Yumcha

Discussion and news in here, folks!

Yumcha

Ben Gordon goes to Detroit: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,5953796.story

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

also charlie villanueva to pistons.



Hopefully the Lakers keep Ariza and Lamar

samxeyeam

Here's a question... If the lakers can keep ONLY one... Who would you want to stay? Lamar or Trevor? oOoOOo did I stir something up

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

hmmmmmmmmm I choose Ariza, although Lamar is a very "versitile" player he does not play consistent but he said he will take a substantional pay cut so we might be able to keep both.


I also hope we keep chris brown, screw farmar,he didnt show up this past season although he was injured but he also needs to man up,I remember last years playoffs against the Jazz Darron williams was pushing him around like a rag doll.

but we shall see looks like another interesting off-season

Osamu

news says memphis has a deal w/ clips zach randolph for quintin richardson. I kinda saw this coming when memphis was interested in zbo, but wanted to send darko. Clips didn't need a 4th (or 5th) center, but a decent swingman.

It'll be quite a throwback to see Qrich back in a clips uniform. Maybe we need to bring back miles and the headbump.


I think it kinda works for both sides. Clips save a lot of money, and even can be players in the 2010 free agency, and hopefully between Qrich and Ricky Davis, one of them proves to be a decent swingman. Zach always put up stats and I think it fills a need for memphis. I'll always be curious though if zbo could be part of a winning organization.


I think the clips are just piling up the players that wear the number 23, so they can all fight for it. Maybe next year when camby expires, they'll be able to add a new '23'

JediMindTricks

good move for detroit. bg and charlie v will help. but wow...$55mill for ben? will they have him come off the bench? or will they look to trade rip?

lots of rumors out there.

apparently, houston's only offering ronnie a 1 year deal, which makes sense given our current injury problems. now, i'm hearing artest going to cleveland in a sign and trade if cleveland can't get ariza.

i'm reading sheed going to cleveland, SA, orlando or even boston. i think it was rick bucher that wrote kg is petitioning hard to bring sheed to boston.

i'm gonna go against popular opinion and say odom.

i know he's inconsistent and frustrating. but i just think he's a better player and offers more than ariza. he's such a freak physically. he's too quick for 4's and too big for 3's. he creates mismatches all over the court. he's a better ball handler, passer, and can be a good defender. he's only 30, and this team is built to win now so his age isn't a problem.

ariza has developed into a fine shooter and wing defender, but i honestly believe that odumb provides more to the lakers than ariza.

i love this time of the year.

JediMindTricks

you mean shannon?

and in all fairness, not a lot of pg's can keep up with deron williams. dude's a big and strong point guard. and a very, very good one too.

JediMindTricks

clips had to do something. they got blake griffin and there's a logjam at the 4. only the clips would get the #1 pick in a draft where the only legitimate prospect plays a position they don't need help in.

hope oj stays away from zach and doesn't learn any bad habits.

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

Yea shannon, I found it funny that he looked like "chris brown"




Scratch that plan:

Trevor Ariza's short but sweet stay in Los Angeles might be coming to an end.

The 24-year-old swingman, who played a key role in the Lakers' run to their 15th NBA championship, is on the verge of leaving the club, sources close to the situation said on Wednesday.

With at least five teams pursuing Ariza, the Lakers are currently unwilling to pay him more than the $5.6 million mid-level exception.

"They're letting him go," one of the sources said.

Cleveland is making a hard push for Ariza, and the Cavaliers' coaching staff was speaking with him on Wednesday. While Cleveland can only offer the mid-level as well, Ariza's disappointment with the Lakers' stance has moved other suitors ahead of his current team.

The Rockets, Clippers, Raptors and Blazers are also showing interest in Ariza. Portland and Toronto could each offer more than the mid-level exception.

If the Lakers refuse to increase their offer, it's a clear indication that they are choosing their other big free agent forward, Lamar Odom, over the younger Ariza.

Ariza averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in the regular season for the Lakers last season. He increased his scoring to 11.3 points and had 4.2 rebounds per game in the playoffs. He had 16 points and 15 points in the last two Lakers victories in the Finals.

Those numbers were a jump over his career averages of 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Ariza has played for three teams in his five-year career.


Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.

JediMindTricks

if a team is going to pay him more than the MLE, then ariza's getting a deal.

he's a good player. but in my opinion, he's also a good player that flourished playing alongside a superstar like kobe. anything more the MLE is too much for a player that i don't think will ever be a 2nd option on an offense.

he'd be a great fit for cleveland. (does lebron move to the 2 then?) he'd be stupid to go to the clippers or raptors.

personally, i'm that we get hedo. (and yao and tmac are healthy. fml.)

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

Looks like Blazers want Hedo,I dont think houston will sign him but who knows,they also want artest back and looks like they want Gortat also

You think Houston will sign Artest?

JediMindTricks

i don't remember what our payroll looks like. it can't be good with yao and tmac on the books, still.

but if yao was healthy, i think we'd be interested in hedo. and i think he'll be a great fit for us. he gives us height and length, can score and shoot, and can create shots on his own, which is something we sorely missed in the playoffs. plus, he'll be reunited with adelman.

but right now, i wouldn't be surprised if houston says f it and get tmac's salary off the books and be a player in next summer's free agency. bosh back to texas?

i read houston's only offering a 1 year contract to ron ron, which makes sense. why lock him down for multi-years if the team's going to suck w/o yao and tmac.

but i'm sure ron ron won't take it. that's why there's talk of him going to cleveland or lakers in a sign and trade. however, the rumors are us taking back anderson varejao in return. oh noes. :thumbsdow

Osamu

The odom/ariza situation is a tough one. If they didn't sign ariza, they'd definitely need to do something for a decent 3. Maybe they could pick up one from portland, especially as they seem to be interested in picking up a new one. Especially if fernandez is as upset as he says he is, maybe he'll want to come play w/ pau.

odom is the more talented player, but will command more money, and it's still a lot of money for someone coming off the bench. They could probably go after someone cheaper in FA that brings some toughness like bass or powe, and still have powell as well.


I really don't understand why detroit made such a huge offer to BG. Just coming from a year with a offensive minded SG w/ rip didn't seem to work too well. I guess BG might be willing to come off the bench like in years past, but that never seems to work all that well either.

wasupdog

iTrader: (2)

^you have to overpay for free agents or else they won't commit and will look for more money. it's mind boggling that ben gordon turned down 50mill and also 54mill before. there was huge potential there for bonzi wells part II, but gordon can score like a mofo.

there's a rumor that king crab and bosh are planning on signing onto the same team during the summer of '10.

hedo's good but only in the right system i think. i wouldn't want him as main focal point of my team because that's exactly when he starts to put up 4-14 shooting nights. i think he's somewhat overrated. him and ariza better hope they end up in the right system if they switch teams or else they're going to end up like all of the other guys that played good for 3 months, signed huge contracts and then became untradeable. the system players are in is huge...look at ariza before he got to the lakers.

i think the key to a lakers repeat is bynum, assuming they lose either ariza or scrodumb. they basically won the championship with bynum giving them minimal help, so if he plays like he did when he started to average something like 15-8 and played defense that would easily replace ariza or scrodumb. well, he better do something because next season he will be making 15mill/year

JediMindTricks

but BG actually ended up doing the right thing since he's getting more than what he turned down. risky, but it paid off.

hedo won't be the main scorer for portland. it's brandon roy's team. and then aldridge is still probably the second scorer. as a third scorer, i think he can thrive if he's relied on being a playmaker for that team.

i agree what you're saying about ariza, but he also improved his shooting a lot during the past 2 seasons. so it wasn't just the system, even though i think playing with kobe and pau really made it easier for him.

CarbonGray Earl

Good discussion guys. Kinda skimmed through, and here are my thoughts:

-Keep Odom for sure (Jedi's right, IMO). Ariza played off of kobe primarily (look at who got him the ball for those 3s), but LO and Pau were pretty much an unanswerable pairing last year. If you guard one, who guards the other? Most teams didn't have enough talent to cover 2 very mobie fowards like that, and they play well together.

Add to that, IMO, Ariza's agents just putting out rumors to drive his price up. There alot of forwards out there this year, so he needs leverage anyway he can get it.

-In related news, while Cleveland may be making a "push" for Ariza, they are also making the same sort of push for Ron-Ron. Its all posturing.

-Hedo to Portland is a good move, but I've been reading that Rudy is furious about this. Rudy will probably become a backup, since Roy and Hedo invariably take the 2 and 3 spots.

JediMindTricks

for MJ taking adam morrison when a dude like brandon roy was available.

that ariza's agent is just trying to drive the price up. but that's his job so whatever. any team that's going to overspend will regret it in a few years.

chinoz

That team this year will be the Raptors... all in hopes that Bosh will stick around.

JediMindTricks

bosh isn't sticking around. he already said he'll be a free agent next summer. he's outta there.

dom

He would be smart to sign with Lebron. Bosh isn't a primary scorer and never will be.

JediMindTricks

yea he'd be a great #2 guy.

kinda sad because i thought he'd be perfect in toronto since he looks like a raptor.

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

It looks like $ is more important to Ariza than championships. I'll never understand players like that in any sport. He's being offered ONLY $5.6 mil? Boo freaking hoo, its still $5.6 million freaking dollars. /end rant

chinoz

but him becoming a free agent just means he wants more money... and Toronto is the team that can give him the most.

Hopefully raps trade him though..

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

Artes to Lakers?!?!

I kind of hope this would,so Im kind of happy?


Free-agent forward Ron Artest says he's leaving the Houston Rockets to join the Los Angeles Lakers.



Artest

In a text message to ESPN.com on Thursday night, Artest wrote: "I am happy to say I am goin' to L.A."

ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reports that Artest and the Lakers have reached a verbal agreement on what is believed to be a three-year contract worth an estimated $18 million. Wednesday is the first day free agents are permitted to sign new deals.

Artest's decision was first reported by CBSSports.com. The mercurial swingman was initially courted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In his text message, Artest said that he met Thursday with Lakers owner Jerry Buss and had spoken to coach Phil Jackson about the move to Los Angeles, where Artest has been spending his offseasons.

Artest's forthcoming arrival strongly suggests that unrestricted free agent Trevor Ariza -- who played such a pivotal run in the Lakers' championship run -- is bound to leave the team. Broussard reported Wednesday that, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations, Ariza was likely to leave the Lakers for a new team because L.A. was reluctant to sign him to a contract starting above the league's $5.6 million mid-level exception, even after Ariza's postseason success.

Ariza has been courted by numerous teams, including Cleveland, and met Thursday in Las Vegas with Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey to possibly swap spots with Artest.

Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

CarbonGray Earl

^^for 3 years, 18 mil. That's CHEAP; anyone would sign him for that much. He just fucked it up for Trev and his agent. Good stuff by the Lakers.

Artest is a head case, but if there is one guy that can handle it, its Phil. Apparently Phil wanted him, and Jerry Buss personally spoke to Artest. Artest was always the goal. Add to that, he respects Kobe and Lamar, so hopefully, chemistry issues will be taken care of.

Ariza, as much he contributed to the final games, at the same price, Artest is the much better player.

eccjak

just watched Espn and Rasheed Wallce sign two yr deal with the Celtics. Damn Artest on the Lakers.

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

Exactly was I was thinking,I think its gonna make them much better and hopefully toughen up that defense

CarbonGray Earl

^^as tough and physical people tried to play the Lakers in this year's playoffs, no one is crazier than crazy pills. As tough and intimidating KG is, you know what you're gonna get. With Ron, he's just crazy.

And the side benefit, is that Artest isn't going to other teams as a championship piece. Kobe doesn't have to play him, but every other wing is going to have to run into him. Kobe doesn't have to play the other team's best player.

CarbonGray Earl

Sheed to the Celtics is a pretty big deal. There'll be more drama in the east this next year. Cavs and Celtics are gonna be fun to watch.

Lakers vs. one of these 2 this christmas? Damn, I can't wait....

NetEditor

Artest to L.A. is a pretty clear indication that Phil will be back next year.

Osamu

damn, I don't know how to feel about the artest thing. it could be the best thing or worst thing ever.


no doubt he's an upgrade in talent, but i dunno, it's hard to see a championship team lose a contributer, and just hope a known headcase fits in. Definitely fills the lakers need for toughness and they are definitely better equipped to handle the more physical teams which was always their weakness.

JediMindTricks

not necessarily.

he'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer. so even if toronto can offer him the most money, he doesn't have to accept it. he can go to new york or miami or whoever offers him a deal.



and if they can resign odom, then this is a huge win for LA and still keeps them at the top of the west.



this offseason, despite a not so impressive free agent class, has been bonkers. all the contenders just got better.



yea i was just thinking that. remember that denver series when kobe was gassed by the end because he had to handle the offense and guard carmelo? won't be the case anymore.

wasupdog

iTrader: (2)

this is probably the craziest offseason i've ever seen. i can't think of one with more cost cutting movement and the result is the contenders get better and the bad teams are getting worse. we owe it all to...the recession lol.

JediMindTricks

this is definitely one of the more exciting offseasons.

you can tell which teams wanna win, and which teams are tanking for 2010.

JediMindTricks

as for ariza and the rockets....i don't even know what to think of it.

i have no idea what direction the team is trying to head into. with yao and tmac gone, is ariza our go-to guy?

JediMindTricks

boston fans: does sheed come off the bench or start at center?

with the way perkins man-handled D12, i think he has to start.

kg
pierce
perkins
jesus
rondo

sheed 6th man
big baby
do they keep marbury?

TLyoung'un

I was wondering the exact same thing... I came here for some insight but I guess I'm not the only one that is confused about it.

At any rate, I like the Artest trade. I'm going to vegas soon and I might put some money on the lakers to repeat. If we can keep odom, i am sold.

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

Yeah Houston needs another big name but who?

JediMindTricks

i wouldn't be surprised if we don't pick up a star or big name player.

maybe we'll just collect young guys and make a run for some free agents next summer.

it's crazy how quickly the team fell apart. just a month ago, we were actually optimistic about contending for the west.

now, after yao's injury, we're in shambles. how quickly things turn.