Within two years the Lakers will be the better team in LA

[Mecca]

There is one flaw to the OP's theory. One reason I can see it not happening.

And I never in my wildest dream ever thought I'd ever type, utter, vocalize or even sarcastically say this:

Right now, Clippers are the team with the better upper management.

And that could be the one thing that keeps the Lakers from becoming better than the Clippers in the next couple of years.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

There is one flaw to the OP's theory. One reason I can see it not happening.

And I never in my wildest dream ever thought I'd ever type, utter, vocalize or even sarcastically say this:

Right now, Clippers are the team with the better upper management.

And that could be the one thing that keeps the Lakers from becoming better than the Clippers in the next couple of years.

I intended this topic to be taken with a pinch of salt. If you start a thread with "Will the Lakers be the better team in LA", then you get 200 replies with just yes or no.
State an, albeit slightly farfetched fact, and people will discuss it.

 

[trojanfan12]

There is one flaw to the OP's theory. One reason I can see it not happening.

And I never in my wildest dream ever thought I'd ever type, utter, vocalize or even sarcastically say this:

Right now, Clippers are the team with the better upper management.

And that could be the one thing that keeps the Lakers from becoming better than the Clippers in the next couple of years.

I disagree. That may be the perception, but it's not necessarily the reality. When the Lakers went all in on the Dwight/Nash deal, they knew that if it didn't work, they were going to be in a world of hurt because they basically mortgaged the next 3+ years in an attempt to give Kobe one last shot or 2 at the finals before he retired.

They had virtually nothing in the way of draft picks yet still managed to get Russell, Randle, Clarkson and Nance to form a talented young core and have the #2 pick in the upcoming draft. They also will have something like $65 million in cap space going into free agency.

No doubt they've made some mistakes over that time, particularly with coaching hires. But even that seems remedied now with the hiring of arguably the hottest young coach in the league in Luke Walton. I don't know if Jim Buss finally figured things out, has decided to listen to Mitch, or if Mitch and Jeanie have him bound and gagged in a corner somewhere, but all things considered, they are very much on the right path.

The Clippers, on the other hand, despite their supposedly better FO and being one of the most talent laden teams in the NBA, can't get out of the second round of the playoffs. They are capped out and their window is closing, if it hasn't already closed.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Right now, Clippers are the team with the better upper management.

No. They still have Mitch who could be considered one of the best GMs in the biz

 

[trojanfan12]

No. They still have Mitch who could be is considered one of the best, most respected GMs in the biz

fify

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

fify

 

[trojanfan12]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not predicting any titles next season or even a playoff appearance. An awful lot will have to go right in FA, the youngsters will have to continue to develop and Luke will have to be as good as most think he is.

But at least things don't look nearly as bleak as they did just a couple of months ago.

 

[trojanfight]

I'm just not so sure the lakers couldn't already have been pretty good had they made better basketball decisions. assuming durant to LA doesn't pan out then all this don't sign anyone if your not signing the big fish so to speak didn't amount to anything. ive said it before players like lowry, isiah thomas, had interest in LA. for whatever reason LA didn't show the same. its a mute point now that they have russell but either signing would have negated the need to draft russell. hell the lakers could have drafted thomas. instead they drafted 2 guys who aren't on nba rosters anymore. andrew goudelock, darius morris remember them?

id question if whoever the scouts are for the lakers know what they are doing compared to other teams. as far as finding deep talent. over the years players like sun yue, Ater Majok, devin ebanks, derrick character. if i looked hard enough I'm sure id find players they missed on when they took these scrubs.

I'm just hopeful that when they don't get durant or whiteside they don't pack it up till 2018 and only sign 1 or 2 year deals

 

[LogicMan]

The Lakers have finally reached the bottom and can now begin to climb out. You guys have weathered some horrible years for sure. I would have chosen Thibs to create a defensive culture, control the locker room crap and break a few years of bad habits by the young ones. Maybe Walton will pick a defensive expert as an assistant. Clarkson looks like a real talent, and Simmons is the prize and could lift them up

 

[LogicMan]

With regards to Clippers, I admit, I was wrong. I thought Doc was going to bring them a ring. I dont see it, at all. Makes me wonder how much of 2008 was him now.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

No. They still have Mitch who could be considered one of the best GMs in the biz

They also have Jim Buss. We'll see if anything changes regarding the front office.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The Lakers have no talent?!?

How many games did the Lakers win this past season? It was a rough year. I don't see them getting that much better next year. The problem for the Lakers is if they improve just a little bit they'll lose next years 1st round pick. Next years draft is supposedly going to be much better than this years.

 

[Black Adam]

With regards to Clippers, I admit, I was wrong. I thought Doc was going to bring them a ring. I dont see it, at all. Makes me wonder how much of 2008 was him now.

always said it was the team that made DOC, not the other way around...

 

[lakersrule]

How many games did the Lakers win this past season? It was a rough year. I don't see them getting that much better next year. The problem for the Lakers is if they improve just a little bit they'll lose next years 1st round pick. Next years draft is supposedly going to be much better than this years.

It's a lottery. Fortunate things can happen. Just ask Cleveland circa 2011. I'm sure the Clippers wished they had put some protections on that pick.

 

[lakersrule]

There is one flaw to the OP's theory. One reason I can see it not happening.

And I never in my wildest dream ever thought I'd ever type, utter, vocalize or even sarcastically say this:

Right now, Clippers are the team with the better upper management.

And that could be the one thing that keeps the Lakers from becoming better than the Clippers in the next couple of years.

That's debatable. Doc ain't nothing much in that capacity.

 

[trojanfan12]

They also have Jim Buss. We'll see if anything changes regarding the front office.

Despite having Jim Buss and considering how things looked after the Dwight/Nash deal blew up, the Lakers have done just fine. They have gotten the steal of the draft in 2 out of the last 3 drafts and with a little lottery luck have added a PF and PG that look to be very good as they develop. They also have the #2 pick this year.

They knew when they did the deal for Dwight/Nash that if it didn't work, they were going to be in a world of hurt for at least 3 years. The only real mistake they made was hiring Byron Scott which they have already corrected by replacing him with one of the hottest young coaches in the league. They also will have $65 million in cap space going into free agency this season. More than any other team in the league.

So please, tell us more about how bad the Lakers front office is.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Despite having Jim Buss and considering how things looked after the Dwight/Nash deal blew up, the Lakers have done just fine. They have gotten the steal of the draft in 2 out of the last 3 drafts and with a little lottery luck have added a PG and PG that look to be very good as they develop. They also have the #2 pick this year.

They knew when they did the deal for Dwight/Nash that if it didn't work, they were going to be in a world of hurt for at least 3 years. The only real mistake they made was hiring Byron Scott which they have already corrected by replacing him with one of the hottest young coaches in the league. They also will have $65 million in cap space going into free agency this season. More than any other team in the league.

So please, tell us more about how bad the Lakers front office is.

We'll know by the start of next season. We'll see how many star players have signed with the Lakers.

 

[trojanfan12]

We'll know by the start of next season. We'll see how many star players have signed with the Lakers.

What does signing star players have to do with what the FO has accomplished to date? Nice attempt at deflection.

But since you brought it up. I doubt any star players sign with the Lakers or anyone else this off-season. Lebron is going to opt out and re-sign with the Cavs, probably on a 1 and 1, so he can get a monster deal after next season, KD is likely to do the same thing for the same and also, he can give it one more year with Westbrook to see if they can win a title.

The only top FA that is likely to be in play at all, is Whiteside because the Heat can't pay him any more than any other team and they may want to pay him less than he will be offered from other teams. But Riley has also said that keeping him will be priority #1 this off-season.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

How many games did the Lakers win this past season? It was a rough year. I don't see them getting that much better next year. The problem for the Lakers is if they improve just a little bit they'll lose next years 1st round pick. Next years draft is supposedly going to be much better than this years.

Clarkson, Russell and Randle have 4 years of combined NBA experience. How many of today's NBA stars came out of the draft and made an immediate impact? Let alone during a future HOFer's farewell tour?
With experience the Lakers' young core is going to improve dramatically and eventually, whether it's this upcoming season or next, will make a big difference to the team.

As for next years draft being better, that is a fact but Ingram and Simmons would still be in the top 5.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Despite having Jim Buss and considering how things looked after the Dwight/Nash deal blew up, the Lakers have done just fine. They have gotten the steal of the draft in 2 out of the last 3 drafts and with a little lottery luck have added a PG and PG that look to be very good as they develop. They also have the #2 pick this year.

They knew when they did the deal for Dwight/Nash that if it didn't work, they were going to be in a world of hurt for at least 3 years. The only real mistake they made was hiring Byron Scott which they have already corrected by replacing him with one of the hottest young coaches in the league. They also will have $65 million in cap space going into free agency this season. More than any other team in the league.

So please, tell us more about how bad the Lakers front office is.

After the fuck up for the Dwight/Nash trades, I don't think any other GM could have done better. Sure it may have cost the team a bad spell at the bottom of the standings but the future is looking bright.

Heck, that 2nd round pick they bought from Washington that got them Clarkson only cost them $1m