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I actually do not think people are unable to discuss this topic but there are a couple of folks around here with ARDS that simply push hard to hate on him. They seem to be new posters who's style coincidentally remind me of someone who has quit posting, if you catch my drift.

 

Even Rui pointed out he was playing to be paid or trying to be a star. The ball was pretty sticky

 

This take gets my vote for post of the month.

 

Well that's part of the issue. People view people who question fit as hate. Already drawn a comparison to a very talented player in Markkanen. May I add another Randle these are good players however when you max them out you have to be careful because they are not top tier superstars.

 

Also, don’t forget these rules:
They can’t dominate just on one side of the ball and be excellent passers.
They all have to be at least All Star level while being on the All NBA defensive team every season as well.
This is Ludicrousness beyond warp speed.
Engaging in a nonsensical pie in the sky manner is not what honest discussion is about.

 

THIS.

 

The tin foil hats are tight lol

 

Would you say that there is a difference between someone who passes and someone that controls the floor?

 

You have to answer my questions from previous posts before I answer yours.

 

No this is something different. LeBron took a lot of flak on this forum since he joined the Lakers, and basically, his decision to come to the Lakers changed the outlook of the whole franchise. We wouldn't have gotten AD and subsequently Luka, and we'd have one less ring, if he didn't come here. Yet no one is outraged by anything hurled at LeBron.

 

True statement

 

100% truth

 

Dallas got pasted by a team which went at Kyrie Irving on defense every chance it got. Seems more like a flukish trip to the Finals similar to the team Denver beat in Miami which was a play in team. I personally think this is a bad example as title winning formula because that series was a blowout and I don't see any reason okc sas etc couldn't duplicate thst

If we want to use Denver as an example then the Lakers maybe going full blown offense. That team.had one all world defender in Gordon and two pretty good one in Brown and KCP and then went all in offense and rebounding. Denvers secret sauce and they sort of lost this when they gave up MPJ and went more defense oriented players is they absolutely rocked it on the glass. Led the playoffs by in total rebounding percentages so the philosophy there was limit possessions. Considering all the Lakers issues on the defensive glass this is not the philosophy the Lakers have been going with but I think there is something to this.

 

Trae Young isn't the answer.

 

That's what I think with Austin. It's very similar to when they had Andrew Bynum. It just had those who won't trade him no matter what. It did work out as they landed Pau and Bynum ended up in a more subtle role. But Kobe was totally frustrated with lakers reluctance on moving him. The good part about Austin is unlike Bynum have good health. But lakers can actually end up not winning despite having LeBron/Davis and now Luka.

 

Probably more related to Lebron was considered a rival to Kobe.

Sports are weird like that you have to like your "home" team even though we've seen numerous times that these are just businesses run by owners who use that to get paid (I mean we have Sterling here in LA and there are very few equivalents to a Green Bay model of local ownership. Chicago Bears are threatening to play in f***ing indiana lol)

Lebron broke this in a sense with the Decision (yeah it was ham handed and I grew up in that area so I it sucked) but considering where he was in his career and that lousy team around him the decision to leave was the right one. But he's been the only true generational star that he's got a fanbase that his own in a way and not team dependent. So AR is more classic homegrown classic sports feel good story while Lebron bring in baggage, rivalries, and a mercenary quality. The fact LeBron always has played up to his contract and been a good teammate kind of gets lost with that

 

i think lebron's done a bunch of stuff here that rightfully annoyed laker fans who weren't dyed-in-the-wool lebron fans. reaves hasn't done those things. so he's going to have a more leeway with fans. if reaves starts playing manager, passive-aggressive badmouthing of the organization via backchannels/mouthpieces, etc., people will turn on him, i guarantee it. sports fandom for some people is about more than just results (it's why nobody wants dort or dillon brooks here).

like, sirron's distaste for lebron is probably partially about the former rivalry, but any that i have is about what's happened here. i was one of the few who was excited at the prospect of him signing here in 2018, actually. and i've never discounted that he saved the franchise. but he's also annoyed the s*** out of me on several occasions, pulling stuff other guys don't pull that causes problems for the team, whether he's nice to guys' faces or not.

i just don't think "what's in it for me" at all times is a defensible way to navigate the world, and there's a lot of that to lebron with respect to his basketball career. you can tell that some fans agree with that worldview. i don't.

 

The Lakers whiffed on their last two first-round picks. JHS and Knecht haven't given them anything close to the value you'd expect from first-rounders. If they hit on those picks and had a couple actual NBA rotation players, they'd have a lot more flexibility to package talent with draft capital and go get another impact player.

Instead, they're staring at a situation where a big chunk of their available cap space is likely going right back to LeBron. That doesn't leave a lot of room to improve the roster through free agency, and I can't imagine the market for the rest of our assets is all that strong.

A friend of mine always used to say, "You have to give quality to get quality." That's where the Lakers are right now. If a player they really like becomes available, and I'm the opposing GM, the conversation starts with Reaves. Maybe Rob finds a way around that, but outside of Luka, Reaves is our best asset by a mile. That's the position the Lakers have put themselves in.