Threatdown 2010-11: The Oklahoma City Thunder

The last time we saw the Oklahoma City Thunder they were giving the Lakers a run for the money in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.  With some post-season experience now under their belt, can Kevin Durant and his cohorts finish what they started and topple the Lakers this season?

Kobe and Durant, a rivalry for years to come?

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Laker Linkage – 8/10/10

Daily links for the LA Lakers including Kobe’s legacy is a big winner, Bryant shoots with a high degree of difficulty, the rookie outlook for Devin Ebanks and much more.

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Laker Linkage – 7/22/10

Daily links for the LA Lakers including Odom is in horrible shape, Lakers are back in the Matt Barnes bidding, Josh Powell to sign in Atlanta and much more.

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Laker Linkage – 7/19/10

Daily links for the LA Lakers including Riley used the Lakers to recruit LeBron, LA interested in Jeremy Lin, keeping Shannon Brown and much more.

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Laker Linkage – 7/15/10

• The Story: Raja Bell has decided to sign with the Utah Jazz instead of the Lakers.   The Fire Says: Well, I was right, Bell wasn’t destined for the Lakers, but my Heat prediction fell short too.  Bell ultimately opted against pursuing a sure shot at a ring in favor of getting the biggest payday possible in Utah.
• The Story: The Lakers are still talking to Shannon Brown about bringing him back.   The Fire Says: Bell signs elsewhere and the Lakers suddenly up their interest in re-signing Brown?  Can’t be a coincidence.  The Lakers haven’t really been linked with any other free agent guards, so it seem pretty likely at this point that Shannon will be throwing down his monster dunks for the Lakers again next season.
• The Story: Dwyane Wade says the Lakers are still the team to beat.   The Fire Says: This is part Wade being politically correct but also part him subtly announcing that the Heat will be specifically gunning to take down the Lakers, so don’t go thinking that Dwyane is just being all humble out of the goodness of his heart.
• The Story: Steve Blake was officially introduced as a Laker for the first time.   The Fire Says: Blake said all the right things in the press conference, specifically about how he is prepared to accept any role the Lakers want to use him in.  He will undoubtedly come off the bench, but there is a chance that he could end up logging more minutes per night than Derek Fisher.
• The Story: Michael Jordan says Kobe is better than LeBron.   The Fire Says: There is some debate as to when Jordan actually made these remarks, but it shouldn’t matter because at the end of the day Kobe gets a big moral victory here.  Both he and LeBron both grew up idolizing His Royal Airness, so you know that it has to stick in LeBron’s craw that Jordan gave his endorsement to Kobe.
• The Story: Boxer Andre Berto thinks Trevor Ariza regrets his decision to sign with the Rockets.   The Fire Says: I’m not sure why anyone cares here because Berto (and I fully admit that I am not a boxing fan, so I have no idea who he is) only seems to be a casual acquaintance of Ariza and is merely speculating here.  He’s probably right though but only because anyone who jumped ship from a team only to have them win a title in his absence is bound to have some second thoughts about their decision.
• The Story: The Laker Girls are holding auditions this Saturday.   The Fire Says: On a related note, I will be lurking in the tunnels of the Staples Center with high-end video and telescopic equipment this Saturday.  Errrr, I mean, I’ll be hanging out with my wife because she is the only woman for me (sigh).
• The Story: Ron Artest for some reason posted video taken during a visit to a strip club to his Twitter account.   The Fire Says: A pro athlete visiting a strip joint isn’t exactly news, but his public announcing of it is in poor taste and attracting unwanted attention.
• The Story: Ron Artest is sponsoring a “Fcuk LeBron” party this weekend in New York City.   The Fire Says: OK, time for the Lakers to send out a Ron-Ron wrangler.  I have no problem with Artest not being a LeBron fan, but putting his name on such a party (assuming he really did as it wouldn’t be the first time a club promoter used a celebrity’s name without permission) again attracts unnecessary attention.  For a guy who just spent a whole season impressing us with his maturity and lack of craziness, the summer isn’t getting off to a great start in that area.  Someone get his shrink on the phone.

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Discussion: Can the Big Three of the Heat Stop a Laker Three-Peat?

“The Decision” has been made and LeBron is headed to South Beach to try and form a superteam with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (plus Mike Miller, hooray for the token white guy!) in an impressive attempt to create a contender the like of which has never been seen.  But even with the new “Big Three” banded together, will it be enough for to topple the mighty Lakers?

This week’s discussion: Can the “Big Three” of the Heat stop a Laker Three-Peat?

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Laker Linkage – 7/9/10

• The Story: LeBron James has decided to join the Miami Heat.   The Fire Says: I really thought he was going to stay in Cleveland, but Miami it is.  Get ready for all kinds of talk about the supposedly unavoidable Heat-Lakers Finals showdown (you know, just like the Cavs-Lakers Finals we were supposed to get the last two seasons).  I don’t see any scenario in which the Lakers and Heat don’t play each other this Christmas as the NBA is not going to miss a chance to drum up a rivalry between the Lakers and this new supposed Eastern Conference juggernaut.
• The Story: Las Vegas oddsmakers currently have the Heat as the favorites to win the 2011 NBA championship.   The Fire Says: Apparently Vegas is unaware that you need more than three players to field a basketball team and right now the Heat have just four guys under contract and nothing left to dole out but minimum contracts.  This Miami team will be good, but how good can they really be with three stars and nine scrubs?  By the way, the Lakers are now 5-1 odds to win it all, so if anyone is in Vegas this weekend, kindly drop a 20 spot on them for me because I like those odds.  I’m good for it, I swear.
• The Story: Blame the Lakers for the NBA apocalypse.   The Fire Says: That is a great take.  One really has to wonder if this Miami Heat super team would have ever come to fruition if the Lakers hadn’t become a budding dynasty in the last three years.  Everyone is gunning for them now and building a roster full of stars to combat the Lakers star-studded roster seems to be the only tactic anyone can come up with.
• The Story: Will the Miami Heat make a run at Derek Fisher?   The Fire Says: A decent idea for Miami, but I don’t see how the Heat can lure him to South Beach with just a minimum salary seeing how Fisher is already being offered a minimum of $2.5 million by the Lakers.
• The Story: The Lakers’ signing of Steve Blake became official yesterday.   The Fire Says: Welcome aboard, Steve!
• The Story: Kobe Bryant supports Fisher and wished LeBron well.   The Fire Says: Kobe goes the political route, using his media time to keep the sales pitch going for Fisher while also taking the high road and not saying anything controversial in regards to LeBron James no matter how much the press might want him to say something to stoke the rivalry they are trying to manufacture.
• The Story: Josh Powell’s ex-girlfriend has been arrested for drug trafficking.   The Fire Says: The sad part here is that J-Peezy has a child with the woman and now it seems that mommy is going to be headed for prison for quite some time.
• The Story: Dime Magazine rates Pau Gasol as the top sidekick in the NBA.   The Fire Says: Well, duh.  I just want to see the list next season once they figure out if LeBron is Dwyane Wade’s sidekick or the other way around.

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Nine Reasons Every Laker Fan Should Watch the LeBron Decision Show

LeBron’s “The Decision” television special has been announced for one day, but already everyone is tired of it and treating the event with open disdain.  Well I am here to put and end to that, at least for Laker fans who should grab a bowl of popcorn and the good seat on the couch for this television event.  Not buying it?  I’ve got nine reasons to prove I am right and you are wrong:

For Laker fans, seeing LeBron pick a team is Must See TV.

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Laker Linkage – 7/8/10

• The Story: The NBA salary cap will be set at $58 million.   The Fire Says: This doesn’t mean much to the Lakers other than the cap coming in higher than expected means so does the luxury tax threshold, so they won’t be paying quite as much as anticipated, though that isn’t likely to persuade them to spend more than they originally planned.
• The Story: The Lakers are not among Raja Bell’s top three preferred destinations.   The Fire Says: See, I told you.  Kobe may want Raja in LA badly, but as I predicted, Bell seems to want nothing to do with the his old nemesis.
• The Story: Derek Fisher has returned home after a trip to Shanghai.   The Fire Says: Fish is priority 1A on the Lakers’ off-season to-do list, so his being back in town will hopefully expedite his signing though I think negotiations could be tough considering the initial offer to Derek was just $2.5 million but they are now paying his back-up, Steve Blake, $4 million per season.
• The Story: Stan Van Gundy praises Kobe for the way he handles himself and ridicules LeBron’s egotistical media tactics.   The Fire Says: OK, so officially everyone is on record as thinking LeBron’s “The Decision” show is a travesty, but you know we are all going to watch it if only to see what kind of spectacle LeBron makes of himself.
• The Story: Inside the Laker Summer League roster.   The Fire Says: Just in case you wanted the inside scoop on a roster largely composed of guys who will never see a minute of action in NBA games.  The Lakers are loaded up on big men though, so it is possible some of them get a training camp invite, with Rob Kurz being the front runner since he has legit NBA experience.
• The Story: Kobe Bryant’s basketball camp started yesterday.   The Fire Says: And I should know because it is practically taking place in my backyard, the UC-Santa Barbara.  Like everything else here in Santa Barbara, the camp is crazy expensive but most likely worth the price.

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Laker Linkage – 6/21/10

• The Story: Phil Jackson is worth whatever it takes.   The Fire Says: While true, it seems that a paycut is going to be part of the deal for Phil if he wants to come back to the Lakers.  The payroll in LA is just getting too bloated and in order to keep affording it, Jackson is going to have to tighten his belt.  The real question is how much of a paycut do the Buss family expect Jackson to take?
• The Story: Magic Johnson is willing to give Jerry Buss money in order to keep Phil Jackson.   The Fire Says: Magic is a part-owner, so he can do it and I am sure that Jerry Buss wishes he hadn’t said it in public because it just cost them leverage in negotiations.
• The Story: Game 7 drew the highest ratings since 1998.   The Fire Says: In this day and age of television, those ratings are absolutely huge.  I’m sure the NBA will be glad to rig the next season so these teams have a rematch again next season.  As long as the result is the same, I’m good with it.  Hooray for collusion!
• The Story: President Obama calls Phil Jackson.   The Fire Says: After 11 titles, I wonder if Phil is even impressed by getting to talk to the President anymore?
• The Story: Should the Lakers retire Derek Fisher’s number?   The Fire Says: His numbers say no, but my heart says yes.  Ultimately, I don’t think anyone would complain if his number did wind up hanging in the rafters.
• The Story: Check out the Lakers Wheaties box.   The Fire Says: Does anyone really eat Wheaties or do they just produce it after championships now?
• The Story: The Lakers are expected to target Steve Blake, Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson.   The Fire Says: That is an uninspiring list, but if I had to choose one, I’d vote Blake since he is the best shooter.  I just hope the report isn’t true about LA being unwilling to use their MLE as I suspect they could get a pretty good player with it since there is bound to be a quality veteran willing to take a paycut in order to chase a title.
• The Story: Arron Afflalo tweets that there won’t be a three-peat.   The Fire Says: If a second-string guard tweets, does anybody care?  No, no they do not.
• The Story: Check out the Lakers’ appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The Fire Says: Welcome to the media section of the links, hold on tight, we got some more.
• The Story: Check out Pau Gasol’s appearance on The Tonight Show. The Fire Says: Remember when Leno used to be funny?  Yeah, neither do I.
• The Story: It is here, Ron Artest’s new single Champion.   The Fire Says: As funny as all this Artest nonsense is, doesn’t anyone else think it was awful ballsy of Artest to record a single called Champion before the team even won the title?
• The Story: The Lakers’ championship run was one of the unlikeliest ever.   The Fire Says: What?  No it wasn’t.  Not even close.  Am I the only one that remembers that this team was the odds on favorite to win the title before the season?  Or that there was legit talk about this team winning 70+ games?  Yeah, they had some injury woes, but come on, to call it the “unlikeliest ever” is flat out ridiculous.
• The Story: Kobe doesn’t even want to think about a LeBron-Wade combo.   The Fire Says: And I don’t think he will have to.  Those guys aren’t going to give up the money to pair together, especially since they seem like a bad pairing anyway since they both need the ball so much.
• The Story: The LAFD needs your help to identify arson suspects from the post-Game 7 riots.   The Fire Says: Oh!  I know them, they’re drunken idiots!!  Glad I could help.
• The Story: Mike Miller wants to play for the Lakers.   The Fire Says: I like it.  Miller is a great shooter, a smart player and a deft passer.  I just don’t know that he is going to be willing to work for the price that the Lakers would pay.
• The Story: Tracy McGrady wants to play for the Lakers.   The Fire Says: Heck, he just wants a job.  T-Mac would actually be a very interesting fit for the Lakers, though the price will be a sticking point again as would the fact that he would also have to accept being just a role player.  Frankly, I would avoid him only because he is jinxed, having never won a single post-season series despite his supposed greatness.
• The Story: Mike Dunleavy says the Lakers need to keep Derek Fisher.   The Fire Says: They do, but typically agreeing with a former Clipper GM is a bad way to go.
• The Story: The Lakers top John Hollinger’s franchise rankings.   The Fire Says: I could have told you that and done it with a lot less math.

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