I'm sayin.. man they let Jordy and Luke talk but not LO and Ariza??Originally Posted by Long Beach Vincey
man it bothers me why they didnt let lamar talk at the parade... dude would be straight comedy..
Originally Posted by dyyhard
I'm sayin.. man they let Jordy and Luke talk but not LO and Ariza??Originally Posted by Long Beach Vincey
man it bothers me why they didnt let lamar talk at the parade... dude would be straight comedy..
We all wanted to show LO and Ariza some appreciation
I'm down with that as well...Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23
Can you enjoy it just until July 1st.Originally Posted by bright nikes
I've already enjoyed the championship.
This is the off-season thread, CP if you want - we can talk about the off-season together.
jk.
People are stressing in here, just wanted to lighten up the mood.
After July 1st, when negotiations can begin, I'm with you bright and CP.
Can't we just go over the salary cap like Boston is doing? Like, way over? Aren't they way over?
But that essentially mortgages your future, right?
They're over ($80M; luxury cap was $71M), but only $5M more than the Lakers. It's the Knicks ($95M), Cavs ($92M), and Mavs ($93M) thatwere way over. They pay a dollar-for-dollar tax on the amount over the luxury tax number.
The 36 rule. He has to max out his dollars now til 35 because of the rule. It's so teams don't backload contracts to the end of deals and find other loop holes and what not.
The rule doesn't have an effect on how much he gets. It increases the team's salary cap and luxury tax in the year(s) before he turns 36. It's question 49 of Larry $%@%'s NBA Salary Cap FAQ.
If that fails just unload Sasha & Luke.
That would leave Kobe as the only guard over 6'4" that saw minutes last season.
Fisher(1)/Brown(0)/Farmar(1)
Kobe(0)/Sasha(2)/Yue
Ariza(0)/Walton(4)/Morrison(1)
Pau(2)/Odom(0)/Powell(0)
Bynum(3+team option)/Mbenga(0)
The highlighted players are the "lesser" unrestricted free agents on the team. The number in parenthesis is the number of years they have left ontheir respective contracts.
It seems clear that Farmar and Morrison (along with their first round pick?) are the most likely candidates to be involved in trades to save the Lakers money. Then again, the Lakers may keep them around as insurance policies if the other low contract players (Powell, Mbenga or their replacements) don't pan out.
I believe that the teams under the cap next year (read: can take on contracts w/o sending anything back out) are Detroit, Portland, New Jersey, Atlanta,Memphis, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and the Kings. One or more of those teams have to spend their money to re-sign their own free agents. Which of these teamslooks like it wants to help the Lakers by taking Walton off thier hands?
Click here to see a slideshow and video of Kobe at Disneyland
Damn, I'm not one to fawn over celebrities, attractive women being the obvious exception, but I clicked through on that link. Unfortunately,I read Kobe's interview with the police not to long ago and one of the more infamous lines immediately popped in my head when I saw picture number 3
"That's not my responsibility, that's the franchise's responsibility to come to the table with things and have all the guys come back and make sure they get what they deserve," he said.
He knows how to play the game. Only Lamar has saidflat out that he'd take less money to remain a Laker. Trev gave the money is important and so is winning line which is a non-commital answer.
These guys are part of a union and should seek to maximize their value at all times. Still, Duncan, Shaq, and most recently KG all took significant paycuts tohelp their teams surround them with talent so I guess I should expect no less from Kobe.
Originally Posted by bright nikes
I've already enjoyed the championship.
This is the off-season thread, CP if you want - we can talk about the off-season together.
I hope it's Jason Kidd
Mikki Moore, Joe Smith and Drew Gooden were rollin over in their graves during the finals. I wish we could somehow bring Drew to the squad thoughhe'll contribute more than DJ.
[h1]Lamar Odom hopes to remain with Lakers[/h1]
Ronald Martinez / Getty Images
Lakers forward Lamar Odom reacts to a play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The forward will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. His desire is to "stay home," but Lakers will have to make a decision on him and Trevor Ariza, also an unrestricted free agent.
By Mike Bresnahan
June 19, 2009
Lamar Odom cleaned out his locker Thursday and left the Lakers' training facility, perhaps for the last time as part of the franchise that has employed him the last five years.
Odom will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, one of two forwards the Lakers hope to re-sign to keep their frontcourt
The Lakers have already committed $74 million toward eight players on next season's payroll. Buss will pay up to $7 million in luxury taxes for this past season's payroll, but he would have to go much deeper into luxury-tax territory, perhaps $20 million on top of a $90-million payroll, to re-sign both Odom and Ariza. It would move the Lakers from a top-five payroll to the top payroll in the league.
Odom turns 30 in November. Will he be celebrating his birthday as a member of the Lakers?
"I thought I did my job this year -- come off the bench, do whatever it takes," Odom said as players continued to have exit meetings with Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and General Manager Mitch Kupchak. "I had to play well and I played well. We had to win and we won. Hopefully, everything will just work out and I can stay home."
Odom had a solid playoff run, averaging 12.3 points a game, third-best on the team, and 9.1 rebounds, second-best on the team. He was particularly impressive in the last two games of the Western Conference finals, helping the Lakers successfully emerge from a 2-2 deadlock with Denver by averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds in Games 5 and 6.
"I think he's done everything that was asked of him over the last five seasons, from playing small forward to point guard to power forward to coming off the bench," said Odom's agent, Jeff Schwartz. "And as much as he's made it clear he wants to remain a Laker, it's going to depend on their offer and what the market holds for him. The bottom line is, Lamar has shown he's a winner and that's valuable."
Odom has been part of some impromptu celebrations since the Lakers won the championship. He went to a Los Angeles restaurant where Lakers fans stood at their tables and started clapping when they saw him arrive.
He also went to the grocery store and experienced the same thing, "about 200 people in the supermarket, clapping," he said.
During his exit meeting, Odom was asked to "stay in shape" during the off-season, he said.
"They know I'm a socialite," he said. "We win a championship, I'm 29, decent-looking. When we go out, I'm well-received, know what I'm saying? They want me to take care of myself and sleep correctly, stay in the weight room and stay strong. That's a good sign. That means they want me back."
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-lamar-odom19-2009jun19,0,1312004.story
Get it done Mitch.
wow you would think its a bowl game
naw my dude toby C www.tobycphoto.com he has some of game 1 on his blog
