I'm not down on Rondo as most are here. He will come relatively cheap, wants to be here and he would do wonders for our bench unit (Regardless if he starts or not).
He would do wonders. I wonder if he will ever get his head straight. I wonder what form his pouting as a role player will take. I wonder if he will ever hit a shot outside 5 ft. I wonder what the Byron vs. Rondo melt down will be like.
I wonder how many PG we can realistically get in FA that had 3 triple doubles last year, 7 games with 15 plus assists and is capable of grabbing double the rebounds regular PG's get? The Dallas stint is on the minds of many, but his past season in a half with Boston was pretty good. I don't see him acting like he did in Dallas, more like how MWP had his moments here.
I'm more down on his actual talent than you are, but there's a lot to be said about him if he's happy. If he comes here, it's on our terms but it's also as a hungry player again. There's no way a person can leave millions on the table (which he will now) and not have a chip on their shoulder to prove their worth again. If he signs here it's because we're one of the few teams that wants him. Kobe being here helps too to make sure he stays focused. In fact this might be the first time Kobe plays good cop... *shudder* I would have loved Mo Williams, but understandably he wants the easy way out back in Cleveland. Wade is a huge risk, but again a similar point arises: he'd want to be here and he'd want to prove his value still in the league. We'd turn into basically (and it sounds weird to say) the C Bags from the 08 season... A handful of older guys coming together to compete. It'd be interesting and would definitely get us back in the playoff conversation.
I want no part of Rondo. Dallas was cruising along and looked like a surprisingly good team before they traded for him, and after, he sunk them. I mean, maybe I'm putting too much blame on one guy, but he imploded that team. They never could fit him in offensively, and there were reports he was not exactly good for the locker room and team chemistry.
I'm hoping that whomever we pick at #2, we keep and develop unless we're being offered a superstar player in return.
Different than the 08 C Bags. They were all still at the tail end of their primes. Kobe is 4 years removed from his prime and Wade is probably 2 years removed. Rondo is not close to his original form before the ACL. And they had Thibs to teach them defense. Okafor/Randle/Kobe/Wade/Rondo would get absolutely pulverized on defense. I think we'd win enough games that'd we'd make the playoffs (if we had good fortune on the health front), but Houston, GS, OKC and the Clippers (if DeAndre stays) would destroy us. I mean, there is not one player in the starting unit that could even been called adequate on D. At this point in their careers (due to injury, too old or too young), every player in that starting five is below average on defense.
What team is going to come in and play great defense? No team we can realistically put together this offseason is going to be dominating on defense. Sure we can nab one big time wing, but that doesn't change the fact everyone else is average at best.
There's bad defense, then there's what that team would do. They could set records for defensive inefficiency.
And every player in the starting five is also capable of creating offense. I think you're blowing it out of proportion a bit. If you have all those guys, that's not to say you have to play them together the entire time. You take some out quickly and insert shooters and defensive guys. The key is we'd be in the playoffs. You think even despite that team's deficiencies anyone would want to see a team with Kobe and Wade in the playoffs? Even at this stage in their careers? At some point you probably put Clarkson into the starting lineup and have Rondo run the 2nd unit. Wade and Kobe are able to create and you put guys like Kelly and Black in there to space/slash for them. The comparison to Boston was mostly just old guys coming together with a chip on their shoulder. I wasn't coming at it from a practical standpoint, just a philosophical one about who those guys would be.
They wouldn't be any worse than the Nash/D12 Lakers said that got destroyed in the playoffs d/t injuries among other things. We would not set any records. That starting team isn't going to run, we don't have a coach that preaches uptempo and I think you are being a bit dramatic with that assessment. The last two Laker squads have been terrible, there is no way that projected squad at full strength is any worse. Not even close.
Another thing to consider is that although most of those Boston players were in their relative prime when they got together, aside from KG, the remainder of that starting five didn't have the highest defensive reputation as well. The fact that the team was so effective defensively is as much attributed to Tom Thibs strategic planning more than anything else. When you look deeper into the roots of that team, no player from that squad has had as much individual DEFENSIVE success in their post Boston career with the exception of Tony Allen. Kendrick Perkins and James Posey were considered two of the leagues best defenders at their positions prior to their departures, but now one of them can't even get past Mike Miller or James Jones on Clevelands front court depth chart. So circling back with respect to Rondo, I think his defensive value as a player will never be as an on ball one on one defender. His value as a defender has been and will always be as good as the system he's in, one that will cater to him being a disruptive nuisance in passing lanes and forcing turnovers through sneaky blindside steals.
I'm totally optimistic that this comment board will be ripe with enthusiastic, positive posts during next years season unlike last year.We will be able to enjoy watching Laker games once again, win or lose with the blossoming stars growing game by game.
I'm loving the anticipation of this Laker rebuild, hell last year all we were talking about the lack of cap space, roster fill ins like Lin, Henry, Johnson, Hill, an injury waiting to happen in Nash,and then Randle's devastating injury. Much to look forward to in Lakerland!
