Crystal Ball: Who Is The Next Max Lakers Player?

i like tatum on his own, but so much as a pairing with AD. i know tatum's been putting up big scoring numbers lately, but i see his offense as similar to AD's: devastating but not a table-setter. the wheels fell off boston because kemba hit the small guard wall (early 30s).

so, i'd have mitchell ahead of tatum assuming we still have AD. in a vacuum, i may take tatum, though, if that makes sense.

 

Yes!! I have been believing that for over a year. I think it will happen as the Subs will struggle to be competitive for a number of years. He has a game very similar to Kobe and has the grit. Could improve his playmaking though

For me is either him or Luka. The others mentioned don't have this ceiling

 

Tatum feels semi realistic. Even though he balled out, the C Bags as a whole obviously fell short of expectations. Nets are in the East, and that may be a friggin tornado for years. Plus, a new coach will be coming for the C's, so who knows how that will work. Tatum obviously has a huge soft spot for the Lakers as well.

And, as much as I HATE saying this, I know deep down someone will come here to honor Kobe. Make the choice to come rep and carry on tradition. He'd be fantastic.

 

Agreed. Think of all prior champions. Kawhi aside (KD hurt, lebron hurt, Steph limited teammate wise), the best dude on a title team is usually easily identifiable from the start of the season. No one thought Toronto was going to win. It was a weird year.

There's a reason you see stats like "first finals without Steph or LeBron in a decade" and stuff like that. It's because those are the dudes you need. Mitchell is a great player, but deep down I have a hard time maxing that kind of dude (as he currently performs) because it limits overall upside.

 

I agree. Usually the Champions have a top5 guy. Mitchell will never be that, regardless of how good he is.
You can argue that we already have AD, and as a 2nd star he fits, which can be true.
Although I'm a little bias with AD, I think he needs to be the 2nd star and not the 1st

 

we've done this conversation to death here, but i'll repeat: if AD isn't a "1st star" then there are maybe 3 of those...if that. mitchell is an ideal 2nd to AD's 1st, in that he's strong (shot creation and perimeter scoring) where AD is weaker. people hoping to get a player more valuable than AD to play with AD are hoping for luka or...luka, i guess. i'm honestly not sure giannis is better. is 50 games of kawhi better? maybe? as long as he's there for all the playoffs.

 

I mean, top five guys will be: Luka, Giannis, Trae Young, Zion, and Jokic right? You can add Tatum, Booker, Mitchell, and a bunch of other young guys within that mix as well. I really like Mitchell. He's been huge in the playoffs as of late and his game would mesh well with AD since he already has experience playing with Gobert who is a lengthy big who can play the PnR. I like Tatum but he just signed an extension with the C Bags. I think Tatum, Trae, or Booker will eventually end up being a Lakers once their rookie extension contract ends. Suns have a legitimate shot at winning the title this season so if Booker wins, difficult to imagine him leaving. I have the Suns making it to the Finals and I think Suns will be a bad matchup for the Nets.

 

mitchell is definitely a possibility. don't see him staying in utah forever. i don't think young is a foundational star, mostly because he's one of the league's worst defenders, and that's unlikely to change.

tatum or booker could end up here, but i still think there's a shot at giannis or luka, as neither of them looks likely to win much in their current situation.

 

Giannis' development surely has not been impressive the last couple of seasons. Seems like he runs into the same wall in exactly the same way year after year after year. He doesn't strike me as lazy, so what's the issue? Doesn't he understand shooting is what would make him literally unstoppable?

 

i think he's like dwyane wade: he's just not going to be a good shooter. and yes, like wade, once his athleticism fades, he'll become a non-star in a hurry.

 

Hopefully Doncic, would love to see him here.

 

I could see Tatum ending up here after his current contract but there's no chance we getting any of those top end guys via trade, gave up everything of value for AD

 

I mean, Shaq knew his FT's were a big problem as well and he never really improved on it. Some players just aren't good at certain things for whatever reason that is outside of practice. I just think Giannis is so dominant attacking the rim that he basically doesn't see a reason to shoot but then the playoffs comes and he completely has no confidence in it. You can't attack the paint for the entire regular season and then come into the playoffs thinking you can automatically start shooting the ball.

 

we can recover some of that via other trades, and this is probably 2-3 years down the road, where we'll have future picks again.

there was no chance at AD three years ago, either. hell, there was no chance a few months before it happened!

 

2 former #2 picks and a #4 pick n multiple future pick was ways the best pkg for ad, just had to deal with stupid bias media, i dont see us getting 2-3 top 5 picks again anytime soon

 

Lillard would be dynamite here in LA

 

i don't disagree--particularly considering other suitors weren't putting their best chips on the table. but again, you don't know what's happening. will doncic sign a shorter deal than the full supermax? will THT blossom into a 20ppg multi-tool guard? will the league's ideas about star trades shift away from picks and to useful players (i think it should, personally--when have these pick collectors yielded a contender?)?

another thing to keep an eye on: if things go south for the lakers this summer and next year, they could easily clear a max slot the following summer, which could be used in various ways to re-stock and position for the future. that's not likely nor the option i'd prefer, just one of many possibilities for a very different world.

everyone would have said you were crazy if you told them in 2017 that the lakers would win the 2020 title behind lebron james and anthony davis.