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wolfpaclaker
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 Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:20 am Post subject: Lakers in the News June 19, 2012: Jim Buss says Lakers fans shouldn't expect major moves |
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| Quote: | Lakers 12-1 pick to win 2013 NBA title
Miami and Oklahoma City are still warring through this year’s NBA Finals, but oddsmakers have already oiled up their picks for the 2012-13 NBA season.
A trio of gambling sites peg the Lakers as a solid 12-1 to favorite to claim the 2013 title, with only four teams listed as better picks.
It’s a typical sportsbook technique to gauge a season ahead: take a popular team, rely heavily on last season’s finish, assume its general manager — in this case Mitch Kupchak — plugs in some holes in the off season to keep them as a serious contender next season.
Never mind that the Lakers had only the sixth-best regular season record in 2011-12, finished in the middle of the pack in offensive and defensive statistics, and went 5-7 in the playoffs.
In addition, Kobe Bryant turns 34 in August and he won’t get much time off this summer while playing for the U.S. Olympic team. The Lakers presumably want to use Pau Gasol as their chief trading chip this summer to land some new talent, but the team figures to remain significantly over the salary cap, hampering their roster changes.
Nevertheless, here are the favorites to win the title next June, according to Sportsbooks.com, GamingToday.com and BetUSA.ag:
2013 NBA championship odds
--Miami Heat 5-2
--Oklahoma City Thunder 5-2
--Chicago Bulls 5-1
--San Antonio Spurs 7-1
--Lakers 12-1 |
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Last edited by wolfpaclaker on Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:38 am; edited 2 times in total |
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wolfpaclaker
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:22 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Report: Los Angeles Lakers shopping Pau Gasol again
The Los Angeles Lakers are open to trading for less-talented players in exchange for center Pau Gasol |
I hope the less talented players part is false |
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wolfpaclaker
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Joined: 29 May 2002
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:24 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Fan’s Take: Los Angeles Lakers Missing a Playmaker Off the Bench
A Missing Bench
In the post-Odom world of Los Angeles, it seems sometimes that Odom was the entire bench for the Lakers and when he left he took the bench production with him.
In the Kobe Bryant era, the Lakers have not had much of a bench to speak of, but there were a few guns that could be called in over the last few years. With Odom still on the team, the Lakers also had Shannon Brown and Steve Blake coming off the bench for some productive minutes. Now that Odom is gone, so is Shannon Brown and Steve Blake has aged quickly. |
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unleasHell
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Joined: 16 Apr 2001
Posts: 11591
Location: Stay Thirsty my Friends
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:03 am Post subject: |
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Put me down for two-bucks, , no wait, it might be better to wait, once the season begins, I am sure it will be closer to 20-1!
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“Always remember... Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.” |
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wolfpaclaker
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:16 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Ramon Sessions Will Opt Out Of Contract And Become Free Agent
The Los Angeles Lakers apparently learned what seemed to be the inevitable on Tuesday morning: Ramon Sessions might return to the team, but not under his current contract.
Sessions was acquired by the Lakers in a mid-season trade and looked quite solid in their run to the NBA Playoffs, but the team knew they'd likely only get the remainder of this season from him when they agreed to the trade. Sessions had a $4.5 million option for next season, but has apparently decided that he can make more money on the open market. |
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9-0-9
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Joined: 04 Jul 2009
Posts: 1578
Location: Born in Redlands,California but Reside in Houston,TX
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oldschool32
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Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 20032
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:32 am Post subject: |
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| 9-0-9 wrote: | | Somehow I DON'T see him in Purple n' Gold next year...well...the bright side is that if Lamar returns, #7 is open again |
I agree. The thing that would really upset me is that the Lakers just wasted a pick. As evidenced by their lack of young role players, the Lakers need those picks badly.
As for Sessions, I don't think he is worth more than a 2-3 year deal at mle or less money, possibly 3-5mil a year. He's probably a decent bench player, but a mediocre starter. He was really exposed in the playoffs imo.
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yinoma2001
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 10:34 am Post subject: |
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I'd rather re-sign him for 2 years, at worst he is the starter (better than Blake). Or, he can be a backup for Deron (  ) or used as part of a S&T for a better PG.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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Rick12322
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Joined: 27 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 10:41 am Post subject: |
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| Who else would want Sessions? Other than the Lakers, Cleveland couldn't give him away. I hope we get a bargain after he's turned down around the league. He hasn't exactly proven himself a starter yet. |
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32
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 73134
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 10:56 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Mike Brown Statement Regarding Ettore Messina
EL SEGUNDO – Lakers head coach Mike Brown released the following statement regarding Ettore Messina, who served as coaching consultant for the team during the 2011-12 season:
“I would like to congratulate Ettore Messina on returning to CSKA Moscow as head coach. Truly one of the great basketball minds in the history of the sport, his experience and contributions to our team this past season were invaluable, and we wish him the best of luck moving forward.” |
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Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold. |
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ForrestHump
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:00 am Post subject: |
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Good luck, Sesh.
I don't think he will get a starting role on a team that will actually contend for a playoff seed.
But it might be because of what's going on inside the organization, he could be just looking to get some leverage or he knows LA is making a move concerning the PG spot (Deron).
Can't wait for something to actually happen.
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yinoma2001
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:18 am Post subject: |
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| ForrestHump wrote: | Good luck, Sesh.
I don't think he will get a starting role on a team that will actually contend for a playoff seed.
But it might be because of what's going on inside the organization, he could be just looking to get some leverage or he knows LA is making a move concerning the PG spot (Deron).
Can't wait for something to actually happen. |
If Deron, holy crap. Forget Sessions...although he'd make heck of a backup. Sesh/DWill could co-exist b/c DWill can play 2 guard minutes too.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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legend825
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Joined: 12 Jun 2012
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:23 am Post subject: |
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| I don't think Ramon should've opted out based on the way he ended the season with his play but then again I may be in the minority with that opinion |
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32
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 73134
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:35 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Phil Jackson: How Lakers lost their 'symmetry'
Phil Jackson was no longer Pau Gasol's coach last season, but Jackson cared enough personally to meet with Gasol and advise in what Gasol acknowledged many times was a season that made that long hair frazzle even more than usual.
Jackson's support was one thing. A public comment about how the Lakers vice president Jim Buss hurt the team by prioritizing Andrew Bynum over Gasol is another.
"Jim is a guy that saw Andrew as a kid and thought Bynum was going to be a great pick for our team," Jackson said an interview with HBO's Andrea Kremer. "But in the process, I think he's wanted Andrew to have a bigger and bigger role, and I think he's hired his coach for Andrew to have a bigger and bigger role. And that kind of disjointed the symmetry of what the Lakers were really about this last year.
"Andrew is an All-Star center; he did a wonderful job. But what happened was it took Pau out of his game, and it took the team away from some of their game. So they changed the style dramatically."
Jackson's comments about the Buss, brother of his girlfriend Jeanie and son of Lakers owner Jerry, don't appear in the interview from Jackson's Montana summer home that premieres Tuesday night on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." In an advance copy of the main interview, Jackson acknowledges that "there might be" an NBA job out there that draws him back to basketball.
About whether that will happen, Jackson said: "No, I'm not going to answer that. I don't have an answer for that question."
My personal take is that Jackson is already growing a little restless – his brilliant mind racing with strategies unexplored, his improved health making him strong enough to do much more than prepare himself garden salads – and he will return to the NBA in a hands-off yet just-hands-on-enough managerial capacity in some future year.
It's a cloudy future – but it'll be a sad day for Lakers fans when Jackson guides another team.
Jackson had greater clarity when it came to Jim Buss' status, saying: "He wants to put his stamp on what he's going to do. And I think he's decided that he'll go in a different direction. He's got some ideas about how the game should progress, how talent should be picked up."
Asked if those ideas are the right ones, Jackson said: "Um, they're his. He's a guy that believes a lot in statistics and in numbers and in stuff like that. I'm a guy that believes in what the product is and I see it, can touch and feel, watch run up and down the court."
Jackson did not exactly endorse the idea that the Lakers could return to the level of winning they enjoyed while Jackson coached them to championships in 2000, '01, '02, '09 and '10.
"The Lakers have a great organization," Jackson said. "They have a great chance to move forward simply by their attachment of their name, the fact that it's always been a dominant team, it's the marquee team with the Celtics in the league. So they'll be fine. They'll go fine. Whether they'll be successful or not, that's another story."
Who will the Lakers be as they pursue that success with Mike Brown coaching and Kobe Bryant leading?
Point guard Ramon Sessions, acquired in March to replace longtime Jackson hand Derek Fisher, is not exercising the player option to return to the Lakers next season, so they'll have to re-sign him to a longer deal to test Jim Buss' visions for Sessions. Gasol, whom Jackson asked Jeanie Buss to tell that he "played well" and "stood tall" despite the unique challenges of the season, remains an offseason trade candidate.
The Lakers' future isn't really Jackson's concern, even if he mentioned how "humbling" it was to bow out via 2011 second-round sweep in Dallas and lamented Bynum's "sense of arrogance" in stripping off his jersey after his unsportsmanlike blow to J.J. Barea.
But Jackson scoffed at the idea that the game has passed him by already.
"As much as I've been around this game, it doesn't happen," he said. "The game doesn't pass a person by."
Jackson didn't say anything specific beyond noting the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony needs to pass more, but make no mistake about Jackson's belief that he could help both Anthony and Orlando's Dwight Howard better understand what it takes to win. About Orlando, Jackson said: "That's one of the best opportunities in the game right now" – so you see why Jackson disciple Brian Shaw is eager to take his shot as head coach there.
Who knows what will be wind up being the right combination of star player, trustworthy owner and major market to bring Jackson back to the NBA.
Jackson half-joked that his next move will be "getting a minivan and a poodle and probably traveling the country and seeing all the archeological sites that the Native Americans left behind for us to look at."
That would be a far simpler life than the one Jackson left behind in the NBA.
But it would also mean he's mobile and quite physically capable of doing road trips again, right? |
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Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold. |
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32
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Basketball Junkies
Lakers coach Mike Brown got his head coaching start as the video coordinator of the Denver Nuggets back in 1992, a position that's becoming more and more en vogue in the NBA. After all, few if any spend more time watching and critiquing basketball than the guys doing all the cutting and editing.
On Brown's current staff, Tom Bialaszewski holds that position, and true to form there's nobody – save for Brown's assistant, Kyle Triggs – that's at the Lakers El Segundo practice facility more.
We caught up with Bialaszewski and Triggs after they finished working out Lakers wing Christian Eyenga on an otherwise lonely June day to see what it's like behind the scenes of an NBA coaching staff. |
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Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold. |
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ThreePointBomber
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Location: Inland Empire
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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Good, make a move for a quality pg.
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Cha*n
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:38 am Post subject: |
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Jim Buss says Lakers fans shouldn't expect major moves
Buss knows there are calls from many, including Magic Johnson, to shake up the roster, but it's unlikely to happen. He says the chances of Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol opening the season with the team are 'very good.'
By T.J. Simers
June 19, 2012, 9:24 p.m.
TV analyst Magic Johnson has called out Lakers honcho Jim Buss, while also wondering in a tweet why Kobe Bryant isn't doing the same every day.
In online excerpts from an interview Phil Jackson did with HBO, Jackson is asked why Jim Buss has "chosen to almost disassemble so much of what you've built?"
Ramon Sessions declines option; Lakers left with their guard down
Oklahoma City's Derek Fisher is hoping to be an NBA king again
Broderick Turner's mock NBA draft
Lakers unlikely to get Deron Williams or Lamar Odom
Lakers exercise Andrew Bynum's option; now the intrigue starts
Kings hope to share something more than office space with Lakers
Ads by Google
And now the Lakers don't have a starting point guard on their roster, with Ramon Sessions opting out of his contract.
"Bring it on," says Buss, "where do you want to start?"
What are the chances of the Lakers starting the season with Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol all in Lakers uniforms?
"Very good," says Buss. |
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wolfpaclaker
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:52 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the additions to the LITN thread, Ch*an and Lakerfan4  |
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Gimme_the_rock
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Location: Looking outta the window, watching the asphalt grow ...
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:52 am Post subject: |
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As minor an event as it appears to be, I am excited to see that the Eyenga is at the Laker facility working out with the staff.
This guy has all the athleticism and potential you could hope for in a late first, early 2nd round pick ... with experience. He has obvious holes in his game too but I truly believe, with just an added ability to hit the open corner 3, he could play the role of defensive spark off the bench with the ability to guard positions 1 - 3 to disrupt another team's offensive weapons.
If he adds some ball handling and a decent midrange game, he could be a great addition by simply filling a role.
I think he's got some great basketball tools to work with. |
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lakerjoshua
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:52 am Post subject: |
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Jim Buss:
| Quote: | | "No," he says. "I think changes are going to be made moving Pau lower to the basket. We can improve that way with a change in coaching strategy rather than a change in personnel." |
Well, this sounds like a GREAT idea! Maybe this Buss kid is not as inept as I thought. |
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IPK
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:14 am Post subject: |
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| wolfpaclaker wrote: | | Thanks for the additions to the LITN thread, Ch*an and Lakerfan4 |
Thanks to you too, wolf. 
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Cup-of-noodles
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:04 am Post subject: |
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| Bad news in Lakerland |
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