You have 2 players. They have: Calcified calf muscle, 2 torn labrums (operated last month) and a metal rod in the leg. Or Torn groin muscle in 2018 and a broken hand in 2013. Goal is to get 70 games out of your players. Tell me which pile of injuries you'd like to deal with.
For the record, I'm not saying I personally agree with any grievances AEG has with the Lakers. In fact, my suspicion is that most of it is just due to temporarily flared tempers. Regardless, some close contacts of mine will be attending the meeting, so I should have a pretty detailed picture of what happens. Overall, the Lakers took a gamble waiting for another star, and unfortunately it didn't pay off. In my opinion, it was a risk worth taking, and sometimes such risks pay off (trading Vlade for Kobe before Shaq signed, for example) and sometimes they don't. And although I think we maybe could have done a few things different during free agency, we still have a great well-rounded roster, and in some ways, avoided overpaying for mid-level type players by waiting so long. I think we stand as good of a shot as anyone at winning the title next year! Plus, we have players who have a lot of chemistry together, which is often overlooked. I say, let's give it our best effort, and live with the results! After all, our situation now is so much better than it was 5 years ago, don't you think?
Look, what does that tell you about Kawhi? He basically realized he is not alpha enough or good enough to emerge while playing with Bron for 2 years. Not only that, he was unsure of outdoing AD afterwards. Which is why he picked a clear beta teammate who is clearly less good than our stars. I mean, that just shows how big Bron is in this league. Still.
@BigDaddyEuler likely sometime Monday afternoon. It's a tentative date/time and a lot of times urgent things come up for people on both sides so it might get pushed. My calendar is also still changing so don't hold me to it
I've read from several different sources, that talented as he is... Kawhi is not an alpha. We all remember how supremely talented Dwight was. Figured pairing him and Kobe, was the start of another run. Naw.
If the Clipps had not acquired PG, do you think KL would have signed with us? If you say no, why not?
I don't believe he was ever signing here. If he was, he would have done it already. The Lakers did everything right to be a landing spot for a dynasty and he shied away from it. He wasn't made for it. He'll be happy on the Clippers, good for him. But that sentence says everything I need to know.
Our roster does look good (KCP aside who is to me what Gump was for so many). But I can still understand their anger at us for not landing Kawhi. Maybe Kawhi is just a total beta and can't handle the Laker limelight and playing with two huge stars. That is certainly well within the realm of possibilities as it pertains to why Kawhi didn't sign. But AEG is a business. They put together a business proposal that was impossible to beat (maybe in all of American team sports). And as a thriving business they don't stand for top down dysfunction (which the Lakers have had regardless of what the roster ended up being). They are looking at it as, "A guy turned us down with the chance to make more money, work with better employees, and have a better chance to accomplish the ultimate honor in their field. Not to mention his entire family has always wanted him to work for us." This should have been a layup for us. I think marginally competent management over the last two years has us sitting here today with Kawhi. Yes, we did an excellent job pivoting and creating a roster that can contend this season (KCP flaming hyena s*** aside). But there is still some questions with our management that would need to be addressed if I were AEG.
No George? Leonard would have gone back to Toronto...he had his team there and everything in place management wise. With him elsewhere, we managed to put together a capable team that can possibly contend. I don't know how we would have addressed fleshing out a roster with Leonard taking a large chunk of the change with James and Davis.
The Lakers did everything right and I see no reason to think otherwise. Max money? Check. Stars to play with? Check. Revamped attention to health? Check. Maximized business opportunities? I have no way of verifying, but Mr. Rambis would say check. Stars willing to work with Kawhi in order to maximize him? Check. Jeanie Buss didn't f*** this up. Rob Pelinka did a great job preparing the roster both before and after Kawhi's decision. AEG can b**** and vent if they want, but the Lakers did what needed to be done. I said it from the beginning: there's no accounting for taste. The Lakers couldn't have known Kawhi would look at what the rest of the NBA recognized as potentially one of the best trios of all time and turn away. Who does that? No. F*** blaming the Lakers for the mistakes another person made. You want to complain about 8m to Pope, I'm with that. I'm not with slandering a FO that did the right things this summer and deserves praise that they're largely not getting from the national media.
Great post Savory. However, this one's on Kawhi. He wanted the Paper Clips instead of us for his own reasons and screwed over a few franchises in the process. Good for him I guess. He got what he asked for. He's a weird dude.
Kawhi is an alpha. Dwight is a mental midget. With that, Anthony Davis is an alpha and he is finally gonna be able to display it at the Carnegie Hall of sports Arena's. AD is gonna have an MVP season and when that happens, it won't matter who's playing with Kawhi or where he's playing.
This is why I’m saying, it’s funny to understand now that this was all his doing, because IF BY CHANCE the Clippers fail......they can blame it all on Kawhi. The Clippers were put at gun point to do the same trade for PG, they would have had to do, but we did for AD....and so now they have their hands tied in the draft and it’s all on him and PG
I think we were the backup plan if the clippers and the raptors both struck out on pg. Option 1. Pg and him to clips Option 2. Pg and him to the raps Option 3. Lakers superteam
Okay fair point but certainly we weren't his preferred spot and the fact that he drug us along while only half-heartedly considering us still pisses me off.
This is exactly how I saw. Maybe even flip flop Toronto and the clips. We were always the safety net. The oh well I guess.. We were never in the front of his decision
Yes...and if we did not attempt to pursue him, Leonard's camp with the comeback line that we never tried. Damn if we do, damn if we don't.
