T-Mac Wants To Be A Laker

[Apollo]

The guy could retire.

[jeevie]

Tells you something about T-mac. I guess he's given up as a player and just wants a ring he didn't even earn himself.

He isn't giving up as a "player" he is simply accepting numerous factors: injuries, knees, age (for him it's a factor), and his role.

After a while his age is catching up with him due to the fact that he has been injured in the past few years which limits his ability to be a leader on a team IMO. Accepting a lesser role and being a team player doesn't mean he's going to lay down and die it just means he wants less money for the fact that he can go to a contending team and contribute to what they need him to do.

I would love for the Lakers to build an Aged All-Star bench much like the Celtics, the rest of the league is going after the summit series FA's this summer, if the Lakers try to get people like T-Mac at the Veteran salary I believe they can threepeat next year! I'm for it!

Seeing Nash on the lakers would be rough though, do they move Fisher to the bench? Or place Nash on the bench?

[jeevie]

They will be resigning Fisher, I'd expect for a modest contract seeing how he's BIG-TIME, and helped win 5 NBA titles.

One more interesting thing. Adam Morrison's contract is done. That's $5.2M off the books. Then when you add in Brown, Fisher, Ilunga-Mbenga and Josh Powell you have another $9M off the books. That's close to $15M off the books this off season while not even considering if they keep Farmar.

heh, Adam Morrison makes me laugh check this out:

[Nick]

The guy could retire.

He could definately retire. But watching Fish go for his fifth was pretty amazing. Its obvious this guy only gets his thrills playing high caliber bball. He's still got a couple years left, he played an integral role on their team, & Kobe wants him back more then anybody. Fish is one of the craftiest PG's in the league, and could definately be part of more championships. I just don't see it happening...

[mo-sales]

It depends on the direction they might want to go. Kobe will be pushing hard for him to come back, but I don't see how they can beat the Thunder next year with him at point guard.

Would he accept a role coming off the bench?

The Tmac move doesn't seem like a great one, they get older and slower. I still think he has something to offer, but how many pseudo alpha males can one team have before it starts to self destruct.

If they thought defending thier title the first time was hard, going for a threepeat is even harder. Outside of Kobe and Gasol, everyone's head is already expanding.

[Nick]

It depends on the direction they might want to go. Kobe will be pushing hard for him to come back, but I don't see how they can beat the Thunder next year with him at point guard.

Would he accept a role coming off the bench?

The Tmac move doesn't seem like a great one, they get older and slower. I still think he has something to offer, but how many pseudo alpha males can one team have before it starts to self destruct.

If they thought defending thier title the first time was hard, going for a threepeat is even harder. Outside of Kobe and Gasol, everyone's head is already expanding.

Actually thats a great point, I'm honestly scratching my head wondering who would compete with the Lakers if they got T-mac. A young, amazing thunder roster could do it. As for Fish, I think you would see the Lakers go 3 deep at the PG until playoffs then just headman it with Fish. He would probably accept a role off the bench, but will probably just get his minutes reduced to keep his legs.

As for the ego's, I honestly think thats under control. Everybody knows this is Kobe's team, and if they don Laker yellow, they will adhere to Mambas rules.

A threepeat would be insane. But what better way to bolster your chances by adding on of the most prolific scorers in the game (when healthy.) I HATE Tmac, but you gotta admit, the man can fill it up.

[hateslosing]

Wel, Phil Jackson always wins in threes (assuming he's back) and if they add a guy like T-mac to their bench, they would be the far and away favorites again. Just think, they'd have Lemar Odom, Vujacic, Farmar, Walton, and T-mac as their bench. I'm pretty sure that is better than most teams starting units.

[Hotshot]

Actually thats a great point, I'm honestly scratching my head wondering who would compete with the Lakers if they got T-mac..

Tmac is a hog and a has been, there is no way he would have enough room and minutes to succeed with a backcourt featuring Kobe, Artest and the Candy man.