Official Whine, Moan, Complain Thread 19/20-CLOSED "WE CHAMPS!"

We got played - badly.

There's no denying that, IMO.

We have a novice in the FO (Rob)...however, if he got played, so did LeBron who has been recruiting his whole career, and that to me is more surprising.

It is what it is...time to move on.

 

Honestly been thinking on this with guys who passed on us too. We will see how it all plays out.

 

West has been part of some great roster builds over the years and is sitting pretty today as well.

Let him have it. Petty of him to join the Clippers anyway.

We all know the spin is never going to favor us. It never has and never will unless we win. And we’re still in position to do just that.

 

I know that he is a Laker legend and all, but I don't think Jerry West had much to do with this signing. Kawhidiot wanted to be Clipper for reasons only he knows (must have been dropped on his head as a baby) and he believed his own rhetoric that he was a super team killer, when in reality he was not. San Antonio had a great team that was able to go toe to toe with the Heat, it was not just him. And Toronto took advantage of a decimated Warrirors team that was also tired from multiple championship runs. And they were a whole lot more loaded than people gave them credit for. So no, he is not a super team killer.
Back to Jerry, I will grant him that he had genius moves in the past. But he benefited as much from the Laker brand as much as we did his services. He was never able to make the Grizzlies anything more than a playoff contender, the Warriors had their team set already when he came in. Can't give him Durant, man wanted to come and it was Draymond that really recruited him. So yeah, Jerry West is great executive, maybe the best ever. But to give him credit for this hullabaloo is a bit much.

 

Keep telling yourselves that if it helps you sleep at night.

Lakers need to stop thinking about Jerry West and Kawhi Leonard and think about whom they will be bringing in by the deadline that will clinch the title next year.

 

moral of the story, dont trade off your talented youth till you absolutely know the true outcome

 

I've been reflecting on what happened, and I think I have a way of making sense of the timeline of the leaks ultimately resulting in Kawhi signing with the Clippers.

Early on in free agency, it was leaked that the Clippers were out of the running and Kawhi was about to sign with the Lakers. I believe those leaks were accurate since it was right around the same time when the Clippers lost out on Jimmy Butler and really had no remaining hope of pairing Kawhi with a second star. Kawhi probably informed them he wouldn't be signing without a second star for load management purposes, and so he began contract negotiations with the Lakers to return to Southern California.

However, later that same day, someone came up with the Paul George idea. It may have been Jerry West, or Uncle Dennis, or Kawhi himself; either way, the Clippers then asked Kawhi to delay his decision so they could try and acquire Paul George in a trade. Kawhi agreed to do so since he didn't really want to sign with the Lakers, and for all we know his contract negotiations were just a bluff to force the Clippers to act urgently to get a second star.

That's why later that same evening news came out that the previous leaks were incorrect and that Kawhi had not made a decision or ruled anyone out. Once the delay and trade plan was hatched, it was imperative that Kawhi force all three teams trying to sign him into silence by convincing the Raptors and Lakers they were still in the running while putting out reports that he hates leaks. This shut down nearly all leaks and gave the Clippers the time and secrecy needed to pull off the Paul George trade.

Kawhi likely then led the Raptors and Lakers on by traveling to Toronto to hear a pitch he didn't really care about, while periodically letting the Lakers know he's still making a decision. As the Lakers deadline to complete the Anthony Davis trade approached, Kawhi knew he was running out of time, so he probably heavily pressured the Clippers into acquiring Paul George at any cost or he would sign with the Lakers on July 6th. That likely upped the Clippers offer for Paul George, and with the Raptors unwilling to trade for Paul George as an alternative destination, the Thunder caved to prevent the Lakers from forming a super team (it's always ok to collude against the Lakers).

The worst part about what Kawhi did is he had always planned to sign with the Clippers since day 1 as evidenced by his new Clippers themed shoes coming out the day he signed. He had no qualms in pressuring the Clippers or leading the Lakers and Raptors on during this whole time. I know this makes me sound salty, but I'd rather not have someone of that character on the Lakers. His quiet demeanor seems to hide his true self, and this helps explain how things fell apart when he was in San Antonio.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent and give my two cents. I can't wait for the Lakers to knock the Clippers out of the playoffs.

 

We can all spin it in any direction we want, but the fact is our front office is a mess and it projects to players and agents on the outside that we have no basketball minds in the front office and run like a mom and pop business.
PG and now Kawhi both had a situation to play for the lakers, get paid and play with other all stars, but chose not to.

I had posted last month that the front office is just hiding out until we trade for AD, sign another max free agent so all the heat will be gone for the head coach hiring blunder, Magic’s quitting/slander, Jason Kidd hiring (still haven’t announced),the Rambii taking over and the fact we still have no real basketball front office people.

 

Thanks for writing it all out clearly, I agree with the basis here.

I DO NOT think he was leading us or Toronto on with the idea of weakening both, we were always just a back up plan though if the Clippers couldn't find a trade and by all accounts, Clippers couldn't get a trade until last minute.

As for the shoe thing, it's perfectly reasonable to have NB mock up 3 designs for each team and just start selling the one where he goes to.

 

he was using us the whole time, report says it wouldnt matter who got him pg n we clearly had no opt to trade for pg

 

**** off Max. Stick to boxing.

 

I lean this way as well. It was always the Clippers for Kawhi, and that's shown in not just the shoes that he had ready to go, but also in how hard he recruited Paul George just so he could have a second star on the Clippers.

An article described that Kawhi pushed hard with Paul George, eventually getting him to request a trade. Why push that hard for player on another team if you had an interest in the Lakers? The fact is he would have just signed with the Lakers if he truly was interested in us instead of delaying for several days while strong-arming the Clippers and Paul George into forcing the Thunder into a trade they never wanted. Kawhi was willing to go as far as asking the Lakers to delay the Anthony Davis trade just to give the Clippers more time.

That does not sound like someone who ever had a true interest in the Lakers. That's what I find most upsetting about what happened: the lengths Kawhi was willing to go to use the Lakers as leverage to force the Clippers to acquire Paul George at all costs is very troubling to me.

As I said in my previous post, I am actually glad someone like that is not on our team, even if that makes me sound salty.

 

^^ To be fair.. @Mr Rambis mentioned several times that AEG was already planning Big 3 promotional materials, etc.
I don't think New Balance having a mock up of a Clipper shoe means anything. Just like they make Championship shirts for the Team that loses the NBA Finals.

 

f*** you Kawhi ,Doc and Oklahoma's rednecks
You going regret it very soon