The Lakers have the offensive weapons and defensive weapons to defend their back-to-back titles. The trio of Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, and Barnes will be tough for any team to handle. Oh, and then the Lakers have 2 seven footers in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to help protect the paint.

The Lakers now have a solid bench. Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom, and Theo Ratliff can easily be starters on other teams.

In other NBA news:
* The Miami Heat sign forward and former Boston Celtic Eddie House. This is bad news for the rest of the league because it seems the Heat have assemble a descent supporting cast around the big trio of Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh. Eddie House gave the Lakers some trouble a couple years ago so I’m not too happy about this signing but I’m still not too concerned.

* R.I.P. to former NBA Player Lorenzen Wright. His body was found yesterday with gunshot wounds in the woods somewhere in Memphis after being reported missing for over a week. Wright was part of that fantastic 1996 draft class that included Kobe, Derek Fisher, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash, and other current and past all-stars. Wright was the 7th overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in that talent heavy draft. Anyway, prayers go out to his family. I believe he was only 35. So sad.

* Andrew Bynum had successful knee surgery yesterday and is expected to be health at the start of the NBA season.

I enjoy all types of games… MMO’s, RPG’s, FPS but the type I’m the best at is RTS. I haven’t played an RTS though since Warhammer 40K’s “Dawn of War”. I’m really excited to play another one and StarCraft 2 looks really good. Check out the latest cinematic trailer:

My friend says he can hook me up with a copy because his buddy works at Blizzard. I hope so. I went to Target today and the game was selling for 59.99.

En taro Adun!

For starters they have a beach. Yup, with sand and a huge wave pool. The wave pool does have a height requirement so if your kids are under 4 feet (48″) they’ll have to enjoy one of the three other pools. As you can see from this photo there are plenty of places to swim.

In addition to the pools there is a lazy river. Our kids had a great time floating in the current and going around and under the little “waterfalls”. Bring an inner tube if you got one or you can buy one in the gift shop.

There is also the Moorea Beach Club. This is a European style (topless sunbathing) pool. Only ages 21+ allowed.

Cabanas are available for a price and they can get a little expensive depending on the day of the week and if it’s a holiday. When we went on Friday the cost of a cabana was “starting” at $350. Don’t want a cabana? Don’t worry, there’s beach and pool chairs everywhere for free.

The service is good with waitresses patrolling the pools ready to take drink or food orders.

Las Vegas in July is super hot. You can expect 110+ degrees easily. The pools at Mandalay Bay are a great way to cool off.

Matt Barnes on the Lakers fits in perfectly. Kudos to Mitch Kupchak on getting a hard nosed defender to an already stacked team. This signing reminds me of last summer when Ron Artest joined the Lakers. Like Ron-Ron, Barnes was a volatile adversary to Kobe Bryant when they played each other. It’s my understanding Kobe had a hand in recruiting Barnes to the Lake Show. I guess he respects players that have the balls to challenge him.

It was only a couple years ago when people kept saying the Lakers were too “soft”. Now, with Ron Artest, Matt Barnes, and a bulkier Pau Gasol the Lakers have turned into a pretty formidable defensive juggernaut. Additionally, Steve Blake is deceptively tough.

The Lakers also signed Theo Ratliff. He’s a bit old so I’ll hold off my opinion of his signing until I see him play a few games. I haven’t really followed him since he was playing with the Sixers several years ago.

This has turned out to be a pretty nice off-season for the Lakers. According to Kupchak the Barnes signing doesn’t close the door on Shannon Brown’s return. If they can re-sign Brown, this Free Agency season can be labelled as a huge success for the Lakers given their lack of spending flexibility.

It’s uncanny how similar Shannon Brown and Chris Brown look. Another coincidence is Shannon’s father’s name is Christopher lol.

Shannon Brown is still a free agent. With the Laker’s pursuit of Raja Bell ending it looks like Shannon may be a Laker once more. I wouldn’t mind having him on the Lakers again. He had a great attitude and some amazing hops. Hopefully, he can improve on his defense and decision making. I don’t see Shannon going anywhere else. C’mon Shannon, do you think you’d have the opportunity to star in music videos if you played in a city like Milwaukee or Oklahoma City?

Steve Blake seems to be more of your prototypical point guard. Although the triangle offense doesn’t necessariy require that you have one it does benefit the team to have a lead guard that can shoot well from range and pass well (both are skills that Blake possesses). Blake is a scrappy defender meaning he works hard and doesn’t back down as shown in his matchups with Kobe Bryant in the past. He is much tougher than he looks. Kevin Ding of OCRegister.com writes:

Blake is a far better athlete than is generally understood, with Mitch Kupchak revealing that in Blake’s Lakers pre-draft workout he “tested out as one of the best players we’ve ever had as far as physical ability.” That was seven years ago, and even though Blake still looks like a dude working behind a Subway counter, he actually does mixed martial arts that showcase his uncommon core strength.

He’s not a big name free-agent but I think Blake fits well on this team. He’s a definate upgrade over Jordan Farmar and he appears to have a great attitude.  Check out Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell one-on-one interview with Blake:

I’m looking forward to watching him play in the purple and gold. I’m hoping Derek Fisher will rub off on him. Maybe he’ll continue the tradition of being that role player that makes big shots in the playoffs a la DFish and Robert Horry.

If there’s a silver lining in all this at least Bell didn’t go to Miami. So who do the Lakers go after next? Try and resign Shannon Brown? How about going after Matt Barnes? Tracy McGrady? The Lakers also need a backup bigman at the center position. DJ Mbenga is still available. It looks like the Lakers front office still have some work to do.

Bell is also a former nemesis of Kobe Bryant. Who can forget the clothesline he did on Kobe in the Laker’s playoff series against the Suns a few years back. Either Kobe respects Bell’s physicality and toughness and wants him on his team or he just doesn’t want him to go to a competitor. I think both. Remember, Kobe and Ron Artest had battles in the past as well and looked how that turned out.

Bell is 33 years of age so maybe a 2-3 year contract would be ideal. Last season he played in only six games due to a wrist injury. It’s been reported that Kobe has spoken with Raja several times over the phone and this will be their first in-person meeting. I don’t remember the last time Kobe recruited this much for one player. I hope he’s successful. Bell would look great in purple in gold.

Worst case scenario? How about Bell joining the Miami Heat for the minimum?

If you’re like me and you’re still flying high after the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals here’s a well put together video to help relive the glory (it gave me goosebumps watching it):

“I watch all the teams and what they did for LeBron, and [the Heat] still have to go through the Lakers with Kobe Bryant out there, who’s been my favorite player for a long time,’’ said Pacers president Larry Bird. “And I don’t think whatever they do in the East is really going to concern him that much.’’

I’m sure Lebron will have a great run in Miami. He has a good chance at winning titles with the team that is being built over there. It’s a shame he had to join another superstar’s team though. I see the Heat as Dwyane Wade’s team not Lebron’s. I would have like him to stay in Cleveland. A finals with Kobe’s Lakers and Lebron’s Cavs would have been epic. I still think the Lakers are the best team in the league. I guess we’ll have to settle for Kobe’s Lakers vs. Wade’s Superfriends.