trilljavar

I'm really not a fan of this facilitating Kobe. He tries to hard and forces the ball into others hands. I think he should balance passing and scoring. What do you guys think?

My pick would have to be Kyrie Irving or Paul George

I think they should add awards like Division MVP, Division DPOY, etc. Reward more players for their play.

This guy should've been in considerations for Defensive Player of the Year and All-Star. He should've been All-Defensive team. He had more blocks than Tyson Chandler. He played consistent all year. Picked up the slack from when Horford went down and Joe went down.

Wow. Lakers would be dumb if they do this.

In one of the juiciest offseason rumors to emerge thus far, the Memphis Grizzlies have reportedly offered to trade Zach Randolph and another piece to the Los Angeles Lakers for Pau Gasol, according to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post, via Twitter:

Memphis, by the way, says a source, is offering Zach Randolph, another solid citizen, for Pau. Rudy Gay, as of now, is not available

— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) June 27, 2012

The Hawks appear to be a potential taker in the Pau Gasol sweepstakes.

According to Lakers beat writer Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Atlanta could be willing to trade Josh Smith and its No. 23 first-round draft pick to L.A. in exchange for Gasol:

The Atlanta Hawks have been pursuing Pau Gasol, The Times has learned. Nothing imminent, but Josh Smith would be key piece going to Lakers.

— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) June 27, 2012

It remains to be seen whether or not that No. 23 pick is high enough to obtain a player of enough value to the Lakers.

End of update.

With a little over 24 hours remaining until the 2012 NBA draft, we finally have some excitement, courtesy of the Lakers.

According to ESPN.com's Chad Ford and Marc Stein, L.A. is willing to part with veteran forward Pau Gasol in exchange for a top-10 draft pick:

Sources told ESPN.com that the Lakers have been contacting teams in an effort to acquire a top-10 pick in Thursday's draft. The Lakers also are seeking an established player along with the pick if they're to part with Gasol.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that the Lakers were trying to find some way to trade into the first round. As it stands, L.A. has just one draft pick in 2012: the final pick of the second round.

The Lakers are desperately seeking cap relief, and Gasol—who is due to make $38 million in the final two years of his current contract—is likely to bring in the most value for the Lakers.

Ford and Stein report that L.A. is looking to trade Gasol to a team that will assume the final $38 million of his contract and offer up picks and players.

Gasol was the subject of abundant trade rumors leading up to this year's NBA trade deadline, and the constant speculation caused some well-documented clubhouse strife. In February, Kobe Bryant famously ripped the Lakers management for perpetuating the Gasol rumors instead of nipping them.

In just over four seasons with the Lakers, Gasol has established himself as one of the premier post players in the NBA, averaging 18.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game since the start of the 2007 season and helping the Lakers win two championships. He was traded from Memphis to L.A. in February 2008.

Last week, Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico indicated with the following tweet that the Lakers may be specifically targeting teams with picks in the top half of the first round in order to snag Baylor stars Perry Jones III or Quincy Miller:

Lakers "making real push" to get into 1st round of NBA Draft, says EC exec. Word is they like the Baylor guys: Perry Jones & Quincy Miller.

— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) June 21, 2012

By that logic, one plausible trade destination for Gasol would be Houston, which currently holds pick Nos. 14 and 16. The Rockets, who have reportedly been trying to deal for Dwight Howard, are in desperate need of frontcourt help. Gasol might be the perfect solution.

How do you feel about this?

What on earth made the comparison debatable?

Despite a report two days ago by ESPN Heat Insider Brian Windhorst which confirmed the mutual interest between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen, a signing between the two sides appears more unlikely than preliminary.

If anything, the report was more of a posturing ploy by Allen's agent to increase his value in the market.

Consider his position, after all, coming into this summer.

No free agent saw their stock plummet as much as Allen, 37, did after coming off a bone spur injury and a career low shooting performance (he shot 30 % from beyond the arc) in the NBA playoffs.

In other words, the "discount rate" Allen was said to be offering Miami to sign for the mid-level exception is probably his expected value going into free agency.

See, while most people were getting distracted by the headline of Windhorst's report, they overlooked the key part of it- that Allen would "settle" for the mid-level exception to sign with a championship contender like Miami.

Wow! How generous of him! This, of course, has nothing to do with his awful performance in the playoffs or that the NBA is coming off a new CBA agreement that will force teams to tighten their pockets, right?!

Get real.

Allen isn't about to leave any money on the table in what will probably be the last big pay day contract of his career, if not his last contract at all.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been checking around the league this week to gauge Pau Gasol's trade value, according to sources briefed on the discussions.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Lakers have been contacting teams in an effort to acquire a top-10 pick in Thursday's draft. The Lakers also are seeking an established player along with the pick if they're to part with Gasol.

A deal was not imminent as of Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier this month, Lakers president of basketball operations Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak both said that a major move is unlikely even after Los Angeles' disappointing five-game playoff exit to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Gasol has been a coveted asset the past few years but comes at a high price. Aside from wanting picks and players in return, sources say that the Lakers want teams to assume the final two years and $38 million of Gasol's contract.

The Lakers might have an even tougher sell with Metta World Peace, who also has been shopped in order to gauge his trade value.

While the Lakers would be looking for considerably less, such as a late first-round pick or perhaps some cap relief, World Peace's contract obligations (two years, $15 million remaining on his deal) -- combined with a 15 percent trade kicker -- might prove too much for another team to bear.

Source: ESPN

Take your pick, GO!

According to Lakersnation.com

The 2012 NBA Draft officially gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Fri. June 28 and trade rumors continue to swirl around the NBA with some big-name players potentially headed elsewhere as the clock ticks down to zero leading up to the first pick by the New Orleans Hornets.

It’s no surprise that the Los Angeles Lakers continue to be mentioned in trade rumors with Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol at the center of it all. World Peace has been linked to a potential trade that would give the Lakers a late first-round pick in the draft. Talk of the Lakers acquiring one of two players from Baylor in Quincy Miller and Perry Jones III with this pick has started to gain some momentum.

Another possibility that the Lakers might be exploring in the upcoming draft is trading Gasol to the Washington Wizards for the 3rd overall pick via Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com:

“Back to the Lakers. If the Cavs are able to move up and nab Beal at No. 2, there’s talk the Lakers would be willing to make life easy for the Wizards and help them move out of the third spot. It would likely take power forward Pau Gasol. Far-fetched for now, but don’t be surprised if it’s something that’s explored in the right situation.”

As Amico suggests, this trade may be “far-fetched” for the Lakers as it is uncertain if the Wizards are willing to take on Gasol’s large contract or if there is any interest for Washington to make this deal.

Potential targets for the Lakers with the 3rd pick could be any one of the following players:

Austin Rivers, Duke

John Henson, North Carolina

Damian Lillard, Weber State

Dion Waiters, Syracuse

Andre Drummond, UConn

Harrison Barnes, North Carolina

Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky

Bradley Beal, Florida

Even though this potential trade may be stretch, anything can happen from here on out with the Lakers so limited in terms of free agency with the huge luxury tax to deal with moving forward. It does seem as though the Lakers’ front office is trying to make something happen before or on draft day in order to clear some cap space and acquire younger players. It’ll be interesting to see if any moves are made by Los Angeles in the coming days.

Three way trade:

Lakers Get: Deron Williams, Houston number 16 pick

Lakers Trade: Gasol, Morris, Ebanks, 2013 first rounder, 2 second rounders

Houston Get: Gasol, Morris, Ebanks, 2013 first rounder (lakers), and 5.8 million of the Lakers's lamar odom trade exception

Houston trades: Scola, Lowry, 14th and 16th pick,

Nets get: Scola, Lowry, 14th pick (houston), and 2 second rounders (lakers)

Nets trade: Deron Williams (sign and trade)

Why the lakers do it?: trade into the first round in a deep draft, get a star point guard

percentage of accepting 100%

Why the rockets do it?: get dream big man in Pau gasol (a top 15 player in the league who has longevity due to his finesse style of play), get rid of a long and potentionally poisonous contract of scola (yes, pau has a big contract, but it comes off the books earlier and he is a top contributor) Get rid of a displeased lowry. Get a young, high upside prospect in Ebanks who shows sign of potential. Get a trade exception that could be used later. a first rounder

Percentage of acceptance: 80%

Why the nets do it: Get something in return for williams who has already made up his mind about leaving, get another pick in a deep draft. Get a solid young backcourt with potential of Lowry and Brooks. Get an established leader and veteran in scola

Percentage of acceptance: 70%

what happens after:

Lakers: with a hole at the 4, the lakers could potentially extend hill and move him to the starting lineup, trade hill for Beasley because khan has shown interest in aquiring hill. sign garnett, etc. Draft a good player in the draft

Rockets: with a new lineup, they can resign dragic, who has shown extreme potential when starting in lowry's absence, and also resign lee. Then they can get a starting caliber big man when camby leaves such as garnett.

Nets: Be happy that you got something for williams and rebuild.

1. Paul Pierce

2. Dirk

3. Kobe

4. Kemba

5. Durant

6.D-Wade

7. LeBron

8. Deron Williams

9. CP3

10. D-Rose (only reason he's up here cause his is very quick)

Whats yours

Nets and Knicks?

BQ: Dwight said there's no chance he's going to stay with Houston, do you believe him?

Jeff Hardy v. Johnny Nitro (John Morrison) in a steel cage match when Nitro was climbing out of the cage and Jeff dropkicked the door open and Nitro fell on his groin. That was an epic match. One of the underrated feuds of 2006-2007.