Lakers 2017-2018 Season Thread

[ANGELAKERAMS]

This trade looks like a trade just to do a trade.

Thomas isn' the same post injury and the 1st rounder is a late round pick most likely.

And does this mean when Ball is healthy he is coming off the bench? Cause Thomas won't be happy coming off the bench. That will limit Ball's development playing part time.

Frye offers very little at this point in his career, and Nance was great off the bench.

If Thomas can regain what he has lost, this trade will look better. But right now, it looks rushed

 

[tomodach10]

Goodbye Clarkson, Nance.

Hello Isaiah Thomes, Channing Frye, and the Cavs 1st round pick (in the 20s)

Garbage trade

Wow, i kind of like this. Nance or Randle had to go due to same position. I think we will be fine.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

They essentially traded Nance and Clarkson for a late 1st round pick. It's a desperation trade.

Thomas is a FA this year, and it's hard to see them throwing money at him when they just drafted Ball.

And, they killed their bench in doing so.

The way the team was playing and coming together, it made more sense to stand pat. LeBron isn't coming to LA and play in the West, and the Lakers just made the Cavs younger and better that might convince LeBron to stay anyways.

 

[tomodach10]

Remember it is not for clearing space for Lebron, it is fo 18 and 19 clearing. I would also been ok with staying pat, but Nance was not giving us much on offense. Clarkson is inconsistant and overpaid. I like him, but if he had a consistant outside shot, i would have been pissed at letting him go. With the way Hart is playing, I can live with Clarkson gone and getting a first round pick. Right now I am fine with the move. It may not work out, but I am ok with it.

 

[Kold]

It was a good deal. Look, somebody that we loved was gonna be on the outs with them trying to clear space for 2018 and beyond. As I told someone else, with the Warriors(and now Rockets) being in the West, letting our Young guys grow into their potential, while having the space for 2(and likely 3 max fa's) is a pretty good way to go every year.
At some point, something is gonna break for us. Either our guys reaching their potential and/or multiple free agents coming here

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

What max FA's are there to get this year?

LeBron isn't coming West to play for the Lakers. I would be surprised if he went to a West team at all. He has an easier road to the playoffs/finals in the East.

PG, the one guy we thought would come, seem comfortable staying in OKC.

Cousins blew out his Achilles. He is not worth max money now.

Who else is there?

And I can't believe that Magic and Co. wanted to bring the team cancer that is IT into a locker room full of young players that were finally gelling and playing unselfish ball. Now, they have the ultimate "ME" guy who also happens to be the worst defensive player in the league. I will not be surprised at all if team chemistry gets killed having the ball hog, no defense playing IT on the team.

And, if there is no one to go after this year because of what was mentioned above, why do the trade now and undersell? They could've traded those two in the offseason or next season and still opened up the space for '19.

Terrible trade to get a late 1st rounder for Nance and Clarkson

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

And, why were teams so eager to help out the Cavs?

They clearly had problems which opened things up for other teams, and instead of taking advantage, teams said" we will give you goid players for your garbage and be happy about it". Not only did the Cavs get younger and better in one fell swoop, the gave up next to nothing to do it. I mean, they made all of those moves and still have the Nets pick. That's just crazy.

That's the 1st rounder the Lakers should've demanded for Clarkson and Nance to take back the team cancer and Frye, not a lousy late 1st.

 

[tomodach10]

And, why were teams so eager to help out the Cavs?

They clearly had problems which opened things up for other teams, and instead of taking advantage, teams said" we will give you goid players for your garbage and be happy about it". Not only did the Cavs get younger and better in one fell swoop, the gave up next to nothing to do it. I mean, they made all of those moves and still have the Nets pick. That's just crazy.

That's the 1st rounder the Lakers should've demanded for Clarkson and Nance to take back the team cancer and Frye, not a lousy late 1st.

It had nothing to do with helping the Cavs. It was about clearing Cap space for the future.

 

[trojanfan12]

This trade is great for the Lakers. Hate losing Clarkson and Nance. But Clarkson had to be moved for the Lakers to have the cap space they need. As @Kold said, Nance or Randle was going to have to be moved too.

They cleared up a ton of cap space and now have one of, if not the, healthiest cap situations in the league. They also got a first round pick which they can keep and use or trade with Deng tied to it, to clear up even more cap space.

Does this trade guarantee that they will get max guys? No. But doing nothing would have guaranteed not getting them.

Worst case, they get no one this off-season and save the cap space for 2019. Next best, they get one this off-season and 1 next, best case, they get 2 this off-season.

 

[DJ]

I like what we did.


2 max player slots and a 3rd if we can trade Cavs 1st rounder with Deng somewhere and get back very little.

 

[DJ]

This trade looks like a trade just to do a trade.

Thomas isn' the same post injury and the 1st rounder is a late round pick most likely.

And does this mean when Ball is healthy he is coming off the bench? Cause Thomas won't be happy coming off the bench. That will limit Ball's development playing part time.

Frye offers very little at this point in his career, and Nance was great off the bench.

If Thomas can regain what he has lost, this trade will look better. But right now, it looks rushed

Cap space in the summer and now we may buy him out after IT thinks he should start.

 

[trojanfan12]

This trade looks like a trade just to do a trade.

Thomas isn' the same post injury and the 1st rounder is a late round pick most likely.

And does this mean when Ball is healthy he is coming off the bench? Cause Thomas won't be happy coming off the bench. That will limit Ball's development playing part time.

Frye offers very little at this point in his career, and Nance was great off the bench.

If Thomas can regain what he has lost, this trade will look better. But right now, it looks rushed

This was a trade to clear cap space. Not just to do a trade.

Late or not, a first round pick always has value. Nance, Kuzma and Hart were all late 1st round picks.

Luke has said he will try to play Lonzo and IT together. Worst case, if he won't come off the bench, the Lakers can buy him out. It doesn't matter if he gets back to being IT or not. He will be a Laker for 29 games at most. The Lakers won't be re-signing him.

Frye is a throw in as an expiring contract. He can still stretch the floor, which the Lakers need. If he plays well, I can see the Lakers bringing him back next year on a cheap contract for some 3 point shooting off the bench.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

Actually, worse case scenario is they get no FA's in either offseason and gave up two young guys in the hopes of getting two guys.

Cause they didn't have to do anything to sign one guy.

This trade only works if they sign two max FA's and makes less sense if it's in 2019 as they could've traded those guys in the off season or next season and probably got a better trade.

Nothing is guaranteed in FA, and yet that's what they have put all their eggs into doing.

You guys can drink the cool aid all you want. I'm just being realistic and not living in the clouds.

This team was playing well and chemistry was vastly improving ( and that was without Ball ).

Just don't be surprised if the FA route backfires because there is no one to sign ( because soon to be FA's resign with their teams ), or they choose not to go the Lakers at all.

And just because Nance, Kuzma and Hart were had late 1st doesn't mean it will be the same this draft ( which doesn't appear to be nearly as deep as last years ).

 

[tomodach10]

Actually, worse case scenario is they get no FA's in either offseason and gave up two young guys in the hopes of getting two guys.

Cause they didn't have to do anything to sign one guy.

This trade only works if they sign two max FA's and makes less sense if it's in 2019 as they could've traded those guys in the off season or next season and probably got a better trade.

Nothing is guaranteed in FA, and yet that's what they have put all their eggs into doing.

You guys can drink the cool aid all you want. I'm just being realistic and not living in the clouds.

This team was playing well and chemistry was vastly improving ( and that was without Ball ).

Just don't be surprised if the FA route backfires because there is no one to sign ( because soon to be FA's resign with their teams ), or they choose not to go the Lakers at all.

And just because Nance, Kuzma and Hart were had late 1st doesn't mean it will be the same this draft ( which doesn't appear to be nearly as deep as last years ).

How can you be so sure they could have traded them in the offseason or next year and got more??? I guess you hate the trade and will look at the worst case senerio.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Lakers beating up the Thunder tonight - Damn, I am getting delusional here and thinking the Lakers have turned around this year.

 

[Kold]

What max FA's are there to get this year?

LeBron isn't coming West to play for the Lakers. I would be surprised if he went to a West team at all. He has an easier road to the playoffs/finals in the East.

PG, the one guy we thought would come, seem comfortable staying in OKC.

Cousins blew out his Achilles. He is not worth max money now.

Who else is there?

And I can't believe that Magic and Co. wanted to bring the team cancer that is IT into a locker room full of young players that were finally gelling and playing unselfish ball. Now, they have the ultimate "ME" guy who also happens to be the worst defensive player in the league. I will not be surprised at all if team chemistry gets killed having the ball hog, no defense playing IT on the team.

And, if there is no one to go after this year because of what was mentioned above, why do the trade now and undersell? They could've traded those two in the offseason or next season and still opened up the space for '19.

Terrible trade to get a late 1st rounder for Nance and Clarkson

Think about it like this...let's say we keep Clarkson and Nance....do we have a chance to contend next year? At some point, these guys were getting moved, so who knows the return that we get by waiting. I loved JC and Nance, but they were made to be expendable with Hart/Kuzma stepping up. We were able to get a 1st rounder, that will most certainly give us the ability to move Deng to create 3 max slots. So, we just keep kicking this bucket down the road until our players meet their potential, or until we strike in free agency. If we strike out this year, then cool because the Warriors/Rockets got the West on lock for the forseeable future. As for IT...just a hunch, but I believe that he comes off the bench/off the ball with So, and does his vest to fit in

 

[wildturkey]

This trade is great for the Lakers. Hate losing Clarkson and Nance. But Clarkson had to be moved for the Lakers to have the cap space they need. As @Kold said, Nance or Randle was going to have to be moved too.

They cleared up a ton of cap space and now have one of, if not the, healthiest cap situations in the league. They also got a first round pick which they can keep and use or trade with Deng tied to it, to clear up even more cap space.

Does this trade guarantee that they will get max guys? No. But doing nothing would have guaranteed not getting them.

Worst case, they get no one this off-season and save the cap space for 2019. Next best, they get one this off-season and 1 next, best case, they get 2 this off-season.

I just do not understand this sentiment and why people always bring it up like it has to be done this way. It's just not true. You can clear space the moment you need it. Clearing space just to clear space isn't really necessary and in most cases, teams actually get hurt by it because they don't get their intended targets and end up filling it with bad deals because they are required to fill at least 90% of the cap every season. Since we're pursuing Lebron, we'll use him as an example. Both times he moved, the teams that got him made moves to clear salary as they were signing him. He agreed to go there, the team found ways to clear room for him. It's worked like this bunches of other times. Clarkson and Nance were on favorable deals and could be moved at any time because of it (unlike Randle, whose restricted FA status lessens his trade value). There's no reason to make the move just for space. Why bother making a move for space without knowing you have great indicators the guy(s) you want will fill it? And considering they are only 1 day removed from leaking a news report about focusing on 2019 free agents which was a clear message to fans to "don't get your hopes up on George and Lebron", they probably don't have any great indicators they can fill that space. So they shipped out two assets for cap space but under the risky proposition that they miss their targets, cap space they could have still gotten at a later date with far less risk when their targets have a better indication of what they want to do.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

I'm not the only Laker fan that didn't like the trade

 

[wildturkey]

I'm not the only Laker fan that didn't like the trade

I'm no fan of the trade, but that dude has too much time on his hands. Really? He's gotta make a youtube video about it? Lulz

 

[trojanfan12]

I just do not understand this sentiment and why people always bring it up like it has to be done this way. It's just not true. You can clear space the moment you need it. Clearing space just to clear space isn't really necessary and in most cases, teams actually get hurt by it because they don't get their intended targets and end up filling it with bad deals because they are required to fill at least 90% of the cap every season. Since we're pursuing Lebron, we'll use him as an example. Both times he moved, the teams that got him made moves to clear salary as they were signing him. He agreed to go there, the team found ways to clear room for him. It's worked like this bunches of other times. Clarkson and Nance were on favorable deals and could be moved at any time because of it (unlike Randle, whose restricted FA status lessens his trade value). There's no reason to make the move just for space. Why bother making a move for space without knowing you have great indicators the guy(s) you want will fill it? And considering they are only 1 day removed from leaking a news report about focusing on 2019 free agents which was a clear message to fans to "don't get your hopes up on George and Lebron", they probably don't have any great indicators they can fill that space. So they shipped out two assets for cap space but under the risky proposition that they miss their targets, cap space they could have still gotten at a later date with far less risk when their targets have a better indication of what they want to do.

In most cases, I'd agree. However, we are talking about a mess created by Short Buss. The Lakers couldn't just simply create cap space the moment they needed it.

Clarkson, for example, was signed through 2020 and his was the contract they absolutely had to unload to get the cap space they wanted. Deng's contract is untradeable and they were looking at having no choice but to stretch him. Now, they have a 1st round draft pick that they can possibly tie his contract to in a trade.

In order to get the cap space needed to do what they wanted to do, they had to make the moves they made sooner or later anyway. This gets it out of the way and allows the young team to adjust to what happened over the next 29 games.

The reason most teams end up hurting themselves doing what the Lakers have done is because they are teams that cleared space for players that they had no shot at and/or panicked when they didn't get the guys they wanted and signed them to bad deals.

From what I've read, the Lakers believe that they have a legit shot at landing top FA's this year, next year or maybe 1 in each year. I have a whole lot more faith in hearing that from Magic and Pelinka than from Short Buss.

From what's been said, if they miss this year, they will bring in a couple of guys on deals similar to Lopez and KCP or even see about bringing one or both back on another 1 year deal.

Bottom line, the Lakers didn't hurt themselves in any way, even if they don't get max guys this off-season. They gave up 2 players who, no matter how much we fans may like them, have skill sets that are easily replaced.