Lakers

[HBCoug]

Look, I'm really happy about this trade and all... I really am.

It's just ...

[Surfah]

Look, I'm really happy about this trade and all... I really am.

It's just ...

[TripletDaddy]

[YOUTUBE]WPb2nZPxffU[/YOUTUBE]

[kimchicoug]

How has that worked out for the Knicks and the alleged Mecca of Basketball?

How has that worked out for the Heat and the alleged worst sports city in America?

[The_Douger]

It helps when you're one of the two destinations that a player wants to go. Tilts the odds slightly in your favor.

This is why they shouldn't have had a season last year until they implemented some of the same rules the NFL has for player retention.

They buckled, and the medium and small market teams continue to suffer.

[TripletDaddy]

How has that worked out for the Heat and the alleged worst sports city in America?

2 titles ever. Congrats Heat, you are one up on the Milwaukee Bucks, dead even with the houston Rockets, and still trailing the Golden State Warriors.

[The_Douger]

2 titles ever. Congrats Heat, you are one up on the Milwaukee Bucks, dead even with the houston Rockets, and still trailing the Golden State Warriors.

You're ragging out a franchise that's had two titles in the last few years that has only been around for like 20 years? Given the lack of teams that have won multiple titles in the NBA over the last 3 decades, I don't think they're really doing that bad.

I mean, it's not like the Heat have had the Grizz and the Magic as their personal farm teams like LA has.

[kimchicoug]

2 titles ever. Congrats Heat, you are one up on the Milwaukee Bucks, dead even with the houston Rockets, and still trailing the Golden State Warriors.

#firstworldproblems

[TripletDaddy]

D12 didn't want the pressure that comes with playing for the Lakers.

Sorry D12, you are now under a ton of pressure, more than ever.

"I wish nothing but the best for Big Bynum," Bryant wrote. "I hope he follows what was a great season last year with an even better one next year. I know LA is excited about the deal and rightfully so. The Lakers landed a piece that will hopefully carry the franchise long after I'm gone. I have spoken to Dwight Howard already and we are locked and loaded to bring back the title."

"I have three sons and I always tell them that if you want to call yourself big, then you have big shoes to fill," O'Neal said. "Anybody who calls himself big has big shoes to fill. Right now, he's off pace. He has to get himself on pace if he wants to call himself big."

Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said on ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning show Friday morning that the Lakers' finalized acquisition of Dwight Howard in a four-team blockbuster trade "puts (the Lakers) as the team to beat, right there with Miami."
...
"I think Dwight has a lot to prove to people around the league that he's still the most dominant center we have," Johnson added. "I sincerely believe Dwight Howard will be a Laker for a long time."

[TripletDaddy]

So if I am Ron Artest, I drive my little race car directly to the gym and spend the rest of the summer shooting nothing but 3s. Wide open, spot up 3s.

[Surfah]

So if I am Ron Artest, I drive my little race car directly to the gym and spend the rest of the summer shooting nothing but 3s. Wide open, spot up 3s.

I knew Bill Simmons wouldn't disappoint with a rant about this trade. Basically he said this same thing:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8254854/mailbag

WINNER: Metta World Peace He's about to break the record for "Most Wide-Open Corner 3s Ever Attempted in One Season." Is it too late for him to change his name to Metta Wide-Open 3? Wouldn't that make more sense, anyway?

I liked this too:

WINNER: Mitch Kupchak and the Buss family It's a franchise that keeps making big moves — or, NOT making big moves — at the right time over and over again. Picking Kobe over Shaq in 2004. Keeping Kobe in 2007 when just about everyone else would have panic-traded him. Stealing Gasol from Memphis in 2008. Making a 2011 deal for Chris Paul that, in retrospect, would have been a hijacking if it hadn't been vetoed. Not panicking after the CP3 trade fell through and keeping Bynum and Gasol over blowing things up. And now, waiting out this Howard saga until they got exactly the trade they wanted.

Take it from a bitter 2012 Red Sox fan — just because you're a big-market team that can outspend everyone doesn't mean things can't get horribly screwed up. The Lakers nailed six franchise-altering moves over the past eight years, and that's not including last month's Nash trade, when they somehow convinced a Pacific Division rival that absolutely hates them to hand over their most iconic player for some meaningless picks and cap space. What an amazing run. You have to hand it to the Los Angeles Lakers.

It's freaking insane to think about the deals that this franchise has pulled off throughout its history. Pretty damn amazing.

[TripletDaddy]

[YOUTUBE]1U6CVpoGOeM[/YOUTUBE]

[TripletDaddy]

[YOUTUBE]w_sqrTariTo[/YOUTUBE]

[TripletDaddy]

[YOUTUBE]LJTNmtdeUWw[/YOUTUBE]

[TripletDaddy]

[YOUTUBE]wJU51xTG28M[/YOUTUBE]