Kawhi Leonard Discussion: “I’m A Snake Clipper Guy.”

Too many question marks for me to pull the trigger. If we miss out, so be it.

 

The odds of one (or two) of our kids turning into a star are much higher than getting one in free agency imo.

 

disgruntled star via trade. never can predict who it will be until it happens. we've now got a ton of expiring contracts to use between December and February should someone shake loose. can reevaluate after this season and get more aggressive if it looks like we're spinning wheels.

i just haven't liked SA's tone throughout. seems like the pacers situation all over again. i'm beginning to think the worst thing that can happen is a player explicitly asking for us. we should tell the next guy to demand the knicks, then later say he'll allow for us.

edit: and tada's right--if people weren't believers in the trade route before, the george situation should have hammered it home. lebron was a shaq-like stroke of luck, imo. he needed to choose us when basketball logic was really against it. it's great that he did, and it dramatically improves our position in several ways, but counting on it again is silly. i think the next big piece we add will be via trade and probably not someone we're currently discussing.

 

wait--weren't you saying that i complained too much about us not offering anything for george?! at least he was demonstrably healthy.

i'm all for moving the kids for actual (as opposed to hypothetical) stars, but not all of them for one that hasn't played for a year. one of them, deng, and a couple picks? sure. but SA's not asking for that. thus, i move on.

and yes, those are names i was thinking of, particularly derozan and wall. i mean washington signed howard...that's a death rattle if i've ever heard one. wall is crazy expensive for your team to be a complete afterthought. ball/deng/nothing else of consequence will probably get you in the conversation for players like that before the season's out. but again, maybe it's someone else. maybe marc gasol comes free and you don't even have to give up a prospect to get him.

and i've been preaching for a full year about how ingram and company won't stay cheap forever. randle's another cautionary tale here. just with SA's "negotiation" stance and leonard's uncertain health, it seems like a situation you can walk away from.

 

Here’s a list of some 2019 free agents (some of them have player options).

Kawhi Leonard
Kevin Durant
Klay Thompson
Kyrie Irving

Jimmy Butler
Demarcus Cousins
Kevin Love
Al Horford
DeAndre Jordan
Kemba Walker
Julius Randle
Harrison Barnes
Tobias Harris
Nikola Vucevic
Marc Gasol
Goran Dragic
Eric Bledsoe
Khris Middleton
Ricky Rubio

IMO, the first four are max guys and then the rest you can probably get a combination of 2-3 of them to fit into a max slot. Some are unrealistic of course. Kyrie isn’t reuniting with Lebron. I actually do think there’s a decent chance Durant leaves though. I wouldn’t bet on it but it’s a real possibility. But there are enough options there that you can use to significantly improve the team in the unlikely chance that our gamble to keep our youth and sign Kawhi blows up.

1. Current roster including Ingram plus Kawhi in free agency.
2. Current roster minus Ingram, plus Kawhi in trade. No room for other free agents.
3. Current roster including Ingram plus Kevin Love and Kemba Walker in free agency.

I think #1 is what you need to beat Golden State (assuming Ingram makes a big leap in year 3).

#2 and #3 aren’t that far off from each other IMO. Both are title contenders, second best team, but I’d still bet on Golden State as currently constructed.

 

Love Wall - but $$$ and health major concerns.

Shoot for Kawhi and Lilliard.

 

For those wondering if Parker was let go by SA to appease Kawhi...he wasn't.

 

Trying to see the Kawhi angle here. He woulda seen a whole lot more playing time if Kawhi eventually gets moved.

 

Not sure how you surmised that from the quote. A lowball offer works as well as no offer sometimes...

It's clear SA didn't want Parker, imo.

 

Anderson's not very good; Memphis is poorly managed.

 

There is aren't enough talented difference makers in basketball. So the NBA keeps trying to tweak, make difficult, waste money and time with all these rules on free agency, trades and years on contracts.

I think the NBA needs to get rid of the soft cap and make it like the baseball. No more matching contracts if you are over the cap. Open it up so teams can sign, trade and have the flexiability to do things.

You can still keep a luxury tax threshold so that the teams that are smart with their spending get rewarded.

The NBA is way to restrictive and its backfired on the small market teams just as much as the big market teams.

 

It's Vescey...but he does produce some interesting quotes from a NBA exec.

 

I don't like Peter Vecsey and believe nothing he says. Even if it's something I want hear.

If Kawhi is smart, he does what he has to do this coming year, even if its playing in San Antonio. Play hard and do your best and when you are free in 9 months, then come to the Lakers. The Lakers will then keep their pieces and still add him. He then has 5 years of prime ball to win titles and have fun. That's what I would advise him to do if I'm his people. Play out the last season in San Antonio and then leave after.

 

We should stop debating all this while SA is trying "to bankrupt the Lakers' talent pool".

 

this is what i'm saying. if they're not seriously engaging in trade talks, hang up the phone. we'll be better than them this year and for a while after that with or without a kawhi trade.

 

Isn’t John Hollinger still running things over there too?