What's the consensus of how great of a player, barring serious injury, PG will become? Based on current skills, strengths and weaknesses and comparing him to a (hopefully) great wing position.... past NBA player. Kobe was his idol reportedly growing up, so what are the reports on his work ethic? He's got IT no question? A winner?
I am not in favor of moving Russell but if I had to choose I'd keep Ingram and play him at the 1 if it came down to one or the other for George.
Here's the thing. George coming to LA is predicated on his desire to be here, correct? If we're trading for him, it's with the understanding that he wants to be here for the long-term otherwise all we're doing is sacrificing assets for a rental. However, we cannot make this move knowing 100% that George is going to sign an extension so for all intents and purposes, we're getting a rental. That limits what we should give up in a trade. So already, with the understanding we're trading for a player who is an expiring contract, any trade offers that include our Top 3 pick and several other assets are asinine from our perspective. If that's the cost it takes to get George, then it's empirically not worth it. It would make more sense in every scenario to use that assets for another player. I'm not in the business of being fair to Indiana. I know that the offer of Randle/Clarkson/Hou 1st is a low ball offer, but that's not really my problem. I understand that George wants out (and that may not be to us) and I'm going to take advantage of that. I'm not going to give up valuable assets that I can flip to other teams just to be "fair". Nobody is doing us favors in trades, I'm not helping them either. Indiana can either take that offer and start their rebuild or they call George's bluff and watch him walk away in the summer (either to us or to another, more competitive team). Now, if they want the Top pick, they'll have to take back a bad contract. End of story. If they want future draft picks, I'm willing to consider that because we should be in a better place in a few years and we'll be the ones giving away 20 something odd picks to be competitive. I don't give a rat's *** about what we might consider a "good" or "fair" offer to Indiana. This isn't a "good" or "fair" situation. George wants out and he's made it clear among the league he wants to come here. Nobody else is going to give up the farm for him, so I'm not either. That's just the reality of this market. If somebody is willing to beat Randle/Clarkson/Hou 1st (maybe future 1st) or Top 3/Deng then so be it. I'll take my chances in the summer of 2018. The whole point of this scenario was that we were going to have a shot at George without gutting the team. If you don't consider trading a Top 3 pick and Russell or a Top 3 pick Ingram or if you're considering trading Ingram and Randle and Clarkson etc. then you're missing the point of this. If it costs us too much to get George, then we're just going to have to stick to this rebuild and let it be what it is.
I think he might have another gear offensively, which will put him in the 2000-04 TMac category. But he also might have peaked already.
The market will decide what Paul is worth but he can certainly affect the offers by letting teams know he only wants to go to the Lakers. Boston or other teams can take a chance and hope they can convince him to stay but do they want to take that chance. I do think PG wants to come here but only if we don't have to give up too many assets.
It all depends on personnel. If PG played with a gifted Point guard like Ball he might score more with better looks .... thinking 26-28 ppg. If PG was the point forward in Luke's system and played with DLo and Ingram etc. I think he'll avg 6-7 ast while getting 22 ppg
See this is where by-the-book-buttoned down-straight arrow Kupchak probably got screwed at times. Let's hope Rob the beast / shark Pelinka is working through the back channels with any and all forms of communication needed. As therealdeal mentioned last week ....( if Kobe is in this to help Jeanie, Magic and his homey Rob and the Lakers succeed) ...... yeah Kobe ought to be talking with PG and gathering accurate intel for the Lakers to know how serious he is. So they can lowball the Pacers or just wait for him. Shirley Paul doesn't want to the Lakers to gut the squad of its young talent to bring him in.
Yea, short of us fleecing the Pacers, I don't see/or want a trade to go down. I mean as obvious as that sounds...
Sam Amick said recently it's not as much of a silver bullet as the media is assuming. George wants out regardless and the money is unlikely to change his mind. All that would change his mind is if Indiana can get competitive this summer which is unlikely.
I was thinking this exact thing the other day. Lamar=Randle Clarkson=Caron Deng or Moz=Grant late 1st = late 1st Or am i way off on Lamar and Caron? I wasn't too impressed with them back them. Also, was Grant an expiring? I think he had 2 years left, maybe...
I agree with you in a way. PG has been playing on a defensive-minded Pacers in his first 4 years without a true point guard. That's why his offensive output is low. The last couple of years has been nothing short of brutal for him. No second option. No real point guard and when Teague came in, everything is new. The system, the brand of basketball all were being forced which he personally didn't like. My point is, yes he can score. He can play defense. He can be as good as anybody but the reason why everyone is sleeping on him and he cannot truly take off is because he's stuck with a team whose legacy is mediocrity. With a good system and a coach that gets him and his game, he can be way better. I know PG. Been a fan since his day 1 and have seen how he developed. I can be a little bias but hey, who isn't. His niche is midrange whether from hand off, assist or creating his own. He's a deadly three point shooter but only from spot up, catch and shoot or off the screen dribble pull up. He sucks in buzzer beaters. Not so kobesque, I know. But he's clutch. Like last 5 minutes delivering clutch. His defense is not how it was before primarily because of the leg injury. And he whines a lot. Whining could easily be his middle name. And he doesn't take a lot of shots. --- But before anyone can judge me for being a bandwagon, let me tell you one thing. Paul George got my interest for two-fold reasons, he's from LA and he is the 2nd biggest fan of Kobe, next to me. Sent from my E6533 using Tapatalk
YUGE YUGE YUGE YUGE. 200 million is 200 million. It would have made it harder. Now, things are easier. This is step one of the lucky train. Lakers need one more in 2 weeks. If they get that top 3 pick (Hopefully the 3rd pick) then you trade for PG. Game, set, match.
