Oh god no, there's no way the Lakers are letting BOTH Ariza and Odom walk. I'd be VERY surprised by the front office if that happens, it's like saying "hey, one and done". I doubt Turkoglu would fit with the Lakers, anyway. Ariza and Odom are complementary to Kobe, but Turkoglu is a player who works with the ball in his hands. Not going to happen as long as No. 24 is around in the purple and gold. Best case scenario - both Ariza and Odom take lower money and play for the dynasty. That'd be sick.
I shudder to think that everybody is deluded by Kobe's new "team first ethos". They just ran an article on ESPN that pretty much summed it up for me: Kobe is still a 'me-first' guy. He tried to stick the daggers in pretty much every game!! Not particularly 'team-oriented' to me. However, Odom, Ariza, and Gasol all stepped up big time, and Fisher is just an old steady hand whose heroics will define his career.
Honestly, though, sometimes I am ashamed to be a Los Angelean. Yes, I was thrilled by the Lakers winning. Yes, they deserve it. But was I thrilled enough to RIOT?! Hell no! What the ****?!!? Real class act, guys; no wonder the rest of the US hates LakerNation, we're bat-sh*t insane. No way I'm going to party it up with people who think a city's basketball team winning the NBA championship is reason enough to steal some shoes and destroy some cars. (Don't kill me arctic, I mean no offense
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I raise my frosty mug to you, Lakers.
Regards,
A 'Team Player' Laker Fan