2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

Kurt doesn't get near enough credit for our championship

He was part of so many of our championships. Dude is a champion so many times over that it's embarrassing he's not treated better.

You never hear Magic say anything bad about him. Kurt would clothesline him though tbh.

 

Charlotte has been looking for a big for centuries. If Rob can convert Russ to 5 players, we can afford to be selective in free agency vs. signing whoever answers the phone. And check a player off at every position, I'm game.

 

Tough luck for Lonzo

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndic...a-standstill-in-knee-injury-recovery.amp.html

 

Gobert is the anti-Charlotte style. They are building around LaMelo and possibly Miles. It will be a quick team, fun to watch and that scores a lot of points. Rudy is not a fit.
They also won't trade PJ Washington that easily I would guess.
But yeah it's a fun exercise and who knows, I saw crazier things happening. Getting multiple players for Russ would be amazing. And those contracts are all very good

 

that was my thought. let's restock the cupboard. if i'm utah, i'm looking to move conley with gobert, which makes it a huge deal. hence westbrook's involvement

i did it because word was charlotte would be very interested in gobert.

unrelated: you know who needs to get off some salaries? the hawks. they're carrying a big bill for a mediocre team.

 

DLO's coach didn't have enough confidence in him to have him on the court during the last 5 minutes of the game, with the season on the line. He’s not clutch and way over rated.

 

yeah, russell was rough in that game. i kept waiting for the coach to pull him, and he finally did. those lazy soft passes in the center of the floor are still there...in the playoffs...several years later. just not a lot of growth to his game. their backup pg played MUCH better.

 

I mean I would take DLO over Russ - but problem is, the Wolves have a bunch of expiring's next year including D-Lo, Beasley, and Beverly...which I don't like because that means the Wolves can also be serious players in any deals that we are looking to get. What I could see happening - the wolves will make a serious play for Kyrie, Dame or Simmons.

As far as we go - We'll need to be talking to teams like Indiana, Charlotte, Utah, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Dallas...basically teams that severely underachieved and have bloated salaries to get off of, or teams that are about to have their payroll go up next year and have shown to be a cost-cutting team when it comes down to it (Dallas). Could see a Bertans/Bullock/Hardaway package for Russ..

 

Minny is the perfect place for Simmons to go and hide. Maybe he can play a season out there and regain his confidence?

 

i've been pitching dallas as a trade option because they have some undesirable salary and need to stay flexible for luka.

if we take bertans/hardaway/bullock (who's a good get, btw), we might be able to get a pick or two back.

and i'm not sure we come out worse, basketball-wise. at least hardaway and bertans and bullock understand their roles and play them.

if they want to keep bullock, i'd take either kleber or powell, too. both fill needs for us.

 

throwback to happier days.... with players you could at least root for and not feel dirty.

"All Time Tank Squad"

 

I still miss BI. He was my favorite Laker since Kobe.

 

What I want to do is once a week or so is to run through the free agent options at a position. Then a different position the following week and so on. This should let any discussion of that group of players run its natural course before moving on. Maybe after we can throw out some roster construction ideas based off combinations of these guys. I think that's going to be really difficult without know what we're going to get in return for Russ, but until we hire a coach there isn't much else to do this early in the off-season.

First up, I want to delve into the center position.

Who do you like out of that group? That's from spotrac, if you don't see someone on there they might have them listed at PF in which case we'll get to them next week.

I think AD has to man the position and we find him a couple of backups who aren't washed and can be relied upon nightly but are fine if they aren't seeing the court every night. Ideally you find two Cs who each brings something different to the table, but there's not a lot of that hitting the market. Most of the guys I'm looking at serve a similar role to varying degrees of success.

First let me say that I'm ready to move on from Dwight. He's not an every night guy anymore. If he slots down to your 3rd string guy, I'm ok with that but I think you can get more service out of the position.

My first priority is some athleticism and defense. After that, I try addressing my 3rd string C with a shooter or best fit if you can't get a shooter.

Backup C targets: McGee or Rolo. They both bring that length, shot blocking, rebounding, with lob/put back ability and are good teammates to lead a bench. Is either willing to take the minimum? We love former Lakers and JaVale is one we should've stuck with. For a team who's had worse and worse chemistry the past two seasons, it would do us well to bring back one of our leaders in the department who's still getting it done. If anyone is watching him with Phoenix, he's still getting it done. He and Dwight have good chemistry, I've even thrown around the suggestion of pairing them up again next season. I'm not against it and it seems on brand, just think we can do better that for a 3rd stringer.

Backup plan: Bismack Biyombo. If McGee and Robin are too much money, settle for Bismack. Who can fill that same role to a lesser degree. No clue how he spend most of this season not on a roster then got to Phoenix and immediately did his thing.

If I don't get any of those 3, I flip the priority to a stretch big and get my more traditional C as a 3rd stringer.

Next target: Boogie Cousins. If I have to flip the kind of center I'm targeting, he's #1 target of a C with some more range. Not sure why we haven't brought him back considering how close he is with AD and was with Rondo, too. Maybe he's not interested?

End of list of backup C with range. Then you try to mix and match two equally not great backups because either could be your 3rd stringer

Next as that C with range (3rd stringer): Gorgui Dieng. Really didn't work out in ATL, that should keep his ask cheap. Greg Monroe. He can at least stretch out to top of the key.

Traditional option to match with either of those two above: Dewayne Dedmon.

Scattered thoughts about a few of the others: I really wish Ed Davis wasn't cooked. Can do what I want from either big spot. Former Laker. Good teammate. BUT he was nailed to his seat his past 3 stops. Fan favorite Damian Jones has been let go and then ignored every chance we've had. Word is he's happy in Cow Town. Doubt a reunion happens. Hassan Whiteside is just too f***ing dumb, I can't. Tristan Thompson makes some sense given his ties to Bron and ability to play both positions but he's bad for the locker room in his past 3 destinations. Bulls didn't go off the rails until he got here either. Think that was a coincidence because their play wasn't sustainable, but either way TT has too much off the court drama.

So I'd look to do something like:
1) AD/McGee/Dieng
2) AD/Boogie/Dedmon
3) AD/Biyombo/Monroe

The Lakers thing to do is: AD/McGee/D12

Obviously if you get back Favors (OKC) or Plumlee (CHA) in a Russ trade, that changes things.

 

Here's what concerns me with Damian...

Everyone saw him pop during his stint with us and only the Kings showed interest? If anyone else did, he would've gone there instead. Kings had three other centers at that time. This year they added to that and have fluctuated between 4-5 centers. If any team thought anything of any of them not named Holmes, they would've been the easiest team in the NBA to poach a cheap center from for a 2nd round pick. Only that didn't happen.

I liked what I saw from him during his brief stint here, but it looks like NBA GMs (and Kurt Rambis) aren't fans.

 

After watching these playoffs we need youth, talented youth.

I like McGee, he had some good run this season but it might end up being like Dwight this season... a year too late.
I want to group Dwight, Mcgee, Biyombo, Dedmon, Boogie, Rolo, Thompson bring one of them for 3rd string or emergency starter in a pinch

Main targets
Damien Jones... and thats it? Moses Brown is somewhat interesting. Bamba is restricted.

That list leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe trying to get a big back from any Westbrook trade is the main thing. AD is going have to be fulltime center again I think.

 

We can move on from looking at Turner

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com...mark-jackson-myles-turner-pacers-trade-report

Stein reported in another recent Substack column that the Pacers are looking to hold onto Turner moving forward.

On Monday morning, Myles Turner tweeted out his excitement about his future in Indiana after missing the Pacers’ final 39 games this season because of a foot injury. Sources say that the Pacers do hope to keep Turner long-term after they previously weighed Turner-centric trades going back to last summer. Indiana instead traded former All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento; Turner has one season left on his current contract at $18 million.

 

I still have a Lakers shirt with his name on it. Might just end out being valuable some day!!