Can Sasha Vujacic be the answer to the Lakers point guard woes?
“I see myself as a point guard,” he said. “This year, I played much less point guard than a year ago. It’s a different offense, the triangle. It’s a two-guard offense, lead guard and the off-guard. For me, I see myself as a point guard or a combo guard who can play the two, but my preference is definitely the one.”
Came across an interesting tidbit in Sam Smith’s always juicy NBA column in the Chicago Tribune. Have fun:
“Yes, Shaquille O’Neal is the 800-pound elephant in the room. No one really wants to talk about it, but the Heat’s main issue is the decline of O’Neal with three years left on his contract at $20 million per season.
Heat coach Pat Riley in his post-series comments said he was to blame for what he called the “pervasive” attitude of the veterans that the team could turn it on at any time. Hmm, wonder whom he meant. Riley said it would have been “a mockery” if the Heat had defeated the Bulls.
“It would have sent the wrong message. We didn’t do anything the right way this year,” Riley said. Then he added: “If he wants to give back $10 million and play half the season, fine.” Wonder again whom he meant.
Miami insiders said not only was O’Neal indifferent to the regular season, as usual, and this time had knee surgery, but he’d even go so far as to tell teammates not to bother with defense, apparently to not make his own indifference look bad. The Heat’s options seem limited with a huge payroll, and O’Neal remains a popular figure fans pay to see. But they don’t pay to see Miami lose like it did.
Have they had enough?
Despite O’Neal’s presence and reputation, he’ll turn 36 next season. Frankly, it’s difficult to see many teams that would even take a chance on him.
And then there is Dallas, which is where Shaq wanted to go when he was breaking up with the Lakers.
In losing to the Warriors in the first round, it seemed clear what the Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki most needed was someone to take the pressure off. Could Shaq be that guy?
Mavs owner Mark Cuban said they are not panicking or breaking up the team, but time will tell. Miami needs a major overhaul. Would Dallas panic and take a last shot with Shaq? Maybe for Erick Dampier, Devin Harris and a sign-and-trade with Jerry Stackhouse to give the Heat some life again? It does seem farfetched. But it has been a half-century since both finalists from the previous year went out in the first round. And it didn’t look like either could win.”
From the Strange but True file:
Vladimir Radmanovic was asked whether he had developed a relationship with Phil Jackson this year and what impressions he’d formed of the Hall of Fame coach.
“He’s a great coach. A little strange person, but I like it. He’s really straight forward and there’s nothing you really can’t figure out from him. He just does it his own way and I have respect for it.”
Wait, did Vlad just call Phil strange?
Remember, this was the guy who said his exit interview this year was “normal” and “the same as every other year.” No, nothing different about Vlad’s year this year, nothing at all…
The Lakers aren’t the only ones talking about trading for Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O’Neal. Check out this article from Newsday:
“In fact, the Knicks already are monitoring Garnett’s situation closely, as well they should. Despite saying he’s not looking to make major changes, Thomas also is focusing on Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal, perhaps even more so than Garnett.”
A lot of people think Chris Mihm is on his way out the door but don’t be so sure. Because of his ankle injuries over the last few years, he might have to sign a shorter deal, in the 1-2 year range, for less money. While this isn’t a great thing for Mihm, it’s a good option for the Lakers, who would be getting a legit center for less than his real market value. Plus, he already knows the offense and he loves L.A.
Mihm is one of the NBA’s true good guys. He’s had a tough road the last two years, but it appears that he’s got it right this time (medically) and he seemed anxious to get back out there and show that he’s all the way back.
“It’s been a long years for me trying to get this ankle right, but we’re finally at the end of the tunnel here,” Mihm said.
A lot of people think the Lakers are going to hit a home run this summer and finally pull off the KG deal that’s been rumored for years. Or find a way of bringing in Jermaine O’Neal. But a more likely scenario has them bringing in a veteran point guard via trrade or free agency, re-signing Mihm and seeing how well Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown develop.
One thing that came out of the interview with Phil Jackson yesterday that probably didn’t get enough attention was Phil’s contention that some of the Lakers “took advantage” of him because of his physical limitations. That, “irritated” Phil.
Basically, because of his physical limitations –he had hip replacement surgery this season — Jackson was forced to coach from the sidelines or sitting down a lot this year. You lose some effectiveness, he said, when you can’t get in guys’ faces to make a point. Phil said he felt that some of the guys on the team took advantage of that fact. Think of it like a kid who sticks his hand in the cookie jar and knows he won’t get punished because mommy’s feeling sick and had to go lay down.
Clearly, Phil was irked and felt disrespected by this. It’s the kind of thing he’ll think a lot more about this summer as he mulls a contract extension…
Wow, didn’t expect to hear that name come out of Phil Jackson’s mouth. But Phil was very complementary of Dennis today. Earlier this year, Phil said he thought the Lakers were one player away from contending for a championship. So today I asked him what kind of player he felt that “one player” was?
Phil has been saying for weeks that sometimes a small change can create big waves. Today, he pointed to Dennis Rodman as that kind of player. The Bulls traded for Rodman before the 1995-96 season, their only key offseason change, and he was a vital part of their championship in 1996.
Phil said that a lot of people think of Dennis as a role player because his only measurable contribution is as a rebounder. In Phil’s view though, Dennis provided the defensive toughness and attitude that pushed the Bulls over the top. He even called Dennis a “Hall of Famer.”
One of you asked whether Smush was officially gone yet? Well, not officially, but the writing is all over the wall. He will be an unrestricted free agent after June 30th and I’d put the chances at him being back in a Laker uniform next season at about a billion to one. When asked if he wanted to come back — in a perfect world– Smush chuckled and then said, “No comment, next question.” Everyone in the room laughed.
He also said his meeting with Phil and Mitch was, “positive” and I got the sense, after Phil addressed the subject, that it probably was. Phil said he thanked Smush for his contributions the last two years, praised him for winning the job, but added that he was very upfront with Smush that the Lakers are looking to upgrade at point guard.
Smush was very candid today and I have to give him credit for that. He did try and say that the situation with Phil was blown out of proportion, which I’m not sure I believe, but you have to respect him for standing up there, in front of all the cameras and microphones, calmly answering every question and trying to get out of there without taking any cheap shots. Parting shots, yes. His crack about not everybody liking Zen was pretty pointed. But he never seemed defensive or combative, when I’m sure a lot of guys would’ve, especially with some of the questions he was asked.
Anyway, he’s not gone yet, officially. But it won’t be long…
no need to preface this interview. Enjoy:
SMUSH:
On what went wrong for him this year:
“Some days I lost motivation, it wasn’t fun. The game wasn’t fun anymore. I love to play basketball and at times I felt like I wasn’t able to do so.
On his time with the Lakers:
“ The Lakers definitely gave me a great opportunity and I didn’t want to let that opportunity slip through my fingertips. It was fun. It was a fun ride, starting for most of two seasons. They allowed me to show I could play at this level of basketball.
“I did what I could. There are somethings I could’ve done better, then there were things I had no control over.
On his role the last two months:
“The last month or two, I felt honestly that the situation between me and Phil Jackson was blown out of proportion. I really didn’t have a problem with Phil Jackson. Me and him spoke about that. I really didn’t have a problem with him, but the media made it out to be that. Obviously, I guess it did take it’s toll mentally on not only myself but on the team and on Phil Jackson.
I knew when it was happening that it was taking its toll. Whether I wanted it to happen or not, a thing like that will bother anybody.
That situation wasn’t to blame for why we lost or why we were losing. It was just blown out of proportion.
On his relationship to his teammates:
“I don’t have any beefs with my teammates. Me and Phil talked about how I could’ve been more outgoing, but that’s just not in my personality. I could’ve done some things to make my relationship with my teammates stronger, but like I said to Phil Jackson, I’m a loner, I like to be by myself, I’m very observant and I’m quiet, so I might be standoffish at times and at times, a trait like that isn’t so good when you’re trying to build a team and build friendships between teammates.
“I told them that the way I went about being a friend to my teammates was subtle. I’m not the Ronny type where I’m jumping up and down, giving high fives and dancing. I was doing little things behind the scenes.
On whether he’d have done things differently:
I don’t live life with regrets. Everything is a learning experience. I’ve learned definitely from this experience as a Laker and I’m a stronger person because of it.
On Phil Jackson:
Everybody knows that Phil Jackson has a lot of layers. He’s a very deep person and he has his own methods of doing things, his way of life and his thinking. He’s the Zen master, but not everybody in here believes in Zen. … I like Phil Jackson. I love him as a coach. He’s a good guy. He’s quiet, like myself. He’s not a loud, outspoken person. All I said was I stopped trying to figure out why he did certain things. It wasn’t that I didn’t like him or his coaching style. I wasn’t trying to figure him out, I was just trying to play for him and be the point guard he wanted me to be.
First of all, thanks for all the comments on my last post. I was curious to see what you all were thinking and feeling went wrong this year and what can be done in the offseason. I’ll get you guys the full transcript of today’s marathon media session with Kobe, Phil, Mitch, Andrew, Sasha, Smush and Chris Mihm later tonight, after I finish writing. It was an interesting day to say the least.
Kobe Bryant’s had almost two days to cool off from the Lakers season-ending loss in Game 5, but if anything, his stance on the situation of the team has grown stronger. Kobe reiterated his calls on the front office to “Do something” about the team’s current state. Asked point blank whether the team can just sit back and wait for Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar to develop, Kobe said, “No. Something needs to be done.”
Later on, Mitch seemed to indicate that Andrew might be on the table this time around. I’m sure it would still take a lot, but Mitch basically said that the Lakers were going to build around Kobe and that they’d aggressively pursue every opportunity to improve as a team via free agency, the draft, or trade.
The No. 1 priority seemed to be to find help in the backcourt. Phil Jackson acknowledged that they need an upgrade over Smush Parker at the point. And I don’t think they want to put Jordan Farmar in the position of being the starter so early on into his career.
Kobe wasn’t interested in outlining specific changes — “I don’t know who has to stay and who has to go,” — but it’s clear that the Lakers know they’ll need to do something to keep their superstar happy this summer.
Anyway, here’s a little of what 24 had to say today. More later….