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

You said it’s unlikely, I provided 5 examples where we were within a possession or 2. And in each scenario AD probably pushes us over the top. I don’t see how we wouldn’t have been better. And I think it’s realistic we could of been top 3 or 4.

 

Kings losing to minny and wizards handing it to pelicans right now we need all the help we can get but we need this W tonight

 

It is always easy to pick out a possession or two and say had he been in there it would have made the difference. I pointed out several reasons why that likely isn't as cut and dry as that.

1) More than likely he wouldn't have played or played significant minutes in those contests (he had missed 3 of the first 25 games and 2 others he hardly played)

2) Bryant was a catalyst in nearly all of those 10 wins and may have seen little or no action had AD played

3) Different looks, etc, roles, players used in the games had AD played

4) Different outcomes when it came to those 5 games you refer to where such possessions existed, meaning there wouldn't be those opportunities

No, I still find it unlikely we would have automatically won those 5 games and been 15-5; hell it is more than likely we may not have won the other 10 we did win without AD.

How about we agree we would likely have been better than 10-10 (not being argued).

You feel this because it is why you just changed from a definite 3rd in the West to now 3-4 lol

 

Slick prediction of a win in Boston....another "wait and see" that we waited for and saw....not happen.

Ham shows some balls and sits Westbrick in the entire 4th quarter only for them to shrivel and he comes out in OT....

 

thought we were steamrolling everyone with AD back and Brick was a great fit in big games. What happened Slick?

I'll go out and predict Brick is going to be almost unplayable IF we get to the playoffs. Poor defender, can't hit an open shot. His only shred of value is to run the floor when Lebron is resting, but Schroder can do that as well and be more efficient.

 

wait and see, wait and see lol

 

In my initial statement I said probable. Then I said realistically we could be 3rd or 4th because Sacramento can win a game and be 28-20 and we would of been 28-21.

 

Lets agree to disagree and move on.

Bottom line is I never really argued the point we wouldn't have been better in those 20 games without him. But much like having him tonight, he still has the occasional lapse even when he is playing at a high level....Still the initial argument was we would be top in the West, I really don't have the strength to continue a debate about 2-3 games difference.

I say it was unlikely, you say it was probable. We disagree and we move on

 

we still NEED a legit 3/D wing, brown is a straight up scrub who has no business starting for any 1 in this league n rui 3pt shot is ugly AF

 

This. It makes total sense. Lakers could afford Turner for 21 and Hield for 20 or whatever next season, and still be able to sign Reaves and Hachimura for around 11 m each.

 

So not having to worry about resigning Turner make it much more palatable to trade the two 1st for sure. The 35 m this year is fine.

 

I'd deal the 2 picks in a heartbeat for those two guys right now. They are exactly what we need, plus addition by subtraction by shipping out Russ.

 

I would prefer the Rozier/Hield combo though.

 

We are so close, make a move.

 

We are playing the best teams in the NBA very close and are consistently coming up a little short. Make a move Pelinka and get us some shooting/another playmaker. Screw these picks, we are closer to contention than most want to admit.

 

yeah, much more inclined to move for turner now that he's under contract at a bargain rate for two years. not sure indy did this with trades in mind, though it helps either way.

turner not being on the market affects teams with space, too, which might hurt us peripherally to some degree.

 

Well, my thought has never changed. We need more to get over the hump. AD being able to go a full game will certainly help. Rui is a nice piece.

There’s some interesting names floating around and the trade deadline rapidly approaches.

I expect another move involving guys we don’t plan to bring back.

 

I have difficulty believing that Indiana would still consider trading Myles Turner after this extension (at least by the trade deadline).

It just wouldn’t make any sense for Turner to agree to the extension if he was going to be a free agent anyway and be able to control where he ends up. Now Turner will basically have no say if Indiana does trade him, he could end up in a very undesirable team for all he knows. He also could have basically gotten very close to the same amount in free agency somewhere, or only agree to the extension if a trade by the deadline was imminent to one of his own preferred teams. We have seen this before, the usual posturing would have been Turner declining any extension offers to put pressure on his current team to trade him by the deadline or risk him walking away for nothing.

He gave up control of his own destiny to leave Indiana. Why would he do that? For that reason, I think both Indiana and Turner’s intent is for them to stay together.

Having said that, I agree - this Lakers team is actually very close to having a shot at being at least a Western Conference Finals team. They really only need 2 or 3 pieces, which is:

- a starting caliber 3 and D wing
- capable big man depth to actually load manage AD
- A capable point guard that can defend, hit open 3s and just be league average in play making to make things happen and keep the offense moving if Lebron isn’t doing it.

To me, it’s Charlotte who has the players that can fit most of that criteria in a Rozier/Plumlee/Hayward or Oubre for Westbrook and salary filler trade. Rozier and Plumlee fit what we need, Hayward and Oubre fit “some” of what we need at the wing spot but have their flaws. Hayward is always the better option but he just needs to stay healthy.

Toronto has the ideal PG and 3/D Wing in FVV and OG, but we don't have the assets to make that happen.

This thought process led me to the following trade idea, where in a way - it actually makes sense for all 3 teams:



In this trade idea, it would have to take both Laker FRPs and maybe Charlotte offering up a protected 1st rounder to Chicago as well to be involved. There were reports around the 2023 draft last summer that Charlotte was willing to give up their 2023 1st round lotto pick to anyone willing to take on Hayward so this isn't out of the question.

Chicago would be the team that receives all 3 FRPs (2 from LA, 1 from Charlotte) in exchange for getting involved and taking on Hayward while giving up DeRozen. I actually believe Chicago might do that. Chicago isn't close to being a contender, DeRozen might only have about 2 good years left and it's better to sell high on him before he becomes a expiring contract next season. The 3 picks they receive lets them be flexible in the future to retool their roster as well. They can use them and their own picks to go big game hunting with Hayward's contract in the offseason as it'll become an expiring contract or they could even use some of the picks to offload Lonzo Ball's contract if they really wanted to. They could even keep the picks for several seasons because the LA picks have a high probability of going up in value if the Lakers are bad in 2027 and 2029.

Charlotte should be in blow it up and rebuild/tank for Wembanyama mode. The writing is on the wall, this team isn't good even if Hayward and Lamelo Ball was 100% healthy. In this trade, they clear their cap sheet and get to rebuild in the offseason around LaMelo with a new roster that fits LaMelo's skillset and career timeline. All it would cost them is 1 protected FRP, which they were willing to do to get rid of Hayward last summer anyway. One thought I had in mind too is this trade could also still work by having Chicago send out Lonzo Ball to Charlotte. In this scenario, Charlotte might not even need to give up a pick for taking on that burden and it's actually intriguing for them to think of a Ball Brother backcourt. It all really depends on if Charlotte would be open to taking on Lonzo's injury risks.

For the Lakers, I think this trade gives us at least a legit chance of winning it all this season and next. We basically replace Westbrook with 3 players that are better fits and are more productive than Westbrook, including Derozen who's still an all star caliber wing and is a shot maker. This depth chart can definitely have a shot:

Rozier/Schroder/Beverly
DeRozen/Reaves/Christie
Lebron/Brown/Walker/JTA
AD/Hachimura/Gabriel
Plumlee/Bryant

I think JTA probably needs to be released/traded and we go sign one more Center on the buyout market, but I think that's the best the Lakers can possibly do. The Lakers won't even have the ability to build a team with this much talent with the $30 million in cap space this offseason because that would mean we get 3 Mid Level players or 1 very good player at $20ish million/season and 1 good role player at $10 million player.

DO IT ROB!!!!

 

good thinking, but i just don't see chicago pulling a give up move in midseason, much less one that burdens them with hayward's contract next year.