Because famous people have to answer stupid questions every single day. So, this let's those stupid questions go away as it pertains to their situation.
It did not surprise me that both men skipped the HIV and Olympic issue. It was addressed in the beginning of the episode but not discussed. Johnson felt betrayed and Thomas felt abandoned. Both knew what they said about each other so there was no point bringing it up but it was a powerful ending. Real as hell. They've been through so much as men, as individuals and as friends so it is good for them to put a close to past disputes and move on together. I did not know that Thomas had surgery on his shooting hand either... It made me laugh at his Michael Jackson impersonations. Now would Bryant and O'Neal do something like this? No...
Ask me after the deadline or after 2018 free agency. I think they drafted extremely well, I think they signed what appeared to be good players at the time, and I think Russ was the price of getting rid of Mozgov. Is what it is. If they can unload Deng they’ll have pulled off a miracle.
That has nothing to do with the new FO. In fact, that's the only thing that is left from the old one. Imagine them getting rid of Ryan and Jesse?
Magic and Rob were AT the combine watching Kuzma live in person and making the call on him. Magic went to the Ball’s house and saw a day in their life, saw Lonzo’s routine. You can hate the FO all you want, but let’s not lie here. They were extremely involved in the draft.
Really Zen? I know you got it in for Magic, but this FO is only trying to blossom something rosy from the stinking manure that was the previous regime. Under that bumbling duo, we continued to strike out in free agency....And then somehow managed to cap it off (pun intended) with MozDeng. So now that anybody mentions 20xx plan, its met with extreme dismay...but that was all the previous regime's doing. I agree that Jesse and Ryan have been draft aces for us which is why they weren't ousted like JiMitch. But aside from how Weez layed down how Rob/Mag were proactive during the draft process, tell me just how we happened to get 3 first round picks when we didn't have any to our name once Magic took over? Granted, the #2 pick was a bit of luck but #27 and #30 didn't just appear out of thin air. Some fans are so quick to dismiss that Kuz (rough patch recently, but still the unequivocal #SOD) coulda been had at #28 so DLo was traded for no reason. Uh, that would be a hell to the no...kuz the only reason we had #28 was Lou heading over to Houston. And that was all Magic since Rob wasn't hired yet. Speaking of the DLo trade....as if that dude didn't get a clue the 1st time social media bit him and the team in the a** from the Swaggy episode, he ends up going on social media again to "like" a disparaging comment made towards Zo (a possible running mate of his in the near future). Add to that his ailing knees at the ripe age of 21 going on 22 in a month's time and you can't convince me for a second he wasn't worth the Moz dump in order to setup the possibility (as remote as it may sound at the time) of getting a top flight free agent this coming summer. All we really need is the possibility, cause can you imagine if LaBron, George or both wanted to come here and we couldn't make it happen due to salary roadblocks? We'd be kicking ourselves much harder than we currently are.
OK. Continue with the rationalizations. You are just scared to admit that nothing has changed and that the fish rots from the head -- as long as the failed generation of Busses runs the team (Jim + Jeanie), we'll suffer. That's OK. We all be introduced to reality this summer, when the 2020 plan is going to be rolled out. I just wonder for what cap relief BI is going to be shipped out... What is it that Magic did fills you with such a resounding belief in his abilities? I see absolutely no impact. All that "Magic was at the combine" BS is just that. Bertka brought Kuzma in and fought hard for them to watch him. Ball was our pick all along. Name me one thing that has actually came to fruition already, aside from draft, that FO did? All I see are promises: 1. a promise that trading 2nd pick for cap relief will benefit us in the FA 2. a promise to go hard in the FA 3. a promise to.... f*** that b*******. It's absolutely the same f***ing thing as the last FO. And the team is as bad or worse.
They’ve been in charge for less than one year. I expect to see results this offseason or fans will start to lose faith and tune out, but you can’t fix a team in one offseason, especially when you come in saddled with the Mozgov and Deng deals.
Yet somehow it was possible for many fans to anoint them the saviors in even less than that? Right... I can’t prove it, but I am fairly certain that this season would look exactly the same under Mitch and Jim. And if there are no star FAs, the summer will too. I’d love to be proven wrong, but only a moron would join the worst team in the NBA... where the only appeal is a couple of rookies.
obviously, i'm with zen. the team is somehow worse, and all we've done is shed mozgov at the expense of a top trade asset. i'm guessing mitch wouldn't have moved moz, because he had (wisely) already given up on luring FAs to a 20-win team. he probably would have pursued veteran players that could actually help in FA (would george hill be here right now?), won 32 games, given philly the 9th pick or something, and rode out the storm until a couple young guys had improved, which probably would have coincided with moz/deng's expiring years, during which they would be traded along with draft picks for disgruntled stars or other useful players. and for all the talk of hapless mitch the 12:01 caller, at least he wouldn't have alienated the FO of the team who had our most likely star in the fold, ironically making it harder to trade for him by engineering the trade demand in the first place. it was probably time to move on from mitch, but the way it happened and the quality of his replacements both annoyed me greatly. only way magic and rob recover, imo, is delivering two allstars next summer. i'll (very) gladly admit i was wrong for doubting them at that time. i'm doubting them pretty hard right about now.
Magic and Rob has pretty much promised us two stars this summer. Anything less is failure. Not very different from Jim's 5 year window he gave himself when you look at it. This sucks.
They're not blameless; and the Russell trade can be debated; other than that, I thought we had a solid draft, and I also think with our limited cap space they recruited a darn good FA in Pope. Pope hasn't worked out so far, but at the time, I thought he was the best FA acquisition we had in awhile. I didn't know he would sh** the bed this bad. Let's see what they can do this summer; if they fail, then it's on them. They probably did over promise and will probably under deliver, but at some point, we have to figure out a way to start fielding a competitive roster...the losing is getting real old.
Abeer I respect your voice and have agreed with you in certain regards, but holy s*** does this reek of hypocrisy. You're going to defend the same Mitch that bumbled the GP trade to Boston. The same Mitch that publicly alienated Shaq, by stating how we were going to move on with Kobe but would entertain offers for Shaq. The same Mitch that then alienates our future 2 jersey retiree to the point where he goes on a media tour to demand out of LA only to entertain the hapless Clippers and Pluto (before it was no longer deemed a notable destination by NASA). The same Mitch that continued to alienate title players in LO by trading him to the Mavs for a protected 1st rounder only to alienate another title contributor in Fisher by attaching that pick to him and sending it to Houston for JHill. And then there is the alienation of Pau to the point where he signed for less just to leave LA. And I don't even want to dwell how they did Phil, when the team was clearly tailor made for the triangle, but nope, lets run run run our achilles off. Now I know I'm insinuating alot from you bringing up Mitch, but there's alot of pent up hostility that I needed to let out and I apologize for that. But I just don't understand how this FO is being criticized for literally cleaning up the mess laid down from the previous regime. None of these young players deserve to be treated with respect yet cause they haven't won us anything. Yet the previous regime continually disrespected and alienated players/coaches that brought us titleS. Meanwhile this front office hasn't promised the playoffs this year. That was Lavar, his son and some of the players. This FO hasn't promised us star players next year, they've only said there would be the opportunity to. This FO clearly tried to right this ship, but Pritchard got his feelings all up in a bunch and the way they did George shows just how spiteful that group is. If we have the opportunity to get George next season, then you don't trade your potential core pieces and high trade assets to get him. Where's the contingency in that? Instead you create the opportunity to (by dumping MozDeng) and if/when your stars arrive you can see how they play with our young core. If it ain't working, you can flip those young pieces into another star. Trading #2 or BI for George makes zero sense IMHO. The one thing I will fault the FO with is that Rob said Laker fans will be entertained by the effort this group leaves out on the floor win or lose...And that clearly hasn't been the case of late. These kids better turn up otherwise they could be shipped out. And on that note, I'll end it with this: ...Or he could be telling Jeanie how close he is to getting her some Laker representation at the upcoming All-star game.
Yes, but as I found out in the Luke Walton thread, Luke and him were having an affair and the FO was not pleased.
