Luka Doncic Discussion: Lean Mean Slovenian Scoring Machine

Are Lakers WILLING TO TAKE BIG RISKS This OFFSEASON to BUILD AROUND LUKA DONCIC?

 

I just threw PJ on there because I love the way he plays. Herb Jones could easily slot right in there and I'd be more than happy with that. Gafford I think is the key though. He doesn't fit the timeline for the Mavs anymore. They paid him so he wouldn't walk for nothing. I can tell you right now that if the Mavs got a 1st rounder and Knecht back they would be super happy. They are excited about Masai and Flagg. They feel like they have turned the page and are excited about the future again. I think a lot of them (as much as they hate the Lakers) would actually be happy for Gafford to be reunited with Luka.

It's a weird dynamic with Mavs fans now after losing Luka. Me personally, I never looked back. I don't care what they do. I'm all in on the Lakers. There are quite a few that followed that path. Then, you have the Mavs die hards. Their hatred was for Nico and Cuban. Mavs fans have had a love/hate relationship with Cuban ever since he let Tyson Chandler walk after winning a title. People always bring up Nash. But, Chandler is the one that hurt. They win the title after getting TY. They immediately let him walk and don't do anything to really add anything for Dirk's final years. Cuban got some hate for that. Then, there was Brunson. That was the final straw for a lot of them. Then, he hired Nico and sold his majority ownership of the team. I was one that was glad to see him go. But, Nico became a monster and destroyed the organization.

Like I said, it's a very odd dynamic. Nico destroyed the fan base. I have friends that don't even watch NBA anymore and they were die hard fans going to several games a year. The Mavs fan base is down about 35-40% from what it was. Masai, Flagg and the possibility of a new coach have really re-invigorated the fan base. Most of the fan base hated Kidd toward the end. We all knew he was involved in trading Luka.

Sorry to go off on a Mavs rant. I just thought it would help frame why I don't think there will be any reason why the Mavs would avoid trading with the Lakers. As long as they get back something that excites the fans they really won't care. Another 1st round pick and a young shooter would do just that. The real problem for most fans was trading Luka for what was considered nothing.

In fact, one fan on a forum I used to be on said that they traded Luka for a first rounder, a second rounder, and a bag of street clothes.

AD played 29 games in a Dallas uniform. Max was an early 2nd rounder and they got a first round pick for arguably the new face of the league coming off a finals run. The Lakers just happened to be the recipient. I'm happy for the fans that they got Flagg. But, I'm here to stay.

 

If the Mavs were a legitimate trading partner (which I don't believe they are), a good trade could be:

Gafford & Christie for Vando, Knecht & 2 firsts.

Luka - Reaves - Christie - Lebron - Gafford is a good fitting lineup.

 

We'd probably need to add more since Vando is negative and Knecht is nothing. I feel like if we took Vando out and also took on their Caleb Martin contract, maybe they'd do it.

 

I don't think Christie will be on the table. He's young and fits with Flagg. That's what they are looking at. They have already said that PJ, Thompson, and Gafford are open to move.

I think Gafford ends up as a Laker. I would like to see PJ or Herb Jones.

 

christie's an all-time stats vs. eye test guy for me. my eyes tell me he is good and has the tools you want as a high-level 5th starter glue-guy type, but the stats consistently hate him all over the floor, lol.

 

The Kings WERE going to trade with us just 4 years ago until LeBron and AD blew it all to hell. The smart Bot remembers.

AI Overview


The Sacramento Kings were going to trade Buddy Hield to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that would have sent Kyle Kuzma to Sacramento in July 2021. The proposed trade also would have involved the Lakers sending Montrezl Harrell to the Kings. [1, 2, 3]
Ultimately, the Lakers backed out of the Kings deal and packaged Kuzma, Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a trade with the Washington Wizards to acquire Russell Westbrook. [1, 2]

 

yeah, we kinda burned the bridge there. and rob had to make that choice and is now living with it, watching competitors just work sacramento to their advantage time and again.

 

Backing out of a deal is something I definitely could see a team not working with you again. I doubt the Hornets want to work with the Lakers again after the Mark Williams trade that didn't happen. I felt like Rob got a little shady with that one too. Granted he failed the physical and is often injured. They knew all of that going in though.

 

yeah, that's why i figured whatever the medical staff saw must have been super scary.

and it does seem like they were justified. sucked for all parties, though, and yeah, totally get why charlotte might be wary of dealing with us. same with sac. add indy for our PG tampering, then all our actual rivals, and the pool is limited. is what it is.

really hoping washington still loves us and remembers the westbrook deal, lol.

 

oh yes the Westbrick deal. lol. I wasn't here for that one but I remember Bron did us dirty getting that guy. I've never been a fan of Westbrook.

 

Westbrook was a force of nature at his peak. Even now, but he seems to have never learned to ball outside of his athletic advantage.

 

And that's why I never liked him. Sure you go with what works. But, I've just always been big on skill over just brute strength or speed.

 

I'm still traumatized by the Brick trade.

 

It's really simple... Luka needs and wants the ball.

To best maximize his talents, you need players who are willing to dive for loose balls, block shots, catch lobs, and stay out of Luka's way when he's got it going.

The reason LeBron and Luka didn't mesh well early to midseason is because LeBron is a player who also needs the ball but unfortunately, Luka plays off of momentum. A few shots go in in b2b possessions and the guy goes berserk. But if he has to give LeBron the ball the next possession, he gets uninterested and it messes with his game.

That is why Giannis isn't a good fit with Luka. Give me two off-ball guys who can shoot and play defense and a cheap center who can just catch lobs, set screens, and block shots over Giannis when pairing with Luka. It's why Walker Kessler is a pretty bad move for the Lakers because Luka can turn a mediocre center who is athletic into a very productive center. Lakers ROI with Kessler wouldn't be as good if say they got someone like Lively or even Marvin Bagley III and spend the money elsewhere.

 

agree with all this, and it's why i've argued against spending big on a center. you need to leverage the luka effect. just get a bunch of guys who will defend and can finish plays, man! you do need a secondary creator, but we have that in reaves. everybody else needs to be dirty work guys. there are a bunch of them floating around out there who have been deemed not good enough in other systems but could take off here. it's the front office's job to identify them and sign them or trade for them.

everyone thought djj wasn't playable on a good team. pj washington had too many holes to be a rotation player on a contender. daniel gafford was a second round pick who barely played his first couple years and was signed by washington at mle-ish levels on a bit of a flyer. his advanced numbers spiked basically exactly when he moved to dallas and returned to "solid backup" the second luka was traded, lol.

there's another gafford out there (besides gafford). there's another djj out there. there's another pj washington out there. all can be had for not much right now, but you have to know who's going to work.

 

I would like 1 super Speedy Gonzales type. A dude who can break down the defense at any time off of dribble penetration. Man, when was the last time we had that?

 

i think one could argue that schroder is that type, right? and the league is full of guys like brandon williams who can do this, but they don't seem to impact winning unless they're like elite elite (e.g., maxey).

tbh, i'm more interested in speedy off-ball players like young kcp.

someone mentioned zaire williams, and i don't know if he's the guy, but guys in that archetype. aj lawson, etc. one of those types could hit alongside luka. again, just have to find the right one, who just needs the opportunity and hasn't had it (lawson may have actually had a chance playing with luka already, iirc).

this was part of why i was bummed billy richmond pulled out of the draft. i really thought he could have immediate impact here with that particular skillset (defensive dawg, great straight line speed).

 

there isn't a path directly, this summer, to being the on-paper favorite. but there is the possibility of breaking ground on a sustainable future. i think luka wants the FO to get some younger players in here who can play the style he prefers. we've done basically ZERO on that front. ayton and laravia and smart were all good signings, given our crap circumstances in the wake of the westbrook debacle. but it's time to get cracking. that may mean losing some darlings.