Should LO stay or should he GO!?

[Anklebreaker702]

This is not a bash thread. All of us know LO's biggest consistency is being inconsistent. That we all have come to know & understand. There is always talk about trading Bynum for things as small as lit matches & a wet dog even though he has shown his worth over & over when not getting hurt by his own teammates.

There has been talk about trading Pau because he's too soft. Swap him for Bosh & you get essentially the same player etc, etc, etc. Yet without those players by Kobe's side we are DONE!

So here we are paying a guy 8 mil per for being inconsistent which we we're all cool with. The problem I have is the fact when we were struggling in the Finals against our hated rivals when asked to step up, his answer was "I'm not putting that on my shoulders. Win or lose we have to do it as a team I refuse to have the weight of winning or losing square on my shoulders". To me that's not a winner or a leader.

Now in his exit meeting he said he's looking forward to playing more small forward next year for us to take full advantage of our size & length. Now that is a winners attitude. So it coincides with his ability to always have the team though in the forefront of his mind but at the same time if he would just step it up when needed he could really take it to another level. Norm Nixon stated at the parade Lamar should have been the best PF to have ever played this game with his athletic ability, ball handling skills, & agility but he limited himself with his thinking.

Chime in & let me know what you guys think.

[Dr Aki]

we're paying him to come off the bench, but despite his inconsistency, despite his ugly stats in the celtics series (srsly, who didn't have ugly stats?), he just happened to be pretty vital in game 7. not stats-wise, because thats just no lamar, but he played fantastic defense, grabbed several important offensive rebounds and put-backs that kept the lakers in the hunt

and when (NOT IF) bynum goes down again, odom slotting in the starting 4 position reminds us every time that hes a blessing to have. hes probably the only reason, that the lakers bench isnt being eaten alive every time the starters need a break, despite his random stats

either way, we gave him a 33 mil contract to stay for the championship run, why would we ditch him now? after just 1 year of his contract, one in which we won a ring?

[LAKERFAN24]

But if he goes would it be trouble or if he stays would it be double?

[semi-sentient]

and when (NOT IF) bynum goes down again, odom slotting in the starting 4 position reminds us every time that hes a blessing to have.

Exactly.

Odom stays

[Anklebreaker702]

and when (NOT IF) bynum goes down again, odom slotting in the starting 4 position reminds us every time that hes a blessing to have.

Exactly.

Odom stays

OK with that said which Laker goes crashing into his legs this time?

[Anklebreaker702]

we're paying him to come off the bench, but despite his inconsistency, despite his ugly stats in the celtics series (srsly, who didn't have ugly stats?), he just happened to be pretty vital in game 7. not stats-wise, because thats just no lamar, but he played fantastic defense, grabbed several important offensive rebounds and put-backs that kept the lakers in the hunt

and when (NOT IF) bynum goes down again, odom slotting in the starting 4 position reminds us every time that hes a blessing to have. hes probably the only reason, that the lakers bench isnt being eaten alive every time the starters need a break, despite his random stats

either way, we gave him a 33 mil contract to stay for the championship run, why would we ditch him now? after just 1 year of his contract, one in which we won a ring?

I'd like a player like Sean Marion. You get the same out of him every night. Energy & hustle.

[dabien2]

We know about LO's talent vs. his inconsistency. You forget that we don't rely on him every night to win. He is the 4th option on this team. When he is on, we win. If not, we still can win. Plus the match up nightmares for other teams and LO/Pau tandem is one of the best in the league. LO/Pau were made to play with each other. It's not all about overall talent but chemistry.

[Anklebreaker702]

We know about LO's talent vs. his inconsistency. You forget that we don't rely on him every night to win. He is the 4th option on this team. When he is on, we win. If not, we still can win. Plus the match up nightmares for other teams and LO/Pau tandem is one of the best in the league. LO/Pau were made to play with each other. It's not all about overall talent but chemistry.

Not forgetting that at all. My point is not about his inconsistency its about his unwillingness to step up.

[Edrees]

There's not a single player available in the league that you could sign for the same amount of money that is as good and is willing to come off the bench. Not even worth discussing. Honestly, who else can provide us that can kind of talent and help off the bench for 8 mil or under? nobody

Don't forget how helpful he was in the phoenix series. we mighta lost that series without him

[Magicontinues]

There is always talk about trading Bynum for things as small as lit matches & a wet dog even though he has shown his worth over & over when not getting hurt by his own teammates.

There has been talk about trading Pau because he's too soft

Huh? Who's talk was this? Who's talking about Trading Pau? Nobody but nuts here. And who's talking about trading Bynum for lit matches? I've heard Bosh. What an odd post .
.

[Anklebreaker702]

There is always talk about trading Bynum for things as small as lit matches & a wet dog even though he has shown his worth over & over when not getting hurt by his own teammates.

There has been talk about trading Pau because he's too soft

Huh? Who's talk was this? Who's talking about Trading Pau? Nobody but nuts here. And who's talking about trading Bynum for lit matches? I've heard Bosh. What an odd post .
.

A little humor Magic ease up.

[dabien2]

We know about LO's talent vs. his inconsistency. You forget that we don't rely on him every night to win. He is the 4th option on this team. When he is on, we win. If not, we still can win. Plus the match up nightmares for other teams and LO/Pau tandem is one of the best in the league. LO/Pau were made to play with each other. It's not all about overall talent but chemistry.

Not forgetting that at all. My point is not about his inconsistency its about his unwillingness to step up.

Won 2 rings with LO. Crazy to completely change this team. Sometimes when I read this forum, I feel like the Lakers just lost finals, not won. As champs you only slightly tinker, not do major changes. Plus LO had some big plays that people forgot about in Game 7.

[Anklebreaker702]

We know about LO's talent vs. his inconsistency. You forget that we don't rely on him every night to win. He is the 4th option on this team. When he is on, we win. If not, we still can win. Plus the match up nightmares for other teams and LO/Pau tandem is one of the best in the league. LO/Pau were made to play with each other. It's not all about overall talent but chemistry.

Not forgetting that at all. My point is not about his inconsistency its about his unwillingness to step up.

Won 2 rings with LO. Crazy to completely change this team. Sometimes when I read this forum, I feel like the Lakers just lost finals, not won. As champs you only slightly tinker, not do major changes. Plus LO had some big plays that people forgot about in Game 7.

Its not that serious, it's just a question. Depending on what you get for LO it could still be a tinker

[Slava]

LO will be fine and I really want him to fix up that nagging shoulder problem this summer. He started feeling it in 2006-07 and never rehabbed it well enough to heal.

[DEEP3CL]

We know about LO's talent vs. his inconsistency.

This is the main problem

You forget that we don't rely on him every night to win.

Yeah but we rely on him to show up, LO gets on these trips when it's 3-4 games he balls then 3-4 he's lost in the sauce.

He is the 4th option on this team. When he is on, we win. If not, we still can win.

Yeah and he settles for being 4th.......when he should be 3rd without a doubt.

[daddyfivestar]

Starter or bench- No matter. Khlodom knows what's up- he's one of the 5 finishers on the b2b champs which is well worth his pay scale.

Anyone wonder why LA was even in gm 7 at the end? Lamar.
6 pts and 2 huge Offensive rebs in the run to cut the lead from 13 to 4 to end the 3rd. 6pts well freaking worth every penny of 1.2 mil each in my book or the Lakers are down double digits in the final qtr!

[Elisalove12]

Gotta keep LO. If we are trading him because he’s inconsistent then the only player we keep is KOBE. Even Kobe, who is Mr. Consistent, was inconsistent in game 7. I agree with the replies about chemistry. Being on a team with an alpha male such as Kobe Bean cannot be easy. Lamar has a demeanor in which he is never too high or never too low. That’s what makes him so inconsistent. So, oddly the thing that makes him inconsistent is the very reason we can’t trade him. To know LO’s value you have to look at similar salaries Josh Smith 10,000,000; Udonis Haslem 7,100,000; Quentin Richardson 8,700,000; Samuel Dalembert 12,000,000+; and Rashard Lewis 18,000,000+; All these players play mostly one position and they don’t even play that one well. To be champions you must have chemistry. One can trade him for someone who looks like a world beater. Scoring and assist machine. An absolute can’t miss and guess what you’ll have. Hedo Turkoglu. How’d that work out for Toronto??

[laduane1]

He is a perfect player off the bench or in the starting line up if there is a trade or someone is hurt. He does so much and gets paid will for it. He has got 2 rings. That might not have happened if he was in the starting line up and there was not much on the bench.

[Anklebreaker702]

Gotta keep LO. If we are trading him because he’s inconsistent then the only player we keep is KOBE. Even Kobe, who is Mr. Consistent, was inconsistent in game 7. I agree with the replies about chemistry. Being on a team with an alpha male such as Kobe Bean cannot be easy. Lamar has a demeanor in which he is never too high or never too low. That’s what makes him so inconsistent. So, oddly the thing that makes him inconsistent is the very reason we can’t trade him. To know LO’s value you have to look at similar salaries Josh Smith 10,000,000; Udonis Haslem 7,100,000; Quentin Richardson 8,700,000; Samuel Dalembert 12,000,000+; and Rashard Lewis 18,000,000+; All these players play mostly one position and they don’t even play that one well. To be champions you must have chemistry. One can trade him for someone who looks like a world beater. Scoring and assist machine. An absolute can’t miss and guess what you’ll have. Hedo Turkoglu. How’d that work out for Toronto??

Good post I'm impressed. I'm not saying for Magic beans though, it would have to be worth our wild.

[96 Til Infiniti]

Gotta keep LO. If we are trading him because he’s inconsistent then the only player we keep is KOBE. Even Kobe, who is Mr. Consistent, was inconsistent in game 7. I agree with the replies about chemistry. Being on a team with an alpha male such as Kobe Bean cannot be easy. Lamar has a demeanor in which he is never too high or never too low. That’s what makes him so inconsistent. So, oddly the thing that makes him inconsistent is the very reason we can’t trade him. To know LO’s value you have to look at similar salaries Josh Smith 10,000,000; Udonis Haslem 7,100,000; Quentin Richardson 8,700,000; Samuel Dalembert 12,000,000+; and Rashard Lewis 18,000,000+; All these players play mostly one position and they don’t even play that one well. To be champions you must have chemistry. One can trade him for someone who looks like a world beater. Scoring and assist machine. An absolute can’t miss and guess what you’ll have. Hedo Turkoglu. How’d that work out for Toronto??

+1

And don't underestimate his leadership on this team off the court.