honestly, as a fan i did feel a bit threatened after the stern veto aftermath. but we've righted the ship, and ballmer is the one running scared, imo. they put all their chips on kawhi, and that's...risky. if they can't wring a ring out of that crossroads deal, i'm not sure how they build a fanbase to even make lakers management blink. i still don't understand why ballmer doesn't move to seattle. bring all your cash to revive the sonics. everyone (me included) will root for you to get it going. being la's second team that's just less of a laughing stock isn't a legacy. and it's not about the cash. you already own all of it. if your legacy is about building a franchise/brand that invigorates and unites people, take your show to seattle.
If there's an opening to do a victory lap on Bateman's behalf for one of my favorite roles of his (and there are many), I'm going to take it
I don't have a problem with what Ballmer said, he is trying to create a winning project and has set his eyes on the team at the summit. If anything another strong team in LA will make sure ownership doesn’t rest on their laurels. I don’t feel threatened, I welcome the competition.
17 > 0 thats just math Why can't he build brand identity without trying to step over us to do it. And no, we're not threatened, we're annoyed.
Good ol flop city got arrogant. For no reason. Now we mock them. Annoyed? No, we now enjoy ridiculing them. And they deserve it. I felt no need to mock them until they got arrogant.
Who the hell announces how many toilets you are going to have in an arena? Ballmer just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
I get the toilet thing is funny. But they’re going to build a state of the art facility there that alongside the warriors stadium will be leading the pack. On top of that both teams will directly benefit from ticket sales ensuring profitability. Like I said before this will hopefully put pressure on our ownership and partners. Would be surprised if Staples Center doesn't get a huge renovation before the decade is out or watch it lose a lot of business to the intuit dome.
Why do the Lakers need to have any pressure put upon them? It’s not like they’re half-assing it and resting on their laurels. In fact, it’s the opposite, and the slips, who have more to prove, are still desperately trying to keep up. A state of the art new facility doesn’t translate to added success on the court, which is the only thing that matters. Even if we ignore 17 > 0, the Lakers are still LA’s team. A new facility will attract some people the first few seasons, but they’ll eventually be playing to more empty seats if they start clipping again and the novelty of the place wears out.
To be fair, Staples could use some renovating. Its a pretty old building and some parts look really dated.