Anyone else have a terrible feeling that Posey is going to end up in Laker Gold?

[greendoc]

That would be a big move to level the playing field against Boston.  We would then have no one to guard Kobe.  They would have a defensive small forward to guard Pierce.  Hope New Orleans gets him if we can't. 

[Who]

If .... the Lakers were wise they'd consider signing a James Posey
If .... the Lakers couldn't trade Odom for a better option they should sign Posey

Never underestimate the complacency of general managers. From all accounts and quotes I've seen from Kupchak since the finals ... he wants to keep the team together and let them play. He likes the idea of Odom at the three.

For those making points about the Lakers luxury tax. That's solvable in 12 months when time if they let Odom walk and Kupchak has already he isn't sure about resigning Odom.

The most important position the Lakers need to fill is small forward and they need a defensive player who can shoot. Posey fits the bill. Their big man situation will look a lot better with a healthy and maturing Andrew Bynum, so that's a secondary need.

[ma11l]

That would be a big move to level the playing field against Boston.  We would then have no one to guard Kobe.  They would have a defensive small forward to guard Pierce.  Hope New Orleans gets him if we can't. 

Ray and Paul did a better job covering Kobe.  I thought that Posey actually struggled quite a bit in certain stretches against Kobe and especially LeBron.

[Roy Hobbs]

I think the team that is going to make a big run at Posey will be Portland.  Their only remaining hole is at the 3, and he would give them some much needed veteran leadership to help make the leap.

I also am more worried about teams like Cleveland or Dallas targeting him than the Lakers. 

Interesting thought.  I expect Portland to use Raef's expiring contract and one of their periphery assets (Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw) to try to bring in an impact veteran.  I think they'll set their sites higher than Posey, although he wouldn't be a bad option for them.

[wdleehi]

I worry about a team like Phoenix.  They are looking for that last run with Nash and Shaq.  They are becoming more of a half court team.  The Hill/Posey combo at SF could work for them. 

[rondohondo]

I worry about a team like Phoenix.  They are looking for that last run with Nash and Shaq.  They are becoming more of a half court team.  The Hill/Posey combo at SF could work for them. 

Yea but Phoenix is the same team last year that traded Kurt Thomas so they wouldn't be so far into the luxury tax. Why would they sign Posey to the full MLE the following year? I think their team salary is higher this year then it was at the start of last year with the addition of Shaq.

[Who]

I think the team that is going to make a big run at Posey will be Portland.  Their only remaining hole is at the 3, and he would give them some much needed veteran leadership to help make the leap.

I also am more worried about teams like Cleveland or Dallas targeting him than the Lakers. 

Interesting thought.  I expect Portland to use Raef's expiring contract and one of their periphery assets (Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw) to try to bring in an impact veteran.  I think they'll set their sites higher than Posey, although he wouldn't be a bad option for them.

I'd put the odds of Portland looking Posey's direction at about 3%, maybe less. It's almost definitely not going to happen.

Everyone is worrying way too much about Portland's age. They shouldn't be. Portland's players are all team first, hard working, poised players and they execute their game plan extremely well. They don't need old players around them. This is the franchise with the youngest Championship team of All-Time. They're going to run with this team. Stop thinking about the age of the players and concentrate on the type of players they have. They don't need it and more importantly their management knows this.

They're not making any long financial commitments to old players at the expense of their youth. Posey would be that because he's 31 and in the way of Webster and Outlaw. If they add a veteran it'll be someone just beginning their prime, around 26-28, and that player will need to be a big upgrade (likely a scorer) over their present players ... that they'll be willing to do and will look to do. They won't look for a Posey.

The Blazers are also going to be very hesitant about adding any wages that stretch beyond next summer until they decide what to do with their cap space.

[celticsfan34]

Posey won't bring the Lakers a championship.  They need a big man who can defend, and theywould be better off spending their MLE on a player like Diop.  In fact, if Posey leaves, Diop would be at the top of my free agent list for the Celtics and I would be willing to offer the full MLE.

That assumes that a player like Antawn Jamison won't play for the MLE.

They already have a big man who can defend, Bynum.

[indeedproceed]

   

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak recently said he would call Vujacic's agent immediately after free agency begins at 9 p.m. The Lakers also will try to keep Turiaf but are willing to spend more money to bring back Vujacic, who might receive a payday of close to $5 million a year.

    The Lakers will pay almost $5 million in luxury taxes for last season and aren't expected to dip too far into other options if they re-sign Vujacic and Turiaf. The most the team could offer a free agent from another team is the mid-level exception of about $6 million a season.

    "A lot of it's going to depend on the progress we make with Sasha and Ronny," Kupchak said. "I think we feel if we can bring those two players back, and we get Trevor [Ariza] and Andrew [Bynum] back, we'd be happy going into training camp with that group. If we run into a roadblock . . . then we'll have to look in other directions.

    - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nba30-2008jun30,0,5247254.story

Kupchak, the Lakers' general manager, indicated he would rather keep his team intact for next season — getting healthy, re-signing restricted free agents Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf and probably letting his mid-level salary-cap exception go unspent in free agency for budgetary reasons.

"If we did nothing," Kupchak said, "and brought back the players that are our existing free agents, just by virtue of this team aging one more year and getting Trevor (Ariza) and Andrew back, I think we're right back in the hunt."

- OC Register

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kupchak-odom-jackson-2073990-bynum-don

So, answering the question:

No. No team is going to offer Posey more than the MLE. I don't think that  any team will offer him more than a 3 years full-MLE contract. And I'm pretty sure the Lakers aren't one of the teams making offers.

Once again, luxury tax hell is very underrated... Lakers aren't going after anyone if the resign their players.

Just because the lakers may not show up wih the big bucks doesnt mean someone else won't. If someone offers Posey, age 31, 3-4 years at the full MLE we won't match it. We simply can't afford to take the risk that in a year or so he loses his hustle or athleticism. We're already in the hole to KG for 4 more years, and Pierce for 3..as these players age and their game changes we'll need to be able to change with them, and 4 years of posey at the MLE kills that since we've already got over 56 million invested in three guys over 30  as it is.

Posey's future in Boston I think will come down to that third or possibly fourth year at the MLE..Danny I think would be a fool to offer him 4, a bit cavalier to offer him 3, and smart to offer him 2. Posey, probably looking at his last big pay day, has a tough choice to make, because at age 33 or 34, he won't command the MLE again.

[Who]

There's a whole bunch of quality teams where Posey makes great sense.

- San Antonio
- Houston
- Lakers
- Phoenix
- Detroit
- Toronto
- Cleveland
- Dallas

It's not just 2 or 3 teams. All of those teams are desperate for wing with size who can defend and knock down open shots. Frankly any one of them could become huge players for James Posey.

Then there's another tier of teams that make sense to a lesser degree.

Luckily for Boston nobody will outbid them plus Posey looks very happy playing for the club. The only way Posey is likely to leave is if Boston are unwilling to make the offer.

[crownsy]

Posey won't bring the Lakers a championship.  They need a big man who can defend, and theywould be better off spending their MLE on a player like Diop.  In fact, if Posey leaves, Diop would be at the top of my free agent list for the Celtics and I would be willing to offer the full MLE.

That assumes that a player like Antawn Jamison won't play for the MLE.

They already have a big man who can defend, Bynum.

I don't really get the bynum kool-aid.

this is a kid who was considered boarderline bust before 30 good games this season. perk destroyed him.

and this is the diffrence maker for the lakers?

He very well end up being a great player, but the way he's hyped, you'd think his current skill level is shaq in his prime. He's a nice young player with a bright future, but if i hear one more person claim he's this mythical super center, im going to vomit.

how bout he finshes out a whole year looking decent before we annoit him the next dwight howarD?

[FLCeltsFan]

I don't think I could stomach watching Posey give hugs to Kobe before the game.  It would be just plain wrong!!!

[the_Bird]

I don't think it's a given the C's don't use the full MLE on Pose.  Who else is realistically available that we might be foregoing if they use the MLE on him?  Jamison, maybe.  Kurt Thomas, maybe (I doubt he gets the full MLE, but he'll get a portion of it).  Is there anybody else out there who is likely to have as much of an impact on next years' team as Posey?

I'm confident that ownership will step to the plate and spend the money, even though it means paying the tax.  Ray Allen's contract will be coming off the books soon.  As long as we're playing into June each year, they're selling a lot of tickets and a lot of jerseys.  

And, I really don't see Posey signing elsewhere, if the dollars are reasonably close.  There really don't seem to be any DECENT teams with more than the MLE to offer (and Posey's not a player who's likely to help a poor team all that much).  He really seemed to buy into the whole spirit of this team, so why not come back?  Would you rather go to battle every night with KG and Paul, or with Kobe and Pau?  

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't think I could stomach watching Posey give hugs to Kobe before the game.  It would be just plain wrong!!!

If Posey goes to the Lakers, I expect a healthy dose of body-splashes from Big Baby on Posey.

[BballTim]

If .... the Lakers were wise they'd consider signing a James Posey
If .... the Lakers couldn't trade Odom for a better option they should sign Posey

Never underestimate the complacency of general managers. From all accounts and quotes I've seen from Kupchak since the finals ... he wants to keep the team together and let them play. He likes the idea of Odom at the three.

For those making points about the Lakers luxury tax. That's solvable in 12 months when time if they let Odom walk and Kupchak has already he isn't sure about resigning Odom.

The most important position the Lakers need to fill is small forward and they need a defensive player who can shoot. Posey fits the bill. Their big man situation will look a lot better with a healthy and maturing Andrew Bynum, so that's a secondary need.

  Kobe's a pretty good defender. Adding Posey would be mainly to match up with us. How many teams have 2 great wing players like Paul and Ray? And it's just as important if not more that they upgrade their pg spot as sf (which they have a lot of). What happens if they face NO in the playoffs? If they can't handle Rondo at all, what's Chris Paul going to do to them?