New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[steve williams]

From Lakers.com re next year's roster

Lakers Roster Update
Published by Mike Trudell on June 6, 2011 12:08 pm in Off-Season.
What will the Lakers’ roster look like for new coach Mike Brown next season, you wonder?

Well, as of June 6, only eight spots are locked in, barring any unforeseen trades.

Wearing Purple and Gold (8):
- Kobe Bryant
- Pau Gasol
- Andrew Bynum
- Lamar Odom
- Ron Artest
- Derek Fisher
- Luke Walton
- Steve Blake
Details: All eight players, including the starting lineup and Sixth Man of the Year Odom, are on guaranteed contracts at least through the 2011-12 season.

The rest of the roster, however, is yet to be officially determined.

Player Options on 2011-12 contract (2):
- Matt Barnes
- Shannon Brown
Details: Last Tuesday, Barnes said he’s definitely going to pick up the option on his contract and stay in L.A. GM Mitch Kupchak told us on Thursday that he’s “been led to believe” that Barnes will do so, but that teams “don’t know in this business until it’s done.” Barnes has until the end of June to sign his contract. Brown has yet to reveal his plans regarding his option, which Kupchak said could affect how the Lakers approach the draft, in terms of trying to secure more guard help in the case that Brown leaves.

Non-Guaranteed Contracts (2):
- Devin Ebanks
- Derrick Caracter
Details: Both 2010 second round picks are on non-guaranteed contracts (there are no NBA parameters for second round picks, so each deal is worked out individually with the team), meaning neither player is ensured a roster spot unless they’ve not been released before all contracts become guaranteed in January. But it sounds like they’ll have a good chance: “You probably want to bring (Ebanks and Caracter) to training camp and take a good look at them,” said Kupchak. “They’re both good players, so they’d probably survive camp.”

Contract Expiring (2):
- Joe Smith
- Trey Johnson
Details: Both players were signed late in the season and guaranteed through the playoffs to shore up the roster, but their respective contracts did not go further. Kupchak said he believes that Smith wants to play at least another year, but that it’s “not a decision we’ll make now.” Johnson did spend the 2010 training camp with the Lakers.

Likely Retiring (1):
- Theo Ratliff
Details: Ratliff was not present at the team’s exit interviews and accordingly did not speak to reporters, but Kupchak said he expects Ratliff — who was on a one-year deal — to retire.

In conclusion, if both Barnes and Brown pick up their options, the Lakers will have five available roster spots, with Ebanks and Caracter getting a head start towards claiming two of the positions on potential second round picks from this season. Kupchak and his staff currently have four second round selections, with which they could do multiple things: keep all four picks and select players to compete for roster spots; take a European prospect or two and keep him in Europe; trade one or more of the picks; fill slots through free agency.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens during the June 23 draft.

 

[FrantzM]

I think Shannon Brown will be gone next year. He is an interesting player waiting for the right team to emerge .. maybe the Heat ? Or Bulls? or the Knicks as a shooting guard although his outside hot is not that great but he can penetrate ...

 

[steve williams]

Not so sure I agree with you. If he goes it leaves open the need for a point guard

I was surprised that Steve Blake has a contract through next year

 

[Ron Party]

IIRC, Steve Blake signed a 4 year deal at 4M per.

 

[steve williams]

I'm surprised at that.

I would keep Brown over Blake any day

Or how about Luke Walton with a guaranteed contract

 

[Ron Party]

Interesting observation:

It turns out there's nothing really wrong with LeBron James, no mysterious ailment or crisis that threw him off his game. That's simply who he is. Here's a 6-foot-9, 270-pound specimen, the likes of which the league has not seen, and it doesn't occur to him to take over games. He seems to think he's Spud Webb.

Wait a minute. That's not fair to Webb.

I can see how James would be upset with the flood of hatred coming his way, dating all the way back to his leaving Cleveland last summer, but as usual, he botched his explanation. In essence, he said all the "haters" can go back to their miserable lives, the poor saps, while he lives like a king. Anyone hear a backfire?

 

[steve williams]

it doesn't occur to him to take over games

I disagree with this comment

 

[FrantzM]

Shannon Brown athleticism and raw talent are unquestionable. His basketball IQ not so great. I don't see him bringing fear in the other team eyes when he is on the floor or comes off the bench ... The way a Jason Terry or Vinnie Johnson would do ... He is player who can score a bunch of points when the circumstances are ripe and fade the next day with no point no rebound, no assist and no steal

 

[steve williams]

I would still take him over Blake any day

 

[steve williams]

I am starting to like Mark Cuban.

He sure is wealthy

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...pay-for-your-110-000-bar-tab-A?urn=nba-wp4996

 

[jadis]

Agreed. He'll come around and get his. I think it's less about operating in the post and so forth, more about maturing and getting his head straight and feet on the ground. Seems very lost right now. BTW, the player he reminds me most of is Magic. Size, handle, court vision.

To me, the most important thing working against James at this point is PRESSURE.

There is no doubt, nor question about his phenomenal talent, strength, and speed in playing the game. But we should keep in mind too that he has been in the league for 8 years. He's won a few awards and scoring titles but no championships. Hence, the pressure is on him. Magic, despite being labelled 'Tragic Johnson' after his miscues in the finals of '84, HAD already won a title, IN HIS FIRST YEAR, and HOW! (42 points on the clinching game without Kareem, playing 3 positions and on the road at that) So it '84, he actually already had not 1, but 2 championship tucked under his belt. (another would come in '82) In short, during the mid 80s, Magic was a proven winner, a multiple champion, and past that '84 debacle, he won again in '85, '87 and '88. The closest guy near him in winning titles in his early years would be Larry Bird, and they were slugging it out almost on a yearly basis ever since they came into the league. It's easy to go under the radar, from the media's scrutiny if you have titles under your belt already, but that is not the luxury James enjoy at this point, specially after this Finals loss. The pressure mounted, imo, after they lost Game 4. It seems that James, and the Heat of course, lost their spirits after that. The spirit was in there at the opening rounds, but it could not be sustained, and they lost the next 3 mostly in the 4th quarter.

There are those who thrive under pressure, just yesterday, NBA TV here was showing that classic Bird-Dominique shootfest in an Eastern conference playoffs in the 80s. One can see how Bird took over in most 4th quarter plays, isolated, he would force his way through an opening to make 2 points, and then make outside shots on the next. He felt responsible. The will to win was in his face. Other players who showed that would of course be MJ, Magic, Kareem and even Isaiah, among others. But James clearly had not done that, in the Finals. He did against Boston and Chicago, but anything but the ring falls short.

A thought just occurred to me yesterday after watching more replays of the Finals games. Is it possible that James will NOT win a title at all? Saying that he's still young and definitely he'll get his ring is a sound pronouncement. But weren't people saying this exact thing after James' Cavs were swept by the Spurs 4 years ago? That James was still young and would win his championships? After 4 more years from today, if James still is 'ringless', can we still say that he's young and he'll get his ring? He'll be 31 by then. Not young really. I think this because winning an NBA championship is not easy. Ask Dallas and Cuban that. 11 years since Cuban bought the franchise, and 5 years after the '06 meltdown. Many teams as of now are pushing their pencils and burning the midnight oil to get free agents come July 1 (lockout pending) and teams like LAL, Boston, Chicago, OKC and of course Dallas will be looking to improve their rosters. So how easy is it for Miami to repeat into the Finals next season. Not so easy, I would think. Chicago and Boston will be looking for manpower to negate their losses to the Heat last season. I always say that KG was lucky that at least in his first year in Boston he got his title, because after that he got no more. He could have been in the class of Karl Malone et al had he not won a ring in '08. And people thought Boston would have won a couple more after '08. So it's not that easy. Add the pressure from the media for James to win a ring - well, it can be done, but it ain't gonna be easy.

 

[Ron Party]

A thought just occurred to me yesterday after watching more replays of the Finals games. Is it possible that James will NOT win a title at all? Saying that he's still young and definitely he'll get his ring is a sound pronouncement. But weren't people saying this exact thing after James' Cavs were swept by the Spurs 4 years ago? That James was still young and would win his championships? After 4 more years from today, if James still is 'ringless', can we still say that he's young and he'll get his ring? He'll be 31 by then. Not young really.

A thought occurred to me after reading this part of your post.

What if, come the time James has been in the league 13 years or so (like Dirk), and James still has not played on a team that won a championship. Do you think people will feel for him, wanting him to finally win one in the same way people felt this year about Dirk, Kidd & Marion, and the same way people felt about Dr. J in 1982? Or are people so soured on James that they hope he never wins one?

 

[FrantzM]

Jadis has made some very valid points: The coming seasons will not be dull.

 

[FrantzM]

A thought occurred to me after reading this part of your post.

What if, come the time James has been in the league 13 years or so (like Dirk), and James still has not played on a team that won a championship. Do you think people will feel for him, wanting him to finally win one in the same way people felt this year about Dirk, Kidd & Marion, and the same way people felt about Dr. J in 1982? Or are people so soured on James that they hope he never wins one?

"The Decision" made of him an arrogant and now tragic figure. I am not sure he came out of as a sympathetic figure either, his declarations after the game did not show much grace. I will not underestimate the value of PR but I think his image and marketability have been seriously tarnished by his play in the finals.A winner, he is not ... yet.. Will he ever be?

 

[jadis]

A thought occurred to me after reading this part of your post.

What if, come the time James has been in the league 13 years or so (like Dirk), and James still has not played on a team that won a championship. Do you think people will feel for him, wanting him to finally win one in the same way people felt this year about Dirk, Kidd & Marion, and the same way people felt about Dr. J in 1982? Or are people so soured on James that they hope he never wins one?

Ron,

I think it all depends on how he behaves in front of the media from hereon. As Frantz mentioned, The Decision showed arrogance, and one thing or trait that endears us fans to any player of any team is humility and grace, whether in victory or defeat. Dirk, for one, has been so humble and gracious in these entire playoff games. If James can make people forget the reasons why he is hated in the next few years ( now I'm not so sure if that can happen with the Cleveland fans) and actually endear himself to fans like Dr. J, Dirk, Kidd and Marion, that would be a good thing for his career and legacy. Only he can make it happen.

 

[steve williams]

Jadis

you need to be a sportswriter covering the NBA because you not only know the ame but also the history going way back

like you I am not so sure he can win one. IMO this was his year to win

 

[jadis]

And just one more thing I observed in these Finals. And it comes in the form of a question that lingered in my head. Isn't the play, or style, of Wade and James a bit similar? Looking at them, they both are great shooters, point makers. Both are strong, though of course James is stronger. Both can slash/drive as well. Both have great defensive skills. Both can shoot 3s. Both are 'leaders' (on any given team, even if they play on 2 different teams). In fact, imo, their positions, at 2 and 3, can even be swapped. What I mean is, redundancy of roles. And the most glaring question I now ask myself is, do they really fit in the same team, or in the same starting 5 because of this duplication of roles?

If we look at the 'first 3' of Dallas in Kidd, Barea, and Marion, we see different roles of these 3 as opposed to Wade, Chalmers, and James. Kidd is the distributor, Barea at 2 the ever active bug looking to free himself for jumphots and open lanes for drive-ins, and Marion for offensive boards and scrapping around loose balls. Looking at the Heat trio, all of these guy have one thing in common, shoot when they have the ball - well, you can't fault this, they're really expected to shoot and tally points. Because if Wade and James do not glaringly pile up the points, people will say, what's wrong with them? But people don't say that when Kidd, Barea, and Marion don't rack up points, because deep down, they do assists, rebounds, hussle, and sometimes, end up scoring points as well.
I begin to see this in a different light, the Wade/James combo. Their problem is how do you let them score 30 points EACH in a game? I think they did that a few times, but the problem remains, can they do that consistently, and more importantly, in the Finals? IIRC, both had not done 30+ points each against Dallas this season. (Pardon me if I get to think too much about basketball, after all, we might have nothing much to talk about in the next few months, and I am about to terminate my NBA Premium subscription because I'm not really too fond of the WNBA)

 

[jadis]

Jadis

you need to be a sportswriter covering the NBA because you not only know the ame but also the history going way back

like you I am not so sure he can win one. IMO this was his year to win

Thanks, Steve. If I lived in the States, I would love to have a part time job writing and talking about the game. But I live 5000 miles away and it's a bit different. What happens here in fact, is that, during live games, a couple of my friends in the city would be texting me by cell phone, as if we were sitting beside each other, commenting and making short analysis of the game as it happens. That's the wonder of technology. Almost like we guys here posting the plays and scores as it happens live. We love this game.

 

[FrantzM]

Jadis

The answer to your last post could be to make of James a Point Guard. He is as close to Magic as you may ever see with a stronger body. He would distribute the ball, rebound and score when the need is there .. He can be an incredible point guard. Remember that is what Riley did with Magic. When he came to the league he was the shooting guard and Norman Nixon was the point guard... Can Spoelstra pull this? I don't know but by making of James a point guard the problem is nearly solved.. James goes around doing his things and facilitating the other players, when D-Wade or Bosh have an off night he can score a bunch .. Could suit his temperament just fine .. Maestro not Star Soloist.

 

[jadis]

Jadis

The answer to you last post could be to make of James a Point Guard. He is like as close to Magic as yo may ever see with a stronger body. He would distribute the ball, rebound and score when the need is there .. He can be an incredible point guard. Remember that is what Riley did with Magic. When he came to the league he was the shooting guard and Norman Nixon was the point guard... Can Spoelstra pull this? I don't know but by making of James a point guard the problem is nearly solved.. James goes around doing his things and facilitating the other players, when D-Wade or Bosh have an off night he can score a bunch .. Could suits his temperament just fine .. Maestro not the Star Soloist.

Frantz,

That's a great idea. And I see what you mean. James is really fit for that position. Come to think of it, Miami does have point guard problems. Starting the season with Arroyo. Then Bibby from out of the blue in mid-season. And then Chalmers in the last game. Imagine, Bibby was benched for 0 minutes the entire Game 6 when he was their starting point guard the entire playoffs?