The LeBron James All-NBA (2nd) and Luka Doncic - 24-25 Thread

[Tracymcgoaty]

Can't change the past.

I do think you can take a gamble in Lonzo now who, if healthy, is a player in the mold of White/Jrue. Or he's unplayable because of injury. That's the gamble but you can take it it for a low price before the deadline.

What would we give up for zo?

I think Rui because he fits a need on Bulls and they have a $17.5m tpe from DeMar to take him in.

The rest could be Vincent for Craig or THT swap. Maybe add SRPs

I'd do Rui,gabe for Craig and Zo. We aren't losing any valuable pieces and i'd take a chance on Zo. Would be great to have him play with LA again.

Doubt that will happen though. Interesting to note was listening to recent lakers nation pod and Trevor Lane shared a recent interview of Lebron hinting at changes coming. Could interpret the video in many ways though. Could either be he means Vando and Wood coming back or that trades are coming. Funny enough he said that the teams identity is defensive yet i've not seen him defend

But it does feel like he's pacing himself on both ends.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Pelinka built a play-in dynasty.

LAL missed their window to do something special. They had easily the best duo in the league (and wouldve been on the short list for best duo of all time if Lebron were a little younger) but untimely injuries and the worst transaction in franchise history ended the possibility.

As much Pelinka is to blame for that trade if AD and Lebron just decided to shut the **** up and let the GM be the GM who knows that trade might never have happened.

Because that trade was 100% influenced by Lebron and AD wanting another ballhandler to take pressure of off Lebron. So all three of them each get a chunk of the blame.

All that told me though is that Pelinka is an idiot. I understand players being idiots in how to construct a roster because they think it's 2K but how can a GM not see the fit not working? Either he knew and didn't have the balls to tell them to back off or he's just as stupid.

Either way it's an indictment on Pelinka.

I still want to sock someone in the mouth for that Westbrook trade because every fan let out a collective gasp the minute they read it was going down. To make matters worse Rondo became available on the last few days of free agency and still proved to fit better than Westbrook when he was signed. Just a little patience and direction would have saved the timeline. Instead Rondo ended up being moved to the Cavs because there was no way to have two non-shooting PGs feature heavy in the rotation and Caruso was allowed to walk for the same reason. A third of the title winning team was traded for him, the other third was let go trying to make it work and the rest was moved getting rid of him.

Everyone crapped the bed. Front office hasn't exactly been much innocent either because all the signings since then have fallen out of the league. Same will go for Hayes, Wood and Gabe. Player options for what? Who were you bidding against? Ownership? This season anyone with common sense could have told you having four injury prone guys in the frontcourt was dangerous. Some of these guys were injured 6 months ago and are still injured now. Of course you can't forget a lot of this happened because only wanting to commit 2 year deals to roleplayers in free agency guarantees the team is only in the market for scrubs.

FO is the biggest culprit in this mess. I would say go for Myers but Jeane never would. She got all her friends running the show the team wont repair itself til she sells it. Myers would be great for us.

[zimpy27]

What would we give up for zo?

I think Rui because he fits a need on Bulls and they have a $17.5m tpe from DeMar to take him in.

The rest could be Vincent for Craig or THT swap. Maybe add SRPs

I'd do Rui,gabe for Craig and Zo. We aren't losing any valuable pieces and i'd take a chance on Zo. Would be great to have him play with LA again.

Doubt that will happen though. Interesting to note was listening to recent lakers nation pod and Trevor Lane shared a recent interview of Lebron hinting at changes coming. Could interpret the video in many ways though. Could either be he means Vando and Wood coming back or that trades are coming. Funny enough he said that the teams identity is defensive yet i've not seen him defend

But it does feel like he's pacing himself on both ends.

Yeah he's definitely pacing. LeBron is a master of pacing himself to be best in the playoffs. A number of people have talked about this concept on player podcasts.
It's similar in all sports, you have troughs and peaks even if you train consistently, athletes often try to time themselves to be at peak just at competition.

There's a mental and physical toll to NBA games where you apparently get tired of competing. Durant thinks the most impressive thing about LeBron is getting himself mentally motivated to try another season. I'm pretty sure CP3 joined Spurs because it was motivating to lead a young team and Wemby, a new challenge.

You have to imagine it would get boring to compete after a while, the fact that someone wins and you restart kind of makes it seem pointless in a way.

I think LeBron is especially chill because of the Olympics.

[PistolPeteJR]

Bye bye Nick Richards

[nzahir]

Bye bye Nick Richards

That’s fine

Wasn’t going to move the needle

Kessler or RW3 for defensive

Vuc if we’re swinging for offensive

[PistolPeteJR]

Bye bye Nick Richards

That’s fine

Wasn’t going to move the needle

Kessler or RW3 for defensive

Vuc if we’re swinging for offensive

I don’t want RW3. He’s too much of a liability injury-wise.

Ainge isn’t moving Kessler unless he’s getting two 1sts minimum.

Vucevic is interesting-ish.

[Jurassic_Park]

Lakers in the play in again? Horrible stretch last few games.

[tone wone]

Mami went zone and LAL couldn't score.

Another terrible shift from the Lebron+bench lineups. "GOAT n SCRUBS" have been bad all year

[Tracymcgoaty]

Lakers in the play in again? Horrible stretch last few games.

Nah i hope Spurs or soeone gets to be in the play in. Wouldn't want to see this team in another play in. Insufferable to watch. Spurs are fun.

[IG2]

Mami went zone and LAL couldn't score.

Heat insisted on the zone too long though. LA figured it out eventually.

[Tracymcgoaty]

GG from Lebron and AD.

Really from everyone in the second half.

Both Lebron and AR with high assist low TO games.

Only explanation i have for Lebron kinda chilling on FG's is he's stockpiling it all against the Clippers lol.

[IG2]

Only explanation i have for Lebron kinda chilling on FG's is he's stockpiling it all against the Clippers lol.

He's old lol

This is really the first season in his career where you can tell he's just not that guy anymore barring the occasional night. You knew it would happen eventually but still hard to watch.

[zimpy27]

Lakers in the play in again? Horrible stretch last few games.

Lakers a couple losses clear of the play in.

They should be able to win 3 of the next 3 games.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Only explanation i have for Lebron kinda chilling on FG's is he's stockpiling it all against the Clippers lol.

He's old lol

This is really the first season in his career where you can tell he's just not that guy anymore barring the occasional night. You knew it would happen eventually but still hard to watch.

Hmmm.You are right he's not that guy anymore but i thin previous to this game he had taken only 25 fga in the last 3 games. That if anything indicates him being very passive.

I've criticized Lebron plenty and im the first one to say he's not that guy anymore but his aggressiveness on offense has looked like he's been pacing a lot.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Lakers in the play in again? Horrible stretch last few games.

Lakers a couple losses clear of the play in.

They should be able to win 3 of the next 3 games.

Doubt we win against the clippers. If Lebron and AD lock in then we probably have a decent chance.

[trickshot]

Bye bye Nick Richards

That’s fine

Wasn’t going to move the needle

Kessler or RW3 for defensive

Vuc if we’re swinging for offensive

Agree buuuut that's how it usually starts. "Nah they passed because there's a big acquisition masterplan". Trade deadline closes.

[zimpy27]

Bye bye Nick Richards

That’s fine

Wasn’t going to move the needle

Kessler or RW3 for defensive

Vuc if we’re swinging for offensive

Agree buuuut that's how it usually starts. "Nah they passed because there's a big acquisition masterplan". Trade deadline closes.

Well I think Lakers want to see Vando back and to see if Rui can make more of an impact

[trickshot]

That’s fine

Wasn’t going to move the needle

Kessler or RW3 for defensive

Vuc if we’re swinging for offensive

Agree buuuut that's how it usually starts. "Nah they passed because there's a big acquisition masterplan". Trade deadline closes.

Well I think Lakers want to see Vando back and to see if Rui can make more of an impact

Vando is maybe my fav laker, I get the logic, actual perimeter anchor but you can't just wait for a roleplayer like he cant just come back and get injured the next week. He's a guy whose playstyle guarantees he will continue to have foot problems. No one takes more steps on the court. He probably needs to play less minutes to have a chance to stay healthy. Plus waiting for role guys to be a final jigsaw never pans out for any team. Plus you need more defensive guys to balance out a roster with these many one way shotmakers.

I know Ainge is delusional but if the goal is to keep Knecht which I think they should, JHS a pick and relaxing the restrictions on the 27 pick is fair. Kessler and Rui is a solid base of redeemable expiring assets you can flip if you want to blow it up later. One of those picks will repay itself.

[zimpy27]

Agree buuuut that's how it usually starts. "Nah they passed because there's a big acquisition masterplan". Trade deadline closes.

Well I think Lakers want to see Vando back and to see if Rui can make more of an impact

Vando is maybe my fav laker, I get the logic, actual perimeter anchor but you can't just wait for a roleplayer like he cant just come back and get injured the next week. He's a guy whose playstyle guarantees he will continue to have foot problems. No one takes more steps on the court. He probably needs to play less minutes to have a chance to stay healthy. Plus waiting for role guys to be a final jigsaw never pans out for any team. Plus you need more defensive guys to balance out a roster with these many one way shotmakers.

I know Ainge is delusional but if the goal is to keep Knecht which I think they should, JHS a pick and relaxing the restrictions on the 27 pick is fair. Kessler and Rui is a solid base of redeemable expiring assets you can flip if you want to blow it up later. One of those picks will repay itself.

If Lakers can get Kessler for Knecht + unprotecting the 27 FRP then they have to do that.

I just don't think Ainge would want that and I don't think Lakers delay their chance to blow the team up by 2 seasons just to get Kessler. The 2029 FRP isn't happening unless it's top 10 protected.

Knecht is shooting 49% TS over the last 20 games. He's not looking reliable yet, needs another season or 2 to show what he has. As a shooter/scorer these players need to me be consistent to make it in the NBA. He needs another skill too.

[trickshot]

Well I think Lakers want to see Vando back and to see if Rui can make more of an impact

Vando is maybe my fav laker, I get the logic, actual perimeter anchor but you can't just wait for a roleplayer like he cant just come back and get injured the next week. He's a guy whose playstyle guarantees he will continue to have foot problems. No one takes more steps on the court. He probably needs to play less minutes to have a chance to stay healthy. Plus waiting for role guys to be a final jigsaw never pans out for any team. Plus you need more defensive guys to balance out a roster with these many one way shotmakers.

I know Ainge is delusional but if the goal is to keep Knecht which I think they should, JHS a pick and relaxing the restrictions on the 27 pick is fair. Kessler and Rui is a solid base of redeemable expiring assets you can flip if you want to blow it up later. One of those picks will repay itself.

If Lakers can get Kessler for Knecht + unprotecting the 27 FRP then they have to do that.

I just don't think Ainge would want that and I don't think Lakers delay their chance to blow the team up by 2 seasons just to get Kessler. The 2029 FRP isn't happening unless it's top 10 protected.

Knecht is shooting 49% TS over the last 20 games. He's not looking reliable yet, needs another season or 2 to show what he has. As a shooter/scorer these players need to me be consistent to make it in the NBA. He needs another skill too.

Surrendering the best rookie before you have a chance to gauge his ceiling PLUS giving up a pick is not worth Kessler. He alone is a first rounder. His rookie deal also means this is the worst time to trade him. He's basically only enough to be traded as a sweetner when he should be worth so much more. If I was trading him I'd at least first give him minutes, shots and wait for his second contract to puff up his value.