Red, white and blue, but built for gold

There are a lot of reasons why the USA Basketball Team should storm through the field at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas beginning Wednesday. They are almost too numerous to mention, although we will point out some of the major ones in due time.
But having a more talented roster top to bottom or giving a superior performance in the most games over 12 days isn't what winning at the highest levels of international basketball is all about. The USA Basketball outfits that lost in the semifinals of the last two major international competitions — the 2004 Olympics in Greece and the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan — learned that painful lesson and each limped away miserably clutching bronze medals.
Neither the 2004 or 2006 teams even earned a chance to play for the gold medal. In fact, the United States hasn't competed in a gold medal contest in the Olympics or World Championship since 2000 — when it defeated France in Sydney, Australia to take home the last prime coinage for the once-unbeatable Red, White & Blue.
In this Olympic qualifying competition, the United States could win eight straight games by an average of 30 points over the first two rounds and it wouldn't matter much. What matters is winning on Sept. 1.
That is the date of the two semifinals, and the winners on that Saturday night will be special, indeed. That's because the two finalists in this tournament both qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. (In a strange way, the gold medal game on Sunday, Sept. 2, will be anticlimactic, almost an exhibition game.)
This current amalgamation of NBA stars is the best team constructed by USA Basketball since the little-remembered 2003 FIBA Americas team that punished opponents (including nemesis Argentina twice) on its way to a 10-0 record. That group included Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and a healthy Jermaine O'Neal. It also boasted outstanding 3-point shooting from Ray Allen and Mike Bibby.
Unfortunately, Kidd, Carter, O'Neal, Allen and Bibby did not suit up for USA Basketball in 2004 or 2006, and the point guard play and perimeter shooting has not been nearly as good since. In 2004, Iverson and Stephon Marbury clanged enough 3-point attempts to allow not only mighty Argentina but middle of the road teams like Lithuania and Puerto Rico to humble the USA squad. In 2006, big Greek guards Theodoros Papaloukas and Dimitris Diamantidis punished the smaller Chris Paul and Kirk Hinrich in the semifinals, exploiting the NBA guards' inexperience and lack of physical strength on every inch of the court.

Now, the field for the FIBA Americas Championship doesn't boast Spain, Greece, France or any of the other current European powers. Argentina, beaten by the U.S. one year ago in a consolation bronze medal game that offered little in the way of consolation for either the winners or losers, will be without national team stalwarts Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto and Walter Hermann, all of whom are playing in the NBA. But the team still boasts Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors), Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) and Pablo Prigioni (Tau Ceramica of Spain), all experienced players who have played key roles in many international victories. It's still not clear whether Andres Nocioni, the Chicago Bulls star who was hobbled most of last season by plantar fasciitis, will be on the final roster.
Puerto Rico, with NBA guards Carlos Arroyo (Orlando Magic) and Jose Juan Barea (Dallas Mavericks); and Brazil, with Nene (Denver Nuggets), Leandro Barbosa (Phoenix Suns), and Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs draft pick), are the other favorites in the tournament, but none will be favored to beat the United States when it counts most.
Here are the five main reasons why the USA Basketball team should go undefeated in Las Vegas and capture a berth in the 2008 Olympic Games:
1) Kobe Bryant.
LeBron James is getting better all the time, and Carmelo Anthony, the scoring leader of the 2006 bronze-medal winning World Championship team, is a truly outstanding offensive player. But neither player has taken, much less made, as many big shots as Bryant has in his 11-year NBA career. Despite experiencing seven losses in the last three major international competitions (19-7 overall, .731), the United States rarely gets soundly defeated in international play. Often, one or two more perimeter shots or simply better free throw shooting would have made the difference. Bryant is the ultimate big shot maker, and that includes making all the big free throws down the stretch when it counts.
2) Jason Kidd.
It's no accident USA Basketball has an 18-0 record in the last two competitions (2000 Olympics, 2003 FIBA Americas) in which Kidd has played. Kidd is big and strong enough to trade hip checks with the biggest international guards, is a tenacious defensive player and his acumen at setting up teammates for baskets is unmatched in basketball today outside of Steve Nash (who isn't playing for Canada, by the way). Kidd is most dangerous when he doesn't even have to think about scoring a basket, and the composition of this team makes that a reality. Whereas Chris Paul and Kirk Hinrich were novices trying to feel out international play, Kidd is a proven international floor general who won't be thrown off by the rhythm of a 40-minute game or the inconsistent international officiating. At crunch time, Kidd will ensure the right players have the ball in their hands.
3) Better 3-Point Shooting.
International teams are replete with smallish guards who don't have the athletic package to compete in the NBA, but are masters at locating and nailing shots from the shorter international 3-point line (20 feet, six inches). Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks is a marvelous physical specimen at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, but he made only 12 of 39 attempts in Japan (30.8 percent), failing at his primary function and putting the United States at a tremendous disadvantage. Overall, the United States shot only 36.9 percent from 3-point range in Japan. USA Basketball hopes it has rectified that shortcoming by naming 3-point specialists Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks and Mike Miller of the Memphis Grizzlies to the 2007 team. If Redd and Miller can be counted on to make 3-pointers when defenders clog the lane or swarm Bryant, Anthony and James, the USA team could start administering profound beatings to its brethren in the Americas.
4) Better Free Throw Shooting.
A disgrace. A shame. An embarrassment. Only the censorship capabilities of my editors prevent me from using stronger language to describe the performance of the last two USA Basketball teams at the free throw line. In 2006, the United States shot 66.7 percent from the line. In 2004, the tally was 66.8 percent, and Shaq wasn't even on either team. In 2006, it was a communal disgrace: of the top six USA players in free throw attempted, Dwyane Wade was the best at 70 percent. Anthony (63 percent), Dwight Howard (61.9 percent) and LeBron James (55 percent) were all terrible, although for Howard, that measured up to his career average. Why will things be different this time? For starters, it will be an upset if Bryant, a career 84 percent free throw shooter, doesn't lead the team in attempts. Chauncey Billups (88 percent), Redd (85 percent) and Kidd (78 percent) are all fine free throw shooters. And while James is no guarantee to shoot any better after the way he looked at the line in the playoffs, you have to believe that Anthony will do better than 63 percent this time around. He's a career 80 percent shooter.
5) Better Defense.
You would think NBA players would be able to defend the pick and roll reasonably well, but that just wasn't the case in Japan. The burly international forwards are masters at setting moving screens that seem to elude the notice of FIBA referees, and too often, NBA stars were relegated to whining at the refs instead of coming up with a solution. USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski will doubtless do a better job of preparing his team to combat the international offensive staple, but he also has a savvier group of players this time around. Bryant, Kidd and Billups all possess enormous physical strength and won't be picked off as easily as Chris Paul, Kirk Hinrich and Dwyane Wade were. And with another year of experience under his belt, Howard won't have that "deer in the headlights" hesitation he showed so often in Japan, when he blocked only 12 shots in nine games.
Parting Thought
If the unthinkable happens and the United States does not finish in the top two in the FIBA Americas Championship, it will be no less than a calamity for USA Basketball, which has invested more time and energy in dogged pursuit of an Olympic berth than ever before. Still, even if that should come to pass, that unhappy result would not necessarily preclude the United States from participating in the 2008 Olympics.
The third, fourth and fifth place finishers in Las Vegas will qualify for the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, a 12-team, last-chance tournament that will be played July 7-13, 2008. The top three finishers in that tournament will earn the last three available spots for the August, 2008 Olympics. Of course, USA Basketball would rather not have to compete in yet another qualifier, but then again, winning basketball competitions is no longer a sure thing for the nation formerly known as the Dominant Basketball Power on Earth.

By Chris Ekstrand

MSNBC

No KG, No Problem: The New Movement

Kevin Garnett is now a Celtic, something I think he will regret for the rest of his NBA career.
Kevin Garnett’s quote about the Lakers was, “I didn’t know the whole Kobe situation so…” That makes total sense; you couldn’t call Kobe and ask him? Even saying that you act like you had leverage in the trade.
You didn’t want to go to Boston and now that Ray Allen is there you love it? Amazing how a 30 year old with two bad ankles can make you do a total 180.
So to Garnett, good luck over there and when Kobe drops 60 on you in the Garden and they start chanting his name again like last year, I think you will then have realized that you choked and you should of demanded management to send you to beautiful Los Angeles, California — Rather than cold and muggy Boston, Massachusetts.
As an avid preacher of the movement, am I bitter that KG didn’t come to LA? No, I actually really don’t care as much as I thought I would. I think looking back at it logically the possibility of Kevin McHale, a man with Celtic pride in his blood ( I guess the phrase over there would be… bleeds green and white?), getting KG to LA was near impossible.
A guy that once close lined Kurt Rambis, he would of never sent KG to LA, and ill even take it one step further, McHale knew that Garnett had to be moved, and that they were going to re-build, so why not send them to your alma mater, in a sense?
There’s no doubt in my mind that McHales past with the Celtics factored in more than we might think when sending him to Boston.
It also goes both ways why he probably didn’t entertain offers from the Lakers or he wouldn’t really entertain a three team deal. No matter how much older he gets, or how professional he says he is. Deep down he still hates the Lakers and in return loves the Celtics with all his heart.
“Hey, I got a 10 time All-Star that I need to trade, hmmm… What team should I trade him too?” I might be over exaggerating but in sense that’s how it went down.
The “Get Garnett movement” was in no way something that was a waste of time, it was in no way something that never helped and was pointless. The fact of the matter is the “Get Garnett movement” will always be remembered for the idea that it instilled the passion, hard work, and determination for the diehard Laker fans.
The Nugget, posting relevant Laker news up to the minute, LD2K using the visual effect to let us envision a more promising future, hZm making the site looking ridiculously sick with his professional graphics. It was a site that was mentioned on both NBC and ABC, mentioned by Fred Roggin and Rob Fukuzaki. Was shouted out on the radio, LD2K was a guest on a radio show in Minnesota talking about the movement; people were emailing us from all over the world talking about the movement and the Lakers in general.
The “Get Garnett movement” was in NO way a failure, in no way something that we should be ashamed of. But now it’s time to make this site what it truly is, #1 in Lakers news, rumors, and articles. We no longer worship or hope and wish for one single player. We will not be known as the Get… Anyone. We will be known as getting the Lakers back to a championship level.
Phil Jackson said, “We’re only one piece away.” There are still options out there for us to look into and to upgrade our roster. The movement in a sense is still there but has just re-focused back to what it really was in the first place, a site for passionate Laker fans to speak their mind and hear about rumors and possibilities of making our roster better.
The users are still passionate and want to make a difference and want to be heard. All that being said, it is essential that we don’t forget what got us here; GetGarnett.com was not a failure nor was it something we should forget about. Now we move on continuing to report the Lakers in a professional setting for the FANS, the Laker Nation.
To say the movement is over is ridiculous, we just no longer worship some All-Star that rather be with Paul Pierce then Kobe Bryant.
So my personal opinion is we need to change the site name ASAP, we cannot forget where we came from, but we must move on in a more positive direction without the Garnett cloud hanging over us.
Till then we will still update the site with all relevant Laker news and rumors… Gasol, Jermaine, Artest, whoever!
We still have hope to upgrade our roster significantly and get Kobe in better spirits. Remember, most of the deals that go down don’t have too many rumors, so right when you least expect it we might make a move that catapults’ us to the NBA’s elite.
This quote still sums it all up and stays very relevant…

By DBricks

GetGarnett.com

Kobe: Alone (The Final Act)

As the heartbeat of all Lakers fans came to a flat line today, the city of Boston has begun to rejoice in their ceremonious Celtic ways once again. If you thought that landing Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were big, don' forget that Beantown also picked up Randy Moss and Eric Gagne as well. That my friends is a hell of an offseason for a city.
As for the City of Angels, the Lakers have officially become the Make-A -Wish franchise by overpaying for Derek Fisher and signing up cancer survivor Coby Karl as our 18th point guard. I've literally been sick all day just thinking about our inept front office and how the one player that the Lakers franchise and fans have been waiting for the last 3-4 seasons is now a Celtic. For the first time, the T'Wolves actually considers taking offers for KG, and what does the Lakers FO do? Wait. Leave the initial deal on the table and wait.
Paul Pierce demands to be traded and he receives Ray Allen and KG. Kobe goes on a worldwide tirade and he gets Derek Fisher and Coby Karl but don't worry Lakers fans, I hear that Mitch is working on signing Salvador Torres. Though small, our FO believes he will be great from the perimeter.
I seriously don't get it. Bynum will NEVER be the player Kobe is. NEVER. Why this franchise is so enamored with the black version of Big Z is beyond comprehension. Though this is a dark day for Lakers fans, it is going to get worse. If our next focus is JO, the asking price has just been inflated. If you thought that Bynum & Odom were too much, just wait for the new demands. Yet, this isn't even the worst part.
Now that Boston has become an elite team in the East, Chicago must now look at ways to improve. Though it won't happen this year, by next offseason, Kobe will be where he wants to be.
I would like to continue writing, but I am honestly not in the mood to reiterate all the negativity that has already been burning on all the Lakers boards. As of now, our roster is at 15. The saddest day of my Lakers life (after Chick's passing and Magic's retirement) will be the departure of Kobe Bryant. In many ways, it is going to hurt more because just like many of you, we have all watched him grow.
Though no city in the world will ever love Kobe or embrace him as much as we have, the franchise that we all love has failed him. Be ready Lakers fans, Kobe Bryant's Final Act in LA is upon us.

By LD2k

GetGarnett.Com

We Should Be Fine

It is a sad day in Lakerland for many, we fans have waited years, YEARS, to land Garnett, but he now will reside in Boston, it is official.
However, there is still something that some have not considered, something, that will make us feel better…
Why should we gut our team to get Garnett? If we had to trade for Garnett straight up, it would have to be Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Kwame Browm, Jordan Farmar, Mo Evans, and several picks, does that sound fair? Of course not,we would be gutted, GUTTED!
What would happen if Kobe’s ankle gets twisted again? could we rely on Garnett, because Garnett with no Kobe is not much better than what he had in Minnesota.
What can be worse than losing Garnett? It would definatly be him going to our arch rivals in the east, the Celtics. What seemed impossible after Garnett said “NO” to being traded to the Celtics, he changed his mind with the newly added Ray Allen, and he would take kind to the idea of being traded there, and, it was the inevitable. Boston had many young players and a fat expiring contract of Theo Ratliff but it seems like the deal couldn’t have been done without the young and promising Al Jefferson.
Should we cry over losing Garnett to the C’s? Absolutely not, they made there team unreliable now. They now have a bunch ball-hogs who need the ball to score, and basically, they have no passers.
Also, look at their “stars”, Paul Pierce is another person that needs to score to be effective, and missed many games due to injuries last season, his tank is running low. Ray Allen, who was a great shooter, but again, he had surgery on BOTH ankles and missed many games last season, plus, he seems to be loosing his touch a little bit. And finally, Garnett, a great post up player, can shoot the mid-range and the occasional three, but, he is getting old, plus, he seems like an injury waiting to happen.
Do you see the pattern?
All of the Celtics “stars” are old, injury prone, and require the ball constantly. Be realistic, who do the Celtics have when a player gets injured to back them up that can perform, NO ONE, it is basically a three man rotation. What happens in five years? By then, all of the “stars” will be old and shabby, with no one else that can emerge. Atleast, the Lakers will have Java, Farmar, Luke, Bynum and several others that can emerge to be great.
Should we blame the Lakers Front Office? No, they are not responsible for this. After listening to the first question, I hope you realize that it would not be for the best if the Lakers traded for Garnett. Sure, Kobe and Garnett may sound amazing, and you can imagine the power of that duo, but then, what would happen if Garnett or Kobe got injured, it would be horrible. What if the Lakers traded for JO, it would make us average again and not elite. There was no possible way the Lakers could get a dominant big man this off-season.
Did Kevin Garnett want money or a championship? I think this is an easy one. There is no way Boston is an automatic contender with three aging players and scrubs, the only reason he did the trade, is because he would get a five year 105 million dollar extension. If he wanted a championship, he would’ve stayed in ‘Sota for one more year being a “teacher”, then opt out and sign for the MLE with a team like Suns, Bulls, or Mavericks and be a real contender and not something that seems amazing in paper.
What should the Lakers do this off-season? The best option would be to sign Chris Webber, that would be the best. A veteran that doesn’t cost much, great passer, be great in the triangle, and basically free.
Should we be angry if nothing else happens? Answers may vary, but I say no. Look at it this way. Lamar, Luke, Kwame, and especially Wolfman (Radmonivic). All were injured and didn’t do that well. If none do well, they will obviously be traded sooner or later. This almost guarentees a break-out season. Plus, Andrew, and Farmar will become more reliable, and Java.
If Utah Jazz can get to the Western Conference Finals with an okay post-presence and a developing point-guard, we should be able to do it too with the greatest player on this planet, a point guard with the same potential, and a solid post presence in Mihm… We should be fine.
Let Boston have their fun, they are not even in our conference and no way able to win a championship with no chemistry. We will have a great season, if not, we can get one of the star free-agents that are available next season. We will be fine and we will have a greater season if we had received Garnett in the first place.

By Raphael Rossellini
GetGarnett.Com

Some Dreams Do Not Come True

Part of being a fan is thinking with your heart, dreaming of the improbable, maybe the impossible. And Lakers fans fascination with Kevin Garnett was always based on thinking with their hearts, because once your head got involved the dream was quickly shattered.
The hearts of Lakers fans, and I have little doubt the team’s front office, loved the idea of KG as a Laker. But the chances the team would get him were always microscopic, and for a number of reasons — starting with being in the same conference and finishing with not having enough young talent to interest Minnesota. It’s hard to fault McHale for this choice, Al Jefferson is a better prospect, one who already has proven more, than Andrew Bynum, and the Lakers don’t have a young Gerald Green to sweeten the offer. Some fans clung to the fantasy that KG would just opt out next year and play in Los Angeles for the midlevel exception, but that never made sense — Boston is going to give him a $25 million a year or so extension, with the Lakers he would have made about $6 million. Yes he has a lot of money in the bank, but to leave around $95 million on the table? Would you do that? Seriously?
It was hard not to be tantalized by the dream, but now Laker fans need to get back to reality. This is a Laker team that is has some nice pieces — and one great one — but is a key piece or two away from contending. There is more than one way to get those pieces, but holding out hope for KG was really never a viable one.
The KG dream is dead, but that dream and one of contending Lakers are not one in the same.
By ForumBlueAndGold.com

NOT THE CELTICS...PLEASE

A little background first: I grew up a huge Lakers fan and got my first drivers license in the summer of 1979. This was also the start of the Magic Johnson era, and it allowed me to spend any summer job money going to see him play.
Magic and the Lakers dominated everybody, with one exception: Boston. The Celtics weren't better than the Lakers in the 80's, but they were almost as good--and they were luckier. After the Lakers won the title in 1980, Boston won it in '81. The Lakers won it again in '82, and Philly snuck one year out in '83.
The 1984 NBA Finals are still on tape in my house, and it goes down as the most painful loss of my Lakers' fan existence. The Lakers won three games in that series by an average of 17 points, while the Celtics seemed to win all four of their games by less than five. When the Celtics won game seven, it marked the eighth time the two teams met in the finals, and the Celtics had won all eight.
After that, I circled the two Lakers/Celtics games the day the schedule came out. Couldn't wait to go....couldn't wait to watch on TV. When the playoffs rolled around, it was the original "must see TV." The Lakers beat the Celtics in '85; Boston won the title in '86, the Lakers won in '87 (against Boston) and '88. It was, and still is, the great sports rivalry of my lifetime.
Fast forward to 2007. The Celtics have been dead for years, but the truth is they've had terrible luck since the 80's. The deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis both happening to the same team? C'mon. The fact that they got nothing for Bird, Parrish, McHale or DJ? That was bad management, but it was also the strange twist of having all of your franchise players go south physically all at the same time. The league is better when the Celtics are good, and they haven't been....for what seems like forever.
But as a Lakers' fan, my team is in the tank now too. After the Shaq/Kobe titles, they've screwed up a lot...on and off the court. They need to make a big splash now, and they're running out of options.
Boston rolls the dice and trades for Ray Allen, which is a huge risk. But at least they're trying something new, which the Lakers haven't done since the Shaq trade. Most of my friends who are Boston fans are nervous about the Allen trade, but it's not like they had anything to get excited about before.
The Lakers do nothing because they're holding out hope that somehow, some way, they can swing a deal for Kevin Garnett to play with Kobe. They make the decision not to make a big move until they know what is happening with Garnett.
Then the news breaks--Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale are about to screw the Lakers again. Ainge, the Boston GM, and McHale, the GM in Minnesota, work out a deal to send Garnett to the Celtics.
To anybody who watched those Finals back in the 80's, this was a flashback of the worst kind. We never cared losing games when Bird hit a big shot or DJ came up with a typical big-time play because those guys had done it to everybody else too. But if the Lakers stopped Bird and DJ, and then got beat by Ainge or McHale, that drove everybody I know crazy. Ainge was the ugly whiner who should have been playing baseball. McHale was Herman Munster, and losing to Herman Munster made you feel like an idiot.
Guess what? I feel today exactly how I felt back in 1984. How could this happen again?
The Celtics now go into this season with Garnett, Allen and Paul Pierce as the odds on favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The Lakers will go into this season with pretty much the same roster they've had for three lousy years. Hopefully, Lakers management can pull a rabbit or two out of a hat and improve the team before October, but I don't see another Garnett out there.
By the way, I know for a fact that the Lakers tried everything possible to bring KG to LA. They worked on it for months, and offered the Wolves half of Southern California. But in the end, McHale clotheslined the current Lakers the way he did Kurt Rambis in the 80's.
I'm going to go rent "Against All Odds," listen to some Joe Jackson CD's and pray that I wake up in 1985. That decade ended a lot better than it looks like this one might. But one good thing came out of all of this: I'm back to hating the Celtics rather than feeling sorry for them.
All the best....

by John Ireland

Lakers-Ticketless

The big news of the day is heated conversations between the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Andy Miller (agent for Kevin Garnett). Obviously Laker fans would be disappointed if Garnett is traded to Boston, but it appears that may be a strong possibility.
The Los Angeles Lakers have always held a small candle but had already accepted they were an unlikely destination for Garnett.
Perhaps they look at Plan B again (Jermaine O'Neal), though they still appear unwilling to move Andrew Bynum with Lamar Odom to the Indiana Pacers for the expensive and injury prone O'Neal.
While the Lakers can afford to shop players like Kwame Brown and Jordan Farmar, that may not be enough to land an impact player.
A wild rumor that the Orlando Magic would be interested in Brown, willing to send Hedo Turkoglu (and Farmar from the Lakers) to the Sacramento Kings with Artest and Keith Bogans coming to the Lakers has been declared "unfounded" by a source close to one of the teams.
It's certainly an interesting idea but at this point remains unrealistic.
Another rumor making the paces is that the Lakers are one of the teams chasing Juan Carlos Navarro whose draft rights are still owned by the Washington Wizards. While it's possible to come up with a trade scenario that might appeal to the Wizards, there's the matter of how much money the Lakers can pay Navarro.
LA only has $1 million of their Mid-Level Exception (MLE) remaining. The Wizards cannot use their MLE in any trade, per league rules.
Considering Navarro has at least a $2 million buy-out, of which the Lakers can only contribute $500,000 towards . . . the Spanish guard would have to come out of his pocket to play in LA.
Barring some unforeseen endorsement contract that makes it worth his while, there doesn't seem to be any practical way the Lakers can land Navarro.
After this week his buy-out is expected to be raised to $11-14 million, which could keep Navarro out of the NBA for years.
Perhaps Navarro was more of a serious consideration for the Lakers when they were searching for a point guard but with Derek Fisher getting nearly all the MLE it appears the Navarro rumor is nothing but old news.
Before the injuries last season the Lakers were on a 50+ win pace. It remains to be seen if they can pick off where they left off this coming season or if that's just fool's gold.
Is Fisher that much of an upgrade over Smush Parker?
Can the injury-prone lot remain healthy for an 82-game period and an extended playoff run?
Will the Kobe Bryant trade demand be forgotten or reemerge as a serious issue if and when Garnett is traded elsewhere?
Is there any way for the Lakers to upgrade the team? The Celtics were close to the worst team in basketball last year and may add Garnett to the recent acquisition of Ray Allen.
The Lakers brought back Fisher, Luke Walton, Chris Mihm and drafted Javaris Crittenton.
It just doesn't seem enough to make a real difference.

by: Eric Pincus

HOOPSWORLD.com