Getting back to business: How to repeat?

[Patterns]

One tittle isn't enough. We still need to surpass the Celtics and need a couple more rings for Kobe to get into the top 5.

First things first, we need to resign Odom and Ariza. If we can't resign both, my pick is Odom. Odom just makes our team very unique because we can match up with any team with him, Bynum, and Gasol. Second, Ariza is going to get overpaid this summer, book it. And when was the last time the Lakers signed their own FA and he produced afterwards? I am not saying that Ariza won't play at this level again but this was his contract year. Odom is the proven performer and no matter what kind of deal he gets, he's going to be able to perform just as before.

Obviously Fisher, despite winning game 4 for us, cannot start anymore. This playoffs run has proved it as he pretty much hurt us more than he helped. The PG position is by far our weakest position. It isn't even close. Fisher can still make a good backup.

I don't think Farmar and Brown can step into the starting role for a championship. Frankly, I am a little tired of Farmar and his attitude. I think he needs to go. I think he can be a good player on another team but the triangle and him just don't mix. Brown is still too young and inconsistent to be a starter on a championship team. He was cut and thrown around the league for a reason and he's not going to be a starter on a championship team suddenly.

I would really love it if we can get Hinrich from the Bulls. The guy is the perfect triangle player. His defense is really something to behold. I remember him shutting Paul Pierce down in the playoffs for stretches and he also shut down Wade in the playoffs. He can shoot the 3 at over 40% and he's extremely good at shooting the mid-range.

Chicago would want to get rid of Hinrich so they can sign someone in 2010. It's far fetch but maybe we can send Farmar, Morrison and the 29th pick for Hinrich.

Just imagine, if we can keep Ariza, we'd be the best defensive team in the NBA.

Hinrich, Kobe, Ariza on the perimeter? That's crazy. Then you have Gasol and a healthy Bynum anchoring the paint? Ridiculous.

[Dr Aki]

hinrich is a farfetched dream imo

farmar, ammo and/or our picks will most likely be sold for cap relief

[hermes]

staying hungry is most important, and i'll leave that to kobe

if he wants another, he'll get the guys in shape

[daddyfivestar]

One tittle isn't enough. We still need to surpass the Celtics and need a couple more rings for Kobe to get into the top 5.

First things first,

First things first... Kobe can help his own cause.
Opt out and resign for less to keep everyone. Your legacy will be further cemented in the pantheon of All-Time greats with multiple titles a second time through like Michael.

Kobe, start of 2009-10 season... Age 31
Sign a 5yr deal / 110m
18m (give some back to keep the boys)
20m
22m
24m (eto)
26m

to 35 years old and then a sweet retirement.

If Kobe opts out and takes more now, the Lakers are in trouble.

[MAMBAEMD]

We have to keep the core of this team intact meaning do everything we can to keep Ariza and Odom.
Also need to find a way to sign Brown.

I still feel we need to get a little tougher by getting a bruiser either on the perimeter or on the inside.
Above all, the bench has to get better. The starters specially Kobe can't keep playing these kind of minutes.
Lastly, home court is key in the playoffs. The Lakers have to come out from the very begininng of the season and play for the best record. If the Lakers have home court throughout the playoffs specially in the Finals, it would be very tough to beat them.

[tlifeset]

I was just thinking ... Kobe could opt out this summer and then resign where he takes less money up front, so they could resign Odom and Ariza. I'll bet that's what happens.

Also, I'm wondering if they can ditch Sasha if they were to attach Farmar to the deal? It would have to be to a team that could absorb 6-7 mill right now ... like Memphis, Charlotte or Ok City.

[chefy]

yea we definitely need to improve the 1 spot. Fisher is old, Farmar and Brown are still inconsistent. almost every team in the nba has a good young pg in their team.

atl; bibby, law
bos; rondo
cha; felton
chi; rose, hinrich, gordon
clv; williams, west
dal; terry
den; billups
det; stuckey
gsw; ellis
hou; brooks, lowry
ind; ford, jack
lac; davis, gordon
lal; fisher,farmar,brown
mem; rubio, conley
mia; chalmers, cook
mil; bell, ridnour, sessions
min; foye
nj; harris
no; paul
okc; westbrook
orl; nelson
phl; miller,williams
phx; nash
por; roy, bayless, blake
sac; udrih
sas; parker
tor; calderon
utah; williams
was; arenas

and there are a lot of good pgs from the upcoming draft too

[Jajwanda]

Sasha is useless except in the sense he can get you a better contract after. Try to get him to go to Europe, otherwise hold onto him.

At this point the best idea would likely be to simply re-sign all of the guys and then proceed to sell the draft pick or the draft pick alongside another player like Morrison. It would save the team 1.1m in the salary+get about 2m in the trade+1.1m in luxury tax adding up to 4.2m total saved. It's not too too much but it'll help.

Buss really just needs to pony up and realize the team doesn't win without Ariza or Odom. Plain and simple we'd have been defeated. at some point along the way. To improve next year you let the two young guards play PG more often (if Fisher doesn't retire and go out on top). Bynum must return to his former level and then you'll be golden.

[Jajwanda]

It's really too bad we can't just have Ammo go away as I'm pretty sure him being off of our cap by himself would be enough to satisfy Buss' wallet.

1st+Ammo is not a likely success scenario for convincing a team that they should trade for the guy. Farmar+1st+Ammo for Mobley's non-guaranteed deal does serve possible use for us however. It just leaves us shoddy at PG unless we sign a veteran and possibly move Sasha to third-string PG as well.

I would think what they do in fact is find more creative ways to save long-term money, sacrificing money this year to save in the future such as trading Sasha plus our pick for an expiring, as well as doing the Walton/Morrison for Curry deal.

That way:

1- we save 11m or so and re-sign Walton for cheap. NY saves critical cap room in 2010. You have to remember their lifelines hang on that summer. They cannot accumulate enough talent to win without a huge summer that year.
2- with Sasha gone next year we'd save close to 12m and the lack of a new rookie salary would save another 2m each of these years. That's 16m opened up.

All in all that's a great way for Buss to save 27m and likely re-sign the two critical players we need. As far as new additions go we may find a veteran minimum backup wing that wants a championship. That won't cost more than 2.2m with tax included. We'll re-sign the other guys including Walton as he returns and thus we'll be ready to go for it all again.

[daddyfivestar]

I posted it on the other thread but don't forget the value of inexpensive bench players.

I think these 4 are all safe due to the $$$ issues:

Powell 959k
Mbenga 959k
Yue 736k
#42 pick 450k

That's only 3.1 mil for roster spots 10-13 (or 11-14 if Mitchy takes 14). That helps.

[salmahayek]

I may be in the minority on this one, but I'm still intrigued by Gerald Green. He is very athletic and has upside - and his price tag could be relatively cheap.

The Lakers front office seemed very interested in him as a draft prospect, unless it was a smoke screen to hide their real interest in Bynum.

I think Green on board and given some tutelage and inspiration from Bryant could be very interesting - especially if we would lose Ariza. Even if we keep Ariza, I like the idea of Green in forum blue and gold.

If Buss is willing to eat a lot of luxury tax, Kidd would be interesting for a couple of years and I think the MLE and shots a title would get a deal done.

Hinrich would be great, but I think he would be difficult to bring in without giving up a major piece.

[filmchurch]

DaddyFiveStar is right on the money, literally.

It starts-and-ends with Kobe. If Kobe is willing to take less, it frees up more money for Ariza and Odom. Both of them have said they want to play in LA. No one has asked Kobe this question. Maybe in the next couple of weeks, someone will ask if he's willing to take a 'Garnett-like-salary-extension'. Talk about a legacy enhancer.

If those two are re-signed, the rest of the moves are just bonuses.

a_ now that the finals are over, would anyone consider a fantasy of move of Bynum, their draft picks this year for Gasol, Darko and the number 2 pick? If Bynum continues to develop, he could be their franchise Center that they lost when they traded that Gasol guy. Who knows, maybe the Lakers draft Rubio and he turns out to be a glorified version of Eric Snow. The problem with Bynum right now is that he seems primarily offensive minded. If he only put as much effort on defense and defensive discipline, he would be so much more valuable to the Lakers. The lakers already have enough firepower in their starting lineup and Bynum is not nearly as effective off the bench. The fact is that Bynum is too young, his base salary is too high and has too many doubts right now for any other team to take a chance on him. Lakers seem pretty much stuck. Better or worse.

b_ the economy is in the toilet and this could be the best way the Lakers can improve. They don't have too many expiring contracts but they could probably get a steal from struggling and or cheap franchises such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Clippers, Suns etc.

Josh Smith anyone? How about David West? Barbosa for Morrison? Who knows what teams are willing to accept in order to slash payroll and luxury tax penalties this year. I'm sure someone can get one of the Clippers PF/Cs at pennies on the dollar. I think it will be a wild summer.

b_bargain free agents. As DaddyFiveStar alluded to, it's almost important to get players on the lower end of the pay scale as it does to manage those at the top. This is why you don't want a Kirk Hinrich at 9.5 million a year. Compare that to say Ariza at 6.5m, Anthony Parker at 2m, Josh Powell at 1m and a defender like Jamario Moon or Luc richard Mbah a moute at 1m. Not even close. I doubt there will be roster spots available but there's going to be a lot of players for the taking and if the Lakers can unload an undesirable like Sasha and Morrison while letting Powell or Mbenga walk, they could definitely upgrade their talent.

c_ draft picks. In this 'weak' draft, should the lakers try to trade their picks for a higher pick, say to the Wizards at 8 or try to fill their holes for players they will lose, such as Powell, Brown and Mbenga.

[Erik Eleven]

Keep all the key players, consider adding veteran ring diggers (Kidd comes to mind). Maybe make some smaller bench trades to try to move to a higher draft pick etc, but that's all long term stuff.

Keep the core group!


To me, that is:
Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Ariza, Odom, Fisher, Brown, Farmar, Mbenga, Powell.


Players that I like (for a package including Powell):
Millsap, Maxiell, Lee, Bass, Gomes, Powe



Adam Morrison

If he realizes his potential on the NBA level, watch out. This guy is a proven winner and a clutch performer. He's been seriously injured. His athleticism is such that he'll probably have the most success in the triangle offense over any other NBA offense, so in that sense, maybe he's worth keeping. Once his stock goes up, he could be worth much more than he currently is. Once healthy, who knows if his recovered quickness and athleticism will be enough for the NBA, but if he's going to make it on the NBA level, the Lakers could be the team that best allows him to do that. Why Because our offense gives its players good looks.

[LAKESHOW]

i like brown, a 6'4 point guard who now has championship experience. i like farmar, a quick point guard for those pesky speedy guys we run into, like aaron brooks. keepers

kobe has to take a pay arrangement.

lamar and ariza BOTH MUST STAY. this is critical for the perimeter defense. ive told folks on the general board that the critique was our interior defense, but the perimeter defense was the best in the business. and weve just proved that. we totally shut down a HOT team full of shooters. and both lamar and ariza can close out and get their long arms out there in faces. A MUST.

pau, he aint goin no wheres.

bynum. he has to develop his game. he must develop that jumper. he must work on his side to side footwork. he must improve his lateral movement. and thats mainly for defense. no way we give up bynum.

i.e. keep the team fully in tact. do that and we will repeat. if a big man is out there to be had, like a superstar bosh or amare like superstar, the bynum should be given up. other than that, keep 'em intact. that is the key, chemistry.

[daddyfivestar]

No can do E... that's an 86-90 mil payroll (depending on what the FAs get and Kobe's opt).

I think the realm of "stretching the books because we won it all" goes to about 80-81 mil... this year the Lakers went 7 mil into the tax (doubled), but that 86 figure is a whooper doubled.

That's why two of these three have to go:
Fisher 5.05 (retire to an org position?)
and/or trades of
Sasha 5.00 or Morrison 5.26

[hermes]

aaron brooks was pretty good against us, this the rockets will go for a sasha-brooks deal?

[Slava]

I think this team will repeat but the key is keeping the team together and having Phil come back for a couple more seasons. The man wins them in 3-peats..

[Jajwanda]

Once again. Big deal they went into the luxury tax, they make way more than enough to cover both Ariza+Odom+Brown re-signing. If it's the rings Jerry put your money where your mouth is.

Kobe doing this or that isn't they key to anything. As for adding new free agents, not likely. Buss would just be incurring extra cost then. The team merely needs to make some smart moves if Buss really wants to save money that badly.

Expect the pick for instance to be traded for cash, saving with the luxury tax 4.2m. Remember the salary structure becomes far more reasonable next year when all we have to do is re-sign Jordan Farmar, with Morrison, Fisher, and the next year after that Sasha going away. The Lakers have all of their top players locked in if Odom and Ariza re-sign. Buss just has a one year cost. If he doesn't re-sign these players Laker fans should be infuriated.

[The Skyhook]

Looks like some people think the Lakers might sign Jason Kidd. Would that even be possible if we resign Ariza and Odom?

[LApwnd]

bring back Trev/Odom/Brown (not overpaying thouhg).....LLE to Mydyess, draft a REAL shooter, send Vujabrick off to no mans land (clippers )