Game 27 Lakers at Wolves 12/21/23 Record 20-6

[Calinks]

Feel like the team has loosened up a bit lately. Not necessarily a big deal as all teams start to get lax at some point but I hope we can get sharp again and get better towards the end of the season. Seems like we continually get off to bad starts and we have to battle it out every game.

[shrink]

Did you notice before the second quarter started, Laker coach Darvin Ham was chatting it up with Ant, then they both hugged?

I’m not liking any on court recruiting! Hopefully the media doesn’t run with this.

Ant is under contract for 5 years. Ham is gonna be gone in 2. Lakers might well miss the playoffs and that is hard to explain in Lebron’s final years.

I don’t want to feed any rumors, but this is not as locked up as you think. At a certain level of stardom (which Ant is approaching), they reach a level of player empowerment where they can almost choose any team they want, regardless of their contract. It might be even easier for Ant because the world loves him, so if he publicly demanded a trade, there would be a lot of pressure on the Wolves to make him happy. And Ant fits the profile, since it is generally American superstars that demand trades. However, Edwards got a max extension, so he isn’t even eligible to be traded for 18 months.

Also, even if the Lakers miss the playoff, they can still draw star free agents, because of their legacy, and the desire for players to go there. For example, LeBron joined the Lakers after they had missed the playoffs for several straight years. Jeannie Buss convinced him that if he came, she could get another superstar to join him, and they made it happen with Anthony Davis and won a title.

Now, this stuff I’m saying might not mean anything to Ant. He seems very happy right where he is, with a winning Minnesota team and several good friends. I’ve never heard him say anything about any particular desire to go to the Lakers. That said, it is easier to reach his goal of being publicly perceived as the “Greatest Shooting Guard Ever,” if he gets the Lakers fandom behind him, driving that message to surpass “you know who.” I’m sure I’ve seen too many teams lose their top talent to the Lakers, and that’s made me ravingly paranoid, but I did not like seeing our Ant embracing Darvin Ham.

[winforlose]

Did you notice before the second quarter started, Laker coach Darvin Ham was chatting it up with Ant, then they both hugged?

I’m not liking any on court recruiting! Hopefully the media doesn’t run with this.

Ant is under contract for 5 years. Ham is gonna be gone in 2. Lakers might well miss the playoffs and that is hard to explain in Lebron’s final years.

I don’t want to feed any rumors, but this is not as locked up as you think. At a certain level of stardom (which Ant is approaching), they reach a level of player empowerment where they can almost choose any team they want, regardless of their contract. It might be even easier for Ant because the world loves him, so if he publicly demanded a trade, there would be a lot of pressure on the Wolves to make him happy. And Ant fits the profile, since it is generally American superstars that demand trades. However, Edwards got a max extension, so he isn’t even eligible to be traded for 18 months.

Also, even if the Lakers miss the playoff, they can still draw star free agents, because of their legacy, and the desire for players to go there. For example, LeBron joined the Lakers after they had missed the playoffs for several straight years. Jeannie Buss convinced him that if he came, she could get another superstar to join him, and they made it happen with Anthony Davis and won a title.

Now, this stuff I’m saying might not mean anything to Ant. He seems very happy right where he is, with a winning Minnesota team and several good friends. I’ve never heard him say anything about any particular desire to go to the Lakers. That said, it is easier to reach his goal of being publicly perceived as the “Greatest Shooting Guard Ever,” if he gets the Lakers fandom behind him, driving that message to surpass “you know who.” I’m sure I’ve seen too many teams lose their top talent to the Lakers, and that’s made me ravingly paranoid, but I did not like seeing our Ant embracing Darvin Ham.

Ant is friendly with everyone. Kerr coached Ant on team USA, doesn’t mean Ant is going to want a trade to the warriors. I think everyone is showing him love and support over the IG stuff.

Edit to add: If Ant demands a trade to the Lakers the league would be in a really bad spot. The investigation would turn up stuff like this, and it would be a bad scandal. Especially when they are probably going to be in the middle of an expansion. The best way to keep your stars happy is to win, and we are the best record in the west, tied with Boston for best record overall, and we own the tie breaker.

[A1FromDay1]

Ant is a super star, possible next face for the league. Totally normal to attract attention and even admiration from opposing players, coaches and basically everyone else. When Wade and Kobe were hugging Wiggins after games we were saying they are passing the torch, not that they are recruiting him. Winning will keep Ant in MN against all recruitment. Not winning will prolly drive him away and I'm sure he will have the power to pick ANY team he wants in the near future.