After the Lakers had their tails kicked by the Clippers, their head coach poured a bit of salt in their wounds by calling them soft (equating that to a slap in the face) while noting that he’s interested in seeing how his team responds after getting beat so severely. He essentially made it seem that the Lakers should come out and play much harder and not get rolled on like they did by the Clippers.
Well, tonight is their chance to do just that. The Orlando Magic visit Staples Center tonight and will try to improve on their 13-25 record that has them only two games behind the Miami heat for the 8th seed in the East. Orlando offers a nice young roster with some talent that is improving and, with some more seasoning, could form the foundation of an interesting team moving forward.
While they lack that transcendent superstar player in the Shaq/Penny/McGrady/Dwight mold they’ve had in the past, they have several quality youngsters who I like a lot. It starts in their backcourt with Victor Olidipo and Elfrid Payton. Both lottery picks, the young guards offer some athleticism, smarts, and most of all hard work. And in the front court they have Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic who, have developed into nice rotation players in the past couple of seasons. It’s a shame that rookie Aaron Gordon is out for the year or I truly believe that this group, along with Channing Frye, Kyle O’Quinn, Evan Fournier, and Luke Ridnour have a nice mix of youth and experience to try and take a step forward this year. Though, to be fair, some of this may simply come down to coaching as Jauque Vaughn hasn’t really shown the creativity and savvy hoped for coming out of the Spurs’ organization.
In saying all this, in a way, it doesn’t really matter who tonight’s opponent is. If you’re a Lakers fan, what you’re really looking for is some sort of bounce back effort from Wednesday’s game against the Clipps. The Lakers are better than they showed and, in losing the way they did, brought back some of the bad feelings they’d experienced early in the year when they were getting their hats handed to them regularly. So, while X’s and O’s matter, I guess what I’m really eyeing tonight is how the team responds and whether they can find some of the better play they’d achieved during the previous four games.
Because, if they can’t bring some of that tonight, it may really be time to make some of the changes many (including me) have been hinting at over the course of the first 30 plus games. And with the trade deadline coming up in a month and several western teams making moves recently to solidify their lineups in the hopes of making a strong push in the lead up to the run towards the playoffs, the Lakers may need to join that action and shape up their roster in a way that better promotes long term planning.
Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on TWC Sportsnet. Also listen on ESPN Radio 710AM Los Angeles.
Ko says
No Kobe tonight. Tank away. 24 million to play once a week.
Amazing!
karen says
You can bet your sweet @@@ kobe won’t sit out the all star game. He can’t possibily have any conscious. Did you notice how tom brady restructured his contract so his team has money to go and get quality players. Kobe and nash = total greed
Ko says
Feel sorrry for the fans who paid top dollar for seats only to be bait and switched by the FO. They wait to the last minute to tell the fans after its to late. Wonder how smart Time Warner feels as there might be 50 people watching tonight. Borderline fraud.
Shamefull! Must be resting for the All-star game. At home and the guy plays one game this week and goes 2 for 12 with 4 points and 7 turnover.
Losing respect for all parties.
Ko says
Ryan Jelly us not even a good D Leager.n
Ko says
Nick young being exposed. Last 8 games shot is gone.
Craig W. says
Ko,
You really sound bad to be so negative when the Lakers would seem to be leading with team play and looking good. Stop looking under rocks for what is wrong and try following the team.
Ko says
Craig Orlando is the worst scoring team in the NBA and are in this due to turnovers by our guards. That kind iof play seldom wins game. long time to go. Hope I am wrong but very sloppy play..
Anonymous says
Young us killing this team. Another 20% game. Need more black and Clarkson. Get nick out.
Ko says
2 for 13. And keeps shooting and 28% last 8 games and 6 for his last 28.
Very impressed with Tarik.
Rob Westbrook says
Well at this rate, Kobe will pass Karl Malone in 2022…
Reggie Hammond says
Streaky P ko dudes had way more good games then bad
Ko says
So the new Gold is Black? Have to wonder why he sat for 5 games? Guy has some game.
dxmanners says
Tarik Black is a breath of fresh air, hustle all the way and humble on the postgame. He has some bounce.
Kelly, Black, Clarkson, Randle, Davis-it’s a start.
It kills me Lakers traded away so many picks.
JohnnyP says
OMG !! I LOVE TARIK BLACK!!!
Remember folks it is still mathematically possible for the Lakers to squeak into the playoffs. Then we’re only 16 victories away from NBA GOLD !
GOOOoooOOOOO LAKERS !!
AusPhil says
Karen – Not that they would, but Kobe & Nash can’t restructure their deals. NBA rules don’t allow it. I know we’d like it to be different, but they’re not the ones who offered the money…
tankyou says
Happy we beat the lowly Magic. I’m going to wait and see us play against stiffer competition though before getting to excited about the team play/and Tarik Black. We are clearly better than the magic though, but wow Black/Boozer were rebounding machines.
If we shot a bit better it would have been a complete blowout. We need Swaggy hitting shots again, and please keep giving Lin/Black more minutes. Three more home games, maybe we can pull off a win streak?! Kobe should be back for Sundays game. He’s getting more rest than I expected, I thought it was going to be mostly back-to-back games only.
karen says
So the nfl Player can restructure contracts but nba cannot.
minorthreatt says
Black’s performance tonight surely means Jordan Hill’s days are numbered. The Lakers need to see what they have here, and if Hill could get a first-rounder then they almost have to do it.
Does Boozer have any value at all to a contender? Is he cheap enough to net a couple of second-rounders? We need to replace them too.
J C says
Tarik Black. Wow.
His addition to the roster does make it seem like one of our other big men may be expendable, but…how great was it to see Black, Hill, Davis and even Kelly flirting with double-doubles?
Black’s post-game interview was awesome. He’s bright and humble.
I realize the Lakers were playing Orlando, but having multiple glass-eaters on the roster really raises the bar.
Let’s see how we play moving forward.
No Kobe again was odd.
Perhaps he’s really got something bothering him physically. He may be letting down after passing MJ and he may be wondering if his efforts are being wasted on a non-contending team.
Robert / from last thread-
Great JW story, thanks for sharing it.
I can totally picture him reacting like that.
Ultra-cool that you wore his jersey number.
Off topic dept:
Saw the Long Beach State vs UCI game Thursday night. Fun game. We had pretty good seats. Who comes and sits down right in front of us? Doc Rivers, whose son is on the UCI roster. I leaned forward and asked him to take it easy on my Lakers next time.
He looked back at my son and I and laughed. “Sorry, I can’t do that!”
Eventually more fans began to recognize him and he happily posed for several photos until security posted two guys nearby so he could watch the game.
He seemed like a really good, genuine guy.
Nice to see that.
Jo Houston says
If you don’t know that NBA contracts can’t be restructured then you better not comment on player contracts.
tankyou says
My hope for the Lakers was that perhaps Chicago would balk on giving out Jimmy Butler a max contract–and we maybe could snag him. Honestly I think he’s the best player out there next year with offense/defense and Youth. But he’s a restricted free agent. Derrick Rose is seriously not very good anymore even when he’s healthy. Rose is only averaging 4.8assists w/ 3.3 TO’s per game, which isn’t horrible but nothing good either. But Rose just isn’t a good shooter, 39%/25% from 3pointand YET he leads the bulls in FGA’s at 15.7 b/c he USED TO BE Derrick Rose.
So many players continue to get minutes and special circumstances not based on merit. Rose isn’t even a top 20 Point guard anymore. So when his contract is finally up it will be real interesting to see what happens with him. Just like Rondo who I would say is maybe around 20th best point guard IF THAT. Yet Rondo is going to get a max or near max contract!? Lin is better than Rondo at this point, except for passing/rebounding. Rondo’s D is not good anymore, he is a lousy shooter. Yet his past continues to pay for his future.
@JC, I think that Kobe has hit the reality Check that he just can’t play NBA ball night in and night out anymore. So beyond them not being a contender, its more just dealing with pain and slow recovery time and likely being frustrated with how many lousy games he is putting out there when he does play. But he is getting paid 24mill to play, so I hope he plays more than this. At this rate he looks like he’s going to play half the games or so. But players shouldn’t go all out b/c of them being a “contender” or not, he’s getting paid bank, and 90% of all the players in the league don’t play on contenders. It was a pipe dream that the Lakers would somehow become a contender within 2 years anyway. Making the playoffs again in 3-4 years is going to tough enough.
Oldtimer says
Bravo! I saw Lakers future last night starting from – Price, Clarkson, our 7th pick (already forgot his name due to prolonged absence), Black, Kelly, Ellington and Davis. This is how the supporting cast would look like if they are serious in competing for the playoffs. It is the responsibility of FO and Jimbo to assemble the starters with at least 2 marquee players and 2 mid-tier veteran stars plus Young as SG. Lakers will be back in business heading to WCF in ’17. If the above names are considered as starters, then it is difficult to get off the hump against starting team of good teams. Having said that, FO should re-sign good players now before they elude again and test the market.
Practically, Lakers won that game against Blazers in Portland, however they can’t close 4th Q, got intimidated by Lilliard. On the next game, I suggest double teaming Damian from the get go up to the end of 4th Q. This is like disabling a snake, if you cut the head, then the body will just keep on wiggling then stop for good. I think Price and Clarkson can do the job plus the service of tall Lakers with longer reach like Kelly and Sacre, see if Damian can dictate the pace of the game or could pass that ball.
Robert says
Karen: NBA contracts are different however many people on this board have implied otherwise. The $24 million for both this year and next year is effectively spent money against the cap no matter what happens. If Kobe were to get hurt or retire, we would get an exception like we did with Nash, but we do not get the cap money back. You are being unfair to Kobe with your ASG comment. Kobe has been named to 16 ASGs. In 2010 he did not play, even though he played in games in the regular season right up next to the game. During 2008 he played for 3 minutes, because the league forced him to, otherwise he would have sat even though he was playing in the regular season. So both of these times he did the opposite of what you are saying. Other than Kobe playing in the ASG (which may not happen), we have very few highlights remaining this year.
Kobe: I am officially worried about Kobe’s health now. I think there could be a specific injury or two that is acting up. Kobe says “old age”, but I am beginning to worry that there is something specific.
Rob W: “2022” You can’t be serious about a 6 year extension? Or could you be? : )
rr says
>>>I think there could be a specific injury or two that is acting up.
Maybe, but I doubt it, actually.
As to the contract thing, while people should post whatever they want within DS’s guidelines, again–in my personal opinion some people should just simply say that they don’t like Kobe and wish he were off the team.
As to Black, in his brief time playing for Houston, he showed that he can get on the O glass, so I think that is probably a real skill. In preseason, after the team signed Boozer, I made the comment that I would have preferred that the Lakers had simply picked up a young guy who would play hard at PF for the minimum–IOW, a guy like Tarik Black. DS made a comment on Twitter about the front court being crowded with guys who should get some burn now, and that is the case even with Randle’s injury. Hill is the obvious guy to go.
tankyou says
Well the other HUGE market team the Knicks have now lost 15 in a row! Wow, that’s impressive especially in the east, they have a good shot of keeping that loss streak alive.
If we play nearly as well Sunday as last game, we have a shot at the Blazers. As many have suggested, I hope they do some trapping and doubling of Lillard sprinkled throughout the game, but especially at the end of the game. Make someone besides Lillard shoot.
@rr, agree Kobe isn’t hurt, he’s just struggling physically with soreness and joint pain due to mileage and age. Kobe has played massive numbers of minutes at an intense level, the body just can’t handle it–that’s the price you pay for playing an explosive sport like basketball for so long. That’s why I keep saying that I think this year is the best we can hope for from Kobe due to physical realities. Robert’s comments on contract extensions for Kobe just seem completely unrealistic. There are not enough platelet treatments and days off for him to recover properly. Do Kobe fans really want to see a guy struggle to be even decent? I for one would rather him sit out a lot and at least look good some games when he does play, rather than try to play often and stink up the gym. No disrespect to Kobe but his is the past, the only difference between him and Magic Johnson is that Kobe is still playing.
@Oldtimer, “the lakers future”. You included Ronnie Price (who is 31) who will be 32 next year as our future? The FO may not even sign Ellington and Davis, although I think they are both worth trying to retain. So Lin isn’t worth retaining then, if we can keep him for maybe 4 mill next year? Clearly you don’t like Lin, but I hope they keep him if its for less than 5mill a year, he has low mileage and is going into his basketball prime years. I like Price, but he needs to sit the bench and play no more than 20mins a game, if we are truly looking to the future. There are no other good point guards out there that aren’t old that we can get without making trades next year.
tankyou says
The “soft” Mavericks just got spanked by the Clippers.
Future “max” player Rondo got owned. Of course he continued his horrible shooting going 1-11 from the field. Rondo is a seriously over-rated player Ainge was smart to move him. Whoever signs him for his 30-34 year old self is making a big mistake.
Oldtimer says
Tankyou, I like Lin for $3M only which is impossible to have him, he’s actually paid for 14.8M by Houston, Lakers got a discount through trade ramification for 8M. I believe other teams will grab him more than what Lakers can offer. His deficiency is defense, can’t stop any PG around, same with oldie Boozer. There are lots of PG’s around, Suns has three, one of them would surely test the market. I think Price can still play up to 3 yrs and he is more of role player. I don’t know the progression curve of Clarkson who keeps on improving every game.
Here is my reading on Kobe, he is sensitive with criticisms but would not admit it. By the mere fact, that he keeps on repeating that he is old and needs rest, I think that is more of a sarcasm than the truth. He showed this attitude when Lakers were in the playoffs against Suns, he intentionally did not shoot in the second half of a deciding game. Somehow, the haters get into his nerve who have been questioning his swagger for the last 19 years. I also don’t understand why people keep on hammering the guy who helped the Lakers in so many ways since age 17 and blamed him for accepting a rich contract. If Lakers did not sign him, well another team will get him for that amount. Similar circumstances if Lakers signed Shaq in ’94, stubborn Kobe would go to the Clippers.
rr says
No disrespect to Kobe
—
Uh-huh.
Chearn says
On January 2, in the game against Memphis I watched Kobe speak to the trainer several times in which two of those times the trainer and Kobe went to the locker room during the competition. During timeouts, Kobe stretched his back that suggests to me that something is off kilter in that regards.
Many of you don’t like our role players, but our entire team is replete with players in that category. Those players are forced to play out of position in starting positions. Our team needs to remain intact unless or until management devises a long-term strategy to build a championship team.
The Clippers can eat Rocks!!!!!
rr says
I also don’t understand why people keep on hammering the guy who helped the Lakers in so many ways since age 17 and blamed him for accepting a rich contract.
—
Visibility and long-term feelings that people, even some Lakers fans, have always had about him. But, the thing is–losing is losing, with or without Kobe, and most fans, if their team is going to lose, want the team to do it with young guys. We see here that most people at FBG seem happiest when they can talk about guys like Clarkson, Black, and Kelly. So, the FO either didn’t realize this, or they overrated what KB would be able to do on the floor, or both. I am sure that KB still sells tickets, but the effects of that will dissipate, especially since he is going to be missing games periodically. And he is getting paid the same money again next year.
Ko says
Tankyou those stats on Rose are better then Kobe’s. We all know for 17 years he has played all out. Now I wonder if he has become Steve Nash, the mind says play the body says no. My only issue is BS knew by 1 Kobe was not playing yet waited till 6 to announce it. Is that fair to fans deciding to buy tickets? Wonder if that came from FO.
rr says
Pau has a 40/16…after three quarters. He has scored 40 of Chicago’s 68 points.
Shaun says
Ugh … missing pau … should have retired here
rr says
He finished with a 46/18, on 17/30 shooting.
Rubenowski says
Just saw some highlights from the game. Everyone here is big on Tarik Black and so am I. He wants to “go get it.” To get them rebounds you gotta want it, and it looks like he wants it bad. He’s got the energy. I’m very happy the Lakers claimed him. I can definitely see him, Julius and Clarkson as nice pieces for the future. Add Nick Young to that group and that’s the second coming of the bench mob. And if Ryan Kelly develops a nice game then that’s definitely a bench to be reckoned with. Of course, this assumes that Julius and Tarik are not starters. Man, I hope Julius comes back from injury and develops into a good player. I’d really hate to hear about another NBA career gone bad due to injuries.
Now if Kupchak and Presti hear about Darius’s trade proposal…look out!
Anonymous says
So glad we got some good assets for Pau…oh wait our FO let him walk away for nothing..
Oldtimer says
rr, When Kobe shoots too much, I made some criticisms too. Lately, he made adjustments on his game which is about right but his shooting performance was sacrificed as well. Immediately, we jump into conclusion that it’s physical wear and tear, I don’t know I consider Kobe as an intelligent player with enigma, he could play around fans too. My own interpretation, he is not motivated to work under this kind of surroundings wherein his teammates are inconsistent. At this point of his career, he’s completing his contract while his peers or shall we say fellow Olympians, or ASG are all resting, nursing some injuries or on r&r like Nash, Lebron, Wade, Dwight, Rondo, KG, Duncan so why not take advantage of rest, anyway if he plays well, Lakers are still going to lose majority of the games. If the team wins, some fans feel unhappy because Lakers might not make the Magic 5 from the bottom. I don’t think he is happy either with the direction made by the owners who shipped out all his former teammates, will he rant again on his last two years? Will he continue lambast and embarrass his teammates just like what he did in practice in El Segundo? Whatever he does or did in the past he will be second guessed. Where is the motivation to succeed when the goal is more on tanking than winning? Will he have the motivation of a young rookie like Clarkson who have bright career ahead? Based on human behavior theory wants, it is a normal reaction that when you reach retirement age either you get out with flare if there is a higher goal like in his case the 6th ring and the opposite behavior to it, you get into lame duck mode by going with what the boss wants and depart the place quietly. My 2 cents analysis of the situation.
Chearn says
Pau is a ballhog!
Tra says
Couldn’t be any happier for “The Spaniard” .. Always knew that he had a substantial amount of gas left in his tank. Unfortunately, due to the way that he was being featured, and more importantly, positioned, within the offense by D’Antoni , it wasn’t easily recognized. This is why I was an advocate of Pau moving on once he became a FA (although, what I was truly hoping was for the FO to move him at the trade deadline last season for a draft pick). Even though his stats this season aren’t significantly much different from last season’s, it’s easy to see that he’s enjoying himself a lot more and that he’s definitely more engaged. Going about, night in and night out, proving that he’s still one of the best big men in the ..A
Jo Houston says
Look stop playing revisionist history. Pau hasn’t been this healthy in the last 4 years. Not even in Phil’s last year. This is not the player MD had.
tankyou says
@JoHouston, agree with you Pau was hurting all the time and his foot/feet were messed. Still think MDA misused him, but Pau is highly skilled and has a nice shot–so MDA likely thought Gasol could be a floor spreader.
Pau G wanted to contend for another championship, not spend a few years losing as a Laker. They offered him what 10mill or so, more than Chicago, but clearly the Bulls had a much better roster. So good for him, he helped us win a championship here which was slightly unexpected that year. He gets to go out chasing a ring or at least winning a lot of games. IF he had stayed here we would be marginally better, maybe he wins us an extra 5-6 games or so. We still would have NASH 10mill no play to deal with which would be hard on any team. It’s not just that the roster isn’t that good–its that we haven’t had the team we PAID for a single game. Maybe by now Randle would be a big contributer, with Swaggy we wouldn’t have lossed so many the first few weeks of the season. With Kelly we sneak out a couple extra wins. A lot of people rip on our roster, but the actually roster hasn’t played 1 single game together. We have played almost the entire season short 4-5 guys every single game.
KenOak says
OMG! Pau took 30 shots through 3 quarters? What a ballhug. /s
Seriously though…Great night for Pau and it’s not even a debate about whether or not D’Antoni misused him. We all know it happened. I think it says something about you, as a coach, when you can’t use one of the best post players in the NBA.
Robert says
tankyou: It was just a couple of weeks ago that you and others on this board were clamoring for Kobe to become a ball sharing, Magic type player and if he did, we would be a decent team. Now you are saying he is ready for retirement and is the physical equivalent of a guy who has been retired for 20 years (even though you mean no disrespect). So I guess there must have been some miscalculation in terms of what Kobe and this team can do? That said as rr has stated many times, we should all admit our basic opinions about Kobe. My opinion is clear. I will remain loyal to Kobe for the duration. Ironically, as I have said repeatedly, this Kobe loyalty does not get in the way of my Laker loyalty, even though you think it does. I was against the amount of the extension, and prior to that I was willing to consider trading or amnestying Kobe (or simply letting him walk). I am a Laker fan first. I wore Jerry West’s #, I loved Magic like no other athlete in history, and now Kobe has even exceeded that. I would really like to have the next Laker superstar inherit the mantle but that is not yet on the horizon. The Lakers are a mess and as you should know, I blame that on the FO and mostly on Jim Buss. We have ripped through coaches (and now you and others want another one), we made a debacle of the DH situation, we made a debacle of the Phil situation, we have been unable to attract free agents, we have traded away many of our picks, and we have mishandled elite players to force them to leave (Pau). Starting 3+ years ago I constantly posted on this board that the Lakers were making mistakes and were headed for serious trouble. I have been negative on Jim Buss since day 1. I will admit that I got optimistic when we signed DH, but that optimism was dashed when we dissed Phil and signed MD. Since that day, the only optimism that I have had has centered on Kobe. I write Kobe Alerts and cheer for Kobes, because that is all I have. If Jim and the FO give me something else – then I will cheer for it. Kobe is signed for the next 1 1/2 years. Why would we not want him to play that out successfully and root for him? The money is spent. As far as an extension beyond that, I have explained that. Yes – I want him to keep playing – of course if he is able to. I said in several different posts that I think we should go into next year with clarity. Is it a retirement tour or are we extending him? Leaving doubt around this would not be good. If Kobe’s health does not hold out – it is a moot point, but this was the same discussion last time. Many thought Kobe would retire after year 18 and the Lakers would have a relatively clean cap in 14. I was hoping for a reasonable extension. Then the FO signed him at $24 per, so at that time I realized there was nothing else to root for other than Kobe’s records. So – why is your beef with Kobe? Isn’t your beef with someone else? At some point you will get your wish and Kobe will be gone. However – Jim Buss will still be here. To make my position on loyalty to Kobe vs. loyalty to the Lakers clear: If somehow you crafted a deal that Jim Buss would immediately and permanently remove himself from all operations of the Lakers, in exchange for Kobe’s immediate retirement, I would support that.
J C says
Great for Pau.
He deserves everything he gets.
Best player in that gold medal game US against Spain.
After the way the FO shopped him for years here, is there any question what advice he would give his brother Marc about coming here?
It’s kind of a shame that Pau wasn’t afforded the respect the Lakers traditionally show their veterans.
tankyou says
@Robert, I never said he was physically like Magic Johnson of present! You are reading things that aren’t there. I said Kobe’s time is past, just like Magic Johnson is a representative of the Lakers great past. Kobe continues to play, but his legendary days are behind him. Clearly he is not the same as physically retired people. Kobe still can play a game here and there at a high level, he just can’t recover physically anymore to do that on a consistent basis. As I stated before, I would rather see Kobe play well and less often and save himself physically than play all the time like he did most of this season–yet shoot horribly and struggle to play any defense.
I don’t think the team would be “decent” but definitely better with Kobe being a distributer. The Stats prove this thus far, Kobe averages double the amount of assists in the games we win (that he plays in). I’m for trying to see the best team possible, Kobe when rested I believe still makes us a better team–when he picks better shots. Kobe shooting 30 shots wasn’t helping us, and from Kobe’s public comments it was hurting him worse physically than being more of a passer. So I don’t know why you guys read that into my statement, as I wrote, I meant Kobe represented the past of the Lakers, not the future. Is that even in question?
Being lumped into the “anti-Kobe” group is frustrating, he’s been one of my top 3 favorite players since HS. I saw him play in the state Finals at Hershey PA. When I saw him play in High School, I thought he was the most amazing HS player I had ever seen by a longshot. My issues with Kobe are in the present only, he is struggling physically, and I want to see him go out playing well. I want to see Kobe play good games, not be a low % gunner that plays no D. Kobe has shown that he can adapt his game, and also that he clearly needs to sit out a bunch of games to get his body ready to play well. Fine, I would rather see Kobe play x1 week well, then all the time in a manner that doesn’t represent how amazing player he was. So enough with the Kobe crap, critiquing him shooting a million times and playing lousy doesn’t mean I don’t like Kobe. I like him more than any other player on our roster by a long shot, I just think his body can’t handle this anymore, but hopefully I’m pleasantly surprised that he finds a way to continue to adapt and cope.
Oldtimer says
tankyou, the record speaks for itself if you think the new additions like Lin, Boozer et al are really that great. If this place was palatable to the Catalan’s taste, do you think Pau will exchange the comforts of his Manhattan Beach home to chilly Chicago Lake Michigan? He hates leaving LA but just too happy to say goodbye to Lakers. I guess he knew that it is matter of time, somehow they will use him as a trading chip. It is no longer the same it was when Pau was recruited in Memphis. It is OK to be traded to Rockets for the sake of CP3, what is worse is being disrespected by the beloved coach of Jimbo, where Centers & PF’s were asked to stretch their offense and chuck more shots or else they get benched. Their height becomes useless and misused. If you asked DH12, that’s one reason why he preferred to leave the Lakers. Therefore when push comes to shove offering Pau mighty $$$’s, Pau declined, he viewed the Lakers as a rebuilding team with no intention of competing for Championship. It is a Queens Gambit where management is exploiting his attractiveness to bait young players from contending team and go for cheap rebuild.. Like Kobe, Pau is a high IQ player who had visualized where Lakers was heading.
As I said before, young draft picks will never lead to Championship in the short run, it has to be mixed with experienced veterans, talented mid-tier stars and a climate from ownership down to the ball boy whose overall goal is Championship. Only the weak and desperate think of tanking as the path to be good in the future.
For avid fans like many of us on this board who followed this team since Baylor days, no thanks to tanking, this is not the philosophy of Dr. Buss purple and gold.
Stuart says
Every time Jeannie does an interview and rationalizes the Kobe extension by saying it demonstrates how the Laker organization treats their stars I immediately think of the storyline around Pau. Yes, he was well paid while he was here but he was also jerked around a lot. To the point he left money on the table to get away.
Jeannie, I think you need to come up with another spin on the Kobe contract…
Tra says
.. and it’s not even a debate about whether or not D’Antoni misused him. We all know it happened.
—
Exactly .. The same way in which he refused to use Kaman and misused the 6’7″, 210 lbs Wes Johnson by playing him out of position as a PF.
But never mind the past, it’s all about the future. A future that hopefully consists of a healthy Randle, along with Clarkson and Kelly. Also a solid a FA acquisition and a couple of draft picks – or more, depending upon whether the FO becomes players come the trade deadline.
tankyou says
@oldtimer, I have never ever claimed Lin/Boozer are “great” I don’t think I’ve used that word with any of our players. I think Lin/Boozer are good offensive players, and not so good-to bad defensive players. Also I completely agree w/ you too much youth and draft picks doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s just a bit of hope that someone turns out really good and helps the franchines change. For the most part teams are doing well through continuity (Spurs) or trades/free agent signings (Rockets). Draft picks are at least something we can use to package for trades. But despite the “tankyou” label, I’m not for tanking, I see that as a path that can take 5+ years to pay off and what fan wants to watch their team not just lose, but lose big time for half a decade–not me.
Anonymous says
Anonymous January 10, 2015 at 10:38 pm
“So glad we got some good assets for Pau…oh wait our FO let him walk away for nothing..”
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Pau and a host of others walked for nothing or next to nothing. Howard, Blake, Kaman all come readily to mind. I guess its because the Lakers already have so many draft picks in the bank they don’t know what to do with all of them. Oh, wait, THAT actually describes the Celtics.
R says
Jo Houston January 11, 2015 at 7:15 am
” Look stop playing revisionist history. Pau hasn’t been this healthy in the last 4 years. Not even in Phil’s last year. This is not the player MD had.”
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Jo, I think Pau’s main health problems in his final years in LA was, he was sick of being jerked around.
rr says
This is not the player MD had.
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Yeah, it is. Only this year he is playing in the East with Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson and for Tom Thibodeau, instead of playing in the West with Steve Blake, Nick Young, Jordan Hill, and Wesley Johnson, and for Mike D’Antoni. And since Pau appears to be one of the smarter and more self-aware guys in the game, I think he thought of all these things himself, and that is why he went to Chicago.
The problem with D’Antoni and the bigs whom he had here–Howard, Pau, Hill, and Kaman–wasn’t so much how he used them in terms of actual numbers they produced as it was that he didn’t get along with them, and that they didn’t like him. MDA never gave the impression that he really wanted Pau, Hill, or Kaman on the roster or that he valued how they played and what they could do.
And, this was also a FO problem, as noted. It would have made more sense, with Kobe out anyway, to dump at least two of those guys last year and try for more ping-pong balls. There may have been salary-matching issues with Pau, but as many of us said last year, keeping Hill and Kaman around to win 27 games instead of winning 23 or 24 with Sacre and a DLeaguer didn’t make much sense.
Robert says
tankyou: “No disrespect to Kobe but his is the past, the only difference between him and Magic Johnson is that Kobe is still playing. ” I will be glad to take you out of the anti-Kobe camp (consider it done), but comments like these are hard to interpret in a positive manner. Most of my post was about my feelings, because you were saying I was being unrealistic. This whole situation is unrealistic ! : ) It is a mess and I will confess (again) it does not really mean too much to me if we win 25 or 30 (and the Aaron’s of the world would say 25 is better). If you can show me a path that gets us to a title quicker – I am there, but having Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer as our featured guys (team play or not) are the furthest thing from building for the future as I can dream up. Let’s think long term since we agree we can’t win in the short term. When you think long term, doesn’t the daily drubbing that Kobe and Byron have received this year make a lot less sense? I will warn you that thinking long term is very depressing of course because it means thinking about Jim Buss, and whether Byron survives, our lack of draft picks, and our aged roster. This is why I try to block out reality by rooting for #24.
Pau: No way for anyone to spin this one. Pau was an 2 time NBA champion and the MVP of the last Olympics. He is now, not only an ASG starter, but at this rate, could be 1st team All NBA. In between those accomplishments there was a nightmare that I am sure he is glad he is out of. I am sure the last thing Pau would have called it was “fun”.
tankyou says
@Robert, I root for team play b/c that’s what I like to watch and it seems to make them more competitive. I enjoy watching them come close to winning and winning, despite long term ramifications. I enjoy watching Kobe play well, if he was playing great at the beginning of the season while we lost I would have enjoyed that at least. Unfortunately he wasn’t playing well.
I think Kobe is more entertaining even now that most of these guys–but not when he looks like a broken version of himself both on O & D. You can watch for Kobe, but for me, my memories of Kobe remain what I want to focus on remembering him by. He has played only a couple games this season that really impressed me. But even in those he is a jumpshooting version of himself, I like to remember the guy that would tomahawk dunk on someone from a spin move in the low post. Kobe who drove relentlessly to the hole when his jumper was off. He doesn’t have that to fall back onto anymore, so its jumpers and passing.
I suppose I don’t like watching one of my favorite players in fairly steep decline, but you do–which is fine, I agree there isn’t alot else to be excited about. I have no real hope that a late 1st round, Randle, and whatever they throw together next year is likely going to have this team looking like a championship rebuild. I am not someone that wants to see the Lakers become the 76ers, just a bottom feeder for draft picks that any vet of note who gets traded there gets angry or vomits. I think its a bad strategy, and particularly bad for the Lakers franchise which is used to winning. I savor every win, and even enjoyed some of these super close games where we played to the wire with the best teams in the league. Kobe’s game winner was great, he finally closed out a game again. The warriors win etc. Without Lin/Boozer and mid level talents we will only be worse, I would rather see 30 wins, than 15 which if they aren’t careful could easily happen even if Kobe plays a fair amount next year. But I think Kobe is stuck sitting out a bunch of games to get through a season, I’m sure his knees are chronically in pain, he has been playing like crazy forever. Guess we will see what happens, but I hope the team retains some guys and quits with this drop the entire roster strategy–which is nonsensical. I’m trying my best to enjoy this season, I’m seriously worried that the FO does something bad and the only people happy will be folks like Aaron that can spend 82 games looking forward to a draft pick (although I think we don’t have our next year right?)