Whew! Thank you for pointing that out. I was going to disagree w/you for second there, until you said that. Their minds are the same; smart and clutch. But their abilities are way different. Fisher actually is a well-balanced player. Horry is a specialist; spot-up shooting and defense (Whatever you do Robert "Bob" Horry, don't dribble the ball! Noooooo....!).
Shaq & Kobe II = Yao and TMc for Fish? How about Shaq and Wade, DFish rejoining his bud in My - am- muh?!!
don't know if posted, but here ya go anyway... http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/nba/article/0,1375,VCS_139_3029507,00.html Free agent's choice will factor heavily on chance for more playing time Fisher evaluating options By Jeffrey Dransfeldt, Correspondent July 12, 2004 Derek Fisher's future destination, whether he remains with the Los Angeles Lakers or goes elsewhere, remained unclear Saturday. What was evidently clear was Fisher's admiration for new coach Rudy Tomjanovich. Fisher made a visit to the summer pro league at Long Beach State to meet the former Houston coach and visit teammates Luke Walton, Kareem Rush and Brian Cook. "I wanted to congratulate him and really let him know how happy I was for him to battle cancer and to now be back on the sideline. ... It says a lot about who he is as a man and a person," Fisher said. "He's really excited about this opportunity and if things work out I look forward to working with him possibly." Dressed in a green and red Sidney Moncrief throwback jersey, Fisher shed light on his decision-making process. Tomjanovich provided Fisher a brief synopsis of his principles and how he wants to run his team. "It's important things for me to know to make my decision," Fisher said. One factor Fisher said included playing time. He wants an opportunity to become a starter. The seven-year veteran also wants to expand his role offensively. Fisher averaged 7.1 points and 2.3 assists in 2003-04 in a backup role. "I want to feel great about the city. I want to feel great about the organization and where it's headed," Fisher said. Karl Malone, who underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, has not made a decision to retire or return. A possible return would have a large impact on Fisher and Kobe Bryant, as to whether the Lakers stay competitive and compete for a title. "Once you get used to what we've accomplished you don't want to slide down too far," Fisher said. "Starting over would not be fun." Fisher's options narrowed slightly last week, when the Toronto Rapters received a verbal commitment from former Ventura College player Rafer Alston. The Houston Chronicle reports the Rockets have interest among other teams. Fisher said he had not been in contact with Shaquille O'Neal or Bryant. Teammates since 1996 when Fisher and Bryant were drafted and O'Neal signed, Fisher said it will be a sad day to see O'Neal leave. "It's been really, really crazy," Fisher said. "It's unfortunate with everything we accomplished over the last several years, it's unfortunate to have to take place the way that it has. The sports world has really taken a turn. You pick up the sports section and you really don't know what you're going to read." Confident in Payton: Tomjanovich expressed optimism Gary Payton can regain his effectiveness next season. "I'm looking forward (to it)," Tomjanovich said. "I have had Gary Payton in the Olympics. He has played tremendous games against the Rockets over the years. I'm looking forward for him to be on my side." Payton averaged 14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 2003-04, but dipped to 7.8, 3.3, and 5.3 in the playoffs. Summer fun: The Lakers' summer league team continues playing through July 20. Tomjanovich plans to look at Walton, Cook, Rush, rookie Sasha Vujacic and possible free agents. He said he enjoys the summer pro league. "You also see guys who are looking to make a dream come true and just play inspired basketball," Tomjanovich said. i thought the second part of the article, "confident in payton", was funny after reading the first.
here's some more stuff... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/181702_sonx12.html Monday, July 12, 2004 Sonics seek free agent Fisher Career Lakers guard wooed to replace soon-to-depart Barry By DANNY O'NEIL SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The Sonics' pursuit of Derek Fisher lacks the drama of Fisher's miracle last-second shot against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA playoffs. But with only two days until teams can start signing free agents, the Sonics are thought to be making a push for the Lakers' unrestricted free-agent point guard. Fisher, 6 feet 1, was scheduled to visit Seattle this weekend. It is believed that he was in town yesterday. Free agents can begin signing contracts on Wednesday. Fisher made $3 million last season, his eighth in the league. The Sonics have up to about $5 million to sign another team's free agent, and has room in the budget now that Brent Barry has agreed to sign with the Spurs on Wednesday. Fisher, who will turn 30 next month, averaged 7.1 points last season after he was displaced by Gary Payton in the Lakers' starting lineup. He averaged more than 10 points in three successive seasons, from 2000-01 to 2002-03, but last season started only three games -- his fewest starts in any season since 1996-97, his rookie year. Fisher, part of the Lakers' 2000-02 title run, made the series-changing basket in the Lakers' Game 5 victory over the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. With the Lakers down by one point and 0.4 seconds remaining, Fisher caught an in-bounds pass from Gary Payton, turned and released what turned out to be the game-winning basket. The Lakers took the series lead, three games to two, and clinched the next game by winning at home. New Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich reportedly visited Fisher last week, presumably to try and talk Fisher back to Los Angeles. Fisher would fit the Sonics' desire for a more aggressive perimeter defender. Though short, he weighs more than 200 pounds and he is one of the stoutest defensive point guards in the league. Barry, the Sonics' starting point guard, reached an agreement Friday with the Spurs. He was signed using salary-cap space in a deal thought to be worth around $21 million. The Sonics made an offer that was comparable with a higher starting salary of about $6 million, and more money in the first three years than the Spurs offered. The fourth year of Seattle's final offer was guaranteed only 25 percent. The total guaranteed money from the Spurs was more than $1 million more than what the Sonics offered. "From the beginning, he informed us that he would really like to finish his career with a championship team," general manager Rick Sund said. "He was consistent from the beginning of July. He's a professional and handled this like one, and we want to wish he and Erin (Brent's wife), the best."
you know that vitaly "ukraine train" potapenko isn't a bad player. wouldn't mind trading him straight up to the sonics for 'spoon. don't think they're that dumb, but the trade seems to work financially. he can he the outside j and definitely isn't scuRRed of giving the hard foul or mixing it up in the lane. i seem to remember him giving yao fits last year during one of the games.
My thought, too, but its a little bit troubling that the Sonics are shopping for PGs instead of being content to start Daniels.
This is a very interesting turn of events. If the Rockets really still have designs on Antonio Daniels then with the Sonics getting Fisher that opens the door for us. They already have Ridnour, so adding a THIRD PG like Fisher doesnt make any sense here unless they were looking to move Daniels. I am curious why they dont have faith in Daniels?
I wonder if there are any bad contracts we will have to pick up in return for getting AD. That may be more of their motivation for shopping for a new PG.
Maybe Daniels wants out and the Sonics like our offer (?) of a first round pick? Maybe using our TE we can unburden one of the least-valuable teams in the league (next to last in franchise value, I think) of some salary cap. Maybe.
You know,Daniels has been a bit of an enigma.One minute he's running the break,pressing on the perimeter,taking it to the hole for the dish,and draining J's.Next,he's sitting.Over the years,he's bounced around quite a bit for somebody with his talent.Iwonder what the problem is...off the court?not coachable?
I think you hit the nail on the head. It's the timing of Fisher's shots that tend to turn the tide and momentum in games. His points are not truly measureable in the amounts but the timeliness of them are killer. Fisher has problems with smaller quick guards and if we sign him we can expect Parker, Bibby, Cassell, Nash, Stoudemire etc. to light him up on the dribble penetration because Fisher's not quick enough and doesn't shuffle his feet quick enough to keep up with the smaller guards and he has a lot of problems fighting through picks and defending the pick and roll as the entire Laker team had trouble. He is reportedly a good lockerroom guy (a quiet leader who didn't speak publicly a lot like Fox, but when he did, it was reported that he was well respected by his teammates and received their full attention).
In the report Houston was merely sending picks for Daniels, and Sonics need a PF. Would a package of Mo and Picks for Daniels and Potapenko/James work?
Yes, as would Spoon + TE for AD & James/Penko or Booth. Either trade makes some sense for both teams, though we might have to add additional compensation. Booth or James makes more sense to me than Penko however, we need the defensive presence.
I guess we're still pursuing Fisher ... and he's still checking his options ... <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers13jul13,1,2532083.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-lakers"><b>LA Times:</b></a> Gary Payton, unnerved by the O'Neal trade and still carrying I-didn't-sign-up-for-this attitude, has requested a meeting with Tomjanovich, which Payton's agent believes could happen in the coming days. Unhappy with his part in last season's team, Payton is hoping for changes. In an extreme case, Payton could ask to be traded or waived, but apparently he's not there yet. He leaves late next week for Japan, where he will conduct clinics for Nike. The Lakers are thumbing through free agents, including a few of their own, such as Malone, Derek Fisher and Slava Medvedenko. Fisher is drawing interest from more than a few places, Houston and Miami among them, and reportedly spent part of the weekend in Seattle.
If i have to, i would pay Fisher the full MLE. The thing is, right now, if we don't get Fisher for full MLE, whom are we going to get? Those bastards probably trying to get the full MLE as well. It will be great if we get Fisher, I will have no confidence at all if we start Lue, Lue has a lot of match up problems, he can't defend at least ,let me see ,40% of this league's pg?
let's assume we use full MLE on fisher, but option do we have left on the back up center. i'd like Robert Horry kind of player, Tall, athletic, good defender, can match up with KG, Duncan on defensive end. And clutch, clutch. Man his 3s won Laker championships. hehe we need Horry II why do i feel much like an copy cat of the lakers... horry II, fisher, Lue, T-mac(kobe), Yao(shaq)... hmmm what are we cooking here.
