Lakers: Okafor, Russell or Cousins?

It's the day before the 2015 NBA draft and rumors are coming from every direction.  Lakers have a lot of choices to make and have many different routes they could take to improve this team. Depending on the road they choose to go down, the Lakers could improve dramatically over night or it could be a continued process of a rebuild. Much speculation has been made on the best way to get the Lakers back into contention. It's the number one topic in Los Angeles sports, and will be for about the next 24 hours.

The first step on improving the Lakers is when the NBA Draft starts starts tomorrow at 5pm. Jahlil Okafor (Duke) and D'Agelo Russell (Ohio St) are the top choices for the Lakers. Both players would be great additions but as of late, the likely choice is Okafor. These unique talents bring something great and different to the table for the Lakers. Okafor is a big man at the center position and is a dominant scorer in the low post. Russell, though, is a savy point guard with terrific shooting and passing ability. Okafor and Rusell are in high demand around the NBA and a few teams are willing to make big trades in order to acquire the second pick.

Over the last two or three days, the Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets have come into play with the Lakers in a possible three team trade. The details of this trade specify the Lakers would acquire Demarcus Cousins and the 6th pick from the Kings. Sacramento would receive Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried from the Nuggets. Finally the Nuggets would receive the Lakers draft picks. This makes the most sense for all parties concerned. Or does it?

Instead of the Lakers jumping on a very intriguing trade which would get them the best Center in basketball, Demarcus Cousins, the Lakers could keep their picks. The main reason you would keep the picks is because you have cost controlled rookie talent that you could pair with a top tier free agent in July when free agency starts. To many this seems like the most sensible plan. With a possible draft pick of Okafor or Russell, you would have them playing along side young returning Lakers talent like Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. As for the free agents, Lakers could be in play for players like Kevin Love, LeMarcus Aldridge and Jimmy Butler. Not too mention the veteran and legend Kobe Bryant to tie it all together, set the tone and provide wisdom to the rookie's.

If the rumored Demarcus Cousins trade dies out, come July 1st, the Lakers could be signing one of the free agents noted above. These next few weeks will definitely be an exciting one. For the first time in two long miserable seasons, Lakers have a shot at title contention in the near future.

Is Julius Randle ready to play?

Click the link to get to my article over at page2sports...

http://page2sports.com/julius-randle-ready-play/

#BlueCollarSports Show 33 w/ Jay Barquero from the LA D-Fenders

This week we interviewed Jay Barquero, the voice of the Lakers D-League affiliate, the LA D-Fenders.. Click the link!

https://soundcloud.com/bluecollarsportspodcast/blue-collar-sports-show-33-w-jay-barquero-from-the-la-d-fenders

Roman Gonzalez the KO King in Flyweight

If you haven’t heard of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, you’re really missing out, the undefeated Nicaraguan boxer is currently the WBC and The Ring Flyweight champion. This is a fighter fans may want to become familiar with as he has already been getting significant attention for being one of the most exciting and electrifying fighters in the sport today. This past Saturday, “Chocolatito” made his American television debut and fought on the Gennady Golovkin vs Willie Monroe Jr. under-card.
At 5’2 and 112 pounds, this small man fights like a giant and with the heart of a lion. Other than Gennady Golovkin, Gonzalez is as exciting and fun as it gets when it comes to the fight game.

HBO and Top Rank Boxing did a wonderful job of finally giving Gonzalez the exposure he has deserved on a fight night that would be watched by millions of boxing fans. The Nicaraguan fighter made his professional fighting debut in 2005, and is a champion in three different weight divisions. He is also currently ranked third in “The Ring” magazine’s pound for pound list, behind Floyd

Mayweather Jr. and Wladimir Klitschko.

Coming into this Saturday’s fight, his record was an impressive 42-0, with 36 KO’s. His opponent was the very tough Edgar Sosa, who Gonzalez almost effortlessly TKO’d in the second round. Both fighters were extremely aggressive and the fight was very exciting but Gonzalez was clearly the better fighter. His record now moves to 43-0, with 37 wins by knock out.  The only flaw in the fight was that it was over too soon. Watching these two men slug it out was certainly something that boxing has missed. To the true fight fan, they can respect Floyd Mayweather’s style but at the same time it bores the casual fan and it leaves them with a disappointing feeling when it comes to boxing. Watching Gonzalez fight takes boxing purists back to the day of vintage fights in the days of Mike Tyson and Roberto Duran.

Gonzalez has continued to dominate the fly weight division and is quickly gathering fans and a lot of buzz in the boxing world. Hopefully fans can see Gonzalez fight on a similar card in his next bout in order to keep his exposure and fan base growing as he starts. Flyweight or not, the aggressive style he brings makes fans feel like they are watching a throw back heavyweight fight. After his impressive win and display of talent, he is surely to be on another major fight card.

Follow Chris Rodriguez on twitter @ChrisBlueCollar and check out his podcast #BlueCollarSports on Soundcloud

Johnny Carver, the man that will change the NBA

Johnny Carver was born into a basketball family. His father and his older brother both played division 1 basketball. So naturally Johnny would follow in their footsteps. He played all throughout high school but in his senior year something changed. When playing basketball Johnny would struggle with stamina and often felt fatigued. He wouldn't be able to exert the same amount of energy that other players would; he later found out he suffered from a severe muscle disease called ulcerative colitis which ended his basketball career.

 

Johnny was determined to stay connected to the game he loved and had a deep passion for. He stayed close to the game by covering basketball for the high school newspaper. This lead to him and his brother writing a book where they developed an algorithm in ranking the greatest NBA players of all time. Hours and hours, months and months of work lead to them finding the correct and most efficient way to rank them using 19 different statistical and analytical categories.

 

The book, Ranketology,  was edited by his grandfather who was an author of two books in the 1980's. It's always a great resource to have when you're grandfather is a published author. During the process of completing the book, Johnny was able to email Dallas Maverick's owner Mark Cuban. He gave Johnny great advice on how to self publish the book in order to keep full control of the book and profits.

 

Johnny is a freshman at Sam M. Walton College of Business. Here he has really found both himself and a mentor in the assistant director Renee Clay. It's always a blessing when you find someone to guide you through your journey. Johnny has since sent his book and resume out to a few NBA teams in hopes of landing a job in the Analytics department, which is a definite possibility.

 

NBA legend, former Boston Celtic and now President of the Indiana Pacers basketball operations, Larry Bird, loved the booked and set up a meeting between Johnny and the Pacers organization. Other NBA teams have also reached out to him like the Clippers, Spurs and Thunder.

My personal preference is that Johnny can land a position with my favorite team, the Lakers. We all know they could use help from a great basketball mind like Johnny Carver's. His book is quickly catching the eye of NBA executives and basketball lovers everywhere.  Ranketology is available for purchase on Amazon and soon to be in Barnes and Nobles book stores. Best of luck to Johnny from me, #BlueCollarSports and page2sports.com.

#BlueCollarSports Podcast Show 24 featuring Johnny Carver

This week we interview Johnny Carver, the author of the book Ranketology. In this book Johnny developed an algorithm that ranks the greatest NBA players of all time using 19 different statistical categories. Listen to our interview by clicking the link below..

https://soundcloud.com/bluecollarsportspodcast/blue-collar-sports-show-24

Lakers, who's staying and who's going?

The hardest part for fans is to understand the business side of basketball. Throughout the season fans fall in love with the players on the roster and the guys they see play every night. Every game we are cheering and hoping that the players do well and improve. Fans also fall in love and appreciate the players stories of how they arrived with the Lakers. This is also part of the reason why its tough for fans to say goodbye to certain players. But this year they're going to have to do just that.

 

I'm also a victim of falling in love with players on the Lakers. I wish these guys could be more successful on the court together but I'm well aware of what an NBA team needs to succeed at a high level. At this point there are four to five players on the current roster worth keeping while moving forward. Clearly Kobe Bryant is at the top of the list. He's in the final year of his contract, even though I feel he'll play another year after the 2016 season. Aside from Kobe we have to start with Julius Randle, the Lakers top 1st round draft pick in the 2014 draft. I believe he'll believe an all star and one of the focal points of the team. As well as Lakers 2nd draft pick and diamond in the rough, Jordan Clarkson. I have no doubt he'll be a star in this league. Lastly, the 6th man scoring punch off the bench and spark plug Nick Young. Hopefully this off season he can work primarily on his defense while adding weapons to his offensive arsenal.

 

I am a legitimate fan of a few other players on the Lakers. Players like Jordan Hill, Ed Davis and Wayne Ellington. I think Jordan Hill could be a top 10 center in the league if he improves more defensively and is put into the right situation. His production at $9 million per year is a good deal. Davis is cost effective. He's solid defensively but struggles offensively and from the free throw line. Wayne Ellington is a good spot up shooter who has improved his offensive game all around. He too would be a good pick up but ultimately would either take playing time away from Clarkson or he wouldn't get very much playing time at all.

 

I know other guys like Robert Sacre, Ryan Kelly and Tarik Black have become fan favorites but I feel they have run their course on the team. Sacre and Kelly specifically have had enough time to prove themselves but it looks like they've pretty much reached their potential. Tarik Black is another version of Ed Davis but cheaper financially. Fans might wonder about the future of Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer with the Lakers; they should know it was only a one year rental.

 

I look forward to seeing the Lakers rebuild next year with $30 million in cap space and building with Kobe, Clarkson, Randle and Young. Key free agents in the off season is a must and likely they will be here for next season. Hopefully they can put together a roster intriguing enough for big time free agents like Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love to come to the Lakers.