Official 2016 Free Agency Thread

We're reading random media reports and taking them at face value, what is the difference in "announcement"? We're reading media reports saying the Lakers are still trying to get a meeting and assuming it's true, what's the difference?

I read Ding's report with the clear understanding that it is 100% biased against Jim Buss and from the clear perspective of Jeanie Buss. Of course it makes Jim look like an idiot and makes Jeanie look like a saint. What it fails to take into account was that Mitch and Jim had a system in place: swing for the fences and when it doesn't work, tank. They did it effectively two seasons in a row. Does Jim look delusional? From one perspective, sure. From the perspective of "why not take a shot at a big name wanting to play for the Lakers?" it doesn't seem delusional at all. It seems like due diligence just like how the Lakers have worked out some 150+ players the last three weeks.

 

Yeah I'm not sure what that means.

Stable how? The Lakers are not really unstable from the basketball side of things. In fact we just stabilized. We've got the young guys, we've got the new coach, and Mitch has made it clear THAT is our direction going forward.

From the owner's side we're not even the worst team in the league. Does that include letters to the NBA telling them to boycott trades and/or letters to our previous players telling them they stink and we'll win without them? Does it include an owner with lawsuits leveled against them for the slum conditions of their properties (Washington). Does it include Russian mafia members? Does it include GS's owners saying they're the best and lightyears ahead of everyone else alienating them amongst all their contemporaries (it wasn't long ago they'd fired their coach and things were looking rocky there). Things change quickly and the ownership side of the NBA is really not something players concern themselves with overly much. If we've got something to sell on the floor to these FAs, it'll happen. We just need to be able to sell them on something. Heck we're not even the worst ownership group out there right now. Sacramento and Brooklyn are far worse. Phoenix, Oklahoma, and any number of smaller markets have proven they won't pay for winners. At least we'll do that and have proven so.

 

Whhhaaaaaaaaa

 

I'm not forgiving them a lot of their mistakes. Letting Pau go in the summer of 2014 was a huge mistake for them. They should have traded him when they had a chance, same with Howard. I don't deny that. The tank strategy that I am pointing towards started in that same summer with our back-to-back worst seasons ever that netted us two 2nd picks.

Everything before the summer of 2014 to me is a separate discussion honestly and one that I can absolutely agree with hammering them on a lot of things. I think losing Jerry Buss had a LOT to do with the turmoil, but since 2014 we've been no doubt tanking and swinging for the fences was just part of that process. I think the pick they got luckiest on was Randle to be honest. With the 7th pick we got probably the 2nd or 3rd best player in that draft.

 

For what it's worth we met with Carmelo and apparently that meeting went great. He had us 2nd at one point, but then dropped us out of the running after meeting with Chicago. We never met with LeBron, but we met with his agent.

 

Baze15!