This team is too talented...

[TruSkool]

im gona call it out-

1.lamar odom doesnt wana go anywhere...he wants to retire a laker...hes gona end up taking a 3 million dollar paycut and resign with the lakers

2. one of the following 3...luke walton, vladimir radmanovich, jordan farmar will be shipped out.

3. kupchak is gona land us baron davis, kirk hinrich, andre miller, or another good point guard over the summer.


08/09 starting lineup

baron davis/andre miller/kirk hinrich/or someone else
kobe bryant
lamar odom
pau gasol
andrew bynum

bench:
ronny turiaf
sasha vujacic
vladimir radmanovich
chris mihm
trevor ariza
derek fisher
coby karl
(dleague player)
dleague player)

[Erik Eleven]

LOL... OK, it's just as ridiculous to say they will be a good fit just as it is to say they won't... Both are hypothetical statements...

That's exactly why I didn't start a thread about it.

Will Bynum and Gasol play well together? ...most likely... Will they all play better than Kobe, Odom, and Gasol right now? Who knows...

Uhh...

Gasol and Bynum are too similar in terms of style of play to both be effective on the floor. However, you throw Odom in there with either Bynum or Kobe, or Gasol and Kobe, and you create a much different and more deadly dynamic.

Uhh...

LOL... OK, it's just as ridiculous to say they will be a good fit just as it is to say they won't... Both are hypothetical statements...

And like someone said earlier, Buss is not going to be in $100 million payroll range, that is just insane...

If someone said so earlier, I'm sure it's true.


Dr Buss wants to retire with a better record than the Celtics. I take his word for it. Time for him to put the money where the mouth is. I think he will. He knows he has the foundation for a possible dynasty here.

MLE, LLE plus draft will take care of the additional pieces.

Who are the free agent vets for this summer, anyway?

[El Hardee]

Give a roster spot to Yue, his jersey sales alone should pay lux tax we got to pay.

[LLcoleJ]

Bynum and Gasol are not similar in their styles of play.

[Chubby Chaser]

Give a roster spot to Yue, his jersey sales alone should pay lux tax we got to pay.

I'm tired of hearing about this kid. He's garbage and shouldn't even be mentioned as having a shot at the roster next year.

[scoobs07]

We should trade Odom (14 million) to a team for a small forward that makes (7-9 million) and a expiring contract (5-6 million).

[Agent0Hotspur]

Well, if you think they're too talented of a team, you can always trade Kobe Bryant to the Wizards for Nick Young and Gilbert Arenas.

[Erik Eleven]

Come to think of it, there's pretty strong indication that it will work out quite OK.



SCORING:
Kobe: dominant scorer
Bynum: aggressive scorer
Gasol: brainy scorer
Odom: reluctant scorer

REBOUNDING:
Bynum: aggressive low-post rebounder
Gasol: excellent mid-range rebounder
Odom: top tier NBA (7th) rebounder, all ranges
Kobe: aggressive long-range rebounder

ASSISTS/TURNOVERS:
Odom: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision
Kobe: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision
Gasol: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision
Bynum: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision

FREETHROWS:
Kobe: excellent, clutch
Odom: better than average, clutch (lately)
Gasol: excellent for a big
Bynum: excellent for a big

DEFENSE:
Bynum: dominant low-post defender
Gasol: very good high-post man defender
Odom: excellent perimeter (actually) and swing-man defender
Kobe: aggressive, dominant perimeter and swing-man defender


At least on paper, it doesn't look like much of a fit, does it?

[Erik Eleven]

Oh, but I will reserve judgment on this team until they've ended their season. If they win it all, maybe we should re-sign Odom.

[Mindflayer]

I have to agree with miles (and CC) in this post completely except for one point. Lamar Odom at PF played extremely well with Bynum earlier this year. The problem is when all are healthy LO is the odd man out. Kobe>Bynum>Gasol>Odom. "There can only be three!" or was that "There can only be one!"

[Verbal]

You're advocating trading away a 20yo center with skills instead of Odom?

keep them both.
figure a way to dump walton and/or radmanovic.

Sound idea.

Isn't LO's contract up at the end of next season?

And isn't Elton Brand going to be an unrestricted FA that season?

[Verbal]

I'd love to have Brand and/or Marion and/or Artest on our team to complement Kobe.

I guess since we'll have Bynum/Gasol, we won't be needing Brand.

Marion/Artest would be great for our team.

Too bad Marion is not going to opt out of his contract for less money...

But Artest seems to be an option if he takes the MLE or we make a S&T for him.

The fun speculation continues.

[Slava]

I keep repeating it again that you'll never find a willing 4th option that'd do all the hard work and foster team chemistry like Odom does and trading him away for an ego filled superstar wannabe or a suspension waiting to happen is not unsafe from a Laker fan POV.

[Verbal]

Isn't Odom getting paid ~10 million a year? ~13?

Artest gets paid around ~5-8 million.

We're going to have to extend Bynum, and he doesn't want to come cheap.

[Verbal]

Artest is going to get 10+ in this contract through a Sign and Trade.

Keeping Odom is a priority IMO.

Look, I love Artest, but I don't think there's anyone out there that can afford 10 million for him, or is going to.

Denver should have made a trade for him this season.

[Erik Eleven]

Come to think of it, there's pretty strong indication that it will work out quite OK.



SCORING:
Kobe: dominant scorer
Bynum: aggressive scorer
Gasol: brainy scorer
Odom: reluctant scorer

REBOUNDING:
Bynum: aggressive low-post rebounder
Gasol: excellent mid-range rebounder
Odom: top tier NBA (7th) rebounder, all ranges
Kobe: aggressive long-range rebounder

ASSISTS/TURNOVERS:
Odom: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision
Kobe: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision
Gasol: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision
Bynum: excellent passer, excellent catch/handle, great court vision

FREETHROWS:
Kobe: excellent, clutch
Odom: better than average, clutch (lately)
Gasol: excellent for a big
Bynum: excellent for a big

DEFENSE:
Bynum: dominant low-post defender
Gasol: very good high-post man defender
Odom: excellent perimeter (actually) and swing-man defender
Kobe: aggressive, dominant perimeter and swing-man defender


At least on paper, it doesn't look like much of a fit, does it?

Again, I don't see the problem. On paper, it's a close to perfect fit. Add veteran MLE, veteran LLE, draft pick, and bank on some interior growth over the summer. Buss will sneeze at the lux tax.

[Erik Eleven]

But again, let's wait until the season is over to discuss how they did.

[LAKESHOW]

i cant stand lamar. so whats new.

HOWEVER, there is one thing that cannot be overlooked. and it must be taken seriously into consideration.

and that is the chemistry between lamar and pau. that tandem with their passing and style of game just seem to fit. much better than kobe and lamar. or lamar and whoever else hes ever played with. goin back to his clipper days.

what lamar and pau has got goin on, is tantamount to finding his "soulmate" on the basketball court. they look for each other. they see eachother. they set each other up. each others game seems to be tailor made for eachother. just on another level how they both see the floor with one anohter.

other than that gigantic tandem that could carry us to the title game, dump him.

[LAKESHOW]

I think that Kobe will opt out next summer or whenever it is to resign for a longer, slightly cheaper deal so that it's more like $16-$18 million a year instead of the $20 plus it's supposed to go up to. It's up to Lamar if he wants to stay. If he's willing to sign for $8 million a year I'm sure they'll keep him. Anything more and Buss has a big decision to make.

now thats gonna be BIGTIME news. kobe a paycut? thats going to be interesting to see.

[LAKESHOW]

i cant stand lamar. so whats new.

HOWEVER, there is one thing that cannot be overlooked. and it must be taken seriously into consideration.

and that is the chemistry between lamar and pau. that tandem with their passing and style of game just seem to fit. much better than kobe and lamar. or lamar and whoever else hes ever played with. goin back to his clipper days.

what lamar and pau has got goin on, is tantamount to finding his "soulmate" on the basketball court. they look for each other. they see eachother. they set each other up. each others game seems to be tailor made for eachother. just on another level how they both see the floor with one anohter.

other than that gigantic tandem that could carry us to the title game, dump him.

and oh yeah, we dont actually have to worry about it, Dr. Buss will. I have faith he will make the correct move.