Time to rebuild our bench

[monk302]

We're not getting JACK out of our bench.I know we are strapped by the cap but something has to be done!.I can't go through another year of Steve Blake being scared to shoot the FREAKING ball!

[Jase]

If we bow down to Dallas, we might have to rebuild more than our bench.

[dub81]

Nobody is touching Steve and Derek Fisher's contracts. Shannon needs to have a better year. I think he will be off better on another team that likes to run. I don't like Matt Barnes at all. He's a fake tough guy that cannot dribble to save his life. Once in a while he get's hot but you cannot count on that.

I always said Mitch is a really bad GM. He gave Luke that stupid contract, Blake is not producing. Jerry West gift wrapped that trade for Gasol.

[Gek]

I like Matt barnes because at least he tries. He's also a great deal on a contract for us.

[chefy]

you guys do realize we are in the middle of the playoffs right? we can bitch and moan all we want, there's nothing we can do. we can't sign nor trade for any players right now. what we have right now, is what we have, and it's going to stay like that for the rest of the playoffs. save this talk in the offseason.

[Free Rider]

Good luck trying to find anyone who's willing to touch Blake's and Walton's contracts. Brown and Barnes are on decent contracts so they'd be our best trade assets but neither one of them has played particular well enough to get much value in return. Ratliff and Smith are on one year deals and I don't see them coming back so we have some room there. But our best bet is to hope that Caracter and Ebanks develop into solid rotation guys.

[dub81]

Good luck trying to find anyone who's willing to touch Blake's and Walton's contracts. Brown and Barnes are on decent contracts so they'd be our best trade assets but neither one of them has played particular well enough to get much value in return. Ratliff and Smith are on one year deals and I don't see them coming back so we have some room there. But our best bet is to hope that Caracter and Ebanks develop into solid rotation guys.

Walton has an expiring contract.

Bynum, Odom and Walton for DWIGHT...Mitch will not do it!

[Free Rider]

Good luck trying to find anyone who's willing to touch Blake's and Walton's contracts. Brown and Barnes are on decent contracts so they'd be our best trade assets but neither one of them has played particular well enough to get much value in return. Ratliff and Smith are on one year deals and I don't see them coming back so we have some room there. But our best bet is to hope that Caracter and Ebanks develop into solid rotation guys.

Walton has an expiring contract.

Bynum, Odom and Walton for DWIGHT...Mitch will not do it!

I thought he was signed until the 2013 season. Someone please tell me I'm wrong.

[NBAWestFan]

Good luck trying to find anyone who's willing to touch Blake's and Walton's contracts. Brown and Barnes are on decent contracts so they'd be our best trade assets but neither one of them has played particular well enough to get much value in return. Ratliff and Smith are on one year deals and I don't see them coming back so we have some room there. But our best bet is to hope that Caracter and Ebanks develop into solid rotation guys.

Walton has an expiring contract.

Bynum, Odom and Walton for DWIGHT...Mitch will not do it!

Send a package for Dwight with Pau, Walton.

Dwight opts out. Lakers send package over that is better than nothing for Orlando.

that would be great. This half court Laker team is boring.

[daboywonder2007]

lakers never had a deep bench in the first place. so stop complaining now. i do think they miss farmar compared to steve blake though

[Leor_77]

I think that teams will consider Steve Blake. Even though he has been struggling with us this year, I feel that teams will respect his body of work in this league. Shannon can go wherever he wants for all I care.

[Gek]

Good luck trying to find anyone who's willing to touch Blake's and Walton's contracts. Brown and Barnes are on decent contracts so they'd be our best trade assets but neither one of them has played particular well enough to get much value in return. Ratliff and Smith are on one year deals and I don't see them coming back so we have some room there. But our best bet is to hope that Caracter and Ebanks develop into solid rotation guys.

Walton has an expiring contract.

Bynum, Odom and Walton for DWIGHT...Mitch will not do it!

I thought he was signed until the 2013 season. Someone please tell me I'm wrong.

Unfortunately, you're right.

http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages ... lakers.jsp



I also don't want to get rid of Odom, he grows on me more and more every year. He's worth his 9 million in my opinion.

[slifersd]

Let's start with rebuilding our starting lineup, then we will talk about the bench. Something big needs to go down this summer for us to really have a chance at competing again next year. Maintaining the status quo, which always seems to be the Lakers philosophy is not going to cut it this time around. Younger teams are getting better and better while our aging stars are getting worse and worse.

[ALL HAIL]

I'm not sure what you all expect from Steve Blake.

He's a methodical floor general who can hit a spot up three.

He's not going to come into the game and drop nine quick points for us.

His ideal role is as a starter.

[BEazy]

The thing is we are one of the worst three point shooting teams in the league if not probably the worst team in the league at three pointers. I've ALWAYS said this. We needa get some three point shooters on this team.

This inside outside game is stupid. Every team knows we are going to pound the ball inside..so what do teams do? Clog the damn paint with EVERYBODY inside. That's why Pau is playing like PUSS. And Bynum can't even get position cause theres too many players in the paint at once.

Teams realize we REALLY SUCK at three pointers. So they don't even worry about our guards doing anything from outside so that leaves 2 players in the paint versus 4 players in the paint and maybe one dude behind the three point.

I really hope Mitch is at least trying to grab Dwight and some legit three point shooters otherwise we'll get smoked every game with teams that have legit three point shooters.

[kobe808lak]

I'm not sure what you all expect from Steve Blake.

He's a methodical floor general who can hit a spot up three.

He's not going to come into the game and drop nine quick points for us.

His ideal role is as a starter.

Expected: to be better than Jordan Farmar. He is not even his equal.

[KEGster]

2 Quick Things

A)Game 3 without Artest will be a great sampling of Barnes
B)Magic have already said they will not trade Howard like Denver did (stupid IMO) but they have stated he's either resigning of walking

[Doormatt]

IMO we should go after toney douglas. Hes exactly the type of scorer/shooter we need. Basically a more skilled/less athletic Shannon Brown with a slightly higher IQ. Probably the best we can do, and really a decent upgrade.

Some ideas:

Artest S&T for turiaf. He gets to go home, which is what I think he really wants. No way dantoni can handle him, but NY management would be wise to find a replacement anyway. Adelman would be perfect not only for artest, but also the team.

Brown+2nd rounder(s) for Douglas. Depending on how things play out, it might just be a straight up S&T as well.

Barnes could start and ebanks could back him up. Turiaf gives us a legit center to rest gasol and bynum (both of whom I think could be gone). At any rate, turiaf gives us a big body. Douglas at backup 2 and occasionally PG. Blake should start IMO, and fisher should come off the bench. As stupid as it sounds, I think fisher is more capable of scoring in bursts than Blake, who is a slow and steady guy. Yes Steve Blake makes Derek Fisher look explosive. That's how bad our PG situation is.

[picc]

Does Luke still have 3 years on his contract? Seems like he has 3 years left every year.

[Jetset]

2 Quick Things

A)Game 3 without Artest will be a great sampling of Barnes
B)Magic have already said they will not trade Howard like Denver did (stupid IMO) but they have stated he's either resigning of walking

Wise up my friend. Otis knows exactly what he's doing, he said that to let any team know that they're in control of contract talks when they start. They'll trade him around the February deadline, book it.



Let me say this before I get started, since there's going to be a lockout we cannot even begin to build on our bench.

Now that that's out of the way, this team needs more than work on the bench. This team needs starting lineup help as well. I always thought earlier in the season that Mitch needed to try his damn hardest to trade Artest. And he still does, the task will be difficult but he's got to find a way to do so, I'm just not comfortable with Barnes starting for us. Mitch should also look at trying to swing a trade for Jose Calderon, since I think the Raptors may end up drafting either Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight. For those that say Blake is immovable, may I ask how so? He could easily be packaged with Brown and traded to Chicago, they get a starting SG and a backup PG and we get rid of both of them. Win, win in my book.

Then once the lockout is lifted, Lakers should try their hat at Kirilenko, he'd be the perfect wingman and 3 point threat that so many have wanted in this thread. Although Odom at PF creates match up problems, I think it's time to move him back to the SF position let him be the "point-forward" so to speak and let him be in charge of the second unit. Sign Martin to be our enforcer off the bench and we're done.

Ideal Lineup:

PG: Calderon/Fisher
SG: Bryant/Barnes
SF: Kirlienko/Odom
PF: Gasol/Martin
C: Bynum/Mohammed - Gadzuric (If Mohammed isn't an option)