I can't get mad at the average fan for not knowing the finer points of the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement (CBA). It isn't the easiest thing to digest, and besides, who needs rules when it comes to fantasizing about ways in which the Lakers can get better, right? As soon as it seemed as if people finally got a grasp on the old CBA, the league's owners decided to lock the players out and many o ...

The 2012-13 Lakers are on pace to becoming the biggest disappointment in the history of professional sports. Never have expectations and results been further apart. In spite of their failures, it's still unfair to pain the entire team with the same brush. There have been some pleasant surprises mixed in with all the negativity. So it's only right that I judge each player on the roster individually. So witho ...

There's nothing we can do about it now. What's in the past, is in the past. The Lakers awful start to the 2012-13 season was nothing that anyone envisioned when the team acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in the offseason. In addition to lofty expectations, the team has had to deal with injuries to four of their top-six players, including a season-ender to back-up center/power forward/spark plug Jordan H ...

December 15th, one of the key dates on the NBA calendar, has come and gone. The day is significant because it marks the first day players who signed contracts this past summer with new teams are eligible to be traded. In a league in which incoming and outgoing salaries involved in most trades need to be within reach of each other, the increase in the number of players who are now eligible can only help to f ...

Before the Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin sat down with former center Andrew Bynum and asked him a few questions about the past, present, and future. During his time in Los Angeles I was a staunch supporter of Bynum's on various blogs. I defended both his abilities as well as quotes of his that I thought were misinterpreted. Perhaps his most famous quote was ...

Seems like it was years ago when Sports Illustrated's NBA Preview came out with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash on the cover and the headline, "Now This Is Going To Be Fun". Little did we know that they were referring to fans of the NBA's other 29 teams. Being a Lakers fan isn't easy these days and it doesn't seem to be getting easier. Who would have thought the Lakers would be 9-13 after 22 games, especially ...

So it turns out Phil Jackson isn't coming back after all. Instead, the Lakers signed Mike D'Antoni's to be the 25th coach in franchise history. And while he isn't the guy who topped the wish list of most fans he's not a bad consolation prize either. That's because the move is just as important to the club's future as it is to the present. If the most important offseason issue facing this team will be whethe ...

The other day I wrote about the truth behind the Derek Fisher, Steve Blake, Chris Duhon rumors. In short, the Lakers are looking at every opportunity to save money and both Blake and Duhon are paid exorbitantly when you factor in luxury taxes. Since I posted it, additional information has come out to explain the timing of those rumors. Last Monday, Leandro Barbosa told the Boston Herald that he and his agen ...

That didn't take long, did it? The Lakers start the season with an unattractive style of play and an uninspired effort and Mike Brown is right back to being public enemy number one. I understand it's the first week of the season but I also understand that this is the Lakers and this current group of guys has an expiration date on it. Before you expect anything to happen anytime soon, Mike Brown is in the se ...

I recently got into a conversation on Twitter with a Lakers fan named Elijah Obasanya, who took issue with something I'd written. What I took away most from our conversation was that he believes that Kobe winning his sixth ring would be a bigger deal than the Lakers tying the Celtics by winning their 17th. And while Kobe can't win a sixth ring without the Lakers winning their 17th, there's still a differenc ...