Retired Numbers?

If the golden rule is HOF = Retired number

I have two questions...

first is probly easiest as I can answer it myself.. but just wanted some opinions on it...

1) why arent Malones 11 and Paytons 20 getting retired?


2) and the more difficult.. does Nash's 10 now get retired? or does he have to win one with us?

Malone won't be retired because

a) He only had a year here
b) He made a pass at Kobe's wife

im asking about here.... There really is no stipulation per the Busses... their only caveat was... a) they played for Lakers... b) they are in the HOF...

DarthRekal wrote:im asking about here.... There really is no stipulation per the Busses... their only caveat was... a) they played for Lakers... b) they are in the HOF...

I Agree with what u are saying But GP & Karl only spent a year here if the won a chip them maybe but Malones season got ruined by injury

Gasol's number would likely be retired as a Laker than those two as well Nash's. I would gather it would be due to their lenght of tenure in the Purple and Gold.

just like everyone else has said, malone and payton only played one season here and didn't win anything. even if they had won the title that year and they had both left i highly doubt they would have retired their numbers anyways.

i think the same goes for nash, assuming he only plays 1-2 seasons in LA and regardless of if they win a title i don't think they retire his number. that's something the suns should and will do based on how long he played there for. plus when you think of malone, payton, and nash you don't automatically associate them with the lakers.

I know Shaq is a sure fire HOFer as soon as he becomes eligible. But he isn't in the HOF at this moment, nor will he be during this season. So are the Lakers making an exception by retiring his number prior to his HOF induction? Has this happened before?

Seoul Man wrote:I know Shaq is a sure fire HOFer as soon as he becomes eligible. But he isn't in the HOF at this moment, nor will he be during this season. So are the Lakers making an exception by retiring his number prior to his HOF induction? Has this happened before?

WIth players like SHaq, you don't wait a long time to retire the number. all teams retire the truly great players numbers within 1-2 years of retiring

as for this thread, they arent getting their jerseys retired because they didnt have a great laker career. yeah the lakers only retire HOF's and those 2 are HOF players, but they didnt do anything that special. cant retire guys for just 1 season, even if they are HOFers

Bob McAdoo, Adrian Dantley, Connie Hawkins are in the Hall and dont have their Laker jerseys retired

If McAdoo can't even make it up into the rafters what makes you think GP and Malone would or should be there?

I think it's implied that they should be in the Hall of Fame because of some contribution they made to LA. While Malone and Payton made it to the Finals with this team, that's not really a great accomplishment by Lakers' standards.

After Shaq and Kobe, Gasol is the next in line to be retired. If Nash and Howard win a championship or two here, they'd be retired as well I'm sure.

The one guy who I would love to see up there who isn't currently or soon to be ala Shaq, is Coop!! Not going to happen, but I can dream. He was always a Laker for his entire career, too, which I think strengthens the argument. Byron would be nice but I don't think that would ever happen. But Coop was just such a big part of the Showtime success.

Lakerjones wrote:The one guy who I would love to see up there who isn't currently or soon to be ala Shaq, is Coop!! Not going to happen, but I can dream. He was always a Laker for his entire career, too, which I think strengthens the argument. Byron would be nice but I don't think that would ever happen. But Coop was just such a big part of the Showtime success.

It took getting elected to the HOF to get Goodrich's number retired and though his time with the Lakers lasted only 5 years, he was a far more important contributor than Cooper. For instance, he was the Lakers' leading scorer 4 years in a row beginning with the 72 title team. He made the All-Star team 5 years in a row and was First Team All-NBA in 1974.

So as great a role player as Cooper was for so many years, he was never a regular starter, scoring was a small part of his game and he was there for his defense. In Scott's case, though he was a starter most of the time and he did once lead the Lakers in scoring, he was still well behind the Big 3 of Kareem, Magic and Worthy.

So unless either Cooper or Scott get the Hall nod, their numbers aren't getting retired.

I love Coop, but I just don't think he has enough on his resume, even as the great role player he was.

I think that it'd be great if TWC or maybe whoever ends up owning Staples Center should make a "Laker Legends" section and put up memorabilia and displays about Coop, Scott, Fish, Horry, and maybe some of the older guys.

Payton and Malone wouldn't be retired because they only played here a year and didnt have any significant impact for the Lakers.

Nash has the chance to be if we win a ring or two while he is here. If we don't then I can't see him being retired by LA but if he does I am sure he will go in the rafters as well.

If Nash wins a ring with the Lakers I think he'll get it retired. I feel they need to contribute to a ring if they aren't really known as a Laker. Gary and Malone failed to do that.

I love Coop and what he did for the franchise. He was a vital component in our run during the 80's, but it's just like with Derek Fisher and Robert Horry. At the end of the day he was a role player. A great role player, but a role player nonetheless. The Lakers don't retire role players jerseys. They retire all time greats.