D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

It isn't putting pressure on him. He is a basketball player and that is what they do. Play basketball. He is the best we have at running the offense and he likes doing it. He wants this so called pressure. I like Dlo but he is not the player Reaves is. You are right it is a shame he disappears in the big moments but he does and that is exactly why we are having this conversation. You can't have your point guard disappearing when you need him most. Maybe next season he will come out and show he is the player I thought he was but till then I can just go with what I have to look at.

 

You have to put players in the position to succeed. That "he is a basketball player and it's what they do" doesn't work in today's game. Reaves exploded when he was finally slotted at the 2 playing alongside one or 2 (or 3!) of Dlo, Schroder and LeBron. That's when he really elevated his game and reached its peak.

Don't try to fix what ain't broken.

 

I agree with you on DLo. I just don’t want Reaves to go down the road of running the offence full time. He is so good at making offence from broken plays or breaking down defenders who underestimate him. If he can add some off ball movement, it’s going to open the floor up for him for cuts and attacking the basket.

 

D'Angelo's 33 game stint here, has kind of been a synopsis of his career. Start out great, then concerns are raised, followed by questions, of whether he’s worth keeping around.

 

I would agree if we can get a top notch point guard Austin can play either position. He is so good at keeping our offense running smooth and getting Lebron easy buckets it is hard not to have him there. I also want him to have the ball in his hands because it seems like he gets forgotten or overlooked. I don't know how many I've seen him open and not get the ball. Either way it is nice to have a guy so versatile and talented that he makes it hard to decide where to play him. The other reason I want him at point is because Max is going to explode onto the scene as well. Austin at point and Max at the two is going to be deadly for the next ten years. They both play good defense and don't have many weaknesses. When the playoffs come around they won't have to sit the bench. Some combination of Rui, Austin, Max and Dlo will would be huge with Lebron and AD. I know we will pick some guys and we have our draft picks but we are already loaded.

 

Don't need to fix anything. Just what you said "Reaves exploded when he was finally slotted at the 2". It was obvious that is where he should have been and it shouldn't have taken so long. Now Austin should be running the offense and Max at the two. Letting basketball players play works even more in today's game. That old fashion notion that some how a player is going to get better by osmosis sitting on the bench watching is what doesn't work. Play the man. Let him get his burn through the regular season so he is ready come playoff time. So many decades have gone by with this old fashion thinking. It just isn't the best way. All you do with that is waste years of a good career. Most of these players now have started in third grade or even before and have been so long they don't need that bench time. Even here in AK our youth league teams have flown to tournaments in Portland, Oakland, Anaheim, Vegas and others and they aren't even in high school yet. Training techniques have advanced. These kids are ready to play and aren't intimidated. Times have changed.

 

Curious sourced wording (Lowe doesn't talk out of his a**). Makes it sound as if that's not their first choice.

 

i mean, we have a pretty huge void. to me, it's obvious that the two sides need to come to some agreement, for the sake of both parties. i think it's going to get done. it's going to be worth between 20 and 25 per and between 2 and 4 years, and that's where all the negotiating will happen.

 

lowball him and offer him a fashion deal and agree to have his energy drink on the table for interviews lol

 

Call me crazy, but I’d trade D/Lo for Ben Simmons in a heartbeat.

 

You're crazy.

 

Offer 4/80, 3/66, 2/48 imo.

Sure, I'd like it to go lower, and he'd like it to go higher, but this seems reasonable to me for both sides. If he wants more AAV instead of more years, he can choose whether he wants to bet on himself or not.

 

Yeah I'd go as high as $25 million AAV if it mean it was a shorter deal like 2 years.

 

If we're worried about DLO in the bright lights, the answer isn't getting someone who might flee the country because the stress of the moment is too taxing. He's afraid of the ball. Not even sure if he can handle regular season in LA.

Handy would have to go full Patches just so Ben realizes there is something scarier than a basketball

 

in a vacuum, at their current salaries, i'd do it. but we're not in a vacuum, and simmons would be a very bad fit with our stars. would be like getting westbrook back in a lot of ways. maybe worse if simmons is truly gone mentally, which seems possible.

if i were a bad team with money to burn, i'd look hard at getting ben simmons cheap right now, though. if he returns to form, he's a good player that you can build around. if not, and you're say, the hornets or something, who cares? that 40 million is going somewhere, and right now, your team isn't.

those were almost exactly the numbers i was thinking about. the 4/80 would come with a team option or partial guarantee at the end, i would think. the 3 with a player option and partial guarantee (i think that's possible...). the short deal would be straight up.

 

Not the Patches O’Houlihan wrench

 

I might be a little crazy as well lol it depends how we plug the hole at the PG position and the loss of a shooter. Having a wing that can create/play D is always nice, especially when LeBron is getting another year older. If we can get CP3 and another solid backup for insurance purposes, I’d take a hard look at this (obviously depends on who we bring back, chemistry etc.)

 

Why?

Ben is basically the one guy who does what the two last guys Lakers' fans fan hated:
- he has the same game as Westbrook, who sucked here because of lack of shooting, bad FTs and unfit with LeBron/AD because of the poor spacing (which wasn't a problem when we traded him for a shooter PG)
- he panics in the playoffs like Dlo, which is the reason he hasn't played in the league for years now

I'm really baffled with anyone defend this to be honest. It's crazy

I'm a fan of Ben. I think he got unfair treatment by Joel and Doc who always blame others for their own failures. I also think he doesn't have the right mindset to be successful in the NBA. Like Westbrook, the inability to work on their game and find ways to mitigate their flaws make it very hard to be a meaningful player in a contender because in the playoffs teams' are constantly looking to take advantage of their opponents' flaws.
I would like seeing him being good again and would take a gamble if it was other team but he's just the biggest misfit with our roster

 

all this.

i'm higher on simmons than most (though even my enthusiasm was dampened by his performance this year), but no way am i trading for him while i'm trying to contend. he's a reclamation project at this point, and an expensive one.

if i were, say, dallas (not happening bc i'm guessing kyrie wouldn't want it), i'd move christian wood and bertans and bullock for him, for example. but if you're us? right now? no way.