The Lakers squad in 2003/2004

[Hash]

It's obvious that the Lakers need changes in their squad. Therefore I would like to know what they should do(trades, free agents, rookies)
I like the Lakers and I think they should look like this next year:
C-Shaq(no doupts about it)
PF-Hilario(trade against Horry or fox)
SF-George or Miles(trade against horry or fox)
SG-Kobe(no doupts about it)
PG-A.Miller(trade against fisher, rush)


I know that these trades are never going to hapen, but this is the squad tha IN MY OPINION Lakers should be.
Looking forward of your opinions!

[EGarrett]

Give me one reason why any one of those teams would do those trades... If you're not realistic your post is pretty much useless...

[Boyk]

i seriously think this could be a lakers lineup next year:
C: Shaquille O'Neal
Pf: P.J Brown
Sf: Devean George
Sg: Kobe Bryant
Pg: Gary Payton

Trade Fisher and Horry and possibley a pick in a sign and trade with the Hornets for Brown

And GP has said he would sign for Mid-Level with the Lakers

what you guys think?

[air gordon]

great pic/post egarret, my sentiments exactly. where have you been?

GP going to the lakers? i'll believe it when i see it. btw, t-mac has said he would play for the bulls next year. same with KG

[LoveItLive2004]

Sign P.J. Brown, Pippen, Malone or Mourning. Get rid of Madson, Walker and Shaw.

[.]

Walker, Murray and Shaw will be gone, (Shaw retired)

[EGarrett]

great pic/post egarret, my sentiments exactly. where have you been?

GP going to the lakers? i'll believe it when i see it. btw, t-mac has said he would play for the bulls next year. same with KG

Well...April/May means finals and moving back home from college so I'm very busy. That's all over with now though...and since Live 2004 is being previewed...the Nets are sweeping guys and Kobe Bryant is crying...I'm back to talk about all the great goings on in basketball...

I don't see Payton taking a 60% pay cut to go play for the Lakers...people seem to forget that these guys have lifestyles...loads of car insurance...mansion bills...posse costs etc that require all those millions to maintain. It's no more convenient for Payton to lose 60% of his income then for any other person to do so.

[Andrew]

SF-George or Miles(trade against horry or fox)

Darius Miles? It would be better to keep Fox. As it stands, Darius isn't much use to anyone, since he doesn't have the strength or bulk to play inside, and his outside shot is unreliable to say the least. He's also a woeful free throw shooter, and he averages as many turnovers as assists.

PG-A.Miller(trade against fisher, rush)

Miller's a free agent, so unless the Clippers agree to a sign and trade, he won't be available to trade this offseason.

The Lakers could stand to upgrade their bench and starting power forward, but they don't need to tinker too much. I think more than anything else, they have to stop believing their own hype, that all they need to do is show up and they'll win. No more of this "All we need to do is qualify" mentality - they need to play hard all year, against all opponents. If this year's playoff race taught us anything, a slow start in November can come back to haunt a team in April.

To completely rebuild (apart from Shaq and Kobe) or to overload the team with talent is unnecessary - look at the deep teams who have not had success, such as the 2001-present Blazers, or even the 1998 Lakers.

[Prototype]

Andre Miller will most likely end up with the Jazz.

[Clinton]

Or the Warriors if Arenas leaves town...

[Matthew]

The Warriors have virtually no cap and thats why they can't offer Arenas much.

As for Payton signing with the Lakers for less money, why would he? He could sign with the spurs, play in a similar role to how he is now (alongside a pg) and he will still average 20 points per game without losing any cash. If he went to L.A. he will be the 3rd option, merely a role player/ defensive stopper and have to settle for less cash

And welcome back Ernest

[Fresh8]

Yo...
would the Lakers be able to sign Juwan Howard and Scottie Pippin. Also sign P.J Brown. Then play Pips at PG.

Then the line-up would be-
C- Shaq
PF- Juwan
SF- Deven
SG- Kobe
PG- Scottie

Bench
6- D-Fish
7- P.J. Brown
8- Horry
9- Fox
10- Walker
11- Madsen
12- Rush

13- some rookie
14- Medvedenko
15- some other rookie

[Matthew]

Juwan Howard is a possibilty, But I don't think they will be able to get 3 good free agents. I doubt P.J. Brown will want to take less cash for less minutes.

But Howard is a good chance and may be just what the Lakers need.

[Andrew]

I too doubt the Lakers will get three good free agents. Remember, they only have their mid-level exception to spend. In other words, $4.5 million between three.

Can anyone see Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen and Gary Payton sharing $4.5 million? I can't. Perhaps the Lakers could sign one of them for the whole $4.5 million (most likely Pippen), but not all three. Malone and Payton can still demand much more than that, and could play more significant roles elsewhere.

Besides, it's not as though signing with the Lakers will mean a guaranteed championship. Just because they're looking for revenge and say they'll win it next year doesn't mean they definitely will.

[.]

Yo...
would the Lakers be able to sign Juwan Howard and Scottie Pippin. Also sign P.J Brown. Then play Pips at PG.

Then the line-up would be-
C- Shaq
PF- Juwan
SF- Deven
SG- Kobe
PG- Scottie

Bench
6- D-Fish
7- P.J. Brown
8- Horry
9- Fox
10- Walker
11- Madsen
12- Rush

13- some rookie
14- Medvedenko
15- some other rookie

Walker will be gone, and I dunno if they will draft someone cause they always end up planted on the bench

[air gordon]

The Warriors have virtually no cap and thats why they can't offer Arenas much.

actually- since arenas was a 2nd round pick, the warriors can only offer up to around 4.5 million, while other teams are free to offer whatever amount they want

[TheBob]

The Warriors have virtually no cap and thats why they can't offer Arenas much.

actually- since arenas was a 2nd round pick, the warriors can only offer up to around 4.5 million, while other teams are free to offer whatever amount they want

Why? Isn't he a free-agent? If so then they can offer him as much money as they have under the cap. Actually they should be able to offer him even more seen as Bird Rules apply (I believe). Correct if I'm missing something here though.

[air gordon]

yeh, arenas is an unrestriced FA. i'm not really sure all the details of signing an restriced FA who happens to be a 2nd pick. i just know that the warriors can only offer around 4.5 mil because of his 'status'.

since arenas has only been on the warriors for 2 years, he doesn't qualify for the bird exception.

the nba FA signing system can seem strange sometimes...

[TheBob]

Thanks for clarifying your point. Although I do not believe that him being a second round pick has much to do with how much he can be offered.

[Brave Sir Rubin]

just an opinion here...but what the lackers should do is to start medvedenko, bench horry, and trade fisher/ any other bench player for a solid PG...

[kingjames23]

LA needs to clean house and bring in some veterans or some young athletes to fil in the holes on thier bench.

i say bring in malone mourning and pippen as free agents
get payton/a.miller/or arenas to play the point
probly not payton though...
malone would give them a rebounder and scorer at the 4 spot, and teams wouldnt be able to gang up on shaq as much
mournng if he can make a comeback, could sub for shaq and not need the minutes he used to
pippen could play the 1 or 3 spots, starting at either

and if possible try to trade medvedenko, madsen, rush, walker for a least one young atheletic player

even stackhouse would be good fit, if he could play like he did in his last season with detroit


c shaq
f malone
f pippen
g bryant
g payton/miller/arenas

c mourning
f horry
f fox
g george
g fisher
rookie?
1 or 2 young guys (who's availible?)

[rUsTy]

oh hang on kingjames, they could also get PJ Brown, Duncan and J.Oneal while they are at it

according to you they dont seem to have a sallary cap and every player in the world wants to go to lakers

[Ripper]

PJ Brown going to Lakers:
This is a very possible deal. PJ Brown gives the Lakers what they want at PF, taking off some of the rebounding load of Shaq and providing some decent defense. In my opinion he's too old though, shouldn't they be looking at the future. People forget how quick people can get old (Mutombo).

Scottie Pippen to the Lakers:
Pippen might like to rejoin his former coach, but I feel he'll rather end his career in either Portland or Chicago. Pippen is just a short term solution for the Lakers, and his production is slowing AND he's getting very injury prone. I would think this would be a very bad move for the Lakers.

Juwan Howard to the Lakers:
Juwan Howard would make the Lakers unstoppable. He's proven to be a genuine team player and wouldn't have to many trouble fitting in with the two superstars. If the Lakers would sign him, they could start another threepeat. But Howard will probably looking for too big a contract for the Lakers to sign him.

Karl Malone a Laker?:
I surely hope not. If he has any pride he wouldn't dare moving there. He's not the type of player willing to take the 'easy route'. He wants to be a very important part of the championship and joining the Lakers would be like cheating. I think he'll sign with the Jazz or the Mavs and get that scoring record. (If the Mavericks win the title however, it would slim the chances of him going to the mavs).

Mourning a Laker?:
Mourning is a guy with an enormous sense of pride. He would never play backup to Shaq, or play along side him for that matter. He might be the only center capable of competing with Shaq, the guy is intense. He'll be looking at miami first, then maybe a team he could make into a title contender. I feel he owes Miami big time, in my opinion he should take the minimum volontarily and finish his career there.

Darius Miles a Laker?:
No way Miles is going to Lakerland. The Lakers will need someone capable of fitting it to there triangle offense. Miles has shown he can only run the break. He's not suited to halfcourt play. If you can't post good numbers in Cleveland, you probably not going to produce well elsewhere. The Lakers will either pick a veteran capable of learning their system quickly and who is able to hit open shots, or a coachable young talent.

And by the way, what ever happened to Mitch Richmond.

My advice to the Lakers would be:
- Set Shaq straight, he was outright negligent this year. He should have had that surgery long before the season started. Very unproffesional.
- Determine how many years Shaq is willing to play. I've heard rumors he'd rather call it quits now he has three titles and focus on other things, like handing out parking tickets.
- If Shaq goes (in x years), Kobe might want to join another team, so you're gonna want to make the best effort to make him want to stay.
- Bring in some talent, work the market, screw the cap. You're gonna be looking for a legitimate third scorer, another lowpost-presence who can provide rebounding and defence. Get in a pure shooter, Robert Horry's luck has worn out. Bring in somebody young, someone to develope, but who can play immediately as well.

[GloveGuy]

They couldn't get Arenas or Miller who will be looking for pretty big deals. If they get Payton, then that's ALL they'll get. They won't get both him and Pippen, Malone, and Mourning. Be realistic man.

[Fresh8]

Yo... i've learnt about a few more rookies...and from your respones I have decided on another team...

C- Shaq (he has to play "dominent")
PF- Juwan (He has to take a pay-cut)
SF- Deven George (From wat i know about him, he's decent and if he gets a chance to play than he will perform)
SG- Kobe (I like it when this guy plays a team game, not that he's crap but I liked it when he lead his team and recorded triple-doubles doing so.)
PG- Scottie Pippen (If he chooses to return to his former coach and join the Lake Show... man ain't the Lakers gonna be good...)

6- Horry (They'll keep him)
7- Fox (is he ok to play next season due to injury?)
8- D-Fish
9- Rush (the team needs to give this guy more minutes and hopefully he'll perform)
10- Pargo (not sure about him...can they trade him for T-lue??)
11- Mario Austin/Rick Rickerts*
12- James Lang (the shaq comparisons...wat else??)

IR
13- Shaw
14- Slava
15- Madsen (I think the team would like to try develop his skills)

* They can draft one the two with the 24th pick. Mario is 6'9" and averages 15 ppg and 8 rpg this season and a 36 3-pt%. Rick is compared to KG and is 6'11"... he looks promising. I'll post his averages later...