Case in point DeMarre Carroll. People here are saying N-O to Kevin Love, but want to throw (how much?) cash at a 28-year old whose career-year numbers were 13 points and 5 rebounds with a PER of 15.94. His numbers aren't terrible, and his shooting percentages are solid, but why tie up cap space on this guy while literally scoffing at Kevin Love? SMH
As the #1 proponent of Carroll I'd like to say: huh? wasn't me. I'm not scoffing at all at Love. I readily recognize that he would make our team better. I just fear getting him means sacrificing the rest of our flexibility for a guy who is often hurt. If we go into the next season with 67% of our cap space tied up in Kobe and Love, there's a good chance nearly 70% of our salary will be on the bench in a suit for a large chunk of the season... I don't like that idea. I'd still sign Love if we could, but I'm not quite jumping for joy about it.
Very good points as usual, but I think his scoring will go back to 20+pts. He was playing with 2 very ball-dominant players in Lebron and Kyrie. We only have one of them (Kobe) A very similar situation to Bosh in Miami, where his scoring went from 16pts to 21pts after Lebron left. I like Randle alot but he is still unproven and will not be better than Love for at least another 2-3 years, just in time for Love to become a valuable expiring contract, and possibly in time for the Lakers to start contending. And the experience playing SF will broaden his game and make him a more complete player.
Good analysis and that's fair. For me, its not so much that any of the guys I have mentioned have no issues. There are legitimate questions about all of them from age to injury history. But I do not think we are in a position to turn our noses up at guys who are arguably in the top 5 to 10 of their positions.
Well, I'm not huge on Love or Carroll. But my number for Carroll is like 8 million, 10 million absolute max. Love will get 20 million, period. So it's not an apples to apples comparison. I want the Carroll for 8 million scenario more than Love for 20 million.
Exactly. I like the thought of adding Carroll. But its like guys would pass on a 30 year old Aldridge but are all for signing a 28 year old Carroll. I'm not trying to rip anyone for their opinion but it honestly makes no sense to me.
My initial comment was just a general thought that crossed my mind reading through a bunch of posts at once. I honestly wasn't trying to call anyone out in particular.
That's my feeling on Randle and even Clarkson to a certain extent. I like our young guys, but not so much that I am willing to pass on proven All Stars based on them. I think we should definitely target certain positions more than others, but if one of these power forwards wants to come to town, I think we should sign them.
I like both carroll and love. I'd actually take love at 20 over carroll at 10, though. I think... maybe I'm still drinking the kool-aid on love. I also think carroll has pushed his value past 10. I expect some drunken sailor spending this summer with gms knowing the cap is about to rise. so, given that, with guys like carroll looking at 12-14 per, you definitely take love at 19.
Carroll will likely end up at 12.5 million. I'm calling that right now. I've seen projections for 8 and I just don't buy that at all. If that's all it takes to get him, he better be in a Laker jersey.
For me, I value Middleton and Carroll over Love and Rondo. I'll take Aldridge over Love any day of the week. Aldridge is a PF as well, but is longer and taller, giving you a couple of options as far as lineups go. He's gotten hurt, but isn't injury prone like Love. Love cannot stay healthy, anyone that's ready to pay someone not to play ...I have to ask, did you watch the past two seasons? How'd that work with Nash? And not only does Love get hurt at a monthly rate, he has back problems now. Those don't get better with age. Again, see Nash. I wouldn't offer Love more than 8 million (even though he's worth 20m to most). No, we don't know what Randle can do in the NBA. But he's no bum. He's succeeded in every situation he's been in. He has a great motor, attitude, physical tools, drive, and work ethic. I've watched basketball for 23 years at both the collegiate and professional ranks and I've never seen a player who checks all of those boxes and doesn't have a very successful career. Addressing a need that doesn't exist is terrible management and only weakens an already empty roster. I'd rather field and build a team rather than hold out hopes that a Kevin Love can stay healthy (which he can't) and can put up Minny numbers (which he won't). If you tie up $20m in that, you deserve to lose your job (specifically LA, good move for some lesser teams). We are thinner than Paris Hilton when she's on an all liquids diet. Giving all our money to one guy who will spend as much time in a suit next year as Craig Sager is bad business. We have to get 2.5 starters who can play the majority of the season (C, SF, PG to split time with JC). Which one of those positions can Love play? None of them? And people still want him? And he's more of a FA deterrent than an attraction. So that argument should be retired as well. Injured players are not attractive teammates for future FAs. Because they are not picturing playing along side them. They're picturing playing without them. I'll take Carroll/Middleton (both who can stay on the damn floor) and Mo Williams over Love without hesitation. If I want to see "the man in the suit," then I'll turn on CBS and watch Person of Interest.
I prefer Aldridge to Love and like Randle a lot. I have also stated many times that Love's injury history is a legitimate concern. But in his defense, I think there is a difference between signing him at 26 and Nash in his late 30s. And clearly playing with Lebron and Kyrie affected his scoring. Middleton is a long shot. I think Carroll is fine and definitely a step up from Wes. But I take a chance on a guy with Love's potential over him and Mo Williams.
To me, impact-wise, Love = Al Jefferson in his glory days. Only much more frequently injured. So, no, thank you. Not for 20, and not for 15.
Out of a possible 574 regular season games, he's played in 439 games. Now, that doesn't include the PO's which Cleveland is still playing in; after Cleveland gets eliminated, you could add those games he missed, too. The three seasons where he's missed the most games: 09-10 60 games played, 11-12 he played in 55 games played, 12-13 he played in 18 games; so out of a 135 games missed, in one season alone he missed 64 games. Legitimate concern going forward, but I'd take a chance.
Agreed. His injury history is seriously overblown. He's played 77 and 75 games in the past two years. Last season, he averaged 26pts and 12.5reb, which are superstar numbers. I'm not sure why anyone would think he cannot replicate those numbers. He is just entering his prime. And the shoulder injury inflicted by a C-bag... can't blame him for that.
