Laker Linkage – 10/7/09
October 7th, 2009 | by Garrett Wilson |- The Story: A poll of the NBA General Managers shows that the Lakers are the consensus team to beat. The Fire Says: Awww, I totally thought it was going to be the Knicks. Damn. This comes as no surprise, not only because the Lakers are defending champs but because opposing GMs are dumb enough to make any waves in a vote like this.
- The Story: The Lakers and Kobe both expect to have a contract extension worked out well in advance of the season. The Fire Says: It doesn’t seem like there should be any reason for the two sides not to come to an agreement since Kobe obviously deserves the max and the Lakers have no valid reason not to give it to him. Everything else is just tiny details that should be ironed out easily.
- The Story: Lakers Nation takes a look at the potential Laker point guard rotation and sees Jordan Farmar as the odd man out. The Fire Says: It is hard to argue with that based on last year’s performance, but with Jordan in a contract year and Shannon a possible flash in the pan, this predicament certainly isn’t figured out just yet.
- The Story: Phil Jackson praised Adam Morrison as the team’s best shooter right now. The Fire Says: That is good news for Ammo, but he still likely won’t find much of a role this year, especially once Jackson realizes that Morrison’s shooting doesn’t mean much when he can’t get himself open to actually take a shot. Consider this talk just the Lakers trying to pump up Morrison’s trade value to something more than just an expiring contract.
- The Story: DJ Mbenga returned to practice after missing the last five days with a hip flexor injury. The Fire Says: I’m sure everyone will rest much easier now, knowing that the all-important Mbenga is on the road to recovery.
- The Story: Expect Adam Morrison to be the Lakers 12th man over DJ Mbenga most nights. The Fire Says: The Lakers feel like it makes more sense to carry an extra shooter most games rather than a fifth big man.
Tags: Adam Morrison, Daily Links, DJ Mbenga, extension, free agency rumors, injury update, Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Shannon Brown
