GAME #50: LAL (28-19) @ LAC (28-21) — TUE, 2/4 8:00 PM

wakelaunch1 · Post #21 » by **wakelaunch1** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 4:57 am

with kawhi back, we look like less of a team and just little effort. i expected so much more tonight after a pathetic showing in toronto. We had an extra day off too.

KL2 · Post #22 » by **KL2** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:04 am

Finally waved the white flag. Bet you these guys play hard.

wakelaunch1 · Post #23 » by **wakelaunch1** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:10 am

Bones brick hyland. Dude is just garbage in limited role. Get him off this team. No defense either

KL2 · Post #24 » by **KL2** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:11 am

Mills still feisty on defense. Sheesh.

This loss isn’t on him but I’m so over Mann.

Eubanks got dunked on but at least he contested instead of watching like the other guys.

Bones landed hard. Yikes. I don’t wish that on anyone.

Clemenza · Post #25 » by **Clemenza** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:17 am

Lakers gifted yet another superstar by the league while we're cooked beyond belief. What a sh*t show of a performance. Embarrassing and pathetic. Kawhi looks washed and Harden is old and slow. Too many redundant same players who can't shoot nor step up once in a blue moon. Just awful

MartinToVaught · Post #26 » by **MartinToVaught** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:20 am

This team has plummeted back down to earth. Time to start shopping Kawhi, Harden, Norm, and Zu for any draft capital we can get.

KL2 · Post #27 » by **KL2** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:40 am

Read on Twitter

KingCrimzzon · Post #28 » by **KingCrimzzon** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:44 am

MartinToVaught wrote:This team has plummeted back down to earth. Time to start shopping Kawhi, Harden, Norm, and Zu for any draft capital we can get.

I'm hoping the travel has just worn them out. LAL has not been playing nearly as much as we have pist fires. But what I'm worried about is that with Kawhi, they forget how to play as a team again. No ball movement today and a step slow every time. Here's hoping the slowness isn't confusion.

KingCrimzzon · Post #29 » by **KingCrimzzon** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:44 am

MartinToVaught wrote:This team has plummeted back down to earth. Time to start shopping Kawhi, Harden, Norm, and Zu for any draft capital we can get.

I'm hoping the travel has just worn them out. LAL has not been playing nearly as much as we have post fires. But what I'm worried about is that with Kawhi, they forget how to play as a team again. No ball movement today and a step slow every time. Here's hoping the slowness isn't confusion.

Captain Ballmer · Post #30 » by **Captain Ballmer** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:48 am

MartinToVaught wrote:This team has plummeted back down to earth. Time to start shopping Kawhi, Harden, Norm, and Zu for any draft capital we can get.

No one is trading draft picks for Kawhi or Harden. Bu I'm 100% ok with selling high on Norm, DJJ and Zu if there are good offers.

We were lucky that none of the Harden, Zu, Norm have a long injury while rest of the league injured quiet often.

Spurs with Fox, Lakers with Luka about to go on a run. PHX, Minny, Sacto, Mavs and Warriors all looking to be buyers on the deadline and some of them will succeed and go on a run, eventually move past us.

donemilio21 · Post #31 » by **donemilio21** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 5:49 am

Clemenza wrote:Lakers gifted yet another superstar by the league while we're cooked beyond belief. What a sh*t show of a performance. Embarrassing and pathetic. Kawhi looks washed and Harden is old and slow. Too many redundant same players who can't shoot nor step up once in a blue moon. Just awful

They clearly don't need Luka to kick our ass.
Kawhi was awful tonight and last game against Toronto.

Clemenza · Post #32 » by **Clemenza** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 6:02 am

Captain Ballmer wrote:
MartinToVaught wrote:This team has plummeted back down to earth. Time to start shopping Kawhi, Harden, Norm, and Zu for any draft capital we can get.

No one is trading draft picks for Kawhi or Harden. Bu I'm 100% ok with selling high on Norm, DJJ and Zu if there are good offers.

We were lucky that none of the Harden, Zu, Norm have a long injury while rest of the league injured quiet often.

Spurs with Fox, Lakers with Luka about to go on a run. PHX, Minny, Sacto and Warriors all looking to be buyers on the deadline and some of them will succeed and go on a run, eventually move past us.

I think Dallas is going to be good as well with AD being the focal point, if he can stay healthy. Kawhi and Harden struggling is the front page of the last two losses. Inside the paper is the bench turning to sh*t. The Lakers with Luka will gobble up the entire city and league. I'm hoping this isn't a passing the torch back to them moment, but it sure looks like it. We're back to "B Teaming it" for real. If Kawhi doesn't get right then there's no bright spot for this team and a serious playoff push after the all star break. If things stay like this you'd have to see if Norm could net us a 1st round pick which I think he can.

esqtvd · Post #33 » by **esqtvd** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 6:08 am

I actually bet on the Clippers MINUS-8 1/2. Silly me.

Saw the Lakers at a very tempting 4-to-1 straight-up but I said, nah, I never bet against my own team...

Captain Ballmer · Post #34 » by **Captain Ballmer** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 7:33 am

Clemenza wrote:
Captain Ballmer wrote:
MartinToVaught wrote:This team has plummeted back down to earth. Time to start shopping Kawhi, Harden, Norm, and Zu for any draft capital we can get.

No one is trading draft picks for Kawhi or Harden. Bu I'm 100% ok with selling high on Norm, DJJ and Zu if there are good offers.

We were lucky that none of the Harden, Zu, Norm have a long injury while rest of the league injured quiet often.

Spurs with Fox, Lakers with Luka about to go on a run. PHX, Minny, Sacto and Warriors all looking to be buyers on the deadline and some of them will succeed and go on a run, eventually move past us.

I think Dallas is going to be good as well with AD being the focal point, if he can stay healthy. Kawhi and Harden struggling is the front page of the last two losses. Inside the paper is the bench turning to sh*t. The Lakers with Luka will gobble up the entire city and league. I'm hoping this isn't a passing the torch back to them moment, but it sure looks like it. We're back to "B Teaming it" for real. If Kawhi doesn't get right then there's no bright spot for this team and a serious playoff push after the all star break. If things stay like this you'd have to see if Norm could net us a 1st round pick which I think he can.

We kinda got the torch when Kobe(injured)retired, while we rolling Blake&Cp3 lob city. However, the moment Lakers got LBJ in 2018 summer was passing the torch moment. This Luka trade just extended that moment for like another 10 years.

Hopefully Ballmer doesn't make the same mistake and be reactive with another 2019 Summer trade with what he pulled with OKC. This last 2-3 days must be hard for him to see Lakers just gifted next LBJ.

For the deadline, Orlando has his and Denver' 1st rd picks. Send Powell to them for one of those picks and salary(kcp?). Then maybe OKC would like to get Zu. In exchange for some salary(Like Wiggins+Ousmane Dieng) and lifting the swap rights for 2025 and giving back our 2026 pick. Get whatever 2nd you can for Mann, Dunn, DJJ, received salaries via trades...

Rest Kawhi, play Christie and Kobe, tank to the lottery. Shai was 11th pick under the radar of Luka, Trae, Ayton, Bagley & Bamba draft. Search who flies under the radar for this Harper, Bailey, Flagg draft.

MartinToVaught · Post #35 » by **MartinToVaught** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 3:06 pm

Captain Ballmer wrote:No one is trading draft picks for Kawhi or Harden.

I don't expect a mindblowing return for them, but teams might get desperate thinking either of them gets them over the top this year. I think a team like OKC might want to consider giving us some of our picks back for one of those guys because they need to respond to the Luka trade.

Regardless, the Kawhi experiment has failed, it's over, and it's time to turn the page and recoup as many assets as we possibly can.

KL2 · Post #36 » by **KL2** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 3:38 pm

As much as fans want it the Clippers are firm on not tanking. They’re not going to unload for draft capital.

They have their sights on 2026 and doing everything possible to keep the books clear as possible for that summer. Who they’re targeting doesn’t matter. So far they're standing firm on that plan.

As we’ve seen so far anything can happen and anyone can be on the move. But I believe them this time when they say they’ll improve on the margins if they can. I’m not expecting any big trade. Would love to be wrong but they’re happy to stay afloat until 2026 it seems.

MartinToVaught · Post #37 » by **MartinToVaught** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 3:59 pm

KL2 wrote:As much as fans want it the Clippers are firm on not tanking. They’re not going to unload for draft capital.

They have their sights on 2026 and doing everything possible to keep the books clear as possible for that summer. Who they’re targeting doesn’t matter. So far they're standing firm on that plan.

As we’ve seen so far anything can happen and anyone can be on the move. But I believe them this time when they say they’ll improve on the margins if they can. I’m not expecting any big trade. Would love to be wrong but they’re happy to stay afloat until 2026 it seems.

I'm hoping this stretch of games is a reality check for Ballmer just like when he finally saw reason and didn't bring back Doc or run it back with PG. "Staying afloat" sounds logical on paper but is impossible in reality. This team is trending downwards and will just keep getting worse as Kawhi and Harden get older and other teams keep improving around us. If we're going to suck either way, we're objectively better off doing it with some assets rather than none.

Counting on 2026 as a quick fix is also doomed to fail. The free agent market in '26 - and '27 for that matter - is nothing special once you factor in that the biggest names will either be way over the hill by then or re-signing with their current teams for max money (and demanding a trade later if they want out). I'm against trying to buy titles with mercenary stars who are about to hit their decline years on principle, but even if that's your strategy, there literally won't be good enough players available to pull it off.

Clemenza · Post #38 » by **Clemenza** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 4:55 pm

KL2 wrote:As much as fans want it the Clippers are firm on not tanking. They’re not going to unload for draft capital.

They have their sights on 2026 and doing everything possible to keep the books clear as possible for that summer. Who they’re targeting doesn’t matter. So far they're standing firm on that plan.

As we’ve seen so far anything can happen and anyone can be on the move. But I believe them this time when they say they’ll improve on the margins if they can. I’m not expecting any big trade. Would love to be wrong but they’re happy to stay afloat until 2026 it seems.

Waiting and wishing upon a star in 2026 will be a flop and a colossal waste of time. All the stars now are either on their way out or already accounted. Plus a team can offer them the supermax to stay if they drafted them. These coming weeks should tell the team whether its finally time to get off the Kawhi train or not. L. Frank did an okay job putting together a defensive minded team without much shooting, but now we're not playing defense and there's no shooting. Still no backup point guard and center. Had Moussa in the wings to give Zu a breather, but ditched him for Mo Bamba who's currently out of the league as Utah just waived him.

Our margin for error is extremely small. The Lakers can f*ck everything up consistently, but at the end of the day teams will still gift them their stars for pennies on the dollar like clockwork. We have to literally make sh*t work and take advantage of every little "light at the end of the tunnel" we can get. That was getting Sam Cassel, Cutino Mobley, Elton Brand, then drafting Blake, drafting SGA and so forth. Gotta rebuild it the right way.

Bobbymcgee · Post #39 » by **Bobbymcgee** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 6:25 pm

Kawhi was out there looking like PJ Tucker while 40 year old LeBron was the best player on the court.

MartinToVaught · Post #40 » by **MartinToVaught** » Wed Feb 5, 2025 6:36 pm

Clemenza wrote:Waiting and wishing upon a star in 2026 will be a flop and a colossal waste of time. All the stars now are either on their way out or already accounted. Plus a team can offer them the supermax to stay if they drafted them.

Also, let's say a miracle happens and - just for the sake of an example - Jokic or Giannis opts out and signs here in '27. We're going to be right back where we are now with Kawhi. Either one will already be 32 years old before even suiting up for the team. The Nuggets or Bucks will have gotten their best years. We'll be on the hook for their decline while they get paid a ton for their past performance on another team.

Trying to buy superteams with big names didn't even have a great success rate back when the league was more suitable for it. But with the physically taxing modern style of play that demands youth, depth, and athleticism, as well as how restrictive the CBA is now, it just makes no sense to invest in anyone 30 or older anymore.

Looking at the field in '26 and '27, the only big names who will be under 30 and are actual franchise-changers are Luka and SGA, and they aren't coming here. Beyond that, it's guys like Trae Young, Fox, Herro, Jalen Green, RJ Barrett. At that point you're just blowing money to field an expensive 30-win team. If that's Frank's plan, it's reason #5000 for why he needs to be fired.