Lakers And Payton Agree To Deal....

[Showtime33]

Word out of LA is the tha Lakers and Gary Payton have come to an agreement and the Lakers will sign Payton for the mid-level exception. This also means that Karl Malone will also sign with the Lakers. With the line up of Kobe, Shaq, Payton, Malone and more than likely Devan George, the Lakers look to be the early favorites for the NBA title next year :)

[wildstangs]

Awesome. I hope it all comes true. Hopefully the Spurs dont get Kidd, or that could surely hurt the Lakers shot.

[PhiI C]

They will have a great season but I am not sure how they will do in the playoffs. Sometimes older guys have trouble in playoffs if there is not enough youth around. If they could have got Pippen they would have been better off. Both Payton and Malone are in their thirties and probably past their prime. Remember how folks thought Houston was going to be great with Olajawon (spelling?), Barkley, and Dexter. But it didn't happen because they were in their 30s and past their prime. Had they been in their prime they would have made a good run for the title and given MJ and the Bulls a hard time. Only time will tell. But if Spurs get Kidd and get another big man to help Duncan and keep most of their young free agents they might be tough on the Lakers. Anyway that is the future. How about them Spurs winning the NBA title this year.

BEST NBA SERIES WE EVER HAD.

[Jimbotex40]

MJ didnt have much youth, but then again he rocks all hoes, so it doesnt matter

[Showtime33]

True the Rockets didnt do as well as a lot of people thought. Granted Clyde and the Dream were good at the time, I dont think they were quite as good as Shaq and Kobe are now. Payton and Malone may be older but they are still very good players who have a lot to offer the Lakers. Payton is still one of the best points in the league and is a great defender. Malone gives the Lakers a solid PF, something they didnt have last year and the main reason they didnt go all the way. Plus now the Lakers bench will be a little deeper with Fisher coming off it. Also, you talk about youth, remember Kobe is only 24.

<small>[ July 09, 2003, 01:05 AM: Message edited by: Showtime33 ]</small>

[big daddy russ]

They may be an early favorite, but just remember that Payton and Malone are both playing in unfamiliar territory. Neither has ever been a third option on a team and one of them is going to wind up being the fourth. Payton will play awesome defense no matter what, but I wonder if Malone's defense will suffer if he doesn't get as many touches on the offensive end of the court. If a player feels more involved in the offense, their defensive hustle usually shows from it (except in those rare cases like Ben Wallace, Bruce Bowen and Ron Artest). Finally, I know the triangle doesn't require a true point guard, but I still wonder if Payton can distribute the ball well enough to keep the offense running. BJ Armstrong, Steve Kerr, Brian Shaw and Derek Fisher all stayed out of the way of the superstars on Phil Jackson's (read: Tex Winter's) teams, but Payton IS a superstar. I know Payton averaged some eight or nine assists per game, but he's still one of those guys who goes for the shot if he sees even the smallest window of opportunity. This may be good or may be bad for the Lakers. Adding gobs and gobs of talent worked out great for the Kings but destroyed the Blazers. You can never tell what's going to happen until those players actually get on the court together.

The Spurs would get better if they added Kidd, but they'd probably be best served either adding Jermaine O'Neal or signing a power forward for a year (PJ Brown, Karl Malone, etc.) and picking up Kevin Garnett after next season. Parker's not as strong as Kidd and he doesn't have Kidd's toughness... not yet... but he's still a work in progress and, at only 21, still has a chance to be as good as Kidd nine or ten years down the road. Kidd, in my mind, would be a great fix at the point but the Spurs would be wise to upgrade from Malik Rose to a taller power forward. (I know everyone loves Rose and he's a great guy, but he's a better fit as a sixth man)

Really, I'd have to say that the Kings are my preseason favorites going into next season. Second, I'd have to go with the Lakers and third, the Spurs (with or without Kidd... if they add O'Neal I'd put 'em even with LA). That being said, Go Spurs!

[toby070]

I agree, big daddy russ. My off the cuff thought was a four letter word that starts with sh....adding Payton and Malone to Kobe and Shaq = anothr Laker title. However, it can't be easy for that many offensive superstars to play together and all stay happy. I'd be stupid to say that they can't make it work, but they'll all have to buy in to the "sacrifice for the team" concept. Heck, Kobe and Shaq jousted when it was just the two of them.

My biggest fear is that they'll struggle to stay happy during the regular season, come in as a 4-5 seed, and as they have in the past, just turn it on big time in the playoffs.

Should be interesting. If the Spurs sign Kidd, they are better, but I'd have to believe that Pop and Co. wouldn't pursue Kidd unless they also had a good big man up their sleeve. I guess Kidd AND O'Neal is too much to ask?

[Showtime33]

I think that Malone and Payton will buy into the team concept. When they sign with LA that will prove that they are already doing just that because signing with the Lakers will prove that they are putting winning over money because they could get much larger contracts from other teams if they wanted. I think that they will both know their role in LA and know that Shaq and Kobe are steal the meal ticket there. Right now, all Payton and Malone are worried about is winning a championship and I believe they will do whatever they have to do even if it means not getting as many looks on offense in order to win the title.

[toby070]

You may very well be right (hope not :) ). I NEVER thought I'd say it, but I'd love to see Malone in Silver and Black. My very unexpert opinion is that if SA signed Kidd and Malone, they'd be favored over a Shaq/Kobe/Payton trio in LA.

The other thing with the team concept is getting Shaq and Kobe to buy in