[::WORLD CHAMPION LAKERS OFF-SEASON THREAD: 2 Weeks Away From Pre-Season::]

[frenchblue23]

Does any team in the league like Luke Walton? 

I mean, there has to be, to justify the big contract he got out of desperation from the Lakers almost losing him right?? 

Bobcats can take him, they always take on bad contracts. 

Luke Walton for Nazr Mohammed, straight up.  Mitch? 

 

[dyyhard]

Adam Morrison workout getting ready to start. The Bulls, Celtics, Clippers, and Cavaliers are among the teams in the building.


The New King??

 

[hybridsoldier23]

Originally Posted by DontStepOnMyShoes

Phil coached Rodman and Artest to championships...Coaching Nate would be nothing...but no way we'd get Nate(is he even a free agent? ) If Ridnour and Blake are gettin 16 mil contracts Nate is gonna get paid!

It's not even about his attitude. Phil despises undersized guards.

 

[moiety]

Originally Posted by Three6mafia2007

shannon brown has continuously grown while he's been a laker. he's also the most athletic player on our team currently(ebanks may give him a run for his money). the lakers are gradually becoming an old, slow team. we already let farmar walk, who is young and athletic and replaced him with an older, slower player in blake. if we lose a guy like shannon, and replace him with say raja bell, we become even older and slower. Think about it, how many guys on our team that we have under contract can really get out and run, relative to their position? Only players that come to mind are kobe, lamar, artest kinda, and pau. And none of those guys are spring chickens

We arent much of a running team though.

We need someone to come in, play some D, and hit an open shot when Kobe/Pau/Bynum get doubled, Mike Miller would have been ideal, dudes a shooter and is gona get no shots playin' on a team with Bosh Lebron and Wade.

Its going to be interesting on that Miami team, someone is going to have to sacrifice their MVP-like numbers out of the big 3. We all know that wont be Lebron, pretty sure it wont be Wade, so im thinkin Bosh is going to average <15 points and and 10 boards, I still wonder if they will be able to fill out the rest of their squad with quality players.

Ebanks and Caracter both look promising, one of them could be crucial to us 3Peating, looking like diamond(s) in the rough so far.

 

[night marcher01]

Raja Bell can come off as Bruce Bowen type of player, dude wasn't that fastest, most athletic, but he was good on defense and knocked the 3.

We don't need to recruit superstars, imo we are better off recruiting role players that do their job. Having 3 good defenders is always better than 2, it gives Kobe and Ron a rest.

 

[gijace]

well if raja can clothesline kobe, he can definetely clothesline wade,durant,LBJ,melo and other superstars out there.. hope he signs with us..

 

[lamarownsem]

Originally Posted by Three6mafia2007

shannon brown has continuously grown while he's been a laker. he's also the most athletic player on our team currently(ebanks may give him a run for his money). the lakers are gradually becoming an old, slow team. we already let farmar walk, who is young and athletic and replaced him with an older, slower player in blake. if we lose a guy like shannon, and replace him with say raja bell, we become even older and slower. Think about it, how many guys on our team that we have under contract can really get out and run, relative to their position? Only players that come to mind are kobe, lamar, artest kinda, and pau. And none of those guys are spring chickens

Co-sign on all of this. I'd much rather have Brown back than sign Bell.

 

[the notorious bum]

Bell can shoot better than Brown and he can play D too.
I rather see him on the Lakers.
Is there any other players the Lakers can try to pull?

 

[i nasmatic i]

Word is Kobe will recruit Kurt Thomas.

 

[fudgemoney24]

I feel like Caracter could become a Big Baby type player minus the fatness and stupidity

 

[ledafuture36]

[h2]Sources: Bryant, Bell to meet[/h2]

• http://sendtofriend.espn.go.com/sen...nt, Bell plan face-to-face meeting&id=5375672/a2.espncdn.com/prod/assets/pt_email.gif);">http://a2.espncdn.com/prod/assets/pt_email.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Email
• http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=5375672&type=story/a2.espncdn.com/prod/assets/pt_print.gif);">http://a2.espncdn.com/prod/assets/pt_print.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Print
• Commentshttp://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/5375672

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Archive

The seemingly hard-to-picture prospect of Kobe Bryant and old nemesis Raja Bell playing for the same team remains alive.

The longtime rivals will sit down for a face-to-face chat Wednesday in Los Angeles to further discuss the feasibility of the Lakers signing Bell in free agency, sources close to the situation said.

Bryant

Bell

Bell is traveling to Los Angeles this week to watch the ESPYs and has arranged to meet with Bryant to hear the Lakers' face of the franchise make yet another recruiting pitch to the 33-year-old swingman.

Bell acknowledged last week in a phone interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin that he has already fielded several phone calls from Bryant, who was unforgettably clotheslined to the floor by Bell in Game 5 of a testy Suns-Lakers series in 2006 that L.A. ultimately lost in seven games.

NBA front-office sources say that Bell continues to draw interest from a variety of playoff teams, such as Miami, Dallas and San Antonio. One source said signing with the Heat has essentially been ruled out because of Miami's financial constraints after signing LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Mike Miller to flank the re-signed Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. But the Suns are also weighing the prospect of trying to bring Bell back.

Bryant, though, has not abandoned his pursuit and continues to press Bell to join the Lakers, who have only $1.8 million of their mid-level exception left to offer Bell next season after signing Steve Blake.

One source close to the situation said memories of Bell's takedown, which earned him a suspension for Game 6 of the series -- the Suns, down 3-2, won the game at Staples Center without him -- are actually one reason why Bryant sees Bell as such an ideal teammate. The premise? Anyone with the gumption to hit Bryant that hard is someone he wants on his team.

The sentiments between them weren't so pleasant during the 2006 playoffs. After the hit, which earned Bell the nickname "Kobe Chopper," Bell publicly blasted Bryant as a "pompous, arrogant individual" who gets preferential treatment from the refs.

"It's a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face," Bell said after Game 5.

Bryant then answered with a memorable rant during which he repeatedly referred to Bell, who is two years older, as some "kid."

"Does he know me?" Bryant said. "Do I know this guy? I don't know this guy. I might have said one word to this guy. I don't know this kid. I think he overreacts to stuff. ... I don't know this kid. I don't need to know this kid. I don't want to. We go out there, we play the game and leave it at that. Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a kid. I look at him a little bit, he gets a little insecure or something. I don't know."

Four years later, Bryant and Bell know each other much better and have buried the animosity.

And the two-time defending champions still have an opening in their backcourt after signing Blake and Monday's re-signing of Derek Fisher, although sources say Shannon Brown has not abandoned his interest in returning to the Lakers for next season's chase of a three-peat.

Bell played only six games last season because of a wrist injury. He began the season with the Charlotte Bobcats, then was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in November as part of the Stephen Jackson trade. The Warriors released him in March, but Bell has been pursued by several playoff teams since free agency began July 1 now that he's recovered from December surgery.

Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

 

[th0mas cr0wn]

Is Powell for sure not returning?

 

[thachosen123]

thanks for tryna contribute leda, but you're about 2 pages too late bro

 

[ledafuture36]

I'd take Bell over Brown. I know Bell is 33 but he has not racked up a ton of minutes through his career. He's a far better shooter then Brown and I
think that's exactly what we need on this team. We have enough players that play down low and clog the middle. We need to spread the floor, also

Blake is actually better at leading the fast break then Farmar is. He's not flashy but he makes quick & good decisions with the ball and never forces anything.

If the Lakers do get Bell I bet they are done with off-season moves. I think they sign Character and Ebanks and thats it. 

 

[ledafuture36]

Originally Posted by thachosen123

thanks for tryna contribute leda, but you're about 2 pages too late bro

My bad 

 

[dyyhard]

LD2k: "Phil's Last Stand" aka 3HEAT will not stop the 3PEAT

 

[jiffyl00b]

So realgm is saying Mike Miller could still pull away from the Heat, his contract is not yet finalized. Is it a longshot for us? D

it Mitch?

 

[noblekane]

man people act like kobe and raja still hate each other. they been cool for years now...

 

[night marcher01]

Originally Posted by dyyhard

LD2k: "Phil's Last Stand" aka 3HEAT will not stop the 3PEAT

Wow! For a minute there, I really thought I was watching a commercial to a new movie... I was thinking "Dang when does it premiere?"

Now if it only had that popular Narrator, then it would have been legit.

 

[ZKO_24_7]

I know it may be a long shot but any chance Lakers will entertain the idea of picking up Shaq?

Phil's last stand... why not do it with the old group... Kobe, DFISH, Shaq.

I know Shaq is looking for 2-3 more years, but maybe he would consider 1 last year and finish his career a Laker.

Lakers do have 2 more spots to fill 12(+1reserve). Most likely Caracter as the reserve.

I don't even know if this is financially possible but we need a back up center (Shaq) and that guard spot.

My order of preference for the extra guard spot:
Bell
TMAC
Brown - he's due to get paid. to bad it won't be with the Lakers.

still with our current guard rotation we still lack the speed to counter the faster guards in the league, but then again nothing new to Lakers.

 

[hybridsoldier23]

^^^ Info on the girl in your avy?

I think Bell would be a good addition. I'll take him over Shannon. Defense wins chips.

 

[night marcher01]

Originally Posted by HybridSoldier23

^^^ Info on the girl in your avy?

I think Bell would be a good addition. I'll take him over Shannon. Defense wins chips.

Mine? If so, that's the wifey.

Anyway, it's crazy a few months ago, I brought up bring Bell in and it didn't seem likely, but now it looks like it could be possible *crosses fingers*

 

[fuser86]

Bell gets the nod in my book.

Defense wins championships and Bell plays solid D.

Although Shannon's quickness would be missed. Also, as was previously mentioned, Shannon is looking to get paid and I'm sure he will. Though so far no suiters have shown up to make an offer to him which is a bit odd.

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Kobe's doing a lot of recruiting right now

John Ireland just said on 710 ESPN radio show that Kobe is recruiting Kurt Thomas to join the team.

 

[ratboy90]

What about Matt Barnes? He still in the mix?