Los Angeles Lakers 2018-2019 Season Thread

[Retroram52]

Kuzma took the young and rising star competition at the all-star game this week-end. He has moved on. Now we will see if the rest of them and the two new additions get it going with what 25 or so games left.

 

[tomodach10]

Kuz is a keeper. No way will the Pels get that kind of deal again. Especially now with Davis being injury prone. Boston will not offer anything close to our offer. Dumb asses.

 

[Retroram52]

I have maintained all along that some of the final signings of Magic and Pelinka were a waste. The one signing that has been confirmed by the below post article is, after the Clips got rid of Beasley and no further team picked him up, he is now playing in China. That was a waste of signing.

Former Laker Michael Beasley finalizing deal to play in China

 

[trojanfan12]

I have maintained all along that some of the final signings of Magic and Pelinka were a waste. The one signing that has been confirmed by the below post article is, after the Clips got rid of Beasley and no further team picked him up, he is now playing in China. That was a waste of signing.

Former Laker Michael Beasley finalizing deal to play in China

Gotta disagree a bit on the waste of a signing.

His per 36 averages out to 23.5 ppg on 49% shooting and 7.5 rpg and it was a 1 year $3.5 million deal. Chump change by NBA standards.

The Lakers needed 3 point shooting and while he was shooting well from everywhere else, he was under 20% from 3 this season.

Don't get me wrong, he certainly wasn't a great signing, but he wasn't exactly a waste either. He actually played fairly well when he got minutes.

Having said that, being one of, or maybe even the only, vet who complained about rotations when Luke was getting on the team about their effort didn't help his case much either.

He wasn't bad, but he wasn't good enough to be complaining about anything.

 

[trojanfan12]

Kuz is a keeper. No way will the Pels get that kind of deal again. Especially now with Davis being injury prone. Boston will not offer anything close to our offer. Dumb asses.

I don't know. I think a lot will depend on how good a job Rich Paul does in driving down his trade value.

Word is that the Celtics are prepared to offer Tatum, a couple of other young guys and picks. That is better than anything the Lakers can offer.

Even if you could make a case that the Lakers could make an offer where the players are equal, the Celtics will still have better picks to offer.

Now, with AD trying to save face by saying things like..."all 29 teams are on my list" it is likely emboldening teams to beat any Lakers offer.

Rich Paul is basically going to have to tell teams that under no circumstances will AD re-sign with them and he's going to have to be adamant about it.

Even then, some team may beat the Lakers offer, figuring that 1 year of AD is better than none.

The one good thing is that Demps is gone. Hopefully, any bad blood created by how Rich Paul and Klutch bungled the trade request before the deadline has left along with him.

 

[tomodach10]

I don't know. I think a lot will depend on how good a job Rich Paul does in driving down his trade value.

Word is that the Celtics are prepared to offer Tatum, a couple of other young guys and picks. That is better than anything the Lakers can offer.

Even if you could make a case that the Lakers could make an offer where the players are equal, the Celtics will still have better picks to offer.

Now, with AD trying to save face by saying things like..."all 29 teams are on my list" it is likely emboldening teams to beat any Lakers offer.

Rich Paul is basically going to have to tell teams that under no circumstances will AD re-sign with them and he's going to have to be adamant about it.

Even then, some team may beat the Lakers offer, figuring that 1 year of AD is better than none.

The one good thing is that Demps is gone. Hopefully, any bad blood created by how Rich Paul and Klutch bungled the trade request before the deadline has left along with him.

That's been the word since day one nothing new. Danny is bluffing. He aint trading Tatum. They are going to lose kyrie as well. With his injuries, his price has went down. He is becoming injury prone. No one is giving up thier 4 top young players and two #1 picks for Davis IMO.

 

[trojanfan12]

That's been the word since day one nothing new. Danny is bluffing. He aint trading Tatum. They are going to lose kyrie as well. With his injuries, his price has went down. He is becoming injury prone. No one is giving up thier 4 top young players and two #1 picks for Davis IMO.

You could be right. I hope you are.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Gotta disagree a bit on the waste of a signing.

His per 36 averages out to 23.5 ppg on 49% shooting and 7.5 rpg and it was a 1 year $3.5 million deal. Chump change by NBA standards.

The Lakers needed 3 point shooting and while he was shooting well from everywhere else, he was under 20% from 3 this season.

Don't get me wrong, he certainly wasn't a great signing, but he wasn't exactly a waste either. He actually played fairly well when he got minutes.

Having said that, being one of, or maybe even the only, vet who complained about rotations when Luke was getting on the team about their effort didn't help his case much either.

He wasn't bad, but he wasn't good enough to be complaining about anything.

This.

 

[Retroram52]

I think the AD trade debacle is going to continue to grow and since the dumbass GM for the Pel's effed this up big time, AD may be without a team for an extended period of time. I think AD will eventually become a Laker but it'll be awhile and AD is going to have to reach FA in order for this to occur.

 

[trojanfan12]

Because of how badly Rich Paul misplayed his hand and because of the fact that Dell Demps is kind of an idiot, but is now gone and the Pels are owned by NFL people who seem to be trying to run them like an NFL franchise, it's really difficult to get much of a read on what will come of the whole AD thing.

On the one hand, as @tomodach10 says, there is the very real possibility that Ainge has been bluffing just trying to force this to get to the off-season and that the Celtics offer won't be what the Pels are hoping for. This can especially happen if Paul makes it absolutely clear that AD isn't re-signing with them.

On the other hand, I could also see the Celtics or someone else beating the Lakers offer figuring that 1 year of AD and the hope that they can convince him to stay is better than not having him at all. PG staying in OKC and the pretty much universal belief that Kawhi will stay in Toronto won't help the Lakers chances either.

In short...who the hell knows what's going to happen? I think this off-season is going to be crazy. Especially if Kawhi decides to listen to other offers rather than sign at 12:01 AM like PG did.

 

[tomodach10]

Because of how badly Rich Paul misplayed his hand and because of the fact that Dell Demps is kind of an idiot, but is now gone and the Pels are owned by NFL people who seem to be trying to run them like an NFL franchise, it's really difficult to get much of a read on what will come of the whole AD thing.

On the one hand, as @tomodach10 says, there is the very real possibility that Ainge has been bluffing just trying to force this to get to the off-season and that the Celtics offer won't be what the Pels are hoping for. This can especially happen if Paul makes it absolutely clear that AD isn't re-signing with them.

On the other hand, I could also see the Celtics or someone else beating the Lakers offer figuring that 1 year of AD and the hope that they can convince him to stay is better than not having him at all. PG staying in OKC and the pretty much universal belief that Kawhi will stay in Toronto won't help the Lakers chances either.

In short...who the hell knows what's going to happen? I think this off-season is going to be crazy. Especially if Kawhi decides to listen to other offers rather than sign at 12:01 AM like PG did.

I agree there could be another team that gets him for one year in hopes he will resign with them. Indy stuck it to us trading PG to OKC, but I dont think that will be the norm. I think most will test free agency. I would just wait to 2020 and not worry about Davis. Kemba Walker is an intriguing free agent.

 

[trojanfan12]

I agree there could be another team that gets him for one year in hopes he will resign with them. Indy stuck it to us trading PG to OKC, but I dont think that will be the norm. I think most will test free agency. I would just wait to 2020 and not worry about Davis. Kemba Walker is an intriguing free agent.

I like Kemba.

Assuming the Lakers don't get AD, here are a couple of possible FA's/trades I wouldn't mind seeing.

Nikola Vucevic will be a UFA and the Lakers may not have to give him a max contract. He is getting $12.75 million this year. He is only 28 years old.

Boogie Cousins is also going to be a UFA. He is more talented than Vucevic, but also brings the baggage of his attitude and while he has played well, we don't know how much that Achilles will limit him. He will also be expecting a max deal. He is also 28.

Of the 2, I prefer Vucevic.

Kemba Walker would be a nice pickup and another player that the Lakers might be able to get for less than a max. He is making $12 million this year. Like Vucevic and Boogie, he is also 28.

Bradley Beal could probably be picked up in a trade. He has really stepped up his game with Wall out. He would be under team control for a couple of seasons since he won't be a UFA until 2021. He is due to make $27 million next year and $28 million the following year. Also, I'm no cap expert, but I think the Lakers would have to send back close to his contract level (I think it has to be a certain percentage). So, that could leave some cap space. He is only 25.

Of the 2, I prefer Beal.

One thing that would be interesting though, would be to see if the Lakers could get Vucevic and Kemba on less than max deals or Vucevic and Beal with salary going back to the Wizards and possibly have enough left to sign a 3 point sniper like Reddick or someone.

 

[tomodach10]

I like Kemba.

Assuming the Lakers don't get AD, here are a couple of possible FA's/trades I wouldn't mind seeing.

Nikola Vucevic will be a UFA and the Lakers may not have to give him a max contract. He is getting $12.75 million this year. He is only 28 years old.

Boogie Cousins is also going to be a UFA. He is more talented than Vucevic, but also brings the baggage of his attitude and while he has played well, we don't know how much that Achilles will limit him. He will also be expecting a max deal. He is also 28.

Of the 2, I prefer Vucevic.

Kemba Walker would be a nice pickup and another player that the Lakers might be able to get for less than a max. He is making $12 million this year. Like Vucevic and Boogie, he is also 28.

Bradley Beal could probably be picked up in a trade. He has really stepped up his game with Wall out. He would be under team control for a couple of seasons since he won't be a UFA until 2021. He is due to make $27 million next year and $28 million the following year. Also, I'm no cap expert, but I think the Lakers would have to send back close to his contract level (I think it has to be a certain percentage). So, that could leave some cap space. He is only 25.

Of the 2, I prefer Beal.

One thing that would be interesting though, would be to see if the Lakers could get Vucevic and Kemba on less than max deals or Vucevic and Beal with salary going back to the Wizards and possibly have enough left to sign a 3 point sniper like Reddick or someone.

Wow, that would be great to have Vuc and Walker.

 

[Retroram52]

Apparently Magic is not satisfied with his roster until they begin winning on a consistent basis. Anything could happen at this juncture as the AD idea/trade is def dead at least for the immediate future.

 

[shopson67]

Now, with AD trying to save face by saying things like..."all 29 teams are on my list" it is likely emboldening teams to beat any Lakers offer.

The rest of AD's quote is that he is looking forward to free agency, implying that his short list is still true for extensions/free agency. The "29 teams" quote is just for next year and doesn't imply any willingness to sign an extension with those other teams.

 

[tomodach10]

The rest of AD's quote is that he is looking forward to free agency, implying that his short list is still true for extensions/free agency. The "29 teams" quote is just for next year and doesn't imply any willingness to sign an extension with those other teams.

That is what the media is missing or just failing to acknowledge.

 

[DJ Fieri]

We're in big fucking trouble....

 

[wildturkey]

We're in big fucking trouble....

O ye of little faith


(doesn't reveal that I changed the channel to SVP when they were down like 20 pts in the 3rd then changed back when it was an 8 pt game)

 

[DJ Fieri]

Maybe, we'll be alright.

 

[DJ Fieri]

@tomodach10 Ingram still inconsistent? He had a really good game last night along with James and we rallied from a 19 point deficit.