I thought we'd get killed without Dlo (or even a limited Dlo), but we played a close game...mostly due to Lou Williams going supernatural.
Five solid games in a six game stretch?!? They say that when you're going through Hell, just keep going. Guys are going.
Two games in a row where we saw fantastic effort from the Lakers. The tank squad might not like how close they were to winning, but these kinds of games are great experience for the future. Lou was obviously incredible, but Brandon Bass is also really starting to come around. Have to wonder what kind of offers will be thrown Kupchak's way for either of those guys at the deadline. Not sure that LA really wants to move them though.
I'll tell you, OKC did not scream championship to me. They look like they are stuck in that second tier. Mind you, it's the highest point of the second tier, but I don't see them getting past the Spurs, the Warriors or Cavs. Come on over, KD!
No they don't. The brilliance of Westbrook and Durant will probably be able to get them a win or two, but I don't see any chance in hell they win a championship with their team as currently constructed. No depth. No real third scorer to take the load off. Not enough shooting. I definitely think it made a good impression on Durant. We know how much he loves Kobe and he'd be the unquestioned man after him. He'd have a chance to lead a very talented young group of guys to the promise land and the Lakers will still have enough money to sign any other player he'd like for them to bring in to play alongside.
KD on this team would be...WOW. Someone to space and use his length on D? He wouldn't win a scoring title here, but I think he'd have a shot at some rings. Honestly. He'd be a perfect fit.
If anyone was watching the ESPN broadcast did you catch the moment where KD was complimenting Scott on the team playing better? I think someone's scouting their next team...
I don't expect Durant to come here, but THESE are the games we need to have a lot more of. If we're going to convince a FA to come here, it's going to take games like this where we look intriguing. Clarkson was great and Lou really showed his value as an offensive weapon. An old Kobe made us competitive for a lot of the game, what would a younger Durant or Derozan or Batum make us look like? I'm fairly sure Durant has an eye on LA. He's a huge Kobe fan and his brand would LOVE to be in a market like Los Angeles to catapult him to the next level of megastar. Of course we're going to have to look a loooooot more competitive.
raviator said: ↑ If anyone was watching the ESPN broadcast did you catch the moment where KD was complimenting Scott on the team playing better? I think someone's scouting their next team... Is that right, I would ask too? So it's a figment of our imagination that KD is this complete franchise player? Size, mad skills, heart of a champion, good looking, charismic ..... all that ...... but dumb as a bag of rocks if that's his true observation and powers of deduction. Byron is doing good here? No thanks. Do not want.
That's the beauty of having 3 near max slots that I hope the FO doesn't sit on. Day 1 of FA if we don't have big money contracts ready for Durant/Horford/Whiteside/Derozan etc. at the same time and communicating that to all of them, I'm going to be pretty pissed. It can't just be we wait for the big fish (Durant) to move and then the dominoes fall, we have to put enough bait in the water (Verbals from Horford, etc.) and make him move our way. Our pitch becomes a lot stronger if we can say we got young guys and Horford/Whiteside + Derozan/Batum we need you to come complete this squad. If we can put that type of squad together it easily pushes us past OKC because after KD/RW that roster is a bunch of junk. Wishful thinking but hey it's the optimism thread.
If we could somehow pull off Durant, Whiteside, and Horford we would be back in contention within a year or two. Probably too young to compete with San Antonio and Golden State right away, but with Duncan retiring soon they'll take a step back and eventually the Warriors will start losing some key pieces. Russell/ Clarkson/Williams Durant/ Horford/Nance Jr. Whiteside/Black Probably would make sense to move Nance or Randle.
I think Whiteside is much more reasonable than Horford. I can't imagine we get a quick verbal confirmation from Horford to come to this rebuilding nightmare without already having a confirmation from another star. I could see their first target being Derozan because it seems like an easy/natural fit personality-wise if not "basketball"-wise. Then after that you give Whiteside a call (after researching meticulously to make sure his head is on straight). I would also think about going after guys like Noah and Pachulia who are great fits next to high volume players. See if you can nail them down for cheap enough to still offer a max deal to someone. Then you go to Durant and say "Look we just spent all the cash we needed to round out this roster. We've got a future, we've got a present, come be part of this and be the next star to lead us to a Championship." An offer like that holds some serious weight, but the Lakers have to be strong enough to go out there and make it happen. Then even if it doesn't happen (which is completely understandable), you're sitting on a far more competitive team than before with Derozan, Whiteside, and Noah or something.
