2015-16 Los Angeles Lakers Thread

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by GameOver:
Steph Curry quote:

"I didn't even know about (the story), so I didn't have time to really have a reaction," Curry said. "But one, you don't want to disrespect the teams like the Spurs and the Lakers, franchises that have obviously won multiple championships and established that top tier kind of winning mentality every single year and you know they're going to be around. We want to be that team. We want to be that franchise. We have some work to do, and obviously we're on the right path. But we have to be ourselves in the whole process, and not really worry about speaking (about) more than what we're doing out there on the floor."

Good to see that we're still associated with a franchise that has a "top tier kind of winning mentality every single year" despite us sucking like we've never sucked before over the past three years. I was honestly surprised to see him mention us. Maybe it's just history or him being PC. Regardless, nice to see the league's best player acknowledge our franchise as something greater than what the last three years have been.

What story is he referring to?

The one Joe Lacob did with the NY Times. Apparently Joe texted him after he did the story to let him know he didn't want Steph to interpret it as a slight to himself or ownership not giving credit to those on the court.

Originally posted by Pillbusta:
MJ was the best two I've seen but Kobe is right there right close to him. The only difference was MJ had a strength and hand size advantage and he was more disciplined offensively. Kobe was more skilled with the ball though all in all. Kobe did more the further you got from the basket. MJ was the better leader but Kobe showed deference to Shaq where I'm not sure MJ would've. Kobe is a God of the game now no matter what some here may say

Wow. Kobe showed deference to Shaq? According to Phil, Kobe was the main reason Shaq got traded, breaking up what could have been a decade long dynasty. For all of the ways Shaq can be a douche, people still love the big man, whereas Kobe is widely regarded as a sociopath. This dog and pony retirement tour was a joke on every level coming from a guy regarded as one of the worst teammates the NBA has ever seen.

Even his own comments after the game about doing it the right way and not running away were full of crap considering he went on Stephen A. Smith's radio show in NY and demanded a trade for all the world to hear.

As for your comments on MJ's game vs Kobe, I disagree there as well. As someone upthread mentioned, MJ actually played point for the Bulls on teams that went all the way to the ECF. Jordan and Pippen's ball skills allowed the Bulls to not even start a true PG for that last 3peat in Chicago. Kobe could definitely get hot from outside, but he also spent the entire first half of his career floating around the perimeter while teams double and tripleteamed Shaq down low. Then he had Gasol and Bynum after Shaq to occupy defenders down low. MJ never had that kind of low post presence where he could just dump the ball off and wait for the defense to collapse while he made a cut or stepped out for an uncontested jumper.

MJ was way better in his prime at attacking the rim than Kobe, and MJ later put on muscle and became one of the best low post players in the league even as a guard. His footwork and ball skills on the block were unmatched there. His ability to go down low because of his skill level allowed him to never have to become the chucker/gunner that Kobe became the last 4 or 5 seasons.

And yeah, watching MJ play in a league where you couldn't handcheck anyone would have been insane. People really downplay that element when comparing him to later players.

Stephen A. Smith said some crap that DeMar is for sure coming to the Lakers this offseason. Whatever.

Anyways, I've been thinking...Jim Buss put a deadline on his own head. He knows this is a huge offseason for him. As a result, I think if we keep the pick, it's almost guaranteed to be traded for a veteran. Not saying that's the right/wrong move, but it feels like that's what will happen given Jim's predicament.

So with that said, let's say it's the #2 overall pick. What can it be shipped for? If I'm Jim Buss, my best case scenario is:

#2 overall pick
Jordan Clarkson

for

Jimmy Butler

From there, we could attempt to convince Al Horford to come to LA and take whatever cap space would be left. That would give us this:

D'Angelo Russell
Jimmy Butler
Kevin Durant
Julius Randle
Al Horford

Even this isn't really good enough. Heck, I don't even know if it would work out. KD + Butler + Russell? Obviously, the likelihood of this happening is slim to none. I say this because there will be plenty of non-Laker fans jumping in here to lolz at this or comment on how delusional we are.

The point is that Jim knows his clock is ticking. He's got to make a splash. I think that means shipping that 1st round pick if we keep it and shipping it somewhere to an organization that may want to flush out a veteran and rebuild (like Chicago). Hell, if Indiana would have gotten swept by Toronto then I would have said Paul George could have been worth the conversation. However, him plus Myles Turner probably have Indy thinking that they're only a couple pieces away.

lol...so you come up with a scenario that even you admit would probably not work out, isn't that good, and there's little chance of it happening.

If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:
If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

if we get #1 or #2, i would ship that to the Kings for Boogie. throw JC or Randle in that package too. i would do it, wonder if the Kings would?

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

if we get #1 or #2, i would ship that to the Kings for Boogie. throw JC or Randle in that package too. i would do it, wonder if the Kings would?

F*CK THAT! I do not want cousins on this team. Is he one of the best big man in the game? Yes. Is he a head case that has zero leadership skills and will never lead a team to a championship? YES! He needs to go to a team like Cleveland or something that already has a bonified superstar leader and another big name like kyrie or Kevin. Then he's just an addition and will be held in check by the superstar and other vets. If he comes here he'd be the biggest name and he'd just pull the same s**t he is up in sac. f**k that. I want to win and contend. Not just sign big names that will take us nowhere.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:
If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

if we get #1 or #2, i would ship that to the Kings for Boogie. throw JC or Randle in that package too. i would do it, wonder if the Kings would?

F*CK THAT! I do not want cousins on this team. Is he one of the best big man in the game? Yes. Is he a head case that has zero leadership skills and will never lead a team to a championship? YES! He needs to go to a team like Cleveland or something that already has a bonified superstar leader and another big name like kyrie or Kevin. Then he's just an addition and will be held in check by the superstar and other vets. If he comes here he'd be the biggest name and he'd just pull the same s**t he is up in sac. f**k that. I want to win and contend. Not just sign big names that will take us nowhere.

A lot of people said the same about Shaq, sure he wasn't as bad as Boogie, but he was still a head case in Orlando. Boogie is just entering his prime too (he's only 25). On top of that, good players want to play with other good players. We would have a much higher chance of landing somebody like Durant with Boogie.

Still think there's a chance Jim is out if Jeanie is smart.

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

if we get #1 or #2, i would ship that to the Kings for Boogie. throw JC or Randle in that package too. i would do it, wonder if the Kings would?

F*CK THAT! I do not want cousins on this team. Is he one of the best big man in the game? Yes. Is he a head case that has zero leadership skills and will never lead a team to a championship? YES! He needs to go to a team like Cleveland or something that already has a bonified superstar leader and another big name like kyrie or Kevin. Then he's just an addition and will be held in check by the superstar and other vets. If he comes here he'd be the biggest name and he'd just pull the same s**t he is up in sac. f**k that. I want to win and contend. Not just sign big names that will take us nowhere.

A lot of people said the same about Shaq, sure he wasn't as bad as Boogie, but he was still a head case in Orlando. Boogie is just entering his prime too (he's only 25). On top of that, good players want to play with other good players. We would have a much higher chance of landing somebody like Durant with Boogie.

No. Nobody said anything close about shaq in orlando like what they say about cousins. Not even close. Nothing shaq did was anything close to what cousins does. The 2 situations aren't even similar, other than them both being centers.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:
If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

if we get #1 or #2, i would ship that to the Kings for Boogie. throw JC or Randle in that package too. i would do it, wonder if the Kings would?

F*CK THAT! I do not want cousins on this team. Is he one of the best big man in the game? Yes. Is he a head case that has zero leadership skills and will never lead a team to a championship? YES! He needs to go to a team like Cleveland or something that already has a bonified superstar leader and another big name like kyrie or Kevin. Then he's just an addition and will be held in check by the superstar and other vets. If he comes here he'd be the biggest name and he'd just pull the same s**t he is up in sac. f**k that. I want to win and contend. Not just sign big names that will take us nowhere.

A lot of people said the same about Shaq, sure he wasn't as bad as Boogie, but he was still a head case in Orlando. Boogie is just entering his prime too (he's only 25). On top of that, good players want to play with other good players. We would have a much higher chance of landing somebody like Durant with Boogie.

No. Nobody said anything close about shaq in orlando like what they say about cousins. Not even close. Nothing shaq did was anything close to what cousins does. The 2 situations aren't even similar, other than them both being centers.

I remember there was issues in Orlando. I guess I'm wrong. But that gif sucks, you can do much better than that. Or maybe not...

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:
lol...so you come up with a scenario that even you admit would probably not work out, isn't that good, and there's little chance of it happening.

lol it just speaks volumes about our situation doesn't it? That even the wildest scenario I can dig up still isn't better than the Dubs or Spurs potentially.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:
If the Lakers keep their pick, they aren't trading it. And no offense, but IMO that scenario above sucks.

D'Lo – Butler – Durant – Randle – Horford

^that sucks? lol it isn't great from a fit perspective but that's a lot of talent. It's much better than whatever free agent alternative I can think of...

D-Lo
Clarkson
DeRozan
Randle
Horford

1st Round Pick

Or replace Horford with Batum and have Black our starting 5? Or just get DeRozan in FA and fill in the rest with smaller names? None of those are great scenarios either. At least in the "trade the pick" scenario we can potentially get A LOT of talent through the door (Butler, Durant, Horford) that would provide some veteran leadership (at least with Durant and Horford in mind, yes) for these young whipper snappers. It wouldn't work year 1, but maybe something happens year 2.

Don't get me wrong – personally, I think the best bet is to keep the pick and just build through the draft. But I'm not making these decisions, it's the guy who put a deadline on his own head. You back someone into a corner they're going to do whatever they can to make it work, hence why I think there is a very strong possibility of us shipping the pick if we keep it.

Boogie or bust!

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:
Boogie or bust!

I'm with Stoney on the Boogie thing – he would be terrible here with the knuckleheads we have in our locker room unless he somehow helped us convince Durant to come onboard. Even then, Durant doesn't come off as the guy to get everyone to STFU and rally. Maybe I'm wrong there, though.

Plus, wasn't the offer last year that got rejected by Sac something like our 1st round pick plus Clarkson? Have they lost positioning at all to where we could get away with dealing just our 1st for him? I don't even want to entertain the Boogie idea just because Vlade can't win in trading Boogie to the Lakers. He just can't.