[::OFFICIAL LAKERS 2010-11' SEASON THREAD Vol. It Was Fun While It Lasted::]

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

Luke's passing ability and knowledge of the triangle... and every single NBA playbook ever created by anyone, ever... makes that trade way lopsided.

Luke + cash for Love + Beasley

Slightly more fair.
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it would be unfortunate if luke were to leave and take with him all the secrets of the triangle that not even winters knew existed
 
Originally Posted by kingferic

I'd take Kapono over Powe.
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+1 All day, im still pissed we didnt sign a knock down shooter during the summer. Seems like our lack of outside shooting keeps going unnoticed. Guess back to back chips will do that
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Originally Posted by MJsaver

Originally Posted by kingferic

I'd take Kapono over Powe.
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+1 All day, im still pissed we didnt sign a knock down shooter during the summer. Seems like our lack of outside shooting keeps going unnoticed. Guess back to back chips will do that
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3 point specialists aren't really needed and don't work out to well in the triangle offense. Look at these guys we've had before:

-Glen Rice. Won 1 ring and was not brought back. Was sad seeing Eddie Jones traded for him
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- Mike Penberthy. Journey man 3 point specialist SG. Had a small and brief roll during his 1 & half year with us.
- Vladamir Radmonvic. Phil gave him the nickname "Space Cadet" because of how dumb he was both on and off the court and was very inconsistent with just hitting 3's.
- Sasha Vujacic. Had 1 great season shooting the 3 in ironically the same year he was in a contract season, then got a fat contract and declined in his play where he lost minutes and eventually his spot in the rotation to Shannon Brown.
 
--Kapono and Powe? Really? These fools are garbage.
--Lakers just need to get healthy, get rest and stay healthy. Period.

--Bobcats still winning tomorrow though.
 
[h2][/h2]
[h2]Matt Barnes likely to play Friday[/h2]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Near the end of practice Thursday, Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes pulled up and hit a 3-pointer in the team's intrasquad scrimmage.

"We got a game now!" exclaimed Lakers assistant coach Frank Hamblen from the sidelines.

The Lakers are hoping that Barnes can be a game-changer as they enter into the final 20-game stretch of the regular-season schedule.

Barnes participated in a full practice without the aid of a brace on his surgically repaired right knee Thursday. He is expected to play Friday against the Charlotte Bobcats for the first time since Jan. 7 when he suffered a slight tear of his meniscus against the New Orleans Hornets.

"I'm looking forward to him playing Friday, but we'll see," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. "I'm going to hold back and make a positive declaration about that tomorrow.

"Matt was all right today. We'll obviously check to see how he reacts tomorrow and overnight and we'll make a decision on this, but right now, he's looking pretty good."

The Lakers went 17-8 in the 25 games that Barnes has missed, but were a pedestrian 12-8 before their current five-game winning streak coming out of the All-Star break.

Barnes, who averaged 7.4 points on 47.4 percent shooting and 4.8 rebounds per game through the Lakers' 26-11 start to the season, said he feels like he is 90 percent back to where he was in early January and just needs to work on his timing and conditioning on the court.

"I feel good," Barnes said. "I definitely just need games to get the rhythm back and just getting out there, getting contact and really seeing how the knee is, but it feels good."

Barnes, who averaged 20.8 minutes per game playing primarily as Ron Artest's backup at small forward, spent his time on the sidelines studying the shooting guard position in the triangle offense in hopes of expanding his role to spell Kobe Bryant at times.

"I really did a lot of work watching the guard position," Barnes said. "It's a big difference watching it and actually performing it, so I've had a little bit of practice the last few days playing at the guard position and that's just going to come with more time."

Bryant recognizes Barnes' value to the team, no matter what position the eight-year veteran is playing.

"Spacing, loose balls, offensive rebounds and just overall defense," Bryant described as what Barnes brings to the team.

The team initially announced Barnes would miss approximately eight weeks. If Barnes plays Friday, he will have missed about seven weeks of game time since his Jan. 11 surgery.

His comeback has not come soon enough for Barnes, as the 6-foot-7 UCLA product has taken to text messaging Jackson to lobby his case to return.

"We were text messaging back and forth [Wednesday] night about it," Barnes said. "You know me; I'm trying to get out there.

"It was a very broad, very open [text message]: 'What are my chances?'"

Jackson, who said earlier in the season that Barnes is the first player in his coaching career that he's had this level of a text message relationship with, said he will consult with Barnes at Friday's shootaround to determine if he will play or not.

"I got a lot of built-up energy," Barnes said. "I'm ready. I'm ready to go."

Link:

http://sports.espn.go.com...ba/news/story?id=6179520
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It'd be really nice to see Barnes out there. Get him at least a game to get some work in before the Spurs.
 
--Ska, why'd you lock up the buzzer-shot appreciation thread? It was about to get good.
--Glad to have Barnes back. Every player makes a difference in some form or another.

--Bobcats dont have Wallace anymore and Tony Parker is out. We need these next 2 games.
 
DARTH DNZY:
--Ska, why'd you lock up the buzzer-shot appreciation thread? It was about to get good.
Why do you think it should have been locked? Before me, you were the last post, and you asked 'How is this not locked yet?'

So... why do you think it should have been locked?
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Originally Posted by DARTH DNZY

--Ska, why'd you lock up the buzzer-shot appreciation thread?
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nerd.gif


Edit:
Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

DARTH DNZY:
--Ska, why'd you lock up the buzzer-shot appreciation thread? It was about to get good.
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Why do you think it should have been locked? Before me, you were the last post, and you asked 'How is this not locked yet?'

So... why do you think it should have been locked?


nerd.gif
 
--Dang Ska, no one's invented a font for sarcasm yet. (in regards to the Kobe buzzer beating appreciation thread)
--Maybe I will and become a millionare. Hahaha...
 
Originally Posted by MR J 858

Anyone on here got access to ESPN insider ?

I requested this earlier today but the thread got locked up.

Link:

http://insider.espn.go.co...ews/story%3fid%3d6178039
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[h3]Question: If he decides to leave the Orlando Magic, where should Dwight Howard sign in 2012?[/h3]
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BROUSSARD: It would be nice if Dwight Howard bucked the trend of superstars leaving home for greener pastures when he becomes a free agent in 2012, but there's a very good chance he won't. So, in the event that he does indeed leave, I argue he should take his talents not to South Beach but to Venice Beach and become the next great Los Angeles Lakers big man. The Lakers won't have the cap room to sign him outright, but I could see them offering up Andrew Bynum in a trade when the time comes.

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BUCHER: If I were a betting man -- oh, wait, I AM a betting man -- I'd put my money on Howard going to the Lakers. It's what I've heard he'd like to do and, seeing as he seems to be working off the Shaquille O'Neal blueprint for career arcs (one NBA Finals appearance in Orlando, endless impersonations, free throw problems, Superman fixation), it almost seems preordained. But that's a big part of why I believe he shouldn't go there: It's been done, and the chances of Howard coming anywhere close to what Shaq did as a Laker are -- well, I'd bet on that, too. Against him.

If he wants to go to a big market, take advantage of his engaging personality off the court and make an indelible mark on the league, he goes to the New Jersey Nets, joins forces with Deron Williams and completely transforms the franchise, an achievement he will be remembered -- and cherished -- for forever.



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CB: I don't dislike your idea. Dwight and Deron would be fabulous together, and by the time Dwight got there, the team would either be in Brooklyn or just a few months away. But Dwight is better suited for Los Angeles. With his goofy personality, I'm not sure he would enjoy the constant scrutiny and pressure that comes with playing in New York. It's very possible that he'd "lose the fun."

While we all know he may need to get a bit more serious, he still needs to maintain the essence of who he is -- a fun-loving, laid-back Southerner -- to be at his best. In L.A., he'd have the weather and Hollywood opportunities he desires, not to mention a media that's less harsh. That's a better fit overall.

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RB: Losing some of that goofy personality wouldn't be the worst thing for Dwight. We're starting to see the benefits of that already: his orneriness over Orlando's struggles has produced some of his best basketball. If he truly wants to win championships more than be an entertainer, he loses nothing by getting more serious.

I hear you on the scrutiny of New York, but I have to believe the founding fathers of the Brooklyn Nets -- which is what Dwight and Deron would be -- would get a longer leash than most, because they chose Brooklyn and the moribund Nets over everywhere else. Besides, don't think for a minute that if Dwight doesn't deliver as Shaq did -- a very tall order -- Lakers fans won't let him know about it. Every day.

The Nets are, without question, the riskier pick. But they also offer the bigger reward. And while the Lakers have a great history, the fact is that they are about to undergo a major turnover, most notably Jerry Buss ceding authority to his son Jim. We saw how well that has worked with the Steinbrenners. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has no track record, but the trick he pulled on the New York Knicks, getting them to waaaaay overbid for Melo and then smuggling Deron out of Utah, shows he has some game. And we know he has rubles and is willing to spend them.

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CB: Playing for the Lakers would put no more pressure on Dwight than playing elsewhere. He is going to be criticized if he doesn't win a ring no matter where he plays, especially if he has D-Will as a teammate.

The Laker tradition won't be a burden to Howard. Following Jerry West and Magic Johnson wasn't an extra burden on Kobe, and in Boston the Big Three isn't killed for winning only one title, despite that total paling in comparison to great Celtics of the past. Rather, it's a chance to be part of the best organization in basketball, one you know will be well-run and one that will spare no expense to win rings. It's like playing for the New York Yankees versus trying to start (restart) a winning tradition with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In L.A., Dwight will be celebrated as the next great Lakers big -- following Mikan, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq. He will accept the torch from Kobe as the Lakers' top guy, yet Kobe will still be great enough to help him win titles, not to mention having Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

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RB: If the new collective bargaining agreement is structured as the owners want it to be, the Lakers won't be able to add Howard even by trading Bynum for him, because they already have $47 million committed to Bryant and Pau Gasol in 2012. The Nets, however, would be able to put a package together featuring Brook Lopez for Howard, both of whom would be signed to contracts that fit under the new labor pact. And as unbelievable as Kobe has been in transforming his game to remain a championship-level closer, Howard would be far wiser to hook up with a 27-year-old Williams than a 34-year-old Bryant, since he certainly has more of a future with the former than the latter.

The only way Dwight is celebrated as the next Lakers big is if he wins rings -- as in multiples -- and, for all his improvement and gaudy numbers, there are still holes in his game. Going to Hollywood and being distracted by off-the-court enticements might be the worst thing for him as a basketball player. The comparison to the Big Three in Boston or Kobe doesn't work; the Celtics' stars weren't in their prime, as Howard will be in two years, and you're just dead wrong that the Lakers' legacy wasn't a burden for Kobe. He simply overcame it, as he has every other challenge. Dwight doesn't have that same DNA.

Fact is, as with any of the young stars today, winning one ring will be a monumental achievement. The parity is too great and the hard cap we're headed toward will only level the playing field even more. One ring in Brooklyn, for the Nets, would put Howard on a pedestal all his own. One ring in L.A. would make him the Laker Big Who Only Won One.

Chris Broussard and Ric Bucher are senior writers for ESPN The Magazine.

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