Post by Lakers GM on Jan 3, 2006 11:59:04 GMT -5
The first day of free agency brought five new faces to the Lakers. In his press conference two hours ago, GM Aaron Haberman said that it was a major success and that he's finally solidified a core. Over and over, those words were repeated. Finally. Solidified. Core.
And even though they're excited about the team's signings, Lakers fans are feeling precautious that they could all be gone when Haberman decides to do another one of his famous overhauls. When he acquired Derrick Rose, he promised a franchise point guard. When he landed Darius Washington, it was the same. Darrell Griffith was supposedly the franchise player, and Haberman said dozens of times that he was unavailable. Ditto with Michael Beasley. Lakers fans have embraced too many great young players, and seen them all come and go since Haberman took over. Add to the list of stars above: Thaddeus Young, Bill Laimbeer, Kevin Love, James Donaldson, Kevin Branch, Sidney Moncrief, Tyler Hansbrough, Sebastian Telfair, Marvin Williams, CJ Miles, Jeff Ruland, Pavel Podkolzine and Joe Barry Carroll. So why should they believe him this time?
"I know I've made a lot of mistakes since I took over. When I came in here, I promised the fans a future so bright it would blind us all. And every time I saw a weakness, I panicked and made the wrong deals. I didn't embrace what veterans had to offer, and I dealt a lot of players way too soon. I know, these are just words, but I think this time I'm going to bring a winner back to LA. These players you see, you can go out and buy their jerseys, because Ron Steele and Mike Mercer, they're here to stay," Haberman said.
Haberman went on to explain what fans can expect in reward camps, preseason and the regular season. "I found a lot of guys that I thought fit the mold of the strategy I've finally implemented. We've got five upgrades this offseason, so we're going to have to decide where to best utilize them. And based on how players come out of training camp, we're going to decide what our lineup will look like. I won't make guarantees yet. We've got three guys who will share minutes at point guard. Guys with good ratings and potential. Johnny Moore is still apart of our plans--he's a point guard in the truest sense, and he's got A potential. We're just really excited to see what's to come. We're going to give Kyle Macy a shot at point guard and shooting guard, hopefully by improving his defense. Jawann is going to see minutes at both the 2 and 3. We've got a lot of versatile players, and we feel we're a couple pieces away from being a contender in our division," he said.
Haberman also said he's very pleased with how the draft went for his team. "When I first shook Mark Eaton's hand, it swallowed mine. Hopefully it can serve the same purpose on the court. This guy looks like a premiere defender. We haven't had so promising a shotblocker since I've been here. And in Paul Pressey we get another very versatile player. Is he a point guard or a shooting guard? There's a lot of promise with him to be a very good all-around player. Fans can expect these guys to see serious playing time," he said.
When he wasn't covering all bases and making apologies for past decisions, Haberman continually gushed about his two premiere signings, Ron Steele and Mike Mercer. "These are two guys coming off MLE contracts who I intensely targeted and pursued. Look at the ratings. How many guys in the league have A+ handles? It's a true luxury to have such a pure distributor, especially with Ron's outside game. And in Mike Mercer we get the guy who fits the bill of promising young guards. He's got a well-rounded offensive game, could easily play the point guard position, and we're going to up his defense," he said.
Of the three other signings, who look like key reserve players, Haberman said, "These are also signings we're happy with. Taylor should improve defensively at the 2, and if you look around free agency, you'll see the two other guys with his outside game got max contracts. We're excited about him. Jawann is a shutdown defender with a decent offensive game, and Uros is going to be a solid defensive spark off the bench."
Haberman said making such moves was all he could do to keep up with a much-improved divison. "We're nowhere near the top teams right now, but we want to make the playoffs, to bring the fans back to LA. We teased them last year, but fell a couple games short. In making these moves, we just want to stay afloat. The top three picks are in this division. That's serious talent. To see Dominique, Worthy and Lever enter the division, it scares us. Not to mention, Seattle looks on its way to bringing in the best free agents available, and Phoenix has the best young core it's had since I've been here. The Clippers have one of the best point guards in the league in Thomas. The Blazers have a star at every position. So we're not elite, I know that. But this is a great day on the path to contention. We've got a lot of different lineups we can play with, and we have a special outside game. If LaMarcus can be the inside force we expected in trading for him, we're going to win some games."
But the fans say they don't know yet. 68 year old lifelong fan Jack Nicholson said he doesn't want to see the cycle continue. "Hollywood is about big names, the best of the best. Look at who we've had. Wilt, Jerry, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe. We've got to get back to that. The past two years have shown me nothing, no chance at being elite. Yeah, we've had a big offseason, but so have a lot of teams. My big fear, though, is that we've seen it all before. You never know with Haberman. One day a guy is the franchise, the next day he's dealt. I'll tell you, though, this Steele kid can play. I was in Denver filming and I went to some games. He handles the ball better than anyone we had. And I hope the big kid, Eaton works out for us. Really, I just hope they stay around," he said.
We've heard Haberman say the same things about players he moved weeks later, but his manner this time was clearly different. He promised fans will see his commitment to winning as he continues to build around what he has, and promised not to break it down and start again.
Nicholson, speaking on behalf of a lot of disgruntled fans, had this to say: "I'll believe it when I see it."
And even though they're excited about the team's signings, Lakers fans are feeling precautious that they could all be gone when Haberman decides to do another one of his famous overhauls. When he acquired Derrick Rose, he promised a franchise point guard. When he landed Darius Washington, it was the same. Darrell Griffith was supposedly the franchise player, and Haberman said dozens of times that he was unavailable. Ditto with Michael Beasley. Lakers fans have embraced too many great young players, and seen them all come and go since Haberman took over. Add to the list of stars above: Thaddeus Young, Bill Laimbeer, Kevin Love, James Donaldson, Kevin Branch, Sidney Moncrief, Tyler Hansbrough, Sebastian Telfair, Marvin Williams, CJ Miles, Jeff Ruland, Pavel Podkolzine and Joe Barry Carroll. So why should they believe him this time?
"I know I've made a lot of mistakes since I took over. When I came in here, I promised the fans a future so bright it would blind us all. And every time I saw a weakness, I panicked and made the wrong deals. I didn't embrace what veterans had to offer, and I dealt a lot of players way too soon. I know, these are just words, but I think this time I'm going to bring a winner back to LA. These players you see, you can go out and buy their jerseys, because Ron Steele and Mike Mercer, they're here to stay," Haberman said.
Haberman went on to explain what fans can expect in reward camps, preseason and the regular season. "I found a lot of guys that I thought fit the mold of the strategy I've finally implemented. We've got five upgrades this offseason, so we're going to have to decide where to best utilize them. And based on how players come out of training camp, we're going to decide what our lineup will look like. I won't make guarantees yet. We've got three guys who will share minutes at point guard. Guys with good ratings and potential. Johnny Moore is still apart of our plans--he's a point guard in the truest sense, and he's got A potential. We're just really excited to see what's to come. We're going to give Kyle Macy a shot at point guard and shooting guard, hopefully by improving his defense. Jawann is going to see minutes at both the 2 and 3. We've got a lot of versatile players, and we feel we're a couple pieces away from being a contender in our division," he said.
Haberman also said he's very pleased with how the draft went for his team. "When I first shook Mark Eaton's hand, it swallowed mine. Hopefully it can serve the same purpose on the court. This guy looks like a premiere defender. We haven't had so promising a shotblocker since I've been here. And in Paul Pressey we get another very versatile player. Is he a point guard or a shooting guard? There's a lot of promise with him to be a very good all-around player. Fans can expect these guys to see serious playing time," he said.
When he wasn't covering all bases and making apologies for past decisions, Haberman continually gushed about his two premiere signings, Ron Steele and Mike Mercer. "These are two guys coming off MLE contracts who I intensely targeted and pursued. Look at the ratings. How many guys in the league have A+ handles? It's a true luxury to have such a pure distributor, especially with Ron's outside game. And in Mike Mercer we get the guy who fits the bill of promising young guards. He's got a well-rounded offensive game, could easily play the point guard position, and we're going to up his defense," he said.
Of the three other signings, who look like key reserve players, Haberman said, "These are also signings we're happy with. Taylor should improve defensively at the 2, and if you look around free agency, you'll see the two other guys with his outside game got max contracts. We're excited about him. Jawann is a shutdown defender with a decent offensive game, and Uros is going to be a solid defensive spark off the bench."
Haberman said making such moves was all he could do to keep up with a much-improved divison. "We're nowhere near the top teams right now, but we want to make the playoffs, to bring the fans back to LA. We teased them last year, but fell a couple games short. In making these moves, we just want to stay afloat. The top three picks are in this division. That's serious talent. To see Dominique, Worthy and Lever enter the division, it scares us. Not to mention, Seattle looks on its way to bringing in the best free agents available, and Phoenix has the best young core it's had since I've been here. The Clippers have one of the best point guards in the league in Thomas. The Blazers have a star at every position. So we're not elite, I know that. But this is a great day on the path to contention. We've got a lot of different lineups we can play with, and we have a special outside game. If LaMarcus can be the inside force we expected in trading for him, we're going to win some games."
But the fans say they don't know yet. 68 year old lifelong fan Jack Nicholson said he doesn't want to see the cycle continue. "Hollywood is about big names, the best of the best. Look at who we've had. Wilt, Jerry, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe. We've got to get back to that. The past two years have shown me nothing, no chance at being elite. Yeah, we've had a big offseason, but so have a lot of teams. My big fear, though, is that we've seen it all before. You never know with Haberman. One day a guy is the franchise, the next day he's dealt. I'll tell you, though, this Steele kid can play. I was in Denver filming and I went to some games. He handles the ball better than anyone we had. And I hope the big kid, Eaton works out for us. Really, I just hope they stay around," he said.
We've heard Haberman say the same things about players he moved weeks later, but his manner this time was clearly different. He promised fans will see his commitment to winning as he continues to build around what he has, and promised not to break it down and start again.
Nicholson, speaking on behalf of a lot of disgruntled fans, had this to say: "I'll believe it when I see it."
2012 Western Conference Finals