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

[MajinZuub]

I just wish I saw the elite level of vision and passing from Russell that I missed apparently.
Elite.
Elite.
Elite.

 

[EddieDoyers]

DLo has good vision and passing.
I think the ones that miss DLo are gassing up his abilities though.

 

[moonman818]

DLo has good vision and passing.
I think the ones that miss DLo are gassing up his abilities though.

I definitely saw growth in his game and I wasn't ready to see him leave. I still don't think it was the right move at this time.

I don't really think anyone is gassing him up though

 

[pmatic]

Told you guys Pacers wouldn't do a full scale rebuild.

And shipping D'Lo out for attitude concerns, then reaching out to Rondo on the first day of free agency.

UN ******* BELIEVABLE.

 

[QU!K]

 

[Lizakers]

They were shopping him only with Mozgov's contract attached... Contrary to early reports, they never actually made Russell available without taking Mozgov's contract off their hands

I get all that. I even said when the trade happened that obviously Brooklyn values him enough that they were willing to take on Moz's contract to have Dlo on their team.


But look at it this way. If KAT, Porzingis, Booker and even BI were being shopped with Mozgov they would get a better return.

Ya'll say Dlo is the best yada yada point guard at 21 with these stats ever, right? right? one of only 2 or 3 point guards to get these stats at this age or whatever, right?

If that's true and he's so great and special, then surely teams wouldn't give a damn about absorbing a mere 3 years at $16 M per year to be able to have this great talent, right? Teams would be lining up saying "sure we'll take Mozgov and we'll even give you a lottery pick and some other players just to have this once in a lifetime Dlo on our team. Here you go, take it all! We love Dlo, please give him to us!"

But that didn't happen. Nobody wanted him. Could it be because empty stats on a horrible team don't mean ****? could it be because he's slow, unathletic, can't elevate at the rim, is a streaky shooter, plays with no heart, jogs back on defense after turnovers, can't get by Boris Diaw 3 times in one game......etc etc.

But hey he made a few garbage time 3's and got his points up in blow out games, so look at his stats. wow he's great

Edit: And another thing, if Dlo's so great they wouldn't trade him REGARDLESS of cap space or anything else. All this "he got little return because of the Moz contract" is a b.s. excuse. Why didn't they attach another assett like BI or JC+Randle to unload Moz? or future picks? newsflash, because Dlo was the most expendable

 

[CP1708]

They were shopping him only with Mozgov's contract attached... Contrary to early reports, they never actually made Russell available without taking Mozgov's contract off their hands

Ya'll say Dlo is the best yada yada point guard at 21 with these stats ever, right? right? one of only 2 or 3 point guards to get these stats at this age or whatever, right?

Look at this ****.

 

[sb]

 

[iceinmyveins2]

If I know about the D'lo "liking" posts on instagram that undermines the team then of course Magic knows.  That definitely speaks to his immaturity and he was probably 10 times worse in person.  For that reason I can see Magic wanting to get rid of him ASAP bc that can be toxic.  Same reason why Nick Young is someone we have ZERO interest  in.  

 

[essential1]

I really don't even want to discuss this but it's pointless, so I'll bite

Or perhaps, Maybe Magic really is as dumb as most of us thought, and wanted to pave the way for Lonzo to be the sole face of the franchise. Whether some of you like it or not, up until the trade, D'Angelo was the face of the team. If Magic didn't like that, and wanted a Pure Point Guard as the face, and leader in the mold of himself then that explains a lot.

Let's look at everything he said....


-He's an All-Star talent
-He's an incredible talent
-He can score
(All things we shouldn't want)


-If I didn't need the money I wouldn't have made the trade
[COLOR=#red]But did he really need the money? You could have stretched Deng & Mozgov after this upcoming season, and opened up $20mil. If they let Randle go or trade him (which is likely anyway), that was another $11mil, trading Clarkson (who is nowhere near the player Russell is) is another $12mil.. If he wanted pass first guys, then Clarkson is absolutely out.... There you have $43mil, you kick on top not committing anything past this season for anybody & cap increase ($20ish mil), there's your 2 max contracts[/COLOR]

-I want people who will put in work, transform their body, etc.
[COLOR=#red] Jordan Clarkson is still here am I correct? Dude works less, and is even more wrapped up in the Hollywood lifestyle than even Nick Young was.
Russell had been putting in as much work as anybody else was. Maybe he was more of a know-it-all than Ingram, but he was putting in the time, all offseason, and all offseason the year before.
Also I didn't see much body transformation in BI through the entire season... But BI is awarded the time to continue on after being significantly worse in his rookie season than Russell was.[/COLOR]

-I want shooters and defenders
[COLOR=#red]Russell was our best shooter, and if defenders are the case then everybody but Black, Nwaba and maybe Nance should have gotten traded.
Then we go talk to Rajon Rondo on the first day of Free Agency[/COLOR]

-What I want is a leader
[COLOR=#red]If Lonzo is such a leader, and can change the entire culture of the Lakers, it would make sense to see if he can transform D'Angelo Russell. And if Lonzo is that great of a leader as he's billed, he'd have no issue doing so[/COLOR]

-I want a Pure PG
[COLOR=#red]Oh I'm sorry we had to trade Russell to get Lonzo? We didn't just move Russell "off-ball" to pretty decent success? A pure PG wouldn't need a scorer at the 2 or 3? Or really anywhere?[/COLOR]

-I want someone who can get everybody involved
[COLOR=#red] Okay... Sooooo wouldn't that guy in Lonzo make it significantly easier for Russell, therefore Russell would put up better stats. And Lonzo would have someone who he can gel with and make it easier on him[/COLOR]

-We want to play positionless basketball like the Warriors
[COLOR=#red]I mean....[/COLOR]

-It's going to take 5 years for us to come back, and I'm willing to wait
[COLOR=#red] He could have had his cake and ate it too.[/COLOR]



It's really simple. It had very little to do with work ethic, attitude, yadda yadda.. And everything to do with a new regime change. Magic wanted the franchise to look in his image. And Russell would always be in the way of that because like him or not the way he plays, and his personality is why he was the face of the franchise. So to get the guy he wanted to run his team, Russell needed to go... Where Magic was completely idiotic, was that if Lonzo comes in and absolutely kills it, he would become the face anyway. And probably would have just based on hype alone. All he had to do was halfway meet expectations

 

[Lizakers]

always take what GMs say to the media at face value

do you expect him to say "he's slow, he's unathletic, he can't create off the dribble, etc"

No smart GM would kick a player down on his way out, that's bad marketing for future FAs

The evidence is in the market value and the fact that he was the expendable asset

 

[iceinmyveins2]

E, I see what you're saying but your missing the whole point of people not liking him. Did you think that he was just an annoying know it all that was liking stuff on social media undermining the team and maybe he told Magic he wanted to still play point guard and wouldn't budge. I was mad initially but I stopped and realized I always hated the way he acted. Lots of NBA players took shots at him...maybe they know something we don't.

Also you say we could have "just stretched" mozgov. Why would the Buss' want to pay for someone's salary and not have him play. It's not our money so we can easily just say "stretch him it's ok" but that's real money you giving up.

 

[MVP]

D'Lo = Leo
D'Lo Stans = SLJ

 

[delete1234]

Told you guys Pacers wouldn't do a full scale rebuild.

And shipping D'Lo out for attitude concerns, then reaching out to Rondo on the first day of free agency.

UN ******* BELIEVABLE.

Lol facts only

I really don't even want to discuss this but it's pointless, so I'll bite

Or perhaps, Maybe Magic really is as dumb as most of us thought, and wanted to pave the way for Lonzo to be the sole face of the franchise. Whether some of you like it or not, up until the trade, D'Angelo was the face of the team. If Magic didn't like that, and wanted a Pure Point Guard as the face, and leader in the mold of himself then that explains a lot.

Let's look at everything he said....


-He's an All-Star talent
-He's an incredible talent
-He can score
(All things we shouldn't want)


-If I didn't need the money I wouldn't have made the trade
[COLOR=#red]But did he really need the money? You could have stretched Deng & Mozgov after this upcoming season, and opened up $20mil. If they let Randle go or trade him (which is likely anyway), that was another $11mil, trading Clarkson (who is nowhere near the player Russell is) is another $12mil.. If he wanted pass first guys, then Clarkson is absolutely out.... There you have $43mil, you kick on top not committing anything past this season for anybody & cap increase ($20ish mil), there's your 2 max contracts[/COLOR]

-I want people who will put in work, transform their body, etc.
[COLOR=#red] Jordan Clarkson is still here am I correct? Dude works less, and is even more wrapped up in the Hollywood lifestyle than even Nick Young was.
Russell had been putting in as much work as anybody else was. Maybe he was more of a know-it-all than Ingram, but he was putting in the time, all offseason, and all offseason the year before.
Also I didn't see much body transformation in BI through the entire season... But BI is awarded the time to continue on after being significantly worse in his rookie season than Russell was.[/COLOR]

-I want shooters and defenders
[COLOR=#red]Russell was our best shooter, and if defenders are the case then everybody but Black, Nwaba and maybe Nance should have gotten traded.
Then we go talk to Rajon Rondo on the first day of Free Agency[/COLOR]

-What I want is a leader
[COLOR=#red]If Lonzo is such a leader, and can change the entire culture of the Lakers, it would make sense to see if he can transform D'Angelo Russell. And if Lonzo is that great of a leader as he's billed, he'd have no issue doing so[/COLOR]

-I want a Pure PG
[COLOR=#red]Oh I'm sorry we had to trade Russell to get Lonzo? We didn't just move Russell "off-ball" to pretty decent success? A pure PG wouldn't need a scorer at the 2 or 3? Or really anywhere?[/COLOR]

-I want someone who can get everybody involved
[COLOR=#red] Okay... Sooooo wouldn't that guy in Lonzo make it significantly easier for Russell, therefore Russell would put up better stats. And Lonzo would have someone who he can gel with and make it easier on him[/COLOR]

-We want to play positionless basketball like the Warriors
[COLOR=#red]I mean....[/COLOR]

-It's going to take 5 years for us to come back, and I'm willing to wait
[COLOR=#red] He could have had his cake and ate it too.[/COLOR]



It's really simple. It had very little to do with work ethic, attitude, yadda yadda.. And everything to do with a new regime change. Magic wanted the franchise to look in his image. And Russell would always be in the way of that because like him or not the way he plays, and his personality is why he was the face of the franchise. So to get the guy he wanted to run his team, Russell needed to go... Where Magic was completely idiotic, was that if Lonzo comes in and absolutely kills it, he would become the face anyway. And probably would have just based on hype alone. All he had to do was halfway meet expectations

Yeah some of the stuff you typed is BS lol. How u know what clarkson is wrapped up into by a 5 sec TMZ clip?? Lame

 

[MVP]

The cap is only going up 4 mil next season by projections to $103. That renders all that talk null and void. In order to get 2 max deals they had to completely get rid of one of Deng's or Mozgov's deals. D'Lo was the easiest way to do so and thankfully Brooklyn was able to accommodate us

 

[essential1]

Paying Deng & Moz - $34mil
Paying Deng - $18mil
Paying Moz - $16mil
Stretching both after 2017-18 - $14mil


Whoops

 

[ValarMorghulis]

And shipping D'Lo out for attitude concerns, then reaching out to Rondo on the first day of free agency.

UN ******* BELIEVABLE.

.... and will definitely try to meet with Boogie in 2018


This FO is a clown show already

 

[Lizakers]

nobody knows the real reason he was traded, sports execs aren't necessarily the most trustworthy figures

.... and will definitely try to meet with Boogie in 2018


This FO is a clown show already

so you're already saying this FO is a clown show based on what YOU think MIGHT happen next summer?

Magic said he needed a leader and someone who makes players better. If you believe that and he feels he got that in Lonzo, then maybe they do go after Boogie because they won't need him for leadership .

It's all hypothetical

 

[Los Angeles]

damn essential my dude, drop the cape already man its getting outta hand.

 

[ValarMorghulis]

He was traded to clear cap....


and all Magic and staff had to do was say, "We didn't want to have to trade a young asset, but we had to clear money for 2018. We wish D'lo the best of luck."

Then all the comments "attitude" and "good team guys" would be void and not handcuff them when going after free agents.

 

[essential1]

damn essential my dude, drop the cape already man its getting outta hand.

Show me where I'm wrong.

But even at the end of this. It's done and over. So it's all pointless.

But in the interest of what is best for the Lakers going forward in the short and long term. The D'Angelo Russell trade was not that.

Even if Magic's plan does bear fruit. There's more than one way to skin a cat. And there was no harm letting Lonzo get the most out of Russell and possibly using Russell to obtain something better than a 1 year rental of Brook Lopez when the FO was trying to push for 2 stars

D'Angelo Russell being completely irrelevant to the whole situation, as Laker fans, everyone should be pissed, because it wasn't in the best interest of the team long term

 

[noblekane]

Told you guys Pacers wouldn't do a full scale rebuild.

And shipping D'Lo out for attitude concerns, then reaching out to Rondo on the first day of free agency.

UN ******* BELIEVABLE.

yea magic nuts

hes just like he was on twitter

the pacers lured him into believing they would trade pg

should have waited at the trade deadline to move russell when ball would have raised his value

 

[MVP]

As of right now with the rookie wages we're going to be at around 47 million for next summer (provided we stretch Deng's deal).

JC- 12.5
Randle- 10 (cap hold)
BI- 5.7
Lonzo- 5.2
Nance Jr- 2.2
Zubac-1.5
Hart-1.2
Kuzma-1.2
Deng (stretched)-7.2

The cap is projected to be 103 mil but it was actually projected higher for this season and went down a few mil. But for the sake of this just make it 103 mil. That leaves us at 56.3 mil of cap space. Actuallly still short of two max deals say for Boogie & PG both starting at 30.6 mil = 61.2 by about 5 million.

You're adding another 7 million in dead money (Mosgov stretched) plus D'Lo's salary still being here in his 3rd year at 7.8 mil that's an additional 15 million taken out of that cap space + the 5 we were short to begin with. You're likely not just trading away Clarkson for no salary back or just straight out renouncing Randle's rights.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

So help me understand, you guys are saying dlo wasn't on pace and never will be an all star caliber player?

I really would like to get some clarity on this so moving forward we know where everybody stands and there's no confusion. I think he's going to have a break out year and will be an all star in his prime. If I'm wrong I'll have no problem owning up to it. Can everyone else say the same..?

 

[EddieDoyers]

Can't wait to see Lonzo dunk on DLo