I really like Wood, not because I think of him as a star, I just think that his game compliments Anthony's very well. Bagley is a lesser version but he's still a young guy. I think it would be good for AD to take a younger guy at his position under his wing so to speak, and it would be good for their growth as well, especially on the defensive end. Myles has a nice game paired with AD, he's an accomplished defensive player and he can shoot a little bit, the foot injuries worry me about him though. Solid ideas about the wings from several folks, I want to see us beat up on people again. I enjoyed that in the bubble. I'm all in favor of younger, more athletic size at 3-5. Melo and Dwight...are they ready to become Dudz like guys in the locker room yet? Dwight maybe, Melo IDK.
Honestly, I think this is the way to go. Adding a 6-10-6’11 athletic big alongside AD opens up so much on both ends of the floor. Plus it allows us to move whoever it is to the 5 and Lebron to the 4 in the event AD gets hurt. Offensively I want Lebron initiating the offense as much as possible, with Monk and whomever else roaming the wings on the perimeter. Monk has also shown himself more than capable of initiating the offense to give Lebron rest on a few possessions. Whoever we start opposite Monk needs to be 6’5 or taller to offset Malik’s lack of height and size. My ideal rotation: 6’5 combo guard/ Nunn Monk/ Reaves Lebron/ Johnson/ athletic 3&D wing AD/Lebron/Gabriel 6’10 or taller athletic big/AD/Dwight I did not add THT because we likely need to involve him in a trade to get the athletic big.
Give me: Westbrook / DJ Nunn / Reaves Lebron / Ingles / Stan AD / Melo / Gabriel Turner / McGee / Dwight We will probably lose Monk. Try to get Ingles on the mmle. Sign McGee to the vet min and see what else shakes out from ring chasers. I’d love a project C if possible from the scouting department.
WTH @abeer3 ? Did you overlook the richard who’s # 1 on that list? With your “like”? Don’t be backsliding!
lol, i like ingles/mcgee/turner as pickups? honestly, i think when i imagine that russ is still on the roster come opening day, it must mean there's been some sort of positive development in terms of his mindset. i realize that's naive, but i can't imagine he'll be there if they talk in the offseason and his stance is still that he's a star and we need to adjust to him.
I’ve had a name pop up for our SG spot: TJ Warren. He is a UFA, 6’8 and can play both SG and SF. In the bubble season he broke out on both sides of the floor for Indiana. However he suffered a foot injury at the start of last season that required surgery and kept him out for two full seasons. He is back to 5 on 5 practice and would of been healthy for the playoffs if indy made it. This is a low risk high reward kind of situation. TJ is down on his luck and won’t get a big contract offer but is young enough to bounce back in a big way with a boat load of talent. Offer him a mmle and with our hole at SG he can audition for a big contract. Westbrook / Nunn / DJ TJ Warren / Reaves / Bradley Lebron / Ingles / Stan AD / Melo Myles Turner / McGee / Howard Package THT, Gabriel another vet minimum and a 1st for Turner. Try for Warren for the mmle, Ingles and McGee on vet minimums. The rest is just bringing back the young guys and a few of the decent vets. Salary Cap Russ (47) Lebron (44.4) AD (38) Turner (17.5) Warren (5.25) Nunn (5.25) 8 vet mins cap hits @ 1.7 (13.6) Total: 171m This would mean we would be competing with GS, Brooklyn, Clippers and the Bucks in the spending department next year. And it’s a clear line in the sand if the Lakers are still committed to championships at all odds or if the Buss family can’t play the game with the rich owners anymore. The team adds to 3&D players to the starting lineup, as well as two 3&D players to the reserves (Nunn and Ingles). We actually have legit shooting with Nunn, TJ, Ingles and Melo. Turner and Lebron are both about 36% so you can have a heavy shooting team. If Lebron and AD are injured again you have Westbrook, Nunn, TJ, Ingles, Turner as your starting unit and it’s more than enough talent to stay above .500. If everyone gets injured, you blow it all up anyway.
Totally agree. At a large contract or max it’s a real franchise sinking injury. It’s similar to what KD had in OKC and Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday etc - he can come back from it and be productive. But there aren’t too many ways to add that level of talent when you’re capped out. In the healthy case scenario where Lebron, AD, Turner, Warren, Nunn and Ingles all play 60+ games we are the team to beat.
One thing these playoffs are showing me is bench players 6-9 on these rosters are incredibly talented. We have to improve in this area.
It feels like the entire NBA has been developing these skilled, athletic, long, versatile bench players, and we just have not. We have been cycling in players on minimums year after year and it’s caught up with us this season. It happens to championship teams though, I remember it happening at the end of the Kobe/Shaq years, and to a lesser extent the Kobe/Pau years.
Yup, noticed this as well. And those young players aren't shrinking in the spotlight as well. It's a little refreshing to see for the league but our front office needs to rethink our approach. We can't keep trading our draft picks or not keeping the players our scouts have targeted. We went into the season with a bunch of old guys ready for the playoffs and that approach seems... dated(?)
Lebron's always do this to teams. You put all in and trade all assets to give him a team. It's the price to pay. I just hope we are relevant when he leaves, we can't be missing the playoffs. We need a narrative where a superstar says "I'll do what LeBron couldn't" so we can catch a big fish. But we can't be a burning house, we have to be contending, even if we don't win it all. We should be on the top3 of the West, hope we get there next year
mostly agree, but let's see who ends up on top at the end. i'm not defending our roster construction at all--i've been two stars all the way. i didn't even want to chase kawhi, remember. i think if your stars are old/experienced, you can live with some young role players, and if your stars are young, you probably want some older/experienced role players (e.g., horford in boston, beverly in minny).
lol, onto years 3 and 4 for my personal dieng/dedmon watch. jones and one of those two (assuming the wheels don't finally fall off the one we pick!) is enough considering we'll use AD and even lebron at center fairly frequently. 15-20mpg of jones and 5-10mpg of one of the killer ds.
Ingles was never athletic to begin with. I’m certain he won’t lose his size, intelligence and shooting stroke. So he should still be a 40% shooter who play makes and knows where to be on defence. That’s pretty good for your 7th/8th man on the minimum.
That’s for people who shrink in the moments. Melo didn’t this season, Avery Bradley didn’t either. I’m pretty sure Ingles who is a renowned competitor would be ok. I doubt we get him but he would be an underrated pickup. As would Damien Jones and TJ Warren. Monk was an underrated pickup this past season.
