Thanks. I was able to view the video. Wesley Matthews. I like him. I think if Portland loses in the 1st round, you'll see some changes coming to that team. He's coming off a very serious injury. I would structure his a 1-year deal with an opt-out included; it favors both parties. The team (Lakers) get a chance to see what he has during the year and how the injury affected him and whether or not is game has been severely limited, but if he performs well, he could opt out and get a larger pay because that year the T.V. revenue will kick in and the . If he doesn't work out, we could both part ways. Deng. Simply, no thanks. He seems to have an annual injury every year, his 3-point shooting is below average, and I'm not interested in obtaining his services. He has been more efficient this year and played in 72 games, but I'd like more of a shooter at the 3 that could stretch the floor and move without the ball i.e. Danny Green. Koufas. I want him. Legit 7'foot 26-year old who might thrive playing more minutes in an expanded role. Defensive metrics are solid, and he could immediately assist us; the beauty of acquiring him I mentioned weeks ago; we could draft another center, but Koufos would give more time for that center we draft to develop and ease into a starting role.
Wesley Matthews - I sort of agree with you on him. I doubt he wants to sign a one year deal because as you said he is coming back from a serious injury and would probably hope for/wish for more security (longer deal) but knows that it won't be what it would have been worth before his injury. Plus like with Kobe he really came back ahead of schedule for his achilles we would be without Matthews for maybe half of the year possibly even more. I still like he and would be willing to give him a 2-3 year deal depending on his medical updates this summer check out that hes improving like he should be. Deng - Agree 100%. 2-3 years ago I wanted him on this Lakers team. Great two way player and locker room guy. But now with his age, inconsistent play, and lower 3pt shooting % we have other options. He still probably wants to get paid one last time if he can and some team probably will be willing. Koufas - I think hes a very underrated Center who is balanced on both sides of the ball. Does nothing exceptionally well, but isn't a liability either on both ends. I think the more time he is on the floor and if he gets consistent minutes from a ball club he can really surprise some people. I like him and would want him but if we bring back Ed and Black I just don't know where he would get minutes. We'll see....
Koufos would be a decent grab, but not as a starter. I think he's on our radar if we max someone out. If we max out (or approximately) a SF then we'll have to be thrifty spenders. Then I can see all those names coming into play. Except Deng... I like him, but he's basically done. He gets hurt a ton and when he play he's simply not that effective anymore.
I agree here. I think Koufos is a really solid backup, but I don't see him as a starter on a contending team. I'd prefer a player that can dominate in at least one aspect of a game and Koufos isn't that guy IMO. Love Mathews. I've wanted him on the Lakers since he entered the league. I think he's the perfect role player SG for a contender, at least he was before tho injury. We'll see where he's at, but I be willing to take the chance on him with a 2-3 year contract.
Koufus can definitely be a starter that splits time with Black or something. He just needs to be in a role like Mozgov in Cleveland. If you put a very talented team around him and just ask him to rebound/play defense, he can do that effectively. I don't think he makes sense if we draft Okafor or Towns but if we go with a wing/PG, Koufos is a solid addition(as long as he's cheaper than Davis). As for Matthews, I think we're mostly all on the same page. Outstanding player who was in my top 3 players for us to go after this offseason before the injury. Could still be an excellent signing, but it has to be at a bargain rate now. I think there's a good chance that he can still be an excellent 3 point shooter when he comes back, but what made him so valuable was his toughness on both sides of the ball. I'm not sure if he'll be able to get back to that level defensively. Adding up all elements from the injury risk, his potential if he comes back strong, and the fact that he's going to miss a large chunk of the season recovering, I don't think you can throw much more than 4-5M at him. He'll likely be flooded with 1 year offers so an easy way to get him might be offering a player option in year 2 to give him a bit more security. Deng, I really don't know. He seems to have leveled off from his decline and can be counted on for 14/5 now, but the decrease in 3pt% and injury risk makes it tough to place a value on him for this team as those are keys for us. I have to think he'll be worth more to someone else that needs wing depth but can afford to gamble.
MAX OFFERS Kevin Love - he'd be a sweet fit for this team, especially if we don't add a big early in the draft, could play the 4 or 5. Marc Gasol - next to no chance, I think, but he'd be a great 5 to put on the court with Randle. LMA - I don't like the dude, but that's my problem. I'd welcome him here. POSSIBLE MAX Tobias Harris - I have drunk the Kool-Aid on him. I think he's a poor man's Kawhi Leonard. Consider Leonard's 48-35-80 shooting line and 16.5-7.2-2.5 assist numbers (sure, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks, too). Harris went for 47-36-79 shooting and 17.1-6.3-1.8 (and 1.0 and 0.5). Leonard has posted 14.0 defensive win shares over the last four seasons, while Harris has only 5.2. I know, but Leonard is unavailable. Luol Deng - if he can be had for a non-max deal, I'd be interested. Unfortunately, he can opt in for 10M next season, so he'd be unlikely to come here even if we offered three years, 25M or so, which I'd do. Non-Max Mo Williams - he's aging, but he'd be a nice guy to plug in at the 1/2 for the next couple of years while we develop some players. Bismack Biyombo - if you want a rebounder/shot blocker, he's your guy. Aaron Brooks - if Lin isn't back, Brooks would be a good add. Does basically the same stuff Lin does. Jared Dudley - he's, in my view, a super underrated player. He has great length, shoots the three well, and plays hard. Gary Neal - I like his all-around game, and he'd find plenty of PT at the SG spot. Danny Green - better version of Gerald Green. Gerald Green - even cheaper wing who does good things in most facets of the game. I'd bring him in and send Swaggy packing. Wesley Matthews - good value contract if we go for longevity. I'm thinking that in the draft, we keep our options open - either Davis or a newly-acquired dude will be at Center. I desperately want to add Hezonja, RHJ, and Upshaw if possible in the draft. That could be three key players going forward, giving us six (JC, Randle, and Black) over the past two drafts. Clarkson/Lin Kobe/Hezonja* Randle/Hollis-Jefferson** Aldridge/Black Davis/Upshaw*** Or Clarkson/Lin Kobe/Hezonja* Hollis-Jefferson**/Brown Randle/Black Love/Upshaw***
Love the idea of Biyombo over guys like Asik if we don't draft a big. A few of these really confused me though. Dudley - 5M player option, no chance to see that kind of money elsewhere. Love - I never understand why people entertain the idea of Love at C. Opposing bigs would see Love-Randle coming up on the schedule & lick their lips, same with perimeter players that get to the rim. If we didn't have Randle, I'd prefer Love over LMA, but I think that ship sailed when we made a PF 1 of our centerpieces for the future. Bringing in the UCLA duo of Love & Westbrook has always interested me. Tobias Harris - talented young scorer, but offering him a max contract before Middleton? Unless you just think there's no chance of getting Middleton, that confuses me. Danny Green - Role player in Pop's system, hard to see him playing as well anywhere else. Same reason I pass on Carroll, he's basically playing in the same system.
Dudley's is 4.25. He might stick around for that, but he might want to start and win. He's a Cali guy and was Nash's buddy. Whatevs. I don't understand why any of that would confuse you. Love's game speaks for itself. He's not a defender, but that's why Black and Upshaw are on the roster. I don't get too bent out of shape about position, as we have run 3s and 4s and also 4s and 5s interchangeably according to mathups. Mind you, we haven't done it well, but other teams have. I think we have no chance of getting Middleton, but I'd be in favor him if he's available. We'll see what Green does. I generally think that SAS has the best chance among all the NBA teams of retaining any player who is even decent. That said, he's making $4m. We could - and should - offer more, like starting at at least $6M a season to bring him over here. I don't think he's a system player at all. He's not the player he used to be.
I've thought about it for a while now, and my top targets are: kosta koufos and demarre carroll. that's right; you heard me. whether the lakers draft a wing or a post, I want both of those guys at about 8-9 per if possible (each could possibly be had for less, I think). the remaining money is either spent all in one place or split depending upon which position the lakers draft (if a post, then I want a backup small like a mo Williams/Jeremy lin, if a wing then ed davis returns). this all sets the table for the big fish when kobe retires after next season (Durant or westbrook, plz). ok, I'm done.
LaMarcus Aldridge will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and although it was believed for much of the season that he’d simply re-sign with the Blazers, there have been recent rumblings that he may seriously consider playing somewhere else.One anonymous teammate put his odds of returning at no better than 50-50, while another report had the Spurs as a team that could possibly in the mix for his services. To this point, all of the chatter has come from various unnamed sources. But for those looking to read the tea leaves to see what might truly lie in store, a decision Aldridge recently made might provide some additional clarification.From Jason Quick of The Oregonian:There is unease about the future of LaMarcus Aldridge, who will become a free agent on July 1. ESPN’s Chris Broussard on Saturday reported that he asked Aldridge if Portland is his No. 1 choice. Broussard said Aldridge smiled and said, “We’ll see.” And after Game 2 in Memphis, Olshey gave the team the option to stay the night and fly home on the team charter, or return to Portland on their own.Take it for what it’s worth, but only one player wasn’t on the team charter: Aldridge.“I didn’t want to stay in that hotel one more night,” Aldridge said on Saturday. “So I bought my own ticket and flew home.”Having stayed in Memphis hotels, I don’t halfway blame Aldridge for wanting to get back to Portland as soon as possible. But it also doesn’t scream brotherhood, or togetherness, either. - See more at: http://www.prosportsdaily.com/artic...his-353155.html#sthash.5Z0nj6mb.LRgotZD1.dpuf
For as much as Kevin Love has publicly resisted the discussion of free agency this season, it has been on his mind. He has never been completely comfortable in Cleveland, with his role, nor his connection to those around him. Throughout the year, league sources say, one destination grew in possibility as his exit strategy: The Boston C Bags. Boston has been no sure thing to lure Love, but it had a better shot than most had believed. If Love left the Cavaliers, the C Bags had closed the gap on the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/does--...rigue--023954774.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma I'd advice people to read the whole piece. It's intriguing. Yo, Elgin, you have a had a good feeling about Love coming here, right? I think most of us did, but hey, let's break out the red carpet, Elgin. Welcome to L.A. Kevin Love...
I like LMA's game more than Loves, but LMA is gonna be 31 next season if Im not mistaken. Love is 26.
Okay; bear with me. I'd like to see us sign Love and Biyombo this offseason. "But we need a SF." Maybe we do, but maybe we don't. 1. Sell Love as the centerpiece of the Lakers going forward; leading scorer and main recruit. 2. Draft Hezonja, Upshaw, and Vaughn based on their potential as scorer, post player, and 3&D. See if we can bring back Lin cheap. This coming season we trot out: Clarkson/Lin Kobe/Hezonja/Vaughn Randle/Brown Love/Black Biyombo/Upshaw --We have a capable starter at each position, and we have a spot starter or prospect at each backup spot. Post Kobe: Clarkson/Lin Hezonja/Vaughn Randle/(Rook) Love/Black Upshaw/Biyombo --As Hezonja and Upshaw show what they're worth, I see both as starters going forward. JC can play 1/2, Hezonja 2/3, Randle 3/4, Love 4/5, which makes us terribly versatile. We'd now have a young, talented starter at each position and the core of a stalwart defensive second unit. This opens an option: we could bring in a SG or a SF at max after Kobe's contract is off the books. If it's Durant... SMALL/BIG Clarkson/JC Hezonja/Durant Durant/Randle Randle/Love Love/Upshaw Dominant.
Yep, I've always felt like he was going to be wearing the purple and gold next year and that hasn't changed much. Cleveland having his back yesterday is an intriguing development but I think its too late.
That's not bad at all, but I have to admit that Hezonja still worries me. Like most people, its not so much his talent but in the difficulties a lot of the international prospects have when they come to the NBA.
