2021-2022 NBA Season

[dtgold88]

Imo, he gets the Lion's share of the blame. It's hard to blame Pelinka because I can't think of a GM in the league that if his 2 stars came to him and said..."We want this guy" and assured him they could make it work, wouldn't try to get him.

Lebron fucked up in insisting that they get Westbrook and it hasn't worked. Granted, it really hasn't had a fair chance to work becauseof all of the injuries, which makes what Lebron is doing even worse.

He insisted on getting Westbrook, costing the Lakers the assets they had left from the AD trade and leaving them with very little money to build the rest of the roster. Now that it's not working, he wants someone else to clean up his mess for him.

Like I posted earlier, if I'm Pelinka and this season ends with anything other than the Lakers getting their shit together and making a deep run...I'm going into Jeanie's office and suggesting trading Lebron.

I'm not sure I agree with all of this. I think there could be GMs who would tell a Lebron with 2 years left on his deal to pound sand if they were of the belief Westbrook was a bad fit (which seemed obvious to many).

Agree with most of the rest.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

I'm not sure I agree with all of this. I think there could be GMs who would tell a Lebron with 2 years left on his deal to pound sand if they were of the belief Westbrook was a bad fit (which seemed obvious to many).

Agree with most of the rest.

Truthfully - If Lebron requests a trade - I think, he is doing the Lakers a huge favor. Davis as a player has to get his shit together and considering how many injuries Davis has had - I think the best thing the Lakers could do is rebuild from the ground up. and get back some first round draft picks to recover what the Lakers lost - they lost their entire future for the next five year with the Davis trade and had a winning team before Westbrook. They just needed to get healthy

 

[trojanfan12]

Key Phrase: at James and Davis' urging....



The first one came via veteran NBA insider Marc Stein, who reported in his latest Substack column that James and Davis both preferred the Westbrook deal to the Hield one:

Yep, I've been saying all season that the attacks on Vogel and Pelinka are unwarranted. Vogel's job was already going to be tough just because of the fact that it was an old roster with some ill fitting pieces. Add in all of the time missed due to injuries (especially to Lebron and AD) and it's a damn near impossible job.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

I'm not sure I agree with all of this. I think there could be GMs who would tell a Lebron with 2 years left on his deal to pound sand if they were of the belief Westbrook was a bad fit (which seemed obvious to many).

Agree with most of the rest.

Agree.

Maybe if the player was not just singularly focused on what he wanted and had a bit of respect for the people in the Organization, it could have gone the way it did in the Bay when the vets urged the GM to keep Bradley over Payton II.

Much smaller scale acquisition. But, Curry, Klay and Dray didn't start praising other GM's and waxing nostalgic about playing elsewhere when they didn't get their way.

Pelinka should have pushed back. But, recent events kinda show why he was probably intimidated to do so.

The fact that Klutch thinks they are in a partnership with the Lakers shows who really wears the pants in that Organization.

 

[thunderc]

Agree.

Maybe if the player was not just singularly focused on what he wanted and had a bit of respect for the people in the Organization, it could have gone the way it did in the Bay when the vets urged the GM to keep Bradley over Payton II.

Much smaller scale acquisition. But, Curry, Klay and Dray didn't start praising other GM's and waxing nostalgic about playing elsewhere when they didn't get their way.

Pelinka should have pushed back. But, recent events kinda show why he was probably intimidated to do so.

The fact that Klutch thinks they are in a partnership with the Lakers shows who really wears the pants in that Organization.

At some point Silver is going to have to ask himself, what would David Stern do?

 

[trojanfan12]

I think there could be GMs who would tell a Lebron with 2 years left on his deal to pound sand if they were of the belief Westbrook was a bad fit (which seemed obvious to many).

I can't think of any. At least not any that are GM's on a team that Lebron would actually go to.

I will say though, Pelinka refusing to trade Westbrook and a first for Wall may mean that he's not going to capitulate anymore.

The Lakers have always been a "star driven franchise"and they have a history of capitulating to their stars. However, they have also shown that there are limits. They showed it when Shaq was sent to Miami and when Kobe demanded a trade.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, the off-season is going to be veeeery interesting. The roster is definitely going to change, not because Lebron said so, but because there isn't a lot of choice...they have several players on 1 year deals.

It will be interestng to see how much input the Lakers give Lebron. Hopefully, Pelinka does what he feels is best and doesn't let Lebron have much influence. He will likely still have some, but hopefully Pelinka will keep final say for himself.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Yep, I've been saying all season that the attacks on Vogel and Pelinka are unwarranted. Vogel's job was already going to be tough just because of the fact that it was an old roster with some ill fitting pieces. Add in all of the time missed due to injuries (especially to Lebron and AD) and it's a damn near impossible job.

I think its the ill fitting pieces more than anything.

Everyone has had injury issues.

The difference is, you can't have a next man up mentality when the only guys available have a skill set that doesn't compliment the other guys you have available.

THT, Westbrook..... Plays at breakneck speed and can't shoot a lick.

Jordan, Ellington, Bazemore.... Skill sets fit great on paper. But, they are washed.

Melo, Bradley great in spurts, constantly dinged up.

Howard ass glued to the bench mostly.

Lebron, Monk and Reeves have been consistently terrific.

But, that's not enough. Lebron can't singlehandedly carry a franchise anymore.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

I can't think of any. At least not any that are GM's on a team that Lebron would actually go to.

I will say though, Pelinka refusing to trade Westbrook and a first for Wall may mean that he's not going to capitulate anymore.

The Lakers have always been a "star driven franchise"and they have a history of capitulating to their stars. However, they have also shown that there are limits. They showed it when Shaq was sent to Miami and when Kobe demanded a trade.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, the off-season is going to be veeeery interesting. The roster is definitely going to change, not because Lebron said so, but because there isn't a lot of choice...they have several players on 1 year deals.

It will be interestng to see how much input the Lakers give Lebron. Hopefully, Pelinka does what he feels is best and doesn't let Lebron have much influence. He will likely still have some, but hopefully Pelinka will keep final say for himself.

It's only happened once.

Miami.

He immediately took his ball and literally went home.

As for Pelinka, he would have been the laughing stock of the league had he done that deal.

You are the fucking Lakers for goodness sake.

At some point, the name on the front of the jersey has to matter more.

 

[trojanfan12]

Key Phrase: at James and Davis' urging....



The first one came via veteran NBA insider Marc Stein, who reported in his latest Substack column that James and Davis both preferred the Westbrook deal to the Hield one:

Really glad that this kind of stuff is coming out. Keeps Lebron and Klutch from being able to blame Pelinka and the Lakers for the mess they insisted on creating.

 

[dtgold88]

It's only happened once.

Miami.

He immediately took his ball and literally went home.

As for Pelinka, he would have been the laughing stock of the league had he done that deal.

You are the fucking Lakers for goodness sake.

At some point, the name on the front of the jersey has to matter more.

and the difference in Miami was he could go home. In LA he had 2 seasons left. What was he going to do? Retire?

 

[dtgold88]

Really glad that this kind of stuff is coming out. Keeps Lebron and Klutch from being able to blame Pelinka and the Lakers for the mess they insisted on creating.

doesn't mean they wont blame them, though.

 

[thunderc]

I think its the ill fitting pieces more than anything.

Everyone has had injury issues.

The difference is, you can't have a next man up mentality when the only guys available have a skill set that doesn't compliment the other guys you have available.

THT, Westbrook..... Plays at breakneck speed and can't shoot a lick.

Jordan, Ellington, Bazemore.... Skill sets fit great on paper. But, they are washed.

Melo, Bradley great in spurts, constantly dinged up.

Howard ass glued to the bench mostly.

Lebron, Monk and Reeves have been consistently terrific.

But, that's not enough. Lebron can't singlehandedly carry a franchise anymore.

You should be on the Lakers payroll!

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Really glad that this kind of stuff is coming out. Keeps Lebron and Klutch from being able to blame Pelinka and the Lakers for the mess they insisted on creating.

Thought all this was common knowledge.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

and the difference in Miami was he could go home. In LA he had 2 seasons left. What was he going to do? Retire?

Yeah, you have a point.

The only thing he could do was exactly what he's doing now.

Putting pressure on the Lakers and trying to change the narrative in the court of public opinion.

 

[trojanfan12]

doesn't mean they wont blame them, though.

This is true. It's their M.O.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

After all....what would L.A. be without another "good" soap opera.....lol

So many self inflicted wounds in this story it's laughable.

 

[trojanfan12]

Thought all this was common knowledge.

Based on what most folks have been saying and writing about all season...Pelinka and Vogel have been the 2 favorite "fall guys" for this. It's been to the point that folks have speculated that their jobs are in jeopardy.

Pelinka in particular was blasted and reported as the one who decided to nix the Hield trade for the Westbrook trade as if he just decided to do that all on his own.

I also like that Rich Paul had to reach out to Stephen A to try to deny wanting the Lakers to do the Westbrook/Wall trade and apparently Stephen A didn't exactly seem convinced.

 

[flyerhawk]

Based on what most folks have been saying and writing about all season...Pelinka and Vogel have been the 2 favorite "fall guys" for this. It's been to the point that folks have speculated that their jobs are in jeopardy.

Pelinka in particular was blasted and reported as the one who decided to nix the Hield trade for the Westbrook trade as if he just decided to do that all on his own.

I also like that Rich Paul had to reach out to Stephen A to try to deny wanting the Lakers to do the Westbrook/Wall trade and apparently Stephen A didn't exactly seem convinced.

Both Pelinka and Vogel will be the fall guys if this goes as expected even though I'm CERTAIN that neither wanted Russ. That's just how it works.

 

[Black Adam]

Both Pelinka and Vogel will be the fall guys if this goes as expected even though I'm CERTAIN that neither wanted Russ. That's just how it works.

Unfortunately you might be right. Man, I think we are dry humped for the immediate future...

 

[flyerhawk]

Unfortunately you might be right. Man, I think we are dry humped for the immediate future...

Pretty much a foregone conclusion once you guys made the trade for AD. At least you got a title for it. The Clippers didn't even get to the NBA finals.