Wuz Upper Laker Fanz

You have every reason to be in a state of euphoria right now, Mitch Kupchak turned into Jerry West for a day and turned a trade that will benefit the Lakers for years to come! (And to give more credit where credit is due, I'll compliment Mitch 'one more' for not making that Jason Kidd trade that the whole world felt like he should of did a year ago…Jason is a great point guard but he's a liability as a scorer and some nights he's good for ZERO pts and 10 assists, that's down right horrible on a team like the Lakers where they needed a consistent 2nd scorer more than they needed a distributor–and before you say it, I'll stop u right now and say 'No, Lamar Odom is not the 2nd scorer most Laker Fans thing he is, Odom is overrated and to passive to be the dominant player fans keep saying he's going to become'…Kobe alone is the floor leader for the Lakers and a Pt. Guard like Jason would have only made things uncomfortable on the court)But before u book championship victory parade tickets for the Lakers your going to have to wait another year becuase despite what the critics are barking (especially here in L.A. where everybody and their mother is drinking the purple and gold kool-aid) the Lakers HAVE NOT ARRIVED…Pau Gasol hasn't completed an injury free season in 3 or 4 years and despite Bynum's early season success before his injury, he's just now learning how to play like a real 'big man' and he has a few more learning curves to drive around before it really starts clicking in his head that he's 'the man'. Not to mention he's only 20 and never benefitted from learning from a great college coach on the fundamentals of hoops–he's just learning that now as a 3rd year proIn the meantime Laker Fans, enjoy a nice, much longer playoff run this year but start printing the 08/09 NBA Western Conference Champ. Round tickets now and expect your team to make an appearance and u never know they might be in position to hang another World Champ. Banner @ Staples…U think that will be enough to prevent Krying Kobe from opting out of his contract?

–Jokerpace (Sports Dept.)