NBA Playoffs Thread

Ummmmm, if you'll actually read the earlier posts, I didn't say Kidd was past his prime now. But, it's coming up pretty damn quickly. If you have a 19-year-old center who most teams are salivating at the thought of acquiring, you don't trade him for a guy who's only got one or two seasons as an elite-level player left. Kidd? Great player right now, but not sure I'd give up a chip like Bynum for the very small window Kidd offers.

Your assertion that the Lakers traded Caron Butler because of Bryant is downright laughable. First off, anyone who followed the Lakers closely at all will tell you that in their one season together Bryant and Butler actually developed quite a bond and Bryant was upset when Butler was dealt. It was KUPCHAK who thought it best to deal Butler because he thought having Odom and Butler as his starting forwards would make the Lakers too small (as usual, Kupchak lacked the foresight to see that the NBA is headed toward the more athletic lineups than the big bodies down low). That trade had nothing to do with Bryant.

And, frankly, blaming Bryant for Shaq's departure is getting tiresome. Shaq was the one who openly demanded a trade and he did it for two reasons: 1) He wanted $30 million per year for 3 years (as Piotr Rasputin said earlier in this thread, the max contract/salary cap didn't apply to Shaq because he was grandfathered in) and Buss absolutely couldn't fathom paying Shaq that amount of money, especially after Shaq so publicly embarassed him during a preseason game when he made a public spectacle of calling out Buss, screaming "Pay me!! Pay me!!" and pointing at Buss as he ran up and down the court. Buss knew that Shaq only had one or two seasons left as a dominant player and thought it a better investment to build around the younger All-Star. 2) Shaq is also very smart and knew he was headed toward the downside of his career and saw the writing on the wall: The Lakers were a season or two at the most from demanding that Bryant be the "go-to guy" on the team. The thought of that galled him and he demanded a trade (people conveniently forget he PUBLICLY demanded the trade) putting the Lakers in a bad position because every potential trading partner knew the Lakers HAD to get rid of him and, therefore, didn't offer nearly as much as one might have thought.

If only it were as simple as "Oooooooh, Kobe ran off the other All-Stars ...!!!"

 

Kidd's best years were from 1998-2003, so yes, he's past his prime. He's 34 years old. He's a 40 percent shooter.

I'm not trading a 19-year-old center with loads of potential for him.

 

He never was a great shooter. Even after his knee surgery(I think last year), the guy is still balling and he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

 

Bynum and "loads of potential" don't belong together right now. He's more Darius Miles then Kevin Garnett and he's five years away from being anything quality if it's going to happen. The Lakers have two tradeable assets and if they want more talented players for Kobe to ignore so he can reach his personal scoring goals, they will have to trade one or both of them.

Jason Kidd for Smush Parker and Luke Walton ain't happening. I enjoy the Lakers arrogance, but the other teams in the NBA aren't in the business to make sure the Lakers are putting good teams on the court.

 

Agree with that. If they want to wait five years to win, they could keep Bynum and tell Kobe to wait. But if they're serious about winning, they ought to be active and seek a trade to help them win right away.

After all, Phil Jackson did win with Cartwright, Longley, Wennington, etc. at center for years.

 

I'm not against trading Bynum. I would trade for someone younger than Kidd, though.

 

Who is younger with comparable talent and the ability to distribute the ball? Kirk Hinrich ain't gonna happen. Chris Paul ain't gonna happen. LeBron ain't gonna happen.

Right now the Lakers are Kobe and Odom half the time. The addition of Kidd takes the Lakers from a team of 1 and a half to a team of 3 and a team that's still playing.

You aren't going to get more than Kidd for Andrew Bynum, Bynum isn't that good and until he loses weight and develops some semblance of a game, he isn't going to be that good. The Lakers draft players like Bynum to trade them for stars.

 

Kidd > Bynum. Even at his age, Kidd would help transform the Lakers into contenders. They need someone else. Not saying it must be kid, but he would help the Lakers be a much better team in 2007-08 and maybe a season or two after that than Bynum.

 

OK, you win. Actually, I wish the Lakers would trade for Kidd. I really need another reason to root against them.

 

As for your comment on Bynum and "loads of potential" I think there's a few teams who might disagree with you, including the team you're obsessed with -- the Nets. According to ESPN, the Lakers could've made the Kidd trade for Bynum and picks. So, apparently they were willing to give up their best player for a player who doesn't have "loads of potential" huh?

And Oz, you're right, Kidd is a far better player than Bynum, but the Lakers have to make a deal that's not only gonna make them better in 2007-08, but also for a few seasons after that. Otherwise, they'll be stuck in the same situation they are right now.

And, if anyone thinks a Lakers team of Kidd-Kobe-Odom would've beat the Suns this season, especially with L.A.'s front line issues, well ... I think that's a big, big reach.

 

Plus, Kidd is a horrible fit for the triangle. It was a disaster when he was in Dallas. Name me one pure point guard (and they don't come any purer than Kidd) who has been successful in the triangle. Hell, I remember when Gary Payton signed with Miami and everyone was shouting "see, he hates Kobe and loves Shaq!" That would've been all well and good except for one thing: Payton didn't hate Kobe (nor did Karl Malone ... until Bryant caught him trying to give his wife the shocker. Ha!). Payton hated the triangle! He didn't think it suited his game at all and saw the all-star team Riley was assembling in Miami and jumped aboard.

 

I don't know what gave you the incorrect opinion that I was obsessed with the Nets and believe me if they wanted to trade a Hall of Fame point guard for the next fat Sam Bowie, by all means the Lakers should've jumped all over it to give themselves a chance to compete in the postseason with three strong players as compared to one...and a half. Just to think, they get Kidd there's a good chance they aren't drawing Phoenix in the first round to begin with.

Meanwhile the team I'm not obsessed with kept their point guard, he's averaging a triple-double and his team as peaking at the right time while Jordan Jr. and his junior Jordanaires should be planning their first 4-man scramble get together.

And pure point guard can fit into any offense, if Phil didn't think he could've fit, he wouldn't have suggested the team make the move. I think he knows what he can work with.