Silver Screen and Roll: FanPosts

Lakers-Celtics Trade Idea

2013-05-30T21:40:51Z

This is my first trade idea that I think could help both teams.

Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, and Jordan Crawford for Pau Gasol and Steve Blake

The trade works on the ESPN Trade Machine. This is why both teams do it.

Lakers:

The Lakers would be sending out 23 million dollars in salary, and taking in a little less than 12.2 million.
The Lakers would receive Brandon Bass, an old teammate that Dwight Howard knows well, and would hopefully entice him to re-sign with the Lakers. In addition, Bass brings a more consistent jump shot to the team, as well as help floor spacing from the bench unit. If the Lakers do keep Bass on the bench, it'll allow Earl Clark to get the nod at starting power forward where he played so well last season.
With Lee, the Lakers add another bench scorer that can stretch the floor and most importantly play defense. World Peace and Kobe are getting up there in age, and so it's becoming increasingly harder for them to guard scoring 1's and 2's. Lee brings the defense, the offense, and once again brings a familiar face to Dwight Howard.
Jordan Crawford may not be as reliable as Bass or Lee scoring-wise, but he's certainly an upgrade from any shooting guard not named Kobe Bryant or Courtney Lee on the Lakers.

Celtics:

Pau Gasol struggled a lot last season due to injuries, but hopefully he'd be healthy enough to produce. With Bass gone, Gasol can become the starting Center (a position where he briefly prospered for 3 games. He averaged 20 points, and 8.7 rebounds shooting 48.8% from the field when Howard went down, and Gasol was the starting Center. The Lakers also went 3-0), and he'll move Garnett to the 4 position where KG is most comfortable.
Gasol also brings a 2nd low post scoring option to the squad, and a player that can go 20 and 10 on any given night. Defensively, I say he does a good job despite many people calling him soft. He has a high basketball IQ, and plus he's paired with KG, so he should be able to play solid d.
Steve Blake gives the Celtics a back up point guard. I wouldn't necessarily call him a pass-first kind of guy, but he is a player that can consistently give you 5+ assists a night off the bench. His assist to turnover ratio is also pretty good, so you know he doesn't get too reckless with the passing.
Rondo plays heavy minutes, so Blake won't really play back up point guard for too long, and so he can play off the ball and become the shooting guard on the court.

Reasons Why The Lakers May Not Do It:

They don't want to get rid of Pau Gasol.
They don't like the length of Bass and Lee's contract.
Trading away Blake leaves the Lakers without a productive back up point guard.

Reasons Why The Celtics May Not Do It:

After Rondo and Bradley, the bench guards can become a liability on defense. Steve Blake + Jason Terry may spread the floor really well, but would probably have a hard time guarding the opposition.
It thins out the guard rotation to just Rondo, Bradley, Blake, Terry, and Williams, as opposed to Rondo, Bradley, Terry, Lee, Crawford, and Williams.
The Celtics would be taking on a lot of salary.
Gasol is 32 (turning 33 in July), and Steve Blake is 33.
Gasol and Blake are both injury prone.

***

Overall this trade is to address the bench scoring problem that the Lakers have. This trade brings 3 quality bench players to expand the Lakers 8-man rotation. It also adds a couple of familiar faces so Dwight Howard may be more inclined to stay.

What are your thoughts? Can this trade happen? Should it happen? Would this team even be a championship-contender?

This is my first trade idea that I think could help both teams.

Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, and Jordan Crawford for Pau Gasol and Steve Blake

The trade works on the ESPN Trade Machine. This is why both teams do it.

Lakers:

The Lakers would be sending out 23 million dollars in salary, and taking in a little less than 12.2 million.
The Lakers would receive Brandon Bass, an old teammate that Dwight Howard knows well, and would hopefully entice him to re-sign with the Lakers. In addition, Bass brings a more consistent jump shot to the team, as well as help floor spacing from the bench unit. If the Lakers do keep Bass on the bench, it'll allow Earl Clark to get the nod at starting power forward where he played so well last season.
With Lee, the Lakers add another bench scorer that can stretch the floor and most importantly play defense. World Peace and Kobe are getting up there in age, and so it's becoming increasingly harder for them to guard scoring 1's and 2's. Lee brings the defense, the offense, and once again brings a familiar face to Dwight Howard.
Jordan Crawford may not be as reliable as Bass or Lee scoring-wise, but he's certainly an upgrade from any shooting guard not named Kobe Bryant or Courtney Lee on the Lakers.

Celtics:

Pau Gasol struggled a lot last season due to injuries, but hopefully he'd be healthy enough to produce. With Bass gone, Gasol can become the starting Center (a position where he briefly prospered for 3 games. He averaged 20 points, and 8.7 rebounds shooting 48.8% from the field when Howard went down, and Gasol was the starting Center. The Lakers also went 3-0), and he'll move Garnett to the 4 position where KG is most comfortable.
Gasol also brings a 2nd low post scoring option to the squad, and a player that can go 20 and 10 on any given night. Defensively, I say he does a good job despite many people calling him soft. He has a high basketball IQ, and plus he's paired with KG, so he should be able to play solid d.
Steve Blake gives the Celtics a back up point guard. I wouldn't necessarily call him a pass-first kind of guy, but he is a player that can consistently give you 5+ assists a night off the bench. His assist to turnover ratio is also pretty good, so you know he doesn't get too reckless with the passing.
Rondo plays heavy minutes, so Blake won't really play back up point guard for too long, and so he can play off the ball and become the shooting guard on the court.

Reasons Why The Lakers May Not Do It:

They don't want to get rid of Pau Gasol.
They don't like the length of Bass and Lee's contract.
Trading away Blake leaves the Lakers without a productive back up point guard.

Reasons Why The Celtics May Not Do It:

After Rondo and Bradley, the bench guards can become a liability on defense. Steve Blake + Jason Terry may spread the floor really well, but would probably have a hard time guarding the opposition.
It thins out the guard rotation to just Rondo, Bradley, Blake, Terry, and Williams, as opposed to Rondo, Bradley, Terry, Lee, Crawford, and Williams.
The Celtics would be taking on a lot of salary.
Gasol is 32 (turning 33 in July), and Steve Blake is 33.
Gasol and Blake are both injury prone.

***

What are your thoughts? Can this trade happen? Should it happen? Would this team even be a championship-contender?

LOL...Mike D'Antoni

2013-05-22T20:39:39Z

‘I laughed,’ Jackson said. ‘It was humorous to me when Mitch said that we think that Mike is a better coach for this group of guys.’ Someone please give the number of the guy who brainwashed Mitch Kupchak, because I am going to find him and I am going to kill him. I would not only be laughing, I would also suggest getting your eyes checked because you obviously are oblivious to Phil Jackson being arguably the best coach in NBA history and winning 11 championships. I would say lets compare that to Mike D'Antoni's resume, but there is nothing to compare with. The man hasn't even made it to the finals yet.

All this talk about having to trade Dwight Howard, signing and trading Dwight Howard, trading Pau Gasol or Amnesty Kobe is making me sick. When you look at the talent the Lakers had, their should be no question that if anything goes wrong with the season, the coach should be the one to blame and not the players. Without a good coach, the team is nothing. You can ask the big man himself, Dwight Howard said in his exit interview that he felt "Marginalized" by D'Antoni. Kobe said earlier in the year that the offense wasn't working. D'Antoni said that Pau would not fit in the offense he wanted. Pau came back and played fine in the offense and they did better than they had all season. D' Antoni was wrong on everything! He is not the coach that is going to take the Lakers to the promise land. Keep Kobe. Keep Dwight. Keep Pau. Fire Mike D'Antoni's ass. It's championship or nothing for the Lakers and if Mike D'Antoni is your head coach, It will be nothing.

It's funny to me that D'Antoni fired his assistant coaches, Bernie Bickerstaff and Chuck Person, to cover his sorry ass and have someone to blame for their unfortunate season. I can just see him saying at the end of season like don't worry I can use my assistant coaches as scapegoats because they were part of Mike Brown's staff and that will be a perfect excuse. You can even tell that during timeouts, his players don't even pay attention to him because they know he is an idiot. So your really going to come in and change an offense that won Phil Jackson 5 championships because you feel its better with the squad you have,okay, and just one more question Mr. D'Antoni, what college did you attend? Who taught you that once things are going good, to just change and go a completely different way? Please tell me.

I would of loved to be with Phil Jackson when Mike Kupchak told him that he thought Mike D'Antoni, the guy who has not been to the finals in 10 years of being a head coach, would be a better fit for the Lakers team because I would of been on the ground laughing my head off and giving Kupchak so much credit for the joke.

The issue for the Lakers is not the players! It is all the coaching! the offense, the defense, and everything else having to do with the Lakers being as bad as they were with the talent they had this season. As much as every Laker Fan wants Phil Jackson to come back and be the coach again, I know for a fact that they would be better just getting rid of Mike D'Antoni and hiring a different coach. Just to leave you guys with a little humor, here is a picture of Phil Jackson laughing at Mike D'Antoni's coaching with Jeanie Buss

http://blacksportsonline.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Phil-Jackson-Mike-DAntoni.jpg

Silver Screen and Roll needs your help

2013-05-20T18:14:40Z

We here at Silver Screen and Roll try our best to provide you with everything you could possibly need to be the best Lakers fan you can be, and with your help, we have created one of the best Lakers communities on the web. And since the off-season is here, now is right time to make improvements to our roster, so we need some help from you to make this site the best it could possibly be. We're looking for folks to assist with our daily links post (The Credits) and with community moderation.

If you have any interest in helping out with The Credits or becoming a moderator, please let us know. You don't need experience of any kind to join the team, although active commenters are preferred for the moderator position so that we know you have the proper temperament and mentality to maintain our community standards.

What do you say? Do you want to join the team? If so, please reach out via email to C.A. Clark, Drew Garrison or SoCalGal at the emails listed below.

C.A. Clark - C.A.Clark.SSR@gmail.com
Drew Garrison - DrewGarrisonSBN@gmail.com
SoCalGal - nutz4shoes@gmail.com

Thanks!

What do you say? Do you want to join the team? If so, please reach out via email to C.A. Clark, Drew Garrison or SoCalGal at the emails listed below.

C.A. Clark - C.A.Clark.SSR@gmail.com
Drew Garrison - DrewGarrisonSBN@gmail.com
SoCalGal - nutz4shoes@gmail.com

Thanks!

Kobe's social networking

2013-05-11T19:13:03Z

My goal here is to analyze a representative sample of superstar Kobe Bryant’s posts on social media in order to determine how effective he has been at rebranding himself after a public incident that greatly tarnished his reputation. Kobe Bryant has received public backlash throughout his career, especially after an alleged rape in 2003. This alleged rape destroyed his public persona, and many fans still remember the daily ESPN coverage of Bryant’s 2003 trial. However, to his credit, Bryant has been able to successfully transform his image over the past year by increasing his use of social media.

Bryant’s first use of social media occurred in April of 2009 when his official page joined Facebook. Bryant’s official page was clearly not always run by him. Many of the first posts were simply highlight videos, pictures, or Bryant advertising either himself of one of his many endorsed items. Kobe was initially receiving approximately 5000 likes per post. His posts continued to be very general, posting pictures, or sharing links about endorsed items. Through early June of 2012, he was still averaging around 5000 likes per post, and his Facebook page wasn’t really making any impact on his social image. He wasn’t able to connect with people who weren’t already his fans.

However, starting in June of 2012, the number of likes per post began expanding. One of the biggest reasons for this increase was because many of his posts started to center on the Olympics, and Kobe was able to gain a huge amount of support simply because he was representing our country. If you look at those posts, some were clearly written by Bryant, including some about events at the Olympics. He posted one on July 25, 2012 about the women’s soccer team. That post received 17,000 likes. A similar post on July 31st congratulating the women’s volleyball team received 58,000 likes. I feel the biggest difference was not in the individual posts, but what happened in between those two posts. During the time span, he posted multiple photos of himself and Olympic athletes with personally written captions on his page. They all received upwards of 70,000 likes and many were liked well above 100,000 times. I think Kobe realized people were very interested in seeing him support other athletes, and hear his opinions on the events themselves, and he started to capitalize on this by recording many additional posts during the time of the Olympics.

I also feel that another reason Bryant used so much social media during the Olympics was because he saw the impact it had on his teammates’ popularity abroad. Kobe has generally been considered one of the most popular international players, and yet at the Olympics it was reported that younger player jerseys such as Chris Paul and LeBron James were being worn more often. I think after seeing those young superstars successfully interact with fans on Twitter, he may have wondered if he could use his Facebook in a similar manner. It was mentioned multiple times that Bryant did not have a Twitter account.

After the Olympics, Bryant’s Facebook page remained extremely popular, with a simple picture of some fruit he ate for breakfast getting over 100,000 likes. He also started posting his own opinions more often, at a rate of around one post per week with his commentary. These posts included topics ranging from the charity he supported, to information about sponsors, to information about his work-outs and practices. And one thing remained constant, his gain in likes. Posts by Bryant continued to be extremely popular. Another thing that Bryant did extremely well in his posts was making sure that the reader felt involved. One example of this was his post on October 10th, 2012 where he said “IF and When I announce my retirement, I will do so directly to you first.” He also started posting his opinions on issues more often, like he did in an October 13th post where he described his views on leadership, responsibility, and teamwork. This allowed fans to feel like they were getting to know Bryant better. Many of his posts showed his extreme dedication to winning, which many fans respected and wished of their own favorite athletes.

Bryant’s posts continued to retain their popularity as the calendar turned to 2013. One of his most liked posts occurred just after the New Year, when he announced that he and his wife were going to stay together instead of going through with their planned divorce. It was crazy that such a post received almost 200,000 likes, because many Americans probably supported Vanessa Bryant in her initial decision to divorce Kobe.

In early January 2013, Kobe got a Twitter account. He also started to use Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. Many of his initial posts were well received, netting him around 5-10 thousand retweets and about half that amount of favorites per post. He was constantly posting at least one post a day on Twitter. Many of his Twitter posts were also linked to his Facebook account, and those posts continued to gain at least 10,000 likes. His posts remained popular throughout the regular season, and it seemed like Bryant had simply become another, although more popular than most, athlete on Twitter. This, however, was a huge step-up from where he had been viewed in popular opinion before he started to use social media.

On April 12th, 2013 Kobe tore his Achilles tendon during a game a couple of days before the end of the regular season. Kobe wrote a Facebook post about this event at around 4:00 AM the next day simply venting his feelings. He appeared very honest and transparent regarding his frustrations about getting injured right before the play-offs. It allowed many readers to sympathize with him and get into the mindset of what it takes to be a world class athlete. This post was extremely well received with over 440,000 likes.

Kobe Bryant’s image has been fully rehabilitated from what it was in 2004 after his court trial. He remains a fan favorite throughout the country with one of the most popular jerseys ever sold. A lot of this renewed support has happened because of his increased presence on social media. With over 2,400,000 followers on Twitter, 16 million likes on Facebook, and 750,000 followers Bryant has been able to put the image of him dressed in a suit at his trial to rest.

In My Interview With Jordan Farmar, He Talks Return To NBA, Why The Lakers Suck

2013-05-08T03:06:45Z

On May 1st, I called Jordan Farmar on his California phone. He was in his hometown of LA, just days after getting knocked out of the Euroleague playoffs, getting his injured knee worked on. We spoke for twenty minutes about topics ranging from his Euroleague experience, cultural differences between Turkey and America, and a potential return to the Lakers.

Interview can be reached here.

He said this about returning to the Lakers:

"Yeah, I mean, it’ll come down to situation. They have a lot of salary committed to a lot of different places. It’ll depend on what happens with Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant, andPau Gasol, and if they’re in the position to be able to spend some money on free agents. But, I’m open to every opportunity. I’ve kinda tried to stay away from planning where I’m gonna end up, because I never thought I’d end up in Turkey, it just kinda worked out that way. So, I just try to roll with it, put myself in the best situation and make the decision that’s in front of me for the right reasons. If I do that, I think I’ll be okay."

And this about why the Lakers struggled:

"I think they never gelled well, as a team. I don’t think they’re extremely deep, and to be a good team in the NBA, you must have a good bench. When we were successful, when I was there, our bench was one of the strongest benches in the NBA. When our starters were hurt or went out of the game, we didn’t leave much, we brought something else to the table, which is one place where they struggled. And then they had a tonne of injuries. I mean, if you have somebody hurt, or multiple guys hurt all the time, it’s tough to win games. No matter, what color your jersey is, or what the prestige of your organization is."

Farmar has vastly improved during his time overseas, and would be a good backup PG option for the Lakers. What do you guys think about signing him this summer?

Interview can be reached here.

He said this about returning to the Lakers:

And this about why the Lakers struggled:

Farmar has vastly improved during his time overseas, and would be a good backup PG option for the Lakers. What do you guys think about signing him this summer?

Mike D'Antoni - Doomed To Fail (In The Eyes Of Many)

2013-05-01T13:57:43Z

When Mike Brown got fired, there was a lot of talk about who the next Lakers head coach was going to be, and once Phil Jackson's name came up it was immediately obvious who Lakers fans wanted to lead a team that had gone winless in the preseason and had been off to a slow start in the regular season. I was just as excited as anyone, with Jackson being a legendary coach and all who had just finished off a spectacular run in LA that resulted in five titles. It seemed like a serious possibility until suddenly suddenly something went wrong, the Lakers seemingly misunderstood or ignored Jackson's request for two days to respond and went and hired Mike D'Antoni, who had resigned the previous season as the NY Knick's head coach.

Needless to say, many Laker fans were not pleased; there were the chants of "We Want Phil!" and the regular criticisms of D'Antoni over the course of the season that stemmed not from a lackluster performance but from anger over the fact that it was not Jackson leading the team. For the whole year, it seemed that a lot of people were still miffed over the loss of Jackson event hough there were way more prominent problems, eg the Lakers' lackluster play and all the injuries to players on the team.

Here's the thing: many Lakers fans were so excited about the possibility of bringing Phil back that they worked themselves into a position where they couldn't possibly not have Phil. There was no one else who could take the job of head coach except for Phil Jackson. Once Jackson did not end up coming to LA, they channelled all their disappointment into disapproval at D'Antoni; Mike Brown had been the one replacing a legend but with Jackson's brief appearance it seemed that D'Antoni was forced to do the exact same thing.

I could go on about the rest of the season as well; the difficulties faced by D'Antoni, the injuries and lousy play that would've made it difficult for any coach to succeed, the fact that at the end of the day the Lakers still managed to fight their way back into contention - finishing things off with a fantastic season-ending run before getting demolished by San Antonio in the playoffs - meaning that D'Antoni couldn't have been that bad. I could also mention the fact that many times D'Antoni's coaching was lacking, that he couldn't find a formula that worked, that maybe he shouldn't have had Kobe play all those minutes until he ran out of steam.

The truth is, Mike D'Antoni's failure was so oft-predicted and - in some cases - anticipated that when the buzzer finally sounded in Game 4 to close out LA's year, it seemed that D'Antoni had been destined to fail in the eyes of many fans and when he did there was no surprise whatsoever; he was not going to find success.

Lakers Need a Good Strategy Heading into Offseason

2013-05-01T13:38:03Z

Needless to say, the Lakers season didn't end the way many of us would have wanted. Losing in the first round of the playoffs is never a teams goals, no matter how they did the year before. However, when you add the other situations the Lakers have to deal with; injury to the star player, cap issues, contracts, instability at the head coach position, things are even less desirable for the Lakers. The Lakers had an offensive efficiency rating of 107.9 per game during the regular season and a defensive efficiency rating of 106.6. That ranked them at 9th and 11th in the NBA, respectively. Those numbers by themselves don't tell the entire story though. If those numbers were coming from a franchise in their ascent, with their newly built, young team it would be great. However, the Lakers are an aging team, now dealing with injuries, but everything isn't bad.

Although there has been a lot of speculation about what the team will do with Kobe Bryant one thing that has almost no chance of happening is the team releasing him. They are not going to amnesty or trade him. He is currently the face of the Laker franchise and still offers a lot both on and off the court. This season ESPN ranked him as 7th overall in the league with a 12.7 WARP, he also posted the second bet effective field goal percentage of his entire career. When you combine that with what he brings to the locker room, it's easy to see why Kobe will be in Los Angeles next season.

The Lakers attempted to build a super roster packed full of talent; Bryant, Nash, Howard, Gasol, World-Peace. They made an attempt to go all out for the title, and as usual when tried by professional sports teams, it failed. Now they must decide what to do before the wheels completely come off.

The first thing that they are going to consider is how to use amnesty effectively. Strictly financially, Gasol is an easy choice. It's hard to imagine his contributions being worth $39 million more to a team that's unlikely to contend for a championship. Still, Gasol remains too valuable on the court to let walk for nothing in return. There's also the possibility of trading Gasol, which Kupchak surely will explore before having to make a decision. World Peace's contract is closer to untradeable. That's why he's the most likely amnesty candidate. World Peace certainly didn't turn out to be the player they though he would be and an extra $23 million off the books would be major.

The next move they need to make would be re-signing Dwight Howard. People were very concerned at one point about how he would deal with his injuries, they seemed to be slowly taking their toll. Following the All-Star break, Howard averaged 17.7 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per 36 minutes. Those are great numbers. The Lakers ended their season in disappointing fashion, but that does not change the fact that Howard is essential to the teams future.

The next thing the team should really consider would be trading Pau Gasol. A Gasol trade could benefit the Lakers in two ways. One thing the team has dealt with all season long has been a lack of depth. The youth that Kupchak tried to infuse the roster with hasn't worked out so far. IF they are able to trade Gasol for two solid players, it could be very worthwhile. Add to that the cap space and making the team younger and it sounds very doable. Or the Lakers could consider trading Gasol to a team like the Houston Rockets that will be under the cap and won't have to send back equivalent salary in return. Finding the right fit will be difficult, but Gasol is a unique trade asset.

The Lakers can still get things in order without suffering too much of a drop off. Going into this offseason they are somewhat limited in what they can do. However, with a proper strategy, they can certainly begin. Ultimately, Kupchakis going to have make some hard choices. The Lakers are never really in that bad of a spot. They have always had a superstar on their roster, (still do) and people love to play for them, and cheer for them. They have a storied franchise and they will rebound.

The writing was on the Wall about Lakers before Season started

2013-05-01T02:55:46Z

I dont think it was a suprise to many NBA fans that the Lakers imploded on themselves this season. Well, at least to Non-Lakers Fans it wasnt. Fanatical Lakers fans will always believe LA is going to win a Title every single season. The Nash trade showed how badly the Lakers are wanting a veteran PG who is a LEADER. Kobe Bryant doesnt lead his team, he brutally criticizes it against his ego when it doesnt run the way he thinks it should. His Twitter diatribes are the latest showcase of the Kobe Bryant Arrogance Show. D12 was broken goods heading in, his back injury was/is severe. I have had the same sort of back problems as D12 does and I will tell you that I would never think of playing basketball professionally again (if I did play in the NBA) after injuring it if I was him. Any decent doctor would tell you to not subject your body to that sort of stress, even with top notch physical conditioning the bone regrowth on his repairs can take 6 mo to a year. And its never as strong as it used to be after that. Add this to all the stress from being labelled a traitor a la-LaBron to Orlando and lofty expectations placed on him by fans everywhere its no wonder D12 folded mentally. MettaWPeace is a loose cannon as always, good defender but a mad dog off the leash. Gasol is sick of being picked on by Kobe and is ready to jump ship. The Lakers bench is broken aside from Antwan Jamison, who unfortunately isnt consistent. Coaches are coming and going after being sacrificed one after another due to the roster no being able to perform......... So with all this going on, its little wonder Lakers are now second fiddle to the Clippers. The "Kobe Bryant Era" is over and the Lakers will not find greatness again until he is gone and the roster completely rebuilt. Until then bow down to CP3 and MysticGriffin.......

Poll

Will Kobe Bryant win a 6ths Ring before he Retires?

No, he is too old!

6 votes

Yes, he still has a few left in him!

20 votes

Maybe, but he will never be as Great as Michael Jordan!

2 votes

Who cares, Kobe Bryant is too Arrogant!

3 votes

31 votes | Poll has closed

I am delusional, and optimistic.

2013-04-30T04:41:41Z

This was my response on another message board (LSU) that asked what I thought about the Lakers upcoming next year. I know I'm overtly optimistic, but here we go:

Beginning of the season just showed how bad Mike Brown was and how Dwight Howard had not recovered yet. Mike Brown simply put is one of the worst coaches in the history of the league and was carried by Lebron James, much like Vinny Del Negro is being carried by having CP3 basically coach the team.

Steve Nash, freakish leg break. Steve Blake out for much of the season. This Laker team missed over 180 games, with over 70 of them being from the starters. Pau Gasol was thought not to fit into MDA's system etc. Train wreck right? Wait just one moment.

Antawn Jamison played amazingly well as a back up. Jordan Hill is back and is healthy. Earl Clark wants to stay even if it means less money. There is no reason to assume Meeks will not return to his norm on 3 point shooting. Blake showed in the second half of the season that with the right coach and system he is a great player. So what does this all mean?

1) Dwight Howard will be resigning. There's no way he walks away, he's already telling Lakers fans he wants to make this season up to them. He will be back next year.
2) Pau ... where do I begin? Still one of the most talented big men in the game, and when he's healthy like at the end of the season .... the guy was handing out triple doubles like a point guard. He's only got 1 more year, and while he's owed 19m and it's going to be a hell of a luxury hit you aren't going to get proper value in a trade. You keep him and take the hit unless you get a good trade.
3) Kobe .... here is the dilemma. I am of the mindset Kobe will be back in 6 months, even if he needs 9. That's just Kobe for you. Some players come back just as strong ... some don't. The great thing about Kobe is his basketball IQ, even if he loses some of his athleticism, it's not going to make him a terrible player. Kobe won't be amnestied, unless it is his idea and he plans on sitting the entire year and then coming back, which I don't see.
4) Steve Nash ... give the guy an offseason to rest and heal, and see how he's going to do next year. He was a short term solution, that may not be a solution at all. Even hurt? He was still a decent pg this year. If he can come back at 80% or 90% of what he was 2 years ago? Lakers will be fine at the pg position.
5) MWP ... people who follow the Lakers religiously knows he's found a home in LA. He's definitely not the player he was and he knows that. But he's a fan favorite, and he wants to stay long term. The problem is that he's well overpayed and many think he's an amnesty target. Here is the kicker ... this year is a player option for him. He can opt out of his own contract saving the amnesty option for the Lakers, and with the good will earned in that move most likely sign at the veteran minimum for 2 maybe 3 years. He needs to be a backup though, he is no longer starting caliber for the 3.

So ... we have 4 of our 5 starting lineup. Let's look at the bench.
1) Jodie Meeks .... had less of a shooting year than expected, a lot of that is due to the chaos in the systems, the chaos with injuries etc. He has a team option, most people expect us to pick it up for the remaining year simply because he's cheap.
2) Jamison, not likely to return. Has expressed interest in going to Charlotte to end his career. This is sad because we could REALLY use him.
3) Clark, has stated he wants to stay in LA even with less money, this is good. He's a great bench 4 who can guard some 3's and 2's when needed. Note: Ramon Sessions said the same thing and then booked it out of town.
4) Hill, still under contract for a year, great as a backup 4 or 5. So we're pretty set on the PF/C between Clark and Hill.
5) MWP should be the backup 3.
6) Steve Blake, still under contract, and can play the backup 1 or backup 2 as needed. If Jodie Meeks is not retained expect to see Blake playing more of the 2, along with the possibility of Goudelock staying around if Kobe's injury is lingering.

So what do the Lakers need to do? We have 1 pick in the draft, late second round. Not a happy prospect, but if there is a decent PG there we need to look at getting younger in that position. For that late in the draft there are 2 players that a lot of Lakers fans are interested in that might be around. The first and my favorite is Peyton Siva from Louisville. Fresh off of a scandal that may make him drop farther, he provides defensive scrappiness, and the ability to attack the rim that would help spacing on the floor. The second is Tim Hardaway Jr. The kid is raw, but is overall a good prospect. Either one of those two would be an absolute steal for the Lakers.

Starting 3 ... this is one of the most important positions in the league right now. This is the guy who gets to guard Lebron, Durant, Melo, etc. For some reason Nuggets fans believe that Iggy is going to opt out and come to the Lakers for the mini MLE (only thing we have). If this happens, good god almighty the basketball gods are repaying us for a horrible season, I don't expect it to happen. The second far fetch idea is that the front office puts together some sort of trade with Pau Gasol to the Bulls (who were interested in him) with Luol Deng coming back. Deng or Iggy would be a god send for the Lakers. Don't count on either of these happening. The guy most Lakers fans feel is likely is Dorell Wright. He would be a great fit in our system and he's affordable.

Let's say miracles occur and all I said comes true, including Iggy.
Starting lineup:
Nash
Kobe
Iggy
Pau
Howard

Bench:
Siva
Blake
MWP
Clark
Hill

This 10 man rotation is easily one of the best and deepest in the NBA. When you expect Pau and Howard will both be healthy and more time together perfecting what they got down pretty well at the end of the season (our play called HORNS which uses both big men extremely well) you can expect the inside to be crazy. Iggy is still one of the best 3 defenders, and can bring a little scoring when needed. If Kobe and Nash are even 80% healthy that's a dangerous starting lineup.

Siva needs time to learn, so why not put him with one of the best in the game behind Nash. A very solid bench means no huge drop off.

So now ... the question goes to the coach. A lot of Lakers fans hate MDA, most of the media thinks he did horrible. I am not a huge MDA fan but let me say this, you could have put John Wooden, with Red, Phil, and Pop are assistants and this team still would not have gotten out of the first round. There has never been a team in the NBA NAY sports period that was as cursed with as many injuries as this team. MDA with a full offseason to tailor his system to the crew, with a full offseason to heal and a healthy Dwight Howard to help bolster others inadequacies on defense. Get in a full training camp where they can learn to play with each other.

The Lakers should be fine next year with little fixes. Oh and ... you don't think Kobe's made it a point to mark down how many people are saying he can't come back? Yeah the guy has the same FUCK YOU attitude that Jordan did. He's going to be back and do whatever it takes to help his team win.

#DelusionalOptimism maybe ... but I've been watching NBA basketball for ... shit over 20 years now and I would be surprised if next season doesn't play out similarly to what I've posted. And all the trials and enduring they had to go through this year? It's going to make them a stronger team next year.

This was my response on another message board (LSU) that asked what I thought about the Lakers upcoming next year. I know I'm overtly optimistic, but here we go:

Poll

Your opinion on my analysis?

Sounds reasonable

19 votes

You have no clue wtf you are talking about

8 votes

Fire MDA, Run Dwight out of town, Amnesty Kobe, Trade Pau and Nash! BLOW THIS UP

2 votes

Can I have some of what this guy is smoking?

15 votes

44 votes | Poll has closed

Thoughts on the season

2013-04-29T17:26:39Z

One terrible decision

Clearly, hiring D'Antoni was a huge mistake. I'm not sure that Phil was ever truly an option for Laker management but he was so obviously the right choice. Unfortunately, I think that Jim Buss insisted on starting his own legacy, and even though Jerry Buss knew that was a mistake, he was in poor health and knew he had to let Jim make his own decisions and mistakes. Maybe this disaster will convince Jim to give up the reigns to Mitch and Phil while he can take his father's position as the head of the franchise who trusts the basketball people to make basketball decisions, who knows. I don't believe that D'Antoni will ever be a championship coach, but also believe that Phil is the only person who makes bringing this team back in (nearly) its entirety is worth the $85 million luxury tax. If Phil isn't coming back, and Dwight/Kobe are OK with D'Antoni staying on, then they might as well blow everything up and try to rebuild for 2014.

D'Antoni just has too many deficiencies. He only plays one style of ball, and hasn't shown an ability to adapt. The veteran/star players don't respect him, as his time in New York also showed. He isn't good at finding the right rotations and doesn't appear to develop his bench. He doesn't coach defense, and doesn't appear to make necessary adjustments. But most importantly, he is consistently out-coached by guys like Popovich and Phil. That's not to say he couldn't win a series against them, but he would need superior talent. I'm sure he could win a championship with the Heat, or maybe the Thunder, but to always have championship aspirations you need a coach who can make the difference when talent is similar.

One too many moves

I wasn't as high on the Steve Nash trade as many were. I felt he was overrated in Phoenix, with his stats inflated by the system and his defensive liabilities overlooked while he won two MVPs. But, I also recognized that the Lakers had a defensive liability at point guard for many years and still won championships, and thought that Nash could be a good spot up shooter, occasional ball handler, and a good leader in the locker room. He wasn't worth the $9 million per season, but figured the Lakers were just throwing money at the situation and not worrying about payroll since they had just signed a huge deal.

Unfortunately, I think having Steve Nash led to the poor decision to hire D'Antoni. He is still serviceable as a shooter and secondary creator, but shouldn't have been the reason for hiring a coach. He needs to play the Steve Kerr, Jon Paxon role, and I'm not sure if he is willing to do that. I think the Payton/Malone and Nash/Howard years have shown us that more is not always better. Three big names is already pushing the limits, and four is too many.

Kobe still has it -- or at least, still had it

I didn't see this season coming from him. He really put the team on his back. Unfortunately the timing of his injury is terrible. I have no doubt that he will be back, but have serious doubts that he will be the same player. The blown Achilles may very well rob him of his explosiveness. He can come back and play below the rim, relying on post moves and veteran savvy to get to the rim, but this season he seemed to have that extra lift that I don't think he'll ever get back. It may be a blessing, though, if it convinces him to take a slightly lesser role and allow Dwight Howard to lead the team. And, given that he may not have the same explosiveness anyway, he might be willing to play a couple more years (at a discount).

Don't overreact to a bad series by Dwight

Dwight Howard proved that he is worth a max contract in the second half of the season. That's about the time he should have come back from injury, anyway. I really believe that his early season struggles were related to losing his lift from nerve injury in his spine. When you lose strength in your legs, you need to bring your arms down to jump. Instead of keeping the ball above his head and just lifting up, he had to bring the ball down to stabilize himself and provide extra lift with his shoulders. This led to the shoulder injury, a lot of turnovers, and worst of all, bad habits. His series against the Spurs is a throw away because no big man could succeed in the situation he was in. The Spurs did not respect any of the wing players, the coaching staff couldn't figure out how to adjust to the defense, and he got frustrated from repeated flagrant fouls, only some of which were called.

Dwight is clearly worth a maximum contract based on his dominance on defense while being at least above average on offense. Unfortunately, he'd be better as a 5th year player getting the max somewhere closer to $15 million a year. I would offer him the max, while adding that if he were willing to take less, that would simply mean more help for him. I'm not sure if the organization has earned enough of his trust to get him to take less, but it should be at least put out there.

One terrible decision

One too many moves

Kobe still has it -- or at least, still had it

Don't overreact to a bad series by Dwight

The Only Good Thing About This Season: It Is Over And I Am Flipping The Off Switch!

2013-04-28T03:38:14Z

Orson Welles once said: " If you want a good ending it all depends on where you stop your story". Well, this Lakers story should have stopped before the first game of the year!

This is a tremendously sad time for me. There is a Lakers playoff game tomorrow and for the first time in 30 years, (yes THIRTY YEARS!), I am not going to watch it. My favorite Kobe jersey will be folded in the drawer, the DVR will be idle, the TV will be off and I will be riding my bicycle to the beach trying to forget about this tragic season and the misery in my Laker heart. Please next season come fast, I don’t know if I can handle this. As a basketball fan I bleed Purple and Gold and right know this is as low as I have ever felt ever. EVER!

As much as I hate this feeling, years like that make sports so addictive and unpredictable. It reminds us that the journey is absolutely necessary to reach our destination and nobody can predict how it will turn out. It turned from sure championship to dreaded rebuild. What makes it so unbearable is the fact that we Laker fans are not use to it. Where other teams usually struggle, we enjoyed through the years great runs and fortune smiling continuously our way. We hit absolute bottom this year and I hope that balances the scales and pays off our good fortune debt.

As C.A. Clark very well noted in his post, there is nothing left to say or analyze so we might as well all stand up and join in a moment of silence to wave this horrible season good bye. Myself, I choose to move on and hope that my beloved Lakers are going to come out of this stronger and better. I am going to leave you with a few thoughts and suggestions and I welcome your comments and discussion my fellow Laker brothers. It will make the healing period easier to bear.

When Kobe’s Achilles tendon snapped the Lakers Achilles tendon was severed at the same time. Kobe Bryant will be back next year but please remember that the time we have left to appreciate one of the greatest players ever putting the ball in the basket is nearing the end. Just channel all the positive energy you can master towards our Black Mamba. As strange as it sounds, the time he needs to heal from the Achilles injury will probably positively extend his career. I can see Kobe now playing 3-4 more years as the rest of his body will actually heal as well and his determination to prove father time wrong will add to the amazing memories #24 enabled all of us to mentally collect through the years.

Mike D’Antoni should absolutely be given another chance to return next year. He adjusted his coaching style and the team turned it around in the second half and if it was not for the injuries this story would have a much different ending. Phil Jackson will not be coaching the Lakers, not next year not in this lifetime. He is 68 years old with an 80 year old body and he wants full control of the Lakers or any other team’s operations he will get involved with at this late stage of his career. The Lakers will never disrespect Mitch Kupchak and throw him to the streets so they can turn the keys of the Bentley to Phil. Jeannie might want to but Jim would never allow it in respect of his father’s memory and gratitude. My Laker brothers when you judge Mike D’Antoni please do not compare him with Phil first because nobody in the history of the NBA can compare to Phil and second because Mike did not replace Phil. He replaced Mile Brown. Whom would you rather have next year? D’Antoni or Brown? I thought so!

I really do not have a clue about how the Lakers roster will look next year but I wish more fans realize that “The two Bigs” are not necessarily an advantage in today’s NBA. In the 70’s or the 80’s the “twin towers” would have been an advantage but in David Stern’s NBA dictatorship it is actually a huge disadvantage. The league is about entertainment and fast play and the referees have been conditioned by the league to promote that style. How else can you explain the fact that short fast point guards like Parker, Paul and Westbrook are bailed out and send to the foul line every time someone touches their pinkies and Howard and Gasol are left sometimes bleeding on the floor with a look of disbelief on their faces while the other team scores a fast break basket on the other side? We need a fast small point guard like that and Grandpa Nash is not it. (By the way the misfortunes of the Laker season started when Mafia Stern vetoed the Paul trade robbing the Lakers of 3-4 great years and perhaps another championship. I hate your fake smile commish. Your unfairness stinks!)

With all due respect because I really like him, if we keep Kobe, Howard and Gasol next year, Nash has to be released immediately or traded for a water boy. That will erase from D’Antoni’s mind past memories and temptation of run and gun. The theory of the 4 superstars with no bench support failed miserably. Look around you people. Miami has 2 and a half superstars and it works perfect. No other team has more than 3 superstars working together, there are not enough balls, shots or minutes to go around and it keeps young support players from improving. Not to mention the age factor as well. Out of respect trade him back to Phoenix so he can retire his Hall of fame career.

So this is it for me my Lakerholic friends. This season has left a horrible taste in my mouth and I am flipping the off switch until next year. If your stomach is strong you might want to watch the final game. There is a chance the final chapter of this tragic year could give you the last opportunity to see Howard, Gasol, Nash, World Peace or anyone on the current roster in a Laker uniform. I can’t bring myself to do that. I hate inevitability and inevitability has rarely seemed so strong for my beloved Lakers. There is no light right now at the end of the tunnel but take my word for it: It will be when we get there.

See you all next year

P.S. By the way for all of you out there: Amnesty and Kobe do not belong in the same sentence. NEVER!

Orson Welles once said: " If you want a good ending it all depends on where you stop your story". Well, this Lakers story should have stopped before the first game of the year!

See you all next year

P.S. By the way for all of you out there: Amnesty and Kobe do not belong in the same sentence. NEVER!

Kobe Bryant "You Showed Us"

2013-04-27T01:47:23Z

This video gave me chills and may or may not (but definitely did) bring a tear to me eye. I honestly feel bad for those who blindly hate on Kobe, because they have missed 17 years of some of the most amazing basketball we've ever been privileged to witness. The Mamba will be back, he will be hungry and he will be in Laker purple and gold.

Kobe Bryant 'You Showed Us' NIKE Ad New 2013 (via ogkillergreen)

There shall be no Armageddon

2013-04-25T17:53:02Z

This is to all the Laker fans wanting to blow this team up right here and right now. If your not in that category then good for you.

Why is 2014 the Laker's magical year? That's because they have basically Steve Nash on contract for 10 million. Let's say the Lakers resign D12 for a 20 million this year. That would mean the Lakers have only 30 million guaranteed for players in 2014. That will likely leave 40 million in cap space before going over threshold. Knowing the Lakers, let's say they try to go over the threshold by 10 million and no more because of the big bad CBA luxury taxes. So that basically gives the Lakers 50 million to splurge on great players in 2014. And there are big names out there like John Wall and Paul George. Carmelo Anthony also could be out there because of his termination option as well as the Big 3 in Miami (LeBron, Bosh, Wade) who also have termination options. I think that Carmelo has a better chance of being out there than any member of the big 3. But again the big key here is that the Lakers have so much money to splurge on a great free agency class...

Why not 2013? Because basically you got a lot more people on contract. Kobe's not going to be amnestied and Gasol is owed 19 million if he get's amnestied or not. And it doesn't matter if D12 is signed or not or if MWP walks or Meeks, Jamison, Clark and a bunch of other guys not on contract next year don't get resigned. The Lakers are still owing players almost 70 million dollars. Any player the Lakers sign puts them over the tax threshold. And the Lakers shouldn't trade anyone for pennies on the dollar. Teams want to trade away bad contracts whenever a trade happens. Orlando unloaded Duhon on us in the D12 trade. The guy is non-existent and get's payed almost as much as Steve Blake is payed. What happens if we trade Gasol and end up having a guy who gets sent to the bench permanently but is still owed 5 million the next 3 years. What a waste of money...

The Lakers organization and us fans should stay patient. We should not take up any players for long term contracts unless it's a spectacular deal and/or a spectacular player (Chris Paul or Dwight Howard [still believe in D12]). We got to be smart heading into the 2014 where we got lots of money to spend on what is probably going to be a really good free agency class. Why waste money now and lose money to spend in 2014?!

And more importantly let's not lose hope for 2013, if D12 comes back and Kobe WILL too then we are still contenders with our roster if the next season doesn't unfold as bad as this one has.

This is to all the Laker fans wanting to blow this team up right here and right now. If your not in that category then good for you.

And more importantly let's not lose hope for 2013, if D12 comes back and Kobe WILL too then we are still contenders with our roster if the next season doesn't unfold as bad as this one has.

New NBA Playoffs Format

2013-04-21T10:26:07Z

As far back as I can remember, the Western Conference has been the stronger conference in the NBA. Twelve of the past twenty NBA Championships have headed west(5 LAL,4 SAS,2 HOU,1 DAL). The Eastern Conference is severely top heavy and has been for awhile. Terrible teams have made it into the playoffs the past few seasons in the East. This years' terrible squad is non other than Southern California native Brandon Jennings' Milwaukee Bucks who got in with a record of 38-44(6 games below .500).

So, this begs the question. Just how do you fix this? Can the NBA just allow the top sixteen records to compete? Now, while the top 16 records would make the most sense, it isn't in anyone's best interest to have teams playing across country in the first round. But, what if it was feasible to adjust accordingly to allow for the best teams to compete, while avoiding logistical nightmares.

The Format

Essentially stays the same sans adopting a slight variation from the college game. While the East and West would still be the overlying conference, there would be sub-categories(divisions) or regions if you will. There will be four in total:

Eastern

Central

Midwest

Pacific (note: team placement doesn't follow strict timezone mapping)

Each region has two series, four teams total. The teams will play in first round match-ups of. 1-4, 2-3. The league's overall best record will have home court throughout the playoffs. To show this works, I will use the teams from this years' playoffs:

Eastern

1. Miami

2. Brookyln

3. Chicago

4. Atlanta

Central

1. New York

2. Memphis

3. Indiana

4. Boston

Midwest
1. Oklahoma City

2. LA Clippers

3. Houston

4. Utah( would replace Milwaukee due to record)

Pacific

1. San Antonio

2. Denver

3. Golden State

4. LA Lakers

To clarify the seeding, the only major change is the inclusion of Utah over Milwaukee due to record. The seeding will follow the current sets of rules in place now. As of now, OKC, SAS, DEN, & LAC are the top 4 teams in the west. In these regions, the two best records are OKC & SAS(who received 1 seeds), DEN has the third best overall record so they are placed in the region with San Antonio, while LAC has the fourth best overall record and places them in the bracket with the best in the Western Conference( essentially equal to 3-4 seeds).

It is still set up so the best teams will only meet later in the playoffs, as it is now. Miami would play NY for the East while OKC would play SA for the West

The Format

Eastern

Central

Midwest

Pacific (note: team placement doesn't follow strict timezone mapping)

Eastern

1. Miami

2. Brookyln

3. Chicago

4. Atlanta

Central

1. New York

2. Memphis

3. Indiana

4. Boston

Midwest
1. Oklahoma City

2. LA Clippers

3. Houston

4. Utah( would replace Milwaukee due to record)

Pacific

1. San Antonio

2. Denver

3. Golden State

4. LA Lakers

It is still set up so the best teams will only meet later in the playoffs, as it is now. Miami would play NY for the East while OKC would play SA for the West

Poll

Would you mind if the league adopted this?

Yeah

6 votes

Nah

7 votes

This is awesome

5 votes

Meh, it's cool now

8 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

Brush up on Lakers history with cool new app

2013-04-19T21:44:55Z

Hey all,

A friend of mine recently created an app called "Draftpedia" that tracks NBA draft data, rosters, and statistics from the last 40+ years. It lets you sort the data in a lot of different ways (including by college) and then allows you to see year-by-year stats for every player. It should be a great reference tool for sports history and random trivia.

If you're interested, here's the download link for iPhones/iPads (it's free):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/draf...562159411?mt=8

----------------------------------------------------------

Here's a press release from the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130417-908281.html?mod=googlenews_wsj):

Draftpedia's iPhone App Launches for All NBA & NFL Draft Fans

SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwired - April 17, 2013) - Draftpedia, the only iPhone app with NFL & NBA draft history, is now available free in the App Store. Built exclusively for mobile, Draftpedia has 30+ years of draft history, past team rosters, draft info for every player's alma mater and statistics for every current player.

Roommates David Rabie and Joe Sarafian hatched the idea for Draftpedia on the couch during a Clipper game. Discussing Kenyon Martin's historically poor draft class, Joe asked why consumers had to rely on searching Wikipedia for the answer. "As Gen Y sports enthusiasts, what has driven us this entire time is to build an app that makes our lives easier," said David Rabie, Co-Founder.

"Given the competition, we knew that our edge would come with speed, efficiency and design. We built a database of information that is stored within the app -- eliminating any loading time between screens and allowing the app to function offline," said Co-Founder Joe Sarafian. The information is presented in clear, easy-to-use tables and is all linkable, offering multiple ways for users to navigate within the app.

Launching just in time for the 2013 NFL Draft, Draftpedia is the ultimate reference guide for any sports fan looking for historical data including:

-- 40+ Years of Past Drafts

-- 30 Years of Team Rosters

-- Every Division 1 College's NFL/NBA Alumni

-- Breakdown by Nationality (NBA) and Pick (NFL)

-- Statistics for Every Current Player

"Next time you're debating a player's alma mater or comparing draft classes, Draftpedia is your best solution," said Rabie.

About Draftpedia

Draftpedia consolidates information about past NFL & NBA drafts in a convenient and fast iPhone app. It has every draft year of the modern era, lists of professional players from every D1 College, past rosters for every team and statistics for every current player. Founded in 2012, Draftpedia is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit www.draftpedia.com.

Hey all,

If you're interested, here's the download link for iPhones/iPads (it's free):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/draf...562159411?mt=8

----------------------------------------------------------

Here's a press release from the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130417-908281.html?mod=googlenews_wsj):

Draftpedia's iPhone App Launches for All NBA & NFL Draft Fans

SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwired - April 17, 2013) - Draftpedia, the only iPhone app with NFL & NBA draft history, is now available free in the App Store. Built exclusively for mobile, Draftpedia has 30+ years of draft history, past team rosters, draft info for every player's alma mater and statistics for every current player.

Roommates David Rabie and Joe Sarafian hatched the idea for Draftpedia on the couch during a Clipper game. Discussing Kenyon Martin's historically poor draft class, Joe asked why consumers had to rely on searching Wikipedia for the answer. "As Gen Y sports enthusiasts, what has driven us this entire time is to build an app that makes our lives easier," said David Rabie, Co-Founder.

"Given the competition, we knew that our edge would come with speed, efficiency and design. We built a database of information that is stored within the app -- eliminating any loading time between screens and allowing the app to function offline," said Co-Founder Joe Sarafian. The information is presented in clear, easy-to-use tables and is all linkable, offering multiple ways for users to navigate within the app.

Launching just in time for the 2013 NFL Draft, Draftpedia is the ultimate reference guide for any sports fan looking for historical data including:

-- 40+ Years of Past Drafts

-- 30 Years of Team Rosters

-- Every Division 1 College's NFL/NBA Alumni

-- Breakdown by Nationality (NBA) and Pick (NFL)

-- Statistics for Every Current Player

"Next time you're debating a player's alma mater or comparing draft classes, Draftpedia is your best solution," said Rabie.

About Draftpedia

Draftpedia consolidates information about past NFL & NBA drafts in a convenient and fast iPhone app. It has every draft year of the modern era, lists of professional players from every D1 College, past rosters for every team and statistics for every current player. Founded in 2012, Draftpedia is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit www.draftpedia.com.