2014-15 Official Lakers Season Thread, Vol: We Love Each Other

[krazyrodzilla]

Kobe back at the All Star game


Wonder if he's gonna spaz, if he can, so he starts over harden

Doesn't have to, going to get popular vote.

 

[essential1]

Wizard announcer just baffled the entire time

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Kobe back at the All Star game


Wonder if he's gonna spaz, if he can, so he starts over harden

I want to see a lin/kobe backcourt at the all star game.....

 

[pmatic]

Dolittle:

Lakers are a Hollywood tragedy

The Los Angeles Lakers have been at the hub of the NBA universe pretty much forever, but their star went supernova a couple of years ago. For decades, the Lakers seemed to hover above any of the rules that governed typical basketball operations, but no more. And like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard," the Lakers continue to preen like stars, but outside of Los Angeles, fewer and fewer seem to care.

This is a franchise at its nadir. The Lakers missed the playoffs last season for just the sixth time in the franchise's 67 years of existence. Their 27 wins were the fewest since arriving in Los Angeles in 1960 -- three fewer than the season before the Lakers acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Los Angeles also missed the playoffs in Kareem's first season on the West Coast -- the only time the organization has ever missed the postseason two years in a row. It very well could happen again this season.

How did the NBA's most glamorous franchise plummet to such depths?

Mediocre talent

Consider where the Lakers were at the end of last season: 27 wins, but with the point differential of a 25-win team. The Lakers added Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson in the draft. Through free agency, they brought in Ed Davis. Jeremy Lin was acquired in a trade, and Carlos Boozer via amnesty waivers. Using three-year averages for wins above replacement (WARP) and Kevin Pelton's rookie projections, that group figures to put up about 9.9 WARP in the coming season.

The players the Lakers lost include Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks, Jordan Farmar, Chris Kaman, Kendall Marshall, Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks. That group projects to be worth 9.9 WARP. It's very much been a summer of running in place for the Lakers.

The "home run" acquisition is Kobe Bryant, who played in six games at below replacement level a season ago. He'll be 36 this season and is coming off two major injuries, both the type that can permanently derail the career of much younger athletes. Bryant has averaged 7.2 WARP over his past three seasons and, yes, it's probably a good way to look at his value despite all of his missed games. The average of his past three healthy seasons was 11.5 WARP, and a four-win decline seems appropriate given his age, time off and the seriousness of his injuries. Bottom line: Even if Bryant boosts the Lakers by seven or eight wins this season, the team will remain far from the playoff chase.

Too much Kobe

In many ways, it also has been a string of bad luck for Los Angeles. When Mitch Kupchak traded for Dwight Howard a couple of years ago, it seemed as if he had laid the cornerstone of yet another Lakers dynasty. Instead, Howard struggled through an up-and-down season, and left for less money to play in Houston.

All along, Kupchak had carefully managed the Lakers' cap situation to account for his rapidly aging roster. Entering last season, the Lakers had only Steve Nash's contract on the books entering this summer. That changed when Bryant was signed to a massive two-year extension for $48.5 million. The extension came a couple of weeks before Bryant made his return from a blown Achilles tendon, and about three weeks before his comeback was snuffed out after six games. If Bryant had not been reinjured, perhaps the team's outlook would have been different entering the summer when, despite the extension, the Lakers still had room to add a max contract. But that's not what happened.

The Lakers' primary target this summer -- like so many other teams -- was Carmelo Anthony. Kupchak's pitch to Anthony was reportedly centered on future cap space and the off-court opportunities that come with being a Laker. "Hey, we're the Lakers!"

But does anybody really care?

In reality, the Lakers' pitch to Anthony was probably doomed a year earlier, when Howard decided to join the Rockets. After Anthony's rejection, Kupchak had two paths from which to choose: Pick up the pieces from the leftovers in the marketplace, or truly tear down. The latter option was not really an option at all, even though it's a path other NBA teams often must choose by default. With Bryant heading into the final two seasons of his Hall of Fame career, you can't simply punt those years. At the same time, the former option means that Bryant, almost assuredly, will fall short in his quest to match Michael Jordan's six championship rings.

So Kupchak added what he could, and he obtained some decent values. Lin's cap number is fair value, though his actual cash payout of $14.9 million is about double what he's worth. Davis is a tremendous value and Boozer, whose Chicago contract had reached the level of an atrocity, suddenly became a bargain when he was plucked from waivers. All told, including the rookies, the newcomers project to put up about $22.8 million worth of WARP, for which they'll be paid $22.5 million this season. Where the Lakers have overpaid has been in the players they've retained, including Bryant. The returnees on the Lakers roster project to produce $25.9 million in WARP, for which they'll be paid $51.6 million.

Lakers mystique gone

It's easy to wonder just what in the world is going on in Los Angeles. And surely, it has been a lackluster summer. However, if you trace back through the past few years, you can clearly see Kupchak's design. It hasn't worked, but it doesn't mean it was necessarily wrong. There have been missteps, sure, such as the doomed superteam formula and the current lack of a coach.

More than anything though, it has become apparent that Lakers mythology no longer trumps marketplace reality in the post-lockout NBA. Location, even Los Angeles, matters less than winning and money management (perhaps in that order). Fit with teammates matters as well, and at this point of his career, maybe no one wants to be a sideshow to the end of Bryant's run. That doesn't diminish Kobe's career, but it makes for a bittersweet ending.

So while Kupchak makes Bryant's denouement as cushy as possible, he'll continue with the contingencies to his contingency plans. There will be space for a big name next summer. There will be tons of space for stars in the summers after that. Perhaps the space, along with the short-term deals Kupchak has been stockpiling, will yield a blockbuster trade. It's not sexy, but it's the way the rest of the NBA has had to live for some time.

All Kupchak really has to do is look to Lakers history. It has always been about the draft. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were Lakers lifers. The Lakers didn't win with Kareem until they drafted Magic Johnson. Shaquille O'Neal moved West because he was starry-eyed, but the titles didn't come until Kobe, another career Laker, matured. Stockpiling assets might not seem like the Laker way, but it's the patient approach. It's just not something we've seen from the purple and gold lately.

 

[darthska]

maybe no one wants to be a sideshow to the end of Bryant's run. That doesn't diminish Kobe's career, but it makes for a bittersweet ending.

Just another way of saying "Maybe no one wants to play w/ Kobe", a sentiment I've never heard/read before. First time. Just now.

And I completely disagree w/ that notion. it's ridiculous to think that people don't wanna play with Kobe. That man is a 5x champ. People are lining up outside Staples to sign with us.

 

[champcruthik]

In fairness, to those weary of myself and others falling into a Summer League hype-trap with Clarkson, I've repped him since Tulsa and Mizzou. Called him a top-20 prospect leading into the Draft. The value is undeniable regardless of whether he's a long-term NBA starter. He's going to make a consistent bench rotation as a combo guard and possibly sixth man.

 

[sb]

so is the team roster complete or are there still potential moves

 

[freeze]

maybe no one wants to be a sideshow to the end of Bryant's run. That doesn't diminish Kobe's career, but it makes for a bittersweet ending.

Just another way of saying "Maybe no one wants to play w/ Kobe", a sentiment I've never heard/read before. First time. Just now.

And I completely disagree w/ that notion. it's ridiculous to think that people don't wanna play with Kobe. That man is a 5x champ. People are lining up outside Staples to sign with us.

the sarcasm...my god. you sir are a jedi.

 

[lovehateself]

We should just hire ex-Lakers for the staff.

its what we do

 

[CP1708]

All Kupchak really has to do is look to Lakers history. It has always been about the draft. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were Lakers lifers. The Lakers didn't win with Kareem until they drafted Magic Johnson. Shaquille O'Neal moved West because he was starry-eyed, but the titles didn't come until Kobe, another career Laker, matured. Stockpiling assets might not seem like the Laker way, but it's the patient approach. It's just not something we've seen from the purple and gold lately.

|I

 

[Lovetohate3000]

Agreed with that... I didn't want lj didn't want Carmelo...

been saying this forever . Free agency isn't the way to go.... We need someone home grown.....hopefully Randle turns into something good....

 

[darthska]

maybe no one wants to be a sideshow to the end of Bryant's run. That doesn't diminish Kobe's career, but it makes for a bittersweet ending.

Just another way of saying "Maybe no one wants to play w/ Kobe", a sentiment I've never heard/read before. First time. Just now.

And I completely disagree w/ that notion. it's ridiculous to think that people don't wanna play with Kobe. That man is a 5x champ. People are lining up outside Staples to sign with us.

the sarcasm...my god. you sir are a jedi.

Sarcastic? Muah?

(I've been written up at jobs before for being too sarcastic. Said it was unprofessional. At one of the meetings where I was being written up & 'talked to', I was like "Riiiiiiiiight, because we're SOOOOO professional here." ... :\ )

 

[noblekane]

the sarcasm...my god. you sir are a jedi.

that theory is the worst though

the only person to actually come out and complain is smush parker.

and as if we ever had the cap space to sign a superstar until now

so the notion nobody wants to play with kobe is just dumb.

 

[licensed to ball]

If you're as sarcastic as you say then id definitely wanna have a drink with you Ska

You probably don't see it on NT but I've gotten in trouble for my sarcasm too in many situations

 

[rck3sactown]

don't fail that test LTB 

 

[kal-el-8]

 @MarkG_Medina: Boozer says he feels like a "spring chicken." He believes he can play 5, 6 or 7 more years

At 37, we'll max him for 2 years 48 million.

 

[licensed to ball]

don't fail that test LTB 

By drink I meant fresh squeezed organic orange juice full of vitamin C, of course

 

[kingjaffejo]

At 37, we'll max him for 2 years 48 million.

Keeping black ice in demand one lackluster season after another

 

[Lovetohate3000]

I fn hate boozer... Dude has a stupid face....

 

[CP1708]

Ska, he just called you a Jedi and you didn't even get insulted.

 

[mr j 858]

Man Boozer, Lin, Hill, Nash all better be gone after this season.

 

[essential1]

Man Boozer, Lin, Hill, Nash all better be gone after this season.

You don't need to really put Nash on there. That's already been predetermined

 

[mj 23]

Boozer saying he's expecting to start.

 

[essential1]

Boozer saying he's expecting to start.

Not surprising. Was expected.

 

[bravelude]

People gotta remember, leadership and cycels back then and now are different. We are shifting, or should I say, already have shifted.If LA didnt want LBJ, or Melo, they wouldn‘t have made a bid for them. More so, something is wrong with you if you don‘t take a shot at some of the talent available.Anyway, should I just create a base Yahoo league while someone creates a thread? No buy ins (volunteer for pot okay), but I‘m willing to send out a $10 gift card or something to winner.