Tougher Future Situation: Celtics or Lakers?

[deNIEd]

Hopefully the Lakers, if Dwight bolts,they're screwed, no Stern in a couple years to pamper them anymore.

Free agents will want to go to the Clippers if they choose LA.

If Stern wanted to pamper the Lakers then they'd be rollin with a lineup of Kobe, Dwight and CP3 right now. Take off the tin foil hat.

Good point. I'm tired of everyone saying the Laker's are pampered. Let's make sure they never get that notion in their head again and just pamper the Clippers instead. Let the Laker's turn into this decade's Clippers.

[Celts17Pride]

I say it's close because people will want to play with Doc Rivers and Rondo. Players playing with Rondo know their scoring average will go up because Rondo will give them the ball.

I agree the Lakers will always be good because of their history and everyone wants to play in LA. The one thing that is going to hurt the Lakers going forward is that they won't be able to have a team payroll of $100-$110 million+ like they have in the past. The new CBA really hurts high spending teams.

I think the Celtics will have it tougher than the Lakers but it's closer than people think.

[ComboGuardCity]

I say it's close because people will want to play with Doc Rivers and Rondo. Players playing with Rondo know their scoring average will go up because Rondo will give them the ball.

I agree the Lakers will always be good because of their history and everyone wants to play in LA. The one thing that is going to hurt the Lakers going forward is that they won't be able to have a team payroll of $100-$110 million+ like they have in the past. The new CBA really hurts high spending teams.

I think the Celtics will have it tougher than the Lakers but it's closer than people think.

No one wants to play with Rondo. He's a diva.

[RutgersBJJ]

Where are these tradeable assets on the Lakers?

I see Nash and I see Dwight.

No one's trading for the right to pay someone around 30 mil a season to score and do nothing else. And no one is trading the right to pay a sissy 20 million a season.

Lakers are in much worse trouble. Celtics still have Rondo, and he makes everyone around him better. Unlike Dwight, and unlike Kobe. The only thing that really screwed the Celtics up was that idiotic Jeff Green deal. They will never be players for big-time FA's, but they couldn't they have been in the Mayo sweepstakes this summer if they didn't re-sign Green?

A Rondo/Bradley/Mayo guard rotation is a pretty solid building block for the future. Plus Celtics also have young prospects like Sullinger and Melo. Lakers have....? Lakers also traded away future picks, Celtics have picks.

Future of the Lakers is built entirely on recruiting new stars, and no new stars are coming until 2015 at the earliest with Kobe's contract crippling the flexibility of the Lakers.

[MountBiyombo]

Yeah, I think the number of free agents rushing to Boston will plummet once Paul and Kevin are retired.

But it all depends on whether or not Dwight resigns. If he does LA is in better shape. If not Rhondo is still a great pointguard. Boston would be better off.

[High 5]

Unless the Lakers have a huge turnaround, I don't see either team being a legit competitor in the foreseeable future. LA does have the slight advantage, though. Simply because it's LA.

[BasedJohnson]

It depends if Howard stays or leaves. If he stays than I'd say Celts, if he leaves its the Lakers

[BubbaTee]

I say it's close because people will want to play with Doc Rivers and Rondo. Players playing with Rondo know their scoring average will go up because Rondo will give them the ball.

I agree the Lakers will always be good because of their history and everyone wants to play in LA. The one thing that is going to hurt the Lakers going forward is that they won't be able to have a team payroll of $100-$110 million+ like they have in the past. The new CBA really hurts high spending teams.

I think the Celtics will have it tougher than the Lakers but it's closer than people think.

No one wants to play with Rondo. He's a diva.

Dwight's a diva too, pretty even there.

[LKTD]

I would have to go with Boston too. The media spun the Rondo / Allen conflict and Boston is signing old players to stay in a sputtering contender mode. They have no players willing to create the next culture in TD Garden besides Rondo.

[R9ndo]

Rondo
Bradley
Green
Sullinger
Maybe melo

That's a good young core.

Ainge has to contend/rebuild at the same time and he is doing a great job IMO.

[irie]

Celtics. Lakers can easily reload

Agreed. Celtics have free agency difficulties

[irie]

I would have to go with Boston too. The media spun the Rondo / Allen conflict and Boston is signing old players to stay in a sputtering contender mode. They have no players willing to create the next culture in TD Garden besides Rondo.

Didn't you already say you thought Boston when you started the thread?

[ndnow]

After this year, if you had to predict with what you know now:

Celtics will have to rebuild very soon, can players stand Rondo enough to not cause drama inside the locker room? I don't think the franchise is as appealing to free agents as the Lakers because of Rondo.

Lakers are loaded with trade pieces but do they have the personnel and mentality to stay as contenders in the Kobe era?

I think Celtics are in a tougher situation.

The ONLY player who has had an issue with Rondo was Ray Allen. Every other player loves the kid, every coach loves his abilities.

Players around the league love watching the kid play ball because they know how difficult it is to do what he does.

Stop making stuff up

Saying everyone loves him is just as bad as saying everyone hates him. You know just as much as the OP, you need to also stop making things up.

[TheToothFairy]

Many Free Gaents will want to play in LA, I don't see that as a problem

[YiJiLi]

Celtics. Although we've been saying this for years, this may be our last year of contention, and with all of our older guys, along with younger guys with larger contracts signed for another 3+ years, if KG Truth and Jet start significantly declining without any significant increase in the play of Rondo, Lee, Green, Sully, Melo, and draft picks, we could be stuck for 1-3 years.