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

[tupac003]

 

[tupac003]

Rui going to the highest bidder

 

[MIKE LOWERY]

Or even better, traded for Buddy instead of Rust summer '21.

Imagine how the players feel.

I think the best and most reasonable chance at Kyrie is in December or January. He will tear the Mavs apart from the inside. A ticking time bomb.

Only way to do it.



Problem is, does Mark Cuban pull a Joe Tsai when he sees what Kyrie is doing? Or does he know what it is from the start?

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Rui can be a BIG part of what we do going forward....can't let him walk either.

He's such a good SHOT MAKER

 

[drewsone]

 

[pmatic]

All the exit interviews are on the Lakers YT page: https://www.youtube.com/@lakers/videos

 

[tupac003]

All the exit interviews are on the Lakers YT page: https://www.youtube.com/@lakers/videos

Kinda stupid that spectrum only covered the Ham and Rob interview.

They should have covered all of it.

 

[pdino]

Please no Trae Young.. he might be the worst defender in the league. DLo looks like Scottie Pippen compared to him defensively

 

[DLF]

Lol

 

[lovehateself]

I heard Westbrook was there to console them too

 

[drewsone]

if that AD **** real that **** funny af

 

[essential1]

Problem is, does Mark Cuban pull a Joe Tsai when he sees what Kyrie is doing? Or does he know what it is from the start?

 

[pmatic]

Grades for the year (relative to salary and expectations):
LeBron = A...The old man took some time to ramp up to start the season, then carried the Lakers when AD went down. Gutted through the foot injury, had to pick his spots in the playoffs.
AD = A-...Had two awesome runs during the regular season between his injury, then was the best defensive player in the playoffs. A little too up and down on offense in the playoffs.
Reaves = A...Improved his body and jumper last summer and carried his strong rookie play into this season. Looks like a foundational piece for the future with a big payday in July.
Rui = B...A wonky fit when he first got traded, but improved a lot in working with Phil Handy. Should get a big payday after a strong playoff showing. Hope he continues playing hard.
D'Lo = B-...Solid guard play once he got returned, but was too up and down during the playoffs and ended with a thud vs the Nuggets. I think he'll be back on a short-term contract.
Schroder = B+...Had many gripes with him, but he played hard and provided great value for the Lakers on a minimum contract. Already expecting him to return for the TMLE next season.
Vando = B...Brought great energy and defense to the team, but needs to improve the offense. Should be working on corner threes, catching the ball cleanly and finishing over the summer.
Lonnie = B+...Hated the signing, but was good to start the season, then got hurt and fell out of the rotation. Helped win game four vs the Warriors so very appreciative of that, but I think he's leaving.
TBJ = B...Provided solid two way play at forward on a minimum contract. I think he showed enough to get a slide of the TMLE from another team, but wouldn't mind having him back next season.
Beasley = C...Had like three hot shooting games, but was otherwise ineffective in his stint. Has a team option for next season that I could see being declined or traded elsewhere.
Wenyen = B...A favorite of mine, probably a tad over his head as a nightly backup but he provided great energy and hustle nonetheless. Would love to have him back next season as the fourth/fifth big.
Bamba = INC...Was not a fan of what I saw before he went down with injury, but his size and shooting (particuarly above the break/top of key) is appealing. Could see him back next season.
Christie = INC...Showed glimpses in his brief appearances this season as a big guard that can shoot threes, defend and rebound. There should be minutes for him next season provided he improves.
Ham = B+....Had my gripes with him during the regular season, but provided stability and toughness in the locker room. Adjusted fairly well in the playoffs game to game which was impressive.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

Shroeder prolly gon too. Feels like he had fun playing here this time around but he likely gon.

Don't really want him back

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Team reached its ceiling. Bron played as well as you could expect and AD/D'lo/AR should've been enough to carry it down the stretch and they couldn't get it done. Gonna be the same story next season if no changes are made. Wouldn't surprise me if they moved on from AR/D'lo if a high level guard is available and I think that will be the case. If not they're kinda just twiddling their thumbs next season and killing time until the next next high level guard is available to pair with AD. And if they move on from AD it's pretty much a full tear down

 

[Lizakers]

Wouldn’t mind a reset
This squad won’t win a chip next year anyway

If we can flip bron for assets do it. Trade bron for Kyrie then sign Derozan

Or trade bron for street clothes Kawhi

I should be GM

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

takes brons role as starting PF

The better move would be AD moving to PF and Lakers go get a starting center named Turner.

Play Bron at the 3. Rui finna win 6MOY - scorer deluxe, first man off the bench to replace the load managing LeBron.

Then you got a Rui-AD-Turner frontcourt that is STRONG inside and out

 

[trynafeelmink]

The team as constructed played all of 3 months man & reached the WCF with no homecourt, while playing must win basketball since March

I’m completely fine running it back & making moves around the deadline

Keeping depth is the main focus for me, Unless it’s D’Lo + Beasley + 17, I’m not interested in many other trades where we swap multiple players

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

There's going to be a lot of teams looking to move contracts ahead of the new CBA so there could be some high tier names getting moved. I'd expect the Lakers to look in that direction. Especially if they can get it done with just D'lo and a pick. I really doubt they run it back without a major change to the starting lineup

 

[essential1]

Major change to the starting lineup will more likely be Vando’s spot than DLo’s.

Wouldn’t make sense to take DLo and some combination of assets to trade for another PG. That’s just a waste of management. Better PGs are either not available or asking price is too high.
Moving Vando to a 15-20 mpg bench guy. And using trade assets to fill a bigger need (Big wing players) changes the starting lineup. And hedges LeBron rest/injury.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Teams usually build based on how they lost in the playoffs. As constructed the Lakers were able to do just enough to limit Jokic and give themselves a chance. They couldn't do anything to match Murray's production. If they ran it back and played the Nuggets again, they'd get swept again next season. I don't think they're just gonna pray that D'lo becomes that. They're gonna pursue an explosive scorer if one becomes available. Lavine for D'lo is an example where they wouldn't need to gut the team and the type of move I think they'd make

 

[pmatic]

Backcourt definitely needs to be more dynamic.

 

[thasoleful1]

Vando need to go work on his offense bag Can’t catch a ball to save his life. Layup package trash too

 

[Lizakers]

Vando need to go work on his offense bag Can’t catch a ball to save his life. Layup package trash too

This. And he’s not explosive off the ground. Takes him a while to to elevate and dunk if you notice all his dunks this year

 

[essential1]

Sure LaVine for DLo + etc etc. wouldn’t be a bad move.

But for what people’s view of what DLo’s value is. There’s zero reason the Bulls consider it. Especially if they make Zach available and 29 other teams can make an offer. The number 17 pick by itself for a total rebuild isn’t something attractive. Which is what Chicago would be doing.


The back court “needs to be more dynamic” in large part because of who the forwards are / age of the forwards.