Not going to happen. We're not shutting down our veterans, just play them limited minutes. Clarkson (30)/ LIn (18) Ellington (30)/D-League call up (18) Kelly (15)/Young (20)/Johnson (13) Boozer (20)/Davis (20)/Kelly (8) Black (25)/Hill (23) That's it. A lot of moving pieces, deep rotations, and mostly young guys playing 20+ minutes.
orlando scares me. i think they're fully committing to the tank down the stretch. they're the biggest threat to the lakers' pick right now.
Me too. We still have two games against both Philly AND Minny along with one against the dreadful Knicks. Orlando is in FULL tank mode. I honestly don't know how that team isn't better though. it's really quite baffling. They have 3 players in their starting five that you could make a case are better than anyone on our roster with Oladipo, Vucevic and Harris. I mean, I'd trade anyone on our roster for anyone of those 3 dudes.
Maybe, but just looking at their numbers alone makes you think they would be winning more games. They got 3 dudes averaging over 16 ppg, with all 3 shooting above 45%. Outside of Kobe, we don't have ANYONE averaging even 14 ppg. How do they only have 3 more wins than us? In the East no less.
they're pros. it's why I'm scared. it's REALLY hard to lose that many games in the east while sporting any talent whatsoever, which is why philly has done everything short of hire assassins to take out useful players. I mean, boston's lame squad is in playoff contention over there. BOSTON! minny shouldn't be losing as much as they are, either, but they, too, are strong in the tank. I just want this dirty business to be over this year. tank hard so you won't have to again for 20 years. failure to tank hard now means, as others have said, that tanking will become a gradually acquired skill.
There is that pervading mindset of arrogance that because it's THE Lakers, free agents will still choose the organization so the disdain for losing and the advantage of securing a high pick. Dangerous... Maybe if Dr. Buss was still around with West as his main henchman. Times have changed...
I think the beating we've taken over the last several years in terms of the lack of star FAs looking to jump onboard has tempered it somewhat. I wouldn't say superstars won't come here (CP3 was ready to) nor would I say they are lining up outside Mitch's door. We've only had money for a year and there probably is some reluctance with stars that need to win immediately to come on board with Kobe's salary and current injury history. i think we look better this summer with only 1 year left on Kobe, Randle back and hopefully a sweet pick but we need to get somewhat of a foundation of a young core going.
Agree on how to build the team. Get the building blocks and go from there. Make the personnel attractive enough so that a really good player will want to lead it. I am somewhat skeptical that the free agents of the future will not stay where they are unless the situation here changes for the better. I have not doubt though that it will. It just will take time.
I know. I don't think the organization realizes how critical it is we get the pick. I loved Byron as a player and he seems like a very intelligent guy, which makes me wonder how he can be so stupid. His only chance to keep his job is to at least start a turnaround next year. That isn't going to happen if we lose the pick, sign Dragic or (heaven forbid) Rondo to a max deal. We may win 5-6 more games, but there will be no feeling of momentum. If Scott instead has Randle and let's say drafts Mundiay and then sign like Greg Monroe, maybe we win only 7-8 more games as opposed to 5-6, but the feeling is totally different. We have young dynamic players all under 26 at 3 starting positions. It's a foundation. It's the feeling we had with Van Exel, Jones and 'Chise as opposed to that horrible feeling we had with Threatt, Peeler, AC Green, and old Worthy...Yes, Mitch pulled a rabbit out of his hat with the Gasol deal (which ended up being pretty damn fair in retrospect), but we can't expect that sort of thing to happen again.
@RandleROFY has been screenshoting this site a lot, but it's pretty damn cool actually. tankathon is pretty slick. They update every 10 minutes, they've got a mock draft, they've got a mock lottery system, they've got breakdowns/videos on the players in the draft. Check 'em out.
