Lakers sign Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff

***zaga_fan*** · 07-23-2010, 01:53 PM

Free-agent forward Matt Barnes decided to sign a two-year deal with the Lakers, choosing the chance at a championship over a more lucrative offer from Cleveland on the same day Theo Ratliff agreed to a one-year, $1.35-million contract with the Lakers, adding a veteran shot-blocking center to the second unit.

I'm sure we all remember Barnes acting like he was going to strike Kobe in the face with a ball in the the finals 2 years ago only to see Kobe not flinch.
This should be an interesting pickup.

**BlackcatAlum** · 07-23-2010, 03:40 PM

Hopefully Barnes can come off the bench and knock down a few jump shots and not act like a thug all the time.

The loss of Josh Powell is the only reason I can think of to why the Lakers signed Ratliff.

**Aslan** · 07-23-2010, 04:32 PM

I like the Barnes pick up..

**Ballers** · 07-23-2010, 05:16 PM

THANK GOD HE IS GONE OUT OF ORLANDO... I am glad you LA fans like him.. Keep him out of Orlando and in LA.:Thumbs:

***zaga_fan*** · 07-24-2010, 01:31 PM

I see these picks as a defensive upgrade.
Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga came in and wasted space all the time, at least Ratliff can come in and block some shots like he's been doing for years.
Barnes is a great defender. Between Barnes, Kobe, and Ron-Ron they are going to be able to D-Up against any backcourt in the league.
I like Kupchak's moves in the offseason. They needed to upgrade the PG play and defense, and that's what he did.

I Know Everything · 07-25-2010, 02:24 PM

This will be good for the Lakers. Barnes is a solid player and Theo Ratliff still has a solid year or two left in him.

I KNOW EVERYTHING

**Ballers** · 07-26-2010, 06:25 PM

I Know Everything Wrote:This will be good for the Lakers. Barnes is a solid player and Theo Ratliff still has a solid year or two left in him.

I KNOW EVERYTHING

Obviously you don't.. Theo Ratliff, I'm sorry but is terrible, and I will be very surprised if he gets playing time (if any) in LA.. Probably will get the same playing time that Powell got, but less.

***zaga_fan*** · 07-27-2010, 08:44 AM

[quote=Ballers]Obviously you don't.. Theo Ratliff, I'm sorry but is terrible, and I will be very surprised if he gets playing time (if any) in LA..Probably will get the same playing time that Powell got, but less QUOTE]

:thatsfunn what's that supposed to mean

He's not terrible....he's just old.
He started 26 out of his last 28 games.
Bynum gets hurt a lot and they need someone that can take some pressure off of Gasol when that happens.
It also keeps Gasol from playing the 5 for the 2nd team.

**Ballers** · 07-27-2010, 11:39 AM

zaga_fan Wrote:[quote=Ballers]Obviously you don't.. Theo Ratliff, I'm sorry but is terrible, and I will be very surprised if he gets playing time (if any) in LA..Probably will get the same playing time that Powell got, but less QUOTE]

:thatsfunn what's that supposed to mean

He's not terrible....he's just old.
He started 26 out of his last 28 games.
Bynum gets hurt a lot and they need someone that can take some pressure off of Gasol when that happens.
It also keeps Gasol from playing the 5 for the 2nd team.

LA Needs Gasol and Bynum both to be the powerhouse they are. Without either they will crumble.. They basically just use Bynum's big *** to clog up the lane.

***zaga_fan*** · 07-27-2010, 01:22 PM

Ballers Wrote:[quote=zaga_fan]

LA Needs Gasol and Bynum both to be the powerhouse they are. Without either they will crumble.. They basically just use Bynum's big *** to clog up the lane.

Crumble is a strong choice of words....
They won the NBA Finals with Bynum getting little playing time and was very limited in what he could do in that minimal amount of PT.

**Ballers** · 07-27-2010, 04:01 PM

zaga_fan Wrote:[quote=Ballers]

Crumble is a strong choice of words....
They won the NBA Finals with Bynum getting little playing time and was very limited in what he could do in that minimal amount of PT.

Like I said, they only use him and his fat *** to clog up the lane.. Other than that, he does nothing.

itzAmazing · 07-27-2010, 06:12 PM

Barnes is a nice addition for LA, and Ratliff definently adds depth. I think they will both fit in, not scoring wise but defensively they will help out.

***zaga_fan*** · 07-28-2010, 10:42 AM

Ballers Wrote:[quote=zaga_fan]

Like I said, they only use him and his fat *** to clog up the lane.. Other than that, he does nothing.

So let me get this straight....
he does nothing but clog up the lane....
but they would crumble without him.

**Ballers** · 07-28-2010, 10:53 AM

zaga_fan Wrote:[quote=Ballers]

So let me get this straight....
he does nothing but clog up the lane....
but they would crumble without him.

Without him clogging up the lane and Gasol getting boards and points, **** yeah they would crumble..

***zaga_fan*** · 07-28-2010, 11:02 AM

Ballers Wrote:[quote=zaga_fan]

Without him clogging up the lane and Gasol getting boards and points, **** yeah they would crumble..

Agree to disagree:argue:

ISOVI · 08-09-2010, 09:10 AM

You can't go wrong with adding a veteran and a lockdown defender. The Laker's were viewed as soft until last year when they added Ron Artest. And now Matt Barnes. They have some grit about them now.

**Ballers** · 08-09-2010, 04:15 PM

ISOVI Wrote:You can't go wrong with adding a veteran and a lockdown defender. The Laker's were viewed as soft until last year when they added Ron Artest. And now Matt Barnes. They have some grit about them now.

If you consider thugs as grit, then yes they have plenty of it now!:eyeroll:

***zaga_fan*** · 08-09-2010, 05:03 PM

Ballers Wrote:If you consider thugs as grit, then yes they have plenty of it now!:eyeroll:

Thugs they are....
but they can still play tough defense.

They have 3 of the better onball defenders in the league playing for them.
Lamar Odom is one of the best help defenders.
They have 3 legitimate shot blockers(say what you want, Theo Ratliff can still block shots).
Good defensive team coming up this year.

**Ballers** · 08-12-2010, 04:27 PM

zaga_fan Wrote:Thugs they are....
but they can still play tough defense.

They have 3 of the better onball defenders in the league playing for them.
Lamar Odom is one of the best help defenders.
They have 3 legitimate shot blockers(say what you want, Theo Ratliff can still block shots).
Good defensive team coming up this year.

I wished the season would go ahead and start so this big time vet of Theo Ratliff you speak of can go ahead, get posterized by someone from the Heat, and end his career.

K_Mac · 08-13-2010, 12:03 AM

Ballers Wrote:I wished the season would go ahead and start so this big time vet of Theo Ratliff you speak of can go ahead, get posterized by someone from the Heat, and end his career.

I don't see Ratliff playing much at all if Bynum is healthy.

**Stardust** · 08-13-2010, 06:13 AM

K_Mac Wrote:I don't see Ratliff playing much at all if Bynum is healthy.

It's never EVER happened before, so why should anyone expect it to happen now?

***zaga_fan*** · 08-13-2010, 09:22 AM

Ballers Wrote:I wished the season would go ahead and start so this big time vet of Theo Ratliff you speak of can go ahead, get posterized by someone from the Heat, and end his career.

We're not talking about Shaun Bradley going to the Lakers....
this is Theo Ratliff...
google him.
Every picture is probably of him throwing someones junk into the stands.

***zaga_fan*** · 08-13-2010, 09:25 AM

Stardust Wrote:It's never EVER happened before, so why should anyone expect it to happen now?

Honestly...
and this is as a Laker fan...
trade Bynum...
he stays hurt and they could get a lot out of him.

If they can get Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown there's no telling what they'd get for Bynum.

**Ballers** · 08-13-2010, 09:36 AM

[quote=zaga_fan]Honestly...
and this is as a Laker fan...
trade Bynum...
he stays hurt and they could get a lot out of him.

If they can get Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown there's no telling what they'd get for Bynum.[/QUOTE]

lol.. someone just got lost on that deal.

**Ballers** · 08-13-2010, 09:42 AM

zaga_fan Wrote:We're not talking about Shaun Bradley going to the Lakers....
this is Theo Ratliff...
google him.
Every picture is probably of him throwing someones junk into the stands.

Well I did google him.. And if anyone wants to see good pictures of him getting dunked on by Dwight Howard then just type his name and select images cause it's all over google. Not to mention it looks like he's played for about every NBA team to date.

K_Mac · 08-13-2010, 11:32 AM

Stardust Wrote:It's never EVER happened before, so why should anyone expect it to happen now?

Good point. But you got to figure he is going to play at least one whole season in his career, it might as well be this season.

K_Mac · 08-13-2010, 11:34 AM

zaga_fan Wrote:Honestly...
and this is as a Laker fan...
trade Bynum...
he stays hurt and they could get a lot out of him.

If they can get Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown there's no telling what they'd get for Bynum.

I don't see LA getting a better center then Bynum. Centers, or at least good centers, are hard to come by in the NBA. And hey, all he really needs to stay healthy for is the playoffs.

***zaga_fan*** · 08-14-2010, 11:49 AM

K_Mac Wrote:I don't see LA getting a better center then Bynum. Centers, or at least good centers, are hard to come by in the NBA. And hey, all he really needs to stay healthy for is the playoffs.

Well they do have Pau Gasol....
they don't exactly need to get a Center out of Bynum

K_Mac · 08-14-2010, 01:01 PM

zaga_fan Wrote:Well they do have Pau Gasol....
they don't exactly need to get a Center out of Bynum

They would definately need a big man. At least a power forward.