Well here we are.

What was already going to be the most important off-season in team history just got thrown another curve when Magic stepped down last night.

It was most likely for the best now than later. Earv is one of the greatest Lakers of all-time but just like with his short coaching stint I don't think he fully realized what he was getting into. The NBA has changed a lot in 30 years.

Playing professional sports, coaching professional sports, and running a professional sports organization is a lot harder than most people think that have never done it before, from armchair internet blowhards, to drunks at the bar, to talking heads on TV, to HOF former athletes.

Now where do we go from here? People have said that the Lakers have been ran as a "mom & pop" organization and you can't do that and be successful in 2019.

Will we bring in somebody from outside the Laker family to right the ship? What does the future hold for Pelinka and Luke?

Oh yeah btw we have a draft and free agency coming up....

https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-lakers-owner-jeanie-buss-recently-gave-magic-johnson-approval-to-fire-luke-walton-052736313.html

Sources: Magic Johnson thought Lakers coaches lacked ability to develop young players

Chris Haynes
Yahoo Sports
Apr 10, 2019, 12:27 AM

LOS ANGELES — Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recently gave Magic Johnson permission to fire coach Luke Walton at the conclusion of this season after being informed of Walton’s unwillingness to “bulk up" his coaching staff, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Johnson, who held an impromptu news conference outside the Lakers’ locker room Tuesday to announce his resignation as president before the team’s final game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers, had been displeased with Walton’s ability to effectively make in-game adjustments and he felt the coaching staff lacked the experience and expertise to foster player development, sources said.

Young Lakers castoffs D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle put together career years with the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively, which led to Johnson questioning Walton’s coaching staff, sources said. The Lakers — in LeBron James’ first season — were expected to at least make the playoffs, but they fell short of that goal for the sixth consecutive season.

Johnson wanted to replace Walton during the season, but Buss was reluctant to venture down that road until now, sources said.

The 59-year-old business mogul told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday he had the power to do what he saw fit for the franchise and said what would have transpired after exit interviews on Wednesday had nothing to do with why he made the shocking decision to resign.

In the 45-minute presser, he said that being happy and being himself with the freedom to openly converse with players and regaining a stronger hold in the African-American and Latino communities were his main reasons for stepping down.

Walton has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract and a team option for the 2020-21 season, sources confirmed. The embattled coach refused to address Johnson’s resignation after the Lakers’ 104-101 loss.

Former Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, Sixers assistant Monty Williams and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson were on the short list of candidates to replace Walton, with Lue and Williams being the primary targets, sources said.

But there was initially some pause from Buss, who was sensitive to the likelihood that the pursuit of Lue and Jackson would be perceived as James and his agent Rich Paul running the show and spearheading the coaching search, sources said.

Eventually, Buss’ concerns were alleviated after she reiterated the Lakers are a “Buss-ran organization,” sources said.

Walton’s eventual replacement has been an ongoing discussion for much of the season.

In early January, the Lakers suffered a 22-point pounding on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves — their third straight loss and fifth in six games.

The next day in Dallas, Lue was spotted in the team's hotel lobby chatting with assistant Brian Shaw, sources said. This caused some uneasiness from a few within the organization. Some thought Lue’s presence at that juncture was in poor taste, sources said.

A few months later, The Athletic reported that Lue reached out to Walton to assure him he wasn’t contacted by the Lakers about his coaching position.

On Tuesday, it was a bizarre, unimaginable scene.

The large media contingent that Johnson drew blocked the entrance to the Lakers’ locker room. While Johnson was explaining his decision, players and coaches were uncomfortably walking in and out of the locker room.

Pregame media access to the locker room was canceled. Johnson held court for the entire pregame availability. Assistants Miles Simon and Mark Madsen stood in the background to take in the scene. Johnson even held another 20-minute media scrum later and did a television interview.

Of all the missteps that took place during what has been a disappointing season, this episode trumped all. Buss, according to Johnson, had no clue he was going to resign.

And now she’s in good company, because no one has a clue what’s going to happen next.

Magic pulled the plug on both of them. We've already seen/read reports of the coaching staff wanting Randle back in the purple & gold. And we know Magic wanted a leader that other guys would want to play with. That's what he said about DLo. Right? Seems like them Nets wanted to play with him and let him take over.

This wasn't Luke's fault. Now, I'm no staunch fan of Luke's but Magic gotta own this shit and not pawn it off on anyone else. He fugged up. So, own it!

He's still my favorite player ever but he's, possibly, also the worst exec the Lakers have had. Shit! At least, Jim and Mitch didn't quit.

DLo and Randle just needed time to develop. I understand moving from DLo after the locker room thing, but how many of those players are still on current team? Swaggy P is out of the league, last I saw.

so agreed, Magic came in looking for quick fixes. He got some talent in Kuzma, Hart, and Zo. Kuz is dope already and still learing, but the other will obviously need more time.

lived up to the hype. Lonzo has been a mixed bag as well.

trading DLo
keeping Ingram instead of trading him
not drafting Tatum but instead grabbing Zo
not bringing Randle back
resigning KCP

I don't care if they (Ingram and Zo) work out later. I saw enough of Tatum in first year to have begun believing that he was already better than Ingram. And I dug DLo for his basketball skills; not because of his young immature ways which, with the right oldheads around, was gonna fade away. Magic must have believed these were four-year college players who'd matured already.

>trading DLo
>keeping Ingram instead of trading him
>not drafting Tatum but instead grabbing Zo
>not bringing Randle back
>resigning KCP
>
>I don't care if they (Ingram and Zo) work out later. I saw
>enough of Tatum in first year to have begun believing that he
>was already better than Ingram. And I dug DLo for his
>basketball skills; not because of his young immature ways
>which, with the right oldheads around, was gonna fade away.
>Magic must have believed these were four-year college players
>who'd matured already.


Revisionist history is always fun, I'm sure the folks in Philly would like a do-over on the Fultz pick as well. I've watching Tatum since he was in high school and thought he would be good but around the time of the draft a lot of people weren't as sold. With Ingram on board a Tatum pic would've kind of redundant.

>With Ingram on board a Tatum pic would've kind of redundant.

But you're right about the revisionist history. It's just that I've felt that way since they did it. I'd become a DLo fan because he just showed that he had the type of game that I believed we'd need and that he was the young star that we could have built around in the post-Kobe years. Dude had the personality and was gonna grow out of the immaturity with the right folks around him.

>>With Ingram on board a Tatum pic would've kind of
>redundant.
>
>But you're right about the revisionist history. It's just that
>I've felt that way since they did it. I'd become a DLo fan
>because he just showed that he had the type of game that I
>believed we'd need and that he was the young star that we
>could have built around in the post-Kobe years. Dude had the
>personality and was gonna grow out of the immaturity with the
>right folks around him.


he was thought to be a future star, he has show potential to be that but consistency is still an issue

like DLo a helluva lot more.

anyone w/ half a brain could see he was due to blow up.

>Young Lakers castoffs D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle put
>together career years with the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans
>Pelicans, respectively, which led to Johnson questioning
>Walton’s coaching staff

Randle's per36 and per100 numbers are almost exactly the same except for a slight uptick in FGA and thus points

Russell's efficiency numbers jumped because he hit 3s better, upped his Ast%, and dropped his TO%...just like you would expect a 4th year player would

Magic is the reason they had career years elsewhere...no one else's whatsoever

see yall in October.

>Now where do we go from here? People have said that the Lakers
>have been ran as a "mom & pop" organization and you can't do
>that and be successful in 2019.
>
I think you can still run it that way if the suits, in the organizations, have the necessary skill and acumen to lead and run the business. Can't be these inept as mofos that we've seen.

>Will we bring in somebody from outside the Laker family to
>right the ship? What does the future hold for Pelinka and
>Luke?
It would be nice to have an experienced exec who can command respect for his leadership and ability to drive results.


>Oh yeah btw we have a draft and free agency coming up....
I'm hopeful we're able to find a away to still get our hands on AD.

I'd be okay with a move away from some of the older vets we have now. On a lower scale, go for Boogie and find some shooters to surround he and LBJ with. Ingram's health issue lowers his value especially if the prognosis is similar to Bosh's. I dunno anything about it though. Trade Zo if you can. Keep Rondo.

Edit: Pray that LBJ can get the guys to trust him again. If he can't, shit ain't gonna get better.

>I'd be okay with a move away from some of the older vets we
>have now. On a lower scale, go for Boogie and find some
>shooters to surround he and LBJ with.

I'm not a Cousins fan at all. After seeing more of him with GS the idea of giving him a max contract and expecting him to be a team leader will be a huge mistake for somebody, hopefully not us.

>I'm not a Cousins fan at all. After seeing more of him with GS
>the idea of giving him a max contract and expecting him to be
>a team leader will be a huge mistake for somebody, hopefully
>not us.

deal. Hell no! He'd have to come for maybe $15m - $17m per season at this stage of his career. After that Achilles issue and with the other factors you've mentioned, I'd pay him strictly for his skill and ability to help win games.

And if he didn't have any or many offers last year, he may not have a bunch this year either.

David Griffin said on NBATV last night that he personally knows of multiple top level talent who would leave their current position for the Lakers one. All the ingredients and the summer plan is right there, it’s time to hire someone who can steer the ship and is willing to focus, put the time in, and create a plan.

If she desperately needs to go outside the Alumni network for this one.

https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/lakers-reportedly-targeting-these-3-coaches-to-replace-luke-walton

April 10, 2019 @ 9:20am » Andrew Holleran
SHARES 150

Lakers Reportedly Targeting These 3 Coaches To Replace Luke Walton

OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Head coach Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a call against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of their NBA Basketball game at ORACLE Arena on December 25, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Magic Johnson quit on the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, which could mean a lot of things for the iconic NBA franchise, though the biggest immediate one might be the future of head coach Luke Walton.

Walton is expected to be fired as the head coach of the Lakers following a disappointing 2018-19 season, though that hasn’t happened yet.

However, a new report from Yahoo! Sports reveals that Johnson had received permission to fire Walton, though he quit before doing it.

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recently gave Magic Johnson permission to fire coach Luke Walton at the conclusion of this season after being informed of Walton’s unwillingness to “bulk up” his coaching staff, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Johnson, who held an impromptu news conference outside the Lakers’ locker room Tuesday to announce his resignation as president before the team’s final game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers, had been displeased with Walton’s ability to effectively make in-game adjustments and he felt the coaching staff lacked the experience and expertise to foster player development, sources said.

The Lakers have reportedly been targeting these three coaches to potentially replace Walton.

Former Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, Sixers assistant Monty Williams and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson were on the short list of candidates to replace Walton, with Lue and Williams being the primary targets, sources said.

It’s unclear what happens from here, though.

The Lakers are clearly in a major state of dysfunction at the moment and have a ton of decisions to make moving forward.

Woj had his story ready to go.

All these other cats pointing fingers.

Now everyone wants to talk about how he was in over his head. FOH.

the free agent outlook comes down to the 5 K's...

1. KD
2. Kawhi
3. Kyrie
4. Klay
5. Kemba

Despite a lot of talk I don't think KD is leaving GS. I don't see the NY thing happening seeing how icy he is with the media the NY press is on a whole different level...

I don't see Kawhi signing on the be Lebron's sidekick I don't see that relationship there...

Kyrie is interest despite the "apology" call does he really want to be Lebron's sidekick again? But a lot of people are talking about him going to NY but he has a similar relationship with the media as KD...

Klay would be an ideal sidekick to Lebron and we all know his dad is a former Laker but it will be hard to pry him from the Warriors...

If all the big names pass on the Lakers is Kemba a legit option? Would he mesh well with Lebron? Could they put enough role players around him to make the Lakers a legit contender?

as for other people I'm not really a fan of Cuz...

Would any of the guys in Philly be interested in coming west?

Does DJ still have anything left in the tank?

Bogdanovic has blossomed in Indiana to become one of the best shooters in the NBA...

Danny Green is another great shooter who might be had cheap...

Marcus Morris is a versatile player who would bring an element of toughness...

https://lakeshowlife.com/2019/04/11/lakers-rumors-bob-myers-replace-magic-johnson/

Because it's a pretty empty piece of "no shit" clickbait.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsMaDzT0D5Y

https://sports.yahoo.com/shell-dnp-lakers-fire-luke-walton-200423995.html

https://www.hothothoops.com/2019/4/14/18310551/juwan-howard-miami-heat-coach-los-angeles-lakers

nothing against him really I liked him as a player but I would prefer an experienced head coach...

would he be his own man or a Lebron puppet?

..definitely not a good look heading into free agency.

This is not what Dr. Buss wanted.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2831335-lakers-rumors-la-has-permission-to-interview-juwan-howard-for-hc-opening

not sure how I feel about this. I'm up for giving new coaches a shot, but that pressure on him will be crazy.

... Bron's head would explode.

Allegedly, Kobe is already involved in the front office via Rob Pelinka but Jeannie should just hire Kobe formally. The Kobe Bron shouting matches are going to be legendary. I'd subscribe to league pass asap just to watch the Lakers.

I doubt that's possible, but she needs to hire someone as pres with a serious resume. She needs to back up that Brinks truck and stay far, far, far out of their way.

The fact that we're looking for a coach before a new president shines a bright light on how awful Jeannie is.

Worse, considering a rookie head coach, at this time, while trying to make quantum leaps in short time on the competition front?

Nah.

I'm sure she's great on the external business side.

But she's been abysmal on the basketball front, and doesn't appear to be improving. Her tenure has featured little aside from a stream of bad decisions followed by other bad decisions.

Rob should have been fired as well and this should have been a complete house cleaning with a goal of bringing in a regime of seasoned veterans on both the coaching and management front, with an eye outside of the Lakers Alumni/Brawn Appeasement bubbles.

Jeannie is likable enough and a great public face for the Lakers. But basketball operations are demonstrably a weakness of hers, and she needs to get out of her own way in that regard.

Particularly since she was in charge during his tenure, and said tenure is another one of her bad decisions.

He was the exact opposite of Magic - working diligently every day and on that grind. Further, his GM moves in totality and with consideration to the plan (two max slots + young core) have been pretty good. I understand the perception aspect but I don't believe you fire him for that.

The perception issue, IMO, can become a bigger issue without Magic.

To be clear, I place 100% of this mess on Jeannie. This is less about firing Rob and more about righting the ship with proven commodities.

and don't want to deal with him. That's what Magic was good at.

>He was the exact opposite of Magic - working diligently every
>day and on that grind. Further, his GM moves in totality and
>with consideration to the plan (two max slots + young core)
>have been pretty good. I understand the perception aspect but
>I don't believe you fire him for that.

Until it was proven that he was not.

But hey... He's happy now. He gets to go back to being Magic.

And I don't think it's Jeanie's fault that Magic sold her on being committed to the Lakers but really wasn't committed to the Lakers.

and once it was out there Magic had to do what he could to try to make it work but Dell Demps dumb ass had people like Popovich and Danny Ferry in his ear who were really plotting on Demps getting fired so Ferry could get his job.

When they didn't, he went this route.

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/19/cf/9f/19cf9f4d4d3d02d989cef40a3e4dd80b--magic-johnson-awesome-quotes.jpg

Lakers have no plans to replace Magic Johnson, who’ll still help team recruit FAs
https://sports.yahoo.com/report-lakers-no-plans-replace-172456164.html

Dan Feldman
NBC Sports•Apr 22, 2019, 12:24 PM

Magic Johnson’s stunning resignation as Lakers president caused a commotion.

It didn’t create a power vacuum.

Rob Pelinka is clearly in charge. He’s the highest-ranking member of the front office. His title – general manager – is the one many teams give to the leader of their basketball operations. He’s running the Lakers’ coaching search.

Though they’ve been linked to big-name candidates for president, the Lakers could easily keep the status quo with Pelinka running the show. And it sounds as if that’s what Lakers owner Jeanie Buss will do.

Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times:

Buss has no plans to hire someone to replace Johnson, who is still expected to be part of the Lakers’ free-agent recruiting this summer.

Allowing Pelinka to hire a head coach – which, again, he’s in the process of doing – then supplanting him would be absurd. At least it seems the Lakers aren’t doing that.

But Pelinka was part of the organization while it made a comedy of errors. The former agent also had (no)front-office experience until getting hired with Johnson a couple years ago. It’s hard to believe he’s the right choice to lead the team as it enters this critical stage.

LeBron James is 34. The Lakers will have max cap space this summer. Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart are progressing toward establishing clearer value – one way or the other.

To entrust Pelinka in this situation, Buss ought to have a clear explanation for why Pelinka doesn’t deserve a fair share of blame for all the mistakes that occurred the last couple years. There are plenty of people, inside and outside the Lakers, who question him.

The wildest part about this report: Johnson still helping the Lakers recruit this summer. He’s an all-time great player and charismatic. But he also just said while resigning:

What I didn’t like is the backstabbing, the whispering. I don’t like that. I don’t like a lot of things that went on that didn’t have to go on.

How will he sell that to free agents – especially if Pelinka, suspected to be whom Johnson is referring to, remains in charge?

>The wildest part about this report: Johnson still helping the Lakers recruit this summer. He’s an all-time great player and charismatic. But he also just said while resigning:

>What I didn’t like is the backstabbing, the whispering. I don’t like that. I don’t like a lot of things that went on that didn’t have to go on.

>How will he sell that to free agents – especially if Pelinka, suspected to be whom Johnson is referring to, remains in charge?

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xXtZwLYO-TY/maxresdefault.jpg

Instead of getting mad and quitting, how about getting mad, addressing the emails with them, and then doing your damned job?


https://lonzowire.usatoday.com/2019/04/24/lonzo-ball-news-magic-johnson-rob-pelinka-jeanie-buss-rumor-la-lakers/

“My understanding is that there were some emails that were exchanged between Rob and Jeanie…about Magic and about what Magic was and wasn’t doing. They were critical emails. And somehow, someway, Jeanie, from what I understand, was CC’ing or blind CC’ing Magic on everything. That was sort of protocol. Standard issue.

Somehow, the exchange between Rob and Jeanie ended up on that string of the blind CC’s that were going to Magic. So, Magic now is seeing emails from Rob to Jeanie that were critical of what he was doing and maybe most important in all this is that there was no indication that Jeanie was backing Rob up in terms of either going to Magic and letting him know this was going on or going back at Rob and defending Magic. That was not happening and so when he talked about the backstabbing, to me, my understtanding that’s what started it. The fact that Jeanie waved goodbye and said ‘Thank you for all that you did’ was that she didn’t necessarily disagree with what Rob was saying.”

pretty ridiculous

Dude lies to stay relevant these days

If the Buss family gives Bron his way and hires Ty Lue things get worse.

Common sense coaching hire is Jason Kidd. He's best for the development of the young team. You can keep Zoe and actually run a legit offense. JKidd holds Bron accountable for the first time since Paul Silas made he quit practice.

what was the plan and what did he expect was going to happen? was it mostly his choice or did someone else convince him?

cuz he and his team tend to have all of their ducks in a row to maximize his chance of success and that clearly isnt the case here.

If he can help put a young team that hasn’t seen the playoffs in half a decade on its way, what’s wrong with that?

This whole “ringz or you suck” culture ain’t good.

But I was one who enjoyed watching Mike come back and have the Wizards in line to make the playoffs (until he got hurt), or Magic come back after 5 years and get 15,7, and 5 or whatever for a solid playoff team. The general consensus is those stints were “embarrassing” or “disastrous” or something but I never bought into that.

LeBron is obviously younger and much better than Wizards Jordan or ‘96 Magic, and depending on the level of star the Lakers sign(and they will be getting someone very good...cmon), the Lakers will be in the playoffs and could even make a deep run. You can’t count them out at all.

But even in the worse case scenario, LeBron doesn’t have to keep superteaming up to prove anything to anybody.

Same with KD. He goes to the Knicks and does his usual shit and leads them to round 2 or something, he’s getting all the props in the world from me.

>what was the plan and what did he expect was going to happen?
> was it mostly his choice or did someone else convince him?
>
>cuz he and his team tend to have all of their ducks in a row
>to maximize his chance of success and that clearly isnt the
>case here.

Tyronn Lue and Lakers ‘have reached an impasse’ in contract negotiations, possibly over adding Jason Kidd as an assistant coach

It’s not clear if Jason Kidd would even want to be an assistant coach under Tyronn Lue with the Lakers, but nevertheless, L.A.’s interest in him for that position has partially led to a breakdown in negotiations.

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2019/5/8/18537489/lakers-rumors-jason-kidd-tyronn-lue-lol-assistant-coach-espn-news-woj-bomb-shams-wow-athletic

assistant and I definitely couldn't see that, if he can't pick his own staff he might pass and they might end up with Kidd as head coach.

Lue was such a no-brainer hire to me

joke everyday.

WTF. I miss Jerry Buss and Jerry West.

I can see is that fact that I'm reading that Kurt Rambis of all people is actually involved in this madness for the next head coach.

Now that is pretty wild if true.

You've got to bring him in and let him control your head coaching search.

https://twitter.com/YourManDevine/status/1126275587608338432?s=19

a complete and total mess is one Phil Jackson.

In all seriousness, Phil and Jeanie Buss did split years ago, correct?

He was fine with Vogel and Kidd on the staff if given the 5 year deal. He emphasized during the interview that he wasn’t just there to coach LeBron but the team felt differently.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you make an offer - you extend it confidently and with respect.

I'm not even a Lue fan - but if you want him to be your coach - act like it.

-->

Like, they were offering him $6 million a year. And considering that he’d have to give up the money the Cavs still owe him, he might have ended up losing money. Can’t blame Lue for not wanting that deal.

Lue would be one of six current NBA coaches to win a title. He deserves the industry standard 5 year deal, plus at the VERY least whatever he was making per year in Cleveland. You can't offer 3/18 when he was making 5/35 in Cleveland, essentially forcing him to take a paycut coaching in a big market as a title winning coach.

Then insult to injury - you want to pick his staff? Fuck outta here, Jeannie and Rob.

if all of this is true (short contract, cheap contract, wanted to pick his staff)...seems like they didn't even want him, just trying to appease Bron.

Wouldn't be surprised if we heard "and they wanted Lue to let Vogel make all rotation decisions and design the sets" or some shit. Basically on some "look if anyone, especially Bron, asks your the coach. But...nah"

Its odd to see the Laker organization so poorly run.


I wonder if Bron regrets signing for 4 years.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-frank-vogel-lakers-coaching-position-interview-20190509-story.html

"He had been a candidate to be the associate head coach on Lue’s staff."

Ummmmm...

Well, if he was so highly thought of, why wasn't he in the running with the initial candidates (Lue, Howard, Williams, etc.)?

So far, this Lakers off-season, more than any other in the last 40 years, is testing my patience and making me consider retiring from being a fan.

They'll fire that guy within two years, and then give Kurt the job.

Kurt should be out of all NBA coaching pools, if not all coaching pulls.

Luke wasn't the guy to cry nepotism about (not you, but others) but Kurt damn sure is.

The report that they wouldn't let him pick up Shaw really pisses me off.

It's something you offer to a coach desperate to get back into coaching. Not a coach like Lue that has been successful and doesn't need the Lakers' money.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are they daring Bron to just retire?

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-offer-to-tyronn-lue-was-disrespectful-and-pitiful-according-to-chauncey-billups-145717324.html

Lakers' offer to Tyronn Lue was 'disrespectful' and 'pitiful,' according to Chauncey Billups

Chris Cwik
Yahoo Sports
May 10, 2019, 9:57 AM

The Los Angeles Lakers are still dealing with the fallout of failing to come to an agreement with Tyronn Lue. The team has been ripped for its handling of the situation, with a number of ex-players and analysts questioning the team’s thinking.

One of the harshest criticisms comes from former Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups. The 42-year-old Billups called the Lakers’ offer “disrespectful” and “pitiful” during an impassioned speech on ESPN.

Billups’ analysis begins around the 2:40 mark.

https://youtu.be/YK8R535h0JU

Billups begins by saying he’s going to be nice before launching into a harsh critique of the team.

“The disrespect is unbelievable that they’ve given to Ty Lue. He’s a championship coach. This is an organization with 16 championships. You would think that they would value a champion, but they haven’t. But the dysfunction obviously starts at the top anywhere. Period. Anywhere.

“But to offer this dude three years when you’re just coming off offering Luke five, and to try to pick his staff — you didn’t pick Luke’s staff — is disrespectful. Monty Williams just got a five-year deal. So did Luke, got another five-year deal*. Congratulations to those dudes. And that’s, like, the standard. You offer this dude three years. He’s a champion. It’s pitiful, man. I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know where they are going.”

*Walton signed a four-year deal with the Sacramento Kings.

Whether or not you agree with Lue being a good coach, Billups makes some fair points. The Lakers gave Luke Walton a five-year deal in 2016 despite a limited track record. The team also didn’t try to handpick Walton’s assistants.

Lue has a much longer history and has won a championship. Even if you want to give LeBron James the credit for that championship, it’s still pretty disrespectful to treat Lue like a total unknown.

With Lue now out of the picture, the Lakers will have to find another coach who fits what they are looking to do. When the time comes to make that coach an offer, the Lakers better figure out a contract that won’t result in them getting roasted again.

LAL acting like they're doing Lue a favor

FOH

Pay that man.

He signs a deal with another team and they are off the hook. They owe him a little over $10M I believe so if he takes 3/18M then he really gets 3/8M. 3/18M is already not enough for a title-winning coach. At least make the term longer, and in this case that's absolutely essential. They jerked him around about involving Kidd, Rambis and whomever else. So they are keeping him on a short leash, making him a laughable cash offer and they are also trying to pick his staff for him. It's no wonder he balked and evidently had his camp leak all the details immediately.

man i am tempted to go up to the roof and take a piss.

>man i am tempted to go up to the roof and take a piss.

Of course, I'd do the same if this were Boston, because fuck them and Ainge's goofy ass face.

Bless these protesters and their (presumed) bountiful vacation time.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-coach-search-jb-bickerstaff-20190510-story.html

Lakers to interview J.B. Bickerstaff for coaching position

The Lakers will continue their search for a new coach by interviewing J.B. Bickerstaff on Friday at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, according to several people who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The former Memphis Grizzlies coach will become the second coach candidate the Lakers will have talked to this week after not being able to reach an agreement with former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue.

Former Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel interviewed with the Lakers on Thursday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.

Bickerstaff is scheduled to meet with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, general manager Rob Pelinka, co-owners Joey Buss and Jesse Buss, president of business operations Tim Harris, director of special projects Linda Rambis and senior advisor Kurt Rambis.

Bickerstaff, 40, was fired on April 11 by the Grizzlies after the team missed the playoffs with a record of 33-49.

He had been hired by Memphis as the associate head coach in 2016, but was promoted to interim head coach on Nov. 27, 2017, after head coach David Fizdale was fired. Bickerstaff was named the head coach of the Grizzlies on May 1, 2018.

He was also the interim coach of the Rockets after Houston fired Kevin McHale on Nov. 18, 2015.

Bickerstaff led the Rockets to the playoffs, but they lost in the first round and he withdrew his name from the head-coaching search with Houston.

The Lakers have been in the process of trying to hire a coach since they and Luke Walton mutually agreed to part ways on April 12.

The next coach the Lakers hire will be their fifth in eight years, and that person will try to help them reach the playoffs after they missed them the last six consecutive seasons.

with some deep seated hate for Mark Jackson not to even be considered.

I pray that they don’t give it to Rambis I guess I’ll take Vogel over him but damn...

Brian Shaw not getting a look at this point is shady too

love Mark Jax but that Pete Santorum non-sense ain't gonna fly in LaLa land.

-->

I don't know if he's even interested in the job but if he is....

>I don't know if he's even interested in the job but if he
>is....

Why wouldn’t he be?

I have no idea what his ESPN/ABC checks look like, but dude just might be happier without having to deal with everything that NBA coaches have to go through. And right now, coaching the Lakers is a difficult proposition.

>I have no idea what his ESPN/ABC checks look like, but dude
>just might be happier without having to deal with everything
>that NBA coaches have to go through. And right now, coaching
>the Lakers is a difficult proposition.

I doubt if it’s close to NBA head coach money but you could tell it’s still an itch he wants to scratch but I think talk about the way he left GS is still haunting him.

I like Kidd as the Assistant (though I'd rather have Kidd as the Head Coach with Vogel assisting) - but either way, this is yet another underwhelming front-office move by the Lakers.

-->

with the Lakers and Bron?

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

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

*Lakers fan since Kobe first preseason game against the Mavericks weighs in*

What's so hard about throwing 30 mill at Sam Presti and hiring Jason Kidd?

I honestly don't get this situation at all. They gave someone under investigation for sexual misconduct a five year deal but a championship coach is worthy of a three year deal. And he's from the Laker cloth.

Yeah this is BS.

Sam Presti - the guy who HAD Durant, Harden, and Westbrook on the same team but broke it up to keep Serge Ibaka? That Sam Presti?

Sam was talented enough to land all of them at a discount don't forget that.

There's no way the Lakers shouldn't have the best front office in the league. We gotta come off this Lakers dna requirement.

He drafted them.

Oden was going first. Durant was the obvious pick.
Memphis took Thabeet, so Harden was obvious.
Westbrook was a good pick, but also went behind the obvious top 3. You could argue Kevin Love tho.

Whether he'll finally succeed as HC the *third* time around, we'll see.

which is sure to create more.. awesome.. lol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

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

..good days
bad days
halfway days... © D'Angelo


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

This better work. They were better off hiring Ty Lue to have someone as Lebron's coach. This assumes the Lakers don't trade Lebron at some point. The inevitable Frank JKidd clash should be legendary.

When JKidd takes over Lebron might want out if JKidd sticks to form...

Paul Silas forced Bron to tap out of practice once so imagine what JKidd does.

>This better work. They were better off hiring Ty Lue to have
>someone as Lebron's coach. This assumes the Lakers don't trade
>Lebron at some point. The inevitable Frank JKidd clash should
>be legendary.
>
>When JKidd takes over Lebron might want out if JKidd sticks to
>form...
>
>Paul Silas forced Bron to tap out of practice once so imagine
>what JKidd does.

Where do y’all get crap like this? Kidd has a great relationship with Giannis who was very upset when he got fired.

At some point David Blatt struggled and Ty Lue became the head coach. Only saving Grace for Frank is JKidd is not taking Bron's bs and the buss family does their best to reign in Bron.

As for JKidds time in Milwaukee look how the league treats black head coaches like Mark Jackson and JKidd vs Brett Brown 6ers coach and Brad Stevens.

..if you're a Cav's fan, why are you concerned about the Laker's coaches?




*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

I remember his 10 points against the Mavericks in his preseason game.

Technically I been riding for the purple and gold just not joining in on all the fun.

..but I'll let you cook lol.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

>As for JKidds time in Milwaukee look how the league treats
>black head coaches like Mark Jackson and JKidd vs Brett Brown
>6ers coach and Brad Stevens.

white coaches get TIME to turn a situation around

Brown they hired to bring the team along from start to finish though that patience may be getting thin

Look - the Lakers were a very competitive team up until Christmas when injuries just knocked them out of any consistent rotation.

They are going to sign guys that fit better w/ this nucleus - they'll get some shooters - they may even get a premier FA (Butler, Middleton, Kawhi (unlikely but possible), Klay (unlikely but possible). I think there's zero chance they get KD or Kyrie - but who knows.

Vogel & Kidd will be a much more competent staff than Walton and his crew. Without another A-level all-star, it'll be hard for this team to vie for a title - but they'll be right in the mix and despite the noise, Vogel & Kidd complement each other and it'll be better organized than it was last year.

I don't think the sky is falling, that's all.

-->

https://youtu.be/ZXbU5zUrRHA?t=239

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffERoFUVE8M

Clearly the Lakers are a dumpster fire of an organization right now.
Clearly Jeanie is in over her head.

But also?

Magic wanted all the glory with none of the work. He was part of the problem too. He’s not innocent by a long shot here.

Fire everyone.

My favorite player of all-time went on tv and did this.

Why not just keep your mouth shut, go run those other businesses that make you so much money, and act like an adult instead of a grown man who took lessons from IG generation?

DAMN!

He played himself!

Or did he want it. Because if she offered it to him and he laid down what he could/couldn't give, then how is he at fault? That's on jeanie buss. I do think he sucked at the job though. Not a coach and not an operations guy. He's need to stay in his lane as the charismatic face of the company.

Rob should've been cool with Magic being the figurehead. Now all the attention is on him.

>Rob should've been cool with Magic being the figurehead. Now
>all the attention is on him.

She did but at the time - and there's multiple clips of this - he said he was leaving his other businesses and focusing only on the Lakers. Today, he said different. He either lied or he's making up stories to save face.

As for Rob, it's one thing if Magic is a figure head but he was actually the final decision maker. On First Take, he essentially owned up to being the final decider on all the moves the team made after getting Bron - including the Zubac deal. I thought at least a handful of those deals were Rob's but after what Magic said makes his tenure look even worse.

It was, simply, not a good look. He didn’t have to go on tv to talk about anything.

He came off like a whiny kid who got his feelings hurt because someone talked about him. He couldn’t handle the politics that happens everyday. So, he comes out to trash someone else when he could have just left well enough alone and continued counting his paper.

Should’ve gone to counseling instead since he seemed so hurt and bothered.

He played himself by quitting the way he did.
And now this.

He's about himself first and foremost regardless of what he says and his story changes depending on the time. For example, today he said that he told Jeannie that he'd be in and out and still running his own business yet someone on twitter found two clips after he took the job (one on access Sportsnet and one on the radio) where he said he was leaving those other side businesses behind.

Dude is an extremely unreliable witness and now there's evidence he's lying. There's even more reporting that both Rob and Jeannie called him to ask about the backstabbing and he said it was all good...and then he went on air.

The reality is dude has never had any consequences for what he's said and that's the reality he lives in. Even after he straight up quit as PBO - even though he never did the job in the first place - he was still having dinner with Jeannie, media still fawning over him, etc. Dude is great as a figure head in a sports organization but he isn't ready for the grind nor is there any basic professionalism.

By all accounts, he was an absentee executive. Jeanie shouldn't have been surprised by that bc he told her upfront that he would be and they brought in Rob to do the grunt work so Magic didn't have to.

But I'm sure she started questioning the relationship when the free agents didn't come and the team ended out of the playoffs once again.

So I get Magic being mad that his sweet deal had soured... but I don't see how he thinks fire-bombing the front office is good for the Lakers... unless he's trying to undermine the balue of the team to force a sale.

>But I'm sure she started questioning the relationship when the
>free agents didn't come and the team ended out of the playoffs
>once again.

Last summer he signed the best player in the world as a free-agent.

>So I get Magic being mad that his sweet deal had soured... but
>I don't see how he thinks fire-bombing the front office is
>good for the Lakers... unless he's trying to undermine the
>balue of the team to force a sale.

It's not a good look for the franchise overall, but you can't blame the man for defending his reputation and telling his side of the story.

>>But I'm sure she started questioning the relationship when
>the
>>free agents didn't come and the team ended out of the
>playoffs
>>once again.
>
>Last summer he signed the best player in the world as a
>free-agent.

Mostly because we all know that LA was at the top of his list. At best, Magic just had to reassure him that they had a plan to build a winner around him. But pursuing LeBron wasn't exactly a tough decision.

What other accomplishments can you put on Magic?


>>So I get Magic being mad that his sweet deal had soured...
>but
>>I don't see how he thinks fire-bombing the front office is
>>good for the Lakers... unless he's trying to undermine the
>>balue of the team to force a sale.
>
>It's not a good look for the franchise overall, but you can't
>blame the man for defending his reputation and telling his
>side of the story.
>

His reputation is only slightly dented but I think he did almost as much damage to it Rob and Jeanie.

>Mostly because we all know that LA was at the top of his list.
>At best, Magic just had to reassure him that they had a plan
>to build a winner around him. But pursuing LeBron wasn't
>exactly a tough decision.
>
>What other accomplishments can you put on Magic?
>l

So you wanna rule out his biggest accomplishment and focus on what he didn’t do? Coming in before he was even able to sign Lebron he had to get rid of terrible contracts signed by Mitch Kupchak for people like Mosgov, Deng & Clarkson.

We didn’t get a chance so see what he was going to do this summer.

Can’t ask for much more than that.

The owner is allowing dysfunction, and the GM was two-facing Magic. Magic isn’t blameless in how he handled it, but I’m not buying into any media spin here. I blame Jeannie first and the Fab Five’s practice bitch second.

The man got you Bron

He did his job.

Did Jeanie Buss and other top Laker front office people freeze Magic out in terms of communicating with them privately? Why put the situation on blast in the public?

https://sports.yahoo.com/rumor-lakers-hired-jason-kidd-143445754.html

and blah blah blah blah blah.

giannis is not a potential FA until 2021 and he'll probably sign a supermax extension next year anyway. even if he doesn't, what are the lakers going to do? sign a bunch of one-year contract bums and wait for that? tell lebron to sit tight?

i think the lakers got kidd because 1) he's a brilliant basketball mind and 2) it gives them to promote when they shit-can vogel.

And he clearly impressed the Lakers in his interview.

Lol

https://i.gifer.com/JhYP.gif

Whoo Buddy, The Lakers Sound Like A Real Mess

Barry Petchesky
Today 9:31am
Filed to: LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Call ‘em the Showtime Lakers again, not because their utter organizational collapse of this past season was fun to watch—though it was definitely fun to watch—but because they melted down with levels of violence and obscenity that belong on premium cable. Luke Walton is gone as coach, replaced with a third-choice hire, and then a fourth-choice hire for when LeBron James decides he doesn’t like the first guy. Magic Johnson is gone as team president, resigning in favor of his new job: Obvious Tweeter and Burner of Bridges. Rob Pelinka is still there. So is LeBron, and all of LeBron’s hangers-on. That feels like more than enough shit to clog the fan.

ESPN’s Baxter Holmes has a big piece this morning (http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26821790/lakers-20-failed-reboot-nba-crown-jewel) with a wide remit—to determine what went wrong with the Pelinka/Magic/LeBron Lakers. The short answer is: So much went wrong, and at just about everybody’s hands, that it’s impossible to construct a single narrative from it. The executives were in over their heads. The power-seekers were indulged, not quarantined. The bosses were tyrants. There were too many cooks, all acting independently of each other and making sure they were insulated from any criticisms. Everyone, at seemingly all times, did what they shouldn’t have done, and made sure there was no one around to warn them that they shouldn’t do it. It’s all, frankly, a masterpiece of organizational rot—a well-run franchise couldn’t quickly achieve this level of dysfunction if it tried.

The Lakers, if it doesn’t become clear after reading Holmes’s story, or after, uh, paying attention to the entire last season, are not a well-run franchise. At well-run franchises, things like this don’t tend to happen:

In November, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Maverick Carter, LeBron’s longtime business partner, met for lunch. James’ agent, Rich Paul, was seated at a nearby table, and at one point, approached Silver to complain about Walton, multiple sources familiar with the interaction told ESPN. Paul said he didn’t believe Walton was the right coach for the Lakers. Silver shrugged off the remark and asked whom Paul thought would be the right coach. Paul suggested Tyronn Lue.

Paul was also letting it be known through back-channel conversations, including those with reporters, that he wasn’t on board with Walton. Paul criticized how Walton allotted minutes to players and his inconsistent lineups, which were partly the result of injuries and suspensions. Members of the Lakers’ coaching staff became aware of those conversations and wondered whether Johnson’s heated meeting with Walton was influenced by Paul.

...

Oh hell yeah. That’s LeBron’s agent complaining to the commissioner of the NBA that he doesn’t like LeBron’s coach.

This, more than anything else—more than Pelinka’s obliviousness, or Magic’s bullying, or the weird, possibly incompetent Buss-Rambis bloc at the top—appears to be the through-line for so much of the Lakers’ misery. That the front office was so desperate to sign LeBron and to keep him happy that it’s afforded him and his people unprecedented power in the organization, to the alienation of just about everyone else.

Holmes stacks up the examples. How, the previous season, the Lakers let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope play in games while on a work-release program from prison, because, it’s implied, he’s a Rich Paul client and they wanted Paul happy in order to land LeBron. How the Lakers hired a bunch of LeBron’s friends to organizational jobs, including those of trainer, “personal security officer,” and something called “executive administrator, player program & logistics.” How Rich Paul was allowed to fly on the team’s charter flight.

While this may have kept LeBron happy, it reportedly played havoc with the rest of the team. It was an open secret that the entire roster was trade bait in the Lakers’ ultimately thwarted attempts to obtain Anthony Davis. Amid the rumors, players did not take kindly to the favoritism shown to LeBron and his agent.

Given those perceptions, one former Lakers player described Paul’s presence on the team charter as a “culture killer.”

“Coaches know Rich is trying to get them fired, and players know Rich is trying to get them traded,” said one agent with ties to the Lakers, who called Paul’s presence on the plane “destructive.”

...

The fallout may not end even when the A.D. derby does. ESPN reports that rival agents are wary of letting their clients sign with the Lakers for fear that Paul, with the access he has on the Lakers, will poach them away and sign them to his agency.

The defense, such as it is, for all of this is that it’s not new, that LeBron and his people were afforded similar preferential treatment in previous career stops. Therein lies the risk the Lakers took, and which appears to have backfired on them. It was all well and good to let LeBron functionally run a team when he was healthy and the best player in the world—that’s a trade-off most front offices make happily. But he’s 34 years old now, and surrounded by a flawed roster, and there’s not really much evidence that the folks nominally in charge really know what they’re doing. Winning may cure all ills, but the Lakers aren’t winning, and they have an awful lot of ills.

So, yeah, go read the whole thing.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26821790/lakers-20-failed-reboot-nba-crown-jewel

And don’t miss the Heath Ledger story.

Kobe and Heath Ledger like a year after Ledger died was the highlight. That and him telling Luke Walton "uhhh actually I just called Golden State and they DO let their GM hang around the locker room, they started doing it after you left."

The stories about him throughout this article were hilarious


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Not Johnson, not Pelinka, not Buss. I will say if an organization is rotten at the core, it's damn near impossible to do shit, so that starts with Buss. LOL @ Rambis' wife being the power behind the throne.

ever have so fuck off.

jesus.

any other questions?

when his team is in the finals he feels the need to come in here and say "ha ha you guys suck!" so yeah fuck him and anybody with him.

i'm not even clowning, this is just sad... but what did you expect when a long ass report about how dysfunctional your team was came out? The finals doesn't start till tomorrow. People are gonna talk about it.

so much?

About objective facts? Like what a role player is for instance?


You love this shit so much you are swinging at anyone talking bad about the Lakers, but you consistently demonstrate how little you know about the league/game.


How do you pull that off? I've honestly never seen someone so passionate about something who knows so little about it.

Right today, your organization is a shit show. I know, because my organization was a shit show about about a decade ago. So I know a little bit about a team with rotten ownership who delegates to a clueless front office that isn't able to do shit.

It's a fascinating story of people in charge with egos who can't seem to do much right these days. And no one involved can seem to shut up and let it pass.

for half a minute and you’re trying act like you know it all lol

They're also tied for 3rd all time in chips.

So...I wouldn't say all that.

team in the state lol.

I'm not trying to take anything from the Warriors or their recent accomplishments but some of their fans are super annoying as are fans of most championship teams. Its part of sports, I'm not really sure why people are trying to make it out to be something else lol.

The Warriors are building a dynasty and I'm sure going to get my money's worth while they're doing it.

If the Lakers find a way to make their resurgence, I fully expect Lakers fans to talk their shit too.

I gotta check my tone

By the way, thank you for your service in Korea.

Article opens...

Jeanie is the one who brought these guys in

She's the one who fired Mitch

Article ends...

since her father passed, the LAL are tied with the NYK for the most losses

Now, there is no shortage of Dolan criticism

Folks outright calling for him to sell the team

and the comic relief of his public interactions when challenged

Why aren't folks keeping the same energy with Jeanie?

Are people afraid of being pegged sexist, etc...in the #metoo era...

Is that the reason she's not being called to the carpet?

As this article clearly lays out...all of the issues begin and end with her.

>Why aren't folks keeping the same energy with Jeanie?
>
>Are people afraid of being pegged sexist, etc...in the #metoo
>era...
>
>Is that the reason she's not being called to the carpet?
>
>As this article clearly lays out...all of the issues begin and
>end with her.

>
>Why aren't folks keeping the same energy with Jeanie?
>

as if the chemistry wasn't fucked the moment the trade rumors started

truth is the truth, regardless of how mad it makes you.

after being totally deflated by the trade talks

Ingram played his best basketball after the deadline, and Lonzo was injured

you just want to keep the agenda going.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=21&topic_id=107175&mesg_id=107175&page=

.

win win win

next steps:

The AD trade combined with the unfortunate injuries in GS has suddenly shifted the Lakers into the power seat for 2019 free agency.

We still have a lot of cap space, it may be slightly less than the max so that could possibly take some of biggest names off the top of the list if that's what they are looking for.

I don't see Kawhi taking a pay cut coming off a Finals MVP season plus after winning a title as "the man" I can't see he wanting to share the spotlight with Lebron and AD.

Kyrie seemed the struggle with the idea of being the 2nd fiddle to Lebron, would he really want to be 3rd behind Lebron AND AD?

Kemba is interesting, I'm not as high on him as some but he's going to be more wide open than he's ever been in his life and could flourish offensively. He is a concern defensively so would definitely have to be paired with a solid defensive 2 if we went that route.

There's some chatter that Jimmy Butler might be interested in coming back to the West. That would give us and elite perimeter defender and a solid scorer who like Kemba above will be more wide open than he's ever been in his life.

if we went with him Pat Beverly could be and option at PG along side of him.

There is also the option of bringing Rondo back.

Other free agent options to consider to fill out the roster:

Ariza is getting a little long in the tooth but still is a solid 3 & D guy...

I've always liked Marcus Morris and I feel like he could give us some needed toughness. If healthy his brother could be a cheaper option...

As I've said even though he was milk carton status at times in the Finals I like Danny Green as a solid 3&D guy with championship experience...

Mirotic is an interesting FA that would definitely provide some shooting...

I'm not sure if Brooke Lopez would be interested in coming back to LA...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdOplgJuHxg

https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/posts/most-likely-destinations-for-malcolm-brogdon-in-free-agency-01dbtknqmctn

I'd like to see him on the Lakers. Would you play him at the point and look for a better 3 pt shooter to play SG?

>I'd like to see him on the Lakers. Would you play him at the
>point and look for a better 3 pt shooter to play SG?

That's the thing I like the versatility he can play either one especially with Bron.

A lot depends on if they can clear those two salaries and get a max guy or not. If they end up with the 23M-24M in cap space that they have now, I think Brogdon is a good target and they could probably add one more bench player, too.

Even if they clear the money, one would be tempted to split the money between Brogdon and one or two solid players rather than blow it all on a non-max max guy.

>Even if they clear the money, one would be tempted to split
>the money between Brogdon and one or two solid players rather
>than blow it all on a non-max max guy.

I agree.

https://www.complex.com/sports/2019/06/los-angeles-lakers-anthony-davis-trade-salary-cap

https://lakeshowlife.com/2019/06/20/los-angeles-lakers-not-having-max-slot-good-thing/

Let Carmelo go to China and get that money. No place for him in the NBA.

I get it that he didn't fit in the rotation but was he that much of a "team cancer" that they didn't want him on the roster or did he asked to be released when he saw he wasn't going to get much playing time?

you don't need 2 hall of famers on your roster who don't play defense..

..its one thing to accuse players of 'ring chasing' during the latter stages of their career.

Now we have the media & fans chiming in daily about teams that should sign Melo so that he finally has a decent shot at a ring?

1st Houston, now LA.

The Lakers don't need Melo.

What gives?




*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

so hard to say what they do/don’t need at this point.

If Melo signs for the vet minimum - he’s a veteran who LeBron trusts and respects, who won’t be afraid of the moment. If he can still play reasonably well and fill a role, he could help.

Gotta see how the roster takes shape first IMO. There’s a lot of work to do and a lot of spots to fill.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/

notice anything?



*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

come playoff time. Especially if we could’ve had him for Jared Dudleys salary slot.

Didn’t matter because we won. But wow, were Kuzma and Green ever aggravating in the playoffs.

Should look at Melo for next year if the price is right, IMO. He can still score.

____________

DALLAS LAKERICKS LETS GO!!

regardless of what Kawhi does.

https://twitter.com/Chris_Broussard/status/1145438322111549440

All these rumors, and most haven't' been true. BUT, the Lakers have to be frontrunners at worst, and after these last 8 years, this is exciting.

moves, we still have to fill out the roster. A lot of the role players are getting snatched up.

Can we go over the cap to resign guys we had last year like Rondo and JaVale?

wish McGee would, but not too keen on Rondo.

Also while I agree many quality role players are gone I don’t think we could have gotten them anyway

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-signing-troy-daniels-192409093.html

Lakers signing Troy Daniels
Dan Feldman
NBC Sports•Jul 1, 2019, 2:32 PM

The Lakers are dreaming big for Kawhi Leonard.

Their first addition in 2019 free agency doesn’t quite match that lofty goal.

Shams Charania of The Athletic:


Shams Charania
✔
@ShamsCharania
Free agent Troy Daniels has agreed to a one-year, $2.1M with the Lakers, agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Daniels gives the Lakers an elite shooter to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and does not affect the team’s cap space.

5,420
12:19 PM - Jul 1, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
2,065 people are talking about this


Troy Daniels‘ minimum salary is $2,028,594. I’m guessing he got that with favorable rounding in the reporting.

If so, Daniels won’t eat into the Lakers cap space. They can make all their other moves then exceed the cap to sign minimum-salary players.

A shooting guard, Daniels is a good 3-point shooter who should get open looks around LeBron James, Anthony Davis and maybe another star. Daniels does nothing but shoot, so a minimum salary looks about right. But the Lakers need minimum-salary players to fill their bench, and Daniels should fit well.

And this guy's info has been nearly 100% accurate this offseason.

I'M TRYING not to get too hype but...I've gotten like no work done today with all the refreshing.

for one year lol.

literally nobody else was saying anything anywhere near that.

The internet was a smaller place then. I have to wonder what would happen in today’s climate with Reddit, Twitter, etc. dude had a damn scoop.

cap space to build a solid supporting cast around Bron & AD

stringing us along to miss out on all the other free agents then they'll laugh about it as he signs with Clippers

.

to Bron and AD

..and i'm not really sure why, when all you're required to do is wait.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

>..and i'm not really sure why, when all you're required to do
>is wait.

you mean wait while other potential free agents we could be signing get sucked up and we're left with a g-league roster around AD and Bron?

i might've agreed with you at the start of fagency, but Kawhi or bust has been the only option since like Monday

either way, I’d like Marcus Morris, he can play solid D, hit the 3 and bring some toughness.

We need to try to talk Darren Collison out of retirement.

I wouldn’t necessarily be against bringing back Rondo.

Quinn Cook might be an option.

I’m not quite sold on Cousins but he may be a possibility...

Ditto for Melo...

>..and i'm not really sure why, when all you're required to do
>is wait.


https://sports.yahoo.com/kawhi-leonard-anthony-davis-trade-nba-free-agency-lakers-234109782.html

plus no was the league was going to let the Lakers have 3 of the top 5 players

i bet uncle dennis was like, "ay ask him if I can fly on the jet, see what he say lol"

the Clippers to give away the farm to acquire Paul George.

He wanted to go the Clippers all along, the Lakers and Raptors were never a real option they were just used as leverage.

Uncle Dennis played it masterfully.

one live ninja on your team for when fools try to get chippy with Bron & AD

Who gets the call? Add Rondo to that list too.

of the other way around

Daniels too.

Signing a bunch of guys who can’t shoot last year didn’t work so well.

It's so crucially important that their supporting pieces can shoot. They got Green and KCP too. Not a ton of value overall, but at least they're acknowledging last year's fuck up and correcting that mistake with these supporting piece signings.

GOOD

gonna come play 3rd fiddle to Bron and AD? It doesn’t make sense for anybody but especially Kawhi.

They’ve done a good job filling out the roster for depth.

KD was never coming.
Jimmy wanted to be the man in Miami.
Kyrie wanted to be with KD and not be with Bron.
DLo was intriguing but not sure he was the move.
Seth Curry got 4/40 and we weren’t paying that.

So yes, no 3rd star sucks but Quinn Cook, Boogie on a 1 year, Javale, Danny Green, Jared Dudley isn’t bad at all. The only signing I hate is KCP and that’s the Klutch tax.

Other than KCP, Lakers are killing it. If remotely healthy, Lakers > Clips

http://78.media.tumblr.com/de12236fb82421f34b5effdfc26b4967/tumblr_p4qdv7X9Bx1u1ljrzo1_540.gif

This is only hypothetical, but Iggy makes $17M. Memphis wants a trade. Teams have to match that money right? So, hypothetically speaking, KCP and his $16M plus a 1st and 2nd round draft pick, would that work? Or could teams just offer draft picks? Not saying its likely, just curious.

>This is only hypothetical, but Iggy makes $17M. Memphis wants
>a trade. Teams have to match that money right? So,
>hypothetically speaking, KCP and his $16M plus a 1st and 2nd
>round draft pick, would that work? Or could teams just offer
>draft picks? Not saying its likely, just curious.

It’s my understanding that KCP’s deal is $16mil for 2 years as in $8mil per year.

https://heavy.com/sports/2019/07/nba-free-agent-marcus-morris-lakers/

PG - Rondo, Cook
SG - Green, KCP, Daniels
SF - Lebron, Dudley
PF - Davis, Kuzma
C - Cousins, McGee

..and knowing is half the battle.

So The Clippers pulled off one helluva coup in trading for PG to secure signing Leonard. They bet the farm to do it, so you know they're preparing for a fight.

That leaves my beloved Lakers rolling with plan B to round out the roster and get to work.

AD, Bron, & Kuz are the heavy hitters on this squad, and I'll ride with that against any team in the league. Rondo & Cousins compliment a group of savvy vets, but they don't have the chemistry/experience/depth. They'll likely need to get out ahead early and work to maintain while patiently waiting to see what later piece develops (internal or otherwise) that they can snatch up to put them over the top.

'Til then, its time to go to work.

#LakersForLife


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

Added some really good shooters and low risk pickups, all on two year deals to lure another max in 2021.

for the 2019-20 season.

My guess is we’re waiting on more clarity on Iggy’s situation and then will proceed from there. 2 year room for Iggy and the roster would be fucking brilliant.

I would have rather seen KCP leave, and Danny Green got overpaid a few million, but Rob has done an amazing job in FA. Other than Troy Daniels, I extensively watched all these guys last year, and every one produced in meaningful ways. Korver would be nice. Iggy would be the icing on the cake. I still expect at least one more good signing. I'll take the Lakers over the Clippers roster all day.

Complete 180 from last year. Now the Lakers just have to stay healthy.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2848774-lakers-rumors-lebron-james-organizing-team-minicamp-to-build-chemistry

Lakers Rumors: LeBron James Organizing Team Minicamp to Build Chemistry
MIKE CHIARI
AUGUST 7, 2019

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is reportedly organizing a team minicamp to be held in Las Vegas prior to the start of training camp in September.

According to Stadium's Shams Charania, James is hoping the team will bond and build chemistry by getting together a bit early:

Charania also reported that newly signed Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is working on forming a minicamp in Miami before training camp.

Considering how many personnel changes the Lakers have made during the offseason, minicamp could be a good way to get everyone acquainted and get a leg up on the familiarity that is usually built during training camp.


In addition to acquiring All-Star big man Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers went wild in free agency, signing DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Jared Dudley, Troy Daniels, Avery Bradley and Quinn Cook.

They will join holdovers such as James, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee.

The Lakers have not reached the playoffs since 2013, and they are coming off a disappointing 2018-19 campaign that saw them go just 37-45 despite LeBron's arrival. Injuries to key players such as James, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball were largely to blame for L.A.'s struggles last season.

If the likes of James, Davis and Kuzma can stay healthy this season, the Lakers are expected to be among the top teams in the Western Conference, along with the new-look Clippers, who are led by Leonard and Paul George.

Teams need every advantage they can get in a stacked Western Conference that includes other potential contenders such as the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs. A minicamp may be just what the Lakers need to get things moving in a positive direction.

No idea the severity but if Woj is reporting it...

>No idea the severity but if Woj is reporting it...

Shams, not Woj, is reporting he has a torn ACL. Pretty quick turnaround in reporting if that's true. Normally you'd need an MRI report to diagnose that, correct?

already know. they just do a couple of elasticity test and can tell when the acl is jacked.

without him, it's going to be a steep climb

But the reality is it's better for all parties to have this happen pre season. Boogie should take the year+ off and try to get better, like Kawhi did. If he has a chance to resurrect his career, he should take all the time he needs and a team will take a shot on him. It's so sad.

It will be a climb regardless and this just means AD will have to take more mins at the 5.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2849870-lakers-rumors-davis-wont-play-big-minutes-at-center-after-cousins-injury

As the Los Angeles Lakers look to fill the hole created after center DeMarcus Cousins tore the ACL in his left knee Thursday, forward Anthony Davis reportedly will not see a major change in his role.

According to NBA TV's Jared Greenberg, Los Angeles does not expect Davis to play "big minutes" at center in 2019-20. Cousins—who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal in the offseason after one year with the Golden State Warriors—may miss the entire season.

At 6'10" and 253 pounds, Davis could play the 5 and spent 96 percent of his time at center last season, but he told reporters the following: "I like playing the 4. I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. I like playing the 4. I don't really like playing the 5."

But he added, "If it comes down to it, Coach , and you need me to play the 5, then I'll play the 5."

Vogel said Davis would only do so "situationally."

Los Angeles added Danny Green, Quinn Cook, Avery Bradley, Troy Daniels and Jared Dudley (along with Cousins) to pair with AD and LeBron James this offseason, but those players don't offer much size.

JaVale McGee figures to start at the 5, but beyond that, rookie Devontae Cacok (6'7", 240 lbs) is the only other player on the roster listed as a center. Kostas Antetokounmpo and rookie Aric Holman are each listed at 6'10".

Of note, former Lakers coach Luke Walton experimented with playing Kyle Kuzma at center in a small-ball lineups last season. Otherwise, expect L.A. to add a big, and B/R's Greg Swartz outlined five guys who should top the list.

most teams basically play a version of "small ball" now anyway so its not like he's going there's a ton of big physical 5's in the league today anyway. You got who, Embiid, Jokic, KAT? those last 2 really aren't big post up guys, Gobert doesn't really do a whole lot offensively, who else is there? Drummond? Adams?

Is this another Tim Duncan thing?

..really unfortunate for Cousins, knowing how determined he was to get back to 100% and compete for a ring.

Should be interesting to see what the Lakers do to fill that void.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

..he's young, healthy, can shoot, and is a perfect fit next to Davis.




*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

so he's not really a fit beside Davis. he would be a total liability on defense playing the 5. Dwight is a better fit

If I’m an opposing coach, I put him in PnR literally every possession.

I think he at least has a presence at the rim to contest shots. Faried doesn’t rebound either

..Faried is lightyears better at the 4 or 5 than Howard today.

there is nothing you (or Dwight) can do to change that.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

"glory years" in Denver like 4 or 5 seasons ago. Dude hasn't played much in the last few years and Houston barely used him in the playoffs last year.

A healthy Dwight Howard would be a solid backup to JaVale McGee which is all we would need him to be at this point.

Despite his apparent reluctance AD will probably end playing the 5 in a lot of lineups anyway.

..dwight howard isn't healthy.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

at his peak he was nothing more than an hustle guy and age and injuries have robbed him of most of that hustle

I dont know how I feel about Dwight but I do know Faried and Noah also wont be difference makers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/lakers-dwight-howard-demarcus-cousins-injury-135357446.html

(I reaaaallllly didn’t want to be right)

When a basic basketball move - in this case, loading the left leg for a right handed layup - results in an ACL rupture, it’s a huge red flag about physical viability. When I heard contact injury, I had some hope, but then I saw it...and he’s done.

It was a matter of time. I feel terrible for him, but he's got to just sit out this year and maybe next? I dunno. Will he be able to recover to a serviceable player?

these injuries are hard enough, but even more so with his size. he wasn't back to his normal self after the first 2 injuries.

I don't even think he'll get another shot in the NBA. folks will be scared to sign him after 3 injuries in the span of 2 years.

sux, but its prolly time to hang it up.

Like I said in the above post, when a basic move results in a severe injury it speaks to severe underlying problems. In this case, his active stabilizers (the muscles) aren’t working effectively and all the force is transferred to a passive stabilizer (ACL). Extremely red flag.

..I don't like it, but I understand why they're doing it.

Completely different circumstances this go 'round. Word is that he's humbled himself and is more than willing to accept this limited role.

I still dont trust him.

At least its a non-guaranteed contract.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

>.Word is
>that he's humbled himself and is more than willing to accept
>this limited role.
>

It’s his last shot

A guy who will run PnR and actually MAKE OUTSIDE SHOTS. Lakers fans are going to love this dude.

be huge

i thought you got drafted already


>Lakers fans are going to love this dude.

I'll definitely go to a Laker game or two next year, and I'll root for them of the two local teams, obviously, lol. But if I'm going to bandwagon anyone, I've probably gotta bandwagon the Blue Orleans Devilcans. It'd be off-brand for me *not* to.

but yeah, if Quinn plays heavy minutes, I'm going to end up tuning in a *lot.*

.

Kawhi was coming but I knew he wasn’t.

We need a new post for this off-season.

He proved to be even better than most best-case scenarios mapped out. I do remember his brilliant coaching job with the Pacers - so in the end that factored in majorly for me.

But alas, Bron makes a lot of questionable signings/move look brilliant in hind-sight, because he just makes everything & everyone better.
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