Lakers - Kings- Trade Very Unlikely; Both Teams Focused On Draft

How do you discount getting Pau as some small thing? I'm not even arguing RandleROY's point, but this is just not a true statement. Mitch has traded an aging Derek Fisher for a good player in Hill. He traded Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom for Chris Paul even though it was vetoed. He got Dwight Howard for a broken Andrew Bynum. Even despite everything we were better off making that move than keeping Bynum and maxing him. He got Ariza, Shannon Brown, drafted Vujacic and Farmar and Turiaf.

Mitch has been a tremendous GM, probably the best since he took the position.

 

LOLOL. Peace out Kings. If I were Mitch, I wouldn't even bother picking up any calls from the Kings for being so disrespectful.

 

This trade is so unlikely to happen guys and if it does, it happens on Mitch's term and I have complete faith he'll make the right decision.

 

If it's true that Karl doesn't want Cousins, and that the relationship is already broken and Cousins wants out, we have the leverage in any deal. If they want to, or have to move him, they aren't getting all that from us. And if they never budge, you move and happily take Okafor or Russell and develop them on cheap rookie contracts, and you look to sign one of the top free agents this offseason with the pretty good amount of cap space we have. We don't need to get robbed here of 3 young talents on once again, very cheap rookie contracts for years in Clarkson, Randle and Okafor/Russell for one expensive big man that's had quite a few.. issues so far in his short career.

I understand he's an All-Star, was one of team USA's top players, and is young, but having 3 very important positions filled for cheap by guys with big potential is more important to me than one big name guy. We'd then have to go out and fill those positions once again by scraping the bottom of the barrel for cheap role players. Does that make us better, or closer to being contenders? I don't think it does. I'd rather spend the time to develop 3 young guys and see where it goes instead of once again trying for the quick fix. We need to start thinking long term, looking long term, not give up assets we suffered through so much losing to get only to give them up just like that. Having these 3 talented rookies for cheap still allows us to go out and try and sign a big name with cap space, where if we give them all up we have one high paid guy and have to start building young talent and signing one year cheap rentals yet again.

I just don't want that, it feels like once again the time it will take us to be good again will only expand. It's like starting the rebuild all over again before giving this one a real chance, and assuming that we will find guys again as talented as the ones we already have. That's what Philly is doing year after year, and look how it's working for them. Never getting anywhere, trading their highly drafted players on after another for more draft picks, it's a terrible model. On the other hand look how the Spurs or Thunder or Blazers and some others have built through the draft, I think it's time we switch things up and try that route at least one time. I feel if we go get Cousins and he clashes with Kobe or has issues here it's Dwight Howard part 2. Then imagine we sign Rondo and you have a potentially toxic situation, injuries waiting to happen, and a potential repeat of Nash and Howard. Stuck with Rondo's contract, having to try to move Cousins or stuck with his contract as well, I just don't like it.

 

I do not have the same faith. The fact that we have an opportunity to pick a fantastic talent in Okafor and we're considering trading that for a malcontent, and we're considering throwing in the lone bright spot from last season.

I fear they are desperate to add a bonafide star. They know the Okafor Randle route will take 3 years and they are afraid.

 

The people on /r/NBA didn't start watching basketball until LeBron joined the Heat

 

Mitch and I agree with you Weez. That's why he's not parting with Randle and he's reluctant (meaning he'll do it if we get back the pick I think) to move Clarkson. I think the offer right now (and apparently according to Ramona it's the same offer for the last two weeks) is #2 for Boogie straight up OR #2/Clarkson for Boogie/#6 or something along those lines.

We're not gutting our team! I don't know where that thought came from... We're not giving up all those assets, that's just been the Kings' asking price and since we're obviously not doing that we're not making the trade! Simple as that. Everyone is all worked up though and doesn't want to listen to logic.

 

I have been throwing logic at you people for 3 pages, but nobody wants to listen.

My sky isn't falling... Everyone else's sky is though.

 

Real, I'm not saying I think this happens, I'm just stating why I hope it doesn't. I think Okafor could be better than Cousins, and we'd have 4 or 5 years on his rookie deal to find out, it seems so much of a smarter play to me. If we do keep the pick and take Okafor to add to Randle and Clarkson, and then make a good signing with our cap space this offseason, we're off to a great rebuild.

Then Kobe's $25 mil comes off the books next offseason and we have money to go after another star to add to the young core and whoever we sign this offseason. This seems like a smart plan to me. Yes it requires time and waiting, but let's not be spoiled. We have 5 titles in 15 years, some teams still have none. I watched almost the entire 90's of Lakers ball, no titles were won, and we survived it, and eventually got back on top. I can be patient with a scenario like that again if the FO is patient and plays things smart and carefully and thinks long-term instead of always swinging for the fences and never developing young talent. That's sort of what got us into trouble in 2004 and that super-team rounded out by scrubs, and again after winning titles in '09 and '10, as we had all our money in 2 or 3 guys and held onto that core too long and weren't able to get any assets out of it with trades or whatever. I'd never give back those titles just to have a playoff team the past few seasons, but I don't see us winning a title any time soon regardless of who we sign this summer, so why not try the rookie route for a little bit, and try to build young for life after Kobe. This method has worked very well for some recently good teams, and some that have been good for a while now. Seemed to work for the Spurs with Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Green, and Leonard. It just paid off for the Warriors, and it still might pay off for the Thunder and a few other teams.

 

Divac really believes Kupchak is dumb...and desperate.