Lakers are Officially Vujacic-Free

Now that the dust has settled the Lakers have made it official: Sasha Vujacic is gone!

For his troubles GM Mitch has acquired a veteran big man in Joe Smith plus two second round picks, one from Golden State in 2011 and the other from Chicago in 2012. Oh and the rights to Ukrainian big man Sergei Lishouk.

Sasha Vujacic, on the other hand, is banished to New Jersey. Is it just me or is Jersey becoming the home to guards made expendable by Shannon Brown?

The real plus is the more than $8-million that will come off the books in salary and luxury tax. After getting a $15-million contract, Vujacic relaxed. That’s a mistake that can’t be made in the NBA. All it took was one hungry guy named Shannon to be tossed into a trade in order to make Sasha a DNP-CD waiting to happen.

Let this be a lesson, Sasha. Just because your contract is guaranteed doesn’t mean your PT is. Phil Jackson doesn’t sign checks. He could care less how much you make mainly because he makes more than you to begin with. More importantly, PJ is paid to win. Therefore he needs winners on his roster. Not arrogant douchebags who can’t even make the cut for their national hoops team. Yes, I’m well aware Slovenia produces some top notch talent. But when your national team tells you to take a walk then it should be obvious that changes are needed.

Sasha didn’t heed that warning nor did he step up his efforts to steal back minutes from Shannon. All he did was rack up DNP-CD’s and chase tennis skirts.

Thanks for nothing! As Laker fans, all we ask is that you give it all you’ve got every time you suit up. Sasha made it clear that his goal was to get paid. Good luck earning another contract. Something tells me that $15-mil he made in L.A. was the peak. From here out it’s Summer League hopes and European League dreams for Vujacic.