The Lakers inquired about Shelden. He goes to the Celtics. Squisy says he chose the Celtics because it was his best chance to win a championship. Ditto Sheed. Phil Jackson gave Sam Cassell a call before he chose Boston. PJ Brown would have played more in LA, where Andrew Bynum was out for the year. Two summers of free agency and two winters of buy-outs and the best the Lakers can do is nut job Ron Artest. Yet the Lakers, not the Celtics, have been the favorites to win the championship two straight seasons.
So what gives? There must be a reason free agents don't want to play in LA.
13 comments:
I've only read about the Spike Lee documentary on Kobe but even my laker fan friends couldn't deny the "why the hell are you all of a sudden talking to me" look on his teammates faces when he would try to have a conversation with them.
Very interesting. Pathetic, but very interesting.
Speaking from personal experience, Kobe is hated a whooooooole lot! Kobe isn't a very good teammate as several times he blames his teammates every time things don't go right on the Fakers. But when things go well, it's not his teammates but him. The only "star" they could get there was a head case who is just as selfish. Seems it is already rubbing off since Bynum has thrown Kareem under the bus, Farmer is making demands and dissing Fisher etc.
Bynum threw kareem under the bus, and now phil threw bynum under the bus. I suspect kobe will do likewise for the whole team when the fakers fizzle this year
What's the over/under for Kobe's trade demands to start again?
Why would any player who's looking for a lot of playing time sign with a team that has 2 entrenched stars who are among the top 10 in the game who need the ball a lot, a coach who does not really integrate new players into his system unless really necessary, a young center who demands the ball so much, and a bench that has roles that are clearly defined.
Unless a guy is looking for a role at the bottom of the bench it makes no sense at all to sign with the Lakers. But, when L.A. wants or needs guys it's usually no problem for them to get the players.
Pau Gasol is a top ten player?
Pau Gasol led the Lakers in win shares last year. I think he is very underrated and I think he is in the range of the 9-20 best players in the league.
20th is a lot different than top 10
You can rank him anywhere from 9-20 and not get an argument from me but I think he's top 10.
BTW, why did MD and Sheed come to the Cs if they knew they'd get less playing time than elsewhere?
They both easily fit in here and the Celtics had a need for both. The Lakers have defined roles for all of their guys. If they picked up either of them Bynum, Vujacic or one of their guys would have whined about playing time, shots, the usual L.A. complaints.
The other thing to note is that while you mention bynum, 1) bynum was injured two years ago and the lakers contacted pj; 2) with as poorly as bynum has played since returning, I suspect the lakers would prefer someone more dependable like sheed, especially when Mitch contacted Shelden. Finally, your point about kobe needing touches is exactly my point--free agents don't like his game.
Post a Comment