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[Coupé It]

Tonight will be the beginning of the season turnaround. Mark my words!

:x

 

[westcoastsfinest]

I also think Phil and her were told that he could think on it for the weekend. Depends who you believe. So buss deciding to go against that and calling him in the middle of the night isn't a business decision. dantoni wasn't about to get snatched up by another team. He wasn't a hit commodity

But I did mean as a factor. A brick in the wall of tension. The final straw

It's all jealousy. But in all honesty, does Phil really solve everything here? He wouldn't be under .500 but to win a championship? I'm not quite sure but then again I cannot question the GOAT coach. Sigh. I don't know anymore.

 

[al3xis]

It's all jealousy. But in all honesty, does Phil really solve everything here? He wouldn't be under .500 but to win a championship? I'm not quite sure but then again I cannot question the GOAT coach. Sigh. I don't know anymore.

Stick with your instinct. This team is not close to contending material.

 

[essential1]

Word was that Dwight was practicing long after every one else this morning.

 

[htg designs]

Nothing will ever get better until we can get a PG that can hang with the likes of CP3,TP,Russy,Lillard,Lawson,Conley.

That should be priority #1,#2 and #3

3 years in a row we haven't had a PG that can guard a P&R


The game has changed towards elite PGs in transition or in 1/4 1/5 screens :x

Kyle Lowry gets buckets, plays great defense, and is wasting away in Canadian purgatory.
Do it MITCH!

 

[duba169]

Phil's best move is to not come back. The unknown will always be Mythacized. People can look back and say "what if"

 

[619destroyer858]

mark my word,,PJackson will be the GM next season of the Lakers

 

[pmatic]

Please stop.

 

[ValarMorghulis]

Nothing will ever get better until we can get a PG that can hang with the likes of CP3,TP,Russy,Lillard,Lawson,Conley.

That should be priority #1,#2 and #3

3 years in a row we haven't had a PG that can guard a P&R


The game has changed towards elite PGs in transition or in 1/4 1/5 screens :x

Kyle Lowry gets buckets, plays great defense, and is wasting away in Canadian purgatory.
Do it MITCH!

Don't play with my emotion bro... I've been saying this forever

Nash and Ebanks for Lowry RIGHT NOW!!!

 

[Coupé It]

mark my word,,PJackson will be the GM next season of the Sonics

Fixed.

No way he's back to Lakers in any form. Y'all just have to let that go. Phil is great but its time to move on.

 

[ag 47]

Yeah, I agree with you Dub...this was probably the final straw for Jeanie. And if what's being reported is true, that was a shady move on Jimmy's part. Wish we knew the whole story there.

 

[619destroyer858]

Tonight will be the beginning of the season turnaround. Mark my words!



Edit: Never knew Jeanie Buss did Playboy.




ya the END of the Lakers Season

 

[mosk33toe]

I feel like NBA 2k12 simulating Seasons over and over, but this season number 4 this year!

We are 0-0 WE GOT THIS!!!!!!!!

TODAY MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE GREATEST COMEBACK IN SPORTS HISTORY!

LETS GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[619destroyer858]

PJackson wants the ownership of the Lakers thats why he proposed to Jeanie LMFAO

 

[grandtheftbike]

lowry is getting fat while calderon slowly takes his minutes

 

[westcoastsfinest]

PJackson wants the ownership of the Lakers thats why he proposed to Jeanie LMFAO

I could see that happening too. I'm willing to bet this will turn ugly once Jerry Buss passes and the ownership will be a mess.

 

[619destroyer858]

lowry is getting fat while calderon slowly takes his minutes

 

[grittyman]

Always had a feeling that the Kobe Bryant era would end in a complete train wreck...weird, but I'm not at all surprised by any of this

 

[pmatic]

Ken Berger...lots of good stuff as usual from him.

Whether making big trade or standing pat, Lakers in bind

It is open season on the Lakers now, and depending on who you talk to among NBA executives, they're trading Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol or -- gasp! -- Kobe Bryant. They're firing another coach, scrapping another plan, detonating an experiment that has gone spectacularly bad.

The Lakers' front office has already learned the hard way that changing the coach isn't always the solution. And not even the Lakers, with their gazillion-dollar regional broadcast deal, can think firing two coaches before the All-Star break and paying them $25 million not to work is a viable strategy.

Trading Howard or Gasol looks good on HoopsHype, but there are serious issues involved with moving either of them. The Lakers gave up Andrew Bynum for Howard, and a potential lottery pick for Steve Nash. They've played 15 games together. Even in the short attention span theater of the NBA, that's not enough time to blow up the five-year plan to have Howard carry the franchise beyond the end of the Bryant era.

Gasol? His stock couldn't be lower at the moment. He's 32, his knees hurt and he's having the worst season of his career. And oh, by the way, he makes $19.3 million next year. There are a few teams that might be willing to make that investment, and we'll get to those later.

First let's look at whether the Lakers' problems could possibly be repaired from within. As one rival executive, when asked which teams would make sense for Gasol, told me, "I think he makes the most sense for the Lakers."

So let's take a few swings at fixing the Lakers, starting with standing pat and playing better with the group they have:

Option 1: Standing pat
As I mentioned, Nash and Howard -- billed as the deadliest pick-and-roll combo to come along in years -- have played 15 games together. There has been some talk, principally from Howard, that he needs more post touches and the Lakers need to play more inside-out offense. But the numbers say otherwise. According to Synergy Sports Technology, Howard already is getting 46 percent of his offensive touches on postups, and it's by far his least efficient way of scoring from the floor, with .766 points per possession. His most efficient? You guessed it: As the roll man on pick-and-rolls, Howard is averaging 1.167 points per possession, but those opportunities account for only 10 percent of his arsenal. A little more time with Nash, and the Lakers should get more production from Nash-Howard pick-and-rolls, which one would think would be helpful.

Gasol is a different sort of problem. He has been painfully average or worse on every play type logged by Synergy, and D'Antoni's offense is not built for two post players. Gasol also wants the ball in the post more? Well, he better stop shooting 31 percent on postups, which account for 20 percent of his offensive chances (just behind spotups at 21 percent). If anything, Gasol needs more pick-and-rolls and more spotups, which explains why D'Antoni sent him to the bench so he and Howard wouldn't have to share pick-and-roll opportunities.

Anyway, having them on the floor together might not work regardless of what offense you're running. Howard is good at passing out of double-teams to perimeter shooters, but the Lakers badly lack those. He's not good at passing to another 7-footer. Gasol is a gifted post passer, and worked well with Bynum in that way. But Howard does not cut to the basket or move instinctively without the ball, so he and Howard are just a bad fit all around. D'Antoni's hope -- a reasonable one -- was that Gasol would find his confidence and play more efficiently with the second unit, and then be able to translate that confidence and comfort to situations where he found himself on the floor with Howard. Again, there simply hasn't been enough time to figure all that out.

Time, however, is something the Lakers do have in the long term. Just look at their salary books. If this Bryant-Howard-Nash-Gasol experiment is a complete and utter disaster, if they squander Bryant's last, best chance to win one more championship -- and seriously, even if Howard were to leave money on the table and bolt as a free agent this summer? As one rival executive who has examined their options said, "So what? The Lakers are going to bet on their brand. They're going to play it out." What does that mean? In 2014-15, they have only one contract, Nash's at $9.7 million, on their books. In LA, you can afford to bottom out and reboot, because, well, it's LA. And while this option isn't optimal or even possible in 25 other NBA cities, it's one that can work in a handful of them -- one being the home of the movie and music industry, where it's 75 degrees 300 days a year. And guess who can become a free agent in 2014? LeBron James, for one. Carmelo Anthony, for another.

"All the other guys are playing with conventional arms," the rival exec said. "The Lakers have nuclear arms."

Option 2: Trading Gasol
As we mentioned, there aren't a whole lot of teams willing to double down on Gasol at this point and pay $19.3 million next season to make a playoff push this year. But that doesn't mean there are no teams. There are some potential trade partners if the Lakers decide Gasol has to go.

Minnesota has long been intrigued by the idea of Ricky Rubio and Gasol playing together, and Gasol might give the Timberwolves the boost they need to get back into the playoff hunt. But while Minnesota would be able to make the money match with some combination of Andrei Kirilenko, Nikola Pekovic and Luke Ridnour (who D'Antoni has always coveted), the Lakers lack the picks and other assets to make it worth the Wolves' while. It's hard to imagine a Minny deal working without Kevin Love, but he's 1) Out until at least March after hand surgery, and 2) Too good to trade for Gasol under these circumstances, one would think.

Toronto is perhaps the most realistic landing spot for Gasol, given the uncertainty in the organization about whether Andrea Bargnani will ever develop into a star there. Bargnani wouldn't have to be a star in LA. He would simply have to stand at the 3-point line and make shots, a La Howard's former teammate in Orlando, Ryan Anderson. Toronto also has a point-guard problem to solve. And while Jose Calderon has frequently been mentioned as trade bait, league sources say the Raptors are far more amenable to trading Kyle Lowry, who has not made many friends in his new surroundings. The Raptors gave up a sure lottery pick for him (which Houston subsequently sent to Oklahoma City in the James Harden trade), so Gasol might be a way to salvage that transaction. Plus, with the new CBA taking effect and shortening teams' windows for winning, a team like Toronto might feel better about committing 1½ seasons to Gasol than using its cap room this summer to sign a lesser player for four years.

Some league execs mentioned Atlanta as a possibility, while others expressed skepticism the Hawks would go all-in for a high-priced veteran like Gasol. It doesn't seem to fit GM Danny Ferry's personality and the centerpiece of the plan he laid out when he took over in Atlanta: long-term sustainability. For the sake of argument, there's no question prospective free agent Josh Smith would be the key piece included in any such deal -- and that his athleticism and defensive prowess would immediately make the Lakers better in numerous ways. With the potential for a league-high $36 million in cap room next summer, the question for Ferry will be whether to spend it in July, hold onto it or spend some of it now on a player like Gasol, who unlike this summer's free agents would only require a 1½-year commitment. What gets teams not located in LA, New York or Chicago in more trouble than anything? Overpaying subpar free agents for multiple years.

Among the other teams on the periphery for Gasol might be Utah, where Gasol would fit stylistically and give the Jazz a boost in the playoff hunt. (It's worth wondering whether Raja Bell, who the Lakers covet, has not been bought out yet in case his contract is needed to include in a trade.) Milwaukee is another possibility, and there's a deal to be made there with Monta Ellis and Drew Gooden -- though the Lakers do not want to take back future salary, so that option is dead on arrival, since Gooden is owed $13.4 million over the next two seasons. The Bobcats would be interested in having a conversation, sources say, but what could they offer beyond ball-stopping Ben Gordon and other fodder? A long shot? One rival exec mentioned the Grizzlies, who still need to trim future payroll despite the trade with Cleveland last week that delayed but did not solve their luxury-tax concerns. Rudy Gay or Zach Randolph for Gasol? It's far-fetched, but it would save Memphis tens of millions in luxury tax in 2014-15 and put the Gasol brothers on the same team. The basketball gods are rooting for that one, but as I've said, let's not get carried away. When it comes to trading Gasol, "It's not a big market," one of the executives said.

Option 3: Trading Howard
This one comes with the caveat that the Lakers have expressed zero willingness to part with Howard, who they view as the future of the franchise once Bryant likely retires after next season. (And if he leaves, well, so be it. They're the Lakers and can get anybody they want; they just have to wait a year.) Still, given how poorly Howard has played and carried himself in the locker room, exploring a possible trade is an undesirable outcome that the Lakers won't completely ignore.

So let's play along with this unlikely outcome. As a prospective free agent, Howard holds a certain amount of leverage because there are only so many places where he would re-sign. Rewind to the Nets' lengthy pursuit of Howard and recall the teams on his original list: Dallas, Brooklyn and the Lakers. Howard already is on the Lakers, the Nets have moved on without him and the only way a Dallas trade makes sense would be if Dirk Nowitzki were involved. Mark Cuban has proclaimed the "Bank of Cuban" to be open, but not that open. Plus, Cuban has cleared the decks for this summer, when he would be able to pair Howard with Nowitzki if only he could persuade Howard to take his four-year deal when the Lakers could offer five. A longshot, yes, but worth the gamble.

The Lakers also hold a certain amount of leverage because none of the prospective free-agent stars in recent years has taken less money to change teams. LeBron didn't, Carmelo didn't, Deron Williams didn't and neither will Howard or Chris Paul if they re-sign with the Lakers and Clippers, respectively.

But as the Jazz showed when they traded Williams to the Nets, that leverage can be transferred to another team. Which brings us back to the Hawks. If they were willing to trade Smith, who they might lose as a free agent anyway, they would be the only team able to give Howard the five-year, $100 million contract he'll be seeking this summer. If it didn't work out, they would be right back in the same position they would've faced had they kept Smith and he had left as a free agent -- plus lots of money from selling out their building for the rest of this season and at least a couple of playoff games. Given where the Hawks are, where they've been and where they're going, the flight risk might be worth it -- and it wouldn't compromise Ferry's allegiance to long-term planning.

The rest of the Howard options strike me as fantasy basketball scenarios or something the Internet randomly spat out. The Nets spent the better part of a year pursuing Howard, and I just don't see them jumping back on that merry-go-round. The Mavs may prefer to watch the Lakers disintegrate rather than help them. And unless the Lakers can find a taker for Gasol or find a way to play better with him, we all might be doing the same. In the end, the Lakers know that if their empire burns to the ground, it's easier to rebuild it where they are than just about anywhere else.

Link

 

[Coupé It]

Why can't you guys just be the fans Dwight Howard wants you to be. Today he said all the negativity needs to stop, you need to believe, their is a rainbow filled with skittles at the end.

 

[laislike]

LAL — Morrow(or Korver)/Walton/Tolliver/Smith

ATL — Miles(or Casspi)/Clark/Thompson

CLE — Ebanks/Gasol

Or do some type of 4-way trade with MIN.

This is happening...

 

[essential1]

Since we are talking about looking to the future

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

If I'm the Lakers, I'd stand pat unless a team gifts something for us (unlikely). Or there's a role player for role player salary concern deal out there.

Then go into the offseason:

Players that are safe: Kobe, Meeks, MWP, Clark, Hill, Howard
There are plenty of reasons Howard would stay (other teams situations help us as well) I've gone through them multiple times I think I've made my case, even if some are a little more skeptical than a month ago. Just the way his personality is, he cannot take this criticism anymore, and that would be a possible push from LA, but the fact of the criticism he would get from leaving LA it will make the decision more in LA's favor. He will get the criticism for a career for dismantling two teams.

I've been looking at a lot of salaries of players in the NBA. And I just don't see Clark getting more than 3 year / $18 mil. Used to think it would be as high as 4 yr / $26mil. Just don't see a team making that risk, especially with the CBA. Teams who are close to the tax won't go into it for Earl, and teams with money won't commit that long to him. 3year $6mil a year at most is not a terrible contract, especially if he plays the way he has into next season.

Meeks low salary, low risk. If we played him the right way, there really is a great reward if we actually stick to it.


Players that I would like to keep: Nash (But if the right starting PG is available for Nash I'd trade him),

Low salaries that I would keep and develop: Darius Morris, Robert Sacre (That means like a 2 year contract, first year entirely in the DLeague.)

Players that I'd definitely trade: Pau Gasol

Player that will be amnestied: Steve Blake

Players that I let walk : Chris Duhon (buy him out for $1.5mil if I can't find a deal for him), Devin Ebanks, Antawn Jamison

So the team would be (??? indicate missing spots)
PG: Steve Nash / ???? / Darius Morris
SG: Kobe Bryant / Jodie Meeks
SF: MWP / ???
PF: ??? / Earl Clark
C: Dwight Howard / Jordan Hill / Robert Sacre

Then what I would do:
-I'd look to get Nash to Toronto for Lowry. Likely wouldn't happen, but is worth the attempt to gauge how much value they put in him being Canadian My guess not as much as they did 6 months ago.
- Blake and Duhon, I'd definitely look for individual deals to bring a wing player in. Maybe as an expiring it could work. But if not we could save $4mil on amnestying Blake (still have to pay salary, but won't count on tax), and after buying out Duhon for $1.5mil we'd save $4mil on Duhon (In luxury tax terms).
- Pau would officially get the axe in a trade. Do I want a superstar? Yes. Will I get one? Probably not. But if I could get a defensive Power Forward and one of the more solid backup PGs for Pau, I'd take it. Especially in this case, we probably could save Money on the deal. Times 2 with tax savings. I think with these demands for just a younger PF who rebounds and plays defense, and a good backup we could definitely find a trade, and get maybe a pick out of it. Or you can try another route and look at the Kings/Sonics, and maybe the new owners try to blow the current situation up a bit, and want a Superstar name just for 1 year, and try to get Marcus Thorton and Chuck Hayes for Pau in the offseason.


Free Agency (This year would be spending the full Mini-MLE): Note: Not saying I would spend $3.5mil on all of these guys, some I would offer barely over Vet Min if we were forced to settle.

PG: Very small market for PG Dev Harris, Aaron Brooks, Earl Watson, Patty Mills, DJ Augustin. That's why I'd go after getting a backup PG in a Pau deal
SG: Maybe Tony Allen?, Kyle Korver, Leandro Barbosa, Marco Belinelli, Martell Webster, DeShawn Stevenson
SF: Stephen Jackson, Dorrell Wright, CJ Miles, Matt Barnes
PF: Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Rashard Lewis

My personal choice would be Dorrell Wright. 6'9" and can spread the floor with 3s and good on catch and shoot, good rebounder, good defender, just has to develop consistency on defense.

Then I'd commit low risk signings Vet Mins: Chris Douglass Roberts would be the first guy I'm calling, and I'm guaranteeing his salary to get him to sign (Low Salary, Low Risk). Look for a veteran presence or two to round out the bench.

Assuming it goes to plan:
Nash/ (Whatever Backup in a Pau deal) / Darius Morris
Kobe / Meeks / CDR
MWP / Dorrell Wright
(Whatever PF we get in a Pau deal) / Earl Clark
Dwight / Jordan Hill / Robert Sacre

A younger bench. A bunch of Hustle Guys. Several of which can shoot the 3. And few that can play two positions. And with the exception of Meeks, all guys who want to play defense.
Kobe can go up a Position, MWP can go up a position, CDR can, Wright can, Clark can go down a position, Hill can go down a position.

Younger, more versatility, more hustle guys, rebounders, shooters.

Now as we know things don't always go to plan, and even when they do, the season doesn't always go the way you wish.. But depending on who we'd get in a Pau deal I'd be happy with that team.

 

[grandtheftbike]

we should have gave up on morris to develop djo

 

[essential1]

And just as I post trying to trade Nash to Toronto in the Offseason... I see Berger talking about Gasol to Toronto (Thanks P)

Toronto is perhaps the most realistic landing spot for Gasol, given the uncertainty in the organization about whether Andrea Bargnani will ever develop into a star there. Bargnani wouldn't have to be a star in LA. He would simply have to stand at the 3-point line and make shots, a La Howard's former teammate in Orlando, Ryan Anderson. Toronto also has a point-guard problem to solve. And while Jose Calderon has frequently been mentioned as trade bait, league sources say the Raptors are far more amenable to trading Kyle Lowry, who has not made many friends in his new surroundings. The Raptors gave up a sure lottery pick for him (which Houston subsequently sent to Oklahoma City in the James Harden trade), so Gasol might be a way to salvage that transaction. Plus, with the new CBA taking effect and shortening teams' windows for winning, a team like Toronto might feel better about committing 1½ seasons to Gasol than using its cap room this summer to sign a lesser player for four years. CBSSports.com

But we'd have to take Bargs... I want no part of Bargs... 3 team... Send Bargs elsewhere and get someone who wants to play defense and rebound.. He could score 8 points for all I care.


Nash / Lowry


PLEASE!

 

[ValarMorghulis]

Essential.... That team will be last in the league in D :x