Steve Blake Signs With Lakers

[GFOX]

Love this deal. Know all we have to do is get rid of sasha's 5.4 mil

[bdrr]

Okay... but bdrr said the Lakers FINALLY have a consistent PG who is okay, yet Fish has been one of the biggest factor's in every championship run.

Fisher is not consistent. He's a streaky shooter. Streaky is the opposite of consistent. Yeah, he has a habit of making them when it counts, but he goes cold the other 90% of the time.

[bdrr]

I think Felton is a much better defensive player - and from the Lakers standpoint, that was more important. Somebody to guard Deron/Paul/Nash/Rondo/etc. They did NOT get that in Steve Blake. Of course, Felton is going to be getting $8+ a year, so it's not as if the Lakers could afford him under the MLE.

Blake is a consistent scorer who can pick up the slack when other guys are sucking (he went for 50 against the Lakers, they should know). He's a high-IQ guy who will actually RUN THE OFFENSE, unlike Brown, Farmar, and Odom who had a habit of just passing the ball back and forth above the 3-pt line until one of them jacked up a shot, went into a terrible isolation attack, or an out-of-control drive to the basket. Yeah, when things worked it was fine, but when they didn't (SEE: Games 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 NBA Finals) they crippled or came close to crippling the team. My hope is that if Blake has the ball, he'll actually force Lamar into where he's supposed to be in the triange, AKA the elbow or low post. You know - the two places he's most effective with his ability to post up or beat bigs off the dribble, NOT JACKING UP 20 FOOTERS OR 3 POINTED YOU DAMN DUMBASS. God Lamar pisses me off sometimes. But yeah...

I love this Blake signing, and also hate it. I think the Lakers moved early to avoid getting sniped, so I guess it was the right thing to do, but who knows - maybe Mike Miller would have said yes. Maybe some other veteran free agent would have signed for $5 mil / 4 years instead of the $8 mil / 3 years they're going to get from a mediocre team.

Now, the Lakers do have some of the MLE left. I think about $2 million. My guess is that the Lakers are going to go to McGrady and say, "here's what's left over. You can have it for 1 or 2 years, take it or leave it." It prevents him from demanding more of the MLE, and prevents the team from being pressured into giving it to him.

Now it's on to convincing Raja Bell and/or Dorrell Wright to sign for the veterans minimum.

Im sorry, but I think our Lakers just snatched the best PG available in the FA market this year
(sorry Felton, I still think Blake has better shot selection, defense & passing skills)

I was hoping Lakers would land both M.Miller & Blake but it was not a realistic possibility.

Since the Lakers do have about 2.5 mil left in MLE, maybe bring in Raja Bell?

I also like the idea of giving that money to either Fisher or Shannon Brown and going cheap with J.Crittenton.

Lakers did love him before the Gasol trade.

[jpleazme]

Who cares? A bum team signs a bum player.

but these "bums" win championships... this year # 16, next year #17 to tie bostons championship record.

[nadeau01_johnson48]

My mistake....I figured people would translate the fact that I called them a 'bum team' into the sarcastic post that it was meant to be.......

[bdrr]

My mistake....I figured people would translate the fact that I called them a 'bum team' into the sarcastic post that it was meant to be.......

Laker fans come in four varieties:

The ones who root for USC football: they are fiercely loyal, unable to take criticism, and assume any comment is an attack on their team - which they will defend to the death.

The ones who root for UCLA football: they are willing to criticize their own team, at times pessimistic, better at critically analyzing what would make their team better.

The ones who don't care about Los Angeles football: watch 1/4 of the games, typically read the box-scores the next day, and take whatever Bill Platchke says as valid truth. Members of the Cult of Kobe Bryant.

The ones who aren't from Los Angeles: bandwagoners, who give the other 3 a bad name.

As a UCLA graduate, I have not interpreted your comments as anything but sarcasm.

[blackmamba_24]

They should sign fish for 2 year 8 million dollar contract.. I love that we got steve blake.. I think hes way better then farmar.. Hope we get mike miller too..

[TheTGB]

Blake's shooting is just as streaky as Derek Fisher's. Having watched him in Portland for a few years, I can tell you that. He's definitely a high-IQ guy and knows how to run an offense and is your typical assist first PG. His Assist:Turnover is okay, could be better. But he's a solid backup PG for most teams.

[blackmamba_24]

I know fish is getting old.. But i think fisher is a great PG.. Look in the playoffs.. Went against Deron williams, Steve Nash, ray allen, Russlle wrestbrook... He kept up with all those guys.. Hes a player that lakers need for a 3 peat.. Keep fish! Hes The key!

[bdrr]

I know fish is getting old.. But i think fisher is a great PG.. Look in the playoffs.. Went against Deron williams, Steve Nash, ray allen, Russlle wrestbrook... He kept up with all those guys.. Hes a player that lakers need for a 3 peat.. Keep fish! Hes The key!

They'll keep Fish for no more than $2.5 million. $4 is way too much. They're also not giving him a 2 year deal.

In terms of playoffs... he got absolutely torched by Westbrook and Nash. He can... not... guard... fast point guards. And it's a problem. That's why they put him on Allen in the first place and Kobe on Rondo. Fish can chase a guy through screens pretty well, but when you have to put your 35 yr old PG on a 34 yr old SG in order for him to not be a defensive liability you have to look elsewhere. As for Deron Williams, Fish has always played him well. Deron isn't fast, he's big. Fish can guard big still, he's an excellent post defender and knows how to stay in front of slower players - push them to their offhand. Post defense is a strange skill to have as a PG, but with Deron Williams it's quite handy.