I wonder if Kobe has sent message (directly or indirectly) to the Front Office that he wants them to retain Ronny. If he did, do people think the Front Office will take that into account?

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 10:03 am

(Ok, so I moved this comment over from the last thread) I think I am going to cry… Ronny was my favorite. What he brought to the team was so much more than his minutes on the court. I trust Mitch to make the right decisions regarding personel (what a difference a year makes) and I know we will be allright. With Bynum coming back there was not going to be a lot of minutes for him anyways. With that being said, I cannot believe folks are still talking (see last thread) about Kwame! Please, for the love of God, I cannot stand to watch that guy play the game of basketball. Just because he has a big body does not make him a basketball player. He can do absolutely nothing other than press his big body against another big body in the post. On the offensive end, it would be worse than playing with only four players, since he would actually be occupying space, and someone may be tempted to pass to him. I will miss Ronny, but we don’t need to do anything drastic…

Comment by Davis — July 9, 2008 @ 10:13 am

If Ronny goes…will be sad to see him go…but…good for him…is it over paying? I dont know? Maybe with more playing time…he does more…he is all heart though!!! so…I am happy he is going to get paid.

Comment by burningjoe — July 9, 2008 @ 10:14 am

I’m sure Kobe has told the front office since the exit meetings that he wants Ronny back, but even Kobe would understand that Golden State is overpaying.

Ronny Turiaf is one of my favorite Lakers and it will be a sad, sad day to see him go (almost on the same level of stomach-punch feeling as when those bastards in Golden State signed Fish away from us a couple years ago), but if he does go, I wish Ronny the very best.

Comment by skigi — July 9, 2008 @ 10:14 am

It is a shame, but at that price you have to let Turiaf walk. Kobe is smart and ruthlessness enough to understand that signing Ronny for that amount would actually hurt the Lakers chances to win.

Comment by Jed — July 9, 2008 @ 10:15 am

The problem with paying Ronny that much is it is a four year deal. Next year Bynum gets a big raise (whatever the amount is) and you are going to have to pay Ariza more to keep him (especially if he finds a jumper). You’ve got to cut costs somewhere, and as much as I love Ronny I disagree with Golden State of Mind, there are other big bodies out there.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 10:15 am

Yeah, too much for Ronnie, as much as I like the guy he is not worth that much. I like the Idea of either Craig Smith or Kurt Thomas to replace Ronnie, and both can be had for cheap.

A team like Philly could use a shooter off the bench as well as a few other teams So I can see a few teams that might offer Sasha some money, especially if the Lakers don’t match Turiaf’s offer, they might think they can steal him from the Lakers.

Who do the Clippers look at now that they have some cap space. Do they save it hoping to partake in the 2010 FA class, or do they offer some money for Okefur or Josh Smith. Smith and Davis would be fun to watch in the open court.

Comment by ryan — July 9, 2008 @ 10:24 am

The Lakers lost Derek Fisher to free agency–so, the Lakers finally ended up starting the Smusher–until they finally lucked into getting Derek back. I hope I don’t have to find out who the Lakers find to replace Ronny.

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 10:32 am

7 - Anything the Clippers offer for Josh Smith will be matched by Atlanta, and Dunleavy is a control freak on offense.

Comment by robz — July 9, 2008 @ 10:34 am

As for the Clipper/Brand situation-how about David Falk making one last huge power play. No less than 2 months ago I say a blurb on Truehoop where Falk was advising college students not to get into the sports agent business, mainly because of its ruthless nature. He was not lying, dude really stuck it to Sterling. Clips should sit on that money.

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 10:40 am

Kurt Thomas is definitely the guy the Lakers need. He is a better version of Turiaf at this stage of his career, sans the energy on the bench. Tough, got a mid-range jumpshot, dependable 15-25 minutes a night if needed. And he’s going to be much cheaper than Turiaf.

Comment by Troy — July 9, 2008 @ 10:44 am

I’m still so upset about the Ronny thing. The worst part is, I imagine those fans will have a hard time embracing him like we have simply because he’s being overpaid like a mofo, which totally changes how you perceive a player’s contributions.

Quick question, I know Baron made a verbal commitment, but with the signings not official until today, is it not too late for him to bail now that the Clippers look quite different?

Comment by carter blanchard — July 9, 2008 @ 10:45 am

Entirely agree Kurt,

The only qualm I have is the pursuit of Kurt Thomas. He is proven to be a great interior defender, but I question whether he can keep up with our pace? I already forgot the Spurs series. Did they sit him b/c the Lakers pace was too fast and he was hindering the Spurs on offense, or was he able to contribute to both sides?

I would rather the Lakers shoot for a more athletic big a la Craig Smith, unless it’s certain that K. Thomas is in great shape and can handle the rigors of the season/postseason.

And what’s the status of Tom Thibodeau or Jeff Van Gundy, wouldn’t a defensive schemer be EXACTLY what we need to improve our team?

Comment by Travis Y. — July 9, 2008 @ 10:53 am

Last question to all of you. Assuming we let Ronny sign w/ GS, how much should the Lakers be willing to match for Sasha?

I say they go no higher than 4.5 mil.

Comment by Travis Y. — July 9, 2008 @ 10:55 am

Drrayeye-I see what you are saying, but your analogy is not really apples to apples. Fish was a starting PG, and finding a replacement for that position is one of the hardest things to do in the leauge. Ronny is a back-up big, and while not easy to replace, it is reasonable to believe the Lakers can (if they choose) find a suitable replacement.

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 10:58 am

Good for Ronny. But to be honest, his play ON the court was overshadowed by his personality OFF the court…in a good way. But it’s time for the Lakers to make the next step and actually develop a team that fits their style more.

Kurt Thomas fits that role to a tee. An experienced big man that has a better perimeter shot than Ronny. Or Craig Smith, who can provide a little more bulk and toughness down low than Turiaf could offer. Either of those 2 are slightly better fits ON the court.

Comment by Paydawg — July 9, 2008 @ 10:58 am

The Maggette comment of him going for where the shots are was a low blow in the wrong place. He chose money and shots over bench and winning. To be paid 4 million a year more and get a starting position over being a seventh man on a great team is not a choice that is so easy to judge. - Allan K.

Comment by Allan Aaron Katz — July 9, 2008 @ 10:59 am

Thibodeau is not jumping Boston’s ship, makes no sense. Can us fans please get over the idea of anyone from Boston leaving to help the Lakers? I don’t see JVG working under Phil Jackson.

If the Lakers don’t match, I’m still going to sport my Turiaf jersey.

Comment by George — July 9, 2008 @ 11:00 am

Kurt,

There have been rumors of Sasha receiving more than the mid-level exception. Would you match an offer over the mid-level? If so, how far above the exception would you go?

Personally, I wouldn’t go above $6 million per year. But I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Vujacic either.

Comment by Brandon Hoffman — July 9, 2008 @ 11:01 am

And I’m really disappointed that we’re likely to lose Turiaf. Ronny brings so much energy off the bench.

Comment by Brandon Hoffman — July 9, 2008 @ 11:02 am

15- George

If Elton Brand, Mr. Wholesome himself has taught you anything it’s that money makes people do crazy things. Who knows how much Boston is offering Thibodeau? And I know JVG and Coach Jackson have a past, but if the Finals were any indicator it’s that they need to improve on defense, and he’s available.

We didn’t think we’d hire Coach Jackson back, but here we are. We have seen stranger things.

Comment by Travis Y. — July 9, 2008 @ 11:09 am

Isn’t Craig Smith a restricted free agent? Is there any reason we should think Minnesota wouldn’t match the Lakers offer they have to have more money then the Lakers could possibly be willing to offer.

Comment by Jonathan — July 9, 2008 @ 11:10 am

Craig Smith is a 6′-7″ bruiser playing power forward - center. The great bigs in the West will be shooting over him all night long. Tim Duncan will be licking his chops when he sees the undersized Craig Smith on the floor. The Lakers need a big w/ height and girth. Smith is not that guy.

I have to say I’m happy to see that all the free agents so far are choosing teams that are still a ways away as opposed to teams that are only a player away. As a Laker fan seeing the balance of power remain status quo is what you want. Magette to the Spurs/Boston was a concern but thankfully he’ll be gunning in GS.

Comment by terrence — July 9, 2008 @ 11:13 am

22. Craig Smith is a restricted FA, so he would be a long shot.

21. Phil knows how to coach D, his teams in Chicago and the Shaq-era Lakers were top defensive teams in the league. He didn’t forget, it’s a matter of personnel. Another coach is not the answer.

19. Actually, at about $5 mil or higher I start to have second thoughts about Sasha. I like him, but again this is a backup SG, those guys exist and is not who you break the bank for.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 11:18 am

I don’t think Phil’s ego would ever allow a coach like JVG coming in.

I’ve been reading up a little more on what Philly would be like with Brand. I guess I underestimated their chances. I still wouldn’t go as high as 3rd best in the East, maybe 5th or 6th still, but much better chances now to beat Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto. I think Toronto made a a big step in the East getting JO.

Too bad Ronny might be leaving. I liked watching him, but I’ll be upset if he learns to stop picking up quick easy fouls against the Lakers.

Comment by wondahbap — July 9, 2008 @ 11:18 am

I think what the Lakers are willing to pay really depends on their plans for Farmar. If they are resigned to the fact that Farmar will be gone when he’s up for a contract, then I think they’ll be willing to pay for Sasha. Fish will have to come off the bench eventually I believe, and it’s Sasha who is in the game late alot. I think the Lakers would pay 5 mill for Sasha, and would match 4 mill in a heartbeat. I originally thought 3.5 might be a number for him, but after seeing a team give Ronny 4 mill, I’m hoping now.

Comment by wondahbap — July 9, 2008 @ 11:22 am

Is Carl Landry available?

Comment by Anonymous — July 9, 2008 @ 11:23 am

I too will be sad to see Ronny go. I doubt the Lakers would consider matching that offer and that’s too tempting to pass up for Ronny.

DRE - I don’t think the comparison between Ronny and Fish is very apt. Fisher was a veteran starter who got pushed aside by the signing of Payton in his final year. Not to mention that Fish was replaced by Chucky Atkins, who was eventually supplanted by Smush. However, considering what the team actually squeezed out of Smush in his two years here, I’m not too concerned with Ronny’s replacement.

Kurt - I think Philly may have passed Detroit by adding Brand to the mix. They really started to get things going the second half of the season and performed very well in their series vs. the Pistons. I think they were looking at a high-40s, possibly 50-win season even before Brand got there assuming everyone stays healthy.

Comment by Exick — July 9, 2008 @ 11:28 am

Terrence-I don’t think Craig Smith would be dealing with Duncan-Pau would (or Andrew). Bench players all have flaws (that’s why they are bench players), but if you can add players that bring different skills (for instance interior toughness/physicality) it can help a team improve.

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 11:29 am

Kurt - I agree with comment 17 above. You’re judging Maggette too harshly. GS offered $20m more than the Spurs, plus presumably a starting gig. That’s a lot to give up just for a chance for a championship on an older team in a super-tough conference.

Comment by LG Gold — July 9, 2008 @ 11:34 am

We better punish G. State when we play them, on general principle-ality.

We gon miss you Ronny!

Comment by tonystarks — July 9, 2008 @ 11:40 am

For Sasha, the Lakers have a free agent who probably would love to come back to the Lakers, plays better defense, and earn about $3.5 million: Mo Evans.

There is only one big guy who’d love to come back to the Lakers, has played in the Laker system, and gets along with the guys to replace Ronny–and he may cost about the same.

The Warriors, with no investment in Ronny, looked at all the same free agents the Lakers will look at (minus the best ones), and decided that Ronny was the best value. What makes anyone think that any big the Lakers sign in the $1-$2 million range who doesn’t know the Laker system, will magically produce an acceptable skillset and replace Ronny’s backup skills?

Are we looking at Slave Medvedenko? I think he’s still recovering from injuries.

I think the Lakers should think about this very carefully.

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 11:41 am

24-

I can see what you’re saying. I guess I just got so frustrated watching the Finals I forgot about the previous success Coach Jackson’s had. Boy is my face red. Hopefully, a huge center patrolling the lane is just the cure to solidify our defense.

Also, NBA players have a very unpredictable lifespan. One injury and their chance to remain a highly paid player is over. The choice Maggette made is nothing I wouldn’t expect nor condemn. If I were him my outlook would be to get paid the most on a team I think can contend for a title. (Which is why I am so peeved at Marion) If that’s not possible then just get paid the most where you can showcase your talents. Eventually, towards the end of your career when you aren’t able to be the star, you accept less money and accept a role on a contender (Mike Finley).

Comment by Travis Y. — July 9, 2008 @ 11:53 am

So, doesn’t Turiaf’s likely depature mean that Lamar is likely to stick around b/c of his versatility as a 3 and 4?

Comment by DY — July 9, 2008 @ 12:03 pm

If it comes down to matching Ronny or bringing back Kwame at half of Ronny’s salary, I vote for #1. I don’t think I could take having to watch Kwame play for the Lakers again.

I think we have to see about Kurt Thomas, but also that it will take at least a two-year deal at $2.5m/yr to land him.

So this is where the Vlad and Luke deals bite us in the rear. Actually, if we match Ronny’s offer, I will be happy and surprised.

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 12:06 pm

27. Landry is a restricted free agent and Houston would match anything LA can give.

As for Maggette, I thought the money was closer than those figures. In that case you have to go for the money, I was a little harsh. (That said, still not convinced Maggette is not a selfish player.)

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 12:07 pm

I know nothing about Craig Smith so I can’t speak to his skills compared to someone like Kurt Thomas… but I suspect that the Lakers need veteran savy and toughness more than a younger guy (Smith is 24) that will give them marginally better production (at least in the short term).

Comment by pedram — July 9, 2008 @ 12:08 pm

Is it for certain that Baron Davis is going to sign with the Clippers? Has he already done that? Would going back on his word be really bad for him?

Comment by fanerman — July 9, 2008 @ 12:09 pm

@ 2 (and in general) i think i’m going to cry as well. right here at work…
but best of luck to ronny!

Comment by silly bitch — July 9, 2008 @ 12:10 pm

19 - “…There have been rumors of Sasha receiving more than the mid-level exception.” Where are these rumors coming from? Do you have a link? If that is true than we can kiss Sasha good-bye as well. I hate to see the Lakers great bench get dismantled this way.

Comment by azzemoto — July 9, 2008 @ 12:11 pm

Let’s see…Ariza & Bynum next year, Farmar the following year, Kobe & Gasol the year after that. All this on top of the contracts for Vlade and Walton. Somehow I don’t see the Lakers matching GS’s offer.

The reason I would take Craig Smith (6′7″ 250 25yrs) over Kurt Thomas (6′9″ 225 36yrs) is age, athleticism, bulk. They are both unrestricted, but we could possibly use Smith for several years. I see Gasol sliding over to center after Bynum, so Smith would strictly be playing against 2nd & 3rd string players. His biggest liability is his passing, not his size.

Comment by Craig W. — July 9, 2008 @ 12:22 pm

36, Kurt

Landry seems to have chronic knee trouble, or at least a nagging knee injury; that may be a concern for Houston and they may be reluctant to resign him. Having drafted Joey Dorsey, and already having Scola and Chuck Hayes in the mix, Houston may be amenable to having him sign elsewhere. That being said, Landry could fill in quite nicely for Turiaf, but that knee is worrisome and it might be too risky an investment.

Comment by chibi — July 9, 2008 @ 12:50 pm

19/40. Rumors are a dime a dozen this year. Some are from agents looking to get a better deal (if you were Sasha’s agent, wouldn’t you say interest was up?), some are from team execs trying to outflank opponents, and some are from yahoos on message boards. We all need to evaluate what we read.

38. Davis has not put pen to ink, I don’t think, but it could damage him and his agent’s rep to give his word and them back out.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 12:52 pm

42. Are you kidding me, the entire world is high on Carl Landry, he is not some secret nobody gets. Did you see the buzz around the league on this guy? I don’t think I can emphasize this enough — no way Houston lets him walk. Not for what the Lakers can offer. At best you could try to trade for him, as if Houston want’s Luke’s contract. I love Landry but he is not going to happen for us.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 12:54 pm

(42) Chibi,

Since Houston is purportedly (according to unsubstantiated but persistent rumors) going back and forth between Landry and Sasha (for $5.8 million), if we got Landry, we’d probably lose Sasha.

Ironic, huh?

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 12:55 pm

By the way, we keep saying “poor Clippers, bad luck” but the fact that year after year free agents try to get away from them says a lot. Only one time have they spent money and got people to come, and now those people want out.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 12:56 pm

I worry about becoming overly fixated on value at the expense of bottom line team talent. It reminds me of a common feature in fantasy auction drafts — there are always a few teams that consistently pass on high salaried stars in the early going, only to find themselves with a glut of cash to spend on nobodies late in the draft. Yes, several teams overpayed to gobble up good players early and other teams modestly found value, but the early spenders still always end up with the more talented teams. Could we be doing that if we say Turiaf isn’t worth $4M and Sasha isn’t worth the midlevel? Yes signing Brezec or Elson for $1 million is better value than Turiaf for $4 million. And yes Mo Evans for $3 million is better value than Sasha for $5.5. But, at the end of the day the team is still better with Turiaf over those stiffs and Sasha over Evans, right? Even if we had to overpay a bit to retain them? I know we have our backs against the tax wall and every spent dollar counts as two, but we have to sign a backup big and combo guard somewhere and we’re talking about saving a million here or two there, so why not stick with proven, young players in our system. It’s hard to know where to draw the value line without knowing Buss’s bottom line budget demands, but I’m in favor of matching on Turiaf unless we can get a proven big for lesser value (the only one I see is Thomas). He’s 25, knows the offense, is a nice shooter and passer, will improve, accepts his role, and did an admirable job stepping in when Bynum and Gasol went down for long stretches. That sounds like pretty close to a $4 million big man to me.

The Fisher analogy is a bit strained. GS paid him $39 million; we’re talking about $17 here. One is egregious, the other is just a bit high.

Comment by Reed — July 9, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

Honestly, I coud care less about the Clippers. Maybe it’s a local thing. I’m in RI, so I can’t feel for them. To me, they’re just the Lakers JV team.

Comment by wondahbap — July 9, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

Another note, from ESPN that is interesting:

Arizona signee Brandon Jennings has decided to make an unprecedented move to forgo playing in college and instead pursue a professional career in Europe next season before likely entering the 2009 NBA draft, Jenning’s attorney, Jeff Valle, told ESPN.com on Tuesday night.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3479195&POLL346=20000000000000000000000000

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 1:03 pm

I wonder if Baron Davis feels this is his last big contract, so he better make the most of it. Remember his injury issues with Charlotte/NO? That was the prime reason the Lakers didn’t make a play for him (he wanted to come here then, too) He got better the longer he stayed in GS. At the end of this contract he will be 33.

This being the case, I wonder what the Clips are getting? The offense is much more structured and he will take more banging with the Clips. Perhaps Dunlevy should institute a more uptempo offense with Brand gone.

Comment by Craig W. — July 9, 2008 @ 1:06 pm

Lakers should take Craig Smith over Kurt Thomas. That way, when Bynum rejects the Lakers less-than-max offer next year, Pau can play Center and Smith will take over at PF. Also, with Bynum gone, Kobe will most likely opt out which means the Lakers will have plenty of $$ to pay Odom. Seems fair to me.

Comment by The Great Googly Moogly — July 9, 2008 @ 1:08 pm

Reed hits it on the head.

Turiaf is young, energetic, plays good defense and can hit a jumper. Kurt Thomas won’t be around in 4 years and another replacement for Turiaf will be needed.

Mo Evans is a good player, but not a three point shooter. One reason why Sasha played a lot in crunch time is that he helped spread the floor.

Comment by inwit — July 9, 2008 @ 1:18 pm

(51) Googly,

Great comment. lol. Made my day!

The next year, we can allow Jordan to sign with another team and save some more money by bringing back Smush Parker!

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 1:25 pm

It’s also not Reed’s money he’s spending.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 1:35 pm

Via Truehoop, the market has been set for Bynum.

http://blogs.jsonline.com/bucks/archive/2008/07/09/bogut-bucks-agree-on-5-year-extension.aspx

5 years, 72 mill for Bogut, that means Drew will be getting 5 years 80 million. Keep this in mind for all transactions.

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 1:38 pm

50-

If Davis was trying to capitalize financially, he should have stayed for the last year on his Golden State contract ($18mil) and THEN tested the free agent waters. Even if he had a bad season, it’s tough to imagine that he couldn’t have landed a contract similar to the one he’s getting with the Clippers. Teams are constantly overpaying for proven point guards.

No, Davis went to the Clippers because he figured Brand would stick around. And, of course, he had good reason: Elton is on record as saying that he wanted to stay and told the Clipper F.O. to pursue Davis. The Clippers kept their end of the deal, and look where it got them.

Can you fault Brand for jumping ship? That depends. The Clippers obviously trusted his loyalty and he did everything he could to reassure them. You don’t ask your team to pursue an expensive free agent if you don’t intend to stay once he’s been landed. But the Philly deal would be tough for any player in his situation to pass up. He gets out of the West and onto an up-and-coming team for a lot more money. He instantly makes the Sixers a top-4 team in the conference and he doesn’t have to play for Mike Dunleavy anymore.

Baron Davis gets the bait and switch, but it’s hard to feel sorry for him, since he basically did the same thing by leaving Golden State after claiming that he wanted to stay.

Comment by DMo — July 9, 2008 @ 1:41 pm

55. Wow, that seems high for Bogut, but you are right that it sets the market.

54. Let me just flesh that thought out rather than take a shot at Reed (which I don’t want to do). The bottom line is none of us know the cash flow numbers for the Lakers. We know what the franchise is worth (especially compared to what Buss paid for it) but that is paper money in a lot of ways. How much profit was made, we can guess at but do not know. So it’s easy to say “Pay turiaf $4 mil plus the $4 mil in tax” but that is not money coming out of our pocket. We don’t really know the numbers.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

Bogut only got $60m guaranteed. That’s still high, but not as outlandish as the headlines suggest.

Hopefully, the Lakers and Bynum can also agree on a contract with a lot of bonus $ based on games played and performance.

Comment by LG Gold — July 9, 2008 @ 1:58 pm

Ugh. Some teams are so stupid. Thanks Milwaukee. Thanks, alot. The rest of the NBA applauds you for overpaying your center.

Comment by wondahbap — July 9, 2008 @ 2:00 pm

Posted by Sam Amick
==============
The Lakers rang with no call back as yet from the Kings, and it appears the pieces in that possible deal have not changed. The Lakers are willing to offer forward Lamar Odom, but the question is whether they’re willing to take on the contract of forward Kenny Thomas (two seasons, approximately $18 million left).

Comment by Gr8dunk — July 9, 2008 @ 2:04 pm

Also, Diop gets the full mid-level with the Mavs. That sort of illuminates the market for bigs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3480617

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 2:08 pm

Going into this offseason I was banking on the fact that Sasha and Rony would both receive offers. The thing is Rony would benefit career wise by leaving, he could actually put up some decent numbers on a lot of teams, and show that he has a lot more skill than people recognize. As far as Sasha, the system is set for him in LA and the coach likes him, a bit too much at times in my opinion. Sasha wont go anywhere personally I would rather keep Rony but as we are willing to open up the pocket book for Sasha he is no idiot and knows this is as good a situation as he will find.

Comment by Greg — July 9, 2008 @ 2:09 pm

Odom for Artest and Kenny Thomas doesn’t work in my book. Thomas is pretty much worthless, and absolutely HATED by the SAC fans. Do we re-sign Ronny if we make this trade? If not, then we are significantly weaker at the PF and C positions. Kenny Thomas is not a legitimate PF. He’s only about 6-7, he’s slow, and doesn’t have great hops to make up for his lack of height, speed, and shooting ability.

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 2:13 pm

55. Only $60m of Bogut’s contract is guaranteed, the rest is incentives.

Comment by matt. — July 9, 2008 @ 2:13 pm

A lot of good comments regarding payroll we already have two bad contracts in Luke and Vladman, I would rather let a couple players walk and pick up veterans than have two more on the books for years. Like a couple people already said the majority of the money needs to go to Kobe, Bynum, Gasol after that priorities for the long term need to be Ariza and Farmar. Those five should be the ones that lead this team to championships. With Kobe, Bynum and Gasol there will be plenty of veterans willing to sign for less to win championships, thats how it always is. Turiaf hasnt even made squat yet he deserves to chase the money for a couple years he will be back, he is a laker at heart.

Comment by Greg — July 9, 2008 @ 2:13 pm

LG Gold-Thanks. That still is too high. That 60 million dollar deal to Nene and the 65 million dollar deal to Dalembert, coupled with this Bogut deal really would make me happy if I were Drew Bynum’s agent. If he puts together a season that he was headed towards last year, it will be very hard for him to make the argument he deserves max dollars.

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 2:15 pm

Kwame a, I think you left out a negative in that last sentence.

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 2:17 pm

Oops, It will be very EASY for Bynum to make the argument that he deserves the max.

Comment by kwame a. — July 9, 2008 @ 2:17 pm

Has there been any discussion in the comments on this site about Darius Miles’s situation? As I understand it, Portland gets out from under his cap number next year if Darius stays retired, but if he is on some team’s roster for 10 games, then Portland is stuck with his contract on its salary cap. I think it makes sense for the Lakers to sign him as an end-of-the-bench guy, assuming he would agree to the veteran’s minimum (or even a non-guaranteed contract that becomes guaranteed after a certain number of games, a la Coby Karl). Frankly, I have no idea what he has left, and I know he’s a knucklehead, but maybe he could provide some energy and hustle minutes. He’d be playing to salvage his career, and you would think Kobe and Phill would keep him in line. It seems like it might be a good gamble that, at worst, screws Portland, one of our biggest rivals in the years to come. Frankly, I’d rather sign him than resign Karl or some other non-rotation minimum salary player.

Comment by JDS — July 9, 2008 @ 2:20 pm

61)

I have this sick fascination with wondering what stupid team is going to shell out for Kwame Brown. That Diop signing for the full MLE is absolutely ridiculous. I like Mark Cuban but the dude makes some questionable (at best) basketball decisions.

Comment by Andrew Z — July 9, 2008 @ 2:23 pm

I’d sign off on Odom+Mihm for Artest+Brad Miller.

Comment by chibi — July 9, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

66)

If Bynum has a full year like what he was heading towards last season there is no reason he shouldn’t get the max. I don’t think it would be wise for the Lakers to extend Bynum right now, it just doesn’t make sense financially.

Comment by Andrew Z — July 9, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

Elton to the Sixers(and they have a great shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals)…Corey to the Warriors (and getting over paid)..and Baron Davis to Purgatory.

Brand opted out so that the Clips could make moves…and they did and he walked anyway…but…didnt Baron Davis tell the Warriors the same thing?

Comment by burningjoe — July 9, 2008 @ 2:28 pm

After reading John Hollinger’s analysis of the 76ers after the Brand signing and what they still need, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a big push for Sasha.

They desperately need 3-point shooters and Sasha is probably the best on the market right now.

Comment by Andrew Z — July 9, 2008 @ 2:34 pm

What about Gasol acting as back up 5 and Odom at 4. Give Bynum, Gasol and Odom each 32 min per at 4 & 5 and use Ariza, Walton, Rad and Kobe at 3. This lets the bigs get fewer mins, doens’t play Odom out of postion at 3 and allows Gasol to play 5 when the match up is right. It bascially replaces Rony with Bynum only Andrew will get many more minutes and do it much better. We would of course sitll need more depth up front just in case of injuries

Comment by Da Bake — July 9, 2008 @ 2:46 pm

(70) Chibi,

I think you’re on the right track, and it might work for them since Mihm is an expiring. Brad and Ron would be a good fit for us. If they wanted two starting players for this year, we might give them Lamar and Vladimir.

Under those conditions, we wouldn’t need to sign Ronny–or anyone–as a free agent.

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 2:47 pm

70/76

Why would Sacramento want Odom (and no way they would take Rad’s contract)?

I am among the chorus that is anti-artest. I don’t think he makes the team better, but can definitely derail everything we worked toward last year.

Comment by beyondblue — July 9, 2008 @ 2:51 pm

ESPN radio broadcast the Elton-Falk press conference in Philly. Falk just filleted Donald Sterling in front of the cameras.

While this would put an entirely new light on Elton Brand leaving the Clippers, you have to ask a few questions before taking what Falk said at face value…
1) Falk doesn’t like Donald Sterling and has acted against the Clippers in the past when his clients had a choice. People don’t volunteer information like that without so other agenda.
2) When the Clippers couldn’t contact Elton through Falk, it was perfectly reasonable to have the coach - who had a good relationship with the player - try to contact him directly. Slamming the organization for having the coach call the player wasn’t really called for.
3) The Clippers had just reacted quickly to the Baron Davis opportunity, so the comments about the organization not being able to react with any speed don’t really hold water.

This sounds like an agent trying to move all the “blame” for the move off to the other organization, rather than admitting that he, the agent, also had an agenda in this affair.

Comment by Craig W. — July 9, 2008 @ 2:55 pm

I think you actually have to play Darius for at least 10 games, which is something no coach would do purely out of spite. Try explaining to the healthy hard-working player at the end of you bench that you’re playing the broken down player over him just to stick it to Portland.

And partially thanks to Reed’s comment, my head is actually coming around more and more on matching Turiaf (my heart’s been there from the beginning). If Diop is worth +5 mill, then maybe you can’t find a serviceable big for that much less than 4. And overpaying him by 1 or 2 mill isn’t at all the same as giving someone 4-5 too many, right? Obviously Kurt’s right that this isn’t our money we’re playing with, but if the choice is someone like Kurt Thomas who’s old and doesn’t have the chemistry for 3 million versus Ronny for 4, I think you gotta go with Ronny right? And our frontline is thin enough that we need someone there, so why not Ronny.

Comment by carter blanchard — July 9, 2008 @ 2:55 pm

Russell Westbrook is going to be a MONSTER

Comment by The Great Googly Moogly — July 9, 2008 @ 2:58 pm

(77) beyondblue,

They are looking for expiring contracts. Lamar and Chris would be perfect. Miller is on for two years, and they’ve got two other centers–one of them a very young first rounder–they are further over the cap than us right now.

Artest is relatively low risk for us because he is an expiring contract. We’d need to get rid of at least $7 million of Lamar’s contract (better the whole $14 million) anyway to have any credible shot at keep our young players next year.

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 2:59 pm

Da Bake,
Not a bad analysis. I doubt Gasol is going to back anyone up. It is more likely that Odom is the backup 4 and Gasol/Bynum leaves the game early, depending on matchups, performance, fouls. What I think this does is increase the chance that Mbenga gets resigned for next year, at the minimum.

Comment by Craig W. — July 9, 2008 @ 3:01 pm

Hey Andrew Z #74, the sixers might need a perimeter shooter but they don’t have the cap space to make that happen. In order to get Brand they had to trade Rodney Carney and a first round pick to Minnesota for their 2.8 million dollar trade exception and a second round pick. That right there shows you how capped strapped they are. The Spurs however may be interested in Sasha now that they’ve lost out on Magette. The Spurs are always fiscally responsible though, so we’ll see what they’re willing to pay. If it’s the full mid-level exception, the Lakers should think long and hard before matching that offer. I wouldn’t match that offer though since Sasha’s worth about $3 million a season.

Comment by terrence — July 9, 2008 @ 3:02 pm

The Odom for Artest stuff is a waste of time. The FO is not going to do this. You don’t make that kind of a risky move to a team that made the Finals without its starting center. Championship caliber teams make tweaks, not blockbusters. If the Lakers don’t win a championship next year, few will say it was because they didn’t have Ron Artest (especially with his history). But if they make the trade and Artest doesn’t live up to expectations (or melts down under the pressure), everyone is going to be on Mitch’s case saying “what the @#$% were you thinking, messing up a team like that?”

As far as Ronnie is concerned, his energy and attitude will be missed… but his fouling will not. You can’t get $8 million worth of play out of a dude who finds a way to get into foul trouble, even when he’s only on the court for 15 minutes. That has really been the difference in his career… and one of the main reasons we weren’t able to get more out of him in the playoffs. I hope he works that part of his game out. If he does, he will have a fine career.

Comment by DMo — July 9, 2008 @ 3:03 pm

GGM — I hope you’re right. Westbrook seems like a good kid and I’m always happy when UCLA alums do well.

But Westbrook’s performance in the SL isn’t a particularly good indicator of how he’ll do during the regular season. For example, Marco Bellini of GS was destroying the competition early on in last year’s SL, but was el busto during the regular season.

Comment by LG Gold — July 9, 2008 @ 3:12 pm

69. Darius Miles actually has to PLAY in 10 games, not just be on the roster for 10 games. And he has a 10-game drug suspension coming, so any team wanting to screw with the Blazers’ cap has to sign him for the whole season, then wait out the suspension.

79. If there were a direct correlation between summer league success and regular season success, Nikoloz Tskitishvili would have been an NBA MVP candidate years ago, and Marco Belinelli an All-Star last season. That said, I love Westbrook and think he’ll be a great pro. But let’s not get too excited about summer league results.

Comment by matt. — July 9, 2008 @ 3:15 pm

Could the loss of Ronny change the necessity of Artest?

Comment by Ben — July 9, 2008 @ 3:21 pm

Kurt,
Landry is not as cut and dried as many believe. If the Rockets sign Motumbo,Barry and their 2 rookies they’ll have 14 players under contract and only be some $400,000 under the Lux Tax. The owner is extremely reluctant to commit to the Lux TAx before he knows if Yao and McGrady will be healthy enough to make a Playoff run. Anything over $3mil and I seriously doubt Rockets match-esp as they have 4 PFs on roster as is. It appears Landry wants the full MLE.

Carl is a player who really gets the crowd going,but he has serious limitations. He created less than a half dozen shots for himself all yr long and got pushed off the court by physical PFs. Landry is a better finisher than Ronny,but far inferior as a defender and as of last yr Ronny had a much better J-and range on it. If you were going to spend $3-4mil on Landry,you’d be better served giving Ronny his money.

Even giving allowance for GS wanting to grab some local Laker fans,it’s quite telling they went for Ronny and not Landry.

Comment by Stephen — July 9, 2008 @ 3:30 pm

Well, if I’m the Clips, and I want to be competitive for the next few seasons, I go ahead and sign Baron. Then, I have to decide between Okafor and Josh Smith. If I have Baron already signed, then I choose Smith. He’s a much better open-court option to run with Baron. The Clips already have Kaman to man the low post in a half-court game. Kaman can trail the runners and set up down low if the transition opportunity isn’t there. With Josh Smith, Baron, Thornton, and Eric Gordon, that’s a pretty decent nucleus for the running game.

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 3:30 pm

72. If Bynum’s knee holds up under Zarzana’s workouts over the next couple of months, then they should have no worries about giving Bynum the extension.

Comment by Sean P. — July 9, 2008 @ 3:31 pm

I think Sam Amic writing something saying the Lakers called about Artest is the perfect example of wondering where that rumor started. It is possible that the Lakers did call, but what would the Sacramento front office motivation be for getting it out in the press? Maybe they want to do the deal with Kenny Thomas, the Lakers balked and they are hoping to put pressure on the Lakers front office by getting the LA fans worked up. Maybe Sacramento called LA and got rebuffed and is using this to see if they can pressure the Lakers (remember, telling the truth this time of year is far from required). Maybe Artest’s agent planted that trying to drum up trade talk after screwing up his client by telling him not to opt out. Maybe it’s none of the above and Sam’s source is questionable.

I’m not saying the talks aren’t taking place, I’m saying people don’t tell things like that to the media without a motive.

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 3:35 pm

89. The problem, if you are the Clips, is getting someone else to come. Barron did (to play with Brand?) but if you were Smith would you see the Clips as much better than Atlanta?

Comment by Kurt — July 9, 2008 @ 3:38 pm

I think people are making too much of Brand’s “betrayal”, he had the right to opt-out of his contract and as a free agent he has the right to find the best offer. It isn’t like Philly doesn’t have a good gore-group (A.I. p.2, Miller, Dalembert, Young) and a player’s coach in Cheeks. And in the East, he’ll have less of a struggle to get into the playoffs.

I think we are overrating both Turiaf and Sasha, I think Colby Karl can replace Sasha as a shooter, and I never saw Sasha a defensive stopper, that reputation got overblown by his play against Manu in the playoffs, and Manu was injured.
Turiaf got his money, he should go. The combo of Mihm/Mbenga can replace him.

Comment by O to the G — July 9, 2008 @ 3:41 pm

Odom for Artest sounds made up. Too much value (Odom) for too much uncertainty (Artest).

Comment by inwit — July 9, 2008 @ 3:46 pm

Now that Marc Gasol has signed with Memphis (supposedly 3 yrs/$10m total), it’s interesting to see what we could have kept for next season if we hadn’t traded for Pau:

Javaris Crittenton (backup PG), Darrell Arthur (backup SF/PF), Marc Gasol (backup C).

If all three of these guys become rotation players for Memphis next season, that trade won’t be seen by the national press as quite so lopsided. I think we here at FB&G already knew that Critt and Marc Gasol were always going to be legitimate NBA contributors.

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 3:53 pm

Since Kurt brought up the possibility of an Artest trade, I’m hoping I can get in a related question about the possibility of a nontraditional line-up with no true PG.

Fish is obviously getting on in years, and was never too quick to begin with. Farmar might be never amount to more than a very good back-up. And Sasha’s only hope to defend quick PGs is to annoy them.

So what about the Lakers playing Lamar at 1 on offense and 3 on defense, while playing Ariza at 3 on offense and 1 on defense, but mostly playing zone defense? Phil doesn’t seem enamored with zone defense, but it seems as though such a line-up would best utilize our roster.

Similarly, if the Lakers trade Farmar, Ariza & Mihm for Artest (the numbers work, but there’s no indication it’s being discussed), could the Lakers do well with a line-up of Bynum, Gasol, Artest , Kobe and Odom? Offensively, it would depend on Artest and Odom being able to hit 3s. But on defense, it would be a zone with Kobe and Artest on top.

It seems as though our main nemisis, the pick-and-roll, would be mostly neutralized by being able to switch on every pick.

Thoughts?

Comment by LG Gold — July 9, 2008 @ 3:55 pm

(96) These are ingenious ideas, LG, but they don’t take into account all of the complexities of rotations. It won’t happen on a regular basis.

But here’s the real kicker:

When the Lakers signed Pau, Lamar lost his job.

The Lakers can’t afford over $14 million for his services any more.

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 4:11 pm

All I been hearing about all day is how Elton Brand screwed the Clippers by going to Philly.

All I have to say, is that Elton Brand busted his ass night-in and night-out for the Clippers and never once complained about all the losing (remember, he didn’t even want to be here in the first place, the Clips matched his offer sheet from Miami when Brand reportedly begged Sterling not to match but he did anyway) and now he wants to get away from this cursed franchise and have a chance at winning.

I have always liked Elton Brand and I am sad to see him leave Los Angeles, but you can not blame the guy.

Comment by skigi — July 9, 2008 @ 4:15 pm

#58
The NBA collective bargaining does not allow contracts to have performance incentives based on the # of games played, performance, etc. Else, every team in the league would have that to guard against players who sign and get injured in week #2.

Comment by MannyP — July 9, 2008 @ 4:19 pm

Sorry to bring up Odom again, but since this thread has gone in that direction…If the Lakers can’t afford 14 Mil for LO’s services can they afford 14 mil for *anybody’s* services? I mean, in any trade they have to take back about the same amount of dollars that they give up (so if they only trade LO, then they’ll have to take back at least 12.5 mil in salaries). So what’s the point in trading LO, who’s contract expires at the end of next season, if the main concern is money? Now, if the main concern is fit, then go ahead and trade him. But realize that if you do trade him, you still have to deal with that salary commitment, and if that salary (or multiple salaries) go beyond next season, you’ve essentially extended that financial burden (considering an extention for Bynum and possibly Ariza) into the future by trading an expiring contract (Odom) for one that is longer (whoever we get in a trade). And it’s this concept that makes an LO for Artest swap even less likely. Not only does Artest make only half of what Odom makes, but his contract expires after next season as well. Does anyone want a 1 year rental on Artest and a 2 year commitment to Kenny Thomas for 17 mil? Or, does anyone want a 1 year rental on Artest and a 2 year commitment to Shareef for 12.8 mil? And I say a 1 yr. rental, because Artest’s deal expires after next year and after that he wants to get paid. He can say all he wants that he wants to play for a winner, but Artest has been one of the most underpaid players of the last 10 years. He’s an all-star talent making 1 mil more than RadMan. Just something to consider…

Comment by Darius — July 9, 2008 @ 4:29 pm

93) Well, it surprised me because I was sure Brand’s agent, David Falk, had been the one lobbying for Davis to sign with the Clips. If that’s the case, then… you know the rest…

I don’t think Brand signed with the Sixers for the money. I think it was more of the impression the Sixers organization left on Brand compared to the mess in Clipperville. That alone says a lot about the Clippers, and Donald Sterling.

It’s karma baby.

Comment by anoni — July 9, 2008 @ 4:31 pm

Hogwash. Odom will be back after this year, although I think he will take a pay-cut. He is not worth 14 mil… rather he is the usual 6-7 mil guy (people in Odom’s class are… people 3 classes below like Diop should not make near that much)

Comment by Troy — July 9, 2008 @ 4:48 pm

A little birdie told me that the Lakers are planning to match Ronny’s offer.

Comment by JONESONTHENBA — July 9, 2008 @ 5:18 pm

JONESONTHENBA - please tell me you’re lying.

Comment by The Great Googly Moogly — July 9, 2008 @ 5:22 pm

If the Lakers match Ronny’s offer, then I think any idea of trading Lamar is DOA, as we must shed pretty much all of his $14M next year to afford Bynum, Ariza, then Farmar.

Comment by Craig W. — July 9, 2008 @ 5:29 pm

Lakers did increase their ticket prices way more than the league average. Maybe that’ll help pay Ronny’s salary if they decide to match the offer.

Comment by me — July 9, 2008 @ 5:37 pm

Dude,
If the clips had a running style coach,I’d agree Smith makes most sense. But they have Dunleavy and Okafor makes more sense. Kaman and Okafor would be a strong defensive back-stop to the weak D out front and they would clean the glass pretty darn well and the gds and SF could do the running. And I think Bobcats would balk at $10mil plus for Okafor faster than Hawks would for Smith.
An interesting Plan B for Clips would be signing Davis,signing Okafor w/balance of cap room and offering the full MLE to JR Smith,trading Tim Thomas to Cavs for Varejao. The Clips would end up w/a pretty decent 9 man rotation of Kaman,Okafor and Varejao,Thorton,Smith,Maggette and Gordon,Davis and Knight.

Comment by Stephen — July 9, 2008 @ 5:54 pm

Someone I trust in the league told me that. But the person they talked with in the Lakers organization could be feeding them non-sense. He seemed to think it was true though…

Comment by JONESONTHENBA — July 9, 2008 @ 6:25 pm

Hate to go off topic, but if Howard Schultz ands up the owner of another franchise in Seattle, I think I’ll vomit. Thee NBA is intervening in Schulz case against Clay Bennett. Since the city has settled with Bennett, why is Schultz case still open, unless he’s trying to maneuver a good deal for himself.
Sell the franchise he knew would leave, look like the hero trying to prevent them to leave, ultimately get the now supportive and sad Seattle fans to approve a new arena or renovations for Key Arena, and get a brand new Sonic team, meanwhile making money on the old one.

Comment by wondahbap — July 9, 2008 @ 6:34 pm

Does anyone have INespn? There’s a story on the Rumors section about Turiaf signing an offer sheet. I am not a member so don’t have access.

Comment by magic days — July 9, 2008 @ 6:43 pm

Jones,

I think that there are some important things for the organization to review–to go through the “plan” again–but the decision to match the contract for Ronny doesn’t require some fancy cost/benefit analysis, or an ROI, or a review of the Buss family assets. It just requires common sense.

Ronny virtually gave his life with a prayer that he would become a Laker; when he made it through surgery, he became an almost spiritual force to the fans and to the team; judged objectively, he got a strong offer simply on the basis of his obvious talent–and there was more than one suitor; as a “big,” he might have done better statistically and financially if he hadn’t played out of position so much of his time–with limited time to prepare. Sometimes he got beat up so bad, he had to sit out some games. If the no brainer market is at least $2.5 million, and there’s nobody better at $4 million, can his ability to sell NBA good will and tickets to Lakers games worth a match of $4.25 million to keep him away from Nellie’s rascals?

Jonesy. I like those birds you hang out with!

Comment by drrayeye — July 9, 2008 @ 6:46 pm

Turiaf leaving makes the Lakers focus on Kurt Thomas all the more important. Even though the Spurs have no intentions of letting him go that easy.

Comment by Garcia Vega — July 9, 2008 @ 6:49 pm

Jones, that would be awesome if true re the Lakers matching for Ronny.

Kurt re Josh Smith coming to the Clips…Atlanta might not match if the Clips overpay. There’s a huge schism in the ownership there.

Stephen, your argument makes a lot of sense re Dunleavy being a defense-oriented, walk it up type of coach. It’s possible though that he could adapt his style to his personnel. You never know.

Comment by The Dude Abides — July 9, 2008 @ 7:45 pm

I have the feeling that the Lakers will match the offer. I think the world of Ronny, but he is getting $2 million a year more than I think he is worth.

The one reason that I think the Lakers should match is that it is only a four year deal, which can be three if you want to trade his contract as cap relief for another team in 2011. Also, as much as people out there are talking about Thomas, he is 35 year old and the Lakers would have to give him a contract similar to Turiaf’s, but a one or two years shorter.

I would rather have Turiaf and lose Vujacic if needed. I just feel it is the right thing to do.

Comment by Melvin Mason — July 9, 2008 @ 7:46 pm

Hi Kurt,

Why do you think the Lakers are not looking to trade or dump Chris Mihm? I love the guy but he’s practically being paid to be injured.

Comment by tonex — July 9, 2008 @ 8:03 pm

34– yeah, lamar must stay now, for sure. any rotation sans lamar would have depended heavily on turiaf. i wouldnt like to see that much workload go to a new guy, even if he’s a proven talent, simply because, he may not fit.
60– i really dont want that, and i dont think we’re going to move for artest
96–holy crap!!! i really dont see that happening
100– darius, good point, but you have to admit there is too much uncertainty about artest

and overall, although i’d miss turiaf, im not too worried about his departure. we’ve got bynum and mihm returning from injury, and depending on how those 2 are holding up, we can make our moves. overall, we’ve got 4 legit bigs in gasol, bynum, lamar and mihm + DJ
the initial speculation put turiaf’s contract at around 3M and sasha’s at 4. if we need a backup, maybe trying to get thomas to sign at 2M and saving 5M for sasha would be fine by me.

and as far as expiring contacts go, we’ve got mihm , LO and trevo. of these, unless LO takes a paycut, we would have to drop atleast one guy.

and then we’ve got vlad and luke as dead weight on the team for a long long time.

putting all these pieces together, i feel the next 2 seasons are HUGE for us. and if we make a gamble which doesnt pay off, we may be back to where we were last season. thats why i feel mitch has been so cautious.

Comment by rohan — July 9, 2008 @ 8:28 pm

Kurt,

Regarding this comment:
“Because of the Luxury Tax, the $4 million for Ronny is really $8 million, and that is too much for a 15-minute a game bench big.”

I think it’s a bit unfair to look at it that way, since it’s the entire team’s salaries that contribute to having to pay the lux tax. It just so happens that it’s Ronny’s contract and the timing of it that will put them over, when the reality is that the entire team’s salary is responsible. With that thinking, would you pay the additional $4mil to keep that group out there? I don’t agree with the thinking that we would be paying $8 mil to keep a 15 minute big. I would agree that we would be paying $4 mil to keep the team intact.

Comment by raymeister — July 9, 2008 @ 8:34 pm

115,

Chris Mihm had a player option to stay or go this final year of his contract.

Comment by jwl — July 9, 2008 @ 8:46 pm

Rohan (#116)
I agree completely about Artest being an uncertainty. I’m truly an advocate for Lamar; I’m not sure if that was conveyed in my earlier post. My main point is: For those that advocate trading Lamar because of his salary, realize that we would be taking back equal salary in any trade, so what are we saving in salary? (quick answer: nothing.) And for those advocating trading Lamar because of his fit at SF, please consider the salary implications of that trade. Basically, trading Lamar is not something I support, basketball wise (even moreso now because of the potential Turiaf departure and LO’s ability to give you minutes at multiple positions) or business wise (because we’d be taking back equal salary and for a potentially longer period since LO expires next season).

Comment by Darius — July 9, 2008 @ 9:09 pm

The Clippers should go for Okafor. Kaman is a good low-post scorer, and Okafor is a good low-post defender. They would be a good combo. If they offered him 5 / $75m, the Bobcats might consider not matching. Granted they’d be overpaying for him, but it might be worth it to recover from the Brand debacle.

If that doesn’t work, I think they should front-load Baron’s contract, give him a huge salary in year 1 and a smaller salary in year 2, giving them big cap space again next summer.

109. The purpose of Howard Schultz’s lawsuit is not to regain ownership himself, it’s to undo the sale. His lawsuit proposes taking the team away from Bennett and placing it in trust while looking for a new owner to sell it to.

110. I have ESPN insider, but I don’t bother with their rumors section because it sucks. Just go to the HoopsHype rumors section, they have all the same stuff that ESPN does, and lots, lots more.

Comment by matt. — July 9, 2008 @ 9:20 pm

Darius,
A trade involving Lamar would be done if the Lakers get someone who is worth 14M (presumably with a longer contract, which is why a team would consider that) or if they could get a cheaper player they will keep (i.e. who addresses a weakness) and an expiring contract or another cheaper player who could replace someone currently on the roster. That is why they would consider it.

Comment by exhelodrvr — July 9, 2008 @ 9:56 pm

Here is a list of unrestricted free agent centers/power forwards, according to Chad Ford: Kurt Thomas, Kwame Brown, Eduardo Najera, Matt Barnes, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick O’Bryant, Robert Horry, Jamal Magliore, Michael Doleac, Theo Ratliff, Primoz Brezec, Francisco Elson, and Adonal Foyle. Of that list, only Thomas, and Najera do anything for me. None of them are particularly good, but they all seem serviceable.

Thomas would be the pricey option, but would still be cheaper than matching GS on Turiaf. I’m not going to go into him since others have already done so.

Najera, though, I think would be a good option. He’d bring a good chunk of what Turiaf brought: he’s a solid a solid energy guy and would be loads cheaper than matching Turiaf. His PER is well down on Turiaf of course (12.07 for Najera compared to 15.05 for Turiaf), but I bet he could be had for ~ $6m over 2 years. Anyways, the Lakers don’t really need scoring from their backup center since Gasol will also spend time at that position. They need an energy and defense and Najera can bring some of that.

As for a replacement for Sasha, should be bolt . . . well, there’s a lot of options. As good as Vujacic was, I think we really are overrating him as a player. He was serviceable, and basically got his name for doing just about what he was supposed to do: hit open jumpers when defenders swarmed Kobe. Even then, he really played mediocre defense all year long, and even worse in the playoffs (his play against a gimpy Ginobli notwithstanding). If some team signs Vujacic to an outrageous offer sheet, I think the Lakers should let him go, since there are a lot of options out there, like Carlos Delfino, Antoine Wright, and, hell, Brent Barry. Don’t forget, the Lakers are going to get Sun Yue from the Chinese National Team, n all likelihood, too

ButI’m going to throw a wild idea out there. What if the Lakers could get Matt Barnes for cheap? With all the money that GS is throwing out and wih Ellis and Biedrins being higher priority, he maybe had for very little. Yeah, he’s listed as a 4, but that’s only in Golden State’s run-and-gun system and he’s actually the same height as Vujacic. His outside shot fell off last year, but in 06-07, he hit the 3 pointer 36% of the time. No, that’s not anywhere near as good as Sasha’s last year, but he had so many open looks it’s not even funny. I think Barnes would be better at the 2 or 3. He’s not particularly good inside, true, but he could definitely be pressed into service there if need be, too. Just an idea. Of course I’d rather have Sasha than Barnes, but if it comes down to a dramatic difference in salary, I’d probably go with a Delfino or a Barnes instead of overpaying Vujacic.

http://artofthesport.blogspot.com

Comment by RT — July 9, 2008 @ 10:11 pm

(119) Darius,

2008-2009 is Lamar’s last contract year. Last year was Kwame Brown’s final contract year. Memphis didn’t offer him a contract, and this year their salary cap is $10 million lower.

Every NBA basketball team has to deal with salary issues. Early in a player’s car