Lakers sign DJ Mbenga rest of the season

rhp1990 · Post #1 » by **rhp1990** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:31 pm

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/080211mbengasigned.html

:clap:

Post #2 » by **TyCobb** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:33 pm

This makes me sad. There had to be a better big man out there than DJ Taco.

zen_4_10 · Post #3 » by **zen_4_10** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:36 pm

Cool! That gives us 6 more fouls in 6 minutes every game!

homester · Post #4 » by **homester** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:38 pm

zen_4_10 wrote:Cool! That gives us 6 more fouls in 6 minutes every game!

Sometimes you need it. Shaq is back in the West ;o

zen_4_10 · Post #5 » by **zen_4_10** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:41 pm

Hell, I'm really not opposed to it. I always had an issue with Kwame not being physical enough to pick up fouls when he was supposed to be protecting the rim.

DJ will definitely need to used only in spots though.

MAMBAEMD · Post #6 » by **MAMBAEMD** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:42 pm

Good move!
You can never have enough bigs, specially in the West.
DJ plays hard.
Knowing that he will stay the rest of the year should help him relax and not try so hard.
All we need from him is a few minutes a game with some rebounds and some blocks and intimidation, not to mention his fouls.

rhp1990 · Post #7 » by **rhp1990** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:45 pm

lakerRD wrote:Good move!
You can never have enough bigs, specially in the West.
DJ plays hard.
Knowing that he will stay the rest of the year should help him relax and not try so hard.
All we need from him is a few minutes a game with some rebounds and some blocks and intimidation, not to mention his fouls.

+1

lakeshow248 · Post #8 » by **lakeshow248** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:45 pm

For me DJ is a perfect guy to have as the 14th man, he will get a pro-rated porition of the min which is like 450k so he is uber cheap and from what I've seen he is solid.

Sure he can't shoot or make free throws but he can dunk and alter shots and I thought he played great vs. Dirk in Dallas the game the Lakers made a little surge. I just think his rebounding and shot blocking abilty alone is perfect for the minitues he gets--and don't forget Shaq is now in the West so a guy like DJ is needed more than we think..... If Bynum don't come back or gets in foul trouble he will become really valubale.

He is also a black belt and won't back down from the Diseal....If the Lakers' play PHX in playoffs, I'll be happy that DJ is on the Lakers' side when it starts to become chippy......

Just think of it like this he is a 8.9 million cheaper version of Kwame--he'll give you more shot blocking than Kwame, the same rebounding and a similar off skil set.......

Post #9 » by **LLcoleJ** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:58 pm

Interesting story MT said on Loose Cannons about Benga. He is from the Conga and his dad/family was part of the regime that was overrun. His dad was executed and Benga was in jail set to eb executed within a few days. His brother ended up bribing his captors to let him go and they bounced to Belgium. Where at the age of 19 he was asked by someone if he had ever played basketball before... DJ had not and then started to play...the rest is 12th man history.

Post #10 » by **semi-sentient** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:04 pm

Not a bad signing. It appears that Mihm is pretty much done (I'd like to see us either do a buyout or look to move him in the offseason), so we need a backup for Bynum. Hopefully we'll go out and get a real backup this offseason if DJ doesn't fit the bill.

ak777 · Post #11 » by **ak777** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:11 pm

Phil_2.0 wrote:Interesting story MT said on Loose Cannons about Benga. He is from the Conga and his dad/family was part of the regime that was overrun. His dad was executed and Benga was in jail set to eb executed within a few days. His brother ended up bribing his captors to let him go and they bounced to Belgium. Where at the age of 19 he was asked by someone if he had ever played basketball before... DJ had not and then started to play...the rest is 12th man history.

Life is very tuff in the african countries......here its nothing

Post #12 » by **TyCobb** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:13 pm

Unless you're in the Spears family.

ak777 · Post #13 » by **ak777** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:17 pm

TyCobb wrote:Unless you're in the Spears family.

not true

Minhee · Post #14 » by **Minhee** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:22 pm

I like the move, Chris Mihm sucks and is not reliable. I say we just waive Chris Mihm or buy him out. The guy is a waste of roster space, his injury sucks but he is not going to help this team. At least Mbenga will try and contribute for less money.

DEEP3CL · Post #15 » by **DEEP3CL** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:36 pm

Good move by the FO again, proving that some how they've come into some smarts on how to run a team again.

DJ at least guards the basket the way a big man is suppose to. With Mihm being unreliable at tis point in the season keeping DJ was ok by me.

bynumsbreakout · Post #16 » by **bynumsbreakout** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:47 pm

No Daco will go unprotected!! :nod:

Kobe_for_3 · Post #17 » by **Kobe_for_3** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:47 pm

Its a smart move with Chris still not ready to play...... I like DJ as our 3rd center, he plays hard.

RJM · Post #18 » by **RJM** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:47 pm

homester wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Sometimes you need it. Shaq is back in the West ;o

Yes! And he's EVEN WORSE at the line now! Hehehehe... :clap:

Erik Eleven · Post #19 » by **Erik Eleven** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:54 pm

Awesome. I love his attitude and the six fouls he brings. Good insurance for cheap.

LakersfanAUS · Post #20 » by **LakersfanAUS** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:58 pm

Good re-sign.