Lol Come now, you must've disagreed a ton with those Heat and Cavs fans while on your LeBron stanning journey
Conley's at $30M+ now and on average through the next 2 or 3 years I believe, so yeah it's pretty much a no on all levels. But even if they could somehow make a deal work..last night Gebbeth said his breaking point would be signing Carmelo..well my breaking point would be dealing Zo and/or Kuz for an old, beat up, injury prone Mike Conley. Terrible use of assets. I had to trash his Beal trade idea earlier in the season because he wanted him " right now " and KCP's semi-hefty salary literally couldn't be traded due to league rules. But now that KCP is eligible, they'd better try about a million times for Beal before they flip the page to a Conley. And the Wiz are trying to make a playoff push
Pelicans get Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and the remaining 2 years of Haywards bad contract plus a first round pick from the Lakers. Celtics get Jrue, KCP, Mirotic, Javale, lots of cap relief Lakers get AD and Kyrie... then sign Melo. PG: Kyrie, Rondo SG: Hart, Lance SF: LeBron, Beasley PF: AD, Melo C : Zubac, Chandler That's a good way to set up super teams. 1 superstar entering the end of his prime. Kareem/LeBron 2 superstars in their prime. Magic/Kyrie and Worthy/AD 2 late 1st round/2nd round solid role players. AC/Zubac and Byron/Hart Plus a second unite composed of skilled veterans that bring some toughness and edge. You can always rotate those out as they age as these types are great value on the dollar and are available. Rondo, Lance, Beasley, Chandler, Melo Wes Matthews, Michael Cooper, Tony Campbell, Kurt Rambis, Mychal Thompson
Ingram is starting to piss me off with his lack of growth this season. It only took Zo one offseason to get considerably stronger and now his paint finishing % is up 10 points. At this rate it feels like Ingram is going to pull a Julius and wait until his contract year to " get into the best shape of his life " and get considerably stronger. Rumor around Laker HQ was that they question Ingram's " dawg " or heart, but other things are starting catch my eye. Same as the anonymous exec the other day..I don't see Ingram using his length nearly enough ( see; Paul George leading the league in deflections), but then Ingram also drives right like 99.9% of the time. He's extra-retro right now, seemingly no shortage of long 2s he's forced to take. Pisses me off because I always think back to that game against the Warriors last year and how he went toe to toe with Durant. As for the Grizz and their decision to start shopping their best guys, I'm almost to the point where I wouldn't give a damn if they burned Ingram and just brought an expiring Marc Gasol back. Luke would have the option of going very big with MGasol..although, I imagine the Grizz would want one of Moe/Zu as well. Javale is athletic and long enough to defend different positions effectively and with MGasol's ability to shoot from deep you have a stretch 5 to keep spacing on the other end. If it weren't for the fact that LAL likely needs Ingram as a piece for Davis this summer.... But a starting lineup of MGasol/Javale/Kuz/LeBron/Rondo ( or Zo) would be intriguing. Although, maybe can't expect the defensive switching to be as effective with that group so maybe a zone type of look with a couple top notch rim protectors patrolling and on the glass. LAL's team defense is already damn good, have to imagine MGasol would only add to that and he could teach Zu some things. Everybody's going small..LAL zigs while everybody else is zagging. Plenty of fouls to spare up front. I don't know. Ingram had better get his shit together. Damn, I wish we had gotten Simmons.
Or just turn Ingram into a point forward. Give him videos of Grant Hill. Have him play PG as much as possible.
LAL has discussed Dennis Smith Jr. with the Mavs Very, very interesting. He had a great workout with LAL pre-draft Because of Zo's size and usefulness against wings defensively, and ability to play off the ball, I could see them being pretty good together Ingram's pissed me off so much lately, think I wouldn't care if they did a 1 for 1
Oh, also, didn't realize Marc Gasol actually has a player option for next season. Don't like that idea nearly as much unless they know for sure that he's opting out and they're getting that cap space
This Lakers smoke may not be for Ingram at the end of the day. Damn shame because Simmons was begging to be a Laker, wanted it badly, reportedly could still be angling for LAL around 2021-22. I would say maybe attach Bonga to Ingram for Smith Jr., but they actually traded future draft comp for Bonga, so I don't think he'll be had that easily. Plus, Bonga is looking pretty damn good, shooting/making a solid amount of 3s down in the GLeague. Feels like Bonga has a shot, hell, maybe to even be a better or more modern version of what they want Ingram to be. And he's a true PG, whereas Ingram is not. If LAL and Dallas truly had discussions surrounding Smith Jr., in the position that the Mavs are in, I don't see how they could ask for much more than Ingram. An assumption, but I think if discussions moved past Ingram/Smith Jr., that the teams may have also broached KCP for Wes Matthews. Probably as a 2 for 2, Ingram and KCP for Smith Jr. and Matthews. Matthews' contract expires as well, but he's 5 or 6 years older than KCP and more experienced. And Matthews' pops also played with Magic/Lakers a long while back. Younger KCP could score a longer term contract in Dallas, find a home. Trash Cuban can move forward with Ingram and Turkoglu Jr..I mean Doncic. Ingram can be a fine backup singer with Doncic there without constant championship/Lakers pressure and probably thrive in the shadows. It's a trade that just barely works financially
You seriously trying to dump Ingram for someone who'd end up our 3rd string point guard? FFS man, seriously?
Seriously shortsighted..will there be a NBA next season? 2nd, you really can't have too many quality, young guards in a league where so many teams are going small. 3rd, Zo being 6'6" is a luxury, can be moved around like a chess piece. 4th, can you really say that Ingram is a more valuable young piece than Smith Jr. right now..as in, maybe the Pelicans would see Smith Jr. as the more valuable piece in a point guard heavy league? If they move Davis, expensive Holiday is probably leaving soon after. 5th, and perhaps most importantly..Zo is basically injury prone thus far in his career. How in the hell are you counting on him right now?
Yes I really can say Ingram is a more valuable young piece than Smith right now. It isn't even close either. Dallas literally made him disappear for awhile because they wanted to move him. Doesn't that say something to ya?
Lol @ it not even being close. Smith Jr. and Doncic just aren't fitting. Smith Jr. actually wants to be traded. And even with everything that's going on there, multiple teams are calling and putting in their bids, Lakers among them - one of 4 teams that we know of. Also.. You didn't answer that one.
Lonzo had played 46 of 47 games this year until a freak accident happened. Doesn't make him injury prone.
The same Zo that missed a gang of games last season..then needed surgery on his knee in the offseason, and is now down again? That Zo? Look, I wouldn't be shocked at all if Smith Jr. saw a good amount of minutes for LAL. I mean, they are trying to make the playoffs, right? Why the hell else have they been in discussions to trade for him? And given that the ankle that Zo turned is on the same leg as the knee that they operated on in the summer, wouldn't shock me if Zo missed the full 6 weeks, came back rusty and not in the same aggressive mode as before either. The schedule is about to get tough and if Zo isn't ready to truly rock out when he gets back, having Smith Jr. would be right on time. As much as I like Zo, one can legitimately argue that he's injury prone until he proves he can hold up. And compared to Ingram, Smith Jr. takes more the double the number of 3s per game. Ingram/Smith is an easy swap if I'm Magic..LAL does not lack wings. Svi, for one, certainly needs more minutes. I could buy Dallas having interest in Moe because he can play and he looks up to Dirk..I think he also knows Doncic as well. Now that I think about it, Dallas could value Moe over Ingram. Smh Either way, right now, worrying about Smith Jr. being 3rd string is ridiculous
So if the reports are true and LAL and Dallas have truly had discussions regarding Smith Jr., what do you think LAL was offering @Chiefdodgerslkrs24? And no, I don't mean offer up the shittiest package you can think of because reports say that at least 3 other teams have been in contact for Smith Jr.'s services and I'd imagine there's been more than that. So a winning bid from LAL looks like..?
I doubt they offered anything past gauging what their asking price was. You clearly don't think much of Brandon Ingram, but he is a better basketball player than Dennis Smith and in the future, that gap will only widen.
What do you think a winning bid looks like from LAL? A Top 10 talent among his strong draft class, on a meager rookie scale contract What do you think Dallas asked for?
