interesting lakers topic over at realgm

[screwedupmaniac]

i'm not normally into picking on other teams' fan bases, but i've never read such redicuous crap as the stuff on the lakers realgm site this past summer. they have a topic up where they are picking and choosing who they would and wouldn't trade andrew bynum for, and so far, the general consensus is that they would only give up bynum for lebron, dwight howard, or maybe chris paul. absurd...they get gasol for kwame, and now they think they could turn around and trade bynum for one of the top 3 players in the league...rediculous, just rediculous lol.

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=835802&p=17235220#p17235220

[houlana]

that is craaazy, the kid is good and has potential. but hes not even close to coming that good.
if were talking young talent, give me big Al any day over him.

[jackson_34]

I always try and see things from both sides especially when it comes to debating basketball, I realise Bynum will be a solid player but seriously, what do they put in the water in LA?

For crying out loud,

dwight howard - this is a close call for me. dwight has the definite edge in brute strength and athleticism, but i think bynum is more talented offensively and defensively. i would still give the edge to d12 here though simply because he has proven himself over a longer period of time.

In summary, I guess the only players I would really consider are lebron and dwight howard. lebron simply because he is so dominant that a combo of him and kobe simply could not be stopped - shortcoming in the post really wouldn't make a difference here i dont think. Dwight howard simply because he is such a beast inside. Bynum has proven to be a beast on the boards and in the paint both offensively and defensively. We cannot afford to give that up to marginally improve at any of the guard/forward spots.

IMHO, I wouldn't trade Bynum for Howard. Call me a stickler for true centers, but Howard (though limited to a range that would make Shaq's touch look silky smooth) is a pair of glorified biceps/rebounder. Let him tear down baskets in Orlando. I want to see real skill develop here in LA.

 

[celticmaestro]

Look guys, Bynum proved a lot in his 3 months of finally being a decent player. I too think he is the best player in the NBA. Possibly the best C since Bill Russell.

[ACF]

Yeah, Bynum is a great player.
But the Lakers still lack other
things. Namely team spirit.
Exemplified by no one helping
Turiaf up when he went down and
the Lakers spending way too much
time complaining to the refs instead
of just playing ball...

[radiohead]

people in laker land seem to forget that perk dominated bynum in the two regular season matches that they played. i'm not saying that perk is better than bynum. but i don't see the logic in putting bynum way up there with those three established stars either. they are really over-rating bynum in my opinion. in a way, i think they're just using it (bynum not playing in the finals) as an excuse as to why they were clobbered by the celts in the nba finals. we've heard and read a lot of "things would have been different had bynum played..." stories, but the bottom line is the better team won and i don't think bynum's presence would have resulted into a lakers championship. the celtics were clearly the superior team talent-wise and team chemistry-wise.

[Who]

A 20 year 7 foot center with the world of potential ..... they're right to set the mark as a young MVP or soon to be MVP caliber talent. Giving Bynum up for anything less would be foolish.

His floor is a top 5 center and perennial All-Star for the next 12 years. He's already the second most important player on what will be a 60+ win basketball team next season.

Bynum is a very special player

[celticmaestro]

Bynum is a very special player

I just want to replace "is" with "could be" because he's done nothing yet.

[Roy Hobbs]

His floor is a top 5 center and perennial All-Star for the next 12 years. He's already the second most important player on what will be a 60+ win basketball team next season.

Come on, Who.  Enough hyperbole.  His floor is Sam Bowie, an intriguing prospect whose career is sidetracked by injuries.  Let's not put this kid in the Hall of Fame yet.

At age 20, his "floor" is a perennial all-star?  No.

[Who]

His floor is a top 5 center and perennial All-Star for the next 12 years. He's already the second most important player on what will be a 60+ win basketball team next season.

Come on, Who.  Enough hyperbole.  His floor is Sam Bowie, an intriguing prospect whose career is sidetracked by injuries.  Let's not put this kid in the Hall of Fame yet.

At age 20, his "floor" is a perennial all-star?  No.

That's not really a floor. That's a career robbed by injuries and that could happen to anyone. At least I don't consider that to be a floor.

[screwedupmaniac]

people in laker land seem to forget that perk dominated bynum in the two regular season matches that they played. i'm not saying that perk is better than bynum. but i don't see the logic in putting bynum way up there with those three established stars either. they are really over-rating bynum in my opinion. in a way, i think they're just using it (bynum not playing in the finals) as an excuse as to why they were clobbered by the celts in the nba finals. we've heard and read a lot of "things would have been different had bynum played..." stories, but the bottom line is the better team won and i don't think bynum's presence would have resulted into a lakers championship. the celtics were clearly the superior team talent-wise and team chemistry-wise.

yeah, radiohead, i just commented on the post civicly (SP?) and reminded them of that haha

[Roy Hobbs]

His floor is a top 5 center and perennial All-Star for the next 12 years. He's already the second most important player on what will be a 60+ win basketball team next season.

Come on, Who.  Enough hyperbole.  His floor is Sam Bowie, an intriguing prospect whose career is sidetracked by injuries.  Let's not put this kid in the Hall of Fame yet.

At age 20, his "floor" is a perennial all-star?  No.

That's not really a floor. That's a career robbed by injuries and that could happen to anyone. At least I don't consider that to be a floor.

I guess I see "floor" as "worst case scenario", and with Bynum already having a major injury (which took much longer to heal than anticipated) I'm not ready to declare him a perennial anything.

[screwedupmaniac]

His floor is a top 5 center and perennial All-Star for the next 12 years. He's already the second most important player on what will be a 60+ win basketball team next season.

Come on, Who.  Enough hyperbole.  His floor is Sam Bowie, an intriguing prospect whose career is sidetracked by injuries.  Let's not put this kid in the Hall of Fame yet.

At age 20, his "floor" is a perennial all-star?  No.

That's not really a floor. That's a career robbed by injuries and that could happen to anyone. At least I don't consider that to be a floor.

I guess I see "floor" as "worst case scenario", and with Bynum already having a major injury (which took much longer to heal than anticipated) I'm not ready to declare him a perennial anything.

i agree, a big man with a lot of promise goes down with a big time knee injury. how many times have we seen this before? granted, amare came back fine for the time being, but how often does that happen?

[Who]

His floor is a top 5 center and perennial All-Star for the next 12 years. He's already the second most important player on what will be a 60+ win basketball team next season.

Come on, Who.  Enough hyperbole. 

I think there's three centers in the NBA who are clearly beyond everyone else - Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming.

Here's the list of several other centers - Chandler, Dalembert, Shaq, Okafor, Camby, Kaman, Bogut, Curry, Brad Miller, Okur, Haywood, Perkins.

I thought Andrew Bynum was better than everyone on that second list last season. I think he's a Top 5 Center in the league right now. He's already that good and he's going to get better. He's only young and he's going to be very good for a long time.

[Jon]

Lakers fans want something interesting?  Here's something interesting, I think the Lakers won't improve with Bynum and may actually get worse? 

Sound crazy?  Not really.  It actually makes quite a bit of sense when you think about the way the Lakers are constructed and how their high powered offense actually functions. 

The problem with their current construction is their frontline.  On paper, it sounds nice, three 6-10+ guys who all have decent hoops skills.  But think about the way they play.  Gasol and Bynum both get all their points down low and Odom doesn't possess a good 3 pt. shot and gets most of his points 15 feet and closer to the basket.  That's really going to make it very easy for good defensive teams to pack the lane on these guys.  Now extend that to Kobe.  If his frontline can't spread the floor, how is he ever going to drive to the basket?  Look for Kobe to have issues getting to the lane with such a lineup on the floor, as he not only runs into the opposition, but also his own players. 

As much as I think Radmanovic is a soft wimp, I think we're really going to see the Lakers miss him playing with the starters strictly because of his ability to spread the floor.