Comments on: Live Chat, and Other Thoughts

By: dxmanners

dxmanners — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:01:57 +0000

I like the idea of Kwame coming back. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks this way. It was never his fault he was the #1 pick. Solid defender, strong as an ox, and fun with a birthday cake. He really fell apart after all the booing started-thanks Steve Hartman-and his offense, which used to come in fits and starts, becames mostly fits. Off the bench, muscle up, block a shot or two, make a few putbacks-it’s possible. Lower your expectations people and have fun with the redemption process. It’s what we do in this country… If you’ve ever heard him interviewed, he is a pretty sharp guy, not the sullen cement head you may think he is. Don’t really think Mihm is going to contribute much before he gets hurt again.

By: Craig W.

Craig W. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:37:41 +0000

Kwame and Memphis’ run-n-gun offense — what’s missing in this comparison?

Kwame was never considered by Memphis because his skills just do not fit their system, not because he doesn’t have any skills. If the Laker FO is one of the better ones in the NBA and they say they see something in Kwame after he is gone, then I have to think they see things we fans just don’t. Not exactly a new situation, is it?

By: inwit

inwit — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:29:51 +0000

Who plays the fool?

By: j. d. hastings

j. d. hastings — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:45:26 +0000

Kwame was primarily a disaster because of the money we gave him. When we traded him I saw a strong possibility that we’d get him back at the minimum for next season. I saw that he was working out with the hawks and they were curiously complimentary of him, but if he was paid closer to what a Mbenga or other niche backup earned, he might be worth it. We’re already relying on Mihm for those minutes. I doubt we pick up another undrafted FA, but if the option is Kwame or that undrafted FA or just Mihm, I can understand signing him.

The rest of the azenby piece is worrisome but not immediately so. It does explain some of the weirdness with how Bynum went about rehabbing. I don’t know if I am more scared by the Jim Buss/ squabbling kids element or Bynum’s aloofness towards the lakers. Putting these allegations with the Kobe incident, and I worry about his loyalty. Though in this business, nobody’s really loyal, so I don’t know why I should worry about it. I trust Lazenby, but if he’s reporting a he said/she said, then the uncertainty would be in the motivation of his sources. But even then the existence of the power struggle would still be accurate…

Which brings me to my book suggestion: King Lear, by William Shakespeare?

By: exhelodrvr

exhelodrvr — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:35:16 +0000

drrayeye,
1) Never believe public statements by front office staff.

2) If he is that good a defender, why is Memphis making no effort to keep him? A young big, great defender,relatively cheap – seems like the perfect candidate for a team that is rebuilding. Come to think of it, no other teams (as far as I know) are trying to sign him, either. You think he’d be a great addition to a playoff team looking to get “over the hump.” Utah lacks size, why not them?

By: Kurt

Kurt — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:34:11 +0000

New “Lakers I Miss: Pat Riley” post up, complete with a 1974 Pat Riley topps card picture to go with it.

By: drrayeye

drrayeye — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:20:17 +0000

(94) The Laker coaching staff said that Kwame was the best one on one defender in the NBA. That’s why they extended his contract to last year. Go argue with them.

Other than to prove himself, why would Kwame come back?

By: inwit

inwit — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:56:26 +0000

Bynum didn’t show “attitude,” he showed he has the fire and drive to be a great player. He wants to be a leader. There is nothing wrong with standing up for yourself in a competative atmosphere.

As to Lazenby, who are his sources? Could Phil Jackson be playing the media game again?

By: chris h

chris h — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:40:58 +0000

Luke, I’m not so sure that your statement -

“(Ronnie) Good attributes for any player but not nearly worth 17mil but what you get with Kwame is a young and impressive physical speciman that hasn’t even reached his full potential yet in the league”

is accurate. I don’t know that he has more ‘potential’ than we’ve seen over the past 4 years, he barely got off the bench for…Memphis!
granted he is a “physical specimen”, there’s no doubt about that, my problem with Kwame is all in his head.
and seems to be lacking some heart, too.
kind seemed like for Kwame it was “just a game” , not to be taken too seriously, and this is not good, especially on a team with Kobe, who takes it so seriously, I wouldn’t want to see him go off on a teammate for goofing off in a game.

By: DY

DY — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:32:32 +0000

Kwame coming back to LA for a low offer would speak volumes about his motivation. You would have to give him kudos for coming back despite the negative reception of him while he was here. I can respect that proverbially speaking, he ‘fell’ (got traded to Memphis) but has the gumption to get back up.

Also, in the god-forsaken scenario where Bynum is unavailable or is limited, we will need a strong back-up center and do we really wanna see Mbenga play that many minutes?

Does anyone recall how Kwame reacted to having Bynum usurp his starting position? (this is an actual question, not rhetorical) Did he take it professionally?