Flight

I don't feel like writing another long post, but you pretty much summed it up. The ball moves through Kobe in the triangle, like you said. Well, it also moves through whoever gets it. Did you see Artest last year? He shoots [expletive]ty shots. Ariza was smart. And with the whole percentage thing, look at the postseason, in the crunch time when it counts. That's what next year will be like for both. Ariza had a bad regular season average, but look at his growth from game 1 to the Finals. I'm not whining, I'm happy. I like the Rockets a hell of a lot more than LA, and Ariza was my favorite Laker (Shannon being second favorite and the only other guy I like, who might be going elsewhere). I'm stoked that Houston lost its main negative-impact player, and even more excited that they got Ariza. I don't really seem to agree with your arguments either, so we're even right? Artest is talented beyond Ariza's current state, but he won't fit. Quote me on that, check back here next February and see if LA's trying to dump him off to some poor team.

http://imagecache5.art.com/p/LRG/6/668/T6JC000Z/peter-beneyfield-fox-and-winter-coat.jpg

Please edit the title man, jeesh. lol idk, I don't see him playing for Indiana. He'll get some offers.

Just thinking the same thing. *sigh* Drafts suck these days. Kids are punks.

I'm spaced lol. I don't know what I was thinking about, obviously Turkey glue or Vinsanity would be better than Pietrus, although he's not a bad 6th man.

I'd retire. Probably Cavs though.

That would make either Hedo or Vince the 6th man of the year. I think Hedo would probably come off the bench, but he'd still get close to 30 minutes a game.

For $1.3 million and a good attitude (which is far from guaranteed) he's a nice pickup, but if he's getting overpayed or doesn't want to play get him out. Honestly, probably a good move to leave Boston.

Wait, is that Hedo?

It seems like Lawson likes to push the ball more to me, whereas Felton likes to slow down a little and find the best man situation. Both are pass-first players though, and both can score well. I think Lawson's going to put up the similar 15 and 7-8 assist numbers in his second year as a starter, maybe first depending on how long he backs up Chauncey.

What shooters do you have? Artest has proven he can't hit the 3. Vlad was a shooter, yeah. Brown isn't out there as a starter getting minutes, and if he is then there's a problem. He's not ready to be a starter. Fisher's not going to play forever, and when he comes off the books LA is still over the cap I assume? I don't see how though, if 3 guys come off the books and you're still over, with you guys being enough under to get Ron. If you're under the cap you can't use MLE, and if you're over what do you think MLE's going to do, lock someone up? You get a year, then the same problem occurs. Besides, who's going to play for MLE that's good enough to lead a team to a title? This team isn't staying together for 5 years. Fisher's going to be gone, someone will fill his shoes but it won't be the same. Kobe's not going to get much better, he'll start to decline in a few years. Not a lot, but it will start to happen. Pau might be 28 but he's been playing pro for a while and being a big man he's not going to be able to keep playing a lot of minutes for 5 more seasons. Andrew is, like I said, injury prone. He's also unproven, no matter what you say. He showed a nice 1-2 months in 2007-2008, but that's all. This year he disappeared. He folded in crunch time. What the hell did he do in the playoffs? Shannon's not a PG, he's a shooting guard in a point guard's body. I like Shannon, but I'll be the first to admit Jordan is a much better player right now. He's gone after this season, like you said. Kobe opting out just to get a new contract is not going to help this team either, so don't think he's all about the team. It's nice to see some loyalty, and Kobe's shown a lot of it, but money talks. Who's to say he doesn't end up moving somewhere if a team with a ton of cap makes a nice offer. I don't even know what this has to do with Ariza anymore, but my point is LA is not a shoe-in for the same team we saw this season year-in and year-out. I think for any team other than the Celtics or Spurs, two aging teams that really only have 2-3 more championship seasons left before having to take a step back again, Ariza might be a better choice. I know Ron's the better player right now, but give it another season and they might be close to equal, another one beyond that and Ariza's a legitimate 15 points per game guy, throwing in 3 steals (Yeah, 3 steals. He might lead the league given starter minutes.) Artest will start to decline. He'll create a gaping hole at SF after his decline, and who's going to fill it in? He's already too slow to guard LeBron effectively outside, and not going to be strong enough to guard LeBron inside without help. When that help comes, King James will have an open man, and Mo Williams, Delonte West, or even Shaq will likely have a high percentage shot. Leave him man to man, and LeBron's going to drop 50. When the hole at SF arises, Cleveland's going to have a field day with LA. Put Kobe on him, why not, but guess who else is getting older? Being a great defender is nice, but LeBron is so strong (Stephen A. Smith said he was 273 pounds in January or February, and he's likely put on a few more pounds since) that he just can't be stopped from a hand in his face. Give me Ariza.

GTFO nobody's breaking that record

I like how you actually got a few people to think you're new. Make sure you're active I expect 6,000 post...

Probly 4. 61.

Scared of Portland?

way too much for him. yeah he's clutch but what good does that do for a team that won't make the playoffs?

Well if Portland gets Andre (for less than 10 mil a year, we were overpaying him, Toronto got raped) then I think you can say Portland gets a better deal.

Bibby surprises me too haha, and O'Neal yeah... horrible contract. lol and Schaub got so overpaid

Huh. Well, not good for Portland but they can find someone else in FA I think. Toronto doesn't really need him I don't think, I mean not for rebuilding but whatever.

Well, idk if Marbury's shoe thing is an endorsement or if he owns the company or what, but that might be it. Marion had the Matrix shoes for a while, idk if that's what his money comes from. Frnachise... idk lol Tiger makes $40 million more than anyone else makes a year combined with just his endorsements. Insane, he's the face of American sports even though golf is madly overshadowed.

Oh, and do you guys think that this team will all stay together? It seems like everyone assumes nobody's going to want to leave, or have an injury and require a major trade to shake things up. To think 5 years from now this team is exactly the same would be ignorant.

Well, Bynum's really had a shaky career. 2 seasons ago we all thought he was the Shaq replacement, now I don't know. Injuries have hurt him and even when he's healthy I don't know if he's a championship-worthy starter. LO is gone I think, and even if he come back he won't last 5 more years I don't think. He'll retire soon IMO, maybe 3 years from now. idk what Pau's contract looks like, but if he can stay and Kobe stays like he said he will, those 2 alone can get them to the playoffs year in and year out. They just can't win it on their own. Artest won't be a very successful player in 4 or 5 years I don't think. Solid role player yes, but not a dominant defender and B level scorer. Who's going to play the point? Farmar is not the next whoever he's been compared to. He makes nice passes here and there, he's a decent scorer and a pretty good athlete, but he's not really Derek Fisher. Nor is he as clutch. This team is losing shooters, and Morrison isn't the answer off the bench.

I live in Oregon, and I don't trust OregonLive lol. I don't really know if I should believe this or not. For now I'll stick with thinking he's headed to Portland.

I see Cleveland winning it all next year. Big Witness.

If I'm trying to win right now, this season, last shot at a title, then Artesticle. But if I want to win in 2 or 3 years, or if I'm rebuilding, Ariza is the way to go. Ariza does the little things that Artest did in his prime well, and now does in a slightly-lesser role. He plays good man D, but someone said he's going to hustle more than Ariza. I disagree. He might pull the Shaq routine and play well the first month when the team's new and exciting, but for a lot of the season I think he'll be rather lazy. I just don't see him being the same energy guy as Ariza. Give me Ariza if I'm not he Spurs, Celtics, or maybe the Lakers. LA has a shot at a few more titles in the future, but this team's core (which is fairly young for a championship contender) might not stick together for much longer.