After agreeing to a deal with LeBron James in July, Lakers president Magic Johnson ignored the suggestions of his coaching staff to bring back Julius Randle and Brook Lopez, Bill Oram of The Athletic reports.
According to Oram, Johnson decided to sign Michael Beasley, JaVale McGee and Lance Stephenson to one-year deals instead of bringing back the big men who were on last season's squad and are currently having career years away from Los Angeles.
Randle, the No. 7 pick by the Lakers in the 2014 draft, is averaging 20.7 points for the Pelicans in his fifth season and first away from the Lakers. In addition to adding some depth and versatility to the frontcourt, Randle also could have been a key trade piece for the Lakers, who spent much of this season wrapped up in rumors about a potential deal for Randle's New Orleans teammate Anthony Davis.
Lopez arrived in Los Angeles prior to the 2017-18 season as part of the deal that sent 2015 No. 2 pick D'Angelo Russell to Brooklyn. Lopez likely would have been the Lakers' starting center this season if he did return and his shooting would have been a huge boost for the team that is currently second-to-last in the league in three-point percentage. Lopez is shooting a career-best 36.7% from deep and making a career-high 2.4 attempts per game.
At 30-36 and with injuries to Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, the Lakers appear to be headed for the lottery for the sixth straight season. There is speculation that coach Luke Walton could be fired at the end of the season.
Oram also reports there are some members in the Lakers front office who are still advocating for Walton, who helped the team improve by nine wins in each of his first two seasons. After this season, Walton has one more year left on the deal he signed prior to Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka joining the front office.
17. "I'm not even upset at this point" In response to Reply # 16
Sexton and Cedi are improving within the tank. Kevin Love is helpin'. there are gonna be a lot of shed assets come next season. there's room for optimism.
LeBron? Well, I can't be mad, except that he ran right into a disaster of a situation.
the only thing I could possibly be mad at is Clarkson, who is basically an expensive JR Smith at this point, but we tankin' so... eh.
32. "I'm not enjoying LeBron looking washed af to be honest" In response to Reply # 18
only thing that I'm enjoying is the schadenfreude from the ESPN-class who wanted him in a "major market" only to for that to crash and burn.
other than that? it actually sucks (if you're a fan of him).
conversely, this has been a much more enjoyable season than 2010 was. the best thing about that season was the Clippers fleece (in retrospect) and Baron Davis.
33. "if averaging 27, 8, & 8 shooting over 50% is "washed" we'll take it..." In response to Reply # 32
>only thing that I'm enjoying is the schadenfreude from the >ESPN-class who wanted him in a "major market" only to for that >to crash and burn.
I keep saying they weren't going to win it this year anyway. Of course we expected to be more competitive this season but things are still on schedule.
27. "after missing out on PG, the only thing left to do was punt for 2019..." In response to Reply # 26
free agency.
That meant signing a bunch of guys on 1-yr deals to play with Bron and the young guys and see how they develop. I've said before nobody was beating Golden State this year.
People overreacted to the slow start then overrated to the early success. I figured on us being about a .500 team, obviously Bron's injury and the unexpected AD trade drama dropped us below that. Rich Paul overplayed his hand but when it was out there the Lakers had to give it a shot. I think they underestimated how much other teams hate the Lakers and the last thing they want to do is help us put another banner in the rafters.
29. "the only defense is that they didn't know how cheap lopez/randle would b..." In response to Reply # 27
even going beyond this year to a two or three year deal, those were bargain signings for good bigs. my guess is that they were talking bigger money and passed, only to see that there wasn't a big market for them after all.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
24. "Your second question answers the first " In response to Reply # 21 Fri Mar-15-19 11:58 PM by Cold Truth
If you're blaming Rob under the premise that he's unqualified for the position, then that places the blame squarely on the guy who hired someone so unqualified.
Management has made questionable decisions up and down, from Jeanie to Magic to Rob.
We'll see how things play out this time next year though. Getting Brawn was a double edged sword with the roster and coach we had because he forces us to skip several steps in short order.
Jeanie looks like she made a mistake in hiring Magic. Magic may have made a mistake hiring Rob. Brawn may be a mistake overall.
28. "Jeanie stays getting that double-standard pass b/c she wears a skirt" In response to Reply # 24
>If you're blaming Rob under the premise that he's unqualified >for the position, then that places the blame squarely on the >guy who hired someone so unqualified. > >Management has made questionable decisions up and down, from >Jeanie to Magic to Rob. > >We'll see how things play out this time next year though. >Getting Brawn was a double edged sword with the roster and >coach we had because he forces us to skip several steps in >short order. > >Jeanie looks like she made a mistake in hiring Magic. Magic >may have made a mistake hiring Rob. Brawn may be a mistake >overall. > >But we'll see how all of this plays out.
dula dibiasi Member since Apr 05th 2004 21925 posts
Mon Mar-18-19 11:49 PM
30. "it's that..." In response to Reply # 28 Mon Mar-18-19 11:50 PM by dula dibiasi
AND the fact that she's generally very well liked and has GREAT media relationships. she's been a key "anonymous source" for years.
but yeah, folks refuse to criticize her. if she was a guy she'd be getting raked over the coals right now.
___
it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. - sherlock holmes
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