Zach Lowe podcast with Ramona Shelburne discussing Lakers

[Pythagoras]

Find a list of 20 year olds who miss games with no apparent injury and then get Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy for their knee. Isn't that in of itself information to suggest a knee issue? This isn't a procedure you do for tendinitis.

No, it doesn't suggest that. That's not how medicine works. In medicine, there are treatments/procedures to treat conditions and treatments/procedures to treat the symptoms caused by a condition. There are numerous examples of vastly different conditions causing very similar symptoms, which can result in an overlap in treatment of those conditions, even if one has little to do with the other.

The way the statement was written suggested that GM's are worried about his knees. If I'm a GM I don't call the Lakers and say hey I'm interested in trading for Russell but I want a discount because I hear he has bad knees. If you think someone has bad knees but don't know you don't call the ones who do know and negotiate from a standpoint of ignorance. Read Sun Tzu

I'm sure Russell has been shopped as has everyone else on the team. If our GM's aren't doing that to get better then we need new GM's. There are only a few players in the league at any given time who are untouchable. I don't think we have any of them.

No, if our GMs aren't always listening to offers, then we need new GMs. If our GMs are shopping everyone on the roster, then we also need new GMs.

[milesfides]

Surprised to hear how the kings demanded both Russell and Ingram when they ended up with buddy hield. There's got to be more to that story.

Russell's knees... I don't know. We'll have to find out. He looks fine.

The off-guard makes sense to create room for Lonzo Ball, but I think it's a detriment to Russell's ability to lock down a position. Blaming his struggles on his teammates can be justified, except it also defines his limitations. He doesn't make his teammates better, and he needs better teammates to help his own game. I actually agree with this, which is why I think he's valuable and talented but doesn't project to be a great.

I'm a bit disappointed in his moving to off guard, because hes not really a dynamic scorer. He gets most of his points from three, and that can be streaky. What should be developed is his vision and passing, which he's shown signs of being special. But his move to offguard 86es that.

As long as he improves his 3 point shooting to close to 40% and sustains that, he'll be playing the klay Thompson role. Without the defense and efficiency.

Kind of a waste, but maybe Ball will help him.

Randle and Clarkson should definitely be shopped. They have value, but they also have limitations that dont fit a championship contending team. They both haven't shown the ability or willingness to play great defense.

[john248]

Moving Russell to the other guard position doesn't mean he's an off-guard all the time. All it means is that he will be sharing ball handling duty with someone else. This happens all the time. Jordan and Pippen shared the "point" role. Kobe and Lamar shared that role. Curry and Green/Livingston share that role. Isaiah and Dumars shared that role. Parker and Ginobili share that role. What Russell has to do is figure out what to do when he's not the primary ball handler which means working on play off-ball. He will have to decide if he's just going be the type to spot up or actually learn the nuances of playing off-ball like Klay. He doesn't have the luxury to really learn how to do that because he's already the best ball handler. Pairing him with Clarkson doesn't work because Clarkson is a drive and dish type while also not being all that great off-ball either.

The dream scenario is to draft Fultz which will give the team 2 ball handlers at the guard positions while coaching them up to play off ball. I'd like to see a Ginobili/Parker type of dynamic between the 2 guards that I don't see happening with Ball. I don't see Ball's 3 point shot being that reliable and really as a guy who can only shoot off the dribble or when spotting up. They key to all this is to have an offense with good motion which I see a higher ceiling with Fultz. Also, Fultz is likely the guy who will be able to draw more fouls too.

But hey, the Lakers just might not even have a chance to draft the guy. Ball just might be the consolation prize which isn't too bad. But that really makes the development of Ingram that much more important (not that it was never important). Ball will need guys to distribute to, and Russell can't be the only 3 point threat that Ball can pass to.

I haven't lost faith in Russell. I see him as a 22ppg/6ast/108 ORTG type which is a very good player. Count me as another who would like to see Randle shopped in the offseason.

[Landsberger]

Find a list of 20 year olds who miss games with no apparent injury and then get Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy for their knee.

No, it doesn't suggest that. That's not how medicine works. In medicine, there are treatments/procedures to treat conditions and treatments/procedures to treat the symptoms caused by a condition. There are numerous examples of vastly different conditions causing very similar symptoms, which can result in an overlap in treatment of those conditions, even if one has little to do with the other.

As someone who has had 5 surgeries on my knees and has investigated PRP for arthritic conditions I do know what conditions it's most effective on. Do you?

Symptoms are related to conditions unless its psychosomatic. It isn't like taking a NASID to stop pain and swelling. It's to heal conditions not to mask symptoms. In reality it's near the end of things you try when NASIDs are no longer working.


To the GM comment.... we see that differently. I hope a 20 win team coming off a 17 win season isn't looking at anyone on the roster as untouchable.