The 2013-14 Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Mulli]

Earl Clark did play well for the Lakers.

Damn decent is a joke.

Haha.

 

[Joe L]

Pfft, I peeped.

clippers are stupid.

No, this is stupid:

http://thesonofsambowie.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/dwight-howard-stay-with-lakers-2.jpg

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/files/2013/06/dwight-howard-stay-with-lakers.jpg

The Lakers played the Clippers like it was their finals. Best win of the season for them. Something you guys can always go back to when things get rough.

 

[D-Dogg]

That was stupid. #gladhedidn't

 

[Cheesebeef]

Earl Clark played well for about a month...and then looked like Earl Clark.

and is damn decent is a callback to something else? don't get the joke.

this season is going to be great for the Lakers. a bunch of blowouts, but Kobe will come back to make sure they're just decent enough not to get a high lottery pick, sticking them in limbo for the foreseeable future.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I still can't believe they hired D'Antoni. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[D-Dogg]

Earl Clark played well for about a month...and then looked like Earl Clark.

and is damn decent is a callback to something else? don't get the joke.

this season is going to be great for the Lakers. a bunch of blowouts, but Kobe will come back to make sure they're just decent enough not to get a high lottery pick, sticking them in limbo for the foreseeable future.

Damn decent is a callback to Derek Anderson, I think. Shane called someone like DA damn decent, and I thought it was a hilarious combination of words. Pretty much only Mulli and I use the term, but I laugh every time I see it. Jumbo Shrimp and Damn Decent. I'd never seen "decent" get any kind of modifier. He's not average, he's DAMN average!

I'm kinda hoping Kobe gets a San Antonio Spurs like setback so we can get that high lottery pick, but that's not likely to happen. They signed just a tad too much talent, that combined with Kobe's return, will get them flirting with 40 wins when they need to be in 25-30 range.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm not sure if ESPN can suck on the Lakers nuts even more if they tried. apparently, they have a tracker whether or not THIS YEAR'S Lakers/Spurs can be as good as the 1996 72 win Bulls.

seriously...this is odd. even odd to ask the question about the Spurs but beyond odd, ridiculous speed to plaid to ask the question and track this Lakers squad.

http://espn.go.com/nba/features/best

 

[D-Dogg]

I'm not sure if ESPN can suck on the Lakers nuts even more if they tried. apparently, they have a tracker whether or not THIS YEAR'S Lakers/Spurs can be as good as the 1996 72 win Bulls.

seriously...this is odd. even odd to ask the question about the Spurs but beyond odd, ridiculous speed to plaid to ask the question and track this Lakers squad.

http://espn.go.com/nba/features/best

 

[Mulli]

I'm not sure if ESPN can suck on the Lakers nuts even more if they tried. apparently, they have a tracker whether or not THIS YEAR'S Lakers/Spurs can be as good as the 1996 72 win Bulls.

seriously...this is odd. even odd to ask the question about the Spurs but beyond odd, ridiculous speed to plaid to ask the question and track this Lakers squad.

http://espn.go.com/nba/features/best

I am pretty sure that they must mean will the lakers and spurs win 72 combined...

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I have to admit watching Dwight blow that game was pretty amusing.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I have to admit watching Dwight blow that game was pretty amusing.

yeah, as much as I hate the Lakers, the irony of how tonight played out was pretty damn entertaining.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Seeing Dwight fail, despite the fact I hate the Lakers was quite enjoyable.

 

[D-Dogg]

That was satisfying as hell. Beating the Clippers to start things off and forcing Dwight to beat his new team were great moments of what will be a forgettable season.

 

[Cheesebeef]

i'm hoping against hope that Jim Buss is stubborn enough to keep DA for a looooooooong time because he's a joke of a HC.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[BullheadCardFan]

Nash hurt again with his back. Would of like to see him get healthy and play some useful minutes this year. Not looking like that is going to happen. Really enjoy watching him make those great passes.

More Steve Blake I guess. Ugh

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant agree to huge two-year, $48.5 million contract extension

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...obe-bryant-agree-huge-two-171551277--nba.html

Guess I'll have to wait even longer for this Kobe-era to be over.

Crazy deal when you consider two things:

1. He got a deal which guarantees that he is the highest paid player next year and the year after. Meaning he'll make more than Amar'e Stoudemire's $23,410,988 in 2014-15 and more than Joe Johnson's $24,894,863 in 2015-16.

2. He took a significant pay cut to work out this deal. It is about a 23 percent decrease from the $30,453,805 he's making this season, and about 27 percent less than the $32 million he could have made next year had he sought the maximum possible salary the Lakers could have paid him.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Looks like women in Denver ain't the only people Kobe enjoys raping.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this contract for the Lakers.

Love it.

 

[D-Dogg]

Meh, it won't hurt them from getting what they want next year. They aren't paying Pau 20M a year again that's for sure. He's traded.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Meh, it won't hurt them from getting what they want next year. They aren't paying Pau 20M a year again that's for sure. He's traded.

if what they wanted was to compete for titles, it will.

this was a bad deal and you know it's a bad deal when John Ireland's doppleganger doesn't applaud it and can merely respond "meh" to a contract for his hero. it's okay to admit Kobe was selfish and put himself ahead of the team. I don't blame him. you can see the writing on the wall here. he's never going to win another title, there aren't enough great FAs out there to bring to this team (or that would want to come to this team to play with a breaking down alpha Kobe) to rebuild on the fly, so why not get as much money as humanly possible and chase the only title you can, the scoring title.

but don't tell me this doesn't hurt their ability to rebuild. they're basically the Suns post Amare now, holding on Steve Nash because they can't admit the glory days are over. but the reality is that they are and they'll start to get better until Kobe's days are dunzo.

it'll be awesome watching him get his ass whipped as an 8 seed for the next three years though. should do wonders for his legacy.

 

[D-Dogg]

if what they wanted was to compete for titles, it will.

this was a bad deal and you know it's a bad deal when John Ireland's doppleganger doesn't applaud it and can merely respond "meh" to a contract for his hero. it's okay to admit Kobe was selfish and put himself ahead of the team. I don't blame him. you can see the writing on the wall here. he's never going to win another title, there aren't enough great FAs out there to bring to this team (or that would want to come to this team to play with a breaking down alpha Kobe) to rebuild on the fly, so why not get as much money as humanly possible and chase the only title you can, the scoring title.

but don't tell me this doesn't hurt their ability to rebuild. they're basically the Suns post Amare now, holding on Steve Nash because they can't admit the glory days are over. but the reality is that they are and they'll start to get better until Kobe's days are dunzo.

it'll be awesome watching him get his ass whipped as an 8 seed for the next three years though. should do wonders for his legacy.

Kobe took a pay cut, and they will have room for a max player in the offseason. They aren't getting anything good with LeBron or Melo, so why worry about that? Draft, get some young talent and try for the 2015 FA class where the cap will raise again, and the draft pick will have some experience. Kobe retires in 16 or gets a smaller extension, and there will be more cap room. With the TW deal, the Lakers will not hurt for money to pay and be in luxury tax room; the challenge is being able to get up into Luxury tax area again now that they are under the cap.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Kobe took a pay cut, and they will have room for a max player in the offseason.

they'll have room for one MAX player...and pretty much nothing else, as opposed to taking a deal like Duncan which would have allowed them room for TWO MAX free agents, or even a deal like LeBron which would have allowed for a max FA and another good player in the 8-10 million range.

And what MAX free agent is going to want to go there now? To play with a one-legged, 35 year old Kobe Bryant, to not challenge for a title and be stuck on a team that doesn't have draft picks in 2015 or much cap space and will have to completely rebuild once Kobe's gone? I'll tell you who...no one who wants to win titles. which is awesome.

They aren't getting anything good with LeBron or Melo, so why worry about that? Draft, get some young talent and try for the 2015 FA class where the cap will raise again, and the draft pick will have some experience.

so, you think they're basically going to sit on their cap space this off-season? not sure that's what you're saying but sitting on that cap space is the ONLY way they'll have room to get anyone of note in that 2015 FA class where Kobe's cap number goes up to 25.5 million, plus a hopeful max deal this year and knowing Jim Buss, he's going to try and make a splash, with someone, anyone, because that's what he does, for good or bad. not to mention, Kobe will likely go ballistic if they don't add a major piece this off-season, not realizing how much his own contract has kept the Lakers in mediocrity Limbo till he retires.

Kobe retires in 16 or gets a smaller extension, and there will be more cap room. With the TW deal, the Lakers will not hurt for money to pay and be in luxury tax room; the challenge is being able to get up into Luxury tax area again now that they are under the cap.

I'd think the challenge is getting a major MAX type player to go to a team where they have to play with an aging, broken down alpha dog for a couple years, not win and then be faced with a complete rebuild once Kobe retires. don't know many major difference makers who would jump at the chance to play for a playoff pretender for a couple years and then a likely lotto team after that.

 

[Mulli]

No one else in the league pays him half that much.

:championship:

 

[Joe L]

With the TW deal, the Lakers will not hurt for money to pay and be in luxury tax room; the challenge is being able to get up into Luxury tax area again now that they are under the cap.

That is a huge challenge and one that is likely to take years. Only way to get up there is to hold the bird rights of worthy players , and worth getting paid high dollars. Once Kobe retires, his cap hold and numbers are lost. That brings the Lakers way down under the cap. They'll start from scratch all over again.
Gasol's salary is about the only money they could parlay into better players thus keeping the salary high but that keeps the Lakers from getting that coveted star they're saving their space for. Nash as this rate, is worthless as far as trade bait. The Lakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place for years. They'll have to wait for players worth large contracts in order to flip them for better players or keep them to build a competing team.
Lakers have all the money in the world to buy a contender but kobe's contract, and the new CBA, basically keeps them locked for years from spending. It's easy to say that the TW contract takes the worry out of paying lux taxes but it will be literally impossible to pay said taxes for years. I see no path in the near future for the Lakers to spend like they used to. The money is not the problem, the CBA is.

 

[Gee!]

I need Kobe to come back and will this Lakers team to a 7th or 8th seed.. Don't need these jack wads getting a lottery pick with the talent in this draft.. They will miraculously get a top three pick..