Disagree, that with health, by the end of our season .... and without knowing how their season is going to end yet (likely with no WCF appearance) and with their history of not paying the exorbitant tax they will have to to keep "his new brothers" together .... that they are a lock to be the more attractive team to him let alone us being a step back with the future of the players we have going forward. If we don't blow it up for LBJ.
That's a pessimistic way of looking at the situation. We've gotten better from the last time he wanted to join, all while OKC have underachieved.
I don't know if it's pessimistic today. Today I think it's pragmatic. I'm willing to revisit this though at the end of the year. If we're within spitting distance of the Thunder, I'll be more optimistic, but today I'm not. He's comfortable, the team is doing fine, and he's not getting younger. Why leave if he feels like they have a good thing going? We'll need a meltdown over there.
Not really. Let's not forget the Pacers finished 42-40 last year yet he still wanted to join the 26-56 Lakers. That's a 16 win gap, real. Today our gap with OKC is 9 wins and I don't see it spreading to over 16.
I understand your point, but the Pacers were awful and the Thunder aren't. I'm not saying he's a lock to re-sign, but we're not good enough yet to justify him joining us by himself. We could go on a nice run here or continue our 10-4 type of streaks and change the narrative, but I'm saying if he made the choice today, I don't see him choosing us. There's a lot of time left though.
but at last year's deadline, it was widely reported that he already had a foot out the door. whereas this year, his own words indicate that both feet are firmly in his current house. something has to change dramatically between now and july for george to jump to the lakers. can it happen? sure. i just wouldn't bet on it. and the FO has apparently stopped doing so.
I'm not thinking it's THAT crazy to think he ends up here. If we can resign Randle and sign someone like DeAndre Jordan to like 15 million per year, we'd have enough to max out PG13 as long as we stretch Deng. Is it crazy to think that DeAndre/Julius/Kuzma/Ingram/Ball/Clarkson/Hart is a better team than Westbrook/Melo/Roberson/Adams/Patterson/Singler/Abrines? Melo is only going to get worse and with PG13, Westbrook, and Adams making up their entire cap, how do they improve? I'm not being a homer here, but that Thunder team has no way of really getting much better. If we can add a real solid piece like DeAndre in a position of need, the Lakers are a more attractive team than the Thunder, maybe not next season, but after that...
Reports last year were that George told his teammates that he'd always wanted to be a Laker. That it's always been his childhood dream. I find it hard to believe that such a lasting desire can wane in 6 months, especially when the team he joined has been underachieving and has limited resources to improve over the summer. And I think we're a much better fit for him.
like we're going to give up and not even have a meeting with PG and LBJ this off-season.... of course not. come on now..
they can't improve, but we can't improve to their level by signing george, either. as for fit, i think george fits anywhere. he's not ball-dominant, he defends, and he can play either wing position on offense. there's almost no team where he doesn't fit, okc included.
I’ll co-sign to the extent that Magic’s one flaw so far has been his big mouth. He’s been fined for it, and he’s set fans expectations high with it, which opens the door for criticisms like yours. I would prefer he operate in silence, but that’s a personal preference and Magic has never been known to be quiet. He promotes hope. Regarding OKC looking like a better option for PG, at the risk of sounding overly macho, if he’s not up to the task then he’s not THE guy we need. We need experienced leadership and therefore should bring in a “Type A” (wrong term I know) player. I feel like if PG is a true “Type A” then he cannot pass on this golden opportunity to be on an upward trending Laker team. If he does stay with OKC, then ok for him, and he’ll just appear like KD to me. Maybe one of our own players will succeed to that leadership roll. I wouldn’t pass it down though.
But we can get better through growth. OKC can't really do that. Are Westbrook or Adams going to get better? Melo has been getting worse for the last 3 seasons. We have a core that by next season could be better than OKC's (removing PG13 from both teams). Honestly, next season may be better for PG13 in OKC. But after that?
westbrook should have two or three more top 10 level seasons. this matters. adams is young. so, three years, i think. and george isn't guaranteed that any of the lakers youngsters (or combination thereof) sniffs westbrook's impact. just think about the distance between westbrook and any player on the lakers. hell, adams and anyone on the lakers. think about how much better westbrook and adams are compared to their first three years. i can make arguments for george joining the lakers. i hope he does; he's one of my favorite players. but honestly, his own statements concern me more than any argument i'm making in favor of their roster.
I'll give you that Westbrook is waaaay better than anything we have. But Adams isn't that spectacular. Very solid center. But the gap between him and Randle in impact isn't that big. The thing with Westbrook is can you win with him? Kevin Durant is the second best player in the world and he couldn't win with Westbrook and Adams. Is PG looking at that and thinking he's better than Durant? We have potential to be better than the Thunder. We kind of know how far the Thunder can go. They aren't passing the Warriors or the Rockets and their "prime" lines up with the Warriors and Rockets. It could backfire and none of our guys pan out and PG is left going 1 on 5 every night. But the potential is there to be better than the Thunder ever can be. And you get to come home. I realize it's a gamble, but I'd take the gamble on playing at home with chance to be on a better team than a (barring catastrophic injuries to multiple players on multiple teams) second round exit for the next 3 years.
San Antonio can beat OKC... Their defense isn't very good given we just beat them. That is why they are linked to these rumored trades. Avery Bradley and Tony Allen of late.
man....that sounds an awful lot like the pitch we've been trying for a while. stars want to play with stars. and i think adams is underrated. quietly one of the league's best two-way centers at age 23.
george would be very stupid to base his decision on how good the lakers young core is compared to guys like westbrook and adams obviously the thunder have the better team currently. the whole point i've made before regarding why i think he won't come to LA is because our young core has not shown that they're ready to take that next step. guys like ingram, randle, clarkson, hart, nance are all extremely inconsistent even if they've shown signs of improvement lonzo has shown he's got tons of potential but he's been hurt too much to show that he can be consistent with it even kuzma has been inconsistent lately this team was supposed to be better than 21-31. if the kids had been playing better basketball on a consistent basis i'd have a lot more confidence in PG coming
Don't see what the big news is here. Haven't all of us already decided if no George or Lebron we saddle up our horses and see if you can land a fish next trade deadline or in 2o19? Ya know... So we don't sign guys like Moz and Deng lol.
getting spoon fed for dunks n layups isnt a 2way player, if that's the case Jordan/gobert are 2way center too n adam individual def rating doesnt suggest hes that good of a defender either
