**the official la lakers thread**

[extracurRICular]

Farmar to the Nets...........no worries......Fish and Blake got the point.....

Shannon still in limbo.........sure we would be nice to have him back....keeed is explosive off the bench....but not sure he wants that roll anymore....


Raja to the Lake show??? Kobe will meet with him tomorrow in LA to see if he is interesting in getting a ring with the Lakeshow....

Make it happen Raja......

[extracurRICular]

Wade says Lakers are the favoritesEmail Print Comments1038 Associated Press

DORAL, Fla. -- Dwyane Wade thinks there's a clear favorite for the 2011 NBA championship. No, it's not the Miami Heat.


“
The Lakers are the champions and we know the Lakers are very good. That's the team that everyone's shooting for and they should be. Not the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers.

”
-- Dwyane Wade

Even after Wade signed a new six-year deal and had LeBron James and Chris Bosh added to the Miami mix, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP says the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers should be the favorites heading into next season, simply because this Heat team hasn't proved anything yet.

"The Lakers are the champions and we know the Lakers are very good," Wade said Wednesday at a golf tournament he co-hosts with Alonzo Mourning. "That's the team that everyone's shooting for and they should be. Not the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers."

Oddsmakers in Las Vegas disagree, with some sports books establishing Miami -- a 20-1 pick before Wade, James and Bosh signed -- as an 8-5 choice to win next season's title.

Wade said he still can't believe Miami pulled off the coup of free agency, luring James and Bosh to join him. And he said he's proud not to be the highest-paid player on the Heat, with James and Bosh signing deals worth around $111 million, while Wade took about $107 million for the next six seasons.

Wade took less, in part, to ensure Miami had enough money to re-sign Udonis Haslem, his close friend and teammate for the last seven years.

"We got the big three," Wade said, "and now we've got to continue to build our team."

He credited James with successfully recruiting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who announced Tuesday that he'll leave Cleveland after more than a decade and sign with the Heat this week.

Wade expects free agent sharpshooter Mike Miller, who made 48 percent of his 3-pointers last season, to sign in the coming days. Miller agreed in principle several days ago to a deal that remains unsigned.

Plus, several players have contacted Wade to see if the Heat has space for them on the roster.

"The hard part is out of the way," Wade said. "Trust me, I get a lot of messages from a lot of different guys that want to be a part of this. But it's about putting the right guys in the right situation. Everyone might not have the personality to deal with this. It's got to be the right mix. The locker room has to be right. We've got to be patient to build this team."


Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

[street bully]

Sickens me how they don't mention the celtics. Newsflash the 2010 finals went seven games and it went down to the last second of play.

[extracurRICular]

Sickens me how they don't mention the celtics. Newsflash the 2010 finals went seven games and it went down to the last second of play.

I can dig that.....guess everyone is gonna count them out again....

[extracurRICular]

What Does Matt Barnes & Theo Ratliff to Lakers Mean for Shannon Brown?
By Hadarii Jones (Lakers Featured Columnist) on July 23, 2010 3,660
reads
5
comments
0
likes

Christian Petersen/Getty Images The Los Angeles Lakers announced they have signed free agents Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff— and while this move certainly improves the Lakers' size and depth, what does it mean for Shannon Brown?

The details on Barnes' and Ratliff's deals have yet to be finalized, but it looks a lot less likely Brown will receive the security and 4.8 million dollars he was asking for, and his options may be limited to a one year deal.

Judging by the performances of Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter in the NBA's summer league, their chances of making the roster are greatly improved, leaving just two roster spots open.

When the postseason ended and the Lakers were crowned repeat champions general manager Mitch Kupchak said his main priorities in the offseason were resigning Brown and Derek Fisher.

Fisher, after a brief flirtation with the Miami Heat resigned, but Brown's case has dragged on with no end in sight— if the two sides cannot agree to terms, trade possibilities need to be explored immediately.

Steve Blake's size and ability to move between the shooting guard and point guard position makes Brown less of a necessity as a ball-handler, and Barnes can easily spell Kobe Bryant at the shooting guard position if the need arises.

Unless Sasha Vujacic is traded he too will claim some of the minutes that may have gone to Brown, and now the player dubbed as "the human pogo" finds himself stuck in between a rock and a hard place.

Brown is not likely to receive the money he wants from the Lakers, and unlike former Laker Trevor Ariza, the demand for his services around the league doesn't appear great enough to create any type of leverage.

In reality, Brown's game has not advanced enough to be considered for the money he is asking, and although he is a competent ball-handler and a decent shooter he doesn't do either well enough to be a priority.

Brown does bring a high level of energy and athleticism off the bench, and the Lakers would miss his ability to incite the crowd with his rousing dunks. But Barnes and Blake are more polished in the fundamental aspects of the game.

I would hate to see Brown leave, I feel he could be a very solid player if his game progresses, but the NBA is a business and two-time world champions are focused on a third.

While Brown could assist the Lakers, his absence won't hurt their chances. From his perspective this has to be a bad thing, it gives the Lakers all the leverage in negotiations.

The best thing for Brown may be to accept whatever sum of money the Lakers offer him over the period of a season, and begin preparations for an attempt at his third career championship.

It may not be what Brown wants, but if he performs well next season he could set himself up for an even bigger payday. Besides, there are a lot of things that could be worse than competing for another championship

[extracurRICular]

Any one interested in starting "Bring Back Shannon.com"

[LEFT HOOK TITO]

**** the lakers and all their fans.

[extracurRICular]

**** the lakers and all their fans.

[LEFT HOOK TITO]

I got u to reply didnt I. LOL

take it easy I was just messin around.

[loui_ludwig]

I am suprised that the Lakers sign Ratliff and specially Barnes. This moved might have the Lakers preparing for a trade.