Kevin love will consider opting out for LA

[trojanfan12]

I think Howard was just doing damage control there since he knew that there were many Laker fans. He gave the same sort of lip service in Orlando and then bolted anyway. I don't believe it was all just Kobe for him. I think he looked at the salary they paid Kobe and the fact there was no good young talent to play next to and decided to go where he didn't have to wait.

But name the big time free agents the Lakers have signed since Howard left.

What could he have to gain by not being honest? Why does he care that there are a lot of Lakers fans? It's not like Lakers fans were going to cheer for him on the Rockets.

I think the only issue Dwight had with Kobe coming back was that apparently, in the meeting when the Lakers tried to re-sign him, he asked Kobe how much longer he thought he could play and Kobe said 3-4 more years. Dwight is about to be 30 years old and has made it no secret that he wants to be "the man". He knows that as long as Kobe is a Laker, he'd never be seen that way. So, if Kobe did play 3-4 more years, he'd be 32 or 33 and starting on the downside of his career before he'd be seen as "the man".

End of the day, whatever his reasons, it doesn't matter because he's gone. There are a lot of high end FA's coming up over the next couple of seasons and I'd say it's pretty likely that the Lakers will get a couple of them.

 

[trojanfan12]

Exactly. LA is positioning for lottery balls. I think most big time free agents see that and know the Lakers won't be competitive for a few years still.

Yes, because after all, no teams have ever used free agency and/or trades to turn themselves around in a single season.

Well, unless you ignore the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe, the Celtics with Garnett, Allen and Pierce, the Lakers with Gasol, the Heat with Lebron, Bosh and Wade, the Cavs with Lebron, Love and Kyrie.

I understand that you're a Celtics fan and want to see the Lakers fail for as long as possible. But don't act like teams with cap space (which the Lakers are setting themselves up to have a lot of) can't turn things around very quickly.

 

[trojanfan12]

The last big name player that wanted to team up with Kobe: Steve Nash, 2013, before they even traded for Howard. Nash was still considered one of the best PG's and wanted to take a final stab at a championship before the end of his career. A freak leg injury kept him from his goal.

Pau stuck around and played with Kobe when he could have left as an FA sooner than he did. According to him, it was because he likes playing with Kobe. I hear he's pretty good too.

In fact, he dragged out his free agency as long as he could to see if the Lakers could land 'Melo. If they did, Pau would have re-signed. He ultimately went to the Bulls because he's getting close to the end of his career and wants a shot at another ring.

 

[MrHoople]

Yes, because after all, no teams have ever used free agency and/or trades to turn themselves around in a single season.

Well, unless you ignore the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe, the Celtics with Garnett, Allen and Pierce, the Lakers with Gasol, the Heat with Lebron, Bosh and Wade, the Cavs with Lebron, Love and Kyrie.

I understand that you're a Celtics fan and want to see the Lakers fail for as long as possible. But don't act like teams with cap space (which the Lakers are setting themselves up to have a lot of) can't turn things around very quickly.

Those trades you mentioned were adding a big name Free Agent to build a winner. What could the Lakers do with one Free Agent right now? Not much and with Kobe being so highly paid the Lakers can't add two big name free agents right now. This is the reality players see when they are making decisions.

Just so you know, I have nothing against the Lakers. I wish them well. I'm just telling you what I am seeing. I'm not trying to bash the Lakers. If you guys become winners it will not matter to me in the least. So don't be so sensitive and assume it's about Laker hating. Right now Laker fans need to accept that they are a ways away from competing again. That's just a fact not bashing. Dr Buss is gone now.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

The Spurs and Lakers have definitely been the cream of the crop over the last 20 years. But right now the Lakers have no stars for the future other than possibly a young rookie with a broken leg who is unproven. So the cream of the next 10 years should be interesting.

The Lakers will bounce back and I don't see them waiting another ten years to do it either. Stars like Lebron come and go, so it's just the matter of time. I do, however like what the Spurs have done in holding court with longetivity and working together. Tim Duncan, Parker and the head coach will always have my respect for that

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

Wasn't Sugar an Akron native?

Spell NORKA backwards.... but yeah... she and Wammy were practically kissing cousins.

 

[MrHoople]

The Lakers will bounce back and I don't see them waiting another ten years to do it either. Stars like Lebron come and go, so it's just the matter of time. I do, however like what the Spurs have done in holding court with longetivity and working together. Tim Duncan, Parker and the head coach will always have my respect for that

The Lakers will definitely be back again. It's just a question of time. They should get another good draft pick this year so hope for a deep draft. Not like the one where Cleveland took Bennett. That was a weak draft. Last year was a nice deep draft.

 

[trojanfan12]

Those trades you mentioned were adding a big name Free Agent to build a winner. What could the Lakers do with one Free Agent right now? Not much and with Kobe being so highly paid the Lakers can't add two big name free agents right now. This is the reality players see when they are making decisions.

Just so you know, I have nothing against the Lakers. I wish them well. I'm just telling you what I am seeing. I'm not trying to bash the Lakers. If you guys become winners it will not matter to me in the least. So don't be so sensitive and assume it's about Laker hating. Right now Laker fans need to accept that they are a ways away from competing again. That's just a fact not bashing. Dr Buss is gone now.

Actually, the Lakers can add 2 FA's in the next FA class. They'll have the cap space. They would have to go cheaper on the role players (similar to what they've already done) but they absolutely can add 2.

The Cavs didn't have much more of a roster than the Lakers have now and neither did the Heat. You're posts act like the Lakers are stuck with a bunch of overpaid scrubs and ill-fitting pieces on long term contracts like the Knicks. They aren't. They have a bunch of guys on short term deals. I think the longest term deals are 3 years. The Lakers can turn their roster over very quickly. The only question is whether or not they will.

 

[MrHoople]

Actually, the Lakers can add 2 FA's in the next FA class. They'll have the cap space. They would have to go cheaper on the role players (similar to what they've already done) but they absolutely can add 2.

The Cavs didn't have much more of a roster than the Lakers have now and neither did the Heat. You're posts act like the Lakers are stuck with a bunch of overpaid scrubs and ill-fitting pieces on long term contracts like the Knicks. They aren't. They have a bunch of guys on short term deals. I think the longest term deals are 3 years. The Lakers can turn their roster over very quickly. The only question is whether or not they will.

Not true. The Cavs had a lot of young pieces as well as 3 #1 draft picks. Two of which they traded for Love. Plus they had a young star in his prime with Irving.

The Lakers have a worn out Kobe as the highest paid player in the league and an unproven rookie with a broken leg.

 

[trojanfan12]

Not true. The Cavs had a lot of young pieces as well as 3 #1 draft picks. Two of which they traded for Love. Plus they had a young star in his prime with Irving.

The Lakers have a worn out Kobe as the highest paid player in the league and an unproven rookie with a broken leg.

They were also coming off a 20 win season and the Lakers aren't old (outside of Kobe). The Lakers have some solid pieces to build around and Kobe isn't exactly signed to a long term deal. They will have a ton of cap space this free agency and even more after next season when Kobe's contract comes off the books.

You must agree on everything else since all you came up with was a nitpick on the Cavs roster.

 

[MrHoople]

They were also coming off a 20 win season and the Lakers aren't old (outside of Kobe). The Lakers have some solid pieces to build around and Kobe isn't exactly signed to a long term deal. They will have a ton of cap space this free agency and even more after next season when Kobe's contract comes off the books.

You must agree on everything else since all you came up with was a nitpick on the Cavs roster.

My comment was of your errors comparing the rosters and not the Cavs. But I don't agree with everything you said.

Kobe's deal runs through next year so that will affect what the Lakers can do in free agency since he makes so much. The Lakers don't really have much of a roster in spite of what you are trying to say. They have 1 win so far so they can't be that good, lol.

 

[LogicMan]

You have to like the Spurs stars for taking less to surround themselves with other great players. I think it's pretty clear Tim Duncan and Tony Parker put rings as their top priority. In a way that's what Lebron, Bosh and Dwayne did for a stretch too.

 

[MrHoople]

If the Lakers still had Dr. Buss in charge I would have a little more faith in a quicker turnaround. But you have to remember who is in charge now. Jimmy Buss. So far he has made a lot of mistakes in rebuilding the Lakers. I honestly can't think of anything that he has done right yet since he has been in charge. So good luck hoping this guy has what it takes to make the Lakers contenders. So far he has seemed clueless.

 

[MrHoople]

You have to like the Spurs stars for taking less to surround themselves with other great players. I think it's pretty clear Tim Duncan and Tony Parker put rings as their top priority. In a way that's what Lebron, Bosh and Dwayne did for a stretch too.

Exactly. It's what Dirk did also in order to have a competitive team. Just imagine if Kobe took 10 million like Timmy did. That's some 13 million left on the table to improve the team.

 

[LogicMan]

I think the Cavs did make a major risk in giving up so many assets to get Love. Only time will tell if this was the right move. It took them many years to accumulate those assets and in one big swoosh they put their bet on Love. You have to admire that they at least used the trade of Lebron to get something back, even if it was a sign and trade.

 

[trojanfan12]

If the Lakers still had Dr. Buss in charge I would have a little more faith in a quicker turnaround. But you have to remember who is in charge now. Jimmy Buss. So far he has made a lot of mistakes in rebuilding the Lakers. I honestly can't think of anything that he has done right yet since he has been in charge. So good luck hoping this guy has what it takes to make the Lakers contenders. So far he has seemed clueless.

I agree, Jim Buss has made some mistakes, but not nearly as many as he gets blamed for. His 2 biggest mistakes were coaching hires. He hired Mike Brown when he could have had Adelman and he hired D'Antoni when he could have had Phil. Btw, while those were his hires, they were signed off on by Dr. Buss.

It wasn't his fault that the league vetoed the CP3 deal. It also wasn't his fault that the Dwight/Nash trade didn't work out. At the time, everyone said it put the Lakers right back in contention. It didn't work out. That happens sometimes.

Jim has said that he and Mitch have a 3 year plan (which started this year) and that he will step down if it doesn't work. In interviews, Jeanie has indicated that she will hold him to that (she ultimately has control of the team). All things considered, they did a solid job this past off-season. It doesn't show on the court (and probably won't much this year) but they did. At the very least, they seem to have gotten the right coach and picked up a couple of young guys who look like they will be solid players.

Best case, the 3 year plan works and the Lakers are back in the thick of things in a couple of years. Worst case, it doesn't work, Jim steps down and we have to wait an additional couple of seasons to get things turned around.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think the Cavs did make a major risk in giving up so many assets to get Love. Only time will tell if this was the right move. It took them many years to accumulate those assets and in one big swoosh they put their bet on Love. You have to admire that they at least used the trade of Lebron to get something back, even if it was a sign and trade.

I agree. But I think it's a risk that will pay off. Despite the rumors, I will be pretty shocked if Love leaves the Cavs any time soon. Things would have to go pretty bad for that to happen, imo.

 

[LogicMan]

Well if Kyrie and Lebron don't get along"................

I still think the real FA is the Brow. I think he is a legit player as a franchise cornerstone. Everybody will try to woo him

 

[trojanfan12]

Well if Kyrie and Lebron don't get along"................

I still think the real FA is the Brow. I think he is a legit player as a franchise cornerstone. Everybody will try to woo him

Yeah, that kid is a beast. Kobe calls him a "much more athletic Pau Gasol". Literally just heard a post game interview after tonight's game and Kobe was talking about how they all knew back on the Olympic team that he was gonna be special.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Does anyone really want to play for the Lakers right now?