Radmanovic, We'll Miss You

Last night, the Lakers coasted to an effortless victory over the fledgling Oklahoma City Thunder, who, I think, will soon relocate to some other, more reasonable city. More on that later, but today I’d like to take a couple seconds to say farewell to one of my favorite Lakers, Vladamir Radmanovic.

‘Vlad Rad’ occupies a special place in my heart. He came to the Lakers in 2006, midway through their rebuilding years, and every part of me felt that he’d be a strong piece of the puzzle. Beyond the obvious—he’s a deadly perimeter shooter—Radmanovic did a lot to open up a futile Laker offense. In the two seasons prior to his arrival, the Lakers’ only option was to let Kobe try to win every game, while Lamar and the rest of the cast of new Lakers slowly learned the Triangle Offense. But when Radmanovic strolled into town, the Lake Show added a second dimension to its repertoire: the 3-point threat.

Now teams had to respect the perimeter, which opened up lanes for Kobe’s lust for penetration (wink). And when teams got a little too aggressive with KB24, double or triple-teaming or what have you, he could just dish it out to Vlad Rad and watch him rain threes. In the days before Pau and Bynum, when Chris Mihm, Ronny Turiaf, Kwame Brown, and Brian Cook were playing Hot Potato with the responsibility down low, Radmanovic provided just enough of a distraction for Kobe to steal some wins.

And now he’s being traded in a move by GM Mitch Kupchak to free up salary space sooner (trading Rad Man for two players whose contracts expire after this season). A valid reason, and I respect validity. But it kills me to see ‘real’ Lakers get sent away—Lakers who’ve helped bring our team back up from the doldrums, Lakers who endured the frustration of losing to the Suns in the first round two years in a row, Lakers who shivered as Kobe demanded to be traded for an entire summer and then came back in the autumn to demand that some of his teammates be traded for Jason Kidd or Jermaine O’neal.

After going through all of that, and then playing an integral role on this year’s league-leading squad, Vladamir Radmanovic should be branded a Laker for Life. When Los Angeles wins the title in a few months, I’m going to petition that Vlad Rad get an invitation to the parade AND a ring for his Laker work this season. AND I’m insisting that he be played by John Tuturo in the upcoming Michael Bay film, “From Fallen to Ballin’: Lakers in the Kobe Years.”

Here’s a list of my favorite things/memories of Vladamir Radmanovic

His fluctuating hair length
Him getting fined $500,000 for getting injured while snowboarding
How nobody ever questioned his Lakerness
Rocking headbands like the 70’s
Never making any steals or blocks, but ‘rotating’ on defense
Being good friends with Kobe

Farewell, Rad Man. You’ll always be welcome in Laker Nation.