08 OFF-SEASON PLAN

[warren weel im]

We are officially in the WCF. At this stage, there is no telling where we could go next. We could get stuck here and go home or we could very well bring the hardware home. Either way, 25% chance of winning it all ain't too shabby. I must say we have overachieved and we get nothing short of an A+.

The question then is, what do we do this off-season?

Bear in mind the numbers we have on our payroll - 75m with 10 players.

- Chris Mihm has the opt-out.
- Sasha and Ronny are restricted Free Agents.
- no picks in the 1st round / Sun Yue from China.
- DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble and Coby Karl are all UFAs.

Q1. What if teams offer Sasha and Ronny the MLE? Do we chase them?

Q2. Being the Free Agent Magnet that we are, how would we feel if a player with "star" quality was willing to play for our MLE?

sniff sniff Ron Artest sniff sniff

Q3. Would you mind if I suggested we bring Kwame back?

Q4. Would you extend Lamar if we won it all?

- I personally would. 30m in 3 years, spread 10-10-10.

Q5. What do you do with your small forwards + Kobe playing SF in the final minutes? Who goes, Luke or Vlade?

I'd be very interested to know what every other Laker fan thinks about these issues.

[bobobolas1]

first, i would resign odom.

About kwame...i wouldnt take him.

Sasha and ronny... I want them here next year, i think they want too so i guess they wont go to other team just for a couple of millions more. Resign.


Vlad and luke... For me both are ok but just for 10-15 mins (as ronny and farmar)

I want coby to still with lakers too...just time to him and in a few years...who knows!

If we have bynum-pau-odom-kobe in the starting lineup and healty most of season.......

[TruSkool]

the first thing that popped into my mind was your question 5....

i think we should definately consider moving either luke walton or vladimir radmanovich...im expecting ira newble to be released and im expecting ronny turiaf and sasha vujacic to be resigned in the offseeason under all circumstances(theyre our 2 best role players)

i also think lamar has made a very strong case in these playoffs that he wants to stay in los angeles. im pretty sure kupchak would resign him, even at the expense of jery buss coughing out a little more cash...

expect odom, gasol, kobe, bynum, and fisher to stick with the lakers for atleast the next 3-4 years.

i think we need help most at the pg position...derek fisher will remain our primary starter, but i think an upgrade over jordan farmar is necessary...perhaps beno udrih, kirk hinrich, etc should fill the void.

i think we should also consider unloading our small forward position as we have 3 players (4 with kobe) who are qualifiying to play in that position...trevor ariza, luke walton, and vlad radmanovich and lamar odom(considering bynum returns next year)-of these 4 players, obviously lamar should be the most deserving, and trevor ariza should be the first sub off the bench for sf. im definately expecting either luke walton or vlad rad to go elsewhere.

[f0gman]

Chris Mihm will not opt out. He doesn't get nearly as much on the open market. So that's one roster spot. Plus there's also the late second round pick. I'd try to trade next year's Bobcats' second rounder for an early second rounder this year. Minnesota is said to be interested in such a trade. With that pick I'd get Lester Hudson out of Tennessee-Martin or Kyle Weaver from Washington State. Farmar's performance over the last 2 months shows that the team could use insurance at the position if not outright competition. D-Fish isn't getting younger and is playing with a partially torn tendon.

1. Sasha's earned himself the MLE. Pay him. Ronny probably doesn't get that on the open market, but if push comes to shove give it to him as well.

2. No need to sign a FA with the MLE. The team has enough depth and moving Odom to SF will create a logjam. They need to figure out that lineup change first.

3. He's only worth the minimum. I don't think he brings more than Mbenga or a fairly healthy Mihm. Pass.

4. He'll probably ask for more than that. I'd wait until next offseason to extend him.

5. Luke's cheaper but he's also less necessary than he was two years ago. I'd trade him. Vlad has a bad contract. I doubt Mitch would find a taker without taking back another bad contract.

[0HeadAche0]

number 1 priority is to tell kobe not to join up with team USA and rest.

get kwame back, he can be a really good situational player for us and tonnes of pressure will be off of him which is a good thing and he could be really productive as our back up center and develop certain skills, bearing in mind any backup C we get wont have to play that many minutes at all.

resign lamar odom, hes great plus if we trade him away then we have to worry about chemistry and how they will fit in, with odom we will know what we get and he is emotional leader of our team. i will be surprised if we don't bring him back.

if ronny goes and isnt resigned i probably will kill myself.

only use the MLE on a backup c with good man defense if kwame can't be resigned or if we can get a point guard, lue, chris duhon, lindsay hunter etc. someone who can defend the guard position really well. if we lose ariza or sasha then i want james posey, we need someone really nasty on our club to be aggressive, and will get inside another players shirt and put other star wingmen off.

[KB20]

A Bucks fan on the Trade Board said he would trade Charlie Bell for Mihm, Farmar, and 2 2nd round picks. If that deal is out there, we have to get it done. Charlie is a very good combo guard who can play defense and knock down the open shot. He is a definite improvement over Farmar.

[Gerald3Wallace]

resign odom...lock up turiaf and sasha.

[joe.linnen]

Lets keep Odom. I want to see Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Bryant, and Fisher on the floor together.

I want a back-up point guard, Farmar isn't ready yet, we all know he's hit another wall.

I would like Artest to sign here but were loaded at both forward sopts with Gasol, Odom, Walton, Radmanovic, Turiaf, Ariza, and Bryant. artest would have fit in with the Odom and Gasol frontcourt tho.

I want a nother center just incase Bynum goes down.

[amb1ent]

Going after Kurt Thomas or Theo Ratliff would be nice.

[RJM]

We are officially in the WCF. At this stage, there is no telling where we could go next. We could get stuck here and go home or we could very well bring the hardware home. Either way, 25% chance of winning it all ain't too shabby. I must say we have overachieved and we get nothing short of an A+.

The question then is, what do we do this off-season?

Bear in mind the numbers we have on our payroll - 75m with 10 players.

- Chris Mihm has the opt-out.
- Sasha and Ronny are restricted Free Agents.
- no picks in the 1st round / Sun Yue from China.
- DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble and Coby Karl are all UFAs.

Q1. What if teams offer Sasha and Ronny the MLE? Do we chase them?

Q2. Being the Free Agent Magnet that we are, how would we feel if a player with "star" quality was willing to play for our MLE?

sniff sniff Ron Artest sniff sniff

Q3. Would you mind if I suggested we bring Kwame back?

Q4. Would you extend Lamar if we won it all?

- I personally would. 30m in 3 years, spread 10-10-10.

Q5. What do you do with your small forwards + Kobe playing SF in the final minutes? Who goes, Luke or Vlade?

I'd be very interested to know what every other Laker fan thinks about these issues.

1. Sasha & Ronny are important parts of our team. In some ways, Ronny is the energy glue that holds our bench together. We need him. He's like a productive Mark Madsen. The Machine better stay here, since his shot is awesome right now and his Defense is respectable. He's truly growing in our team.

2. Like who? Antawn Jamison (at first glance) isn't needed with Lamar, however he did flourish once as a sixth man in Dallas, and he would be wonderful in that role. Look at this potential rotation.

PG - Derek Fisher/Jordan Farmar/Sasha Vujacic
SG - Kobe Bryant/Sasha Vujacic/Coby Karl
SF - Lamar Odom/Trevor Ariza/Luke Walton
PF - Pau Gasol/Antawn Jamison/Vladimir Radmanovic
C - Andrew Bynum/Ronny Turiaf/DJ MBenga

Shades of the Showtime days when former all-stars would sign in LA...

3. Yes. We can get more talent in the Draft/FA, plus DJ is playing well enough for us.

4. Absolutely. He's shown me enough to merit an extension.

5. Two words. Trevor Ariza. That's what happens.

[Gerald3Wallace]

hmm..if we want to keep our dynasty in tact...were going to either 1.have some of our well payed players take a paycut...or 2. Buss is willing to fork out the cash

[semi-sentient]

Q1. What if teams offer Sasha and Ronny the MLE? Do we chase them?

No way do we match, and I seriously doubt anyone would offer either MLE, particularly Turiaf.

Q2. Being the Free Agent Magnet that we are, how would we feel if a player with "star" quality was willing to play for our MLE?

sniff sniff Ron Artest sniff sniff

Well, yeah. You never turn down a player of that caliber if they are willing to take MLE.

Q3. Would you mind if I suggested we bring Kwame back?

No, and I think we should. He's not going to command anywhere near what he made before, and if we can sign him for $2-3 million then I say we do it. He's far more productive than either Mihm or MBenga, and for what he would bring to the team that particular salary would be a steal. Never underestimate the importance of a strong, athletic big man who can defend well.

Q4. Would you extend Lamar if we won it all?

Absolutely. I don't know if we're going to give him what he makes now, but I'd love to have Odom back if he's going to continue playing this way. Our record (and Odom's productivity) speaks for itself.

Q5. What do you do with your small forwards + Kobe playing SF in the final minutes? Who goes, Luke or Vlade?

I would send Luke packing if given a choice. Neither are particularly good defenders, but at least Radman can shoot and finish around the rim. Unfortunately, we're stuck with him for the duration of his contract, unless a team like Memphis comes along and doesn't mind getting raped again.

[KingLakers]

The Lakers summer plan is fairly simple.
1. Resign Sasha and Turiaf
2. Trade Vlad for picks kind of like what the Suns did with K.Thomas
3. Sign a Vet PF/C for example Ratliff or Thomas
4. Bring in Yue see what he has to offer.
5. Get Healthy
Its going to be a fairly quiet summer for the Laker with probably the bulk of this seasons roster coming back.

[Tommy Trojan]

1. Resign Lamar
2. Resign Sasha
3. Resign Ronny

(thats in order i want to see)

Let DJ, Coby, (Mihm if we can) walk

I dont mind us trading Vlad and Farmar.

I'm pretty good with the rest

[MAMBAEMD]

To be honest, I'm not ready to even think about the summer yet.
It's possible I ma make up m mind about some of these guys based on their performance the rest of the way.

That said, keeping Turiaf and Sasha seems to be the right thing to do at the right price.
I would also resign Lamar at a reasonable price.
As far as Vlad and Farmar, let's wait and see what happens.
Also, why not keep a guy like DJ Mbenga. You can never have enough shot blocking rebounding bigs IMO.

[warren weel im]

Its fairly easy to say "re-sign" this guy and that guy. But the question has to be, how much? How much are we willing to pay considering we are strapped for cash - notwithstanding that crossroad that 09 free agency would bring.

Lamar Odom is still under contract so his extension may come a 2nd priority to the re-ups of Sasha and Ronny. Both are restricted free agents so we can actually keep them if we want to (we do) but the question has to be - what if both are offered the MLE? Do we chase both?

[DubaLakers]

Luck Walton has no trade value.

[DubaLakers]

Iceberg Slim...Wow great avatar, but sign Jamison for the MLE when he is still in his prime? I really don't see anything liek that happening. a player of that caliber.

[LakerFanSince84]

Off-season Priorities.
1. Dump Vlade and possibly Luke's Contract

2. Extend Bynum's contract
3. Extend Odom's Contract
4. Extend Sasha's Contract
5. Extend Ronny's Contract (with Bynum in the mix, that makes Ronny a bit more expendable)

6. Make sure Kobe remains Humble and doesn't opt out his contract for more money that we will not have to offer. But then again, with all the pieces we have, i'm sure we could trade him and still remain contenders with Bynum, Gasol, Fisher, Odom and [another super star]......

Odom's contract doesn't end until after next season, so there's no rush to sign him to an extension at least until all-star break, that way you can see if he fits with the team. He has too much talent to just let him walk away, so if things don't work out you can expect for him to be traded at all star break.

If anyone read the LA Times about almost two months ago, you would know that Kupchak has made signing Sasha and Ronny his top priorities for the off season. However, he wouldn't commit to resigning Odom! He knows with Bynum coming back, you will need to have sasha on the floor.

Kobe has always loved Ronny, and I'm sure he'll back him up...so bringing Ronny back wouldn't be a problem.

Luke or Vladimir, this is a no-brainer...you keep Luke Walton because Phil loves him and he does a little bit of everything well. You can't say the same for Vlade, if anything...Lakers may bite the bullet and trade both of them....you never know.

Ira, Coby, D.J......it was fun while it lasted, but they need to go. Bring in Sun Yue at an extremely low cost and let him play during blow outs, which will happen frequently given the laker's Roster next year.

However, I had a very bad feeling about Bynum's knee....Anyone heard the term Microfracture surgery!

[DubaLakers]

Vlade has trade value Luke doesn't. I'd keep Vlade can't find 6 10 assasins that easily unless someone gives us value which is a possibility. You can look crosstown LAC would love to have him back.