The Official Los Angeles Lakers Thread

[HaloNArizona]

For next year, I am not on the Lebron band wagon...

I'd like us to re-sign Randle, sign PG and Cousins.

Starting Line up:

Ball

PG

Cousins

Ingram

Randle

I'd also love to see the Lakers draft Rawle Alkins ....a strong young player who could be a great defensive stopper.  He is a difference maker with the Wildcats this year.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Bummed to lose Clarkson and Gary Lance, but I don't think the FO had any intention of keeping Clarkson in their 2 MAX quest.  A fan of Larry's.  He does a lot of little things that go unrecognized that lead to success for teams (boxing out, switching and help D, hustle plays).  Freeing up the cap space was paramount and they achieved that while adding a later 1st round pick, which our FO has had a lot of recent success finding gems.  I think both IT and Frye will help with perimeter shooting in the short-term and don't see a big dropoff in performance for the remaining games of this season.

What does it mean for the summer?  Hopefully, at a minimum, PG13 and resigning Randle.  That would give us:   Ball - PG13 - Ingram- Kuzma - Randle?  Maybe LeBron too (although some might not like that)!  That would give us:  Ball - PG13 - Ingram - LeBron - Randle with Hart and Kuzma leading the bench.  IF LeBron went to Houston, makes me wonder if Houston could be vulnerable to losing PF/C Clint Capela?  He's a RFA and could be our starting C (much cheaper than Cousins) in a LeBron-less lineup:  Ball - PG13 - Ingram - Kuzma - Capela with Hart and Randle (or swap Kuzma and Randle) coming off the bench.  I think I'd prefer stretching Deng at this point and keeping the 1st rounder from Cleveland AND wonder if anyone out there would like IT for two months for another pick?  Should be an interesting summer.

[HaloNArizona]

2 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

I agree with you regarding Lebron. Was with you on Cousins before his Achilles tear. I just don't think it would be smart to sign him anymore.

Players that rupture their achilles just don't come back the same.

Just looking for a dominant big man, to help shore up the inside.  I'd be good DJordan too.

[beatlesrule]

You guys want Boogie after that injury??  It all depends on his health and what kind of contract he would want. No way you sign him to a max deal.  Before the injury, yes but too much of a risk post injury.

[tennischmp]

1 minute ago, beatlesrule said:

You guys want Boogie after that injury??  It all depends on his health and what kind of contract he would want. No way you sign him to a max deal.  Before the injury, yes but too much of a risk post injury.

Maybe that will bring his price down. That and a chance to play in LA alongside PG + (maybe) Lebron

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Cousins is still in play for me but need to see how his recovery is coming and what a contract would look like.  D. Jordan is under contract through next season and would need to be traded for (willing to give up assets, just not for him), and makes nearly $25 million per next year.  He's a no for me.  I'd like healthy and young, and not necessarily one-dimensional.  That's why I mentioned Clint Capela earlier.  Another guy I'd LOVE to trade for and would give up assets for would be Indiana's Myles Turner (mentioned him last year).

[Angel Oracle]

Capela is intriguing.   Isn't Jordan's option year a player option and not a team option?

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Jordan's 2018-2019 year is a player option at roughly $24.1 million.  If he is traded, he has a 15% trade kicker which would push that deal to $27.7 million.

[Lou]

19 hours ago, hangin n wangin said:

It’s not over played. It’s a pussy move and it’s ruined basketball... so he deserves to be bashed for it.

lol

like he invented going to a team that can compete for a title 

[Blarg]

7 hours ago, hangin n wangin said:

He's not...not at all. But it's not really about that. This trade shouldn't affect us this year because Thomas and Clarkson are similar players (Thomas was way better before his injury), but it clears up cap space, which is the main goal here. It's just a great deal.

People need to get on their knees and service Magic Johnson. 

They will get AIDS but it needs to be done.

And just like that, I'm a Clippers fan.

[Tank]

3 hours ago, HaloJustinBieber said:

Jordan's 2018-2019 year is a player option at roughly $24.1 million.  If he is traded, he has a 15% trade kicker which would push that deal to $27.7 million.

Holy cats! He must have the greatest agent in the history of mankind.

[tennischmp]

9 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

Of course other players have chosen to go to other teams that think they can compete for a title. There is a difference between that and colluding with other superstars to form these mega teams. Now that’s what the NBA has become. Lebron has played a humongous role in that. 

Did you forget about the Boston big 3 or even the team the Lakers tried to field with Malone and Payton? Also what's the difference between "colluding" with other superstars and "recruiting" other superstars?

[Stradling]

23 minutes ago, tennischmp said:

Did you forget about the Boston big 3 or even the team the Lakers tried to field with Malone and Payton? Also what's the difference between "colluding" with other superstars and "recruiting" other superstars?

Definition

[tennischmp]

Obviously, but in context of NBA there isn't really much difference. You can just say DWade recruited both Lebron and Bosh to Miami, just like Steph and Klay recruited Durant, and so on. 

Plus if Lebron "colludes" with George and Cousins and they all decide to take a pay cut (won't happen but still) so they can come here for the 70 mil cap the Lakers will have, is anyone who was against Lebron doing it be against that happening?  

[Stradling]

Yea I don’t care that the NBA is like that.  Think about it.  If you had friends wouldn’t you want to be on the same team with them?  Wouldn’t you want to live by them?  You already have to deal with being a celebrity so it’s probably tough to have any slice of normal.  Why the hell not play on the same team with guys you like.  Hell how many more millions did that shooting guard Mike Miller make because of Lebron trusting/liking him?

[Angel Oracle]

Guess Okie isn't much without Westbrook and Anthony (sprained ankles).    That was too easy in the 2nd half last night.

12-4 in past 16 games

[Stradling]

Can the Lakers finish the season 18-10 and finish .500?  I am guessing they will fall just short.  Maybe 40-42.  

[Angel Oracle]

Doing this well through April pretty much clinches getting past those Howard and Nash trades without ever losing an early lottery pick.  Nice!

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Sometimes I just don't get commentators, or fans/haters in general I guess.  Listening to different people over the past few days and it's amazing to me that everyone doesn't see the great base we have built and what adding a couple of big FA's would do to make us relevant and a contender again.  Watched the beatdown we gave OKC last night and listening to Barkley talk at halftime and into the 3rd quarter.  Doesn't think signing two massive FA's gets us there (in contention?) and says we aren't good (which is why 2 FA's wouldn't come).  The word he should choose is "consistent" with the young team we have in place now but that is to be expected with youth. 

You're trying to tell me that adding potentially the greatest player of all-time (easily top-10, if not top-5) in Lebron and PG-13 to the 5 youngsters we already have (Ball, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma, Randle)  that are playing very well in Lukes offense and defense wouldn't put us in the same discussion with Golden State?  Maybe, maybe not.  But, at the very least we'd be able to read the Golden State bus license plate without squinting.   Adding those two would make things easier for all of our young guys, and would have  them finally learning at the feet of all-stars and MVP's.  Not sure if it's just ignorance, hate, or if the producers put them up to saying stupid sh!t.  Kenny (and Shaq to a much lesser degree) seemed to defend LA and what we're building, but I was just kinda surprised there isn't more support.

[tennischmp]

32 minutes ago, HaloJustinBieber said:

Sometimes I just don't get commentators, or fans/haters in general I guess.  Listening to different people over the past few days and it's amazing to me that everyone doesn't see the great base we have built and what adding a couple of big FA's would do to make us relevant and a contender again.  Watched the beatdown we gave OKC last night and listening to Barkley talk at halftime and into the 3rd quarter.  Doesn't think signing two massive FA's gets us there (in contention?) and says we aren't good (which is why 2 FA's wouldn't come).  The word he should choose is "consistent" with the young team we have in place now but that is to be expected with youth. 

You're trying to tell me that adding potentially the greatest player of all-time (easily top-10, if not top-5) in Lebron and PG-13 to the 5 youngsters we already have (Ball, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma, Randle)  that are playing very well in Lukes offense and defense wouldn't put us in the same discussion with Golden State?  Maybe, maybe not.  But, at the very least we'd be able to read the Golden State bus license plate without squinting.   Adding those two would make things easier for all of our young guys, and would have  them finally learning at the feet of all-stars and MVP's.  Not sure if it's just ignorance, hate, or if the producers put them up to saying stupid sh!t.  Kenny (and Shaq to a much lesser degree) seemed to defend LA and what we're building, but I was just kinda surprised there isn't more support.

Yea look at what OKC are without Westbrook and Melo. Now imagine how bad they would be without Westbrook and PG. People are really underestimating what adding 2 superstars would do to this team. 

[Stradling]

But they have to be the right two guys you add to this young team.  What we need is Paul George and a center or power forward that is young and dominant.  I just see adding Lebron and George and having Ingram as being redundant.  I would hate to see Ingram be relegated to running the 2nd team, he’s just too good and too young to typecast into that type of player.  I would almost rather have Paul George and Deandre Jordan to clog up the middle defensively, but not at that money.  

[tennischmp]

1 hour ago, hangin n wangin said:

Yea.. and Kyrie “recruited” Lebron back to “his home". Who is the common denominator here? The guy hops dude. 

And yes, the Warriors pulled the same shit. Because that’s what the NBA has become, thanks to Lebron.

Lebron was a free agent after 7 years with Cleveland, he could do whatever he wants, it's not like he forced a trade or anything. What did you want him to do? Stay in Cleveland his whole career? When is it ok to move on from a team who you don't feel is giving you enough help? Would you have been ok if the Cavs brought in Bosh and Wade instead? Or is it just because Lebron talked to Bosh and Wade about it? If the Cavs would have done it without Lebron's involvement would that have been ok? 

[HaloMilliVanilli]

I think George, Ingram and LeBron could easily coexist at the SG-SF-PF positions, especially in todays NBA.  It's not the 80's and 90's where you'd have Kevin McHale or Karl Malone posting up those guys routinely.  I am somewhat indifferent on whether we sign LeBron due to his age (and primarily because I fear a huge injury like Kobe's), but think we could be very good with him motivated for another 3 or 4 years if we chose to sign him.  If he'd rather chase a ring with Harden and Paul instead, I'm ok with that too......and would like to steal a good, young player like Capela if Houston needed to make room for that to happen.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

To be clear, I say no Lebron either if a condition of his coming is trading away the youth to bring in "his" guys, unless of course his guy is better than our guy.  I like the tiered team that we would be building.  Two real max players, not two pseudo-max players that negotiate a max deal because of a thin market, that can elevate our TEAM for the next 3-5 years.  We immediately become contenders.  Then in 3-5 years when those max contracts are expiring, we have Ball, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma and Randle all in their 25-28 prime and leading this team for another 7 year run, only adding complimentary pieces around them.

Some people make the argument about naming big free agents that have come to LA, as if the past would predict the future.  Well, most of our stars have either been drafted (West, Baylor, Magic, Worthy) or traded for (Wilt, Kareem, Kobe, Pau).  We have always had major stars and have paid them market value, and generally pay well to support them with solid complimentary players, hence we rarely have the payroll flexibility to add major stars (unless they are willing to take pay cuts chasing a ring OR are past their prime OR both in the cases of Payton/Malone).  This is uncharted territory really.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

I don't like how Lebrons leaving Cleveland was handled.  They had a bunch of good role players around him then with little to no payroll flexibility.  They couldn't bring in anyone of significance to help via FA or trade with the roster construction, so I have no issue with him leaving.  It was the announcement telecast and the light show and all the new age BS.  I probably felt jealous that nobody in their prime had ever said they'd come play for us on a sweetheart discount to help us form a superteam and win a title.

I cannot deny the benefits that having Lebron on this team would have, just from a standpoint of taking the focus off of the young guys and letting them grow without being "the man".  The benefit of being challenged in practices, and the insight he could give our young guys to get them to the next level of their development.  Thing is, he has never played with a team constructed quite like the one we have here.  The potential, the youth.  It would be in his best interest to maximize their growth because it would, in return, make things easier than they've ever been for him.  Teams are doubling him and he can kick it to Lonzo, PG13 or Kuzma raining 3's.  Ingram slashing throwing down monster dunks.  Pretty much every guy on the floor with the ability to grab a defensive board and immediately push out and lead the break.  There are benefits in the right presentation!