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

[MVP]

Ariza is the key?

how many minutes a night is frank expecting to play ariza??

LeBron already showing signs of breaking down

Man I am not liking what frank has been saying in interviews and post-games.

We brought in russ and all these wings to help take the load off LeBron…the complete opposite has happened so far…team has no cohesion and LeBron is playing more minutes than last year just to keep us a float.

can’t continue utilizing LeBron like this, he wont hold up and be his normal self come playoffs.

if LeBron is hurt or not 100% come may, we got NO SHOT.

so it’s concerning he’s playing so damn much every night for pretty much meaninglessness games

We didn't bring in many wings at all. Just a buncha guards.

 

[brownmamba]

good point up theresorianotron

Bron cant be playing too many minutes

he's an old fart now,,save his energy for the postseason

 

[pmatic]

Ariza is the key?

how many minutes a night is frank expecting to play ariza??

LeBron already showing signs of breaking down

Man I am not liking what frank has been saying in interviews and post-games.

We brought in russ and all these wings to help take the load off LeBron…the complete opposite has happened so far…team has no cohesion and LeBron is playing more minutes than last year just to keep us a float.

can’t continue utilizing LeBron like this, he wont hold up and be his normal self come playoffs.

if LeBron is hurt or not 100% come may, we got NO SHOT.

so it’s concerning he’s playing so damn much every night for pretty much meaninglessness games

*Stares at Jeanie, Pelinka and LeBron*

 

[DLF]

Not worried at all

bozos in here panicking

title is ours.

 

[grittyman]

“All these wings”

Say what now?

 

[DLF]

The only positive is so far it seems like only PHX and GSW are legit in the West.

From there down it's wide open.

In a vacuum this is true but in reality, teams 3-10 are all a wash. We have SIGNFICANTLY better talent then these teams and it’s not really a compliment to be on this tier of teams. We are talking about the kawhi less clippers, the Mavs with a worse coach, blazers (please), nuggets missing 2/3 top players, kings/wolves/pelicans. Only team worth mentioning are the jazz.

 

[brownmamba]

legit statement there DLF until CP3 or Steph get injured and sidelined for awhile


and LAKESHOW get their s$$t straight

 

[SORIANOTRON]

“All these wings”

Say what now?

Monk, nunn, ariza, bazemore, bradley, reaves

are these all not new wing players?

 

[grittyman]

Monk, nunn, ariza, bazemore, bradley, reaves

are these all not new wing players?

Wings to me are in the 6’6 and above category. Most of those guys are guards, except Trevor.

I guess Reaves is a wing-lite

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Wings to me

Gotcha

so what is a player like Anthony Edwards if he isn’t a wing?

 

[pmatic]

Monk, Bradley, Nunn and Reaves are definitely guards. Baze has forward skills (or should I say less guard skills) in a guard's body.

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Monk, Bradley, Nunn and Reaves are definitely guards. Baze has forward skills (or should I say less guard skills) in a guard's body.

I think u mean to say baze just sucks

I don’t think I have ever seen anyone throw the ball to baze in the post, he’s a perimeter 3&D player.

not a forward.

 

[noblekane]

this guy is ****ing delusional.

washed *** ariza is toast. vogel is either dumb as rocks or trying to buy time before getting fired.

to say an old injured player is the key to a teams success is ****ing insane

this isnt baseball jack ***

 

[MIKE LOWERY]

The only wings on the roster are Bron and Ariza, and Bron is better served playing 4, smallball 5 and guarding on the perimeter part time.


Idiotic roster construction. They did an absolutely dreadful job after trading for Russ. Need some more manna from heaven come trade and buyout deadline.

 

[Lizakers]

Frank needs to be reminded it’s 2021. Ariza can’t move laterally

 

[Zo gif]

imagine ariza changing your season in the year 2021.
imagine

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Shades of 'just wait until Nash gets back'

 

[grittyman]

Gotcha

so what is a player like Anthony Edwards if he isn’t a wing?

Good question.

Def a guard but I think he has the size and athleticism to defend small forwards in a pinch so guard/wing

 

[had pants]

 

[trynafeelmink]

Man lebron is averaging 36 minutes & has only played half the games this season how exactly is he getting worn out? a majority of the games he has played came when we were quite literally missing half our rotation, which forced him to play more.

In regards to Ariza i don't see anything wrong with what Frank said, Ariza is probably going to see 15-20 minutes a game, those 15-20 coming at the expense of mostly DJ, AB, Baze. He has a specific skillset that can help the overall SYSTEM they are trying to run.

No different than a Battier in MIA, Korver/Deledove/TT in Cleveland, PJ Tucker for the Bucks etc etc. When dealing with such top heavy teams having guys who can effectively & routinely be counted on to do the small things is really important.

 

[DLF]

Interesting tidbits

1) the lebron ad Westbrook with no DJ or howard lineups are very very good but only played like 100 something minutes. A lot of that is frank being frank but also not having any wings on the team. This is why ariza coming back will unlock this lineup. Guess that’s the problem with this roster: management put all their faith In a 37 year old. Also what they did was think THT and Baze were gonna be 2009 ariza. They are better suited as guards (big guards).
2) disgusting hearing McMeninan on Lebrons payroll. First he defended the Caruso deal by saying “come on, you think the team would be 18-5 if we had Caruso?” He knows Lebron is the real GM and will get blamed. What kind of a statement is that from a reporter? And why wouldn’t it be? We are saying ariza will make THAT much of a difference but Caruso wouldn’t? Then he goes on to make an excuse for lebrons low rebounds by saying “well Westbrook usually comes in and steals his rebounds”. This is why NFL is king. Nba is WWE-lite sometimes.

 

[pmatic]

McMenamin the last few weeks on the Basketball Collective pod been shameful too.

 

[trynafeelmink]

I'm still waiting for these long list of Wings that the Lakers passed on & goofed over the summer .

First year, I can't believe they surrounded Lebron & AD with no playmakers, average shooting & defense, the FO has no idea what they're doing.

Second Years Pelinka gets Gasol who's a stretch C, the #1 & #2 leaders in 6MOTY who can both create their own shot, Keeps Kuz, Caruso & KCP...... This team needs shooting badly, Lebron/AD have to create to much we need bigs who can catch lobs & protect the paint

Third year, trades for one of the higher usage players in the league & one of the better playmakers in NBA history, signed 5 guys who shot over 37 from three last year..... This team has no defense, we're too small, can't rebound

I've seen the FO turn this teams identity three separate times & some how they've been killed for it no matter the outcome. Dudes aren't satisfied unless we put together the WC AS roster

 

[tay1]

I'm still waiting for these long list of Wings that the Lakers passed on & goofed over the summer .

First year, I can't believe they surrounded Lebron & AD with no playmakers, average shooting & defense, the FO has no idea what they're doing.

Second Years Pelinka gets Gasol who's a stretch C, the #1 & #2 leaders in 6MOTY who can both create their own shot, Keeps Kuz, Caruso & KCP...... This team needs shooting badly, Lebron/AD have to create to much we need bigs who can catch lobs & protect the paint

Third year, trades for one of the higher usage players in the league & one of the better playmakers in NBA history, signed 5 guys who shot over 37 from three last year..... This team has no defense, we're too small, can't rebound

I've seen the FO turn this teams identity three separate times & some how they've been killed for it no matter the outcome. Dudes aren't satisfied unless we put together the WC AS roster

This is the crux of it. I remember the complaints all throughout the bubble season. We weren't great then either.

 

[DLF]

I'm still waiting for these long list of Wings that the Lakers passed on & goofed over the summer .

First year, I can't believe they surrounded Lebron & AD with no playmakers, average shooting & defense, the FO has no idea what they're doing.

Second Years Pelinka gets Gasol who's a stretch C, the #1 & #2 leaders in 6MOTY who can both create their own shot, Keeps Kuz, Caruso & KCP...... This team needs shooting badly, Lebron/AD have to create to much we need bigs who can catch lobs & protect the paint

Third year, trades for one of the higher usage players in the league & one of the better playmakers in NBA history, signed 5 guys who shot over 37 from three last year..... This team has no defense, we're too small, can't rebound

I've seen the FO turn this teams identity three separate times & some how they've been killed for it no matter the outcome. Dudes aren't satisfied unless we put together the WC AS roster

Thanks for making the point for us who are dissatisfied with management.

you have one job. Surround lebron and AD with defense, size, IQ and good enough shooting. Do it without major turn around year to year to build chemistry.

what do lakers do? Shift their identity each year. Start over each summer. Brand new team each year. Stick to one philosophy and perfect it