Steve Nash

[Chubbs]

Has officially entered his Hakeem in Toronto portion of his career.

Avg 6.7 ppg on 26.1% shooting. That's not Steve Nash.

"For you the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee."

He was my favorite for awhile there. Sure he never could guard anyone, but man, what a ball handler, shooter, passer. While it's debatable whether he deserved both MVPs, there was no doubt who was the best PG in the nba at his peak.

I remember watching him shoot around before a kings game, was there early, back when my company went to kings games for offsites (now it's sf giants games). All by himself with a ball boy, draining shot after shot after shot after shot. And this was not a time when he needed to prove anything. But still working hard, still always wanting to be better.

There's a lesson there for some current kings.

First ballot hall of famer. No doubt, right?

 

[Hadlowe]

Has officially entered his Hakeem in Toronto portion of his career.

Avg 6.7 ppg on 26.1% shooting. That's not Steve Nash.

"For you the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee."

He was my favorite for awhile there. Sure he never could guard anyone, but man, what a ball handler, shooter, passer. While it's debatable whether he deserved both MVPs, there was no doubt who was the best PG in the nba at his peak.

I remember watching him shoot around before a kings game, was there early, back when my company went to kings games for offsites (now it's sf giants games). All by himself with a ball boy, draining shot after shot after shot after shot. And this was not a time when he needed to prove anything. But still working hard, still always wanting to be better.

There's a lesson there for some current kings.

First ballot hall of famer. No doubt, right?

Indeed. Second only to Stockton in the "Great floor generals who never won a championship" category that Jason Kidd very narrowly avoided. In a lot of ways, the Lakers and Kings boast identical squads this year with a mixture of washed-up veterans and youngsters who can't get out of their own way on the court with not a defensive specialist to be found as far as the eye can see. They each even have their own inefficient selfish chucker SG in Thornton and Nick Young. The only difference is that if Kobe can come back at 3/4 of his pre-injury status, the Lakers will play themselves out of the Wiggins sweepstakes.

 

[mac]

Indeed. Second only to Stockton in the "Great floor generals who never won a championship" category that Jason Kidd very narrowly avoided. In a lot of ways, the Lakers and Kings boast identical squads this year with a mixture of washed-up veterans and youngsters who can't get out of their own way on the court with not a defensive specialist to be found as far as the eye can see. They each even have their own inefficient selfish chucker SG in Thornton and Nick Young. The only difference is that if Kobe can come back at 3/4 of his pre-injury status, the Lakers will play themselves out of the Wiggins sweepstakes.

While I understand the sentiment I'm not sure we can really compare Chuck Hayes and John Salmons to Pau Gasol and Steve Nash, no matter how washed up. Also, I think them bringing in Nick Young largely had to do with them not having Kobe. They needed someone who could create his own shot, and clearly there isn't a very big pool of available players they could have gone after for a stop-gap solution.

 

[Tetsujin]

Indeed. Second only to Stockton in the "Great floor generals who never won a championship" category that Jason Kidd very narrowly avoided. In a lot of ways, the Lakers and Kings boast identical squads this year with a mixture of washed-up veterans and youngsters who can't get out of their own way on the court with not a defensive specialist to be found as far as the eye can see. They each even have their own inefficient selfish chucker SG in Thornton and Nick Young. The only difference is that if Kobe can come back at 3/4 of his pre-injury status, the Lakers will play themselves out of the Wiggins sweepstakes.

I think we're better off than the Lakers at this point though. Kobe's contract limits the work they can do with their salary cap. And their collection of old guys on the downward swing of their careers may just be good enough to limit their position in this year's draft. And our modest collection of young talent trumps whatever youth the Lakers have.

That said, this is the Lakers we're talking about which means they'll probably pull off a Jordan Farmer for Paul George trade over the offseason and wind up competing for a championship over the next decade.