Lakers

[Surfah]

Regarding the Melo rumor, the Lakers are being thrown out there either by Melo's agent or by the Nuggets to attempt to get the Knicks to get moving on this deal, or to sweeten the pot. The Lakers are constantly leveraged by free agents, their agents, and other teams to promote action. Think back to the Pow deal...it came as a thief in the night, not after weeks of leaked negotiations and posturing. Melo is going to be a Knick either via trade this year or next year via free agency.

Likewise the NY papers are saying the Lakers turned down a Melo-Bynum straight up deal.

John Ireland seems to think though that there may be something to this. We'll just have to see.

[TripletDaddy]

John Ireland addressed this theory last night. He said that while it definitely has some legs, the talks with the Lakers are also very real. John Ireland's source inside the Lakers is John Black, so you can't really get much more reliable than that.

It is clear that Melo would love to go to the Knicks. But he wants to win and LA is also a massive market. The Nuggets need to get something for him rather than letting him walk for nothing. I dont think the Nuggets are putting all their eggs in the Knick basket because they need some sort of deal in place.

I am still not sure I want this deal to go down, esp with Dwight Howard all but admitting in code that he wants to play for the Lakers when his deal is up next summer.

[Surfah]

John Ireland addressed this theory last night. He said that while it definitely has some legs, the talks with the Lakers are also very real. John Ireland's source inside the Lakers is John Black, so you can't really get much more reliable than that.

It is clear that Melo would love to go to the Knicks. But he wants to win and LA is also a massive market. The Nuggets need to get something for him rather than letting him walk for nothing. I dont think the Nuggets are putting all their eggs in the Knick basket because they need some sort of deal in place.

I am still not sure I want this deal to go down, esp with Dwight Howard all but admitting in code that he wants to play for the Lakers when his deal is up next summer.

Rumors have had Melo's other half Lala wanting to get into Hollywood. They bought a home in Malibu last summer. I also think that there is truth to what Stephen A. is saying in that Melo is pissed at NY that they can't get it done and don't think he's worth guys like Wilson, Felton, Galinari, etc.

[Flystripper]

It is clear that Melo would love to go to the Knicks. But he wants to win and LA is also a massive market. The Nuggets need to get something for him rather than letting him walk for nothing. I dont think the Nuggets are putting all their eggs in the Knick basket because they need some sort of deal in place.

Plus Melo just bought a home in Malibu last summer. The LA deal has some legs but I am not sure it gets done.

[FN Phat]

Melo is also 26. He could very well fill Kobe's shoes as his game is diminishing.Tough decision. This team is built to win right now. Not sure you want to mess with that. But like DDD said, Bynum is a ticking time bomb. He's legit and he's young. But he's injury prone and has already missed significant time in his short career.

That's a pretty sick lineup though with Kobe at the 2, Melo at the 3, Odom at the 4, and Pau at 5.

This is where Mitch earns his paycheck. I am glad I don't have to make decision like this.

I think this would be a good move for the Lakers. I can see Melo and Pau playing well together. Odom seems like he would fit Melo's personality very well. Most importantly, I would love to see you and DDD be on Melo's tip for the next few years.

[TripletDaddy]

I think this would be a good move for the Lakers. I can see Melo and Pau playing well together. Odom seems like he would fit Melo's personality very well. Most importantly, I would love to see you and DDD be on Melo's tip for the next few years.

If they play for the Lakers, I am a fan.

Once they leave the Lakers, best of luck to them.

[Flystripper]

If they play for the Lakers, I am a fan.

Once they leave the Lakers, best of luck to them.

yep yep

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The Lakers are idiots if they didn't trade Bynum straight up for Melo. With that said, I don't think the Lakers are idiots and I don't think they've shot down such a trade -- either there are discussions going on or there are no serious discussions.

Melo is a top 7-8 player in the league, he's in his prime and you don't just pass up a player like that in order to keep a guy that is constantly injured and was dragging his leg behind him in the Finals last year. I just don't see Bynum's injury problems ever going away. If Miami is a title contender with LeBron, Wade and Bosh and no one else, I don't think LA will have a problem also being a contender with Kobe, Pow and Melo. These guys will learn how to play with each other and play well (IMO, they fit together a lot better than LeBron and Wade). I think you can get enough rebounding with a front line of Pow, Odom and Melo.

[TripletDaddy]

The Lakers are idiots if they didn't trade Bynum straight up for Melo. With that said, I don't think the Lakers are idiots and I don't think they've shot down such a trade -- either there are discussions going on or there are no serious discussions.

Melo is a top 7-8 player in the league, he's in his prime and you don't just pass up a player like that in order to keep a guy that is constantly injured and was dragging his leg behind him in the Finals last year. I just don't see Bynum's injury problems ever going away. If Miami is a title contender with LeBron, Wade and Bosh and no one else, I don't think LA will have a problem also being a contender with Kobe, Pow and Melo. These guys will learn how to play with each other and play well (IMO, they fit together a lot better than LeBron and Wade). I think you can get enough rebounding with a front line of Pow, Odom and Melo.

Are you still talking about the Heat? MIA is not going to get past BOS without bigs. I said this at the very beginning of the season. BOS is the threat to win it this year. Look what happened to the Lakers the first time they played BOS without bigs and then what happened with Bynum...and even then it went to Game 7 and Perkins was injured.

Melo doesnt play defense. He would be a marquee name and has star power, but im not convinced that he will help LA get past the Spurs, let alone BOS.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Are you still talking about the Heat? MIA is not going to get past BOS without bigs. I said this at the very beginning of the season. BOS is the threat to win it this year. Look what happened to the Lakers the first time they played BOS without bigs and then what happened with Bynum...and even then it went to Game 7 and Perkins was injured.

Melo doesnt play defense. He would be a marquee name and has star power, but im not convinced that he will help LA get past the Spurs, let alone BOS.

I think you're confusing me with someone else, I've never been big on the Heat. I was just merely pointing out that a roster with Kobe, Pow, Odom and Melo are probably better contenders than Miami.

Bynum has missed something like 40% of the games in the past four seasons. Also, Bynum was available for the Finals against Boston in only the loosest sense. He scored 2 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in Game 7.

I do agree that the Lakers are better with a healthy Bynum than Carmelo. But the point is that Bynum is 50-50 all the time, and Carmelo is a big time player. I've heard the "he'll mess up the chemistry" argument from two sets of fans: 1) Detroit fans saying that the Pistons were better off having not drafted Dwyane Wade/Carmelo because they wouldn't have "fit in" ; 2) Portland fans saying that Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant would not have been able to coexist and Portland is better off with Greg Sanford anyway.

IMO, if LA thinks they're getting Dwight Howard, all the more reason to get Carmelo. Kupchak may or may not think the current Lakers roster has what it takes to make it through the Spurs and Boston this season -- but I think the Lakers may have problems after this season. Imagine though, if the Lakers went ahead and grabbed Carmelo and then landed Howard. This ensures the team remaining highly competitive for the rest of Kobe's career. I don't think you let opportunities pass you right now that may allow you to remain a dynasty for another five years just to hold onto a player that's healthy 50% of the time.

[SeattleUte]

When I was at the pub yesterday with my daughter, I saw a graphic that said Kobe once scored 62 points and had no assists. lol

[FN Phat]

Are you still talking about the Heat? MIA is not going to get past BOS without bigs. I said this at the very beginning of the season. BOS is the threat to win it this year. Look what happened to the Lakers the first time they played BOS without bigs and then what happened with Bynum...and even then it went to Game 7 and Perkins was injured.

Melo doesnt play defense. He would be a marquee name and has star power, but im not convinced that he will help LA get past the Spurs, let alone BOS.

I think that the Heat will get past the Celts. I also disagree about 'Melo (no surprise there!) not playing D. He is not known for his defense, no doubt about it, but he isn't the liability that people think. Two summers ago he put in a lot of work in regards to his conditioning and his footwork. That has helped his defense considerably. He is a better help-side defender but he can hold his own when he is one-on-one (unless he is guarding himself...but who can?).

[FN Phat]

If they play for the Lakers, I am a fan.

Once they leave the Lakers, best of luck to them.

Even Kobe?

[TripletDaddy]

Even Kobe?

Why would he be any different? I was a fan of the Lakers before Kobe and will be a fan after Kobe is gone.

I wont root against him, but I wont cheer for him, either. At that point, what do I care what he does for another team?

How you leave the team will dictate a lot about how Lakers fans will treat you. Shaq was a perfect example of how NOT to leave LA. Blasting the fans and Dr. Buss was a bad move. And certainly is a major roadblock for his number ever seeing the light of day up on The Wall. If you notice, when he came into town with the Celtics (of all teams...ugh) he was extremely quiet. In fact, he has been quiet for a few years now, knowing that he is in the doghouse with the LA front office.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Very traditional of the Lakers to wear yellow unis at Boston.