This blog is the story of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 08 NBA Finals and beyond. We believe this team is a dynasty in the making built around the best player in the game today, Kobe Bryant, and a young promising 20 year old center, Andrew Bynum. This is the blog about the 08 Championship season and beyond.
LOS ANGELES -- With great reluctance, the Los Angeles Lakers decided at Friday's deadline they wouldn't match Golden State's offer for Ronny Turiaf, meaning the former second-round draft choice will move up the California coast to play for the Warriors.
ESPN.com's J.A. Andande first reported the Lakers would not match the offer.
"There are emotional ties with Ronny that go beyond basketball," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said on a conference call. "I think that makes it difficult. I think organizations that draft players who turn out to be good players, it's hard for them to let go of those players. And if you know Ronny, you know he's a special kid."
The Warriors signed Turiaf, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $17 million offer sheet last week. By rule, the Lakers had seven days to decide whether to match it. The three-year veteran from Gonzaga averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 78 games with the Western Conference champions last season, making 21 starts.
The Lakers played much of last season without starting center Andrew Bynum, giving Turiaf the opportunity for more playing time than he would have had otherwise. But, Kupchak said, Bynum is expected to be healthy when training camp begins in early October, and Turiaf's opportunities figured to be diminished significantly.
Kupchak said Bynum has been in New York and underwent physical therapy in 19 of the last 21 days and has been cleared to work out and play.
"He's basically on his own to begin conditioning and basketball activity, starting today," Kupchak said. "It's a process. Based on what he did last year, I would expect him to come in in mid-September basically in great shape. I know that's his goal. He's coming back this weekend, we're going to meet with him Monday. He will go to Atlanta late next week to begin his training for the upcoming season."
With frontcourt players like Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm on the roster, that wouldn't appear to leave much playing time for Turiaf. Kupchak said he believes that Mihm, who missed most of the last two seasons with ankle problems, will also be fully healthy at the start of training camp.
"We will miss Ronny, we will miss his contributions on and off the court, the emotion and the energy he brought, whether he's playing or not," Kupchak said.
Kupchak said he met with Turiaf for about an hour Thursday.
"It was a very emotional meeting because he loves the city, he loves the organization, there are certain bonds here," Kupchak said. "He feels it's in his best interests to move on. The last thing you want is a young player like Ronny no matter what he's being paid is being on the bench at 25 years old and not playing.
"We discussed it yesterday, he wants to play, and sees an opportunity to play in Golden State at least twofold what he can play here."
The Warriors certainly have a much greater need for big men than the Lakers.
Kupchak said the Lakers will now focus on re-signing guard Sasha Vujacic, another restricted free agent.
Yes, yes. What more can i say? I expected more from the Los Angeles Lakers, i am a true fan and i never game up hope on the home team, i figured it was all in the order of things for Shaq, Wade (and Posey) to get their ring in '06, and Kobe, Odom (and Pau) to get theirs in '08. But, it was not the Kobe's year, i guess the power and will of the "Big Three" is stronger than the passion and skill of the Lakers, and we gotta state the now obvious fact: Defense wins championships. i think i
mostly wanted the Lakers to win for the fact that the Celtics were the overwhelming favorites, they REALLY DiD have the better team, they had better PG play (Rondo> Fisher), better Center play (Perkins> Gasol), and of course, the Paul Pierce factor. Paul Pierce is an unstoppable force of basketball nature that cannot be stopped or slowed down, you can only hope he has an off night, or find you a Ron Artest or Tayshaun Prince, REAL defensive stoppers to hold him down a little bit. You know, there is another overwhelming reason why i think the Lakers could not, and did not deserve to win the championship...No team with Vladamir Radmonovic starting at PF can win the ship, they actually cannot win with him starting on that team. He was a defensive liability the entire time, forget inconsistent, he's really just not a talented player, i don't see how somebody that tall can be so untalented with Phil Jackson coaching you, depending on you, or maybe thats ju
st a knock on Jackson. No, seriously though, we could have started Luke Walton at PF and got better results than what he did. So, let's touch on a few factors that may be in question for next season, so we can make sure we get back to the NBA Finals next season.
Kobe Bryant -Kobe is great, he is the best guard in the league and the second best guard of all time in his prime, this NBA Finals just showed that he along with the rest of the young lakers are not ready to win a championship yet. We could go game by game and point out some things in every game, some crucial mistake in situations or failure to make plays in opporitunity throughout the series. Kobe Bryant can score at will, he is a much better three point shooter than he is given credit for, but for the Lakers to win a championship he has to play much better in scoring and passing, along with trust, unity with his teammates (the Blog was the Truth like Paul Pierce, it defined the Lakers in 2008). Also, if he wants to be the greatest, he is gonna have to completely remake his game in 2009 i expect him to improve to another level by getting Bynum,
Odom, and Gasol in that order, the stars of the team with him.
Lamar Odom - Lamar Odom is a good player. The word great has eluded his game for most of his career with the Lakers since 2004, but he can and should be a 20 ppg scorer and a top rebounder in the league, even if not on the team with Bynum coming back and assuredly avging at least 10 rpg, so 7-9 is acceptable, but Odom has got to become a driving slasher, FT getter, and really slightly like Paul Pierce to be his potential and his role on the team. Because Odom is a BIG DUDE, he is the only one that could stop Paul Pierce, but he was busy with KG and Perkins, but he should be a potential DPOY and 20 pt scorer starting at SF for the Lakers, and an all-star at least once. For real, now that we know Kobe isn't the "Jordan" in any way, shape, form, or fashion in gameplay or situational smarts, basketball IQ, we need Lamar Odom to be a scorer as much as or slightly less than Kobe,
as in, they should take almost just as many shot attempts, drive and kicking, and working together both avging 5 assists they would be Unstoppable in the league. But, Odom has got to be a defensive player and avg 20+ ppg 8+ rpg and be a different, better player.
Pau Gasol - Pau is a really good complementary player, a solid double-double or not guy who can hit open shots and grab rebounds, he is slightly quick around the basket so he might step into a move a couple times a game, but this guy is not gonna play back-to-the-basket, elbows weapons, big-man, AL HORFORD type Big Man EVER in his basketball life, so therefore its unfair we expect him to be, just let him throw in layups and get a dunk or two sometimes, average 16/8 and grab important rebounds sometimes, because he really is a 7 footer, he just makes Dirk Nowitzki look like Karl Malone out there, he is the opposite and proof of the Lakers "championship calibur team" with Andrew Bynum starting at Center, but we'll get to him later. Pau is a good scoring 7 footer who will hit important baskets for the team just for being there, he makes the lakes complete, but not
the talent ready leader big man that the lakers tried to use him as in the NBA Finals. He will play an important role to getting the Lakers to champions in 2009 just for playing his game, he should avg 16 pts 8 rebs and hit 75% FTs.
Derek Fisher - Derek Fisher got one more year to try to win a ring with these Lakers, but very soon it will be time to give that starting PG spot to Jordan Farmar. Derek is the oldest player on the team at 33 years old, and even that's not old, so he is still in the prime of his career, the question is if his game, his style of PG play is enough to win the Lakers a championship. I don't think we've ever seen a starting PG effect the game as LITTLE as Derek Fisher does, or doesn't. He hits big shots, we know that, he really is a very good shooter, and he's a lefty which makes him very dangerous to defenders, but he is not a good ball distributor AT ALL (avg.ed 3 apg in Finals) he doesn't really "run the offense" in any way, he barely even brings the ball up the court. The PG is supposed to be a team leader, not necessarily in scoring but in running the offense and making sure plays are made, and make a play if no play seems to be opportune. Derek Fisher is a solid PG, but he is not a game changer in any way, its almost like he was reluctant to bring the ball up the court, or Kobe just wouldn't let him, but either way, the PG play in the Finals is a deciding
factor in the Lakers success, granted he is WAAYY better than a Smush Parker, but he is not the long term PG solution the Lakers will need, no need to look outside though, Jordan Farmar is ready.
the bench
Trevor Ariza - Trevor Ariza is a worthy sixth man on this Lakers team, he is a defensive stopper, a good shooter, and a very good slasher, drive-and-kick kind of player. He should play more than any other bench player on the Lakers, he is an important part of the defensive identity of this team and he needs to prove his importance to the team and the NBA. He should average about 10+ PPG but he doesn't have to, he is a genuine game-changer on the defense and offensive end of the court. Jordan Farmar - Jordan Farmar is the best PG on this Los Angeles Lakers roster, he plays with poise, passion, and makes good decisions in situations on the court. He knows how to distribute the ball, and when to make a play, he can drive and score, or he can make a great pass to make a play. Jordan is a good shooter, a good passer, and a great leader on the court. If he were to start and focus on distributing the ball, making sure the stars (Kobe, Bynum, and Odom in that order) get the ball the most, and driving and scoring when opportunities come, he could easily average 12+ ppg 8+ apg and shoot 45%+ FGs, 38% 3pt FGs, and 80% FTs. He should start for this team soon, but he must continue to polish his game under Derek Fisher for now, but not for long.
Sasha Vujacic - Sasha is a pretty good shooter and a good defensive player, but he is not good enough yet to be the Lakers sixth man, there's a level of consistency, reliability that he has got to evolve into, and the Finals exploited that. If he wants to be taken seriously as the sixth man, he must be able to play PG or SG instead of just SG, and he must learn the art of the drive-and-kick. He must try to emulate the game of the great Manu Ginobili, which is a tough comparison, but he can evolve into a decent slasher, drive-and-kicker and he must to be a threat off the bench, he has to earn respect on this team and in this league. Avg. 10+ pts consistently and shoot 38%+ 3pt FGs, 80%+ FTs, he will be alright. Luke Walton - Luke is sort of like a big question mark right now, mostly because that is all he showed in the Finals, a whole lot of nothing. He is a good player in the regular reason, really almost a starter, or at least a sixth man, he avged like 13/5/5 at one point, and he was consistent, reliable, a good passer, a decent shooter, but he always came up with good rebounds, and made plays for his teammates often. In the Finals, for whatever reason, he didn't perform, and it showed from the way Phil Jackson refused to play him alot, so he has got to improve in order to really be an important part of this team.
Ronny Turiaf - Ronny is really not really super-talented in the game of basketball, people keep calling him an "energy guy" but that's really the only thing he has going for his game. He's tall, like 6 foot 10 apparently, but he has no polished areas of his game, he has no real specialty or abilities that make him important, but we like him, so he's someone to bring off the bench and make defensive plays, but if he ever has the ball, please, pass it out immediately.
EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE 2008 Lakers SQUAD SHOULD BE TRADED or something
Vladamir Radmonovic - i mean seriously, i see no reason why this guy is getting more playing time than Coby Karl, what does he do for our team? He is not a knock-down shooter, he is not a defensive stopper or even a defensive FACTOR, he cannot read the court well for passing, he doesn't rebound, just trade him for cash so we can have some cap space to sign Gasol and Bynum to extensions in the future.
and of course this is all without the young, great center that was injured earlier this year named ANDREW BYNUM
i don't think people realize how good this young man really is/was at 20 years old, lets look at some statistics:
Leads the entire NBA in field goal percentage
Ranks #2 in the NBA in efficiency rating per 48 minutes
Is #4 in the NBA in rebounds per 48 minutes
Is #11 in the NBA in rebounds
Is #11 in the NBA in double doubles
Is #9 in the NBA in blocks
And Andrew Bynum was improving as the season went on. Since 2008 started and before getting hurt, Bynum:
Has averaged 70% shooting
Averaged 17.4 points per game
Averaged 12 rebounds per game
Averaged 2.8 blocks per game
Many people are worried about his ability to recover from such an injury to play up to the standard people are putting him up to, listen, even if it takes some time to get back into the rhythm of playing, he WILL ONLY IMPROVE over time! HE'S 20 YEARS OLD (10/27/87), and apparently he is not finished growing, he started the season at 7'0 and after his injury with all the physical therapy he is receiving he is reportedly 7'1 and STILL GROWING, he is expected to be about 7'3 at his peak at around age 23. He is already more TALL and LONG than alot of NBA centers, and being developed by the greatest center of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn't unfair either, but it might be when he masters his game, he is a force in the paint and a HUGE game changer, he might average 22+ ppg 11+ rpg 3 apg and 3 bpg in his prime. He is gonna start off as just a role player, but when he proves himself to be unstoppable, he will be a team leader and a undisputed all-star.
Bynum is the deciding factor, the world is his for the taking, when the Lakers get back to the NBA Finals and Bynum plays to the best of his abilities, Kobe Bryant STILL will not get his first NBA Finals MVP, many argue that Kobe Bryant is best with a great big man at center, of course, because he won the championships with Shaq, Andrew Bynum may not be Shaq, but he will be his kind of great, and he will "hit his free throws" like he said when he first got drafted. When Bynum is avging 25/12/3/3 and they win at least 1 championship, that Kobe video is really gonna haunt him in his career.
