[:: LAKERS 2014 THREAD | POLL: Who Should Coach Next Year? ::]

[noblekane]

You sound hurt so ill let you get the W

See ya

 

[licensed to ball]

Adiosssss

 

[lovehateself]

Beats talking about pizza in a sports thread

[andrewdiceclay]ohhhhhhh![andrewdiceclay]

you never heard of the famous pizza party gang on the jordan black/red 1 thread? 

 

[CP1708]

Pretty clear, they need to get rid of the old dudes and get some young guys in under Mike's system.

Pau can get the **** out of here with his constant whining, he hasn't been "happy" since 2010. Also the last time he was actually a good player too.


When Mike had a roster full of young guys on his team that listened to what he said, they won 60+ games a year for 4 years. Couple bad breaks and poor management kept them from actually winning the main goal.
Get him some young talent, (real talent, not washed up lotto picks for the trolls), and hopefully manage better and not sell off pieces/players out from under him, and they can get to that point.

Kobe can go on with that old school, smash mouth ****. Those days are over. Small Ball wins championships now. It's a new era, a new time. It's proven, we've seen it the last 3 years, and will see it again this year. Stop swimming upstream and get with the damn times Lakers.

 

[CP1708]

With the Los Angeles Lakers officially eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night, it's time to reflect back on the season that was. Or as I like to call it "Dwight Gone: The Ryan Kelly Story."

What went right: Cough. Ahem. Well. Er.

OK, I can do this.

Xavier Henry, before he got hurt, developed really nicely. Robert Sacre might not be bad as a third big. Nick Young showed that he is in fact Nick Young. So he wasn't worse-than-Nick-Young, which is nice. Jordan Farmar really is a quality guard. Kendall Marshall is a decent third guard option.

Chris Kaman bought a lot of cow.

They'll get a good pick.

That's it. That's all I've got.

What Went Wrong: All of the everything.

Oh, you want details? Cool.

Well, they were the first team eliminated from postseason contention thanks to the abysmal Eastern Conference, after Kobe Bryant missed all but six games. After Bryant slowly made his way back from his torn Achilles and the Lakers had a big to-do about his return, he then suffered a fractured tibia in the same leg. He was supposed to come back at the end of January, then that turned into "maybe All-Star" and then that became "eventually" and then that became "next season." Did I mention the Lakers gave him a monster extension before he even stepped back on the court, locking up cap space that will severely hamper their efforts at a rebuild/reload/re-try-and-not-suck-so-hard.

Steve Nash barely played this year after more back problems limited him to just ten games but don't worry, he's coming back next season no matter what because he wants the money. (Which he's totally in the right to do so, but it's still not a great thing for the Lakers.) After Nash went down, then Steve Blake got hurt. After Steve Blake got hurt, Jordan Farmar went down. They had to play Kobe at point during the six games he played in. They wound up signing Kendall Marshall who turned out to be one of the bright sides for this team.

No, wait, seriously, Kendall Marshall was one of the few bright spots.

Pau Gasol had himself a little resurgent year, looking at times like a halfway decent center as long as you didn't pay attention to defense, he wasn't guarded by anyone with athleticism and you ignored the way he kept maligning his own coach in the press. He got dunked on a lot. Oh, and they didn't trade him at the deadline which means he's either $16 million in cap space walking out the door with no return value or he'll be re-signed for what is sure to be significantly more than he's worth at this point.

They lost to the Clippers by 48 points, the widest margin in franchise history. They suffered the biggest defeat to San Antonio in franchise history on the same night they were eliminated from the playoffs.

At one point their starting lineup was Kendall Marshall - Nick Young - Jodie Meeks - Ryan Kelly - Chris Kaman. That was their starting lineup. One of the better ones.

Magic Johnson ripped them. Boston fans made fun of them. They won enough games to ensure a top-three lotto spot is unlikely but still are on track to be worst in their conference.

Oh, and Phil went to New York.

MVP: Hmmm. Nick Young's a candidate, in the same way that you can argue "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" is a grea film because of its box office revenue. Pau Gasol could be considered if you don't care about chemistry, leadership, or the ability to box out. Ryan Kelly might be a... no.

In 38 games, Xavier Henry finished with a stellar-by-Lakers standards minus-1.3 net points per possesion mark and one of the lowest defensive ratings on the team (lower meaning better). He gave good effort and energy on both ends and showed versatility as well as leadership. He is at the top of the trash pile.

LVP: I have to pick one?

I'll go with Nick Young. 42 percent shooting (which is higher than Xavier Henry's but Henry provided things other than shooting) for a pure gunner is not awesome. He also had 1.8 assists per 36 minutes and 2.0 turnovers at the time of this writing. He took some horrific shots. What's worse, in the few games where he did get hot, he cost them valuable losses in pursuit of a pick.

But hey, Swaggy P, though.

Gameplan headed into the offseason: Be the Lakers!

No kidding, that's the gameplan. There's no "we know who we're going to go get," no presumptive player that's looking to head to LA. Carmelo Anthony's a possibility, but you have to think the money and Phil Jackson make that unlikely. Kevin Love could pull the Melo act and demand a trade to the Lakers, but it's not even clear what the Lakers could trade for him.

Hey, there's always LeBron!

If Nick Young opts out (which he's unlikely to do), and the Lakers decline optinos on both Ryan Kelly and Kendall Marshall (again, unlikely), the Lakers have $35 million locked up for next season... on four players. That would leave room to sign another max player, and then try and fill in the rest with veterans on a minimum contract. So if LeBron decides he just has to be closer to Hollywood for all the movies he's making, they can sign him to the max and then grab a handful of guys after that.

They have no infrastructure. The have no core. They have what will be a tremendous draft pick and could potentially be a franchise-changing guy. They have Kobe Bryant, and then after that they have nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's Kobe and Nothing for $35 million.

Kobe Bryant has said he wants to win now, doesn't want to wait to rebuild or reload or whatever. The expectation for this franchise is to immediately improve, not just get better, but make a leap back into contention. So I suppose the plan is "Make Carmelo Anthony who has never taken a paycut in his life take one to play next to another high usage player in a tougher conference, then use the remaining $1.82 and lint left in your pockets to build a reasonable contender around the burning remains.

The Lakers always figure something out, it's what they do. If you ask me to identify what that is from here, not only can I not see it, it's like looking through a black shroud into a room with a sewer main busted open in the middle of it. But get a star, or at leas a good player, add a few guys on discounts, get Kobe back healthy, and build towards something. Oh, and hope the guy you draft turns out to be a gamechanger. That's the wildcard in all of this.

We're all so used to the Lakers landing on their feet but even though we can't see the gorund, we don't expect the impact to break them.

Ridiculously premature prediction for 2015: You look stupid either way, here. If I go with logic, reason, and a basic understanding of market dynamics in the NBA, I have to pick them to go no better than 35-47, probably 30-52. There's just no other way to look at it. A 35-year-old coming off two traumatic leg injuries making $23.5 million a year is their best player. This is an issue.

But if I doubt them, I'm overlooking their repetitive ability to remake themselves, to transform into superpowers overnight simply by the force of their brand. But you know, what, since Jim Buss took over, it's been different. Every year, it hasn't been the same. Maybe the Lakers mystique isn't gone forever, but it's definitely sitting on a patio taking some time off while this team figures out what it wants to be.

It would be surprising if Mike D'Antoni was retained at this point.

Understand one thing, maybe more than any other. The league needs the Lakers to be great. Not good, great. The NBA wishes the Knicks were better, like a disappointing movie with a great script and tremendous cast. It needs the Lakers to be good, like a grocery store can't survive without decent produce.

The question is, in the urgency to fix this situation under the new CBA, whether Hollywood special effects and Kobe's fading star will be enough to make the transformation happen.

 

[CP1708]

LVP: I have to pick one?

I'll go with Nick Young. 42 percent shooting (which is higher than Xavier Henry's but Henry provided things other than shooting) for a pure gunner is not awesome. He also had 1.8 assists per 36 minutes and 2.0 turnovers at the time of this writing. He took some horrific shots. What's worse, in the few games where he did get hot, he cost them valuable losses in pursuit of a pick.

But hey, Swaggy P, though.

Pau Gasol had himself a little resurgent year, looking at times like a halfway decent center as long as you didn't pay attention to defense, he wasn't guarded by anyone with athleticism and you ignored the way he kept maligning his own coach in the press. He got dunked on a lot. Oh, and they didn't trade him at the deadline which means he's either $16 million in cap space walking out the door with no return value or he'll be re-signed for what is sure to be significantly more than he's worth at this point.

I swear my name is not Matt Moore.

 

[sea manup]

“By playing Mike’s system, you can go up to Portland and win. You play against Oklahoma City, and you win,” Nash said, referring to the Lakers’ recent upsets against two Western Conference powerhouses. “The roster is decimated and we can still get key wins by playing that way. I can understand everyone has their opinion. But let’s hold on now.”

CP is steve nash --- confirmed 

 

[grandtheftbike]

that's a compliment to CP, at least age wise

 

[CP1708]

 

[essential1]

One thing about MDA is he will always lure bench players for cheap because they will always look to resurrect their career and get that pay day down the line.

Luring superstars is different, management must build the nucleus (typically from the draft) and then put another star or two around that nucleus.

 

[sea manup]

that's a compliment to CP, at least age wise

or is it a compliment to nash? 

 

[grandtheftbike]

i was assuming he's older than Nash but still looks like a young 40 year old

 

[CP1708]

One thing about MDA is he will always lure bench players for cheap because they will always look to resurrect their career and get that pay day down the line.

Luring superstars is different, management must build the nucleus (typically from the draft) and then put another star or two around that nucleus.

Hopefully Wiggins/Exum buy into MDA, then build around that.

Kobe/Pau can kick rocks.

 

[DeadsetAce]

pepperoni, pineapple, and jalapenos....the DSA Hawaiian

 

[essential1]

Hopefully Wiggins/Exum buy into MDA, then build around that.

Kobe/Pau can kick rocks.

If only they offered Kobe 2year / $35mil instead.



Yes it's still a lot, but you could definitely build a title team, even with that.

Kobe, Love, $9mil on PG, $8mil on Center. Top 3 pick. Have the cheap bench guys. $5mil to fill spots 7-8 on roster. Full MLE for 6th man.

 

[CP1708]

Or 2 years 10 million. Even better.

 

[essential1]

Or 2 years 10 million. Even better.

That's a problem. You never started from something realistic.

Edit: And I admit not being realistic about what we could sign Kobe for up until the day it happened. Anything under 2 year / $30mil just wasn't realistic.

 

[MVP]

Ben Rosales ‏@brosales12 21m
Hmm, Chad Ford writes that the Lakers' draft board is Embiid/Wiggins/Exum (no particular order) and then Parker (fourth) and Randle (fifth).

 

[kal-el-8]

Embiid

 

[essential1]

Embiid

Most upside of the draft.

Remember draft isn't for over 3 months. Plenty changes. Also teams haven't even talked to any of the players in the draft yet or had doctor's look at them.

 

[kal-el-8]

With the way things have gone for this franchise, I just want them to stay away from injury proned big men.

nah man, I'm good on that

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Just don't take any risks, please. If the back issue isn't a risk then I'm fine with taking Embiid.

Surprised that Parker is behind the other three. Is it because of the Duke factor?

 

[CP1708]

Or 2 years 10 million. Even better.

That's a problem. You never started from something realistic.

Edit: And I admit not being realistic about what we could sign Kobe for up until the day it happened. Anything under 2 year / $30mil just wasn't realistic.

Stop. You know I know better than 2/10, but it's a helluva lot closer to what reality should have been than 2/48.

I knew he was getting paid.

I didn't know he was getting PAID.

 

[CP1708]

Long as they have Wiggins ahead of Exum, I'm ok.

 

[MVP]

Just don't take any risks, please. If the back issue isn't a risk then I'm fine with taking Embiid.

Surprised that Parker is behind the other three. Is it because of the Duke factor?

Potential vs polished, IMO.

Embiid and Wiggins clearly have the most raw games right now and unlimited potential. Jabari is more NBA ready right now, but his physical attributes aren't as mind blowing as the other two guys. Exum has that unknown factor, potential seems to be high on him as well.

Kobe played at Duke, he worked out just fine for us.