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Now that the season has started and Bynum has shown alot of potential, would it be a smart idea to ship him to the Nets for a old Jason Kidd? Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think!
NorthJersey.com: Jason Kidd just opted out. He filed for free agency as clearly as Alex Rodriguez did, only there was no superagent leak to disrupt the NBA Finals, and no guarantee Kidd will crawl back into the warm embrace of his jilted team.
Out West, a day before he moved to temper his remarks, the captain and leader of the Nets said the team has no chance of winning a title.
“Right now there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” Kidd said in two published reports.
Pay no attention to the more hopeful quotes behind it. Kidd spoke from the heart before someone could remind him that captains don’t bail on sinking ships, or before someone could point out that the franchise supported him through a series of personal crises that would make Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan blush.
His team was about to extend its losing streak to six in a spectacular way, about to get blown out again in Utah. The Nets were about to lose by more than 20 points for the third time in four games, and Kidd decided it was time to send out his distress signal, a clear mayday call from a 34-year-old star who knows he’s got far less time than A-Rod to win a championship ring.
Kidd’s not going public with any trade demands, but he’ll likely push harder for a deal before the February deadline than he did last season, when Rod Thorn would’ve shipped him into Kobe Bryant’s backcourt if only the Lakers were willing to send back Andrew Bynum.
RealGM: Trevor Ariza, who has been buried on the bench behind Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu has been traded to the Lakers for Brian Cook and Maruice Evans.
Ariza was labeled a ‘situational’ player by new head coach Stan Van Gundy. He averaged just 10.5 minutes per game and played more than 20 minutes just twice.
It was no surprise to see his floor time decrease due to the addition of Lewis, but Ariza was a very productive player last season, averaging 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in just 22.4 minutes. He shot 54% from the floor and was one of the NBA’s best rebounders at the small forward position.
His very good athleticism on the wing (defensively and offensively) will serve a need that Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasha Vujacic cannot fill.
Another added benefit is that Bryant will no longer need to defend opposing team’s best wing for the entire game.
He also is signed for less money ($3.1 million) and one fewer season than Cook ($3.5 million).
This is easily the best trade of Mitch Kupchak’s tenure, though I’m not sure that is saying much.
Special thanks to Justin Page for writing this take and giving us the privilege to add it to TheLakersNation.com. Again, if you write anything Lakers related and you think that it deserves to be put TLN please e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.
The winds appear to be changing from cold and blustery to warm and calm in Los Angeles. A 7-4 start with quality wins against what are expected to be top-tier playoff teams in the Suns, Rockets, Jazz, and Pistons have Laker fans optimistic about what was expected to be a tumultuous season just weeks ago.
Phil Jackson clearly has the attention of this team and although he hasn’t solved the Kobe Bryant trade demand; he’s done a great job at diffusing the situation. The entire team is making an effort on the defensive end of the floor despite having two poor games from a defensive rotation standpoint against the Spurs and Hornets. At this point, two poor outings out of 11 games is a major improvement over last season.
In addition, Phil also has Kobe playing defense similar to the way he played this summer with Team USA and Kobe’s still being very efficient on the offensive side of the ball (26.9 ppg; 46% from the field) while shooting less (19.5 field goal attempts per game compared to last year’s 22.8). What’s even more impressive is the fact that his supporting cast is stepping up offensively. In two double digit wins last week against the Pistons and Bulls, Bryant didn’t crack 20 points in either rout.
The make-up of this current team is really intriguing and if you were an outsider and didn’t follow the Lakers you’d most likely look at this roster and see a few nice pieces but not an entire entity. But look closely and you can see the personalities are a big reason for their early success. Kobe obviously is the fiercest competitor in the league and his intensity is unmatched. He called out Bynum who in turn vowed that “this is my year.”
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here at the Lakers Nation, we wouldn’t be around much if it wasn’t for you guys supporting what we do. So, we are thankful for that. We hope everyone out there has had a wonderful year, and especially, we hope you have a wonderful day. May each one be ever brighter!
Now, go stuff your mouth with turkey and junk but be sure to save some of that energy for the Lakers/Celtics game tomorrow NIGHT!
After a promising start, things quickly get out of hand, and Odom takes the blame.
L.A. Times: In the spirit of today’s holiday, Milwaukee Bucks employees handed out dozens of frozen turkeys to fans during a third-quarter promotion Wednesday night.
The giving wasn’t done yet.
The Lakers proceeded to hand the Bucks the fourth quarter as a coin flip of a game morphed into a 110-103 Milwaukee victory at the Bradley Center.
The Lakers hurled a series of panicked three-point attempts at the rim and also learned a lesson in temper control when Andrew Bynum was hit with a technical foul . . . after getting the foul call he wanted while attempting a shot.
The Bucks’ obvious response: Hey, thanks.
The Lakers have already shown they can win on the road — Phoenix, Houston and Tuesday’s fireworks display against Indiana come to mind — but they also proved they could lose on the road, in a grand thumbs-down way.
They were ahead, 83-82, with eight minutes to play, and then their shots stopped falling, their defense stopped caring and their attempt at momentum for Friday’s game in Boston was sent home for the holiday.
The fourth-quarter stats for the Lakers: six-for-19 shooting (31.6%), one for eight (12.5%) from three-point range, three assists and no smiles in the locker room afterward.
Lamar Odom was in a particularly grumpy mood, taking all the blame after missing eight of 11 shots and scoring eight points in 40 minutes.
The Lakers bench reminds me a lot of that Duracell Energizer Bunny—it keeps going and going and going. Maybe our bench really is this good? The Lakers had 8 players in double-figures, the most since the 2003 season. Imagine what the score would have been if the Lakers didn’t give up 18 offensive rebounds!
The Lakers defense continues to be superb. Even though the Lakers gave up 114 points, they held Indiana to under 41% shooting, including 6-27 from behind the arc. Clean up the boards and the Pacers don’t reach 100. The Lakers tonight had 29 assists, with at least 3 assists from 7 different players. The Lakers also had only 13 turnovers.
It was a night where no Laker played more than 31 minutes and every Laker made a positive contribution—even Cook for leaving the team. Now, the bests of the night…
The Lakers have acquired 6′8 forward Trevor Ariza from the Orlando Magic for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook. Trevor Ariza averaged 8.9 ppg and 4.4 rpg for the Orlando Magic last season.
Was this a good move? Lakers get rid of Cook’s 3.5 million dollar contract and get an athletic 6-8 forward that finishes well around the rim? Sound off in comments!
We all originally came to this site for one reason: to “GetGarnett.” Now the time has come to get back at Garnett. Though we have two more games before the big finale this week, we can certainly discuss how we might stack up against the most hyped team in the NBA.
It has been roughly 15 years since a game against the Celtics actually mattered as much as it does this coming Friday. Some of us had grown apathetic towards the Celtics until this past summer when former Celtics Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, and even Larry Bird himself gave the Lakers Nation a collective “screw you.”
Just in case we need some reminders of why this upcoming game is important, consider the fact that the Lakers and Celtics have competed against each other ten times in the NBA finals. Of those ten meetings for the title, the Lakers have only defeated the Celtics twice, and those were the last two meetings in the 80’s. Of the eight times that the Celtics crushed our hopes, half of those times were devastating game 7 defeats.
If you thought losing to Phoenix two seasons ago in game seven was horrible, just imagine what it was like when we lost eight times to the Celtics in a row and four of those were heart crushing game 7 losses.
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NorthJersey.com: Jason Kidd just opted out. He filed for free agency as clearly as Alex Rodriguez did, only there was no superagent leak to disrupt the NBA Finals, and no guarantee Kidd will crawl back into the warm embrace of his jilted team.
The winds appear to be changing from cold and blustery to warm and calm in Los Angeles. A 7-4 start with quality wins against what are expected to be top-tier playoff teams in the Suns, Rockets, Jazz, and Pistons have Laker fans optimistic about what was expected to be a tumultuous season just weeks ago.
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Fourth quarter takes stuffing out of Lakers
After a promising start, things quickly get out of hand, and Odom takes the blame.
The giving wasn’t done yet.
The Lakers proceeded to hand the Bucks the fourth quarter as a coin flip of a game morphed into a 110-103 Milwaukee victory at the Bradley Center.
The Lakers hurled a series of panicked three-point attempts at the rim and also learned a lesson in temper control when Andrew Bynum was hit with a technical foul . . . after getting the foul call he wanted while attempting a shot.
The Bucks’ obvious response: Hey, thanks.
The Lakers have already shown they can win on the road — Phoenix, Houston and Tuesday’s fireworks display against Indiana come to mind — but they also proved they could lose on the road, in a grand thumbs-down way.
They were ahead, 83-82, with eight minutes to play, and then their shots stopped falling, their defense stopped caring and their attempt at momentum for Friday’s game in Boston was sent home for the holiday.
The fourth-quarter stats for the Lakers: six-for-19 shooting (31.6%), one for eight (12.5%) from three-point range, three assists and no smiles in the locker room afterward.
Lamar Odom was in a particularly grumpy mood, taking all the blame after missing eight of 11 shots and scoring eight points in 40 minutes.
Continue reading ‘Fourth quarter takes stuffing out of Lakers’