ESPN: Howard to Lakers - Done Deal

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Again why people continue act like the Lakers need a great bench is beyond me. They've got by far and away the best starting lineup in the league with Nash, Kobe, World Peace, Pau, and Dwight. When your starting lineup is that good you don't a great bench just a solid one which we certaintly have.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Again why people continue act like the Lakers need a great bench is beyond me. They've got by far and away the best starting lineup in the league with Nash, Kobe, World Peace, Pau, and Dwight. When your starting lineup is that good you don't a great bench just a solid one which we certaintly have.

Probably because people here understand basketball, and on any great basketball team that you expect to make a deep run into the postseason, you're going to need to get quality production from some of your bench players for stretches. This is especially true when your starting lineup is full of old men. You have Kobe who's 33 and has the wear and tear of a guy in his late 30's. Nash is 38, Artest and Gasol are 32 and Artest has been playing less and less the past 3 seasons and was awful last year shooting the ball, and especially from threeland. With an older starting lineup, you're most certainly going to have injuries throughout the season and your bench is going to have to step up. The likelihood of winning a championship without some kind quality depth is very slim with a starting lineup this old.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Exactly. You'll get 10 minutes a night from him. Expect anything more, and you're going to be sadly mistaken.

It may be 10 minutes or it may be more. It will depend on exactly how many minutes they want Kobe logging on a regular basis. If it's 10 minutes, that's fine. It will be whatever is required and that is certainly better then not having anybody on the bench to step in and fill that role.

It seems to me that you are the only one who is sad about this. I like the signing. It fills a much needed role on the team and it helps us get younger. That would seem to be a positive move to me.

 

[jterrell]

Probably because people here understand basketball, and on any great basketball team that you expect to make a deep run into the postseason, you're going to need to get quality production from some of your bench players for stretches. This is especially true when your starting lineup is full of old men. You have Kobe who's 33 and has the wear and tear of a guy in his late 30's. Nash is 38, Artest and Gasol are 32 and Artest has been playing less and less the past 3 seasons and was awful last year shooting the ball, and especially from threeland. With an older starting lineup, you're most certainly going to have injuries throughout the season and your bench is going to have to step up. The likelihood of winning a championship without some kind quality depth is very slim with a starting lineup this old.

it also doesnt help when you have 32 and 33 year olds playing international ball all off-season. the wear and tear is very real. it is why so many have not played internationally the past decade plus.

the lakers bench isn't average or middling, it is about as bad as it gets in all of basketball.

the lakers have a good team for sure, but they do not have lebron or durant.

i would easily take the okc starting 5 over the lakers and quite possibly the heat as well.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

where to begin...

Nash did take less money to go to LA, but just ask him; he isn't giving out discounts. he played in PHX on terrible teams of late, he'll definitely ride out a final season in LA. Would he accept a trade? Sure, but what team will pay 9m for a 41 year old Nash? Nash is there for 3 years.

The question is, if LA is not competitive (and lets be honest, the chances of that are minimal) would he choose to play out his contract, would he retire or would he push a trade? I can see all of those things happening but really, the risk is low. The fact is that L.A. is going to be in contention for a championship for the next two to three years and there is really nobody you can find in the basketball world that does not agree with that. Would Nash retire? He might do that if he is not having fun. He has plenty of money and so, if he retires, the Lakers owe him nothing. Money is not the kicker here. Keep in mind that he didn't just take less money, he took a lot less money to play in L.A. as in over three million dollars a season less. He also elected to play in L.A. as opposed to his home country. Who might offer him at 41? Toronto might offer him at 41 because they do want him bad.

age matters. this group has a short window because literally every decent player is old. dh is in his prime but injured. the rest of the guys are old. old guys get hurt. old guys need rest. the lakers have no bench and a need for health.

Age only matters if they can not get it done. I don't agree that the Lakers have no bench. They do have a bench. You have Blake and Duhon at PG. You have Goudelock, Meeks and Johnson-Odom at SG, you have Ebanks and Jamison at SF. You have Clark at PF and you have Sacre and Hill at Center. You look at the bench and all of these guys play two positions, for the most part. It's not a name bench but they do have a bench.

kobe will play until he doesn't. will he retire in 2 years? i doubt it considering he loves basketball as much now as he ever has. but again even if he does the lakers arent all of a sudden in great cap space.

Kobe does not know how long he will play. He has only said that he will play as long as he can still play at a high level. Is that 2 years or 4? I don't know, nobody does. However, Kobe is only signed for two more seasons, I believe, and that includes this year. After the 2013/2014 season, Kobe is an FA and the Lakers free up almost 35 Million in salary and incentives so yeah, it is a lot of cap. In fact, nobody on the Laker roster is signed for longer then 2013/2014 except Nash and that is for 9M. Everybody else is an FA after this season or next. Now, obviously the Lakers are going to try and sign Howard to a long term deal and there might be some others but to perfectly honest, you could not be more wrong in regards to how the Lakers will be sitting in 2 years as far as cap goes. They will be looking at FAs like CP3 and others and they will be able to afford it. As of now, I believe that the salary expenditure for 2013/14 sits at just over 78M but that includes a 7.7M option on MWP. The Lakers will have to sign Howard so lets say 20M per season is added, that still puts them under the Cap number they currently have and they could easily structure a deal that allows them to cut next years number in half for Howard and load it back into future years because they seriously have only 9M in Salary on the books for 2014/15. They are really in great shape and can pretty much do whatever they want.

actually it is a hard cap now in many ways. but to clarify how much cap comes off the books means absolutely zero. how much you have on the books matter. and having over 30m in just dh and nash will tie up the cap. even if you renounce rights and jettison other guys you get charged for roster spots.

As I have already explained, you are incorrect here. Yeah, they have Nash and Howard but that's it. There is no hard cap. There is a luxury tax if you exceed the Cap but there is no hard cap in the NBA. Because the Lakers have a unique and exclusive rights deal in L.A., they make plenty of money to exceed the Cap and pay the LT. It comes down to if the own wants to win more championships or if the owners wants to put more money in their respective pockets.

no one cares whether the lakers pay luxury taxes or not accept their owner. being over the cap limits how you can add players or how you can make trades starting this year however. for instance they can't sign and trade dh if they want to. they get 1 exception to add players but after that are stuck at vet minimums. so they'll have no way to add a player making over 4m next year.

That's true but it does not prevent you from adding players or making trades. The Lakers have been over the cap for years yet they have traded for Gasol, Nash and Howard. Clearly, exceeding the cap does not prevent a team from acquiring talent. Ultimately, because of what I have already explained, it is of little consequence as the Lakers are going to have massive salaries coming off the books in the next two years.

the lakers are clearly built to win now. they are also built to strip down in a couple years. they may pay luxury taxes but we'll see if any owners really want to pay those penalties for being over 4 years a row. paying 250m in luxury taxes is not going to be much fun for any owner.

If they are competitive, there Ownership will make this up and more in TV rights and merchandise sales. If they win, forget about it. It will be well worth the LT penalty.

also i mistakenly listed nash as an amnesty possibility. he is not because he signed after the agreement. there are no players the lakers can amnesty to free up cap space in 2 years. so they really just won't have any. they are stuck with this core and any vet min free agents they can attract.

Because of what has been explained above, I don't really see this being an issue.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Looks like Dwight has already started working out.

 

[casmith07]

Again why people continue act like the Lakers need a great bench is beyond me. They've got by far and away the best starting lineup in the league with Nash, Kobe, World Peace, Pau, and Dwight. When your starting lineup is that good you don't a great bench just a solid one which we certaintly have.

Unless you're playing the San Antonio Spurs, nobody needs a great bench in the NBA.

Nor does anyone HAVE a great bench.

 

[casmith07]

Someday, you will turn the corner and realize that cheering for the most popular teams isnt the way to go.

We can only hope you'll turn that corner with the Dallas Cowboys and go somewhere else with the kind of attitude you've put on display here.

 

[juck]

We can only hope you'll turn that corner with the Dallas Cowboys and go somewhere else with the kind of attitude you've put on display here.

Rubbish:laugh2:

I was here long before u son.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Apparently Dwight was doing some basketball drills and running. So much for the he won't be back till December or January stuff.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

It may be 10 minutes or it may be more. It will depend on exactly how many minutes they want Kobe logging on a regular basis. If it's 10 minutes, that's fine. It will be whatever is required and that is certainly better then not having anybody on the bench to step in and fill that role.

It seems to me that you are the only one who is sad about this. I like the signing. It fills a much needed role on the team and it helps us get younger. That would seem to be a positive move to me.

Sad about it? lol i couldn't care less. Im a Sixers fan. Just trying to give you a heads up on what to expect from the guy. He can be an effective player if you give him like 10 minutes a night. Anything more and you're asking for trouble. He's simply not that good. That's all. Take it however you wish.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Sad about it? lol i couldn't care less. Im a Sixers fan. Just trying to give you a heads up on what to expect from the guy. He can be an effective player if you give him like 10 minutes a night. Anything more and you're asking for trouble. He's simply not that good. That's all. Take it however you wish.

I will admit I haven't seen Meeks play much. They rarely put Philly on TV so the only time I ever saw him was in the postseason or when they played the Lakers or Spurs. However he's not gonna play that much. About 15 mpg. All he has to do is hit open shots. One of the big four will be on the floor at all times so he should get open looks.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

I will admit I haven't seen Meeks play much. They rarely put Philly on TV so the only time I ever saw him was in the postseason or when they played the Lakers or Spurs. However he's not gonna play that much. About 15 mpg. All he has to do is hit open shots. One of the big four will be on the floor at all times so he should get open looks.

Thanks, coach.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Thanks, coach.

Your welcome.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Sad about it? lol i couldn't care less. Im a Sixers fan. Just trying to give you a heads up on what to expect from the guy. He can be an effective player if you give him like 10 minutes a night. Anything more and you're asking for trouble. He's simply not that good. That's all. Take it however you wish.

I've already told you how I would take this. He will server the purpose he was signed to fill. Was not I who got uptight over the description Tall and Rangy. That was you Roy. I don't even understand why you would take issue with that. The guy is a 6'4" 208 lbs guard with long arms. Tall and Rangy is exactly what he is. You don't like the guy, that's OK with me.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

The Lakers met with Dr. Robert Watkins on Friday, the surgeon who operated on Dwight Howard's back.

The procedure Howard had is called a "lumbar microdiscectomy," or a surgical removal of herniated disc fragments in the lower back. "We feel very assured he's going to be back," GM Mitch Kupchak said. "We're hopeful he's back for camp; we're hopeful he's back to start the season." The standard recovery time for Howard's procedure is six to seven months (he had surgery April 20), but Howard said that he'd be cleared for full contact "in four months," and that mark would be on August 20. By his own self-admission, Howard has not been cleared by doctors to resume on-court work, and while his status for opening night remains doubtful, his recovery timeframe clearly falls within the norm for this type of surgery. Aug 13 - 12:22 PM

Source: Rotoworld

 

[jterrell]

The question is, if LA is not competitive (and lets be honest, the chances of that are minimal) would he choose to play out his contract, would he retire or would he push a trade? I can see all of those things happening but really, the risk is low. The fact is that L.A. is going to be in contention for a championship for the next two to three years and there is really nobody you can find in the basketball world that does not agree with that. Would Nash retire? He might do that if he is not having fun. He has plenty of money and so, if he retires, the Lakers owe him nothing. Money is not the kicker here. Keep in mind that he didn't just take less money, he took a lot less money to play in L.A. as in over three million dollars a season less. He also elected to play in L.A. as opposed to his home country. Who might offer him at 41? Toronto might offer him at 41 because they do want him bad.



Age only matters if they can not get it done. I don't agree that the Lakers have no bench. They do have a bench. You have Blake and Duhon at PG. You have Goudelock, Meeks and Johnson-Odom at SG, you have Ebanks and Jamison at SF. You have Clark at PF and you have Sacre and Hill at Center. You look at the bench and all of these guys play two positions, for the most part. It's not a name bench but they do have a bench.



Kobe does not know how long he will play. He has only said that he will play as long as he can still play at a high level. Is that 2 years or 4? I don't know, nobody does. However, Kobe is only signed for two more seasons, I believe, and that includes this year. After the 2013/2014 season, Kobe is an FA and the Lakers free up almost 35 Million in salary and incentives so yeah, it is a lot of cap. In fact, nobody on the Laker roster is signed for longer then 2013/2014 except Nash and that is for 9M. Everybody else is an FA after this season or next. Now, obviously the Lakers are going to try and sign Howard to a long term deal and there might be some others but to perfectly honest, you could not be more wrong in regards to how the Lakers will be sitting in 2 years as far as cap goes. They will be looking at FAs like CP3 and others and they will be able to afford it. As of now, I believe that the salary expenditure for 2013/14 sits at just over 78M but that includes a 7.7M option on MWP. The Lakers will have to sign Howard so lets say 20M per season is added, that still puts them under the Cap number they currently have and they could easily structure a deal that allows them to cut next years number in half for Howard and load it back into future years because they seriously have only 9M in Salary on the books for 2014/15. They are really in great shape and can pretty much do whatever they want.




As I have already explained, you are incorrect here. Yeah, they have Nash and Howard but that's it. There is no hard cap. There is a luxury tax if you exceed the Cap but there is no hard cap in the NBA. Because the Lakers have a unique and exclusive rights deal in L.A., they make plenty of money to exceed the Cap and pay the LT. It comes down to if the own wants to win more championships or if the owners wants to put more money in their respective pockets.



That's true but it does not prevent you from adding players or making trades. The Lakers have been over the cap for years yet they have traded for Gasol, Nash and Howard. Clearly, exceeding the cap does not prevent a team from acquiring talent. Ultimately, because of what I have already explained, it is of little consequence as the Lakers are going to have massive salaries coming off the books in the next two years.



If they are competitive, there Ownership will make this up and more in TV rights and merchandise sales. If they win, forget about it. It will be well worth the LT penalty.



Because of what has been explained above, I don't really see this being an issue.

Bro, you need to read the new CBA. Being over the cap DOES preclude you from adding or trading for players now. The rules start as the season starts.
It is not business as usual starting next year. What you are saying is clearly wrong. Google Larry Coon and read his stuff. He breaks it down without any team bias or slant. Teams like the Nets, Knicks and Lakers are basically stuck with what players they have until they get under the cap again.

Also your Nash take makes zero logical sense and follows zero patterns of Nash behavior.

He isn't gonna retire and give away 9 million. He wants the cash as he has stated himself. He also wants to be near his kids in PHX. He played out his contract on bad PHX teams without asking for a trade so he wont start now. He values his quality of life and paycheck.

He is playing 3 years in LAL and taking up cap space for that time period.

 

[jterrell]

I've already told you how I would take this. He will server the purpose he was signed to fill. Was not I who got uptight over the description Tall and Rangy. That was you Roy. I don't even understand why you would take issue with that. The guy is a 6'4" 208 lbs guard with long arms. Tall and Rangy is exactly what he is. You don't like the guy, that's OK with me.

rofl. the guy sucks. only in la would some bum like this be described a filling a major role.

you laker homers are clearly delusional.

meeks avg'd 9 points a game as a STARTER on a team in need of offense; he'll be lucky to avg 5 points in LAL.

 

[casmith07]

rofl. the guy sucks. only in la would some bum like this be described a filling a major role.

you laker homers are clearly delusional.

meeks avg'd 9 points a game as a STARTER on a team in need of offense; he'll be lucky to avg 5 points in LAL.

Right. Because points per game is the only statistic that matters in basketball.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

I've already told you how I would take this. He will server the purpose he was signed to fill. Was not I who got uptight over the description Tall and Rangy. That was you Roy. I don't even understand why you would take issue with that. The guy is a 6'4" 208 lbs guard with long arms. Tall and Rangy is exactly what he is. You don't like the guy, that's OK with me.

The post wasn't directed at you. I was saying all im doing is giving my two cents on what the player is like based on what i've seen since he played for the tema i watch. That's really all. I don't like him or not like him. He's a run of the mill bench guy. Just trying to help Lakers fans know what to expect from him.