The Lakers 19-39 entering the All-Star festivities and in need of a break. I need a break, so I know they do. The loss to the Suns was as bad a defeat as I’ve witnessed this year, not because of the final margin but because of the lack of attentiveness and care put into managing the game. They were careless with the ball offensively and as hapless defensively — especially in transition — I have seen this season. The Suns were treating fastbreaks like the All-Star game, throwing lobs and trying to dunk every time there was even a sliver of an opening.
So, this time away — at least I hope — will be useful. But beyond the chance to vacation on a beach somewhere and get away from the game for a week or so, the next time the Lakers take the floor will be after the trade deadline. Which, for this specific version of the Lakers, actually means something. This team has a load of young players and some veterans who might have some value who could be on the move. Even more than that, though, is that the team itself is actually looking to make moves.
From Tania Ganguli and Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times:
“We are active, yes,” General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “We’re active every year. … Quite frankly compared to the last three or four years, we have a lot of talent on this roster that I think a lot of people have interest in — varying levels of interest. I would think there’s more meaningful discussions this year than there have been the last two or three years.”
I don’t claim to speak Kupchak, but the fact that he’s even copping to having meaningful discussions at this point raises more than an eyebrow. Combine this with reports that Lou Williams is really on the trade block and we have a situation of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” even tough, as the Times adds that Kupchak “left open the possibility that nothing happens”.
Beyond this, there was an interesting discussion about activity heading into the trade deadline this year on a recent TrueHoop Podcast. Brian Windhorst and several other ESPN’ers were talking about the Serge Ibaka trade and tangented to a discussion about all the big men who were signed to contracts tor traded this past summer and whether their current teams are actually happy with those deals. Mozgov, Noah, Ibaka, Bogut, and Ian Mahinmi played prominently in this discussion.
This then led to a conversation about the over-saturation of bigs who would be available in this trade market with Windhorst concluding, “The demand in the NBA right now is for backcourt players, for perimeter players. If you’ve got a perimeter player you could trade, I’d bet you could get a hell of a deal between now and next week.”
Windhorst didn’t name any names of guards/wings who would be on the block. But, if you’re the Lakers, with Lou Williams on a very good deal and signed through next season and Nick Young on deal with a player option next season which he is unlikely to exercise in order to become a free agent at the end of the season, my guess is not only are they active (as Mitch implies), but I would imagine a deal actually gets done for at least one of them. And my guess would be it’s Lou Williams who is sent packing.
Some might think I’m projecting my own desires here, but that’s not the case. Objectively speaking, Lou has been excellent this year. That excellence has come with caveats to it, but in raw production there’s nothing to really take away from him. He’s the team’s leading scorer and even with a usage rate over 30, he’s posting a career high in True Shooting percentage. Most guys don’t score more efficiently when their usage goes up, but this year Lou has pulled it off and he deserves massive credit for it.
That said, and as much as I think fans (and this team and analysts — even me, who has advocated it) will miss him, I do think it’s time for him to go. He is at his peak value and, when you examine the landscape which Windhorst laid out, the Lakers should be looking to make a move. There are several teams — Houston, Washington, OKC, Charlotte — who could all use a player of Lou’s type. All those teams struggle to create offense when their main offensive creators are off the floor and that skill just happens to be Lou’s specialty.
This isn’t to a say a deal will happen, but I think one should. Not because the Lakers need to unload Williams or because he hurts the team — those things are clearly not true. But because the Lakers are bad and it’s pretty clear that if Lou Williams, regardless of how well he plays, is your best player/a key focal point of your attack/your “closer”, you’re probably not a great team. His skills are better optimized on a team who benefits from them more than this version of the Lakers.
Lou2 says
The main reason to trade Lou is that it makes the team worse. It is time to tank. That last loss makes it clear. And trade Young if we can also. (Attaching either of our 4 years weights would be a bonus if that is at all possible.)
david__h says
Darius: thinking here is Magic could put a kibosh on whatever Mitch is thinking and or doing with the trade deadline looming. But I get where you’re going with this. I suspect too many flys looming at Laker headquarters to make a wild guess if in fact Lakers make a move. I could see them frozen with indecision at this moment in time unless of course they do the improbable by taking the initiative and contact Magic first and get his input based on whether they have real trade(s) to be made. Who knows, maybe they can establish a working relationship??
Was hoping for the 20th win before the all star break.
Go Lakers
Clay Bertrand says
Honestly, I feel bad pining for a Lou trade to:
A.) Gain an Asset
B.) Free up more USAGE (not necessarily minutes) for the Younger players
C.) Aid in keeping our 2017 AND 2019 First Round Picks
The guy is a no drama, low key player who leads in his own subtle ways and is really fun to watch. His attitude is really alot like Jamal Crawford and other TOTAL GYM RATS who just live to play the game. Lou pops up at ProAm tourneys and high end rec games and just kills it. He will be missed for sure.
But its where we are as a franchise that we are wasting Lou’s talents while he is playing his best pro ball maybe since his 6th Man Award year in Toronto. The Lakers are in a place that needs not what he brings on the court, but what he may bring in the trade market.
I hope we can make some moves to better align ourselves with where we are as a developing team starting with this trade season.
If we can turn Lou into a real asset, it will be bittersweet watching him pull off miracle shots and countless four point plays for a playoff team where his talents would actually be working toward something.
Still R says
I wonder if they can get a first rounder for Lou?
In the recent past, a team could spend up to 3.5 million USD on cash considerations.
Maybe Lou + cash for first?
Clay Bertrand says
Still R
I think the market for Lou is roughly a future semi late 1st Round pick.
His value is high right now for sure because, as Darius points out, his talents REALLY align well with other teams’ needs AND those teams individual circumstances at this point in time. As well, he is playing at a high level.
Washington and Houston could really up their firepower in a big way with Lou IMO and those are two teams that are dark horse contenders in their conferences (I suppose the its a DEAD dark horse in the West with the Ws here but still……).
Cleveland could use him but they have no assets to trade. What is needed is a situation where multiple teams have interest and it seems this could well be the case.
How bout Utah??? His contract is small market like and he could really punch up that Bench production. Boston could use him too but F them!!!! Really a number of teams could both afford and really use Lou.
I don’t think we would have to include cash unless the pick was a little higher or the deal was more complex. We shall see. Maybe some intriguing offers.
LT Mitchell says
The Lakers are in the drivers seat for once when it comes trading Lou. The asking price should and better be sky high. I don’t think even Laker fans realize just how incredible Lou has been on offense. He currently has the 16th highest PER in the entire league, ahead of Curry, Wall, Lowry, Lillard, and Irving……. and at $7 million salary, you can make the case that he is one of the biggest bargains in the entire league, even including rookie contracts.
With multiple bidders desperate to make some noise in the playoffs, I am expecting a hefty return….at the bare minimum, a mid late first rounder…… but I fully expect the front office to at least try to package him with Mosgov or Deng. If teams only have a late 1st rounder to offer and are unwilling to take on one of our bloated contracts, I would demand a young asset on top of the draft pick. Yes, Lou’s value in this market is that high in my opinion.
Still R says
Clay Bertrand Still R I’d be fine with them using their max cash consideration every year if need be to acquire talent.
It’s one thing they do have plenty of.
Still R says
Clay Bertrand I pick A and C – especially seeing as the Lakers have only about a fifty/fifty chance of keeping those two picks unless of course they manage to “overtake” Brooklyn.
Which would be quite a feat even for these no-shows.
Still R says
Lou2 At the end of last year somebody posted here a note to the FO, to the effect of: We desperately need talent. Please try to get some.
And the FO got Moz and Deng.
Clay Bertrand says
Still R Clay Bertrand
I didn’t mean to pose them as exclusive options per se, I was really just trying to list the main reasons the trade would benefit the Lakers. All three are benefits IMO but I hear you on A and C being certainly the higher priorities of the three.
With only 24 games left, an uptick in Usage for the younger players would not likely be substantial enough to move their developmental needle all that much.
Still R says
Clay Bertrand Still R – I get it – I was just having a little fun.
Yeah, the Lakers need every edge they can get.
Clay Bertrand says
Still R Clay Bertrand
Yessir!!!!! ; )
Clay Bertrand says
Still R Clay Bertrand
They only made $333 Million last season!!! Its easy for us to tell other people how to spend their money but IF the Buss Family truly wants to make the Lakers competitive going forward, they need to invest in all forms of talent.
Keep in mind as Darius and others note, there is no Salary Cap for Coaches or any other FO/Organizational Expenditures. SO its the one way of improving without losing any assets……DOLLARS yes, but not Personnel assets/Draft Picks etc.
Is anyone surprised that Portland with Paul Allen sweetened their trade with Denver with $3.5 Mill Cash!?!?!?!!? Of course, its not like Kroenke needs a measily $3.5 Million…… That’s just 1.4 BUGATTIs……….He’s got that much in change in his ashtray not even counting the Walmart bucks………….
Still, I agree with your point. Spend to get better when at all possible. Jim Buss might have to move to Hemet though……lol
_ Robert _ says
Trades: The Lakers have had “obvious” deals to be made in the past few years and they have not gotten them done. Pau is a very obvious example. Many on this board told me “it takes two teams to trade” and “there were no deals to be had”. So we let Pau walk for nothing. That was an even more obvious deal than Lou. So – while it is obvious to trade Lou – it may or may not get done with our FO.
Lou: It is true that he has had a great year and he is cheap, but we would be lucky to get the first rounder with no strings attached (meaning an unwanted contract coming back). If we can get a 1st with an expiring deal – that would be ideal. Trying to package a boat anchor (Deng or Mosgov) to the deal would make it unattractive. That is how bad those deals were. I am not sure anyone would take Lou and Deng or Mosgov for nothing (they give us meaningless expiring contracts to make it work). Who would do that? First of all who has that much in expirings? When you type in Deng or Mosgov into the Trade Machine it does not even check the calculations, it just returns with a message:
“You are Joking Right?”
Clay Bertrand says
_ Robert _
I really do think this year, a deal for Lou makes more sense than last season. Lou wasn’t on fire last year and we had just signed him off the streets when anyone could have had him.
This season, he is legitimately impactful, relatively cheap with the Cap jump, still has another year on is deal and their are some newly competing teams that could jump from Pretenders to Contenders with the improvement of their bench.
For this reason, I think a Lou deal is very doable this year. I think Pau was not the same situation as Lou. He was coming off of injuries and lackluster play and the Lakers had no leverage. Additionally, though Pau is a very skilled Big, Big Men were not as sought after as they had been in the past. Recall the Rockets really wanted Pau for a couple of years but the league has changed since then. Even two years ago it had changed. Pau’s value was not just not very hight. I really think the lack of leverage the Lakers had hampered their ability to make a deal for more than a Second Round pick or the taking of an undesirable contract. Sure a second rounder from Chicago is better than nothing but it likely doesn’t improve our roster much if at all. (Yes I know it could be a Clarkson or Zubac with that pick but it could also have been Anthony Brown).
I think Deng is unmovable. PERIOD. That would take a miracle.
But Mozgov COULD MAYBE be moved I believe for another team’s undesirable deal(s). I’d be talking with Orlando. Taking another team’s mistake in exchange for our own could be the only POTENTIAL saving grace. Not that much grace would be saved but perhaps we could get a better fit who is less redundant than Mozzy. Could be the best we can do under the circumstances.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
I think, unfortunately, the evolution of the CBA and the league style of play makes it difficult for the Lakers to get anything of consequence for their trade assets outside of the core youth.
Between the punitive luxury tax rules, the Great Revenue Explosion of 2016-2018 (driving up the prices of even mediocre players not on their rookie contracts), and the Ted Stepien rule (which limits teams flexibility once they trade 1st-round picks), NBA front offices value 1st-round picks much more highly than even a few years ago.
Only the very desperate (e.g. Toronto recently, Cleveland in 2015), the very stupid (e.g. Sacto Kings), or the very flush (e.g. the Celtics) will give up the potential of top-notch cost-controlled talent to fill existing needs.
Moreover, the rapid adoption of 5-out 3-point-shooting offensive principles means few teams want to give up much for ball-stopping isolation-oriented offensive talent (e.g. LouWill and SwaggyP) or players who neither create offensive spacing nor reliably defend the perimeter (e.g. Mozgov and Deng).
Also, sometimes reputation trumps reality. LouWill and SwaggyP probably could make useful contributions to contending teams, but other teams may be scared off by their perceived flaws. In Pau Gasol’s last year with the Lakers, he was still a better-than-average NBA big man, but his struggles with Dwight Howard, coach D’Antoni, Kobe Bryant, and some nagging injuries diminished his reputation. and no team offered the Lakers more than a late 2nd-round pick in trade.
The Lakers may be facing similar problems trying to get trade value for their roster veterans.
jameskatt says
I would love to have the Lakers keep tanking by trading veterans for draft picks. Lou Williams would do better in Cleveland where he has a chance at a championship than in Los Angeles for his remaining career. One to 3 more Lottery Picks should stock the Lakers up to be a championship team again.
John Citizen says
Very unlikely the Lakers make a trade. I think with Lou, he is the best player in the team, why would you give him up if you dont get the same or better return. In the same logic, which other team have equal value to offer.
Talking about all other players is a waste of time.
LordMo says
The Lakers have “no love” from anyone in the league. Even got shade from the NBA front office and the well documented story of the Chris Paul Trade which set us upon this current path. I often wonder if the league put the kibosh on that trade to keep KB24 from his 6th title and staring one Micheal Jeffrey Jordan “eye to eye” as the modern day GOAT? For my money Kobe was better anyway but I’m a Lakers fan I’m sure the Bulls fans would laugh at such a suggestion … but I digress!
Anyway, I like Lou Williams but clearly he is in his prime and he deserves to play for a contender… a solid pro in my book. He keeps us in games we have no business being in and when he and Swaggy are hitting their shots watch out! But, we all know their timeline does not jibe with the development of this team. So, you trade Lou for whatever you can get right now because as I have pointed out numerous times this draft is very deep. The 1st 20 players are legit and I mean “legit” … meaning thus. In a normal year 10 – 20 on the board would be 1 – 10. Guys like Terrance Ferguson a solid knock down shooter and would be the wing we need to spread the floor. Ivan Rabb could have came out last year in the lottery but decided to stay and mature… sure he lost a couple positions in the draft but he understood he needed to mature a bit … which speaks volumes for his maturity. He would be awesome on our front-line a “true power forward” who is “tough and talented”. My point is do not get caught up in trying to get so much for our veteran assets that we lose sight of the best opportunity and best draft in the last 10 years. This is the draft to build our team for the future. You guys have roasted me for saying all this previously but here we are right where I said we would be and I know we all hate to see the Lakers lose night in and night out but this is what we need to do. The new realities of the NBA and its current CBA pretty much dictate as such. So, here is the plan as I see it and yes there are some tough decisions to make but we have to be logical about it not emotional.
1) Trade Vets for Assets … we need 2017 draft picks period. Even low 1st round and high 2nd round picks. Also grab some in 2018 (Great draft for Bigs!) if needed. This includes Lou, Swaggy, Black and T-Rob.
2) Randle? – Yes decide if he is truly our PF of the future. He has some skills but do you want to pay him 15 to 20 million a year? I ask you put your emotions aside and think does his game really warrant such a payday and more importantly such a “cap hit”. Now granted this would not even be a decision if you did not sign Deng and Moz to such ridiculous contracts. Signing Randle would be a “no brainer” but the Lakers put themselves in a quandary with those horrible contracts and the impending renewal of the “young guns”. I hate to lose him but I think you guys know I would package him in a deal rather than pay him. I value Russell more and we have to pay DLO next year… Like I said ‘tough decisions” but we can quite possibly upgrade plus we have JR who plays defense and really is pretty decent on O just reluctant but has the tools. Still it would be nice to keep Randle… he does have some “All-Star” years in him with hard work.
3) Russell – I roast DLO consistently for his on court demeanor but he is very talented and skilled. I know I have droned on about his faults and being out of position. If we keep our “Top 3” pick and can grab Fultz or Ball then you do it. Everyone forgets that DLO is a combo guard and could slide over to the 2 very easily thus helping to space the floor quite nicely. Regardless I keep Russell no matter what… the NBA is “guard oriented” these days and he is a nice guard. Just learn to hustle dude!
4) JC – Love the kid! Remember what I said about emotions? So, I point the finger at myself now. I would trade JC and here is why. JC is a PG not a 6th man or combo guard….period. When it comes to evaluating his game the Lakers have failed. The kids game is “slash and penetrate” and we have put him in a position to fail and limit him quite frankly. That being said there are plenty of teams that need a quality guard. Trade him to Philly for our pick with no restrictions and one of their “buster” guards like McConnell. We have missed the boat on Noel I fear and we know we don’t want Okafor because Big Z is already better than he is. But losing both Lou and JC is a gamble but worth it if you can keep a top 10 pick in this “guard heavy” draft.
5) Scrap the FA plan for a “Big Star” not happening anytime soon time to let “fantasy-land” go. Also, no big trades either for some over priced almost over the hill aging Star (Melo!). That would be asinine and really obtuse at this point. Embrace the rebuild!
6) Front Office – Quite frankly if the Lakers do “none of the above” I would be fine with it because I’m sure we all can agree on this. It is time for Jim Buss to step aside and that would be the biggest improvement of all. Once again I am going to take credit because I posted last year that this “King Lear” setup of ownership would ruin the Lakers. My fear is that it is going to get really messy before Jimmy leaves. Expect the lawsuits to fly and the team to sink even lower if he steadfastly refuses to go and he is acting like he is not planning to go anywhere… sooo. Tune in because we are going to go from “King Lear” to “All My Children” here soon.
I’m LordMo and I approve this posting! 🙂
LordMo says
jameskatt
Cleveland would have a great place for Lou and is a good fit for them also. But they have no assets in return. They have traded away all their picks and short of Kay Felder there is no one worth taking back. Trading with Utah does make sense however. I would send Lou to the Jazz who needs some extra O and they are in the playoffs. We get back Dante Exum who is a player but was slowed by injuries at the start of his career. He is really young and talented plus they have a logjam at the PG position with Hill, Mack and Exum.
LordMo says
TempleOfJamesWorthy
Good post!
LordMo says
_ Robert _
Bingo… Those were “warning signs” and speak volumes about the ineptitude of the Lakers Front Office.
LordMo says
david__h
Maybe or maybe not … who knows what is going on with the Lakers FO. And there in lies the problem. Magic is saying all the right things but Jimbo is still in charge and I’m sure he does not care what Magic or Jeanie has to say. Remember he has made decisions in the past without even telling or consulting her. Expect more of the same until he is forced out. Magic was brought in to give Jeanie insight as to what is happening in Operations but really has no power. He just has the guts to confront Jim and be her bulldog as it is clearly obvious she does not have that type of personality.
david__h says
LordMo; agree wholeheartedly.
In a perfect world, Karl Anthony Towns would have made a lot of all this front office chaos moot. Seriously, two years ago when Minnesota picked Kat #1 in the draft lottery, I thought my tv set went auto “mute” mode because I went deaf momentarily…..and then I saw the camera pan a surprised O’Angelo Russell.
Some things in life are hard to let go. For me and especially when it concerns our beloved lakers. Ha!
Not to be expected by me, hope both Ingram and Russell rise up to the challenge in tonite’s all star weekend opening Rising Stars challenge.
Happy Friday
Vasheed says
My thoughts going into the deadline:
1) I think it’s pretty obvious that getting out from Mozgov and Deng’s contracts would be ideal if possible. I would try to package Lou with Mozgov with the intention of shedding salary or at least better fit. I would also like to get rid of Deng but, I view Mozgov as a higher priority just due to fit issues. I have wondered if sitting Mozgov has had anything to do with trade talks. Wishful thinking most likely.
2) If I couldn’t get rid of Deng I would consider moving Randle. That would allow Deng to move over to PF and Randle should fetch a pretty good piece to be used elsewhere. Deng plays good defense and can stretch the floor well as a PF. He’s just not fast enough to chase SF’s around all day anymore.
3) Lastly I would look at trading Lou, Young, and or Calderon to anyone willing to offer me younger guys or picks. Lou and Young are playing excellent basketball but their time lines don’t fit and frankly would probably do right by them to give them a shot in the playoffs. Calderon came with two 2nd round picks. Getting anything else for him would be gravy.
_ Robert _ says
Vasheed: Good post + nice wish list, but the issue with all of this is making the numbers work. We absolutely can’t take back bad contracts. And exchanging one bad contract for another does nothing for us. With regard to “fit”: The Lakers are horrible so nothing “fits”. I know what you mean, but fit comes into play when you are good, and a better blend can make you better. We simply lack talent. The other place fit comes in is for development, but this is where the Lakers are not being smart. We should play the youngsters for the number of minutes and situation’s they need to be played, without regard to fit. We play the youngsters where they belong and the others should be worked around them. If we are not developing youngsters due to “fit” that is just not being very strategic and long term thinking on the Lakers’ part.
Lou: We need to get the best pick we can and an expiring deal. Same for Nick. Mosgov and Deng might be hopeless unless u want to forego the pick for Williams and send a package such as Lou and Mosgov to somebody for a load of expiring contracts. Do you want to do that in lieu of the pick? Sad right – but that is probably what it will take – meaning we give up a pick indirectly to undo our Mosgov debacle. I agree with Clay – Deng is a probably not movable.
Youngsters: I would not move any of them now, because their value is low relative to where they were picked. Let’s say it was this summer (post lotto). Do you think anyone would give us the second overall pick for Ingram, 3rd for DAR, 7th for Randle? Not even close. Some of this is the difference in the classes, some of it is that picks arte like new cars and almost always go down in value, and lastly they just have not performed and they have depreciated in value. We are a long way from “nailing” the picks and market value would bear that statement out.
_ Robert _ says
LordMo “Once again I am going to take credit because I posted last year that this “King Lear” setup of ownership would ruin the Lakers”
Hey I welcome you and do give you credit, but I have been lambasting the FO on this board since 2011 (again with the exception of a few weeks in the Fall of 2012 when I lost my mind)
Vasheed says
_ Robert _
When you have guys like Mozgov and Deng any trade involving them is likely to have something coming back you’d rather not have. The goal is to either shed salary or at least get a guy whom you might think is overpaid but is a contributor. I agree with you though I don’t think the Lakers can do that without packing Lou with them which as you say means losing an opportunity for a pick. I’m mindful though that not every mid to late 1st round pick is gold and a deal like this could do more good than most picks.
As for Randle I do have some ideas in mind while saying this and I do think it is possible to make a win/win trade for him. The Lakers are glutted with guys who can play PF but thin at Wings/Guards. Yes we have some good promising ones but an injury here or there leaves gaping holes.
Lakers Future says
LordMo
I’m iffy on both Randle and Russell. With Randle his lack of length really shows out there. Randle is best in three situations: Bringing the ball up the floor on a fast break, shooting an open mid range jumper, or bullying right under the rim. When he is being adequately defended in the paint he is very limited. He doesn’t have the post moves to create space. And his short arms really limit his ability to get a shot off against good defenders. For this reason I wonder if he will ever be an adequate low post scorer.
Russell frustrates me as well. I do wish Luke would give him more minutes. I don’t believe in players “earning” minutes per se. Instead I think it is in the Lakers best interest to find out what they truly have in Russell. And that should happen sooner rather than later. For that reason he needs to be out there as much as possible. But he lacks the first step and athleticism you’d like to see in a combo guard. His shooting form is awkward. However, he does have good court vision. He also seems to read defenses pretty well.
One thing the Lakers can’t do is develop four to five players all at once. Its just too much. If they keep their pick they should probably look to trade Randle or Russell.
JuanJ says
LordMo
Nice post Mo;
emotions not completely aside 😉 I believe that although I´m in agreement that JC has, to a certain extent,
been put in a position to fail – and he still shines in spite of that – I
wouldn´t let him go.
Clay Bertrand says
LordMo
Nice post. Bonus points for incorporating an, “ALL MY CHILDREN” reference!!!!
Clay Bertrand says
This article is a nice write up on Zubac that explains his dual citizenship and his beginnings.
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/170216-history-future-of-ivica-zubac
Clay Bertrand says
This article sets a lot of things straight that were convoluted regarding Zubac’s Euro development and the Lakers interest.
Mitch has said that he didn’t know who Zubac was and that Tony Maceiras (their Euro Scout) insisted that the Lakers take Zubac and implied he was unaware of him.
But Zubac confirms that Mitch DID come and watch him workout prior to the draft. One of Mitch’s qualities as a GM is his stealthiness. Magic would be smart to emulate this quality IMO.
Rich1127 says
I would agree to trade Lou just to get an asset for the future and add playing time to the youngsters. If we can get a late 1st round pick I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Possible scenario:
Keep lottery pick at #3 and draft Josh Jackson.
– Late 1st pick draft Josh Hart or Dwayne Bacon.
– Both 1st round picks give us strong defense on the wing. Then we can move Clarkson back over to PG to backup DAR.
If we lose our lottery pick, we still have that late 1st from a Lou trade. With our 2nd round pick we could draft a PG Monte Morris from Iowa State of Edmond Sumner from Xavier depending on his ACL recovery.
There are other options available later in the 2nd round, especially if we can trade Nick and get a 2nd round pick. Kobi Simmons PG for Arizona, Allonzo Trier SG from Arizona or Mikal Bridges from Villanova-he’s really versatile on defense and shooting 40% from 3.
Either way we can have our wing positions covered for the near future.
Still R says
_ Robert _ Robert I’m with you on the concept of “fit”.
The Lakers are so bad they need to take the best athlete available until we tell them to stop.
Still R says
Clay Bertrand Truly; Magic is a loveable – sometime not so loveable – blabbermouth.
fern16 says
They are showcasing Lou hard. I hope they trade him for picks or an expiring contract. After that Phoenix debacle is really hard to write about this team.
fern16 says
Deng and Moz contracts are unmovable, no team on its right mind would take those gargantuan contracts, and then you add their “stellar” play. No, those contracts ain’t going anywhere for the next 2 year. There is no team stupid enough to even listen to a pitch. On the other points i agree…
Vasheed says
Still R _ Robert _
If in the draft you find a clearly superior talent even at a position you already feel taken care of you do it. However, then you address the log jam you created. You don’t just ignore it.
fern16 says
Im extremely wary of Magic being left with total control of the team. All i see is Isaiah Thomas running the Knicks to the ground. I hope im wrong…
Still R says
Vasheed Still R _ Robert _ Yes, true and fully compatible with what I said or was trying to say (grin).
fern16 says
I just read that Kobe is going to train Brandon Ingram. That brightened my day.
Chutch says
Lakers need attitude and toughness and quality defenders. DAR is better suited and a potential all star as a 2. Marcus Smart and a Celtic first round pick for Julius and Lou. Make Deng a stretch 4.
Clay Bertrand says
Interesting Note relating to the Lakers draft this year:
Unless the Lakers acquire an additional 2017 Draft Pick, they will only have ONE pick in the 2017 draft. As we all very well know, if the Lottery Drawing has them landing in the top 3, they keep their pick wherever within the top 3 it falls. Obviously if it falls outside the top 3, Philly gets it.
But the flip side of the outcome of this Lottery drawing involves the Lakers 2nd Round picks this year and next. Basically, if they are able to KEEP the 1st Rounder this year, they automatically therefore will send the first of two 2nd Rounders to Orlando to begin the payment for the Howard trade with the final 2nd Rounder conveyed to them in 2018.
The 2nd Rounders coming to the Lakers via the Calderon deal come in 2018 (Denver’s Pick) and 2019 (Chicago’s Pick).
So our seemingly decent drafting FO will likely be making one pick this draft.
LordMo says
Chutch
We do not trade with the hated Celtics! And they do not trade with us! Would have to be a 3 team deal.
LordMo says
fern16
Magic the team President does not scare me. Magic the head of Basketball Operations or Magic the GM gives me nightmares…lol. He would be good as the boss especially under Jeanie making sure all the other groups “tow the line” but in know way should he be making personnel decisions.
Lou2 says
LordMo fern16 Screaming nightmares. He would be good as Jeanie’s spine, since she doesn’t seem to have much of one.
new rr says
_ Robert _ LordMo
Deng/Mozgov: The only org that I can see considering trading for him is Minnesota. I do not think anyone wants Mozgov.
Williams: I think it will need to be a three-way, but there as noted playoff teams that can use him.
Lottery picks: I would not trade any of them right now, and I think that some people are a little too down on Russell. But I do not think many observers outside of a sub-group of Lakers fans sees them as being exceptionally valuable or as being a core that the rest of the NBA should be worried about.
Other young guys: I would be willing to trade Clarkson or Nance Jr.
Team: We will probably see some posts over the next few weeks talking about the team’s improved overall record. Problems with that are that most teams that were as bad as last year’s Lakers get a little better, a chunk of it has been based on older players, and the team D is not any better.
danielburas says
Lakers please don’t trade for a big name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Don’t mess up the young chemistry!!! Free agents will come, we have something special coming. If we will trade for a big name we will be like the clippers good for no good, until free agents start leaving our own city, young players are invested in this team trust me!!!!!!!!Down the road i see us having all the young talent signed for long contacts don’t gamble that away.