With two spots still to fill, it is not too late for the Lakers to strongly consider bringing in unrestricted free agent guard Shaun Livingston. What are you thoughts? Sound-off…
Lakers Blog: The Lakers’ signing Wednesday of their second-round draft pick, Joe Crawford, brings the number of players now under contract to 16.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has stated that the plan is to bring 18 players to training camp, which begins Sept. 30, at the Lakers’ regular-season El Segundo practice facility.
With two spots still to fill, it is not too late for the Lakers to strongly consider bringing in unrestricted free agent guard Shaun Livingston, who has been rounding into training camp shape at Tim Grover’s Attack Athletics training facility in Chicago.
If Livingston indeed will be healthy enough to play this season - as Grover vowed to me last week he would - then Livingston would be a asset to whichever NBA team signs him.
In the case of the Lakers, they have no one on their roster with the playmaking ability and court vision that Livingston possesses.
And consider this. Yes, really consider this.
Subtracting this past season, which Livingston missed entirely, to rehabilitate his surgically-repaired left knee, he still has three NBA seasons under his belt.
Yet, at the age of 22, he is two years younger than Coby Karl, who was a rookie last season, 18 months younger than four-year veteran Sasha Vujacic and three years younger than Dwayne Mitchell, who was signed this summer as a rookie free agent.
Livingston is just nine months older than the rookie Crawford, 14 months older than two-year man Jordan Farmar and two months older than the Lakers’ second-round pick of last year, Sun Yue, who recently was signed to a contract.
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Livingston would be nice if healthy,but don’t you think other teams are looking his way and besides somebody would lose pt…sasha,farmar,sun,or j.craw….for someone who might be healthy!!!???
bring him on! and thwe lakers shou;d send coby karl and crowford to the do-league and have livingston and sun yue come off the bench!
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!
This is a no brainer. Whats the risk in bringing in one of the most talented young Points in the league. He has a lot of upside. I agree with lakers in 09, Crawford and Karl are D-league material, Yue and Livingston (if healthy) are ready to go NOW. Do it Mitch!!!
I think we should. The worst case scenario - he’s not the same and we don’t lose much.
agreed
Oh man, the battle for PG is gonna be tough. D Fish, Jordan Farmar, and possibly Sun Yue. D. Fish still has the top spot. If Jordan is ever gonna be the starting point guard, I think he needs to up his game.
Before the playoffs started he started to fade away in my opinion just like Bynum did before last last year. It’s all about confidence and I think we’ll see an even more better Bynum and Farmar this year.
Can’t wait!
do it.
id like to see him work out before we sign him! the injury he had was a very serious one wich makes me doubt he’ll be healthy! i think he will be injury prone for the rest of his career!
Sun Yue is more of P/SG,so the battle for PG is Jordan,DF and HOPEFULLY,Shaun Livingston.
Future lineup…Shaun L./Sun/Powell/Pau or LO/Bynum ?VISCIOUS!
Shaun is the PG WE NEED NOW and I feel could be The Future alonside Bynum,Ariza,Sasha and Powell.
Take nothing away from Jordan,he’s good but not a STARTER,not ’cause he’s small…he gets’ MANHANDLED by the bigger PG’s too much which is why DF is STILL startin’.
GETSHAUN.com,please Mitch…pretty please.
low-risk, high-reward . . . quality character guy . . . worst case scenario is that he turns into a ron harper like player with some savviness . . . the kid’s definitely got skills
Here’s what I think………not going to happen.
To be honest we have got to see him, i would find it ridiculous if we did not at least go to see him work out even if it is only for the sake of vigilance.
If we do see him and see the potential that he obviously has, then signing him is clearly a good decision.
At what is likely to be a small cost, the potential upside far outweighs the drawbacks. Worst case, we get him and he can’t play, big deal, get him on a short term low cost deal and if he can’t do the job let him walk.
If he is good we have a potential star point guard, because let’s be honest Fisher is getting old, and Farmar is solid but not going to be an elite guard, so why not roll the dice?
the new ron harper
SHAUN LIVINGSTON WUD BE A GREAT ADDITION TO THE LAKERS. THEY REALLY NEED TO GET RID OF PLAYERS SUCH AS: COBY KARL, CHRIS MIHM, IRA NEWBLE AND DJ MBENGA. SHAUN WUD FIT IN NICELY WITH THE LAKERS.
He would be a NICE addition. But, we don’t have the $$$ to sign him. I don’t think he will take the Minimum.
lil’ pencilly stache!
I remember the last time Shaun & I were kickin’ it, I was shouting, “Livin’ it up with Livingston!”
I don’t want to think negitive but MITCH might sign BIG DREW for 80mil. soon and 2nd is KOBE’s contract, then LO’s, then PAU’s, I’m pretty sure that we are paying DEREK a lot, and as a matter of fact go to this web sight and this is what the LAKERS are looking at:
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/la_lakers.htm
sorry you have to copy and paist because I don’t know how to make a link so you can click on it and it comes up.
Oops nevermind
HECK YA MAN HE WAS GETTING REALLY GOOD BEFORE HE HURT HIMSELF, WE SHOULD DEFINTELY TAKE A CHANCE ON HIM
id be happy if we got him but i doubt it will happen
with kobe on the bench, our five could be:
pg: livingston
sg: sun yue
sf: LO
pf: gasol
c: bynum
thats all 6′9 and up hahahahahahah pretty nasty!!
We also need someone off the bench,c’mon NEW ORLEANS help us out…
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=3251~1016~3411~2792~3241&teams=3~15~13~13~13&te=&cash=!!
Man I’m down. This guy’s way better than Farmar and Vujacic.
How many guards do we have already now..? Like 10?
Sign him please!!! 6′7″ and can handle the ball, and plays point guard. He has been dunking the ball in his rehab so I think it is worth the risk. Shaun Livingston plays defense too something that has been lacking in that position. Incentive laden deal should get it done.
E-ROC HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD…he plays defense,ask Kobe.
Sorry no YOUTUBE HIGHLIGHT (There’s one of him blocking Kobe’s shot but he was a Zipper..I mean..Flipp…DAMN!Clipper).
i love shaun BUT.. 2 future stars coming back from serious knee injuries doesn’t make much sense business wise.. but if it were up to me i would sign him.. then again.. i also would have been dumb enough to send drew to new jersey and we could be stuck with j.kidd..
LOL, me to man, me to. How crazy does that trade sound now?!
This guy seems good. If he’s willing to take a paycut for a chip.
If he is willing to come in for the minimum and wants to win a championship… Let’s do it!
But at what price? $$$
do it mitch! there is nothing to lose. if he shows signs of being healthy and ready to go, i think a lot of teams would beat themselves up for not picking him up. but if he sucks, then who cares!
Livin’ it up with Livingston!
do not do it because we have enough players on the team to play or win a championship.Don.t do it.We don’t need him.
Derek Fisher still has the top spot.Jordan Farmer is going tobe backup, and we got a future chinese magic johnson.
Shawn would no use for us.All you Lakers need to do is to get rid of luke and vlad.Sent Coby Karl and Joel crawford to D-League.
Shaun Livingston is tall enough to play shooting guard. Although I would want him to gain just a little weight. He wasn’t a bad player until he got injured.
No, Sun will get some minutes if any. Livingston is 6′7″, not 6′9″. Vujacic will be the second strain SG. LO will probably start.
Signing him would give LA a quality PG. Though you said he plays defense, I have never seen anyone praise him for his defense though, and I do watch/listen to a lot of Clipper games.
Also to all of you who are excited about Shaun, he has a great upside. But his weakness is the Lakers’s current weakness- strength/toughness. I don’t know if you would want to further add to the team’s weakness?
Yes, at minimum. The max he should be paid is around there and the term should be a year or two. I would guess that is his value because he is coming back from a serious injury plus missed a whole season. More chance for rewards than risks. Would be a great signing!
Extra analysis:
Remember that the weaker one is, the more prone to injuries. Shaun Livingston is one of the weakest players in the NBA. Sort of like Kevin Durant strength wise. They can’t lift crap. The Lakers have been criticized for being “soft” or “weak” or “mentally weak.” If you really want Livingston, you would have to accept both his upside/potential and his strength issue. Most of the time, you have to give up something if you want something. When you pick a player, you also take his weaknesses along with his strengths.
The Lakers are already loaded at the guard position. What they really need is another F/C just in case if Mihm isn’t his old self (05-06, 06-07) or if an injury occurs to one of the big men.
yes sign him and then do a trade and try to get rid off vlad or luke in that trade like dont u think this would be a good trade
radmanovic,luke walton, joe crawford or dwayne mitchell for szerbiak with a expireing contract..
Bring Livingston cuz I’m not a big fan of Karl anyway. He (Karl) stunk the place up in the Summer League. Shaun Livingston at 60% is better than a 100% Coby Karl.
Man I dont know if I could watch another Laker game if he is on the team. I love Livingston but I dont want to be watching a game and see another injury like that ever again. Im gonna cringe every time he jumps!!!
I know about Mihm’s contract buuuuuut if we can persuade our good buddies at Memphis….lightnin’ strikes twice?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=549~2794&teams=29~13&te=&cash=!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J18I0jO1GG4&feature=related!!
If Livingston is health and willing to show what he still has at the league minimum. Give him a 1 or 2 year contract with the option to sign for bigger money after he proves himself to the LAKERS and the league one more time. He was just at the tip of what he could have been before the injury but not a real superstar or a really good player. He has to prove himself all over again to us the TRUE LAKERS FANS!
We’d be straight up DOCTORS OF THUG-A NOMICS with this deal? STRONG ARMIN’ FOOLS!
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=3002~1016~2794~2782~3028~3032&teams=18~4~13~13~29~13&te=&cash=!!!
I agree with XTRO. We can always use another Ron Harper. He was one of the best Lakers ever!
Livingston is done.He will never be nothing.Never has.
How can you bring a guy in that can’t shot.
That is not even worth a post on front page.It’s
bad enough we have to hear it on the replys.
Will say thought I got it wrong,when I saw his
picture.Was thinking Mitch got into Phils closet.
Powell is our future? i dont think so its more as, odom getting traded, Sun becomes a prennial 6 man, Livingston is the comeback player of the year, Bynum is the leader of the nexy Dynasty
As good as Livingston is, he’s not a lead guard that could fit the Triangle. Yes, he’s a superb playmaker, but in the classic point guard sense. In the triangle, he would have to be able to hit from the outside which wasn’t exactly his strong suit. If he can adjust to playing that role and if he’s healthy, than he would be worth the Lakers pursuing. Dude, was a bad man before getting injured—hope he gets a chance to comeback and it would be sweet if it’s with the Lakers.
SHAUN WILL COMEBACK! (hopefully as a Laker)
Just get a backup 5 and 4!
Send carl ang crawford to the d-league!
Sun Yue and Livingston at backup PG/SG!
That will make the lakers lineup solid and champion once again!
Please mitch do it!
so what happend to this i really liked the idea