okaydo;842848327 said:

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This dude that I went to junior high with would be so proud that I'm a Lakers fan again.

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Probably couldn't play basketball at all

okaydo;842848327 said:

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This dude that I went to junior high with would be so proud that I'm a Lakers fan again.

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retroactively changed name from LEW ALCINDOR, damn impressive. Went to school with a guy named Buss. Sister changed his name to loser.

BearNecessities;842848336 said:

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Probably couldn't play basketball at all

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Yeah, you're right...doesn't look very tall at all.

wifeisafurd;842848352 said:

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retroactively changed name from LEW ALCINDOR, damn impressive. Went to school with a guy named Buss. Sister changed his name to loser.

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That really is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But seriously: I went to schools with the children of the 2 most famous athletes to convert to Islam.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-26/sports/sp-17933_1_kareem-abdul-jabbar

okaydo;842848362 said:

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That really is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But seriously: I went to schools with the children of the 2 most famous athletes to convert to Islam.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-26/sports/sp-17933_1_kareem-abdul-jabbar

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The tall guy from that Bachelorette episode has a son?

TheSouseFamily;842848396 said:

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The tall guy from that Bachelorette episode has a son?

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WAIT -- the TV critic with the Muslim name used to play basketball?!?!?

Fun fact: UCLA alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar currently works for a Cal alum.

okaydo;842848418 said:

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Fun fact: UCLA alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar currently works for a Cal alum.

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For a crap student newspaper, it seems that the DC has produced some very successful alumni.

tequila4kapp;842847815 said:

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Anything that eliminates moves made by Jim Buss is a win. This does that x2. Also consider that Russell missed games with a knee injury that required platelet treatment, never a good thing for a 2nd year 21 year old NBA player.

They presumably will have a lineup that includes Ball, Clarkson, Ingrim, Randle and Lopez (age: 29, not old). Plus the young center, Nance and the two other 1st round picks this year (or George). That certainly gives them pieces and a legitimate thought of becoming relevant (baby steps. They are years away from challenging the W's)

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Very good draft for the Lakers. I'm a fan of Kuzma as well. Wonder what Magic and Pelinka do about Deng and his contract?

That's funny. Matt is a friend of a friend I've met a few times. Good guy. Didn't realize he stopped practicing law.

6bear6;842847797 said:

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Looks like they're taking Ball at number 2. I'd prefer to see them take Josh Jackson from Kansas at small forward. Next year, Paul George and maybe we can give the Warriors a run for their money.

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6bear6

Basketball chatter belongs on the basketball board, not football. Thx.

71Bear;842847849 said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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If Lebron leaves Cleveland but does not win a championship, I think his legacy takes a major blow! He should stay and fight to the finish there. Otherwise he seems desperate, and that second place thing hangs heavy. Elgin and West lost a ton, but for the same team and to the great Celtics.

concordtom;842848493 said:

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If Lebron leaves Cleveland but does not win a championship, I think his legacy takes a major blow! He should stay and fight to the finish there. Otherwise he seems desperate, and that second place thing hangs heavy. Elgin and West lost a ton, but for the same team and to the great Celtics.

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He won a title in Cleveland. Last year.

grandmastapoop;842847834 said:

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Lopez is an expiring. They don't give a crap about him. They did this to get rid of Mozgov. Russell was expendable, as they've decided he's not a star. This will give them roughly $70M in cap space for Summer 2018. Hello, LeBron and Paul George. Put them with the other young pieces and you have a title contender.

As a Laker hater, I will take a small sliver of joy in watching Kobe fans have to root for LeBron to pass him in titles.

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Funny.
You really think that could happen? Lebron and George to LAL?
What would the L's 8 man rotation look like?

grandmastapoop;842848494 said:

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He won a title in Cleveland. Last year.

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Uh, duh.
Your point?

concordtom;842848498 said:

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Uh, duh.
Your point?

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I mean, it would be his fourth team, and his last 3 moves were mercenary moves to get a championship.

Lebron is an all time great, and his "how many" straight Finals is seriously impressive. But to constantly be shuffling... not respectful.

A lot of folks didn't like the move to Miami. I didn't mind it.
A lot of folks didn't like the move to Cleveland . I thought it was great.
I wouldn't like yet another bail from Cleveland after getting served by the Warriors. Stay and fight. He's good enough to draw talent. Why leave?

concordtom;842848492 said:

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6bear6

Basketball chatter belongs on the basketball board, not football. Thx.

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Physician, heal thyself

grandmastapoop;842847865 said:

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I just do not see him going to LAC.

The only reason I have a hard time seeing LeBron actually going to L.A. is because he doesn't have time to wait for their young players to get better. He has to believe he can make them championship-caliber immediately. He turns 33 (!) early next season, and he's played so many minutes in his career. He has zero seasons to waste.

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Great point. I agree.
His body may last, but it's not a sure thing. The time is now!

Beardog26;842847903 said:

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So OT threads on politics, food, books, and Phd content in water are permitted but a thread on the Lakers is not because it is a team from Los Angeles? Butt hurt much? Perhaps try not opening the thread.

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OT on football board works. Lots of eyes for chatter on football board, none on OT board.
But there is a healthy basketball board with lots of basketball eyes for chatter.
I would have seen this basketball topic sooner there, like basketball, don't visit football board often.

okaydo;842848327 said:

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This dude that I went to junior high with would be so proud that I'm a Lakers fan again.

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Kareem and Louella in a competition for tallest hair.

"I will not be outdone!"

okaydo;842848362 said:

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That really is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But seriously: I went to schools with the children of the 2 most famous athletes to convert to Islam.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-26/sports/sp-17933_1_kareem-abdul-jabbar

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Cool, even the 1990s yearbooks look like the ones from the 1960s. Is this the Brentwood that was Brentwood Academy off Sunset? If so, grew-up playing on their athlete field (lived in a canyon nearby). Might add OJ's kids went to that Brentwood, perhaps not the best celeb reference these days.

wifeisafurd;842848545 said:

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Cool, even the 1990s yearbooks look like the ones from the 1960s. Is this the Brentwood that was Brentwood Academy off Sunset? If so, grew-up playing on their athlete field (lived in a canyon nearby). Might add OJ's kids went to that Brentwood, perhaps not the best celeb reference these days.

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I don't know. I only went to junior high with Kareem Jr., and my junior high is 10 miles from Brentwood.

Speaking of OJ, Johnnie Cochran worked across the street from my junior high (now a middle school), and The Cochran Firm has kept his office preserved long after his death.

Where does discussion of burritos belong?

71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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Bump.

GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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Bump.

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Wonder where the Lakers are going with the rest of their roster.....

GMP said:

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As a Laker hater, I will take a small sliver of joy in watching Kobe fans have to root for LeBron to pass him in titles.

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Given that the W's are going to stay together for most likely several more years, the emergence of Houton, the age of Lebron, there is no certainty the Lakers will even get to as many title games as Kobe, much less surpass his championship win total.

Bear19 said:

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Given that the W's are going to stay together for most likely several more years, the emergence of Houton, the age of Lebron, there is no certainty the Lakers will even get to as many title games as Kobe, much less surpass his championship win total.

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As a Laker fan who has enjoyed the Warriors, having been at Cal during their mid 2000s underdog runs and simply someone who appreciates excellence/pretty basketball... my first thought was "man, for the first time in my adult life the Lakers and Warriors (should be) good at the same time. Decisions..."

(as I said, I'm a Laker fan)

Clearly, LBJ by himself doesn't mean the Lakers are going to be challenging the Warriors (or Houston, or maybe OKC) as constructed. Beating the Warriors requires more than just beating them on paper, they had a system that made Klay+Steph+Draymond+Iggy > the sum of the parts, then added KD, who is the best scoring threat in the league (though I do think some of the magic sauce from the prior years went away when he came; obviously it was still a big net positive).

I was/am a Kobe homer but its been almost a decade since it was obvious Lebron was better, so outside some strangeness, I don't have a problem on that front. Lebron is the best talent of this generation, and likely the most uniquely capable player the NBA has seen, all considered.

Father time is undefeated, but I figure Lebron is about as well equipped as any to give it a run. Will be interesting to see how hard LA pushes to get Kawhi, or if they're willing to sacrifice a year of his prime to get the FAs of their choice in a year.

I think the Lakers should offer Wagner, Ingram, and a future first for Leonard. Is that enough to get him?

Is Kawhi ever going to be KAWHI again? What kind of mysterious quad injury makes someone miss this much time?

It will be fun with Bron finally in the west, but he's going to need a lot of help to turn them into a legit title contender and he's going to have to work very hard to get through the Western conference playoffs compared to what he's used to.

GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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Bump.

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It is nice to be remembered. Thanks!

wifeisafurd said:

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GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

---

Bump.

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Wonder where the Lakers are going with the rest of their roster.....

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Doesn't matter. Heck, no matter what they do, they are still no better than the second best pro hoops team in California. Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

71Bear said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

---

Bump.

---

Wonder where the Lakers are going with the rest of their roster.....

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Doesn't matter. Heck, no matter what they do, they are still no better than the second best pro hoops team in California. Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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I don't disagree with you, but as a Lakers fan it is really nice to be relevant again.

Lakers vs. Warriors will be a replay of Warriors vs Cavaliers. The questions is how the rest of the Lakers roster compares to the assorted Cavaliers teams. They don't have a Kyrie Irving but are arguably better than the 2018 Cav's roster. I think they will compete and have a fighters chance, though they are clearly an underdog.

oski003 said:

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I think the Lakers should offer Wagner, Ingram, and a future first for Leonard. Is that enough to get him?

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Why? They have LeBron for four years. Just wait the Spurs out and Kawhi will come next summer without having to give up anything.

71Bear said:

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GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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Bump.

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It is nice to be remembered. Thanks!

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You shouldn't feel bad. While trying to find this thread, I found a post I made arguing that the Cavs won the Kyrie trade, which is a horrible take in hindsight. In my defense, I didn't know IT would never recover. If Kyrie remains injury-prone, though, it won't be as bad as it currently looks. A year later, it sure seems like the Cavs should have told Kyrie too bad, we're not trading you. They might have won the title (if he was healthy). It might have kept LeBron, and even he left, they'd have Kyrie to run the show.

GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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GMP said:

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71Bear said:

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West and James are tight - that is the thinking behind why a lot of the "experts" are saying James to the Clippers.

I hope James does come out to the Coast. It would be fun to see him play v. the Warriors more frequently than just twice a year plus the title series each year.

GMP - Yes, we can revisit this post next year.

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Bump.

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It is nice to be remembered. Thanks!

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You shouldn't feel bad. While trying to find this thread, I found a post I made arguing that the Cavs won the Kyrie trade, which is a horrible take in hindsight. In my defense, I didn't know IT would never recover. If Kyrie remains injury-prone, though, it won't be as bad as it currently looks. A year later, it sure seems like the Cavs should have told Kyrie too bad, we're not trading you. They might have won the title (if he was healthy). It might have kept LeBron, and even he left, they'd have Kyrie to run the show.

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Heck, I have made at least a dozen dumb predictions over the years. I take the Howard Cosell approach. Who cares about the bad ones, it is the long shots that you call that can make your career (see Cassius Clay over Sonny Liston in their first bout). That call made Cosell a star because he never let people forget he called it.

Of course, I am still waiting for my first big break.

(does predicting that Geoff MacArthur would be a star after watching him in practice count)?