I'll give them credit for making a smart trade when all other options were gone, but we still haven't SIGNED a single player. They get big credit from me for the draft in picking up what looks like 2 very solid players and one great one, for Randle and Clarkson last year, and for drafting players in the late, late 2nd round that we actually get some use out of. Credit also for this trade where we fill a need and give up no real assets, and for last year picking up other teams discarded players and getting a lot out of them in Davis, Ellington and Black (and going to the D-League and giving Jabari Brown a shot). Now I need to see how they finish filling up the roster, because currently our depth stinks, and I'm not sure we can count on rookies being starters AND playing heavy minutes for a full season yet. Russell will need to adjust and like almost all rookies will struggle at times and hit that rookie wall. Randle is also basically a rookie, coming off a bad injury, and will need to play into shape. And then of course Kobe is old, and can't be asked to play heavy minutes and carry the team anymore. Clarkson made it through last season just fine, but he also didn't play much early on because of Byron, so not to be a downer, but he might have some sophomore slump too. Need a starting caliber SF unless they plan to start Kobe there. I guess Young will be the backup SF or SG, unless Anyhony Brown (assuming he makes the team) plays some SF sooner than expected I'd also think we need a backup PG if we're starting Russell, I see Clarkson as a SG not the backup PG. Maybe that's Jabari Brown, I don't know, but with our injury history, like I said all last year, it's good to have 3 PG's. I'd still like to see Ellington back as our backup SG if Clarkson starts at that position. And lastly I'd like to move on from Kelly and have a real backup PF to Randle, unless we're counting Black and Nance as the backups there. If that makes Kelly the 14th/15th man with Sacre, then good, but even better if he can be traded WITH Sacre for anything of value. That would mean to me we have to be hoping that Upshaw works out as our backup C, and if Sacre stays that at least he doesn't ever play.
I like the move for Hibbert...... ....but I think the questions and criticisms of our free agency approach remain valid. We have to reevaluate our approach if we want to have any hope of grabbing some of the free agents that will be popping up over the next few years. Given how many teams will have cap room moving forward, we can't simply depend on the Laker brand or blowing guys away with "extra" opportunities in LA. We really need to do our homework to know what guys are looking for, who is really interested in coming here, and when we are getting played.
I think we're hitting well on the draft, especially late first rounders and second rounders. We'll see what Randle and Russell do; I'm hopeful. This is a good trade, and we made good trades last year, too. Free Agency? Yikes. Our FA signings have got to be horrendous, league wide, stretching back at least to McKie for the MLE.
Not sure if this has been touched on but I'm thinking FO had the Hibbert deal sort of in place even before the draft but just didn't advertise it. I'm thinking maybe they had conversations with Bird knowing they wanted him gone but wanted to try for the bigger fish first and if they didn't pan out as they obviously didn't they would go to the fall back plan. It would explain drafting Russell over Okafor (though I have no problem with that) knowing that they would definitely come away with a big man whether through FA or through the trade that just happened. Obviously their pitches sucked big time which is why they came up empty but if this was their contingency plan all along, I'll give them credit for that. Anyway, just speculating.
There were very few place Hibbert could go that wouldn't bring back contracts in the league. Maybe 2 or 3 so I'm sure they were talking prior to the draft even. I'm sure Bird called every team that had the cap room to shop him. He meets the FO requirements of an expiring deal that meets the minimum salary requirements while solving a need on the floor.
We did swing and miss, but we were sort of swinging with a small stick rather than an actual bat. From a basketball perspective, we have not been attractive. Part of that is the Kobe contract. But the other part is the inevitable decline as a result of being on top for so long. Other than the Spurs, no team has managed the sustained success we have. And let's be honest, in a couple years they will be capped out with an old Parker, an old Aldridge, no Duncan and no Ginobli. Their downswing will come. We are really all just being spoiled brats. If not for Kobe's achilles, we could have done serious damage that year in the playoffs. We had one of the best records in the league after the All star break. So we've really only been down for two seasons. As a result we have Randle and Russell. In a couple years, we may have people climbing over each other to get here with Russell, Randle, Clarkson and Upshaw with tons of cap space and the upside of living in LA...The Hibbert deal was a master stroke. I honestly believe we can push for the 8 seed. Dallas will take a step back. Portland will take a step back. OKC will fill one of those voids, but we could be battling with Utah, Minny, Phoenix and maybe Dallas for that last spot.
If we're good enough to compete for that 8th spot I'll be ecstatic. But that hinges on whether we can stay healthy for the better part of the season. I do think to a point we've fix a few of our problems from last season: rim protector, outside shooting, a solid point guard. A few things I think remain unknown, such as who other than Kobe can be the closer in the last few minutes of a game, how good can Hibbert really be in his new environment, and of course how good can our rookies be. Of course we're probably gonna have to double our win total from last year if not more. But the only team I see possibly falling out of the top 8 is Portland but OKC will be in if Durant and Russell stay healthy. So I think the 8 is still set but we still could be within a few games for that final spot.
I love the optimism but 4 guys that have almost no experience in the NBA and a guy who's been injured more than not for 2 years competing for a playoff spot in the West? Every single best case scenario has to play out for that to happen. Every one. Without knowing how we fill the roster out my guess would be 35 wins with Kobe playing 60 games. In reality we have no proven scorer other than him and maybe Swaggy P. The kids may impress but wasn't the overall number one last year supposed to be a 20 ppg guy too? It takes time to make the huge jump from college to the NBA.
Agreed 100%. And literally within a couple hours of LMA signing with the Spurs, the trade is a done deal. I think Mitch definitely had Bird on the phone and told him to wait until LMA made a decision. I like this move. We needed a rim protector and we got one.
Yea sure it is the Lakers finally did something everyone was complaining about and actually signed someone longer than one season.
Like the moves we have made the last couple of days but still think the earlier criticisms were valid.
Look at the talent pool right now in FA. It's getting pretty light. How many people are left that realistically make an impact?
