Tag Archives: Lamar Odom

Steve Nash And The Genius That Is Mitch Kupchak

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

The NBA was the first sports league I ever followed and the Lakers my first team, but with David Stern ripping Chris Paul away from us and the whole mess of the NBA lockout, I was pretty bitter about this NBA season (hence just the two NBA blog posts all season). This wasn’t helped by my recent acceptance that  Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference Finals was most likely fixed.

Finally, some big news has come that has me somewhat excited about the NBA again.

After the Chris Paul trade fell through in the pre-season, GM Mitch Kupchak was left scrambling to determine the direction that the team would take. Lamar Odom (just from the Mavericks to the Clippers) was so offended by the notion of being involved in the then collapsed Chris Paul trade, that he demanded to be moved. When Kupchak traded him to Dallas for a trade exception, fans were bewildered and bothered. We expected to get more for such a big piece.

A few months later, Kupchak moved fan favorite, Derek Fisher, for a no-name big man (Jordan Hill), and Ramon Sessions was brought in for Luke Walton, which seemed like nothing more than a booby prize after failing to land Chris Paul (although I was admittedly excited).

Things didn’t look spectacular, but now the real bounty from those moves has arrived. Using the money freed up by the Odom trade, Mitch Kupchak was able to complete a sign-and-trade to bring Steve Nash to Los Angeles. Sessions’ contract has expired (and he will not return) avoiding a logjam at the point guard position. Steve Blake will back up Steve Nash to go along with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum. The dust has settled and the strange moves last year, make a lot of sense.

Without Jackson’s triangle offense, a more dynamic point guard became necessary, and Mitch Kupchak was able to bring one to L.A. and get the most out of Kobe final few spectacular seasons. Kobe Bryant knows his window for championships (at least as the center piece) is closing, and he is determined to get another one (or two) before all is set and done. He went so far as to reach out to Steve Nash and explain why he’d be a good fit for the Lakers. Now we’ll get to see Bryant and Nash on the same team, along with two star big men. At the very least, they’ll be extremely competitive and fun to watch.

General Managers in professional sports play a huge role, and sometimes it can be understated. Let Mitch Kupchak’s role with the Lakers not be so, he is potentially the best GM in professional sports, whether the Lakers win a ring with Nash or not.

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Lakers Do The Unthinkable, Trade Fisher To Improve

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

This news hit like a punch in the gut. Uber fan favorite, Derek Fisher, is no longer a Laker. Mitch Kupchak, easily one of the most well-respected GMs in professional sports, separated himself from emotion to improve a Lakers team that has earned a deplorable 9-14 road record (18-2 at home).

The new collective bargaining agreement entails stiffer luxury tax rules. This played a role in the pre-season trade that sent Lamar Odom to Dallas. A continued need clear up cap space and the necessity of improving at point guard facilitated a flurry of trade deadline deals by the Los Angeles Lakers.

First, L.A. acquired a more effective point guard to lead the Lakers’ offense, bringing in Ramon Sessions in exchange for Luke Walton and a first round draft pick. Ramon Sessions averaged double-digit points and 5.2 assists per game in a backup role with Cleveland. Fisher was logging weaker numbers in a starting role. Fisher’s field goal percentage was under 40% as he averaged 5.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. Without Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, having a offensively potent point guard grew more essential, making Sessions a great fit. Luke Walton, was a played beautifully in the old triangle offense where his passing skills and basketball savvy were amplified, but he was not receiving any playing time and was stuck on Mike Brown’s bench. The Lakers ability to upgrade at point guard while off-loading Luke Walton’s hideous contract made this trade a big win for L.A.

Rumors held that they’d also complete a three team deal that would net Michael Beasley from Minnesota. Steve Blake was set to go back to Portland and the Timberwolves were to add Jamal Crawford. Unfortunately, the deal collapsed and they ended up moving Derek Fisher to Houston. Yahoo contributor, Steve Silverman, wasn’t impressed.

“Why did the Lakers trade Fisher to the Houston Rockets for 6-foot-10 forward Jordan Hill? Fisher is 37 and he is no longer at the top of his game. He’s a good player, but he’s not as effective as he had been. However, it’s mainly Jim Buss showing he is in control of the team and since he wants to get rid of unnecessary contracts, that’s what he is doing. This is primarily a salary dump.”

While Laker fans may be upset, hurt, and shocked, when the dust clears they’ll see how Kupchak strengthened the Lakers in both the short and long-term. Phil Jackson and the triangle offense are no more. While it is nice to reminisce of the days when Walton and Fisher were key contributors to championship teams, it’s time to move on and continue to work towards championship #18. The Lakers were able to move two ugly contracts (those of Luke Walton and Derek Fisher), upgrade at point guard, and get a little young talent to go with it. While Derek Fisher is my favorite NBA player and his autographed warm up jacket is my prized piece of sport memorabilia, I can’t fault Laker GM Mitch Kupchak for making these deadline moves. For more, check out ESPN’s perspective.

This has been a wild week for me with job interviews, a new car purchase, my favorite basketball player being traded, Andy Pettitte coming out of retirement to rejoin the Yankees, and of course March Madness. More blog posts to come.

As always, please subscribe to this blog by clicking the “Follow” button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don’t have a WordPress account, you’ll have to enter your email address. You can share your opinions in the comment section below or by tweeting to @Ryan_Kantor. Thanks for reading! 

NBA Commissioner Spurns Lakers, Crushes Hornets

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

The 27 teams uninvolved in the now infamous Chris Paul trade, vetoed by the commissioner, should have zero say so in the fate of the trade. Chris Paul was sent to the Lakers who had to part with beloved big man Pau Gasol and the versatile Lamar Odom. Gasol was routed to Houston, and the Hornets netted Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and draft picks from Houston to go with Lamar Odom coming from LA. The Hornets expect to lose Chris Paul after this offseason via free agency so receiving as much as they did was very impressive.

Small market owners are complaining that they can’t retain their star players, that they always bolt for the big market teams. The problem with that gripe is that there is a salary cap in the NBA. If you can’t keep your star player then it’s because you haven’t managed your salary cap as well as GM’s of the top teams like Mitch Kupchak from the Lakers. The size of the market is not related to their payroll. The complaint really has nothing to do with them being in big markets–there is a salary cap. Rather it has to do with punishing the well runs teams.

Three teams are hurt by this decision, and thus by rule the other 27 teams are lifted up, so of course they’re happy about it. The Hornets will find it very difficult to trade Chris Paul to another team. If the trade to LA was blocked and another was allowed, everyone would complain of conspiracy (and rightfully so). So now you have Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in the precarious position of going back to the team that just traded them away. Everyone in New Orleans now knows that Chris Paul wants to be a Laker, since he has threatened to sue the league and isn’t reporting to camp. All three teams involved in this trade are losers, unless of course you think the Lakers overpaid for Chris Paul and can just sign him after this season anyway.

All three teams involved are appealing, and I think there’s a great chance it will go through. This decision by Stern (urged by the same small market owners who prolonged the holdout) punishes well run teams, and is bad for the league.

I love Gasol, and as a Laker fan hate to see him leave, but on principle this trade should be allowed. The bright side for the Lakers is that if it goes through, they’ll have freed up enough cap to make a move for Dwight Howard, however the problem is that if they don’t get a big man and move both Gasol and Odom then they’ll quickly go from one of the longest teams in the NBA to one of the most shrimpy.

David Stern, do the right thing. Just as I often have to allow honest but lopsided trades to go through in my fantasy leagues, you’re going to have to let this one go.

As always, please subscribe to this blog by clicking the “Follow” button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don’t have a WordPress account, you’ll have to enter your email address. Thanks for reading!