But …. but … he leaks stuff to fool the fans AND LeBron into thinking he’s going to make moves when he has no intention of doing that because Jeanie’s too cheap.
Nah it’s the ulterior motive that Jeanie only cares about putting people in the seats and selling merch that got tons of run around here stated as fact …. right up until this trade showed up. Of course …. those Rui jersey sales in Japan are going to NOT suck.
He’s not done is my bet. The same comments in that regard pre Rui trade would have been ripped and mocked mercilessly though.
No trade guarantees a championship, none of them. Every trade is a gamble or giving yourself a chance, you never know how the pieces will fit, how your luck with injuries will go, etc. I just have to hope the definition is expanded to “gives us a chance”, because that’s all you can really ask for, a chance. I don’t think any team has ever started off as bad as we did and won a title, but the play-in sort of changes things you’d have to think, and you’d also have to think if you have LeBron and AD and a solid lineup around them, that you have a shot.
Look, I’m TRYING not to hate, I love the Hachimura trade, but I hate this answer so much. I disagree with his philosophy (incremental growth adds up to larger growth, please don’t trade for Beal or LaVine and ruin this), and I can’t stand the way he talks, how to say a lot and try to sound smart while saying very little. But whatever, as long as he makes moves and puts us in a better position I’ll be right here praising him, I’m not rooting for him to fail, I’m rooting for him to make good moves
Wow … LOL I don’t see why what he said there got you all worked up. Sounds pretty sensible. Even if he sounds pretentious in the way he talks.
I don’t agree with his view on the team. I do think Bogdanovic or Trent Jr, even smaller moves like Burks or Richardson, stuff like that added to this team, especially after the Hachimura move, gives us an outside shot to win. I don’t like the we’ll only use those picks if we get put into position to be a frontrunner for the title answer because it’s incredibly vague. I can only read that as him meaning third star, because I can only go off his past away of doing things, and that has been trying to get a third star, all the way back to Kawhi. I just don’t think that way works anymore, I don’t agree with it, I don’t agree that incremental improvements aren’t a good way to go, I think that’s exactly how you build a team, that’s how the 2020 title team was built. So yes it does bug me when our GM still doesn’t seem to understand fully what led to our initial success. I didn’t say I hate him, I said I hated the answer, and again, I loved the Rui trade and am rooting for him to make more good moves.
What if he means another trade of the same variety he just executed without a FRP attached being a possibility is how I kind of read it being what he meant? Haven’t some been proposed here?
I’d love a trade like that, but there are IMO trades to be had that involve one of those firsts that vault us up in the West, Bogdanovic being one of them. I don’t like the thinking, I just don’t, adding really, really good pieces like that even if they don’t make you the frontrunner is a good way to make you a lot better and to build continuity, as he’s signed for next year too. I’m not the only one who feels this way either
Other teams may be in the 1 FRP derby with talent back offered. We don’t know … say if they also want Reaves or Christie?
I added some more takes from the same guy above that I agree with, I just don’t agree with Rob’s championship or bust building style, because it’s not building, it’s starting over every year with a new cast of minimums. I like the Hachimura trade because it IS a move for now and beyond, that’s the kind of stuff we need to be looking at. I was just getting excited that he’s possibly changing his style or philosophy up after that move, so it’s disappointing to hear it remains the same is all. But hopefully he’s just saying that and nice moves are still made. As for your question, sometimes you have to give to get, we don’t have a lot to offer, so yeah, for the right deal I’d give up Max. For Bogdanovic, no, I wouldn’t most likely, because he’s 33, but for someone like Gary Trent Jr, I probably do, because he’s 24 and that can be a piece for many years to come, and while it would hurt to lose Christie, you’re getting a really damn good player in return.
I agree with your last paragraph. So far without rereading for something maybe I missed you might also have written …. I don’t think I get the same read from his answers that you’re upset with. He seems to me to be saying what you want him to in incrementally making the right moves. Without screwing up this actual really nice start to a new core roster. Why would teams drop the Laker tax now when we’re looking like we’re almost right there again where with health we can dominate. Move worth a pick. If a good one’s there he says the Lakers will make it.
I love his answer why use all your bullets when the best move if later when maybe you don't have any bullets left........ Has to keep his 22. In his sock ready
I don't agree with your view. I know you think you can just get picks back in the future, but your view is flawed, imo. You get picks back when you give up talent and make your team worse, so for that to happen, it would mean we would not be competing for championships at the time. Bogdanovic, Burks, Richardson don't put us in a contending position. We have to understand we will not finish in the top 4, meaning we will have 4 straight playoff series being the underdog and having to regain HCA in every series (against teams like Warriors, Memphis, Boston, Milwaukee.. )to win the title, that's a huge task. At the same time, you're putting yourself in a position to not compete for a title in the immediate post-Lebron era. Now if it's Trent, OG, Rozier or other young/in their prime players who also fit the current roster, then I agree it may be a good decision to use the picks. I would prefer not to, but it's sensible to do it considering LeBron and ADs ability as long as it's still valuable for the future. More and more superstars change teams via trade, not FA. So the picks have much more value than before. His words are very clear when he says we have one shot with the picks. We trade them and we only have relevant draft capital in 2026 or 2028 to make meaningful trades. So our next trade using the FRPs is our last big move in the next 4 years, at least. It's great that we have a GM sensible to the competitive landscape of our franchise and not emptying our assets to give us a 1% chance of a title in the short term We most likely will need to use the picks to replace LeBron. He finishes his contract and not get us any assets in return, so we will need to be in a position to grab a superstar by that time to stay relevant. Only players available in that window are Giannis, Tatum and Mitchell who will likely remain in their current teams and sign extensions by that time. So Free Agency is not the answer. This is all considering that AD is still a dominant player. If he isn't we will need those picks to rebuild and will be tanking so if we don't have them we are in a tough spot. Finally, in 2024 draft we will know what pick NO wants to choose so we can have that picks in 24/25 (after we draft it) plus '27, '29 and '31. That's 4 picks that can give you SGA or any other similar superstar in that time that puts you in contention for 5-7 years. If you don't have draft capital, you'll be scrapping the FA for several years and hoping for a hail Mary. I prefer the first option
rob said: if there's a big move, no assets are untouchable. otherwise, we have to be very judicious. how it gets turned into: he won't make moves for trent/burks/richardson, i have no freaking clue. i mean, he just made a trade for rui that everyone insisted wasn't going to happen. he's not going to drunkenly spend unprotected first rounders for guys in their mid-30s that will help us finish 8th instead of 11th. this is GREAT.
right, depending on which part of the quote you choose to highlight, you can frame the story as "we won't make any trades" or "we're going to trade everyone!" but that's just to keep the bloggers busy. a full reading of this and everything rob's said since the summer are the same, imo. people just want to twist it to their current agenda. "stupid lakers hoarding cap space when there's no good FAs who will sign there" lakers make move indicating they're not planning to use cap space "the lakers have really limited their cap space here; questionable move"
