The Implosion of the Los Angeles Lakers

No way LA is this bad.....I smell tanking

Kizzle said:

No way LA is this bad.....I smell tanking

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Except that they have no incentive in tanking. Their pick is either going to the Suns or its ours.

and that theyre playing over 500 ball and a few games off the 8 seed

And if you read a little into his quotes, you get the feeling that Bryant wouldn’t be surprised in the least, or even bothered, if the Lakers decide to trade the big man before the deadline Thursday afternoon.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do. At this point, it doesn’t matter,” :uhh: Bryant said after putting on a signature defensive performance against LeBron James in the West’s 143-138 victory over the East Sunday night in the 2013 NBA All-Star game.

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http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/02/18/sheridan-bryant-ambivalent-on-howards-future-with-lakers/

What L.A. is going to do with Howard is probably one of the biggest storylines of the season. I don't know why they have ruled out trading him, playoffs are looking like a huge stretch right now, and Dwight doesn't look like he particularly wants to be there.

shoes22 said:

What L.A. is going to do with Howard is probably one of the biggest storylines of the season. I don't know why they have ruled out trading him, playoffs are looking like a huge stretch right now, and Dwight doesn't look like he particularly wants to be there.

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Beyond wanting to be there, he just isn't that good. Whoever gives Dwight a max contract, is essentially doing the Joe Johnson/Eric Gordon deal, IMO. Different positions, but the same level of player at this point. Dwight's offensive game has tapped out and even regressed, and he has never been the dominate rebounder who just cleans up underneath type. He still has some presence inside, but also doesn't intimidate anyone like he should. He's just so soft. Very few people inside the NBA like his schtick and the casual fan has completely turned against him. At this point he's just a corny big-guy, who is mentally weak, and is only good at making illegitimate babies. The last two teams he has played on, the players genuinely dislike him, and the coaching staffs view him as a cancer.

I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole unless he were willing to be paid for his actual productivity, which will never happen. Dwight might be a top 4 center in the league right now, but some idiot GM is going to take on an albatross deal.

Jerry Buss just passed away....wow

Not a good season if you are a Lakers fan.

Wow. That team is going to rally around this.

That's really unfortunate. I think Kobe and some other players knew though. He seemed really morbid when he was asked about Buss on Friday.

Buss was a really successful owner, and did his part to revitalize the league and grow the NBA to the international heights it is today. RIP.

Who owns the Lakers now? The rest of his family?

shoes22 said:

That's really unfortunate. I think Kobe and some other players knew though. He seemed really morbid when he was asked about Buss on Friday.

Buss was a really successful owner, and did his part to revitalize the league and grow the NBA to the international heights it is today. RIP.

Who owns the Lakers now? The rest of his family?

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I think his son has basically already assumed control of the team even though popular consensus was that Jeanie would have been the better, smarter choice.

Wow. Obviously not a Lakers fan, but rest easy, Dr. Buss.

shoes22 said:

That's really unfortunate. I think Kobe and some other players knew though. He seemed really morbid when he was asked about Buss on Friday.

Buss was a really successful owner, and did his part to revitalize the league and grow the NBA to the international heights it is today. RIP.

Who owns the Lakers now? The rest of his family?

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Jim Buss(the son) has been the head guy for the last couple of seasons, but he's not even close to the owner his father was. Hiring lackluster coaches because he didn't want anything to do with phil jackson out of a matter of pride and has had many altercations with Kobe. Pretty much everyone agrees Jeanie should have taken over.

RIP Mr.Buss

[video=youtube;Q3Swoo_J7BM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q3Swoo_J7BM#![/video]

now this is from Stephen A's mouth so take it with a with a healthy gram of salt but apparently according to him Dwight approached Rudy Gay in a game and told him he shouldn't have gone to Toronto 'cause he could join up with Dwight in Brooklyn next season.

once again, this is stephen a. saying it, it's not exactly gospel and does sound a bit excessive. fucked up thing is, I have no problem whatsoever imagining Howard saying this to Rudy Gay at ALL.

Rudy Gay didn't go to Toronto by choice........