2014-15 Lakers Season Thread (21-61) KAT

[joecoolio66]

Right now it's a tie between Russell, Winslow, and WCS.


I'd lean Russell right now off overall talent, but the other two are elite defenders that could make immediate impacts next to Randle/Kobe/Clarkson next year.

I agree.

 

[darthska]

[quote name="CP1708"][quote name="KingJaffeJo"]We get the #3 pick, who is everyone's choice??[/quote]Right now it's a tie between Russell, Winslow, and WCS.


I'd lean Russell right now off overall talent, but the other two are elite defenders that could make immediate impacts next to Randle/Kobe/Clarkson next year.[/quote]Completely agree, so then it becomes a question of immediate defense, or potential overall talent coming into fruition later (or also not coming into fruition).

 

[essential1]

WCS or Russell. I have a feeling Okafor could slide to 3 or 4.

Also tonight is supposed to be a scheduled loss. And big for us in keeping Orlando out of reach. Lakers come through please.

 

[teamlakers909]

Winslow.

 

[teamlakers909]

Wins low for Winslow

 

[kingjaffejo]

WCS or Russell. I have a feeling Okafor could slide to 3 or 4.

Also tonight is supposed to be a scheduled loss. And big for us in keeping Orlando out of reach. Lakers come through please.

Yea but it is Denver so you never no with that team. I think we lose tho in the mile high on a B2B. At least I hope so....

And number 3 to me is Russel. When picking that high in the draft you always shoot for the potential highest overal talent. You can get closer to a sure thing in the later rounds cuz most of the times the talent levels are already tapped out.

And honestly WCS and Winslow can be found elsewhere. What Russel can become those previous 2 can never reach.
Like I said when you picking that high you go for the projected talent versus the already tapped talent.

 

[CP1708]

And honestly WCS and Winslow can be found elsewhere

Yeah, no.

You realize that WCS and Winslow are basically the "safest" of picks, over someone like Russell who is more potential based, right? Russell could be great, but he also has a bigger chance at completely busting. WCS and Winslow, defensively, will always be able to help a team out, no matter how poor they might be on offense.

You can't just "find" their defense elsewhere, later in the draft. Don't work like that.

 

[essential1]

1 Magic win or 2 Lakers losses clinches 4th worst

Magic have 4 winnable games to end the season
Toronto (playing badly. except for tonight they're killing Hornets)
Knicks
@Heat
@Nets

 

[pmatic]

It's May 2011, and Boston is trailing Miami two games to none during its second-round playoff series. On the best of days, Celtics coach Doc Rivers rides Rajon Rondo hard, pushing his stubborn point guard as only a former stubborn point guard can. But this day is different. Doc is more relentless, Rondo more seething. "He was just pushing and he was just pushing and he was just pushing," Garnett recalls. Rondo glances across the room at Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal. "They saw me bubbling," Rondo remembers. "They were trying to calm me down. It was too late."

Without warning, Rondo snatches his water bottle and hurls it, full force, at the television monitor, the one airing the game footage that's being used to critique him. The 50-inch flat-screen, mounted on a cart in the center of the room, shatters. "When he blew the TV up, it was about to go in another direction -- like, the whole thing," Garnett says, his voice rising. Rivers, fed up, gives Garnett an order: "I want Rondo out." Garnett obliges. "He kicked the door off the hinges," Garnett says. "I'll never forget: I had to pick him up and carry him out because it was going like that, and the locker room was suuuper tense. Just super tense." As he's hauling the 6-foot-1, 186-pound point guard, the 6-11 Garnett barks, "Get outside, man, ****," physically carrying Rondo outside the room, then the building. Rondo fumes. "He was just so ******* hot," Garnett says, reliving the moment. "He was hot, yo. When I say he was hot, he was hot."

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/sto...face-dallas-mavericks-point-guard-rajon-rondo

Byron.
Kobe.
Rondo.

My God.

 

[CP1708]

No Lin tonight.

 

[essential1]

No Lin tonight.

So more of Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man

 

[essential1]

Orlando won... We just need 1 lose and clinch 4th worst

 

[teamlakers909]

Wait....is Clarkson not starting tonight?  Both ESPN and NBA.com does not have him in the top 5 under 'box score'

 

[essential1]

Wait....is Clarkson not starting tonight?  Both ESPN and NBA.com does not have him in the top 5 under 'box score'

He did.. According to Lakers twitter.. Truthfully I'm not watching. He's just not on the court right now.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Orlando won... We just need 1 lose and clinch 4th worst

Bring us home Dwight Buycks!

 

[ValarMorghulis]

We get the #3 pick, who is everyone's choice??

And honestly WCS and Winslow can be found elsewhere

Yeah, no.

You realize that WCS and Winslow are basically the "safest" of picks, over someone like Russell who is more potential based, right? Russell could be great, but he also has a bigger chance at completely busting. WCS and Winslow, defensively, will always be able to help a team out, no matter how poor they might be on offense.

You can't just "find" their defense elsewhere, later in the draft. Don't work like that.

I'm pretty sure RHJ is gonna be a just as good of a defender and he'll be available later in the draft.

WCS isn't normal defensively, but I just can't sit well taking him top 5 in this draft, if he was like Joakim had a baby hook and was a very good passer I'd be all for it.

 

[ValarMorghulis]

Winslow creeping tho....

No slight to him

 

[essential1]

Why Anthony Davis Should Control His Own Destiny
BY DANIEL LEROUX

APR 6, 2015 5:00 PM

Anthony Davis is putting the finishing touches on a truly remarkable season for a player his age. If it holds to form, The Brow would have the highest PER for any NBA season of a player age 21 or earlier. In fact, he would hold two of the top four marks there (with last year as his second) with Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James in between the two. Davis can and should make even more history in 2015 by being the first elite player to decline a full max extension to take his qualifying offer.

In a vast majority of circumstances, I advocate for young players to take the guaranteed money and run. A lucrative extension off a rookie deal can come a full season ahead of time so it mitigates an absolute ton of risk. In fact, in this circumstance Davis would actually take two years of uncertainty because he would secure his big payday in 2017 instead of 2015. In his distinct situation, the benefits outweigh the costs.

Control

Anthony Davis’ main reason to sign the qualifying offer would be control of his own future. Kyrie Irving, another No. 1 overall pick who only played one year of college, will be an Unrestricted Free Agent for the first time in 2019 when he is 27 years old. That means Irving will only get one bite at the apple in his prime to prioritize whatever he wants most. If Davis becomes unrestricted in 2017 at age 24 (!), he can sign a four- or five-year contract with whatever team he likes and still be in line for another huge contract that would cover the end of his prime and likely some early post-prime seasons.


On top of simply having control, the timing of when Davis hits the market also makes taking the qualifying offer more interesting. While people are focusing on 2016 as the summer where the big chips will fall, 2017 could carry a huge bump in the salary cap as well and has an amazing free agent class including Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, all of whom will be unrestricted too. Being able to go where he likes gives Davis the power to choose his teammates in New Orleans or elsewhere.

The specter of unrestricted free agency would also force his current team to think differently about the next few seasons. Since they drafted Davis, New Orleans management mistakenly chose shortsighted moves over building slowly around their budding star. They traded two lottery picks for Jrue Holiday (who would be a UFA the same season as Davis if AD takes the qualifying offer) and one for Omer Asik who could leave after one season with no compensation. Davis by himself can change the direction of his franchise and give them the incentive to keep their books clean so he can bring another great player or two to The Big City.

The Max

Waiting until 2017 to get his payout could yield another major benefit for Davis. In all likelihood, the league will be working under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement starting then since both the players and owners have an opt-out of the current one at that time. While the players usually get a smaller piece of the pie on the aggregate due to owners’ ability to better survive stoppages, the NBA currently has a surprisingly low individual player maximum. Additionally, max-level players currently dominate leadership of the Player’s Association. That dynamic could shift CBA negotiations on max contracts and NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts has already brought up her opposition to the current low maximum salaries for individual players.

Waiting until 2017 could put Davis in the first class able to get a higher share of the cap instead of the last one on the current scale. That chance is merely a possibility at present but still a legitimate and interesting one.

Davis’ Reduced Risk

Over the past few months, I have talked with some writers about what it would it take for Anthony Davis to not get a full max offer when he hits free agency. So far, the general consensus has been something catastrophic on or off the court that affects the rest of his career. Most agreed that even tearing his ACL in the last game of the previous season and missing his entire first year on a new contract would not prevent some team from putting a max deal in front of Davis. That means he carries substantially less risk than most elite young players, probably the least in this spot since Kevin Durant or LeBron James.

In addition to that, as the #1 overall pick Davis will get a substantial qualifying offer of $9.19 million. While a few notches down from what he could get on an extension, Davis would be well compensated during his risk year.

The Olympics

If Davis chooses to become an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2017, the 2016 Summer Olympics turn into a gigantic chance for him to shape his future. Every player there would know that one of the best players in the league could be a potential teammate one year from then. That knowledge would also allow The Brow to evaluate everyone there as guys he could play with in his early prime and work to forge connections like Miami’s Big Three made during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The exploding cap also makes bringing three stars together more possible than it has been at any point during the new CBA whether AD could bring them to New Orleans or someone convinces him to play with them elsewhere.

Conclusion

Anthony Davis has given himself an incredible and almost unprecedented opportunity to take control of his career at a young age. Electing to play on a qualifying offer instead of a max extension gives him the flexibility to choose where he makes his legacy and plays for his entire prime. Players and General Managers alike would have the time to prepare simply remarkable situations for him. Becoming an Unrestricted Free Agent in his mid-twenties takes all of the perils of team-building off of Davis’ shoulders since the only way he would spend his prime on an inferior team would be in a situation of his choosing and his control.

This unusual tact certainly carries a healthy amount of risk but not as much for Anthony Davis as it would be for someone with a shakier track record. The man is an MVP candidate at age 22, after all.

Having the Olympics to assess possible teammates and the chance of increased max contracts also makes the big decision more palatable. A confluence of circumstances have allowed the NBA’s best young player has a chance to forge his own path and I sincerely hope he gives himself the opportunity to do so.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

He's the type of guy that should most certainly not take the extension

 

[CP1708]

I would offer Beverly Hills, Malibu, the Pacific Ocean, and San Diego to get AD. No panties allowed for females age 21-30, and key to every city in the state.

Whatever he wants.

 

[essential1]

4th worst secured..

 

[darthska]

As in 'We CANNOT mathematically do better than the 4th worse team in the league'?

 

[essential1]

As in 'We CANNOT mathematically do better than the 4th worse team in the league'?

Well we could do better but would have to go 0-4 the rest of the way out

And Sixers have to go 2-1 to tie, or 3-0 to pass us.

 

[darthska]

When I say 'better', I mean literally, as in 'The 5th worse team is better than the 4th worse.'

 

[essential1]

When I say 'better', I mean literally, as in 'The 5th worse team is better than the 4th worse.'

Lol well than yes.. We can do no better than 4th worse. We will be at best the 4th worst team.

 

[daddyrabbit251]

If they plan to stick with pick take Winslow if he's available and Oak isn't. The two Achilles heels of this team have been the PG and SF spots. We have athleticism and speed on the wing at the PG spot, now it's time to fill that void at the SF. Also Winslow is an above average play maker at that position too which will be a breath of fresh air for the franchise after running with poor spot up shooters at the position the past 3 or 4 seasons


They can always trade that pick to Sacramento for the best center in league tho

#TheMarathonContinues