This is all Kobe's plan. He discussed this with Mitch and is intentionally sabotaging the Lakers so that we can draft Ben Simmons.
Randle and Russell looked great tonight. I'm not closing ****. This is my optimism thread and I'll ride out here till I die.
We need the optimism thread, we need to reach and grasp for optimism or we will be engulfed by the despair. My optimism for tonight, Kareem: Minority of One. Watched it tonight, fantastic documentary, taught me so much I never knew and always wanted to. The part about Kareem playing poorly in game 1 of the '85 finals and being bashed by the media as an old man and done, had no idea. And then being the first one in the film session, front row center, asking Riley to give it to him straight. Then he goes to practice for hours and wants no special treatment and to do whatever everyone else is doing even though Magic is telling Riley he's gonna get worn out. And then after that they showed this one little shot of what looked like the team practicing on carpet in maybe a hotel lobby or banquet room, with tape on the floor to create the key basketball floor. No basket, just a masking tape makeshift court, to practice, that's hardcore, man that is something. Makes me long for the days of the tougher NBA, when the game was played by men, when the crowds were so nuts they would storm the court after a finals victory. This was the little bit of Lakers glory and nostalgia I needed after tonight's game. And seeing his final retirement speech in front of the Forum crowd, made me picture Kobe doing this, and calmed me down a bit from tonight, and made me realize that is going to be a sad moment as a fan.
It was a joke hence the smiley...relax guys. I know things are tense but let's not turn on eachother. Let's turn on Byron and Kobe.
Turn on Kobe? Wow just wow and people wonder why this is considered one of the most fickle fan bases in sports.
Turn on Kobe? Wow just wow and people wonder why this is considered one of the most fickle fan bases in sports.
We are now the sixers...so sad that our once proud franchise has to resort to tanking to improve, but that seems to be what's going on here. Posting here because I guess I'm optimistic that the strategy will work and our young core will somehow manage to maintain a winning mindset and steal some important skills/knowledge from Kobe, despite the product on display right now. Go Lakers...
This has been the last thread I read before signing off as of late, just trying to find something to be positive about with these 2015-16 Lakers.....I thought Jordan Clarkson played very well last night, and the prior game. To me he looks like our point guard and team leader of the future.
The Lakers HAVE talent...and the signees aren't Alpo [as Hearn would have said]. All that is needed is the right coach to get the most out of them. He is out there somewhere [Bay Area?] and we will get him.
I appreciate this perspective. 1.) Kobe. He's announced his retirement. There is no doubt he is done. As he said, his legs don't have the energy to go for a full 48 minutes, and he was at 'peace' with his decision to retire. As great as Kobe was for this franchise, the last 3 years have been incredibuly difficult on fans and on Kobe. It's been a harrowing effort from Kobe to get his body right at his advanced age and try to give it everything he has but his body just couldn't hold up. Nevertheless, we stand in a position where we know he's leaving at the end of the summer officially. We know our salary cap situation once Hibbert is renounced, and Kobe will be gone, and we'll look looking for other face of the franchise in free agency. 2.) Current Core. Randle, Clarkson, Russell, Nance, Brown. On rookie scaled contracts, all fit great together, and I think we have at least 1 star in that crew if not very good NBA players, IMO. We've struck gold in the draft, and even though it's a process, we'll see the fruit in years too come. They've all made strides throughout the season, they're all very hard-workers, and are a very special group. I know they'll recover from this debacle of a season and want to improve their individual games and bring the Lakers back to prominence. 3.) Salary Cap. 65 million. Somebody will take our money. At this point, we have to be proactive in Free Agency. We have enough to go out there and sign a couple of difference makers. This team needs to spend at least $80 million if the salary cap goes to $90 million. We'll spend, add to our core, and put a heck of a better product out there on the floor next season. I know we will. We just have to be patient. We're in unchartered territory here, though, folks. We're scraping the bottom of the barrel. However, it's still Los Angeles, and I trust a player or players will want to join forces with what still is a very strong brand despite the recent turmoil in Lakersland. 4.) Head coach. Byron Scott is gone. Done. There's no coming back for him. He's a fraud. He's lost the team. No surprise here. However, there will be a slew of young up and coming head coaches next summer. We'll nail the next hire. We'll have our best coach since Phil Jackson left town. I don't know if it's Thibs or Luke at this point, and although I'd prefer Luke, Thibs will work. They'll instill a culture, a mindset, a capable plan on both ends of the court, and we'll improve. It's been hard this season. I'm going to trust Mitch, though to navigate us through these tough times. As always, Go Lakers!
The guy is playing selfish, foolish basketball. Anyone but the most Kobe-homerest of fans can see that. Look, I get that you lean a bit into that category, ok? I get it, you love Kobe. But listen, I don't care if it's his retirement year if he's going to use that as an excuse for his mind-numbingly poor play. It doesn't mean that I don't appreciate what he did in the past, it means I am calling him out on his bs in the present. I don't care if a guy is the best player on the team or the worst. If I see someone on the court playing like dogs*** that is being a detriment to the team, I am going to say something. If Kobe doesn't care, I don't see why you should. Required optimism: If the dice rolls in our favor, we may keep that top 3 pick after all. Byron will be gone, Kobe will be retired...the Lakers can finally move on with life, instead of clinging onto ghosts of the past.
Damn this whole site is a WMC right now. Had to come here for some sanity. Guys we'll get through this.
Agree. We had a stretch of 13 years not winning it again. We had an eight year one previously. I went through both. I have kissed this season bye-bye and am gearing up for the next one. It is all on Jim Buss to hire the RIGHT man to coach this personnel. He better...
i also still trust mitch. i think he's going to do the right things to get this back on track. it's just not going to be this year.
