Assume the trade goes through, which one is a better combo: Yao + T-Mac or Kobe + Jermaine? And the West is getting tougher and tougher, holy crap.
I expect the Lakers to make a run at the same PGs we are targeting. Francis, James, and Atkins. Maybe even Billups, the LA factor has been known to work wonders. If they don't land O'Neal they would certainly look to Kidd. No matter what they do the Lakers will be a stronger team next year.
they are making a push for mo williams from what i heard through the owner of the company i work for who is pretty well connected with the lakers.
anyone see this? Fake Kobe to Warriors news http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showthread.php?t=30351 http://168.144.93.221/breakingnews/...t-warriors.html
Jermaine is easily the worst of the 4 but the gap between Kobe and whoever you consider our best player is large enough to cover that disparity. So they might even have a better duo than us, while both our supporting casts are absolute garbage. The West just keeps getting better. We definitely need to push for some talent upgrade.
I don't think Jermaine O'neal is that great. The Pacers team built around him has never won anything. Indiana started to go downhill soon after Reggie Miller retired. For a big man, O'neal's shooting percentage is not very good. He is a great shot blocker, but his one on one defense is questional at times. Jermaine's biggest problem, though, is that he just can't stay healthy. I'd rather have Lamar Odom than O'neal.
I don't see what's in it for Indiana? Lamar Odom is an ok player but coming off injuries and possible surgery. Andrew Bynum is a long term project and mostly over-hyped by Los Angeles media. If I were Indy I would do the following: Jermaine O'Neal: $19,710,000 Troy Murphy: $9,206,349 For Lamar Odom: $13,524,000 Kwame Brown: $9,075,000 Andrew Bynum: $2,172,000 Vladmir Radmonavic: $5,632,200 2007 19th pick overall pick That is the bare minimum I want from LA. Indy gets rid of Troy Murphy's huge contract. Gets an expiring contract in Kwame Brown and Odom has 2 years left. Plus you pick a decent shooter like Rad and a 1st round pick. Now If I were Los Angeles the I would scrap this trade and purpose the following: Los Angeles trades: Kwame Brown: $9,075,000 Vladmir Radmonavic: $5,632,200 Portland trades: Zach Randolph: $13,333,333 The Blazers are desperately trying to dump Randolph and save a ton of money. In return they get Kwame Brown whose contract expires next summer and a good shooter and role player. Overall good trade for Portland especially now that the Greg Oden era is about to begin. The Lakers take a huge risk with a headcase like Randolph but they love this trades because it doesn't involve Odom or Bynum. So now they have good inside presence at power forward and still have tradeable assets to maybe find a good PG. Radmonavic was a misfit for them and they get rid of him very easily. Overall good trade for Los Angeles and they can now fill some other holes via trades.
I don't think O'Neal is better than Odom + Bynum. If this goes through, it might set the Lakers back, which I am all for it. Bynum has great potential. If I were the Lakers, I'd keep him. It might take him 4 or 5 years to be fully developed. That's gonna be Kobe's last leg. Of course, Kobe wants to win now. He couldn't care less about the Lakers' future after he's done.
looks like the Lakers are going for Camby? http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...cusambyakershowing&prov=rotowire&type=fantasy will that satisfy Kobe?
Negative. The productivity of Tmac/Yao is much higher than Joneal and Kobe. IMO of course. We might lack the killer instinct of Kobe but I hardly think that joneal is in Yao's league.
As a Pacers fan, I would love to trade JO for Odom and Bynum. We definitely win that trade. I suppose the main issues would be whatever filler is thrown in to even things out, such as draft picks.
I agree, and I also would hope the trade could help the pathetic Pacer backcourt and include Farmar and/or the Lakers #19 pick (Law could MAYBE slide to there, or Crittendon). It might have to be a 3-team deal if Odom insisted on an extension to be a happy camper with this trade.
Jermaine O'Neal may be able to put about numbers, but he's not a guy that dominates in the paint. The blocks (usually 2.5/game ballpark) are nice, but he's a lightweight in the post. He's All-Star material, but not franchise star material. A good, but not dominating rebounder (Odom by himself is just about his equal), a good but not dominating scorer in the blocks (which may be unfair since he's more F than C). Myself personally, I'd be more drawn to an Elton Brand type that can excel underneath the basket. But maybe it's a better fit to have a guy that can play further out and keep the path to the basket clear for Kobe. But I agree that this trade, were it to go through, would not make the Lakers a better team. Economically: Jermaine ($19.7 next yr) vs Odom ($13.5) and Bynum ($2.2 - rookie deal){plus someone else and a pick? this barely fits the 125% rule} gives Indiana cap relief and flexibility (always easier to move multiple players at smaller money than one making big dollars) to help them rebuild. On the court: Jermaine's already getting a little bit gimpy with his knee. He may be only 28, but he's got 11 years of pro ball on the odometer. 82 game seasons + playoffs is a lot more wear and tear than 30 games + tourny in college. Addition/Subtraction: Jermaine offers much more on D, at least as a help defender. But there's a rebounding deficit (Odom + Bynum = over 15/game, JO = 10), scoring deficit (23-20), and a drop off in depth. Odom's versatility is a huge loss. But that could be my bias for uber-skilled guys like him and Marion. Still, it certainly doesn't help with the Lakers' problems with ballhandling. The triangle offense wants constant movement of the players and the ball. How does moving Odom for O'Neal help that at all? I personally think this'll be a lateral move at best for LA. Evan
That trade is absolutely ridiculous and is nowhere near reality. Why would the Nuggets trade the defensive player of the year, the glue of that team for Brown? The article suggests caproom. 9mil in cap space isn't going to put them under! The Nuggets are obviously a franchise that wants to win now (Karl, Iverson) so why the hell would they take steps back? I don't even think they would trade Camby for Bynum if it was possible monetarily.
yao has a clear advantage over JO... the same clear advantage kobe has over tmac. additionally, kobe is probably the best closer in the game. he knows how to win games in the last few minutes. obviously this is all speculation, and we might both be mistaken. the only clear cut advantage we might have is a superior supporting cast. while they gut their team this summer to land o'neal, we will be adding a 3rd scorer and hopfully some bench help.
winning 3 championships in a row will do that for you. that was 5 years ago. they are about to gut thier team in order to bring in an allstar. they will be even thinner on the bench then they are now.
