Lakers Thread

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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Andrew on Wed May 15, 2013 2:18 pm

Eddie Jordan has offered some reflections on the season, which apparently soured him on the idea of pursuing a head coaching gig in the NBA anytime soon.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Jackal on Fri May 17, 2013 9:23 am

I re-watched some of this years games and I don't think Dwight Howard is really worth the max. Charles hit the nail on the head when he said his post game hasn't improved since his Orlando days.

If you want to be a legend, a Laker legend, you've got to be willing to be great. Dwight Howard is good. Not great. He's got terrible hands, he is a child & I'm not sure he'll be able to carry this franchise. Houston or so seems like a better fit for the guy, especially with Harden/Parsons.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Jackal on Sat May 18, 2013 7:34 am

Double post, so what?

Phil Jackson wrote:"Mike, with the right personnel is a great coach. This personnel wasn't really quite fit for Mike's coaching. He likes a 3-point shooting group of guys; he likes twos and threes in the corner. His great guard Nash was on the team, obviously; Steve's a great guard. He can distribute the ball. But that other big guy has to be, they call it now a stretch four. He has to be able to shoot 3-pointers. Pau wasn't quite fit into that. Pau and Howard together, too big, too much of a load for that post. He doesn't really like guys in the post. He likes guys outside."


How come every one and anyone can see D'Antoni isn't fit for the Lakers besides Lakers management themselves?
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Patr1ck on Sat May 18, 2013 9:41 am

Because it's not Jerry Buss anymore.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Sat May 18, 2013 5:40 pm

Pdub wrote:Because it's not Jerry Buss anymore.

Sad but true...
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Andrew on Sun May 19, 2013 3:20 pm

Jackal wrote:How come every one and anyone can see D'Antoni isn't fit for the Lakers besides Lakers management themselves?


Deep down, they probably do know it. Even considering all the injuries the Lakers suffered, there's no way that anyone can look at their 2013 season and believe it was a success, with bigger and better things on the horizon. However, with the money they've invested in D'Antoni - while at the same time still paying out Mike Brown's contract - they not only want him to pan out, they need him to pan out. On top of that, they're not going to throw him under the bus or scapegoat him unless it's with some really carefully worded statements, so even if they are fully aware of the situation they're not going to come out and say what everyone on the outside looking in is saying about the matter...even if it is painfully obvious.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Jackal on Sun May 19, 2013 10:05 pm

That's just bad for business and they aren't doing themselves any favors on the basketball side of things either. They just look inept. :?
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby benji on Sun May 19, 2013 10:17 pm

There is something to the point that D'Antoni didn't get a whole season he came in after Brown's princeton offense (another brilliant idea!) and so on with a roster he had no input on. (I mean people, including me even, were pointing out they had no outside shooting and a sparse bench before Brown led them into the season.)

Not to disagree with Phil that this wasn't his favored personnel, as I think I mentioned a few times and how this really couldn't work, but after dumping Brown five games in or whatever I don't really see how it could have ever been a winning season.
Andrew wrote:there's no way that anyone can look at their 2013 season and believe it was a success

You've seen the books? I bet those did pretty well.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Andrew on Mon May 20, 2013 10:45 am

I'm sure they did too, but I was referring to what happened on the court.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby NovU on Mon May 20, 2013 2:37 pm

http://blog.lakers.com/lakers/2013/05/1 ... ers-elite/

here’s a look at how each Western team fared in the final 40 games:

1. NUGGETS (33-7) – Home: 23-0; Away: 10-7
2. LAKERS (28-12) – Home: 17-2; Away: 11-10
2. GRIZZLIES (28-12) – Home: 15-3; Away: 13-9
3. THUNDER (27-13) – Home: 15-4; Away: 12-9
3. SPURS (27-13) – Home: 17-4; Away: 10-9
4. CLIPPERS (24-16) – Home: 13-5; Away: 11-11
5. MAVERICKS (23-17) – Home: 13-9; Away: 10-8
6. WARRIORS (21-19) – Home: 14-7; Away: 7-12
7. JAZZ (20-20) – Home: 16-7; Away: 4-13
8. WOLVES (14-26) – Home: 9-13; Away: 5-13
9. HORNETS (13-27) – Home: 9-11; Away: 4-13
10. KINGS (12-28) – Home: 8-11; Away: 4-17
10. BLAZERS (12-28) – Home: 8-11; Away: 4-17
11. SUNS (11-29) – Home: 7-13; Away: 4-16


Perhaps Dantoni did ok?
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Mon May 20, 2013 3:00 pm

NovU wrote:http://blog.lakers.com/lakers/2013/05/17/were-the-somewhat-healthy-lakers-elite/

here’s a look at how each Western team fared in the final 40 games:

1. NUGGETS (33-7) – Home: 23-0; Away: 10-7
2. LAKERS (28-12) – Home: 17-2; Away: 11-10
2. GRIZZLIES (28-12) – Home: 15-3; Away: 13-9
3. THUNDER (27-13) – Home: 15-4; Away: 12-9
3. SPURS (27-13) – Home: 17-4; Away: 10-9
4. CLIPPERS (24-16) – Home: 13-5; Away: 11-11
5. MAVERICKS (23-17) – Home: 13-9; Away: 10-8
6. WARRIORS (21-19) – Home: 14-7; Away: 7-12
7. JAZZ (20-20) – Home: 16-7; Away: 4-13
8. WOLVES (14-26) – Home: 9-13; Away: 5-13
9. HORNETS (13-27) – Home: 9-11; Away: 4-13
10. KINGS (12-28) – Home: 8-11; Away: 4-17
10. BLAZERS (12-28) – Home: 8-11; Away: 4-17
11. SUNS (11-29) – Home: 7-13; Away: 4-16


Perhaps Dantoni did ok?

He did and he did not.
Lakers finished strong but D'Antoni pushed too hard. He had his veteran and injury battled players played far too many minutes. Lakers had nothing left in the tank because they were already in playoff mode during parts of that stretch. Still D'Antoni put together a nice record but he did that at the expense of his team's potential post season success.
After all it was not all his fault as he had some real bad luck with injuries, but that's something which hit other teams too (e.g. Denver/Gallinari, Bulls/Deng, Clippers/Griffin, Warriors/Curry, Heat/Wade).
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby NovU on Mon May 20, 2013 7:17 pm

SteveHTOWN wrote:(e.g. Denver/Gallinari, Bulls/Deng, Clippers/Griffin, Warriors/Curry, Heat/Wade).

Spo rested Wade like a mad man but nothing in this world fully gave his knees a true life this season. Deng and Kobe I think you can place them in a similar context though. Maybe Curry as well. Sick or not, all of them wanted to be out on the court and the coach allowed it.

To be fair, no team was coasting like Greg Pop's Spurs, so none of them had a luxury in standings to lose. What Pop did for the Spurs now is paying off. Pretty cool, especially given how he was fined by the league during the season for resting key players. (Y)
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Mon May 20, 2013 7:51 pm

NovU wrote:
SteveHTOWN wrote:(e.g. Denver/Gallinari, Bulls/Deng, Clippers/Griffin, Warriors/Curry, Heat/Wade).


To be fair, no team was coasting like Greg Pop's Spurs, so none of them had a luxury in standings to lose. What Pop did for the Spurs now is paying off. Pretty cool, especially given how he was fined by the league during the season for resting key players. (Y)

That' it! If I were R. C. Buford I'd let Pop take that fine again every time.
You are right about most coaches were not so lucky joyriding through the season as Pop or Spo did. But allowing a player constantly to play 40+ mins as D'Antoni did with Kobe had written "desaster looming" all over it.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Andrew on Tue May 21, 2013 11:18 am

Those are some interesting numbers. It's probably fair to say that as the season wore on, the Lakers did manage to make things work under D'Antoni, as they ultimately had a winning record in the latter half of the season. However, their roster is still a poor fit for his style which limits their chances of having significant success and you can certainly still question his approach and his methods.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Bruce on Tue May 21, 2013 2:06 pm

SAY IT ANDREW, "WE WANT PHIL!"

Everybody knows Phil is trying to find a job in basketball, but all the hoopla is to pressure Jim Buss to giving into Phil Jackson's demands. Jeanie Buss wants him back, LA fans wants him back the players want him back and I would think that the rest of the ownership of the Lakers wants him back.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Andrew on Tue May 21, 2013 3:12 pm

For his part, Phil Jackson maintains he's not interested in coaching again, for whatever that may be worth.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Tue May 21, 2013 5:02 pm

Phil Jackson and Jim Buss working together?
As much as I'd like to see that, I don't think that'll happen.
Phil wants a Pat Riley kind of job which means he'd have way too much influence if you ask Jim Buss...

Meanwhile the Dwightmare continues. From what I've read today on my mobile ESPN app, several players including Howard had talks to Kupchak.
Howard was one of several Lakers -- Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol being the most noteworthy -- to have an extended separate meeting with the GM after his exit interview with both Kupchak and D'Antoni, multiple sources confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, part of the discussion between Howard and Kupchak centered around Howard's frustration with D'Antoni -- particularly how the center felt marginalized as the coach looked to Bryant and Steve Nash for leadership and suggestions and discounted Howard's voice.

Every player was afforded the opportunity to meet with Kupchak individually after D'Antoni left the room, but few spent as much time as Howard and Kupchak did together. Antawn Jamison also had a separate meeting with Kupchak without D'Antoni present, but that was because of a scheduling conflict.

Kupchak left the meeting with Howard undeterred, telling reporters he was "hopeful" and "optimistic" that Howard would be back with the Lakers next season and beyond, yet there have been several developments in the last couple weeks that could have an effect on Howard's decision.

D'Antoni chose not to retain assistant coach Chuck Person, a Howard confidant, on his staff for next season. Also, Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford, who was with Howard in Orlando for five seasons before both of them came to L.A. last year, has become a hot head coaching candidate, interviewing with Milwaukee and receiving interest from Charlotte.

One source described the potential departure of Clifford, coupled with the loss of Person as "removing the buffers," between Howard and D'Antoni, "which is a bad thing."

[...]

The question remains as to how much of a hurdle D'Antoni's presence could prove to be in Howard's chances of remaining a Laker.

"We had to just sell out to whatever he wanted, whether we liked it or not," Howard said of D'Antoni following his exit interview. "We had to do what was going to benefit the team, and being one of the leaders on the team, I had to make sure I kept the guys in line to what the coach wanted us to do."

A source said Howard was very careful with his public comments about D'Antoni after the season, wary of attracting a "coach killer reputation" after how things ended in Orlando with Stan Van Gundy losing his job. Despite the frustration Howard had with D'Antoni last season, there is nothing to suggest the partnership is irreparable. "It's not a, 'It's me or Mike,' situation for Dwight," said a source.


The more I read of it, the more I'd just like to let him go.
If Howard would take all the energy he uses for causing distraction around him and put it into getting a better free throw shooter he would put up Nash-like numbers from the foul line.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby [Q] on Tue May 21, 2013 6:03 pm

the extra guaranteed money might not make a difference for dwight. he saves money playing in texas vs cali, and he's young enough to where he can just get another max contract or extension when this one's up
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Tue May 21, 2013 7:00 pm

Qballer wrote:the extra guaranteed money might not make a difference for dwight. he saves money playing in texas vs cali, and he's young enough to where he can just get another max contract or extension when this one's up

Yeah, I read about that. This could be a reason for Dwight to take his ego... I mean his talents... to Houston.
On the other hand it might be wise if he'd accept a max contract offer from the Lakers due to his recent (and severe) injuries.
We will know more in about six weeks...
May the drama begin.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Jackal on Tue May 21, 2013 7:34 pm

If I was Dwight, I'd go to Houston. That seems like the most ideal spot for him.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Tue May 21, 2013 7:56 pm

With Gasol's future also uncertain, that would leave the Lakers with an aging Nash, an injured Kobe, a declining MWP, a bunch of benchwarmers plus not much money to spend. Another wasted season seems to be ahead...
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby Jackal on Tue May 21, 2013 8:10 pm

I've come to terms with that though. I think Howard will sign else where, I think Gasol will be retained and play out the season or be traded since he does have an expiring, with Kobe out for some time still I'm guessing he'll be the focal point with an injury plagued Steve Nash once again.

Then Gasol & Kobe's deal expire so there's that..
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby benji on Tue May 21, 2013 8:15 pm

Qballer wrote:the extra guaranteed money might not make a difference for dwight. he saves money playing in texas vs cali, and he's young enough to where he can just get another max contract or extension when this one's up

Except he loses all that money from being able to raise his current salary instead of dropping back down like Wade, LeBron and Bosh did. It's over $30 million in guaranteed money.

This was the entire point of his and Melo's trade demands, they weren't willing to sacrifice the cash and rip the hearts of their teams out LeBron style. And also why the Lakers were willing to take him on hoping he'd be trapped.

It's likely a big test of a superstar getting prestige and winning vs. cash and market. He can twiddle his thumbs as the Lakers retire to rebuild around him in his thirties or he can go hang out with Harden, Asik, Lin and all the other young Rockets pieces and probably get another good shot at a Finals trip. (Or maybe some inbetween situation with Dallas. Or go back home to a mild Houston-East situation.)

One thing to remember is that we can't believe any of this shit that comes out of his camp until the deadline rolls up. Nobody should ever forget what he did with Orlando. Twice.

Jackal wrote:think Gasol will be retained and play out the season or be traded since he does have an expiring

I think you can still flip him to somebody for some cheap assets. A team that's on pace to win 50-55 games but thinks it needs a big to get over the hump. Maybe unite him with his brother for Ed Davis, Daye and such...

Or bring him in to mentor Andre and Greg in exchange for Stuckey and STRETCH FOUR (Mike D are you paying attention?!?) Charlie V. (Maxiell too if you want.)
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby NovU on Tue May 21, 2013 11:34 pm

Err... hmm... agreeable. Except why give up a starter in Maxiell, why not Andre.

I always thought Dwight has too much to lose had he left the Lakers, not just with money but also with his already damaged reputation. But still is a fun thing to ponder like, him being in Houston/Mavs and stuff.

SteveHTOWN wrote:Yeah, I read about that. This could be a reason for Dwight to take his ego... I mean his talents... to Houston.

Hell yea. But how about w/ your boy in Dallas. Unlike other superstars these days, Dirk already openly declared he'll sacrifice(money) to win. I'd love to see game's best PG in Chris Paul and best Big in Dwight to form a trio there. Beat the flop 3 of Miami, as Dirk alone was handful for em.
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Re: Lakers Thread

Postby _Steve_ on Wed May 22, 2013 7:27 am

NovU wrote:Err... hmm... agreeable. Except why give up a starter in Maxiell, why not Andre.

I always thought Dwight has too much to lose had he left the Lakers, not just with money but also with his already damaged reputation. But still is a fun thing to ponder like, him being in Houston/Mavs and stuff.

SteveHTOWN wrote:Yeah, I read about that. This could be a reason for Dwight to take his ego... I mean his talents... to Houston.

Hell yea. But how about w/ your boy in Dallas. Unlike other superstars these days, Dirk already openly declared he'll sacrifice(money) to win. I'd love to see game's best PG in Chris Paul and best Big in Dwight to form a trio there. Beat the flop 3 of Miami, as Dirk alone was handful for em.

The reason why I pick Houston over Dallas, is that Houston already assembled a decent team. I think Dallas would have to make a move for e.g. Chris Paul first, before having any chances of getting Dwight to sign a contract there. But the chances of getting Paul first took a large hit since Vinny Del Negro is out of Clippertown and Paul probably getting the coach he wants...
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