Obviously splashy trades that upgrade talent are great...
Ariza was a great move but in the last few seasons that hasnt happened very often. What weve learned about the progress of the Lakers is that mentors work best.
1) Fish's leadership and Phil Jacksons expert coaching along w/ Kobe's onseason leadership have made the Lakers better
2) Kareem mentoring Bynum has made the Lakers better
So here is how you make the Lakers great
1) Have Magic mentor Critt
2) If Pippen wants a job have him mentor Ariza
Have a specialist work with these guys for some seasons and mold the young talent the Lakers have into a perennial contender!
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I'm not sure mentorship is what has these guys playig like this.
Surely good mentorship is a big plus but the reason Bynum and Farmar are playing this way is that they are hungry and worked their butts off in the offseason.
I mean Kwame had Jordan as a mentor. That didn't help much, did it?
I think Kareem has been great for Bynum but if he hadn't worked hard in the summer to improve his fitness and overall game, he would not be the beast that we are seeing out there.
Farmar did not have Magic as a tutor. He just decided he was going to get better specially after the Lakers drafted a guard(Critt) and be a great NBA guard which I belive he will become if he continues to grow.
Mentorship is fine but self-motivation is a powerful tool to get better.
Surely good mentorship is a big plus but the reason Bynum and Farmar are playing this way is that they are hungry and worked their butts off in the offseason.
I mean Kwame had Jordan as a mentor. That didn't help much, did it?
I think Kareem has been great for Bynum but if he hadn't worked hard in the summer to improve his fitness and overall game, he would not be the beast that we are seeing out there.
Farmar did not have Magic as a tutor. He just decided he was going to get better specially after the Lakers drafted a guard(Critt) and be a great NBA guard which I belive he will become if he continues to grow.
Mentorship is fine but self-motivation is a powerful tool to get better.
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lakerRD wrote:I'm not sure mentorship is what has these guys playig like this.
...
I mean Kwame had Jordan as a mentor. That didn't help much, did it?
Jordan was a horrible mentor for a center. Too bad he wasnt drafted a Laker. KAJ would have had a profound impact on him. Brown was thrown to the wolfs. Jordan treated him like he had 4 years of college ball under his belt.
We are seeing that many highschool guys need years to transform to the player they are meant to be.
Kobe & Bynum are 2 prime examples. Leadership and greatness are contagious. Thats why TALENT + BEING A LAKER = the best players.
Lakers are 22-3 in OT last 6 seasons:Kobe best OT closer!
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enlightenment wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
Jordan was a horrible mentor for a center. Too bad he wasnt drafted a Laker. KAJ would have had a profound impact on him. Brown was thrown to the wolfs. Jordan treated him like he had 4 years of college ball under his belt.
We are seeing that many highschool guys need years to transform to the player they are meant to be.
Kobe & Bynum are 2 prime examples. Leadership and greatness are contagious. Thats why TALENT + BEING A LAKER = the best players.
Kwame has been a bust as a first pick of the draft by Washington and he would have been a bust had he been picked by the Lakers. Do you really think having had KAJ mentor him would have improved his play that much?
Please remember that Kareem mentored Bynum last year too, but it wasn't until Bynum decided that HE HIMSELF had to get better on his own by working hard in the summer that he improved so dramatically.
Also if "TALENT + BEING A LAKER = the best players", how do you explain Lamar and Kwame? These two have plenty of talent and they have been Lakers for a while now. They are hardly best players.
I agree with you that mentorship is very important, but I argue that mentorship without hunger, desire and self-motivation will not acheive the kind of success you are predicting.
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Perhaps you would like to debute?star24 wrote:Ariza may have the physical tools but not the overall talent or IQ. He still can't shoot let alone be mr.defense and be able to play 4 positions including pg. Pippen top 50 player. Ariza never started a whole season in his career. Perhaps were being bias?