Not just keeping the crazies in check, but also making sure the rest of the team doesn't get butt hurt. Keeping the bench interested, keeping the role players want to do more than stand around and watch the stars. That takes a lot. There are stories slowly leaking out now that Jordan was a bigger ass than Kobe. Fuck, I'm from Chicago, I love Jordan to death, but did you see his H.O.F. speech? Kobe's will be just like it. Dealing with those guys isn't easy and let's not forget 11 Championships. Mike Brown is the perfect example of having great talent and not getting Championships. The Lakers simply have the best chance of getting Howard. They can atleast get a 23 year old big man and some other pieces. Of course some crazy wildcard shit could happen at any time, but unless Howard has says "I'm going to stay here until I die." Well then. He could get D. Williams, he could get Chris Paul, he could get neither. Now what would be crazy is if D. Williams or CP3 teamed up with Howard and headed to L.A. At Gatling said, don't under estimate the power of that city. Smoking hot women, movie stars all over the goddamn place, and nice weather all the goddamn time.
I am not disagreeing with your point about Phil Jackson being a great coach, but Mike Brown never had "great talent" on his teams. He had Lebron James, and that was it. None of the Cavaliers teams that Lebron was on ever had a chance of winning a title. No matter how good he is, one player cannot carry a team with a such a weak supporting cast to a championship. We should also not forget that the Lakers should not have won the Western Conference Finals in 2002.
It's slightly depressing to think that Boston of a few years ago would have won that game. Not necessarily because they were more skilled (although maybe they were), but because the players could bust their ass for 40-45 minutes each in a way that these guys no longer can. This squad, unfortunately, has an acute case of the old.
Yeah, but at the same time, playing with 4.5 guys makes it tough. I know injuries happen and that they're a part of the game, but it sure sucks not having Rondo healthy. As good as KG was on Saturday, he was that bad tonight.
Do you just not watch basketball? Is that it? Christ almighty, if one more person says LeBron won all by himself with no support, I'm going to have an aneurysm. Let's see... Z Anderson Varejao Ben Wallace Mo Williams Antawn Jamison Shaq (ok, this one only kinda counts) With guys like Delonte West coming off the bench. To say those teams didn't have talent is absolutely fucking retarded. To say they weren't coached as well as they could have been (particularly on the offensive side of the ball)? There's an idea...
I can sorta see both side of this argument, but to put it in "Phil Jackson's career" terms....that's a lot of Toni Kukocs/Derek Fishers, and no Scottie Pippens.
Clearly, the words of someone who has never actually lived in Los Angeles. There are much better cities for hot women, and the weather in LA during most of the summer is fucking awful. In fact, I would probably argue that Orlando is a nicer place to live. Also, considering the vast majority of the 30 teams in the NBA will be doing everything in their power to get Howard, it's a little insane to say LA is his "most likely" destination. I don't know much about Howard's character, but one thing that he hates is having to carry a team non-stop only to get limited support from his teammates. And you know what's going to happen if Los Angeles offers their entire frontcourt (shitty offer, by the way) for Howard? bukowskionice, while I appreciate that you're a passionate Cavs fan and all, Czechvodkabaron was right; LBJ had crappy support, and this season proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. He carried those miserable Cleveland teams night in and night out.
Don't forget the traffic. The crime. The smog. The insane numbers of people who don't speak a fucking word of English, which means they A) can't drive and B) can't understand the sign over the aisle that says "Shampoo - Personal Hygiene". I grew up in LA (the San Fernando Valley, actually), and lived there for 23 years. Yes, the weather is fantastic. There are many beautiful women (but they're mostly snotty bitches). They have In-N-Out Burger. Other than that, it sucks.
Not to get too far afield, but LA's climate and women are far from the primary appeal of the City to a superstar NBA player, and no Laker has lived in the Vallley in 35 years. (Wilt was as close as they got in the Santa Monica mountains) NBA stars want to come to LA so that they can emulate Magic's career as a Laker and, more importantly, thereafter. If Dwight Howard goes to out to eat in Orlando, he is fetted by the guy who owns a dozen car dealerships in the area, or the woman who started a tech company, or the guy who runs Universal's theme parks and is temporarily based there. All these folks are rich. None of them are players. When I was a young lawyer in the 80's I had an expense account and frequented LA's "hot" dining establishments. I recall one summer where I saw Magic out at least 10 times. He was the biggest celebrity in Los Angeles -- bigger that Arnold, Jack, Sly, (name anyone who was a big movie star at that time). The "A" listers visited his table. Jerry Buss took Magic under his wing, told Magic that he needed to plan for his future and surround himself with the best advisors. Magic heeded that advice and, along with his agent Lon Rosen, affiliated himself with the key stars and executives in town. I know it is a meme of this Board that entertainment executives don't know what they are doing. There's much truth in that at the lower levels. But it is not the case for people like David Geffen, Stacey Snider, Ron Meyer, Mike Ovitz (at that time), Barry Diller etc. These are extremely bright and capable people, and if they are on your side they can change your life. The image of LA is parties, clubs, women and bullshit. And there's enough of that to go around. It is also true that entertainment and movies is a serious business, managed by very serious people. If you are an athlete, you are in the business of entertainment. That's why an NBA player would want to be a Laker. If you are a star on the Lakers you have juice and credibility and access to the top tiers of the entertainment industry. You cannot do that anywhere else, even New York.
Terrific post, and I completely agree. Of course there are many attractions to playing for the Lakers...just not the particular ones Parker mentioned. I would also take issue with movie executives being particularly intelligent and innovative, considering they didn't even start doing basic computer simulations for pictures until the last decade (long, long after every other industry), but compared to basketball players, who know so little outside their sport, the execs might as well be Henry Ford. On an unrelated note, the two games yesterday were outstanding. Exciting, gritty, top level play-off basketball. Also, do all the people who argued in the NBA regular season thread that the Heat weren't serious play-off contenders and that Boston "owns" them feel foolish right around now?
Come on man, they could have won last night, and that's with the One Arm Bandit runnin' point. I wouldn't say "owns" them, but I fully expected it to go to Game 7 and be World War 3.
To play devil's advocate to my own point, Marc Stein on the recent B.S. Report mentioned the fact Howard might not want to go to the Lakers for one reason: Kobe. If you were going to take a scale of "laughing, with front row fans" and "rape face, gives 2 shits about the fans" they'd be on opposite sides. They're friends, but playing a season with an "assassin" may not be Howard's idea situation. Especially since Kobe isn't scared to say shit to him I'd will still be the leader.
Yeah, thinking it would go to a 7th game is fine and reasonable. But there were people in that topic arguing that the Heat wouldn't stand a freaking prayer against the Celtics in the play-offs. So much for that. Howard's headspace is very important, but it's only one of the many variables involved in any possible trade, more/equally important ones being what the Magic get back, and the nature of the CBA negotiations.
Not really. I can't say that I expected Pierce to get tossed, Rondo to get hurt, James Jones to have a career game, and Shaq to heal like some sort of anti-Wolverine. Even with all that Boston had a good chance to win towards the end of two of the three they've lost.
Shit happens. Even if Boston had better luck, they would, at best, be 2-2 right now, with Miami still having the vital home court edge in the last 3 games. I would hardly say that means Boston owns Miami, or that the Heat never had a prayer. Bottom line is, the regular season and play-off games between two teams are entirely separate affairs.
Especially when it's a different team in green. If they lose, I'm never going to be able to stop wondering what might have happened if the Celtics hadn't made that trade. Not just adding Perkins (and NateRob? Who knows how to treat that injury in hypothetical land) and taking away Green; they probably would have won homecourt. Yeah, it's hypothetical and those always suck, but if they lose this offseason will not be a happy one for Danny Ainge.
Good point, I don't think Anthony has a career game against Perk. I think the trade was made because the Celts needed a regular season sub for Pierce. Now that the rotations are shortened its definitely a detriment. I think that Perk added a toughness that allowed KG to be more of a enforcer than he really is (I think that he realized he didn't have that big dude behind him and it him softened up) and the Celts are feeling the effects now. I would have loved to see the series before that trade, Wade and LeBron don't get into the paint unmolested when you've got a guy who hangs his hat on protecting the rim. Now its one team relying on having perfect execution on every possession vs a team that is more talented. The Celts are done as far as I can figure. (also SC is waiting on the thank you Boston. Allen and KG brought you that title)
It's a good example of why more GMs don't make "ballsy" moves; not only is there team morale to consider, (which probably hurt them just as much as missing Perkins) but even if it succeeds, no one will give you credit. It's expected, or occurred because the other GM was an idiot. However, if it backfires, like it did here, people will blame you and demand your job.