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

[kingjaffejo]

Yeeeeeea I look at that long *** essay and its like standing at the base of Mt. Everest and looking up

I'm just gonna trust that what you said was eye-opening lol

 

[pmatic]

Is Wiggins a superstar talent?

During a news conference on Monday afternoon, Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins announced his intention to enter the 2014 NBA draft. Wiggins isn't a lock for the No. 1 pick overall, but it's very likely he'll go in the top 3. To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Amin Elhassan (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices).

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 1
Strengths: Athleticism, defense | Weaknesses: Assist%
WARP projection: 1.5 (23rd among Top 100)
Comparables: Luol Deng (98.2), Tobias Harris (97.5), Maurice Harkless (96.6), Quincy Miller (96.2)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: As discussed when Chad Ford and I debated Wiggins' NBA potential, his relatively pedestrian ad*****d statistics don't match his reputation. Wiggins' translated college statistics don't put him in the top 25 percent of NBA-bound wings in any of the nine core skills I evaluate for strengths and weaknesses. At this point, individual defense -- which doesn't show up in the box score -- is probably Wiggins' best skill. That's valuable, but not the stuff of superstardom.

The interesting question is how different Wiggins' impact will be in the NBA game. An open floor will help him take more advantage of his athleticism around the basket. At the same time, he's unlikely to get as many of the transition opportunities that fueled his production at Kansas. According to Synergy Sports, Wiggins shot 62.0 percent in transition as compared to just 41.4 percent in half-court sets.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: Wiggins is a prototypical wing athlete, combining grace and power in a long, lithe body. He jumps well off either one or two feet, but he has much better explosion off two feet. He's got excellent body control and is able to slither and adjust midair to avoid contact. He can finish with either hand but overwhelmingly wants to go right; he can't go left for more than a beat before coming back right or pulling up for the jumper. His handles in general are a little high and loose, so he's not really adept at creating off the dribble if it doesn't come against a hard closeout from the defender. He comes very wide off screens; that attention to detail isn't quite there. He's active on the offensive glass; he'll follow his misses and make the defense pay.

Defensively, he's much more engaged on the ball than he is off it. He uses his length to give himself a cushion, but he's laterally quick enough to play closer if necessary. An underwhelming rebounder considering his physical gifts, Wiggins is a good shot-blocker (perhaps too much for his own good; he'll get beat by his man to recover for the block). He has decent awareness off the ball.

Wiggins' success at the next level will come down to skill development, as he has the physical tools but needs to get sharper. His rough-around-the-edges skill set is holding back his potential.

The NBA front office perspective

Chad Ford: Wiggins began the summer as the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft. Once the season actually started, competition from Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid changed the consensus status. But other than a brief stint when Embiid ascended to the No. 1 spot, Wiggins has been there the entire time.

While scouts and GMs wring their hands over the fact that Wiggins isn't a complete player yet (his jump shot and handle both still need work) and have fretted over his lack of aggressiveness (especially at the beginning of the season), there's a general consensus that has been out there since the beginning that he's still the best long-term prospect in the draft.

He has elite size and elite athletic abilities for his position. He's already a lock-down defender. He's a hard worker and a great teammate. He already possesses a ton of NBA tools and won't have to face zone defenses every night, which should open up the game for him. If he keeps working on his game and stays healthy, there's no reason he can't become a Paul George-like player in the NBA.

While he's not a lock to go No. 1 -- the Jazz, for instance, have Parker ranked ahead of Wiggins -- there is no way Wiggins falls out of the top 3.

Zach LaVine offers tons of upside

On Friday, ESPN's own Jeff Goodman broke the news that UCLA point guard Zach LaVine (as well as teammate Kyle Anderson) will enter the 2014 NBA draft.

To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a concise and thorough scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Amin Elhassan (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices). Here's a look at LaVine.

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 9
Strengths: TO% | Weaknesses: Usage, FTA%, Rebound%
WARP projection: 1.1 (25th among Top 100)
Comparables: Cory Joseph (95.6), Avery Bradley (95.2), Bradley Beal (93.4), Xavier Henry (90.3)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: Both the potential and the pitfalls for LaVine are evident in his statistics. He projects as a first-round pick almost entirely on potential. Next season in the NBA, his translated numbers suggest he'll contribute at a below-replacement level. Scoring efficiently could be a challenge, since he rarely got to the free throw line and wasn't a particularly accurate shooter on 2s (49.4 percent) or 3s (37.5 percent).

LaVine will have to hone both his shot selection and his playmaking skills. His assist rate is below average for a combo guard, let alone a point guard, since he played largely off the ball at UCLA. Ultimately, his combination of ballhandling skills, shooting range and size could make him a valuable contributor. While the SCHOENE projection system finds few close matches, I tend to see elements of another Seattle-area native in LaVine's game: Jamal Crawford.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: LaVine is an explosive athlete with a great first step. He's great in the open court, runs the lanes, and is able to maneuver and adjust. He finishes with either hand at the rim and has a nice fluid stroke on his jump shot, getting great elevation. The torrid pace with which he started the season is now a memory, as his efficiency dropped later in the season. He's not a point guard, but more of a scorer who can make plays off the bounce; I wish he had more of an opportunity to show some of that. LaVine is barely 19, so he really is just a lump of clay and could develop into almost anything. Remember, he wasn't on the NBA radar prior to this season and had to adjust to going from being nobody to a possible top-10 pick.

Defensively, his length and quickness should give him the tools to be a plus defender at the next level, with great versatility in guarding different positions. UCLA played a ton of zone (mostly to hide Kyle Anderson), so it'll be interesting to see LaVine have to perform within team defensive schemes. Despite having great size and athleticism, he leaves you wanting more on the glass.

The NBA front-office perspective

LaVine was a late bloomer in high school -- a skinny combo guard out of the Seattle area -- and didn't shoot up the high school rankings until his senior year, when he grew a few extra inches. Still, few NBA scouts thought about him as a one-and-done.

But a hot start drew quick attention from NBA scouts, and he quickly moved into our lottery by December. In early December he was averaging 14 PPG, shooting 64 percent from the field (57 percent from 3-point range) and sporting a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are "wow" numbers to any NBA scout.

NBA scouts love big, athletic point guards who can shoot the rock (who doesn't?) and LaVine has all of that -- explosive leaping ability, a tight handle and deep range on his jumper -- in spades.

However, his production slowed down significantly as the season progressed into Pac-12 play, and his draft stock has fallen as scouts question how ready he is for the NBA. LaVine desperately needs to add strength, and his questionable shot selection raises issues. Some scouts are also questioning whether he's a true point guard. He looked like one in high school, but he wasn't given that responsibility at UCLA this season. He's obviously much more valuable to teams as a point guard than an average-sized 2-guard.

Nevertheless, expect his stock to continue to rise now that he's in the draft. Scouts want to love him and see him as one of the five or six players in the draft with the most long-term upside. He should look great in workouts; he will add strength and, given his high ceiling and age, I think you could see people gambling on him as high as the late lottery.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

I wish there was a way to change the station :\. This is the song that never ends

Edit - I can get down with scouting reports tho

 

[darthska]

The only problem with this CP is I think you are ASSUMING way too much about what Mitch & Jim are going to do.

This is all useless banter until one of them actually speaks up or something happens. Unless you have a hidden mic in his office I think we all need to slow down on assuming on what these guys are thinking or doing.

Unfortunately we aren't in these meetings or offices so all we are doing is creating stories and assuming a lot.

Your are seriously gonna give yourself a heart attack my dude

And I don't wanna see that happen lol

It's not hard to figure these days tho man.

This isn't 1993 where you have to read the paper and even then have no idea what a team is up to, til it happens.

I can look right now and get a list of the free agents for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, etc. We can see the draft prospects for this year, and next year, and probably the year after if I look hard enough.

I can see who has what picks the next 3-4-5 years.

The only thing I can't see is trades. But you see 1-2 real, big, earth moving moves in a year, 18 months if you're lucky.


I'm not *****ing about little things, I think they have done alright there. Finding Marshall, Wes, Xavier, Farmar, all on the cheap, I like that. That's great.

Giving Kobe 48 mil, not a ******* reason on the planet that's wise.
Trashing this pick, for no good reason, not wise.
Not trading Pau, Hill, Kaman, etc etc, no wise reason.


You can't fix that ****. We're stuck with a mess, THEY created.


When Dwight left, it sucked, but at the very, very, very brightest of sides, at least we could sit back and say hey, in 1 year, we will have a FULL cap space. We could have forced/begged/threatened Steve Nash to retire. Buy him out. Whatever. We could have the ENTIRE cap opened, cleaned, cleared.

Think about that. 2014, the LA Lakers have ZERO cap spendings. The whole joint, scrubbed clean.

Complete, brand new start. Starting with 1 Top 3 draft pick. (likely)

Kobe wants to stay and retire a Laker? Great, come talk contract with us, we'll get it done, properly tho. AFTER, we see your leg is healed.

Kelly's good? Great, let us talk about extending you.

All these other cheap young players, fine, let us talk.


That's what was within our grasp. Right there. Just had to wait til June 2014. Easy. Simple. Not a problem.


What did we do? Let Nash run around tellin the world he thinks he can still play, wants to still play, gonna try and still play.
Give Kobe his deal 7 months early.

Waste the value of the pick, then leak rumors about trading it.

Stay above the cap and luxury/repeater tax, etc, with a bunch of pending free agents that we most likely won't be keeping.

Acquired no new assets going forward outside of Kent Bazemore, if you consider him an asset. (I don't)

I have no prob bringing Bazemore back next year, but I don't consider him an asset. A bench/role guy, sure, like Luke Walton, I didn't consider Luke an asset either, and neither should anybody else.


So I retyped all this like the 20 billionth time, but that's the point. We can all look ahead in the internet age at the landscape of the NBA, and see what is coming, and going. Everyone knows Love, Rondo, Marc, LMA, Melo, etc are upcoming FA's, that their teams face the idea of trading them a year early, or letting them walk, etc, same as we just watched with Dwight. That's today's sports landscape.

We all saw the Dwight trade coming.
We all saw Ron getting amnestied.

What we did not see was Trading for a 38 year old PG.

The first two moves were good ones, we saw those coming. The last one, not a good move, which is why we didn't see it coming. Nor would we want to see it.


*when I say we, I don't just mean me, or anybody in here, I mean NBA writers, bloggers, twitter folk, people that follow the NBA daily, saw those moves coming, including some of us in here. We ALL saw Dwight trading to LA at some point, NO ONE saw Nash to LA. The Dwight deal made sense, and just didn't work out. The Nash deal, did not ever make much sense, outside of going all in for a single year. Which is what?

Poor planning.


Build long term > Build short term. Always.

I will have to remind, though, my initial posts BACK THEN (say a year ago) about RIGHT NOW were of the mindset that I'd like to see Kobe get #6. So yeah, 'win now' was more what I wanted to see, more what I thought the focus was.

But...

What did we do? Let Nash run around tellin the world he thinks he can still play, wants to still play, gonna try and still play.
Give Kobe his deal 7 months early.

Waste the value of the pick, then leak rumors about trading it.

Stay above the cap and luxury/repeater tax, etc, with a bunch of pending free agents that we most likely won't be keeping.

Acquired no new assets going forward outside of Kent Bazemore, if you consider him an asset. (I don't)

 

[sb]

its wiggins, parker, or trade any other pick for love. you heard it here first.

 

[CP1708]

I will have to remind, though, my initial posts BACK THEN (say a year ago) about RIGHT NOW were of the mindset that I'd like to see Kobe get #6. So yeah, 'win now' was more what I wanted to see, more what I thought the focus was.

I hear that, I really do. And I thought they balanced it a little better in 2009 when they did the Ariza/Ron swap. That was win again, fast. And I understood it.
They followed that up letting Farmar go and replacing him with the older Blake. And signing Barnes for cheap.

Thing is, letting Ariza and Farmar go, that was two of our "younger" core. And we went vet heavy, which was to max Kobe-Pau's window. I get that.


But to give up assets for an even older Nash, then after that backfires, say here Kobe, have a ton of money, after being broken, and more miles than anybody in the league outside of KG, I mean.....that's overkill. And we're suffering for it now.

I don't get mad at the Dwight-Bynum move. You do that every single time. Every time. We just missed. Oh well.

But the Nash trade........man. That freakin hurt. And it more than likely meant MDA over Phil. Which just doubles up the pain. And I'm an MDA guy now. But Phil is Phil.

 

[darthska]

Dark times, bruh.

Mojo status: Depleted

 

[CP1708]

Yeah, I'm starting to feel that. Took me a little longer than you to get there, but I'm starting to see it. And I don't like it.

 

[menacin methods]

Is Wiggins a superstar talent?

During a news conference on Monday afternoon, Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins announced his intention to enter the 2014 NBA draft. Wiggins isn't a lock for the No. 1 pick overall, but it's very likely he'll go in the top 3. To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Amin Elhassan (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices).

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 1
Strengths: Athleticism, defense | Weaknesses: Assist%
WARP projection: 1.5 (23rd among Top 100)
Comparables: Luol Deng (98.2), Tobias Harris (97.5), Maurice Harkless (96.6), Quincy Miller (96.2)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: As discussed when Chad Ford and I debated Wiggins' NBA potential, his relatively pedestrian ad*****d statistics don't match his reputation. Wiggins' translated college statistics don't put him in the top 25 percent of NBA-bound wings in any of the nine core skills I evaluate for strengths and weaknesses. At this point, individual defense -- which doesn't show up in the box score -- is probably Wiggins' best skill. That's valuable, but not the stuff of superstardom.

The interesting question is how different Wiggins' impact will be in the NBA game. An open floor will help him take more advantage of his athleticism around the basket. At the same time, he's unlikely to get as many of the transition opportunities that fueled his production at Kansas. According to Synergy Sports, Wiggins shot 62.0 percent in transition as compared to just 41.4 percent in half-court sets.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: Wiggins is a prototypical wing athlete, combining grace and power in a long, lithe body. He jumps well off either one or two feet, but he has much better explosion off two feet. He's got excellent body control and is able to slither and adjust midair to avoid contact. He can finish with either hand but overwhelmingly wants to go right; he can't go left for more than a beat before coming back right or pulling up for the jumper. His handles in general are a little high and loose, so he's not really adept at creating off the dribble if it doesn't come against a hard closeout from the defender. He comes very wide off screens; that attention to detail isn't quite there. He's active on the offensive glass; he'll follow his misses and make the defense pay.

Defensively, he's much more engaged on the ball than he is off it. He uses his length to give himself a cushion, but he's laterally quick enough to play closer if necessary. An underwhelming rebounder considering his physical gifts, Wiggins is a good shot-blocker (perhaps too much for his own good; he'll get beat by his man to recover for the block). He has decent awareness off the ball.

Wiggins' success at the next level will come down to skill development, as he has the physical tools but needs to get sharper. His rough-around-the-edges skill set is holding back his potential.

The NBA front office perspective

Chad Ford: Wiggins began the summer as the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft. Once the season actually started, competition from Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid changed the consensus status. But other than a brief stint when Embiid ascended to the No. 1 spot, Wiggins has been there the entire time.

While scouts and GMs wring their hands over the fact that Wiggins isn't a complete player yet (his jump shot and handle both still need work) and have fretted over his lack of aggressiveness (especially at the beginning of the season), there's a general consensus that has been out there since the beginning that he's still the best long-term prospect in the draft.

He has elite size and elite athletic abilities for his position. He's already a lock-down defender. He's a hard worker and a great teammate. He already possesses a ton of NBA tools and won't have to face zone defenses every night, which should open up the game for him. If he keeps working on his game and stays healthy, there's no reason he can't become a Paul George-like player in the NBA.

While he's not a lock to go No. 1 -- the Jazz, for instance, have Parker ranked ahead of Wiggins -- there is no way Wiggins falls out of the top 3.

Zach LaVine offers tons of upside

On Friday, ESPN's own Jeff Goodman broke the news that UCLA point guard Zach LaVine (as well as teammate Kyle Anderson) will enter the 2014 NBA draft.

To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a concise and thorough scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Amin Elhassan (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices). Here's a look at LaVine.

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 9
Strengths: TO% | Weaknesses: Usage, FTA%, Rebound%
WARP projection: 1.1 (25th among Top 100)
Comparables: Cory Joseph (95.6), Avery Bradley (95.2), Bradley Beal (93.4), Xavier Henry (90.3)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: Both the potential and the pitfalls for LaVine are evident in his statistics. He projects as a first-round pick almost entirely on potential. Next season in the NBA, his translated numbers suggest he'll contribute at a below-replacement level. Scoring efficiently could be a challenge, since he rarely got to the free throw line and wasn't a particularly accurate shooter on 2s (49.4 percent) or 3s (37.5 percent).

LaVine will have to hone both his shot selection and his playmaking skills. His assist rate is below average for a combo guard, let alone a point guard, since he played largely off the ball at UCLA. Ultimately, his combination of ballhandling skills, shooting range and size could make him a valuable contributor. While the SCHOENE projection system finds few close matches, I tend to see elements of another Seattle-area native in LaVine's game: Jamal Crawford.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: LaVine is an explosive athlete with a great first step. He's great in the open court, runs the lanes, and is able to maneuver and adjust. He finishes with either hand at the rim and has a nice fluid stroke on his jump shot, getting great elevation. The torrid pace with which he started the season is now a memory, as his efficiency dropped later in the season. He's not a point guard, but more of a scorer who can make plays off the bounce; I wish he had more of an opportunity to show some of that. LaVine is barely 19, so he really is just a lump of clay and could develop into almost anything. Remember, he wasn't on the NBA radar prior to this season and had to adjust to going from being nobody to a possible top-10 pick.

Defensively, his length and quickness should give him the tools to be a plus defender at the next level, with great versatility in guarding different positions. UCLA played a ton of zone (mostly to hide Kyle Anderson), so it'll be interesting to see LaVine have to perform within team defensive schemes. Despite having great size and athleticism, he leaves you wanting more on the glass.

The NBA front-office perspective

LaVine was a late bloomer in high school -- a skinny combo guard out of the Seattle area -- and didn't shoot up the high school rankings until his senior year, when he grew a few extra inches. Still, few NBA scouts thought about him as a one-and-done.

But a hot start drew quick attention from NBA scouts, and he quickly moved into our lottery by December. In early December he was averaging 14 PPG, shooting 64 percent from the field (57 percent from 3-point range) and sporting a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are "wow" numbers to any NBA scout.

NBA scouts love big, athletic point guards who can shoot the rock (who doesn't?) and LaVine has all of that -- explosive leaping ability, a tight handle and deep range on his jumper -- in spades.

However, his production slowed down significantly as the season progressed into Pac-12 play, and his draft stock has fallen as scouts question how ready he is for the NBA. LaVine desperately needs to add strength, and his questionable shot selection raises issues. Some scouts are also questioning whether he's a true point guard. He looked like one in high school, but he wasn't given that responsibility at UCLA this season. He's obviously much more valuable to teams as a point guard than an average-sized 2-guard.

Nevertheless, expect his stock to continue to rise now that he's in the draft. Scouts want to love him and see him as one of the five or six players in the draft with the most long-term upside. He should look great in workouts; he will add strength and, given his high ceiling and age, I think you could see people gambling on him as high as the late lottery.

PMATIC whats your take on Zach LaVine? Would love to see the Lakers draft him specially if we end up with the 7th or later pick.

 

[tupac003]

Lord jesus....please don't trade that pick.

Was listening to 710 on friday and heard there are talks on KEEPING D'Antoni.....Jesus.....take the wheel.

 

[pmatic]

Is Wiggins a superstar talent?

During a news conference on Monday afternoon, Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins announced his intention to enter the 2014 NBA draft. Wiggins isn't a lock for the No. 1 pick overall, but it's very likely he'll go in the top 3. To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Amin Elhassan (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices).

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 1
Strengths: Athleticism, defense | Weaknesses: Assist%
WARP projection: 1.5 (23rd among Top 100)
Comparables: Luol Deng (98.2), Tobias Harris (97.5), Maurice Harkless (96.6), Quincy Miller (96.2)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: As discussed when Chad Ford and I debated Wiggins' NBA potential, his relatively pedestrian ad*****d statistics don't match his reputation. Wiggins' translated college statistics don't put him in the top 25 percent of NBA-bound wings in any of the nine core skills I evaluate for strengths and weaknesses. At this point, individual defense -- which doesn't show up in the box score -- is probably Wiggins' best skill. That's valuable, but not the stuff of superstardom.

The interesting question is how different Wiggins' impact will be in the NBA game. An open floor will help him take more advantage of his athleticism around the basket. At the same time, he's unlikely to get as many of the transition opportunities that fueled his production at Kansas. According to Synergy Sports, Wiggins shot 62.0 percent in transition as compared to just 41.4 percent in half-court sets.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: Wiggins is a prototypical wing athlete, combining grace and power in a long, lithe body. He jumps well off either one or two feet, but he has much better explosion off two feet. He's got excellent body control and is able to slither and adjust midair to avoid contact. He can finish with either hand but overwhelmingly wants to go right; he can't go left for more than a beat before coming back right or pulling up for the jumper. His handles in general are a little high and loose, so he's not really adept at creating off the dribble if it doesn't come against a hard closeout from the defender. He comes very wide off screens; that attention to detail isn't quite there. He's active on the offensive glass; he'll follow his misses and make the defense pay.

Defensively, he's much more engaged on the ball than he is off it. He uses his length to give himself a cushion, but he's laterally quick enough to play closer if necessary. An underwhelming rebounder considering his physical gifts, Wiggins is a good shot-blocker (perhaps too much for his own good; he'll get beat by his man to recover for the block). He has decent awareness off the ball.

Wiggins' success at the next level will come down to skill development, as he has the physical tools but needs to get sharper. His rough-around-the-edges skill set is holding back his potential.

The NBA front office perspective

Chad Ford: Wiggins began the summer as the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft. Once the season actually started, competition from Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid changed the consensus status. But other than a brief stint when Embiid ascended to the No. 1 spot, Wiggins has been there the entire time.

While scouts and GMs wring their hands over the fact that Wiggins isn't a complete player yet (his jump shot and handle both still need work) and have fretted over his lack of aggressiveness (especially at the beginning of the season), there's a general consensus that has been out there since the beginning that he's still the best long-term prospect in the draft.

He has elite size and elite athletic abilities for his position. He's already a lock-down defender. He's a hard worker and a great teammate. He already possesses a ton of NBA tools and won't have to face zone defenses every night, which should open up the game for him. If he keeps working on his game and stays healthy, there's no reason he can't become a Paul George-like player in the NBA.

While he's not a lock to go No. 1 -- the Jazz, for instance, have Parker ranked ahead of Wiggins -- there is no way Wiggins falls out of the top 3.

Zach LaVine offers tons of upside

On Friday, ESPN's own Jeff Goodman broke the news that UCLA point guard Zach LaVine (as well as teammate Kyle Anderson) will enter the 2014 NBA draft.

To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a concise and thorough scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Amin Elhassan (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices). Here's a look at LaVine.

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 9
Strengths: TO% | Weaknesses: Usage, FTA%, Rebound%
WARP projection: 1.1 (25th among Top 100)
Comparables: Cory Joseph (95.6), Avery Bradley (95.2), Bradley Beal (93.4), Xavier Henry (90.3)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: Both the potential and the pitfalls for LaVine are evident in his statistics. He projects as a first-round pick almost entirely on potential. Next season in the NBA, his translated numbers suggest he'll contribute at a below-replacement level. Scoring efficiently could be a challenge, since he rarely got to the free throw line and wasn't a particularly accurate shooter on 2s (49.4 percent) or 3s (37.5 percent).

LaVine will have to hone both his shot selection and his playmaking skills. His assist rate is below average for a combo guard, let alone a point guard, since he played largely off the ball at UCLA. Ultimately, his combination of ballhandling skills, shooting range and size could make him a valuable contributor. While the SCHOENE projection system finds few close matches, I tend to see elements of another Seattle-area native in LaVine's game: Jamal Crawford.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: LaVine is an explosive athlete with a great first step. He's great in the open court, runs the lanes, and is able to maneuver and adjust. He finishes with either hand at the rim and has a nice fluid stroke on his jump shot, getting great elevation. The torrid pace with which he started the season is now a memory, as his efficiency dropped later in the season. He's not a point guard, but more of a scorer who can make plays off the bounce; I wish he had more of an opportunity to show some of that. LaVine is barely 19, so he really is just a lump of clay and could develop into almost anything. Remember, he wasn't on the NBA radar prior to this season and had to adjust to going from being nobody to a possible top-10 pick.

Defensively, his length and quickness should give him the tools to be a plus defender at the next level, with great versatility in guarding different positions. UCLA played a ton of zone (mostly to hide Kyle Anderson), so it'll be interesting to see LaVine have to perform within team defensive schemes. Despite having great size and athleticism, he leaves you wanting more on the glass.

The NBA front-office perspective

LaVine was a late bloomer in high school -- a skinny combo guard out of the Seattle area -- and didn't shoot up the high school rankings until his senior year, when he grew a few extra inches. Still, few NBA scouts thought about him as a one-and-done.

But a hot start drew quick attention from NBA scouts, and he quickly moved into our lottery by December. In early December he was averaging 14 PPG, shooting 64 percent from the field (57 percent from 3-point range) and sporting a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are "wow" numbers to any NBA scout.

NBA scouts love big, athletic point guards who can shoot the rock (who doesn't?) and LaVine has all of that -- explosive leaping ability, a tight handle and deep range on his jumper -- in spades.

However, his production slowed down significantly as the season progressed into Pac-12 play, and his draft stock has fallen as scouts question how ready he is for the NBA. LaVine desperately needs to add strength, and his questionable shot selection raises issues. Some scouts are also questioning whether he's a true point guard. He looked like one in high school, but he wasn't given that responsibility at UCLA this season. He's obviously much more valuable to teams as a point guard than an average-sized 2-guard.

Nevertheless, expect his stock to continue to rise now that he's in the draft. Scouts want to love him and see him as one of the five or six players in the draft with the most long-term upside. He should look great in workouts; he will add strength and, given his high ceiling and age, I think you could see people gambling on him as high as the late lottery.

PMATIC whats your take on Zach LaVine? Would love to see the Lakers draft him specially if we end up with the 7th or later pick.

He was intriguing at the beginning of the college basketball season, but I've cooled off on him a lot. He can't really dribble, shoots too many jumpers and I'm not even sure if his jumper is legit.

Another night, another loss for the Celtics and Jazz. |I

 

[pmatic]

If I had known Shaw was going to draw up plays like this, I'd have fired D'Antoni for him before the season had started and hired him.

 

[mr j 858]

View media item 891826

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

View media item 891832

 

[MVP]

We're slotted at 6 today. Is Aaron Gordon a really nice player, I've seen flashes, he's athletic, but haven't watched Zona enough to know how good he projects to the NBA.

P if you're planning on doing scouting reports on the top 10 and get to him, ignore this then

 

[CP1708]

Gordon's upside is a hybrid Blake/Marion combo. But he can't shoot for ****. Just athletic and bouncy as all hell. He'd be able to defend, and run around the court like a mad man, but if he don't get some sort of David West type mid range game, at minimum, he's going to be limited like a bigger version of Rondo, dudes playin 10 feet off him.

Blake has improved his shot pretty good, maybe there's hope for Gordon to as well.

 

[MVP]

We gone need Exum to pull an Eli and tell the other teams he'll only play for us. Those two come from behind wins against Boston are going to bite us in the ***.

 

[pmatic]

I'm going to try and do reports on prospects over the weekends once the NCAA tournament and NBA regular season are over.

But CP pretty much hit it on the head with Gordon.

 

[CP1708]

Those two come from behind wins against Boston are going to bite us in the ***.

No, not at all.

We will enjoy and reflect on those important wins for as long as this great franchise exists.

The 87 Finals.
The 2000 Finals.
Horry 02
.4
2010 Finals
2014 regular season wins over the Celtics.

 

[CP1708]

That Brow article on Grantland makes me wanna cry.

I want one of those. |I

 

[pmatic]

[/ivideo]

 

[laker4lifeman]

That Brow article on Grantland makes me wanna cry.

I want one of those. |I

You can edit it.

 

[CP1708]

It’s been a difficult two years for a typically well-rewarded Lakers fan base. For the first time since 2005 and just the fifth since the 1960 relocation to Los Angeles, the Lakers will miss the postseason. This team is historically bad, and solutions for a fast makeover are few and far between. Uncertainty is a foreign, unsettling concept for this franchise. But through the adversity, fans have been able to cope by raging with solidarity against their grie*****s.

Mike D’Antoni. Jim Buss. Dwight Howard. David Stern. The Clippers.

All targets of distrust and disgust, all forces of evil blamed for the downward spiral. Misery loves company, and in this regard, Lakers fans have remained largely unified company.

Next season, however, could throw that brotherhood for a loop, as two very distinctly different sects of Lakers fans may find themselves uncomfortably pitted against each other.

The independence of these two cliques has never been secret. There are fans who care first and foremost about the franchise, and there are fans who see the franchise first and foremost as a vehicle for Kobe’s greatness.

By and large, these factions have coexisted comfortably through the years, but their priorities are more mutually exclusive than one would rationally expect.

Then again, Kobe Bryant is anything but an ordinary superstar, and Kobe zealots are a breed different than I’ve seen in my entire life watching and covering sports.

The Mamba is regarded by this contingency as half basketball god, half political prisoner. An indestructible force of nature, yet encased in bubble wrap to protect him from the slings and arrows of jealous haters consumed with denying the Mamba’s greatness. True Kobe-ites will gladly step into traffic to protect him from an oncoming car, but feel disappointment it wasn’t actually a bus.

In fairness to Kobe’s vigilantes, getting his back has often felt like getting hit by a Greyhound. Bryant’s career has been shaped by persistent PR turbulence. Feuds with Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson. (Too much) blame for the threepeat core’s dissolution. Colorado. The 2007 offseason, in which he demanded a trade to Pluto. His relentlessly demanding relationship with teammates. An-court persona that would raise Hannibal Lector’s eyebrows. Throw in the reductive -- and idiotic -- idea that Kobe’s first three titles on “Shaq’s teams” somehow counted less, and the guy has spent considerable time between the crosshairs. Bryant may be more popular than polarizing these days, but likability will never be his calling card.

Of course, Kobe Bryant is also an indisputable icon, an athlete destined to go down as one of basketball’s all-time greats, and a lifer for one of sports’ most storied franchises. The fervent didn’t choose him by accident. Even Lakers fans who don’t worship at the altar take considerable pride knowing Kobe is one of their own.

However, that sect pledges its loyalty to the franchise first, and these fans are hyper-aware of where life currently stands for the Lakers. The future has been mortgaged bone-dry after surrendering multiple picks to acquire Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, and to jettison the contracts of Derek Fisher and Luke Walton. The new CBA was designed to prevent teams like the Lakers from reloading through economic superiority.

Painful as these losses have been, another underwhelming season might be necessary to create a sustainable bright future. For the first time in eons, the Lakers are in position to build from the ground up, and whatever critical designs in place can’t be altered to placate a 36-year-old player with over 54,000 career minutes (playoffs included) coming off consecutive significant injuries. Even if that player happens to be Kobe Bryant.

And that’s where the situation gets sticky. During Kobe’s March press conference to confirm his knee injury was season-ending, he expressed “not a lick” of patience for a slow rebuild. Some interpreted this as Kobe putting pressure on the organization, but I question his leverage. Under (a very expensive) contract through 2016, if Bryant demanded a trade, his salary, age, injury history and complicating no-trade clause make the request borderline impossible. This isn’t like when he wanted out as arguably the league’s best player in his prime. All 29 other teams would have bent over backward to get him. I have to imagine even Kobe recognizes the present-day contextual difference.

In my opinion, Kobe wasn’t speaking so much to the front office as fans. He even cited them while explaining the premium placed on winning: “A lot of times it's hard to understand that message if you're not a die-hard Laker fan." Bryant, himself a Laker fan growing up, is too smart and calculated for this phrasing to be incidental. It felt like a call to arms for fans to voice mutual displeasure over operating at anything less than “Championship or bust.” And for every Kobe-first fan who’ll stump on his behalf, who shares his impatience, who feels the organization “owes” him better than a swan song of mediocrity, there’s a Lakers-first fan who feels rebuilding the roster twice around Kobe between 2008-2013 equals a “debt” paid, especially after he wasn’t inclined to take an extension sacrificing “highest paid player in the NBA” status for increased cap flexibility so that ASAP rebuild would be easier. Frankly, there are Laker fans who will blame Kobe if the rebuild takes an extended period of time.

And therein lies the schism.

So what would a purple-and-gold civil war look like, beyond incessant arguments throughout the Twittersphere and in comment sections? Ultimately, a sobering reexamination by both parties of (eventually) 20 years of Lakers basketball.


How grand will Kobe Bryant's finale be in L.A.?
Were Kobe catered to any further, or it becomes clear his presence (for a variety of potential reasons) stuck the team in neutral, Lakers-first fans could develop a sour taste for arguably the greatest player in franchise history, a wholly unique career filled with riches and rare basketball artistry. Life with Kobe is never easy, but the good has easily outweighed the bad. Scales tipped in the opposite direction on his way out would be unfortunate.

Conversely, ignoring Bryant’s wishes could prompt bitterness from Kobe-first fans toward a franchise ultimately still close to their heart. However, that loyalty line has long been drawn in the sand, and Kobe twisting in the wind for two years (or milked for the financial windfall of a farewell tour) could be viewed as an unforgivable act. The transition to post-Mamba life will be tough for this crowd under the best of circumstances, much less messy ones.

Los Angeles is inherently something of a divided city. The geography is sprawling, with traffic snarls creating even more buffers. Good neighborhoods turn bad on a dime. Its ethnicities reflect more or less the globe, and some pockets keep to themselves. L.A.’s image is equally shaped by the Hollywood jet set and street gangs. But as someone who spent years bartending in Santa Monica, Pasadena and several places in between, I can attest to the bonding powers of a Lakers broadcast. Perhaps nothing in L.A. bridges more racial and socio-economic differences. Laker fans may reek of entitlement, but despite popular belief, they aren’t flaky bandwagon riders. This is a rabid, passionate base, slavishly devoted to the franchise and its considerable list of icons, with Kobe Bryant the latest in line.

Will it be the name on the front or the back of the jersey that matters most moving forward?

Wonder how many different writers have to write the same thing about the CBA before some fans actually get it?


One more time

The future has been mortgaged bone-dry after surrendering multiple picks to acquire Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, and to jettison the contracts of Derek Fisher and Luke Walton. The new CBA was designed to prevent teams like the Lakers from reloading through economic superiority.

 

[had pants]

Bone-dry

 

[essential1]

[/ivideo]

I should report you for posting this..

Get McDermott out of here.. Now

 

[goldmember]

McDermott ...HELL NO