I'm completely fine with the WOJO hate but tbh we gave up additional assets , it"s not like the OG deal is going to get through after July 30th ...
I mean--how realistic was the July 30th trade, particularly given the quality of our assets? Wiggins was a largely hyped #1 pick, and it wasn't a multi-team deal involving a ton of picks.
If we sign Kawhi, I will never ever forget the way Woj and Ramona and Rachel Nichols and Big Bob Marks were all over the place talking about Rob's incompetence, the fact that the Lakers messed up a trade in which we got Anthony Davis, the fact that Rob Pelinka didn't know the salary cap implications of his trade, the fact that Rob had to "call back" David Griffin and basically beg for an extension on the trade. I'll never forget we weren't on Kawhi's radar. I'll never forget we were "never in play" for Kawhi or any other max FA. I'll never forget that if Klay didn't get a max deal from Golden State he would consider the Clippers and while you'd think it was the Lakers, the team his dad played for, the team who Klay grew up idolizing, it is in fact the Clippers. This b******* narrative push that the Lakers never knew what they were doing despite the fact that this was clearly a carefully laid out plan is the most base nonsense. Months ago, Rob Pelinka signs Jemerrio Jones to a non-guaranteed deal as potential trade ballast. Months before that, we hear LeBron telling Kawhi "we'll be in touch" after a game. And months before that Klutch sends a young man to New Balance to intern giving Rich Paul a clear line to New Balance every single day. Let's not forget Anthony Davis waiving his trade kicker and Rob finding the right amount of money to free up so that we have a max deal in place. Any of those steps could have gone wrong or sideways, but they got them here. We're here now and credit to Rob for making it happen, credit to Klutch for making it happen, and f*** all the damn media outlets that dragged our name through the mud for weeks and weeks and took pleasure spreading lies that they convinced themselves were the truth. I want Kawhi to sign here for our own success, but I also want Kawhi to sign here just to be able to look at the despair on their faces and hopefully we see them dragged through the mud the way they did to us.
Same. I think I said the other day that I can't think of another example of the media just clearly going after a guy with "facts" that were clearly off base. Now they are all trying to pivot and pushing that we need depth instead of another star. Its just sad at this point and I will be among the angry mob blitzing them on Twitter if Kawhi signs with us.
Can I just say once again how utterly THRILLED I am to have you back realdeal? Seriously, beautiful post and absolutely scorchingly true!!!!
Dawg...WHY DID YOU EVER LEAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?! I couldn't have written this better. In fact, I'm going to copy and paste this to all of my group chats (and I have about 17 of them), and just sit back and sip on my tea rest of the day.
Inb4 the media saying we were lucky and fell backwards into the max star. “He always wanted to be in LA. Rob and Lebron didnt have to convince him much.”
For real though Real. You disappear again, we're sending people after you. Get your priorities straight
Thanks guys. Means a lot to hear that! I'm lucky life slowed down at the right time to experience this with ya'll!
Well f***ing said my man. Well f***ing said. Seems like I signed up on this dope a** board at the right goddamn time
@therealdeal West (and Barkley) stated that it was easy to sign James. The toughest part was building around him. So far, we're on our way there granted some pieces have to fleshed out or whoever this third star is. To quote Rich Eisen "...soak in the hate and spit it back!"
I honestly think at this point the Lakers are riding a huge positivity wave. I think they end up with Kawhi. I really do. Building around Kawhi, LeBron, and Davis would be relatively easy I think.