Grade our Offseason

DrewBynum77 · Post #41 » by **DrewBynum77** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 4:55 am

C+ so far.

rzzzzz · Post #42 » by **rzzzzz** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 4:37 pm

Mitch's offseason goal (or compromise) was to draft a Curry-like perimeter talent and secure a top big man in free agency.

He seemed pretty confident that the team would sign Aldridge. Whatever the free agent's prior inclination, it cannot be said that the team's presentation went well. They ended up with Hibbert, who Bird was looking to cast off, especially after drafting Turner. At this point it's hard to assign this component a passing grade, especially given Hibbert's recent difficulties. However, he is still a young man, who was once an all-star, and rehabilitation is a strong possibility. His lack of mobility seems to be at odds with the notion of a Golden State type scheme, but speed at all the other positions could well compensate.

Russell did an excellent job of marketing himself as a Curry-like talent. He appears to be a very bright, well-spoken individual. But does he have any of the brilliance of Curry? There's little doubt he will be able to hit the perimeter shot, at least when open. And it's hard not to see the great potential in his passing game. He was not the dominant tournament player Curry was in college, nor is he as nimble. He needs to learn to go to his right hand and adjust to the speed of the pro game. He will probably find the many athletic pgs he will face to be quite challenging. But there have been plenty of pgs in the league who have been successful largely because of court awareness and their wiles, like Andre Miller. And Russell has a far higher ceiling, but some bust potential as well. At this point he deserves an incomplete grade, as well as patience. There is a good chance he can develop into something special.

Post #43 » by **dockingsched** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 6:53 pm

B

I don't see any reason for anyone to give them a lower grade than a solid C at worst. Yeah they didn't get the top tier free agents they pursued, but that would've been extra credit. Getting Aldridge or Jordan would've been akin to setting time apart during winter break to complete your end of the year project. Yeah would've been nice to get such a head start but ultimately not accomplishing your lofty goal isn't really a set back.

Lakers are in a rebuild right now. They should have two goals, develop their young core which will hopefully one day be a title contending core that will be very attractive. The other is to maintain flexilbity for when an opportunity shows itself to leap ahead in the rebuilding stage.

I believe they addressed the first goal simply by picking either Okafor or Russell at the two pick and by not signing High profile players that would set the development of the youth back. I believe the veterans they signed like Bass and the trade for Hibbert will help the youngsters by carrying some of the load while providing competent complimentary players.

I believe they accomplished the second goal by not settling for free agents they never truly prioritized and will once again have major cap space, the most in the league, next year.

They get negative marks from me for the Lou Williams deal, but its not that bad since the backcourt is kinda bare when you consider how unreliable Kobes health has been.

The LMA meeting/analytics debacle is bigger than just this offseason, so I don't include it in my grade. This event out the spotlight on something that had been going/developing for yrs, now the hope is that the embarrassment has motivated the Lakers to beef up ther analytics. Regardless of how one feels about analytics, you can't deny that a certain population of players, teams, and agents hold them in high regard so it does hurt if the perception is out there that the Lakers are antiquated in their analytics development.

Mamba Venom · Post #44 » by **Mamba Venom** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 6:37 am

The real question is would you rather have Okafor + Deron Williams (2 years - 5 mil per season) OR Russell + Hibbert (1 year - 15 mil) to team up w/ Kobe, Clarkson & Randle

Rosque · Post #45 » by **Rosque** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 9:37 am

Mamba Venom wrote:The real question is would you rather have Okafor + Deron Williams (2 years - 5 mil per season) OR Russell + Hibbert (1 year - 15 mil) to team up w/ Kobe, Clarkson & Randle

russell and hibbert. at least you'd have an elite defender on your team. and i'm not sure how good dwill is at this point and same can be said for russell

Post #46 » by **dockingsched** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:10 pm

Mamba Venom wrote:The real question is would you rather have Okafor + Deron Williams (2 years - 5 mil per season) OR Russell + Hibbert (1 year - 15 mil) to team up w/ Kobe, Clarkson & Randle

It all depends on whether you prefer Russell or Okafor. The rest frankly is irrelevant.

One Love · Post #47 » by **One Love** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:52 pm

There is merit to the question... Would you have preferred Rondo (one year at $9.5) & Okafor or Russell & Hibbert (one year at $15)mot play with Clarkson, Kobe & Randle...

In terms if the offseason, I say C+... After grabbing Russell, I would have prioritized Tyson Chandler (LA kid, respected by vets & top rim protector) for $12 million & a SF... Carroll got too much hype but a Danny Green or 3D vet would have been nice... I also think dumping Kelly or Young should have been more of a priority... Sacre is expendable too with Upshaw...

We are better than last year but not what we envisioned... I do think Russell was the high risk high reward pick but it will take some time..

ArC_man · Post #48 » by **ArC_man** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 6:13 pm

Kevin Ding ranks all 30 teams after the offseason, here's our rank:

20. Los Angeles Lakers: Roy Hibbert's acquisition actually makes total sense. He instantly gives the team defensive stability, which means youngsters D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle can learn properly instead of flailing away with no structure at all.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2529441-nba-pecking-order-for-2015-16-becoming-clear-after-another-busy-offseason

I'm surprised that he has us ahead of Boston (28th really?), Charlotte and also surprised that he has us behind Dallas and Indiana.

leeprettyp · Post #49 » by **leeprettyp** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:49 pm

Honestly an "A" we fully embraced the rebuild finally. Used our cap space to actually bring in a player who could have some upside with no longterm commitment (we can get a test spin out of this). Our young guys on good, cheap contracts can get some valuable experience (barring injury). Now we just gotta hope the young players can ball out because then we'll become a top tier free agent destination again

Lakers415 · Post #50 » by **Lakers415** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:56 pm

leeprettyp wrote:Honestly an "A" we fully embraced the rebuild finally. Used our cap space to actually bring in a player who could have some upside with no longterm commitment (we can get a test spin out of this). Our young guys on good, cheap contracts can get some valuable experience (barring injury). Now we just gotta hope the young players can ball out because then we'll become a top tier free agent destination again

Our "young" guys won 1 game in the summer league when instead of trying to improving, they were looking for results instead.

steveprost · Post #51 » by **steveprost** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 9:41 pm

You have a very slightly improved lineup with Hibbert and a hopefully healthy and effective Randall and not-ready-for-prime-time Russel, and are worse at PG... however, you have the most toxic coach and SG (when considering both his ability and contribution to team chemistry) in the NBA right now and record will be incredibly just about as bad as last year and a clubhouse full of dissension as BScott and Kobe exit their last years in the NBA in shame... do you not see how horrid BScott is as a coach?... as a Lin fan part of the joy of this season will be watching the justice of this train wreck play out... every once in a while I'll return and perhaps remind you of this while you can always retort about your/Kobe's glorious past, which makes the present even more sad

Warning issued

-Slava

Michael Lucky · Post #52 » by **Michael Lucky** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 12:58 am

Probably a B. There were no elite FAs available this summer so the fact they didn't land any of them is far from a disappointment to me. More than anything i'm happy they were able to fill out their cap space with an expiring contract that can help the team win some games and still allow the young players to get the minutes they need to develop at their position. I'm kind of on the fence with the Lou Williams contract but at the end of the day it's fairly cheap under the new CBA and we can't really count on Kobe to be healthy throughout the year.

leeprettyp · Post #53 » by **leeprettyp** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 11:31 am

Michael Lucky wrote:Probably a B. There were no elite FAs available this summer so the fact they didn't land any of them is far from a disappointment to me. More than anything i'm happy they were able to fill out their cap space with an expiring contract that can help the team win some games and still allow the young players to get the minutes they need to develop at their position. I'm kind of on the fence with the Lou Williams contract but at the end of the day it's fairly cheap under the new CBA and we can't really count on Kobe to be healthy throughout the year.

Agree.

Also, I'd like the 3 free agent signings this offseason and even more the Upshaw gamble (low risk, high reward). But am I the only who thinks Russell and Clarkson games don't really mix well? Clarkson has tunnel vision and really isnt a good playmaker for others (at least yet) where as I see Russell more of a combo and 2guard right now (scorer who has the ability to pass). He seemed his most confident off the ball (hopefully that changes with time in the weight room and focus on ball handling).

rand0m · Post #54 » by **rand0m** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:29 pm

leeprettyp wrote:
Michael Lucky wrote:Probably a B. There were no elite FAs available this summer so the fact they didn't land any of them is far from a disappointment to me. More than anything i'm happy they were able to fill out their cap space with an expiring contract that can help the team win some games and still allow the young players to get the minutes they need to develop at their position. I'm kind of on the fence with the Lou Williams contract but at the end of the day it's fairly cheap under the new CBA and we can't really count on Kobe to be healthy throughout the year.

Agree.

Also, I'd like the 3 free agent signings this offseason and even more the Upshaw gamble (low risk, high reward). But am I the only who thinks Russell and Clarkson games don't really mix well? Clarkson has tunnel vision and really isnt a good playmaker for others (at least yet) where as I see Russell more of a combo and 2guard right now (scorer who has the ability to pass). He seemed his most confident off the ball (hopefully that changes with time in the weight room and focus on ball handling).

I think they will play well together with more time to develop chemistry, learn the offense and for Russell to gain experience. I think he looked more comfortable off the ball because he was thrown into an NBA pickup game expecting to run a complex offense with other clueless rookies. His strength is definitely going to be breaking down defenses with his passing rather than scoring.

CodyB_ · Post #55 » by **CodyB_** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:07 am

I'll call it an A

It's not so much what Mitch do, but it's what Mitch didn't do; which was pay too much for a guy who was not going to make the team a championship contender

Lou Williams and Brandon Bass are bargains for their contracts. I wonder if we can move Young?

This year the team will be entertaining, though I doubt it will be good. I foresee a 30-35 win team and another lottery pick (if we can get it?) and then next year, with only 16 mill on the books the Lakers should be able to pursue two max-level players.

Hank7 · Post #56 » by **Hank7** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:21 pm

... We could have had Okafor ... that's all I'm going to say.

Dmanning2 · Post #57 » by **Dmanning2** » Thu Aug 6, 2015 12:51 am

How could you "derank" a grade because the Lakers didn't sign a top FA?

You think Toronto and Phoenix are giving themself lower grades because they missed out on LMA?

No they had backup plans, Lakers had a back up plan which got them one of best rim protector in the league.

Pinoy cchio · Post #58 » by **Pinoy cchio** » Thu Aug 6, 2015 3:23 am

dockingsched wrote:
Mamba Venom wrote:The real question is would you rather have Okafor + Deron Williams (2 years - 5 mil per season) OR Russell + Hibbert (1 year - 15 mil) to team up w/ Kobe, Clarkson & Randle

It all depends on whether you prefer Russell or Okafor. The rest frankly is irrelevant.

Okafor will make the team better. Russell will make everyone play better.

Deron or Hibbert ? No contest here, Hibbert.

So I am happy with Russell and Hibbert.

djericho · Post #59 » by **djericho** » Fri Aug 7, 2015 8:19 pm

B-

Spent too much time the last couple of off seasons chasing top level FAs while solid contributors were being signed. I can understand chasing top FAs when Kobe's contract is off the books, more so that the salary cap will go up too. Now asking Kobe to start at FA, having a rookie PG start with basically a rookie SF as well. That's why I'd rather see Lakers start Young at SF, have Clarkson start at PG and Kobe stay @ SG.

I like the youth movement, we can build off what we have or trade to get pieces for a playoff contender. They didn't have a good summer league showing, will reserve judgement when I see talent mixed with other Laker vets.