Archive for the ‘Forum Blue & Gold’ Category

FB&G: What’s Mitch Kupchak doing these days?

Forum Blue & Gold: First off, sad news about Greg Oden losing this season to a fractured patella.  Much as I dislike the Blazers, sports-hate only goes so far (I feel so dirty using a Bill Simmons term).  We Laker fans can sympathize with seeing your young big man go down for the season; it’s a feeling like a punch to the gut that won’t go away.  Best wishes to Oden and a quick, full recovery.

Now, I wonder: after a pretty busy summer, it seems like Mitch Kupchak has it pretty easy these days.  However, I wanted to take a look at what is potentially on his plate and I came up with three things: getting Kobe to sign a contract extension, shedding salary, and bringing in someone to improve the bench play.

1.) According to the LATimes, the Lakers have offered Kobe a max extension, which he summarily rejected.  In a recent article for the NYTimes, Larry Coon tells us that this was probably the smart move, given that the CBA will expire in 2 years at which time the formula for the calculation of maximum salary (Kobe’s salary) may be decreased.  All signs point to Bryant coming back to LA (he’d be pretty crazy to leave), so it’s just a matter of when and at what price.  Perhaps we should just take our minds off it with another look at the ridiculousness from Friday night.  Boy am I glad I didn’t go to bed early.

2.) Going along with our recent discussion of the Taco Unit (love the name, btw) and Adrian Wojnarowski’s couple lines about the Lakers FO wanting to cut salary, I figured I would also take a look at his options to purely cut salary.

Disclaimer: There will be no overt trade speculation allowed in this thread.  This means no statements in a form isomorphic to “the Lakers should trade Player X for Player Y.”  In short, I want to limit the discussion of players.

According to Wojnarowski, Mitch Kupchak is looking to cut salary from the Lakers monolithic $91, 377,313 pay roll.  Frankly, I wouldn’t blame the FO is this was the case.  With a pay roll that size, I can imagine Dr. Buss staring at his poker funds while sitting at some table second-guessing an all-in decision.  He has already shelled out a ton of cash for the team; asking much more of him is just greedy.

Continue reading ‘FB&G: What’s Mitch Kupchak doing these days?’

To Rest or Not To Rest, That Is The Question

Forum Blue & Gold: If you have not seen the news, Kobe Bryant has a strained right groin, something he first got against New Orleans and aggravated in his poor shooting game against Houston.

Groin injuries, like hamstring injuries, can tend to linger. And it brings us to a philosophical question in dealing with these injuries during the season: Is it better to play through them or rest them?

Pau Gasol, who may return to practice with the team this week, has been slow and cautious, wanting things to be 100% and resting until he can get back to that level. Kobe Bryant just played through it, as he would injuries to his shooting hand that many would get surgery for, and the result was an off shooting night. He says he is not missing any games.

Honestly, I don’t know the answer and I’m not sure there is a one-size-fits-all answer. It should vary from player to player, injury to injury. But how it is dealt with impacts the Lakers early this season, and if it lingers it could impact the Lakers for a long time to come.

FB&G: 2009-10 Lakers Season Preview

Forum Blue & Gold: God, it is good to be hated again.

It’s an oddly comforting thing for Lakers fans when the entire world seems to be passionately wishing for your team to fail, hoping for an earthquake that will break off Los Angeles and dump it in the ocean so that they don’t have to hear about the Lakers again. When the Lakers are hated, you know they are good.

And they are good — very good. Not only did they win the NBA title, they brought back virtually every piece of that team, and made a move to bring in a unique talent (and personality) at another spot. On paper they should be a better team this year — Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant are back to lead, with a more mature supporting cast.

But they also will be a different team.

Continue reading ‘FB&G: 2009-10 Lakers Season Preview’