NBA 2008-2009 Season

[Correction]

My Dallas Cowboy hate is strong and neverending.

Do you multiply that by pretending they're from LA and keep your house warm all winter?

[Dimmauk]

Do you multiply that by pretending they're from LA and keep your house warm all winter?

I live in San Antonio, its fucking hot year round.


Current temp
100°

High: 97° Low: 72°

[TummieGaruda]

OMG. I was fucking joking. Jesus christ. Smog really does rot the brain.

No smog here today :D
We get it, you don't like LA lol but oh well that is your opinion.

[Kajii]

For the Lakers fans
Who do you keep, Ariza or Odom?

For the non Lakers fans
Which would you have on your team, Ariza or Odom?

Tough choice is tough. Ariza a lot of room for growth and already pretty good, plus I like his energy and style. Odom at his best though is damn near unstoppable.

[Stee]

Eh, I haven't lived in LA for awhile so I couldn't care what kind of crap you want to say about the people who live there. However every city has their douchebags, and if a meaningful team wins a championship in San Antonio you might be seeing the same thing there.


Regarding the Odom, Ariza situation, I really don't think we are going to lose either guy unless Odom decides he's not willing to accept a paycut anymore.

It's hard to choose though if you had to pick one, Odom is a walking mismatch and his defense isn't too bad when he actually plays well. Releasing this guy into free agency could bite the Lakers in the ass if he gets on a meaningful team.

Ariza on the other hand has potential to develop into a Scottie Pippen 2.0, that is assuming he continues to develop and isn't only playing well for contract purposes. I remember when earlier this season people were trying to compare him to Posey, after these playoffs Ariza > Posey in every way possible.

Personally I don't think Ariza would do too well if he wasn't on a team that had a dominating player that demanded double teams. Every one of his 3-pointers are due to Kobe being double teamed so he has a clear wide open shot. Think of why Smush Parker had a season career high in LA but couldn't do shit anywhere else.

Either way, I would probably pick Ariza if I had a choice in this and hope to hell he doesn't become Sasha Vujacic next season.

[Kajii]

I really hope they get rid of Sasha. I liked him, but he lost it this season.

[GRT]

What I wanna know is how much of how those two guys performed was due to their contract being up right after the season. Some people would spend that extra effort when there's money on the line.

Not saying they aren't also motivated by the drive to win, but just sayin'. Remember how SaVu played well last season? His contract was up too back then.

[Stee]

Sasha works hard though, every time I hear something about the guy he's practicing his shooting as much as possible. His horrible shooting is all mental, dude needs to see a psychiatrist.

[GRT]

Dude still failed to make a single shot in the Finals series. That's inexcusable.

Speaking of which, the Lakers really didn't win because of their famed "depth."

Six guys were responsible for the entire playoff run: Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Ariza, Fisher, and Walton. You could add Shannon Brown to that list before the rest of the so called Lakers deep bench. And I left a certain starter out on purpose.

[sekaran]

Hope they resign Brown. I don't really care for Farmar much.

[GRT]

I suspect the reason Brown didn't get to play in the Finals is because the Lakers management is keeping his asking price for a new contract low so they can keep him cheap and longterm

And this is what I call excellent sports commentary:

Bill Simmons: Did Kobe Bryant really change for 2009 Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN

If only our very own BG Kobe haters can be this interesting

[Devia]

Bill Simmons comes off as pretty schizophrenic there. Interesting read though.

Concerning Odom and Ariza, I'll be heartbrokewn if we lose either one. Let's get rid of Bynum instead.

[Dimmauk]

For the Lakers fans
Who do you keep, Ariza or Odom?

For the non Lakers fans
Which would you have on your team, Ariza or Odom?

Tough choice is tough. Ariza a lot of room for growth and already pretty good, plus I like his energy and style. Odom at his best though is damn near unstoppable.

Ariza all the way. The Lakers will keep Ariza and let Scrodom go. Odom will be looking to make money now. He got his ring, now its time to get the bling.

You probably wont see Turkey playing for the Magic either.

[Diamicles]

Apparently Turkoglu is opting out of his current contract to become a free agent.

Possibly just a ploy to rework a deal with Orlando? Dude can ball, you know someone will pay him big bucks.

[TummieGaruda]

Sasha can be a good player, but he let his feelings get to him too much because Brown was taking his minutes and you could see it in his shooting (some of which didn't hit the rim). He was trying too hard and not focused.

L-O is probably going to stay by taking a paycut. He likes LA and the fans, who like him as well. He often walks a few blocks to the Staples Center before games and chats with fans...he loves the attention and probably wouldn't get this much if he went elsewhere.

Bynum I am not ready to ship off just yet, I say give him one more year. He had two really bad injuries and I am just glad to see the kid actually finish a season healthy. I say see how he develops over the summer and see how he is in the post. I'd like to see the same intensity he showed during that Christmas game in 07 against Phoenix

They are probably going to get rid of Powell or Mbenga as they are more of backup centers/fresh bodies to throw at other centers when both Gasol and Bynum are in foul trouble or need a rest. Also, we will probably see more of Sun Yue next season as Phil Jackson has a philosophy not to play rookies in games that much.

[GRT]

^ Agreed about Bynum.

Ariza is becoming Kobe's Scottie Pippen, would be a real shame if he left. Then again, if you are going to play with Kobe and his huge ego, you gotta make sure your No.1 priority is to win and nothing else (such as to make more money).

[Pro]

I think Kobe will opt out this year, but re-sign for another long contract, but not as big as his initial one (maybe).
Trevor and Odom will stay with the Lakers, Odom taking the pay cut and Trevor getting a bigger contract

All speculation, of course...But I wouldn't break the core just yet, and give them another run for the title.

[GRT]

The parade was the shit.

100k people chanting MVP was no joke, Lakers need a bigger arena than Staples.

[Correction]

http://i42.tinypic.com/nzgmz7.jpg

[GRT]

^ AND MORE TOO COME

lost my lil dez + kobe one tho