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

its not all just the duo

 

There isn't anything more impactful than having your two best players playing. We've been without that for two straight seasons and it seems that some have forgotten just how great those two dudes really are.

 

That doesn’t make any sense, I didn’t say anything supporting Russ in my response to him…

 

this team lost plenty of leads and games even with those 2 due to the lack of support from everyone else

 

2 more guards (Lonnie Walker + Schroder) are being added to this roster. I just don't understand Rob's thinking. The league is trending towards wings but we are stacked with guards.

 

LOL..come on now Jones. We haven't even seen the whole team yet. We still need to see Schroder, Walker and Brown, and while it might not be a popular take, I can see a role for Gabriel and Swider too. Bryant looks a bit rusty, but I think we are going to play big a lot more than people thought. As far as the 1st unit, if Lebron doesn't go 0 for everything, they looked pretty good to me.

 

Need em both from what I saw last night. We have wings, probably not enough playing time for all of them actually.

 

It is early. A lot of what we saw last night in the 2md half won't be in the regular season obviously.

We were up in the 1st half and LBJ looked like basura. Let's see how we looking in a couple of weeks.

And I may find myself right there with you, lol.

 

I think it's pretty clear it's not a contending roster. Our ceiling is top 4/6. If things go well, most likely we are in that top6 fight. That's the best we can hope for

Still doesn't mean we should be without tradeable picks until 2031 for Hield/Turner

 

I think we are set at guard and 4/5. SF is the spot that's up for grabs. Maybe a bigger 2 with Reaves and Walker competing for some minutes. Of course Lebron is still one of the best SF in the NBA.

 

I think I agree, it seems like we made or free agent/Bev trade decisions on the assumption that Russ would be moved for something. One positive about the Indy trade is that the need for wings disappears because we're basically committing to playing big. One of Turner, Jones or Bryant would probably be on the court at all times. LeBron is playing 30+ minutes almost strictly at the 3 and AD is playing 30+ minute strictly at the 4. From there, having Brown Jr./Reaves playing the leftover minutes at the 3 and JTA/LeBron playing the leftover minutes at the 4 is probably fine.

 

The quicker you accept we aren’t a clear cut contender, the happier you’ll be in my opinion. The best case scenario you get pleasantly surprised.

I believe mortgaging the future will just mean we won’t be able to build a contender for the rest of this decade.

 

Bev is a 3&D piece that most teams could use. He can guard 1-2 effectively and even jump at some small SFs for extended periods.

Schroeder was just taking advantage of a quality piece at the minimum that will outplay his contract.

I didn’t see them as anything else. In a vacuum we have upgraded our backup PG, SG and backup SG with those two and Nunn playing. We also got two solid centers as well. I think we improved at 3 positions quite clearly and at the other two we got Lebron and AD.

 

I agree with you about Gabrial and Swider.

• Wenyan's offensive rebounding, rim protection, and overall energy are a great asset. He also seems more fluid/agile/natural than Bryant and Jones. He might actually have positive value and maybe shouldn't be looked at as just a throw in for a potential trade .
• Swider is the best shooter on the team. I mean, you feel surprised when he misses a shot. That is an indication of a great shooter. A shooter of his caliber and at that height will find a place in the league, especially on a roster with three ball dominant type hall of farmers.
• Both of these guys bring something different to the table that we didn't really have last year. Yeah, I know Wenyan was here, but he didn't play that much.

 

Yeah. The issues with the current roster are valid and nothing I saw last night really changed my thoughts on the team. I liked that our stars seemed to play well together but there's multiple issues with the roster that good teams and coaches will be able to exploit.

 

I think the short term harm of being in the running for the play in game again is being pushed aside too quickly. I think this will be a more likeable team but the reality of the win / loss column is going to override that at some point.

I've never seen the leverage we would have in most of the deals thrown out there. Particularly Indiana. I guess they could lower their price, but I don't see why they would. Kam brothers had some interesting thoughts this morning on their pod on the there being more of Pelinka tax going on than a Laker tax. Worth a listen IMO.