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Author Archive for The Podium

“Lakers ‘insiders’ all wrong”

Published by The Podium on May 29, 2007 in Articles. 2 Comments

Good times!The Truth (Kobe’s blog): Was up again, y’all. I saw an article this AM in the LA Times which said a Lakers’ “insider” noted that my wanting to “get away from Shaq” is what created this whole “mess” the Laker’s currently find themselves in.

Man, hearing something like that, which is not true, and which comes from the “inside” is totally frustrating. The fact of the matter is that many people don’t know what really went down when I was approaching free agency because I have stayed quiet about it this whole time.

The real facts are that Dr. Buss requested a meeting with me during the 04 season long before I opted out of my contract, and he told me he had already decided to not extend Shaq, as he was concerned about Shaq’s age, fitness and contract demands. Dr. Buss thought it was best for the Lakers to make a trade to get value for Shaq while they could.

Dr. Buss made it clear that his decision was final, his mind was made up and no matter what I decided to do with free agency he was still going to move Shaq.

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The Lakers and their ‘Mega Trades’

Published by The Podium on May 22, 2007 in Podium's Take. 24 Comments

MagicIn a recent Mark Stein chat, when asked about a possible JO/Kobe pairing, he responded that “history says that the Lakers always get saved by a mega trade like this.” Stein’s statement is definitely without precedent as the history he speaks of reinforces.

There are those who will say that a trade for Garnett or JO or any other big-name star is not possible with the ‘trash’ the Lakers have to roster. Without arguing their evaluation of the trade value of the Lakers players (we’ll save that for another day), Lakers History tells us that there have been a number of occurences where the Lakers have sent out less than stellar players in trades that netted not just All-Star players or Franchise players, but Hall of Famers.

I will present the acquisitions of five of the biggest names in Lakerdom and let you be the judge.

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NBA Draft Lottery Tonight

Published by The Podium on May 22, 2007 in Articles and Random. 0 Comments

LotteryTonight is the NBA Draft Lottery (ESPN 8:30 ET/5:30 PT).

Why does it matter? The Lakers don’t have a pick in the lottery obviously, so Laker fans won’t be praying for the #1 or #2 spots like fans in Boston, Memphis, and Atlanta among other places. BUT, the Lottery does mean that teams will have another piece of their offseason puzzle and the offseason picture could become clearer… or hazier.

The NBA Lottery could be the proverbial peddle thrown in the to NBA pond. What ripples will it cause? Find out tonight!

Here’s an article from Eric Pincus which he gives his take from the Lakers perspective.

Nets Breakup Possible

Published by The Podium on May 16, 2007 in Articles. 23 Comments

KiddNew York Post: Jason Kidd could be on the move, too, if Nets ownership deems it’s time to rebuild for Brooklyn 2009. Yesterday, Kidd declined to speak with reporters. Nets spokesman Gary Sussman said a sore Kidd was “in the tub.” It could be Kidd’s last Nets-sponsored bath.

Lakers minority owner Magic Johnson sat in the first row at the Meadowlands on Monday night and it’s unclear if he was scouting Kidd for Jerry Buss. During the All-Star Break, when talks with the Lakers heated up, Kidd sounded upbeat about playing for the Lakers, raising speculation he initiated the talks.

Charley Walters’ Blurb

Published by The Podium on May 11, 2007 in Articles. 1 Comment

Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com’s Charley Walters had this to say in his “DON’T PRINT THAT” section of his May 11th article.

Some basketball people are convinced that the Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett, 31, will end up with the Los Angeles Lakers within two years.

Is it significant? Maybe not, but its yet another reporter linking KG to LA.

What would it take cap-wise?

Published by The Podium on May 10, 2007 in Podium's Take. 14 Comments

Lamar OdomWhat would it take to get Kevin Garnett in Purple & Gold salary-wise? The NBA operates under a soft cap which means (most) teams are over the cap after re-signings, trades, and salary escalations. Currently, the Lakers are one such team over the projected salary cap. According to Larry Coon’s FAQ, “Teams can acquire up to 125% plus $100,000 of the salaries they are trading in a simultaneous trade.” This means that if a team is trying to acquire a player making 20 million dollars, the team has to be sending out at least 16 million dollars worth of salary.

Garnett is due to make 22 million next season, which would mean that after July 1st, the Lakers would have to send out at least 17.6 million in any trade to acquire the “Big Ticket.” Lamar Odom (13.25M) and Kwame Brown (9.4M) would be enough to match salaries with Kevin Garnett.

The Lakers could also look at acquiring one of three guards Minnesota has on its roster. Mike James, Marko Jaric, and Troy Hudson, range in 2007-08 salary from 5.6 to 6 million, meaning the Lakers would have to send out an additional amount of between 4.5 and 4.8 million to the 17.6 to acquire one of them as well, upping the total of a deal to 22.1 to 22.4. This number falls right in the range of an Odom/Brown deal that would send out more than 22 million dollars.

The Timberwolves would almost undoubtedly ask for young Center Andrew Bynum in return as well, and with Kobe Bryant’s declaration of “do something and do it now” after the Lakers were eliminated by the Suns in the playoffs, management may have to seriously consider trading him. The big question then being is will they? Our answer is “DO IT MITCH!”

The Lakers would still have the Mid-Level Exception to add a potential impact player and their 3 picks in the upcoming NBA draft to use as trade bait for veteran players.

The possibilities are there numbers wise, though it probably means parting with 2 starters from an underachieving team and a player the Lakers front office and their fans (some of them anyway) have high hopes for. But, Garnett is still one of the top basketball talents in the world and he has two things that Laker fans seem to value: Passion and Hunger.

(Information from this take was acquired via Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ’s, HoopsHype, and information posted by Clublakers member Sky)