Re: Defending quicker point guards. Nash probably wouldn't guard an athletic, Westbrook style PG anyway, Kobe or to some extent Meta would.

I think it's a good move for the Lakers, maybe because I'm a fan of Nash.

Metta can't guard a quick point guard anymore. Kobe gets stuck with the assignment in crunch time but I don't think they really want him to have to take on the assignment for the entire game, especially as he gets older. When they play OC and have to guard Westbrook and Harden at the same time, one of the two is going to cause problems. They've been looking for a quick point guard for years though and haven't been able to find one, or at least one that can play defense. I'm a Nash fan too and like the move. Just sayin' that he really isn't a perfect fit.

I'd look at it like this: Kobe is always going to get his. If he has to exert a bit more on defense and score a little less, but the end result is Bynum averaging 25+ a game because youve got a PG that can get the ball into the paint then so be it.

Of course this could also be 2.0 of the Gary Payton and Karl Malone season. Mike Brown is still the coach and between Kobe, Nash, and Bynum you certainly have the potential for an injury or two.

Moderate upgrade...but... Not enough to beat a surely improved OKC

Seems like they may need a rebuild here pretty quick...same with Celts but want to give it a cpl more years

I don't know about that. OKC is clearly a more talented team and perhaps more importantly a terrible head to head match for the Lakers. That said, the Lakers are still a very good team. Bryant is still amongst the best players in the league. Nash is an upgrade. Bynum is still young and (hopefully) improving. They were trying to adapt to a new coach and a non-triangle offense in shortened season. I don't want them to ignore reality and refuse to rebuild forever like the Ewing era Knicks did, but it's too soon. They could still have a championship or two left in them.

They wouldn't have won those last two titles without Pau and he either doesn't want to be there or is broken/done. They gotta fix that.

if i'm pau i take my money, build a massiva villa on the coast near barcelona, and live on jamon iberico, green olives, and rioja for the next 40 years.

He obviously didn't play as well last season but I don't think he's done. He has really struggled to figure out his role playing more minutes alongside a more offensively minded Bynum in a new offensive system. People seem to forget that last year was the first year of the post-Phil Jackson/triangle offense and that they had a very truncated season to try to figure out the new systems and their roles in it. It affected Pau more than most as he went from 2nd option to 3rd option, from playing mostly at C to playing more at PF, and spending a lot more time on the perimeter. The triangle offense was a great system for him which really played to his strengths. They either have to figure out how to utilize him better or trade him for someone who is a better fit.

What's weird is he only averaged 1-1.5 points less per game than his previous five years and had basically the same same RB/AST numbers.

I wish him the best but with Bradley, Terry & Green, we'll more than make up for Ray.

I've lost a little respect for Ray Allen in this.

why? the team wanted to trade him anyway and he's going to be demoted for a guy who hasn't proven anything. he took less money to get a shot at a ring. what did you want him to do?

we say that we want these guys to value winning above all...but that's just not true.

Hard to explain. Guess it just seems to me that he's hopping on a winning bandwagon for no other real reason that to get another ring. Another is key. I can see players like Nash, Barkley, et al doing it for a chance to win their first. Eh, it's no big deal, really. NBA is way down the line of sports interests for me.

So just because Ray Allen went to a team to join up with other players to win a ring, he can't now do it again? Confusing.

Oh, he can. And is. It just doesn't get my personal seal of approval. Ok?

if I was a good a spot-up shooter as ray allen is, I would have LONG AGO started chasing titles with 1-year deals as their 3pt option. Try to put big shot rob in my rear view.

But then you have Garnett.

I don't follow

I think he may be referring to Garnett staying aboard what Allen may view as a sinking ship. That's pure speculation.

ray allen is pretty much washed up from what i've seen. not sure it will matter much for the heat, either way.

is he more washed up than mike miller was?

All he has to do is sit behind the three point line and fire...somewhat of a liability on the defensive end, but his shooting no doubt makes up for it.

yeah that's what i meant.

i don't think allen is washed up though. he apparently keeps himself in great shape and he still was decent when he was playing with bone spurs.