2021-2022 NBA Season

[trojanfan12]

And that is an option. Keeping him and playing him off the bench....if he doesn't like it....he can sit out.

That 92 mill is appealing....LOL.

Since, AD can't stay healthy, he can't be the #1 option. With that cap space, they could afford to bring in a #1.

 

[Wamu]

The NBA universe is in balance right now.

The Celtics are playing great.

And the Lakers aren't.

 

[shopson67]

That comment is so backwards. Kyrie is trying to make himself a martyr. That vaccination rule extends to everyone working in the Barclays Center, MSG, and every Net and Knick. Only Kyrie has made it a national issue.

What happens if the Nets face the Raptors in the playoffs? Kyrie would be out for that whole series due to Canada's restrictions.

 

[shopson67]

dont make a habit agreeing with skip- but this is just getting ridiculous.

He disarms his own post by stooping to Fakers right off the bat. He's a moron troll.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Since, AD can't stay healthy, he can't be the #1 option. With that cap space, they could afford to bring in a #1.

Yeah.

 

[shopson67]

Uh, that would be $47 million. lol

Supposedly, both Russ and the Lakers are motivated to move him in the off-season. But when he opts in, that contract is going to be very difficult to move, even as an expiring contract. Especially now that teams have seen that he can't be ''that Russ'' anymore.

Imo, about the only way he gets moved and the Lakers get anything back that's worth a damn, is if he opts out and they can work out a sign and trade for him. But since it's unlikely that he would get anything close to $47 million...he'd be crazy to opt out.

If they can't move him this summer, they need to buy him out. He's more of a distraction than anything else at this point.

 

[shopson67]

People have been saying this since he first came into the league. He will not age gracefully, and it's coming true.

He's still plenty explosive in transition and slashing, but the rest of his game is failing. Turnovers, losing his handle, bricking layups, failing jumper. He's relying so much on going 100% explosive that he's losing control and has lost touch and feel on his shots. Plus, he gets lost on defense. Bring him off the bench for now, try to trade him as an expiring deal, then buy him out if necessary. GET HIM OFF THE TEAM.

 

[shopson67]

The NBA universe is in balance right now.

The Celtics are playing great.

And the Lakers aren't.

Both are still in the playoff picture, but with little expectation for the finals (none for the Lakers).

But I'll take championships from my Rams, Dodgers and Lakers all in succession anyday, lol. Can't complain, even with the Lakers current struggles.

 

[DJ Fieri]

That comment is so backwards. Kyrie is trying to make himself a martyr. That vaccination rule extends to everyone working in the Barclays Center, MSG, and every Net and Knick. Only Kyrie has made it a national issue.

What happens if the Nets face the Raptors in the playoffs? Kyrie would be out for that whole series due to Canada's restrictions.

And it wouldn't be a shock if they lost.

The Raps are a dangerous team to face in the postseason.

 

[Wamu]

Both are still in the playoff picture, but with little expectation for the finals (none for the Lakers).

But I'll take championships from my Rams, Dodgers and Lakers all in succession anyday, lol. Can't complain, even with the Lakers current struggles.

Both are still in the playoff picture that's true. But only one of them was picked to make it to the Finals.

I'll say this though. I find it weird that LeBron gets so much shit for where the Lakers are right now but the actual GM of the team just doesn't get the blame he deserves.

Gotta say congrats though. Your teams sure have been racking up the hardware lately.

 

[DJ Fieri]

If they can't move him this summer, they need to buy him out. He's more of a distraction than anything else at this point.

The stretch provision is a last resort....hopefully he is so frustrated he just opts out. Know it's a long shot but maybe....just maybe.

 

[flyerhawk]

Small market looking to sell tickets. Say what you want about him but RW is a name. And he can sell tickets plus like I said he is expiring. Not sure what team but when I have more time I can look it up and get back on where.

I could see a team being interested in bringing Russ on board. Heck I could see the Knicks being interested. I just don't see what they could give back to the Lakers.

 

[shopson67]

Both are still in the playoff picture that's true. But only one of them was picked to make it to the Finals.

I'll say this though. I find it weird that LeBron gets so much shit for where the Lakers are right now but the actual GM of the team just doesn't get the blame he deserves.

Gotta say congrats though. Your teams sure have been racking up the hardware lately.

Lebron deserves a heaping portion of the blame for that Westbrook trade he pushed for. Rescind that trade and the Lakers are probably at least .500 and wouldn't have chased so many fading veterans to fill some of those holes. Kuzma, KCP, likely keep Caruso, etc. Assuming AD is still injured; if not, the Lakers are well above .500 without the Westbrook trade. Of course, the front office is also to blame for allowing that trade to get pushed through (or not allowing Pelinka enough power to stand against it if he wanted to).

 

[shopson67]

The stretch provision is a last resort....hopefully he is so frustrated he just opts out. Know it's a long shot but maybe....just maybe.

I wouldn't bother with the stretch, just eat the contract next year when it is determined he won't be dealt before the deadline (preferably as early as possible). It's not like they can bring in big money FA midseason.

Now if they have FA available that they could acquire if they stretch Westbrook in the preseason, that's an interesting option. They would only be able to stretch it one year (basically cut the cap hit in half for two seasons instead of one), so the long term impact is minimal.

 

[flyerhawk]

Which presents a whole other problem. If they do nothing with Westbrook and just decide stand pat and get through next season as best they can, they will have around $92 million in cap space to put pieces around AD for 2023-24..

Fournier is signed through 2024-25 and Rose is signed through 2023-24 which eats up about $36 million of that cap space.

Agreed. Why take on more salary beyond 2023?

 

[bksballer89]

12 games left. Doesn't sound like he will be back before the end of regular season which is in 3 weeks

 

[Heatles84]

Sure, he has lost some explosiveness but not enough to where he can't rebound on another team. He's making poorer decisions because of the pressure of playing with LeBron and AD. Just my opinion, we're not going to see eye to eye on this.

It's not a never say never situation like @tlance said. RW's game has always been built around his explosiveness. Other players add skillsets to their overall game, RW has never done that. It's not pressure, RW has played with other superstars on multiple teams, this is who he's always been (minus the explosiveness diminishing). You're not going to get much for RW going forward because he's not a valuable commodity, and he has an albatross contract to boot.

 

[bksballer89]

2 seed is out the window now but i think they can hold off Utah and Dallas for the 3 seed

 

[bksballer89]

These fans are soft

 

[Heatles84]

The stretch provision is a last resort....hopefully he is so frustrated he just opts out. Know it's a long shot but maybe....just maybe.

I can tell you right now RW is not going to opt out of $47 mil simply out of frustration. That's beyond wishful thinking.