The Rebuilding Process

[thomas1897]

The Lakers have an excellent opportunity to rebuild and bring in new talent with a blend of veterans and young stars for the future. The Lakers proceeding to the 2015 draft without much speculation on who the pick will be is simple Towns or Okafor. The Lakers have problems in the front court and this is an issue that should not be up for much debate. Next is the late first round pick my opinion is take a player that the team could wait a few years to blossom into a good player; one player comes to my mind is Robert Upshaw. He could be mentored by someone such as Kareem Jabbar and he could add another big man to a potentially strong front court. Signing free agents such as Gasol, Rondo and Harris and adding some trade additions would bolster this team. The nucleus of this team is Kobe, Clarkson, Randle and the possibility of Lin and Young remaining. However, Young is too much of a question mark on the court and can Lin learn how to play good defense. This is some dilemma with each of these players. I cannot provide a good answer to this problem because it is contingent upon who the Lakers sign in free agency or trade for or draft. However, each of these players represent some value via trade or do you retain one or both of them. Kobe, Clarkson and a free agent (Rondo) would be sufficient place to start. Hill, Scare and Young are good pieces to trade for players that can be complimentary components to the draft picks and free agents. Gasol is an excellent player to add to a frontcourt of Okafor, Davis and Randle. Tobias Harris would bring a stable young but experience player to play the small forward position and the Lakers need to look at Randle playing some small forward on occasions. Kelley and Black are additions or subtractions depending on how the Lakers do business. Finally, Boozer does he make his own deal or ? The remaining players should find another team or be released.

[yitur]

Gasol is a pipe dream, Rondo should never ever be involved in our future even if we somehow get Towns with our pick(he might bring the spacing Rondo needs). I like Harris but many people don't in this forum. I think Black and Davis would be good enough backups to Towns/Okafor and Randle, Boozer can stay with us one more year I won't mind as long as he doesn't take a lot of minutes off of Randle. Lakers' draft will be evaluated by how well they do with the late picks. 2nd pick is what we got left from Okafor/Towns. I hope we can somehow get Justin Anderson and also JP Tokoto. They look like steals from where they are projected to go.

So my ideal offseason would be

Towns-Okafor/Black
Randle/Boozer(?)/Davis
Carroll/Anderson/Johnson
Kobe/Tokoto
Clarkson/Vet PG(?)

I like Young and Hill actually but they would be better off helping a contender(Young may hurt them but Hill would help any team that he goes).

[oneseven]

... Next is the late first round pick my opinion is take a player that the team could wait a few years to blossom into a good player; one player comes to my mind is Robert Upshaw. He could be mentored by someone such as Kareem Jabbar and he could add another big man to a potentially strong front court...

Nobody is giving Upshaw guaranteed money with the discipline and drug problems, and now the cardiac-test red flag. Some team with multiple 2nds may take a flyer, but it's just as likely that he may go undrafted.

[Jody Smokz]

Steve Kyler on Robert Upshaw


Hey Steve, in last weeks chat both you and Alex talked about hearing horror stories regarding Robert Upshaw off the court. I was wondering… what stops you guys from publishing those stories? Is it because you have only heard them 2nd or 3rd hand and don’t have a direct sourse? Or do you guys consider it not relevant because this is a basketball news site not a gossip site?

On the one hand I would love to read them, on the other I can see the argument about them not being relevant

Steve Kyler
There are a couple of things with this one… I don’t ever want to be “that” guy. We are not TMZ or Deadspin and I do not ever want to be that kind of person. Its not who we are, its not what we’re about.

That said when someone asks me why isn’t this guy a top 20 guy… I feel a responsibility to let you know there is some scary **** going on with this guy and you might want to dial that back.

It’s sort of like the Larry Sanders stuff last season. Larry is a good friend of mine, and I want nothing but the best for Larry the person. I was completely aware of all the stuff that was going on, and while I would never ever put Larry’s business in the street when people started saying Larry wanted to quit to go smoke weed… there was a much deeper darker problem there than that and I felt compelled to say something.

I think Upshaw has tremendous talent. I hope he can find a way to get his life in order, because whats being said about him is some pretty serious stuff.

As for why not run it and grab some headlines? Then what? Is that who you want to be as a person or a professional? I just can’t be that guy and as a team we’ve made a decision to not be that.

I am totally OK with conceding that ground to be people who are comfortable hurting others.