**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

The starters have been pretty pedestrian as a unit most of this season. It's just a bad mix of people. Deng and Mosgov are terrible. I think Puke is married to his rotations so that's why they don't get burn together.
 
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@grandtheftbike is a national treasure
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Politics. The 2 highest paid must start. Can't bench Moz and Deng otherwise management looks bad
 
Politics. The 2 highest paid must start. Can't bench Moz and Deng otherwise management looks bad
If they cared about looking bad they wouldn't have signed them in the first place. Ingram should be starting by now, and with the multitude of bigs that we have, somebody can give us more than what Mosgov is. 
 
i thought we had finally made that turn. but nope. this team still ****** sucks. i need my team to flourish, this **** been breaking my heart for damn near half a decade now. and no with no kobe, games aint eem really exciting either. Nick and Lou aint gon be young forever. And with Jr hurt, it aint nothing but Hollywood draymond and 'cuts in ya eye brows tryna wild out'
 
Time, and patience. That's all.

You guys don't grasp how to truly rebuild thru the draft, you all expect immediate results and one sided trades.

Your core isn't even of legal drinking age (on average) give them time, we'll be fine.


Ingram, DLo, Randle, Clarkson, Nance, Zubac is a great start. If we do luck into another Top 3 pick, even better.

If we can add anything of future value for Nick/Lou, even more better.

If Black or T-Rob can give us anything in terms of depth in 2-3 years, big help.

Then, we have a chance to add a piece or two on top of the core and make a true leap.

Time, and patience. All that's needed.

Dwight, Melo, LMA all said no. They tried to rebuild with money, it wasn't enough. They needed a complete rebuild from the ground up.

Good young coach, good young core, now give it time to grow. That simple.
 
 
Is it just me but has zu shed some weight
Looks thinner in the face
Has... They want him down to 265. He's at 272. Started the season at 280
good short read  about Zu's trips from d-league-NBA-D-league-NBA schedule via OC register

“If English was my first language, I would talk back. But sometimes it’s really hard to answer really quick,” Zubac said. “So I just score on them. I respond with my game.”
LOS ANGELES – With a stoic expression on his face, Lakers  rookie center Ivica Zubac sat by his locker. He expressed what his body language suggested he felt.

“I’m tired,” Zubac said before the Lakers played the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Staples Center.

In an experience he called “exhausting,” Zubac appeared for three minutes in the final moments of Saturday’s loss to the Clippers before playing that evening for the Lakers’ Development League affiliate. Though he received forewarning a few days beforehand, Zubac struggled squeezing in a 20-minute nap before the D-Fenders hosted the Canton Charge.

Even after sleeping in until 11 a.m. on Sunday, Zubac said he felt the physical strain from becoming the 10th player in history to play in an NBA and D-League game on the same day. D-Fenders coach and former Lakers player Coby Karl and former Lakers guard Jordan Farmar also represent that group.

Zubac also felt tired from something else. Throughout his overlapping stints with the Lakers and D-Fenders, the Croatian center has frequently heard defenders try to belittle him.

“I’m coming from the NBA, so they want to talk trash all the time,” Zubac said. “But I don’t really care what they’re trying to say. I’m in the NBA and they’re not. They can say whatever they want.”

So, Zubac has responded by averaging 15.6 points on 57.8 percent shooting, 9.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 block through 13 games with the D-Fenders. On Saturday, he posted 20 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 32 minutes.

“If English was my first language, I would talk back. But sometimes it’s really hard to answer really quick,” Zubac said. “So I just score on them. I respond with my game.”

On Saturday, Zubac did so by showing reported improvement on defense and depending on his developing skyhook. He also collected three fouls, which mirrors the 3.5 fouls he has averaged thus far. Defenders apparently have teased Zubac about that tendency.

“They say they’ll get me out of the game and will attack me. Then they say I will have to foul them,” Zubac said. “Everybody goes extra hard against me because I’m coming from the NBA. I’m used to that. Everybody wants to prove themselves against a player that is coming from the NBA.”

WORKING OVERTIME

The routine reflected Brandon Ingram’s intent to spend any waking hour playing basketball so that he can excel more in his craft. Only a few hours after the Lakers’ loss to the Clippers on Saturday, Ingram spent his evening attending the D-Fenders game followed by a shooting workout.

The Lakers obviously like Ingram’s dedication. He spent last Saturday evening doing the same thing. But with the Lakers also playing on Sunday against Detroit, how much has Lakers coach Luke Walton become concerned with Ingram burning out?

“With the young guys, work out as much as you want until we can start to see it affecting them,” Walton said. “If Brandon looks like he’s hitting a wall, we would monitor it a little more closely.”

It does not look like that has happened. Ingram entered Sunday’s game shooting 55.1 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from 3-point range in the past seven contests. He also scored in double digits for four consecutive games this month.

“Until then, we want the young guys in there every day getting extra work and getting extra shots up,” Walton said. “What he’s doing has been impressive.”
and some praise for BI's improvement in the last handful of games. 
 
Zubac definitely has a bright future ahead of him. He lets his game do the talking, he's willing to put in the work and does what his coaches are asking of him, and he's humble. 

We already know he's got the skills on offense, so I like the fact they're making him focus on becoming a solid defender. Once he gets to his desired weight, he'll be even more fluid out there on both ends of the floor.

It's funny - we have Ingram trying to put on pounds, while Zu trying to trim down. But once equilibrium is reached, watch out.
 
Kevin Pelton and Chad Ford has a discussion on the 2015 draft class: http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...t-nba-sophomore-chad-ford-kevin-pelton-debate

D'Lo is fifth in Pelton's rankings and sixth in Ford's. Nance ranked eighth for Pelton.
Who do you have at No. 5?

Pelton: D'Angelo Russell rounds out my top five. The No. 2 overall pick has made incremental progress in his second season, improving his assist rate from 4.2 per 36 minutes to 6.0, increasing his usage rate to 27.4 percent of the Lakers' plays (up from 24.2 percent) while maintaining his efficiency and improving on the defensive glass.

While Russell still has a long way to go in his development as a playmaker and defender, a look around the league shows the opposite story at point guard as at center: Russell is perhaps the league's best full-time point guard younger than age 25, which augurs well for his long-term development.

You've consistently favored Emmanuel Mudiay over Russell. Is that still the case?

Ford: No. Mudiay is still struggling and Russell is looking better. But neither is at No. 5 for me.
Nance is already an above-average backup big man -- the Lakers have really missed him while he has been sidelined -- who might eventually grow to become a starter.
I'm with you on both Russell and Lyles. Both have very bright futures and the upside is still there.
 
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