How screwed are we?...
by Andrew Feinstein on Jul 30, 2009 7:44 PM MDT
in Denver Nuggets: News and Opinion
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Whatever glimmer of hope Nuggets fans had that the Lakers might botch the re-signing of Lamar Odom was dashed today when the news broke that Odom would be returning to Los Angeles for the 2009-10 season.
I may be the "Nuggets Myopian-In-Chief" but I can't sugarcoat this one: by keeping Odom, the Lakers solidified their spot as the Western Conference's clear number one team (Kenyon Martin's post-Game 6 comments to the contrary notwithstanding). Spurs, Nuggets and Blazers fans can start squabbling over who's finishing second while Jazz, Mavericks and Hornets fans can squabble over who's finishing fifth.
From what I've been told by people "in the know," the Lakers bring in at least four times as much revenue as the Nuggets do. They make more off tickets, parking, local sponsorships and of course, their television package is incredibly lucrative - it helps when you reach a Southern California market of 16 million people plus San Diego and all of Las Vegas. So the Lakers just added $8.3 million to a payroll already exceeding $84 million. Big deal. So they'll be paying an extra $23 million in luxury tax. Thhbbbb (that's Jerry Buss sticking his well used tongue out at all non-Lakers fans everywhere).
Count me out on the Ron Artest-will-be-a-disaster-for-the-Lakers campaign that Bill Simmons and my man Travis Heath at HoopsWorld are selling. I agree that Artest is a disaster offensively (poor shot selection and can't make more than 40% of those poor shots), but that's because he hasn't been open for years. Artest made a wretched Sacramento Kings team competitive during his tenure there and carried the Rockets alongside Yao Ming when Tracy McGrady went down with yet another injury last season. Throw in a healthy Andrew Bynum, a Pau Gasol that's found his inner toughness (have people come to terms with the fact that Gasol outplayed Dwight Howard in the Finals yet?), a now happy Odom and Nugget assassin Kobe Bryant and this former 65-win team is going for 70 wins next season. Mark it down.
As grateful as we are for Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke's willingness to exceed the $70 million luxury tax threshold to keep the Nuggets competitive, there's no way Kroenke will sign off on the type of mega deal that would be required to compete with the Lakers now - i.e. using up the Nuggets trade exception to bring in a big time big man. And with Emeka Okafor being shipped to the Hornets and Tyson Chandler on his way to the Bobcats, there aren't exactly a plethora of big time big men available these days. (I won't bore you with my fifth blog post about why the Nuggets should aggressively pursue Marc Gasol or Jeff Foster. New readers can check out my four trade proposals here.)
If there's a silver lining in all this, it's this: the Nuggets play great when no one thinks they have a shot at succeeding. A lot of us (me included) have been fearful since the conclusion of the postseason that our Nuggets wouldn't have enough to play for next season. We've been rightfully concerned that they may have proved all that they could and will come back in 2009-10 without that much needed chip on their shoulder.
Allow me to be the first to stoke the motivation flames going into next season as I quote the legendary Doug Moe for the umpteenth time: "We got no shot to beat the Lakers."
(Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
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Link to K-Mart's comments?
Pretty Please!?!? Nothin like the muscle of our team to step up and make us all feel a little warm and fuzzy about how this off-season’s panning out thus far. I wanna see what you’re referring to… you know I’m a K-Mart mark! LOL
Link posted!
Hey Eri….I mean STIFFY!…
I could have sworn that I read that K-Mart quote recently, but it was just a reprint of what he said after the Lakers kicked the crap out of us in Game 6 at Pepsi Center. I’ve linked to the original quote now. Sorry about that – I’ll be sure to link to referenced quotes moving forward…
Andrew Feinstein | DenverStiffs.com | denverstiffs@gmail.com
by Andrew Feinstein on Jul 30, 2009 10:19 PM MDT up reply actions
we don't need to add anything <--yeah right
As Karl has mentioned before, our core of young players is relatively young and have room for improvement. Improvement they’re surely making this off season, because lets face it, THEY HAVE TO!
by InboundingLobPass on Jul 30, 2009 8:32 PM MDT reply actions
Lol at the Doug Moe comment
Vintage Stiffs refrence right there.
This definatly sucks. I think Odom is way overrated, but to add him on top of Kobe, Artest, Pau, Bynum AND Phil is just the icing on the cake. I didn’t think Denver had a chance against the Lakers as it was, but now, well you already said it Andrew.
I pretty much hate the Lakers. Not so much the franchise, but the players (and coach) on the team right now. Kobe, is just a d-bag. No need to expand on that statement, just watch one of his interviews and you’ll know what I mean. Odom is soft and overrated. Bynum is about as retarted as it gets without actually being retarted (again, listen to one of his interviews). Pau and Artest are cool though. Phil, is cocky beyond belief and has always been handed the best players in the league as long has he has been coaching from Jordan to Shaq to Kobe, not once in his career has he not had the best player in the league on his team. Anyways, that is just what I feel about the Lakers. They are like the Yankees of the NBA. They make everything less fun for everyone and it all revolves around the root of all evil for them, MONEY!!!
Very tough...
It’s very hard to envision any team in the NBA knocking off this Lakers team in a 7-game series, permitted they all stay healthy.
But… you never know what can happen. Players can get injured, or chemistry can be off… anybody is capable of being upset, which is why the games are played.
People may think I’m reaching, I say I’m staying optimistic.
by NuggetsFan99 on Jul 30, 2009 10:02 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs
You are exactly right. You never know what will unfold during a season or right before the post-season starts. The Lakers could roll through the season and then BAM, Kobe and Gasol go down and see you later Lakers. That’s why you play the games and nobody hands out the trophy and rings in December. Well, unless you got traded in the off-season and don’t get your ring until the Lakers come to visit in December, but that’s another story…
by BrianD on Jul 31, 2009 9:44 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
The Lamar Odom re-signing ...
I admit I was hoping he’d sign with the Heat after feeling the cold shoulder from the Lakers … but L.A. played this one pretty good. They had a ton of leverage and didn’t have to cave too badly to Odom’s demands.
If he plays out all 4-years of the $33 million contract that’s an average of $8.25 million per season … a nice big paycut from the $14.1 million he made last year. If he plays out 3-years and the Lakers choose not to use their “team option” on him in the fourth season of the deal then he’ll average $9 million per. A pretty nice set of options for the Lakers.
I heard the news of his re-signing amid the Rockies losing their 3rd game in a row to the Mets and I found the cloudy day in Denver appropriate for us fans … doom and gloom everywhere! But thinking more about it now … wouldn’t it be sweet if the Nuggets took this Lakers team out in the playoffs?
Had Odom not signed with the Lakers again and Denver beat them in the playoffs next season then L.A. fans could play the “Well, if Odom was around…” card. To be the best you have to go through the best.
Keep the glass half full!
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
You sure about that?
I based my numbers off ESPN. Check here.
Also, Basketball Reference had his salary for the 2007-08 season at $13.2 million and the bump from there would be $14 million … not $11 million. I could be wrong, but if you could provide a link it’d be best served.
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Aug 3, 2009 10:14 AM MDT up reply actions
his actual salary was around 12 million, but due to a trade kicker activated upon his trade to LA, he made around 14 million. No link, but I’m sure there’s an article about his trade kicker somewhere out there.
optimism ftw
not just the fakers. . .
Unfortunately, I think the top of the West has gotten a lot tougher and the Nuggs will have to have a spectacular season to repeat or improve upon last season. We all knew the Fakers would be the primary hurdle, but with the addition of Artest, they become the clear favorites to come out of the west. Some key additions to other teams will also add to the Nuggs hurdles. The Spurs added Jefferson and McDyess to the Parker, Duncan, Ginobli trio, although their bench is still a train wreck. Dallas added Marion to the Howard, Nowitzki, Kidd, Terry combo, with Tim Thomas off the bench (the guy can still shoot). Portland now has a top level PG in Miller and they’re still young. If Oden improves, they will be a threat. The Jazz will still be tough, although they may still try to move Boozer. I don’t think people should sleep on the Clips. Luckily, the Rockets have fallen off the map, but getting back to the conference finals is going to require an outstanding season.
Is Kroenke serious about winning a championship?
I have been trying to be patient and not rush to judgement. While other teams have been re-tooling and getting better the Nuggs front office have made minimal moves and aquisitions. Iv’e endured Karl’s statements of how he likes his team and how the core group has room to improve; the implication being that once improved, this Nuggets line-up can compete well enough to make a run for a championship. Really? We have a very good team but make no mistake, no amount of improvement is going to get us to the promise land with this line up. Its not the fans fault that the front office has made some horrible deals in the past e.g. K-Mart’s 90 million contract if my memory serves. I can understand Stan perhaps not feeling that he got his money’s worth on that deal, however,this was not the fans fault, so why penalize us? Stan has stated that he is willing to do what is necessary to win a championship. Was this a long term projection Stan? How about the extra revenue that was generated by the Nuggs going as far as they did in the playoffs? Extra ticket sales, media coverage, merchandising, etc. can be reinvested in aquiring the skilled players that we need to not just compete but to make us championship contenders. Stan tightened the purse strings last year and we the fans were patient. Must we have another year of being patient while other teams take the necesary steps to make a serious run for a title? We need a star center/big to round out this team e.g. David Lee perhaps.( hes about the only one left). Then and only then will we have any kind of a serious shot at a championship. So I will continue to try and be patient this summer and hope for the best, checking all of the sport outlets daily for a major announcement coming out of the Nuggs front office that a major move has been made making us instant contenders. If that happens, all will be forgiven.
Dramatic idiots
Where are the minutes and touches to go around in LA? Phil will be exposed when his zen b.s. doesn’t solve that problem. Ron will take 25 shots a night and Kobe will kill him. It will be a joy to watch.
Also, STFU about Kroenke sitting on his hands. He has until November to use the TPE, plus he’ll have expirings to dangle.
Remember the Super Lakers?
They imploded on themselves. A team coached by Phil Jackson isn’t as bullet proof as Stiffy would think. Just because a team is chaulked full of talent doesn’t give them a pass into ring ceremony. The Dream Team II is another example of the best talent in the world not getting it done when it counted. We’ve got 82 games to play before we start handing out “job well done” cigars.
F the Lakers
Luke
You’re a little overboard on the audacity of your post dude… Phil’s zen won’t work huh? How many titles has he and his zen won thus far? You think that Artest coming in is going to totally destroy Phil’s zen and this team? I’m afraid that’s some pretty wishful thinking my friend. I don’t think there’s a guy out there that Phil can’t get to step in line… and there’s been worse than Artest he’s had to manage…. Rodman… Jordan was no walk in the park… Pippen had known issues. How about Kobe for god’s sake?
If Phil can manage to hone the skills and minds of mega stars like Jordan, Kobe, Rodman and more… I don’t think “Tru Warrior” is all that much of a task. He’ll post his ass at the end of the bench if he needs to, but one thing I will flat out guarantee in all the damn championships I’ve had to watch Phil partake in, NOT ONE single player will manage to undo what he wants to unfold.
My post is relative to the fact that I don’t think Artest will be a really effective force on the court for the team. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled some outrageous shizz here and there such as announcing he’s signed with Suge Knight to release Tru Warrior Pt 2. during an interview in the locker room or gets caught speeding down Sunset in a Maybach this season. But I don’t think he’ll ultimately impact Phil or Kobe. Both are about as bulletproof in their respective roles as they come. As much as I hate Lakers and their fans (nah, some of my best friends are from LA and love them some Lakers), I have the utmost admiration for those two guys. Kobe’s personality may be a little contrived at times, but he assassinated us with precision in the WCF’s, there’s no doubting that. And we all know he didn’t put lil Kobe anywhere that girl didn’t allow him to that night… he’s a cheat, but not a rapist… IMO of course. I’ve cheated once back in highschool too though so I don’t see how I’m above him in any way myself. And I didn’t have ladies throwin “it” at me left and right like an NBA star has to avoid temptations with on a nightly basis.
+1
Except the infatuation declaration on Kobe.
by GoldenNugget on Jul 31, 2009 9:27 PM MDT up reply actions
Nuggs aren't screwed.
They’re (the Nuggets) still in my opinion the best team in the West. Even though I am biased as a Magic fan, Nuggets supporter, and Laker hater…I just don’t see why LA is the outright favorite. Yeah they have size and all…but there are so many good squads out there now. LA should really consider themselves lucky the Nuggets (and the Magic to an extent) choked in the Playoffs and also the fact they didn’t have to face a healthy Boston squad who clearly had the mental edge over that team.
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love...get it on Twitter : KingJafi29.
Nug gets need a move
Right now, we can’t beat the Lakers. Now obviously, Kleiza’s a good commodity, Hunter’s got an expiring deal, and we have all sorts of trade exemptions if Kroenke’s willing to drop bucks. We can still probably afford a decent big. I’d love to see Martin coming off of the bench with Nene starting at the 4. To do that, we’ll need a 5 with good post defense, great athleticism, and some kind of back-to-the-basket game. Tell the brain trust to call up Chicago and ask about Tyrus Thomas.
Tyrus Thomas
has a back-to-the-basket game? coulda fooled me.
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