Barnes or J.R. Smith

[Dexmor]

Nobody seems to be going after either of these guys. I would sign Smith to the midlevel because Denver is in serious cost cutting mode. Is there a reason we shouldn't? Maybe were not gonna use our midlevel to save money for next year with Odom and Bynum? I have a feeling Odom will retire a Laker even with all the speculation.
They could get Wallace or Artest for him now and probably Marion to but they haven't which makes me think they never will trade him or at least not for a while. If that is the case they need a backup sg and need to do something with there logjame at 3. Maybe a sign and trade with Luke?

[Dexmor]

Forgot to ask the question who would you sign Barnes or Smith?

[Tommy Trojan]

Well Smith is a good player, but sometimes he thinks his the "man" on the team. Remember what happened in the playoffs when Smith thought it was a one on one game?

[joe.linnen]

I like the idea of having Barnes and/or Smith. I would also like for us to go after Brown and/or Elson. I would feel more comfortable with either one of them backing up Bynum and Gasol that Mihm and DJ. As for Walton and Radmanovic don't see anyone taking them off our hands anytime soon, so I say let them ride the bench. I don't know if we should resign Vujacic or what, if we do then great if we don't then its water under the bridge.

SF:Bryant|Ariza|Barnes|Walton
PF:Gasol|Odom|Radmanovic
C:Bynum|Brown or Elson
SG:Smith|Vujacic
PG:Fisher|Farmar

Fisher|Smith|Bryant|Gasol|Bynum
Farmar|Vujacic|Barnes or Ariza|Odom|Brown or Elson

Walton and Radmanovic can sit in the nose bleed section

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

Star with another thread!

Id love to have jr smith. Id actually prefer him over Sasha.

I love barnes game, hustle, hits the open shot. He'd probably be cheaper than Smith. I hear his name on a lot of boards. Im suprised he hasnt been signed yet.

[Frantik]

Barnes....because better hustle, better defense, better attitude.

offense is not a problem on this team. We score enough-- First unit and backup.

[lukeridenour]

the lakers arent using their MLE for new players. their only offseason move will likely be retain sasha and find a replacement for ronny.

remember, the lakers have to give out that extension to bynum soon.

[laduane1]

Barnes is a good player, might be the same as Sasha. Smith, while being a total head case, is one of the freak athletics players in the NBA. He can do it all. If on the right team, he could be a star. Not sure the lakers are the right team as I think he wants to start and coming off the bench might not be what he wants. But going deep into the playoff and Phil might straighten out his mind.

But do we really need another guard. We lost Ronny and it will be interesting to see who replaces him if anyone. I like the suggestions on the other tread. but someone locks the good treads...

[milesfides]

J.R. Smith screams Ricky Davis to me. You know, all the talent in the world, but seems like a knucklehead. He sure loves to shoot with reckless abandon.

Barnes is a decent SF, too bad last year's one-year contract didn't work out for him. Golden State sure didn't help raise his value by scaling back his minutes. But that means he'll probably come cheap.

I'd prefer signing Barnes and extending Vujacic to rolling the dice on Smith.

[Jajwanda]

Barnes would be an ideal addition if we can move a SF. He can hit the 3, defends, hustles, and is relatively young as well as cheap. He's a guy I'd seriously think about adding and then subsequently allowing the Lakers to re-sign Sasha and play this rotation:

Kobe (38), Ariza (25), Barnes (13), Vujajic (19) at the SF positions.

No defensive liabilities anywhere there and with Ariza practicing like a madman hopefully to get his three ball down we at the bare minimum have solid defensive/3 point shooting players.

Hopefully that allows us to limit Luke and Vlad's minutes to nothing.


If that happens I'm in favor of making the rumored Rasheed-Odom deal if we get something else back, maybe a first round pick. That would give us a starting and primary bench lineup with no major defensive liabilities at any position.

[Dexmor]

Star with another thread!

Id love to have jr smith. Id actually prefer him over Sasha.

I love barnes game, hustle, hits the open shot. He'd probably be cheaper than Smith. I hear his name on a lot of boards. Im suprised he hasnt been signed yet.

Yes another thread! 2 in 1 month. How terrible. I am flooding the board. There is no room for anybody else because of me. How horrible I am by making threads and posts on a MESSAGE BOARD!
Maybe you prefer if there were no threads or posts. Maybe instead of the computer you should just by a blank piece of paper and stare at that.
This is really gonna kill you and I hope you don't have a heart attack but I am going to make an OT thread which would be 3 in the month of July. What a monster I am.

Anyway J.R. is a trouble maker but I believe Kobe being from high school can get threw to him and I believe Phil can to so he could be our answer at sf or at least a great 6th man. He can shoot, slash and is athletic and young. I was hoping we would take Green but I like the gambles like Smith.

[BitonKOBE]

barnes and its not even close. i hate gambling. barnes is a talented player who works hard. no brainer imo.

still, it shouldnt be a priority over resigning vujacic or picking up a big guy like elson.

[Luxury]

Haha Star fights back. It's cool man, just brush it off.

Anyways, back to the OP, I'd pick Barnes but not over Sasha.

[El Hardee]

I dig Barnes game, but I think we have enough SF's right now. Not to mention I see Barnes and Trevor bringing the exact same thing to the floor. I think Miles made the JR Smith to Ricky Davis comparison which is dead on, Million dollar talent, 10 cent brain/attitude. I think I'll pass on BOTH.

[Minhee]

Now that we lost ronny I really think Barnes would be a nice addition, but I doubt we go after another SF although Barnes played a lot of PF under Nellie. Then again nellie played Azubuike at PF at times as well.

[redoctober9]

I like the way JR Smith plays but he will just complicate the chemistry that Phil has succesfully cook in. The only thing that the Lakers should do is try to make a little changes. With Big fella Ronny Turiaf gone to the Bay Area. We certainly needed a big man to backstop Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Don't let Odom go although it will be a good thought of having Ron Artest and Kenny Thomas with us but I rather stick it out with LO. For the starters we need a defensive 3. A small forward quick and strong enough to match up with PP34 of the Celtics. I have a short list for it. We can sign Matt Barnes. Barnes is long and quick. He can haul rebound and is very much a good defensive ace with GS. Matt will complement more Kobe and can spell ARIZA in the defensive end. We can take back one time LA LAKERS Maurice Mo Evans. Mo is a perfect fit for Kobe. When Mo was in LA he fits well with the unit of farmar, Sasha and kobe running the break. Plus Mo can leap and can defend better than VladRad or Luke. He is also a very good perimeter player which will open the floor for Pau and Drew. We need to get a big man to fill the void left by Turiaf. The only guy who is very fit to this bill is FRANCISCO ELSON. He is long and strong. Very quick for a big guy and is a good role player and defensive presence plus the fact that Francisco has a ring with San Antonio so he is a proven winner. Big Boss Mitch should start to make a move right now and be busy. You are not to go after those big names in the market. Just pick a role players who will sign for mid level and play hard for us. Don't let LO go because he is a big help for us. Forget about RonRon just focus on our current roster sign sasha and make a move for Barnes or Evans and Add up Francisco Elso and we will start preparing for those Celtics ok Mr. Kupchak?

[TruSkool]

I dont think smith and kobe will bond...i recall a time last year when smith was asked questions about kobe and he said something along the lines of "kobe who?"

so yea....DEAD END

[milesfides]

I dig Barnes game, but I think we have enough SF's right now. Not to mention I see Barnes and Trevor bringing the exact same thing to the floor. I think Miles made the JR Smith to Ricky Davis comparison which is dead on, Million dollar talent, 10 cent brain/attitude. I think I'll pass on BOTH.

I think we do have a lot of SF's, but not too many capable ones (assuming Kobe stays at the 2).

Also, Barnes and Ariza may have bigger differences in their game than one might think.

Barnes is a good shooter (although this year was clearly a down year for him, probably due to a scaled back role during his one-year contract). Ariza is more of a slasher. Barnes I feel is a good individual defender. Ariza seems to play the passing lanes more. Barnes has some toughness to him. Ariza, not so much.

[Basketball4Ever]

Phoenix just signed Matt Barnes

[Minhee]

Phoenix just signed Matt Barnes

They did? Where are you getting this from?