ok, i'm done. i'll try to spend time in some of the positive threads now. but in conclusion @*&%#^$^%@$&%@
Geez, we might as well rename this thread the Alternate WMC Thread. With or without George our franchise is in good hands.
If Pritchard rather send PG to a conference rival (C Bags, Cavs) than ship him out west, i say... f*** him. I guess anything will "get a pass", as long as the Lakers are screwed.
I think if he goes to the Lakers we'll get: "How could the Pacers cave to the Lakers and give him up for such a bad offer?" "I guess the NBA needs the Lakers to be better again." "Here's 10 teams that Paul George will leave the Lakers for in 2018" "Dan Gilbert is convinced his offer was better than the Lakers; calls on Silver to investigate." "The Lakers get Paul George, but still looking for their first playoff birth in 5 years" If he goes somewhere else we get: "Lakers couldn't close the deal with George, now counting on a hope" "New Laker management missteps already, how their gamble didn't work" "The Cavs/Boston/Rockets are the perfect fit for George, will he ever leave?" I actually think they never really end up bringing up the package that'll get sent out if he goes somewhere else. It's only the Lakers that get that type of scrutiny and criticism. Nobody cares if Houston sends out Eric Gordon and a first round pick from 2020 for Paul George. If we send out Randle, Clarkson, 27, 28 the very first thing you read is "that's not enough". We're the only franchise that has to pay more than a premium now in trades because of a perception that Memphis was burned by us and some of the things we did back in the 80s. Meanwhile Boston is celebrated for jobbing the Nets and getting top picks for half a decade. Morey is celebrated for moving his players around like checkers pieces and casting them off whenever he gets a sniff of greener pastures...
I definitely agree. I would add that fans of other teams would say how the Lakers offer was inferior to whatever Indy accepts if they do trade PG to another team, but that would not be something the media mentions as you pointed out. It's frustrating to see the rest of the league undervalue our players and celebrate our down years, only to then make a 180 degree turn when a player like Russell gets shipped out (he went from guaranteed bust to potential All-star in less than 24 hours after being traded to the Nets in the eyes of NBA fans). As for PG, I'm looking forward to a team wasting assets in a trade for him only to watch him walk to LA next summer. Until he signs an extension, I feel it's best to take him on his word (well his word as told through his agent) and watch the PG unfold over the course of the summer.
True. But I will admit, the media seemed to love the Russell trade. A lot of national "journalists" (I put journalists in quotes fully realizing that just quotes can't fully represent how loose that term is) were calling it a slam dunk for us.
I definitely understand the frustration. I've watched a lot of Paul George throughout his career. He's my third favorite player in the league (Westbrook & Leonard). Always loved his game. The ability to take over offensively. Outside of LeBron to me George is the best playmaker at the SF position. Really has an outstanding feel for the game. Uses his athleticism very well defensively. Much like with Kobe in his prime when he really wants to be he can be a lockdown perimeter defender. I've seen Paul George in some huge moments mostly against LeBron against a great Miami team and there were times where he just as good. Never understood the criticism that he couldn't be the best player on a championship contender. He already was with those Pacers teams that went to the Conference Finals. ThT was without a legit second All Star which typically is a requirement on a championship team. A lot can change in the next year, but if the Lakers are able to sign him in 2018 I along with the rest of Lakers Nation will rejoice. He's the type of guy who can single handily turn a franchise around. Instantly makes the Lakers relevant again and gives them credibility and I honestly believe it's not a matter of if we get another star free agent because any superstar with any sanity would wanna play with Paul George. It's a difficult situation you don't wanna risk losing Paul George to a team like the C Bags, Cavaliers, Rockets, etc. At the same time if you give up too much in a trade he could very well pull a Dwight on us and leave in free agency. Our hope is Ball proves to be everything he's been hyped up to me and then some. Ingram starts to look like the second coming of Paul George himself. A lot has to go right for us, but I'm gonna give this front office a chance. If a year from now Paul George doesn't sign with the Lakers and no star free agents sign in Los Angeles then all the criticism will be warranted, but I have faith that won't happen. We shall see.
As much as I want Paul George in a Lakers uniform, I'm not gonna freak out if it doesn't happen. You simply regroup and move on. 2018 FA class still has some studs in it. I'll be more than content watching Ball, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle and Lopez this season.
Yeah, there are 10+ quality FA's in that 2018 class, and very few playoff teams have cap space. The Lakers are an attractive franchise among the lottery teams. We'll land one or two FA's by default.
So for what it's worth, ESPN710 had some national NBA guy come on and he put it in terms that seem to make sense to me: the Lakers right now are the fallback option on George. If Boston and Houston and the Cavaliers fall through or find other options, then they'll take the Lakers' offer of Clarkson/Randle/whatever not named Ball or Ingram. The reason they don't do it now is maybe Boston, Houston, and Cleveland come through and (preferably to Indy) beat that offer and if they don't, our offer isn't going to change. We're not going to include Ball or Ingram no matter what, but like we've discussed if the Lakers want to clear room for FAs next summer, both Clarkson and Randle have to go anyway. This also tells me two other things: 1) Boston, Houston, and Cleveland have not yet blown our offer away. If they had, the deal would be done already. All this conjecture about what can be offered and given and what has been offered and given has simply not happened yet and may never happen. Keep in mind Houston and Cleveland in particular don't have any clear path to George unless someone wants to take their bad contracts for assets and those assets are better than Clarkson/Randle. Boston is maybe the only true suitor with the assets to make something work and even they would have to gut their team in a lot of ways to make it happen. And 2) we're still very much alive in this race. Even if we don't get him now, there's an extraordinarily slim chance that George signs a flatout extension and leaves tens of millions on the table. Anyone trading for him (including us in fact) is trading for a rental. I think everyone is keeping that in mind and I think that'll severely limit what even a team like Boston is willing to give up. Sure they think they're 2 pieces away from a ring and if they sign Hayward, maybe it's time to go all in, but do you sacrifice it all on a rental? They really should have gone after Butler. If they give up the type of assets that Ainge has, it's still entirely possible that George walks and now they don't have those lottery picks. Is it worth it for them? I don't know... This thing is far from over, but yes it's getting more complicated. It's far from time to panic and say we're out or we're screwed. Really, really far from that. It's also time to recognize that this thing is fragile and might never happen. If it doesn't happen, we'll have to double down on these kids and move forward.
Houston and Cleveland will need a third team involved, we might do too if Indiana wants picks we don't have. Boston seems to be sitting on Hayward, if he comes I think they'll go all in on PG, if not they'll sit on their assets more. Sounds to me like we'll be waiting on what Hayward does. If he stays in Utah or goes to Miami (meeting them first), the biggest threat in Boston goes away. Morey is a bit concerning considering all his tricks up his sleeves. Also my head hurts just thinking now about everything PG.
It would be really nice to get him this season. PG-13 and Lopez are like super deluxe upgrades over Deng and Mozgov. Year two of Ingram and Ball instead of Russell...I honestly think the team could make the playoffs if we use the rest of our capspace to absorb some one year deals of solid veterans. We'll definitely need help at pf though with Randle gone. Nance and Kuzma is a very suspect rotation at the pf spot when you consider Nance's propensity to get injured.
@therealdeal you really know how to say everything in my mind on a keyboard, thank you for writing this, this is exactly how I feel. Patience will be our winning hand, if we fold now and give them one of Ingram, Ball, or zubac, then we lose. Randle, jc is an amazing package for a player with two feet out the door. I have a feeling Cavs,hou,C Bags, etc are going to fall back and not have enough to generate assets like ours. Ainge is the ultimate hoarder, and is frugal his offer is probably late first round picks end 2nd round picks.
We'll see. I lot depends on Griffin and Hayward. There's tons of talk out East that Hayward is moving, but Utah has been pretty confident he'll stay. Who knows what he really values? Does he want to be the man on his own squad? Is he eager to jump ship and be a 3rd wheel? Maybe he wants his own squad in Miami instead of Utah? I don't know. Griffin I sort of expect to stay even though Miami and Boston will come calling. Both Boston and Miami would rather Hayward so they'll wait on Blake I think. Clippers can give him more money and years and tell him it's his team. Make him their #1 option officially. If Hayward goes to Boston, things get serious, but I still tend to think we can beat their offer... If we give up Ingram... I don't know if we'd want to, but I think if it comes down to it and Boston/Indy have a deal in place the Lakers can interrupt that with Ingram if they feel it's a desperate situation. Right now it's far from a desperate situation.
in fairness, calling the trade a win for the lakers allows them to a) talk about russell being a bad draft pick and/or b) revisit the atrocity of mozgov's contract. so, they get to bash the lakers either way. at least the above sentiment is consistent, though! ...unless a capped out team convinces the player to force his way there for undersized backup guards before FA even begins...
