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Lakers have decent cast around Kobe/ Shaq Who ?

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antosu

Senior
First let me start by saying that Shaq nor Kobe will have it as easy without the other. Shaq should dominate the east but he is not the shaq of 2 or 3 years ago. Meanwhile Kobe is in his prime with a lot to prove. Can he win without shaq ? With the cast he is playing with this year, I would say yes ! No, not win the championship but niether will Shaq win it in Miami. But I think the Lakers have a very good season.

Projected Lineup:

pg - Gary Payton -6'3 1/2 (clever veteran)
sg- Kobe Bryant -6'6 (superstar)
sf- Lamar Odom -6'10 (versatile/creates mismatches/needs to stay healthy)
pf- Brian Grant -6'8 1/2 (tenacious rebounder and hustler)
C- Vlade Divac -7'0 (crafty old vet/ true center/limit his minutes)

The only slight weakness I see in the starting line up is the absence of a pure 3point shooter. But Kobe, Gary, and Lamar can hit em. Plus they have Rush, Sasha, and Walton hitting 3's off of the bench. They have defenders and great team players in this lineup.

They also have about 17 players so there will be some changes made. They have no backup pg, too many 6'6 and 6'7 guy's, but they also have 4 free agents.

Remaining players and what GM-antosu would do with them :

F/C- Marcus Douthit 6'11 (ROOKIE/ KEEP HIM NOW)
SF- Sasha Vujacic 6'7 ( rookie/need this shooter)
SG- Kareem Rush 6'6 (shooter/keeper)
G/F- Caron Butler 6'7 (scoring machine/spark off of the bench/keeper)
G/F- Devean George 6'7 1/2 (trade him for a pg)
SF- Rick Fox 6'7 (put him in trade for pg)
F- Luke Walton 6'8 (keeper/great passer and team player)
F- Brian Cook 6'9 (nice touch/nice backup/keeper)

free agents :

pf- karl malone (I think he'll retire)
pf- Medvedenko (keeper/offense off of the bench)
pf- Horace Grant (cut him)
sf- Bryon russell (cut him)

So the complete roster should look like this:

starters
pg - payton
sg- kobe
sf- Odom
pf- Grant
C- Divac

bench
pg- unknown
sg- kareem rush
sf- Caron Butler
sf- Sasha Vujacic
pf- Luke walton
pf- Brian cook
pf/c- Medvedenko
f/c- M. Douthit

13 man roster !

5th best record in the west !
 
Ant, I think you need another true 7' center. You already know that you need to keep Vlade's minutes down, and you've got a couple of younger guys who can play the spot, but I think that a solid 4-5 year vet off of the free agent market would be a sound investment.

Otherwise, you're spot on. They've got a team with solid depth, some pretty good team attitudes, and a nice mix of youth and veterans, but they desperately need another PG. As far as a three point guy -- I think having a number of guys on the floor who can shoot the three decently is better in some ways than having a pure 3-point guy, because it gives the defense a lot more to deal with.

I think they will adapt to the loss of Shaq better than most people expect. Of course, all of that is assuming that Kobe's lawyers can keep him out of jail. :wink:
 
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It looks like Douthit is going to prison, but other than that my only disagreement is Payton as starter. I think they need to find a starting pg and use Payton as a backup. I think that Fox and George plus a draft pick would be good trade bait but it will have to wait until George recovers from surgery.
 
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crazybuckeye said:
It looks like Douthit is going to prison, but other than that....
Click to expand...

I think you are kidding but just in case you are not he doesn't appear to be going to prison. From the article I read he is a victim of identity theft and the cops just want him to come in to sign an affidavit that exonerates him.
 
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Payton did have a bad season. But hopefully he will do better in an offense that actually calls for a pg. The triangle that Phil ran could run perfectly without a pg. The only use for a pg was to bring the ball up the floor.
 
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It looks like Jax and I were both wrong about Douthit. He has been arraigned and was arrested for his role in the insurance scam. Authorities say that although he was culpable they are willing to cut a deal to keep him out of jail if he testifies against the higher-ups in the scheme.
 
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The Heat, with Shaq, will have a better record than the Lakers, without him.

Kobe's still a gun , Payton will still pout (Kobe still taking his shots), Odom will also be affected by Kobe, and Vlade is old man river.








The Lakers will make the playoffs, but they're not nearly as good as they were with Shaq. Now everyone will key on Kobe without worrying about the middle.
 
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Ainge just stepped on his johnson with golf shoes!!!

Mihm/Vlade/Medvedenko is a very passable trio in this center starved league.

Kobe is going to walk...things are looking up in LaLa land.
 
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Ainge is doing some wierd things in Boston. He gets rid of anyone with promise (exept for Pierce) and I'm hearing he isn't to easy to get along with over there. He is trying to surround Pierce with low paid vets. He must be trying to land a big free agent next year. Hopefully he has something in the works or he is goping to be out of a job.
 
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