Henry Abbot: Lakers FO can't wait for Kobe to retire

[StocktonShorts]

Why isn't Randle playing more?

[SlovenianDragon]

I posted this in another thread but im looking for feed back from lakers fans:

what do lakers fans actually want from this season?

There has been some posts about how the lakers will "surprise" people this year. But even if they do better than expected they wont make the playoffs and give their pick to the suns.

Or do Lakers fans want to tank and get that top 5 pick?

Kobe obviously wont want to tank and will get his minutes and stats...BUT the FO? What do they want....And what do the fans really want?

Just curious as to how yall want the season to pan out.

[JB2]

I posted this in another thread but im looking for feed back from lakers fans:

what do lakers fans actually want from this season?

There has been some posts about how the lakers will "surprise" people this year. But even if they do better than expected they wont make the playoffs and give their pick to the suns.

Or do Lakers fans want to tank and get that top 5 pick?

Kobe obviously wont want to tank and will get his minutes and stats...BUT the FO? What do they want....And what do the fans really want?

Just curious as to how yall want the season to pan out.

My heart tells me make the playoffs (even if it means a first round sweep). From the emotional standpoint, it'd be awesome to see a healthy Kobe and Nash, career years from guys like Davis, Lin, and Wes, and Randle being a top rookie.. all of which lead us to a very inspired playoff push.

My brain says we need this years pick. What we really need is to add a guy like Towns or Mudiay to this core.

I take more of a macro view on this whole thing, a couple down seasons in order to get back to the top. We've got plenty of cap space coming up, a good young player in Randle, and Houston's picks. This pick would really help establish a young core.

Ideally, you enter 2016 with maximum cap space, 1 top free agent (2015) , Randle, Top 5 (2015), Swaggy/Lin/Davis all combined under $20MM, Houston's 1st (2015), Clarkson, and Kelly.

[kingkirk]

There is no possible way the Lakers can make the playoffs with that defense, so they best tank the **** out of it and make sure the Suns don't get a pick in the 6-10 range.

I am a Kobe fan and have supported him in this thread, but screw his intentions of wanting to get to the playoffs or improving the team midseason via trade.

Tank it in, get a top 5 pick to add to Randle and rebuild properly.

[TheHartBreakKid]

There is no possible way the Lakers can make the playoffs with that defense, so they best tank the **** out of it and make sure the Suns don't get a pick in the 6-10 range.

I am a Kobe fan and have supported him in this thread, but screw his intentions of wanting to get to the playoffs or improving the team midseason via trade.

Tank it in, get a top 5 pick to add to Randle and rebuild properly.

Thing is, how do you tank with Kobe on the roster?


As a laker fan, a playoff run would be nice, but a top 5 pick is obviously the preference here. The issue is that the most likely scenario is not getting a top five pick and missing out on the playoffs, and thats the part that hurts the most. I love Kobe, and I consider myself a Kobe fan. However, the team comes first, and as much as many other Laker fans would hate me for this, and as much as I want to see him retire a Laker, I wouldn't be too devastated if Kobe was traded, to the Knicks for expirings for example. The Laker fan in me gets a proper rebuild, and the Kobe fan in me sees him on a better situation. The emotional both Laker and Kobe fan in me doesn't get to see Kobe retire as a Laker, but I like to think that the positives of both the Kobe and more importantly the Lakers being in a better situation are more important than my emotions. Of course it would never happen.
I don't see anyway the Lakers keep that pick with Kobe on that roster (baring an injury), with a very slight chance at a playoff run. It's really a crappy situation. I also don't see any way Kobe gets traded, as the Lakers are benefiting from him in a business standpoint that are far more important to them than a top 5 pick. So to answer the above guys question, as a Laker fan I've made peace with whats going to happen. We are going to struggle but not struggle enough to keep our pick, but atleast we have some decent young players and Kobe's farwell tour to look forward to. Rebuilding will be hindered, but I'll still be watching, hoping for a pointless playoff run. Emotionally I'm satisfied with that, but it's a weird situation.


Also, that article is trash. The Lakers may want Kobe gone to properly rebuild, but the millions they'll be making off of him for the next two years are a bigger priority. They knew what they were doing once they gave that contract. As a Laker fan, I could atleast know that Kobe has worked his ass off and has done everything he can to be the best player he can be. Can't hate the man for getting his money, or wanting to be the man on a championship team. He isnt good enough to be the top dog on a championship team anymore, but this is Kobe being Kobe. That's what made him the player he is, and say what you want about the man, but Kobe being Kobe led to a very succesfull 18 years both for him and for the Lakers. The way I see it, the following two crappy years is just us paying dues for the awesome previous 18 ones. Most logical LAker fans I know have made peace with it...it's only the entitled kids who are way too spoiled who haven't.

[John Long]

To be honest I'd rather make the playoffs. I don't support tanking. Last season was devastating, don't wanna go through another season of that. I'd rather remain competitive, if the pick falls to the suns then so be it.

[Ben-N1ce]

I thought Kobe was done?

I'm pretty sure he's done making the Lakers and players around him better..

Like Lebron was done making Wade and Bosh better last year?

Lakers are going to suck this year..but if they make the Finals I will eat crow...

[Yoshun]

Im not really sure what people expected the Lakers to do here. Who were they supposed to get in free agency? People have a ton of misguided beliefs that lead to this "Kobe is handcuffing the Lakers" crap. I have yet to see one actual alternative that makes sense both on the court and from a business perspective.

[TheDoors24]

Im not really sure what people expected the Lakers to do here. Who were they supposed to get in free agency? People have a ton of misguided beliefs that lead to this "Kobe is handcuffing the Lakers" crap. I have yet to see one actual alternative that makes sense both on the court and from a business perspective.

He's an easy target.

As a Lakers fan I would never want them to tank. Never. If they get in the lottery by sucking so be it but not by tanking.

[Slava]

Guys ... chill. It's preseason.
The Lakers pretty much ran a regular season lineup of 9 guys while the Suns gave 11 guys burn.

Here were the Lakers starters minutes - Boozer (35), Hill (30), Johnson (40), Price (29), and Kobe (34).

While the Suns starting lineup was Morris/Morris (27/30), Plumlee (17), Bledsoe (22), and Dragic (24).
The biggest minutes eaters for the Suns were Tucker and Thomas at 31 minutes.

If the Sun were actually trying Dragic and Bledsoe would both have played 35 minutes.

How dare you belittle Kobe's accomplishment tonight! Hater.

What really is your purpose in this thread?

[Exodus]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/PhilJackson11/status/524678101989851136[/tweet]

[TrueStoryGSW]

Derailing/Backseat Moderating

[SA37]

Im not really sure what people expected the Lakers to do here. Who were they supposed to get in free agency? People have a ton of misguided beliefs that lead to this "Kobe is handcuffing the Lakers" crap. I have yet to see one actual alternative that makes sense both on the court and from a business perspective.

The Lakers, I think, expected to land a big free agent -- Carmelo Anthony the most likely target; that can be the only explanation for not dealing Pau Gasol. Similarly, I think the two major injuries to Kobe were the perfect opportunity to get him to stay at a lower salary or to let him go. (I say this from the standpoint of once the Lakers miss on a major FA.)

L.A. could have dealt Gasol last summer or at the deadline (Gasol for O. Asik and J. Lin or T. Jones and a pick is a deal Houston takes, I think) and maybe they'd have gotten a higher pick in the draft. They might have set their sights a little lower in free agency as a consequence and maybe come up with Eric Bledsoe or Lance Stephenson. Who knows if they could have S&Ted Kobe and gotten something for him.

Asik - Davis - Sacre
Hill - Randle
Stephenson - Johnson
Young- Henry
Lin - K. Marshall - Nash

That team probably wins as many games as the current team but lets you rebuild at the same time and you keep your plans for 2016.

It's easy to play 'what if' in hindsight (and in theory), but the Lakers will wallow in no man's land for the next two seasons hoping Randle pans out and that they don't lose their pick in 2015.

And to be fair, I feel the same way about Miami maxing out Bosh (not worth it, imo) and praying Wade's knee holds up...all so Miami can battle for seeds 3-6 in the East.

[Yoshun]

Im not really sure what people expected the Lakers to do here. Who were they supposed to get in free agency? People have a ton of misguided beliefs that lead to this "Kobe is handcuffing the Lakers" crap. I have yet to see one actual alternative that makes sense both on the court and from a business perspective.

The Lakers, I think, expected to land a big free agent -- Carmelo Anthony the most likely target; that can be the only explanation for not dealing Pau Gasol. Similarly, I think the two major injuries to Kobe were the perfect opportunity to get him to stay at a lower salary or to let him go. (I say this from the standpoint of once the Lakers miss on a major FA.)

L.A. could have dealt Gasol last summer or at the deadline (Gasol for O. Asik and J. Lin or T. Jones and a pick is a deal Houston takes, I think) and maybe they'd have gotten a higher pick in the draft. They might have set their sights a little lower in free agency as a consequence and maybe come up with Eric Bledsoe or Lance Stephenson. Who knows if they could have S&Ted Kobe and gotten something for him.

Asik - Davis - Sacre
Hill - Randle
Stephenson - Johnson
Young- Henry
Lin - K. Marshall - Nash

That team probably wins as many games as the current team but lets you rebuild at the same time and you keep your plans for 2016.

It's easy to play 'what if' in hindsight (and in theory), but the Lakers will wallow in no man's land for the next two seasons hoping Randle pans out and that they don't lose their pick in 2015.

And to be fair, I feel the same way about Miami maxing out Bosh (not worth it, imo) and praying Wade's knee holds up...all so Miami can battle for seeds 3-6 in the East.

That team is pretty bad. Even if they do win as many games, which is a stretch, there is zero star power. As is now, they win just as many games, can keep up hopes of getting a good FA, and market Kobe. Big market teams want big market players.

[SA37]

Im not really sure what people expected the Lakers to do here. Who were they supposed to get in free agency? People have a ton of misguided beliefs that lead to this "Kobe is handcuffing the Lakers" crap. I have yet to see one actual alternative that makes sense both on the court and from a business perspective.

The Lakers, I think, expected to land a big free agent -- Carmelo Anthony the most likely target; that can be the only explanation for not dealing Pau Gasol. Similarly, I think the two major injuries to Kobe were the perfect opportunity to get him to stay at a lower salary or to let him go. (I say this from the standpoint of once the Lakers miss on a major FA.)

L.A. could have dealt Gasol last summer or at the deadline (Gasol for O. Asik and J. Lin or T. Jones and a pick is a deal Houston takes, I think) and maybe they'd have gotten a higher pick in the draft. They might have set their sights a little lower in free agency as a consequence and maybe come up with Eric Bledsoe or Lance Stephenson. Who knows if they could have S&Ted Kobe and gotten something for him.

Asik - Davis - Sacre
Hill - Randle
Stephenson - Johnson
Young- Henry
Lin - K. Marshall - Nash

That team probably wins as many games as the current team but lets you rebuild at the same time and you keep your plans for 2016.

It's easy to play 'what if' in hindsight (and in theory), but the Lakers will wallow in no man's land for the next two seasons hoping Randle pans out and that they don't lose their pick in 2015.

And to be fair, I feel the same way about Miami maxing out Bosh (not worth it, imo) and praying Wade's knee holds up...all so Miami can battle for seeds 3-6 in the East.

That team is pretty bad. Even if they do win as many games, which is a stretch, there is zero star power. As is now, they win just as many games, can keep up hopes of getting a good FA, and market Kobe. Big market teams want big market players.

I undersand the reasons to keep Kobe; at the same time, I also recognize they have nothing to do with basketball.
I don't think one plan is necessarily better than the other; it's a matter of opinion.

I disagree with the Lakers' choice because Kobe is essentially a rental; he will have no bearing on the Lakers' ability to acquire a star through free agency in 16' (unless what the article suggests is true). What Kobe's presence does do is keep the Lakers from being bad enough to improve their position in the Draft -- the place their most likely to acquire a player who will influence the teams chances of acquiring a FA in 16'.

Where they gain economically they stand to lose from a basketball standpoint -- and possibly for many years.

[hongdayuan]

Guys ... chill. It's preseason.
The Lakers pretty much ran a regular season lineup of 9 guys while the Suns gave 11 guys burn.

Here were the Lakers starters minutes - Boozer (35), Hill (30), Johnson (40), Price (29), and Kobe (34).

While the Suns starting lineup was Morris/Morris (27/30), Plumlee (17), Bledsoe (22), and Dragic (24).
The biggest minutes eaters for the Suns were Tucker and Thomas at 31 minutes.

If the Sun were actually trying Dragic and Bledsoe would both have played 35 minutes.

so 77 out of 96 minutes for guard position is distributed among bledsoe dragic and thomas is NOT what you expect from their regular season rotation? (plus gerald green playing 19 mins mainly as SG). Thomas playing more minutes simply cuz he had a good night. how many minutes do you expect him and green to play if both bledsoe and dragic play 35+? the whole point of bringing thomas to has three completely diff guards to get diff looks and go with which ever combo works for them the best each night.

smh u bother to look up the minutes they played but you wouldn't try to put that into sense and logic...

[Imon]

Guys ... chill. It's preseason.
The Lakers pretty much ran a regular season lineup of 9 guys while the Suns gave 11 guys burn.

Here were the Lakers starters minutes - Boozer (35), Hill (30), Johnson (40), Price (29), and Kobe (34).

While the Suns starting lineup was Morris/Morris (27/30), Plumlee (17), Bledsoe (22), and Dragic (24).
The biggest minutes eaters for the Suns were Tucker and Thomas at 31 minutes.

If the Sun were actually trying Dragic and Bledsoe would both have played 35 minutes.

so 77 out of 96 minutes for guard position is distributed among bledsoe dragic and thomas is NOT what you expect from their regular season rotation? (plus gerald green playing 19 mins mainly as SG). Thomas playing more minutes simply cuz he had a good night. how many minutes do you expect him and green to play if both bledsoe and dragic play 35+? the whole point of bringing thomas to has three completely diff guards to get diff looks and go with which ever combo works for them the best each night.

smh u bother to look up the minutes they played but you wouldn't try to put that into sense and logic...

No, that is not their regular season rotation.
Dragic average 35 mpg last season and Bledsore 31 mpg. Thomas is not that good that he would steal minutes from Dragic and Bledsoe. Oh, and Phoenix is going to roll out a ton of 3-guard line-ups next year so they'll have plenty of minutes to throw around for Isaiah as well.
I watched that whole game yesterday - I didn't just look at the box scores. If you were watching too it was clear the Lakers wanted to win that game more than the Suns did. I mean it's preseason Byron why is Kobe playing half the 4th and OT? Give him his rest.

[Yoshun]

The Lakers, I think, expected to land a big free agent -- Carmelo Anthony the most likely target; that can be the only explanation for not dealing Pau Gasol. Similarly, I think the two major injuries to Kobe were the perfect opportunity to get him to stay at a lower salary or to let him go. (I say this from the standpoint of once the Lakers miss on a major FA.)

L.A. could have dealt Gasol last summer or at the deadline (Gasol for O. Asik and J. Lin or T. Jones and a pick is a deal Houston takes, I think) and maybe they'd have gotten a higher pick in the draft. They might have set their sights a little lower in free agency as a consequence and maybe come up with Eric Bledsoe or Lance Stephenson. Who knows if they could have S&Ted Kobe and gotten something for him.

Asik - Davis - Sacre
Hill - Randle
Stephenson - Johnson
Young- Henry
Lin - K. Marshall - Nash

That team probably wins as many games as the current team but lets you rebuild at the same time and you keep your plans for 2016.

It's easy to play 'what if' in hindsight (and in theory), but the Lakers will wallow in no man's land for the next two seasons hoping Randle pans out and that they don't lose their pick in 2015.

And to be fair, I feel the same way about Miami maxing out Bosh (not worth it, imo) and praying Wade's knee holds up...all so Miami can battle for seeds 3-6 in the East.

That team is pretty bad. Even if they do win as many games, which is a stretch, there is zero star power. As is now, they win just as many games, can keep up hopes of getting a good FA, and market Kobe. Big market teams want big market players.

I undersand the reasons to keep Kobe; at the same time, I also recognize they have nothing to do with basketball.
I don't think one plan is necessarily better than the other; it's a matter of opinion.

I disagree with the Lakers' choice because Kobe is essentially a rental; he will have no bearing on the Lakers' ability to acquire a star through free agency in 16' (unless what the article suggests is true). What Kobe's presence does do is keep the Lakers from being bad enough to improve their position in the Draft -- the place their most likely to acquire a player who will influence the teams chances of acquiring a FA in 16'.

Where they gain economically they stand to lose from a basketball standpoint -- and possibly for many years.

Sure he won't have any impact, but will the players you mentioned in your previous post? Asik and stephenson aren't pulling in any big name FAs. Actually signing those other guys may make it worse. Bledsoe, Stephenson, etc... all will need to be signed for several years. All the guys they have now, including Kobe, come off the books within the next 2 seasons.

[Jellybeans824]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwW_1LWs6Qc[/youtube]

[hongdayuan]

Guys ... chill. It's preseason.
The Lakers pretty much ran a regular season lineup of 9 guys while the Suns gave 11 guys burn.

Here were the Lakers starters minutes - Boozer (35), Hill (30), Johnson (40), Price (29), and Kobe (34).

While the Suns starting lineup was Morris/Morris (27/30), Plumlee (17), Bledsoe (22), and Dragic (24).
The biggest minutes eaters for the Suns were Tucker and Thomas at 31 minutes.

If the Sun were actually trying Dragic and Bledsoe would both have played 35 minutes.

so 77 out of 96 minutes for guard position is distributed among bledsoe dragic and thomas is NOT what you expect from their regular season rotation? (plus gerald green playing 19 mins mainly as SG). Thomas playing more minutes simply cuz he had a good night. how many minutes do you expect him and green to play if both bledsoe and dragic play 35+? the whole point of bringing thomas to has three completely diff guards to get diff looks and go with which ever combo works for them the best each night.

smh u bother to look up the minutes they played but you wouldn't try to put that into sense and logic...

No, that is not their regular season rotation.
Dragic average 35 mpg last season and Bledsore 31 mpg. Thomas is not that good that he would steal minutes from Dragic and Bledsoe. Oh, and Phoenix is going to roll out a ton of 3-guard line-ups next year so they'll have plenty of minutes to throw around for Isaiah as well.
I watched that whole game yesterday - I didn't just look at the box scores. If you were watching too it was clear the Lakers wanted to win that game more than the Suns did. I mean it's preseason Byron why is Kobe playing half the 4th and OT? Give him his rest.

I feel like bledsoe was never healthy enough last season to play alongside dragic. the minute distribution would definitely be something to work with especially now with the addition of thomas. I'm not quite sure about the three guard lineup, at least not tons of them, due to: 1. none of them are big guards, 2. green is exceptional to not utilize him more at SG, 3. health issue with bledsoe.

I agree the suns might not be taking this game as seriously as lakers, but to call them not trying is a bit of a stretch. it's not like they are fooling around with bench warmers and they were definitely evaluating what thomas can do with the second unit. As for kobe playing lots of minutes, i bet he asked for it himself to shoot his rust off and get his confidence back.