should LO, Gasol and Drew get into foul trouble.

DJ Mbenga allowing nothing easy inside and it was nice to see him hold down on Kaman and not allow him to score on 3 consecutive possessions. He might be a garbage minutes guy but he gives his 6 fouls with conviction and thats nice to see. Also that jumper looks money.

[dockingsched]

thats 5 for 5 where andrew is the team leader in points or tied for the team lead and 3 for 5 where he leads the team in rebounding.

[The Skyhook]

Damn I missed the game but it looks like Shannon had a great game. Bynum finally got the nice double double so that might give him some more confidence. Theres one thing that the box score shows that he messed up. He went 7/17. Thats a lot of shots but I guess with both LO and Gasol out he had too. If Drew can stay healthy this is really his year fellas.

I didn't see the game against the Bobcats either but I checked the box score for the last 2 games and whats up with Kobe's poor shooting performances. He shot 6-22 combined against the clips and bobcats, going 3-11 each game.

[picc]

Derek is probably the best clutch shooter on the team, but i'd argue there are several players more consistent shooting overall.

Agreed on Josh and Ron, solid performances.

[b shaw20]

Derek is probably the best clutch shooter on the team, but i'd argue there are several players more consistent shooting overall.

Agreed on Josh and Ron, solid performances.

just because he made the 0.4 shot and the 2 huge 3's last year, should not classify fish as clutch. my take is that if you keep jacking, eventually a couple are bound to go in. fact is, his shot and decision making has been absoulute garbage for the most part. his 1-7, 2-10 shooting performances hurt the team. heck, one could argue had he played decent ball we would not have been in the spot we were in game 5 last year.

he's a great guy, a hard worker and pjax is loyal to his soldiers and that's why he get a pass on this team. Much like Horry did in his latter Laker years, he now more often than not hurts the team. He should have rode into retirement sunset after last year, but oh well. maybe he finds a way to contribute, even if it's not by making shots.

[picc]

just because he made the 0.4 shot and the 2 huge 3's last year, should not classify fish as clutch. my take is that if you keep jacking, eventually a couple are bound to go in. fact is, his shot and decision making has been absoulute garbage for the most part. his 1-7, 2-10 shooting performances hurt the team. heck, one could argue had he played decent ball we would not have been in the spot we were in game 5 last year.

he's a great guy, a hard worker and pjax is loyal to his soldiers and that's why he get a pass on this team. Much like Horry did in his latter Laker years, he now more often than not hurts the team. He should have rode into retirement sunset after last year, but oh well. maybe he finds a way to contribute, even if it's not by making shots.

He is clutch, I can't remember him missing any big shots other than game 2 vs Denver.

Cant argue with the rest though. Much as Jordans decison making is maligned, no one seems to mention that Fish's decisions to drive wildly into the paint for layup attempts with no chance, and ignoring the others to shoot ill-advised long jumpers off the dribble without moving the ball, hurt the team just as much. He's still one of our leaders and I trust him instinctively by this point, but its usually against better judgement. I think our starting unit would benefit from Jordans speed as well, but alas...

[DEEP3CL]

shannon's situation is a bit different to trevor's one...

trevor's agent was a douche, and everyone but david lee knew that there was absolutely no way trevor was getting anything above a MLE deal (which was market price for trevor in the end anyway)

its very different for shannon because the way the cap operates is that even if you're over the cap, you can still operate without your hands being tied by the salary cap, hence the MLE/LLE provisions... (but you know shannon wont be leaving for another LLE deal.)

shannon and his agent were very shrewd when he signed a 2 yr LLE deal with the 2nd yr a player option. we all saw how well he picked the triangle up, we all saw his trampoline acts, we all saw that he could reasonably stay in front of most 1/2 guards with his athleticism. but it wasnt a big body of evidence that he could sustain that consistency (only 4 months of good play) on his CV, hence shannon signing a LLE deal with that opt-out clause. this is something he will be hoping to correct with a full year with the lakers and by the looks of how he's playing, it looks as if PJ will be more than willing to give a lot of minutes to shannon purely because he plays good defense and can still spread the floor.

teams are always on the lookout for decent young role players that can fit in and play defense. like trevor, he came and found his niche backing up derek fisher and providing PG defense.

noone can claim that the economy is that bad that he wont even be offered a contract as a FA next summer and judging by the FA class, theres going to be a lot of money thrown around. hes playing pretty damn good basketball and teams will take notice and when it comes around to deciding whether hes taking 2.1mil next year and having to play in a contract year, or opting out and getting more per year, with more years (ie security), hes obviously going to look after shannon brown first and foremost.

now mitch kupchak isnt a muppet. he did his homework and he knew what trevor was worth and essentially told trevor to find another team thatll give him a MLE deal and then the lakers will match it. kupchak will do his homework over the course of 2009/10 and will know what shannon brown will be worth this time next June, and barring any longterm injury, it will be over 2.1mil.

how far above 2.1 mil? well certainly not the MLE but it will be somewhere in between because theres wriggle room underneath the MLE figure (unlike trevor, whose agent wanted 7-8mil instead). and the lakers are half-tied because shannon brown wont have any early bird rights (just like this season) and will have to use part of their MLE to sign him. (no LLE/biannual exception since it was used this yr on shannon brown).

if it so happens that shannon brown somehow gets 4mil per, i dont think the lakers will match.

OK Aki you're not telling nothing about the cap that I don't already know and fully understand, but since you got it all figured out with Shannon with the contract talk and all I'm going to bring it back to my area of expertise.

Basketball wise on the floor.........it'll be suicide for him to leave period, much like what Trev is about to endure Shannon will be the same. I could careless on how him and his agent cut a deal so precise that it favored him. Ball wise Shannon was already a half a step away from being out of the league until that trade, in which he was nothing more than a filler to make it work.

I not going to sit here and rake Shannon over the coals, but he had limitations to his game that kept him off the floor in Cleveland and Charlotte you can't deny that. Yes he's a nice defender, but your defense is only as good as the offensive system you play in. In the other places he's been it was a detriment to have him on the floor for big minutes. He was a tweener with no true guard skill set, no consistent jumper and limited passing ability. The only constant you got was the D.

Playing with better players is the key to covering his flaws, yeah he's free to leave much like Trev was. But when you do don't expect the same result cause you're not getting them period.

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't see it happening, but I hope Ammo can somehow find a way to contribute this season. The NBA needs more players who look like Deep Purple roadies.

[tkb]

Nice to see a decent game from Artest. I really want him to do well this year.

Bynum with another good performance. Looking good thus far. Hopefully he'll sustain it into the regular season, and for once stay healthy.

[Slava]

Shannon Brown lacks great ball handling and play making skills that are required off most point guards elsewhere in the league and therefore he can be an impact player playing next to someone like Kobe or LBJ. I don't see him leaving LA especially since his dad seems to make most decisions for his career and he sounds like a good basketball mind.

[b shaw20]

I don't see it happening, but I hope Ammo can somehow find a way to contribute this season. The NBA needs more players who look like Deep Purple roadies.

Shake yourself and stop being so negative D.

I can envision Ammo finding a way to contribute. He'll do it with his shooting but a couple of things have to happen:

1. will need 15 mpg (artest or Luke out for x) even if just for a stretch
2. Kobe and co must trust him and look for him

if Ammo's confidence remains high and the 2 things happen, he will be loved in LA

[Sedale Threatt]

He's not going to get the PT, and he doesn't have the confidence of which you speak. But I wish him nothing but the best. Like I said, the NBA needs more burnouts.

[dockingsched]

if luke/ron go down, kobe is going to get sf minutes so that sasha/brown/farmar get more minutes before ammo ever gets on the court. he's going to be inactive most of the time anyway i bet.