Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:01 am Post subject: Need a detail info of Lakers 1999 Lockout season...
If you know some trusty source (link) on this one, let me know... Any information about our team in 1999 would be appreciated. You can write it down in this post. Thanks in advance Lakers Nation!!!
Joined: 07 May 2014 Posts: 13823 Location: Boulder ;)
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:26 am Post subject:
Quote:
https://www.nba.com/lakers/history/seasoncapsule
1998-99
Busy Times in Brief Season
The Lakers made a blockbuster trade, changed coaches, brought a seven-time rebounding champion on board for awhile and closed out their historic arena. In other words, they squeezed an entire year's worth of action into a lockout-shortened season.
By the time the regular season was over, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant had led the Lakers to a 31-19 record. They advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, where they lost to San Antonio in four games.
The Lakers' 118-107 loss to the Spurs in Game 4 on May 23, 1999, marked the last meaningful game in the Great Western Forum, home to six championship teams in 32 years. Los Angeles would play two more preseason games at the Forum the following season before moving into the brand-new Staples Center.
Early in the 1998-99 season, the Lakers made three significant moves in a three-day span. It started Feb. 23 when they signed Dennis Rodman, a member of five NBA championship teams and one of the top rebounders in league history. He would average 11.2 boards in 23 games before being waived April 15.
One day after signing Rodman - with the team sporting a 6-6 record -- Los Angeles relieved head coach Del Harris of his duties. Assistant coach Kurt Rambis took over Feb. 26 for the rest of the season.
On March 10, the Lakers and Charlotte Hornets pulled off a deal involving All-Stars Glen Rice and Eddie Jones. L.A. sent Jones and Elden Campbell to Charlotte for Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong, who was subsequently waived. Rice averaged 17.5 points in 27 games and 18.3 ppg in the playoffs for the Lakers.
O'Neal, who was named All-NBA Second Team, averaged 26.3 points and narrowly lost the league scoring title to Philadelphia's Allen Iverson (26.8). Bryant scored 19.9 points per game and was All-NBA Third Team.
Need a more detailed info, from a writer that followed Lakers trough year. That writes some inside stories from a locker or a team bus/plane. Interesting relations between players etc.
Ugh, forgetful wasted year, I remember that Rodman "forgot" to bring his sneakers to practice and was promptly waived.
Rodman was a piece of work at that point. He was still a good player, but he defined himself completely by flamboyant actions and rebounding. I remember one time where the opposing team missed a free throw. Rodman tried to take the board from Shaq to pad his stats. Shaq just ripped the ball away from him and snarled. Rodman lifted up his hands in surrender and trotted down the court.
I also remember Rodman's agent (who was some fly by night friend) tried to get Jerry West to give Rodman an under the table payment since all we could offer was the minimum (the agent requested that Jerry use his Hollywood connections to get Rodman film roles). Jerry reported it to the league, and the agent was no longer allowed to rep NBA players.
I’m gonna try my best on this one. Let me know if I left anything out…
The Lakers were a “young” team in search of veteran leadership. They had the talent and were a high profiled team with huge expectations already, but had fallen apart by the time they got deeper into the playoffs. There were teams that were considered to be “good” that the Lakers can beat (I.e. Seattle Sonics), but there were other good teams that the Lakers were unable to beat in the playoffs (Utah Jazz). Lakers were coming off of a WCSF sweep by the Utah Jazz. The Lakers’ weakness had always been the Power Forward position, and NBA MVP Karl Malone (yes, he was the MVP over Michael Jordan) naturally ate us up.
Just like the way things are today, the off season was very dramatic. Scottie Pippen, coming off of a championship with Chicago, was traded to the Houston Rockets. Just like how things have gone in recent times (when we had chased certain star players and failed), I’m sure there were some who were naturally disappointed that we didn’t end up with Pippen.
On paper, our PF position didn’t look bad (Elden Campbell, Robert Horry, Cory Blount, etc) but Horry wasn’t a 35MPG player and had been converted into a PF from SF. Elden Campbell was a bad fit next to Shaq. He always played better when Shaq was out, which was fairly often back then. We also had guys like Sean Rooks and Travis Knight (whom we let walk and traded back for later on). But it was clear that we needed a PF that could play next to Shaq.
Shaq had always made it known that he wanted a 3 point shooter. Nick Van Exel’s attitude and Eddie Jones’ disappointing playoff performances had been a major turn off at that point, and Shaq was putting pressure on the Lakers to get another star to play with him. Elden Campbell already had the reputation of a (talented but) lazy bum. This is a prime example of why you can’t just assume players fit one another; otherwise NBA2K stuff would work in real life, James Harden and Chris Paul would’ve worked out, James Harden and Russell Westbrook would’ve been equally as great, and Shaq and Elden Campbell would be a two headed monster.
Anyway, In the off season, Van Exel was traded for a then rookie Tyronn Lue (current Clippers HC) and a lottery pick named Tony Battie. Battie played the position that we were weakest at (PF) and was talented, but a bit of a problem child, and never played a game for us. On paper, it was intriguing to add a lottery pick to your team like that, but it just didn’t work out the way that it could’ve. Back to the drawing board we went.
Many people questioned why the Lakers had underachieved in the playoffs. Many of those questions naturally pointed to Lakers head coach Del Harris. Harris had been hired during the Lakers rebuild years and was actually once NBA Coach of the year. It was clear that he was the type of coach that might do well with a team with no expectations, but he wasn’t the type of coach that could take you over the hump. Coming into the season, this guy already had a red target on his back.
Question marks around coach Del Harris centered on many things, but the one that most fans will remember is that they felt that he had not let Kobe Bryant spread his wings. Since Kobe came into the NBA, the Lakers had slowly brought him along (by comparison, even slower than how we brought Brandon Ingram along) but once he was ready for a bigger role, the question became what kind of role could he be given? Kobe was actually voted an All Star Game starter in 1998, even though he wasn’t even the full time starter on his own team. Again, this is just one of several things that people think about when they think of Del Harris.
At the time, Kobe was considered a future Superstar, but he wasn’t there yet; he was only 20-21 years old. He put up decent numbers, but had come off the bench previously behind Eddie Jones. He was flashy, but the Lakers needed something more seasoned and with more substance. Nonetheless, he was going to become a starter soon and command starter minutes. Eddie Jones was an All Star and our starting SG. Lakers had tried in the previous season to play Kobe and Jones together as a 1/2 and a 2/3 duo already. It was decided that Kobe would be a SF.
One of the most memorable things about Kobe this year was not only did he step up in production (I believe he may have averaged a double double in points and boards to start the year off as our SF) but we had a one dimensional defensive player on our squad named Ruben Patterson, who would later proclaim himself as the Kobe Stopper because he had guarded Kobe in practice and claimed to know how to stop him. Long story short, we waived him and all of that was obviously BS
Robert Horry and Rick Fox (future championship role players) weren’t young, but they weren’t old yet either. So the Lakers still needed more help and guidance in the veteran leadership department.
Derek Fisher was considered a good PG, but he was just that: good and adequate.
There was a Lockout. By the time there was an agreement, the NBA decided that we could only do a 50 game season( Imagine if Adam Silver were around, they might’ve squeezed a full 82 out of that!). Anyway, it was terrible as-is, because there would be back-to-back-back games on the schedule.
The Lakers signed Derek Harper, who was about 80 years old but played about as well as he could at the beginning of the season. With Harper at the helm, the Lakers seem to be getting that veteran leadership that they had been missing, but naturally, there were problems.
The pressures to find a shooter for Shaq were even more urgent. Shaq had previously tried to have management trade Eddie and Elden for different “stars” such as Mitch Richmond, Tom Gugliotta, Steve Smith, Christian Laettner, etc. Glen Rice, who was coming off of one of the best shooting years and was in his prime, was coming off of elbow surgery. Lakers ended up trading For Rice. Again, in theory, we were getting one of best shooters and scorers in his prime. In reality, we got a broken down out of prime guy who didn’t really shoot the way that he previously had for his other team. Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were gone, and their replacements were Rice and a below average player named JR Reid.
It was clear we didn’t have anyone to guard Karl Malone, who was the top PF in the league back then. We didn’t have anyone to guard second tier guys like Vin Baker. Didn’t have anyone to guard up and coming stars like Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, etc. so naturally, there was pressure to improve that position.
The inevitable did take place: after starting out the season with a 6-6 record, Harris was fired and replaced by interim coach Kurt Rambis. Rambis was no stranger to the Lakers, as he was a fan favorite on several championship teams in the 1980’s and had served as an assistant for Harris throughout Harris’ duration as Head Coach of the Lakers. It was clear that everyone needed a fresh start, including the Laker players themselves. The Lakers went on a 10 game winning streak right after Harris was fired! It looked like they had found a new young head coach who may have a future with the team.
The Lakers actually did the Jones/Campbell for Rice/Reid and BJ Armstrong (long time Chicago Bulls PG with championship experience, but was waived and never played for us) right in the middle of this win streak. The 10 game winning streak actually ended in Rice’s first game as a Laker. Nonetheless, this trade was hated on by Laker fans who felt that Jones/Campbell (more so Jones, of course) still had a future with this team. A lot of fans had envisioned a Jones/Bryant backcourt that (up to that point) the Lakers coaching staff had failed to put together and make work. This was not unlike the Laker fans who wanted to keep Ingram/Ball/Hart due to the fact that they were homegrown and still young. Just like that situation, another reason they were traded away was that it made financial sense: the Lakers already had Shaq as one of the highest paid players in the NBA. Kobe was obviously next in line. We’re they going to also pay huge contracts for Jones, Campbell and Van Exel? From this perspective, it made sense to shed salary and turn Jones/Campbell/Van Exel into just one large contract (Rice). Now, perhaps in an alternate universe where Mark Cuban owns the Lakers or something, perhaps Shaq/Kobe/Eddie/Elden/Nick all stay together until Phil Jackson arrives to town? Anyway, let’s get back to reality here.
There was a guy that Jerry West didn’t want, but apparently, Dr. Buss wanted. That was Dennis Rodman, who was a free agent. But there’s lots of info out there on Rodman, so I won’t talk too much about him. Ieonically, Rodman also came to town as Harris was fired and Rambis was hired. Some thought this was wasn’t coincidental because there was hope that the young interim coach, who played a scrappy style, and the same position himself back when he was a player, would be able to utilize Rodman. Long story short, he brought some excitement to the fan base, but that fizzled and he was eventually cut.
They didn’t have load management back then, so the Lakers essentially played old man Harper into the ground. Derek Fisher was our main PG from this point on
Anyway, playoffs roll around and the Lakers played the Houston Rockets in the first round, and beat the team with 3 Hall Of Famers.
Lakers play the Spurs next, and with Jr Reid (probably out worse starting PF from the Shaq era) as the starting PF, Tim Duncan naturally carved the Lakers up, and we were swept again. By now, Harper was on life support and Tyronn Lue (who would gain some recognition a couple years later in the playoffs) was too green. Spurs had a bunch of role players like Jaren Jackson (who’s son plays for Memphis now) and Sean Elliott firing on all cylinders too.
All would be well in the world the very next year when the Lakers would win their first championship since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar were around. Not only that, the Lakers would win three straight.
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22850 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:08 pm Post subject:
Good write-up J-Dawg, only thing you didn't touch upon is Del Harris being fired that year and Rambis took over. I remember Rambis had a short temper with the media in post game conference and said to myself, "He ain't gonna last." LOL! Sure enough, he didn't get the permanent job, we went and got PJ.
I’m gonna try my best on this one. Let me know if I left anything out…
The Lakers were a “young” team in search of veteran leadership. They had the talent and were a high profiled team with huge expectations already, but had fallen apart by the time they got deeper into the playoffs. There were teams that were considered to be “good” that the Lakers can beat (I.e. Seattle Sonics), but there were other good teams that the Lakers were unable to beat in the playoffs (Utah Jazz). Lakers were coming off of a WCSF sweep by the Utah Jazz. The Lakers’ weakness had always been the Power Forward position, and NBA MVP Karl Malone (yes, he was the MVP over Michael Jordan) naturally ate us up.
Just like the way things are today, the off season was very dramatic. Scottie Pippen, coming off of a championship with Chicago, was traded to the Houston Rockets. Just like how things have gone in recent times (when we had chased certain star players and failed), I’m sure there were some who were naturally disappointed that we didn’t end up with Pippen.
On paper, our PF position didn’t look bad (Elden Campbell, Robert Horry, Cory Blount, etc) but Horry wasn’t a 35MPG player and had been converted into a PF from SF. Elden Campbell, despite making an All Star team in his prime, was a bad fit next to Shaq. He always played better when Shaq was out, which was fairly often back then. We also had guys like Sean Rooks and Travis Knight (whom we let walk and traded back for later on). But it was clear that we needed a PF that could play next to Shaq.
Shaq had always made it known that he wanted a 3 point shooter. Nick Van Exel’s attitude and Eddie Jones’ disappointing playoff performances had been a major turn off at that point, and Shaq was putting pressure on the Lakers to get another star to play with him. Elden Campbell already had the reputation of a (talented but) lazy bum. This is a prime example of why you can’t just assume players fit one another; otherwise NBA2K stuff would work in real life, James Harden and Chris Paul would’ve worked out, James Harden and Russell Westbrook would’ve been equally as great, and Shaq and Elden Campbell would be a two headed monster.
Anyway, In the off season, Van Exel was traded for a then rookie Tyronn Lue (current Clippers HC) and a lottery pick named Tony Battie. Battie played the position that we were weakest at (PF) and was talented, but a bit of a problem child, and never played a game for us. On paper, it was intriguing to add a lottery pick to your team like that, but it just didn’t work out the way that it could’ve. Back to the drawing board we went.
At the time, Kobe was considered a future Superstar, but he wasn’t there yet; he was only 20-21 years old. He put up decent numbers, but had come off the bench previously behind Eddie Jones. He was flashy, but the Lakers needed something more seasoned and with more substance. Nonetheless, he was going to become a starter soon and command starter minutes. Eddie Jones was an All Star and our starting SG. Lakers had tried in the previous season to play Kobe and Jones together as a 1/2 and a 2/3 duo already. It was decided that Kobe would be a SF.
One of the most memorable things about Kobe this year was not only did he step up in production (I believe he may have averaged a double double in points and boards to start the year off as our SF) but we had a one dimensional defensive player on our squad named Ruben Patterson, who would later proclaim himself as the Kobe Stopper because he had guarded Kobe in practice and claimed to know how to stop him. Long story short, we waived him and all of that was obviously BS
Robert Horry and Rick Fox (future championship role players) weren’t young, but they weren’t old yet either. So the Lakers still needed more help and guidance in the veteran leadership department.
Derek Fisher was considered a good PG, but he was just that: good and adequate.
There was a Lockout. By the time there was an agreement, the NBA decided that we could only do a 50 game season( Imagine if Adam Silver were around, they might’ve squeezed a full 82 out of that!). Anyway, it was terrible as-is, because there would be back-to-back-back games on the schedule.
The Lakers signed Derek Harper, who was about 80 years old but played about as well as he could at the beginning of the season. With Harper at the helm, the Lakers seem to be getting that veteran leadership that they had been missing, but naturally, there were problems.
The pressures to find a shooter for Shaq were even more urgent. Shaq had previously tried to have management trade Eddie and Elden for different “stars” such as Mitch Richmond, Tom Gugliotta, Steve Smith, Christian Laettner, etc. Glen Rice, who was coming off of one of the best shooting years and was in his prime, was coming off of elbow surgery. Lakers ended up trading For Rice. Again, in theory, we were getting one of best shooters and scorers in his prime. In reality, we got a broken down out of prime guy who didn’t really shoot the way that he previously had for his other team. Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were gone, and their replacements were Rice and a below average player named JR Reid.
It was clear we didn’t have anyone to guard Karl Malone, who was the top PF in the league back then. We didn’t have anyone to guard second tier guys like Vin Baker. Didn’t have anyone to guard up and coming stars like Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, etc. so naturally, there was pressure to improve that position.
There was a guy that Jerry West didn’t want, but apparently, Dr. Buss wanted. That was Dennis Rodman, who was a free agent. But there’s lots of info out there on Rodman, so I won’t talk too much about him. Long story short, he brought some excitement to the fan base, but that fizzled and he was eventually cut.
They didn’t have load management back then, so the Lakers essentially played old man Harper into the ground. Derek Fisher was our main PG from this point on
Anyway, playoffs roll around and the Lakers played the Houston Rockets in the first round, and beat the team with 3 Hall Of Famers.
Lakers play the Spurs next, and with Jr Reid (probably out worse starting PF from the Shaq era) as the starting PF, Tim Duncan naturally carved the Lakers up, and we were swept again. By now, Harper was on life support and Tyronn Lue (who would gain some recognition a couple years later in the playoffs) was too green. Spurs had a bunch of role players like Jaren Jackson (who’s son plays for Memphis now) and Sean Elliott firing on all cylinders too.
All would be well in the world the very next year when the Lakers would win their first championship since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar were around. Not only that, the Lakers would win three straight.
The End
This is mostly right. A few things:
1. Campbell never made an all-star team. He was a solid player who was really suited more to C than PF, so he didn't play well with Shaq. I don't recall him ever playing small forward in his career.
2. The Lakers traded Van Exel just to be rid of him. I don't think we ever planned to use Battie. We acquired Battie, and then traded him again before the season began.
3. I wouldn't call Rice broken down. He was 30 and coming off an all-star season. Rice was used to having plays run for him where he would come off screens, like Reggie Miller. Rice hated the triangle, and being forced to be a standstill shooter. Phil Jackson didn't like Glen's game, especially his lack of defense, and was irritated that the Lakers traded for him, but Glen stayed professional through the whole ordeal.
Good write-up J-Dawg, only thing you didn't touch upon is Del Harris being fired that year and Rambis took over. I remember Rambis had a short temper with the media in post game conference and said to myself, "He ain't gonna last." LOL! Sure enough, he didn't get the permanent job, we went and got PJ.
Thanks for that! Went in and. Edited the post in case OP wants a little bit of detail on it
1. Campbell never made an all-star team. He was a solid player who was really suited more to C than PF, so he didn't play well with Shaq. I don't recall him ever playing small forward in his career.
2. The Lakers traded Van Exel just to be rid of him. I don't think we ever planned to use Battie. We acquired Battie, and then traded him again before the season began.
3. I wouldn't call Rice broken down. He was 30 and coming off an all-star season. Rice was used to having plays run for him where he would come off screens, like Reggie Miller. Rice hated the triangle, and being forced to be a standstill shooter. Phil Jackson didn't like Glen's game, especially his lack of defense, and was irritated that the Lakers traded for him, but Glen stayed professional through the whole ordeal.
1– You are correct. I was mistaken that Campbell had become an All Star reserve during his time as a Hornet
2- Correct, that’s how it played out. But I’m sure someone like Jerry West certainly had a say in it before that played out. We will probably never know though, just as I can assume that Pelinka and the front office did have a say in keeping McKinnie and possibly keeping, before deciding to waive Jordan Bell, after McGee was traded.
3- Good points. Although Rice may have been younger in age, I think he was broken down, in retrospect, because of his elbow surgery prior to becoming a Laker. Before elbow surgery, he shot 43% from 3 (including 47% before that) but never shot over 40% from 3 again after that. He’s always had those knee issues (thus, wears those giant knee braces) so that certainly didn’t help him either as he was entering his 30’s.
Somewhat off topic, but I think it’s also important to put into context that players today play at a higher level for longer than they have in NBA history. There are players like Stockton, Malone, Abdul Jabbar, etc, who play at a high level at an advanced age even back then, but A lot of younger fans look at the stats and wonder why guys like James Worthy or Glen Rice declined as they went into their early 30’s. It’s true that injuries played a role in those things taking place, but I also think modern medicine has made it so that a lot of players are more effective (even those with bad knees/ankles) even as they get older. I think if guys like Rice and Worthy played today, it would’ve been possible for their careers to have been extended beyond what they actually did. I would say the same thing for players today too; if Steph Curry (and his ankle issues early on in his career) was playing in the 80’s/90’s, we might’ve never seen and known the Steph Curry that we do today.
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:25 pm Post subject: Re: Need a detail info of Lakers 1999 Lockout season...
Jocinetu wrote:
If you know some trusty source (link) on this one, let me know... Any information about our team in 1999 would be appreciated. You can write it down in this post. Thanks in advance Lakers Nation!!!
Just curious and not being a jerk. But do you not know how google works? Or just don’t want to do the researched and figured someone on here would do it for you?
Lakers were labeled the circus after we got Rice and Rodman, and to this day I still remember Coach Rambis’ interview when asked how this team would fit together, and Rambis offered a very simple answer, something to the effect of “it’s so easy, they don’t have to do much, just stand there and dump the ball to Shaq and you’ll be wide open”. _________________
Glen Rice was two months shy of his 32nd birthday when we got him. He just wasn't the same player.
To add to that, 32 in 1999 isn't the same as 32 today. Being 32 back then meant you're already close to being on the way out. There's been a second fitness revolution in the last decade in terms of diet, sleep. activity tracking etc that's extended modern careers. I'd wager the difference between now and 1999 is bigger than the difference between the first fitness revolution in the early 80s and the period prior to that in terms of the understanding of the human body from a fitness standpoint.
Rice's elbow surgery didn't help matters either. _________________ KOBE
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35853 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 4:34 pm Post subject:
jonnybravo wrote:
Runway8 wrote:
Glen Rice was two months shy of his 32nd birthday when we got him. He just wasn't the same player.
To add to that, 32 in 1999 isn't the same as 32 today. Being 32 back then meant you're already close to being on the way out. There's been a second fitness revolution in the last decade in terms of diet, sleep. activity tracking etc that's extended modern careers. I'd wager the difference between now and 1999 is bigger than the difference between the first fitness revolution in the early 80s and the period prior to that in terms of the understanding of the human body from a fitness standpoint.
Rice's elbow surgery didn't help matters either.
What about Kareem, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc.? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22850 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:28 pm Post subject:
CandyCanes wrote:
jonnybravo wrote:
Runway8 wrote:
Glen Rice was two months shy of his 32nd birthday when we got him. He just wasn't the same player.
To add to that, 32 in 1999 isn't the same as 32 today. Being 32 back then meant you're already close to being on the way out. There's been a second fitness revolution in the last decade in terms of diet, sleep. activity tracking etc that's extended modern careers. I'd wager the difference between now and 1999 is bigger than the difference between the first fitness revolution in the early 80s and the period prior to that in terms of the understanding of the human body from a fitness standpoint.
Rice's elbow surgery didn't help matters either.
What about Kareem, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc.?
You named the few that were special. Today, there are way more people getting big contracts in their 30's.
Last edited by Runway8 on Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22850 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:34 pm Post subject: Re: Need a detail info of Lakers 1999 Lockout season...
BLF2145 wrote:
Jocinetu wrote:
If you know some trusty source (link) on this one, let me know... Any information about our team in 1999 would be appreciated. You can write it down in this post. Thanks in advance Lakers Nation!!!
Just curious and not being a jerk. But do you not know how google works? Or just don’t want to do the researched and figured someone on here would do it for you?
Wow. Actually, you are being a little jerkish, is that a word?
But you made me wonder, and I did a little google. I don't see much that would give you the details that fans that lived through it can give you. I saw a little Wikipedia write-up, but that's about it. If J-Dawg didn't do it, I would have probably done the write-up. We like to stroll down memory lane. For example, I added that Kurt Rambis used to have a short temper with the media. Where are you going to dig up little info like that? This is a Lakersground.net, is it not? This is the best place to ask. Not like he's asking about scores last night. LOL! This is 22 yrs ago. Info is pretty scarce. And if people are contributing to the thread, then isn't it a non-issue?
Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 3:09 am Post subject: Re: Need a detail info of Lakers 1999 Lockout season...
BLF2145 wrote:
Jocinetu wrote:
If you know some trusty source (link) on this one, let me know... Any information about our team in 1999 would be appreciated. You can write it down in this post. Thanks in advance Lakers Nation!!!
Just curious and not being a jerk. But do you not know how google works? Or just don’t want to do the researched and figured someone on here would do it for you?
LOL, I know hot to Google it, but here, I hoped for someone that knows some hard to find source with old school material about 1999' Lakers.
There are aspects of that season that have never been sufficiently clarified.
One above all is related to a move that I consider, in negative terms, the key to everything, namely Rodman being waived.
Rodman would have been perfect for a team full of offensive power, certainly in the series against San Antonio Duncan would have found it much more difficult to deal with Rodman rather than with JR Reid, that much is certain.
The thing that has never been clarified enough is why Rodman was ultimately waived.
Was it West's decision, who didn't want Rodman from the start, that prevailed over Buss's? Was it a Rambis take,he didn't get along with Rodman, or else DR was waived despite support from Kurt?
I am still convinced that with Rodman,of course a fit and focused Rodman, that season could have ended quite differently
There are aspects of that season that have never been sufficiently clarified.
One above all is related to a move that I consider, in negative terms, the key to everything, namely Rodman being waived.
Rodman would have been perfect for a team full of offensive power, certainly in the series against San Antonio Duncan would have found it much more difficult to deal with Rodman rather than with JR Reid, that much is certain.
The thing that has never been clarified enough is why Rodman was ultimately waived.
Was it West's decision, who didn't want Rodman from the start, that prevailed over Buss's? Was it a Rambis take,he didn't get along with Rodman, or else DR was waived despite support from Kurt?
I am still convinced that with Rodman,of course a fit and focused Rodman, that season could have ended quite differently
Those are all valid questions. What today’s fans don’t realize is that they live in the age of Twitter where everything that may (or may not be!) taking place gets reported and information is so abundant that you have to sift through fact and misinformation. Who would’ve ever imagined that every single draft pick would get announced on Twitter before they were made on TV?
No such thing as that back in the day. All we had were the Jim Greys and Peter Vescey’s, who was the grandfather of NBA Twitter gossip and false rumors, but even then there just wasn't as much information. Compared to today’s instantaneous information, by the time Peter Vescey wrote about something, it would be considered news already for Shams/Woj today.
My take on that is… I think with Rodman on the roster, we would’ve had a better chance on paper. I agree that we could’ve done better. But ultimately, our downfall was our biggest problem prior to the arrival of Phil Jackson: lack of leadership. We didn’t have a Captain on the ship that would take us into battle with a game plan and be the voice of reason during hard times.
I also thought Rodman was washed already. I remember Rice’s first game here, we lost that game to Sacramento (despite Rice catching 🔥 in the 4th quarter) in part because Chris Webber (who was probably just entering his prime after being considered a disappointment for many years) torched us; and that was with Rodman on the team. Rodman tried his best to get under his skin; so I think Rodman’s best days were also unfortunately behind him.
The 1998 team (before it was gutted and broken up) was more talented than this one; and arguably better too. Although that’s debatable because this was truly the first year that Kobe’s game was closer to his hype than ever before. I think a good what-if scenario would be the 1998 Lakers vs. 1999 Spurs. I think Duncan-Robinson-3pt shooters of San Antonio (Jaren Jackson and Mario Ellie literally did their Splash Brothers imitation on us) would be too much, but I think 1998 might not have been swept by San Antonio (Utah was a bad matchup for us). We wouldn’t have been able to stop them defensively, but we had the fire power to get back at them offensively. I would’ve liked our chances (game by game) more with the younger/athletic legs of Jones/Van Exel going at it with the older/slower legs of Ellie/Jackson. All in all, that 1999 team was depleted. Bum ass JR Reid is still one of my least favorite Lakers of all time.
What would’ve really been intriguing was Phil Jackson being hired at the start of the season in 98-99, and the Lakers adding Rodman as a result. I think our destiny was doomed with Harris/Rambis doing up against Popovich/Sloan, etc. but I do agree that we could’ve done better here and there.
Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 11:15 am Post subject: Re: Need a detail info of Lakers 1999 Lockout season...
Runway8 wrote:
BLF2145 wrote:
Jocinetu wrote:
If you know some trusty source (link) on this one, let me know... Any information about our team in 1999 would be appreciated. You can write it down in this post. Thanks in advance Lakers Nation!!!
Just curious and not being a jerk. But do you not know how google works? Or just don’t want to do the researched and figured someone on here would do it for you?
Wow. Actually, you are being a little jerkish, is that a word?
But you made me wonder, and I did a little google. I don't see much that would give you the details that fans that lived through it can give you. I saw a little Wikipedia write-up, but that's about it. If J-Dawg didn't do it, I would have probably done the write-up. We like to stroll down memory lane. For example, I added that Kurt Rambis used to have a short temper with the media. Where are you going to dig up little info like that? This is a Lakersground.net, is it not? This is the best place to ask. Not like he's asking about scores last night. LOL! This is 22 yrs ago. Info is pretty scarce. And if people are contributing to the thread, then isn't it a non-issue?
I had somewhat the same questions but I surely wouldn't want to come off as a jerk or "jerkish". It was a legitimate question. The OP's reponse reflects that he thought it was a legit question as well.
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news already for Shams/Woj today.
