My team just won a championship. My best player, Kobe Bryant, has played at an incredibly high level the last couple of years but has lots of tread on his tires and is on the wrong side of 30. I'm going to assume that Kobe's window is closing, maybe he has 2 great playoff years left. How can I maximize the return for the next two years? Well, my most effective lineup in the post season was Fisher, Ariza, Bryant, Odom, and Gasol. Fisher is definitely slipping big time, there's definitely a need to get a younger player there. Ariza and Odom both had big playoffs, with 1 of them gone, the team will have a very hard time winning. Besides, both guys are familiar with Phil's system and Kobe's unique attack. It might not be so easy for a replacement to blend in and make the same sacrifices. My main problem in bringing back the championship team is money. As it currrently stands, I am paying 74 mil in salary for 09/10 with only 9 players under contract. This is mostly because I was gave the likes of Sacha Vujacic and Luke Walton 5mil per year. I also gave Vrad alot of money and had to take on a similar bad contract in Adam Morrison. Kobe can opt out this year, but he won't get too much of a raise, he'll be resigned at a similar salary, just for more years. So how can I bring back Ariza and Odom, and find a backup/upgrade for fisher without paying 20 mil in luxury tax? I have to think outside the box: trade Andrew Bynum. The 1st thing I do is call up my old friends in Memphis. Hello Chris Wallace, I hear you're thinking about taking some raw center with the #2 pick. How about I give you a more proven center for that #2 pick and you taking Vujacic off my hands? You guys only have 34 mil committed next season, you can take on 17 mil with no problem. I don't even have to take anything back from you. If Chris Wallace rejects me, I can call around to other teams and get something back for Bynum. I can ask Charlotte for Felton or Atlanta for a S & T of Bibby. I like Andrew Bynum and think he as upside, however, my team has proven that we do not need him to dominate. I'm not sure he's capable of meshing with Gasol on the interior, he was terrible defending opposing big men in the playoffs, Yao and DH and Nene lit him up like a christmas tree while Gasol did a much better job. Sure there's a chance he'll be great in a few years, but that's not worth screwing up the chemistry of my team now. Sorry Andrew, you're a goner.
Lol silly man why so do you think Lakers have 15 rings and counting? They got Bynum for whats called "Kobe Doin Retirement". Bynum is still very young only 21 and will become the face of the franchise once Kobe is done playing for the Lakers. The Lakers are the smartest franchise at grooming talent to replace talent. They did it with Kobe when he took over for an aging Shaq and it will most certainly happen again but they won't trade Kobe, he'll just fade to an old veteran type role. See the Lakers really understood this strategy back in the early 90's which saw the end of the Showtime era with the retirement of Magic Johnson and others. Those 5 years of mediocrity made the management realize they need to plan ahead for this kind decline which is only a natural cycle in sports. Those who can quickly make changes and get new talent to replace the departed, are the teams competing for championships every year. That is why I am still upset with the Rockets for trading Rudy Gay who would be the perfect replacement for McGrady today. Thank God CD left and Morey fell in our lap. He truly understands this and has begun to acquire new pieces to make the shift for the post-McGrady era.
you gotta plan for the future dude. kobe will be gone in a few years, and bynum will be the face of the franchise. Time gets all of us, no matter who we are. Bynum is 21, kobe is on the wrong side of 30, so its a no brainer. It would be the ultimate irony if in a year or so bynum demands that either the lakers trade him or trade kobe, and then the lakers trade kobe. i have a grin on my face just thinking about it. LOL.
Bynum can't and hasn't lived up to all his hype or his contract. He was averaging 10 and 10 and ESPN was already talking about him like he was the Hakeem or something. He has a lot more to prove than averaging pretty much what every other starting center in our league does (10 & 10).
Ghettocheeze, I agree with a lot of what you say, but that was morey's call on the gay trade. If u watched dawson long enough, his history shows he likes high upside players. Morey on the other hand has drafted 3 college seniors with dorsey and landry being on the old side.
Very interesting thread. If Lakers can get pick #2, while shedding salary, they could pick Rubio and still be set when Kobe retires. In a guard-dominant league, Rubio is a better bet for the future than Bynum. In fact, Rubio may make life easier for Kobe, replacing the aging Fisher and taking over the playmaking duties. Very interesting proposal indeed.
If I were the Rockets GM, Id make a play for Ariza. If the rumors or speculation is true that Artest is looking for 8-12 mil per year for 3-4 years, why not offer a similar contract to Ariza? I'm not sure he would accept but it wouldnt hurt to try.
To be fair, Bynum looked worse during the playoffs because he was coming off an injury. However, I do think he is one of the keys to the Lakers' immediate future. If he begins to play at the level many seem to be believe he's capable of, LA could be a top 3 team for years to come. Even if Lakers decide they're better off trading him, they can probably get a good player or two back for him.
Why would we offer Ariza 8-12 mil per yer for 3 years? That is absurd. Oh, and I don't think he would take too much time to accept that deal. Thats way over priced for Ariza..
He's a decent wing man. Can shoot the 3, good athleticism, and a decent defender, as some said, he took the pressure off Kobe of defending the other teams best player. Not to mention he is also way younger than Artest, only 23 years old, soon to be 24. Just an idea though. I'm not sure I, along with others I'm sure, would be happy throwing the money at Artest, who is not great but good, and locking him up for another 3-4 years. He's no young one. One could argue he's the reason why we advanced in the playoffs, but also one could argue his shooting in the last 3 games was horrific and is why we lost, but after all, it is a team game.
From what I understand, it was Morey who pushed for Battier-for-Gay trade. I don't have a source but I read a post in the GARM that confirmed it. And most posters agreed that the Gay-Battier trade has examples of what a Morey trade looks like.
