Three-Team Deal in the Works?

There are rumors that a potential Ron Artest trade could get more complicated with the addition of a third team.  There is speculation that the Lakers and Kings could bring the Chicago Bulls into the mix. One possible three-way deal would have the Lakers shipping Lamar Odom to Chicago and Jordan Farmar and Chris Mihm to Sacramento.  The team would receive Ron Artest from the Kings and guard Kirk Hinrich from the Bulls.  The Bulls would receive Odom, while the Kings would get Farmar, Mihm and Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas.

This deal would be incredible for the Lakers, which is why it’s hard to believe it will happen.  The Lakers would have a great starting lineup in Hinrich, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.  Hinrich would fit in very nicely with the team and was a player that the Lakers had reportedly been very interested in last summer during the trade talks involving Bryant.  Hinrich isn’t a true point guard, which is fine in the triangle offense.  He’s smart and can knock down shots, which Phil Jackson would love.  The Lakers wouldn’t be sacrificing a ton of depth by making the trade, but they’d have to look to add a big man at some point.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 17, 2008 - Post a comment

Walton to Have Surgery, Summer League Update

Lakers forward Luke Walton will undergo surgery on his ankle to remove bone spurs.  This type of surgery usually isn’t a big deal and is a clean-up type of procedure.  It would be surprising if this caused Walton to miss a significant amount of time.  Walton is a really solid player.  He does everything well and has a high basketball IQ.  Son of former NBA great and current commentator Bill Walton, basketball is in Luke’s blood.  He’ll be an integral part of what should be a title contender this season.

In summer league, the Lakers fell to the Sixers 81-73.  Colby Karl led the team in scoring yet again, notching 18 points.  Again, it appears that rookie Joe Crawford poses the most threat to Karl as far as a roster spot is concerned.  Crawford chipped in 16 points and three rebounds.  Bryant Dunston added 10 points and eight rebounds, but he’s a real long shot to make the squad.  Local products Davon Jefferson and Lorenzo Mata-Real didn’t see any playing time.  The Lakers’ summer league team shouldn’t be expected to win many games, as nearly every player is either headed to the D-League or overseas and most teams have a few NBA players and a first rounder playing.  Karl and Crawford appear to be the only guys with a shot at a roster spot.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 16, 2008 - Post a comment

Kobe Karl?

No, it was Coby Karl who led the Lakers to a win in their second summer league game.  The PA announcer busted out a “Kobe Bryant” shout out when Karl went right at Memphis rookie O.J. Mayo and scored in impressive fashion.  Karl might not quite be Kobe Bryant, but he led the Lakers’ summer squad with 16 points in their victory against the Grizz.  The second-year man dropped nine in the third quarter alone and had a nice overall game.  Coby, son of Nuggets head coach George Karl, is the only player on the summer team that was on the Lakers roster last season.  He was unquestionably the last guy on the bench and rarely saw time on the floor.

Karl does have some competition for his roster spot this summer.  The team’s second round pick in the 2008 draft, Joe Crawford, has chipped in nine points in both summer league contests thus far and has looked good.  Two other players I would watch out for based on talent alone are Davon Jefferson and James White.  It’s likely that Karl makes the team again because he has a year under his belt learning the triangle offense, probably the most difficult offensive scheme to master.  Crawford is a possibility, but he’ll likely end up in the D-League or overseas.  The Lakers play their third game in the Vegas Summer League today against the Sixers.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 15, 2008 - Post a comment

Odom-Artest Deal Still Alive

Rumors circling the Lakers concerning a Lamar Odom for Ron Artest trade have yet to be squashed.  Speculation continues that the Lakers forward will be shipped to Sacramento in exchange for Artest and Kenny Thomas’ $18 million contract.  Thomas’ contract would have to be included to make the financial aspects of the deal match up.  Artest has just one year remaining on a contract in which he is grossly underpaid, at $7.4 million for the final season.  Odom is set to make approximately $14 million next season.

Keep an eye on the Ronny Turiaf situation because it relates to the trade scenario.  Turiaf has signed an offer sheet with Golden State for four years at approximately $17 million.  The Lakers have a week from the day he signed the offer sheet to match the offer or Turiaf walks.  It’s unlikely the Lakers will match the offer given to Turiaf, but if they do you can immediately disregard the possibility of an Artest deal for financial reasons.  Should the Lakers pull of this trade, it would make them the hands down favorite to win the NBA Finals.  Artest reportedly holds Kobe Bryant in the highest respects and it’s unlikely that there would be any clashing between the two stars.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 14, 2008 - Post a comment

Turiaf Signs Offer Sheet

Lakers restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf has signed an offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors for four years at approximately 17 million dollars.  Turiaf averaged six points, four rebounds and more than a block per game last season for Los Angeles.  The Lakers have seven days to match the offer from the Warriors or Turiaf will walk.

The Lakers should no match this offer.  Turiaf is a pretty good bench player and a high energy guy that can give a team a spark when he enters the game, but he’s not worth the money Golden State offered him.  It appears that the Warriors are in somewhat of a panic mode after losing point guard Baron Davis, as they have offered contracts to both Turiaf and Corey Maggette that appear to be higher than each player’s market value would dictate.  The Lakers should not dole out four million dollars per year for a bench guy who averages six and four.  Turiaf is a great teammate and a good locker room guy, but that only takes you so far.  Andrew Bynum will be back and Chris Mihm will get more minutes, so that doesn’t leave much of a role for Turiaf.  The Lakers need to focus on signing Sasha Vujacic and potentially acquiring Ron Artest via trade.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 11, 2008 - Post a comment

Artest Trade Rumored Again

The Ron Artest trade rumors are swirling again and it’s been reported by the Sacramento Bee that the Lakers have offered Lamar Odom for the 28-year-old forward.  The Kings are apparently insisting that the Lakers also take Kenny Thomas (and the $18 million remaining on his terrible contract) in the deal.  This signals that the Lakers don’t think their current lineup is ready to take the next step, as in winning an NBA championship.  The Odom for Artest swap gives the Lakers a different dimension and could improve the team in a number of facets.

Artest is an elite perimeter defender, he can knock down shots and he can create his own shot.  He’s not an offensive juggernaut, but he did average 20 points per game last season.  Odom is more effective when he plays the power forward position, which he did for much of last season.  The return of Andrew Bynum, though, will shift Gasol to the four and Odom to the three, which he is capable of playing, but is a role in which he’s less effective.  Artest, however, is a natural small forward and would fit right in to the Lakers’ starting lineup.  He and Kobe would form the best defensive tandem on the perimeter and he’d provide toughness to a team that was exposed for being a bit soft in the NBA finals.  He’d also allow Bryant to guard the second best perimeter scorer on the opposing team, leaving him more energy for the offensive end.  It’s a risky move considering Artest’s tendency to do crazy things and Thomas’ contract, but it could lead them to a title.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 10, 2008 - Post a comment

Bynum Ready to Work Out

Lakers center Andrew Bynum is scheduled to begin offseason workouts next week.  Bynum has been recovering from an injury to his kneecap for the past six months and missed the second half of the Lakers season, which included a run to the NBA Finals.  Bynum and the team were both performing much better than anticipated at the time of his injury and it was initially assumed that the Lakers’ season was lost when the seven-footer went down.  But the team regained relevancy in the Western Conference by pulling off a miracle deal with the Memphis Grizzlies for forward/center Paul Gasol.  Gasol stepped right in and picked up the triangle offense immediately, helping the Lake Show reach the finals.

It was during the finals where the physical play of the Celtics bigs appeared to overwhelm Gasol in all but one game.  Bynum’s return will allow Pau to move to his more natural position at power forward and Andrew will provide the physical presence in the lane that the team lacked without him.  The 20-year-old center should be the missing piece to the puzzle and, I believe, makes the Lakers the favorite in the west.  Bynum has immense potential and looks to be a franchise center in the making.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 9, 2008 - Post a comment

Lakers Waiting on Free Agents

The Lakers are playing the waiting game with their free agents.  The team has made one-year qualifying offers to Sasha Vujacic ($2.6 million) and Ronny Turiaf ($1 million).  Neither player has accepted the qualifying offer, as both are restricted free agents and are hoping to receive a sizeable offer sheet from another team.  If either player does sign an offer sheet from another team, the Lakers will then have seven days to match the offer, or the player leaves as if he’s unrestricted.  Vujacic is said to be hoping for an offer for the full mid-level exception, which is around six million dollars.  The Lakers reportedly have not offered Vujacic more than five million per year to this point, and it appears he will wait it out to see what other teams do.  Turiaf is expected to command less money but also appears to be hoping for a substantial offer.

The Lakers priority is to re-sign Vujacic, but I can understand how they’d be wary about giving him the full mid-level.  Vujacic shined this season as a spark off the bench, providing instant offense upon entering the game, but he’s only had one good year in the NBA.  Vujacic also performed well in the playoffs and we’ve seen teams offer the mid-level to worse players who stepped up their game in the postseason.  Jerome James anyone?  I wouldn’t rule out the Lakers matching an offer to Vujacic for the entire mid-level, but they won’t offer it to him unless they have to.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 8, 2008 - Post a comment

Lakers Interested in Maggette?

It has been reported that the Lakers have some interest in free agent Corey Maggette.  It’s still uncertain what will happen with free agents Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, though the team has expressed their interest in retaining the services of both players.  Maggette is drawing a lot of interest around the league and will likely be forced to accept an offer for the mid-level exception.  Maggette averaged 22 points, a career-high, this past season with the Clippers, but teams with cap space are going after younger more coveted guys like Josh Smith and Josh Childress, leaving Maggette as the odd man out as far as cashing in goes.

I could see Maggette as a backup plan for the Lakers, but nothing more.  I think they would much rather re-sign Vujacic and Turiaf because those guys are already familiar with the triangle offense, are younger and are better suited to be role players than Maggette.  Maggette was the primary scoring option for his team last season, and he’d probably come off the bench for the Lakers.  The team’s starting lineup is all but set going into next season, and Maggette would likely be asked to provide scoring off the bench in similar fashion to the role that Vujacic played this season.  It’s difficult to see him being happy with that, but if he’s aching for a ring there may be no better option.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 7, 2008 - Post a comment

Bynum Wants Max Extension

Andrew Bynum’s agent has told the Lakers that his client will be seeking a max extension when the two begin negotiations this off-season.  Bynum is reportedly looking for a 5-year, $80 million deal.  The Lakers may be hesitant to give Bynum an extension before training camp begins, due to the fact that the 20-year-old center missed the final 46 games of last season with a knee injury.

There is no reason to think that Bynum won’t come back from his injury just as strong as ever, but the Lakers probably want to play it safe and wait until they can see he’s 100 percent.  Bynum took major strides last off-season and became a force in the paint in the games that he did play in this past year.  He’s already a defensive beast and is developing an offensive game.  He’s only 20 years old and already looks to be one of the best centers in the league.  It’s certain that the Lakers want to lock this kid up to a long-term deal.  Bynum has all the makings to be a franchise center and is truly the future of the franchise.  If they let him walk, they’ll be on the opposite end of what happened when Shaq left the Magic for the Lakers, a pure head-scratcher.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 3, 2008 - Post a comment


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