I agree....but this NBA is not about batmans and robins...a great duo still doesn't get you anywhere. You need 3 or 4 great players...Cavs have LeBron and Kyrie...but they also have Kevin Love, Thompson etc. Golden State has a guy like Draymond Green (an all-star himself) as its 4th best player. You can't win with 2 guys anymore. Westbrook and Durant are 2 of the 5 best players in the NBA and they couldn't get it done because their third best player (Ibaka) and the rest wasn't good enough. You can't get more talent out of a duo than Westbrook and Durant.
For George, I would trade a combination of anything under 3a. on this list. Anything above, I'd rather wait for the summer of 2018. 1a. Ingram 1b. 1st pick - Fultz 2a. Russell 2b. Randle 2c. 2nd pick - Ball 3a. Zubac 3b. 3rd pick - tbd 4. Clarkson 5. Nance 6. Black 7. Houston's pick
Well ..... most perimeter players will experience ups and downs in shooting percentages over time..... but the elephant in the room here is what a player brings on the opposite end....... my problem with DAR is that if he is not scoring he brings very little on the opposite end..... you can deal with ups and downs offensively if the other end stays sound in effort..... PG is one of the best 2 way players in the game today..... that should count for something. To me the biggest issue the Lakers have is not with scoring....it's the ability to get stops. the prospect of getting a 2 way allstar should be a priority for this team.....getting tired of 1 trick ponies.
Ingram should not be on the table whatsoever ........ Myself I would have no issue with dangling Russell+Randle but not with the lottery pick if the lakers get to keep it. You offer the late first round pick with them and add Deng's contract to it...... get back Ellis + PG.... outside of that you sit and wait IMO....... that offer is more than fair if you consider Pacers potential of receiving nothing for losing PG in FA....... probably will depend if PG is eligible for that extra cash in that new CBA provision ...... if he does Indi would be in the drivers seat....but if doesn't Indi will have to think about the potential of losing him for nothing....in light of that the offer I suggest (if the numbers work...didn't verify it) would be very fair IMO.
Well George is worlds beyond better Russell as a player so I doubt anyone will be complaining too much. We all saw Kobe who is arguably a top 5 player of all time have his nights of bad shooting. Give me the superstar and I can live with it when he's given me 20 plus points and terrific defensive play and playmaking.
Wow great post, never in my wildest imagination would have thought about this ramification of the KD injury KD still should get the honors but this opens up the door for sure.
George is a great #2, maybe even a 1B, but I don't think he has the "it" factor to be a #1. He's in the 2nd tier super star category for me.
If PG really wants to be a Laker, he'll tank the rest of the season, forgo 100 mil or so for the bonus on that contract, tell Bird the C Bags suck to his face, and start wearing Lakers gear to every press conference
does the press vote on all nba? i could see the laker haters in the media voting george in just to keep them from being able to trade for him.
A couple years ago they kept Anthony Davis from making a big chunk of money by not getting him on one of those teams.
I know we've gone back and forth on the whole "Is PG a #1?" debate for too long - and I maintain that his actual history with the Pacers is proof that he is a #1 with the real question being how "elite" he is at that designation - but my more generic question is, why exactly can't a "2nd tier super star" be a #1? There simply aren't enough 1st tier superstars to go around.
I just think there's a group of the elite, then there's a group below that. I think PG is in that 2nd group. 2nd tier's can be #1's. There are some like Lillard, Wall, Butler, Hayward is becoming 2nd tier, still maybe in that 3rd tier. I dunno..George is just missing something. I think he'd excel as a #2 option or the 1B to a 1A. I think I'd take Butler over George. I think George can step up to another level, he just seems to coast or take a back seat some. Basically I didn't answer your question..because PG is hard to justify for me. I like him, but would rather "pair" him up. I also wouldn't trade Russell, Ingram or the top 3 pick if the Lakers get it..for PG..all 3 of them would be off the table.
Pretty much everyone that has discussed bringing in PG has stated that the preference is to "pair him up" with another star. Acquiring PG isn't the end game, it's a strong first move. What is George "missing" that guys like Lillard, Wall, Hayward and Butler have? Aside from a 2nd solid scorer and/or elite big man: Lillard has McCollum. Wall has Beal. Hayward has Hill and Gobert. Butler has Wade and before that had Rose/Gasol. I also don't get this idea that PG "coasts" or takes a back seat. Yeah he isn't putting up 25ppg but 2013-2014 he averaged 21.7ppg and no one else topped 14ppg; Last season he averaged 23.1ppg and no one else averaged 14ppg and this season he is at 21.7ppg and no one else is at 16ppg. If he was truly coasting, he'd be closer to the pack rather than far and away the offensive leader. PG's lack of help in recent seasons seems to get glossed over. I noted the scoring above. How about in the frontcourt? The leading rebounders the last 2 seasons have been Mahinmi at 7.1rpg and M. Turner at 7.2rpg. George himself was at 7rpg and is now at 6.1rpg. Forget Gobert, he'd probably kill for a Marcin Gortat and his 11.3rpg right about now.
