You know it took a lot for me to admit that I'd take Randle over love but I see BIG upside in Randle and better things for lakers than signing a hometown hero.
I remember when I was thinking about buying season seats in 1995 thinking 'now is the time' (I hesitated and then the Kobe Shaq era began before I could pull the trigger). It feels like its coming around again - and will be sooner than we think. Fingers crossed.
I don't like DeAndre Jordan, but if the option is between a max offer to Love or Jordan, I'd take Jordan every time and twice on Sunday. We have a better shot at competing with a bruiser center next to Randle, rather than a a stretch 4 that plays no D.
My top free agent above all others is Monroe because it means we did not sign Dragic or Rondo. In my head, I know Jordan is better than Monroe, but I can't shake this nagging feeling that he will fall off a cliff once he comes to the Lakers. The only way I sign Love is if we have a trade lined up for Randle that nets us Wiggins or a top 4 pick in THIS season's draft. Based on this season (thus far), we have one of the top 3 rookies in the league with Clarkson. That can obviously (and almost undoubtedly will) change in the coming months/years, but because of Randle's rookie deal, I only trade him for Wiggins or a top 4 pick.
I think I give the same answer every chat. I don’t think the Lakers’ plan has changed much. They were always aiming for the 2015 and 2016 free agent classes. The idea was to draft well in 2014 (Randle) and pick up a solid complimentary player without hurting their free agent position in 2015 and 2016, swing for the fences in 2015, and when Kobe comes off the books in 2016, swing for the fences again. If all went according to plan they would have signed a solid piece last summer and they would have been healthier, so they would have lost their 2015 pick to Phoenix and retained their 2016 pick. But since they didn’t really sign anyone of significance who will last past this summer and everyone got hurt, it looks like they may keep their 2015 pick & lose their 2016 pick instead, which is better for them. Plus the new TV deal will give them additional room in 2016. The big question is whether a top-tier free agent will come to LA in 2015 on the promise that more will come in 2016. But if all goes according to plan, they will enter 2016-17 with Randle, their 2015 top-five pick, a max player signed this summer, and two more top-level guys signed in 2016. That’d be a pretty solid core. Per Larry Coon; http://www.basketballinsiders.com/chat/nba-chat-with-larry-coon-352015/
Everyone who doesn't want Rondo (and probably even Love) better pray we keep the lotto pick this year. If we don't keep the pick, I think the odds of the team reaching on a guy like Rondo increases quite a bit.
Us possibly keeping our pick in this draft as opposed to having it next year is (potentially) an enormous boost to our rebuild. The roster the front office constructed this offseason looked promising enough that no one thought we were keeping our pick. We also threw the bank at Carmelo. Carmelo has turned out to be an absolute bust in NY. The Knicks owe that dude 23, 24 , 26, and 29 million over the next 4 seasons. He will be in his 30's for every one of those seasons. We also threw a rumored 2 year 24 million dollar deal at Pau to stay. If those two take that money, we are probably the 9th or 10th seed in the West with Melo's apparent albatross (cause he was hurt going into the season). I also am fairly certain the Lakers knew Clarkson was better than where he fell in the draft, but I highly doubt they expected him to be this far ahead of the curve. If they redid the draft right now, Clarkson probably goes in front of everyone but Wiggins, Jabari, Embiid and Randle. I bring all this up because while the Lakers plan didn't "change" all that much per say, the Lakers main plan went bust. If the Lakers main plan went their way, we'd have a team that is going to miss the playoffs, lose their pick and have ZERO cash to improve themselves this offseason where we'd return essentially the same team next season. Right now things are looking more and more optimistic because our main pushes "failed" last offseason. We would have been in basketball purgatory for a few years had Mitch and Jimmy gotten their way on everything. About the only thing I can give the Lakers credit for at this point is nailing the Clarkson pick. Luck is responsible for the rest.
Before the season started, an unnamed person in the FO said that Clarkson would be starting by the end of the season...apparently, they were right.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...on-rondo-may-not-be-worth-dollars-hell-demand Pretty objective...
Whoever said it is looking pretty good right now. Granted, after Lin and Kobe, who did Clarkson really have to beat out?
To be fair, I believe Lets Go Clippers also said Clarkson would be starting or something like that at some point because "athleticism" and "athletic" and "athletic athleticism". As for me, don't want Rondo anymore, and don't want DeAndre Jordan. He's hugely a product of playing with Chris Paul, has no offensive moves other than dunks, and is a liability at the end of games because of his ft's. His rebounding and defense are great, yes, but to sign him we would really have to be counting on Randle to develop a jumper so the paint couldn't be so clogged. I'd almost rather take a chance on Monroe. I'd rather sign DJ than Rondo though, and it would be fun to screw the Clippers and begin their slide back to irrelevance.
Well if we draft a C we don't have to worry about any of this. If we draft 1 of the guards, I agree with going for a rim protector over a scorer that plays no defense like Love or Monroe, but I'd try to get a better deal than Jordan at the Max. I'd try to trade for a young rim protector still on his rookie deal in a crowded frontcourt first. Maybe Mil would be willing to let go of Henson or Plumlee, target a few other young guys like that. If we can't pull any of that off, I'd see what it would take for CHA to not match an offer to Biyombo. Then I'd see what kind of offers Asik & R. Lopez are getting. & if Hibbert opts out he might be cheaper than giving DeAndre the max also. Jordan is great at what he does, but he isn't winning with the best PG in the NBA & the best PF in the NBA. Not someone we should be offering the max.
all this talk about rondo not getting the dollars he'll demand: if he's as bad as everyone says (I disagree), who's going to make the max offer? so many teams have starting pgs with whom they're comfortable. I'm sure the lakers will kick the tires at a reasonable price (12 per maybe?) like any team minus a pg might. my top FA target is still marc gasol until he actually signs a deal with Memphis, dammit. after that, I agree that whom the lakers draft should inform FA decisions. i understand the counter arguments to this philosophy, but it's still the way I'd go. also, I'd try to lock up ed davis long term and below market like they did nick young last year. hopefully, he likes la enough to consider it.
I don't think everyone is saying Rondo is bad, just not worth the 10+ million price tag. He's definitely starter material, but he probably currently ranks somewhere around 15-20th out of the 30 starting PGs in the NBA. In the right environment (not the Lakers) he may rank higher. Same goes for Dragic. He's like in the 8-12th group, ie not worth the max.
