Whats your input?

[joe.linnen]

Here are some names that have stuck out to me that were still on the market. I need you guys to tell me what you think of each and everyone on them. Turiaf has already left and I don't think the Lakers are going to match his offer. Vujacic may grow some balls and and do the sam thing as well.

James Posey- nice defender, I say lets offer him a starting job too.
Jarvis Hayes- nice defender, give him some playing time
Kelenna Azubuike-He'll be a nice defender and he can play the point or shooting guard
Ricky Davis- phil can get him on the right track
Shaun Livingston- I like this kid for some reason
Gordan Giricek- shooter
Kreem Rush- shooter
Eduardo Najera-Turiaf wont be missed at all with him here
Kurt Thomas- he's a vet, enough said

[dockingsched]

shaun livingston has better options. he's a point guard that needs the ball in his hands and has a suspect outside shot. he also needs playing time to prove himself, something that won't find on a contender. if he knows whats best for him, the lakers will not be a team he looks into.

[DubaLakers]

shaun livingston has better options. he's a point guard that needs the ball in his hands and has a suspect outside shot. he also needs playing time to prove himself, something that won't find on a contender. if he knows whats best for him, the lakers will not be a team he looks into.

I agree.

Another Kurt Thomas vote, this guy is done are you guys watching the same games I am?

[Gerald3Wallace]

posey and kurt thomas/najera

[supaflash]

Posey - I'm still kinda meh on the guy. Everyone here loves him but I'm not so sure. He would be a great player to have but not for 4-5 years at 5.5 mil starting... He's almost 32 and not as good a defender as people think. Kobe, Lebron and Joe J. were consistently beating him, he just looked better at times because of the suffocating team D of Boston. You look a lot better when you have KG wandering around behind you. He was decently clutch, but the few shots he hit against LA were greatly magnified. Look at his game log for the playoffs, its not very impressive. I know he's tough and nasty and does a lot of intangibles, but I'm not convinced. He'd probably be a nice fit considering how much talent and options LA has but I don't think we need him that much that its worth giving him that kind of a deal. I have the feeling that in a year or two we would be whining about his deal just like we are whining about Vlad's right now. Even the big green didn't think that much of him, only offering 3 years at 12 mil (which is right what I think he's worth). The only reason they are probably going to pay more is because of team and fan pressure. Makes you wonder. If we end up moving Lamar for Artest or another good SF, then he's just another bloated contract as well.

Barnes at a couple mil for a year or two would be a much better option to be honest, and even then I don't think we need him but for a cheap short term extra piece it wouldn't be bad or put us in a bad position.

Azibuke to me is definitely worth a little money. WIth his age, size, athleticism and skills he'd be a steal for even 3 mil for a few years. I just have a good feeling about this kid, dunno.

Davis... just no. He doesn't fit anything for us, he's selfish, not great at any one thing... no

Livingston... no, don't need fragile guard that can't shoot. From all reports we are getting a healthy version of him in Yue anyway that is a decent shooter. He could be good eventually, and might be worth a 1 year deal if no one offers him anything and we can get him for that, but otherwise no.

Giricek - (see Luke Walton/ Vlad Radmanovich)

Rush - not a bad bench option if he's cheap. Specialist shooter, don't really trust his D. Knows the triangle at least. Only worth a small contract if Sasha is gone.

Najera - nice player if the price is right. Tough, versatile, can guard big 3s and play 4 and hit 3s. Wouldn't mind us paying 2-3 mil for 2-3 years for him if Ronny is gone. Wouldn't spend more then that on him though, not sure how many more years he's got.

Thomas - nice pickup for 2 mil or less for 1-2 years. Would not go more then that though, would be a great backup. Yes he's slowing down, but think PJ brown last year. He's almost the same player, can't stay in front of anyone, but gets rebounds, plays good team D and will get important blocks, and will hit the mid J. Would be great for 10 mins a game.

[darkangelvin]

You got a lot of good names in there man but with the GORILLA gone to the warriors and im sure the lakers will not match any offer to get that disgrace beast out from the bay area (Turiaf didnt even thank the lakers for their support when he undergoes heart surgery!!!) and with the machine about to follow him to other teams I guess we need to shop around and try to find some help. Here's for the start:

1.) Maurice "MO" Evans - This one time LA wingman was just cut by the Magic and im sure Mo will be willing to go back to Hollywood. Mo has that range and speed plus the fact that he is very much exciting to watch running the break with KB24. With Mo and T-ARIZA in the wings we might as well let go of Luke coz he will be an excess baggage at the wings plus the fact that Luke hadn't done much except that good series with the Shoot first trigger happy Denver Nuggets. Mitch should contact Mo and sign him he can defend and help the lakers a lot. With MO, we might not waste our time going after Posey or Ron artest and plus the fact that if we go with artest we might part ways with LO. I rather have Lamar with us than Ron creating a lot of nonsense gimmicks in the floor.

2.) Matt Barnes - Barnes is like Shawn Marion although with less scoring ability but he is long and fast. With him and MO we can have an alternate 3 who can play good D. We can let go of Sasha and then let Walton walk away. Plus the fact that Barnes rebounds well and has a nose on crushing the boards.

3.) Kwame Brown - Sure Kwame is just a fluke. Being the top pick long ago seems to be his only leverage yet Kwame hasnt done much on the floor but LA needs his beef and small hands on the defensive end. Kwame can guard those top forwards and centers thereby letting Pau do his offensive things.

4.) Francisco Elson - Elson has a ring with the Spurs and boy does he did a superb job backstopping TD in the Spurs rotation. He is long and tall and he can create a lot of mismatches down low. With him in the roster we can let go of Mihm or DJ Mbenga. I rather have Francisco with us than those two big slow men.

Mitch should act right now. Time is running out its no use on trying to match the offer that the GORILLA has agreed on signing with GS. Let go of the two they wanted money rather than loyalty. Sign a free agent and Lets start preparing for our next bout with those Keltics

[joe.linnen]

SF:Hayes/Ariza
PF:Gasol/Odom
C:Bynum/Brown/Elson
SG:Bryant/Azibuke
PG:Fisher/Farmar

Let Turiaf, Vujacic, Mihm and DJ walk, bench Walton and Radmanovic, and grab Brown, Azibuike, Hayes, and Elson

[milesfides]

Ok, I am very high on Azubuike, but if anybody is expecting he can play point for us or shoulder substantial playmaking duties, I think that might be wishful thinking. The guy is a gifted scorer. He can shoot, he can drive, he can run the floor. The kid is an excellent rebounder for his position. He's a good defender because of his frame, long arms but very strong body, and he's competitive enough to WANT to play defense.

If he could pass and make plays and play point guard at times, his name would be Joe Johnson and he'd be lined up for 12+ mil a year.

He's not Jason Kapono. He's not Monta Ellis. He doesn't have one particular otherwordly talent. But he's a well-rounded scorer, aggressive but not selfish. He is starter quality, and he'll easily be the second-best guard on our team.

I like Ariza, but he's short on the mass. He's a good defender in the sense that he can play passing lanes well. But he doesn't have the strength to complete his defensive game - prevent from getting backed down, an explosive quick reaction to cut off lanes, boxing out, etc.

I see Bookie as Kobe's size but he's got a bit more mass to him. He's as competitive as hell, doesn't back down from anybody, and it's clear that he WANTS to be great, and that's why he's a special player among the relatively ho-hum crop of free agents, even the ones looking at MLE+ offers.

[supaflash]

Yay miles, I'm glad someone feels the same way about that kid as I do. Plus I get the sense that he could be had for pretty cheap. I know he's not a point, but in the triangle, do we truly need a point guard? Phil always liked big guards and having one that can penetrate with a nice mid range game on the swings and also slash on the cuts is a nice thing. Especially when you have Kobe and Lamar who often bring the ball up and start the O. Ron Harper and Shaw weren't really PGs either and we did well with them. Harper was the Bulls PG on the 72 win team too right? At 24 I just think we should grab that guy and call the off season good, use LO's contract at the midpoint if we are lacking in some area and he's not working as a 3.

[joe.linnen]

Yay miles, I'm glad someone feels the same way about that kid as I do. Plus I get the sense that he could be had for pretty cheap. I know he's not a point, but in the triangle, do we truly need a point guard? Phil always liked big guards and having one that can penetrate with a nice mid range game on the swings and also slash on the cuts is a nice thing. Especially when you have Kobe and Lamar who often bring the ball up and start the O. Ron Harper and Shaw weren't really PGs either and we did well with them. Harper was the Bulls PG on the 72 win team too right? At 24 I just think we should grab that guy and call the off season good, use LO's contract at the midpoint if we are lacking in some area and he's not working as a 3.

SF:Odom
PF:Gasol
C:Bynum
SG:Bryant
PG:Azubuike

[supaflash]

I would love to see that lineup play, I think it could be very nice. Thats an athletic, long and quick lineup. Lamar would often be the guy bringing the ball up and facilitating. I know some people think he isn't capable of returning to the SF position, but I think he can. I have no doubt that in his exit interview they discussed that he would need to work on lateral quickness for defense and outside shooting. With all that offense, he doesn't even need to shoot the ball that much, just take the occasional shot when its there. He will do most of his work starting the offense and making cuts.

[joe.linnen]

I would love to see that lineup play, I think it could be very nice. Thats an athletic, long and quick lineup. Lamar would often be the guy bringing the ball up and facilitating. I know some people think he isn't capable of returning to the SF position, but I think he can. I have no doubt that in his exit interview they discussed that he would need to work on lateral quickness for defense and outside shooting. With all that offense, he doesn't even need to shoot the ball that much, just take the occasional shot when its there. He will do most of his work starting the offense and making cuts.

I think that this could be a great line up to finish off close games and on top od that its the bigest line up in the leauge too.
SF: Odom 6 foot 10
PF: Gasol 7 feet
C: Bynum 7 feet
SG: Bryant 6 foot 6
PG: Azubuike 6 foot 5