Sources: Bryant, Bell to meet

[Kilroy]

Some of you guys are angry that Kobe got clotheslined by Bell. Kobe probably doesn't even care about that anymore. The only thing he remembers is that some guy had balls to do it.

What bothered me was that I couldn't jump through my TV and knock his a$$ out... It wasn't even about Kobe.

[iQon]

I'd rather get Barnes, but whatever. Doesn't look like he's coming.

Bell's tough. Gave us some problems in Philly and Phoenix. If this is the guy Kobe thinks we need, I'll back him.

[dockingsched]

this would be a heck of a signing.

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't give a isht who guys played for, or what they did in the interim -- if they can help us win, I want them on our team. I always thought he was overrated as a defender, but he's better than Sasha. We need to start getting Kobe's minutes down, and I could see Bell helping us do that.

[TommyTheCat]

I don't give a isht who guys played for, or what they did in the interim -- if they can help us win, I want them on our team.

[Pablo Escobar]

GET IT DONE MITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stunnar0b]

Come playoffs when it comes to the needy greedy kobes gonna love having bell around to check players ala wade (if it comes down to it). Kobe right now just needs teammates that we can trust to play some d and not have to come back from the bench after a min of rest...also honrable mentions matt barnes, and it appears that hes looking for a new home. but im still holding out on tmac

[Jay Cochran]

Raja missed much of the season with a severe injury. Anyone know if he is fully covered?

My preference is Bell over Barnes or McGrady. He brings D and outside shooting to the table.

[driver]

Bell's injury occurred on his non-shooting hand. I'm pretty sure he recovered. He made it back to the final games of the Warriors season.

[Gek]

I don't give a isht who guys played for, or what they did in the interim -- if they can help us win, I want them on our team. I always thought he was overrated as a defender, but he's better than Sasha. We need to start getting Kobe's minutes down, and I could see Bell helping us do that.

QFT.

[LApwnd]

it was a risk inquiry that required season ending injury, I dont classify that as serious even though it was season ending.

[SniperHawk10]

I would definitely take him over t-mac and barnes. He is a great defender, and a much better outside shooter then any of the other two.

[The Laker Kid]

I hope he clothesline D-Fake

[TruSkool]

if we can get tmac and bell, this offseason is a major success

[96 Til Infiniti]

Great to see KB taking an active role in recruiting, with the talent we have and the luxury of playing in LA there's no reason we shouldn't be in every top FA's ear. Would love for us to get either Bell or Barnes to backup Kobe. Ironic that he's had conflicts with both.

[EZlakers]

i hope the lakers can pull this off, it will definitely help our man to man defense plus bell brings a certain tough guy edge and demeanor with him.

[SniperHawk10]

i think kobe wants bell so bad now is becuase hes lookin towards facing the heat in the finals and he doesnt wanna have to guard wade virtually the entire game and it would tire him out esp. over a 7 game series, so bell could come in with kobe and artest so kobe can guard an eiser player

bell/wade
kobe/miller
artest/lebron
gasol/bosh
bynum/BigZ

That would be quiet a match up wont it?

Come on mitch get this done

[Jay Cochran]

What's a "risk injury"?

And to BigZ hopeful, I believe he's onboard with the 3-me-egos.

[iQon]

Why do people continue to call them the 3 "amego's"? If they had any semblance of an ego, they wouldn't be ring chasing by playing together in their primes. An ego would require pride, a competitive drive, and the sense that they can get it done as "the man" on their own teams. They lack all of these traits.

[semi-sentient]

Bell is one of the main guys I wanted us to go after, so hopefully we can pull this off. I say give him his 5-year deal, and maybe Kobe will throw him a few bones under the table. I call this off-season a big time success if we can get him to sign with us.

Anyway, I posted this in another thread a while ago, but it illustrates why he is the guy I wanted:

I've been on him for a while. I know some people hate him, but he's a tough competitor and would be a good addition. He's getting up there in age, but he doesn't have a ton of mileage, especially coming off a season of rest like he just had. He's got a great work ethic, always in shape so I'm not worried about that. With this type of team, hungry vets are always going to be the best fit. I would be he would be way more consistent then Farmar, and with him and Sasha out on the floor together at times they would harass the crap out of people and spread the floor bigtime.

Vet - Steady and probably wont' complain about role/minutes
Consistent shooter
Good defender
Good skill to play Tri Point

More good points. He doesn't have a lot of mileage at all, and his 3-point shooting is pretty fantastic and much needed.

Here's a comparison of the last 5 regular seasons between Miller and Bell, at least statistically.

Code: Select all

             GP   MIN   PTS   3P%   REB   AST   STL   BLK   TOV
======================================================================
Mike Miller  70   39.1  18.5  .406  5.4   4.3   0.8   0.3   2.6
             70   35.3  16.4  .432  6.7   3.4   0.5   0.2   2.6
             73   32.3   9.9  .378  6.6   4.5   0.4   0.2   2.0
             54   33.3  10.9  .480  6.2   3.9   0.7   0.2   2.1

Raja Bell    78   37.4  14.7  .413  3.2   2.5   0.6   0.3   1.1
             75   35.3  11.9  .401  3.7   2.2   0.7   0.4   0.9
             67   34.6  11.9  .421  3.6   2.1   0.7   0.1   1.3
             6    30.0  11.8  .444  3.8   2.2   0.7   0.3   0.8

The biggest difference is that Miller is clearly a better rebounder and play-maker. Rebounding is a non-issue because we're already one of the best rebounding teams in the league. It comes down to whether we want a better play-maker in Miller or a better/tougher defender in Bell.

IMO, Bell will be a better role better for us, but he won't be able to provide the type of relief that we might like behind Kobe because he's just that -- a role player. Miller is more of a guy that can carry us for short periods while Kobe rests up. On the other hand, Bell has displayed more consistency so we know exactly what we'll be getting, whereas Miller has fell off as a scorer the past couple of seasons. Raja Bell also seems more mature and probably brings us some additional leadership/toughness that I think Miller somewhat lacks.

Also... Raja has seemingly performed better in the post-season, although neither guy has been in the playoffs for several seasons (3 most recent seasons shown).

Code: Select all

             GP   MIN   PTS   3P%   REB   AST   STL   BLK   TOV
======================================================================
Mike Miller  4    24.5   7.5  .385  3.0   0.8   1.2   0.0   1.2
             4    27.5  12.0  .471  2.5   2.8   0.0   0.7   1.2
             4    26.8   8.5  .125  3.8   1.8   0.5   0.5   2.0

Raja Bell    17   39.6  13.6  .465  2.8   2.2   0.7   0.2   0.6
             11   39.8  10.2  .444  3.0   1.8   0.9   0.2   1.4
             5    43.0  13.6  .650  5.6   2.2   0.4   0.2   1.0

I think I just convinced myself that Raja is the better choice, particularly since he's likely going to take less money.