2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

If Lakers are going to keep Russ, they might want to consider working the rookie Swider into the rotation. I mean, when you think about it, is Swider really that much worse of a defender than the 33-year old Bogdanovic? I know he is just a rookie, and summer league doesnt mean much, but Lakers have to get shooting from some where, right? Lakers also might internally be doing a similar comparison of Conley to Nunn.

 

6'9 with a legit jumpshot is a good look for me. I can't imagine that he'd be much worse than Bogdanovic on defense. Bogdan isn't exactly known as a " defensive " guy. He's at least more athletic than Melo, and Melo found a way to knock down shots for us.

 

well, rebuilding is only a matter of time. I really am not sure what way to go from here. But, I do know that no matter what, we are going to have some down years. We are going to need our draft picks eventually. Our ONLY chance is to get lucky and draft a great player and then attract others to come play with him or we will simply have to build up enough good youth equity, like we did with the all our youth recently, and then trade them for someone marquee. I figure we have Lebron and Davis for 2 to 3 more years. If AD continues to have health issues and cannot stay on the court, I think we move him at the end of his contract or let him walk. I don't see us resigning him, unless he takes a huge pay cut. Lebron, I have little doubt will just announce his retirement after his current contract. Maybe he sticks around and plays a year with his son. Big maybe. Don't think he will have too much to offer by then. Lebron is going to be like Kareem, he is able to do a number of things on the court and if we actually had another couple of guys who could step up and run the team, then he could stick around for a smaller role, but that situation is looking doubtful.

I think we need our picks, if Lebron and AD can stay healthy, we always have a punchers chance, if they can't we have zero chance regardless of anything. Truth is, if our best 5 guys peak during the playoffs, we have a shot, if any of them are injured, we don't even have a lucky punchers chance. Do we want to delay our rebuild by 2 to 5 years for that??

Very costly risk at this point. I would be more inclined to wait and see how we are doing and in the worst case scenario make a change at the deadline.

 

yeah, can't get on board with suggesting cole swider is anywhere close to bogdanovic. if you think bogdanovic is just a shooter, i don't think you've watched him play.

if you think swider is more than just a shooter, i don't think you've watched him play.

 

The signs started in Preseason. Lakers went ofer. Like a redux of 2013. That was the sign last year that things were gonna go south regardless if AD and Lebron are playing.

If the Lakers start 0-3, get ready for fireworks.

 

yeah, it was funny because the responses were the same as that year: meh, preseason. but they looked like garbage both times and both times it was a harbinger.

 

It would be smart to do this in the beginning of the season to build up the kid’s confidence, but I bet they wait half way through the year to give him a shot.

 

don't follow his conley logic. he concludes they're not motivated to move him, but maybe he misspoke and meant that he's not worth much given his salary. i agree on the latter point, which is why they're not getting 2 1sts for him and bogdanovic from us.

but conley is the guy it makes the most sense to get rid of--he's a highly paid vet who might accidentally win you games.

i think ainge is seeing if he can get a 1st for each of bogdanovic and clarkson in separate deals. if he can't, i think he calls us back.

and a real wild card is whether conley has privately asked out, which i think he has.

 

I don't think Bojan is just a shooter. But, shooting is his greatest asset, and shooting is really all we need of him. Sure, he could attack the basket a little bit, but we obviously do not need him to do that.

 

i think bogdanovic is sort of a supercharged melo at this point--marginally better in all facets of the game, but much more expensive. it's part of why i'm not sure he's worth a first unless you're dumping salary in the process. and again, why he hasn't been traded yet (if they could get expiring salary and a 1st, he'd be long gone).

all that said, i'm highly dubious cole swider has a place in the league. when bogdanovic was his age, he was already playing an important role on fenerbache and his national team and had been drafted high 2nd round in the nba.

there's just a big gap between the two players, and there's good reason basically nobody looked at swider but us, imo. our scouting department is awesome, but my guess is that christie will be another one we look back at and realize we nailed while swider was a shot in the dark, if you will.

don't get me started on pippen.

 

Maybe Swider would get more respect if his name were Coldon Swidonovic? He would of been a lottery pick?

 

doubtful. a lot of these european guys have had success playing with better competition than american colleges. swider took four years to even be an "ok" college player and has never proven anything against real competition. he'd have to buck the odds in serious fashion to have a career like bogdavonic's, and i'd put the odds near zero that he could bring the same value next year.

 

I admit, he is probably more in the Duncan Robinson mold than Bojan, but again, shooting is really all we need from him on the offensive side of the ball. Again, I'm not sure how much worse on defense Swider is than Bojan.

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...e-insiders-dish-on-conley-clarkson-bogdanovic



Doesn't sound like Rob thinks much of the Jazz players.

 

Something's pretty much gotta happen this week if there's any hope for Russ to be moved. LeBron's mini camp will probably be early next week.

 

he would be thinking right.

 

as i said at other points in various threads: i don't think anyone does, especially knowing utah wants to get off these guys. this report echoes my thinking that bogdanovic is only bringing back a 1st if the jazz take on salary in return (i mean, bertans and a 1st?).

ainge could hold out on beasley and clarkson until the deadline and maybe find someone desperate enough to give a 1st without future salary attached, but i'm dubious.

we could solve a lot of problems for them by doing a westbrook/gabriel/1st for conley/bogdanovic/gay/vanderbilt deal. the 1st is because we're desperate to move russ and they've thrown in vanderbilt. without him, this is two 2nds at this point. the longer it goes, the worse ainge's negotiating position, imo, as other teams will start making guys available for picks as their seasons fail.

 

Nah we haven’t really been serious about wanting to move Russ.

 

As a vocal Rob critic, I get his hesitance to give up picks to get those Jazz guys.

It's wild how the market seems to have just decided that the Lakers must use both picks to trade Westbrook.

Can't be repeated enough how we caught bad breaks with the teams that we could potentially make deals with this summer.