I think the odds of convincing one star today are low. If we could somehow sneak up into an 8th seed or at least close to one, then maybe I could see one star joining. But I believe if we do convince one star, it exponentially increases the likelihood of a 2nd star.
i dont think we get 2 max but i can live with 1max, randle n a 2nd tier type guy like a middleton type, hopefully an athletic C. if we can move jc for expiring, i dont think we should stretch deng or pay to move him, just keep him till hes an expiring contract or is agreeable to a buy out
i mostly agree with your take, though I'm a little more bullish on PG seeing an opportunity to win and grow into a contender all while being "The Man."
OK I don't disagree with that, but that still sounds like the window for signing 2 stars is much narrower than signing 1. And we might as well just say George and Lebron because let's not kid ourselves and pretend like there's any other star available this summer lol
a gander at the FA market makes one wonder if it's even a great thing to have space right now. i'm guessing we'll use what we have to either a) absorb a good player whose team can't afford him (like love if lebron bolts) or b) absorb bad players in exchange for picks and prospects. the latter would raise some serious questions about the russell trade again, though.
Yeah we're actually a year early with the cap space. Yes we're the only team with a ton of space this year but it's slim pickings in the free agent department.
Don't sleep on DeAndre Jordan being in the mix too for a max deal. There's a LOT of articles coming out lately about the depressed market though and I'm wondering if that's good or bad for us. On the one hand it's good because there's fewer options for the guys out there AND if a team needs to clear space it's going to be EXPENSIVE. On the other hand the max guys out there are starting to dwindle and if you strike out on LeBron/George, you're in trouble. We may end up having to overpay Randle as our big move and then we're dangerously close to being one of those teams that cycles through young lottery players year after year. That's my big fear. But yes the window is not wide open. The Lakers need to make a splash post-All-Star break and really catch people's attention.
@alam1108 I respectfully disagree. 2019 is Kyrie, Klaw, Klay #KKKplan. That is just a bad omen with Trump in office. Seriously tho, Kyrie is a scoring PG and I rather have a setup type like Zo. PG at the 2 is also preferential in that his 3ball has been greatly improved and his defense is head and shoulders above Kyrie. PG vs Klay is more comparable in that both are 3&D players, but I like PG again here cause he's obviously more hungrier at the moment for a NBA title, while Klay's thirst has already been quenched. And that brings us to the Klaw and again, he's won it all already and the injury issues is a huge cause of concern at the moment. And although he's older, LaBron is the best in the business currently and is as close to an automatic pass to the Finals as one can get. I take the 2018plan all day vs KKKplan
I can't express how disappointed I'd be if we trade Julius for cap space and end up giving DeAndre the max. What's his max, like $35M? OMG that would be catastrophic. With Cousins out, I have Julius firmly ranked at #3, right behind Lebron/George on the 2018 FA list. I don't see a better backup plan than resigning Julius. I'm just hoping we could negotiate a deal with him before he signs an offer sheet with another team, possibly for the max.
You know what we haven't seen for awhile since Jules has found his stride as a starter is him just getting worked or outmatched in games by players taller and/or just bigger than him consistently during those in game match ups. See Porzingis recently and Adams not big boying him yesterday down low when he had to work against him. And making Mello cry like a little g***. Julius is also quoted as saying he lives for the physicality of the play down low when Luke asks him to bring that every game.
I didn't mean one or the other, I meant in addition to. Jordan makes a good amount of sense for what we are doing. He can't stretch the floor, but he can rim protect and more importantly rim run. I don't know if I'd give him a max personally, but don't be shocked if that's thrown around either.
I rather sign Randle for his versatility and potential. DeAndre would be nice for $10-15M but no more.
If Julius could take/make more threes, even the corner threes, he'd be a great fit next to Jordan actually. Similar to the way Blake was a good fit after he stretched his game out. Really similar.
Just in case we needed yet another reason to keep Randle around: *This was also prior to the OKC game*
I wish he would get more serious and tight with his handle in heavy traffic around the key. Stupid dribbles the height of his head often to start a move and often with arms extended dribbling while backing someone down gets him picked unnecessarily too often or bouncing the ball off his foot or leg or someone else's foot or leg. Tighten the handles up!
Randle isn't bad going around people. His change of direction isn't very good doe. I do hear Lantz' "shorten your dribble so defenders don't poke it away from behind" on air advice. In a perverse way...I get a kick out of Randle just bowling people over or throwing them around. Still giggling about Anthony's whining from the other game.
