Rebuild

The rebuild is never a pretty scene.

And as Lakers fans, it's time to pick up the pieces and deal with reality.

It's 2014. Free agents are not going to sign to the Lakers just to live in LA, play for a storied franchise, and have an access pass to Hollywood.

That's not enough to entice the big names.

Sure you can grab a Lance Stephenson or a Nick Young based on those things and the right amount of money. Sure you can have a journeyman like Kendall Marshall become a respectable NBA bench player because he put on purple and gold last year.

But the big guys know that their success will ultimately be tied to winning. They are financially secure. Money will continue to follow them as long as their successful. Do you think Chris Bosh, Lebron James, and Dwayne Wade ultimately lost money when they each took a few million dollars less than their market value to team up on the Heat? Of course not. Their stars only grew.

Players have the internet and social media to build their brands these days. Kevin Durant has done just fine in OKC. Even guys like Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, who have never seen a playoff game and play in the middle of nowhere, are in national commercial campaigns and are highly regarded by basketball fans everywhere.

Free agents want to go to teams that can offer them the best basketball opportunities, fair market contracts, and success.

The Lakers have only 1/3 of those components. The only problem is Kobe Bryant's obscene contract dampens what their capable of doing with that salary space.

Here's a newsflash...

NO STAR PLAYER IN THEIR PRIME WANTS TO PLAY ALONGSIDE A STUBBORN, OLD, INJURY PRONE KOBE BRYANT MAKING MORE MONEY THAN THEY ARE.

It's easy to dump on Kobe these days, but that is the reality.

Kobe Bryant is embarking on his own Derek Jeter tour these final two years.

Think of the Godfather Part III. That's Kobe's 2 year $ 48 million dollar contract. Think of Michael Corleone in Godfather Parts I and II and compare him to Michael Corleone in Godfather Part III. That's Kobe Bryant before his injuries and in his prime compared to Kobe Bryant with a torn achilles and broken knee.

But hey, it's not his fault...someone actually had to offer him that contract in order for him to accept it.

After a failed free agency that I believe Lakers management w
as semi-expecting, they have traded for Jeremy Lin who is owed a ridiculous salary this next season. But even more crazy is the 2 year, 18 million dollar contract that they've signed Jordan Hill.

One thing is clear. Lakers are probably not taking any long term contracts until Kobe's runs off the books in two years.

The bright side is that Julius Randle can really develop these next two years.

And the Lakers are really going to need that. Because hopefully the next time the big stars are free agents, it will appear that they have an actual plan and are building towards something.

I am Switching Cable Providers

Ladies and Gentlemen the the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard, and the Jell-O's jigglin'! The Lakers are in the refrigerator. I am sure that you all have heard the news, Lebron James is coming home to Cleveland, Kevin Love will probably be joining him, and Carmelo Anthony has told the front office in El Segundo that he is no longer interested in signing with the Lakers. It appears that this series of events has left the Lakers void of any hope of winning in the next two years. And so the Lakers have decided to take on what is the worst contract in the NBA. Yes, Lin Sanity is headed to Los Angeles. The back up point guard of the Houston Rockets is now going to be the third point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.

            As I am an avid  fan of the Los Angeles Lakers you may be wondering how upset I am about this move? I am not that angry about it, but I am going to cancel my cable subscription. I have no need to watch my team for the next few years. It just doesn’t make sense.

With this single move, Laker management has waived the white flag for the next year. It is obvious that this move is not for the betterment of this team. If there was one position that was already quite solid it was point. I mean we only had four players signed and two of them were point guards, if you can really call a forty-year old Steve Nash a point guard. So lets go with the Lakers already have one and a half point guards. 

The addition of Lin’s 15 million dollar contract to the Lakers pay roll is fitting. It matches the ten million dollars that we are spending to watch Steve Nash wear very fancy suits. Not to mention the 24 million dollar contract to see Kobe Bryant send twit pics from around the world. In a league where it takes a big three to win a championship or even get in the playoffs, the Lakers have nothing. Unless Kobe Bryant miraculously heals from his knee cap fracture and torn Achilles the team has no one. I believe in a healthy Kobe. I believe that if he turns to the Kobe of old, the Lakers will manage to make the playoffs once in the next two years. However, it is apparent that Mitch Kupcheck does not.

Now with all this being said I am sure that you assume that I am going to say that I am furious at the front office of the Lakers. I am sure you think that I think that they are fools and that they should be euthanized.

While the emotional side of me feels as though the world would be better without Mitch Kupcheck and Jim Buss, the reasonable side of me understands what they are doing. Sometimes you just have to let the dream die. We are buckling down for a cold winter in hope that spring will be far more kind to us.

The trade for Jeremy Lin was not about Jeremy Lin at all. It was about the first round draft pick. The only thing that I am mad about the front office is the fact that we only got one first round draft pick. I am confident that Jeremy Lin’s contract was so bad that we could have obtained at least another first round draft pick. Really as I am writing this post I am getting more more and more upset. 15 million dollars to purchase a freaking 21^st pick in the draft is absurd… Its been a while since America has seen a good riot. Ladies and gentlemen grab your pitch forks, grab your torches, hide your kids, hide your wife, meet me tomorrow in El Segundo, we are gonna burn this mother down.

Carmelo's Opportunity to Rule the NBA

Mr. Anthony, the ball is officially in your court.  

LeBron James earned back the love and admiration of Cavaliers fans by going back home. But he left a giant gaping power vacuum in the Eastern Conference by falling into the trap we all tend to fall into from time to time: overvaluing our own self worth.  LeBron James is going to a team with an overrated score-first point guard, a selfish shooting guard, an energy guy who doesn’t actually do anything, Anderson ‘The homeless man’s Joakim Noah’ Varejo, one of the worst draft picks in NBA history in Anthony Bennett, a completely unproven Andrew Wiggins, and a brand spanking new coach.  LeBron even admitted it himself: “I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested.” 

"Wow, no one told me Kyrie sucked this much."

If Carmelo goes back to the Knicks, he and LeBron will both be waiting and hoping for players to show up who may never arrive, essentially believing that it only takes a handful of talent, plus himself, to win an NBA title.  If the Spurs and Heat have taught us anything over the past few years, it’s that your team has to be downright stacked for a chance at a ring.  By coming to Chicago, Carmelo will be joining a team that’s better than the Cavs at every position save small forward, where the Bulls would be only marginally worse.  The Pacers are treading water, and the rest of the East just plain sucks.

The Bulls should be selling Carmelo now what they’ve been selling him all along.  “Come here, and we’ll rule the East.”  Those whispers can be even stronger now.  “There’s no one else.  We’ll get you to the finals.  Lebron is leaving the door wide open.”  

Other writers have detailed why Carmelo is a perfect fit in Chicago.  This Bulls team would allow us to finally enjoy Carmelo for what he is: the most deadly scorer in the NBA since Bernard King.  Lebron James went back home, and is costing himself a championship in doing so.  Don’t make the same mistake Melo.  Chicago is waiting.