It's been 1,258 days since David Stern vetoed the trade that would bring Chris Paul to the Lakers to be paired with Kobe Bryant. It was 2011 and the Lakers were one year removed from the NBA Championship, but only months after an embarrassing and thorough beating for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Playoffs. On December 8th, 2011 for one hour the Lakers looked like they were on their way to having the best back-court in the league (and rumor had it Dwight Howard wasn't far behind). Before the shock of trading Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, champions of Los Angeles, for Chris Paul wore off, the trade was vetoed and the future of the Lakers changed forever. One team official told Bill Plaschke of the LA Times the trade might have set the team back five years.
It's been 823 days since Dr. Buss passed away and left the Lakers to his children Jeanie and Jim Buss. The transition was far from easy not...
How do you think Kobe will do with our young big? I think with all he's gone through he won't have too much problem with sharing the ball, and we've already seen Kobe grow into the mentor role.
What about Okafor or Towns personalities as a mix with Kobe though. Even if Kobe is only here for one or two more years, his personality is SO strong that it will have an impact on the rookie. Bynum seemed to rub Kobe the wrong way with his seeming indifference in his first couple of seasons. Randle seems to really soak in the Kobe effect.
I don't know anything about Okafor's or Town's personalities other than what I've seen in short interviews. How do you see the possible relationships developing?
When the lil' clips were up 3-1 on the rockettes I had the feeling the tide could very well turn in the battle for L. A. Now a week later, the lil' clips embarrassed all of So. Cal. with their epic choke job, and...the Lakers secure the #2 pick in the upcoming draft. The lil' clips are hamstrung with salary cap issues( remember those days?), in danger of losing their best defensive player to free agency, with the Lakers have max level cap space , possibly even more this year, and next year with the cap exploding upward, Kobe's contract up, they will have tons of cap space. All is right in Los Angeles again! Ballmer and his new toy would be well advised to pack their bags and move up to Seattle, take the Sonics name, and wipe clean the lil' clips legacy of misery and failure.I found it hilarious when the rockettes/ lil' clips game 7 score was announced at Dodger Stadium and the whole stadium erupted in cheers. Ballmer should look at that long and hard as an indicator of the hopeless...
Someone just poked me and told me that the lakers are drafting with the No. 2 pick - holy crap that is not only amazing but it awakens my lakers juices as to the options that it presents the lakers to rebuild - smartly.
Jimmy Butler? I hope.
Marc Gasol / DJordan - not as critical.
Westbrook in 2016? Rubbing hands together....
Lets not waste this opportunity to not only get hyped about the offseason but think about ways this team could be built for the next generation of lakers championships. I think you grab a big because if for some strange reason Marc Gasol becomes available - well then the options are endless.
I don't see Russell being a transcendent player - just a really good one (Mark Jacskon).
