How long are we gonna suck?

[mcscotty]

I know this is a toughy, but such is sports analytics. I see no easy way out of this current pickle we're in. This is uncharted territory for the storied Lakers franchise and I can see us as cellar dwellers for quite some time. What's the timeline? What's the best course of action? Are we in for a serious drought of Knicks proportions? Will we bounce back to glory relatively quickly, as the Lakers always have?

[rayofsunshine]

til the mamba leaves.

[mcscotty]

One thing I'm certain of is that Jimmy will need a miracle of biblical proportions to keep his job.

[eckoner]

I feel and agree with many that the Lakers can no longer think just because it's Los Angeles players are gonna want to be here. Those days are long gone, however it is still Los Angeles so we just have to luck up with a big time FA and we will be ok.

[PKABOOICU]

i think once kobe retires and the FO can get a team of coaches that have a plan of attack and an identity they can instill in our 3 young core players, the lakers could be ok.

[RicotheBrain24]

Once KB retires and gives back cap space, it'll put us in the running to have a decent team, even as early as next year depending on how free agency goes. We can pick up some really good pieces, such as Batum, Whiteside or even swing for the fences with Durant. Not saying KB can't come back for another year, but it would have to be for a huge pay cut and probably a bench spot. As the season goes on, it is important that all the rookies/2nd years, keep working on their respective games so that during the summer they can develop more skills.
Randle NEEDS a jump shot, teams are starting to just give him space and he tries to force the drive. If he can constantly hit 15-18ft shot this will open up lanes and give him room to get to the rim.
Russell needs to focus on getting to the rim, I do think he will be more explosive after an offseason with trainers and he'll fill into his body more. He's going to be a very good player for the Lakers, he just needs time to get used to NBA level competition.
Clarkson just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He's shown that he needs to keep working on his PnR game because it is very effective. He listened to the coaches during the offseason and hopefully he continues to progress, would hate to see this be his ceiling.
All three need to work on there defense. Clarkson gets blown by guys to easily and he has the body/athleticism to be a solid defender. Russell is going to have a hard time in the league with so many good PG, i'd like to see him be able to keep up with them and slow them down as much as he can.

[dockingsched]

Best case scenario I think is they suck for at least a couple more years. After that a lot is going to depend on the upcoming lottery. Lakers are going to have a pretty decent shot at keeping their pick cause its looks like they'll most certainly be one of the 5 worst teams in the league. If they can add another core piece and with a couple yrs of development, they'll be one hell of an attractive cast for potential free agents.

[Wavy Q]

One thing I'm certain of is that Jimmy will need a miracle of biblical proportions to keep his job.

If you're talking about Jim Buss im not sure how he'd lose his job of Owner.

[Slava]

One thing I'm certain of is that Jimmy will need a miracle of biblical proportions to keep his job.

If you're talking about Jim Buss im not sure how he'd lose his job of Owner.

He can be an owner but he'll be removed from his position as President of Basketball Operations.

[FrozenIceCubes]

I'm predicting the team gets back to somewhat of relevance within 200 years.

[MelosSoreWrist]

Lakers is bottom 3 team this year. Win the lottery. Pick Ben Simmons. Clarkson, Russell, Randle, Simmons continue developing the following 2 years. Lakers sign 28 year old free agent DeMarcus Cousins. Boom.

[Edrees]

Yeah I agree with everyone here. When Kobe retires his salary will be replaced by 2 pretty good players, Byron will be replaced hopefully by an actual coach, and we won't suck like this. We will jump to average when that happens. Whether that's "not sucking" or not is up to your definition of sucking.

[Kangaroohop]

Ok I disagree with most of you who say " when Kobe leaves"..

A. Who says we sign a decent FA look how the past few offseasons have gone cmon now.
B. We could draft a bust

We're going to suck till our rooks develope more first of all unless we are able to chuck a super star into our line up next season I highly doubt we will have a huge change in our win loss colum next season.

Can I ask am I the only one who's not given up on Kobe this season?
I'm aware his shot selection is questionable his thinking he is kobe from 5 years ago.
I believe he needs to alter his game,
More post ups & play making.
I can't give up on a Lakers legend..
Fingers crossed it's just a matter of time now.

[Dr Aki]

when the byron stealth tank is done

[slifersd]

Everything about this team and its rebuild starts from the top. I tried to give Jimmy and his staff the benefit of the doubt when he first took over officially, and I must say I simply cannot do that any more. The decisions made by these guys have been nothing short of atrocious the last few seasons and have set this team back big time.

Every summer, we go on these wild goose chases for the biggest FA we can find. Even though the likelihood of them signing with us was marginal at best, non-existent at worst. I mean, honestly, why would Melo or LMA leave a better team who pays more money for us? 75 and sunny can't get us everyone. The key for our rebuild or at least return to relevance should have been on that second tier of free agents, like Isiah Thomas, Greg Monroe and Chandler Parsons. Those guys were young, talented and had some room to continue growing, and their teams weren't inclined to keep them at all cost. And yet, these are the exact players we ignore. We never even had a meeting for Isiah Thomas or Parsons, and gave a half ass offer to Greg Monroe.

My biggest fear is that this management is no longer making decisions based on basketball reasons (I know we all hate that word, but bear with me here). It just seems like we are never making any of our personnel decisions based on the primary objective of making the team better any more. Instead, we always make moves to grab headlines and try to generate interest in the team. Byron Scott got the job because of his Lakers connections, and that Magic would finally stop bad mouthing the Lakers management; Melo and LMA were both questionable fits on this team due to their position and age, but they would increase interest in the team and put asses in seats; D'Angelo Russell was the hot new kid on the block that everyone wants to see cause of his slick play making, so we picked him and his flash over Jahlil Okafor's steady but unspectacular game. All these moves have backfired on us already, and I bet you next summer we are still going to go after Durant instead of focusing on someone we can actually get. That TV contract with TMC has our revenue tied to ratings, and the management is now apparently going full force to help maintain ratings instead of building a solid basketball team. Until that is corrected, we are never going to get out of this mess no matter how many contracts come off the books.

[Spens1]

Probably 1 of 2 things

1. Kobe retires/leaves (its basically become about him and him only, not a bad thing if he was half as good as he used to be)
2. Jim Buss is removed from his position as head of basketball operations (please, get someone who actually has a clue about the game, i mean he has some good business sense it seems, just terrible with the basketball aspect, let Jeanie handle the b-ball side or someone outside the family)

[Beethoven]

Someone's or some entity's got to buy the Lakers. Like Disney did w the failing Star Wars franchise jump started it. Ok thanks bye see you after my temporary ban.

[mcscotty]

Someone's or some entity's got to buy the Lakers. Like Disney did w the failing Star Wars franchise jump started it. Ok thanks bye see you after my temporary ban.

At least they should start spending some dough. It's unacceptable that the wealthiest franchise in the league ranks 21st in payroll. Something tells me the Buss kids weren't left much besides their equity in the team, thus they're milking the cow. I hear rumours of much dissent in the family since Ballmer dropped two billy on the Clips. Let's hope greed gets the better of them.

[gts1]

At least they should start spending some dough. It's unacceptable that the wealthiest franchise in the league ranks 21st in payroll. Something tells me the Buss kids weren't left much besides their equity in the team, thus they're milking the cow. I hear rumours of much dissent in the family since Ballmer dropped two billy on the Clips. Let's hope greed gets the better of them.

In what ways are the Lakers being cheap? You want them to go out and overpay for players that aren't worth it or sign guys to long term contracts that aren't part of the long term goals of the team...

The CBA limits how much they can spend on the rookies and players on rookie contracts so not sure where you want them to spend the money.

In today's NBA it's hard to maneuver a team into being in position to go after the big contract players, why would you want them to go out and screw that up after it took them a few years to get into that position?

With the CBA as it is the Lakers are in a great spot going into next summer, loads of cap room and young talent for the future, not sure how anyone could find this a problem to be honest

[Jakay]

It's going to be a slow steady climb. Even one superstar isn't going to just magically turn the team around, because the supporting cast simply isn't developed enough yet. It's going to take a few years before the kids are truly the players they'll be, for better or for worse, and the veterans have pretty established ceilings already.

The thing that is glaringly obvious is the lack of dynamic play on this team. That has to change if they're ever going to be a winning team. Right now everything is predictable, and no one really ever does anything out of the ordinary. For a team with so many youngsters, they don't push the ball, play uptempo, or defend beyond their own three point line. There's no threat to other teams of ever suddenly finding the Lakers putting up a quick 8-10 points.

I don't want to just blame Scott here either, it's a bit of team culture at this point, and that has to be changed, and that doesn't happen quickly. I'm hoping by the AS break we'll see some worthwhile play, but right now, they barely look like a team.

Still, no major injuries yet, that was a big part of how they got to this point in the first place.