# Lakers Sign DJ Mbenga



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

> The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent center Didier “DJ” Ilunga-Mbenga to a 10-day contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
> 
> Mbenga, a 7-foot, 220 pound native of the Congo, signed with the Golden State Warriors November 17 after spending three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks prior to their request for waivers on him October 30. In 16 games with the Warriors prior to his release January 6, Mbenga averaged 1.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.63 blocked shots in 8.1 minutes.
> 
> ...


http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/080121_lakerssignmbenga.html


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

well, i hope he can hold the fort down.

kinda obvious we werent going to sign chris since 1) DJ came to one of our games and 2) phil kind of hinted that we didn't want him.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Can/Is he gonna play tonight?


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

hmmm 10 day contract huh

which means the lakers will see how well he fares with the rest of the team and if he doesnt work out they can just cut him

hopefully he's the next brian skinner not soumalia samake


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## ElMarroAfamado (Nov 1, 2005)

10 day is good, check out he it goes with the team
is this guy really as bad as KWame ?
or can he catch passes or finish ok on pick n rolls?


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

well the good thing about the 10 day contract is that if we figure out that its low post scoring and not defense and rebounding that we need, after the 10 days we can cut him and go with Webbber, who will most likely still be there. Its looking like the Pistons arent going to take him and Webber would be an idiot to join the Heat.


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## Wilt_The_Stilt (Jun 7, 2002)

I am a little skeptical of this. How much are we honestly going to play him? He has never averaged even 10 minutes a game, are we really going to be playing him enough minutes for him to make a difference? I haven't seen much of him so I could be wrong.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Hes just here to take some pressure off Kwame and Turiaf playing at the 5 until Mihm comes back.


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## Mr. Hobbes (Jul 1, 2005)

This is a great pick up because Kwame's one of the softest guys in the league, and Mbenga is probably the toughest. DJ Mbenga is the Sam Fisher of the NBA.

The guy is like 250 lbs, and looks 300. He goes after every block, and if he doesn't get it he hammers the **** out of the guy. He survived all these assassination attempts, and wikipedia says he was put in a Congo prison for 9 months, until his brother bribed a guard so they could leave.

Damn.


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## compsciguy78 (Dec 16, 2002)

Amazing!!

Big, black, and tough. 

Just the opposite of Kwame.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

^ thats a bit encouraging to know

but last time i saw this guy he looked like a stiff


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

There's a reason that this guy can't stick with an NBA team, he's a stiff! He's always been a stiff, he'll continue to be a stiff. This signing is a joke. He should be gone by day 11.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i don't know his story, but you could argue that 1) he was in dallas, where he was playing behind two nonscoring centers. then he goes to the warriors, where their system of play doesn't really fit is..


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## Wilmatic2 (Oct 30, 2005)

Not bad for a 10-day lease.


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

afobisme said:


> i don't know his story, but you could argue that 1) he was in dallas, where he was playing behind two nonscoring centers. then he goes to the warriors, where their system of play doesn't really fit is..


That's true, but looking at his stats over the past four years with Dallas and Golden State it just doesn't look like he does anything well other than foul. His FG percentage is terrible for his size, his scoring is almost non-existent and his rebound numbers are less than impressive. I just don't see what he brings to the table.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i haven't seen his stats, but i know he hasn't played much, which would explain why his stats are crappy.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

well hes only been in the league 3 years and hes averaged 5 minutes for his career. Not like you can get a lot done in 5 minutes.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

he looked pretty good tonight even though it was garbage time

hopefully he can play better down the stretch and earn more minutes 

o yeah gotta love the fact that he does martial arts lol


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Phil should just have him and Kwame practice with Kareem at all times.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

This guy is a warrior, he just hasn't been given a full chance to really produce.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

think he'll produce before he turns 30?


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## Drewbs (Feb 16, 2004)

OneBadLT123 said:


> This guy is a warrior, he just hasn't been given a full chance to really produce.



Sorry but thats because he sucks.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

He can maybe be a reliable backup center if he was on the depth chart at 3rd.


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

2 blocks and 3 personal fouls in five minutes, wonder why he doesn't get more PT? He would foul out in one quarter.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

dannyM said:


> he looked pretty good tonight even though it was garbage time
> 
> hopefully he can play better down the stretch and earn more minutes
> 
> o yeah gotta love the fact that he does martial arts lol


i thought he looked bad.


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## southeasy (Jun 11, 2003)

he loves those blocks.. i actually caught the game.. lakers looked good.. kobe was passing out dimes.. still don't like fish.. he was good tho.

2 rebounds, 2 blocks & 1 steal for DJ.. high energy, also learned he does tae kwon do.

if he stays out of foul trouble, you have two possibly great hustle defensive players in dj & ariza.. if mbenga sticks.

he needs to stay out of foul trouble.. the lakers were hitting everything near the end.. in his 5 minutes, he wasnt truely into a play or position to be more positive on the stat sheet... he was altering shots, caught a few cheap fouls.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

He is very raw and not really a basketball player, but strong as an ox and he will go after everything which is why he can't be on the court for long. Basically a big body without skills who will give you six fouls a night if needed.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

croco said:


> He is very raw and not really a basketball player, but strong as an ox and he will go after everything which is why he can't be on the court for long. Basically a big body without skills who will give you six fouls a night if needed.


agreed. he looked awkward out there on the floor.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

He was pretty wild out there last night. Jumping and swatting at everything. Maybe if he calms down a little he could at least be a big-***, scary, mother ****er with nothing to lose.


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

elcap15 said:


> He was pretty wild out there last night. Jumping and swatting at everything. Maybe if he calms down a little he could at least be a big-***, scary, mother ****er with nothing to lose.


If that's what the Lakers were looking for, why not sign somebody like Danny Fortson? At least he has _some_ talent.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

elcap15 said:


> He was pretty wild out there last night. Jumping and swatting at everything. Maybe if he calms down a little he could at least be a big-***, scary, mother ****er with nothing to lose.


Dallas fans were hoping that for three years, it didn't happen.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

Showtime87 said:


> If that's what the Lakers were looking for, why not sign somebody like Danny Fortson? At least he has _some_ talent.


He probably wouldnt have agreed to the 10 day pittance of a contract that Mbenga got.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

croco said:


> Dallas fans were hoping that for three years, it didn't happen.


Maybe the little general couldnt get everything out of him the way Phil will be able to.

Ehh . . . who am I kidding. I just think that Laker fans have lower expectations than mavs fans did.


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## Plastic Man (Nov 8, 2004)

elcap15 said:


> I just think that Laker fans have lower expectations than mavs fans did.


Well said and I totally agree with you. If he can give the Lakers a couple of rebounds, blocks and steals a night in 10-15 minutes, I'm completely satisfied with that. The team has other offensive weapons and I don't need him thinking he's the next coming of Olajuwon and taking 20 shots per game, he should just hold his ground on the defensive end in the minutes that are given to him. If he exceeds these expectations even better.. and if he doesn't, no harm done. At least that's my view of this guy. Either way, we'll soon see how it goes .


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

He only here to play minutes if Turiaf or Kwame get into foul trouble.


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## clien (Jun 2, 2005)

He's just a practice player


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Drewbs said:


> Sorry but thats because he sucks.


I am not saying he will give you 10/10 a night, but at most he could give you guys 5/5/2 maybe. He didn't get much PT in Dallas because they already had 2 other centers with the same dimension as him.

Every time I have watched him play, he always brought out 110%. He was considered a fan favorite in Dallas simply because they guy put his heart on the floor every night.

He's a great chemistry guy to have.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

all of ya thinking he looked bad out there need to lay low on that high expectation

he's a 10 day contract player and he came out there hustling his butt off to impress the LA fans out there

that's something that needs to be recognized and appreciated 

i understand the disappointment though we had a chance to sign a more talented player in chris webber but let it go and cheer for DJ


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)




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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

well, im not expecting a tim duncan or anything, but it really looks like he doesn't know how to play.


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## thegza (Feb 18, 2003)

obviously has no talent, but if there is room for him until baby bynum gets healthy than he'll be kept


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

He looked better than Kwame at times last night. Good enough for me.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

EHL said:


> He looked better than Kwame at times last night. Good enough for me.


well in that case we might as well buy kwame's contract out for 7 million and sign gary coleman to a 10 day contract.


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

I think it's a good signing for backing up Brown. I have to admit the first game he played, he doesn't looked good at all, but then again, he got 2 blocks. I think it will be interesting to see if he lives up to his potential.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

im beginning to think this is a bad signing. never seen mbenga play until he was in a laker uniform. he doesn't look like a basketball player, just a tall buff guy.

it's funny because the warriors cut him and are now thinking about signing chris. i think we should have signed chris, because kwame and ronny can defender the centers of the NBA (they did ok vs. tim, it's just that tim had a good game)


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

I think Mbenga deserves more than 7 minutes on the court in a Lakers uniform before we start to pass judgement.

I wouldnt really expect much out of him though.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

7 minutes is more than enough to realize that he doesn't know how to play basketball.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

afobisme said:


> 7 minutes is more than enough to realize that he doesn't know how to play basketball.


Thank you for you insight Mr. West :biggrin:


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

He is right though, he is not a basketball player on this level.


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

I'm just here to pile on and reinforce my earlier statements about DJ. Seems like a nice enough guy, but has absolutely no business being on an NBA court. Jon Koncak is a hall of famer compared to Mbenga.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

if in 3+ seasons he's averaged 5 minutes. there's gotta be a reason for this. it's obvious that management made a mistake. i wonder if they even saw video of DJ before getting him? there's only about 511 minutes of it in his 3+ seasons, so it could have been difficult.

plus he was cut by the warriors, a team in need of a decent big man. he couldn't even make the cut on a team like that.


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## Plastic Man (Nov 8, 2004)

afobisme said:


> if in 3+ seasons he's averaged 5 minutes. there's gotta be a reason for this. it's obvious that management made a mistake. i wonder if they even saw video of DJ before getting him? there's only about 511 minutes of it in his 3+ seasons, so it could have been difficult.
> 
> plus he was cut by the warriors, a team in need of a decent big man. he couldn't even make the cut on a team like that.


In other news, Smush Parker played our starting PG for two whole seasons, so I wouldn't really consider a 10-day contract for a big guy which we are in need of a mistake... They tried, he looks pretty useless, so he'll probably be let go. No mistake there imo


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

mistake because we could have signed chris webber instead.. he'd be more effective, even if you consider him bad.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

I guess I dont know what you people expect. You want to sign someone who no one else knows about and is going to be a star? You expect to pick up a 7 ft rotation player who is on the free agency in the midle of the season? No, it doesnt happen like that. No one should expect him to be good, but we need someone like him.

This guy is a practice team type player. He is a player that can come into ball games who has 6 fouls to give and hopefully block or alter a couple of shots.

How could this be a mistake or a bad signing? It is absolutely no risk. He is only on the team for 10 days as of right now.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

afobisme said:


> mistake because we could have signed chris webber instead.. he'd be more effective, even if you consider him bad.


Well thats like . . . your opinion . . . man.

Most people on this board know my personal stance on Webber.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

elcap15 said:


> I guess I dont know what you people expect. You want to sign someone who no one else knows about and is going to be a star? You expect to pick up a 7 ft rotation player who is on the free agency in the midle of the season? No, it doesnt happen like that. No one should expect him to be good, but we need someone like him.
> 
> This guy is a practice team type player. He is a player that can come into ball games who has 6 fouls to give and hopefully block or alter a couple of shots.
> 
> How could this be a mistake or a bad signing? It is absolutely no risk. He is only on the team for 10 days as of right now.


i guess you like putting words people's mouths? why do people exaggerate? when did i or anyone else expect mbenga to be a star? i think sometimes people make things up to prove their point.

chris webber could come in and foul people 6 times a game if needed. hell, i could come in and foul people 6 times if needed. 

fact is, chris webber is more serviceable than mbenga. mbenga can't even average more than 5 minutes a game... and he can't even break golden state's roster.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

Chris Webber wouldnt have taken a 10 day contract or agreed to get no play time. We dont need offense on this team, we need defense and webber has never played good D. He told his coach in Philly he wasnt going to post up. Sounds like an ideal center right.

I didnt put any words into anyone's mouth. My post asked questions of your expectations.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

so you say dj mbenga is there to use up 6 of his fouls.. but webber isn't good enough to do the same thing?

he even said that he wasn't expecting a starting position on a team. he just wants to have a role. if he signed with us, he should know that most likely he wouldn't be getting a whole lot of minutes, especially when bynum returns. maybe 20 per game.

more than we need offense or defense, we just need to win. remember in the 3rd quarter where we didn't score for the first 6:30? yeah, webber could have helped that... at least it's for sure he could have helped it more than mbenga.


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## KillWill (Jul 1, 2003)

please tell me the 10 days are up.


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## xoai (Jun 14, 2005)

KillWill said:


> please tell me the 10 days are up.


My thought the same thing. Larry Turner from the D League is the same or even better than this guy. Why not call him up, at least he's younger, big body and can give 6 fouls. Only two skinny legs like a chopstick of his.


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## ElMarroAfamado (Nov 1, 2005)

as much as some of you dont like Mbenga, he is better than Kwame Brown


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## KillWill (Jul 1, 2003)

ElMarroAfamado; said:


> as much as some of you dont like Mbenga, he is better than Kwame Brown


especially the contract part.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

ElMarroAfamado said:


> as much as some of you dont like Mbenga, he is better than Kwame Brown


The fact that what you said is debatable is very sad...:sadbanana:


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