(05-15-2019 04:48 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Last night's lottery draw SHOULD have basically guaranteed AD to LA. Boston's season didn't make their trade prospects look any better than the Lakers, and a #4 pick has monstrous value. In theory the Lakers could trade for AD and still have a ton of money to spend on FAs (not a max guy but certainly quality guys). But with all the dysfunction in LA's FO it's easy to imagine agents advising their clients to look at the Lakers with a healthy dose of skepticism. If they can't get an AD trade done, landing one of Kawhi, Klay, KD (a pipe dream regardless), Kyrie or whomever isn't going to be easy.

Lakers should go all in on AD exactly because free agents may be less interested -- though it's possible NO will not deal with the Lakers unless every other offer is very low. Celtics might just have to make a good-not-great offer for AD such as Jaylen Brown, the #14 pick this season, and the 2020 Memphis pick. If Boston offers Tatum plus those picks, NO can easily take that without even considering a Lakers offer.

Lakers' best free agent bet might be offering DeMarcus Cousins a lot of money and hoping no one else wants to bid high.

Completely agree with the idea of abolishing pro sports drafts...

https://usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/20...691216002/

Quote:Annual amateur drafts are so deeply embedded in U.S. professional sports culture that we rarely stop to think about how dumb they are. Why are we still doing this?

Quote:I’ve written about this scenario for baseball multiple times and at fairly great length. But where MLB would need some sort of bonus pool to govern how much teams could spend on would-be domestic amateur free agents — lest the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs snatch up every single good young player — it strikes me that NBA teams are already restricted by a salary cap. Hey, Knicks, you want Zion so bad? Great, you’ve got cap room, go make your case to him.

The NBA’s byzantine salary-cap structure and caveats complicate things, but it feels like eliminating the draft would immediately end tanking as a strategy. It might even inspire the Knicks to figure out a way to stop sucking so hard at everything all the time, lest they sign only masochists every year.

(05-15-2019 08:06 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Lakers should go all in on AD exactly because free agents may be less interested -- though it's possible NO will not deal with the Lakers unless every other offer is very low. Celtics might just have to make a good-not-great offer for AD such as Jaylen Brown, the #14 pick this season, and the 2020 Memphis pick. If Boston offers Tatum plus those picks, NO can easily take that without even considering a Lakers offer.

Oh, I'm sure they'll pull out all the stops. With Griffin in place in NO there's an expectation that NO will deal fairly, without the animus that was coming from Demps. If that's the case it's not a slam dunk for Boston it looked like earlier. Tatum didn't improve this year and Brown is promising with a lot of areas that need improvement. That sounds like how we'd describe some of the Lakers' best prospects but that #4 pick is huge. My concern is that AD is looking at the Lakers FO and may, 1) start thinking what it would be like to play with Zion, or 2) tell NO's FO that his list of teams just got much longer.

Quote:Lakers' best free agent bet might be offering DeMarcus Cousins a lot of money and hoping no one else wants to bid high.

The numbers work. Cousins' injuries are likely to suppress his contract value, leaving more on the table for another high(er - not est) value FA.
Watching LeBron and Boogie play together seems fun in the abstract. The skill sets certainly are complementary. I just wonder how two personalities like that would mesh.

A new episode of As The Lakers Turn:

Magic goes on "First Take" and calls Rob Pelinka a backstabber.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=26787113

I listened a bit on the drive to work. He's never been a good self-editor. I think he believes he wants what's best for the Lakers but his timing is pretty dreadful. It may not really matter though - agents and players are already thinking about this stuff - he's just throwing more fuel on the fire. They keep trying to get Magic to throw Kobe under the bus but he keeps sticking to Pelinka being the source. And Jeanie having too many cooks in her kitchen.

(05-20-2019 11:35 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  I listened a bit on the drive to work. He's never been a good self-editor. I think he believes he wants what's best for the Lakers but his timing is pretty dreadful. It may not really matter though - agents and players are already thinking about this stuff - he's just throwing more fuel on the fire. They keep trying to get Magic to throw Kobe under the bus but he keeps sticking to Pelinka being the source. And Jeanie having too many cooks in her kitchen.

You might be right that this is a competition between Magic and Kobe for influence with Jeanie, and Pelinka might just be the proxy because Magic knows that attacking Kobe directly would be poorly received by Lakers fans.

Maybe the real problem is just that too much of this Lakers stuff gets out in public. There are other owners that have several people influencing them or trying to influence them, but it's not out in public because the media focuses on the Lakers. It would be interesting to know, for example, who is actually running the Blazers after Paul Allen's death, but because it's Portland and not LA, that gets no media attention.

(05-20-2019 12:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Maybe the real problem is just that too much of this Lakers stuff gets out in public.

This, this, 1,000 times this.

Jeanie isn't capable of running the organization the way her dad did. Passion isn't enough.

Deadspin with the best headline today: This Is The Most Entertaining The Lakers Have Been In Years

Ray Ratto Wrote:...the Laker families are maneuvering into a full Godfathering of the franchise, and nobody has yet revealed themselves as Al Pacino.

Quote:This would be almost every bit as much fun if it happened to the Knicks or Heat or Celtics or Warriors. This would also be almost every bit as much fun if it happened to a hockey team or a football team or a soccer team or a baseball team or an Olympic committee we all know about. It’s just that most of the time the fight is either over an estate or avoiding prosecution. This is something better, something clumsy yet cut-throaty, something well in keeping with the stereotypical Los Angeles rather than the one waiting for global warming to lay waste to it and make Bakersfield beachfront property.

Ratto really cuts deep here. It's an entertaining read.

f*ckin' blowin' it. kawhi's legit but it don't matter

Jurassic World it is.

(05-16-2019 11:30 AM)Wedge Wrote:  Completely agree with the idea of abolishing pro sports drafts...

https://usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/20...691216002/

Quote:Annual amateur drafts are so deeply embedded in U.S. professional sports culture that we rarely stop to think about how dumb they are. Why are we still doing this?

Quote:I’ve written about this scenario for baseball multiple times and at fairly great length. But where MLB would need some sort of bonus pool to govern how much teams could spend on would-be domestic amateur free agents — lest the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs snatch up every single good young player — it strikes me that NBA teams are already restricted by a salary cap. Hey, Knicks, you want Zion so bad? Great, you’ve got cap room, go make your case to him.

The NBA’s byzantine salary-cap structure and caveats complicate things, but it feels like eliminating the draft would immediately end tanking as a strategy. It might even inspire the Knicks to figure out a way to stop sucking so hard at everything all the time, lest they sign only masochists every year.

In the soccer thread you talk about the MLS Ponzi scheme and why relegation won’t work. So you know the same dynamics are in effect with respect to the draft. Those small markets would chafe at the idea of rookies going to the highest bidder. Especially in the NBA where only 3-5 players are truly franchise changing.

man f*ck kawhi. the spurs are saddled with two late first round picks as consolation. and demar derozan. wooo. i hope they get swept

(05-16-2019 11:30 AM)Wedge Wrote:  Completely agree with the idea of abolishing pro sports drafts...

https://usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/20...691216002/

Quote:Annual amateur drafts are so deeply embedded in U.S. professional sports culture that we rarely stop to think about how dumb they are. Why are we still doing this?

Quote:I’ve written about this scenario for baseball multiple times and at fairly great length. But where MLB would need some sort of bonus pool to govern how much teams could spend on would-be domestic amateur free agents — lest the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs snatch up every single good young player — it strikes me that NBA teams are already restricted by a salary cap. Hey, Knicks, you want Zion so bad? Great, you’ve got cap room, go make your case to him.

The NBA’s byzantine salary-cap structure and caveats complicate things, but it feels like eliminating the draft would immediately end tanking as a strategy. It might even inspire the Knicks to figure out a way to stop sucking so hard at everything all the time, lest they sign only masochists every year.

In the soccer thread you talk about the MLS Ponzi scheme and why relegation won’t work. So you know the same dynamics are in effect with respect to the draft. Those small markets would chafe at the idea of rookies going to the highest bidder. Especially in the NBA where only 3-5 players are truly franchise changing.

(05-26-2019 08:14 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(05-16-2019 11:30 AM)Wedge Wrote:  Completely agree with the idea of abolishing pro sports drafts...

https://usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/20...691216002/

Quote:Annual amateur drafts are so deeply embedded in U.S. professional sports culture that we rarely stop to think about how dumb they are. Why are we still doing this?

Quote:I’ve written about this scenario for baseball multiple times and at fairly great length. But where MLB would need some sort of bonus pool to govern how much teams could spend on would-be domestic amateur free agents — lest the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs snatch up every single good young player — it strikes me that NBA teams are already restricted by a salary cap. Hey, Knicks, you want Zion so bad? Great, you’ve got cap room, go make your case to him.

The NBA’s byzantine salary-cap structure and caveats complicate things, but it feels like eliminating the draft would immediately end tanking as a strategy. It might even inspire the Knicks to figure out a way to stop sucking so hard at everything all the time, lest they sign only masochists every year.

In the soccer thread you talk about the MLS Ponzi scheme and why relegation won’t work. So you know the same dynamics are in effect with respect to the draft. Those small markets would chafe at the idea of rookies going to the highest bidder. Especially in the NBA where only 3-5 players are truly franchise changing.

The best players wouldn't all go to the highest bidder with a rookies salary cap. Each team would have the same amount of money to spend on rookies. The Grizzlies and Pelicans will have the same amount to spend on rookies as the Knicks or Lakers.

No team would have the cap room to sign the top three rookies, because there's no way those rookies are all going to take sub-market salaries for their first 3 seasons just so they can all fit under one team's rookie cap. In fact, a rookie as highly sought after as Zion Williamson could easily command a team's entire rookies cap -- and he should fire his agent if the agent doesn't demand every penny of that money -- and that would leave that team unable to sign any other rookies.

All I know is as long as the Raptors have Drake courtside they have a legit shot to beat the Warriors.

You know you want to read another article dragging the Lakers' front office...

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26821...rown-jewel

Quote:According to nearly two dozen current and former team staffers, ranging from occupants of executive suites to office cubicles, in addition to league sources and others close to the team, the Lakers under Johnson and Pelinka were fraught with dysfunction, on and off the court. These sources, who feared reprisal and weren't authorized to speak publicly, describe Pelinka and Johnson as managers who made unilateral free-agent acquisitions; triggered a spate of tampering investigations and fines; berated staffers, including Walton; and created an in-house culture that many current and former longtime staffers said marginalized their colleagues, inspired fear and led to feelings of anxiety severe enough that at least two staffers suffered panic attacks.

As one ex-Lakers star privately told confidants, "It's f----ng crazy over there."

LeBron and his agent are a big part of this mess, too.

Quote:In November, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Maverick Carter, LeBron's longtime business partner, met for lunch. James' agent, Rich Paul, was seated at a nearby table, and at one point, approached Silver to complain about Walton, multiple sources familiar with the interaction told ESPN. Paul said he didn't believe Walton was the right coach for the Lakers. Silver shrugged off the remark and asked whom Paul thought would be the right coach. Paul suggested Tyronn Lue.

Paul was also letting it be known through back-channel conversations, including those with reporters, that he wasn't on board with Walton. Paul criticized how Walton allotted minutes to players and his inconsistent lineups, which were partly the result of injuries and suspensions. Members of the Lakers' coaching staff became aware of those conversations and wondered whether Johnson's heated meeting with Walton was influenced by Paul.

Quote:And so the perception existed among the Lakers' coaching staff that Paul sought to oust Walton. And some players also believed, according to coaching staff members and those players' agents, that Klutch Sports was working to trade them away for a superstar. Given those perceptions, one former Lakers player described Paul's presence on the team charter as a "culture killer."

"Coaches know Rich is trying to get them fired, and players know Rich is trying to get them traded," said one agent with ties to the Lakers, who called Paul's presence on the plane "destructive."

^^^^^
Again, I ask the question. Why would any max free agent or top player otherwise want to play for the Lakers? Everyone knows that Bron wanted Lue and you have to wonder how that dynamic with Vogel will work out. Add to the "front office-gate" fiasco Jason Kidd as an assistant coach [in waiting] and Bron approaching 35 years of age. Tough times for the Lakers...

Vogel is just happy his three years are guaranteed, because you know LeBron and JKidd will be talking about Vogel, starting no later than the first time the Lakers lose two in a row.

They'll sign one or two free agents by offering them more money than other teams offer. Cousins and Kyrie would fit in that category. And the interaction between either of them and LeBron would be entertaining.

(05-28-2019 06:44 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Vogel is just happy his three years are guaranteed, because you know LeBron and JKidd will be talking about Vogel, starting no later than the first time the Lakers lose two in a row.

They'll sign one or two free agents by offering them more money than other teams offer. Cousins and Kyrie would fit in that category. And the interaction between either of them and LeBron would be entertaining.

Yep. I'd wager the talk begins during the preseason when Kidd wants to implement his "suggestions" for the offense. I can see Kyrie possibly signing but what a suck-up for him. He demanded to be traded from the Cavs because he couldn't be "the man" with LeBron there - even though they won a chip together. So, he goes to Boston to be "the man" and how'd that work out for him? SMDH.

(05-28-2019 09:16 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(05-28-2019 06:44 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Vogel is just happy his three years are guaranteed, because you know LeBron and JKidd will be talking about Vogel, starting no later than the first time the Lakers lose two in a row.

They'll sign one or two free agents by offering them more money than other teams offer. Cousins and Kyrie would fit in that category. And the interaction between either of them and LeBron would be entertaining.

Yep. I'd wager the talk begins during the preseason when Kidd wants to implement his "suggestions" for the offense. I can see Kyrie possibly signing but what a suck-up for him. He demanded to be traded from the Cavs because he couldn't be "the man" with LeBron there - even though they won a chip together. So, he goes to Boston to be "the man" and how'd that work out for him? SMDH.

Kidd already thinks/has been told that he's in charge of point guard development, which gives him a foot in the door to design the offense (along with the fact that Vogel's previous teams were not good on offense).

As for Kyrie in LA: I question whether LeBron at this stage of his career is ready to let Kyrie have a larger role than he did in Cleveland. LeBron would need to be able to let Kyrie run the show in the same way that Shaq deferred to Wade in Miami when the Heat won their first title. But that isn't in LeBron's makeup. To put it bluntly, if LeBron can only choose one between being The Man and winning another title, he's going to choose being The Man.