Kobe Remains a Laker

The NBA's free agency period has begun, and while the Lakers are currently hard at work trying to convince Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza to stay with their team, they won't have to worry about their star player Kobe Bryant leaving the team.

It was widely thought that Kobe Bryant would opt out of his contract to sign for a max deal, but that's not the case. In fact, the Lakers will negotiate a three-year extension for Bryant in July, according to the LA Times' Mike Bresnahan.

The extension could be worth as much as $85 million on top of the $47.8 million he's owed for the next two years.

This all means that Kobe Bryant will be with the Lakers for the next five years at a base salary of $26.5 million a year.

Some fans were clamoring for Bryant to opt out and take less money in order to sign free agents Odom, Ariza, and Brown, but anybody who would take less money in this tough economic climate is crazy. Yeah winning is important to him but not at the sacrifice of his own contract.

I feel the same way about Ariza, Odom, and Brown. They need to do what's best for them and their families.

If they feel that playing for a perennial championship contender, and living in lovely Southern California is enough for them to stay, then we're all better for it.

But if they decide that they won their ring and it's time to break the bank. I say good for them and let's move on.

Future Black Laker Unis?

Check these bad boys out. Don't panic Laker fans, because this is just a mock jersey. The Mamba won't be wearing this anytime soon.

But I gotta say I'm digging these uniforms. I wouldn't be opposed to the Lakers wearing these a couple of times during the season. It's well known that athletes enjoy wearing throwback uniforms, and sometimes they play even harder...right San Diego Powder Blue Chargers?

Well, as long as the jerseys are long, but let's keep the shorts long too okay?!

Let's not forget that most people were against the Lakers wearing their white uniforms on Sunday, even though it was Jeanie Buss' tribute to Chick Hearn.

Of all jerseys sold in 2009, the white unis accounted for 35% of jerseys sold. They also outsold the traditional Lakers purple road jerseys.

Anywho, I like these mock jerseys. What do you guys think?

The Big Cactus is now The Colossal Cavalier

It seems that the first big trade of the summer is upon us. A trade that has been rumored for months, has finally transacted.

The Phoenix Suns will send four-time champion Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a 2009 second round pick.

First of all for Phoenix, this is a salary dump and way to save money for the cheap owner Robert Sarver. Ben Wallace may retire, so a buyout will be in order. Amare Stoudemire might be on the move as well, so the desert may become even more barren.

Now for Cleveland. It became clear that the Cavs were a flawed team (even with the association's best record) after their humbling Eastern Conference Finals loss to Orlando. The Cavs biggest weakness against the Magic was pick and roll defense. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao were simply too slow to cover the point forwrad Hedo Turkoglu and outside shooting of Rashard Lewis. Also, Dwight Howard swallowed up whoever was guarding him.

Analysis:

The Good: Cleveland feels that Shaq might be rejuvenated after he saw his mortal enemy Kobe Bryant win his first ring without him, and watching Dwight Howard coronated as the new "Superman." Shaq is also hoping to get a contract extension, but is more importantly, playing for what could be the last good contract of his career. Playing alongside Lebron James will substantially increase his chances of making more money. Lebron can make anybody look better, and Shaq will benefit from his crisp passing.

Also, the Cavs will now be able to put a body on Dwight Howard that will not back down.

The Bad: This trade does not help Cleveland guarding the pick-and-roll. Shaq was a miserable pick-and-roll defender ten years ago with the Lakers, so how is he going to be any better at age 37?

Also, the Suns physical trainers were credited by Shaquille O'Neal himself for rejuvenating his career. Without those god sends, is Shaq going to revert back to his lazy ways?

He seemed to find the fountain of youth as his points and rebounds increased for the first time, after a four year statistical decline. He averaged 17.8 ppg & 8.4 reb, but don't be fooled. These numbers revolved around a team that played virtually no defense on an uptempo team with Steve Nash.

Cleveland barely has an offense. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown wouldn't know how to develop a back screen for Shaq if Lebron drew it up for him. They rely on getting Lebron the ball and having him do all the work.

My final thoughts are that the Cavs improve by picking up Shaq, but they still need an athletic wing or big who can help out Lebron defensively.

Trevor Ariza or Lamar Odom anybody?

Don't Vote Jackson-Rambis For 2010!

The Lakers are toying around with the idea that Kurt Rambis could coach a number of road games next year in the spot of ailing Head Coach Phil Jackson.

I imagine the former glasses wearing, moustache having Rambis would be manning the bench for the long six or seven game roadies. I don't see Rambis coaching the team for more than 20 games.

However, I don't see this really working out for the Lake Show. After all, the hardest games to win are the ones on the road in hostile environments like in Portland, Utah, Boston, Cleveland, and :gulp: Portland (where they've lost eight straight).

Speaking of Portland...the one game that Rambis coached up in "Rip City," they lost, but more importantly, the game was severely mismanaged. Rambis blew his timeouts early and often, ala Vinny Del Negro, and his offensive sets coming out of the timeouts were predictable and easily defended.

I can just imagine Kobe on the road, looking at what Rambis draws up, and erasing everything he has on the board. "You call that a play. Just give me the damn ball and run a pick with me and Gasol!"

To win on the road you need the best out of every single one of your players. A coach needs ultimate focus from his players and all-out energy. The coach is needed among all else to handle the emotions and lead his players to victory. I don't see Kurt Rambis doing any of that.

I actually think that Brian Shaw would be a much better substitute than Rambis. After all, Rambis was 24-13 in the 1998-1999 season when he took over for fired coach Del Harris. The Lakers would then get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Kobe seems to have a better rapport with his ex-teammate Shaw. They did win three championships together lest we forget, but does Kobe want Rambis to become the future head coach? He has a huge say over what happens with the organization. Would he rather have his beloved Coach K grab the reigns of the purple and gold army? If Kobe isn't on board with it, Rambis will go the way of Paul Westhead.

The Lakers have held the best road record in the NBA over the last two seasons (29-12 this year, 27-14 last year), but if Rambis coaches the team for a substantial amount of games, I don't see their road record getting any better, even if they do sign Ariza and Odom.

Listen, some Phil is better than more Phil, and I still believe that the Lakers can win a championship if they decide to go this route, but I don't believe that Kurt Rambis would be the ideal Lakers Head Coach.

After next season, the Lakers should take a harder look at Brian Shaw or try to lure Coach K back into the coaching fold. He proved that he could coach the best players in the world to a gold medal, just like Phil has proved 10x over that he can coach the best players in the world to an NBA Championship.

You're My Guy!

Emotional Celebration Video of Lakers Championship

Here is some more great video from NBA.com. Kobe Bryant talks about the sacrifices his family made to reach his ultimate goal, and breaks down a little bit. He is human! Also, Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza are shown hunched over in the Lakers locker room, as they were overwhelmed with emotion. I'm still so happy for all of these guys. They did Los Angeles proud, and let's hope that this team will have enough of the same parts to do this again next year.