That’s kind of depressing. Washington is a joke and they go after the GM of the year. And we sit here with Rob and the Rambi
She speaks... Normally this sort of thing would annoy me, and that is indeed the case. Still claiming “fake news”, still burying her head in the sand, still completely clueless or tone deaf as to why Kurt and Linda running things with her isn’t a good look. They’re doing “fine” though, because that’s what the Lakers should aim for with the FO when they could probably go out and hire the smartest people in the business, “fine”.
Did I read from a different link above than you? Where is she giving the attitude she's OK with fine? “They’ve been part of the Lakers , surrounding me,” Buss said. “Linda Rambis and I have worked the exact same way for the last 30 years. Nothing’s changed but for whatever reason there’s things people want to hear about. They’re part of our team and they do a fantastic job.” I do remember one thing standing out that Magic said to her or to the press while quitting on her with zero warning and taking the first shots at Rob and the organization that night of the last game of the season .... was to make sure she had people that she knew had her back. Which was code for Rob was a snake not to be trusted. So just like for Rob how about we stop kicking Jeanie's *** until we see what the team looks like come opening night. In spite of the INTENSE anti-Lakers media headwinds and Magic out of the blue being a quitter and then a saboteur to what she had entrusted him to do. AD is here so score one more for Rob and Jeanie. Keep it up.
Yes, I misquoted that lol, I have a bad cold and should probably look closer at things. What I should have said was “LMAO at Kurt being fantastic at anything”. Again, I’m thrilled we got AD, but that deal was going to get done, all they had to do was not screw it up, and I’m happy they didn’t. I remain unhappy with Jeanie though, she’s living in her own little Lakers bubble, still playing the media victim (when really it was the fans calling her out the majority of the time), still running this like a family business, didn’t even attempt to go out and get someone like David Griffin, and that still annoys me. If we get that 3rd max guy and/or fill out the roster with a really well rounded team of quality players (not just former well known names that are washed up like Melo, Crawford, etc), then I will absolutely give Rob and Jeanie credit, and I will at least not refer to Kurt in a negative sense... for a while. I probably just won’t mention him at all.
So she's swinging along feeling pretty good about what Magic and Rob have done and accomplished after she fired Jim and Mitch .... with the cap and the strategic moves and LeBron being here with a good shot at AD after the playoffs in spite of the cluster bleep the deadline was. Then boom she has Magic telling her he wants Rob fired and maybe Jeanie feels it was Magic that wasn't pulling his weight and Rob's been grinding all along toward these results she's been happy with. So Mag blindsides her and does what he does but says keep people around you that have your back and you trust. The shot at Rob. So because Magic did THAT she needed to hire somebody brand new which would have meant Rob being fired. I completely get her point of view. Let's see what the hell they get done before all this premature hand wringing about Jeanie being clueless.
Are you actually defending Jeanie after the s*** show this franchise had been for like 2 months before trading for AD? The Magic thing, the not searching for a new PBO but instead installing Kurt, the Lue negotiations, making Jason Kidd the highest paid assistant in the league, not speaking a word to the media on ANY of this ONE time. Making up for mistakes with good roster moves doesn’t make those previous things not mistakes, it only starts to make up for it, they have a lot of fixing to do. Also, hiring a new PBO did not mean Rob needed to be fired, he could have stayed on under that person, the same way he seems to be working under Kurt right now.
Yeah but that was never the option here nor talked about that Rob gets to stay. Because Mag did that great favor for her by opening up his position with no forewarning she needed to take advantage and get a new PBO who of course would want his own GM. Or fire Rob anyway and hire a new GM. Because Magic did what he did.
LT, have the leaks stopped (see detailed coaching search and AD trade redux involving the exact names that were and were not involved)? If they're going to be silent, stay all the way silent. Who's dry snitching? Has Rob lied before (see Hart - Spellman rumor and Kobe - Heath Ledger commemts)? Has Rob done shady s*** before, other than the backstabbing (see breaking a Boozer promise that would have paired Bron & Booz in Cleveland; see blatant tampering Kobe media tour demanding trade from Lakers; see concealed tampering PG hellbent tour that put the tampering spotlight on us costing 500k) As for getting the AD trade done, you are aware of the percentage involved in getting a top 4 pick? We had a 9.4% chance. We also had petty Demps switched out with a not so petty Griff. Getting AD is amazing, but depending on how this is all timed, we could lose a little more than just Zo, BI and Hart (which was the reported agreement). Part of me wants to believe that Griff wanted to put Solomon on our books and maybe that was the deal breaker for our max guy pursuit. So instead, Rob gave up a premium in draft capital, not to extend the trade to August but rather to make sure we avoided the Solomon's salary. But I still think we would have gotten off Solomon's expiring contract with a couple draft picks (see BK Crabbe deal). Anyways...Rob has my support, but don't make it seem like Magic is the absolute bad guy in all of this and that Rob is a saint cause he quotes scripture and recites parables. Magic definitely could have handled it different, but he did give LA/Jeanie the opportunity to fill that vacated Prez position with someone that has a more qualified resume...yet no real rumors suggested we did that while Griff, Masai and Myers were all candidates.
We’re in position to add a max star to a Lebron/AD duo. If we play our cards right, all the “dysfunction” and critiques about how we didn’t maximize our front office positions will be a forgotten footnote in our history. I’ll wait another week before I feed into the popular narratives and attack Jeanie/Rob.
A good end result doesn’t mean the process of getting there wasn’t bad or make the criticisms of her off base. This is literally the worst stretch in Laker history on the court. Multiple coaches, putting inexperienced people in charge, etc etc there’s plenty of valid reasons to question the process here. Several of us questioned her and the plan from minute one and a lot of our fears played out over time. I welcome AD and will be ecstatic if we get Kawhi. I’ll still call it how I see it with the front office though.
This is where I’m coming from. It’s fantastic if we get back to the top with who we have in place. But we will have made it harder on ourselves than it needed to be. It also still doesn’t give me confidence long term, because LeBron, AD, Klutch seem to be the ones doing a lot of the behind the scenes work and recruiting, and they’re not always going to be here. That’s where having a Masai Ujiri matters, when you have to build back up again and you want the best people in place for that. But, of course first things first, let’s go get that title next season.
What you guys are saying essentially is that if the Lakers end up with Davis, Kawhi, and LeBron you still don't trust the people running the ship. I mean... what more do they have to do? At what point is it that they were just right and they earned their spot?
Right in what sense? I’d think if you got them alone Jeannie and Rob would both readily admit there were mistakes along the way. That’s more my thought toward the heavy criticism they’ve gotten thus far. I think it’s been tough but fair among the fans at least. I also think it’s a healthy thing for a fan base to criticize and hold the people in charge accountable when things go right and wrong. I gave them props for bringing in LeBron and I’ll do it again when the dust settles and we have AD plus whomever else. Prying Kawhi from Toronto would be huge and definitely ease concerns.
Also, I posted a route to my respect for Rob in his thread. Show up wearing that Clippers shirt with Blake Griffin surrounded Mandela, etc and he will have earned my respect. And I’m only half joking. The happy narrative around the Clippers is nonsense and it needs to be hammered home how they’ve kicked players to the curb the same as Boston.
Yes, pretty much. We got LeBron because he wanted to make movies. We got AD because he signed with Klutch and wanted to be a Laker, basically forced his way here, all we had to do was give up our entire roster and we did. If we land Kawhi of course the FO will get credit for closing, but in my mind the most credit will still go to LeBron and AD for recruiting him. What Jeanie and Rob need to do to earn my trust is build a solid roster around these stars, and I don’t think that’s asking a lot. Don’t go out and sign Rondo, Lance, and Beasley and tell me it’s genius because it’s the anti-Warriors, that it’s so far ahead in brilliance I just can’t see it. Then when that fails don’t lie to my face and tell me it was because of injuries while at the same time trading for a shooter to make up for lack of shooting. I don’t think I’m asking a lot, put a rosters of 8-12 guys together that fits well and makes sense on the court, not a bunch of washed up former names or ex-LeBron teammates, get a little more creative than that. Look at the Raptors, the Bucks, and a few other teams for examples of depth around stars. They hurt me before, real, they hurt me bad.
Fair enough. I think these guys deserve more credit than that thus far. We've been used as a ploy for years and suddenly we're actually here. All that said, I don't really disagree either. We've got a ways to go before I'm done with this roster. I guess I'm just feeling pretty good about where we're at.
