This squad as presently constructed is a 35 win team at best. We would need one of the young guys to take a HUGE leap.
Naw, IMO, that's not right. The BIG IF is no extended season health problems for AD and LeBron. Sure they can miss some games here and there or a couple weeks, but if they are reasonably healthy we'll win more than 35, even if it meant we still had Russ and just sat him. Which I don't think we will have him here. Nunn or AR at the point to spell LeBron with a fight for the 2 spot with our new centers and Johnson back is already big improvement. Again, just my opinion.
You hope for the best with good health from key players. You expecting guarantees? It’s a crap shoot every year with teams’ health.
Nah I just don’t wanna be phx or gsS punching bag again but I’ll keep the faith ! I am not buying LeBronS preaching nor have any faith AD will hold up . But I am new, don’t mind me
New or not what’s your alternate plan for players better than LeBron and AD that’s realistic? This year. Slick (and everyone else since it’s no great revelation) is right …. everything depends on reasonable health during the season for them and then stay healthy in the playoffs. Where we all disagree is none of that excuses Westbrook’s performance and terrible attitude about it all this past season.
Nothing I’ll be complaining til LeBron is gone …this is a hostage situation. None of this was our FO plan .
Not a LeBron the person fan but we were a s*** show for like five years with kids we liked that were not going to get us a ring, and didn't even get us into the playoffs, and that no sought after free agents wanted to give the time of day. He came, got us AD and we won a ring. We might have won a second ring back to back had AD not gone down in the playoffs 2 seasons ago. Entitled LA fans are something else. Hope for the puncher’s chance those two give us because when they’re both gone we are back to no chance at all. And yes LeBron screwed things up royally with the Westbrook debacle.
I honestly don’t have high hopes for the team if we don’t move Russ. We need multiple guys to make big leaps and no growing pains with Ham.
I’m comfortable just not watching until a trade happens. Just not interested in watching him sulk around and then tension there will be on the team. He needs to be gone by training camp.
i'll sort of enjoy watching lebron try to open camp with russ. and i think we should if bkn insists on multiple 1sts for a guy who can just stroll in FA and may or may not play because he may or may not feel like it.
Maybe Ham has some old anecdote of how Kobe and Shaq hated each other for a period and still were able to go out there and play basketball together better than any other duo in the game. Because that’s what great Alphas do if they’re as competitive as Kobe and Shaq were.
here's my wmc: i can't believe that the only teams in position to help us offload westbrook were two teams that hated us and one team that had their situation dramatically and unexpectedly change so that they're out of the running. i mean, of all the teams to have tons of cap space that they NEED to burn, it has to be freaking indiana?! the FO that (rightfully) hates our FO the most?! they had to be just giggling up a storm when they sent brogdon to boston for absolutely nothing after laughing off our similar offer (and then leaking their response to the press, i might add). and then the spurs...that organization seems to care more about weakening us than strengthening themselves. finally, miles bridges chooses the eve of FA to go full psychopath, making it so that charlotte no longer has financial issues down the road. the stars just aligned terribly for the lakers this summer. rob's probably somewhere burning sage or something.