Optimism Discussion: The Laker's Sky Is Not Falling

No doubt. You trade for a proven star all day long if given the chance, but it's not easy.

I'm a former Dodger fan from the Garvey, Lopes, Russel, Cey, Baker era when they all came through the farm system.

Although it can be done, the chances are minute. And even then, the CBA is designed so it would be tough to keep them all anyways. Mitch just said he wants to build a sustainable roster. To me that means staggering big contracts and when they are coming due to keep a flow of talent.

Definitely not an easy job, but I'm looking forward to rooting for this squad while we have them. I think tough cuts are coming for the coaches just in pre-season. The people part of the business can't be easy.

 

Zero chance those 5 guys all become at least "very good" players?? Do not concur with that assessment at all. Especially with Luke and the staff he put together. Great, for all of them sure would be shocking the world to happen..... but even then I would never say zero chance. Not saying "superstar" or "hall of fame" great but a level above "very good" .... yes. Clarkson and DAR at least have a shot with probably DAR having the edge. I do expect greatness though, as just clarified above, out of our two 19 year old rookies and Randle as well if he can shoot.

 

I'm optimistic we will get extra credit with the league this year for exceeding our quota. Great job Mitch!

 

Well folks it's been one busy summer and miss this site. Definitely looking forward to a much brighter season with fellow Laker fans here. Playoffs or not... we don't have to deal with a foxhole of a coach and we actually get to see the kids play!

New Laker Era has begun!

 

Everything feels good again.

 

I went to bed in the 3rd quarter, and missed all the fun. Checked my phone near the end, and was like....

 

I was listening to the pregame on ESPNLA710 and really liked a point they made. It might not be Russel's team or Ingram's team or whoever's team, its going to be everyone's team. No player will average 20 ppg but you'll have a ton of guys score ~15 points every night and it'll be different players every game. Wins will come by committee.

 

Different era .... I liked to shot a lot.

 

Anthony Brown didnt give me a migrane yesterday and actually made me fist pump

 

And yet Golden State DID happen. Once a century? How about Oklahoma with Durant, Westbrook and Harden all by draft-building. It's their own damn fault they let Harden go and would have a championship or 2 if they hadn't instead of just a finals appearance. How about KAT, Wiggins, Dunn, Rubio? Not proven yet but I ain't betting against them, in a couple years.... Draft building is not only possible in this day and age, but going on . Times have changed, particularly the few years as the CBA effects have settled in. The recent cap and tax raises lets smaller market teams compete even more evenly with the big markets in FA now. Big market dominance like what we had is gone. Anyways we got Kobe (traded picks) and Magic through the draft the only huge pickup in FA we've had since pre-showtime was Shaq. I'd say there is a 0% chance 4 out of 5 players on that list don't become very good and I only exclude Zubac right now due to his absolute newness. Frankly I'll be shocked if he doesn't become a very good center. Clippers, Sac and Hawks are really not good examples of the draft building in the last few years. The Clips drafting has been bad to mythical proportions but did get Griffin and built well around him in FA. Sac has failed to build around Boogie, the Hawks have been competing the past few years and not big in the draft. Right now, it's either get mega stars to bring over and hoard other stars (LBJ technique) or build by draft. We might see some big market-friendly changes in the next CBA but right now it is absolutely a viable way to build. Why else would we be doing it?

 

pound4pound said: ↑
Anthony Brown didnt give me a migrane yesterday and actually made me fist pump

I "heart" both these expressions of happy Lakers fandom.









But OMG ..... you showed AB him holding the poo platter. That's good though. He'll be mortified knowing that has been out there and maybe never suck that bad again.

 

Maybe we can see the real AB now. I think being coached by Byron gets you a bit of a do-over.

 

great to hear brown made shots. i saw him hit nothing but side of backboard in that scrimmage and was like...i'll suit up, guys.

 

LOL...

 

Late to the show fellas....but here are my thoughts from last night:

• So glad we're going to be an exciting team to watch....alley-oops, fast breaks, threes - we're going to win fans quickly
• We won a game because of defense? Holy s*** slap me. No really this is HUGE
  
• The offense still looks very raw. We saw some plays and sets but they have major work to do
• Still too many 1-1 possessions with early, bad shots - Lou, Russell, Clarkson and others. This one really needs to change.
• Randle's early shot gave me hope. I'm not sure if he's "hiding" his shot for the season but wanted to see more
• Randle unfortunately didn't look markedly different from last year. I hope that's not the case
• Ingram looked like a rookie. On D he had trouble getting through screens but his length works in our favor. He needs to put some meat on and continue to work. I'm not concerned about the offense
• Clarkson still looks like our best player, and he looks GOOD. Improved handles, improved shot, better control, and he's a hedgehog on defense. Dude was everywhere and his man defense looks better. Help defense remains a ?
• Clarkson may have a higher ceiling than I thought - how good his shot is will be a big part
• Russell - played the 2nd most minutes on the team but was underwhelming. Not sure what the problem was but I think he would gain huge value from talking to Kobe about how to mentally prepare for a basketball game
• Russel's help defense and play of the passing lanes looked improved. A good sign
• Lou pisses me off.
• Deng & Mozgov - about what I expected. Mozgov's touch was great. If Deng can 3 &D and Mozgov can block, P&R and hit jump hooks I'll be happy
• Tarik - underpaid, undervalued, underappreciated. I've always been bullish on Tarik. Huge momentum shifter and I'm really not worried about our bigs rotation
• Larry again one of my favorite Lakers. Fits better with our players than Randle IMO. Saw signs of an improved shot. Dude needs to slow down around the basket though, I see another injury coming
• AB looked nice of course. We'll see what happens.
• Calderon and Huertas were positives in my opinion. Still worried about defensive holes at the 1 but offensively that trio can spell the position

Overall I I went from pissed to elated from first half to second. I thought our offense fell apart in the 2nd quarter but our defense carried us. Team needs major work on both ends but we definitely have talent. We saw glimpses of a team that's going to be hard to beat down the road, but they can't do it for 48 minutes yet, let alone 12. I like JC on the bench for one reason - he's the go-to scorer. With the starters it's hard to make a case for his usage with Russell and Randle there. I liked our defensive run but I think our defense still needs work. Offense as well, though it's a beauty versus last years.

 

I like our 2nd unit, play with more structure and effort