My Plan For the Lakers.

[shitsho]

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Dwight has the ability to be one of the most dominant big men; however, he seems to be in a funk. Don't blame Kobe either---that's what losers do.
Usually guys will rise up to the challenge of playing around one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Bring your energy and focus and RISE UP SON!
But he hasn't...he's a pouter, a moper, and plays weak-ass half the time.
Think about how the NBA has evolved. It's softer now.
Think Howard would have survived during Barkley's era?
Those dudes were really tough. Elbows were an everyday thing.
Now you get suspended, fined, and it gets blown out of proportion.
Whatever.
I wouldn't sign him. He's an anchor at this point.
I'd rather have a top 5 PG.

I was about to ask why you felt the way you do but then I saw your Laker avi. Is this the typical response of Laker fans? Your whole post says "sour grapes" in advance of his decision. Face it. Howard is the best center in the NBA right now. He is a game changer and if you were the Lakers GM you wouldn't last very long. Theres is a reason why they have billboards up begging Howard to stay. Howard was hurt last year and yes Kobe was a part of the problem as well. Howard appears to be fully healthy for next season and you will probably have to eat those words as a Laker fan if he leaves. If he gets the same sense of sour grapes in advance that I do then he is gone.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

This is highly unlikely. As Kobe already mentioned, he will retire as a Laker. And you can't have it both way with your opinions of Kobe. You can't think Kobe won't ever play second fiddle to someone in Los Angeles, and then believe he will go across country and play second fiddle to Lebron. And if Kobe decides he would be second fiddle to Lebron, then why couldn't Lebron go to the Lakers and win a championship with the more prestigious franchise?

I don't think Kobe leaves LA, but I never said Kobe wouldn't play second fiddle. I think if he wants another ring anywhere, he will have to. Especially coming off of this injury.


And to Jay,
Next summer, the Cavs aren't letting Irving go anywhere next summer. Also, Nash can't be amnestied since he was signed after the new CBA started.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Well Kold, despite what you and others want, the indicators heavily point to Houston. The Lakers effed this up by keeping Dont'knowi when Howard specifically stated on a number of occasions that he was not interested in playing for the dope. Then Jim Buss totally ignored the man's request and kept Don'tknowi. So, it won't take long for Howard to packing up and moving to Houston.

Not really.
Vegas has him 7-5 to go to Houston, 9-5 to stay with Lakers.
Seems like it could go either way.

 

[Kold]

Well Kold, despite what you and others want, the indicators heavily point to Houston. The Lakers effed this up by keeping Dont'knowi when Howard specifically stated on a number of occasions that he was not interested in playing for the dope. Then Jim Buss totally ignored the man's request and kept Don'tknowi. So, it won't take long for Howard to packing up and moving to Houston.

I wouldn't disagree, in fact I pegged Houston as the favorite as well when they kept D'antoni. I still feel that they're the favorite, but there were some promising reports coming out of the recent meeting we had with Dwight

 

[Retroram52]

Well Turnup. Trusting odds is fairly tenuous. The same oddsmakers you quote predicted the odds of the Heat repeating was 3-2 and for the Spurs to capture the title was 6-1. We all know the outcome. Although word of mouth can be just as tenuous, the testimony of insiders is usually a better indicator than the odds. "Usually" is not an absolute guarantee but has a better set of predictors than the odds. Your "not really" statement is tenuous at best. I am going with the principals that are on the inside and Houston looks like highly promising. But again, no one can predict with 100% certainly what this dude is thinking.

 

[trojanfan12]

I agree with this entirely. I am sick and tired of this primadonna and his flip flopping ways. He doesn't want to play in the shadow of Kobe but he isn't and never will be a leader. I want him to walk. If he stays we will be held hostage to this punk for at least 5 years and the rebuilding process will be even longer.

Funny thing, I was listening to the radio and they said that one of the comments from a representative of one of the teams that he met with, was that Dwight was "indecisive"!! What a shock!!

Didn't say which team though!!

 

[trojanfan12]

I don't care what anyone says, if we can get Dwight, THEN I WANT HIM BACK. Dwight(when healthy) is IMO the best center when you factor in both sides of the floor. You don't just let him walk out of the door and be satisfied with it. Despite his flaws, he's YOUNG and can be part of a 2 superstar tandem to lead us into the future. Now I've seen some discussion about Lebron in 2014 in earlier pages so I'll throw in my 2c. The new cba IMO is going to break up the big 3 with Bosh being the fall guy. Lebron WILL opt out, and as of now there will be 2 teams. I've thrown out the Cavs because they hired Mike Brown. The 2 teams will be the Lakers and Heat. The Heat will present a shell of himself D-Wade with whatever reduced team they have due to the cba, and the Lakers will present a young Dwight Howard(if he resigns), and cap space. Laker homerism aside, I think that the Lakers will present a far better situation. If Dwight doesn't resign, I think the only chance that Lebron considers LA is if the Lakers can get Melo to sign on with him(wouldn't put money on that), with Melo playing the PF position. Now, my doubt is that Lebron has such a strong bond with D-Wade, to where it wouldn't suprise me if he chose to stick it out with him. If all else fails, we keep our cap space and go into 2015 FA which also presents MAJOR players. Just off the top of my head, I'm VERY willing to bet that Kevin Love and Rondo will bolt in 2015 if they don't get put into much better situations. That also doesn't factor in the other guys that are in that class.

Dan Patrick has been saying on his show for about 2 years now, that he believes Kevin Love will be a Laker!!

If Dwight re-signs, K. Love would be a great fit, imo. He is a great "stretch 4" who will also bang inside and grab alot of rebounds!!

 

[trojanfan12]

LOL LBJ WILL NOT PLAY WITH MELO!!!!

Melo is a very selfish player who does not play D. LBJ knows this and it is why he was probably not considered for a big 3.

I have no idea where LBJ will be in 2014-15 season but if the Lakers have Kobe it will not be there. If they have Dwight I think the chances are just as low. Dwight has made fun of Lebron publicly several times back when Dwight was relevant.

The CBA does present several problems for the big 3 but something you have not counted on is the possibility they take pay cuts again to keep the team together. I honestly see that more likely than LBJ in a Laker uni.


2014-15:

Heat
.
.
.
Cleveland
Meloless Knicks
Brooklyn
LAL

The reason Cleveland is higher on this list is because they will have a team in place that could be ready to win just needing an LBJ. LA will have Dwight and that is it, or Dwight minus Kobe (meaning the negative effect Kobe will have on the team). Brooklyn can make moves and they pieces they can spin into a good team around LBJ. Everyone loves playing in the garden, except when Melo is on your team.

Agree 100% on Melo!! People like to call Kobe a ballhog, Melo is the ultimate ballstopper. People like to bash D'Antoni about his time with the Knicks. The truth is, the Knicks offense was just fine when Melo was out. When he came back, he demanded the ball and stopped the offense.

 

[trojanfan12]

Well Turnup. Trusting odds is fairly tenuous. The same oddsmakers you quote predicted the odds of the Heat repeating was 3-2 and for the Spurs to capture the title was 6-1. We all know the outcome. Although word of mouth can be just as tenuous, the testimony of insiders is usually a better indicator than the odds. "Usually" is not an absolute guarantee but has a better set of predictors than the odds. Your "not really" statement is tenuous at best. I am going with the principals that are on the inside and Houston looks like highly promising. But again, no one can predict with 100% certainly what this dude is thinking.

They were saying this morning that it looks like Dwight is going to Montana to "weigh things out"!!

Isn't Phil in Montana?

Think Jeannie might be there too?

Just sayin'!!

 

[tlance]

Agree 100% on Melo!! People like to call Kobe a ballhog, Melo is the ultimate ballstopper. People like to bash D'Antoni about his time with the Knicks. The truth is, the Knicks offense was just fine when Melo was out. When he came back, he demanded the ball and stopped the offense.

I have perhaps been too hard on D'Antoni as a coach.

He is not an idiot and his stuff works when he has the right personnel.

Thing is, Melo was a horrible fit for the reasons you outline and the personnel in LA is even worse for a number of reasons. The Lakers had the pieces to be a pretty good grind it out half court team last year, but D'Antoni does not know how to do that. They were slow and un-athletic, so why the hell are you pushing the pace?

Great coaches need to be able to adapt their system to fit the players on their roster. D'Antoni can't do that.

 

[Retroram52]

Well stated tlance. Definitely fish out of water scenario.

 

[trojanfan12]

I have perhaps been too hard on D'Antoni as a coach.

He is not an idiot and his stuff works when he has the right personnel.

Thing is, Melo was a horrible fit for the reasons you outline and the personnel in LA is even worse for a number of reasons. The Lakers had the pieces to be a pretty good grind it out half court team last year, but D'Antoni does not know how to do that. They were slow and un-athletic, so why the hell are you pushing the pace?

Great coaches need to be able to adapt their system to fit the players on their roster. D'Antoni can't do that.

I disagree to a point with the bolded out part. The base of D'Antoni's offense isn't the "7 seconds or less" that he ran in Phoenix and to little bit lesser extent with the Knicks. It was run that way, particularly in Phoenix, because that was the personnel that he had.

His offense is all about ball movement. His philosophy is "move it or shoot it". Not give a guy the ball and watch him spend 7-10 seconds backing his defender down or dribbling around the perimeter looking for a lane to the basket.

When the Lakers offense was most effective last year, they were running D'Anton's offense, but at a slower pace than it was run in Phoenix. Dwight was also most effective during these times because he was getting the ball on the move and going right to the hoop for a layup or dunk.

D'Antoni was in the meeting so that he could show Dwight how effective a big that is as athletic as Dwight could be in his offense.

 

[shitsho]

Funny thing, I was listening to the radio and they said that one of the comments from a representative of one of the teams that he met with, was that Dwight was "indecisive"!! What a shock!!

Didn't say which team though!!

I think that rumor came from a source of Chris Broussards from the meeting in LA. Doesnt look good for LA if Howard was indecisive. He had probably already made up his mind by the time he met with LA. If he was still open I think he would have been more agreeable.

 

[tlance]

I disagree to a point with the bolded out part. The base of D'Antoni's offense isn't the "7 seconds or less" that he ran in Phoenix and to little bit lesser extent with the Knicks. It was run that way, particularly in Phoenix, because that was the personnel that he had.

His offense is all about ball movement. His philosophy is "move it or shoot it". Not give a guy the ball and watch him spend 7-10 seconds backing his defender down or dribbling around the perimeter looking for a lane to the basket.

When the Lakers offense was most effective last year, they were running D'Anton's offense, but at a slower pace than it was run in Phoenix. Dwight was also most effective during these times because he was getting the ball on the move and going right to the hoop for a layup or dunk.

D'Antoni was in the meeting so that he could show Dwight how effective a big that is as athletic as Dwight could be in his offense.

The stretch you are referring to was when Kobe was being more facilitator than scorer, right?

If so then yes I agree. With Kobe as facilitator, his offense could work with LA. Does Kobe want to play that role long term though? Kobe as a primary scorer, things don't flow as smoothly.

 

[LAKERSUSCBAM]

whichever way it goes Lakers fans will live with it. Can't put a gun to his head, he's gotta want to be here for all the right reasons.

welcome back Davwy!

 

[trojanfan12]

The stretch you are referring to was when Kobe was being more facilitator than scorer, right?

If so then yes I agree. With Kobe as facilitator, his offense could work with LA. Does Kobe want to play that role long term though? Kobe as a primary scorer, things don't flow as smoothly.

Yes. Kobe became the facilitator because of Nash's injuries. The biggest problem that the Lakers had was they were learning D'Antoni's offense "on the fly" because of what happened with Mike Brown. Nash was being counted on to make for less of a "learning curve". When Nash got hurt, the Lakers were basically stuck between 2 different offenses (Brown's and D'Antoni's) that were polar opposites.

End result was lots of Kobe just to try and stay in games while they tried to learn D'Antoni's offense and everyone's role in it. The fact that Pau, Blake and I don't even remember who else, who were all being counted on to play major roles, also missed significant time with injuries, led to the clusterfuck that the Laker were for much of the season.

 

[hockey878]

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Dwight has the ability to be one of the most dominant big men; however, he seems to be in a funk. Don't blame Kobe either---that's what losers do.
Usually guys will rise up to the challenge of playing around one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Bring your energy and focus and RISE UP SON!
But he hasn't...he's a pouter, a moper, and plays weak-ass half the time.
Think about how the NBA has evolved. It's softer now.
Think Howard would have survived during Barkley's era?
Those dudes were really tough. Elbows were an everyday thing.
Now you get suspended, fined, and it gets blown out of proportion.
Whatever.
I wouldn't sign him. He's an anchor at this point.
I'd rather have a top 5 PG.

Does that make Kobe a loser then? Because he sure likes to blame other people a lot...

 

[RobToxin]

Personally, my plan for the Lakers would be for them sumbitches to go 0-82.....

Actually I take that back.

My plan would be for them to reach the WCF....

and get their asses swept by the Spurs!

That sounds like an awesome plan to me.

 

[Davwy]

The "in thing" right now looks to be trying to win one with a "less" prestigious franchise when you look at where the talent is.

Houston (if Dwight goes there)
Clippers
Golden St.
Indiana
Denver
Brooklyn
Memphis

Yes, you're right about that there is an "in thing" right now where many of the winning franchises or "less" prestigious, but outside of of Brooklyn and The Clippers, those other cities didn't grow into winning teams because they were targeted by high value free agents. Golden State, Memphis and Indiana did theirs through draft picks and trades (Pau for Mark Gasol). Chris Paul ended up in Los Angeles as the booby prize when Sterns pulled the plug on the Los Angeles deal. But the growth of Blake and the appeal of living in Los Angeles, a prime location, still helped the team. And the Net became a destination choice once the Franchised moved from Jersey into New York. And Houston does not have Dwight yet. If Chicago, Brooklyn or the Knicks had room, they would be on of top choices, along with Boston, if they were not rebuilding.

But my point is, with all things being equal when it comes to winning, the less prestigious teams usually don't win out.

 

[Davwy]

Davwy. Good to see you on the basketball threads.

Thanks, Retroram52!