Even when Luol is gone from the NBA we will still always bring this up during trade discussions and I love that we do haha,
Can someone else just humor me on this Monday morning and agree that if KD is really looking hard at Golden State, that he would also consider calling LeBron to see if he'd be interested in opting out and teaming up in LA? :: puts pipe down::
Pick up the pipe for a second Real...while the above scenario plays out, we get the #1 pick and Jeanie fires Byron. Phil gets whiff of KD and LBJ wanting to play together, and Jeanie gets him to agree to coach the squad for a year and mentor Luke into the role. 2016 roster starts with: STARTERS: Mozgov/Randle/LeBron/KD/Russell BENCH: Simmons/Clarkson/bench Cap goes up in 2017, with every team getting another max slot, then we bring in Westbrook. Phil retires and hands the keys to Luke. We go into 2017 Western conference finals against the Warriors in a battle of two 75+ win teams. Every member at Lakersball.com is gifted free 2017 playoff tickets from Kobe, who we find out has created a low-key account on the forum as a means of passing time in retirement. :: @therealdeal puts the pipe down::
Does Luke want to run the triangle? Because that's all Phil wants run wherever he is. That's why he wanted Kerr, that's why he hired Fish, that's why he may stick with Rambis even though Rambis has a poor record. He wants the triangle on his franchise and he wants only his guys coaching. That's why I've gone from "not sure how I feel about Phil here" to do not want. I'd much rather if Luke comes here he takes what he learned from Kerr and the Warriors, who I assume learned most of what he uses from Pop. Also, now I've seen LeBron and Harden thrown out as names for us for next season today. Damn, you guys are really trying to assemble a team it will be very hard for me to root for. F*** LeBron, and f*** Harden. F*** Boston and Chris Paul too, just because.
I don't want Harden, but yeah give me LeBron and CP3. LeBron is a douche, but he's still probably the second best player in basketball. Paul has carried the Paperclips without Griffin and if it wasn't for Steph he'd probably be a lead MVP candidate. Besides CP3 should be ours anyway.
As would I. If I could root for Malone, I can root for Harden. Not to mention that his salary is going to be a very agreeable 17 million next season. Makes signing two more big free agents easier. Since 1999 either Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, or Lebron has been in the Finals. The moral of the story: You need transcendent talents. Is Harden one of those 4? No. But he could help us land Durant who is in their class. With Simmons, Randle, Russell and Clarkson, we have .01% chance of luring him here. With Russell, Harden and Randle, the chances go up dramatically as well as our ability to lure a third guy which would raise the Durant chances even further.
Some FAs that interest me: Greivis Vasquez Jeremy Lin (PO) Brandon Jennings DeMar DeRozan G/SF (ETO) Gary Neal Kevin Durant SF Nicolas Batum SF Harrison Barnes SF (R) Chandler Parsons SF (P) Chase Budinger SF Luol Deng SF Marvin Williams SF Ryan Anderson PF Hassan Whiteside C Al Horford C/PF Bismack Biyombo C/PF (P) Ian Mahinmi C Joakim Noah C Nene C Pau Gasol C Al Jefferson C
I would also add PG Mike Conley SG Bradley Beal (RFA) Kent Bazemore Arron Afflalo SF Jeff Green C Zaza Pachulia Timofey Mozgov Festus Ezeli Roy Hibbert (backup $$) Boban Marjanovic
I can agree with those, but I'm not high on Bazemore, and Conley might be redundant. He'd be a nice recruiting piece though.
I just want talent in any way shape or form. I liked Bazemore here and he's grown as a player in Atlanta. I'd love to pry Conley away and move Clarkson to the bench. Gives us great depth, veteran leadership, and a powerful 1-3 punch at the position. I doubt it happens, but if he were interested in making that move I'd absolutely do it.