**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

[CP1708]

Like it does in Sacramento.......

 

[whiplashtw03]

Serious question.

What is the infatuation with Clarkson some of you have with him?

I mean if dude is coming off the bench right now and is in consistent and still sucks on defense, what makes you all think he will get a little better even if he was a starter on this team?

I, for one, am not one of those infatuated with Clarkson's game. He's not terrible, yet he's not great. He's a role player, that's it. He'll give you 15 points a night, maybe a steal or two, and he'll be your occasional sparkplug off the bench.

All in all, he's definitely expendable. Like Anthony Peeler.

 

[Lizakers]

Reminds me of all of us

View media item 2262685

 

[P C H]

Alright, I'm sorry laker fans for the mini thread derail,

But Ima end mine like this:

DMC or PG surrounded with BI and Clarkson (because d'lo and randle probably would have to part with) is not bringing enough wins to attract another superstar. Period. DMC hasn't even sniffed a playoff spot in Sacramento but somehow would come to LAL with that cast and net more wins. Sure. These superstars trying to win man.

And if you don't think that highly of lal's talent, who's to say other teams don't think the same? Regardless, whatever minor gains that would come with gaining cousins or George would be drowned out by the losing that would come with them. It's not like these guys are Chris Paul, Lebron, Kawhi, franchise changers.

IMO the thought of trading the lakers youth for cousins or George is ridiculous but hey, what the hell.

You've become so accustomed to winning with LAL that you think there's shortcuts to this. There isnt. You have to ride this out.

 

[whiplashtw03]

Like it does in Sacramento.......

And who is coaching the sorry *** Kings again? 

And how bad of a teammate is Rudy Gay again? Is that the same Rudy Gay who plays a lot like Carmelo Anthony, always disrupting any kind of offensive flow?

Hmm...let's take a look at the Kings' role players (Omri Casspi, Koufus, McLemore, and super confused Ty Lawson). Would you take any of those scrubs over Clarkson, Ingram, Nance, and Williams?

Nice try buddy. 

 

[sohi 23]

It brings me joy knowing Mitch won't trade any of the youngins and you're stuck watching them

 

[whiplashtw03]

"I think it's time for a team meeting. But which one of those players is the leader? Who's gonna call the meeting and step up? Is it D'Angelo?" - Mike Bresnahan

"Maybe Zubac" - Robert Horry

Let's you know right there that even the great Robert Horry doesn't consider Russell to be the leader of this team. He knows what's up, but is keeping mum about it.

 

[moe fab]

WE DO NOT NEED GARY VITTI BACK.

hopefully the injury bug will now go away...we need gary vitti back

Uhhhhhhhh.....

Not sure he's the one you want, B.

Relax, i kno the deal. It sucks we got this injury bug run again, but even if healthy, we werent bout **** this year. Was hopin the surprising start dodnt get folks in a tizzy, but lo n behold. Its a process n we startin over from skratch. I only expekted growth, khemistry, n an exciting potential...we aint even half way thru the season, hopin they kan get that khemistry n growth thru these growin pains [emoji]128129[/emoji]

 

[P C H]

If Demarcus is the franchise changing superstar you claim he is, he would have come closer to a playoff spot in what, 7 years?

As a laker fan who wants a superstar to lead out back to a championship and what not, someone with that amount of success is not someone worth gutting your youth for. It's lowkey insane.

Look at the Clips, Spurs, Warriors, the thunder's rise, there's no shortcuts to this. You have to win in the draft and through internal improvement. Doing something like trading your youth for Cousins isn't going to bring wins.

The franchise changing superstar is not out there for la. There aren't that many out there to begin with, and the lakers youth haven't shown enough to be worthy of a big trade to begin with. Gotta ride it out with the young guns, barring some craziness with these inept gms.

 

[sfsjjang98]

If the Lakers can acquire a PG or Boogie and only have to give up say, Randle and Clarkson or DLo and Randle, and you throw in Deng or Moz or Lou, it's a win-win. This team is horrible as it stands now, and they will be a non-playoff team again next year. You almost have to part ways with some of those assets while the jury is still out on their potential. Once other teams realize in a couple of years that DLo and Randle won't pan out to be stars, any value they have left is thrown out the window and you won't be able to get anything for them. At least right now, other teams may still covet them because of their so-called potential.

I been thinking and arguing this almost verbatim.

 

[whiplashtw03]

It brings me joy knowing Mitch won't trade any of the youngins and you're stuck watching them

It brings me joy knowing the Lakers continue to lose game after game and Mitch is stuck watching them put out another mediocre product in front of very loyal season ticket holders who must love selling their seats on Craigslist to make their money back.

 

[sohi 23]

Dlo looked good today. Still getting back up to speed but it's nice to watch him hoop again. He was setting his teammates up with tons of good looks, unfortunately we couldn't shoot for **** today.

 

[P C H]

I been thinking and arguing this almost verbatim.

1) what makes you think other gms think that highly of lal's youth that they would want to part with their superstars for them?

2) Any player that could change the Laker's fortune and make them a contender isn't even available for them to make a trade for.

 

[purpnyellow]

 

DLo, Randle, and Clarkson will NOT, I repeat WILL NOT, attract any free agents. And the only way for role players such as Nance, Ingram, Deng, Mozgov to excel and play better is when they play alongside superstars. In addition, having a superstar on the team will also make Luke's job that much easier. 

So kids who have showed drastic improvement in one year the book is already written on them.




I'm out.

Randle has NOT shown "Drastic" improvement. And neither has DLo. 

This !

 

[whiplashtw03]

If Demarcus is the franchise changing superstar you claim he is, he would have come closer to a playoff spot in what, 7 years?

As a laker fan who wants a superstar to lead out back to a championship and what not, someone with that amount of success is not someone worth gutting your youth for. It's lowkey insane.

Look at the Clips, Spurs, Warriors, the thunder's rise, there's no shortcuts to this. You have to win in the draft and through internal improvement. Doing something like trading your youth for Cousins isn't going to bring wins.

The franchise changing superstar is not out there for la. There aren't that many out there to begin with, and the lakers youth haven't shown enough to be worthy of a big trade to begin with. Gotta ride it out with the young guns, barring some craziness with these inept gms.

And what about Pau Gasol, who couldn't sniff playoffs with the Grizzlies if his life depended on it.

I know it's difficult to understand the concept that some systems/teams don't fit really talented players and if a change of scenery happened, it could bring wonders to players.

As great as Rasheed Wallace was and as talented as POR was in the late 90s/early 00's, how come he couldn't win a championship until he played for a less talented team in DET? Because he was a better fit with Chauncy, Rip, Prince, Ben Wallace, and Larry Brown. That DET team battled MIA in the Eastern Conference playoffs for like 3-4 years straight if I'm not mistaken.

We can go back and forth for days, but my opinion and your opinion isn't going to change. You think Cousins won't bring us to the playoffs. I think his presence or PG's presence gives us a much better chance to compete and a much better chance to make the postseason.

I'm pretty sure you would have been all for it had Lamarcus Aldridge signed with the Lakers right? 

 

[mr j 858]

This is what 99.9% of this thread and Laker fan base does not get: you need to give up some assests to get a superstar nowadays.

Problem is a lot of people are expecting a Pau Gasol for Kwame, Aaaron Mckie, and a bunch of the scrubs type of deal.Then other people are concerned about trading away future draft picks because of what happened in the Dwight & Nash trades.

I'm not saying completely gut the young core by trading away 3 or 4 of them. But at the same if it means giving up 2 of them and a future draft pick and expiring contracts then why wouldn't they make a deal?

 

[whiplashtw03]

 

If the Lakers can acquire a PG or Boogie and only have to give up say, Randle and Clarkson or DLo and Randle, and you throw in Deng or Moz or Lou, it's a win-win. This team is horrible as it stands now, and they will be a non-playoff team again next year. You almost have to part ways with some of those assets while the jury is still out on their potential. Once other teams realize in a couple of years that DLo and Randle won't pan out to be stars, any value they have left is thrown out the window and you won't be able to get anything for them. At least right now, other teams may still covet them because of their so-called potential.

I been thinking and arguing this almost verbatim.

I like the way you think. And for the reasons you magnified above is why I think Mitch and Jim will deal one or two of our young assets some time in the near future, either this year or next.

 

[Lizakers]

This will be 4 straight years missing playoffs
Probably another 4 years until we are contenders

Damn near a decade

Damn this rebuild

 

[mr j 858]

This will be 4 straight years missing playoffs
Probably another 4 years until we are contenders

Damn near a decade

Damn that's s rebuild

Lakers went through a 12 year drought 1988-2000 where they were rebuilding and won no championships.

This very well could be the same reality with this current team rebuilding with the current young core.

 

[sohi 23]

Y'all really wanna microwave a championship huh?

It doesn't work like that. Bunch of pointless discussion.

 

[licensed to ball]

Whiplash you are making the thread unbearable for many of us.
If it is your intention to troll and get under our skin then good job, you've succeeded.

Many of us regulars don't even want to enter let alone post because of you.
If you feel good about knowing how negative of a presence you are then sleep well bro, just thought you should know though.

 

[whiplashtw03]

This is what 99.9% of this thread and Laker fan base does not get: you need to give up some assests to get a superstar nowadays.

Problem is a lot of people are expecting a Pau Gasol for Kwame, Aaaron Mckie, and a bunch of the scrubs type of deal.Then other people are concerned about trading away future draft picks because of what happened in the Dwight & Nash trades.

I'm not saying completely gut the young core by trading away 3 or 4 of them. But at the same if it means giving up 2 of them and a future draft pick and expiring contracts then why wouldn't they make a deal?

Exactly.

I'm surprised to see people thinking that the Lakers are just stockpiling all of these young assets while hoping they will grow and develop into superstars and eventually form a championship nucleus a la the GSW. 

Curry is a once-in-a-generation type of shooting talent. Draymond Green is a steal who fits the Warriors system PERFECTLY. Klay Thompson is arguably the second or third best shooter in the league who had already displayed this type of talent the moment he stepped foot in the NBA. I mean, Klay made 211 THREES in his 2nd year!!! Do you see Russell or Clarkson doing anything remotely close?! Of course not!

Just because Luke is the coach, doesn't mean the Lakers are modeling this team like the Warriors.

The Lakers have always been about building championship teams through a combination of the draft AND free agency AND key trades. Kareem was acquired via trade. Trades also led to the Lakers acquiring the number one pick to get Magic Johnson AND James Worthy. Same story with Kobe (who remembers that one lol). And what about the biggest free agent signing in Lakers history in Shaq.

Mitch Kupchak came from the Jerry West school of General Management. Jim Buss has put a bounty on his own head to make the postseason sooner rather than later. You think they have time to wait?

 

[purpnyellow]

Yeah you must agree with the regulars ...

 

[CP1708]

If Demarcus is the franchise changing superstar you claim he is, he would have come closer to a playoff spot in what, 7 years?


As a laker fan who wants a superstar to lead out back to a championship and what not, someone with that amount of success is not someone worth gutting your youth for. It's lowkey insane.


Look at the Clips, Spurs, Warriors, the thunder's rise, there's no shortcuts to this. You have to win in the draft and through internal improvement. Doing something like trading your youth for Cousins isn't going to bring wins.


The franchise changing superstar is not out there for la. There aren't that many out there to begin with, and the lakers youth haven't shown enough to be worthy of a big trade to begin with. Gotta ride it out with the young guns, barring some craziness with these inept gms.

And what about Pau Gasol, who couldn't sniff playoffs with the Grizzlies if his life depended on it.

 

[essential1]

Yeah you must agree with the regulars ...

Not really.

But there's a difference between discussion and spamming.

Especially when the points being made are so inconsistent with moving targets, and made ad nauseam.