It´s going to be really hard for Lakers to get LeBron the help he needs to become a force to be reckoned with.
But I didn´t know it would be this hard.
But I didn´t know it would be this hard.
NBA 2018-2019
- Thread starter altodevil
- Start date
Yep. We saw that a team with two superstars cause massive troubles to Dubs and quite likely would have eliminated them if one of those two guys didn't get injured. Now, both LeBron and Kawhi (assuming that he comes back at his best) are better than Paul/Harden. The other part of the team is worse than Rockets, but they will still stand a chance against Dubs.
Of course, with George, they might have been favorites against Dubs. Without Kawhi, they just won't get near beating Dubs, and possibly will go out against other Western teams.
Yeah, Kawhi is the key. If they don't get him then the Lakers will probably be a 4th or 5th seed.
I agree with this. Some people I know (Bron fanbois) are criticizing the Spurs without any sense
Yeah they need to include Deng in any deal for Kawhi they could make or find another buyer for him (with minimum two first rounders attached IMO). I don't think Spurs are particularly keen on the idea of taking Deng.
What could potentially happen is them sending Deng with Lonzo Ball attached to another team, thus clearing cap space to get Kawhi. They'd then need to send both Ingram and Kuzma to Spurs to give them some value for Kawhi, could maybe get another small asset in return from that third team but I doubt it. Suns have been rumored as a potential destination for Ball but they don't have the cap space anymore to absorb Deng. I just don't see how all of this is supposed to come together for Kawhi to join Lakers this year.
I think Sixers should give Lakers a good offer and take him, then take a year to convince him to stay.
There's no way we're trading Ball, Kuz and Ingram for Leonard imo.
He said two of them. Which is reasonable.
Ball and Deng to one team and then both Ingram/Kuzma to the Spurs, which simply won't happen. Even two of them would be too much for me.
No way Spurs are accepting anything less than two of them.
Spurs won’t accept less than two of them. You need to get rid of Deng’s salary to make it work unless you just renounce Randle (would then be able to absorb Kawhi into cap space) but I don’t think that’s the way you want to go.
If you offer just Kuzma or just Ingram and figure out salary any other way then Spurs will just laugh at that offer and take whatever they get from Sixers or Celtics which is bound to be better. I give Suns an outside chance.
Don't think they will either, which is why I don't see Leonard at the Lakers this season. He'll stay at Spurs or move elsewhere, hopefully joining us next Summer.
There is always the risk with it, that he likes the place where he'll be next season. A bit like what George did.
And Philly with him likely will be stronger than LA without him. One year from now, LeBron will be 1 year older, the kids might have not progressed that much and Leonard might just decide to stay on Philly or Boston. Heck, Spurs should try a sign and trade deal (if possible) with Boston and get Hayward + something for Leonard. That team then would be Golden State level (Irving + Tatum + Kawhi + Horford with their depth and coached by Stevens is phenomenal).
Yeah, entirely possible. I'm basing my hope on the fact he's an LA native and wants to play for us (at the moment).
That doesn't make it a dumb move. There's more things in life other than becoming a Lakers great.
So was George and he ended up resigning with OKC where he probably has no chance to win championship. It’s a tricky situation. Kawhi could very well stay in Philadelphia but then again his behavior last season shows that he’s kind of determined to get what he wants.
Can’t really blow it up since we have Lowry, DeRozan and Ibaka on awful contracts for at least the next two years and don’t see anyone trading for them for any decent rebuild assets.
Might as well ride out the next two years seeing what we can do with the same core of players with a new head coach in a Lebron-less East. I mean this same squad almost picked up 60 wins last season. After then we can just blow it up.
at people thinking Spurs will take Deng's salary on while losing their best player.I think there would be takers for Lowry or DeRozan and it's at the point now where one needs to be moved on IMO. In the NBA there are always desperate teams and both of those players (especially DeRozan) have a good reputation. That would entice those teams IMO. So i'm not sure what THE move is, But something needs to change.
Yeah, I think at this point he just wants to enjoy basketball and have a great lifestyle. I don’t think anybody expects him to deliver Lakers a title in the near future.
DeRozan perhaps since he’s still relatively young and a consistent all star but again he’s shown to be a perennial bottler in the playoffs and is a SG who can’t shoot 3s and is defensively awful. I’d happily trade him for someone like McCollum though.
Lowry on the other hand is on the wrong side of 30 and right now the NBA is saturated with PGs, with the taller and more athletic ones being the flavour of month, so a 32 year old 6ft guard on 27mil a year that goes missing in playoffs is hardly an easy sell.
In a nutshell really.
"L.A. now has LeBron, Lance, Lonzo Ball, and Luke Walton -- four Ls, or the same number the Warriors will almost assuredly give them in May."
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/7/2/17524848/lebron-james-lakers-warriors-weather-gmib
Lowry has negative value, there's abundance of talent at point guard position so you don't actually need to pay $30million+ to a 32-year old player who isn't even that good.
Meanwhile VanVleet has resigned for $9million a year, two year deal. I thought Suns would covet him but it seems like Raptors wanted to lock him down quick.
Unless you're taking the piss, you've gotten pretty cocky and precious about your Warriors over the last few months.
I'd love to see Durant get dumped out again like he would've been every year of his career if he hadn't chosen the easy route to a ring.
. I'm always down for some Warriors bashing (and some @charlton66 stirring ), but Durant was a solid chance to win a title if he'd stayed in OKC. I agree I'd love to see him get dumped out now though.The Kawhi situation fascinates me. Is he even going to be the same player he was if his quad injury is degenerative? Has he made it look worse to tank his trade value and try to get to LA?
I'm taking the piss.
Fair enough then!I'm taking the piss.
I'd still love to see Durant get dumped out again like he would've been every year of his career if he hadn't chosen the easy route to a ring
I'm surprised you would ask. I always like a bit of trolling/banter etc... It's part of what being rival fans is all about.Fair enough then!
I'd still love to see Durant get dumped out again like he would've been every year of his career if he hadn't chosen the easy route to a ring
All their fans are like that. Between them and Lakers I have no idea who I dislike more, I would probably not watch conference finals between them at all. I managed to gather it in myself to cheer for Houston this year but cheering for Lakers is a step too far.
It doesn’t help that it’s impossible to have any optimism about Portland. We are the worst franchise in the league in terms of future outlook which is why I have to follow other teams and cheer for them at times. I should have probably invested myself in another franchise.
Oh please! Don't get all precious on me now. I've given @ZDwyr crap about Russ for ages and he's given me crap about KD. I've given @Moby a hard time about different things (heck different sports even) and he's done the same to me. I've even given @Revan crap and he's a Dubs fan. Heck I've even tried to wind you up about Damian Lillard. If you don't recognize that fans needle each other all the time then you are taking things way too seriously.
Nah you used to be better, now you've morphed into the same Warriors fan that are out there everywhere, 'OMG we got KD and now we are going to obliterate everybody'.
Shut up Sarni. We're going to annihilate you again when we face each other. If you manage to get a spot in play off.Nah you used to be better, now you've morphed into the same Warriors fan that are out there everywhere, 'OMG we got KD and now we are going to obliterate everybody'.
I almost hope we don’t.
Come on! How many times did I say last year that Houston was a really good team or that I was worried about them or the Dubs are struggling etc.... It was only yesterday that I said that LeBron's got real balls for doing what he's doing with that current Lakers roster and nobody can accuse him of taking the easy way out. I've said before "I'm snarky, sarcastic, maybe even a bit of a jerk sometimes" but I do TRY to give credit where it is due.Nah you used to be better, now you've morphed into the same Warriors fan that are out there everywhere, 'OMG we got KD and now we are going to obliterate everybody'.
Wait until Blazers land a big free agent. Watch me then.
Wish he had gone to 76ers
So it'll be a while then............
Hee! Hee!
LeBron is such a chump.
Me too. It would have been much more likely for him to win there but I guess he just wanted LA this time.
Nobody's going to give up assets for a few months rental of role players.