BREAKING NEWS:
Ronny Turiaf has agreed to an offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors that will pay him $17 million over four years. He can't travel up north just yet, because he is a restricted free agent. The Lakers have seven days to match the offer. If they don't, Ronny Turiaf be a Warrior alongside former Clipper Corey Maggette.
So do they or don't they? Let's look at Ronny Turiaf's statistics:
18.7 MPG, 6.6 PPG, 1.4 BPG, and he started 21 games.
The stats are nice, but Ronny's true value lies in his intangibles. He is a hustler in every sense of the word. He plays every possession like it's his last. Turiaf is a physical player who puts team play above his own priorities. Ronny is a phenomenal role player that any team would love to have, but should the Lakers take on this contract?
I believe that the Lakers No. 1 priority this off-season was to take care of their players. The most important one being Andrew Bynum, but that's another story.
In a perfect world, the Lakers would re-sign Ronny, but there are salary cap issues that prohibit that, with the Lakers having a payroll of over $75 million. The Lakers will have to pay a hefty luxury tax for going over the salary cap of $58.68 million, so the Buss family will be careful how they spend their money. After all, the fans are taking a hit too: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers9-2008jul09,0,3927413.story
If the Lakers have to make a choice between Sasha and Ronny, I've always believed that the Slovenian Sharpshooter is more valuable. The man who went to Gonzaga U can be replaced by DJ Mbenga, Chris Mihm, or even :gasp: Kwame Brown.
JAKked Up: Ronny leaving the Lakers! The guy is a better freakin' cheerleader than the Laker Girls!
6 comments:
Agreed. Keep Sasha; let Ronny walk. Love the guy on the court (although I've heard and WITNESSED he is kind of a douchebag to the fans), but that's a bit too much money for an undersize "big."
As for a plan B backup power forward, I'd take a look at Kurt Thomas or Brian Skinner. I'm sure they'd be cheaper than Ronny, and they're the type of backup PF the Lakers would benefit from: tough, hard-nosed, gritty veterans. Carl Landry is also a restricted FA whom the Rockets may let walk. Or I guess they could just slide Vlad over as Pau's primary backup, which would be disastrous. Mitch sure does have his work cut out for him.
Could be worse. He could be Elgin Baylor.
You know what forget about ronny and forget about lamar. corey maggetee is still a free agent go out and sign him and then trade lamar for some first round draft picks and some money.
And as im writing this and watching sportscenter a report of trade rumors with ron artest and lamar odom please if this is true pull the trigger on this lakers theirs nothing to think about here. I just want lamar out of L.A.
Drewwww
From Rowland Hts.
LAKERS lets get rid of sasha, lets try and get ronny back, lets trade lamar for artest, and lets pick up free agents james posey and eddie house!
P.S. screw maggette and brand, much love for LA clippers and davis!
I loved Ronnys' work ethic the minute I layed eyes upon him. At times I wonder what he thinks with regards to positioning himself but none the less he has heart. If the cap wasn't a concern Ronny should definatley have a place on the roster. Since it is I won't blame the Lakers for not matching the price tag of 17 million. In the end they [lakers] better pick someone up with defense talent on their resume. If not its going to be a sore season. Go LA.
It took me a few days to comment on this because i wanted to see how much love Ronny was getting from all you bloggers.I agree with Jonathan that Ronny was the best chearleader on the team and a strong power forward who can block shots and play defense unlike Lamar who moves out of the way every time somebody is driving down the lane for a lay-up.The only reason the Lakers lost in the finals is ,they couldn't match the defensive intensity of the celtics.I don't know if the trade for Artest is a good idea.The lakers had good chemistry on the team and Artest might ruin that with his attitude problem.
Let Ronny walk. He is way too soft and was exposed against Boston. The Lakers would stand a better chance against a Detroit or Boston with Kwame off the bench because as bad as his hands are, he's strong enough to push punks like PJ Brown around.
Or the Lakers could keep my former player, Lorenzo Mata, who is on the summer league team. What kind of world do we live in when Ronny Turiaf is getting 17 million dollars?
Keep Sasha, drop Ronny.
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