Ramona just threw a name out that almost made me throw up. She says that the Spurs may want LAL to take old Mr. Softee Pau back. Fuck. Fuck that, they need to find a 3rd or 4th team to take Pau.
" May " = no longer the slam dunk it seemed to be back then And Kawhi's camp has already said they'd be good with the Clippers Leverage is with LAL, sure, but it only goes so far and doesn't guarantee anything now or later
Yup. Lob City is officially dead Wonder if Doc Rivers is angling for that Wizards' job now Lol Austin may need some protection..I can't see him and Wall getting along
So the Cavs, Celtics, Sixers and some other bum team ( Clippers) have all put their offers on the table for Kawhi, and reportedly those offers were meh..probably thanks to Kawhi's uncle making it clear and standing firm. Well, the Sixers, Cavs and Clippers don't have this great amount of assets anyhow, but the Celtics obviously do and it looks like Kawhi's uncle handled that. At least for now. Ramona says LAL re-engaged the Spurs on Kawhi talks today. Ganguli says it was " productive " this time. They say that LAL is using the Kyrie/PG trades as a measuring stick for their offer. This shit may actually get done before LeBron opts out this weekend
sixers could put together a competitive one. Clips and Cavs can't. All Kawhi has to do is tell them he ain't signing with them and those offers drop
It has been fun to get excited about the Lakers again, but I have a bad feeling that PG is going back to OKC, the Spurs refuse to deal with LA and LeBron decides to go somewhere else. I honestly think that they would be a contender with LBJ alone, but he won't go for that.
Can LAL get Kawhi without giving up any of the guys they drafted last year/this year?..potentially a goal of theirs. Magic/Pelinka probably like Ingram a ton, but facts are facts and obviously they didn't draft him, so maybe they're a little more willing to move him because of that? Not an unknown practice for new regimes to prefer the guys they pick. Ingram playing the role of Gamora in Infinity War, getting tossed off the cliff so LAL can control the universe once again. Smh Luckily for us ( maybe?) Ingram happens to be the best, young asset they have. But I've seen a few reports that say the Spurs were high on Kuz before last year's draft. If LAL really is comparing their offer to George's/Kyrie's, then Julius/Ingram/Zubac and a 1st rd pick should cover the cost. That's better than what those teams got for George and Kyrie and it should be because Kawhi's better than they are. I'm not understanding how Zubac doesn't have trade value, he never gets mentioned by these insiders..whenever he plays, he produces at a high rate and still looks like a baby Marc Gasol out there. I mean sure, he can't switch defensively, but a near 17 career PER is what it is for a kid that young. He produces when called on. Pop needs to stfu, take Zubac and spin Pau the fuck out of there..but not to us. Fuck that. I can't watch the soft, floppy mess Pau's become. I'd rather summon the retired ghosts of Chris Kaman, Troy Murphy or Theo Ratliff than have Pau back.
I don't mind George going back to OKC. Personally, I don't think he's worth 30+ mill a year. Maybe a couple years ago when the salary cap had an outrageous spike that got everybody overpaid, but that market is past tense. If they were able to trade for Kawhi without giving up too much, then sign LeBron, I'm good with splitting that final 30M in cap space between Julius and Avery Bradley instead of giving it all to George. Build some depth
Lonzo or Randle but none of the other shooters/defenders/ingrams. PG: LeBron, Hart SG: George, Hart SF: Ingram, Kuzma PF: Kawhi, Kuzma C : Randle, Kuzma
Ingram is the centerpiece of any deal that is for sure. And that is not because of who drafted him, he is an extremely promising young player and would help fill the void that Kawhi leaves for SA. It'll take more than that, I'd really do whatever it takes to keep Kuz. Like you said, I'd go to Randle and explore a S&T that way, Randle is pretty damn good. Then maybe include a pick or two in addition. That would be a big haul for the Spurs and we'd keep Zo and BI and Hart. As far as Zubac, he showed some real promise his first year, then went to the SL that second year and disappointed mightily, then didn't get much run the next regular season, showed some flashes like a couple times but was for the most part extremely inconsistent. His trade value isn't anything more than a cap filler at this point.
They have to do better than clearing out every last young player we have in order to get Kawhi, George and LeBron. Fuck that. Do better. Bobby Marks can miss me with that BS. Find somebody to take Deng, leave George to OKC, whatever.
I might even approach JJ Redick. Get Lebron and Kawhi, Get off Deng's deal, they'll be some massive cap room. Throw 18 of it JJ's way, sign Randle after Cap space is used PG Ball SG Redick SF Kawhi PF Lebron C Lopez/Randle (Lopez starts, Julius finishes) with Kuz, Hart, and some ring chasers off the bench.
I think you meant " keep Kuz, Zo, and Hart ", but agreed on pretty much everything. Kuz needs to die a Laker. He's a lifer, IMO. I mentioned it before, but Pop does love Julius and Eric Pincus just got done sayin on his twitter feed that, yeah, nobody can approach Julius about a sign/trade until July, so if anything goes down between Julius/Spurs it'll have to happen then. Can't even agree on anything in principle. I think more of Zubac than you do, though. That production stands. A 16-17 PER for a kid that young is impressive. He got lost in the new uptempo/high pace system they plugged in for Zo, but the Spurs play at a slower pace. Much slower pace. He's right up their alley. They should value him.
I am hoping Magic and Pelinka are wise enough to know that Randle is one of a few players that can compete with and sometimes neutralize Draymond. We need to find a way to keep him. If the Spurs are getting meh offers from other suitors, there is no need in my opinion to mortgage an entire future past the next 3 years or so by getting Leonard. Ingram is probably one casualty. But we need to keep Kuzma. That may mean giving up Hart, someone the Spurs could probably turn into a star if not a solid contributor. The problem with Randle is that by being a RFA, will he take big money from the likes of the Nets where LA cannot match, or will he also see the bigger picture of a possible dynasty that can challenge GS, Houston for dominance in the West or NBA for the next 5 years, and get a big payday next contract like Steph, Durant, and soon Klay and Draymond will get paid? We'll see I guess.
