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

[darthska]

[quote name="CP"]You guys can seek comfort in that grey bull ****.

I'll be over here laughing at the spin control goin on with everyone soakin it all up.

They're playing you guys for fools. We ain't winning a title, and we ain't tankin, so what are we doin?

"Butts in seats"

While you all cheer with glee. [/quote]

Really gonna miss MDA and those 50 point loses.

Byron has a 58 point playoff loss, no worries man, he'll have you covered.

I'm so excited all of you guys' hatred for MDA has you rooting for Byron Scott, that is going to be the best part about this season, watching your rooting interest turn to dust rather quickly.

Don't matter he got fired once, or twice, or three times, he's one of US now.

Seek comfort?

Cheer w/ glee?

'Rooting for Byron Scott'?

What the...

I'm done w/ you, for real. The way you 'fan' is pathetic, real talk. You don't listen to anything said by anyone you disagree w/, and you refuse to understand what you don't already know (which is basically the typical 'conservative, Christian American', but that's another topic).

If you haven't blocked me by the end of the year, I'll consider 2014 a failure.

Oh: constantly mocking people w/ nothing but emoticons can be considered trolling. Tread lightly.

If you have nothing productive to add, shut it. MULTIPLE people have expressed hesitation to respond... because of you.

That will change.

Toodles.

 

[licensed to ball]

2 wrongs don't make a right tho man.
Some of our fans are young kids.
We got some immature teenagers as fans (ACB for example). You don't have to prove how dumb they are we see it.

You're a grown man with a family, an obviously successful man with a house and career. Nothing but respect.
Anyone who doesn't see how smart you are when it comes to sports is either too young to understand or just plain needs to open their eyes. But I think most of us already do.

That's all I'm sayin.
I've had my fair share of rants obviously, ska has, essential has, we all have. So I'm not Tryna sound like a hypocrit. I could of
Let a lotta things go in the past but chose not to. But thankfully people like Ska called me out a few times and made me realize how over sensitive and serious I could take things and though I'm not saying I've completely changed I think I've made some steady progress.

I'm just trying to let you know the same way Ska let me know, you can be the bigger man. I respect your sports acumen more than almost anyone in S&T, honestly. It's extremely clear that you know far more than most on this forum when it comes to sports.

So my point is, you don't HAVE to try and prove it to us. It's already clear to most of us who understand.

 

[pmatic]

Just because:

 

[darthska]

Let's not make this the CP thread. Stop trying to convince him; he won't be convinced. Don't worry about proving him wrong; he won't see it, and it's not the 'Prove CP wrong' thread, anyways.

It's the LOLakers thread.

Let him laugh in solitary misery. I'm not saying don't respond to him; I'm saying don't worry about him.

And if you feel like he's mocking you/trolling you, I'll do my best to rid the thread of it.

 

[MambaMentality824]

What's going on in here

View media item 1102309View media item 1102306

 

[pmatic]

Let's not make this the CP thread. Stop trying to convince him; he won't be convinced. Don't worry about proving him wrong; he won't see it, and it's not the 'Prove CP wrong' thread, anyways.

It's the LOLakers thread.

Let him laugh in solitary misery. I'm not saying don't respond to him; I'm saying don't worry about him.

And if you feel like he's mocking you/trolling you, I'll do my best to rid the thread of it.

*Looks at avy*

So what you're saying is...

 

[darthska]

I mean...

 

[Maximus Meridius]

View media item 1102313


Got real in here.

 

[denni5themenace]

well damb.

with all that has been said, this team is destined for mediocrity until kobe is off the books. am i okay with that? not really, but i've accepted that that is where this franchise is headed in the immediate future and no matter what i do i can't control what this franchise does.

i choose to be optimistic about our future and know it will be bad before it gets good again. i see no point or benefit in being overly negative about ANYTHING in life. life's too short to be miserable about anything for long periods of time. call me naive but i'm excited to see this team play again. i can't wait to see kobe lace them up again. can't wait to see julius randle prove me wrong. can't wait to see jordan clarkson develop into a solid nba player. can't wait to have boozer mic'ed up and yell "GIMME DAT!" after every rebound. can't wait for nick young to have his swaggy p moments. i just can't wait to see the lakers play again.

 

[CP1708]

See, I suppose I’m supposed to understand how I did something wrong when I pull a comment from an article that makes me laugh, and you come in yellin at me for it. I didn’t call anyone out, I didn’t make fun of anyone, I laughed at a quote from a writer that directly contradicted his own previous point.

YOU took issue with that. Not me. Ok, I’m fine with that, I understand you’re frustrated with me not caring about this or that, but I wasn’t going to get into anything with you over it, it was random funny line from an article. I wasn’t gonna snowball it with you. I just laughed. No harm, no foul.

Someone else came in to yet again throw MDA at me. K, I responded with the Byron Scott cheering will amuse me to no end when he is getting hammered within a year or two for his coaching. Same way guys want to shake their fists at me over MDA, I’ll laugh the same way back with Scott. Nothin wrong with that. People can either defend Scott, or choose not to. Me? I chose to defend Mike. He has shown me enough to defend, so I do. Phil, ever seen me defend Phil? I do that.

As for LTB pointing out kids, man I don’t fight with no kids in here, and if anyone gets too upset over anything, I block them and stop responding to them. No harm, no foul. If I can’t see what they sayin, I can’t say anything back to them, easy peasy. The ones I don’t have blocked, in same way shape or form, I still respect their opinion enough even to argue with. I had Kal on block, Ska asked me to rescind that. I did. I had another guy on block, and Senor put in a word that he was alright, and I rescinded. Haven’t had an issue with that person yet. Saver been at my throat for weeks, I won’t block him, because I do value his word. He been in this same thread with us for years and years. Same as when Tupac came in. He doesn’t agree with a word I say, but I value his word. I may not agree with him, or Saver, or you or Ska, but I don’t block you because at least I know you want the same thing I want in the end.

But why I’m gettin yelled at for laughing at stuff, or pointing things out, when **** gets tossed at me daily, I’m suddenly the bad guy. *shrugs* Ok, I can be that. I can handle it. Noble gets a ton of stuff from people on here, he handles it just fine. If that’s me now, so be it.

I asked last year for 2 separate Laker threads to keep everyone separate and peaceful for pro and anti tankers. I would support a similar approach this year if it’s possible. But not a single thing about the way I fan has changed. I am the same guy that told everyone to calm down in 2009-10-11 whenever we’d lose to the Bobcats, and not to get too excited when we beat the Cavs in January. Stay focused on the same task at hand. Now we suck, same approach. Focus on what we can fix, work on, and improve the team with (youth, money, picks) and let the fat fall off. Nash’s deal, old, washed vets like Pau, etc. Same exact approach, opposite ends of the team spectrum. The difference is because I’m not all positive and shiny, now I’m a bad guy for it? Naw. I’m the same dude.

 

[licensed to ball]

well damb.

with all that has been said, this team is destined for mediocrity until kobe is off the books. am i okay with that? not really, but i've accepted that that is where this franchise is headed in the immediate future and no matter what i do i can't control what this franchise does.

i choose to be optimistic about our future and know it will be bad before it gets good again. i see no point or benefit in being overly negative about ANYTHING in life. life's too short to be miserable about anything for long periods of time. call me naive but i'm excited to see this team play again. i can't wait to see kobe lace them up again. can't wait to see julius randle prove me wrong. can't wait to see jordan clarkson develop into a solid nba player. can't wait to have boozer mic'ed up and yell "GIMME DAT!" after every rebound. can't wait for nick young to have his swaggy p moments. i just can't wait to see the lakers play again.

I'm with ya my dude.
My exact approach

I know we're gonna suck. But I'm damn excited to see us play some damn ball. I'm gonna enjoy these last 2 years of Kobe's career whether were top 5 lottery bad or playoff mediocre.

Either way, I can't wait.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

I'm excited too . Actually think we have an outside shot at the playoffs. Our starting 5 is average but the bench is one of the best in the league. Teams that do well in the regular season normally have great depth. It's always great to watch young players develop and learn from their mistakes and im looking forward to randle's growth. Also expecting kelly to continue coming into his own as he was somewhat gun shy and deferential last year, should see some high scoring games from him. Clarkson, I already like his aggression and quick trigger, he's the opposite of kelly and he will have to learn to control his game. Really gets lame in here talking about the same crap every day so I'm just laying low until we're ready to get down and dirty.

 

[grandtheftbike]

was it last year when Simmons said Kobe would shoot his way to the top of the all time scoring list while the Lakers descend to a Top 10 pick? I can see that happening

with that said, I am excite for Kirbys Return to Dream Land

 

[laker4lifeman]

about to get the Harden treatment

 

[CP1708]

So they will not be stretching Steve Nash, which is good. HOPEFULLY, they can find someone to take his contract near the deadline. (longshot)

Also hopefully, they can flip Hill and/or Lin near the deadline. (If anyone is buying) (Sucks we can't trade Boozer)


Outside of that, heh, this roster is a ton younger than it was.

Nash, 40, Kobe, 37, and Boozer 33 are all that's left of the old folks. (next season, it will just be Kobe)

Nick Young is next, at 29.

Wes and Hill are 27, will be 28 thru the year.


Not bad.


Sacre/Davis each 25
Randle 19, Kelly 24
Xavier 23
Clarkson 22
Lin 25

We at least know we have Houston's pick coming next year as well, and with any (bad) luck, we get our pick back.

Nash shouldn't be an issue, I doubt he can play at all. But Boozer, Kobe, and Young get in the way of the younger kids playing as much as they should.



If Cleveland doesn't bite with Wiggins..........and the Warriors won't give up Klay. The T-Wolves are left playing chicken with everyone. If they hold onto Love passed the deadline, then LA has a chance (again) at going after Love, only problem is, Randle.

So do they do a S&T for Love, or sign Love outright, then try and flip Randle elsewhere to get a piece at another position? My biggest fear becoming, what if LA decides to flip Randle and the Houston pick, just to bring in Love? :\ They'd get their star, but give up every available cheap asset to do so.


If they didn't do that, and stood pat, there's a lot to like youth/cheap wise.


Sacre/Davis each 25
Randle 19, Kelly 24
Xavier 23
Clarkson 22
Lin 25

Add a top 5 (longshot) and say Houston #20, there's enough in there to bring in guys post Kobe. (tho, Lin is likely not a part of that)

Take away the Top 5, it gets a little bleaker, but still manageable youth going forward.


Problem is, why bring in a coach not known for coaching up players? Veterans, sure. He would have been better with the Mike Brown team of Kobe, Fish, Blake, Pau, Artest, etc etc, but young kids?

Have to hope that Madsen, and GP, and whoever else come aboard can do major work. Get Kareem back in to help out. Hopefully Kobe stays healthy and works with a guy like Henry and Clarkson. Keep Chuck Person around to work with the shooters. Let them guide the youth and Scott just do the games.


We shoulda just hired Fish to learn with this group and build the roster while he learns on the job. |I

 

[kingjaffejo]

Man everybody in here needs to just hit a joint and calm the hell down

 

[pmatic]

Speaking of 2015, Pelton's preview:

Next-level look at 2015 free agency

With the main course of 2014 free agency completed, it's not too early to look ahead at the menu for next summer. Last week, Insider's Amin Elhassan broke down his top 2015 free agents. Now, I'm going to provide a statistical perspective.

As with my ranking of this year's free agents, I've generated projections using a combination of my wins above replacement player (WARP) ratings and the development of players of the same age from the SCHOENE projection system, as well as ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM), projected using a standard aging adjustment. The result is an estimate of how many WARP each free agent will produce during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

Those projections yield three primary takeaways:

1. Kevin Love is far and away the most valuable free agent potentially on the market

The gap between Love's 25.7 projected WARP and the next-best free agent (DeAndre Jordan at 18.5), more than seven wins over the two seasons, is as large as the gap between No. 2 and No. 20 on the market. Not only has Love been the most productive of the 2015 free agents, but his age (25) means he's more likely to maintain his value over the next three seasons. The class would take a big hit if Love opts into the final season of his contract as a condition of a trade.

2. 2015 is a great year to shop for big men ...

Of the 22 potential free agents projected to produce at least 11 WARP over 2015-16 and 2016-17, an incredible 13 are big men. Depending upon how you categorize Tim Duncan, nearly a quarter of the league's starting centers could be on the market next summer, along with All-Star power forwards Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap.

3. ... but not wing players

One reason both Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons got max-type offers as restricted free agents this summer might be the lack of options on the market next offseason. Just five of the top 22 potential free agents are wing players, and three of them (Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson) are eligible for rookie extensions this fall that could keep them from ever seeing free agency.

Here's a look at the full class, grouped by type of free agent.

Six unrestricted free agents will be reasonable candidates for maximum-salary offers next summer. Aldridge and Marc Gasol, as well as Love, are also certain to get maxed out if they want. Duncan could too, but he's already set a precedent of taking less money in his golden years.

The more interesting free agents are DeAndre Jordan and Goran Dragic. Because of Jordan's age (he turned 26 this summer) and strong 2013-14 season, he actually has the second-best WARP projection of any 2015 free agent. Another solid campaign would ensure that a rival team comes calling with a max offer in the hopes of stealing Jordan from the Clippers.

Coming off an All-NBA third team campaign, Dragic figures to be the top perimeter player on the market if he opts out of his contract, which could make him max-worthy to a team in need of a point guard.

Eligible for rookie extensions

Teams can sign players from the 2011 draft who are entering their fourth seasons to rookie contract extensions this summer and fall, keeping them from becoming restricted free agents in 2015. Already, the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving off the market. After winning Finals MVP honors, Kawhi Leonard is likely to join him in getting a max extension. Leonard's WARP projection is held down by his limited playing time last season (29.1 minutes per game). On a per-minute basis, he's the best player in the group.

By the numbers, young point guards Kemba Walker and Ricky Rubio are ahead of wings Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson. Scoring point guards like Walker tend to develop well as their careers go on, while Rubio's high steal rate powers a strong RPM rating. For all the hype about Thompson, he's rated as a below-average player by WARP because his scoring efficiency has been only slightly better than average. RPM rates Thompson higher because of his defensive prowess.

Nikola Vucevic and Kenneth Faried are the other two players from the 2011 draft who have firmly established themselves as starters. Reggie Jackson and Markieff Morris will have the opportunity to do so this season, while Brandon Knight can prove last season's improvement as a scorer was more than a fluke.

A handful of groups dominate the remainder of next summer's unrestricted crop:

3-and-D wings

If teams continue to pay the same kind of premium for outside shooting that they paid this summer, it's great news for DeMarre Carroll, Danny Green and Wesley Matthews. These quality wing defenders can keep defenses honest with their 3-point range. Mike Dunleavy isn't the same kind of defender and Corey Brewer is a more questionable shooter, but put them in this group, too.

Defense-first centers

The other well-stocked group of role players features quality defenders up front. Omer Asik, Roy Hibbert, Amir Johnson, Robin Lopez and Anderson Varejao all qualify. Surprisingly, Lopez has the best projection because of his solid offensive contributions for the Portland Trail Blazers this past season -- better even than his brother, Brook, due to the latter's injury.

Volume scorers

The projections aren't particularly kind to either Monta Ellis or Rudy Gay, but both will get paid for the points they can put on the board. The borderline case is J.R. Smith, who might lose money by opting out of the final season of the contract he signed last summer.

Aging veterans

Of this group, former Utah Jazz teammates Al Jefferson and Millsap are the youngest and most valuable, though teams could overpay by signing them to long-term contracts well into their 30s. Tyson Chandler will try to duplicate the terrific contract year he had the last time he played for the Dallas Mavericks. David West could opt out of the final season of his contract to secure one last multiyear deal.

The long-term projections are surprisingly pessimistic about a pair of aging point guards, Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo.

At this point in their careers, Parker and Manu Ginobili aren't going anywhere, and they'll hope Gregg Popovich's minutes management slows the aging process. Rondo, a year removed from ACL surgery, will have to demonstrate that he can stay healthy entering free agency.

Besides fourth-year players who don't get extended, former second-round picks and undrafted players also become restricted free agents. That group will be highlighted next summer by a pair of players from my All-Defensive Teams, Patrick Beverley and Draymond Green.

If Rubio and Walker sign extensions, Beverley might be the second-best point guard on the market, while Green's impressive turn as a small-ball power forward in the playoffs could convince teams he's more than just a super-sub.

Multiple cost efficient role players instead of one superstar?

 

[licensed to ball]

To be fair and admit a bad judgment, I laughed when Madsen was hired as an assistant coach.

But watching him coach SL and watching him discuss basketball during interviews
Showed me a level of insight about the game I did not know he had.

Now of course it's just summer league... But he does seem like hes a great players
Coach who understands X's and O's thoroughly and can help develop players as an assistant.

I was wrong about Mad Dog. I hope he can help develop our young guys like you said CP.
Listening to him speak about basketball gives me hope that he can do a solid job in that department.

 

[CP1708]

Wait a minute, DeAndre is unrestricted?

So, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, AND Jordan??????


Man, we could grab a Center, a defensive Center, to pair next to Randle, right off the top. I don't know if Jordan would come, but we can still swing for Asik or Marc at least. I don't want to max any of them tho.

 

[sb]

curious to see what scott has in stored and how he will manage this team. soon.

 

[pmatic]

Roy Hibbert!

 

[tupac003]

Man everybody in here needs to just hit a joint and calm the hell down

No, the season just needs to start so we can actually have something to argue about.

Right now we are aruging about nothing because we don't have a clue what this team is about yet.

A lot of new faces, a new coach and a new system.

Everybody is different.

At the end of the day we are all fans of the lakers. Different visions for how things should go but we all want the same thing.

(Kinda) LOL

I'm a person that doesn't want to see the lakers lose any games. I don't believe in tanking for the sake of tanking. I understand why we need to stink...but I'm sorry. I used to get upset as hell when I was a kid when the lakers lost...its calmed down but man I can get pretty crabby when lose. LOL It's never going to change.

As far as the back and fourth of what we should have done, could have done or whatever...its over now. This is what we have. No sense in going back and fourth.

End of the day...

Let's go lakers!

 

[tupac003]

Wait a minute, DeAndre is unrestricted?

So, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, AND Jordan??????


Man, we could grab a Center, a defensive Center, to pair next to Randle, right off the top. I don't know if Jordan would come, but we can still swing for Asik or Marc at least. I don't want to max any of them tho.

Jordan would be nice...

I wonder if we would have to Max him...I don't think the clippers would...but if they get the new owner he probably would.

I mean he spent 2 Billion on the Clippers....

 

[kingjaffejo]

Wait a minute, DeAndre is unrestricted?

So, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, AND Jordan??????


Man, we could grab a Center, a defensive Center, to pair next to Randle, right off the top. I don't know if Jordan would come, but we can still swing for Asik or Marc at least. I don't want to max any of them tho.

DeAndre may come if Sterling stays and CP3 & Doc bolt. Which won't happen (I hate both of those guys with a passion) the Clippers will then be what they've always been.

If we want Marc we'll have to max him unfortunately. Not a big fan of it considering age, body composition, & injury history. But I think over the next 4 years he will stay relatively high in skill and production.

As far as Asik ...eh I guess. I wouldn't pay him what he'll prob be asking for. Not good enough. Like a poor mans Gortat

 

[darthska]

[quote name="denni5themenace"] this destined for mediocrity until kobe is off the books. am i okay with that? not really, but i've accepted that that is where this franchise is headed in the immediate future and no matter what i do i can't control what this franchise does.

i choose to be optimistic about our future and know it will be bad before it gets good again. i see no point or benefit in being overly negative about ANYTHING in life. life's too short to be miserable about anything for long periods of time. call me naive but i'm excited to see this team play again. i can't wait to see kobe lace them up again. can't wait to see julius randle prove me wrong. can't wait to see jordan clarkson develop into a solid nba player. can't wait to have boozer mic'ed up and yell "GIMME DAT!" after every rebound. can't wait for nick young to have his swaggy p moments. i just can't wait to see the lakers play again.

[/quote] I'm on the same vibe, except...

... I'm not even optimistic about our future, bro. For real. I'm just still an active fan, because that's my squad. The end. But our front office has completely destroyed my faith.