41Dirk41 wrote:Archx wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:
Yes, but put numbers in the boxscore never was his problem... Availability&effort for sure and also defense.
Ayton has a PO next year so if he will play well Lakers have to pay him and if he sucks again they will pay him anyway.
Not a great deal but they are desperated (immagine if Silver not gifted them Luka. Damn.).
Ayton on a winning team is still one of the best defensive centers in the league. He was one of the main reasons Suns had any success in the playoffs. I kept saying he's the guy i fear the most vs Suns and if they get rid of him, that team won't get anywhere. It was true, even with KD Suns were bad. A tanking Blazers are no real comparison of how good a certain player actually is.
Also i think DFS has become a bit overrated at this point. 32yo coming from ankle injury being replaced by Smart and LaRavia plus Ayton, is an actual upgrade that gives them more depth on bench and flexibility with various lineups. Obviously Lakers still need something more but also their draft pick looks to be a huge hit. A player similar to DFS but stronger and more athletic.
So all in all, people who think Lakers will be a pushover are deluded. They already had one of the best defenses in the 2nd part of the regular season with a center rotation of Koloko/Hayes lol....
Luka will make Ayton better for sure but no way softAyton is one the best defensive center in the league, he was never been and he will never be.
Lakers are good enough for a second PO round, maybe WCF with a good matchups. No more for me.
Yes they will be better than the Mavs and it's the reason because Harrison time here is over. He can't survive at it.
If healthy, and I know it's a big if, I have the Mavs over the Lakers.
Dallas has one of the deepest and most talented roster and just a reminder that last season they were the most injury plagued team in the league, I mean I know AD/Kai/Liv are still huge question marks, but I don't expect Gaff and PJ to miss 25 games each or Naji to deal for weeks with mysterious illness.
They added two starters in Flagg and DLo and that's huge, also if most thinks Ayton could have a bounce back year, why not the same for DLo? I mean, in over two seasons from 22/23 to 23/24 both included he averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 tov, 46% fg, 41% 3pt, in 147 games. And those numbers are pretty recent, not something from 3/4 years ago..
But it's still all about health, 2 seasons ago AD played 70+ games, if we get that AD, then I can see the Mavs easily in the top 6.
And I don't think roster is set in stone, au contraire I don't expect PJ to be here at opening night, ihmo they are just waiting for late August to extend and subsequently trade him, maybe packaged with Gafford, for another quality guard. I don't know who, just a gut feeling.
On the other hand I feel like Lakers are almost in the same boat as the 2023 Mavs after we acquired Kyrie and lost DoeDoe in the process. Obv not as bad, Lakers have size and talent advantages over that Mavs team, but I still don't see a balanced and functional roster around Luka. DFS was pretty huge for them last season, at least that's what all metrics say.
Ayton was a positive, not exceptional, defender when he had 2 great wing stoppers like Crowder/Mikal and CamJ around him. On offense Luka will make him look like a star but that's not what they need, unless they get rid of LBJ and btw that's exactly what they need, turning the LeBron problem into a big wing stopper (Wiggins?).
That would elevate their ceiling and make them title contenders.
