Guards to go along with Kobe if Smart is taken?

[aaron_gray]

First off, let me just say that I really don't see any team with the need for a guard like Marcus Smart. However, in the case that he is taken, who do you think would be the best fit along side Kobe and potentially K Love?

Here's my list

Reggie Jackson

I feel like he really showcased his 3 point shot this series. We already knew he has the potential to be an under control form of Russ, but these spot up 3s takes his skill set to a new level in terms of potentially fitting with Kobe. Not too sure how we'd get him though.

Mario Chalmers

We know he can shoot 3s and play defense. He's actually a great steals option on fantasy. I think he's done a lot more stuff off handoffs and pick and rolls this season.

Kyle Lowry

I highly doubt he's going to leave the Raptors, but whatever.

Jodie Meeks

Is a great fit with Kobe. If you don't want to retain him, please explain why. For the teams that want to draft Garry Harris, just sign Jodie. Ya'll can then spend your pick on a big man.

Jeremy Lin?

[Kilroy]

Until otherwise notified, there's not a whole lot of need to worry about a 'complimentary guard' to Kobe...

We just need to find the best talent out there regardless of position and role with it. Kobe will have to figure out how he can compliment them if he wants to remain successful.

We no longer have the luxury of talent... We have the luxury of some money and flexibility.

So taking Kobe out of the equation, who's the best player on the list? I think that's probably Lowry...
But to me Lowry is a complimentary piece to an existing core, not a member of the core... So I think you wait to make that move until after you figure out who else you can get...

Lowry>Jackson>Lin>Meeks>Chalmers... But they're all close enough that you look at them all as options for later when you have your Number 1 and Number 2 guys at a minimum, set before you deal for those players.

[Tiesto_Lakers]

Mitch is smart so I expect him to draft the best player available. From there, you sign free agents based on the holes in the lineup. Gasol will most likely be called to re-sign for cheap, but I could see Pau signing with Memphis or New York because of the better fit (although he could have a better role next year with a different coach). All of these options are still up in the air at the moment.

If Lakers draft Smart, the best option forward would be reaching out to Deng. If he wants too much money, you pass. He isn't worth anything more than $9 million a year and even that's a stretch given his age. Monroe would be difficult to attain as Detroit has publicly stated they will match anything. Lowry is realistic but I wouldn't want Lowry, Smart and Nash creating a logjam at PG.

IMO, the best move for this team would be to draft Gordon or Vonleh and then reach out to Lowry and Deng. The problem with this, however, is that Gasol will be impossible to retain, because you have to waive his bird rights in order to create cap space for Deng + Lowry, leaving us a hole at C (which I don't think Hill can fill by himself). A realistic lineup for next season if we want Pau back:

G - Lowry/Nash
G - Bryant/Bazemore
F - W. Johnson/Swaggy
F - Vonleh or Gordon/Kelly
C - Gasol/Hill

If we don't want Pau back:

G - Lowry/Nash
G - Bryant/Bazemore
F - Deng/Swaggy
F - Vonleh or Gordon/Kelly
C - Hill?/MMLE?

If Larry Brown is the coach, he will do whatever it takes to re-sign Hill. He loves tough players who work hard.

[LApwnd]

IMO, the best move for this team would be to draft Gordon or Vonleh and then reach out to Lowry and Deng. The problem with this, however, is that Gasol will be impossible to retain, because you have to waive his bird rights in order to create cap space for Deng + Lowry, leaving us a hole at C (which I don't think Hill can fill by himself). A realistic lineup for next season if we want Pau back:

If Larry Brown is the coach, he will do whatever it takes to re-sign Hill. He loves tough players who work hard.

I dont think its impossible to bring Pau back, you just have to get him signed 1st at a relatively big discount, it will take out one of the FA you target but if we're lucky Nash either retires or we trade him for a little longer contract player that will fill a need thus signing only 1 big FA and retaining Pau will work. As for Brown, please dont sign that.....his system doesn't work in todays NBA anymore that is why there was so much turmoil during his last stint with Cha, I know they fire coaches quickly but I think he rubs players the wrong way too.

[Tiesto_Lakers]

I dont think its impossible to bring Pau back, you just have to get him signed 1st at a relatively big discount, it will take out one of the FA you target but if we're lucky Nash either retires or we trade him for a little longer contract player that will fill a need thus signing only 1 big FA and retaining Pau will work. As for Brown, please dont sign that.....his system doesn't work in todays NBA anymore that is why there was so much turmoil during his last stint with Cha, I know they fire coaches quickly but I think he rubs players the wrong way too.

Yeah, I meant it'd be impossible to sign 2 FAs + Pau unless one of the three takes a major paycut. Releasing Nash via the stretch provision would give us an extra $6 million to spend this summer (if I'm correct), so I'd definitely be on board with that. Releasing Nash could allow us to re-sign Pau and possibly sign Lowry+Deng.

[Michael Lucky]

I don't even know why we'd be looking for players to complement Kobe. The guy is old, injury prone at his age, and soon to be retired.

[jrhjus]

If Smart is taken than I think the best plan would be to trade back to either the 9th or 14th picks and take Tyler Ennis. He's a pass first guard who could learn from Nash this season while also distributing for Kobe and Love. Taking him would also mean saving cap space with his rookie deal and picking up an extra pick in the trade.

[Fresh360Waves]

First off, let me just say that I really don't see any team with the need for a guard like Marcus Smart. However, in the case that he is taken, who do you think would be the best fit along side Kobe and potentially K Love?

Here's my list

Reggie Jackson

I feel like he really showcased his 3 point shot this series. We already knew he has the potential to be an under control form of Russ, but these spot up 3s takes his skill set to a new level in terms of potentially fitting with Kobe. Not too sure how we'd get him though.

Mario Chalmers

We know he can shoot 3s and play defense. He's actually a great steals option on fantasy. I think he's done a lot more stuff off handoffs and pick and rolls this season.

Kyle Lowry

I highly doubt he's going to leave the Raptors, but whatever.

Jodie Meeks

Is a great fit with Kobe. If you don't want to retain him, please explain why. For the teams that want to draft Garry Harris, just sign Jodie. Ya'll can then spend your pick on a big man.

Jeremy Lin?

Reggie Jackson: Will be a RFA next summer, but I don't see him leaving OKC. Maybe OKC will start Jackson/Westbrook together in the backcourt next season? I'd consider it if I were them.

Mario Chalmers: Not your traditional PG and I don't think he'd be a good fit w/ the Lakers anyways. Chalmers just has been lucky so far in his career to have played with two stars/future HOF's in Wade and LeBron that can handle the ball which took the pressure off Chalmers.

Kyle Lowry: Good PG but not sure what the fascination is w/ him. Yes I know he had a great season this yr, but he wasn't all that outstanding before this season from what I could remember. Also, is his price tag worth it?

Jodie Meeks: Played very well w/ the Lakers and took advantage of the situation that was going on this season, but only way Jodie stays here is if he takes 2-3 mil per year and I don't know if he wants to do that. He is probably looking for a bit more than that.

Jeremy Lin: ...Let's not even go there haha

At the end of the day, I think the Lakers have a few options: take Marcus Smart w/ the #7 pick, explore trading the #7 pick for MCW, or be patient and have Farmar as the stop-gap starting PG until better PG's are available to choose from in 2015 & '16.

[TylersLakers]

Jodie has a reasonable cap hold, so I could imagine us keeping his rights until all our cap space is used up and then signing him back.

[Mirjalovic]

First off, let me just say that I really don't see any team with the need for a guard like Marcus Smart. However, in the case that he is taken, who do you think would be the best fit along side Kobe and potentially K Love?

Here's my list

Reggie Jackson

I feel like he really showcased his 3 point shot this series. We already knew he has the potential to be an under control form of Russ, but these spot up 3s takes his skill set to a new level in terms of potentially fitting with Kobe. Not too sure how we'd get him though.

Mario Chalmers

We know he can shoot 3s and play defense. He's actually a great steals option on fantasy. I think he's done a lot more stuff off handoffs and pick and rolls this season.

Kyle Lowry

I highly doubt he's going to leave the Raptors, but whatever.

Jodie Meeks

Is a great fit with Kobe. If you don't want to retain him, please explain why. For the teams that want to draft Garry Harris, just sign Jodie. Ya'll can then spend your pick on a big man.

Jeremy Lin?

Reggie Jackson: Will be a RFA next summer, but I don't see him leaving OKC. Maybe OKC will start Jackson/Westbrook together in the backcourt next season? I'd consider it if I were them.

Mario Chalmers: Not your traditional PG and I don't think he'd be a good fit w/ the Lakers anyways. Chalmers just has been lucky so far in his career to have played with two stars/future HOF's in Wade and LeBron that can handle the ball which took the pressure off Chalmers.

Kyle Lowry: Good PG but not sure what the fascination is w/ him. Yes I know he had a great season this yr, but he wasn't all that outstanding before this season from what I could remember. Also, is his price tag worth it?

Jodie Meeks: Played very well w/ the Lakers and took advantage of the situation that was going on this season, but only way Jodie stays here is if he takes 2-3 mil per year and I don't know if he wants to do that. He is probably looking for a bit more than that.

Jeremy Lin: ...Let's not even go there haha

At the end of the day, I think the Lakers have a few options: take Marcus Smart w/ the #7 pick, explore trading the #7 pick for MCW, or be patient and have Farmar as the stop-gap starting PG until better PG's are available to choose from in 2015 & '16.

Meh i prefer Jordan Farmar to run the offense than Chalmers or Reggie Jackson

[Ckay]

Farmar can run an offense?

most of the time all he do is dribble dribble then pass

I'll take Jackson over Farmer

[Big_Cat]

First off, let me just say that I really don't see any team with the need for a guard like Marcus Smart. However, in the case that he is taken, who do you think would be the best fit along side Kobe and potentially K Love?

Here's my list

Reggie Jackson

I feel like he really showcased his 3 point shot this series. We already knew he has the potential to be an under control form of Russ, but these spot up 3s takes his skill set to a new level in terms of potentially fitting with Kobe. Not too sure how we'd get him though.

Mario Chalmers

We know he can shoot 3s and play defense. He's actually a great steals option on fantasy. I think he's done a lot more stuff off handoffs and pick and rolls this season.

Kyle Lowry

I highly doubt he's going to leave the Raptors, but whatever.

Jodie Meeks

Is a great fit with Kobe. If you don't want to retain him, please explain why. For the teams that want to draft Garry Harris, just sign Jodie. Ya'll can then spend your pick on a big man.

Jeremy Lin?

It all depends on price. Lowry, Lin, Jackson, and Chalmers are all capable of starting next to Kobe, if their contract is low enough. None of them are good enough to actively target and overspend on (although Lowry is quite ahead of the others).

What I'd spend vs What I'd expect they will be offered in their next contract
Lowry - <$8.5 million - $10 million
Jackson - <$5.0 million - $4-6 million
Lin - $2-3 million - $4-6 million
Chalmers $3-5 million - $3-6 million

[Levity]

it's being reported today that the celtics and ainge are really high on gordon. so if that rings true, it looks like smart can potentially be a laker, unless rumors about magic drafting him over exum are true. but if they arent, theres the possibility utah goes after smart (or exum if not picked up by magic) but hope is out there.

[Jajwanda]

It's possible that L.A. is pursuing multiple guys in this draft. They've invited a huge number of mid-lotto and late-lotto players. If you connect the dots it almost looks like they're going to be picking 7 and around 16.

[supaflash]

Where is this Jackson talk coming from? He's under contract. I like him and all, but he's likely to be in the exact same position Bledsoe is right now if he has another improved year. And this time around I doubt OKC lets a guy like that go. At least if you are gonna throw names out, throw out ones that are actually available...

As far ass guards out there, there are a handful of mildly interesting guys, but really nothing that's a ton better then what we have besides that small top tier - Bledsoe/Lowry/Stephenson

All three of those guys are going to take a decent chunk of cap to attain, if we even can. Bledsoe is the only one of the three I'd actually pay for.

Other then that its Meeks, Swaggy, Farmar, Baze, X, Patty Mills and maybe like Stucky, Ben Gordon, Blake... They are all on the same level and I'd rather just keep the nice young athletes we have. I still think Swaggy can be a really nice piece going forward. I think you have to consider the 3 man in this discussion as well because I think a lot of that will have to do with what position Kobe ends up playing. If we can get a quality 3 man then Kobe stays at 2 and we try and boslter the point. If we pick up a quality small like Bledsoe/Lowry then maybe Kobe moves to 3 and you try and keep two of Meeks/Swaggy/Baze at the 2.

I think our main concern still needs to be the front court.

[Danny Darko]

Guards to go along with Kobe?

[Fresh360Waves]

First off, let me just say that I really don't see any team with the need for a guard like Marcus Smart. However, in the case that he is taken, who do you think would be the best fit along side Kobe and potentially K Love?

Here's my list

Reggie Jackson

I feel like he really showcased his 3 point shot this series. We already knew he has the potential to be an under control form of Russ, but these spot up 3s takes his skill set to a new level in terms of potentially fitting with Kobe. Not too sure how we'd get him though.

Mario Chalmers

We know he can shoot 3s and play defense. He's actually a great steals option on fantasy. I think he's done a lot more stuff off handoffs and pick and rolls this season.

Kyle Lowry

I highly doubt he's going to leave the Raptors, but whatever.

Jodie Meeks

Is a great fit with Kobe. If you don't want to retain him, please explain why. For the teams that want to draft Garry Harris, just sign Jodie. Ya'll can then spend your pick on a big man.

Jeremy Lin?

Reggie Jackson: Will be a RFA next summer, but I don't see him leaving OKC. Maybe OKC will start Jackson/Westbrook together in the backcourt next season? I'd consider it if I were them.

Mario Chalmers: Not your traditional PG and I don't think he'd be a good fit w/ the Lakers anyways. Chalmers just has been lucky so far in his career to have played with two stars/future HOF's in Wade and LeBron that can handle the ball which took the pressure off Chalmers.

Kyle Lowry: Good PG but not sure what the fascination is w/ him. Yes I know he had a great season this yr, but he wasn't all that outstanding before this season from what I could remember. Also, is his price tag worth it?

Jodie Meeks: Played very well w/ the Lakers and took advantage of the situation that was going on this season, but only way Jodie stays here is if he takes 2-3 mil per year and I don't know if he wants to do that. He is probably looking for a bit more than that.

Jeremy Lin: ...Let's not even go there haha

At the end of the day, I think the Lakers have a few options: take Marcus Smart w/ the #7 pick, explore trading the #7 pick for MCW, or be patient and have Farmar as the stop-gap starting PG until better PG's are available to choose from in 2015 & '16.

Meh i prefer Jordan Farmar to run the offense than Chalmers or Reggie Jackson

Farmar is kinda underrated. Sure he's not as talented as many PG's, but he's pretty good.

[One Love]

Smart or Vonleh at #7 is a solid pick... I really hope it's Smart but I have a funny feeling that Mitch has something up his sleeve... I hope it's Exum, who declined a workout for the Bucks...

[Jajwanda]

I'm more concerned about who ends up being the SF next to Kobe. If you can get a large SF that's an ace on defense like Loul Deng you can give Kobe a post-up advantage at SG since they can't cross-match on D. That would be huge for the team and Kobe's effectiveness. At PG I'd love to go with a big combo guard that can really play some great defense. Smart would be perfect in that way. It'd be a poor man's version of the 96 Bulls back court and Pippen. That's the best way to make Kobe effective and for that matter the Laker team effective next year.

[Mirjalovic]

I'm more concerned about who ends up being the SF next to Kobe. If you can get a large SF that's an ace on defense like Loul Deng you can give Kobe a post-up advantage at SG since they can't cross-match on D. That would be huge for the team and Kobe's effectiveness. At PG I'd love to go with a big combo guard that can really play some great defense. Smart would be perfect in that way. It'd be a poor man's version of the 96 Bulls back court and Pippen. That's the best way to make Kobe effective and for that matter the Laker team effective next year.

get Turner and Thabo.

Turner could be a ballhandler and scorer off the bench, and Thabo as our 3 and D guy.

buy low.