aka please lord Jesus let us keep this pick.

they are pretty disfunctional right about now (front office and on court) and GENUINELY need SOME kind of presence to stabilize things

i don't see any available rookie coming in to change that, nor any big free agent wanting to come here (like...for what?)

but who knows? stranger things have happened, and I don't think the league wants the Lakers to *not* be competitive for too long

this year will certainly be better than last year.

probably not durant but we can land DeMar DeRozan...

***
I'm tryna be better off, not better than...

I'm good with top 2, Simmons or Ingram.

Afterwards, comes the free agency decisions. Do we purse Whiteside? Don't see Durant as a realistic option so who are the next options?

If we don't, and perhaps even if we do - I dont see him leaving a team that just got the 3rd seed in the East/the Miami lifestyle.

I do have questions as to when he gets his money will he fall off, but you take your chances on a dude who has that elite talent.

I'm ready to embrace what happens here. The pick....well, it is what it is. A coinflip to keep it, basically. If it goes to Philly - that sucks, but at LEAST at that point it's done (outside of...you know, the '18 pick going to the Magic, ugh). But there's nothing to truly worry about - it is what it is.

On the coaching front I'm a little torn. I've taken my L on Byron's handling of the rookies - he did very well there. But I'm not sure he's the guy. If we do fire him, then I want a new name...not a retread like Scotty Brooks or Tibs or anyone. Get an assistant, and let everyone grow together.

Durant isn't coming. Neither is any FA worth a damn, even if we keep the pick. So let's move past that and worry about cap friendly deals with players who will help us win games next year and grow as a group.

Get rid of Swaggy P, Lou Wilz if possible, and let Hibbert walk.

Keep Huertas, Bass, and the kids...and let's see what happens.

if they do....then we got another piece to build with as far as a young player..

if they don't...Free agency becomes more important..

as far as coach...we should move on from Byron. Obviously you'd consider Walton...but a super young coach with a super young team is something you have to think about.

then also if Jim Buss is let go....and if we bring Phil back....that's going to impact who we get as a coach.

then you have to decide whether you keep all our young guys...or you use one of them to get a more established player..or a guy who is a better fit for what we're going to do moving forward...

I have my preferences for what I want us to do...but until the ping pong balls play out.... I'll wait till then to speak on it.

I'm not thrilled with our options this year. I say max out Whiteside to make sure we get someone. We all know he's a risk/reward proposition and will most likely be another Bynum. It is what it is.

Here's the other factor: if he produces reasonably well in the early going, he could prove to be solid trade bait for Cousins after December, provided we don't give him a no trade clause. I highly doubt that the situation in Sacto improves and he could make it possible for us to trade for Cuz without giving up DLo or BI.

I know, I know, not gonna happen, why would Sacto want Whiteside, blah blah blah. I'm just looking at a possible benefit of signing him.

After Whiteside I say overpay some quality mid-range guys for one/two year deals. We need stability and quality veterans but what we don't need is to be locked into long term contracts with guys who won't elevate us into title contention.

Potential dark horse scenario: Are there players we could trade for while giving up minimal assets and simply absorb their contract? Guys who are either on the outs, bad fits for the current direction of their squad or what have you?

The obvious obstacle there is that most guys who would be available under a scenario like that likely wouldn't be someone we should try to acquire anyways but it's something worth exploring IMO.

The Lakers don't have a strong yet patient veteran player to mentor Boogie or a team culture that could absorb his impulsiveness and harness his potential.

If Luke had a reputation, as a head coach, of getting his players to maximize their abilities and also playing cohesively, with good chemistry, then there's a greater chance of DeMarcus succeeding here.

But as the team is structured, I don't see Cousins being much different than he would be in Sacramento.

That being said, I think you're trying to get across that the Lakers need a young player with talent that they could build around.

Outside of Jimmy Butler, I wouldn't know who that player would be. If it were easy to find young players with potential to grow, yet be emotionally mature, then the Lakers would have already found him.

i feel sorry for whatever team gets suckered into giving him max $


>The Lakers don't have a strong yet patient veteran player to
>mentor Boogie or a team culture that could absorb his
>impulsiveness and harness his potential.
>
>If Luke had a reputation, as a head coach, of getting his
>players to maximize their abilities and also playing
>cohesively, with good chemistry, then there's a greater chance
>of DeMarcus succeeding here.
>
>But as the team is structured, I don't see Cousins being much
>different than he would be in Sacramento.
>
>That being said, I think you're trying to get across that the
>Lakers need a young player with talent that they could build
>around.
>
>Outside of Jimmy Butler, I wouldn't know who that player would
>be. If it were easy to find young players with potential to
>grow, yet be emotionally mature, then the Lakers would have
>already found him.

Doubt D'Angelo's trade value is up there. Then again, it's the Kings so who knows what they'd do. But I would think that they'd want Ingram, which I'd guess is a no go for the Lake Show.

i wish people would stop posting players who will never be a Laker. Boogie is about as likely as Durant. Whiteside and Biyombo are long shots, so why people would think Boogie is ridiculous. At least Ezeli is possible.

>i wish people would stop posting players who will never be a
>Laker.

I wish people would stop sucking all the fun out of speculative posts.

>Boogie is about as likely as Durant.

The overall circumstances say otherwise. That situation will not improve and he will be on the block at some point. Still, it was a hypothetical and there's a reason I posted that here and not as an "article" on an seo clickbait site.

>Whiteside and
>Biyombo are long shots

Yes, maybe. Maybe not. Depends on how many top tier teams are willing to max out a guy who just made a mil and has a chance to get 22. I'm sure the Mavs will but I'm not sure GS or SA will. I think we have a shot.

>so why people would think Boogie is
>ridiculous.

Welp, nobody thinks we are getting him so getting bent out of shape over something nobody is saying is ridiculous.

If you don't like his name brought

>At least Ezeli is possible.

He's restricted so that changes things. I think he's a worse prospect than Barnes for the money it could take to get him. Sure he's possible but I don't want him and there's absolutely no fun in discussing The possibility of acquiring him.

i simple responded, and you are obviously going through something outside of this board. enjoy your stress.

It's telling that I addressed everything you said while you're trying to turn it into something else entirely.

My life is pretty damn good by the way. Ain't my fault you took a baseless position and couldn't defend it and needed to take a weak ass tact instead.

he's just a body.

The bulk of the Lakers recent issues stem from three situations:

-CP3 deal
-The Howard/Nash experiment
-Kobe's injury

Mitch is still a good GM. We've struck out on free agents the last two years and most people blew that way out of proportion. The first year, damn near everyone of any significance stayed where they were. Not only did they not come to the Lakers, they passed on everyone else as well. Brawn went home and that speaks for itself.

Last year was a mess with Kobe still playing the Alpha despite being clearly past the expiration date along with an inability to sell players on the actual on court product. The truth is we'd be in a worse position overall right now had we landed Aldridge.

We'll strike out this year not because we're a terrible organization with no leadership and inept management, but because we're clearly in flux. We're still The Lakers and giving him a taste of what that means *could*- not "would", people, but "could"- earn his trust enough to settle in enough to make things work.

>The Lakers don't have a strong yet patient veteran player to
>mentor Boogie or a team culture that could absorb his
>impulsiveness and harness his potential.

Not yet. We do have Bryan Shaw though, who I think would do just fine as an unofficial handler. Luke and Shaw also played with Kobe and Kobe and Shaq together in addition to playing under Phil. I'd say they have some tools to deal with difficult personalities.

>But as the team is structured, I don't see Cousins being much
>different than he would be in Sacramento.

Well, my hypothetical thought (just to be clear for everyone who will be super duper eager to point out how we don't have the assets to land him, it was JUST a hypothetical thought) required considerable other hypothetical dominoes to fall into place, chief among them being Whiteside producing while the situation in Sacto continues to deteriorate.

In that fairly specific scenario, a guy like Whiteside could prove to be good trade bait. To that end there's no telling who we'd have by that point in time, who else would be thrown in to get him, etc.

>That being said, I think you're trying to get across that the
>Lakers need a young player with talent that they could build
>around.

More to the point, an established young talent who can do the heavy lifting while the kids are growing up. The biggest reason I brought up Cuz is because situations like his usually result in the player getting traded and the fact that Whiteside ***if he produces***could*** be a significant trade piece if it came to that. I'm just trying to think of potentially available players down the road.

>Outside of Jimmy Butler, I wouldn't know who that player would
>be. If it were easy to find young players with potential to
>grow, yet be emotionally mature, then the Lakers would have
>already found him.

Well, I certainly didn't say or imply that it was easy to find that guy.... but I completely disagree with the notion that they would already have any quality players. Players aren't available until they're available and they're not obtainable until they're obtainable, and the fact that nobody like that is on our doorstep right this second doesn't mean that they won't be available a year or even six months from now.

.

As much as we look up to the Warriors and Thunder as teams who rebuilt through the draft within a few years, there's way more teams who had too much young undeveloped talent and not enough experience to guide them.

Between the four main ones, I am extremely reluctant to trade any of them, but I wonder which ones will stand out the most, and who will not live up to the potential. I do think they all fit well within Luke's system, so I definitely want to give them a good year to see how they mesh together.

If we can be like #10-11 in the West, I'll be satisfied with that.

The guys who call in to radio shows and demand we cut bait on Randle and Russel after one season and demand we cut all our youth to become the Knicks.

I'm more worried about the Masons of the sports world who thinks Phil is suddenly a genius for landing an old and broken Derek Rose because I don't want anyone in management or Time Warner to panic over the panic of impatient fans and do something impetuous.

>The guys who call in to radio shows and demand we cut bait on
>Randle and Russel after one season and demand we cut all our
>youth to become the Knicks.
>
>I'm more worried about the Masons of the sports world who
>thinks Phil is suddenly a genius for landing an old and broken
>Derek Rose because I don't want anyone in management or Time
>Warner to panic over the panic of impatient fans and do
>something impetuous.

Exactly! Two to three years is when this current core will really be able to put us into the conversation. Of course some adept free agency moves will be needed. This is when the skill in Mitch has to rear its head. everything should be done to build around these guys at each level they reach during their maturation as individual players and as a group.

we just need to be better. the year after next is where we start judging them.

randle is the first one that will be moved once it's time to shit or get off the pot. i maintain he is not a long term option.

>randle is the first one that will be moved once it's time to
>shit or get off the pot. i maintain he is not a long term
>option.

A guy who put up double double as a rookie isn't a long term option at the 4 spot? One year was enough to make that determination?

>we just need to be better. the year after next is where we
>start judging them.
>
>randle is the first one that will be moved once it's time to
>shit or get off the pot. i maintain he is not a long term
>option.

Disagree. Randle already averaged a double double, and he's just scratching the surface of what he could potentially do on offense. If he improves at finishing with his right, and gets a consistent 17 footer, he could be 18-20 ppg on a solid FG %. When he faces up, he can go by most PF's without much problem.

I think he's got the potential to eventually start making more plays for others too. He got tunnel vision a lot this year, but I think that's more being inexperienced and too pressed to make a play on a garbage team, rather than lack of court vision....because there's times where he makes passes that require a good level of court vision to make.

Not sure what else you expected.

years, but we're the Lakers...I'm scared of becoming the Timberwolves, OR the Hawks, OR the Clippers. But at the same time, that might be our reality for a while, depending on how the youngsters develop, and even moreso based on the free agency moves.

except maybe Harrison Barnes, lol.

>except maybe Harrison Barnes, lol.

Ingram will take time as his body catches up but I expect DTective to start going off this year.

..to help stabilize this talented young group.

while the rest of the basketball world will continue to speculate on where durant decides to play moving forward, i'm not that concerned with his decision.

even if he decides to leave okc, i think he's smart enough to leverage his current position into an even better one for 2017. as such, i highly doubt he'll sign a max contract with anyone this summer. so even if the lakers were successful in convincing him to come to LA, it would likely be a 2 yr contract (with the 2nd year as a player option).

the lakers need help everywhere (depth, experience), and the remaining free agent class of 2016 is a toss up.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

will be interesting to see who the Lakers bring in to help lead the youngsters. Do Andre Miller and David West have anything left in the tank?

He'd definitely be worth overpaying on a short term deal but I imagine he'll have some nice offers from contenders with a few extra years tacked on.

I doubt we have much of a shot at West but I'd absolutely love him for this locker room.

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

My guess is any meeting we got with Al would be a courtesy.

His price tag is also incredibly high considering his age and the fact that he’s not a true max player. If he does a 1 + 1 deal that’s one thing. Anything more than that for his price tag is a no-go IMO.

perfect for this team. He's that unselfish player that does a lot of things at a high level, and plays smart. I'd love to have a guy like that to play with these young guys.

But like you said...I doubt he'd want to sign up for that unless the money is crazy, which might not be a good idea for us at this point.

..like every other FA for '16, i'm sure he recognizes the benefit of a 2 yr (2nd year, player option) contract right now.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

My guess is he'd rather spend these years on a contender.

I can almost see how it would make sense. even tho I've never liked his game, I don't think this past year was indicative of his play going forward. I think he could get more touches and provide some rim presence.

with that said, I would still rather have have whiteside or biyombo. boogie would be great from a talent standpoint, but I don' think its worth the potential headaches he'll mos def bring.

Dwight is headache personified.

I'm not saying I'd want him as a laker, but I can see how it might make sense for him since there's no ball dominate superstar.

I think his talent would fit, but not his personality.

The last thing this young team needs is an alleged superstar with no credentials pouting about a lack of touches and loafing in protest. He wants a max contract and I doubt the Lakers give it to him.

dude's a worse headcase than Cousins, there's a reason Miami is not breaking their necks to resign him.

.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

really doe?

>

gets a break. He's a decent bargain. However, wrapping my mind around the fact that this dude is clipping $64m is tough. I just hope the mofo earns some of it and that his body is in better order than has been reported.

proof: https://twitter.com/BenGolliver/status/748751089449611266

Ben GolliverVerified account
‏@BenGolliver
By Offensive Real-Plus Minus, Lakers upgrade from Roy Hibbert (76th out of 76 centers) to Timofey Mozgov (75th)...

we need rim protection bad from the 5 spot.

people acting like whiteside or biyombo was an option. the Lakers only have Tarik Black signed, and he's a project and is in no way a starter. this was a great move (unless we find out later that Pau was avail or they passed on Ezeli for Mozgov)

it's obviously somewhat the fact that our team is just not attractive to big names at this point. but how much of it is Monotone Mitch having zero charisma on the recruiting tip? does that shit matter? i never expected KD to meet with the Lakers but dudes like Whiteside and Biyombo blowing us off completely is kinda worrisome.

and they contributed to those teams. lakers have sucked in the last 3 years. most people wouldn't go to a worse situation.

Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle are the core veterans on this team with to two years under their belt and Randle didn't even play his first year.

Nick Young is our elder statesman.

We have an awful lot of unknowns with our young guys and it's a very hard sell to get anyone with stature and better established suitors with money to give us a real look.

There's no one for these guys to team up with to make us a winning situation immediately so even if Mitch had Riley level charisma there's nobody out there that would make us anything but a mid level playoff team, and is that what we want to blow out money on long term anyways?

For all the talk of us striking out on Melo and Aldridge would either of those guys have us in a prime situation right now?

After KD and to a much lesser extent, Whiteside, it's not like we're missing out on anyone that makes us a contender.

Biyombo just played in the ECF and his team can keep him.

I thought we had a shot at Whiteside because I didn't see many teams willing to throw max money at him but even then it wasn't like he even shopped around heavily. Still, we all saw him as a mixed bag for us to begin with.

We're in a full blown rebuild and we have some intriguing young talent. In two years it's entirely possible that we could be thanking out lucky stars because everyone comes into their own together while we have bird rights and, hopefully money to spend at a time when we've built a team to sell people in and bird rights to keep our home grown talent.

A 17 win team is a 17 win team. We have to build and gain traction before we will be a serious player in the FA market.

.

we will have to show development and potential before we are a FA destination.

It can't get you to the hump. That's where you need a good product.

He's gonna get paid to set screens and rebound and stay the fuck out of D'Angelo and Brandon's way. The next season or two is about one thing, and one thing only. Finding out how good our young guys are.

For all those "WHO WERE THEY BIDDING AGAINST?!" people...who fucking cares. We have 40 million to play with still. It's fine.

people are irrationally upset without realizing the Lakers had no center. Mozgov is there for space and rim protection.

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

Plays the high post well, good roll man, can shoot the jumper, sets great screens, provides defensive length, rebounding, and is an experienced vet.

deal...

while Even Turner and all these other guys are signing ridiculous deals... lazy media are going on rants about the Lakers and Mozgov..

by the time all the money is spent the Mozgov deal is going to look more than reasonable....

reporters talking about guys not meeting with the Lakers who play the same damn position as guys we just drafted with the 2nd overall pick are sounding plain stupid....

so giving Whiteside 98 million or brokedown ass Noah 70plus are "reasonable moves"... ..Evan Turner 74.....Chandler Parsons 94???

really??

People should remember...Mozgoz lost minutes because he was coming back from a knee....and the Cavs were set on playing a style that fit the guys they had just broke bread with the offseason before in Love and Thompson, once Mozgov came back and was healthy.....

Mozgov balled the season before and does a lot of what the Lakers need fitting with their young core...

and we still got bread.....for this year and next year

n/m

hilarious how many people know nothing of the cap increasing.

y'all some smug ass dudes

signing 98 million .... Dwight signing for 23 million per year....and people throwing shade at the Lakers???

smh..

mitch and jim don't know what a process is, but that probably doesn't matter.

you trust the process. it's clearly going somewhere.

We strike out on big FA's, "they don't get the process". Now they realize that we aren't in the position to attract the FA's so we decide to let the team grow and sign complementary pieces, "they don't get the process". Lol, what a crock.

doesn't know what it's doing.

i think that, yeah, it's fair to say that mitch, having built entirely different teams in the past, chosen the wrong vets and the wrong coaches, might not know what he's doing here. i think it's to say that son of buss has never given any indication he's any different than all these other mediocre owners (other than maybe being less invested in basketball?) might not know what he's doing here. i think that maybe, maybe, a team that let kobe guide the franchise for 5 years is going to have a hard time learning how to make decisions again.

i wasn't saying that to make light of the faith in the process in l.a. i was saying i'm not sure if knowing what you're doing when you hit bottom even matters, because so much of this is luck.

it's not a bad plan to trust the young guys. especially when it's your only option. i just think it's interesting that it's taken this long to come to this conclusion.

and i think it's interesting that the delusions that said l.a. was the place to be are now playing into (some of the lakers fans that remain) overvaluing guys like clarkson, russell, and randle.

But I don't find it to be a coincidence that management is now thinking long-term and growing the team now that Kobe has left (obv we made our bed on that). We couldn't really move on until he was gone and Mitch has said as much, in addition to saying that he didn't expect much from free agency either.

Ryan and I were there for it.

especially when i have a clear and oft-stated preference for one?

i lived in south texas most of my life, am a longhorns fan, was living in seattle during durant's rookie season, and seeing it with the thunder back when they were worse than the lakers are now. i was sticking my foot in my mouth bad-mouthing p.j. carlesimo at his kid's school before y'all heard of scotty brooks.

don't go puritan on me because i'm having a little fun.

My SN is based on the teams I root for, all of which come from influences from my pre-teen years, none of which are in the same sport...so you can miss me with that apples and oranges comparison.

I went to college at Cal, worked in SF, argued about Steph for hours particularly his worth compared to Monta (none of those W's people will cop to that now though lol), actually wrote the organization a letter about needlessly playing him when he was rolling his ankles...your situation isn't lost on me but that has zero impact on which team I root for. So yes, I will talk about it.

not my fault you don't have to feel conflicted because the lakers haven't been making the playoffs since golden state got a squad.

i've got no issues with my own consistency.

something you (and ryan?) remember? it's this weird coincidence where the lakers started unraveling, the spurs lost a close series, and the thunder made the finals in the same playoffs that made you focus in on me.

i honestly forget this is a thing every few years until you bring it up.

I call a spade a spade every time I see it, regardless of topic. The spade in this case being confirmed when you referred to OKC as "we" in a playoff post.

let's be real about how much enjoyment you've been on record as getting over watching the spurs and golden state over the past few years.

you're laying the projections on really thick over the distinction between your interpretation of a pronoun i dropped and couching fandom as "favorite team to watch"

again, seems more about your hangups than about me.

I love their organizations and how they play, no doubt it. However, we both know there's a huge difference between appreciating a cultural organization and enjoying watching a team play than with identifying yourself with them (hence the "we), especially when that team is major competition in the conference; I know you know that so please don't play dumb.

My hang-up is with people not owning up to things. Even before when I brought this up, you tried to act like it never happened. This time, you admitted to it but then tried to rationalize it multiple different times rather than just saying "Ok, yeh, I rooted for two teams".

this really seems weird to me. and you keep assuming i'm not owning up to something when i've always been pretty clear on "liking the spurs" then "liking the thunder" but "still liking the spurs more when they both became contenders." i don't have to stop liking the thunder just because they're contenders. i don't have to show you my spurs receipts. especially when there isn't even a rivalry between the two teams.

why does it have to be dishonesty or disloyalty for someone to be a *slightly* different kind of fan than you?

why do you want these *slight* differences of degree, really just differences in phrasing, to be so important?

why is your way of living vicariously through an nba team or enjoying a sport okay but my *slightly* different way rub you the wrong way?

plenty of people been bandwagoning jumping or claiming multiple squads/players, and i didn't even do that! i just had the audacity to cross your imaginary line between appreciating a team and identifying with one.

you know this ain't about that. you would not be bothering with this shit if the lakers hadn't fallen off a cliff, the spurs hadn't handled the transition to post-duncan, or the thunder hadn't stayed a threat.

seems a pretty clear deflection to me, just like you're using it for in this post.

That's exactly where the self-identification comes into it. You'd rather play dumb than just own up to it.

I always call out people when they won't own up to things or want to spin things. That's why all your talk conflating this with the Lakers relative strength makes me laugh. I did this when we were great, when we were and are shitty, and will continue to do so. There's a consistent record of me doing that and there's also a consistent record of you trying to rationalize, downplay, and not take onus for your two team hopping.

Anyways, last word is yours; thought it had been enough time where you might come around this time, evidently not.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2335870&mesg_id=2335870&listing_type=search#2345144

we have back to back #2 overall picks.... plus Randle, Clarkson and Nash Jr. Unlike other teams that came with some way out trust the process nonsense the Lakers have put together a young group of players that....GASP!!!!...don't all play the same position...they play different positions and thus can comprise a line up....

that's not really a process ..it's how you build a team...

people were posting like the world collapsed when the Lakers signed Mozgov without understanding that the cap went up or WHY the Lakers signed Mozgov.

we're not competing for the title in the next few years, so it's all about the young guys to me at this point. if these signings are a good influence on the young dudes, great.

i just hope that this doesn't cramp our abilities to jump on fagents or possible trades within the next few years.

We have nearly 33 million for next year, which is a max slot. We need our young core to develop which will be highly aided by the veteran signings and then we look to take the next step by signing a max player or two other contributors in next summer's pretty good FA class.

or Hibbert. SMH. This dude actually told me "sign Sacre or someone from the D League." ...couldn't believe it.

Not sure if there are any team options or not. However, even with his age, his versatility and leadership translate extremely well to our team. Great influence to have.

I was just about to post this, i'm just stunned by these new NBA contracts. That's the kinda of money I'd give him in his prime, now you got Parsons and Lin making the same amount.

Therefore there is a new normal

Bring Ingram along at a reasonable pace. Deng can handle some small ball 4 as well.

Four years is a lot given the wear and tear and there are definitely risks here but I think he adds enough across the board that it's worth it. Just not sure if these deals will limit their ability to sign FAs next year.

I love Deng and like him better tha Marvin Williams but figured he would wind up on a veteran team.

I'm just not crazy about the contract length without an option. I hoped we would see two year deals, particularly with a guy like Deng who will be playing out the end of his career on the decline.

I'm not tripping on the numbers especially with the cap going up again next year but these numbers aren't much lower than a first time max and that's where the length really starts to make me nervous with older players.

I was told they couldn't afford him. GOOD! Fantastic influence, fantastic character, fantastic vet signing.

Can't wait to see who gets the remaining cap space. Charlie Villanueva?

Who would you prefer that is reasonably available in that price range?

Deng deserves that guap more than Bazemore. Hope dat ethic rubs off on the youngins.

If he stays exactly what he was this year that deal is a steal when you look at guys like Chandler Parsons getting max money and guys like Turner getting nearly 19 mil a year.

4 for 50 for a player who not only has talent but has shown improvement each year and is an absolute gym rat. Such a good deal.

mozzy is fucking garbage they coulda jus gave hibbert that oney if u signing a sorry mofo...deng is ok but on the wrong side of 30..lakers are a mess...that pick from duke better be better than bron

You couldn't have watched a Laker game. even if Mozgov ended up being the same player (except he has heart, so he won't be), you don't go back to someone you had and know is pathetic. that's like saying we should have stuck with Robert Sacre.

Enjoy your mediocrity.

let that marinate for a sec....they need to log off fam...

he has more potential upswing, but isn't currently better than Mozgov.

than what Biyambo and Mihimni signed for...

Biyambo doesn't even have a 5ppg career average....the Magic will be his 4th team in 6 years...

Mihimni average just over 5 points a game......

and the Lakers "missed out" on them??

right...

.

fixed that for ya.

I know Black is like damn...my stats are as good as Biyambo's..lol.

but I'm glad we're bringing him back. To me one of the worst things about last season was that Black didn't get the minutes that he honestly deserved and had earned the previous year..

Doesn't yet count against the cap

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

that's going to make things very interesting...

Maybe next year but no chance we trade for him IMO.

Then things may get interesting. Have to focus on what we can control though, have to show concrete improvement to gain any traction in the market.

Good lord Gar, talk about painting yourself into a corner.

We accomplish all our aims here: 1) Veteran presence 2)Needed backup depth at the 1 spot 3) One year deal that gets us 7.3 million closer to the cap floor 4) *IF* the draft pick(s) are true, even better.

Thanks Gar and DWade :)

Just in general, cannot wait to see them in the pre-season when they've had more than 4 practices with Luke and staff, with these next 2 months to really instill the selfless and willingness to pass philosophy into the entire team.

DLo: Obviously had a solid SL and I think he came out trying to make a point that he could score and dominate...but he will benefit greatly from the coaching staff working with him on understanding how to balance his game, moving the ball, getting into sets quicker, and not relaxing off the ball (offensively and defensively). He has some habits that really need to be fixed but I know he has the capability to do so if guided in the right way (which is why I'm so stoked for Luke and co)

BI: The kid really has all the skills you can ask for (really highlighted in the final game where he got a lot of touches in the high post off action). The jumper is there, counters, a completely willing passer with really good vision (which combined with his ability to see over a defense is so dangerous), willingness to take contact, lateral movement defensively, defensive timing....he is such a talent. Obviously he has to gain weight, but it's been said so many times yet it's so true, he's going to fit in extremely well with Luke's vision for the team with his skillset and his mentality

Nance: First things first, fortunate that his fall only resulted in the sprain. Hopefully he learns his lesson from that and realizes he can't expose himself in the air in precarious situations. That being said, so many positives. Along with BI, he's the most unselfish player on the team, showed that he's been putting some work in on the jumper (although you can still see the hesitation when he misses a few in a row), and as always, he puts in work on the glass and defensively (probably our best individual and team defender). Once his jumper becomes consistent, he is going to be such a useful 2 way player, esp with all the space he's going to have off our multiple PnR action sets.

Zubac: Looks like Mitch has done it again with his 2nd round picks. I knew he had really good skill on the low block but what really stuck out to me was his defensive timing, comfort shooting the 15-18 footer, screen setting and speed up/down the court. Dude is also still only a teenager but he has certainly shown he can make an impact. He was projected as mid 1st talent and he showed why.

AB: He was def trying to show out offensively because Luke and staff told him that he needs to be more aggressive...he's clearly not comfortable with it yet. That being said, if he can get his legs under him on his jumper, he can be a solid 3 and D contributor for us.

Zach August: Still obviously very raw offensively as he tries to just overpower defenders, but he's certainly a horse on the glass and on his rotations. Also a really good screen-setter. Will definitely get an invite to camp.

Munford/Jabari Brown: I put them together because both of them are basically the same type of player in my eyes. 1v1 blackhole players with very limited vision. The former might get an invite to camp but I don't see him making the team.

.

He's really one-sided--- he was an abysmal defender in college, save for the occasional flashy shot block-- but his offensive prowess is probably stronger than most of the bigs drafted. He's got good footwork, good instincts in the paint. You could do a lot work from such a low-risk pickup-- he could end up on the roster at some point and it wouldn't surprise me.

Agree with what you said but a key positive imo is that the defensive aspects are far easily molded than offensive technical skills. He has the motor offensively and on the boards, he needs to be guided defensively in terms of understanding his body positioning and awareness. With Luke and co. preaching process and teaching these kids HOW to play the game correctly rather than outcomes, I think he's found himself a great opportunity to become a contributor.

I've seen a lot more players become passable defenders after being terrible in college than become good shooter after not being able to shoot in college. Most non-shooters stay non-shooting their whole careers.

Rumor is that Yi Jianlian will be signing with the Lakers for a one year, 8 million dollar deal.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are still looking to rid themselves of Nick Young and may be willing to buy him out.

the day before they announced this..

he looked pretty solid..

I like the signing..

If all the incentives are met, it boosts to 8 million

I for one am quite excited to see how much better you guys will be.
:] :] :] :]

I'm no fan of Rudy but that seems like an awful return for him. Which means the Kings are probably considering it.

EDIT: Seems like an unsubstantiated rumor at this point.

>I'm no fan of Rudy but that seems like an awful return for
>him. Which means the Kings are probably considering it.
>
>EDIT: Seems like an unsubstantiated rumor at this point.

It's nothing to be up in arms about I suppose. He could be a half decent trade chip at the deadline.

I know people act like because Rudy can score some he's got any value. It's no coincidence that every team he's on gets immediately worse and he's always let go or traded for way less than what he was worth when he arrived.

If we extended him ornresigned him the deal I'd have a problem with it. We're not giving up anything of real long term value and his scoring gives us a shot at hoodwinking someone at the deadline for, well, something and if not we just let him walk.

I just don't see it as a big deal either way

... is something worse than the pair of Nick Young and Lou Williams. His value always heavily depreciates.

You're right that it's low-stakes and not a big deal, ultimately-- I just have no clue why they'd bring in a vet who plays the same position as Ingram who has a history of being a loser.

And/or as a low risk cap sweetener for a good player if one of our youngsters becomes attractive to a team with a good player that we want.

Nobody will give up anything good for Rudy but a team trying to trade somone who is unhappy or who is trying to cut bait and reboot could covet a youngster like Randle or JC and Rudy could be used to balance cap numbers. Or he could flourish under Luke by being used differently and retain some value.

Obviously such scenario possibilities aren't going to be plentiful but there are some potential net benefits that outweigh any negatives.

I'm personally not concerned with him doing any damage at all to anyone up to and including Brandon. I think it's a net wash at worst and since I can see some creative possibilities that could benefit us overall, I'm not bothered by the possibility.

a roster spot??? why not a coaching position???

your siggy needs a little World Peace

Unless something crazy happens in training camp, he basically just got a training camp invite to be a role model and compete. Most likely will not make the roster.

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/43304/clock-ticking-toward-major-front-office-shakeup-for-lakers

things are about to change..

there is no benefit at all to being in the lottery now...as we don't have a first round pick for the next draft.... We have a young coach...a coach that was obviously sought after by many team...

who also happens to be connected to Phil Jackson, who can walk from the Knicks after this coming season if he desires to do so.

with all that...the speculation that Jim will step aside and Mitch will leave after this season is bound to get even stronger... Having Jeanne and Phil take over would be the obvious choice....and I'm pretty sure Laker Nation would be more than happy with that...

although I wouldn't be so quick to let Mitch walk.... He's done a solid job for us even recently...

GMs who take late 1st.....and 2nd round picks....and undrafted guys and they become contributors...

Clarkson.....Nance Jr......Black..... now the big Euro....

building off of lotto picks is all good..but if you get depth..and luck up on potential starters...or trade pieces with guys that aren't drafted high..or drafted at all...that says a lot..


plus...

the depth of how bad we fell off was not because Mitch didn't try and keep the ship going..... He successfully made trades for Chris Paul...and Dwight Howard without us mortgaging our future when they were available.... the league stopped the Paul deal, and Howard immediately turned into an unproductive waste of a big contract...but Mitch's effort to do what was necessary to avoid a bad fall off and rebuild holds a lot of weight with me..

the only real downer I have on Mitch is the Nash trade because I am totally against trading ANY draft picks..in ANY sport to get older hurt guys.....but even that was done in a context of getting Dwight and trying to put a contender together..

I got no problems with Mitch....no problems at all

We were basically forced to rebuild after they killed that trade...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

..just like jeanie and jim.

as fucked up as the cp3 trade rescission was, the aftermath of that trade was completely mishandled. even if i give him a pass on the howard situation (which i don't), its not enough to offset:

• mishandling the odom situation (horrible communication by all parties involved)
• the coaching carousel
• the nash deal

*please note: the lakers built their reputation on skill, hard work, execution, and poise (that's entertainment). everything about that nash deal reeked of desperation (scrambling to make something of their plans for howard). it backfired horribly, and the lakers are still paying for it.

i respect mitch and everything he's done for the franchise. at the same time, there's an expiration date for every position in this business. i'm not sure how much he has left in the tank.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

>..just like jeanie and jim.
>
>as fucked up as the cp3 trade rescission was, the aftermath of
>that trade was completely mishandled. even if i give him a
>pass on the howard situation (which i don't), its not enough
>to offset:
>
>• mishandling the odom situation (horrible communication by
>all parties involved)
>• the coaching carousel
>• the nash deal


wait though....did I miss Lamar contributing ANYTHING to an NBA team after that? How is it a bad on Mitch if he let a guy go who never did anything in the NBA after he let him go?

as far as the coaching carousel.... I mean we should have brought Phil back....that was Jim's call not to do that.....

I thought we should have made a strong run at Billy Donovan....

but we brought in coaches who had success elsewhere in their past...it didn't work out with the Lakers for them....we end up paying a lot of guys who aren't coaching the team anymore..but I'd rather do that then keep guys around just to justify paying them.

as far as the Nash trade....well again I don't dig trading any draft picks of value for old hurt guys...but it was done because the thought was that Dwight Howard was still the premier center in the NBA when we got it. It wasn't like the Lakers were the only team in the NBA who believed Dwight was still an all-star level center...everyone believed that.



>
>*please note: the lakers built their reputation on skill, hard
>work, execution, and poise (that's entertainment). everything
>about that nash deal reeked of desperation (scrambling to make
>something of their plans for howard). it backfired horribly,
>and the lakers are still paying for it.
>
>i respect mitch and everything he's done for the franchise. at
>the same time, there's an expiration date for every position
>in this business. i'm not sure how much he has left in the
>tank.
>

My thing is this.... If the Lakers hadn't made moves to improve...if they were content to stand pat and be bad..I'd have a problem.... they went out to acquire the guy that everyone in the NBA believed was the premiere Center in the NBA...after going out and getting the guy who was considered to premiere PG in the NBA before the league vetoed it.... The efforts to do those things makes it hard for me to condemn the organization even though it didn't work out..it's not like they came with a strategy out of left field to get players that nobody wanted...they went out to get the universally accepted best center and point guard in the league at the time...

..know when to fold 'em
know when to walk away
know when to run... © rogers

>wait though....did I miss Lamar contributing ANYTHING to an
>NBA team after that? How is it a bad on Mitch if he let a guy
>go who never did anything in the NBA after he let him go?

again, i don't fault mitch for attempting to trade odom (that's part of the business), and i hold odom equally accountable. what's troubling about that situation was that a simple phone call could've dramatically changed everything (for all involved). the fallout happened because odom felt that he'd made more than enough sacrifices for the the org and that he deserved more respect than what was shown. *odom is ultimately responsible for the unravelling of his own career (esp since he refused to be reasonable after the trade was rescinded), but i'm not letting mitch off the hook for his initial handling of that situation.

>as far as the coaching carousel.... I mean we should have
>brought Phil back....that was Jim's call not to do that.....

agreed. jim is an idiot, but there were better candidates available than d'antoni. again, mitch shares responsibility for that.

>I thought we should have made a strong run at Billy
>Donovan....
>
>but we brought in coaches who had success elsewhere in their
>past...it didn't work out with the Lakers for them....we end
>up paying a lot of guys who aren't coaching the team
>anymore..but I'd rather do that then keep guys around just to
>justify paying them.

while someone might make a case for mike brown, d'antoni doesn't represent anything remotely close to the laker legacy. he should've never been given that opportunity.

>as far as the Nash trade....well again I don't dig trading any
>draft picks of value for old hurt guys...but it was done
>because the thought was that Dwight Howard was still the
>premier center in the NBA when we got it. It wasn't like the
>Lakers were the only team in the NBA who believed Dwight was
>still an all-star level center...everyone believed that.

dwight howard is a joke (i said it then, i'm saying it now). all the size and strength, but no fortitude. that means the plan doesn't work without cp3. which lead to a desperate decision:

trading for nash

while i respect nash's rep, he was well past his prime and often injured at this point in his career. the lakers wasted time, money, & resources hoping for significant contribution from an aging athlete that never gave a damn about the org or their plans.

>My thing is this.... If the Lakers hadn't made moves to
>improve...if they were content to stand pat and be bad..I'd
>have a problem.... they went out to acquire the guy that
>everyone in the NBA believed was the premiere Center in the
>NBA...after going out and getting the guy who was considered
>to premiere PG in the NBA before the league vetoed it.... The
>efforts to do those things makes it hard for me to condemn the
>organization even though it didn't work out..it's not like
>they came with a strategy out of left field to get players
>that nobody wanted...they went out to get the universally
>accepted best center and point guard in the league at the
>time...

the key phrase here: improvement.

the lakers didn't improve with howard or nash. i know the league has always been enamored with howard's size, strength, & potential (mostly because they thought he could be shaq 2.0). that doesn't change the fact that he's not the dominant force people want or expect him to be (and never will be). the bottom line is, they were wrong. the truth was on full display during howard's final 2-3 years in orlando.

like i said, i don't feel that mitch was the only person responsible for the decisions made over the past 3 years, but he shares the load.



*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

dudes you named haven't done shit in the NBA, lol.

Remember when y'all thought Ebanks was gonna be Ariza 2.0? lol

not even close. Black is kinda meh to me, but Zubac at least so far looks far better than Ebanks, though honestly, he could end up as a wash.

Nance would start for a lot of teams RIGHT TODAY....

and as far as Black....remember we signed Black off waivers from the Rockets....so anything he gives us is a plus...

.

People are stupid.

I mean Ariza hadn't don't much of anything in the NBA before he got to the Lakers...nobody realized what his value would be to the team... He went to the Lakers...got a chance...and produced... I mean I'd been following Ariza since before he was even at UCLA and never knew the guy could knock down 3s....he comes to the Lakers..gets a chance...and he's knocking down 3s and defending like crazy....

the thing about Ebanks.... had he gotten the same type of opportunity...he may have done the same...he had a similar skillset....but he got in the dog house.....got a dui..and was done..

Clarkson's stats in his first 2 seasons after being drafted in the 2nd round are not only impressive...but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of teams in the NBA who would be truly grateful to get that type of VALUE out of a 2nd round pick....

15.5 ppg.....starting 79 games in his 2nd year.... Clarkson has current value and a lot of potential growth....

there are teams who are drafting guys in the lottery who don't have that and we can make a list of them right not to compare them...


as far as the other guys...nobody is claiming that they've actually accomplished anything in the league yet....but again their VALUE as late 1st....2nd round...or undrafted guys is something other teams who are paying flopped lottery picks..... vets who are around just to get a check....and guys who should be in the D-league to fill out their roster wish they had....

if they got to play 30+mpg on a 17 win squad, lol

if they could do it..they wouldn't be in the D-League..

Clarkson earned his minutes by playing well.....and he's gotten props from both players and coaches around the league...

could do that if given the minutes

but when you draft one in the 2nd round..you don't have to go looking for them...

that's my point... Mitch Kupchek drafted a guy in the 2nd round who's doing it.

and I'm watching Tarik Black get a chance at some minutes here in the preseason and he's beasting... picked up off of waivers from the Rockets who had D.Howard at the time....

Right today I'd rather have Tarik Black that Dwight Howard..

I'm not mad at Mitch.

it's an easy story that will generate clicks every time with many Laker fans frothing at the mouth. Mitch and Jim have done a very good job in rebuilding the team, particularly with the late 1st and 2nd round draft picks that are going to be part of the core (Clarkson, Nance, and Zubac).

Jim might step down but Mitch has consistently implied that the deadline doesn't really mean shit to him (he did so again in the article), particularly as the team is now setup to succeed.

no way Yi gets more minutes than Black....

dude hustled like hell. i don't expect the Lakers to do to much, but this was exciting to watch. improvement is happening.

young talented players instead of a bunch of guys who have already gotten paid and aren't good anymore.... you can at least be exciting...

The Lakers have a roster full of talented young players who are growing, and it's going to be exciting to watch..

i look forward to seeing Ingram, Russell, Clarkson, Nance, Black, and Zubac in person at Staples

When he transferred in college and chose Kansas over Duke, I was heartbroken. Would've loved seeing him in Cameron. He's a great bamma to have.

The angles on the perimeter (DLo and JC looked like night and day compared to what we saw last season), pick and roll defending, staying with your man laterally for the entire dribble (especially DLO and we also saw it from Huertas + Calderon), and weak-side 2nd/3rd rotations + connectivity stood out to me. Very heartened by what I saw on that side of the ball and the difference that will make when the rest of the team catches up to the level that of our two best weak-side defenders (Tarik and Nance, the latter also arguably our best on ball defender as well)...no coincidence our huge run began with their unit in the 3rd. Definitely some communication lapses off the ball but I know Luke and co. will harp on that.

Offensively, I'm just looking for willingness to pass the ball and confidence in taking open shots. The ball still stuck at points especially later into the clock but breaking those habits comes with constant review over time and as the offense becomes more innate, we will start executing later into the shot clock. Confidence wise, the dude who stuck out was Anthony Brown...took his jumper with no hesitation resulting in a one-motion release (when he's struggling, he tends to have a slight hitch which results in almost all of his shots being short).

The staff finally have some game tape to teach from...keep on working fellas.

I'd send them Nick for him...

but not Lou Wil..

no way..

probably bogus rumors

He's still a lousy shooter, but if he could embrace a role as the chief distributor and learn to play some halfway decent defense, he could be valuable. He's just 24, not impossible to think his best basketball could be in front of him and he just hadn't found the right situation.

what a joke

Defensively, sure but offensively, he's so far away from anything Luke values because he cannot space the floor at all. The offense is all about creating great looks via multiple players being able to space the floor, there really isn't one "distributor" out on the floor because it's very much a movement oriented offense.

..hopefully its for nick young and not lou will.




*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

Dude is gonna shine this year.

We continue to see more and more sets/secondary and tertiary triggers offensively complemented by the improved defensive effort, awareness.

Love what I'm seeing.

in a short period of time...

>Dude is gonna shine this year.

finally unleashed from the shackles of Lord Byron he's about to go off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

Walton and Shaw are really great coaches.

For example, in this game Julius has a black-hole first half where he falls into his old habits of bully, head down basketball...he comes out in the 2nd half like a different player: initiating the offense, making crisp passes within sets, attacking off rotations...100% the staff made that first half a teachable moment. It's so great to see the player changes.

lakers are in amazing hands

>For example, in this game Julius has a black-hole first half
>where he falls into his old habits of bully, head down
>basketball...he comes out in the 2nd half like a different
>player: initiating the offense, making crisp passes within
>sets, attacking off rotations...100% the staff made that first
>half a teachable moment. It's so great to see the player
>changes.

I still maintain that benching them did very little good and that their progress toward the end of the season had more to do with them getting amore freedom and consistency.

I think benching Randle did a lot of good, personally. He was probably benched for far too long, but it helped. And under Byron, Clarkson really flourished.

Definitely expected the latter from the jump and based on how the pre-season has played out with Auguste getting no minutes, that's not a surprise either. That being said, the way he was interacting with teammates and engaged regardless of playing, I'm hoping he decides to play with our D-league squad.

Oh wait.

Why so mad?

he's a clown and a liar...: http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-carmelo-anthony-new-york-knicks-larry-nance-trash-talk-080916

you saying Larry Nance Jr. isn't an NBA player makes it look like you simply don't watch any Laker games.

Nance has proved his worth and value in the league as a late first round pick.... he was on his way to being a potential lottery pick at Wyoming before his knee injury, and has bounced back to become a solid NBA contributor..

watch some Laker games man..

skillset to play the 3, great hustle guys off the bench but if they're in the starting lineup you're in trouble.

Nance will be out of the league 3 years.

.

is going to get him some minutes from Randle this year...

his perimeter game is improved..and he's solid on defense...

.

Yi asked for his release yesterday after meeting with team officials, sounds very much like he's trying to save face.

Anthony Brown...as much as I wanted him to develop into a 3 and D role player, his offensive game never showed any encouraging signs.

Big ups to Thomas Robinson and Ron Ron for making the squad.

Not like 35 wins good, obviously - but getting rid of Yi was the move.

Mozgov/Black/Zubac
Randle/Nance/TRob
Deng/Ingram/MWP
Clarkson/Young/LouWillz
DLo/Huertas/Calderon

I'm cool with it. Let's see what these kids have.

But who cares.

We're past the point of worrying about tanking now. If we are one of the worst teams in the league and keep our pick, it's a bonus. If not, oh well. Let the kids run.

young players on losing teams pick up bad habits.

I'm excited about Luke but the bottom line is we just don't have a lot of talent on this team right now...

Not sure how you'd expect to rebuild better. No FA is gonna sign with us and truthfully I'd rather avoid the 40 win purgatory anyway.

This is an exciting young squad, and Luke has some pieces to make some things happen..

Moz/Deng contracts, Clarkson's contract is a joke too

Cause that was a terrible signing and none of us should have even tried to co-sign that nonsense on any level. They were terrible and there's absolutely no justification AT ALL to be had for either.

And anyone sad that we had to cut DLO and defended the Moz signing, well... line up. Because we probably still have D Lo or flipped him in a package if we don't have those two terrible contracts.

I'm reading through and there's an awful lot of arrogance among us. People don't understand the new cap, blah blah blah.

Nah.

Others knew this shit was a joke. Too many of us here tried to justify it.

So yeah, this shit was an L. I have no idea why the hell I even tried to defend this bullshit. We all should have shit on it at the time.

Tha Truth gets to dance on this one.

.

Welcome.

We were so, so wrong.

But at least we were wrong together.

that contract is ridiculous too, yet people tried to defend Mitch for that

like the signing..... we still have Clarkson.... Ingram is going to play some 2.... and Kuzma looks like a solid 3..

I like

I'm hopeful my beloved Lakers lose out on all the big names next summer. It would be nice to just watch these cats continue to grow the way OKC did with KD, RW, and JH before they started making moves.

And I don't care that Rich Paul is Bron's and KCP's agent. I'm hopeful there ain't no wink wink going on for Bron to come our way too. I'm one who doesn't want to see him finish his career in LA.

Zo's growth could be stunted by a ball dominant player like Bron who would be clamoring to run the show as the de facto PG. And Zo, so far, doesn't have the skillset to play off the ball the same way DLo did. So, let Bron stay where he is or go somewhere else while we continue to fill out the roster with more two-way players for Zo to get the rock to.

>and Kuzma looks like a solid 3..
>
>I like
>


i know, summer league and all, but kuzma already look better than he ever has.

I have no idea why the addition of a quality 3D guy would change anything about the good things Nance already brings to the table, not to mention the fact that he's heading into his third season and will be a better player than he was.

Especially considering Nance has been, by far, our best team defender.

honest question...

Nance play for the Lakers the last 2 years, would be questioning his value to the team and as a player..

Nance has shown effective on both ends of the court, and his game has continued to improve...

>i know, summer league and all,

First, BI will absolutely be better than he was last season, on both ends.

I think the same will go for Randle, though how much better is anyone's guess. I'm not projecting a huge leap or anything.

Brook is a massive upgrade over Moz.

I think all our rookies are quality, and Zo is the perfect guy to tie everyone together. The addition of Zo and KCP is a significant backcourt upgrade.

This will be an incredibly fun season.

I do think we'll re-sign him if he clears waivers (likely imo). That being said, small sample but he hasn't shown much improvement with his jumper mechanics. He still gets both hands under the ball resulting in the corkscrew spin.

I like KCP on a 1-year deal. I feel like we still need a veteran backup PG, a legit 4 and probably a backup center.

I heard we were talking to Rondo I don't know about that. Maybe we could kick the tires on D-Will...

We need to give Brandon & Lonzo the keys right now and see what we've got.

I like it.

for a decent back up point guard....

Kuzma needs to play and Deng being there takes minutes from him

If they deserve to be in, they'll be in.

Deng is an afterthought now. If we can flip him somehow (doubtful), we will.

Once Luke realized that last season, Deng exclusively played the 4...I don't see that changing.

As for trading Deng, it took sacrificing DLo to get rid of Mosgov's deal - Deng's is worse. He isn't moving with 3 years left on the deal, possibly next summer if we attach a couple assets, likely a player and 2020 1st

But that wouldn't happen until after this season at the earliest.

Thank god we got rid of Moz.

These contracts were way worse than I thought initially.

>These contracts were way worse than I thought initially.

He's due for an extension, which means any team trading to get Randle at the cost of Deng's 18 mil would then have to have the cap room to re-sign him and also be willing to do so.

Obviously teams don’t absolutely have to decide on whether to pay him until the 19/20 season, which would mark Deng’s final season and a lot can happen between now and then.

To that end I think Randle has to look like an absolute stud in order for teams to take on Deng while sending cap relief in return, but if he turns into that kind of player he'll command a big deal and Deng's 18 mil suddenly becomes prohibitive. Plus, if that's what he becomes then we’re better off keeping and paying him ourselves anyways.

Frankly the sort of team best suited to absorb and sit on Deng's deal is the Lakers.

Obviously it's not impossible to do but Randle does present some wrinkles if Deng is the cost of acquisition.

every draft you have guys who are lanky power forwards in college..... project better as a small forward in the pros...but they never get the perimeter game to be an impact in the league as a SF...

Kuzma got his 3 point range by the damn bball college combine.... now he's averaging over a dub a game in summer league stretching the court...finishing...playing solid defense...

we really got a steal with this guy

http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-news-luke-walton-blown-away-by-brook-lopezs-shooting-ability/2017/07/15/

we won in the draft..we've won in this offseason...and we won the summer league..

what he does in real games

Ball/Kuzma/Ingram/Randle/Lopez....upgrade Randle and that's a scary squad wit LENFFF!

*pause*

>Ball/Kuzma/Ingram/Randle/Lopez....upgrade Randle and that's a
>scary squad wit LENFFF!


KCP will start at the 2, Kuzma probably will back up Ingram and Randle at 3 and 4...

i cant wait to see what translates to actual NBA play for him.

def a nice surprise.

My rational brain said “nah, this won’t last” but they got off to such a good start and the way they were winning looked like they might have legs and it kept getting harder and harder to suppress my excitement. Eventually the roof caved in and that was that.

I never allowed myself to give in completely but it was difficult.
This is the same, and while we got a very tantalizing snapshot of what Zo & Kuzma could and well might become, it was still summer league.

The potential is absolutely there for both guys to become players, and I think Zo absolutely showed superstar potential. I don’t understand anyone who thinks he didn’t show that type of potential.

I’m absolutely sold, but don’t want to get too far ahead of things and for now I’m good with a fun summer league. They’re still rookies and we’ll see how they play against veterans.

His stories, analogies, and commitment to culture is awesome...and he believes every single thing that he says.

>His stories, analogies, and commitment to culture is
>awesome...and he believes every single thing that he says.

Dude was an agent for 15+ years so its no surprises he's great at sales and hype and bullshitting people lol

There's a reason he was the top D1 athlete-scholar, was a huge asset at SFX with Arm Tellem, and then created and turned Landmark Sports Agency into a power house.

He does things consistently a certain way (with an eye on being the best, unrelenting performance, and doing it with integrity) and that has carried over to every path he has chosen, including as GM. His interviews, especially when it's in-depth like his Connected interview on Spectrum SportsNet, make that very evident and his pressers continue to show that side of him.

contracts lol

The Clarkson deal is not bad at all - 12.5 is slightly over the new NBA average salary. Regardless, still not sure how their contracts relate to anything organizational behavior related going straight over your head.

he has never at any point in his life been a better basketball player than Steph Curry.

>he has never at any point in his life been a better
>basketball player than Steph Curry.

... is like equating sales with musical quality.



They're different metrics.

they grow...

not sure how much SG BI is going to be playing now...

but from the brief time he had in Summer league...looks like he's fixed his shot....and now that he's 6'11... some big things on the horizon for him and for the Lakers

have a big lineup...

seeing Lonzo find these guys on the break will be fun...

>they grow...
>
>not sure how much SG BI is going to be playing now...
>
>but from the brief time he had in Summer league...looks like
>he's fixed his shot....and now that he's 6'11... some big
>things on the horizon for him and for the Lakers

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20749945/los-angeles-lakers-andrew-bogut-agree-1-year-deal-agent-says



Andrew Bogut to sign with Lakers for 1 year, $2.3 million
8:34 PM PT
ESPN.com

Free agent center Andrew Bogut has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to agent David Bauman.
The deal is for a nonguaranteed veteran minimum of $2.3 million, Bauman confirmed on Twitter.

Bogut suffered a broken leg during his Cleveland Cavaliers debut in February and missed the rest of the season.

Bogut had earlier reached a buyout agreement with the Philadelphia 76ers then had several contenders vying for his talents -- a 7-foot rim-protector with play-making abilities.

He ultimately chose the Cavaliers, but his stint there ended just 58 seconds into his debut. Bogut collided with the Miami Heat's Okaro White and suffered a fractured left tibia.

At the time, the Cavs said Bogut would not have surgery but would instead undergo "an extended period of immobilization and healing stimulation.

Sources in late June said Bogut was close to being cleared for full basketball activities after being OK'd to resume running and jumping

Bogut had earlier reached a buyout agreement with the Philadelphia 76ers then had several contenders vying for his talents -- a 7-foot rim-protector with play-making abilities.

y'all always hyping up

Rim protecter who can also pass out of the high post, knows the system very well, and can be a mentor for Zu...for the vet minimum. Very nice

https://sports.yahoo.com/kuzmania-luke-walton-joins-chorus-nba-heads-singing-kyle-kuzmas-praise-152843510.html

His jumper is now 1-motion consistently, his defense continues to improve, and he's refined the rest of his skill-set (which was already high level). This kid is so skilled, to nab him where we did is gonna pay huge dividends.

That’s the only one I watched. Ingram looked good in the 1st quarter, never got it going again after that.

Zubac in much better shape than he was in the summer coming off the injury.

where teams will figure him out fast, and limit his scoring......but nah. I think we really might have a gem, maybe even future All Star with him.

>but nah. I think we really might have a gem,
>maybe even future All Star with him.

but I hope/have a feeling we're going to see Zubac lose out on the rotation, with Luke going small when Brook's out. Randle/Nance getting backup 5 minutes, with Kuzma getting minutes at the 3 & 4.

I know it'll be really tough to move Deng, but I really think he could still help out a playoff team. I could easily see him playing 20 minutes a night at the 4, shooting solid from 3 & being a good defender/old vet. the contract is another question, but still.