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

Oh btw trae is def NOT coming to the lakers now.
Atlanta has the lakers pick, they are invested in the lakers being bad next year.

They prolly trade him to the spurs for peanuts (1 or 2 or Atlanta’s picks from the initial Murray trade back)
What's the indication the Spurs want him? Weren't all reports saying the Spurs don't want him?

He legitimately seems like a player Pop would hate.
 


Los Angeles Lakers
• Selected Dalton Knecht (No. 17) and Bronny James (No. 55)

This is an easy win for the Lakers. They got Dalton Knecht, the player I had ranked No. 9 in the class, at No. 17. I wasn’t quite as high as some teams seemed to be on him, but I do think this is an absolutely perfect pick for a team that both needed immediate help and needed shooting.

The Lakers were just 28th in the league in 3-point attempt rate this past season. They finished eighth in 3-point percentage, but I’m a bit worried that this number was boosted by aberrant shooting seasons by Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell, along with even a 41-percent year from LeBron James. Now with Knecht, the Lakers have a serious shooter who will need to be guarded from every inch of the half-court area. He’s a tremendous off-ball scorer who moves exceedingly well away from the ball and flies off of actions at a high level. Defenses are going to have to pay attention to him, or else he will get loose and fire from 3. But even if they get a late closeout on him, Knecht is also awesome at attacking closeouts and driving. There’s more to his game as a scorer than simply his shooting. He can get into the lane and finish with touch or vertical pop. He can take midrange jumpers as a counter. And, yes, he can fire 3s off of real actions.

That’s going to open up a ton of space for guys James and Austin Reaves as drivers. They’re going to have so much more room to operate around the court. Teams won’t be able to sag off of their man quite as easily, for fear of either of those two players kicking out and hitting Knecht for an easy 3 (which he will make at a good clip). This should be a serious offensive upgrade over the next couple of years. Hopefully, new coach J.J. Redick can take some of his old sets that he used to run to create space for Knecht to thrive as an off-ball scorer, and hit the upside he has potential to be in that respect.

Then, the Lakers did the obvious and took Bronny James at No. 55. Look, teams make picks all the time to keep their stars happy. I can’t really say that I have an issue with the team doing this. It’s the 55th pick. The odds of hitting a rotation player that low are incredibly slim. In terms of the evaluation on Bronny, I ended up with him at No. 72 on my board and saw him as an Exhibit 10 grade. But he was not the lowest-rated player on my board that got picked on Thursday. He is nowhere near ready for the NBA. He’s at least two years away if every single thing goes right with his development in the next couple of seasons. For him to get the development he needs on the ball and to iron out his consistency as a shooter, he must spend the next two years in the G League. To me, that’s not a worthwhile investment given that his upside is something in the ballpark of a rotational 3-and-D guard. But when the other side is disappointing your star player, it’s worth taking him and seeing what happens.
 
Hey D dloading

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Tick tock mofo…
 

Clearly he doesn't understand that there is NOTHING to be excited about.
A #55 pick? He's excited about... a 55 pick?
I get excited for championships only. I guess he's more low bar. :/
Also weird that he's excited about the son of the only Laker holding us back from #18. 🤦‍♂️
 
It better be for a big guard or wing that can play perimeter defense & point of attack who can shoot.
That or legit big man center who can rebound, block shots that can move his feet or this trade will be a wasted move.
 
It better be for a big guard or wing that can play perimeter defense & point of attack who can shoot.
That or legit big man center who can rebound, block shots that can move his feet or this trade will be a wasted move.

This is easier said than done though. Lakers will have to attach picks to Dlo. Clearly no one wants Dlo, but as an expiring he can be useful. Who are they willing to trade for by attaching those picks they value so highly. Dejounte is gone.
 
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