Kobe and LeBron, Teammates?!?!

By: Umberto Diona
There has been recent talk of King James going to the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent after the 2009-2010 season. As much as people would like to see the two best basketball players in the world play together on the same team, and even though this move would benefit both LeBron and the Lakers, I still foresee LeBron being in New York at the start of the 2010-2011 season. Kobe Bryant has another three or four very productive years in him before a transition in his playing ability, and by acquiring 24 year old LeBron they would be set with another franchise player after Kobe has moved on. the problem would be what the Lakers would need to give up to get LeBron, they would probably lose Odom, Bynum, Artest, and maybe more just to get James. Lakers do not have the cap room to sign LeBron as a free agent they are already in super-luxury tax through resigning Lamar Odom, they would need to do a sign/trade to get James. Another issue would be Kobe and LeBron sharing lead roles for a period of time, sharing the spot light, and the Lakers have already experienced this with Kobe and Shaq. As much as LeBron might want to go to the Lakers and not have to start over in New York, that is were he will end up, he has been getting lured there by Jay-Z, by the fans, and at the end of the season he will be lured by a heafty contract with the Knicks.

(image courtesy of usatoday.com)

Lakers without Gasol, without Bynum, without a problem.

By: Umberto Diona
The Los Angeles Lakers have been without big man, Pau Gasol since the start of the season, out with a hamstring injury. Despite being with out their all-star forward they have still been able to maintain a good winning flow with the help of their other weapons. Now with the recent loss of center, Andrew Bynum to an elbow injury against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday NOV. 6th, will the Lakers still be able to keep up their flow of squeaking out the wins. The answer is yes, even without Bynum and Gasol, the Lakers still have the weapons they need to continue to win. Though they have yet to blow out a team, they are still adapting to newly acquired forward, Ron Artest, and as the season continues you are able to see the Lakers slowly-but-surely to adapting to Artest in their arsenal. Lakers will need the bench to step it up, esspecially from players like Josh Powell and D.J. Mbenga. With Josh Powell's 13 points against the Grizzlies he has shown that he will be able to temporarily fill Bynum spot until he is healthy again. The Lakers have nothing to worry about with their two starters out, they have the depth to clean up this mess, until their return.

(image courtesy of bbs.hoopchina.com)

Statistics, not just salary, show Rondo is a top 5 PG

by: Cole Riley

On the heels of his newly signed 5 yr/$55 million dollar contract extension, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo is leading his team to the best record in the Eastern conference. So far, through eight games, Rondo has put up solid numbers (10.6 ppg, 9 apg, 3.1 spg) with the team posting a 7-1 record, but his potential this season is through the roof. In last season's playoffs, versus the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic, Rondo showed his ability at the entire league's leisure, averaging a near triple double with 16.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg, and 9.8 apg.

This Rondo kid is amazing. In this league today, which is dominated by guard play, you need, and I stress need, to have a star point guard who can control the pace of the game, handle the ball, and be the coach on the floor. This may sound cliché and all, but it's true. In these first eight games of the season, Rondo and the Celtics have had to face some of the best point guards in the league - Mo Williams, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, and the great one, Steve Nash. Now say if the Celtics let Rondo walk after this season, or, as the offseason buzz produced, they trade him away, who plays point? Eddie House? Marquis Daniels? Lester Hudson for crying out loud? It's got to be Rondo, a winner who has gotten statistically better after every season, and who has shown that he can control a team of perennial all-stars.

Rajon Rondo, a Kentucky alum in his fourth year in the NBA, was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 21st overall pick in the 2006 draft, then traded with Brian Grant of all people to the Celtics for a future first-rounder. That trade, that at the time looked so miniscule, has now given the Celtics their point guard of the future who would in-turn, lead them to a championship.

With his stats, his playoff experience, and that big old championship ring on his finger, Rondo is in that elite class of point guards of the NBA. Alongside New Orleans' Chris Paul, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, the Suns' Steve Nash, and Chauncey Billups of the Nuggets, Rajon Rondo is a force to be reckoned with for the next decade, and I'm pretty sure the Celtics' brass are happy about that.

(Photo courtesy of ESPN.com)