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All the complainers that thought the Lakers FO was a mess is now faced with a much stronger coaching staff since Phil Jackson days. Those that worried about Pelinka, Rambises are now faced with 2 top 5 players in the NBA in Bron and AD. Those that whined about the vision of the FO are faced with a clean plate and room for 1 Max (near max) guy and potential to create the scariest team.

How about some crow munching here?

Thank you LeBron and rich paul

I’ve let my judgment on Pelinka wait, as I’ve stated before. Was completely against Magic in the FO from day one, but he brought LBJ. Was completely against LeBron after his previous trade attempt, and never a fan in the first place, but he brought us AD, and should be a cooler team mate now because of both of those things.

Thanks, Magic and LBJ.

But still, we have nothing resembling a complete roster yet. LeBron can’t play 42 min per game x 82. He’ll get injured. Same with AD. It’s too soon for anyone to eat any crow.

But if Pelinka sings and trades the 4th pick (30 day hold) like Pincus suggests, which won’t count against our cap, we have $32.5M to offer Kawhi, then I’ll start getting ready to celebrate.

It’s a huge gamble.

Never doubt the king

He wants to be the first to win finals mvp with three different teams

They recovered and sealed the deal they were supposed to close at the deadline... They got massively lucky with the 4th pick... That doesn't happen, I doubt this deal goes through...

They kept a guy in Kuzma because he kissed the Owners ass (perhaps literally?)...

They have a lot to do to recover their respectability IMO...

But granted... Things look a lot better today than they did a week ago.

Kilroy wrote:They recovered and sealed the deal they were supposed to close at the deadline... They got massively lucky with the 4th pick... That doesn't happen, I doubt this deal goes through...

They kept a guy in Kuzma because he kissed the Owners ass (perhaps literally?)...

They have a lot to do to recover their respectability IMO...

But granted... Things look a lot better today than they did a week ago.

No longer having Magic probably helps....

Kilroy wrote:They recovered and sealed the deal they were supposed to close at the deadline... They got massively lucky with the 4th pick... That doesn't happen, I doubt this deal goes through...

They kept a guy in Kuzma because he kissed the Owners ass (perhaps literally?)...

They have a lot to do to recover their respectability IMO...

But granted... Things look a lot better today than they did a week ago.

Yup... pretty much.

We have gotten crazy lucky with picks over the years. Magic, Worthy and this one come to mind. Any of those go against us and where are we? 2 coin flips and jumping 6 slots this year.... living right I guess....

Unless Anthony Davis signs an extension, this can completely go south and set us back a decade (really, considering the multiple 1sts).

Lebron can hurt himself (again), or AD, or our team can be too thin, Vogel may be undermined, etc.

And you still need to build a team to win a championship. There’s still so much work to do - Golden State and Toronto really showed how guard play, 3-point shooting, and depth were keys to winning.

And even with AD and Lebron, we have none of those weapons.

So far so good.
Let’s see if they get a 3rd star, what they do with the rest of the cap space and rounding out the team.

I'm still not sold on the front office moving forward, but their job got a lot easier by doing the trade right now. Instead of "the Lakers FO is in disarray, why would anyone go there" it will be "they have LeBron and AD, who wants to compete for a title in LA?" They just need to stay out of the way during free agency now and let Bron/Brow do the wining and dining.

milesfides wrote:Unless Anthony Davis signs an extension, this can completely go south and set us back a decade (really, considering the multiple 1sts).

Lebron can hurt himself (again), or AD, or our team can be too thin, Vogel may be undermined, etc.

And you still need to build a team to win a championship. There’s still so much work to do - Golden State and Toronto really showed how guard play, 3-point shooting, and depth were keys to winning.

And even with AD and Lebron, we have none of those weapons.

one step at a time

Let’s hope for a healthy season. Limit LeBron’s minutes, get some good role players and gel as a team.

As far as crow, I’ve never had. I ate pigeon once in Italy and it wasn’t bad. Maybe slow cooked with a wine sauce reduction and we are in business.

Davis isn't going to sign an extension.

Even if he did, after the 15% kicker, at which he'd be on 31.2 mil for the season. An 8% raise (2.5 mil raise to 33.7 mil) from an extension falls short of the 34.8 mil starting salary he'd be due to get come July 1st 2020.

milesfides wrote:Unless Anthony Davis signs an extension, this can completely go south and set us back a decade (really, considering the multiple 1sts).

Lebron can hurt himself (again), or AD, or our team can be too thin, Vogel may be undermined, etc.

And you still need to build a team to win a championship. There’s still so much work to do - Golden State and Toronto really showed how guard play, 3-point shooting, and depth were keys to winning.

And even with AD and Lebron, we have none of those weapons.

This is my concern too. At this point AD is still a rental. If AD signs a long term deal next season then good. If not then we would probably miss the off season for 5 - 10 years once AD leaves.

Let's see if the FO could sign another max FA. If they could land Kawhi then we may not just eat crow. We could even probably eat all the animals in the jungle.

If there is no max FA coming then it will be interesting on how the FO will construct the team with the proper pieces needed. Depth will be important. LBJ and AD alone won't be enough to win it all. LBJ is declining and if LBJ and AD got hurt then we are in a big trouble.

IMHO Keeping Kuzma was a win... the Lakers refused to include him as part of the package was on par with how high the Pels valued him... he was valued above BI and Lonzo for the exact same reason the Lakers wanted to keep him... Let’s not forget that this dude, since day one, wanted to be great and not just happy to be playing in the NBA... he’s a gym rat and is driven to be among the best... just ask the Black Mamba... you just don’t pushed the best player in the game to play defense if there’s a lack of confidence in yourself... Kuzma has the it factor and the game to back it up...

EggIsCooling wrote:IMHO Keeping Kuzma was a win... the Lakers refused to include him as part of the package was on par with how high the Pels valued him... he was valued above BI and Lonzo for the exact same reason the Lakers wanted to keep him... Let’s not forget that this dude, since day one, wanted to be great and not just happy to be playing in the NBA... he’s a gym rat and is driven to be among the best... just ask the Black Mamba... you just don’t pushed the best player in the game to play defense if there’s a lack of confidence in yourself... Kuzma has the it factor and the game to back it up...

Agree times 5. This is why I consider it a win. This is why I'm happy with the FO today.

dAdo dA dEvil wrote:If there is no max FA coming then it will be interesting on how the FO will construct the team with the proper pieces needed. Depth will be important. LBJ and AD alone won't be enough to win it all.

I don't know. I take Lebron and AD over CP3 and Harden. I take them over Steph and Dramond (Next years warriors). I take them over Kawhi and Lowry. Also....let's not forget this will be Kuz's 3rd season. Let's all hope he takes yet another step. He might be a pretty major contributor. I don't see why not.

If the Lakers do squat-all....then yeah...we're prob in trouble. But we don't necessarily need a 3rd super star (would be great - don't get me wrong) to contend. If we use that 30 mil and get a couple nice pieces...get a couple vets willing to come on the low, for a shot at a ring, we could totally do this this year.

I understand that Lebron is on the backside of his career. But 28-8-8 last year is not a major dip. Between LBJ and AD...this team does not need much else to be in the conversation. And I hope Kuz take yet another step...something that's hardly 'pie in the sky'

danfantastk32 wrote:

dAdo dA dEvil wrote:If there is no max FA coming then it will be interesting on how the FO will construct the team with the proper pieces needed. Depth will be important. LBJ and AD alone won't be enough to win it all.

I don't know. I take Lebron and AD over CP3 and Harden. I take them over Steph and Dramond (Next years warriors). I take them over Kawhi and Lowry. Also....let's not forget this will be Kuz's 3rd season. Let's all hope he takes yet another step. He might be a pretty major contributor. I don't see why not.

If the Lakers do squat-all....then yeah...we're prob in trouble. But we don't necessarily need a 3rd super star (would be great - don't get me wrong) to contend. If we use that 30 mil and get a couple nice pieces...get a couple vets willing to come on the low, for a shot at a ring, we could totally do this this year.

I understand that Lebron is on the backside of his career. But 28-8-8 last year is not a major dip. Between LBJ and AD...this team does not need much else to be in the conversation. And I hope Kuz take yet another step...something that's hardly 'pie in the sky'

I'm more concerned about injuries. Both of them got hurt last season. AD almost always have injury issues every season. Once one of them go down I don't know what will happen to us. But I'll reserve this worry for now until I see who are the players we sign this coming free agency.

Assuming Kuzma will have developed just s little tiny bit over the summer, he’s our third star, knows how to play off the ball. With two superstars on the team, I predict Kuz will be part of our current big three. Kawhi or other FA superstar would change that dynamic, and we’d have our big four.

I expect Kuz to break out. Same with Caruso. Both are cold blooded snipers if they get open looks, which they will. Both cut well and can attack the rim.

still disappointed in the lack of attention to details
should have locked down the extended deadline part of this trade.