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

Had to turn new guy off. Can't take him.

 

I kind of think that RP is thinking if he can't get anything that is going to help us without saddling with other longer term problems, he will just wait to the trade deadline next year and dump him as an expiring for pieces then, hoping he will have enough time for the team to jell afterwards.

 

Weezy I get your point, but can you give me many examples where teams have moved an over paid ex star with little to no value for multiple decent pieces?

It’s usually the other way round, a disgruntled star asks out and then multiple pieces are given alongside draft considerations to make the trade.

I think the only options we are going to get is damaged players on bad long term contracts or situations where we have to give up draft picks. And so far it doesn’t look like we are willing to do either. That’s part of the reasoning on why I expect Russ to be here on starting night.

 

We will see but I see no advantage to making it clear you are desperate to move Russ. We saw the terrible offers we got at the last trade deadline.


I think there are moves that can be made but if we have to play hardball to get one to materialize I get it.

 

Video has surfaced of Kyrie pulled over and failing a field sobriety test



that guy….

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRJUkR26/?k=1

 

I wonder if there are literally no legs to the rumour that OKC would be willing to eat Russ last year with their cap space?

wouldnt that be the ideal situation for us?

 

Teams/players don't s*** on one of their own unless you're Philly and Simmons because everyone knows there's always a chance that player isn't going anywhere. Plus it hurts their value and you lose even more leverage

 

i actually think that so far it's been both, not one or the other. i think if we can get one or the other (good players for picks or meh players for no picks), we'd do it.

i'm 50/50 he's here in november, but it won't be for lack of trying. they've been trying for months.

i'm sure okc will do it (well, some of it--we'd probably get favors back)...for two unprotected firsts several years out!

further, that move doesn't even get us under the cap, so all we'd have is a big trade exception, which generally aren't super useful to teams trying to contend.

unless it was part of an immediate 3/4 team deal that netted us players we could use, i wouldn't do it.

 

Lebron and AD playing 21 games together over an 82 game season killed us. Similar to killing us by playing in 27 games together during the previous season. The only success this team has enjoyed since we've had Lebron, was the chip year in which he and AD played a full season, and in the first 30 games in which he and AD played together in 20. It's as simple as that, Pffft...KCP, Kuz...whatever.

 

WB is possibly coming back.

It sucks, but whatever.

I'm focused on the rest of the roster personally.

I think Ham has talked about the WB subject in his interview process and has been given full autonomy to do what needs to be done if he continues to be a net negative on the court.

That said, I'm focused on Free Agency.

 

If WB does indeed come back, the rest of the roster really doesn't matter imo. Whoever they get will not be able to produce enough to overcome the lack of return we are getting from WB.

 

That's nonsense. The only thing we can't overcome is Lebron and AD playing less than 30 games together period. For some reason this fact keeps continually overlooked or downplayed. It's never been about the roster or even the coaching, as the number 1 factor pertaining to this team's success. These are two of the best players in the NBA. We already know what they can do as a duo. This obssesive chatter about everything not related to those two guys, is really a form of disrespect to their talents and their importance to this team IMO.

 

it's been established many times over that the 20-21 team was objectively superior to the 21-22 team, yet you repeat this all the time.

everyone agrees we're not a contender without AD and lebron healthy. but we don't have to be the 8th-worst team in the league. the rest of the roster matters.

 

A story about Malik from the Athletic ...


Following a breakout 2021-22 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers, unrestricted free agent guard Malik Monk is looking to secure a long-term home with his next contract this offseason.

The No. 11 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Monk remembers the humbling disappointment of last offseason, when only the Lakers and Dallas Mavericks were interested in signing him and he agreed to a one-year veteran minimum contract ($1.8 million) with the Lakers — less money than he’d made in any of his first four seasons with the Charlotte Hornets.

But he believes he’s entering this summer with more leverage and more of a market.

“I had another career year, with all my numbers and things like that,” Monk told The Athletic. “I can’t be down on myself.”

Monk, 24, is returning to northwest Arkansas at the end of June to spend at least a month with his mom, Jackie, and his brother and agent, Marcus. He’s going to ring in the June 30 start of free agency — the biggest decision of his NBA career thus far — from his mother’s home. He’ll fly out for meetings, if necessary, but the goal is to clear his head and enter the process with an open mind surrounded by the people he began his basketball journey with. Jackie will have considerable input on his future.

“We lean on our mother in times like this,” Marcus said. “She has a different perspective. She thinks more about work-life balance. So (her opinion) is very important also.”

Last season, Monk averaged career highs in points (13.8), rebounds (3.4), assists (2.9), steals (0.8), true shooting percentage (59.7 percent), 2-point percentage (56.8 percent), minutes (28.1), games played (76) and games started (37), among several other metrics.

He was one of the lone bright spots in the Lakers’ otherwise dismal season, in which they finished 11th in the West at 33-49 and missed the Play-In Tournament despite beginning the season as the Western Conference favorites.

Monk hopes his performance last season showed the Lakers and the rest of the league that his contributions extend beyond just scoring and shooting, two strengths he’s been known for since he was a five-star phenom in high school. He improved as a passer, rebounder and defender and was one of the few role players who seamlessly fit with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, regardless of the lineup.

“That I’m a basketball player, man,” Monk said of what he hopes he proved this season. “That I’m an all-around basketball player that cannot only shoot, cannot only just score the ball, but that I can play-make for others. I can not have the ball, I can have the ball, and I can make plays doing both. Not just scoring.”

Monk has repeatedly stated his preference to stay with the Lakers, but there is one notable hurdle: The most the team can offer him, because of the contract he signed last summer, is its taxpayer midlevel exception, which is worth approximately $6.3 million annually.

That’s also the Lakers’ only tool to improve in free agency, and they may have greater needs, particularly a 3-and-D wing with size who can complement James and Davis in the frontcourt, according to league sources.

Monk would likely have to take a discount, as he could command a multi-year deal worth $10 million to $12 million annually on the open market, according to multiple league sources. And that projection could be on the low end. The Athletic’s John Hollinger’s BORD$ valuation of Monk has him worth $16,511,722 for the 2022-23 season (fourth among free-agent shooting guards and 14th overall).

As Monk weighs the most significant factors of his free agency, money is obviously important, but it’s not the most important one. Role and minutes are more notable considerations.

“Money is always a part, man, but I don’t think it’s the biggest priority in my free agency this year,” Monk said. “It’s me feeling like I’m having a home and I can go out there and do the same things I did this year.”

Monk said he’d consider accepting less money than his market price to stay with the Lakers for the taxpayer midlevel exception.

“They might not be able to pay me as much as I want,” he said. “But I could be here and be way more comfortable as a Laker than going to any other team (that would pay) me $5 million more. So it’s just me trying to figure out what team would really want me.”

The Lakers — specifically, vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, former head coach Frank Vogel and, most important, James — were the first team to call Monk last summer. That matters to him. He’s grateful for the opportunity Los Angeles provided him when most of the league had given up on him.

“He loved it here,” Marcus said. “He wants to be a Laker. But you can’t have conversations with the Lakers at this point in time because he’s unrestricted. So once those conversations start happening, hopefully, they see it the same. … We’re very loyal people. We’re very thankful for the opportunity that this organization gave him. And we don’t take those things lightly.”

Monk said in his Lakers exit interview on April 11 that he didn’t have a preference on whether he started or came off the bench — a sentiment he shared multiple times during the season. Entering next season, he prefers to start, but he views playing time — overall minutes and closing games — as more of a determinant.

“Everyone wants to be a starter,” Marcus said. “Look, with us, it’s more minutes and when you’re in the game. Like, yes, (he) would love to be a starter. Gotta earn those. Those spots are limited in this league. We understand no one’s just going to give you a starter’s role. And that’s fine. He understands that. He’s prepared to do whatever he needs to do to earn that right. Another thing is just minutes, like, when you’re in a game. He wants to close games.”

Monk will also factor in potential team success and the ability to play in the postseason as he makes his decision. He has never made the playoffs and is eager to compete on the game’s brightest stage and to be part of a deep run.

“Malik is the ultimate competitor,” Marcus said. “He hates to lose. So he struggled with that the whole season. He wants to win.”

In Monk’s eyes, the right situation — the right role, the right coach, the right team — will ultimately lead to longevity and more money later in his career. Monk and his brother have long had a detailed vision for the direction of Monk’s basketball career, and that includes Monk playing in the NBA for at least a decade longer.

“The ultimate goal is longevity,” Marcus said. “That’s the ultimate goal, for him to play for 10 more years. So whatever we need to do to get to that, that’s what he’s focused on.”

Monk is clear that he plans on evaluating all of his options — including the possibility of playing for another team — before making the best long-term decision for his career.

“There’s always a time where the money is gonna be higher and the money’s gonna be lower,” Monk said. “It’s just the right situations. And you gotta put yourself in the right situation to be able to succeed and get those bigger contracts.”

He added: “You never know what happens. Some other team could come in and hopefully tell me the same thing, and maybe I get a little bit more minutes on that team. So it’s just actually me being presented and being able to go out there and do what I do is a priority.

“That’s the biggest priority: A team that’s just going to let me come in and be myself.”

So far this offseason, Monk has been training at the Lakers practice facility, the UCLA Health Training Center, three times per day (twice on the hardwood and once in the weight room) every Monday through Thursday, alongside teammates Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Talen Horton-Tucker, Wenyen Gabriel and Mason Jones.

He’s focusing on gaining muscle and getting stronger to become a better defender and a better finisher through contact. He also wants to improve his ballhandling and decision-making so he can play more point guard next season.

For the first time in his career, Monk vigorously studied the NBA playoffs. He and Marcus chatted every night after games, discussing how Monk would attack specific situations, what he needs to work on this offseason and how to prepare for the detailed nature of postseason basketball.

Marcus noticed notable growth in Malik’s approach to studying the game during the season, and that’s carried over into the offseason.

“He’s never done that before,” Marcus said.

What’s Monk’s biggest postseason observation from his film work and conversations with his brother?

“We should’ve been (in) it,” Monk said. “The Lakers should have been (in) it. It doesn’t feel right without ‘Bron in it.”

Anything else?

“I’m sitting there and watching, and I know I could be out there doing the same things that some of those guys are doing, man,” Monk said. “It’s super motivational.”

Come June 30, Monk will have the opportunity to find what he’s been seeking.

(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)

 

No it was not established over and over. You just kept repeating it, we are the Lakers, it's championship or bust, losing in the 1st round is not any kind of success period. You keep acting like that point is irrelevant. The only thing we know for an undeniable fact is that James and Davis playing together, equals championship caliber basketball. The only bump the 20 team had over this season was that James and Davis played in the first 30 games together and Lebron played in the first 42. Other than that, that team sucked just as much as this one did.

 

no. you continue to be wrong about this. but everyone knows it, including you, so...

anyway, saw that frank jackson's option won't be picked up by det. think he'd be an interesting camp invite. i'm going to be watching for some of the younger guys who are unceremoniously ending their rookie contracts. sometimes there are some stan-like reclamation projects out there.

 

Nothing depends on the success of next season more than AD.....period.

If he doesn't come back to the conversation of the greatest 5 players in the NBA, then it really doesn't matter what we do in the offseason.

He has to be healthy and re-assert himself as a dominant big. That means similar (or better) than his 2019-20 season when we won the whole damn thing. Here is what he did and the average of what he has done the last two seasons:

2019-20/Since

G/GS: 62 of 71 (87%)/ 76/154 (49%)
PPG: 26.1/22.5
RPG: 9.3/8.9
BLK: 2.3/1.9
FT%: .846/.725
FTA: 8.5/6.0
3PA: 3.5/2.2
3PM: 1.2/0.5
3P%: .330/.229

We absolutely have to have the old AD back.

Then of course come LeBron, who himself has missed a third of his games the last two seasons (53 of 154). We need 65-70 games from him minimum, and that means limiting him to 34 minutes a night, which is basically what we did with him during the same championship year (34.6). Despite turning 37 mid-season last year, he continues to defy the odds and put up amazing numbers. It was an 18th straight season of at least 25 points/6 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

What to do with Russell Westbrook?

I would love to think we could make that work, but I still see it as trying to put a square peg into a round hole. I also think it will be nearly impossible to move him, especially if we are reluctant to part with one or both our only tradeable 1st round picks.

Not sure the return would validate losing them anyway.

So with expectations that he will return, I instead change my focus on what players and ultimately what veteran minimum guys they can add to the roster and what player they can ultimately get for the meager MLE.

Even if Monk took the 6 million, it is not in our best interest to give it to him. That has to go to a 3 and D wing IMO.

Then we absolutely HAVE TO try and trade THT and Nunn in my opinion to try and get another one. We also have to get at least 2 minimum guys who stretch the floor and can play defense, while also being on the right side of 30.

Four players to put into our "best rotation" with AD, LBJ and yes, Reeves. These four players have to "fit" alongside our two stars. I don't know what the hesitation is on bringing back Reeves is, as he clearly is our best "fit" asset right now.

Can we get 4 players (one by trade, one with MLE and two surprises with the minimum) that would fit in the rotation??? If you had those seven (and I don't count RW) then maybe a surprise by one of your youngsters and some other veteran minimum guys can get us to a respectable 10.

A respectable 10 that could overachieve and led by LBJ and a return to form AD, the later being the key. Then you could get that missing piece or two mid-season perhaps....

We need some surprises for sure this next week...


I still hope for a RW trade, but I am not counting on it...

 

Of course it makes no Sense to you .. don’t ever criticize LeBron cuz it never makes any sense …

All teams don’t have broken LeBron James who goes down with a fling …