Mitch Kupchak on ESPN LA 710

Steve Kyler ‏@stevekylerNBA
RT @arashmarkazi: Kupchak tells @ESPN_Colin that Kobe and Dwight's relationship is a "work in progress."

Steve Kyler ‏@stevekylerNBA
RT @arashmarkazi: Kupchak said he has gotten calls from GMs even this morning on Dwight Howard but he will not be trading Howard.

Steve Kyler ‏@stevekylerNBA

RT @arashmarkazi: Kupchak said the Lakers have two year window, this year and next year, "and a lot of that has to do with Kobe."

karacha wrote:They will commit to Dwight. And once you see a healthier Dwight on his new contract, most of you are going to be happier with his performance too. This season is pretty much wasted anyway. Minor changes in the offseason, wait for Summer 2014, then build a new, young and hungry team around Dwight. Sign another star and a bunch of quality role-players who can shoot. Mitch knows all this.

I am not worried about D12 in the least. MDA might be a different story. I don't think he's a bad coach actually. At least he is more flexible then Brown and gets more out of his bench guys. But I'm not convinced he is the right choice for Dwight... maybe if we get a quick PG and a bunch of athletic shooters and cutters.

dwighthowardsdad wrote:WTS, Dwight will resign, but the FO better be prepared to hire another coach and eat another salary, IMO. We need to go in another direction, period...

Chillbongo wrote:

dwighthowardsdad wrote:WTS, Dwight will resign, but the FO better be prepared to hire another coach and eat another salary, IMO. We need to go in another direction, period...

Comin' from pops himself

I'm still on the fence with Dwight....but all the Dwight huggers here are at least making me consider keeping him as a Laker.

Chillbongo wrote:It's not that there is someone better immediately available, I just don't know if the effort, production, and consistency I have seen this year is worth a max contract.

While his health is a major issue, I wouldn't risk a 5 year/$120M deal on the HOPE that he might be healthy. That's more than 1/3 of our entire cap for the next 5 years. And we still Have Nash on board until 2015. So that's about half our cap on two guys....without any role players or another star to go with Dwight.

Dwight's shortcomings as a player are one thing....I was willing to let them slide when I IMMEDIATELY noticed them in the first month of the season. But we signed him for his defense and athleticism....things based mostly on effort and he has been less than stellar thus far.

If we could get K-Love for Dwight, and some pieces/picks.....I'd look at it. Pau & K-Love could be effective down low although defensively void. But it's not like we haven't been void this season.

Chillbongo wrote:Yeah I get it. That's why I said I don't know if it's worth a max contract for us. I'm sure he'll earn one...but does that mean he should be a shoe-in for us? Does that mean both he and Lopez will make the kind of impact that justifies those contracts?

FYI...Lopez actually has a post game, scores more points, gets the same number of blocks, and also HITS FT's at a 75% clip....almost 20% higher than Dwight. FYI

Weezy wrote:That's how the NBA DID work, players like that won't be getting as much going forward IMO, not with the cap what it is. I would say the Nets might regret giving him max $, but then they are winning so probably not. He also one of the best centers in the NBA, though that's mainly due to the center position being so weak.

“We’ll continue to be on the phones and make calls, take calls and listen. But I don’t anticipate anything dramatic taking place in the next two days.”

Chillbongo wrote:It's not that there is someone better immediately available, I just don't know if the effort, production, and consistency I have seen this year is worth a max contract.

While his health is a major issue, I wouldn't risk a 5 year/$120M deal on the HOPE that he might be healthy. That's more than 1/3 of our entire cap for the next 5 years. And we still Have Nash on board until 2015. So that's about half our cap on two guys....without any role players or another star to go with Dwight.

Dwight's shortcomings as a player are one thing....I was willing to let them slide when I IMMEDIATELY noticed them in the first month of the season. But we signed him for his defense and athleticism....things based mostly on effort and he has been less than stellar thus far.

If we could get K-Love for Dwight, and some pieces/picks.....I'd look at it. Pau & K-Love could be effective down low although defensively void. But it's not like we haven't been void this season.

khmrP wrote:

Weezy wrote:That's how the NBA DID work, players like that won't be getting as much going forward IMO, not with the cap what it is. I would say the Nets might regret giving him max $, but then they are winning so probably not. He also one of the best centers in the NBA, though that's mainly due to the center position being so weak.

I can confidently say Bynum would still get his max deal if he can muster enough to play 10+games this season and can at least produce/avg. a double double.

thebluemamba14 wrote:

“We’ll continue to be on the phones and make calls, take calls and listen. But I don’t anticipate anything dramatic taking place in the next two days.”

phoenixrisingla wrote:You have an awesome confidence. Nothing you've seen in this unholy disaster of a year gives you ANY pause as to Dwight?

Lets say he DOES come back next year and returns to 100%, and we get the shooters that we want. Should we look forward to the type championship runs that Dwight enjoyed during his time in Orlando?

I'm not 100% down on Dwight, but I really dont see how anyone can be 100% confident in him either.

dwighthowardsdad wrote:Now, check this out; he's averaging about 17 and 12 and 2 blocks. I just rounded it off; Now, if we sign him and this his is peak, we can always look to trade him. Even signed to a max contract, there will always be potential suitors for Dwight. So, if it doesn't work, and he's signed long-term, he can still be moved, IMO. We did it with Shaq. We'll do it with Dwight. There's always options.