Los Angeles Lakers 2019-2020 Season Thread

[Retroram52]

Well, things in the NBA appear to be heading toward starting the completion of the season in Orlando to empty seating. The major holdouts to playing on the Lakers were Howard and Bradley. With the threat of Cousins re-signing and playing, Howard has changed his tune and will play. That leaves Avery Bradley who I suspect will play when he gets a whiff of getting game checks and sech again.

 

[trojanfan12]

Well, things in the NBA appear to be heading toward starting the completion of the season in Orlando to empty seating. The major holdouts to playing on the Lakers were Howard and Bradley. With the threat of Cousins re-signing and playing, Howard has changed his tune and will play. That leaves Avery Bradley who I suspect will play when he gets a whiff of getting game checks and sech again.

Yeah, I read where the Lakers said that they are confident Dwight will play. But they were "less clear" with Bradley.

 

[wildturkey]

Bradley out.

Significant loss as he's one of, if not, the best perimeter defender we have

 

[Retroram52]

Howard is playing and Bradley is now opting out. Thus, the rumors that the Lakers are contemplating signing JR Smith. Smith is not needed because we have Caruso and KCP. Cousins will not play in Orlando because he fears the same thing will happen when he rushed back from injury to play with the Dubs. Now talk of Nerleans Noel is surfacing because Cousins return to health is becoming very suspect and not worth his contract for a lot of reasons.

 

[wildturkey]

Schedule:

7/30: vs Clippers
8/1: vs Raptors
8/3: vs Jazz
8/5: vs Thunder
8/6: vs Rockets
8/8: vs Pacers
8/10: vs Nuggets
8/13: vs Kings


Honestly...that's pretty tough. Might shuffle down a spot in the standings. Have to beat the Clippers first thing to prevent them gaining ground

 

[wildturkey]

Good read (with excellent clips) as a refresher before the season gets back going about the Lakers offense.

How to run without running

 

[wildturkey]

Fucking shit, man. Lakers starting off the bubble in a terrible way

 

[wildturkey]

Smell that? Haven't smelt that in awhile. I'd say since March. Smells like victory

 

[Retroram52]

The bubble Lakers are a complete joke. They will lose in the first round to Portland.

 

[Rambunctious]

No weekend reprieve for NBA

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

Looks like the Lakers kept the wrong young player as Ingram just won MIP.

They should’ve traded Kuzma instead.

 

[wildturkey]

Looks like the Lakers kept the wrong young player as Ingram just won MIP.

They should’ve traded Kuzma instead.

NO wanted Ingram. They weren't going to do the trade without him.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

NO wanted Ingram. They weren't going to do the trade without him.

they said they wanted Kuzma as well, and the Lakers said he wasn’t available.

 

[wildturkey]

they said they wanted Kuzma as well, and the Lakers said he wasn’t available.

Yeah, they want everything. We held Kuzma out. They knew they couldn't hold Ingram out and still expect to get Davis.

 

[Retroram52]

I think you are right ALR. Kuzma is just stuck in timidity and inconsistency right now. He just will not take the next step, it appears.

 

[DJ Fieri]

FA's or trades the Los Angeles Lakers should pursue in the offseason

The postseason may or may not result in a 2nd title but it's never too soon to discuss upgrades.....going to focus on adding a 3rd guy. Dennis Schroder is disgruntled with his role AND he wants to be over-paid (allegedly wants 20-plus million) so here are some players I think they should go...

sportshoop.la

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

Was title #17 worth it to be without assets and 2 broken down stars?

Lakers aren’t going to win another title with James and AD and scrubs. James is on the wrong side of 30 and injuries are now catching up, and AD has been injury prone for a while.

do the Lakers overpay to keep Schroeder, a marginal #3 who runs hot and cold?

do they trade Kuzma for something, anything? Because he hasn’t done anything since his rookie season.

where do the Lakers go with limited assets, draft picks and lack of cap space?

 

[Retroram52]

Good questions ALR as the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz, and the Clippers all exposed the Lakers as having two aging stars and a bunch of aged and getting older scrubs players who ventured away from their defensive prowess that won #17 in the bubble.

The Lakers also suffered all season long with terrible perimeter and threes shooting. They often went through games with horrible perimeter shooting and their roster just did not fit many times. Vogel became pedestrian to not recognize or could not get his roster to adjust playing with the other players and two aging and oft-injured stars and the combinations he used were simply not productive on any front.

When Vogel did find a unit that worked, they were often sitting on the bench in favor of newly signed players who were promised things in order for the Lakers to obtain the player in the first place. Methinks it may be time to move the players that are useless and keep the productive ones as their base to build on.

AD has become oft-injured and his longevity is coming into question. LeBron is on the downside of his career. If I were Pelinka, I'd move LeBron to Miami for draft and player capital (because Pat Riley has already expressed a def interest in having LeBron back), and get rid of Montrezl and other players like him who are just not a good fit.

Schroeder is leaving. Caruso is being wooed by Cleveland as so his Horton-Tucker. The Lakers should make every effort to keep these last two players. Matthews is decent but he is also on the downside of his career and should be re-signed for depth. Drummond is questionable and the Lakers sorely miss Dwight Howard's presence in the middle. Gasol is better but he too is on the downside of his career.

In conclusion, the Lakers need to re-do their roster and move to a mild rebuild model because they are rapidly aging. They need to follow the reminder that those teams that finished ahead of them provided that youngsters are still the way to go in rebuilding and get on with it.

 

[Retroram52]

The Lakers have attempted to get Kyle Lowry which along with keeping Caruso and Horton-Tucker would be a step in the right direction in the backcourt. Selecting Butler in the draft with the 22nd pick would be a good addition as well. Keeping Drummond and Gasol would be a good start in the frontcourt but they need a true center who can play defense along with shooting similar to what Howard did.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Was title #17 worth it to be without assets and 2 broken down stars?

Lakers aren’t going to win another title with James and AD and scrubs. James is on the wrong side of 30 and injuries are now catching up, and AD has been injury prone for a while.

do the Lakers overpay to keep Schroeder, a marginal #3 who runs hot and cold?

do they trade Kuzma for something, anything? Because he hasn’t done anything since his rookie season.

where do the Lakers go with limited assets, draft picks and lack of cap space?

1-Yes.

2-We're not done yet, a lot of players sustained serious injuries due to the short turnaround in seasons. I don't ever remember this many serious injuries in the playoffs to stars.

3-It's up to Pelinka to add a 3rd guy to form a big 3.