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

[Maximus Meridius]

With Bron and Lonzo all this dancing might be accurate.

 

[MVP]

My girl blessed me and surprised me with these

These shorts are flames they could have just kept the jersey plain like the others.

 

[tupac003]

tupac003 when you canceled your Bron jersey order did they offer you the swingman version of the association edition or just the icon authentic? I see that the Team LA store has the swingmans up for order and they're supposed to release officially tomorrow.

Nah bro. They offered me another gold jersey that I already had on order. I just wanted my money back.

 

[MVP]

 

[tonelow]

Seeing some parallels between the Lakers and Dodgers.

Rob emphasized the depth on this team and how that's how you beat a team like Golden State. Also that Luke is the perfect way coach for this team because he's young and a great communicator...Kinda made me think about the Dodgers and how deep they are and how similar Luke is to Dave Roberts.

I think that helps in the regular season, but depth in the playoffs for basketball isn't nearly as important as it is for the baseball postseason.

 

[geno90221]

Suge got 28 years

Good Lawd

 

[had pants]

Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka Press Conference

Summary:

• Magic on LeBron: “You forget, I watched LeBron from, of course, afar, but to watch him in the gym is a whole different thing. Oh my goodness, it's something to watch. To watch him in the gym is a whole different thing. How much he makes everybody better, but also how he raises everybody’s level of play. His basketball IQ and his leadership ability.
• Pelinka said that Jeanie Buss asked what the notable trait of this team is, and he said that it's their competitiveness, and that having a multitude of those guys has an exponentiation positive impact.
• Rob Pelinka on the Lakers they’ve been watching throughout the summer: “This group of guys is as competitive as you can imagine … and Luke as the leader and coach is an ultra-competitive guy. He’s a fiery competitor. The gene of being a competitive individual is something that gets multiplied almost like compound interest when you have competitive guys in the gym."
• Magic says that he hasn't been this excited in a long time. Says they brought in guys who have won championships in LeBron, Rondo, & McGee, which he says is what the young guys needed. Not just vets, but vets with that type of experience. Magic says LeBron is "already in midseason form. You're sitting there thinking, man, glad we signed him."
• Magic: “Rondo will help Lonzo go to another level...we got the right mentor.”
• Pelinka noted how Magic, Rondo and Lonzo sat down to watch a Lakers-Pelicans game from last season. Rondo took them through what he was seeing on the court, and then Lonzo weighed in. Magic , “the best PG to play the game” oversaw it.
• Magic says that whoever gets the rebound this year - they're gone. They want to run despite LeBron's history of playing on slower teams than how the Lakers played last year. But said it's ultimately up to Luke. "We don't want his usage to be high. We're gonna run. We're not looking for one player." - Magic on team's offensive identity with LeBron. Magic said that plenty of other players could initiate offense with the ball (mentions Rondo, Lonzo, Ingram). Magic is really empowering Luke in this press conference. Magic adds that Luke is already been scheming how to implement LeBron and the rest of the new guys.
• Rob Pelinka: "If you use a sports car analogy, we wanted this team to have a lot of engine thrust, and not just from one player. You can go down our list. We have playmakers and guys that can get it, and not just come at you, but come at you with force."
• Magic: "We built this team off what we saw in the playoffs."
• Magic says they're "very happy" with the center position, feels like they have 2 guys at every position. Singles out JaVale's ability to block shots, and how they haven't had a guy like that here for a while. Notes his lob ability on pick & rolls too. Pelinka notes that they don't even talk about "center" and "point guard" and positions like that anymore. They look at it through a positionless lens. Magic also named Beasley playing some five. Pelinka mentioned 7 or 8 guys are 6’8"-9” and above.
• Magic Johnson said Kyle Kuzma got mad he was left off a top-100 list: "I'm glad so he can keep working hard," Johnson said. Magic singles out KCP & Kuzma as looking like "totally different guys" from a physical standpoint.
• ROB IS TELLING A STORY: Rob Pelinka begins, "I don't know if it's an ancient tale of old..." and proceeds to compare Kuzma to a kitten running around the jungle, mimicking a lion, but not understanding what it means to be king of the jungle until seeing a real lion at work. LeBron is the lion. The point being that having champions around shows young guys how to be that for real, even if they thought that's what they were doing before.
• Magic says that Lonzo Ball is gonna be ready to have a breakout season. Magic emphasizes that it's Lonzo's balance - rather than his shooting stroke - that was the biggest issue as a shooter.
• Pelinka on Lonzo Ball (knee scope in July): "He’s been 100% cleared by our medical staff to return to full basketball activity. Because he hasn’t played NBA 5-on-5 for 4 or 5 months, there is a progression to come back." Pelinka added that Lonzo will be participating in most parts of practice from Day 1, but just won’t be in the full 5-on-5 scrimmages until he ramps things up.
• Magic says if Space Jam has the budget for it, he's open to being in it,
• Magic says that he expects them to struggle at first because of all of the new guys trying to play together. Told Luke not to worry about the possibility of a bad start.
• Magic: "I'm happy that LeBron is building his brand on and off the court. He will be the model for these young guys ... how to dominate on the court and be a champion but also dominate off the court."
• Asked Rob Pelinka if there's any concern Lonzo will miss regular season games. "It’s impossible to predict the future when you’re coming back from injuries." Adds they feel great about where his recovery is.
• When asked about the interesting characters that the Lakers signed this summer, and Magic says that he views them as champions who bring toughness and what this roster needs. Says he doesn't care about what's happened with those guys in the past. Wants them to be themselves. Pelinka says not only are they not concerned with the personalities that they signed...it was intentional. Says that if you go back and look at the championship teams, they have guys like that. Each guy they signed was brought in with the "teams ahead of them" in mind.
• Magic said LeBron called his shot to end a pick up game today by saying he was going to get to his spot and hit a 3 over Kuz, and of course, he did so. It was a game winner. Magic asked Kuz why he went for the up fake, and Kuz just shrugged. Magic is using it as an example of how Kuzma and others will continue to get better.
• One major theme of this presser has been how much learning has been taking place during pickup games they’ve played thus far.
• Magic on Luke Walton: “We’re excited for Luke and his coaching staff. Luke has been working very hard to figure out how to utilize all the pieces. Luke’s a winner. As a player, up at Golden State, and he’ll be a winner here too. He'll know how to put them in a winning position." Pelinka says that they view their roster as one of the deepest in the NBA and they want to take advantage of that by coming at teams in waves.
• Pelinka talked about the LAL roster depth as “an extreme strength.” He thinks Luke Walton will manage it well. “Our roster and its strength actually lines up perfectly with our coach and his strength."

This is compiled from tweets by Lakers reporters.
Posted by u/SDas_

 

[pmatic]

 

[Lizakers]

I like the love management shows for Luke, that’s great to hear he has their support

 

[lovehateself]

I like the love management shows for Luke, that’s great to hear he has their support

Let’s just hope they stick to the 2 year plan

 

[had pants]

 

[ronaldo nazario]

So why did Zo wait until July to get his knee surgery? Smh

Honestly think he was just trying alternative methods for recovery to avoid it. Someone must have gave him bad info on recovering from the meniscus.

 

[aron710]

For those looking for the purple Statement LeBron swingmans for cheap, use those Dr. Pepper codes for 30% off!

https://www.fanatics.com/nba/los-an...o-2447+t-69037413+p-9257365221+z-8-1414491055

 

[kobeoverbron]

does Jimmy have a no-trade clause?
I don't doubt he's a good player, I mean damn was it last season or the one before when he was so clutch in so many games. He can create his own shot and he's not scared to shoot under pressure. Problem is, he's now shown he's not a good locker room guy and rubs teammates the wrong way. No way I'd give up Kuz who has been bustin his *** this summer to get even better than the stellar rookie season he had.

SPEAK MY GUY

also, HEDO HAS A BAD FORM? ****.
That's like, perfect form.
You sure it ain't this one:

 

[kobeoverbron]

Jimmy really wants to go the Clippers??
Alright then.

can't really trust someone that would do that. RED FLAG

 

[fayetnam]

So why did Zo wait until July to get his knee surgery? Smh

Honestly think he was just trying alternative methods for recovery to avoid it. Someone must have gave him bad info on recovering from the meniscus.

The surgery he got now is much different than the surgery he would have got as soon as he injured his knee in late March. Had he got the surgery then he would have likely got a meniscus repair/suture surgery that has a recovery period of 4-6 months. He could have opted for a meniscus trim/removal surgery for a quicker recovery time but keeping the meniscus is better for long term.

Our medical/training staff is very conservative when it comes to injuries and I think the initial goal was to recover without surgery but go from least invasive treatments to more invasive treatments (if need be).

Since peripheral meniscus tears can heal with blood supply, the lakers may have felt PRP injections would be enough to facilitate adequate recovery.

But i’m sure Lonzo still felt discomfort in his knee after a couple months (and well into the lakers offseason). What was causing the discomfort? Likely a meniscus that was not fully healed or a loose body (floating chip of bone).

So the lakers had no choice but to resort to surgery. But the surgery looked to be a minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery (and not the type of surgeries he would have got previously). Likely a simple meniscus trim or removal of a loose body. Typical recovery times shouldn’t be more than a month and are more frequently 2-3 weeks. Thus, I do believe Lonzo’s knee should be 100% now. The lakers are just easing him back. Allowing him to condition himself properly before he starts 5 on 5.

So it was basically
Zo opts for invasive repair surgery in April and is out til August-October
Or Zo opts for PRP + minimal invasive arthroscopic surgery and is out til September

 

[atlsfinest]

Rob always has some proverb or story for every situation

 

[CP1708]

Sounds a little bit like when some of us used to say that Kobe showing by example was a form of leadership that many just dismissed like it was nothing.

 

[trynafeelmink]

What numbers ya'll predicting for Lonzo this year? i'm thinking like 14/7/6 on 45/37/65 is looking realistic for him

I had no idea but he shot close to 34% last year on catch & shoots which isn't as bad as i thought. Him working on his form, mixed in with the amount of open shots he'll get off of Lebron & BI should really boost his percentages.

 

[pmatic]

11/7/7 on 39/35/60

 

[kobeoverbron]

10-10-8 I don't see him scoring much. why?

 

[moonman818]

He’ll be 13.5/7/8

 

[had pants]

 

[Maximus Meridius]

11/7/7 on 39/35/60

I think that's around what he'll do. With Bron, BI, Kuz doing the bulk of the scoring I don't think Lonzo will in the teens.

 

[goldmember]

Scoring will be the same for zo. Only the assist will go up I reckon