True but it'd likely be easier in February. Especially with Randle as an ERA. I feel bad this thread keeps coming back to trading Randle when he's playing well and Im sorry for contributing to that.
We don't owe Deng any favors at this point. Yes we gave him a stupid huge contract but he sucks completely and has made no effort to be in shape or to live up to that contract. This was all prompted by Deng and his agent complaining. But we do not have to accommodate their wishes right now. We need to do what's best for the Lakers. We'll see what happens but I don't see that this gets resolved necessarily soon. If Deng had shown that he was anywhere near the Deng we had all expected this wouldn't be an issue. He's not even a shadow of his former self. He's done. If he wants to play somewhere then negotiate a reasonable buyout.
Don't we have to give up his rights as restricted if we want his cap hold off the books, or am I off on that?
You can hypotheticize all you want (including whether Kuzma would have been there or Hart was insignificant being taken with our original pick) but the FACT of the matter is that this team on the floor this year is markedly better and will attract better come summer than if DLO were here with his no D..... and that getting rid of 2 s*** contracts in crunch time this summer would have been far more problematic.
The problem is we could lose Lopez this summer while we're gunning for FA's that are not likely to come here. Since I believe we COULD have had Kuzma at 28, I think all we'll have to show for the D-Lo trade IF WE MISS OUT ON SUPERSTARS next summer will be nothing if Lopez and KCP also walk to other teams because we waited on stars to make their decision. It's still a bad trade as of right now, but it could start to look a lot worse or a lot better depending on what happens next summer. (Again, I'm assuming we get Kuzma at 28 which means we could have had him AND D-Lo). Of course Lopez is playing better now and if he can sustain this and hit 3s and protect the rim and continue to be a good locker room presence, then yes, it was all worth it.
BroLo is in my opinion the 2nd star level guy you want to keep (not get) after Paul George. With our 5 rotation even now with Randle and Bryant in the next year, maybe sooner for some minutes, is one of our major strengths. (Zubac ??) Our own wings blowing up in front of our eyes .... why is the most expensive and 34 year old to start his contract .....wing in the world more important than our own star class really big center? Who helps against the other great 5s in the league to at least neutralize them, if not outright outplay them at times .... if BroLo is gone? How many great wings are enough. Originally all the fanfare was just about George because it was being known he wanted to come home. He was the star power to help "pull" other stars going forward. Now you got Lonzo heading to that realm in a year or so, Ingram as well and of course the steal of the draft Kyle Kuzma. Just say no to LeBron.
Honestly I don’t disagree with you. I just get the feeling the front office has different ideas and will pull the trigger on a deal.
So you're fine with one young player given a chance in Randle, but not Dlo. All I'm saying is this FO has a record of not only dangling players as trade bait to get their imo foolhardy 2018 plan off the ground, but of dumping young players at the slightest inkling. I wouldn't get too attached to anyone on this team, it'll be that much worse when they are sold out to the team that can provide the greatest cap relief. Hell they may trade Kuzma when his value is high to get rid of Deng.
Man you really liked Russell, huh? Because the only other draftees that we've traded since 2011 are the rights Chukwudiebere Maduabum and Ater Majok. We drafted Ryan Kelly, Andrew Goudelock, Devin Ebanks, Derrick Caracter, Darius Morris, Darius Johnson-Odom, Robert Sacre, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Brown, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant since 2010. Literally the only player traded was D'Angelo. The Lakers have let the rest of them work their way either into money or (frankly more often) out of the league.
So far they've traded exactly ONE young player. I wouldn't call that a reputation of dumping young players. I love Julius, but with the emergence of Kuz it's pretty obvious why he may be dealt. It seems like you're taking the trade of one young player and creating a narrative that this has been an ongoing thing. Any other examples besides Russell that I'm forgetting? And for the record, I was a big supporter of DLo and am rooting for him in BK. I wasn't against the trade at first, but it seems fairly evident that they made the right move.
I really like ALL the young players. I've started as such many times. I was all in on the youth movement, imagining us as the next OKC, completely homegrown, except with chips. I'm simply trying not to get too attached to any of them at this point. I will say I don't like Pelinka one bit.
Until they got smacked with the meddling charge, they were about to get rid of Clarkson/Randle for PG an offeason before he came here as a FA.
I edited my post: they've done nothing but work with their young players. Hell they gave Darius Morris, Robert Sacre, and Ryan Kelly second contracts. They've been heavily dedicated to their draft picks. The only one they traded so far has been D'Angelo. So if you're upset about the FO trading away young players, you're literally only talking about D'Angelo so far. There's no one else. So you must be really attached to D'Angelo. It's not inherently negative, I get it. There are still a ton of fans who loved that kid, but there's no reason right now to suggest our FO hasn't been dedicated to youth. I mean hell we're one of the youngest teams in the league and our starting lineup has 2 players who are rookies, one who is a sophomore, and the three of them have an average age of less than 20 years old.
That was the much maligned previous FO for 1. 2)The only reason we still have Clarkson and/or Randle is because Indy threw a fit with the collusion remarks. They were trying their hardest to get PG an offseason early for 2 young players who are now playing the best they've played in ages. Now he's with a superteam in the making and we're left with 2 young players wed rather get rid of, apparently.
Are you saying you wouldn’t trade Clarkson or Randle? Or are you just disregarding the fact that we still need to dump salary at some point to sign a 2nd (near) max player this offseason?
I barely wanted the 1 max player, only cause PG could have been had if Deng was merely stretched in '18. No other changes needed.
So is everyone going to argue with Woj? The clip got cut off unfortunately but I’ll try to find the full one.
