Our Lakers

We all knew the day would come when Laker fans would look back at the Shaq trade and begin a resolved, slow clap. And as the inevitable decline of the big man's skills began to accelerate, that clap would turn into a standing ovation. Factor in the maturation of Lamar Odom's talent and that standing ovation could easily break into an orgy. And EVENTUALLY, with a little time/luck/patience, the orgy would become a championship parade.

In theory, that is. As in whatever theory can be extracted out of the woefully optimistic predictions that typically spew from the mouths of Laker fans when asked about the future of the Lakeshow. For example, I can remember talking myself into the following scenarios:

1) Magic, out of retirement, taking us back to the finals in 1996
[Nope, lost in the first round to the Rockets. But tell me you weren't doing back flips when he faked the shit out of Sprewell in his first game back with that old school ball fake...]



2) Rodman being the missing piece to our championship puzzle in 1999
[I believe my exact words were, "Dude. Rodman. Now the anal intrusion of the league shall begin."]




3) The Karl Malone, GP, ShaKobe team winning 78 games, then going 16-0 in the playoffs
[Nope. Karl busted his knee and we only won 56 and then lost to Detroit in the finals. Karl then retired but not before hunting some little Mexican girls at StaplesCenter.]


But what can we say? We're the fucking Lakers (my runner up title for this blog). We expect/tolerate nothing less than championships and, regardless of cold realities, sometimes they just seem... imminent. So without further adieu:

The 2007 Lakers are title contenders.

Now you, like I, might say all the right things to your friends and mothers about how the Lakers need to work hard to make the playoffs, how they're developing young talent in hopes of being contenders down the line, etc. But admit it. You're silently thinking what I am. This team is deep and that's exactly where it's going come playoff time. Deep.

(*Knocking on wood)

That said, I can't help but notice that things are different this time around. You would think that having been in Contenderdom before that we, as Laker fans, would know how to, you know, "act like we've been there before." But it's an entirely different atmosphere. And I finally figured out why.

The years after losing in the 1991 NBA finals to the Bulls can be described as steady rebuilding efforts for the Lakers. Magic had retired. James Worthy and other remnants of the Showtime Era were in the twilight of their respective careers. And consequently the Lakers floundered in mediocrity for a few years. But then, the rebuilding effort began to gain some traction. Talented up and comers such as Nick Van Exel, Anthony Peeler, and Eddie Jones began to mature and suddenly, along with Vlade Divac and Cedric Ceballos, the Lakers had a deep and talented team. But more importantly, they were a team that its fanbase had watched grow up. So deep, so talented and seemingly one piece away was the state of the team at the beginning of the summer of 1996, which is sometimes known as the Glorious Summer of 1996, when Jerry West made the defining moves of his Laker front office career. He signed Shaq and traded Vlade for Kobe. Rebuilding over.

The 1997 Lakers were title contenders.

But much happened to the make up of the Lakers between the day that Shaq signed and the day he cried in his mother's arms as the Lakers won the 2000 NBA Championship. Gone were the likes of Eddie Jones, Vlade Divac, Nick Van Exel, Anthony Peeler, and Elden Campbell as they were replaced by names like Ron Harper, Robert Horry, Glen Rice, and John Salley. Assuming the role of Laker coach was a man who established a coaching legend as the Chicago Bulls coach, Phil Jackson. In short, the Lakers made the necessary moves to start a dynasty and that's precisely what happened. But tell me this. While it was beyond great to witness our team go from perennial underachievers to champion, how much more would it have meant to see a guy like Eddie Jones hoist the Larry O'brien Trophy along side Kobe and Shaq? Or Vlade for that matter? (Assuming it wasn't his bitter ass we were walking over to get to those titles.)

Now don't get me wrong. I realize that I, as a Laker fan, should appreciate each championship regardless of whether or not the guys who were on the team were "O.G." Lakers. That's true and I do. And when I think about guys like Horry, Fox, and Fisher, I undoubtedly swell with pride. The reason why I bring this up is not to lament what has happened but rather to bring to people's attention how truly special the 2007 Laker team can be. And why, despite the fact that the two teams share no particular similarities, thinking about this current Laker team evokes much of the same sentiment as that of those NVE/Eddie/Vlade teams.

And it's because these are OUR guys. Not a bunch of hired guns and accomplished transplants. The core of this team are known as Lakers or not at all. Think about it. We have four draft picks making solid contributions in Luke, Bynum, Farmar, and Turiaf and two more getting decent minutes in Sasha and Cook (when he's not battling vertigo... man, 6'9" with vertigo...). Also, we have two starters who were essentially NBA castoffs before they arrived in L.A. in Smush and Kwame; for Smush, I'd go so far as to say he was in the NBA dog pound waiting to be put down before we adopted him and gave him a home. And as for Lamar, even though he was fairly accomplished before joining the Lakers, when it's all said and done, he may be remembered for blossoming into an all star while wearing a Laker jersey (or so we hope. oh please, please, please let that be the case).


Essentially, this Laker squad is filled with guys for whom we feel that special sense of propriety, one that develops while watching a player make a name for himself in this league first hand. And the best part? They are led by Kobe, a Laker through and through who has taken this notion of fan propriety to the highest level for this city. And in the end, what we have is an atmosphere for fans that will be more defined by pride rather than by arrogance.











Or maybe we'll just trade them all for KG and call it a day.