Is it time to trade AD?

[danfantastk32]

Opportunity missed. Too late now.

Just like several fans around here....you mighta had a GM or two gettin some thoughts about what AD could do.
But now its done. We aren't gonna get squat for him. Would any of you trade good stuff for him now??

I can't believe I'm saying this...and it really bumms be out.....but it's time for a new owner. This FO has got nothing. Too afraid to do anything. Got completely hoodwinked by Lebron and AD into giving up everything for Brick. With Lebron pushing 40, and AD in street clothes again.....we officially have NOTHING with which to build off of. And once these guys go....this FO will go back to getting ripped off for a "superstar" again.

The Buss ownership was one of my fave things in sports. And Jeanie can hold her head up, point to the title she won. She honored her dad's legacy. But it is time to step down. The Lakers are like the queen Mary out in LB: you can see how it used to be kinda swank, and was prob "the sh**" in it's day. But it's just kind of dated, and tarnished, and almost cheesy now.

[Landsberger]

Who's voting for we can "win" this season? At this time 11 people believe we can win a title this year? With Davis healthy we would barely be over .500 and a second round exit is almost assured.

[DanishLakerFan]

Who's voting for we can "win" this season? At this time 11 people believe we can win a title this year? With Davis healthy we would barely be over .500 and a second round exit is almost assured.

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

[Beethoven]

Get AD back and we'll go to the parade on Figueroa

[TheBallsDeeper]

I don't understand all of the trade rules, but I read that the Lakers were not able to trade Lebron. Does anyone know what the rule is and when they can trade him?

It would make much more sense than trading AD. Let Westbrook run the point as he has no trade value right now but plays the same role Lebron is playing. Bring in a 3 and D shooting guard like Mikal Bridges or equivalent and some draft picks and they are better this year with assets for the future. A team not looking to compete but looking to sell out games would jump at it.

[DanishLakerFan]

I don't understand all of the trade rules, but I read that the Lakers were not able to trade Lebron. Does anyone know what the rule is and when they can trade him?

It would make much more sense than trading AD. Let Westbrook run the point as he has no trade value right now but plays the same role Lebron is playing. Bring in a 3 and D shooting guard like Mikal Bridges or equivalent and some draft picks and they are better this year with assets for the future. A team not looking to compete but looking to sell out games would jump at it.

In all honesty, if the Lakers dont put pieces around Lebron and AD to succeed, they might as well have a fire-sale.

[Ball so hard]

Opportunity missed. Too late now.

Just like several fans around here....you mighta had a GM or two gettin some thoughts about what AD could do.
But now its done. We aren't gonna get squat for him. Would any of you trade good stuff for him now??

I can't believe I'm saying this...and it really bumms be out.....but it's time for a new owner. This FO has got nothing. Too afraid to do anything. Got completely hoodwinked by Lebron and AD into giving up everything for Brick. With Lebron pushing 40, and AD in street clothes again.....we officially have NOTHING with which to build off of. And once these guys go....this FO will go back to getting ripped off for a "superstar" again.

The Buss ownership was one of my fave things in sports. And Jeanie can hold her head up, point to the title she won. She honored her dad's legacy. But it is time to step down. The Lakers are like the queen Mary out in LB: you can see how it used to be kinda swank, and was prob "the sh**" in it's day. But it's just kind of dated, and tarnished, and almost cheesy now.

Surprised to see a staunch supporter of Jeanie like yourself at the point where you’re ready for new ownership.

AD has and will remain injury prone for the rest of his career. This is as factual as it gets. Those who thought he’d somehow miraculously be healthy this season were engaging in wishful thinking. To borrow a few words from Dr. Fauci, ‘follow the data.’ There are a voluminous amount of data to suggest he’s a ticking time bomb with regard to injuries. It’s truly mind boggling that I continue to read posts stating AD should not play center in order to prolong longevity. Seriously, what??? It’s almost a non sequitur. Much of his injuries have next to nothing to do with ‘banging in the paint.’

Like I’ve said a few times, it’s better to trade a player a bit too soon than a bit too late. I’m afraid we might’ve missed that boat and will likely double down. The ideal time to trade AD was last off-season.

[Ball so hard]

Who's voting for we can "win" this season? At this time 11 people believe we can win a title this year? With Davis healthy we would barely be over .500 and a second round exit is almost assured.

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

You, my friend, are engaging in wishful thinking. I doubt you’d put your hard earned money on what you’re saying. You claim the roster is broken, yet you believe a core of AD-Lebron can win it all… don’t quite follow that line of reasoning. Also citing one game against the Bucks in the regular season is largely meaningless.

[TheBallsDeeper]

I don't understand all of the trade rules, but I read that the Lakers were not able to trade Lebron. Does anyone know what the rule is and when they can trade him?

It would make much more sense than trading AD. Let Westbrook run the point as he has no trade value right now but plays the same role Lebron is playing. Bring in a 3 and D shooting guard like Mikal Bridges or equivalent and some draft picks and they are better this year with assets for the future. A team not looking to compete but looking to sell out games would jump at it.

In all honesty, if the Lakers dont put pieces around Lebron and AD to succeed, they might as well have a fire-sale.

But how do they do that - they sold everything they had for AD and Westbrook. It's impossible to make any worthwhile changes without trading AD or Lebron. Otherwise it's rebuild through the draft.

[Landsberger]

Who's voting for we can "win" this season? At this time 11 people believe we can win a title this year? With Davis healthy we would barely be over .500 and a second round exit is almost assured.

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

Hey... I know I've been on the downer role for a while here in Lakerland but there isn't a way out of this that ends with a championship with LeBron here. I just don't see it. The idea that Bron/Davis is the best duo in the game isn't based in any actual hard evidence to that end. We won a championship in an * season that had a nice pause to heal and rest in it.... sorry but that's the case. Had that been a typical season my guess is we'd have seen injuries.... speculation but based on some evidence to support it.

The real issue has been the "now or nothing" mentality of the FO and the need to have 3 top 5 players (not saying we do or are even close to having them but the mindset is there) over a balanced roster with depth. To me that seems to be more about getting eyeballs than trophies.

Time for new ownership and the longer we wait the longer it will be to the next true contender. We will see what they do at the trade deadline but my guess is that we won't see a Gasol Miracle to instantly make us relevant.

[DanishLakerFan]

Who's voting for we can "win" this season? At this time 11 people believe we can win a title this year? With Davis healthy we would barely be over .500 and a second round exit is almost assured.

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

You, my friend, are engaging in wishful thinking. I doubt you’d put your hard earned money on what you’re saying. You claim the roster is broken, yet you believe a core of AD-Lebron can win it all… don’t quite follow that line of reasoning. Also citing one game against the Bucks in the regular season is largely meaningless.

Maybe a bit of wishful thinking. My general point is that when you have two top-10 players surrounded by a handfull of decent roleplayers that fit together you always have a chance at winning a title, but ever since the Lakers won that title, they just didn't put the right pieces around Lebron and AD to succeed. So its not surprising that they didn't.

The game against the Bucks simply showed what their ceiling was, despite playing with a broken roster.

[DanishLakerFan]

Who's voting for we can "win" this season? At this time 11 people believe we can win a title this year? With Davis healthy we would barely be over .500 and a second round exit is almost assured.

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

Hey... I know I've been on the downer role for a while here in Lakerland but there isn't a way out of this that ends with a championship with LeBron here. I just don't see it. The idea that Bron/Davis is the best duo in the game isn't based in any actual hard evidence to that end. We won a championship in an * season that had a nice pause to heal and rest in it.... sorry but that's the case. Had that been a typical season my guess is we'd have seen injuries.... speculation but based on some evidence to support it.

The real issue has been the "now or nothing" mentality of the FO and the need to have 3 top 5 players (not saying we do or are even close to having them but the mindset is there) over a balanced roster with depth. To me that seems to be more about getting eyeballs than trophies.

Time for new ownership and the longer we wait the longer it will be to the next true contender. We will see what they do at the trade deadline but my guess is that we won't see a Gasol Miracle to instantly make us relevant.

I dont agree with the first part. Of course depending on AD's timeline and if he's out for much longer than a month, the season is lost. I think a team with AD+Lebron can win it all, because both can be the best player on the floor for a series against anyone. But they need some real backups to make that happen.

I do agree with the rest. And the idea of the "now or nothing" mentality and need for 3 A-level players is spot on, but also underline the incompetence of this front office.

In my opinion i think when you have an MVP-level player in AD and an all-nba great in Lebron in one of his final seasons, then you do what you have to to make yourself as competitive as possible. Myles and Buddy would have given us 5-6 more wins putting us right on par with the rest in the west. I dont think the west as all that strong and maybe Giannis rolls an ancle in the finals. You dont know, but to me its better to try and fail, than to just do nothing.

And if they're doing nothing, then **** trade Lebron and rebuild.

[sonnyhill]

Opportunity missed. Too late now.

Just like several fans around here....you mighta had a GM or two gettin some thoughts about what AD could do.
But now its done. We aren't gonna get squat for him. Would any of you trade good stuff for him now??

I can't believe I'm saying this...and it really bumms be out.....but it's time for a new owner. This FO has got nothing. Too afraid to do anything. Got completely hoodwinked by Lebron and AD into giving up everything for Brick. With Lebron pushing 40, and AD in street clothes again.....we officially have NOTHING with which to build off of. And once these guys go....this FO will go back to getting ripped off for a "superstar" again.

The Buss ownership was one of my fave things in sports. And Jeanie can hold her head up, point to the title she won. She honored her dad's legacy. But it is time to step down. The Lakers are like the queen Mary out in LB: you can see how it used to be kinda swank, and was prob "the sh**" in it's day. But it's just kind of dated, and tarnished, and almost cheesy now.

Surprised to see a staunch supporter of Jeanie like yourself at the point where you’re ready for new ownership.

AD has and will remain injury prone for the rest of his career. This is as factual as it gets. Those who thought he’d somehow miraculously be healthy this season were engaging in wishful thinking. To borrow a few words from Dr. Fauci, ‘follow the data.’ There are a voluminous amount of data to suggest he’s a ticking time bomb with regard to injuries. It’s truly mind boggling that I continue to read posts stating AD should not play center in order to prolong longevity. Seriously, what??? It’s almost a non sequitur. Much of his injuries have next to nothing to do with ‘banging in the paint.’

Like I’ve said a few times, it’s better to trade a player a bit too soon than a bit too late. I’m afraid we might’ve missed that boat and will likely double down. The ideal time to trade AD was last off-season.

Both of you are spot-on with your analysis.

Having the opportunity to see games under the ownership of both Cooke and then Dr. Jerry and at three different venues (Sports Arena, Inglewood Forum, and now the "Crypt"), it was a great ride until the Buss progeny had inherited the team.

AD and LeBron should have both been traded away last season for a haul of assets (draft picks, young talent, and expiring contract(s)) so that the team could have begun a large deconstruction-rebuild project (and even possibly being in mix to draft Victor Wembanyama this upcoming off-season).

...sigh...

[Landsberger]

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

Hey... I know I've been on the downer role for a while here in Lakerland but there isn't a way out of this that ends with a championship with LeBron here. I just don't see it. The idea that Bron/Davis is the best duo in the game isn't based in any actual hard evidence to that end. We won a championship in an * season that had a nice pause to heal and rest in it.... sorry but that's the case. Had that been a typical season my guess is we'd have seen injuries.... speculation but based on some evidence to support it.

The real issue has been the "now or nothing" mentality of the FO and the need to have 3 top 5 players (not saying we do or are even close to having them but the mindset is there) over a balanced roster with depth. To me that seems to be more about getting eyeballs than trophies.

Time for new ownership and the longer we wait the longer it will be to the next true contender. We will see what they do at the trade deadline but my guess is that we won't see a Gasol Miracle to instantly make us relevant.

I dont agree with the first part. Of course depending on AD's timeline and if he's out for much longer than a month, the season is lost. I think a team with AD+Lebron can win it all, because both can be the best player on the floor for a series against anyone. But they need some real backups to make that happen.

I do agree with the rest. And the idea of the "now or nothing" mentality and need for 3 A-level players is spot on, but also underline the incompetence of this front office.

In my opinion i think when you have an MVP-level player in AD and an all-nba great in Lebron in one of his final seasons, then you do what you have to to make yourself as competitive as possible. Myles and Buddy would have given us 5-6 more wins putting us right on par with the rest in the west. I dont think the west as all that strong and maybe Giannis rolls an ancle in the finals. You dont know, but to me its better to try and fail, than to just do nothing.

And if they're doing nothing, then **** trade Lebron and rebuild.

You can't just say Bron/Davis is the best duo and negate injuries. Especially in the case of Davis and his history. You can't be an MVP caliber player and play less than 60 games a year.

Even healthy I'm not with you on the best duo over a series either. Bron's game has deteriorated a lot...especially on the defensive end.

To get championship level defense you need regular rotations that grow defensively together. We haven't see that here in a decade because of the roster churn. Defense is not a collection of individuals.... it's a group playing together.... no matter what magic stats say. Our rotations are different every day... no consistency in defense. Hmm... Injuries and playing well below lowered expectations is the reason.

[Japago]

Not right away. Get him healthy and playing first. But it's time to trade him and start rebuilding soon.

I've been for using the picks to build for a final push around LeBron/AD, but the Lakers missed their window. The hole will be too big to overcome by the time AD gets back, even if he comes back soon. And, it's not fair to rely on someone returning from injury that much.

The Lakers left 2 years of contention on the table with the failed Westbrook experiment and the Lakers refusal to fix it.

I hate rebuilds. It takes generations to find a championship-leading superstar in the draft. The Warriors' and Bucks' last championships were in the 70s before their recent ones. Literally most teams in NBA history are examples of "failed" slow builds, keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is championships.

And yet, the Lakers really have no choice now.

[JWilkieMIA]

Klutch runs the Lakers. They wont trade AD. More likely to trade for more Klutch players and rename the Lakers to Klutch. In 10-15 years this will all seem logical and will make sense to everyone.

[Landsberger]

Not right away. Get him healthy and playing first. But it's time to trade him and start rebuilding soon.

I've been for using the picks to build for a final push around LeBron/AD, but the Lakers missed their window. The hole will be too big to overcome by the time AD gets back, even if he comes back soon. And, it's not fair to rely on someone returning from injury that much.

The Lakers left 2 years of contention on the table with the failed Westbrook experiment and the Lakers refusal to fix it.

I hate rebuilds. It takes generations to find a championship-leading superstar in the draft. The Warriors' and Bucks' last championships were in the 70s before their recent ones. Literally most teams in NBA history are examples of "failed" slow builds, keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is championships.

And yet, the Lakers really have no choice now.

The Lakers have had 4 dominant runs. Largely based on drafted talent. I'm not counting the Bron era because it's been anything but dominant.

You're right about the superstar talent. We've had more than our share. Mikan, Baylor, West, Magic, Worthy and Kobe that we drafted (maybe a few others in there as well). We've acquired a few dominant players as well. A late career Wilt, prime Jabbar, prime Shaq and Gasol who all put us in positions to win. The key is building over time in each case.... not knee jerking and chasing stat hounds like we've done since the good Dr. passed.

Actually, the biggest mistake hasn't been Westbrook, or even the Howard/Nash offseason. Both were catastrophic but trading away a lot of developing talent for Davis may be worse in the long run. While I don't think we had any true dominant player in that group we did draft about as well as could be expected. The only player we missed was Booker.

Davis never showed any ability to lead and we ignored his injury history in that deal. We chose the wrong guy to be the future and we traded A LOT to find that out.

The draft has become such a crap shoot in the "one and done" era that identifying those once in a generation players is nearly impossible.

This rebuild will be long. It needs to be a foundation of key young FA's, drafting wisely and trades when the right stars are available. Our current front office is incapable of doing this IMHO. They are obsessed with the "current thing" and instant success. We are essentially the 2000's NY Knicks right now.

[bb22]

You gotta blow it up completely. Just hard to find a good destination for the Big stars.

[SK21209]

I did. And i still believe that. When AD-Bron are playing up to their capabilities they're second to none. They showed that against the Bucks.

The problem is the broken roster, which is on Pelinka and Jeanie. Lebron and AD needs shooters around them, overall depth, wing defense and a 5 that can allow AD to play at the 4 at times. They have Westbrook.

You, my friend, are engaging in wishful thinking. I doubt you’d put your hard earned money on what you’re saying. You claim the roster is broken, yet you believe a core of AD-Lebron can win it all… don’t quite follow that line of reasoning. Also citing one game against the Bucks in the regular season is largely meaningless.

Maybe a bit of wishful thinking. My general point is that when you have two top-10 players surrounded by a handfull of decent roleplayers that fit together you always have a chance at winning a title, but ever since the Lakers won that title, they just didn't put the right pieces around Lebron and AD to succeed. So its not surprising that they didn't.

The game against the Bucks simply showed what their ceiling was, despite playing with a broken roster.

I'm with you, having just a couple more rotation guys with some size would go such a long way. Imagine if we did the Russ/both firsts for Hield/Turner and Nunn/seconds for Reddish:

Reaves / Schroeder
Hield / Walker IV
LeBron / Brown Jr.
AD / Reddish
Turner / Bryant

I honestly think that 10-man rotation could have contended with anyone in the West. Having Reaves and Walker as your 5th and 6th best players is a huge difference from them being 3rd and 4th. The league is in a bit of a transition period right now, no one has taken the mantle from the Warriors as the next top dog. Maybe its the Celtics but it feels to me like they're really good but not great. Same with the Bucks, they're rock solid every year but aren't the type of team you remember 20 years later.

[Pointgod]

Opportunity missed. Too late now.

Just like several fans around here....you mighta had a GM or two gettin some thoughts about what AD could do.
But now its done. We aren't gonna get squat for him. Would any of you trade good stuff for him now??

I can't believe I'm saying this...and it really bumms be out.....but it's time for a new owner. This FO has got nothing. Too afraid to do anything. Got completely hoodwinked by Lebron and AD into giving up everything for Brick. With Lebron pushing 40, and AD in street clothes again.....we officially have NOTHING with which to build off of. And once these guys go....this FO will go back to getting ripped off for a "superstar" again.

The Buss ownership was one of my fave things in sports. And Jeanie can hold her head up, point to the title she won. She honored her dad's legacy. But it is time to step down. The Lakers are like the queen Mary out in LB: you can see how it used to be kinda swank, and was prob "the sh**" in it's day. But it's just kind of dated, and tarnished, and almost cheesy now.

If the Lakers are going to trade AD, they need to try and find a similar trade to the ones the Jazz pulled off for Donavan Mitchell. Get one or two young pieces if you can’t get a bunch of picks back. Then for Lebron just get some expiring contracts and picks.

Either way you’ve come to the correct conclusion. The whole front office and ownership needs to be torched.