Thursday, July 14, 2005
Kwame Brown is unbelievably terrible... and the Lakers are trading for him.
Ask me who the best basketball team in Los Angeles is. Go ahead. Ask me. Yes, it's the Clippers. The Los Angeles Clippers. In one fell swoop, their signing of Cuttino Mobley yesterday vaulted the Clips to the top of the city and made them a viable playoff team while dealing perhaps irrepairable damage to the Lakers. I mean, seriously f'd 'em. How? Well, signing free agent sharp shooter Mobley meant Washington had to go looking elsewhere for a replacement for Larry Hughes. Which means Washington wouldn't be asking for Caron Butler if Mobley was still on the table. According to a Wizards source, that was the stipulation. But Mobley is with the Clips, so now the Lakers are taking on the complete and utter garbage that is Kwame Brown. I think I might kill someone.
Say it ain't so, Phil. Say it ain't so. Ah, but it seems it is so -- that the Lakers are making yet another blunder. I don't want to hear about how Kwame needs a change of scenery or that he's only 23. The facts are: He's a headcase. He's SOFT. He sucks! And he sure as hell won't pan out like Jermaine O'Neal did.
Phil has his work cut out for him here. Especially if Kwame - perhaps a bigger bust than Michael Olowakandi - can't take the heat from Kobe who is known for being tough on his teammates when they slack (It's what leaders do). Why didn't the Lakers deal Caron for somebody worth a damn? I would've been happy with a Stromile Swift or a Jamaal Magloire. Butler actually has worth. He's a good player! But to settle for this? This? This is a joke, right?
But why shit all over Kwame? Well, in his defense, he never should've been drafted number one overall in 2001 to begin with. He was a product of the big hype machine and leading up to the 2001 draft, a high school kid that everyone had convinced themselves (almost sight unseen - at least Olowakandi played in the NCAA tournament) had to be the #1 pick, no exceptions. Michael Jordan and the Washington braintrust, complete and utter idiots that they are, thought he was a slam dunk to become the next great star. Then Jordan called him a "flaming faggot" (I'm not even kidding) during his rookie season and the bust - the collosal failure - was born. So, a product of hype, Kwame never should've been the #1 pick in the first place and those expectations were thrust upon him, perhaps unfairly. However, there had to have been a reason for all that hype, right? Regardless, whether he was picked 1st or 5th, everyone is justified in calling Brown a giant disappointment. To think that Kwame will be rid of those expectations of having to live up to being a #1 pick once he arrives in LA is somewhat, but not altogether true. You have a whole new set of expectations when you put on a Laker uniform. This is a franchise where winning isn't just expected, it's demanded. Especially when you've been touted to have as much talent as Brown and when the Lakers gave up two quality starters to get him. A whole new set of problems, right there.
Lakers are bombing at every turn since after since hiring Phil Jackson (how ironic). Caron Butler never exactly had a place on the team and his future in LA was in doubt since the time of his arrival, but surely you could get more for him than this. I'd be happy to see Devean George's contract unloaded, but it's more likely that Chucky Atkins will be the second player thrown in the trade. From a talent persective, that is ludicrous, but I can only assume that Chucky's name is on the table A) because the Lakers are severely handicapped financially and need to dump salary and B) he doesn't jive with Kobe (that second part is actually true - not just a conspiracy theory). Who knows what the free'd up cash can get them. Second year Slovenian Sasha Vujacic looks likely to be the man who would steps in at point guard, but is he ready? Questionable. And what the hell is Slava "Useless" Medvedenko still doing on the bloody roster! Jettison that bag of shit, already!
I expect Vlade Divac will retire before the season starts, but in all honesty, at this stage of the game, I feel far more comfortable with Mihm in the starting lineup than Brown. I also don't believe Brown has proven that he can play center in this league, especially in the West. Hell, I feel more comfortable starting rookie Ronny Turiaf at power forward than I do Brown. Turiaf played four solid years of college basketball. The guy is tested and ready. Meanwhile, Kwame has played four years in the NBA and he's more unfocused and fragile now than ever before. He is a bench player at best. If Phil whips him into shape mentally (and he is certainly capable of that), maybe he becomes a regular starter. One thing this kid is not? An All-Star. And here's the fundamental difference between him and MVP contender Jermaine O'Neal: When he was young and in Portland, O'Neal had to play behind Brian Grant and Rasheed Wallace most of the time. The Wizards never had the big man depth that the Blazers had in the late 90s. Kwame, on the other hand, did have the chance time and time and time again to show what he's all about and he whined and pouted and missed practices. When O'Neal was finally given the oppurtunity by getting traded to Indiana, he showed up to the moment.
God, I hope the Lakers have another move planned, because the roster looks worse now than it did last season at any point last season - injuries or not. Yay. We've added a project (Andrew "Desagana" Bynum) and a selfish bust while getting rid of a quality scorer and a servicable point guard. Go team.
No question Washington comes out looking great on this one. I think Butler won't have any trouble filling the scoring void left by Larry Hughes who defected to Cleveland, but Butler's defense compared to Hughes is desperately lacking.
What the hell, Lakers? What the hell? You're getting worse by the day.
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Say it ain't so, Phil. Say it ain't so. Ah, but it seems it is so -- that the Lakers are making yet another blunder. I don't want to hear about how Kwame needs a change of scenery or that he's only 23. The facts are: He's a headcase. He's SOFT. He sucks! And he sure as hell won't pan out like Jermaine O'Neal did.
Phil has his work cut out for him here. Especially if Kwame - perhaps a bigger bust than Michael Olowakandi - can't take the heat from Kobe who is known for being tough on his teammates when they slack (It's what leaders do). Why didn't the Lakers deal Caron for somebody worth a damn? I would've been happy with a Stromile Swift or a Jamaal Magloire. Butler actually has worth. He's a good player! But to settle for this? This? This is a joke, right?
But why shit all over Kwame? Well, in his defense, he never should've been drafted number one overall in 2001 to begin with. He was a product of the big hype machine and leading up to the 2001 draft, a high school kid that everyone had convinced themselves (almost sight unseen - at least Olowakandi played in the NCAA tournament) had to be the #1 pick, no exceptions. Michael Jordan and the Washington braintrust, complete and utter idiots that they are, thought he was a slam dunk to become the next great star. Then Jordan called him a "flaming faggot" (I'm not even kidding) during his rookie season and the bust - the collosal failure - was born. So, a product of hype, Kwame never should've been the #1 pick in the first place and those expectations were thrust upon him, perhaps unfairly. However, there had to have been a reason for all that hype, right? Regardless, whether he was picked 1st or 5th, everyone is justified in calling Brown a giant disappointment. To think that Kwame will be rid of those expectations of having to live up to being a #1 pick once he arrives in LA is somewhat, but not altogether true. You have a whole new set of expectations when you put on a Laker uniform. This is a franchise where winning isn't just expected, it's demanded. Especially when you've been touted to have as much talent as Brown and when the Lakers gave up two quality starters to get him. A whole new set of problems, right there.
Lakers are bombing at every turn since after since hiring Phil Jackson (how ironic). Caron Butler never exactly had a place on the team and his future in LA was in doubt since the time of his arrival, but surely you could get more for him than this. I'd be happy to see Devean George's contract unloaded, but it's more likely that Chucky Atkins will be the second player thrown in the trade. From a talent persective, that is ludicrous, but I can only assume that Chucky's name is on the table A) because the Lakers are severely handicapped financially and need to dump salary and B) he doesn't jive with Kobe (that second part is actually true - not just a conspiracy theory). Who knows what the free'd up cash can get them. Second year Slovenian Sasha Vujacic looks likely to be the man who would steps in at point guard, but is he ready? Questionable. And what the hell is Slava "Useless" Medvedenko still doing on the bloody roster! Jettison that bag of shit, already!
I expect Vlade Divac will retire before the season starts, but in all honesty, at this stage of the game, I feel far more comfortable with Mihm in the starting lineup than Brown. I also don't believe Brown has proven that he can play center in this league, especially in the West. Hell, I feel more comfortable starting rookie Ronny Turiaf at power forward than I do Brown. Turiaf played four solid years of college basketball. The guy is tested and ready. Meanwhile, Kwame has played four years in the NBA and he's more unfocused and fragile now than ever before. He is a bench player at best. If Phil whips him into shape mentally (and he is certainly capable of that), maybe he becomes a regular starter. One thing this kid is not? An All-Star. And here's the fundamental difference between him and MVP contender Jermaine O'Neal: When he was young and in Portland, O'Neal had to play behind Brian Grant and Rasheed Wallace most of the time. The Wizards never had the big man depth that the Blazers had in the late 90s. Kwame, on the other hand, did have the chance time and time and time again to show what he's all about and he whined and pouted and missed practices. When O'Neal was finally given the oppurtunity by getting traded to Indiana, he showed up to the moment.
God, I hope the Lakers have another move planned, because the roster looks worse now than it did last season at any point last season - injuries or not. Yay. We've added a project (Andrew "Desagana" Bynum) and a selfish bust while getting rid of a quality scorer and a servicable point guard. Go team.
No question Washington comes out looking great on this one. I think Butler won't have any trouble filling the scoring void left by Larry Hughes who defected to Cleveland, but Butler's defense compared to Hughes is desperately lacking.
What the hell, Lakers? What the hell? You're getting worse by the day.
Comments:
haha dont u feel funny reading this now that lakers are doing well and bynum has blown up. talking so confidently about the future sometimes doesnt pan out to what it seems
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: 2:43 PM
: 2:43 PM