Simmons missing a ton of FTs - and a lot of TOs - but it wouldn't have mattered. They're getting worked. 23-12-6-1-1
Bump Randle up to the 3, sign David Lee and snag DeAndre....all lefty lineup! The LA Odoms, if you will.
Ingram is struggling, which is good. I want him to be there if we keep the pick. I see little T-Mac in his game. Dude was never a good shooter.
Ingram is exactly what this team needs (based on his theoretical projection). Not sure we could make a better fit in a lab when you consider our current roster of youth. If Clarkson keeps improving from downtown, Ingram, Russell and Clarkson have the potential to be a crazy outside threat. Ingram is also tall enough to play the 4 in a small ball lineup with Randle at center. That being said I take Simmons #1 without question.
I know this is essentially the tanking thread but just wanted to note there's a pretty good chance Phoenix overtakes us for the #2 worst record when it's all said and done. They are currently on a 13 game losing streak, lost to a bad Brooklyn team with no Joe Johnson at home last night. They may not win another 3 games to end the season.... Their roster is awful right now.
We play PHX twice more, those two games might turn out to be very important tank wise. We play a pretty equal mix of playoff and non playoff teams the rest of the way. Sprinkled in with a few games with teams fighting for playoff spot. They have the easier schedule but who knows if/when they go full tank. Aren't they getting Knight back soon?
two things stood out to me from the past few posts: 1. that comparisons to tmac are an insult relative to comparisons to Durant. tmac's prime play might be better than Durant's thus far, imo. better defender, better able to initiate offense/make plays for others. obviously not the shooter, but no slouch in that regard, either. 2. that ingram compares to tmac or paul George. I admittedly have seen very little, but I think the poor man's Durant/rich man's middleton rings more true for me. the ben simmons story really interests me, just as a general basketball fan. we're in an era in which shooting has become a crazy priority (I actually think folks have gone a bit overboard on it, personally), yet the consensus #1 player a) isn't a good shooter and b) isn't really strong enough to play at the 4/5. there's no doubt simmons is a top notch talent, but it's not in a way that fits easily into current philosophy. they're trying to fix that by comparing him to draymond green, but whoever drafts simmons #1 doesn't want draymond green. they want Anthony davis, LeBron, Duncan...feel like there's going to be disappointment there. rich man's green still isn't those guys, and rich man's green may not actually be much more impactful than just regular ol' green. but anyway, it should be interesting to watch. as interesting as the guy philly picks 4th with our pick.
I think the Sixers have a better chance of passing us than we do of staying behind Phoenix. They are uber bad right now. I think we will win at least 5 more games the rest of the way because of our two games against Phoenix, unless Knight is coming back soon. That team is staring Ronnie Price and PJ Tucker. Historically bad starting five right now.
A lot of people accusing him of giving up in this game, but honestly there's some serious holes in his game namely that jumper. He looks to me like a pass-first version of Julius Randle. With Ingram struggling too, I'm growing less and less concerned about losing that pick.
yeah, i don't think losing it means losing out on a transcendent talent (and even if simmons and/or ingram are, the lakers could still end up third). all it means is that we're in for another year like this one. without that pick, the lakers are less flexible this summer, imo.
I mean replace Byron and at least we're looking at a 25-35 win team instead of the worst record in franchise history. Seriously all we wanted this year truly was development from the kids. Sure we all had apple pie visions of an 8th seed if everything went perfectly and instead we were STILL let down somehow. Our expectations, by Laker standards, were as low as possible and they exceeded even that. Next season I expect at least 10 more wins and a decent lottery pick, but I don't expect full on tanking to rival Philadelphia or Phoenix.
depends on how much of a debacle FA is. if it's like last year, i expect something akin to phx-level tanking. but not philly, as theirs is part of a multi-year design. i actually wonder how much the draft lotto results will play into decisions of all types, maybe even regarding byron. although i am inclined to believe byron is out regardless, i could see some misfortune making management consider retaining the tank commander. why poison another coaching hire by saddling them with a roster whose best player is a third year combo guard who averages 15ppg and can't guard my house?
I just can't see anything keeping Byron's job at this point. Public perception aside, he's done an awful job just on the floor in general. New offensive sets this late in the game? Really? That's the solution? There's literally no basis to keep his job from a basketball perspective. And I genuinely cannot see tanking another season. It's one thing to stink. We could definitely be stinkers next season if this summer goes badly. A bad team though is the Nuggets who stand a decent shot at 30 wins this season. There's no reason to think that shouldn't be us. We should win 30 games next season by losing Byron, the young kids growing, and whatever we end spending our 60+ million dollars on. Tanking is trying to lose like we were the last two years and I don't think we're going to do that again. Too much money at stake to be trying to lose without Kobe Bryant on the team.
man, if that pick is gone this summer, it's hard to justify anything but the full-on tank next year. tough to swallow, but true. seriously, if the lakers lose the pick, I'd immediately shift to "I'm taking all bloated one-year contracts with first round picks attached to them" mode. first come, first served. nic batum ain't saving that ship.
It really doesn't matter though. We're going to max somebody this summer no matter what happens. Batum might not take it, but there'll be guys that do. Even if we pick up Mozgov and Deng or something, we'll spend money on people. You can't carry over 60 million dollars from year to year, it's just not really feasible. What expiring contracts could you add up to get there? Somebody is taking our money. That somebody will help us get to 30 wins which means we're not tanking. I agree we'll likely stink. That doesn't mean we're going to purposely lose games like we've done this season.
