Vlade Has A Posse

The Posse Returns: Odom to the Point?, Sasha Down, and Mihm 100%

October 5, 2008 at 10:05 pm · Filed under 1

What’s up kids? I’mmm baaaack.

That’s right. After the long, arduous, and HOT summer that followed a pretty chilling Lakers embarrassment in the Finals, I’m back here to spew my numbers, info, and dry humor out on you all.

If you didn’t read my stuff last season, let it be known now, I’m NOT here to ramble on about how great Kobe is, I’m NOT here to defend the history of the Lakers organization, and I’m certainly NOT here to get the fanboy juices flowing.

What am I here for? To serve as a conduit for your hungry brains in need of an aggregation of Lakers news, notes, and oddities. …All laced with my occasional wit and smart ass attitude.

Vlade STILL has a posse, and the posse has no agenda. Welcome home.

As documented throughly by a trip thought the VHP archives, last season was a roller coaster in Lakers Land. Well, the ups and downs of a trying, injury-laden season has lead us to this coming Tuesday. Preseason game one of the 2008-2009 season.

Ronny is gone, but Sasha is back.

Kobe and Pau are tired, but Andrew is at full health.

Phil shaved the beard, but grew out the hair.

Sun Yue is finally a Laker, but has mono.

Kobe wants to go to Europe… buuuuuut, it was "just a joke."

These are the story lines that will finally be partially laid to waste on Tuesday. We will finally have the numbers and pictures to back up everything we’ve heard for the past three months.

The off-season was a long one for Lakers fans. Perhaps the ’so close, yet so far’ nuances of the NBA finals left fans in a perpetual state of anticipation for the coming season, waking in a cold sweat at 2am in the middle of August… waiting… just waiting to finally doze off for the night on a high note.

There is NO DOUBT that the Finals didn’t go as planned for the Lakers, I could go on forever about that, but now, finally, is the time to buckle into another rousing season of NBA action.

Shifting back into the classic VHP style, let’s get up to date on what’s going on right now.

Perhaps, one of the most interesting stories of the off-season came out of the LA Times last week:

Forget about that Lakers frontline of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Odom has been shifted to ball-handling guard, part of an experiment conducted by Coach Phil Jackson in a monthlong petri dish called exhibition season.

Odom, who has already clashed with Jackson in training camp, has brought the ball up court for the Lakers in their first two days of practice.

Derek Fisher has shifted to a shooting-guard role on offense and Kobe Bryant has moved to small forward. [LA Times]

Well, aint that something? After all of the drama surrounding wether Lamar would even start this season with the new-look line-up, Phil drops this bomb. This is an idea that I like. Not only can Lamar handle the ball well, as evidenced through a small portion of last season, but the mismatch that this would create would be unprecedented. A 6′10" point guard taking the ball down and making plays has the potential to throw off an entire defensive effort.

Also coming out of camp:
Sasha Vujacic suffered a moderately sprained left ankle Tuesday after coming down on the foot of DJ Mbenga on a drive to the basket.

Vujacic, who signed a three-year, $15-million contract in the off-season, is expected to be out a few days.

"I think he’s going to be all right," Jackson said. "It’s one of those weird ones. There’s no swelling, but he’s got some obvious discomfort." [LA Times]

That’s about it for now… aside from Chris Mihm being deemed 100% for the fist time in a few years.

The Lakers take the court Tuesday night against the Jazz at 7pm on KCAL 9, locally.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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[Complete Post at LA Hoops Blog]

Kobe Drama Makes Its Triumphant Return

August 9, 2008 at 3:06 pm · Filed under 1

In the midst of preparations for the opening games of Men’s
Basketball pool play in Beijing, Kobe is starting a new firestorm here
at home.

Kobe Bryant won’t sign a contract extension with the Los
Angeles Lakers until he has tested the global market, the U.S. Olympic
basketball star told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.
Asked whether he plans to solicit overseas offers before signing an extension, Bryant flatly said yes.
It’s possible Bryant could leave the NBA for Europe –
perhaps in a dual role of owner and player – as early as next summer.
Bryant is signed with the Lakers through the 2010-11 season, but can
opt out after next season. [Yahoo! Sports]

I could express my opinion on this for pages, but I’ll keep it at this:

Why does Kobe feel the need to talk about this right now? After all
of the emphasis he’s put on the importance of winning an Olympic gold,
he’s spouting off about a controversial move that won’t even happen for
another year. It just doesn’t seem right.

I respect both Kobe’s status as one of the best players in the
world, and anyone’s quest for riches, but give me a break. Why now?

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Lakers Agree To Terms With Sun Yue

August 8, 2008 at 9:03 pm · Filed under 1

Just two days before the US is set to take on China in men’s basketball pool play at the Olympics, the Lakers have announced the acquisition of point guard, Sun Yue–China’s
premiere play making presence. Yue, drafted by the Lakers 40th overall
in 2007 has been highly touted as the “Magic Johnson of the far east,”
because of his 6-9, 205lb. frame coupled with his excellent
ball-handling and passing abilities.

The Lakers are set to make the deal official in the next few days.
“Hopefully, it will get done soon” said Lakers’ spokesman John Black,
yesterday.

This is a big pick-up for the Lakers. The word was that Mitch wasn’t
going to pull the trigger on Yue until next year, however, doubt on
Jordan Farmar’s progression is rumored to have been the kicker on the
move.

Despite the historical uncertainty on foreign players, the tape doesn’t lie on Sun Yue.

Lakers Re-Sign Vujacic

July 25, 2008 at 8:02 pm · Filed under 1

After the threat of being the next NBA casualty to Europe, Sasha Vujacic and the Lakers have agreed to a deal.

After
some tense negotiations, the Lakers and restricted free agent guard
Sasha Vujacic agreed to a deal Friday afternoon, Lakers General Manager
Mitch Kupchak confirmed.

The deal, according to sources close to the player, is for $15 million over three years.

The 6-foot-7 guard is scheduled to earn $5 million per season. [Press Enterprise]

The deal is a step up from the $12mil/three-year that the Lakers
offered him yesterday. So there it is. The Sasha sweeps is over. Sasha
got paid, Mitch got his guy, and everyone is happy.

Well, most everyone. Sasha’s $5mil/year deal makes him monetarily
more valuable than both Derek Fisher and Andrew Bynum in their current
contracts. This may bring up some questions as far as the financial
situation that the Lakers are in. Despite the letting go of Ronny
Turiaf, the Lakers are under pressure to extend Andrew Bynums contract
for BIG money by the start of the season.

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Eastern Movement: Is Sasha Next?

July 24, 2008 at 9:09 pm · Filed under 1

There’s a possibility that Sasha Vujacic might end up in Europe come next season. Hat tip to The Lakers Nation.

First Atlanta’s Josh Childress headed overseas, signing a
lucrative deal from a Greek club. Now Houston’s Carl Landry is
entertaining offers from across the Atlantic.

Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic also has been contacted by several
European clubs, according to a Slovenian newspaper. (Probably a good
move for him considering no NBA clubs have expressed interest in
signing the restricted free agent).

Kobe Bryant said he wouldn’t be surprised if Vujacic takes
the money and runs to Europe (if the rumors are true) considering the
Lakers aren’t offering him more than a qualifying one-year deal worth
$2.6 million.

“It depends on how much money they’re throwing at him,”
Bryant said. “You got rules (NBA’s salary cap), so you’re playing with
an uneven playing field. So if they want to throw a boatload of money
at him.” [OC Register Lakers Blog]

Lakers Reportedly Interested in Deng

July 23, 2008 at 7:57 pm · Filed under 1

Hoopsworld
is reporting that the Lakers are among a few teams working for a
potential sing-and-trade involving Bulls’ small forward, Luol Deng.

Reports yesterday suggested that Chicago Bulls’ forward Luol
Deng and his agent were ready to issue an “ultimatum” to the Bulls,
basically saying if Luol did not have a deal done by September 1st,
that he would back away from negotiations and not negotiate again with
the Bulls. The reports suggested if Luol did not get a deal he’s
comfortable with, he’d sign the Bulls’ $4.4 million qualifying offer
sheet and become an unrestricted free agent next year and walk.

League sources suggested that the Lakers, Pistons, Heat and Jazz have all had discussions with Luol Deng’s camp about the framework of a sign-and-trade. [Hoopsworld]

[Full Story and Video at LA Hoops Blog]

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Sparks, Shock Brawl; Good for the WNBA?

July 23, 2008 at 5:47 pm · Filed under 1

November 19th, 2004 was the last time the Palace hosted a bout of
this magnitude. Some of the biggest names in the NBA battled it out on
the court, in the stands, and in the hallways. This time, though it
didn’t leave the hardwood, it was some of the biggest names in women’s basketball.

The game turned ugly in the final seconds as a collision
between Parker and Detroit’s Plenette Pierson turned into a shoving
match that saw players and coaches from both teams leave the bench.

Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn, who was involved in the
Pistons-Pacers brawl on Nov. 19, 2004, as a Detroit broadcaster trying
to break up the fight, appeared to shove Lisa Leslie to the floor at
one point.

Parker, Milton-Jones, Pierson and Mahorn were all ejected,
while Detroit’s Cheryl Ford left the floor on a wheelchair after
getting injured while trying to restrain Pierson. [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Lakers Summer League Wrap

July 21, 2008 at 7:20 pm · Filed under 1

The Lakers closed out SPL play with a couple of big losses, Friday and Saturday, cementing a 2-4 overall record.

The Lakers, with the deepest (in terms of number of players) rosters
in the SPL, were anchored by the one and only Coby Karl, who led the
team with 13.8 PPG. Rookie, Joe Crawford came in a close second,
posting 11.3 PPG.

On the boards, the hyphen crew held it down. UCLA alum, Lorenzo
Mata-Real pulled down 6.8 RPG, and Terp turned Euro guy, Nik
Caner-Medley averaged 5.0 RPG in addition to his 8.8 PPG. I’ve seen a
few rumors of Caner-Medley preseason roster talk, but none have been
confirmed.

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A Potential End To The Bynum Uncertainty

July 19, 2008 at 3:52 pm · Filed under 1

Just as we were crossing into the realm of what could be
considered ‘drama,’ by some accounts, some fairly enlightening news has
come out of the Lakers’ camp in regards to Andrew Bynum’s recovery.

But first, here’s a quick timetable of what’s gone down as of late:

July 3rd: Andrew Bynum did indeed receive medical clearance
from doctors Thursday and will begin training in earnest by mid-July.
His agent, David Lee, said the Lakers center did not have any pain or
swelling in his surgically repaired left knee and will be ready to go
by training camp in October. [O.C. Register]

July 9th: Kupchak also questioned whether
center Andrew Bynum has been cleared by his doctor to begin training.
Last week, Bynum’s agent, David Lee, said his client had been given
medical clearance by Dr. David Altchek and would start training in two
weeks. “I’m not saying what he (Lee) said isn’t true,” Kupchak said,
“I’m saying he has not been cleared.” [OC Register]