Kobe is happy

[aaron_gray]

Are you guys happy?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/490256125741109248[/tweet]

[MadNESS]

Are you guys happy?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/490256125741109248[/tweet]

Been happy.

I think this team (healthy) is going to be a hell of a lot better than people think.

We are super deep, and super young (other than Nash / Kobe and Boozer.)

Everyone has a chip on their shoulder. Everyone.

[kblo247]

Probably happy they actually were on the same page for once. I mean think about it, for the first time in years, we have heard Jeanie and Jim and Mitch all worked together. Not only did they work together they kept Kobe involved and informed unlike in years past where he's watching TV or hearing on the radio Fish/Lamar/Caron/Bynum were traded and Dantoni/Brown were hired.

They are communicating and actually made a play for top guys. This is the least dysfunctional they've been from a FO standpoint since they handed out punk slips to the entire coaching staff before game 1 vs Dallas before the lockout

[Penberthy]

How can he not be? They offered max to lebron melo dirk and bosh. They all declined. They didn't offer Stephenson because he is a 2. They offered Pau a big deal he declined. They got a real pg, but one that will defer to Kobe if he demands. And a bunch of young guys who play hard and will obey his orders. And his buddy boozer.

The other thing I noticed is the guys they got, besides playing hard, almost from top to bottom they are above average iq and character guys. Randle Lin Clarkson Kelly Boozer etc lots of Duke types, which he likes.

[The Laker Kid]

with that contract, he better be happy

[Sofa King]

Are you guys happy?

[ak7]

He got paid 48.5 million to say this.

[Sofa King]

Are you guys happy?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/490256125741109248[/tweet]

Been happy.

I think this team (healthy) is going to be a hell of a lot better than people think.

We are super deep, and super young (other than Nash / Kobe and Boozer.)

Everyone has a chip on their shoulder. Everyone.

If we get rid of Nash, I'd be like...

[KB89]

I'm fine with the effort, which is exactly what Kobe said. We swung for the fences and struck out. Does it suck we did not end up with any big free agents? Yep, it does. But you cannot force someone to sign with you, all you can do is offer, which the Lakers did. I am not thrilled with ending up with Lin, Boozer, Hill, Young, etc. while guys like LeBron, Bosh, Carmelo, etc. were available. But really, can you blame them for not signing with the Lakers? Sadly our roster leaves a lot to be desired and there is a huge question mark hanging over Kobe's head at this point in his career.

So, am I happy with the results? No. But I'm fine with the effort.

[jay51024]

I'm actually okay with how this offseason has gone. I feel that by picking up guys on minimum contracts who have potential and upside will push them to play well this season in order to earn minutes and a hefty paycheck. We knew going into this offseason, our chances of landing a star in Carmelo Anthony or Lebron James were slim to non-existent. So I'm pretty content with the moves that have been made. I think Lin will play with a chip on his shoulder as he'll likely get a lot of minutes and will attempt to show he's more than just an average pg. Xavier Henry, Wesley Johnson, Ed Davis will all continue to play hard as they're all on vet min contracts and will try to prove that they still belong in this league. Jordan Hill will have to work for his money, if he wants the Lakers to pick up his team option for next season. Randle and Clarkson both have promise and upside, but will need to learn and adjust to the grind of an 82 game season. And Kobe will be tasked with his biggest challenge of all, trying to come back from injury and attempting to prove all of his doubters wrong by playing at a high level. Everyone on this team has a chip on their shoulder and I like this team's chances to make the playoffs if they can stay relatively healthy.

[Exodus]

I'm kind of curious to see how this team will do when they are healthy. I envision a lot of turnovers by this young team. I also think this team will be scrappy and put up points with bigs that will bang. My big worry will be team defense. They will need to do a better job at cutting players off from penetrating the hole with our lack of length.

[dockingsched]

How can he not be? They offered max to lebron melo dirk and bosh. They all declined. They didn't offer Stephenson because he is a 2. They offered Pau a big deal he declined. They got a real pg, but one that will defer to Kobe if he demands. And a bunch of young guys who play hard and will obey his orders. And his buddy boozer.

The other thing I noticed is the guys they got, besides playing hard, almost from to to bottom they are above average iq and character guys. Randle Lin Clarkson Kelly Boozer etc lots of Duke types, which he likes.

Aside from targeting former lottery picks I think you're spot on in noticing that they're going after good character guys. Don't want another Howard situation where people didn't get along and had ulterior motives.

[EArl]

Kobe was reportedly seen bumping to this song on his car
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM[/youtube]

[Tee212]

im happy cause there wont be anymore pau bashing threads next season

[NOpinion]

From being on Lakers boards across the internet, it seems like a lot of Lakers fans are happy. As some have said, it's been highlighted by the big names : Lin and Boozer (Loozer) and the two draft picks. I don't think there is much to be happy about in terms of success in the next couple of seasons. I hope for the best but the realist in me sees this current team as a 9th-12th team in the West. At the very best, this team is what, a 7th team and faces a daunting task just to get out of the first round.

I'm hopeful that Randle can develop into a great player. I hope he develops his right hand and starts to rebound and plays some defense. Clarkson seems to shoot first, shoot second but I like his potential as a Zero guard. If he develops, Lakers have at least one player locked up on a cheap deal for a few years.

I don't get the Boozer claim. I only see his one year rental as potential to take away from the development of Randle. We'll see how the minutes are divvied up.

The rest?

I'm disappointed they did not give an offer sheet to Stephenson and instead rushed to pay Hill (9m a season) when it's highly doubtful he would have commanded that ---and even if another team signed him, does having Hill swing the pendulum that much? Anyway, I don't get that.

I'm very surprised some of us fans are happy that most of the guys that contributed to the 27 win season are coming back? I for one would have preferred to sign more undrafted guys on team friendly, team option deals. I mean, the best case scenario for most of these guys is they do well and you just have to pay them more on their contracts next year and can we honestly say that we see these supporting players as championship worthy role players? They're essentially just auditioning for contracts next season and at the very least, if they are bad, they'll probably just come back on another one year deal and maybe fans will laud the front office again?

The love for "X", Kelly is surprising when you consider all the bashing Gasol took despite being top 3 in scoring, rebounding and WS. It's too bad we never got to see a healthy Nash-Kobe-Gasol trio.

I am very happy that the team didn't get locked in to long term deals with players that would have just kept them on the wheel of mediocrity in future free agent years.

I'm still hopeful the Lakers can bring in a great coach (ie not Byron Scott) but it looks like we'll probably see a Yes-man coach to Kobe for the final two years of his deal and have a completely clean slate (minus Randle, Clarkson, Young) in two years in attempts to woo Durant, Westbrook and so on. Maybe that's why the Scott deal is taking so long to be completed. He probably wants some assurances via guaranteed years that he'll be there in 2016, 2017 but the Lakers probably only want to give a short contract. Maybe Madsen comes in and fits the price range that Buss and Kupchak prefer.

One thing I feel positive about is every night I can see Kobe climb up the all-time scoring list despite the probable losses. I'm not as optimistic as most on here---I don't see the Lakers team as any better than any of the 8 teams that made the playoffs last year. We don't know what injuries can occur, team chemistry issues and so on that can either catapult the Lakers into playoff contention or move the playoff teams from last year into this year's lottery team. Another thing I hope for is to see the all time great Nash end his Hall of Fame career with some dignity. I hope if not stretched, he can finish the season and come back next year as a mentor to the new point guards that come through.

[Slava]

I think the fans are just excited by the fact that there is some degree of meaningfulness to this season unlike last one. All we can do is stay afloat, be competitive, maintain flexibility and pounce when an impact player comes around in free agency.

[Interesting]

This team will be better than most think. I also think mitch will be very active during the trade deadline.

[kblo247]

Part of me is also a bit happy to see Pau gone. He wasn't and hasn't been checked I for years and when your star and co-captain,which he became once fish left, doesn't give a **** about defense, playing hard, or going strong on O it sends a mixed message. The locker room may be less fun, but guys will be more accountable with just Kobe dictating. Likewise the post is now basically open for Kobe in the triple threat with cutters, shooters, and garbage men which makes more sense than him running around dribbling all day and living outside because his bigs clog the lane.

Lin, Boozer, Davis, Hill, Wes, X are all playing to prove themselves and get a new lucrative or long term deal. Randles playing to show the teams who passed he's the guy from his draft. Kobe is playing to show the world again. Nicks playing to show he was worth what he gone as the only long term commitment. They are all playing for something and hungry. That's better than run up the floor, Jack up shots, get numbers, and be okay with losing like last year which Pau and Pringles didnt fight at all

[minifang]

This team will be better than most think. I also think mitch will be very active during the trade deadline.

Most of the contracts are one year or have early termination options. You can bet Mitch will be active at the deadline.

[Interesting]

I used to think the same thing as well, that it's a plus to have players In contract years because they're auditioning for their next pay day. The only problem there is that pretty much our whole team is in this situation (similar to last year), and when EVERYONE is out to prove their worth there seems to be 5 black holes on the court and no one plays team ball. No one wants to sacrifice and will be mostly concerned about padding their stats. We saw that to our detriment last year. Hopefully Scott or whoever our coach will be can quickly nip that in the bud.