NK64
G-League
Near Miss
By Eric Pincus
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jan 13, 2005, 08:15
On Monday, January 10th, the Kings executed a trade with the Orlando Magic bringing Cuttino Mobley and Michael Bradley to Sacramento for Doug Christie. Add Mobley to the growing list of players who have gotten away from the Los Angeles Lakers as they try to rebuild in the post-Shaquille O'Neal era.
Sources have told Hoopsworld.com that the Lakers made a very strong push for Cuttino Mobley, offering Chucky Atkins and Devean George. In the proposed deal, LA would have also received Andrew DeClercq.
Coach Rudy Tomjanovich reportedly was hoping to reunite with his former Houston Rocket guard (Mobley), who would essentially have started out of position in Los Angeles next to Kobe Bryant. Cuttino is an underrated defender who had played some point guard in college. With Kobe the primary initiator, a move for a Bryant\Mobley back court was an acceptable risk the Lakers were willing to make.
With the deal on the verge of going through, the Kings offered Doug Christie and the Magic took the bait, considering the Sacramento offer the better deal.
A number of players have nearly become Lakers as the franchise attempts to rebuild on the fly after splitting up the Shaq and Kobe duo. Point guard Marcus Banks of the Boston Celtics was briefly a in Los Angeles before the trade was amended and Jumaine Jones became a Laker in his stead.
Minnesota Timberwolves' forward Eddie Griffin was reportedly very close to playing in Los Angeles before getting swayed by Kevin Garnett and the Wolves.
The Karl Malone story is well reported. Even Vlade Divac, technically a Laker, has been another near miss as he may never play again, recovering from back surgery.
That said, building an NBA championship caliber team does not happen over night. Currently the Lakers are up and down, but slotted at the sixth seed in the very competitive Western Conference. At times LA has gotten something exciting out of nearly every new acquisition including Chris Mihm, Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Chucky Atkins and Jones. Unfortunately the team is unbalanced with a preponderance of small forwards, a lack of experienced and talented depth at point guard and a relative void where an inside presence should be.
When asked about Vlade Divac's injured back, Laker GM Mitch Kupchak told the media that he did not expect to make a trade for an additional center. When the team decided to guarantee the contracts of both Tierre Brown and Tony Bobbitt, it appeared that the Lakers were willing to go with the current squad for the remainder of the season.
The pitch for Mobley would suggest differently; that the team is indeed looking to make an upgrade . . . specifically at the point guard position. With the Lakers failing to win consistently, perhaps the team will aggressively continue the search.
One target that the Lakers may have would be disgruntled Utah Jazz point guard, Carlos Arroyo. It was reported by the local papers and ESPN.com that the Lakers made a pitch to Arroyo in the off-season. A restricted free agent, he accepted a four-year, $16 million deal with the Jazz. After suffering an injury in the pre-season, insulting Coach Jerry Sloan during the regular season and generally struggling to fit in on the team . . . Arroyo has been relegated to the fourth point guard in the rotation behind Keith McLeod, Raul Lopez and Howard Eisley.
Arroyo has all but demanded a trade, but the Jazz are denying that any serious talks have taken place.
Although the Lakers may not be able to present the right package to a Western Conference rival, they would be remiss in not making a stab at it. The exact salary status of the Utah Jazz is cloudy. They may still be slightly under the cap, which could facilitate deals that wouldn't normally pass muster. The NBA keeps complete salary information confidential, but if the Jazz have any wiggle room . . . LA might be able to make a deal.
Getting Utah to take any of the following for Arroyo may be a stretch, however: Chucky Atkins, Devean George, Luke Walton, Slava Medvedenko, Vlade Divac or even Brian Cook. LA can offer cash in the deal, draft picks and the like, but unless it's a compelling package . . . the Jazz are more likely to ship Arroyo to the Eastern Conference.
Mitch Kupchak will probably balk at including Caron Butler in any deal for a point guard. Should Caron eventually be moved, it'd likely be in a package for a young big. It would seem unlikely that either Butler or Odom are moved this season.
The Lakers made an aggressive move to improve the lineup in the attempt to acquire Mobley. The franchise wants to put a winner on the floor and will make the necessary moves to do so. Few franchises want to help the Lakers reclaim previous glories and since itt takes two parties to agree on a deal . . . the Lakers may very well have the same personnel come playoff time.
By Eric Pincus
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jan 13, 2005, 08:15
On Monday, January 10th, the Kings executed a trade with the Orlando Magic bringing Cuttino Mobley and Michael Bradley to Sacramento for Doug Christie. Add Mobley to the growing list of players who have gotten away from the Los Angeles Lakers as they try to rebuild in the post-Shaquille O'Neal era.
Sources have told Hoopsworld.com that the Lakers made a very strong push for Cuttino Mobley, offering Chucky Atkins and Devean George. In the proposed deal, LA would have also received Andrew DeClercq.
Coach Rudy Tomjanovich reportedly was hoping to reunite with his former Houston Rocket guard (Mobley), who would essentially have started out of position in Los Angeles next to Kobe Bryant. Cuttino is an underrated defender who had played some point guard in college. With Kobe the primary initiator, a move for a Bryant\Mobley back court was an acceptable risk the Lakers were willing to make.
With the deal on the verge of going through, the Kings offered Doug Christie and the Magic took the bait, considering the Sacramento offer the better deal.
A number of players have nearly become Lakers as the franchise attempts to rebuild on the fly after splitting up the Shaq and Kobe duo. Point guard Marcus Banks of the Boston Celtics was briefly a in Los Angeles before the trade was amended and Jumaine Jones became a Laker in his stead.
Minnesota Timberwolves' forward Eddie Griffin was reportedly very close to playing in Los Angeles before getting swayed by Kevin Garnett and the Wolves.
The Karl Malone story is well reported. Even Vlade Divac, technically a Laker, has been another near miss as he may never play again, recovering from back surgery.
That said, building an NBA championship caliber team does not happen over night. Currently the Lakers are up and down, but slotted at the sixth seed in the very competitive Western Conference. At times LA has gotten something exciting out of nearly every new acquisition including Chris Mihm, Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Chucky Atkins and Jones. Unfortunately the team is unbalanced with a preponderance of small forwards, a lack of experienced and talented depth at point guard and a relative void where an inside presence should be.
When asked about Vlade Divac's injured back, Laker GM Mitch Kupchak told the media that he did not expect to make a trade for an additional center. When the team decided to guarantee the contracts of both Tierre Brown and Tony Bobbitt, it appeared that the Lakers were willing to go with the current squad for the remainder of the season.
The pitch for Mobley would suggest differently; that the team is indeed looking to make an upgrade . . . specifically at the point guard position. With the Lakers failing to win consistently, perhaps the team will aggressively continue the search.
One target that the Lakers may have would be disgruntled Utah Jazz point guard, Carlos Arroyo. It was reported by the local papers and ESPN.com that the Lakers made a pitch to Arroyo in the off-season. A restricted free agent, he accepted a four-year, $16 million deal with the Jazz. After suffering an injury in the pre-season, insulting Coach Jerry Sloan during the regular season and generally struggling to fit in on the team . . . Arroyo has been relegated to the fourth point guard in the rotation behind Keith McLeod, Raul Lopez and Howard Eisley.
Arroyo has all but demanded a trade, but the Jazz are denying that any serious talks have taken place.
Although the Lakers may not be able to present the right package to a Western Conference rival, they would be remiss in not making a stab at it. The exact salary status of the Utah Jazz is cloudy. They may still be slightly under the cap, which could facilitate deals that wouldn't normally pass muster. The NBA keeps complete salary information confidential, but if the Jazz have any wiggle room . . . LA might be able to make a deal.
Getting Utah to take any of the following for Arroyo may be a stretch, however: Chucky Atkins, Devean George, Luke Walton, Slava Medvedenko, Vlade Divac or even Brian Cook. LA can offer cash in the deal, draft picks and the like, but unless it's a compelling package . . . the Jazz are more likely to ship Arroyo to the Eastern Conference.
Mitch Kupchak will probably balk at including Caron Butler in any deal for a point guard. Should Caron eventually be moved, it'd likely be in a package for a young big. It would seem unlikely that either Butler or Odom are moved this season.
The Lakers made an aggressive move to improve the lineup in the attempt to acquire Mobley. The franchise wants to put a winner on the floor and will make the necessary moves to do so. Few franchises want to help the Lakers reclaim previous glories and since itt takes two parties to agree on a deal . . . the Lakers may very well have the same personnel come playoff time.
You don't have to worry about it. We have him; you don't. And if first impressions are worth anything, I think he's going to work out just fine for us. He's not a PG anyway so forcing him to play at the point would have been a waste. And we know he couldn't possibly come to LA as a 2 because ... well, you know.
