Judging The New Front Office After Their First Wave Of Moves!

I get where you all are coming from here. But I think you guys also have to understand why some of us are taking more of a wait and see approach and proceeding with caution.

Magic is my favorite Laker. No one wants him to fail at this.

 

same plan..... not the same plan.....

what exactly do people expect from a team that has won less than 30 games for 4 years now.....

what plan outside of drafting and clearing space to pounce on future FAs can one have exactly? maybe the pitch will be the huge difference because god knows the last 4 years had no pitch anyone was interested in ....... Milwaukee had a better chance of landing a FA than this team during the Jim Buss era without severely overpaying.....

the problem here is people have severely overrated some of the talent this team drafted the last 3 years......

if these guys were nearly as talented as some have rated them they would have improved somewhere and sometime in all this.... truth is there has been barely no improvement ...... the talent is 1 dimensional and it shows in the product on the floor.
....... and now Scott isn't here to blame for that .......

1 dimensional 1 trick ponies was they way Buss drafted ........ and that is why they are where they are IMO, even after clearing out Bryant's atrocious contract (given by who?)

I don't see any correlation of the management styles outside of the obvious pigeoned holed position of a complete rebuild......

Magic and Pelinka so far have had 1 draft and within that they have already cleared a horrific deal made last year ....... not sure how it correlates ......

late round pick in Hart for instance ........ this kid can play on both ends of the floor ...... Buss there last 4 years was allergic to players that play defense ........ just one example of something that looks different ........ name me 1 player in the last 4 years that was drafted that even showed effort on that end of the floor?

there is a clear difference in what's happening right now ....... and now we have to give Magic at least 2 off seasons before comparing him to the disaster that was the Jim Buss era.....

 

We'll be going after George and Bron, this is obvious. I hope Westbrook realizes there's no future it the OKC and comes to LA to play as a SG.
Ball
Russ
PG
Ingram/Jules
Zubac
I would also welcome Boogie... but the "drama" is a bit concerning.

 

I gotta go with KB24 on this.

I'm not ready to give up on Magic/Rob, it's way too early and they've only been in charge for a few minutes.

All I know is this. There has to be something wrong with Russell behind the scenes. I mean something seriously wrong with him. Otherwise, giving up on him after 2 years makes zero sense. His numbers show that his productivity matched great players that were his age. He was inconsistent, yes. His interviews were weird at times, yes. He was inconsistent and had issues with consistent effort, yes. But reality, we were better when he played and when he got hurt, our team looked way worse. He averaged solid numbers at 15-5-5. And remember he was only 20 in his second year. Maturity issues aren't entirely shocking considering his age.

What if we gave up on Kobe after 2 years? He went from barely playing his first year to a 6th man his second year, not quite legendary status yet. What about the teams that gave up on Nash early on in his career?

As far as non Laker fans not holding Russell in high regard? So what? The whole snitch thing? That wasn't even snitching technically, just a lapse in judgement. If that's the reason they don't like him, so what.

For now we all have no choice but to trust Magic and Rob. But getting rid of Russell just to dump Mozgov's salary, not feeling that at all.

 

You guys saying this isn't the same plan are completely right. The difference is that there wasn't an absolute behemoth of an obstacle when Mitch and Jim we attempting to assemble their teams. Attempting to assemble anything short of an ultra team with 5 all stars won't result in a title at this time. I could live with a couple albatross contracts that would be up by the time the team is ready to make some noise. I can't live with another year of false promises and failed meetings. I'd also like to see where specifically PG said he'd join the Lakers. Show me your source.

 

No to your opening thought ....keep 35 year old ring chasing LeBronze the hell out of here. You seem to have realized that with your actual penned in lineup below. Westbrook hell yes and one other just emerging coming off rookie contract not ready for max young player and George, Ingram, Ball, Zubac and the best of the rest of our young guys.

 

Omg. Ive been having a couple drinks and been smoking throughout watching espn and reading this thread... And all i wanna do is bring the baby powder out and slap a crying baby, metaphorically speaking of course.

Youd think this was effing twitter with these type of responses. Toughen up or shut up as some mamas used to tell their athletes, this is supposed to be fun people... Dont take it so personal and just roll with it. Bring the energy and passion that creates the turn around.

 

^^ Ha.. GoldRush is slappin' Babies.

 

I mean... I be like my man Steve Harvey over here like;


We dont know what goes on behind the scenes. My signature can say the rest and ive had it since joining

 

And that's fair, but speaking of a fair point Russell was gonna be out of here eventually anyways... but I understand the grey area of atleast wanting to see him at SG before he was dealt.

They have a plan and that plan might have MANY different scenarios as part of that plan... glass is always half full my dude and if you can't have some fun or feel good about envisioning then why are we really here ya know.

 

We're merely disappointed that we're trying homeruns again at the expense of the youth we've built. So whats your argument? Toughen up? Sounds like Boron.

 

Dozier and the Kansas boys who have always played in different systems and had a lack of surrounding personnel.

 

I'm guessing you're not one of the people advocating trading for pg, but there are many, the majority I'd say, that want to trade one or both of Clarkson and Randle, as well as both picks not named Ball. All for a player that will likely be frustrated by our lack of wins and leave at the end of his contract.

 

i don't think anyone would be crying if most of those guys were the ones attached to a salary dump.

 

The more I've had time to dwell on the Russell trade, the more I'm able to understand why when you take into consideration the little tidbits Magic noted during Lonzo's presser:

"Face of the Lakers."
"We needed a leader."

After thinking about it, I've been in the inclination that Russell would've been a little difficult to move into a beta role on the team. Magic gave Russell a challenge to become the leader and push the Lakers when he took over. I don't think D'Angelo took that challenge to heart and relegated himself to "being a SG." I'm sure that doesn't bode well as a "leader" for the team.

I'm not trying to defend the move because I think we could've got more value from Russell, but I do see where Magic is coming from, he wants to restore the winning mindset and a team first attitude. The last few years have been depressing, and there were no signs of improvement from a chemistry standpoint.

New management, new personnel...Magic wants a clean slate to move forward.

 

I was with MC mostly until Byron Scott was defended...

I loved the Russell trade.

I think we all knew there were immaturity issues, but some just are not great leaders. Some lead by example, some by word, and some by marching down the wrong path. He is a talented player, and we all root for our home grown guys to succeed. I trust the FO if they felt they were better served by this move.

1st Rd draft pick
All Star center (With huge expiring contract, and may be flipped at the deadline for expiring K's plus other assets to a contender)
Removal of the alleged elephant in the room and potential locker room distraction with a high quality team unifier coming on board.

I'm good with this move. Even if DAR blows up into perennial All Star. Our leadership had the balls to make it happen.

If they feel like moving JR, JC, or any others is in our team's best interest, I'm all in. Saying BI is untouchable, drafting Ball, and sticking to a well thought out plan and vision gives me confidence we're on the right track.

We're not interested in having multiple All Stars and being the Clippers. We're after championships. Dwight Howard is an All Star, stat stuffer, etc, but he is not a leader or champion.

The biggest mistake we can make is to look at projected stats, and ignore leadership, being a winner, character, personal drive to be your best, meshing with a team, etc.

If Magic sees red flags and chose to move on, I'm pleased with the flexibility that move just provided. CAp relief, all star rental, draft pick, and flexibility to create more future assets.

(Like flip Lopez to CLE at the deadline for draft picks and expiring k's knowing they will suck in a few years and may be great draft picks) you just never know... but we do know DAR wasn't the guy we'd all follow as a leader.