Didn't I keep telling you we should get rid of these deadbeats?

[Lakers13]

Originally Posted by MJ(Mean John)

Wow... Lamar doesnt play with his heart?

He wasnt meant to be in that category with Mihm, Walton, and Brown. I said I agreed with Ceballos list except for Lamar. While we are on the subject though, he plays when he wants too. Hes a consistent rebounder, which I love, but he needs to take better shots. More of that driving he's been displaying as of late.

[LA.MJ&KB#1]

What I really hate is why does the lakers pick a TNT game night to play their worst game. Fans all over the world was hearing how our lakers was playing good bball exspecially Bynum.

Next thing I hate is Luke on the court. This dude has a high IQ for the game but, I rather trade this dude he's to slow on the court and can't get his on shot exspecially against other forward.

With Bynum out for a while everybody will see how the lakers just isn't the same team. Hope we survive without Bynum.

[Robster89]

Originally Posted by apeman222

did i say he's the "only one"?

im just a fan of odom and have grown accustomed to watching him for the last three years....all im saying is that odom is not the problem...

now let me ask you this...if marion is such an improvement over odom...why would a team like phx want to trade for him?

You guys know I'm a Lamar fan.
But the reason PHX wants to move Marion is for 2 reasons.
Lakerfreak covered the first, problems with Amare.
The second is because Marion has an opt out after this season.
He has a player option next season at 17 mil, but he has been saying all along that he is not happy in PHX, and that he will opt out.
If he does this, PHX gets nothing, and since they are way over the cap, Marions departure would not make any cap space available to them to use, so they basically lose him for nothing.
The Suns are hoping that Marion will see that there may not be anyone able to sign him this offseason for anywhere close to the 17 mil option he has from the Suns, and will stay another year.
He has handled himself very professionally this season. He stated his desire to be somewhere else, but once the season started, he's been all business.
Very few teams will have max cap space this off season, so PHX is hoping Marion will see this and take his option to stay in PHX one more year. If things go well, they can reatain him long term under the Bird rule, if not, they have another year to shop him. Its a risky proposition, so if they were offered a player like Lamar, who really fits their system, and is cool with playing second fiddle to Nash/Amare, they would do it. It also saves them about 3 mil and thereby saves them 6 mil with the lux tax penalty.

I'm not necessarily saying I'd do it, just wanted to pass on PHX's reasoning here.
The main concerns I'd have are that as Bynum becomes our go to guy up front, LO is a perfect complimentary player.
Also, right now, LO averages 14 per game and Marion 18 per. Would these numbers be switched if LO goes to the Suns system, with Nash, and Marion comes here and must play second to Kobe and eventually Bynum.
Plus, LO is a great guy and teamate, never makes waves, just does all the little unnoticed things it takes to win. Marion tends to speak out and has problems with teamates.
The safe thing for us to do is stay with LO. We are just going to need to weather this storm with Bynum out. Our long term prospects are still amongst the brightest in the league. After next season, when LO's Miami contract comes off the books, we'll have options. Resign LO for more reasonable money, or go after another PF. There will be many available (Marion, Brand, Boozer, Okafor, Wilcox, Sheed, as well as Lamar), and we'll have money available to go after them.

The realy question is this:
Long term, who's the best option that compliments Bynum.
I think LO is tough to beat there. He is a great defensive rebounder, he runs the floor, handles the ball. etc. The only weakness he has is that he's not as great defender. (something that Marion is great at) But we all saw how our defense improved with big Drew in there. That improvement will continue as he gains experience.

So, I'm still a Lamar fan, but I agree with Ceballos on Kwame, Luke and Mihm, might even throw Vlad into that category as well.
And why is Walton starting instead of Ariza?

[alexthegod]

excellent points robster89!

I like Lamar the player too, but his 13 mil salary makes it difficult to accept his limitations. He's a great rebounder and very valuable in that role no question. We all get frustrated with him offensively because he has so much talent that will never be utilized. If the guy could ever go right and use his right hand near the rim he'd become an 18-20 point guy, but sadly that will never be.

As far as PHX is concerned, I don't think there is a taker for Marion right now, not a package that PHX would want anyways. The Lakers are not interested in breaking up the Chemistry of this team midseason, they might make a minor tweak or two, but thats it. Unless it's a deal the Lakers cannot refuse (and I guarantee that will not happen lol) Lamar is not going to be traded at the deadline.

As far as Walton and Ariza go, they are total opposites and I prefer them to split time rather than either one of them playing the bulk of the minutes. If one played the bulk of the minutes their play would suffer, especially Ariza. He plays with so much energy I don't think he could sustain it for 35-40 a game. I love his rebounding and play around the rim and his defense. He's the guy I'd like to see close out games though.

oh and to answer your last question Lamar isn't the long term answer, but he will be the answer until they can find someone better or at a more reasonable salary.

As long as the Lakers make a splash in the playoffs and prove to be a contender, they will become much more attractive to free agents :) I think a guy like Grant Hill who didn't have much interest last year, would now have interest. Snaring a guy like that at a super cheap salary could be the difference maker for this team next season.

[Frank Foley]

Robster just made one hell of a post.

I agree with everything he said.