Comments on: Preview and Chat: The Dallas Mavericks

By: Lamar Odom is back!

Lamar Odom is back! — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:35:39 +0000

Warren, I feel the need to mention that I have talked hoops lately. Yeah sure, I add a few made up things here and there, but I feel ya’ll know when I’m joking. I can’t just keep it straight hoops, you know? Cuz you know, I’m versatile as heck, and so I choose to switch it up every now and then.

By: Warren Wee Lim

Warren Wee Lim — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:27:58 +0000

Its not as much as speculation as it is planning. I understand the essence is such, but I would have to qualify the “concept” from the actual proposal.

Kurt, I understand how a little flame can turn into a wildfire and I abide by it. I can understand “Lamar Odom” being the guy I was months ago in this fine site. I think he will mellow down and will eventually talk hoops. But I also understand where he is coming from.

Drray, I too search that competence from the front office. Sure Mitch has done a better job as of late and the Trevor deal but I would like to see this organization make a bold move to solidify next year’s bid. Learning from the offseason where there’s less basketball and with the Beijing Olympics coming up, I think the curve could be completed earlier if “they” had the midseason of this year to work with. I too could not stand another probable end up in the wrong team.

By: drrayeye

drrayeye — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:58:08 +0000

This is the time when the Laker organization earns its money.

I liked the Laker team as it was in the summer, and I really liked the trade for Ariza. The most recent find in Mbenga was timely and “Mbenificial’ to the Lakers.

The organization has every reason to expect a competitive run at the playoffs with no further moves as the wounded return to play.

But this is the Lakers.

Every time they see KG in a Celtic uniform, it must make them sick to their stomachs–especially when they remember two losses in which Andrew Bynum was humiliated.

The Lakers rarely make midseason moves.

So, why will I be looking hopefully and expectantly anyway through February?

I keep dreaming of this game in Boston . . . .

By: Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:04:46 +0000

I would not trade it, Chris H. Although it has been frustrating these past four seasons this year looks different than the ones before and this team has a lot of promise. The lakers did the right thing in letting Shaq go. The Heat also got lucky with that championship. They were down 0-2 and wouldn’t have won had the Mavs had a better coach. It was fortunate for them, that’s all. I’m enjoying this a lot more than the first 3 championships anyway. It’s nice to see players grow.

By: chris h

chris h — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:35:33 +0000

…and another thing…
anybody know off hand what Miami’s record is?
the last I heard they had lost something like 14 in a row, their future is shot with the heavy contracts, especially to Shaq….
so my question is, would you trade what they’ve had the last 3 years? one ring and then you’ve got this season and the dark days ahead?
or what we’ve had these past 3 years? I know it’s been tough, the Rudy T year especially was a rough one…
but look at us now.
talk about a bright future, so bright we gotta wear shades.
this year, when drew and trevor are back, we are going to be tough, no doubt, and not afraid of any team, and this same unit with one more year experience together…
we’re talking championship baby.
and it could last for 3 to 4 years with the age of this team.
me, I’m happy we kept Kobe and let Shaq go.
how about you?

By: Kurt

Kurt — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:19:54 +0000

The trade speculation ends here, until there is proven talks between the Lakers and someone.

By: Pacio

Pacio — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:16:21 +0000

I think all this trade speculation is totally off the point. Honestly, I think there is a 0% chance of Lamar being traded before the deadline, and maybe a 5% chance of Kwame being traded. Lamar’s trade value has got to be at an all-time low right now. You don’t think the rest of the league is seeing the same things we are (with the apparent exception of Larry Brown)? At 12 mil a year. No chance. And we can’t afford to trade Kwame anyway unless we get another big back, and i’d be shocked if we get a worthwhile offer.
And why do we need a trade? Remember, waaaaay back about two weeks ago, when Kurt wrote that enjoy the good times post? And how they were indeed good times? I don’t care if this team goes 0-20 w/out Andrew, cause we’re obviously not going to win squat without him anyway. Why should we make a trade to make the team better without Andrew? So Lamar isn’t a real no. 2 option. But he is a very good no. 3/4 (even fish/farmar are expected to provide more points in reality). If the team was playing well with Andrew, that leaves us nothing to do but suck it up, grind out as many W’s as possible til he’s back. And SA and Dallas are _not_ easy places to grind out wins. Gone are the days of going into opposing arenas and crushing the home team like we did in Phoenix and NO (who whooped SA tonight). I hope you all listened to Kurt and enjoyed them.

By: Warren Wee Lim

Warren Wee Lim — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:28:43 +0000

What was encouraging about the Mavs loss was the fact that they only beat us by 7 and we were in their necks the whole time. No Drew, no Trevor, no Vlade, no Chris. See, Hollinger can put a win factor in all this but it all leads me to conclude that Dallas isn’t too proud of what they did yesterday. IF we had Bynum, we could be the one with the 7-pt win.

Dr Ray, Memphis can easily find a taker for Mike Miller that doesn’t have to be necessarily us. For instance, a team like Orlando (who has still a boatload of expirings) can offer 2-3 players and a pick for another 3-guy they can put at the shooting guard position. Imagine a lineup of Nelson-Miller-Turkoglu-Lewis-D12. That would be a shooting frenzy.

That said, its not my intention to not have Miller but I think the weight of his contract is too heavy for management and our cap-conscious friends at Lakerland esp if we have to take Brian Cardinal as a Pau Attachment. Use Kwame’s contract as the buffer that takes Cardinal and perhaps even Damon (buying him out).

The deal you proposed could use some picks that a rebuilding team would definitely appreciate. The Lakers can decide to overpay by sending them some future picks to sweeten the deal.

In all these, Kurt, with all due respect, lets trade Lamar? He is so frustrating.

Anoni, Lamar Odom would dislocate his 2 shoulders if he went up for those alley-oops.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:40:59 +0000

I’ve got news for you Travis. Lamar has been in a Lakers uniform for how long now?? 3 years?? I think if there was a groove to find he would’ve found it by now. The definition of being an idiot is doing the same thing over and over again that doesn’t work. Perhaps its time to change something. What do we change?? Thats up to the coaching staff because obviously our suggestions aren’t being passed on to them.

Its quite simple what our job as fans is. Support the team during every game and apply pressure in between games to hope for improvement. Even if its an amazing game, that is not a reason to role over and say, “okay, we’re ready. Lets go up against the Celtics.” We have shown consistency for 24 minutes, the next step is to make it 48 minutes and our short rotation will be fine. Actually, that brings me to another point… has anyone considered the conditioning of these players?? Perhaps Ronny, Jordan and Kobe are the only ones really in shape that are prepared to play 48 minutes a game while Kwame, Luke and Lamar can only handle about 30 with a few breaks throughout the game… just a thought

By: Travis Y.

Travis Y. — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:19:26 +0000

Why is everyone acting so shocked? We know we are a championship-caliber team WITH Bynum and everyone else (Ariza especially) healthy. Did you expect the Lakers to sweep through Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas?
We exhibited what this team is about this year in each game. Kobe distributing and having a well balanced team offensively. In San Antonio AND Dallas Kobe was distributing the ball well and everyone was involved in the first half.

My take: drastic improvement, just hard to sustain.

In the second half our defense was porous, which led to a shaky offense. = Kobe needing to take over the game b/c everyone (except Farmar and Turiaf) was struggling to put up points.

In Bynum we had guarenteed offense and an anchor on defense.

Odom says he was going to post up but seems hesitant to take shots on the POST. It appears he’s trying to shoot himself out of a slump to prove he’s still got it, much like Marbury in New York. They know they’re capable and have succeeded in the past. So they’re trying to find that fire inside of them and regain their confidence. He knows he’s not a 2nd stringer, he’s just having a hard time finding his groove.

PJ talks about how Kobe knows the triangle so well he skips some steps so he can get the ball to score. The staff is trying to get Odom to find his spots b/c right now he’s not confident in himself.

We need to hope he finds his mojo b/c he’s the piece that can get us over the top. So stop all the hate and rather hope he gets his act and plays tough and maybe things will fall through for him.