Official 2016 Free Agency Thread

The candidates mentioned had established themselves somewhat with their current situations and some are looking for a big payday. It was in the Lakers' best interest to send feelers to them but I'd reckon they'd be sensible enough to have a back-up plan in place or have grounded expectations.

There are viable options out there that aren't splashy but will serve as sensible additions to what we have. Golden State did the same maneuvering with the likes of Iguadala, Livingston, Barbosa to cite examples as complements to the Splash Brothers. There is no reason why we can't employ the same tactics. The key is not waiting too long and we lose such targets.

 

That's pretty much where I'm at. Even if this is the fault of the NBA's new Laker killing CBA and the nixed Paul deal, it doesn't truly matter. Mitch and Jim have been given too much time and resources for us to continue striking out and if anything we've regressed to the point of disdain in the FA market. Two years ago we were said to have nearly swayed Carmelo Anthony. Then we were able to get meetings with LaMarcus and Jordan even though they rejected us. Now we can't even get meetings. Something has to give.

I would be in favor of Mitch moving into an advisory role like West did for us, but if he's got to go in order for us to flush this perception of the franchise then we need to make our move. I like Mitch and it might not be fair, but we need a change. He can take both Buss kids with him too. I'm sick of their squabbling.

 

I agree. We'll see if Mitch and Jim are cognizant enough to agree with that as well. I think they are, but we'll just have to be patient for the next couple days.

 

1000000000% agree on the Buss' kids squabbling. If you idiots have issues, that's fine, but keep it in house. You're only hurting yourselves and the Laker brand by not projecting a united front publicly.

However, while the front office has made missteps (letting Pau walk for nothing, Young's contract, etc), it's important to remember just how bare the cupboard was just a few short years ago. When Dwight walked, our only young asset was Ryan Freaking Young.

In a short time, we've built from the ground up into Clarkson, Randle, Russell, Nance, Ingram & financial flexibility. Yes, someone will have to take our money at some point for that to be a relevant plus to cite, but like I said before, that's only a matter of time once our young guys start proving their worth throughout the league. And if we're playing an exciting brand of basketball under Luke similar (in principles, at least) to what GS has been running, that only helps all the more.

 

...along those lines, there could be some developments where other teams will overspend to sign up who we wanted and not be able to financially keep players we can use ourselves. Those certainly factor in our monitoring the free agency period. Wasn't the Jordan Rule implemented already where a player can't drag out negotiations?

 

Too many posts to include here but if anyone needs clarity on the Clarkson front and how his contract could look, check out @LarryCoon. He's talking about it at in length in his posts now and a few minutes ago.

 

kiss of death

 

I love our scouting department. They've done a tremendous job. I believe that's Ryan West and Joey (?) Buss. They're great. I want them extended and I want Ryan West groomed for the top spot. Everyone else can jump in a lake for all I care.

 

I'm actually very okay with that. Force Portland to pay. They've played that game with other teams.

 

Maybe they'll show this video to the 2 people that'll actually talk to us

 

Without those two...I can't even fathom how terrible we'd be. Joey has done more than Jim it seems and he'd not even ODB Buss' favorite.