2024-25 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

If we are in 12th place with Lebron and AD, Redick doesn't know WTF he's doing. I was under the impression, that most folks around here, think we are a title contender as is, and Darvin Ham was simply the problem.

 

it's the gm's job to look after the health of the franchise, now and later. yes, teams throw picks at players all the time to win now. but those players are usually very good players. if we spent all the picks on bridges, i'd have been on board. not grant, who's several years older and already declining. if we spend all the picks on markkanen, i'd also be ok, as he's young and still improving in addition to being good now.

as was the case when everyone was calling for rob's head when we started the season with westbrook a couple years ago, i haven't seen a deal that we clearly turned down that clearly improves our short or long term prospects. atlanta wanted reaves for murray. that ends up not being a big enough upgrade for me. we didn't have enough assets for bridges. someone has to come free that we can afford.

with klay thompson, you're asking that management convince him to take the same role at substantially lower money with us versus dallas, who just went to the finals. this isn't a "blame the gm if it doesn't happen", it's "be really impressed with the gm if it does".

we can't rebuild until lebron says he's done. i'd actually trade lebron and AD if i were the gm, but that's not the lakers way, and replacing the gm wouldn't change that. that's from the top.

i'm just once again trying to figure out the move that anthony irwin expects to happen/have happened. "you said having more picks would give us a better chance". it does. that doesn't mean something is necessarily going to happen.

 

Biggest difference is attitude and demeanor. If you didn't let "Russ be Russ" it was bad for everyone -- coach, teammates, locker room. We had to fire Vogel because he didn't thank Russ for a s***ty bottle of wine he gave him (obvious exaggeration but that legit bothered Russ). Russ is an a******, he was just good enough for awhile that the chip on his shoulder played in his favor. DD is a good guy. Little obsessed with not being a Laker but other than that...

Again, it's a bad fit. We probably have to move Rui or deal with overlapping favored areas of the court. And like Klay, it doesn't solve anything. Just requires even more work to be done to make it work.

 

ham was there with a healthy lebron and AD. the likelihood that we have a healthy lebron and AD for that many games again is low. you have to plan/adjust for that.

 

yeah, the moves that necessitate other complicated moves are dangerous.

what's "improve" and what's the time table? we have until february to build the playoff team. if we roll into the season with exactly last season's team and a competent coach, we should be in striking distance. much like the previous russ, dlo's expiring gets more valuable as the deadline approaches and teams start giving up. gabe, rui, and vando's values can only go up from where they are right now, as all three are worth very little at this moment due to injury or underperformance.

as you said, it's day one of free agency. there's plenty of time for all sorts of things to happen. and many times, the best deals are deals you don't make.

 

btw, don't throw tomatoes at me yet, but i've been gradually talking myself into lavine. if we could get him without giving up any draft capital (or gaining some!) that would be the kind of big swing i could support.

he's klutch, so i hope we've at least discussed some options with him and chicago.

 

That's what I was talking about. They have the assets to make a powerful move that brings their team to becoming competitive. Playing losing basketball is awful for development

Thanks for the reply. I get your point. Abeer already shared many points of my argument.
My main take is: you seem to be saying that Rob NEEDS to make a move or he sucked. I don't agree with that. For me a good GM is not only the one that makes moves for the sake it. It's the one that makes good moves OR rejects doing the bad ones.

Yes, this is the time to do something. We have some assets and LeBron may be willing to help us with his contract. But that only works IF there's a good deal to be made. If there's not, I'm pro-keeping the assets and try later. Market is fluid.

Let's see what comes out and then re-discuss instead of going around what ifs

I think Gabe is more interesting in the deadline. Teams that are in tanking mode, can trade for him for a better player that doesn't help them to lose and have his expiring as a net positive trade chip the season after.
DLo's expiring as well for someone that wants to pivot to have cap space next offseason.
Difference between now and deadline is that teams in the limbo can pivot to tanking/opening cap space during the season. Everyone starts the season with high expectations, but then you're in 12th place in February and you have to pivot.
There's also a mental toll when you're in the season with games every 2 days and your team sucks. It's easier to make deals then than now when you're in peaceful mode

 

Play in is from 7th through 10th. If we are 12th, we had some serious additional problems beyond coaching. Most likely massive injury wave too.

 

i mean, you kick the can until you don't. but continually kicking it beats crushing the can out of current frustration (westbrook trade).

 

Fine.

 

I feel like this is a BAD idea, but could you pull off a 3-Team Deal for Grant via the Bulls and LaVine?

so we’d have to take LaVine, BUT we make the Bulls send a 1st and we add a future first to Portland for Grant?

2 1sts is a lot, but if it’s someone else’s pick, maybe the pill is easier to swallow?

 

injuries, scheduling, whatever. only portland and utah are tanking this year in the west.

of the teams that finished ahead of us, the only team that's gotten worse (so far) is the one who absolutely owns us. everyone else is trying just as hard as we are to get better. the difference between 12th and 3rd is very small in the west, imo. that's part of why i picked that number. you could be a pretty good team in 12th in the west. not kidding.

 

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm also growing comfortable with that move. Especially with Bron's likely 3y window and the fact we don't lose picks. It moves AR to the bench, which doesn't hurt as much when Zach is out.
It may be tricky because we would need to send 4 players and Chicago is signing guys so they may not have the roster spots. They just signed Smith so Rui is kinda redundant for them now
They also have Carter, White and Dosumnu (and Giddey), DLo really doesn't fit there. But maybe they work in another trade after with those assets if they're so interested in dumping Zach

DeRozan is probably the worse fit with Bron and AD. I'll lose it if we pivot there

 

Personally, I think DeMar and Grant could be good. I’d still hope for Klay, but then the rest of our time and money could be going after other Centers and Bigs.

 

i think the answer is basically no. grant and lavine make 72 million combined, and given our proximity to the second apron, we'd have to send out nearly that amount of money. we'd have to send basically everyone but lebron and AD (including reaves), and even then, lebron may have to shave some off his max to make it happen.

 

Get Miles Bridges!

 

no..... ???

the injury thing is real, and I'm not sure it's worth it. Pay Klay or Lavine big money and have it sit on the sidelines 50% of the time would be brutal, and a move everyone would blame on Lebron if we did it. Otherwise, what is the motivation. Yes, he needs to win now, but at what risk? If I saw clips of him dunking over the Summer fully healthy I suppose I'd feel a little better about it, but I don't even know where's he's at.