Lakers wanted Delonte?

Funny this never came up this summer.

http://www.playerpress.com/articles/10428-lakers-close-to-getting-delonte-west

bob

.

Delonte would have been a nice addition to LA, before they re-signed Shannon Brown. I think LA felt they would have to pay Brown $12m/3 years and Delonte could have been had at the veterans minimum. Brown wound up signing for $4.6m/2 years, so he was cheaper then expected.

Delonte and Shaq are absolute steals at the veteran minimum.

This discussion indirectly relates to something I've always believed about one trait required to be a great general manager. Of course, it's important to know personnel, to be conversant with the CBA, to have mutuality of trust with ownership, etc.

But I think an underrated quality is a sense of the rhythm and timing involving matters of personnel. It's similar to when an instinctive feel for the rhythm and pace of a game influences coaching decisions in ways that many fans might not recognize.

Starting with the draft and extending through the preseason, a good general manager can feel when he needs to pounce opportunistically and when he should wait things out. Forexample, Danny seldom tries to trade up in the draft, and I believe it's because he has an instinctive feel that, if he waits, things will shake down so that opportunities will exist. His one trade that sticks out was for Rondo.

When he waits, it frequently results in a contributor like Gomes, Powe, and (I hope) Harangody. I don't think he was specifically aiming for any one of them; but, in each case, he had a sixth sense that there would be a good apple on the tree for him.

Same thing with respect to free agents. Danny didn't panic when financial and CBA constraints limited his possible moves early in this very dynamic free agent period. He waited for opportunities and then pursued them diligently. Some people may feel he had no choice, but I don't believe that to be true. He could have caved in fear that lesser players would be picked up and he'd wind up with nothing but chaff.

I'm not suggesting Danny is alone in this respect. It's just that I've had an opportunity to observe him more closely than other general managers.

I think Danny would be a very good poker player.

Sam

tjmakz wrote:Delonte would have been a nice addition to LA, before they re-signed Shannon Brown. I think LA felt they would have to pay Brown $12m/3 years and Delonte could have been had at the veterans minimum. Brown wound up signing for $4.6m/2 years, so he was cheaper then expected.

Delonte and Shaq are absolute steals at the veteran minimum.

TJ,

I agree that Delonte and Shaq are steals at the vet minimum.

If you had to pick one of each, who would you prefer on your team and why? For the moment, set aside their relative contract values and only discuss the players themselves. I'm asking for this from the perspective of a Lakers fan considering the Lakers' needs. Obviously, what the Celtics needed to get better is different from the Lakers, so the answers might be completely different from the angle of some other poster on this board. If you'd like to factor in the $ and their "bang for the buck", fine, but I'm interested in your opinions of the players themselves first and what you believe they'd contribute to the Lakers.

1.
Almost 25 yo (b-day 11/29) Shannon Brown, extremely athletic and dangerous in the open court but not a great outside shooter and not known as a defensive stopper or,

27 yo (b-day 7/26) Delonte West, good shooter and good defender, the starting guard on the team with the best record in the NBA last year, but somewhat unstable mentally.

2.
37 yo Theo Ratliff, solid defender and great shotblocker but virtually inept on offense or,

38 yo Shaq, slow on defensive rotations but a freight train going downhill on offense.

Clearly, having Shaq come back to the Lakers was about as likely as sticking your hand into a fire and getting frostbite, but let's set aside the personal chemistry aspect of their talent (e.g. Delonte coming back to the Celtics is good chemistry as is Shannon Brown going back to the Lakers) and talk about just their games.

bob
P.S. Sam'll have a conniption for taking chemistry out of the discussion, but since the die is already cast on who'll be playing for whom, this is just a mental game of hypothetical "what ifs" with no chance of becoming reality. A version of fantasy basketball, if you will, that takes into account player's skills working within the team's system but not egos or sterile out-of-context analysis of individual stats.


.

Bob,

I can't afford a conniption. My doctor charges $75 for fit therapy.

Sam

Sam wrote:This discussion indirectly relates to something I've always believed about one trait required to be a great general manager. Of course, it's important to know personnel, to be conversant with the CBA, to have mutuality of trust with ownership, etc.

But I think an underrated quality is a sense of the rhythm and timing involving matters of personnel. It's similar to when an instinctive feel for the rhythm and pace of a game influences coaching decisions in ways that many fans might not recognize.

Starting with the draft and extending through the preseason, a good general manager can feel when he needs to pounce opportunistically and when he should wait things out. Forexample, Danny seldom tries to trade up in the draft, and I believe it's because he has an instinctive feel that, if he waits, things will shake down so that opportunities will exist. His one trade that sticks out was for Rondo.

When he waits, it frequently results in a contributor like Gomes, Powe, and (I hope) Harangody. I don't think he was specifically aiming for any one of them; but, in each case, he had a sixth sense that there would be a good apple on the tree for him.

Same thing with respect to free agents. Danny didn't panic when financial and CBA constraints limited his possible moves early in this very dynamic free agent period. He waited for opportunities and then pursued them diligently. Some people may feel he had no choice, but I don't believe that to be true. He could have caved in fear that lesser players would be picked up and he'd wind up with nothing but chaff.

I'm not suggesting Danny is alone in this respect. It's just that I've had an opportunity to observe him more closely than other general managers.

I think Danny would be a very good poker player.

Sam

Sam I think Danny is a great poker player,but hes also got the clout of a HoF core that helps even more,in that they're still hungry to win and they are behind the scenes,possibly at the forefront behind the scenes talking and recruiting friends and foes,making Dannys recruiting alot easier than say the Sixers GM,want to play with Igodala?KG and Pierce in my book still have alot of clout,its still a players league.

bobheckler wrote:Funny this never came up this summer.

http://www.playerpress.com/articles/10428-lakers-close-to-getting-delonte-west

bob

.

Bob-

I never heard anything about this anywhere else, and since I've never heard of "playerpress" before, and since this wouldn't make sense for the Lakers, I'm thinking the reason none of us heard this is because it wasn't a consideration.

Having signed Blake and resigned Fish and Brown, I don't think West was considered beyond the play the Lakers made to trade Sasha for him so they could get off the hook for those $$$ by cutting West.

I think West was a good signing by the Cs, as they have a history with him and know what they're getting, but with Artest and Barnes already in the locker room, seems like West would have ben one loose cannon too many in LA.