These are one year contracts which give us an opportunity to go hunting next summer. Again, when I see a 1-year contract, I click "like".
Kinda yes to be honest. Every good character who was likable is pretty much gone. Winning isn't everything. Larry, Randle, Clarkson, Lopez (as of now) were all likable guys who sacrificed for the team and got shipped out. Ball was never likable to me. Deng neither since he never played. LeBron is controversial at least among Laker fans. Now 3 absolutely comically awful new characters ... Ingram Kuzma might get traded for Kawhi.. Who am I gonna root for? Rondo? Stephenson? McGee? Ball? James? I rather lose with good guys than win with ugly ones. Why is Golden State able to win with high characters? Why does everyone take a paycut to go there ? Why do they always seem to do the right thing? This isn't about one guy or another... It's a f'n trend that's disturbing. We treated Julius like he is garbage and he was by far THE best player on the Lakers this past season. Easily. That's not what I stand for, sorry. I'm not going to sell my soul.
Clarkson was likable? News to me. Larry was replaced by Wagner, that trade got us a 2nd max slot and the pick that became Wagner. Randle and his agent didn’t want to be here. Lopez could still return. No souls have had to be sold, our team hasn’t changed that much, we still have Zo, KCP, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma, and Zu. We replaced Nance, JC, Randle, Ennis and Bryant with LeBron, Rondo, Stephenson, McGee, Wagner, and Svi. I’m not seeing a huge issue here, I’m not seeing a problem at all, we went from a 35 win team to a playoff team, and the roster isn’t even finished yet.
I get it, I really do. But we have to start winning. And we can't win like the Warriors, who don't deserve that name anymore. They are now the villains of the NBA. And yes, they had high character guys like the Splash Bros, but they could actually, you know... play. Larry is a cool backup guy and Clarkson is a scrub and a "playa". That's it in a nutshell. But yeah, I see where you are coming from. No worries, our team will change next summer. Again. PS When I look at some of our high character guys... Larry, coach Luke, Sacre etc. Ehhh, I'll pass. I'll take Rondo for 1 year. Dude can ball in the playoffs.
I mean, we're going to disagree fundamentally because for me, winning is everything. The lines I draw on that are ethical (I'm not going to clothesline a guy to win a game), not really in roster construction as we have now. But all good character guys are gone? Kuzma has spent the last month doing various charities. LeBron has built schools and sponsored scholarships. Hart is by all accounts a good guy and easy to root for. Ingram and Ball are quiet, but I don't have a problem rooting for them, they seem like nice kids. The "might get traded" angle just doesn't hold much for me since nothing has happened there. As for rooting for guys you don't like, I mean... they're bench players. Most of the kids are still here. I'm not really worried about them because they're really not that important. If you don't like rooting for LeBron, I get you, but... that's kind of the deal now. I also don't think we treated Randle like garbage. There were mistakes on both sides, but Mintz and Julius aren't blameless in this. If he truly wanted to be a Laker, he would have made it happen. He wanted out and we accommodated. It's disappointing, trust me I get it. I spent a long time defending Julius. I blame Mintz more than anyone though. He screwed Julius out of money this summer so that he could baby Paul George.
This soooo much. I don't like where we are heading like at all. Now we have Rondo as well, who's next - Dwight?
To clarify one thing: JC was a very likable high character guy. He was frustrating on the court with his shot selection but he was a great teammate and well liked by most players.
Likeable, yes. Hard working, yes. But I wouldn't call JC high character. He attach himself to Nick Young when they were here and there was this:
I’m sorry but I’m not buying this new found love for Randle, Clarkson, etc. They were ripped all the time on here. Folks are just being contrarian and looking for things to gripe about IMO.
Yeah, just had to let it sink in. What's most disappointing is the way we treated Julius. He was always an afterthought. Not just the benching but where was the transparency with his free agency? By the time they spoke with him the market had already dried up. And that's when he learns that he's backing up Lebron on a 1-year deal? That's just cruel. There's only so much a young man could take and I don't blame him for asking to leave. Y'all could blame Mintz, but Magic/Rob/Luke could have called Julius any time before free agency. They held him hostage and I just don't think that was the right way to treat a player that did everything that was asked of him. He came here as a huge Kobe/Lakers fan and we broke his heart. That's what really makes me sick.
^ This post sums up some of my major frustrations with sports fan sites. LB is probably the best, but t happens even here. If you criticize a player, you’re an idiot. If you criticize the team for letting the same player go, you’re a fool. I’m with you, KB24. This last season, I watched the least amount of basketball I have in about 20 years. And it felt great.
He was an RFA so he could have gotten an offer at any point and didnt. The Lakers didnt hold him hostage at all, the market did. It's a serous bummer for Julius who was expecting his first big payday, but isnt that on Mintz for not finding his client a better deal?
I hope he puts +20/10 next to AD. East is weak as hell, hope kid can do some damage. All the luck in the world Jules...
He wouldn't have been a RFA if the Lakers didn't extend a qualifying offer. Making him a RFA limited his options as teams are hesitant with offer sheets. And by the time they renounced his rights the market had dried up. That's being treated like garbage.
Lol, it is, my bad, damn. East sucks though. Embiid, Giannis, Kyrie and that's about it. Weak sauce...
