Best and Worst Case Scenario This Offseason?

[Tiesto_Lakers]

Best case scenerio, in my opinion:


We keep our pick, which will most likely be #2 or #3. Draft Lonzo Ball. Trade Randle, Clarkson, and a future 1st to Indiana for Paul George. If they don't want that offer, then trade Lonzo Ball for Paul George. Sign Blake Griffin.

Potential Lineup:

G - DLoading/Ennis
G - Clarkson/Swaggy P
F - George/Ingram/Deng
F - Griffin/Randle
C - Zubac/Nance/Mosgov

Worst case scenerio:


We lose our pick, sign fringe rotational players as FA's and have another horrible season next year.

[RamonSessions7]

Best case scenario:

Lottery order
1 Lakers
2&3 Pelicans and anyone but Boston because eff them and eff the Kings.
Draft whoever of the top 3 rises to the top.

We can attach Randle/Houston pick/2nds to one of Deng/Mozgov to unload.

Other than that, just don't make another Deng/Mozgov signing and go into the year excited about progression from D'Angelo, Ingram, Zubac and top 3.

[dockingsched]

Signing Blake Griffin would be one of my worst case scenarios. A pf who can't stretch, can't anchor a d, relies on athleticism whose body is breaking down. He's a really good player but one that imo puts a ceiling on how good your team can be.

For me, best case is Fultz/Ball in the draft, find someone who puts even the smallest amount of value in Deng's play as a trade partner, find a taker for Randle who sends back fair value or have Randle re-sign for a value deal.

[MrWaffles]

Best:

Keep pick
Move Deng and Mozgov without losing Nance, Russell, Ingram, Zubac
Sign one year deals only this summer


Worst:
Lose pick
Keep mOzgov and Deng
Hand out huge multi year players to bench players
Sign randle with his rookie extension

[Penberthy]

Best case:

Draft Ball
Trade Randle, Clarkson, Hou#1st, LAL #2nd for Butler
Young opts in
Orl takes Deng from us for free

Ball Russell
Butler Russell
Ingram Young Brewer
Nance Ingram
Zubac Black Moz

2018 PG

Worst case:

Trade any young assets for a player that is "Hell-bent" on signing with us next offseason.

[BEazy]

Best case:
- Keep the top 3 pick and 2019 pick.
- Somehow offload Mozgov and Deng or at least one of them without losing young assets.
- Get some assets for Randle if he wants a huge pay day.
- Sign decent vets that play defense and can teach youngins to play with more heart.
- Magic and Pelinka strike gold in the draft and free agency.

Worst case:
- Lose top 3 pick and 2019 pick.
- Keep Mozgov and Deng.
- Sign Randle for huge amount of money further killing our cap.
- Getting complete busts with the 28th and the other 2nd rounders.
- Magic and Pelinka strike out in free agency.
- Magic and Pelinka make a Mitch Kupchak Nash type trade which further kills our future.

[TylersLakers]

Best Case:

- Keep the pick

Worst Case:

- Lose the pick.

Take your pick.

[dontforget]

Best Case:

- Keep the pick

Worst Case:

- Lose the pick.

Take your pick.

It's really that simple. If Lakers get a top 3 pick, almost any options are in play whether that's keeping the pick, trading the pick, or trading other assets.

If the Lakers lose that pick, then its basically just rolling into next year with this same core and hope for improvement. They wont gut the roster to land a potential star, especially since you won't have cap room down the line to build around the potential star and you won't be in the top lottery to draft pieces to build with.

[DEEP3CL]

Whatever they do I hope they keep Blake Griffin far away from this team as they can. There is no use to be enthralled with him anymore,he IS the worst case scenario.

[Dr Aki]

best:
- keep pick, land lonzo ball
- trade away deng and/or mozgov without giving up dlo, ingram, nance, zubac, top #3 pick
- force indiana into a trade centered around clarkson, randle, 1 of deng/mozgov + minor picks

worst:
- lose pick
- don't trade away deng or mozgov
- we blow our cap on derrick rose and extending randle
- trade dlo/ingram for george because we no longer have the capspace/leverage on indiana
- george leaves
- stuck with rose, deng, mozgov, lakers remain basement dwellers for 5+ years
- jim buss returns, sells the team

[Kilroy]

Really have no idea what the plan is right now... It would seem to be a really bad season to count on free agency or trades, and a really good season to tank... I thought we had that nailed down.
But now I think they're done with draft picks and thinking trade everyone for stars. Because I don't think one player turns this team around... It'd take at least 2, probably 3...

For me, best case would be keep the pick, get Ball, win as many games as possible next year, and go all in next summer for Westbrook and Lebron... I have a feeling those 2 are going to be playing together eventually... Why not for us?

I have a feeling the plan is to trade everyone for PG and another player... Maybe Butler? and then hope to clear salaries to sign a third...

[Spens1]

Worst:

We lose our pick, don't manage to deal either of Mozgov and Deng and overpay for some ageing player who isn't very good.

Best:

Get #1, pick fultz, able to trade for George without moving Russell or Fultz and get a guaranteed extension immediately, deal mozgov and/or deng.

[Trips71]

Best Case: No matter what happens, we are still the Lakers.

Worst Case: Be the Clippers, where you are good and still nobody cares.

[danfantastk32]

Signing Blake Griffin would be one of my worst case scenarios. A pf who can't stretch, can't anchor a d, relies on athleticism whose body is breaking down. He's a really good player but one that imo puts a ceiling on how good your team can be.

For me, best case is Fultz/Ball in the draft, find someone who puts even the smallest amount of value in Deng's play as a trade partner, find a taker for Randle who sends back fair value or have Randle re-sign for a value deal.

Totally agree. Griffin is a highlight-dunk real, who lacks any nuanced talent....and has now accumulated a boat-load if injuries. Soon those hops will leave him, and he won't even be a mediocre player.

The good news is that there's not a way in hell we sign PG and Griffin in any of these scenarios. Part of the Best/worst scenario should include the "fiscally possible" clause. Truth is......we prob can't keep the team we have, when contracts come up...without someone taking less/getting waived (by someone...I mean someone who MATTERS, not Artest, or Nwamba or something like that). There's no chance is hell we add Griffin and PG and keep any semblance of the current team.

[TheHartBreakKid]

While keeping things realistic, my best case would be:

1. obvously keeping the pick, and selecting Fultz
2. Getting rid of Moz AND Deng's contracts somehow, offering anything and anyone not named Fultz/Zubac/Ingram/Russell, and opening up two max slots for next year, only making one year signings . Ideally, again in a perfect dream world, trade deng for nothing using the houston pick, and trading Moz for nothing using 2nd rounders and Clarkson, though I'm not even sure if other teams consider clarkson positive value, let alone enouhg value to take on Moz, so trading Randle would be necessary.
3. If somehow we manage to trade away Moz and Deng without giving up randle, then getting an asset for Randle, and NOT giving him a max extension by any means.

and go into the season with a Fultz/Russell/Ingram/Nance/Zubac/whoever we got for Randle/ one year signings/ brewer, Tarik, Robinson, Enis etc, while having two max spots open for 2018. In the mean time, showcase that young starting 5 with the intention of showing that atleast one of Fultz/Russell/Ingram can be the third piece of a big three, (hopefully more than 1), and that Zubac/Nance/other pick can be valuable role players on a winning team. Then, pitch to PG and any other max level player that is interested in playing with George in the summer of 2018.


Now, ^ this isn't impossible (but getting rid of Moz and Deng without giving up Randle is pretty close to being impossible, so remove the asset we are getting for Randle to make it more reasonable), but it's of course very very very unlikely. but that's my best case scenario that actually could happen if everything goes right. Of course whether we actually sign two max level players next season makes the overall situation even less likely, but that's not dependant on this offseason, so setting up that scenario this offseason would still be my best case situation. 2 max spots in 2018 with a really solid young core who is getting closer to being ready (atleast Russell) would be pretty awesome.

[TheHartBreakKid]

Worst case scenario would be

1. Lose the pick
2. Don't trade Moz/Deng
3. use whatever cap we have for another Moz/Deng type of deal
4. Extend Randle using the max aka losing all leverage for PG in 2018 with no capspace


& extending this scenario of hell for the next season, - win enough games to not get a good pick next year and head into 18-19 with no cpaspace plans, no 19' pick, no additional young asset, a maxed out randle, and facing decisions on giving Russell and Nance huge contracts sealing our fate in mediocrity for the next decade.


Oh, here's another worst case scenario.

Lose the pick
Trade Ingram/Russell for PG in a panic move.
Keep Deng/Moz & extend Randle, aka no future hope for capspace plans
win enough with george to not get a decent pick, George leaves at the offseason, and go into 18-19 with no new young assets, without ingram or russell, moz and deng still under contract, and a maxed out randle, and of course, no 19' pick.


Both these scenarios turn us into the 2000's knicks, imo.

[Princeinrevolt]

Worst Case Scenario:
1. We lose the pick, and we aren't good enough next year forcing us to tank again.
2. Sign another mediocre free agent that is too old to another long deal. (Even though I don't think this would happen because Pelinka is not dumb enough to do this).
3. Have the same roster going into next season.


Best Case Scenario:
1. We keep the pick, no matter what spot. And whoever we get is good right from the beginning. (Which also seems unlikely since all of the prospects are raw talent, except for Fultz).
2. All our young players get much better during the offseason that we are good enough to fight for a playoff spot (we don't even need to make the playoffs, just fight for it).
3. Trade Deng/Mozgov w/out giving up major assets. (Not going to happen, but would be a dream case scenario).
4. Get a good rookie from the Houston pick (Very Possible).
5. Become the best free agent destination for next offseason (Would only be possible if our young talent step up).
6. Sign 3 point shooters and defenders to one-year deals.

^this is pretty realistic.

[MrWaffles]

If you look through these posts, everyone mentions moving Deng and Mozgov would be ideal. That says something about Mitch and Jim. How dumb of a move to offer long term contracts to washed up players? Ugh!

In order to move them, we're going to have to move kids with them. I believe it's worth it. Move Randle, Clarkson, Nance, maybe even Zubac with them.

[ALL HAIL]

If you look through these posts, everyone mentions moving Deng and Mozgov would be ideal. That says something about Mitch and Jim. How dumb of a move to offer long term contracts to washed up players? Ugh!

In order to move them, we're going to have to move kids with them. I believe it's worth it. Move Randle, Clarkson, Nance, maybe even Zubac with them.

In all likelihood, Clarkson will be the sacrificial lamb here, and Deng and Mozgov will both be stretched.

So, by all means, if you lose sleep about not having Clarkson around forever in purple and gold, continue obsessing about the Mozgov/Deng signings.

[MrWaffles]

If you look through these posts, everyone mentions moving Deng and Mozgov would be ideal. That says something about Mitch and Jim. How dumb of a move to offer long term contracts to washed up players? Ugh!

In order to move them, we're going to have to move kids with them. I believe it's worth it. Move Randle, Clarkson, Nance, maybe even Zubac with them.

In all likelihood, Clarkson will be the sacrificial lamb here, and Deng and Mozgov will both be stretched.

So, by all means, if you lose sleep about not having Clarkson around forever in purple and gold, continue obsessing about the Mozgov/Deng signings.

I don't think we're stretching either of those guys. It's too much money. We have a genius running our team now in Rob, he's going to figure it out someway that get's rid of those contracts.