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honestly, why do u buy this ?
Strong words from Mitch Kupchak, but he had to say them.
"Our expectations are to win a championship. I know that sounds . . ." the Lakers general manager said Friday, trailing off before picking back up. "Expectations outside of this room might not be the same."
He's right about that.
The Lakers begin training camp Tuesday after their worst season since moving to Los Angeles. The painful recap for their fans: Kobe Bryant played only six games, Steve Nash all of 15, there were a mere 27 victories and 13 teams finished with a better record than they did in the Western Conference.
It seems like so long ago, but somehow Bryant is back for a 19th NBA season. Despite his advancing age (36 last month) and suddenly thick dossier of recent injuries, it was "comforting" to know Bryant was returning to action, Kupchak said.
"I think he's going to have an excellent year. He's been working every day. I get reports. I've seen him personally. I know he's working and speaking with [Coach] Byron [Scott] on a daily or semi-daily basis," Kupchak said.
But how will he look on the court? Can he come closer to the 27.3 points he averaged in 2012-13 before his Achilles' injury than the 13.8 points he averaged last season before sustaining a fractured knee?
"He's going to play differently than he played 10 years ago, maybe not so different than what he played two or three years ago. I think he'll be very effective," Kupchak said. "I'm not going to predict what his statistics will be but . . . if we needed 30 from him or 35 one night, I think he can get it."
Bryant isn't limping, he has lost 10 to 12 pounds from last season and his conditioning is fine, Kupchak added.
"Now his explosiveness, understandably, is not going to be what it was 10 years ago but I'm not worried about that," Kupchak said.
If nothing else, the Lakers' roster will look little like last season's debacle. They added Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin, actually had a first-round draft choice for the first time since 2007 (Kentucky power forward Julius Randle) and were pleasantly surprised to find Missouri point guard Jordan Clarkson available in the second round.
Jordan Hill and Nick Young will be back, as will the 40-year-old Nash for one more season. Robert Sacre will provide depth at center and Xavier Henry will try to recapture some of the energy he showed before injuries sidelined him last season.
Kupchak said there would be "management" of minutes and possibly games played for Bryant and Nash, though he deferred to Scott on allocation of such.
Nash has taken part in informal scrimmages in the morning and at night at the team's facility in recent weeks.
"I think we're much further along with Steve this year than we were last year," Kupchak said, though he acknowledged being apprehensive because of Nash's injury history.
Things would have looked so different had the Lakers landed Anthony or, a real longshot, James. But they didn't.
"Our expectations with either player just based on what we perceived the environment to be . . . we never felt it was realistic that we could get one or [both]," Kupchak said. "But if you don't try you don't know.
"We'll get somebody. At some point we will
honestly, why do u buy this ?
No one buys this . But its fun to make fun of the franchise.
Is n't it on every teams agenda
The site blind squirrel finally finds an acorn.
The Lakers ought to regroup and build a good young core instead of talking about competing for les. I wouldn't be surprised if the Buss family sell the Lakers after the new TV deal tbh.
If you can climb out of the do-do & pee-pee of 6 anything is possible.
you've gotten more Bitter since 5.
You're a moron if you think the Spurs wouldn't contend after 6. The Spurs were arguably the better team last year and the loss only fueled this year's run. Lakers on the other hand need to buy time and get some good draft picks (i believe their lottery picks are protected) and get Kobe's contract off the books. Moreover free agents are bound to come to LA.
Please. You guys upstairs & downstairs were shoveling dirt on 'em toot sweet. Sure, now that you rang you want to conveniently forget how your base forsaked them and I'm too in' tuckered to go thru the whole sordid mess. Suffice to say:::your people are just as petulant and unforgiving as the next asshole fandom in the line.
I ain't into metrics but the Spurs have been contenders ever since Pop inserted Leonard into the starting line up. You're not a fan of the Spurs and i wouldn't expect you to understand this otherwise.
lakers pick is top 5 protected. if they repeat last year's performance and get the 7th pick, they'd hand it over to Culburn's team.
Please. You guys upstairs & downstairs were shoveling dirt on that kid immediately after 6. Sure, now that you rang and used the youngster's back to carry your elder got to it you want to conveniently forget how your base forsaked that child and I'm too in' tuckered to go thru the whole sordid mess. Suffice to say:::your people are just as petulant and unforgiving as the next asshole fandom in the line.
Absolutely.
& I am a fan of the Spurs.
Mitch is the only actual piece of the championship formula we have left
you mistake him for Jerry West. he built the first team and he gave mitch Pau for the second team
for the last 7 years, every time the lakers make a good move, it's all about mitch playing chess, etc.
when the lakers make a move that backfires, he gets none of the blame and its all about how incompetent Fredo is.
can't have it both ways
Ugh, no.
Jerry was THE guy and it was hard replacing a man like him. While I prefer West over Mitch, he has done a great job.
Mitch was initially the guy who brought in Malone and Payton in 04.
He also was the wizard behind the Gasol trade that had Popovich crying out foul to the league.
He also was the guy who got rid of Ariza's greedy ass agent and signed Ron Ron for nothing+Odom+Shannon Brown which reassured a 2nd chip.
He also got Barnes and Blake for near to nothing for the 3peat attempt which failed.
He was also the genius behind the CP3 trade that got blocked
He was also the guy behind the Howard and Nash deal.
The problem is now that Kobe is old as and his position requires athleticism. The guard position is a young mans game much like the PG position. No superstar can team with Kobe and make a run for rings outside of LBJ and that's not happening. It's over, got to start from scratch now and Jimmy boy has destroyed this franchise. But we will be back someday.
that was West from his memphis headquartersHe also was the wizard behind the Gasol trade that had Popovich crying out foul to the league.
ron ron for nothing? ron ron got the same contract that ariza ended up getting. the lakers won with ariza in 09 and probably would have still won in '10 as long as Pau was there. instead MWP declined and Ariza got better since then. Odom was there since 2004He also was the guy who got rid of Ariza's greedy ass agent and signed Ron Ron for nothing+Odom+Shannon Brown which reassured a 2nd chip.
Barnes was good for the money, so i'll grant you that. Blake ended up being good in his last year or two, but he was pretty meaningless at first, which is why they went after Sessions and thought he was the "missing piece"He also got Barnes and Blake for near to nothing for the 3peat attempt which failed.
i'll grant him that one. he should have had CP3, it was just bad timing with the league trying to sell the Hornets. i have my doubts as to what the team would look like (no Pau, Kobe not being the primary ball handler) but I digress. Couldn't be worse than the situation they have now (unless CP3 bolted a la Dwight after Kobe runs him off)He was also the genius behind the CP3 trade that got blocked
He was also the guy behind the Howard and Nash deal.
you can thank Mitch for 48.5 which only adds to the Kobe problemThe problem is now that Kobe is old as and his position requires athleticism. The guard position is a young mans game much like the PG position. No superstar can team with Kobe and make a run for rings outside of LBJ and that's not happening. It's over, got to start from scratch now and Jimmy boy has destroyed this franchise. But we will be back someday.
Armo, ur facts r seriously off. I dont have a ton of time to debate this, but Ariza wanted quite a bit more than $32 million for 5 years that Artest got. David Lee wanted superstar money for a guy who was a streaky shooter.
that was West from his memphis headquarters
ron ron for nothing? ron ron got the same contract that ariza ended up getting. the lakers won with ariza in 09 and probably would have still won in '10 as long as Pau was there. instead MWP declined and Ariza got better since then. Odom was there since 2004
Barnes was good for the money, so i'll grant you that. Blake ended up being good in his last year or two, but he was pretty meaningless at first, which is why they went after Sessions and thought he was the "missing piece"
i'll grant him that one. he should have had CP3, it was just bad timing with the league trying to sell the Hornets. i have my doubts as to what the team would look like (no Pau, Kobe not being the primary ball handler) but I digress. Couldn't be worse than the situation they have now (unless CP3 bolted a la Dwight after Kobe runs him off)
you can thank Mitch for 48.5 which only adds to the Kobe problem
The other facts r way off and opinions. Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol was in essence the trade Jerry West pulled off and it further cements his greatness. I dont understand this thinking that Jerry was doing the Lakers, a franchise that betrayed him thanks to Phil, a favor. Pau wanted out, he threatened to leave for Spain unless he was traded to a contender.
Jerry realized his team was 5-6 years away from contending and got Marc Gasol, Kwame, and trade picks. How you can argue this was a bad move now that we see what happened is ridiculous.
Its like the people who destroyed Orlando Magics for not ending up with Bynum in that Howard trade. How smart do they look now?
aper... Ariza signed for 5 years 33.5 with Houston while Artest signed for 5 years 33.5 with the Lakers
the fact that Marc Gasol has panned out the way he has doesn't make that trade better at the time. he was drafted in the 2nd round in 2007 and was sent in the Pau trade during the following season. its not as though his value had skyrocketed by then and he was this hot commodity. they could have gotten better prospects for Pau. the fact that Marc in hindsight has become a terrific player doesn't change that.
Aper, as I said, get your facts straight. I went through this with Laker fans on LG. We were all sad to see Ariza go as he was a fan favorite. His ty agent wanted $50 million, here is one of MANY articles with the facts. Artest said he'd take the MLE, Ariza wanted Kobe money.
Of course his agent responded and saidA source tells HOOPSWORLD that Kupchak was prepared to giveAriza an offer equivalent to the full MLE but at 10.5% raises, totaling at approximately $33.8 million over five years. LA's ceiling might have been a $6 million starting salary for $36 million over five but before negotiations progressed after 9:00pm Pacific on Tuesday night, the source says that Ariza's agent, David Lee, took a confrontational approach with Kupchak. Lee wanted a deal in the $50 million range and took offense to the team's stance that Trevor should test the market first for that level of compensation. By the next morning, the Lakers were going after Artest in full force with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and even Magic Johnson reaching out to the Houston forward. HoopsWorld
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...fire-his-agent"I am happy with my decision," Ariza told The Times. "I'm glad this all worked out. The Rockets are going to give me a chance to improve my game and that's all you can ask for."Ariza played in all 82 regular-season games and stepped up his game in the playoffs, averaging 11.3 points while shooting a stellar 47.6% from three-point range. He also had memorable steals of two inbounds passes late in Games 1 and 3 of the Western Conference finals against Denver.
Ariza's agent, David Lee, said the 24-year-old forward passed up a more lucrative contract offer from another team to go to Houston. That team was believed to be Toronto.
"It was never about the money," Lee said. "It was about going someplace where you felt appreciated."
true or false: ariza signed for 5 years, 33.5 million
What part of this is so hard for you to understand? Ariza and his agent did not want $33 million from LA. They told them its $50 or they're walking. David Lee was the most villified man in LA during that off season as he demanded $50 or he was out. They went for a power move, ala Jason Kidd trying to be a GM, and got denied much like Kidd.
They went and settled for Houston. 2 years later, I believe it was aaron brooks who came out and said Ariza regrets his agent holding the Lakers hostage like that and it really made him struggle with depression for a year when the Lakers won without him.
But of course, being Philo, you will reply and saybut $33 million tho.
i asked for true or false and u answered with a wall of text. the xmas approach
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