[Hacksaw]

Well said HS, agree with everything you said, don't know about cap hell, Kupchak was trained by the Master, Jerry West, & we will come out of this draft with 3 pretty high picks, one of them a center that is still growing...Next year will be interesting indeed...
The NBA draft is in a week or 2, so we'll see said the blind man.......

.........as he fell of the cliff with his hammer, nails and saw.

Don't get me wrong I believe in Mitch and his Guido approach to negotiations. He's a tougher negotiator that JW. But Mitch is not Jerry West when it comes to talent evaluation. Example, look at the team JW just built that won the NBA title in Oakland. We need him back but alas it will never happen. Phil Jackson ran him off and the Buss' supported it.

Losing the other Jerry, Jerry Buss, is bigger than just any owner dying. His impact on the league made for a unique relationship with the top brass of the NBA. Jerry Buss' vision of the 'Showtime' style, Laker Girls dancers, Dancing Barry mascot, 'I Love LA' theme song, etc, we're all innovative and very marketable which raised the bar for every other team in the NBA. The league owes(ed) the Lakers (v Celtic) rivalry in the 80's a huge pat on the back for resuscitating a failing league. When Jerry Buss passed not only did we lose all of that clout / respect but we lost his IQ and acumen for making bold solid decisions. And I thought we'd never find a better owner than Jack Kent Cook. lol

Left in the wake of the Chris Paul debacle and the D12 pussification process (not to mention Kobe's hammy) is Jim Buss who's saddled with a much tougher deal. He has to live up to Laker fan team expectations but more so live up to his father in the eyes of those fans but also those of the league brass, other owners and more importantly free agent players who now question if the Lakers are really still those same Lakers.

The Clippings recent dominance in the LA market reminds me a little of the 80's when the Raiders won the Superbowl in LA and stole some of the Rams market share. Some Lakers fans are watching the Clip's (mostly because the Lakers have been unwatchable while in tank mode) but I sincerely believe that they will return when the new Lakers develop into a winning product again.

Our high draft positions and the return of Randall, KB24 the emergence of Clarkson and a few good players going to the bench deepens the team and raises the talent level over all significantly. Being rid of Nash's albatross deal is also liberating and will help us to keep building going forward.
We might be down now and the future doesn't seem as sure a thing as before, but the purple and gold dominance is still etched into every basketball fan, player and executives sub-consciousness and I truly believe the Lakers will return to glory under the new J Buss in town. And I don't mean Jeannie.

[Rams Dominate]

Well said & well thought out HS & gotta agree with your assessment, like you I'll never understand Jerry West getting away...Forget who said it but some basketball guru I respect said of Jerry West, "He could've made the HOF as a General Manager", I've never heard anyone dispute that either...
Nice post...

[snackdaddy]

Its hard to imagine the Lakers being where they are when they've been such a dominant franchise for so long. The new CBA is designed to prevent teams like the Lakers to just outspend other teams to lure the better free agents. Its called parity. It worked for the NFL. But is the NBA ready for teams like the Pelicans, Hawks, Timberwolves or Bucks to become champions? Its entirely possible down the road. The Lakers made a lot of money for the NBA. They, along with the Celtics put the NBA back on the map in the 80's. The Magic/Bird rivalry was what brought a lot of interest to the league. After Kobe's gone Lebron is the only true superstar left. Can guys like Curry maintain their play for a long time?

[Rams Dominate]

I've done a lot of travelling & blow my teams horn wherever I am & I can't remember anywhere I've been in this country that was devoid of Lakers fans, they're everywhere...The Bird/Magic rivalry & Showtime era, IMO, put the NBA back on the map...I can't remember the Showtime Lakers not having a standing room only crowd if they happened to be on TV either, you just knew Magic was gonna do something special...I used to go to Lakers/Warriors games in the Bay Area 4-5 times a year & the Lakers fans always outnumbered the locals...For instance the ratings for this just concluded Championship generated little interest even here in the Bay Area & Its kind of a media blitz trying to make it seem like it was a big deal...For instance where I live is a Lakers town, purple & gold everywhere, no ones talking about the Warriors Championship...

[moklerman]

I still don't understand the free pass that Kobe gets. He's a part of the reason for this down cycle for the Lakers. Forcing the Lakers to choose instead of playing nice with Shaq still sticks in my craw. For all the talk of Kobe being all about championships, he sure didn't show it when that's what it was all about. He, in his mind, wasn't getting enough credit for the Lakers championships so he first pouted and tanked a playoff game and then forced the Lakers to blow it all up. Personally, I can't forgive that and IMO, that's his true nature.

Jerry Buss getting old and then dying is definitely the biggest problem the Lakers have had to deal with though. The two sons seem like idiots to me and causing Jenny(and tangentially, Phil) to walk out the door is what's wrong with the Lakers. I didn't realize Phil led to West leaving though. I'd always wondered what happened there but more than anything else, losing West is a curse that will long haunt the Lakers IMO. That guy should have been a Laker for life.

[Hacksaw]

I still don't understand the free pass that Kobe gets. He's a part of the reason for this down cycle for the Lakers. Forcing the Lakers to choose instead of playing nice with Shaq still sticks in my craw. For all the talk of Kobe being all about championships, he sure didn't show it when that's what it was all about. He, in his mind, wasn't getting enough credit for the Lakers championships so he first pouted and tanked a playoff game and then forced the Lakers to blow it all up. Personally, I can't forgive that and IMO, that's his true nature.

Jerry Buss getting old and then dying is definitely the biggest problem the Lakers have had to deal with though. The two sons seem like idiots to me and causing Jenny(and tangentially, Phil) to walk out the door is what's wrong with the Lakers. I didn't realize Phil led to West leaving though. I'd always wondered what happened there but more than anything else, losing West is a curse that will long haunt the Lakers IMO. That guy should have been a Laker for life.

Kobe is a dick. His bloated contract is hand fisting us now. He needs to hang em up but the Lakers org is to classy to put him out to pasture.
Phil always wanted Wests job. Gentleman Jerry said his retirement was due to mental fatigue after negotiating the Shaq deal (which in some part is true). It was later released that PJ wanted West's job as he was nearing the end of his coaching career. The Lakers didn't turn Phil back as he was doing such a great job on the bench so they backed Phil. West didn't like that and retired only to un-retire in GS.


Fun Fact. For those who don't know, Jerry West is the "LOGO" of the NBA..

[moklerman]

Knew about the logo as it's been mentioned a gazillion times in the last few years. Seems to be the media's favorite bit of trivia. Thanks though.

That's disappointing to hear about Phil essentially pushing West out the door. I guess that dynasty just wasn't meant to be. Between Jackson/West and Kobe/Shaq, no way to keep it all together. Seems so easy to suggest checking one's ego at the door but I guess those guys wouldn't be who they were without their egos.

A note on West, don't forget he went to Memphis and got them into the playoffs before signing with Golden State.

[Hacksaw]

A note on West, don't forget he went to Memphis and got them into the playoffs before signing with Golden State.

JW is one of the best talent evaluators in the business. logo was a huge loss for the Lakers.
Hopefully Mitch can bring them back up in this new era and new CBA.

[Rams Dominate]

I still don't understand the free pass that Kobe gets. He's a part of the reason for this down cycle for the Lakers. Forcing the Lakers to choose instead of playing nice with Shaq still sticks in my craw. For all the talk of Kobe being all about championships, he sure didn't show it when that's what it was all about. He, in his mind, wasn't getting enough credit for the Lakers championships so he first pouted and tanked a playoff game and then forced the Lakers to blow it all up. Personally, I can't forgive that and IMO, that's his true nature.

Jerry Buss getting old and then dying is definitely the biggest problem the Lakers have had to deal with though. The two sons seem like idiots to me and causing Jenny(and tangentially, Phil) to walk out the door is what's wrong with the Lakers. I didn't realize Phil led to West leaving though. I'd always wondered what happened there but more than anything else, losing West is a curse that will long haunt the Lakers IMO. That guy should have been a Laker for life.

I too knew about JW being the "Ghost" dribbler HS...
I have a lot of respect for you "moklerman", but I'm just not understanding this "Kobe getting a free pass" thing & "tanking in the playoffs", this is the 1st time I've ever heard that said...What do you mean playing nice with Shaq ? Shaq publically, well in a nightclub rant publically, said some things that Kobe could do to him personally, referring to a sexual act, that's unprintable...I understand ego's to a point but to belittle a teammate like Shaq did, to me is out of bounds...When Jerry West drafted Kobe it was to get another scorer on the team to take some of the pressure off of Shaq, plus the fact that Shaq took himself out of the 4th quarter many times due to his inability to make a free throw...When Kobe was a young man, plus having a father that played in the NBA, I would imagine he was trying to establish his own identity & Shaq had a mammoth ego of his own & from what I saw & read he publically let the world know he didn't like Kobe nor did he want to play with him...This is the guy West made sure became a Laker (KOBE) & here was a veteran Superstar (LGC) "Last Great Center"& Shaq reminded people of daily how much he didn't want to play with him ...I just don't see how this is Kobe's fault without giving any ownership to Shaq, there were 2 people in this deal & their names weren't Kobe & Kobe, Kobe AND Shaq is more like it...

[moklerman]

Maybe it was Shaq that caused the problems, but I don't remember it that way. Kobe wanted the Lakers to be "his team" and was causing problems. You don't remember the playoff game where Kobe refused to take a shot in the first half? He was being criticized in the media at the time for not spreading the ball around and taking too many shots so he decided to not take ANY shots.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not absolving Shaq of poor behavior or of having an attitude, but I don't think the Lakers were torn apart because of him.