tOfficial 2015 NBA Draft/Free Agency Thread

[Shaqdaddy11]

I feel like Okafor and Randle are too similar and they'll want to move one of them.

Or keep them both to compliment each other?

 

[trojanfan12]

Honestly, the Lakers need to stay away from Cousins. He is another Dwight, great potential but a headcase.

They need to jump on Aldridge, First off, they wont have trade any assets away for him and still be able to get their guy at #2. Secondly, he is much better than Cousins although older. He is a more versatile player that could fit in almost any system.

If they get Aldridge I would be disappointed if they took Okafor as well. The Lakers need to get Russell. The way I feel about Russell is the guy could be a star or he could be an absolute flop, no in between. I am definitely leaning towards star. He is 6'5" with good length and underrated athleticism. He is a very good passer and good rebounder as well. Him and LA, with a healthy Kobe is very dangerous.

Screw Cousins. You dont need Dwight 2.0.

I disagree about Cousins being Dwight 2.0. Completely different situations. I agree 100% with Aldridge over Cousins though. Dream scenario for me is that the Lakers draft Russell with the #2 and pickup Aldridge in FA to pair with Randle.

Potential starting lineup:

C - Aldridge
PF - Randle
SF - Kobe
SG - Clarkson
PG - Russell

You can make a little noise with that, especially if there's a solid bench.

 

[Clayton]

Or keep them both to compliment each other?

Its what most teams would do. I was just under the assumption that the Lakers dont want to go through a rebuilding phase. They probably see all of their young guys as assets right now and want to get a star in for the assets.

I doubt the Kings trade with them, though.

The post above me probably as the ideal scenario for the Lakers.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

You can make a little noise with that, especially if there's a solid bench.

Little noise?!? That's a playoff team with ease!

 

[trojanfan12]

You might be right, but has Cousins even seen doubles yet. NO. No reason to double him with no other threats on the Kings. Dwight saw doubles left and right in Orlando. He averaged 22 and 14 at his peak on only 13 attempts, talk about efficient. He also got to the line 11 times a game. That is pretty dominant. He also is and was much better defensively than Cousins, although he is still very young.

Cousins has great potential, but lets see him go to a contending team, get doubled, and still put up good to great numbers before we say he is better than Dwight in his prime.

You have that backwards. You double Cousins because he's the only player the Kings have that can beat you. If Dwight were doubled in Orlando, you were risking giving open shots to guys who can actually shoot.

 

[LAD]

Its what most teams would do. I was just under the assumption that the Lakers dont want to go through a rebuilding phase. They probably see all of their young guys as assets right now and want to get a star in for the assets.

I doubt the Kings trade with them, though.

The post above me probably as the ideal scenario for the Lakers.

Probably because the Kings want more than the Lakers want to give up, or should want to give up.

 

[trojanfan12]

The only reason I brought up Cousins being Dwight 2.0 was bc of at times his lackluster effort and he pouts a lot. Both are big, whiney babies. I really wasnt even talking about their games lol

Difference is that considering the dumpster fire the Kings have been, Cousins actually has a reason to be a big whiney baby. 5 coaches over his career. Hell, the Lakers probably look good to him because they'll at least keep the same coach for 2 years.

 

[LAD]

You have that backwards. You double Cousins because he's the only player the Kings have that can beat you. If Dwight were doubled in Orlando, you were risking giving open shots to guys who can actually shoot.

Didn't we just watch the Warriors eventually do that to LBJ in the Finals and didn't lose another game after?

 

[trojanfan12]

Little noise?!? That's a playoff team with ease!

I consider making the playoffs to be making a little noise.

 

[trojanfan12]

Didn't we just watch the Warriors eventually do that to LBJ in the Finals and didn't lose another game after?

 

[gobigred]

I guess keeping Cousins is more important than a coach a few months after hiring

 

[Shanemansj13]

I disagree about Cousins being Dwight 2.0. Completely different situations. I agree 100% with Aldridge over Cousins though. Dream scenario for me is that the Lakers draft Russell with the #2 and pickup Aldridge in FA to pair with Randle.

Potential starting lineup:

C - Aldridge
PF - Randle
SF - Kobe
SG - Clarkson
PG - Russell

You can make a little noise with that, especially if there's a solid bench.

DREAM ON! DREAM ON! haha

 

[trojanfan12]

DREAM ON! DREAM ON! haha

Scary, huh?

 

[Shanemansj13]

You have that backwards. You double Cousins because he's the only player the Kings have that can beat you. If Dwight were doubled in Orlando, you were risking giving open shots to guys who can actually shoot.

Ohh no doubt. But from what I have SEEN, not what I think is the smart move lol. Cousins hasnt receive doubles as far as I know, Dwight got doubled all the time in Orlando. The only time he didnt is when old Shaq (then on the Cavs) would play his 20 mins a game and guard him 1-on-1. From what I have seen so far, Cousins doesnt get doubled.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Scary, huh?

I would rather not think about it lol

 

[trojanfan12]

Ohh no doubt. But from what I have SEEN, not what I think is the smart move lol. Cousins hasnt receive doubles as far as I know, Dwight got doubled all the time in Orlando. The only time he didnt is when old Shaq (then on the Cavs) would play his 20 mins a game and guard him 1-on-1. From what I have seen so far, Cousins doesnt get doubled.

I don't remember the Lakers doubling him much when they played in the finals.

 

[LAD]

I don't remember the Lakers doubling him much when they played in the finals.

They didn't and that was Howard in his prime BEFORE the back injury. He's no where near dominate now because he only gives you one...maybe two good quarters a game. His effort is crap and I for one was happy to see him leave when he did.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I don't remember the Lakers doubling him much when they played in the finals.

They were also a team that didnt need to. They had Bynum, even though he played limited minutes in those Finals he could give them a good 20 mins on Dwight. That's probably why the Lakers dominated them bc when teams doubled Howard shooters were left open. That is the year the Magic had a record amount of 3 pointers made over something like that, they had some damn good shooters.

 

[trojanfan12]

They didn't and that was Howard in his prime BEFORE the back injury. He's no where near dominate now because he only gives you one...maybe two good quarters a game. His effort is crap and I for one was happy to see him leave when he did.

Yeah, I will admit that I was very excited when the Lakers got him and bought into the "Once he gets here and see's all of those trophies" line of thinking. By the end of the season, I was willing to drive him anywhere else in the league he wanted to be.

Funny story about Dwight and the Lakers trophies:

Jeanie Buss has an office that overlooks the practice court at the Lakers facility and the 11 trophies the Lakers have won in Los Angeles are lined up in the window for the players to be reminded of the goal (Phil's idea). When Dwight was at the facility and went into her office to meet with her, his eyes got huge and he made a beeline for the trophies. He touched them and says: "Wow, they're real."

Jeanies say: "Of course they're real. Why wouldn't they be?"

Turns out that when the Lakers were playing Orlando in the finals, the Magic had to hold one of their practices at the Lakers facility. SVG noticed that Dwight kept looking at the trophies instead of paying attention in practice. So, SVG told him that they weren't real trophies.

 

[LAD]

Yeah, I will admit that I was very excited when the Lakers got him and bought into the "Once he gets here and see's all of those trophies" line of thinking. By the end of the season, I was willing to drive him anywhere else in the league he wanted to be.

Funny story about Dwight and the Lakers trophies:

Jeanie Buss has an office that overlooks the practice court at the Lakers facility and the 11 trophies the Lakers have won in Los Angeles are lined up in the window for the players to be reminded of the goal (Phil's idea). When Dwight was at the facility and went into her office to meet with her, his eyes got huge and he made a beeline for the trophies. He touched them and says: "Wow, they're real."

Jeanies say: "Of course they're real. Why wouldn't they be?"

Turns out that when the Lakers were playing Orlando in the finals, the Magic had to hold one of their practices at the Lakers facility. SVG noticed that Dwight kept looking at the trophies instead of paying attention in practice. So, SVG told him that they weren't real trophies.

That is s a funny story. I honestly thought Kobe, Howard and Nash would be great together as well. I thought Kobe was gonna finally be able to be a two/three guard without having PG responsibilities each time up the court and I thought Howard would be good in the paint. I couldn't have been more wrong. It seemed like from the moment he got there all he did was cry about how much or not so much offense would be designed for him. SMH
The funny thing is he went from shagging rebounds for Kobe to doing it for Harden. Also, he didn't make Houston better. Harden had gotten them in the playoffs and nearly the same seed before Howard even got there. Houston's FO has to be scratching their heads and wondering when that decision to bring him there and pay him max money will pay off.