Comments on: Jim Gray reports Garnett to L.A. is dead - Phx/Bos/Minny 3 way alive

By: Rosalie

Rosalie — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:18:24 +0000

KB and KG are very good friends. At almost 29, Kobe would in all likelihood love to play with KG. At the All Star Games they play magnificantly together. I do not believe Kobe told KG in a phone conversation that he’s leaving the Lakers. Kobe knows that with 2 All Star/Marquee players the LAL’s would be a magnet for top free agents. There is so much downright hatred and jealousy in the media that I refuse to accept these doom and gloom reports until I hear it from an official NBA source. Phoenix is way over budget and their stated #1 goal reportedly is to pay this down next season… not pay up. Also they are not willing to give KG the expensive extension he wants. Jerry Buss told Glen Taylor that he would grant the costly extension. According to several reports, Taylor told Buss “we want the best monetary deal for Kevin. He deserves it for his years of loyalty. Forget McKnight, Taylor and Buss are in charge here. Cell phones do work in China.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:31:52 +0000

I heard on am570 that KG might still end up staying with the T-wolves!!!

By: lakerfan81

lakerfan81 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:05:51 +0000

Camby would be nice. But i still do not think that artest in LA works. He won’t play well with Kobe. Neither one of them is very nice. It would be like two kids fighting over a toy in the sand box. Hey thats a way to sell tickets. Boxing match: Artest Vs. Kobe. Kobe would get the {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} kicked out of him. That would be better than Barkley Vs. Shaq. I remember that that was awesome. Barkley kicked his ass. We could have shaq as referee.

By: gcdeen

gcdeen — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:56:08 +0000

well, i’m still pushing for the line up of kobe, artest and O’Neal. If not O’Neal, a defensive center like camby. think of 3 all defensive players on the same roster. gut the rest of the roster, they’re all expendible. mihm will be back, turiaf too, we’re not that weak down low and farmar could start at point if we don’t bring in someone else. too bad we can’t dump radman’s contract on someone.

whoever said c web should be a laker should be shot. time out time out time out! oh shiz, we don’t have any time outs.

By: lakerfan81

lakerfan81 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:13:36 +0000

I don’t think its a matter of not wanting to pay the money. Jerry Buss has always been willing to pay the money. I think its a matter of him only wanting to pay the money if its someone that will make the lakers great and sell seats. Like KG. I think that its some really bad moves, Obviously Brown, but that was a big risk and it didn’t pan out (obviously). The rest of the bad moves is in not clearing cap space. Its easy to say should have traded Odom a couple of years ago for cap space but that was not going to happen. The way the NBA is set up right now with the new CBA cap rules in effect will utterly kill any GM that overpays for someone. Cap space is a GMs best friend. The Shaq trade was stupid for that very reason, should have taken less talent and a bunch of expiring contracts instead of Brian Grant (maybe the worst contract in the history of the NBA).

By: gcdeen

gcdeen — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:52:07 +0000

lol. yeah, medvedenko, i forgot about him. he was up there with marcus douthit.

you know what, i’m a laker fan for life, regardless of who’s on the team, win or lose. i just hate to see the franchise get run into the ground because the ownership doesn’t want to spend the money and because of bad decisions by the gm. the buss’ should seriously think about selling the franchise when buss retires completely. Jimmy is the worst person to leave the franchise with also. i seriously think we’re in for at least 5 years of bad basketball.

latest i hear is that kobe won’t play another game in a laker uniform regardless of who comes to l.a. He may back off of that but he is pretty stubborn. i think he really wants to stick it to the owners and what better way to do that than to sit out.

By: lakerfan81

lakerfan81 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:28:23 +0000

gcdeen why start shammond when you can resign parker. Bthen Bring back slava medved….whatever the hell is name was.

By: basketboy

basketboy — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:24:15 +0000

from what i hear, kg talked to kobe and asked him if hes staying in LA, to which kobe gave no answer.

thanks kob

By: gcdeen

gcdeen — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:14:20 +0000

I’ve got it! The line up to win 10 championships in a row.

pg: shammond
sg: sasha
sf: radman
pf: pig miller (bring him back for the mle)
c: mark madsen (trade kobe for him)

think of that line up! sick!

hey mitch, you loser, thanks for tearing down a once great franchise. looks like we’re the next celtics.

By: O.E

O.E — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:08:19 +0000

June 27, 2007
KG-to-Lakers: two solutions
It looks like the Lakers have dropped back behind Phoenix in the running for Kevin Garnett, but the race is by no means over. The Suns also were huddling late Tuesday night, apparently unsure about Shawn Marion and more or Amare Stoudemire in a deal to get Garnett. Phoenix, frankly, would be unbelievably better with Garnett than with the oft-out-of-it Amare; Phoenix should do that despite the seven-year age gap. But if the Suns don’t give up Stoudemire or if they’re waffling, there’s still time for the Lakers.

I was talking to someone Monday night about the Lakers’ difficulty finding that fourth team to go with Minnesota and Indiana in that original KG scenario, and that person basically told me to go figure it out … to apply my creative forces that have won me countless fantasy-sports titles (via countless fantasy-sports trades), including winning one last NBA season by passing the team owned by someone who actually works in an NBA front office on the season’s final day. It was a fun conversation, and we flippantly ran through some scenarios, but I didn’t really heed the suggestion.

Now, though, I’m ready to help. Turns out that this guy who told me to go figure it out had opportunity to talk to a key Lakers decision-maker Tuesday night, and that Laker half-jokingly asked him, “Have you got it all figured out?” Right there was the chance for me to solve all the Lakers’ problems for them, if only I had done my homework and passed on a solution in time to be passed along to the Lakers’ brass.

But here are my two best shots now (and they are big shots):

1. Stick with Boston. The first option — before going to find a different package somewhere that Minnesota likes — would be to find a way to satisfy Boston to the point that the Celtics turn over to Minnesota the package that Kevin McHale already loves: the No. 5 overall pick, prime prospect Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract (plus filler Wally Szczerbiak and Sebastian Telfair, whose contracts expire soon). The Celtics are motivated to do something, with Paul Pierce hinting that he’ll ask out if Boston goes on with the draft instead of trading for a legit partner to make Pierce’s life easier. The complexity here is that Boston doesn’t want to move Jefferson unless it can really, really get an upgrade (Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and the 19th pick wouldn’t seem to be enough).

Odom and another stud player to Boston, though? Now you’re talking. The easiest option as the Lakers is first to trade Bynum and the 19th pick (and filler) for a stud that Boston would want. If I’m the Lakers, I already should know what clubs covet Bynum and what I could go get with Bynum and the 19th pick, and maybe it’s something that works for Boston in addition to Odom.

Without that inside info available right now, I would suggest going where we know there is a top-echelon player who doesn’t fit and isn’t really wanted: Utah. And given that Utah VP Kevin O’Connor is friendly with Mitch Kupchak, maybe that would help a little. Jazz owner Larry Miller has suggested he’d like to get out from under Andrei Kirilenko’s massive contract. Utah has been dying to get a quality center forever and could get one for the next 15 years in Bynum — plus Kwame Brown’s expiring contract (and defense next season) and the 19th pick (including other filler such as the expendable Brian Cook and Sasha Vujacic, who has an expiring contract Minny could use). Then the Lakers could send Odom and Kirilenko to Boston to go with Pierce — giving the Celtics three elite, versatile players to play the 4-3-2 spots and making them immediate contenders in the East.

Here’s the basic breakdown …
LAKERS give Odom, Bynum, Brown, Cook, Vujacic, No. 19 for Garnett, Marko Jaric.
WOLVES give Garnett, Jaric for No. 5, Jefferson, Szczerbiak, Telfair, Ratliff.
CELTICS give No. 5, Jefferson, Szczerbiak, Telfair, Ratliff for Odom, Kirilenko, Cook.
JAZZ give Kirilenko for Bynum, Brown, No. 19.

2. Use Atlanta. Who knows if anyone over there knows what’s going on or who’s owning the team or whether the team’s colors are red or navy blue. But that is an organization that can use an injection of something and is more apt to make a major change than most. They also have the No. 3 and No. 11 picks that Minnesota would love to have. Because this scenario doesn’t include Boston, the Lakers would stick with Indiana because we again have a known commodity there that works: We know Indiana approached the Lakers with the idea of giving up Jermaine O’Neal for Odom and Bynum.

The logic here would be that Atlanta is one of the few places that would seem to be a good fit for O’Neal, who is from South Carolina and would give the Hawks instant legitimacy in tandem with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith (without having to give up one top player and also getting a decent pick back in the Lakers’ No. 19). We’d thrill Minny with those No. 3 and No. 11 picks, with additional young talent in Shelden Williams and Josh Childress and tons of expiring contracts in Brown, Sasha Vujacic, Lorenzen Wright and Anthony Johnson. We’d also move some disgruntled point guards around to give them changes of scenery. The Lakers would get KG and even a triangle lead-guard solution in Tyronn Lue.

Here’s the basic breakdown …
LAKERS give Odom, Bynum, Brown, Vujacic, No. 19 for Garnett, Lue.
WOLVES give Garnett, Troy Hudson, No. 41 for Childress, S.Williams, Brown, Vujacic, Wright, A.Johnson, No. 3, No. 11.
PACERS give O’Neal, Jamaal Tinsley, Darrell Armstrong, Orien Greene for Odom, Bynum, Hudson, Speedy Claxton, No. 41.
HAWKS give Childress, S.Williams, Claxton, Lue, Wright, A.Johnson, No. 3, No. 11 for O’Neal, Tinsley, Armstrong, Greene, No. 19.