The NBA Thread (52 Viewers)

[KB824]

stretch Deng.

Why?

We are not going to be able to trade him unless we attach a ton of assets to that contract.

I'd rather just take the stretch provision now and fill out this roster.

 

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[Osman]

If the Lakers do get Rondo Lenard and a great Center the odds will get lowered even if whatever happens I see GS as heavy favorites

Lakers are successful if they end up as the 4th best team in the west at this point, slow down man.



They dont have Leonard, and cant afford a center with any decent quality, except maybe the headcase Dwight Howard (still a double-double machine) who they already chased out of town years ago.



Their roster doesnt make much sense right now, and the cap space is shrinking. Its clearly not for contending. The contenders going to be Houston Rockets and Celtics, with outside dark horses being Philly, and MAYBE OKC if they finally get their act together (they can be bad matchup for GSW).

 

[KB824]

Lakers are successful if they end up as the 4th best team in the west at this point, slow down man.



They dont have Leonard, and cant afford a center with any decent quality, except maybe the headcase Dwight Howard (still a double-double machine) who they already chased out of town years ago.



Their roster doesnt make much sense right now, and the cap space is shrinking. Its clearly not for contending. The contenders going to be Houston Rockets and Celtics, with outside dark horses being Philly, and MAYBE OKC if they finally get their act together (they can be bad matchup for GSW).

They could bring back Brook Lopez on an NBA minimum deal or something close to it, and he would retain his Bird rights , which would be key for him. Hell, I'd be happy with 4th seed in the West. Ultimately right now, the only realistic scenario that would make me truly happy would be if they stretch Deng, and use the remaining cap space on Tyreke Evans and a Center.

I'm not expecting anything else at this point.

And let's say that they somehow get Evnas and Lopez. The team would be built like this


C- Lopez/Zubac/Mcgee
SF- Ingram/Kuzma
PF- James/Wagner
SG- KCP/Evans/Hart
PG- Ball/Rondo/Stephenson


I'll be honest with you. I can roll with that. That would be some serious backcourt depth, and bringing Lopez back would give the team more spacing. Frontcourt is a little thin, which means that you would see more small ball/ 3 guard lineups , but that is cool, because the depth would be there.

I can't knock what they have done in free agency. I mean, they got Lebron for God's sake. Anytime you get the most transcendent NBA player in the last 20 years who looks to still be in his prime, is a major get.

 

[Osman]

Everything after Lebron seems completely confusing tho, I was sure you would keep Randle, but at this point your front court is too weak and even with a serviceable Brook Lopez thats hella thin rotation, you can get abused in the post by the best big men with ease right now (your best hope would be McGee and thats not someone you give more then a dozen minutes per game until he has brainfarts).




If you get Tyreke Evans then I'll give you props for adding extra decisive quality needed, but even if you are adamant one year deal for next summer build, its still kinda confusing you spent 21m on Rondo and KCP and have needs elsewhere. Rondo has been having near minimum contracts for a while for a reason, and can find better shooters then KCP for that money for sure even on one year deal (JJ would been perfect next to Lebron).

 

[Orgut]

Lakers are successful if they end up as the 4th best team in the west at this point, slow down man.



They dont have Leonard, and cant afford a center with any decent quality, except maybe the headcase Dwight Howard (still a double-double machine) who they already chased out of town years ago.



Their roster doesnt make much sense right now, and the cap space is shrinking. Its clearly not for contending. The contenders going to be Houston Rockets and Celtics, with outside dark horses being Philly, and MAYBE OKC if they finally get their act together (they can be bad matchup for GSW).

Expect the Lakers to make more important signings as Lebron will not just sit and wait... He isnt 23 years old anymore..

 

[KB824]

Everything after Lebron seems completely confusing tho, I was sure you would keep Randle, but at this point your front court is too weak and even with a serviceable Brook Lopez thats hella thin rotation, you can get abused in the post by the best big men with ease right now (your best hope would be McGee and thats not someone you give more then a dozen minutes per game until he has brainfarts).




If you get Tyreke Evans then I'll give you props for adding extra decisive quality needed, but even if you are adamant one year deal for next summer build, its still kinda confusing you spent 21m on Rondo and KCP and have needs elsewhere. Rondo has been having near minimum contracts for a while for a reason, and can find better shooters then KCP for that money for sure even on one year deal (JJ would been perfect next to Lebron).

I don't know why they didn't keep Randle, and to be honest when I saw what he had signed for, the first thought in my mind was "He wanted out". His Cap Hold was nearly 13 million, and that was the offer he could have gotten with the Lakers if there was any chance of this happening.

Come to find out, that is exactly what happened. Ramona Shelburne confirmed it from her sources within the organization. He wasn't please about what his upcoming role would be with James on the team. I guess he was mad at the Lakers for not exercising their option or something, but in all honesty, he didn't put it all together until midway in his contract year. And I have also heard that his agent and magic do not get along, and this stems from when Magic traded D'Angelo to the Nets to get out from under the Mozgov contract. And with that being said, it should be noted that he happens to be PG's agent as well, so it could very well be more than coincidence, when you follow the bread crumbs.

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Expect the Lakers to make more important signings as Lebron will not just sit and wait... He isnt 23 years old anymore..

With what money? The have 5.6 million under the cap. Seriously. The only way they can open up more cap space without trading any of their young assets is to waive and stretch Deng.

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@Osman, as far as KCP goes. I told you this the other day but you don't believe me. The Lakers did Lebron a solid by re-signing him. The groundwork to which Lebron would be a Laker started by signing KCP last year to begin with.

 

[zizinho]

Why?

We are not going to be able to trade him unless we attach a ton of assets to that contract.

I'd rather just take the stretch provision now and fill out this roster.

i simply dont want him here for 5 more years. 5 years of having 7M less in cap space compared to everyone else just sucks. i know there are ways around that by players taking less money and signing players over the cap, but id rather maintain the flexibility by not doing it. if it has to be done, rather do it next summer, which would be over 3 years then i think. question here is, can we buy him out next summer same way Nets did with Howard? thats the preferred scenario for me if possible

 

[KB824]

@Orgut the reason why Lebron signed a 4 year deal in the first place is because he knew this would take some time.

This is actually the ballsiest move he has ever made. This is the first time he is going to a team without a star already in place.

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i simply dont want him here for 5 more years. 5 years of having 7M less in cap space compared to everyone else just sucks. i know there are ways around that by players taking less money and signing players over the cap, but id rather maintain the flexibility by not doing it. if it has to be done, rather do it next summer, which would be over 3 years then i think. question here is, can we buy him out next summer same way Nets did with Howard? thats the preferred scenario for me if possible

That 7 million next year won't play too much of a factor when you consider the amount of dollars coming off of the books next season. So, let's say the stretch Deng. That is 7.3 million in dead money on the cap, but 10.7 freed up.


Add the 10.7 to the 12 million for KCP, and the 9 million for Rondo. That is 32 million dollars. Which means that is enough for a max slot. And I am sure that they could do a buyout, but I don't really know how that would affect the cap

 

[Orgut]

@Orgut the reason why Lebron signed a 4 year deal in the first place is because he knew this would take some time.

This is actually the ballsiest move he has ever made. This is the first time he is going to a team without a star already in place.

I still think he will demand some reinforcements that will make The Lakers the 2nd best this year or the next one

 

[zizinho]

I don't know why they didn't keep Randle, and to be honest when I saw what he had signed for, the first thought in my mind was "He wanted out". His Cap Hold was nearly 13 million, and that was the offer he could have gotten with the Lakers if there was any chance of this happening.

Come to find out, that is exactly what happened. Ramona Shelburne confirmed it from her sources within the organization. He wasn't please about what his upcoming role would be with James on the team. I guess he was mad at the Lakers for not exercising their option or something, but in all honesty, he didn't put it all together until midway in his contract year. And I have also heard that his agent and magic do not get along, and this stems from when Magic traded D'Angelo to the Nets to get out from under the Mozgov contract. And with that being said, it should be noted that he happens to be PG's agent as well, so it could very well be more than coincidence, when you follow the bread crumbs.

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With what money? The have 5.6 million under the cap. Seriously. The only way they can open up more cap space without trading any of their young assets is to waive and stretch Deng.

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@Osman, as far as KCP goes. I told you this the other day but you don't believe me. The Lakers did Lebron a solid by re-signing him. The groundwork to which Lebron would be a Laker started by signing KCP last year to begin with.

that agent must have been pissed at us for doing this. Randle could easily have gotten a long term deal here, and we could have constructed the contract in a way that his lowest salary would be in the 2nd year, so we maintain the capspace for Kawhi (assuming Deng is gone next summer). win-win for both sides. maybe this plays out well for Julius in the end and he gets paid after the 1st/2nd year in NO, and i certainly wish him that, but this just looks like a stupid deal from his perspective to me

 

[KB824]

I still think he will demand some reinforcements that will make The Lakers the 2nd best this year or the next one

He can demand all he wants. They don't have the room under the cap. They are signing these players to 1 year deals for a reason.

I just find it odd that in all the years you have been here, you never posted in the NBA thread. Until 48 hours ago. And judging by your join date, you would have seen the latter part of the Shq-Kobe years, The Kobe-Gasol championship run, and this current rebuild and disappointment for the past 5 years.

 

[zizinho]

@Orgut the reason why Lebron signed a 4 year deal in the first place is because he knew this would take some time.

This is actually the ballsiest move he has ever made. This is the first time he is going to a team without a star already in place.

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That 7 million next year won't play too much of a factor when you consider the amount of dollars coming off of the books next season. So, let's say the stretch Deng. That is 7.3 million in dead money on the cap, but 10.7 freed up.


Add the 10.7 to the 12 million for KCP, and the 9 million for Rondo. That is 32 million dollars. Which means that is enough for a max slot. And I am sure that they could do a buyout, but I don't really know how that would affect the cap

but still, stretching him next summer would mean 1. less money annually and 2. shorter amount of time. it doesent make a difference to me how much better we get at this point for the coming season. we are a playoff team already, we can (not saying we would) beat anyone bar Houston/GS if all are healthy, and getting anyone now wouldnt launch us past these 2 teams. id concentrate on making the best possible team for 2019/20, so every bit of cap space could be vital. lets play the waiting game for now

 

[KB824]

that agent must have been pissed at us for doing this. Randle could easily have gotten a long term deal here, and we could have constructed the contract in a way that his lowest salary would be in the 2nd year, so we maintain the capspace for Kawhi (assuming Deng is gone next summer). win-win for both sides. maybe this plays out well for Julius in the end and he gets paid after the 1st/2nd year in NO, and i certainly wish him that, but this just looks like a stupid deal from his perspective to me

Obviously he was pissed. But that shouldn't affect his judgment in regards to what is best for his client. Look, Magic wasn't the one who stabbed Nick Young in the back with that video, his client was. And there was no way that Magic was going to stand for that type of behavior from his point guard. That is why he squashed the whole Ball-Kuzma situation right away.

 

[Orgut]

but still, stretching him next summer would mean 1. less money annually and 2. shorter amount of time. it doesent make a difference to me how much better we get at this point for the coming season. we are a playoff team already, we can (not saying we would) beat anyone bar Houston/GS if all are healthy, and getting anyone now wouldnt launch us past these 2 teams. id concentrate on making the best possible team for 2019/20, so every bit of cap space could be vital. lets play the waiting game for now

You got a point there but lets see what LJ decides - He already got his boyfriend Stephenson on board
BTW Isiah Thomas is he still a Laker?

 

[KB824]

but still, stretching him next summer would mean 1. less money annually and 2. shorter amount of time. it doesent make a difference to me how much better we get at this point for the coming season. we are a playoff team already, we can (not saying we would) beat anyone bar Houston/GS if all are healthy, and getting anyone now wouldnt launch us past these 2 teams. id concentrate on making the best possible team for 2019/20, so every bit of cap space could be vital. lets play the waiting game for now

You don't know if we are a playoff team or not. And if we don't get more shooting and rim protection, we won't be a playoff team. It's not as if all the other teams around us got worse. Well, maybe with the exception of New Orleans, but we don't know that for sure.

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You got a point there but lets see what LJ decides - He already got his boyfriend Stephenson on board
BTW Isiah Thomas is he still a Laker?

No, and with good reason. He's a very high usage, low efficiency player who is a traffic cone on defense.

 

[Orgut]

You don't know if we are a playoff team or not. And if we don't get more shooting and rim protection, we won't be a playoff team. It's not as if all the other teams around us got worse. Well, maybe with the exception of New Orleans, but we don't know that for sure.

LJ alone is playoff spot... (I mean current Lakers+LJ) as for winning or going far it should be much tougher as things stand

 

[Osman]

He can demand all he wants. They don't have the room under the cap. They are signing these players to 1 year deals for a reason.

I just find it odd that in all the years you have been here, you never posted in the NBA thread. Until 48 hours ago. And judging by your join date, you would have seen the latter part of the Shq-Kobe years, The Kobe-Gasol championship run, and this current rebuild and disappointment for the past 5 years.

Every sudden appearances like this will be all:

The Lebron stans bangwagon has commenced, and its headed to your sunny destination Serge.

 

[Orgut]

You don't know if we are a playoff team or not. And if we don't get more shooting and rim protection, we won't be a playoff team. It's not as if all the other teams around us got worse. Well, maybe with the exception of New Orleans, but we don't know that for sure.

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No, and with good reason. He's a very high usage, low efficiency player who is a traffic cone on defense.

I know LJ doesnt like him but I didnt know its already done

 

[KB824]

I know LJ doesnt like him but I didnt know its already done

It doesn't really have anything to do with whether Lebron likes him or not. He's a bad fit on this club. People talk about players like Stephenson and Mcgee having low basketball IQ. They should have seen some of the stupid plays that this assclown made last year

 

[Osman]

It's not as if all the other teams around us got worse. Well, maybe with the exception of New Orleans, but we don't know that for sure.

Cousins is arguably the best center in the league. But fit wise, and the ball they played, I can defenitely say Pelicans looked BETTER in playoff without him then they did in regular season with him. Mitrovic did alot, but Rondo was able to free up Davis so much in fast paced ball that didnt require the ball in Cousins hand most of the possession. Plus Jru being SG and not needing to playmake made then much better too.