LAKERS LAKERS Thread

I love both as well, but $ needs to go to have a shot at anyone in the off season. Wouldn't be a problem if MORON Jimmy and Kupcake didn't give Deng that contract.....smh!!! That being said, if the Bron narrative is true then Randle needs to go. With Kuzma being better than expected this quick and Ball and Ingram being untouchable there is no room for Randle on the court. IF Bron does come MGT is gong to need to get creative in getting Kuzma time. I suspect that we could see a trade of Clarkson/Randle/Zubac for Boogie. Then sign Bron and run a starting unit of Ball and Kuzma in the backcourt, Ingram at SF, Bron at PF, and Boogie at C. I know Kuz has only played the Forward position but with Bron in the mix and Ingram at the 3, Kuz needs a position, and SG is the only open spot, IMO he would do fine transitioning to SG.

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ationship-san-antonio-spurs-becoming-strained
Months of discord centering on elements of treatment, rehabilitation and timetables for return from a right quadriceps injury have had a chilling impact on San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard's relationship with the franchise and coaching staff, league sources told ESPN.

Under president and coach Gregg Popovich and general manager RC Buford, the Spurs have a two-decades-long history of strong relationships with star players, but multiple sources describe Leonard and his camp as "distant" and "disconnected" from the organization.






Hey now..
LA native..
And I bet Pop wouldn't mind some cap flexibility to make a run at one of his faves Boogie Cousins this summer..

 

Hard to say how I'd begin to piece together a LAL/Kawhi trade, but fuck it, I'll give it a go. Shut him down for the season and get him healthy and LAL is a step closer to contending again next season. Although, I think Pop would try and dump softy drawers Pau on LAL too to gain future cap flexibility, so we're maybe talking some major salary moving between these two teams. So I came up with something pretty quick and reasonable.. http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yd2xhlwz As you can see there, Spurs are +7 wins from that deal. Clarkson, coincidentally, is actually from San Antonio, so a homecoming for him and a semi-homecoming for Julius as well who of course is from Dallas. According to Pop himself, Julius was one of his favorite players at USA camp and so they get control of his upside and future. Lopez would help Pop immediately in their playoff run, keeping Aldridge from playing a ton of center ( what he hates), and then they clear Lopez's money off the books after the season to make a run at another Pop fave Boogie Cousins in free agency. Now, I would hate to see what Pop could maybe bring out of Zubac, but at the same time..Thomas Bryant is here, so I think I'd be OK.

Kinda scary, really, because it does pretty much work out for both teams being that they aren't getting anything from Kawhi right now and would be locked into that current group without Lopez's contract coming over. Spurs, 4th in the west right now ( 30-18) without Kawhi, essentially get 3 or 4 pieces that can help immediately for 1 since they still don't know when they'll get a salty Kawhi back this season. They end up going about 12 deep in their rotation if they so choose..could maybe move some of their kids as well in other deals. LAL sheds KCP/Brewer/Deng/Ennis in the offseason and still ends up with enough cap space to go after one of their big targets. At that point, George is probably in 110% to team with fellow LA guy Kawhi. Which would be the ultimate shit on Indy because they could've had both George and Kawhi. Only question is what happens to Ingram? Can he eventually play some PF? Does that even matter in today's soft era where length is valued more than brawn? And can Kuzma eventually play some C? Can LAL run out a lineup..not a starting lineup, but their own " death lineup " ala GSW and have Zo/Kawhi/George/Ingram/Kuzma on the floor together? The room exception maybe gets us KCP back and we'd have he and Hart coming off the bench along with Kuzma, Nance and T.Bryant, so the bench remains strong.

Zo/Kawhi/George/Ingram/Pau, starters
6th man - Kuzma
KCP/Hart/Nance/T.Bryant, rest of the nightly rotation..maybe throw Caruso or GPII in that group
Grab Kawhi now, lock in George when the clock strikes mid-night..and surprise..LeBron signs for the vet minimum..got a little crazy at the end here

 

I actually thought this was a pipe dream because I figured the money would not work knowing the goal is to sign at least Bron. However after looking at it I think it will work...sans signing PG13 and adding Bron....maybe (someone's probably gona need to check my numbers).

With the subtraction of Lopez/Clarkson/Randle/Zubac and the addition of Leonard and Pau the Lakers Salary for next year would be $75.4MM, however if you stretch Deng, then that number goes down to $64.9MM . The projected Cap for next year is $101MM, so that leaves just a shade over $36MM of which Bron will command $35MM. The only problem is that is only 9 guys and you lose KPC (probably get traded at the deadline this year) and Brewer. Also there is not enough room to sign Ennis and Bryant to their qualifying offers; $1.6MM and $1.3MM respectively. I suspect guys like Caruso/Beachum/GP3/Hayes could be signed as they are not more expensive than $100K each. I will assume MGT can finagle $1.3 to keep Bryant and will let Ennis go.

So the lineup would look like:

PG - Ball (Hart/Caruso)
SG - Kuzma (Ingram/GP3)
SF - Leonard (Deng)
PF - Bron (Nance)
C - Pau (Bryant)

I suspect that MGT could even run a small line up of Ball and Kuz in the back court, Ingram at the 3 with Leonard at the 4 and Bron at the 5.

 

LAL fans on twitter driving Spurs' fans crazy over this Kawhi news Lol
The Kawhi to LAL hype train is full speed ahead

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...lillard-meets-owner-paul-allen-team-direction

Magic's patience truly about to be tested on this one because Dame made it known a while back that he'd either like to continue his career as a Laker if he ever left the Blazers.. https://www.silverscreenandroll.com...ency-la-lakers-damian-lillard-tweet-utah-jazz He has " championship aspirations " and knows, like we all know, that shit's just not happening in Portland. But to have a meeting with the owner and discuss roster options is a direct shot at teammates, no doubt, and I don't see that situation getting any better after that. Would be shocked if Allen doesn't wind up low-key shopping him.

Don't know for sure if Magic should make a run at Dame because his defense is usually meh, however, similar to Kyrie in Boston, his defense has been much better this season and obviously Luke's done a good job improving the team's defense overall. But then if you add Dame, he's more than likely going to defend the opposing team's PG quite a bit, and Zo has been pretty good at that and probably only going to get even better. I do wonder if Zo could be even better defensively if he's taken off the ball even more because his bball IQ is just excellent. Probably a better shot at LAL/Dame happening if you're putting up against " LAL/Kawhi ", mainly because it would have to be hard for Pop to sign off on sending Kawhi to the Lakers. That would certainly drive a knife into the heart of all Spurs' fans no matter the return. But offensively, for sure, LAL could use Dame as their closer and that's even if George joins LAL because unlike George, Dame actually closes. I think I like the match overall, and he's actually interested in playing for the Lakers, so of course that helps. But Portland's got pretty good leverage here being that Dame won't be a free agent until 2021, when he turns 30yrs old..it feels like he should be older. Kid is actually 3yrs younger than Steph Curry.

So yeah, LAL would have to really come with it on the offer to Portland to get them to give up that team control and probably have to beat out some other teams..meaning Ingram would have to be on the table and that'd suck, for sure. But could LAL survive moving Ingram? Depends on who they add to take his place..George..potentially LeBron as well, and then you have Kawhi and Klay who'll be FAs in 2019 ( obviously both LA natives), so no shortage of wing options. I think I'd do it, and I'm one who loves Ingram's game and potential a ton, but getting Dame gets the ball rolling in terms of landing stars + there's so much team control with Dame. As far as a trade package, I think my only question would be is if they could dump Deng if they include Ingram because that'd immediately take a lot of the sting out of losing Ingram.. http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yangtzat Wonder if that could be a winning offer..Portland would probably just stretch and waive Deng themselves, but Ingram and Julius + Zubac is a pretty good package for Dame and would seem to be about right value wise. Dame in the Kyrie closer type of role since George is sketchy as a closer and LeBron's questionable in that role at times as well. Pretty good team, though, probably right into the conference finals given good health.

Zo-Dame-George-LeBron-Noel, starters
6th man - Kuzma
KCP back on the room exception/Hart/Nance/T.Bryant/Caruso

 

Although, Jalen Rose just said his sources say that Kawhi does indeed want out of San Antonio, so options are potentially stacking up for Magic
Again, Kawhi can opt out and be a free agent after next season and be right there with Klay

 

“At this point I just think they have to have change. They’re talking to other teams, I was told today that they’ve been talking to the Lakers, which is stunning because why would they do a deal with the Lakers who potentially could recruit LeBron, that just shows you they are going all over the league trying to figure this out,” Windhorst said.

It’s interesting to consider what that conversation may have gone like, especially with the Lakers’ not-so-secret hopes to land James as a free agent.






LAL picking up the phone like " Deng for LeBron "

 

Boogie Cousins.
And don't give a damn if it came against the Bulls..where's everybody else who's throwing up 50-30-10 against the Bulls?
That old familiar voice in the highlights..Meyers' voice reminds me of Kobe/Pau championships

 

Now I gotta take points away from Cousins..gotta do it Lol
Didn't realize it was double OT..bum.

 

The Kuz Mamba! What. A. Pass. Clowning Tatum in this 4th quarter
The Kuz Mamba! Another 3
TNT is Kuzmania right now
Oooooooooooooo the spin move on Horford, everybody is gettin it

 

Nance is a gotdamn bum, they can't trade this MF fast enough
Why is Ingram shooting? Give the ball to Kuzmamba
Juuuuuuuuu
Where's your heart, Hart?
Fuckin Rozier is Kyrie Jr.

 

Kuzma is the real deal.....but hit some damn free throws Lakers!!!!!

 

Fuck the Celtics
And Kuzma needs to work on his mic skills..you can't ball out and then turn into Lex Luger in the interview
Zo definitely has the most mic poise of this young core

 

It's funny to say, but with the Cavs in meltdown mode, Leonard not happy in San Antonio, OKC not really tearing it up in the West (although playing better), and Lilliard now chirping in Portland, the Lakers may have many more options than they dreamed of just a few months ago.

Sure, a lot can change, but the possibilities are really getting interesting.

 

nice win but the FT thing is fucking ridiculous

 

absurd