So I’m trolling the Internet looking for Lakers information when lo and behold what do I find, this great video on our favorite shooter, the Machine aka Sasha Vujacic (or as I like to call him Cic).  I actually found it on Lakersground.net.  It was posted by a member there, who found it on Yahoo Sport’s Ball Don’t Lie Sports Blog.  It’s actually made by a couple of guys from Lakers-Fan.com, another great blog on everything Lakers with tons of other “Machine” videos. In any case, I thought it was hilarious and I thought you would too. Check it out and let me know what you think by posting your comments below. Enjoy!

Sasha Vujacic officially signed his three year contract with the Lakers today.  Currently, the Lakers have eleven players under contract and are expected to fill out the complete roster before the start of the season.  However, the core of the team has now been established and any roster fillers acquired by training camp will likely see little to no time on the court.  With this in mind, the Lakers depth chart with the eleven signed players for the 2008-09 campaign will most likely look like this:

PG - Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar

SG - Kobe Bryant, Sasha Vujacic

SF - Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmanovic

PF - Pau Gasol, Luke Walton

C - Andrew Bynum, Chris Mihm

I assigned each player to their respective position based on where they have played historically and where I think they will play the bulk of their minutes next season.  Based on this depth chart there are some glaring issues with depth in certain positions, particularly small forward and power forward.  However, this is offset by the ability of some players to play multiple positions.  For example, last year Coach Jackson typically played Odom at power forward while Gasol played center.  Naturally, however, Odom is a small forward and Gasol plays power forward.  With the addition of Andrew Bynum to the starting line up both players will most likely move down to their natural positions. 

While this displacement of players was a foreseeable outcome of Bynum’s return, it has created a logjam at the small forward position where Odom, Radmanovic, Ariza, and Walton all naturally play.  Last season all of these players with the exception of Ariza (who was injured a majority of the season) played out of position.  In many instances, Walton and Radmanovic were forced to play minutes at power forward when the second team was inserted into the game or when Coach Jackson wanted a quicker unit on the floor.  While Radmanovic languished in this position due to his lack of toughness, Walton flourished with his ability to take larger, slower defenders off the dribble and fight off opposing players from establishing post position.  It will certainly be interesting to see how Jackson decides to play things.

If the Lakers continue to have troubles with defense and shooting, a mid-season trade will definitely be made with one or more of the forwards being dealt.  Most likely Odom (who has the most trade value), with Radmanovic and Walton not far behind.  Hopefully, this will not be the case as I like the current team as configured.  But, what do you think?  Do the Lakers have the needed depth and versatility they need?  Are any of the small forwards consistent enough from the outside to pose a threat and space the floor for Gasol and Bynum to work?  Do the Lakers need another natural power forward?  With an injury prone front court are the Lakers taking a chance by relying on Mihm to play big backup minutes?  Let me know your thoughts by posting them below.

Thanks for reading and Go Lakers!

Rumors have been flying around that the Lakers have put in an offer for the disgruntled Atlanta Hawks star Josh Smith.  According to Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Smith is considering offers from two teams.  Supposedly, one of the teams is a Western Conference power and the other is an Eastern Conference big dog.  This of course could amount to a number of teams in the Western Conference, however, Travis Heath of Hoopsworld believes the Western Conference power Sekou Smith maybe referring to is our very own Lakers.  Heath’s article suggests the Lakers are rumored to be offering Lamar Odom in exchange for the 6′9″ forward Smith and guard Speedy Claxton.  Claxton will be added in order to match salaries, as Odom’s contract is worth $14 M to Smith’s $10 M.  I have included a link to the article for you to review here.

Link

Personally, I highly doubt the Lakers are offering Smith for Odom and I wouldn’t hold my breath for this one to go through. This would be an interesting move and I believe Smith would be a nice addition to the team considering his shot blocking prowess and athleticism. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Smith running down the lane on a fast break and tomahawking it as he does in the video clip. But, for now let’s just think of this rumor as another Lakers fan’s pipe dream.

In other news, Kobe was recently on Best Damned Sports Show Period (BDSSP) with Gary Payton talking about a variety of topics, from the Olympics to playing against Gary Payton. It was a very entertaining interview to watch and I have included a link for your enjoyment as well.

Link<a href=”Best Damn Sports Show Period - 7/24 - Kobe Bryant Interview“>

Please feel free to post your comments below. Thanks for reading and Go Lakers!

The wait is over!  I guess the threat of Cic going to Europe was enough to push Kupchak into making him a legitimate offer (well at least an amount Cic would sign for).  Sasha will sign for three years and an estimated $15 M, which is a little more per year than what Ronny Turiaf received from Golden State.  This was expected of course as Cic was assumed to be the more coveted of the two restricted free agents.  Well, in any case the Lakers finally got something done this off season and it will cost them too.  I’m just glad I don’t have to sign his paycheck and pay the dollar for dollar luxury tax Mr. Buss is now liable for.  Lucky for him they raised ticket prices.  Is the Machine worth it though?  The Lakers rewarded Luke Walton a big contract after a ”breakout” season and look what happened to him.  Will the same thing happen to the Machine?  What’s your take on the whole deal?  Post your comments below.

Go Lakers!

My apologies for the lack of posts in the last couple of days, but it definitely has been a slow week for the Lakers.  I guess Mitch has decided that this off season, “mum” will be the word as nary a peep has been heard from Lakerland.  More importantly, no news has come in regards to our favorite shooter, not “Our Favorite Martian,” The Machine, aka Sasha Vujacic.  As Mitch has stated before, the team’s priority this off season was to re-sign restricted free agents Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic. 

Now as we all know, the team has already failed at 50% of this task, with Ronny heading off to Golden State with an unmatched offer sheet.   This also leaves us with the remaining 50% of the task, which is re-signing Sasha or as I like to call him, Cic.  Unfortunately for The Machine, no offer sheets have come from any of the other 30 teams in the NBA.  Understandably, Sasha is upset that he and the Lakers have not come to terms in regards to offering him an extension (or so I’ve heard from sources close to members of the Lakers’ organization).  Apparently, The Machine believes his value is much higher than the Lakers are prepared to offer, yet because he has no offers from other teams Sasha has no justification for asking for the kind of money he wants.  Sasha has said before that the Lakers are his first choice in destination, but if push comes to shove he understands that basketball is a business and he will look out for his own best interests, leaving him in a quandary.  

In comes Josh Childress. 

Although he is not the first NBA player to jump ship and leave the NBA to play elsewhere internationally, he is the most high profile player to do so.  For most people, Childress was simply a bench player that left for more money.  However, what many people don’t know is that Childress is a total basketball stud.  He was a McDonald’s All-American in 2001.  In 2004, as a junior out of Stanford, he was the Pac-10 Player of the Year and college All-American.  He was drafted 6th overall in 2004 and as the first man off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks, Childress averaged 11 ppg, 6 rpg, shot the ball at a respectable 52.2%, and played approximately 32 minutes a game for his career.  Solid numbers for any player.  Unlike many other highly touted players that held similar achievements out of college, played in the NBA and then moved overseas (e.g. Trajan Langdon, Ed O’Bannon, etc.), Childress was actually a successful NBA player with a bright future in the league.  Yet, he still signed with Olympiacos B.C. and left the NBA to play in Greece.  So what gives? 

International players know that even though the NBA is the highest stage of basketball competition and fame, nowadays the same money and glory can be had at home or in other international markets.  If you look back 20 years ago, to the days of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Oscar Schmidt the same could not be said.  The international game was far behind and the best basketball and the biggest money was in the U.S., playing in the NBA.  Those days are long gone now and the parity in talent seen in the Olympics and argued by pundits frequently all over the world, since the U.S. started losing in international competitions, is that the U.S. isn’t the only place that competes at a high level and has athletes that get paid in the millions.  This is why players like Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa, and Tiago Splitter have spurned their contracts with the NBA and their respective teams and have either returned to their international teams or simply stayed put.  In Asian countries such as China and especially in European countries such as Spain, Russia, and now Greece, teams have been successful at wooing “imports” to come play on their teams for big money.  Childress has just reinforced these ideals by deciding to play internationally, which brings us full circle to the topic I mentioned earlier, re-signing Cic.

Childress signed a guaranteed contract with Olympiacos for three years and $20 M after taxes.  He also has opt out eligibility at the end of each year of his contract, which is something that no other NBA team offers.  Now if you were Sasha Vujacic with a minimum qualifying contract with the Lakers ($2.7 M for one year), no other offers from NBA teams, and four quality offers from European teams interested in your services what would you do?  If you are like me you would seriously have to consider leaving the U.S. and playing overseas.  Not to mention as a former European player Cic would feel right at home playing back in Europe.  It seems the only thing to stop him would be the chance to win an NBA Championship, but with the Dollar weakening, the Euro strengthening and teams offering bigger money than the U.S. it may be the right thing to do.  In any case, I just hope he figures out soon, so we aren’t left wondering what’s happening wth our team.

Let me know what you think by posting your thoughts below.  Thanks for reading and Go LAKERS!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to break this story.  Adam Rose of the Los Angeles Times’ USC and UCLA blog broke this story and I’m sooooo jealous right now.  Basically, he sat in on one of the audition days for Laker Girl tryouts.  Apparently, he got to sit and watch 500 beautiful dancers try out for one of twenty spots on the team AND TAKE PICTURES!  How lucky can you get?  I guess I’m just going to have to wait for this blog to get popular enough for me to earn press credentials.  I hope it happens by next year because I don’t want to miss out on the next tryout.  But enough about me, if you want to see the entire post click on the link below.  Lucky for you he’s got a ton of pics for you to check out for yourself.  Have fun!

Link

As most people expected the Lakers did not match Golden State’s offer to Ronny Turiaf. Turiaf had a great run with the Lakers and his high energy play and sideline dancing will sorely be missed. I wonder if he will be in any other Kobe Bryant commercials? In any case, here’s a tribute to Ronny…

In other news, Luke Walton had successful surgery on his right ankle today. Luke is expected to make a full recovery by the start of training camp.

Link

Jordan Farmar is headed to the Middle East to promote peace and goodwill between Israelis and Palestinians through basketball. Israel and Palestine have been fighting over land in the region for decades and Farmar is hoping to foster relations between the sides by running a basketball camp open to the children of both Palestine and Israel. He hopes that through teamwork and fun, a foundation of friendship can be laid down for the future. I’m glad to see Farmar using his success and fame for the betterment of others. I hope he is successful in his endeavors.

Link

Finally, Andrew Bynum is expected to make a full recovery from his knee injury suffered this past season and subsequent surgery to repair his knee during the playoffs. According to reports, Bynum’s therapist has expanded his workout regimen to include light on court workouts.

“The reports are very positive,” Kupchak said. “Everything is upbeat. We expect Andrew to be able to go full steam, full bore by training camp.”

Please post any comments you have regarding any of these topics below. Thanks for reading and Go Lakers!

With the off season in full swing and little news from Lakerland these past few days, I have comprised a list of the top ten things to do while waiting for the upcoming season. Here are my top ten:

10. Pull out all of your old copies of games and videos (like the 2002 Championship DVD) watch them and build your own highlight reel of your favorite plays, then post it on YouTube.

9. Go to Vegas, watch the NBA Summer Pro League in person and complain out loud why the Lakers couldn’t pick up ______________ who is lighting them up right now.

8. Sneak into the Lakers El Segundo training facility to see who’s actually working out, then try out the Zero Gravity running machine yourself.

7. Start your own off season training program trying to gain 20 pounds of muscle like Kobe did in 2003 or lose 20 pounds like Kobe did in 2007.

6. Search through all of the celebrity gossip sites making sure that none of the Lakers got caught doing something stupid, like throwing someone’s birthday cake around.

5. Hang out at all the clubs and bars known to be frequent Laker hang outs and wait for one of them to come in, then when you see a Laker come in tell him to go home and practice some jumpshots.

4. Go on EBay and shop around for some Laker stuff.

3. Go to the Team LA Store and buy every Laker item on sale.

2. Take a trip out to Boston and tour the city in a wheelchair marked Paul Pierce and when someone asks tell them you bought it off Craigslist.

and finally….

1. Visit all of your favorite Laker websites (i.e. gamedayla.com, lakersground.net, clublakers.com, etc.) and post as many comments about the Lakers as you can!

Let me know what your top ten things to do in the off season are by posting your comments below. Go Lakers!

ESPN will officially air the ESPYs on July 20th, but that doesn’t stop us from having some of the latest info from the “Academy Awards” of the sports’ world. The ESPYs were actually filmed yesterday, July 16th in Downtown Los Angeles at the Nokia Live Ampitheater right across from the Staples Center, and a plethora of celebs and the who’s who of sports were in attendance. Two of the Lakers’ very own, Lakers’ scout and Defenders’ Assistant General Manager Bonnie-Jill Laflin accompanied by football hall of famer Jerry Rice (who are rumored to be developing their own show on ESPN) and Derek Fisher accompanied by his wife Candace Fisher, walked the red carpet and partook in the night’s festivities.

Bonnie-Jill Laflin and Jerry Rice

Derek Fisher and Candace Fisher

It was a promising night for Lakers’ fans as hometown hero Kobe Bryant was nominated for both Best Male Athlete of the Year and Best NBA Player. 

***Spoiler Alert***
Unfortunately for Kobe, Tiger Woods received the award for Best Male Athlete.  As far as Best NBA Player goes, you will have to watch the ESPYs on Sunday to find out. 

Kobe should win every athletic achievement if you ask me, but what do I know.  I’m the least objective person in the world when it comes to the Lakers.  Let me know what your thoughts are on this subject by commenting below.  Thanks for reading and GO LAKERS!

Luke is not doing himself any favors by waiting such a long time to have surgery done on his ankle.  With a six week turnaround time (assuming everything proceeds smoothly) he will have little time to work on his game in the off season.  And we all know he needs to work on his game.  The bright side of this means Trevor Ariza should likely get more minutes, especially if Luke continues to underperform.  Let’s hope Ariza can step in and add some needed athleticism to the team.

Another guy not helping his own cause is Sasha Vujacic.  According to the OC Register Sasha has been busy switching back between agents Rob Pelinka and Bill Duff.  No wonder he hasn’t received any offers, teams don’t know where to send their offer sheets to.  If I was Sasha I would just relax and wait.  In the worst case scenario he will play for the Lakers for one season at $2.6 M, giving him one more chance to prove what he is actually worth.  Good luck Sasha!

Link to article

Is anyone surprised that the Lakers haven’t made ANY moves yet?  I certainly am considering the Clippers picked up Marcus Camby for a second round draft pick.  Let me know what you think.  Post your comments below.