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

Grant was on my wishlist too..behind Turner, ahead of Wood.

 

wanted bogdan the summer we traded for russ, but he was (illegally) s&t'd before FA even opened, iirc.

 

I’m confused.

You’re acting like I said we need to trade significant assets for an expensive big man, or that we need to throw Bryant out of the rotation.

All I said was we should consider signing another big man to a 10 day contract for depth. We already have an open roster spot, there is zero harm or budgetary limitations in signing someone to a 10 day. I didn’t realize this would be such a disagreeable idea lol

I’d rather have Hassan Whiteside or Jay Huff on the bench ready to go in case Bryant/Gabriel get injured or in foul trouble, rather than holding onto an empty roster spot for no reason and potentially having to resort to emergency lineups with Lebron at center.

I guess Rob disagrees with me though, apparently we worked out another guard today…

 

Rob acquires all the mediocre guards he could and when they suck, he goes out and tries to find more

 

No, not at all. What I said was that if we were to get a big who could do what you want (rim protect) while maintaining the level of other skills Bryant has been providing then we would be out big money to obtain such a player. Bringing in a big who can only rim protect is a little worthless if we are counting on offensive production from our center. We are simply compromising. If he is the backup to Bryant, fine, I just don't want them eating any of his minutes.

As for Dorsey...you think you would give Nunn some play to try and get back to his form, which was very good, rather than pick up some newb who's been floundering in Israel and Greece.

 

The other point is, AD is a monster defender so do we really need another? Couldn't Bryant be a good help defender or body that AD can use for his purposes? Save us a lot of money over Turner too.

 

I’m still confused lol, thought it was pretty clear I’ve been talking about using a 10 day contract on the 15th spot to take a flyer on someone who can provide front court depth at the back of the rotation, NOT someone to overtake Bryant in the rotation.

I don’t agree with the premise that it would be impossible to find someone who can help with rim protection while also being productive offensively, but even in that scenario if we brought in a one-dimensional rim protector… how exactly is that a compromise over the alternative of leaving the 15th spot open for no reason?

The more I think about it, I’m not even that gung-ho that it needs to be a center. That’s just an area of immediate need that comes to mind since AD is out, but really my main point is that we need to be doing SOMETHING with that 15th spot now that 10 day contracts are legal.

The roster clearly needs help as is, and now we’re short handed. Our scouting department is one of the strongest aspects of the organization. We should be taking as much advantage of this window for 10 day contracts as possible. Try out as many players as we can that our scouts have high opinions on, and see if we can find a diamond in the rough.

If we can find another player Stanley Johnson or Wenyen Gabriel, that would be huge. Someone we can use for some immediate production and then if they end up standing out, try to lock them in for a minimum contract with a team option for next year.

And it seems that’s what we’re going to try to do



On that note, maybe I shouldn’t have reached for the low hanging fruit joking about Rob trying out another guard. I know fans are going to overreact to working out this dude, but I’d be pretty confident that he’s just one of many players we’re working out. Nothing wrong with casting a wide net.

 

Yup, another guard. We don’t have enough- we need at least 10!

 

dorsey is 6'4 so maybe he's qualified as a pf for ham?

 

Yeah 10 day, backup to Bryant, nvm I was thinking something else. Doesn't matter anyway at this point because for gawd knows what reason they are looking at newb guards What we need is a big wing or a big wing defender. Our bigs are doing all the work on defending big wings.

 

irwin: in fwob dumblinka's latest attempt to snow his devoted fans into continuing to obsessively follow the organization he personally ruined, he offered a random fan's first-born son if tyler dorsey would work out for the lakers. after consuming the baby, people familiar with his thinking said he called a 7th grader and offered him alex caruso's contract. i will kill him when i get my chance. we spend 4 hours on these subjects and more in our latest podcast of the day.

 

Looks like we've had interest in Dorsey for awhile

 

Future Laker Draymond Green praises Bron after b-day performance
https://bleacherreport.com/videos/336660-dray-shouts-out-lebron

Can't wait to give him all our money this summer

 

Bryant needs to be part of the rotation when AD comes back and it is up to Ham to make sure that happens. He is one of the few signings that has actually worked out for us. In his last 16 games he is averaging 14 points and 8 rebounds with a .659/.500/.786 line. His defensive rating isn't bad and although he isn't much of a rim protector, his offensive game and the added dimension he brings by spreading the floor as a good shooter make it more than worth it to have him out there. He has been vital in these games stepping in for AD.

I think we can all agree that both Walker (3rd best scorer at 14.7 ppg, team-leading 38% from distance and 2.1 makes per game), because of his athleticism and Reaves (10.8 ppg, 36% from 3) need to be in that rotation as well- meaning essentially we have 5 guys we can solidly say should be in there. Both these guys are out tonight but James should return.

For a solid and competitive rotation, we need 5 more; even if 2 are spot-duty. This is where the upgrades need to come from.

Of the remaining guys I lean towards Schroder and Brown Jr being the two we put into that 10. Sure, Gabriel probably has the best net positive on the floor but he is severely limited in his scoring and play-making. Brown is one of the few perimeter guys we have with any size and can knock down the occasional three (36%, 1.1). Schroder is probably your best bench scorer and has earned a spot in the 10 with his play in the last 11 games (15.6 ppg including (2) 30-point + games and a .471/.425/.857 line).

So that would mean:

1. C/F Anthony Davis
2. F LeBron James
3.
4. G Lonnie Walker V
5.
6. G Austin Reaves
7. C Thomas Bryant
8.
9. G Dennis Schroder
10. F Troy Brown Jr.

Obviously the three players who need to be upgraded on and fill holes 3. 5 and 8 are Westbrook, Beverley and Nunn. I realize that is 3 guards out, but we really need 1-2 of the ones who are replacing them to be a forward. LeBron, Austin and Dennis can handle the PG duties and we can find a fourth on the buyout market if need be, so we don't have to be trading for a PG.

 

yeah, i naysay a lot of the doom, but i'll admit i have a real fear that we're going to go into the summer with cap space and blow most of it on this guy. one reason i'm so eager to take on salary is to avoid such a thing.

 

Yikes those three would be worse than with Brick, chemistry wise.

 

i don't think so, but darvin ham might start weeping immediately, as his whole offensive philosophy would be entirely dead.