Not much is going on in Lakerland this offseason, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are doomed for another run at the NBA Finals.
As expected, Trevor Ariza exercised his contract option for next season. Ariza has proved this past season that he can run in the triangle offense, and they need him for his great defense. He is a good slasher—which will be key to his scoring success next season when he plays with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.
With defensive players busy trying to contain those two, Ariza can easily make a name for himself on the court.
Also, as expected, Chris Mihm exercised his contract option for next season. It would have been foolish not to. After all, who wouldn't like to make $2.5 million dollars for sitting on a bench?
But lets not be too hard on Mihm. In case you have forgotten, before the ankle injury in the '05-06 season, he was averaging a decent 10.2 PPG to go along with 6.3 RPG. He's got a good hook on him and has shown that he can step out and shoot a nice mid-range jump shot.
He hasn't been the same since the injury, but he did have successful ankle surgery back in January, and came back in time to get his few minutes of fame in the NBA Finals. Mihm's minutes obviously wont be the same, but he's a good enough backup for Bynum and Gasol.
Ronny Turiaf will be coming back as a Golden State Warrior next season and it's sad to see him go. He was without a doubt the most energetic player on the Lakers roster, and he brought a spark off the bench that the crowd won't soon forget.
But as far as NBA Economics 101 is concerned, letting him go was the correct choice to make.
Golden State offered him a very large contract that the Lakers simply couldn't match. They are already paying luxury taxes up the wazoo. Matching that four-year, $17 million dollar contract would not only make those worse—but also force them to forfeit any hopes of re-signing Sasha Vujacic.
With that kind of contract, the Warriors are looking to give Turiaf a much larger role and the Lakers can't do that. So long, Ronny, and good luck on your new team.
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As long as I brought up Vujacic, lets talk about him next. In a contract season, Vujacic was able to put up career-bests in points at 8.8 PPG, while shooting 43.7 percent from the three-point line.
But the Lakers learned quickly from their Luke Walton mistake, and didn't take any chances by offering Sasha a pathetic one-year qualifying offer of $2.6 Million.
How dare they insult "The Machine" with this? Who do they think they are? Sasha is looking for a contract like his buddy Luke, but Lakers are timid to give him something like that.
I do expect the Lakers and Vujacic to come to an agreement soon. He recently changed his agent, which is only delaying communications. Also, it doesn't look like he can catch a break like his good pal Ronny.
What is the key to getting Sasha back in a Laker uniform next season? More money, more money, more money—and a few more years won't hurt.
Sasha is valuable to the Lakers. He is a good defender who knows how to annoy players. Not to mention that killer three-pointer that is becoming more consistent every year.
The Lakers already announced that they will not be bringing back Ira Newble. Who's that, you say? Don't worry about it.
However, the signing of DJ Mbenga is sort of interesting. Mbenga wasn't much. He was basically signed to fill the roster, and if they re-sign him for another season, it will be for the same reason.
In the coming months, Lakers have a decision to make on Coby Karl. They have a team contract option that they can decide to use.
Karl played the bench warmer role last season but the crowd loved him. They cheered him on and chanted his name. They want him to succeed, and he's not a bad basketball player.
He's got potential—but then again so did Kwame Brown. We all know how that turned out. He's not a bad player to invest some money into, and he can come in off the bench at times and get the crowd pumped up.
The Lakers have a couple second-round draft choices to decide on as well—Joe Crawford and Sun Yue. 10 Players are guaranteed a contract next season. If Vujacic, Mbenga, and Karl return, then the Lakers could still sign these two for a full 15-man roster. Yue and Crawford are great prospects, so it will be interesting to see the results of that.
Trade rumors haven't been circulating around the Lakers much this off-season, except in the case of Ron Artest. He has been in Laker trade rumors for so long that most people are expecting nothing to happen.
You always hear, "Kobe Bryant and Artest are great friends. They will be able to work together. Artest will give the Lakers the lock-down defense they need at the forward position." While I'm not arguing that, I'm not exactly condoning a trade to the Lakers for a few reasons.
Yeah, I'm going to say it—he's a loose cannon. It seems like he flip-flops everyday on his status with the Sacramento Kings. Sometimes he wants to be a King for life and other times he wants to be traded.
The reason why he got traded out of Chicago and Indiana is going to be the reason why he could be traded out of Sacramento. He has a bad reputation.
The Lakers were two wins away from winning the NBA Finals this season. Will Ron Artest push them over to get the two wins next time, or will a healthy Ariza and Bynum do it?
If they want to get Artest, they will have to take on Kenny Thomas's ridiculous contract, and they will have to give up Lamar Odom. It doesn't look like Mitch can put together another Gasol miracle in this situation.
Artest is a great player, shooter, and defender—but he's not worth the investment. Especially with what the Lakers have.
Odom is streaky, but he can dribble with the best of them and works great in the triangle offense with Gasol and Bryant backing him up. Throw Bynum into the mix, and move Odom back to his natural position of small forward, and I see an even better Laker team.
The Lakers don't need to make drastic changes.
They just made it to the NBA Finals.
As the old saying goes, "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make."
Don't mess with the old sayings.
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about 1 month ago
Alex,
Reallly NICE article. Especially for this time of the year. Lots of information for an off-season.
I do have to disagree with your opinion re Artest. Despite your assertions that he's "a loose cannon...and flip-flops...," this dude brings it to the arena every single night. A "bad reputation" does mean a bad player to have on your team. In today's media driven hyperbole, damn near every professional athlete has the potential to have a bad rep. (See Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Dennis Rodman for examples of what I'm saying).
In Artest's case, he has outlived his so-called bad rep. Quite frankly, had I had water thrown into my face by a stranger I'd too have a bad reputation - and a criminal record for battery.
about 1 month ago
Great read, Alex. I completely agree with your take on the Lakers, especially on Odom. He is so unfairly criticized.
I too expect Vujacic to re-sign soon, with remaining slots open to Sun Yue, Karl, and Crawford. That leaves the Mbenga slot. I don't know if they bring him back or bring in more of a power forward or a traditional small forward. At this point, it makes more sense to bring in a veteran PF or PF-C. Mbenga is too limited (but he would be cheap!). I doubt they go for a SF, especially if Sun Yue joins the roster.
I wonder if the Lakers would part with Odom for Artest if they did not have to take on the Kenny Thomas contract? That could only happen with a multi-team deal somehow. In any case, I hope they stick with the plan to see how Gasol, Bynum, and Odom play together. They would still have plenty of flexibility at the 3 with Ariza, Walton, and Radmanovic (and Kobe occasionally).
What they could use is one very good SF in place of Walton and Vlad ... but that is unrealistic.
The "toughness" matter is overblown. They got to the Finals. They were not the best team, of course, but they did win 2 games (blowing 1 and almost pulling out another). Now, in effect, they add Bynum, Ariza, and Mihm ... losing only Turiaf (assuming Vujacic is re-signed).
about 1 month ago
Great article. One thing though, the Lakers have said that they want to start the season with only 13 players. I expect that to mean that Mbenga won't start the season on the team, but he will be signed once someone gets injured. It could also mean that Karl and Crawford are fighting for a roster spot.
about 1 month ago
Me gut tells me that Odom is gonna see a lot of open 17 footers and he better make 'em consistantly, otherwise Gasol and Bynum will see two bodies around them all the time.
about 1 month ago
By :Don B.
Interesting article. However, i feel that the lakers really don't need Artest. Just simply keep the team chemistry that already exists.
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