A Little FA News

[trojanfan12]

The only good news out of the Kobe injury is that it may mean Jordan Clarkson could see a significant increase in minutes.

Once that dude gets better confidence and doesn't let missed dunks/layups or bad passes bother him, he can be a valuable asset in the future.

For what it's worth, I don't see Lin coming back on this team AT ALL!!!

Yeah, I'd like to see Clarkson get more minutes so we can see if we've really got something or not. As for Lin, I know Byron isn't happy with his inconsistent play. He'll need to get that figured out or you are right, he won't be back.

 

[lakersrule]

The important thing, lottery wise, is to get in the top 5. As for Kobe retiring. I doubt it. As long as it took for him to come back from the last 2 injuries, he actually came back faster than most would (or he should have). The rotator cuff may be a blessing in disguise as it will force him to sit out.

The rotator cuff should also heal in time for him to do his usual off-season workout routine rather than spending his off-season rehabbing an injury like he did going into this season. I think that part of his struggles this year have been due to not being able to have his normal off-season workout.

I think he was able to train hard last season. He went after it with Wes most of the summer. I don't know TF12. After this injury, he may come to the conclusion that his body just can't stand up to the rigors of the NBA anymore. He has to be a bit deflated looking at another lengthy rehabilitation process.

 

[lakersrule]

I've been advocating more minutes for Clarkson all season. He's got potential. He needs the playing time though to get used to the speed of the NBA and to understand that he doesn't need to be going full bore every play.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think he was able to train hard last season. He went after it with Wes most of the summer. I don't know TF12. After this injury, he may come to the conclusion that his body just can't stand up to the rigors of the NBA anymore. He has to be a bit deflated looking at another lengthy rehabilitation process.

Most of that was as part of his rehab though. If memory serves, he either wasn't ready at the start of training camp or there was question as to whether or not he would be. Either way, he didn't get to do his usual "take 2-3 weeks off after the season and then get into his normal off-season workout routine" that he's been doing since he came in to the league.

You may be right about his body and him being faced with another long rehab though. It may very well be that all of those times that he played through injuries when most players would have been out awhile and/or came back from injury too early, have caught up to him.

 

[DJ]

A torn rotator cuff? Wouldn't surprise me at all if Kobe played theough it.

 

[wildturkey]

This will definitely be an interesting offseason. The Lakers could have anywhere between roughly $25mil and $50mil in cap space. The latter number if Kobe decides to retire. They could also have a high draft pick.

I'm on the fence about Rondo. He's good, but he's getting a bit old and will cost a great deal of their cap space assuming Kobe is still around. Rondo's game can last several more years though because he doesn't attack the rim like Westbrook type PGs. He's more of a ground level player.

If they luck out and get the #1 draft pick, things will be very interesting. Okafor is the clear #1 choice. I don't follow college ball, but have watched highlights of him. He looks legit to me. An Okafor/Randle frontcourt would be a nice thing to develop and build around. There's looks to be some other bigs high on the draft prediction charts as well. Then there's that Mudiay kid. Don't know much about him.

I like Greg Monroe. I can see the front office offering him a max contract. A Monroe/Randle frontcourt could be strong on offense. A little suspect on defense though.

I would offer Kawhi Leonard a max contract right from the jump. Put San Antonio on the clock, assuming Kawhi would sign the offer sheet. This kid is very good and hasn't reached his full potential yet. Draymond Green, Butler, and Harris are also worth a look. Gonna be tough to get these RFAs though.

Choke 4 Okafor!!

This is what I'm hoping they try to do. If Duncan retires, SA will have cap space to sign Marc Gasol. I'd like to see LA do to SA what Dallas did to Houston; sign their restricted free agent to take up their cap space and force them to choose. Dallas got Parsons because they offered him while Houston was pursuing Bosh. They put them in a spot where they had to sign Parsons and take away their cap space or let him go and hope Bosh signs. It's kind of a dick move but whatever, it's legal. So in this scenario it be see if the Spurs pursue Gasol and right when they are ready to deal, sign Leonard to a max offer. Then SA has to chose between Leonard or Gasol. If they choose Gasol, LA gets Leonard. If they choose Leonard, they can't afford Gasol but LA can. Win-win.


As for the others being mentioned in the news, I'd rather have Dragic over Rondo. I've never been too fond of Rondo's game and think he's only as good as the people around him. And with Monroe, I'd take him but I'd rather pursue all other options first. Just personal preference. His numbers are solid but just watching him with the eye test, I'd just be more comfortable investing top dollars into some other players first.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

A torn rotator cuff? Wouldn't surprise me at all if Kobe played theough it.

For a playoff team, definitely, For this year's Lakers squad? No chance.

 

[trojanfan12]

This is what I'm hoping they try to do. If Duncan retires, SA will have cap space to sign Marc Gasol. I'd like to see LA do to SA what Dallas did to Houston; sign their restricted free agent to take up their cap space and force them to choose. Dallas got Parsons because they offered him while Houston was pursuing Bosh. They put them in a spot where they had to sign Parsons and take away their cap space or let him go and hope Bosh signs. It's kind of a dick move but whatever, it's legal. So in this scenario it be see if the Spurs pursue Gasol and right when they are ready to deal, sign Leonard to a max offer. Then SA has to chose between Leonard or Gasol. If they choose Gasol, LA gets Leonard. If they choose Leonard, they can't afford Gasol but LA can. Win-win.


As for the others being mentioned in the news, I'd rather have Dragic over Rondo. I've never been too fond of Rondo's game and think he's only as good as the people around him. And with Monroe, I'd take him but I'd rather pursue all other options first. Just personal preference. His numbers are solid but just watching him with the eye test, I'd just be more comfortable investing top dollars into some other players first.

Agree with pretty much all of this. I like Monroe and think he has tremendous upside, but Marc Gasol is the best center in the league, imo.

I like Rondo a little better than you do apparently, but would definitely take Dragic over him because he's a more complete player.

 

[trojanfight]

The players and coaching staff won't tank. Players and coaches never do. However, with Kobe out, I could also see the FO not making any moves trade wise, that would immediately improve the team.

Unless something crazy just falls in their lap (like a salary dump of a soon to be FA to get something for them) I doubt they do any trades unless it's for draft picks or a young player they may want to audition.

probably not a flat out tank job. but its possible they move someone like jordan hill, ed davis to a contender. similar to what boston has done.

 

[Retroram52]

Yea, Lakersrule. Keeping that top five pick is what I am most concerned about simply because I don't want Phoenix to get it until at least 2016 or even 2017. We could really use a top five pick because the chances of getting another big or guard. If we snag Dragic and Monroe and another dominant big or point guard, that would be a great foundation to build on with Randle. I am not so concerned about getting the top pick as I am yielding it to Phoenix this year.

 

[trojanfan12]

probably not a flat out tank job. but its possible they move someone like jordan hill, ed davis to a contender. similar to what boston has done.

Personally, I can't decide which one I'd rather keep, but if Black keeps playing like he has, he definitely makes one of them expendable.

Boozer has been playing pretty well for most of the season. I could see him being traded to a contender as well. There may be one of the younger, contending type teams looking to add an experienced vet who can still play, for the playoffs as well.

 

[lakersrule]

Personally, I can't decide which one I'd rather keep, but if Black keeps playing like he has, he definitely makes one of them expendable.

Boozer has been playing pretty well for most of the season. I could see him being traded to a contender as well. There may be one of the younger, contending type teams looking to add an experienced vet who can still play, for the playoffs as well.

They can't trade Boozer since they "won" him after Chicago dumped him.

Portland could use a big right about now with LA out for awhile. Considering what Cleveland paid for Mosgov, the Lakers bigs are certainly worth a first rounder.

 

[lakersrule]

This is what I'm hoping they try to do. If Duncan retires, SA will have cap space to sign Marc Gasol. I'd like to see LA do to SA what Dallas did to Houston; sign their restricted free agent to take up their cap space and force them to choose. Dallas got Parsons because they offered him while Houston was pursuing Bosh. They put them in a spot where they had to sign Parsons and take away their cap space or let him go and hope Bosh signs. It's kind of a dick move but whatever, it's legal. So in this scenario it be see if the Spurs pursue Gasol and right when they are ready to deal, sign Leonard to a max offer. Then SA has to chose between Leonard or Gasol. If they choose Gasol, LA gets Leonard. If they choose Leonard, they can't afford Gasol but LA can. Win-win.


As for the others being mentioned in the news, I'd rather have Dragic over Rondo. I've never been too fond of Rondo's game and think he's only as good as the people around him. And with Monroe, I'd take him but I'd rather pursue all other options first. Just personal preference. His numbers are solid but just watching him with the eye test, I'd just be more comfortable investing top dollars into some other players first.

That was my thinking as well. Who knows though if Kawhi wants to be on the Lakers. He is a SoCal boy, albeit the IE!

 

[lakersrule]

Agree with pretty much all of this. I like Monroe and think he has tremendous upside, but Marc Gasol is the best center in the league, imo.

I like Rondo a little better than you do apparently, but would definitely take Dragic over him because he's a more complete player.

I would have mentioned Gasol, but I feel he's staying put in Memphis. I would definitely rather have him over Monroe. Whatever they do, enough cap space needs to be in place in 2016 when KD becomes available.

 

[trojanfan12]

They can't trade Boozer since they "won" him after Chicago dumped him.

Portland could use a big right about now with LA out for awhile. Considering what Cleveland paid for Mosgov, the Lakers bigs are certainly worth a first rounder.

I was under the impression they could trade him after December or something. Didn't realize they had to keep him all season.

 

[DJ]

Boozer for MKG.

 

[wildturkey]

That was my thinking as well. Who knows though if Kawhi wants to be on the Lakers. He is a SoCal boy, albeit the IE!

It's basically a fantasy. I'd like to see it happen but Kawhi seems to have the personality that he wouldn't even put the Spurs in that position. He seems like too much of a nice guy to play hardball with contracts.

I'd like to see LA max offer Butler too but I fully expect Chicago to match. They've been cheap in the past but they'll likely go over the tax line to keep him and look to shed salary elsewhere later.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Bit off topic, but how did Clarkson get on last night as a starter? Bit late for me to watch it yesterday and all I saw were the stats!

 

[trojanfan12]

Bit off topic, but how did Clarkson get on last night as a starter? Bit late for me to watch it yesterday and all I saw were the stats!

He actually played pretty well. Especially when considering how little he has played this year. I am hopeful that Byron will continue to start him/give him lots of playing time. I'd like to see this for a couple of reasons:

1.) As a rookie, he's not going to be leading the team to a lot of wins, which will help hold on to that pick.

2.) More important. It will give the Lakers a chance to see if he is the answer at PG or not, which can greatly influence what direction they take in both the draft and the FA market.

Maybe he proves himself to be a better 2 guard than point guard, he becomes Kobe's successor and the Lakers go after Mudiay in the draft or an FA PG? Maybe he proves himself to be the answer and the Lakers choose to go after bigs?

Maybe Kobe comes back and the Lakers decide to package him in a deal for a veteran PG along with a couple of other FA's to give Kobe a shot at 1 last playoff run?

 

[Retroram52]

Clarkson had a good night against the Wiz. Finished with 18 points. Not too shabby for the rook. Plus he gained invaluable playing time experience.