Lakers

[TripletDaddy]

Kobe said that after the Lakers lost game six of the '08 NBA Finals in Boston by 39 points, he was alone in the shower, just fuming. He heard somebody walk in and assumed it was one of his teammates, or maybe a staff member. Instead, he looked up, and it was Ron Artest (to this day, Kobe has no idea how Artest got into the locker room).

"I want to come help you," Artest said. "If I can, I'm going to find a way to come to LA and give you the help you need...."

This story started out really hot but then when quickly downhill. I didn't even bother posting the rest because it is mostly basketball stuff.

[TripletDaddy]

Ouch. David Lee continues to get torched. This one basically lists him as the second worst agent of all time, right behind Bill Duffy (not Billy Duffy of The Cult, btw)

"David Lee: Shunned by Many, Liked by Few"

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/07/03/david-lee-shunned-by-many-liked-by-few/

If the failure to learn from history is a sign of stupidity, then consider yourself labeled. It takes a special sort of skill to achieve what David Lee has been able to achieve.


Your client is a role player one year removed from a season ending foot fracture. (There are well-reported fears of a congential foot defect). Your client was a bench player for half the season and his highest points per game was not double digits. Yet he has certain advantages:


1. His team has just won the championship and the GM has stated publicly that his intention is to re-sign your client (You sneered at such weak negotiation skills)
2. Your client is a native of the city, with family and friends.
3. The system the team plays is a perfect fit for your client, who cannot create his own shot
4. Your client is part of a tight community. His teammates and coaches love him and vice versa
6. Your client wants to continue to play for the team
7. The team is the marquee team in the league, playing in a top 2 market, for the champion. Your client will never have more chances to maximize his celebrity into endorsement money.
8. Contrary to how you are spinning it your client, not the burly guy with the words in his hair, was option A , not option B.


Thus, even during the worst bear market for free agents - a buyer’s market - the team is willing to pay your client more than any other team.
And you still can’t get the deal done.

[TripletDaddy]

One thought.....will Artest pick up the triangle fairly quickly? He spent 2.5 years as a Bull out of St John's and they were running the triangle to a certain extent. I wonder how much of it he has retained?

A vid of Artest interviewing "one of [his] favorite players," Kobe Bryant.

[youtube]s24kx5ynRVQ[/youtube]

[Surfah]

Ouch. David Lee continues to get torched. This one basically lists him as the second worst agent of all time, right behind Bill Duffy (not Billy Duffy of The Cult, btw)

"David Lee: Shunned by Many, Liked by Few"

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009...-liked-by-few/

Ouch. Seriously. Bynum and Ariza need to part ways with him. I listed the clients he has. The other 2 aren't even in the league anymore and the contracts he negotiated for them were a few hundred thousand dollars.

[TripletDaddy]

Artest makes stuff up

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,2437562.story

$12M buys a lot of X hats

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw...,3026292.story

Pacers heart Shannon Brown

http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2009/07/pretty_quiet_ri.html

[TripletDaddy]

Update on the Lamar Odom negotiations:

His camp has floated $10M as the magic number. This means that the Lakers have to come close to that, but not necessarily match it.

Lakers Nation reporting that Lakers are going to offer a 3-year deal worth about $25M, or about $8M and change per. I think that if they meet in the middle at $9M, that would be a nice compromise for both sides, esp since whatever the Lakers pay, they basically are paying double with the luxury tax....so $20M a year for Odom is steep (not that $16M is cheap, either).

What is concerning me is this rumor of offering LO a 1-year deal for about $7.5M and allowing him to test the FA market next year...given that only one team will get Lebronze, all of a sudden there will be several teams with lots of cash to spend. Although the Lakers will also be able to dump some salary next year, I don't like the idea of having Lamar on a one-year leash. Yes, he might play like he were in a contract year, but Lamar does better when he is feeling relaxed. I don't think having the contract hanging over his head is a good thing for the team.

I hope LO takes the 3-year deal and we can wrap it up this week.

Shannon Brown is still floating around out there, but I think the Lakers will take care of him as a final house cleaning step.

http://www.lakersnation.com/latest-update-on-lamar-odom-and-free-agency/2009/07/04/

[youtube]Nfw2XBpC3fE[/youtube]

[TripletDaddy]

God bless Ron Artest. Already figured out that real Angelinos eat bacon wrapped hot dogs. It usually doesn't take East Coast transplants long to ditch their loyalty to Nathan's, et al once they have a bacon wrap.

http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=75e1b051-ec04-42ef-b52d-06bc5cb00765

From a separate interview, looks like he really enjoys his food:

"Five Dollar Foot-long' is one of the best songs. That's a hot song. You've got the FreeCreditReport.com, and then 'Five Dollar Foot-long' comes on. When 'Five Dollar Foot-long' comes on, they should play that in the club. They should play all those in the club."

[TripletDaddy]

[TripletDaddy]

Lakers Nation reporting that Artest will wear 37.

He's 37, he's not old.

[TripletDaddy]

Shannon Brown locked in. 2 years, $4.2M. I like that deal. Player option on the second year.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basket...tory?track=rss

Brown was also talking to the Indiana Pacers about a more lucrative deal but decided to return to the Lakers, his agent said.

He's really happy to return to the Lakers. This is where he wanted to be. The Lakers treated him well during his short time there and he hopes to continue and improve his game," Bartelstein said.

I think this is why, in hindsight, I feel better about the Ariza deal now. You always want the players that WANT to be there. Nice to have Shannon back for next season.

I am not digging the total silence about LO. Although it is nice to not hear his agent leaking crap to the media.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

God bless Ron Artest. Already figured out that real Angelinos eat bacon wrapped hot dogs. It usually doesn't take East Coast transplants long to ditch their loyalty to Nathan's, et al once they have a bacon wrap.

http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=75e1b051-ec04-42ef-b52d-06bc5cb00765

From a separate interview, looks like he really enjoys his food:

"What's 9 times 4?"

[TripletDaddy]

"What's 9 times 4?"

Let he amongst you who has never forgotten his basic multiplication tables cast the first stone.

QED.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Let he amongst you who has never forgotten his basic multiplication tables cast the first stone.

QED.

Given that I have never cast a stone before, how big of rock can I throw?

[TripletDaddy]

Given that I have never cast a stone before, how big of rock can I throw?

You are going to throw a rock at Ron Artest? lol. He will kick your butt!

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

You are going to throw a rock at Ron Artest? lol. He will kick your butt!

I would be more worried about throwing a cup of beer at him.