And he can't close!!!! :lol:

 

It was going to happen at some point. You can't miss them all, we will see if this changes things for him.

It was going to happen at some point. You can't miss them all, we will see if this changes things for him.

 

More often than not in the playoffs he has made the big shot. Almost every time other than last year v. Boston. Usually his team just got outplayed or were up against a better team. Not much you can do about that.

Maybe he doesn't want to take every big shot, but he's pretty good at the end of games. This year has been his worst year at it since he's become a real star in the league.

One of the guys on the ESPN website were talking about Pau's deminished trade value. Funny that Lakers fans are the only ones who disagree...... He's not worthless but he has a bad contract with 3 years left, no one is going to touch that without getting Bynum or without getting out of a worse contract IMO. Doesn't make him a bad player but he has little trade value IMO because the Lakers will be on the wrong side of any deal he goes in, unless its with Bynum for Howard. JMO

 

And another one of the guys on that same ESPN website says Gasol will hold his value.

 

Besides Bynum, the Lakers' other frontcourt players should be able to hold their value for now. On average, Pau Gasol's best comparables actually improved at the same age.

 

 

 

whole article

 

After getting swept by the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers now encounter what may be a more challenging foe: age. That starts with star Kobe Bryant, who will turn 33 in August and is now a 15-year veteran. How much longer can Bryant continue to play at his current All-NBA level? The answer to that question looms large for the Lakers' future.

 

Basketball Prospectus' SCHOENE projection system is designed to provide a general guide to questions like this. SCHOENE begins by finding comparable players of the same age based on weighted performance during the previous three seasons, then looks at how these peers developed in the years to come. Naturally, in Bryant's case, most similar players were beginning to decline. Of the 50 players whose stats were closest to Bryant's in 13 categories, including height and weight, 71 percent saw their overall per-minute performance decline the next season.

 

Kobe look-alikes

 

These five players offer us a look at how Kobe Bryant could be expected to perform next season, in comparison to his production from this season, using a similarity score based on how closely Bryant resembles each player. (Max: 100)

Player Season Sim

Michael Jordan 94-95 96.1

Vince Carter 08-09 95.8

Clyde Drexler 94-95 95.7

Dominique Wilkins 91-92 95.2

Gary Payton 00-01 94.9

 

There are two bits of encouraging news for Lakers fans. The first is the player most similar to Bryant. As you might guess, that's Michael Jordan. When he turned 33, Jordan was in the midst of winning the fourth of his five MVP trophies while leading the Chicago Bulls to a record 72 wins and a championship. Because Bryant entered the NBA out of high school and because of Jordan's year-plus baseball sabbatical, Jordan had less mileage at the same age -- a lot less. In fact, Jordan had played barely 26,500 career minutes at the same age. Bryant has played more than 40,000. And yet, Bryant and Jordan appear similar, seemingly defining just how effective a star shooting guard can be, even as the athleticism wanes.

 

Beyond that, Bryant's development probably cannot be defined by the average player with comparable stats. Since Bryant's work ethic and dedication to fitness are off the charts, he figures to hold his value longer than superficially similar players like Vince Carter. An extended summer due to a lockout could actually play to Bryant's advantage, given his legendary offseason workout regimen.

 

But there are some ominous signs, and major questions to be answered.

 

Start with Kobe's role. An interesting aspect of his projection relates to the part he plays in the Lakers' offense. The most significant area of decline for similar players at the same age was in terms of usage rate, which dropped by 4.6 percent of its previous total. Even Hall of Famers like Clyde Drexler began shifting to secondary roles in their early 30s. (Drexler was nearly 33 when he was traded to the Houston Rockets and teamed up with Hakeem Olajuwon to win a championship.) Yet Bryant is coming off a season in which he led the NBA with his highest usage rate (35.1 percent of the Lakers' plays) since 2005-06, when Smush Parker was the team's third-leading scorer.

 

Because Bryant entered the NBA out of high school and because of Jordan's year-plus baseball sabbatical, Jordan had less mileage at the same age -- a lot less. In fact, Jordan had played barely 26,500 career minutes at the same age. Bryant has played more than 40,000.

 

While it doesn't show up in the numbers, Bryant is also in decline at the defensive end of the floor. As go-to players get older, they tend to have to conserve their energy on defense. That made it all the more surprising that Bryant was voted by coaches to the All-Defensive First Team for the ninth consecutive season.

 

The larger problem for the Lakers is that Bryant is not the team's only aging veteran. Weighted for playing time, the Lakers' effective age of 30.9 years on average was second in the league, trailing only the Mavericks (31.8). Just two of Los Angeles' rotation players (reserve guard Shannon Brown and center Andrew Bynum) are still in their 20s. Should the team stand pat, Bynum represents the greatest opportunity for improvement from within after his dominant post-All-Star performance. At Bynum's age, similar centers (a group that prominently includes Dwight Howard, as well as Yao Ming and Tim Duncan) increased their usage by 3.2 percent.

 

Besides Bynum, the Lakers' other frontcourt players should be able to hold their value for now. On average, Pau Gasol's best comparables actually improved at the same age. Similar players also suggest that Lamar Odom should maintain most of his value after being rewarded with the Sixth Man Award for one of the best seasons of his career.

 

Where SCHOENE forecasts big trouble is for Bryant's fellow perimeter players. Players similar to Ron Artest saw their per-minute production drop off by 6.3 percent the following season, and they tended to drift beyond the arc -- not an encouraging sign after two consecutive seasons of shooting between 35 and 36 percent from 3-point range. Derek Fisher's best match was Derek Harper, who played one last year as a part-time starter for the Lakers -- splitting time with a young Fisher -- before retiring.

 

All of these projections are subject to change should the Lakers make dramatic changes during the offseason. But for now, the best guess is we've already seen the best of both Bryant and the Lakers. That certainly doesn't rule out the possibility of another title run, but it will make it that much more difficult.

Kevin Pelton covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. He has been writing about pro basketball since 2003 for several publications, including Hoopsworld.com, 82games.com and SI.com, and he has been an author for Basketball Prospectus since the site's inception in 2007. You can find his ESPN archives here, and follow him on Twitter here.

PP isn't that talking about his PER numbers though? Don't remember that article talking much about trade value. I just don't see a team with a young star being interestede in swapping players for him. What team would trade for him? Sure Philly might send someone like Iguodala for him, but does that make LA better? LA would want a PG after getting Howard I would imagine.

 

No deal LA can throw out there (short of Bynum & Gasol in some instances) would get any of these guys IMO: CP3, Deron Williams, Rondo, Westbrook, Rose, or Wall. They might be able to swing Tony Parker for Gasol, but would they want to do that? I don't even think Phoenix would give up Nash for Gasol even though they probably want to deal him to a contender. He's a bad contract for a #2 guy, teams just can't afford that. JMO

Once again though who wants him and is willing to give a star back in return? He's less valuable than any other star in the league right now IMO. He's getting old, he's too soft to carry a team, he's coming off a terrible playoff run, and he has another 3 years on his deal at a high price in a labor situation that is far from setttled. Boozer is the only other big name guy that I think is close to as tough to move right now. As with the trade idea that started this, I think OKC would laugh Jerry Buss off the phone if he offered Gasol for Westbrook.

 

He's only 30.

The Odom foul I would agree with you on but the Bynum foul was dirty and cheap in any era.

 

Watch McHale clothesline Rambis . He didn't get suspended as far as I recall and it was MUCH worse than what Bynum did.

PP isn't that talking about his PER numbers though? Don't remember that article talking much about trade value. I just don't see a team with a young star being interestede in swapping players for him. What team would trade for him? Sure Philly might send someone like Iguodala for him, but does that make LA better? LA would want a PG after getting Howard I would imagine.

 

No deal LA can throw out there (short of Bynum & Gasol in some instances) would get any of these guys IMO: CP3, Deron Williams, Rondo, Westbrook, Rose, or Wall. They might be able to swing Tony Parker for Gasol, but would they want to do that? I don't even think Phoenix would give up Nash for Gasol even though they probably want to deal him to a contender. He's a bad contract for a #2 guy, teams just can't afford that. JMO

 

 

 

I don't see the Lakers making a play for a 'Big 3'. I can see them getting good value for Gasol though. Who? I don't know. I don't see them dumping him for nothing.

One of the guys on the ESPN website were talking about Pau's deminished trade value. Funny that Lakers fans are the only ones who disagree...... He's not worthless but he has a bad contract with 3 years left, no one is going to touch that without getting Bynum or without getting out of a worse contract IMO. Doesn't make him a bad player but he has little trade value IMO because the Lakers will be on the wrong side of any deal he goes in, unless its with Bynum for Howard. JMO

 

Hey now you can't use ESPN guys to support your argument, when you put down people anytime others have used media people to support their arguments...

Watch McHale clothesline Rambis . He didn't get suspended as far as I recall and it was MUCH worse than what Bynum did.

 

Definitely not much worse than what Bynum did. Bynum threw a forearm for no reason other than to hurt someone. McHale was trying to stop a basket and looked like he was making a game like play. Bynum's play was clearly a cheap shot with no other purpose. The game situations make Bynum's play much, much worse than McHale's.

Lebron owned the last two minutes of that game. I think the other guys are going to have to pay him rent for that. King James just basically dominated that game in the clutch. Took it over. I loved it, loved every second of it. The only bad thing is people act like this is the first time he's done something like this. No one remembers him scoring the Cavs final 32 points against Detroit in a key game that would get them to their only Finals appearance. No one remembers the crazy off balance shot from deep he hit against the Magic to win at the buzzer. No one talks about all the times he has virtually won games by himself in the clutch. But all most people do want to talk about is his late game struggles this season, or all the ones he had missed in the past. I hope tonight is the beginning for a lot of the Lebron in the clutch doubters to finally go away. There's been times in the past where Bron' has deferred to other players, but that doesn't mean he doesn't or hasn't wanted to live up to the moment. He has always been a team guy who would rather win then achieve personal accolade. Like him kicking to a wide open Eddie House earlier in the year for the win when House had a much better look than he did, and why House is even in the game at that point anyway. So hopefully it will silence some of the Lebron doesn't want the ball in his hands late in the game nay sayers too.

Hey now you can't use ESPN guys to support your argument, when you put down people anytime others have used media people to support their arguments...

 

Umm... Because the ESPN guys have a pretty good take on trade movement around the league.

I don't see the Lakers making a play for a 'Big 3'. I can see them getting good value for Gasol though. Who? I don't know. I don't see them dumping him for nothing.

 

I just think he's more valuable to keep than anything he could bring back to them.

Was LeBron crying? Did they change something and not tell anyone that the 2nd round was for the NBA title this year?

Umm... Because the ESPN guys have a pretty good take on trade movement around the league.

 

Oh so since the ESPN guys actually support your opinion on this argument, they actually have a good take on things. However when other people in the past have brought up ESPN guys or any media guys to support their arguments on other matters, you usually choose to ignore that...