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Don't Fear the Reaper, Cul...
Uh, oh, the Board Crabass is on the prowl.
Don't Fear the Reaper, Cul...
...Death twitches my ear, "Live." he says, "I am coming."
John Ireland of 710 ESPNposted this on twitter this morning:
"710ESPN710 ESPN'S John Ireland says Lamar Odom will likely be back with the Lakers. Talk about it with Mason and Ireland today from 3p-7p."
So hopefully there will be a resolution soon so laker fans can relax that they are the top team in the west or either go into smack talk overlode. And fans of the Spurs & other teams in the West can assess their teams chances realistically.
Manoshevitz!
lets hope so....it's annoying not be able to judge teams this time of the summerJohn Ireland of 710 ESPNposted this on twitter this morning:
"710ESPN710 ESPN'S John Ireland says Lamar Odom will likely be back with the Lakers. Talk about it with Mason and Ireland today from 3p-7p."
So hopefully there will be a resolution soon so laker fans can relax that they are the top team in the west or either go into smack talk overlode. And fans of the Spurs & other teams in the West can assess their teams chances realistically.
Who cares? The damage between LO and front office is already done. He will play with a frown on his face and without heart all year.
that's what I wonder about......but I think if or when he returns, he'll get nearly what he asked for....I think both sides will give compromise a bit....
I'll just bet you wonder.
Lamar Odom gives Miami a look
By Kelly Dwyer
Ball Don't Lie
There's a distinct possibility Lamar Odom could be a member of the Miami Heat, and I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness at that thought.
There is certainly nothing wrong with Odom heading to the Heat as a free agent. It's just that, as basketball fans, the whole mess that could lead to him rocking off to South Beach feels like an incredible disappointment. Like the couple that everyone deems the cutest, splitting up after a row regarding what name to give the new dog.
Once you've moved past your favorite team, the basketball fan's best interest is served in seeing the absolute from the squads that are left, playing into June. It's why we don't want to see Joe Johnson leave the Suns. It's why we're bummed that the Lakers had to give up George Lynch and Anthony Peeler in order to clear space to sign Shaquille O'Neal — because we want those role players working alongside the big fella.
It's why we want the Magic to pass on matching Marcin Gortat's offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks. Sure, Gortat gives the Magic a chance to be the best they can be, but in replacement of Erick Dampier, Gortat really, really, really gives the Mavericks a chance to be as good as they can be. It's why we want minutes for Tyrus Thomas, shots for Andrew Bogut, health for Yao Ming, and new owners in Memphis, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Clippers, of course. And maybe the Los Angeles Lakers, should Odom head to Miami.
The Lakers played tough this summer, and it cost them both Trevor Ariza, and it could cost them Lamar Odom. They're still the favorites for the championship, and I'm not going to tell you that Trevor Ariza is a better player than Ron Artest. But he's a better fit — unless Ron's history is nothing to bank on and he proves us wrong next season — than Ron Artest. And Ron Artest, even at his best, can't replicate what both Ariza and Odom gave and could have given the Lakers next year.
It's not my money, Los Angeles is already paying the luxury tax, and a $9 million starting salary for Lamar Odom is really an $18 million starting salary for Lakers owner Jerry Buss once you figure in the dollar-for-dollar tax. The team is already about $13 million over the tax with only Artest aboard as it is. That's a lot to pay.
But they also play into June, every year. They make money, they earn home-court advantage, they sell jerseys, they draw ratings and they win games. And why do they win games? Because the last two personnel directors of the Lakers have been allowed to spend money.
And it's frustrating — not as a Laker fan, but a fan of great basketball — that another chance at an all-time team could be taken away. Sure, last year's champs were great. Next year's champs, if they make it that far, are going to be a great team. But we also had Andrew Bynum essentially taken away from us two straight seasons, even if he was jumping center in last year's playoffs. And with Odom and Bynum at times, the sideline triangle never looked better.
Another year of that, of that growth? With Kobe and Pau? This could be more than a championship team, if Odom sticks around. This could be a special team. There haven't been many of those, recently.
Again, Odom in Miami wouldn't be the end of the world. He's played there, he's flourished there, he's worked with Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem on one of the most entertaining one-year flourishes in recent history, and he'd be fun to watch. I don't know how the Heat work around the confusion that will be the Odom-Udonis Haslem-Michael Beasley forward triptych, but if they can swing the Carlos Boozer deal, things should clear up.
Partially.
Portland's ability to facilitate a trade took a big hit when they signed Andre Miller on Friday. This leaves them with around $3 million in cap space, which could help, but it wouldn't allow the Utah Jazz (looking to trade Carlos Boozer for either a young player like Tyrus Thomas, or absolutely nothing and payroll relief) to get what they want while sending Boozer Miami's way.
Signing Odom to an MLE deal this summer still leaves the Heat room to add a boffo free agent next summer (assuming the cap keeps shrinking to about $51 million) while retaining Wade, but that plan could also fill up their payroll to the salary cap level with just Odom, Wade, Mr. Boffo Free Agent, Beasley, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers. A nice start, but no champion.
Now, top-heavy rosters (in Boston two seasons ago, specifically), have done well in the past. And Wade is but four seasons removed from winning a championship with a top and minimum contract-heavy team that could barely get double-figure point contributions from its second (Shaquille O'Neal) and third (Antoine Walker) helpers on some outings, but the East has improved considerably since then.
Even with Wade dominating the ball, and second-year guard Chalmers moving to the side, it's hard to see Odom in a complete point forward role. If anything, he'll merely act as a small forward with a handle, far removed from the guy who was forced to give up big point and assist numbers in running the Lakers' sideline triangle offense off the bench.
Because of Odom's rebounding a en, it's possible that he could start at big forward alongside Beasley, or Beasley could start at big forward alongside him. Semantics would be up to the Miami scorekeeping crew, as both are hybrid guys with a lot to give. And as much as I respect Haslem's ability to defend, help on penetration, and pull in loose balls, a pair like Odom and Beasley will be hard to guard. Truly hard to check, if both are used right by coach Erik Spoelstra.
Or, Odom could start at small forward. He could be forced to chuck nothing but 3-pointers and Wade tries out yet another inside-out dribble, or Cook meanders, or Chalmers looks for Jermaine O'Neal for some reason. Haslem could start, Spoelstra could waste another year of Beasley, and things could be terribly, sadly, orthodox. Nothing like we saw in Los Angeles.
It's not that we want to see the rich stay richer. We just understand that a Laker team with Odom could make a bit of history this year, if not in terms of win totals, but in the way they work from game to game, on both ends. In entertainment terms.
And it's disappointing that the adults in this case might not come to fair terms, even if what Dr. Jerry Buss offered Odom (four-year, $36 million offer that guaranteed $30 million) was entirely fair, and even if Odom should have been handled more delicately after spending most of the 2008-09 season all but guaranteeing a hometown discount for his services.
It's hard to remember the last time that I openly rooted for a player to stay with a team I didn't have a vested, fan interest in. This is pretty much unprecedented. And while the basketball world wouldn't crash and burn with Odom in Miami, there would be a little less to look forward to. As someone who is watching just about every night, from October until June, that's enough for me to explain away my rooting interests.
"He's played there, he's flourished there, he's worked with Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem on one of the most entertaining one-year flourishes in recent history, and he'd be fun to watch."
That "fun to watch" happy horse is what led Orlando to ruin.
not engaging in smacktalk or whatever these responses are supposed to mean so whatever.....
Damn, myte, yer crampin' my ogre style.
Sorry again. I've been overwrought this morning worrying about Odom.
I can't stand how much the media gives sloppy blowjobs to the Lakers.
Source: Lakers reduce offer for OdomComment Email Print Share By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Archive
As Lamar Odom continues to mull his future, still hopeful that an improved offer for the Los Angeles Lakers is forthcoming, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is trying as hard as he can to convince Odom to end his free-agent wait.
Wade
Odom
Wade announced via his Twitter account late Sunday night that he has flown to Los Angeles to "bring Odom bac (sic)" to the Heat. That was Wade's follow-up to an earlier weekend tweet in which he implored Odom to "come back to where it started for the both of us."
Although it's unclear how much impact Wade's ongoing recruiting efforts will have on his former teammate -- or if Heat president Pat Riley, who's also in L.A. this week, will be meeting face-to-face with Odom -- one source with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that a resolution to the monthlong Odom saga is likely "in the next few days."
Odom's options, as of Monday, were choosing between an offer from the Lakers that has been reduced from its high point two weeks ago or taking one of the multiple fallback proposals from the Heat that are thought to be sufficiently attractive to coax him to Miami.
So eager to reunite Odom and Wade after their one successful season together in 2003-04, Miami has offered Odom as much as it can for a team well over the salary cap: $34 million over five years with an opt-out to return to free agency after the fourth season. Sources said that Odom, if he ultimately decides to return to South Beach, would likely sign the five-year deal or opt for a four-year deal that comes with a provision to return to free agency after three years.
NBA Rumor Central
ESPN Insider has the updated buzz from the National Basketball Association rumor mill.
Story
One team source confirmed Monday that Lakers owner Jerry Buss, after pulling his initial offer off the table on July 14, is now offering "less" than the original three-year, $27 million deal that he withdrew when Odom pushed for a fourth year. Another source maintains that Odom's preference remains returning to the Lakers after helping them win a championship in June but cautioned that he is prepared to return to Miami and reunite with Wade and Riley if nothing changes this week.
Sources with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that an informal level of contact between the sides was maintained after Buss pulled his offer, but it appears that they remain far apart in negotiations. Wade, meanwhile, continues to turn up the volume on his public pleas for Odom to stop haggling with the Lakers, after announcing two weeks back that the Heat "want him back home."
Wade and Odom played together for only one season before the latter was packaged with Caron Butler and Brian Grant in the deal that brought Shaquille O'Neal to Miami in the summer of 2004. The Heat, with Wade as a rookie, finished 42-40 that season and won a round in the playoffs despite an 0-7 start.
Odom, who turns 30 in November, has made it clear over the past several months that he has no desire to leave the Lakers. The possibility exists that Buss has simply decided that he is no longer amenable to absorbing the luxury-tax implications of bringing him back, but it would be an undeniable blow for the Lakers to report to training camp in October without Odom and Trevor Ariza after their contributions to the 15th championship in franchise history.
If Odom does join the Heat, Riley is also expected to make a harder push to trade for Utah's Carlos Boozer -- to flank Wade with two top forwards in an attempt to convince Wade to commit his long-term future to the Heat -- while the new champs would be forced to depend on Andrew Bynum and the newly acquired Ron Artest to minimize the impact of Odom's departure.
Although he initially chafed at his move to the bench last fall, Odom ultimately flourished as a sixth man last season. In spite of a back injury suffered in the second round against Houston, Odom averaged 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 32 minutes per game during the playoffs, when he frequently wound up teaming with Pau Gasol in the Lakers' frontcourt with Bynum either struggling or plagued by foul trouble.
Replacing Ariza with the more physical Artest this offseason gives the Lakers someone more capable of absorbing some of Odom's minutes and responsibilities. But Odom's exit would undoubtedly be celebrated by other playoff contenders in the West, since it's the luxury of having three long-limbed big men to surround Kobe Bryant -- Odom, Gasol and Bynum -- that makes L.A. so fearsome. Odom also ranks as one of Artest's closest friends in the game, so his continued presence would theoretically help Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Bryant manage the mercurial Artest.
The Lakers went into the offseason hoping to convince Bryant to sign a contract extension after resolving the futures of Ariza and Odom, with Bryant possessing the option again next June to joining the free-agent class of 2010 if he chooses. On a promotional tour in Asia last week, Bryant said he was "optimistic that he'll be back."
"He makes a much, much stronger team," Bryant said of Odom.
In 10 NBA seasons, Odom has averaged 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds. He made $14.1 million last season to complete the six-year, $63 million contract he received from Miami in the summer of 2003.
"Lamar already knows how I feel," Wade said recently. "It's a very important decision in his life. It could be about where he ends his career."
Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4359259
But, you love it when the media gets our mud on their turtle.
I don't blame Odom one bit. The only reason the Lakers want him back is because they need him back, but they're not willing to pony up and have also been acting like stubborn little es. If they really wanna see money well spent, maybe they should use it to buy out that waste of space Vujacic.
@ this bull , this Laker team that caught breaks against Utah (Okur), Houston (T-Pain, Yao) & Orlando (unfit Nelson) is suddenly Dynastic?
it was obvious the author of that 'article' was a lakers fan so i took it with a grain of salt.
Hey, alch, that is how the it's done, jasper. Nobody does it "clean".
Ya f'in mook, you.
Don't know if this has been posted or not:
"One team source confirmed Monday that Lakers owner Jerry Buss, after pulling his initial offer off the table on July 14, is now offering "less" than the original three-year, $27 million deal that he withdrew when Odom pushed for a fourth year. Another source maintains that Odom's preference remains returning to the Lakers after helping them win a championship in June but cautioned that he is prepared to return to Miami and reunite with Wade and Riley if nothing changes this week."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4359259
Fail on so many levels.
What you are saying makes sense if in fact the Lakers weren't the best team last season.
The reality is they were the best team in the NBA based on the facts we have to go by. They didn't have the best regular season record, by a scant game or two, but one could easily argue that playing the WC is much more difficult than the EC.
The Lakers were the best team last year, but if it weren't for the Gasol deal...
I know y'all hate hearing it over and over again, but everyone else hates having to deal with it.
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