Official Whine, Moan, Complain Thread 19/20-CLOSED "WE CHAMPS!"

What I was suggesting was that the role players are in place for a contender, but the players aren’t. Rondo is a crafty vet guard. Stephenson is an irritation. Kuz can score from the 4. Zu was a young, energetic center backing up an experienced 5 and an absurdly athletic 5. Hart is a solid bench wing defender. But the starting lineup isn’t near championship caliber without another star.

Edit: I don't see how a team can start Ball or Rondo, Ingram, and Kuz and win a ring. And I'm not sure having James and AD would change that.

 

I don't know what they would have had to give up to get AD, but...

Assumptions
1. Three elite defenders.
--Ingram is my favorite Laker, but he's not an elite defender. I don't think this one's debatable. He's 68th out of 88 Small Forwards in DRPM. He's 359th overall in D-PIPM. I regard these two as the best defensive measures, but it's okay if you don't. There's nothing to bolster the view that I can find.

Ball, on the other hand, scores very well on these measures. So, let's say he's elite.

Davis is 13th in D-PIPM and top 10 in DRPM. So I won't debate it. He's elite.
I think you get two elite defenders. And you get Hart who's very good off the bench. Then you counter that with Ingram, one of the worst defenders in the NBA and James, who grades out well and whom Lakers fans regard as a slacker and poor defender.

2. Those FIve play
Davis has missed 14, 7, 7, 21, 14, 15, and 18 games in his seven seasons.
James has missed 18 games this season.
Ball has now missed 40 of the 139 games he has been on an NBA roster.

--Do we believe they all make it through a season healthy? Can we count on all of them for the playoffs?

3. They Post Monster Numbers
I think they do, honestly. James has shown that he cuts into other bigs' numbers, but they can find ways to coexist. But the USG has to come from somewhere.
James is at 31% USG
Davis is at 30% USG
Ingram is at 23% USG
Ball is at 17% USG
Kuzma is at 24% USG
--That's pretty ball dominant, overall. I can't see Ball averaging 10 ppg with those guys, as he can't do it with the current group.

4. They Suck at Things
They can't shoot threes or FTs.
Ball 33%, 42%
Ingram 29%, 66%
James 36%, 68%
Kuzma 32%, 77%
Davis 32%, 81%

I don't think it's at all clear that that team is a title competitor, but maybe it is. Now, the questions about how the team comes together, how they handle splitting up the ball, how they stay healthy, etc. That's the thing that's hard to predict. So, I won't

 

Edit: their high pace only makes their numbers less impressive, relative to other teams - not more impressive. Right?

 

And that is giving up none of those players. Wasn’t the rumor Ball, Ingram, and Kuzma?

 

At least that team is a playoff competitor, unlike this one.

 

Okay! Gotcha. Very different questions. So maybe keep the band together and add a star Fa.

 

Oof, how long can we continue to value cap space above all else? I wasn’t even super high on Zu, but this is just poor team/asset management, I at least felt he could be used in a better trade.