I thought this guy was a caliber player in the playoffs. He would be great to pick for this squad. A gunner for the bench.
I thought the same thing when I read that the Lakers didn't pick up his option. He would be a real good fit along side the McMing Dynasty. Plus, the Lakers are loaded at the SG/SF. Wonder what it would take to pry him away.
Sorry. Here's the proof: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakerreport1nov01,1,3917376.story?coll=la-headlines-sports The Lakers took a long look at their third-year players and came to two different conclusions: Caron Butler is in for another season, Kareem Rush is not. The Lakers picked up the fourth-year option on Butler's contract, which will keep him with the team through 2005-06, but they declined the option for Rush, making the hot-and-cold shooter an unrestricted free agent next summer. Rush, selected No. 20 by Toronto and traded to the Lakers during the 2002 draft, played brilliantly at times, making six of seven shots from behind the arc to help eliminate Minnesota in Game 6 of last season's Western Conference finals. But Rush, who turned 24 Saturday, was also prone to cold spells — he averaged only 3.6 points against Detroit in the Finals — and he has been hampered by a chronically sore tendon in his right foot. Rush, who would have made $1.81 million next season, forgot to wear orthotics in a new pair of shoes in an exhibition opener and had to sit out the next five games because of soreness. "This gives me a chance to go out there and explore my options," said Rush, who has averaged 4.6 points and shot 42.3% in his career. "I've been playing behind Kobe [Bryant] for three years now, and this gives me a chance to get out there. I'm actually kind of excited about it." If Rush excels this season, the Lakers could pursue him the same way they re-signed Devean George in July 2002 after initially declining the option on his fourth year before the 2001-02 season. George ultimately signed a four-year deal worth slightly less than $18.5 million. "We were hoping to get a much better look at [Rush] in training camp and he got hurt," Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "We didn't get as good a look as we had hoped. I would hope that he would respond the same way Devean responded, which is to have a great year and we do what we have to do next summer." Butler, acquired from the Miami Heat in July as part of the Shaquille O'Neal trade, will make $2.46 million next season. "This is a great situation for me," said Butler, 24, who averaged 12.5 points his first two seasons with the Heat. "I'm going to make the front office look like geniuses, going out there hard every night and just being Caron."
Kareem is a very one dimensional player....he can't dribble whatsoever, and is a below average passer, rebounder, defender. However, his one strength (shooting) is what we sorely need....I would take a hard look at a trade.
Yes they would have Bird Rights. I think Rush would be a very good fit for us but I feel the Lakers will match any offer if he does well this year.
Yup he is just scorer and we don't need anymore of that....i don't know why people keep looking for all these scoring players when we already have very little basketball to spread around with Yao, T-Mac, JJ, and Mo T getting touches.....we can't bring in another scorer. We need role players that do their job and bring intensity....Ben Wallace type players...the ones who care less about scoring but do their jobs on defense and set picks etc.
Rush just killed us when we played them. He's got some athleticism and loks like he can at least get in the way on defense so that alone gives him some PT in JV's rotation. Oh, and lets not forget the 3's he hit against us, I almost threw my remote everytime he hit one against us in the playoffs
I think he benefited from playing with Shaq & Kobe. Meaning that teams didn't pay too much attention to him. We shall see this year if he (& Kobe) can hold his own
Strange that Rush would have let his skills go downhill while in LA. When he played at Missouri he was able to take over games, and almost beat Duke by himself in the NCAA, while recovering from a dislocated thumb. He was able to get to the basket and dunk, so he must have been able to dribble and was the top defender on the team.
