11/05/24
June 29, 2005
Clueless Lakers: First the Lakers trade Shaquille O'Neal, the best player in the NBA, and get rid of the 2nd best coach of all-time, Phil Jackson. Now they bring Phil back, and say they're going the right way. Then comes the NBA Draft, and with the 10th pick, they draft a high schooler with Sean May, Rashad McCants, Hakim Warrick etc. available.
posted by The_Intern to basketball at 05:29 PM - 18 comments
To call Phil Jackson "2nd best" is ridiculous, unless you're referring to John Wooden. I guess maybe you mean Red Auerbach... I really hope you dont mean Larry Brown. I'm a Lakers fan and who knows, the HS kid may become great under Phil's tutelage. If Phil wanted to pick him, I assume it was the right choice. If Mitch Kupchak wanted to pick him, well, Mitch Kupchak is an idiot. (see job offer to Mike Krysefski* last year). If Jerry West had stayed they would probably be going for a six-peat next year. *not even bothering to try to spell it right
posted by drjimmy11 at 06:47 PM on June 29, 2005
since phil is coming back y dont they call jerry west and see if he wants his old job back
posted by DETROIT DIESEL at 06:48 PM on June 29, 2005
This is going to be great. Kobe gets a high school project ... no help next year. Plus Bynum looks like the second coming of .... Desanga Diop.
posted by Mike McD at 06:50 PM on June 29, 2005
According to ESPN his UPSIDE is "Brendon Haywood," which scared me a little bit. I forget his downside, I didnt want to keep reading after that... Everyone in LA would love to have Jerry West back but I dont think he's coming back. They need to put Kupchak out on his ass and give Phil the GM job too.
posted by drjimmy11 at 06:59 PM on June 29, 2005
Kupchak has clearly overstayed his welcome in LA. I dont know about Bynum though, he has a 7'6 wingspan, but is not very versatile.
posted by Rage Rod 74 at 07:11 PM on June 29, 2005
Its amazing to see how much snivelling goes on when you get used to winning, and your not even on Laker payroll. I think GM's can have bad seasons, just like players. Was last year trading Shaq and losing Phil good management, no. But jeez, if your a loyal fan, let this play out before you right this kid(s) off.
posted by themook at 12:41 AM on June 30, 2005
all of you who aren't Laker fans, shut the Bleep up! You have no clue how this town is buzzing(good or bad) about this Andrew Bynum kid! C'mon! He may only be 17, but the possibilty of this kid being the next in a lineage of great Laker centers is not far-fetched. He isn't a skinny rail like Manute Bol or Shawn Bradley when they started. Bynum has the potential to be a huge star or a bust, but that is a risk I would gladly take as owner of the Lakers. Imagine the quality education this kid will get being taught by the Master himself Phil Jackson. Imagine playing next to the best all-around player in the NBA Kobe Byrant. He might even get some tips on some good resorts to hang out at! ("where 'da white chicks?") But in all seriousness, I think the Lakers couldn't afford to let the chance go and see this kid become a superstar somewhere else. The Lakers will make some trades this summer and this team will probably make the 7-8th seed in the playoffs, then add another piece or 2 when the salary cap restrictions fall off(Brian Grants contract for starters), and Bynum will be a year older and stronger..I predict that if this kid blossoms, he could the the leader of another Kareem type Laker dynasty over the next 10-15 years.
posted by bluekarma at 09:51 AM on June 30, 2005
What would inspire that? He's a high school player. For every superstar out of high school you name, there are 100 failures. And name me all the great centers that came straight out of high school in the past 15 years. Jermaine O'Neal is the only one that springs to mind and he tooks years to develop. Good call on him scamming white chicks with Kobe.
posted by yerfatma at 10:20 AM on June 30, 2005
Then again, he could become the next Shawn Bradley (or Gheorghe Muresan). Drafting someone with "the potential to be a huge star or a bust" is not what you do with the #10 pick in a very deep draft. You do that in the third round, not the first. I understand the Lakers need a big man, but they don't need another kid. Three rings and a world of grief and Kobe, the "leader" of the team, still needs to finish becoming an adult himself. He won't be much help to Bynum, who as an oversized teenager is going to need some serious mentoring just to get to the point where he can be a viable everyday player. Notice I didn't even mention his on-court ability.
posted by chicobangs at 10:21 AM on June 30, 2005
Imagine the quality education this kid will get being taught by the Master himself Phil Jackson Imagine playing against a 7' center who is defintely ready to play in the NBA. He's gonna get an education alright, I just don't know that Phil is gonna be standing at the head of the class.
posted by YukonGold at 10:38 AM on June 30, 2005
You do that in the third round, not the first. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I found it funny.
posted by blarp at 10:59 AM on June 30, 2005
the big loss was jerry west. he was THE laker ... he played there ... as a champion ... later, as gm, he created a championship team there, with kareem and magic. and, after not much of a lull, he had a new championship team in place, with shaq daddy and kobe. when buss "traded" west, he traded the heart of the lakers. phil jackson: yes, he can win when he has the best talent in the league. he has done it twice, in chicago and then LA. but he has never won with average talent, so let's cut the slams on larry brown, who just took a team with no superstar to the finals two years in a row, the first time drubbing a lakers team that had four superstars. i agree that LA should not have taken a high schooler ... how many years will phil be with the lakers? three, maybe. so why not get a player who can play now, instead of one who may be damn good in a few years? after a few stupendous moves in recent years (see above, plus, of course, jettisoning shaq to the east), what would be a wise move for the lakers? to "trade" kupchak. the guy has NEVER made a good move as the gm. maybe i'm wrong. but what was the good move? getting age-wearied karl malone and gary payton? that sure worked ... ha. the lakers need to dump kupchak and get a point guard and a rebounder.
posted by ramon at 12:02 PM on June 30, 2005
I love to hear peaple still trying to take up for the Lakers seemingly inability to get it right. Its easy to win when you have the two best players in the NBA. When youy get rid of the best one its very hard to replace him. Koby looks cool running the show doesn't matter win or lose its how many points you personnaly get to score.
posted by nsfan at 05:13 PM on June 30, 2005
As a KINGS fan, I think it's a great draft choice, and an even better choice to bring Phil back to bicker with Kobe all season long :)
posted by irunfromclones at 06:08 PM on June 30, 2005
Im a SPURS fan, and I want the lakers to make the playoffs. So we can give them a good ass whipping!!! But Im sure no miracles will occur to see them make the playoffs.
posted by Rage Rod 74 at 10:31 PM on June 30, 2005
something tells me this kid is the real deal. He has way more skill than Shawn bradley did at 17. He also is filled out and stronger. plus he will be getting better coaching. I think the Lakers should bring in Kareem as a coach to tutor the kid. And there has been a 100 high-schoolers come out and only a few made it(big) but none 7' tall! you can't let an oppurtunity like this walk away. The Lakers have the talent and the resources to turn this kid into a good, maybe great player. I just worry about all the distractions of living in Los Angeles. The clubs, the parties, the celebs, the media..ect
posted by bluekarma at 09:46 AM on July 01, 2005
Good point bluekarma, let Kareem work with Bynum just like Patrick Ewing works with Yao.
posted by Rage Rod 74 at 08:19 PM on July 01, 2005
There's an NBA draft thread going on down the page, join in.