I'd try to move someone for a second rounder rather than cut. We must have someone that would interest teams (e.g., Price). Then again, we have no bargaining power.
Only players I could see anyone being willing to trade for are Hill, Davis, & Lin. I'm hoping we cut Henry instead of Price. If he ever manages to put together a completely healthy season I'll be surprised. Hate to say it because he has the talent to be a high level role player but there's just no reason to keep him around anymore. After the Nash ordeal I'd rather have a lesser player that we can count on to actually be on the floor. We have too many players out for the season to give up a healthy player.
Henry needs to be gone, for sure. It would be indefensible to waive anyone else (probably even Nash).
Has Price played his way into a guaranteed deal the rest of the season? His next guarantee is scheduled for Dec. 15th where we are locked in, in owing him 658k. My guess is if we still stink by that time, we might just cut ties, so we aren't locked in on a guaranteed deal the rest of the season. It opens up a roster spot for the impending trade deadline, it allows us to see what Clarkson has to offer in a wasted season and we would be free to sign someone else to see what they have to offer. Lin / Clarkson / (Nash) Kobe / Ellington Wes / Young Boozer / Clark / Kelly / (Randle) Hill / Davis / Sacre That's 14 guaranteed people that are not going to get cut/waived/released. I bet we are going to value the open spot over Price's guarantee.
Yeah.. Nash still has value in a few ways. Having him stay involved with the team & mentor Lin could send a positive message to free agents & of course help Lin contribute more. Or his expiring contract could still be appealing to a team looking to dump long term salary at the deadline. I believe we can send up to 3M in cash with him to pay part of his buyout since he's going to retire. I could see him getting bought out & signing a 10 day contract with Phoenix so he can have his official retirement in front of the fans that will appreciate him the most. & I agree Doc Brown. Unless he plays out of his mind between now & Dec. 15th I think we'll definitely let Price go to have flexibility at the deadline. Worst case we end up signing someone like Manny Harris to replace Price as another warm body.
Wasn't implying that he's a scrub, just not a huge difference maker & likely not their first choice. If they wanted Manny that much they could have kept him last season or signed him this offseason. They'll likely wait & see if they can sign a player that gets cut as a result of a trade at the deadline, & if nothing comes along, move on to options like Manny.
I'd only waive Ronnie if we decide to go with a better PG. I don't feel comfortable waiving him for nothing. If we are targeting Mekel or Will Bynum or something then fine. Otherwise we shoot ourselves in the foot with no backup PG.
This. Only cut him if there's a Mekel available who is young and talented and has some room to grow with us. It makes no sense to cut him for any other position besides another PG. We have trouble with depth already. By the way it seems like he was playing out of his mind last night. I'd guess he knows he's on thin ice right now.
Agree with LJ and real, not comfortable rolling with one PG. Clarkson is not one and can't be fully trusted yet as a ball handler IMO, and we'd be one Lin injury away from no PG. That would put the ball in Kobe's hands even more, which leads to him having to do too much, which leads to fatigue and injury. I think Price deserves to be cut, he showed effort in preaeson that went away almost completely until last night. That's not acceptable, makes me wonder if he heard he might be cut and he started giving 100% again. Not cut for the sake of it though, for a better player hopefully.
I don't get the fascination w/Henry around here. He played decently for a short period of time then constantly hurt. He's unathletic and slow. Skillset mediocre. Good size and young about it. He seems like he's as developed as he's ever going to get.
Xavier Henry POSTERIZES Jeff Withey: There is nothing unathletic about Henry. When Kobe was out Xavier was our best and one of our most consistent Lakers before he got injured. With how rich our team is and the direction we are moving this year, I think Lakers can hold on to him.
^ that was before the injuries. He looked nothing like that before he injured his achilles... u think he'll be better this time around? His game is based on athleticism, take that away -> 3rd stringer at best.
Touche... I guess there's more athleticism there than I remembered. I do remember that dunk. He didn't do much of that above the rim. What he's shown since coming back is terrible. He played well for a while but all I 'm saying is the expectation for getting significant production over time from him from the small sample we saw is overblown. He's a decent player at best. Wes had some good stretches too but overtime he' s proven to be inconsistent to consistently bad. Yeah remember that dunk. Shouldn't have said unathletic. Shouldn't say that about anyone at this level. From what he's been able to do this year he just doesn't approach that. Now he's hurt again and hope he recovers. He played well for a stretch and was another ray of hope. We've had many. I just think expectations for a significant sustained contribution have been overblown.
