Paul George Discussion

To those asking why we didn't deal DLo to Indy, They weren't taking back a negative in Moz's contract for PG.The Lakers are likely their only suitors, all we have to do is have a positive offer, better than nothing. They've asked for 2 first round picks and a starter, if this #27 gets the deal done then it was a brilliant move by our FO to get rid of a crippling contract as well as obtain PG. Let their plan play out before heaping tons of criticism on them.

 

Can't lie. I checked my phone hoping there would be a Woj bomb saying we got George.

 

Assuming we trade Clarkson/27/28 for George and he does a 3 yr $95M deal, where does that leave our cap situation?

 

Also, the fan base has been letting the "plan" play out for a few years now only to watch the team continue to defy the odds and get worse. How many times has everyone thought we were at rock bottom only to be proven incorrect? I know we've got new guys running things but I think it's understandable that fans have run out of patience

 

i'll keep doing so. perhaps into february. it's starting to look like this deal was made in isolation, which is really bad. i can forgive selling low if it's step one in a larger set of moves that are a net positive. but this is like morey dumping lin before bosh had committed.

 

yeah, and i feared the "new FO, new plan, new timetable" line when the change occurred.

 

Agreed on both. I get that folks hated Russell but this was definitely selling low. Paul George instantly makes me feel fine about all of this but there's no way we should have made this move without having the deal for him worked out.

 

right. i fully expected a george announcement within hours. again, indy somehow snatched the upper hand in negotiations.

one could argue this was a power play by the lakers: if you don't take our offer, we'll start shipping those parts off for other things that make our bargaining position stronger (i.e., we'll have space for george and another max next year, and all your other trade suitors will disappear). but man, that's counting on several things going your way over a long period of time. first and foremost being all your FA targets (including george) finding homes prior to you getting your shot at them.

i would have been fine had they held their assets and tried to wait out indy, even until next summer. but clearing the decks early basically just ensures another bottom 5 finish, which a) strengthens boston again and b) isn't going to be enticing to these FAs for whom you've cleared the space.

 

Can't really judge everything that is going on with us until the dust settles. This move is just the first domino, we have to wait and see what else comes from this. It does seem very risky, but Magic and Pelinka definitely have connections and aren't afraid to use back channels like Mitch was. Just gotta wait and see.

 

If we now lose Julius for George i will be pissed.

 

The FO probably valued Dlo lower than Nance. Dlo was not part of our future, so getting rid of him proactively while dumping salary was the right move, regardless of what happens with George.

 

I love Dlo but I hated Mozgov's contract more. And Deng most of all.

 

His efficiency and production may have increased, but his value would not have drastically changed imo. Most of the credit would have gone to Ball (and George, hypothetically) for "making the game easier" for Dlo. More importantly though, he was a headache for the coaching staff whose patience were wearing thin. It was the right time to cut our losses and move on from the Dlo experiment.

 

I read somewhere that the Nets were about to send Lopez to the Hawks for Howard (I have no idea about picks and filler for such a trade) before the Lakers swooped in with their trade package.

It sounds like the Nets managed to pressure Magic and Rob into giving up Russell or miss out on the salary dump, and they caved, perhaps because they dislike Russell that much.

Now it seems Magic and Rob are once again being successfully pressured, this time by the Pacers front office, into including more picks and possibly young assets into a potential PG trade. If the Lakers give up too much to get PG a year early, it doesn't reflect well on Magic and Rob who so far have appeared impatient and somewhat easily pressured into giving away additional pieces.

Jerry Buss would be rolling in his grave if he could see how his protege Magic plays "poker" in the world of NBA trades.

 

No my patience is gone. Year after year the team has made questionable moves and everyone tries their best to make it make sense and look on the bright side. Again I understand that these are new guys but Ding pretty much said it's the same old approach. We've watched this fail multiple times.

I need to see results. I don't have anymore benefit of the doubt to give.

 

If our offer with 27 & 28 + (please please don't let it be Randle) is in fact the best out there by quite some then you'd think Indy wants to be able to use those picks on Thursday. They just can't bring him back now. With the caveat this must make Bird's blood boil to have Magic of all people and the Lakers after all these years sticking it to him. The hate has been rekindled forget about those happy commercials some years ago. He's going to make us miserable doing it. I fear it will take Randle.

And the Lakers as has now been explained to us multiple times are in a far better situation with PG's Bird rights (how's that for irony?) Indy would have to suck it up with their poisoned locker room and season and the arena boos at George to make us wait until the trade deadline.

 

Sounds like you are ready to fire Magic and Pelinka already. How about having a little more poker patience.