2023-24 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

defense is too important part of the equation, but he's already in the discussion for best PG. He can't win that one either IMHO, but it's ok to say he's an all time great. He's working on putting the 3pt record out of reach for a generation or 10. His production from 3 is really pretty absurd.

 

Ok. D'Angelo, Rui, Vincent, Hayes and a 1st rd pick for Lavine and Drummond. That works but we need a PG. Not sure if JHS is ready or not.

 

He’s definitely not ready yet

 

Well..Lebron was listed as our starting PG during the chip season. He averaged a career high 10 assists a game that season.

 

He may be 10th on my list…

 

He gets my vote for “best shooting PG of all time who only can contribute on half of the floor.”

 

I think shaq sparked a bowl before the show! That’s why got shades on .

 

Lakers have been ignoring the back up big position for too long ..

 

seriously. not sure why they didn't learn anything from 2019-20

AD with mcgee and howard behind him was perfect

 

True...Javale and Dwight were part of the story, but Lebron and Rondo running the offense, was an even bigger part of the equation.

Yes..Avery Bradley and Caruso, were listed as PG, but they didn't run the offense, their job was to guard the other team's PG. AD avg more assists per game than either of them, in both the regular season and in the bubble.

We play differently now..D'Angelo and Austin, are more scorers that can facilitate, than floor generals. I'm not saying that it can't work like that, but they have to knock down their shots consistently.

 

KCP, Caruso, Bubble Rondo, Kuzma, and maybe even Bubble Dwight would be considered the 4th best player on the current team.

That's the biggest issue: this team has a true 3rd star in Reaves which that team didn't but not nearly the calibre or depth of roleplayers particularly two ways guys the Bubble team had.
Luckily the found Cam but need KCP/Caruso/Rondo type to pair with Reaves - a defensive minded guard who still has enough offensive juice to keep defenses honest.

 

Hell no. D'Angelo Russell is a better player, and Rui Hachimura is just as good. Its about role and how a player is used.The Bubble team had a lot of parts that fit. Rondo was exceptional in the bubble, that gets overlooked a lot. However Rodo had 6 months off before the bubble, he wasn't the same guy afterwards.

Kuz was ok..he wasn't anything special that season. Dwight played big against Denver, but sometimes we look back as if he was some kind of monster all season. That was not the case at all. Kcp played well, I give him his do. Caruso had his moments, but the main driving force of that team, was Lebron and AD playing like top 5 players in the NBA that season. Danny Green and Markieff played well in the bubble That team didn't need a true 3rd star, two top 5 players and a bunch of decent role players were enough.

 

lol, half agree with both. bubble dwight is overrated and was only useful in tiny spurts. that version of rondo was also quite warty at times. but kuz, caruso, and kcp are probably as or more valuable than all of our current non-AD/lebron/reaves players.

whatever; that's all water under the bridge. the question is what has to happen now. i'm still on team "let's let 'em figure it out". we should make the play-in, at worst. and if that's where we end, i'm guessing the whole thing is blown up next summer.

 

LO's got notes

 

I haven't made up my mind yet. On the positive side, I think that this team is just as good as the bubble team as is. It's just built differently. They have some rotation issues to iron out, but I believe that will eventually happen.

On the negative side, I'm concerned that Lebron, just isn't feeling D'Angelo anymore, and it kinda looks like the feeling is mutual. That's a huge problem, this team can't be at their best, if those two aren't on the same page.

I'd give it another month, we might need to move D'Angelo, maybe not. If not then a minor move or two is the way to go.

 

No NBA GM would trade any of Kuz, KCP, or Caruso for Dlo or Rui straight up.
KCP is core piece of another title team, Caruso is the most coveted player on the Bulls, and Kuz outplayed Rui so bad that the Wizards dumped a lottery pick for a bunch of second rounders.

Rondo and Dwight were on their last legs so can't use the same argument but at least both Rondo and Dwight were clearly better defensive players then Dlo and Rui and both more consistent

 

Atlanta looks terrible.

Capela+Murray matches Dlo+Rui almost to a tee
Lakers get a big and more athletic consistent PG. for Atlanta to bite though you need to add JSH and some 1sts

Man if you could get Capela+Murray+Bogdonavis for Dlo+Rui+JS+ Gabe (still short 10 million) I would unload the remaining assets
A Murray/Bogdanic backcourt with Reaves and Lakers go from the weakest backcourt of contenders to one of the best.
Maybe you just go Murray/Bogdanivc for Dlo and Rui thinking about it - I really like those two with Reaves as your rotation. A lot of offensive firepower so you can get away with having more defensive player like Cam and Vando out there.

Murray and Bogdonavic have 4-5 years so those are contracts ATL may want to unload

 

Nah. First off..You are totally overrating Kuzma..he wasn't that great here, that's why we shopped him continously. I get the sentiment of being our draft pick, and being on a championship team. That doesn't make him any better of a player than he was or is now. Caruso makes 10m dollars bro, he's not as highly valued as you might think. Of course he's extremely valuable at his salary. Alex played for us for 4 seasons. He never avg more than 20mins a game, shoot better than the low 40% from the field , avg less than 1 3pt shot a game, and never avg more than 3 assists a game. His impact was on defense. Similar story to KCP..He played 4 seasons for us, he shoot in the low 40% from the field, he did avg around 2 3's a game though. He was a good defensive player, never an All NBA caliber defensive player.

The thing is, those 3 guys played 4 years together here. We were terrible in all but the Championship season. They were all terrible against Phoenix. I think you overlook all of that for the chip season. Yes..they were a part of the chip team, but let's keep it real and say they weren't exactly the catalyst for us winning the chip.

Now having said all that, credit is due to everyone that played their role on that team. From the coaching staff down to the last guys on the bench. They will forever be Champions. This current group of guys has the potential to be champions too IMO. There are at least 70-80 more games left to be played before the Finals are over this summer. I'm not ready to write any of them off just yet. They have talent too, and if they play their roles correctly, we can win another chip.

 

I don't really believe Clint would play that much here. He's a lob threat mostly on offense and we don't seem to have anyone really great at throwing lobs. The defensive presence would be good, but would he be able to stay on the court for long stretches with AD? Not in this current offense IMO.

Murray..I like him, Bogdanovic isn't bad..Neither are anything special on defense , but they can both score the ball. I'm not sure I'd give up JHS, and a 1st rd pick too though. Rui and D'Angelo are good young talents too. I'd like to see if they get on track before shipping em out.