The #2 pick

[lakersrule]

So, because he is 24, he is immune to regression as a player? Yeah, that makes sense.

If vets who know how to play the game more so than younger players can regress after being traded, then so can young players.

He's been improving as a player and made the All-Star team last season. I doubt he regresses as a player. If his stats were to go down a little because he isn't the #1 option anymore doesn't mean he's regressing. Cousins would be a good fit for Byron's offense. Dude's a beast but not worth giving up so many pieces for him.

 

[lakersrule]

This would definitely be worth looking into, especially if they get next years first rounder back. Even if they are dead set on Okafor, a little misinformation could prove useful. They should definitely leverage this as much as possible, unless they have secretly settled on Russell.

The lack of information indicating that the Lakers are leaning towards Russell makes me a little suspicious that Russell may be the player they like. Mitch is good as keeping things close to the vest. As you say though, a little misinformation would be useful.

If Okafor is in fact their man, this trade makes sense. I can't imagine Philly drafting a big for the third straight year. I would ask for Philly's 2016 first round pick though.

 

[TheSnowdog]

Well, after all of the discussions with Sacramento for Cousins and with that deal dying, Philadelphia is now in play to want to trade up one slot to select Russell out of Ohio State. The Lakers may still be able to draft Okafor by moving down one and get some more from Philadelphia. Stay tuned on this one. Here is a link.

Lakers Trade Rumors: 76ers interested in trading up for No. 2 pick to draft D'Angelo Russell, according to report - Silver Screen and Roll

I don't see the Sixers giving up next year's Lakers pick to move up 1 spot especially with Hinkie at the helm
He loves to hoard those draft picks.
Sixers have 5 2nd round picks this year - a package of those in my opinion would most likely be on the table to move up the one spot
But that Lakers first rounder next year is going to be coveted by Hinkie and I just don't think there will be enough value in his eyes to give up that pick just to go up 1 spot
It has been reported that if Russell isn't there Hinkie would be perfectly fine with drafting Porzingis

Also that "telling interview worth reading" regarding Russell has to be taken with a grain of salt - he expressed his excitement and desire to play for the Sixers when he worked out there

Most of these athletes have been coached by their agents. They play Mad Libs in whatever city they are in

Yes I would love to play here in __<city where you just worked out in>___
I'm excited to have a chance to lead the ___<team name>___ to glory and the championship
The ___<team name>___ is a storied franchise and has a great history and it would be a great honor to play on the same team that ___<names of all star/HOF players that played for team>___ played on
___<team name>___

Agree with Retro though - these next couple of days are going to get interesting

 

[DJ Fieri]

Top guard Emmanuel Mudiay quietly climbed draft charts while playing in China

This is the ninja I want!!!!!

 

[Kold]

Well, right went I get into draft mode... Lakers&apos; trade discussions for Kings&apos; DeMarcus Cousins said to be continuing - LA Times

 

[Kold]

"The Lakers and Sacramento Kings continue to discuss a trade for Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Lakers' offer includes the second overall pick in Thursday's NBA draft and "might be the best offer the Kings can get" at this point, according to the person, although the Kings have publicly stated they are not interested in trading Cousins. The Lakers would probably also have to give up Julius Randle to complete the deal, among other salary considerations."

 

[Kold]

The owner seems to not be budging on all reports....but at some point, you'd think that he'll realize that Cousins and Karl have no chance to salvage this. I think this will be an ongoing "MeloDrama"/"DwightMare" situation throughout the entire summer.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I would hate to see Randle go. If we manage to get Cousins for #2 and Randle, I hope they go after Kevin Love too. A Cousins/Love front court would be fantastic!!!!

 

[Retroram52]

I agree Kold and this could spill over into the next couple of weeks which may save Randle even though we will probably go ahead with the draft tomorrow and select either Okafor or Towns.

 

[Retroram52]

I also think that if it does spill over, Love will become a greater possibility especially if we lose Randle.

 

[trojanfan12]

Here's a thought:

Isn't Tristan Thompson also going to be an FA? As much as I could see a Cousins/Love front court being a great thing, what if he wants to stay in Cleveland? Maybe the Lakers go after Thompson and we have a Cousins/Thompson front court. Cleveland may not be interested in giving max or near max money to 2 players who play the same spot.

As good as Cousins is, his defense is a bit suspect, so Thompson could help with that.

Or am I reading too much into how he played in the playoffs?

 

[wildturkey]

I would hate to see Randle go. If we manage to get Cousins for #2 and Randle, I hope they go after Kevin Love too. A Cousins/Love front court would be fantastic!!!!

Don't think they can afford both. Boogie's contract takes up the max level cap space for this year. They'll have some money left, but not in the range for players like Love, Aldridge, Butler or any other big name

 

[lakersrule]

Here's a thought:

Isn't Tristan Thompson also going to be an FA? As much as I could see a Cousins/Love front court being a great thing, what if he wants to stay in Cleveland? Maybe the Lakers go after Thompson and we have a Cousins/Thompson front court. Cleveland may not be interested in giving max or near max money to 2 players who play the same spot.

As good as Cousins is, his defense is a bit suspect, so Thompson could help with that.

Or am I reading too much into how he played in the playoffs?

Ed Davis is comparable and would be cheaper. Heck, Ed may be the better of the two.

 

[lakersrule]

Don't think they can afford both. Boogie's contract takes up the max level cap space for this year. They'll have some money left, but not in the range for players like Love, Aldridge, Butler or any other big name

Love would have to take a significant discount to fit in that scenario, but could then sign the big deal next summer. Unlikely to happen.

 

[lakersrule]

About 24 hours to go. Never been so excited for the NBA draft!

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Well OutlawImmortal, unless the Kings' ownership changes their stance in the next 48 hours, Cousins isn't going anywhere and much of this discussion is moot. If that changes, the deal will probably go down. But if you want to prove a point, I surely won't stand in your way.

The Kings are in the same situation the Lakers were in with Kobe years ago. The franchise doesn't want to let a player of that caliber go but the player is unhappy and wants to leave. The Lakers have a history of winning and were able to calm Kobe down, I doubt the Kings will have much luck in that department.

I'm not saying we should sell the farm for Cousins but trying to make him sound like a scrub is unreasonable. Especially when your reasoning is shit like "Well Iverson regressed when he fell out of his prime so 24 year old all-star Cousins who averages 24/12/3 must regress too!"

So, because he is 24, he is immune to regression as a player? Yeah, that makes sense.

If vets who know how to play the game more so than younger players can regress after being traded, then so can young players.

Vets regress because they get older and lose some of the athletic ability they once had in their prime. That's not an issue with Cousins.

This is nothing like Dwight Howard, Cousins still has multiple years left on his contract at a good rate. Dwight Howard was an enigma, he flip-flopped on the Magic, signing a deal then changing his mind, then he flip-flopped on the Lakers since the Lakers were one of the 3 teams he himself listed before changing his mind and decided he didn't like it here. He figured he would have a better chance at winning by playing next to Harden in his prime but he failed to win anyway. Howard just isn't a franchise-changing player. Cousins is definitely the better all-around player by far, his defense isn't as good but he has much more flexibility on offense than Howard will ever have.

 

[LALakersboy24.7]

I would not give up Randle. We are set at PF with him. He will be healthy.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

The Kings are in the same situation the Lakers were in with Kobe years ago. The franchise doesn't want to let a player of that caliber go but the player is unhappy and wants to leave. The Lakers have a history of winning and were able to calm Kobe down, I doubt the Kings will have much luck in that department.

I'm not saying we should sell the farm for Cousins but trying to make him sound like a scrub is unreasonable. Especially when your reasoning is shit like "Well Iverson regressed when he fell out of his prime so 24 year old all-star Cousins who averages 24/12/3 must regress too!"



Vets regress because they get older and lose some of the athletic ability they once had in their prime. That's not an issue with Cousins.

This is nothing like Dwight Howard, Cousins still has multiple years left on his contract at a good rate. Dwight Howard was an enigma, he flip-flopped on the Magic, signing a deal then changing his mind, then he flip-flopped on the Lakers since the Lakers were one of the 3 teams he himself listed before changing his mind and decided he didn't like it here. He figured he would have a better chance at winning by playing next to Harden in his prime but he failed to win anyway. Howard just isn't a franchise-changing player. Cousins is definitely the better all-around player by far, his defense isn't as good but he has much more flexibility on offense than Howard will ever have.

I get that older players lose ability, but Iverson went back to Philly and scored over 30 pts per game again. then, went back to Denver and could never duplicate that success. same with Mashburn. 20 pt guy, gets traded, drops off, gets traded again and becomes a 20 pt guy again.

those are not examples of losing athletic ability. it's about those teams not being the right fit.

I just don't see wasting their cap space on a guy I feel isn't going to be a good fit when they can just take Okafor and save 10M ( and we know Okafor wants to be here- we don't even know if Cousins does ).

if they do this trade, they can't sign another max FA. I think the team would be far better off with Randle and Okafor and a max FA SF, then to have Cousins and a 2nd tier FA PF to replace Randle and a 2nd tier SF.

 

[trojanfan12]

I get that older players lose ability, but Iverson went back to Philly and scored over 30 pts per game again. then, went back to Denver and could never duplicate that success. same with Mashburn. 20 pt guy, gets traded, drops off, gets traded again and becomes a 20 pt guy again.

those are not examples of losing athletic ability. it's about those teams not being the right fit.

I just don't see wasting their cap space on a guy I feel isn't going to be a good fit when they can just take Okafor and save 10M ( and we know Okafor wants to be here- we don't even know if Cousins does ).

if they do this trade, they can't sign another max FA. I think the team would be far better off with Randle and Okafor and a max FA SF, then to have Cousins and a 2nd tier FA PF to replace Randle and a 2nd tier SF.

How do we know Cousins isn't a good fit?

 

[Retroram52]

We shall know how this is all going to play out in just 24 hours. All of the rumors and pundit prognostications will slow way down. I for one am looking forward to see how the Lakers set-up their new 2015 roster with as many
7-8 new players. Ought to be exciting to say the least.