Post game video review: 10/11 vs Blazers

[ozymandias818]

Can't believe I'm saying it but as long as Nick can play within the system and not fall into the whole iso-ball mindset then he'll be a solid fit next to Russell. My biggest worry with him isn't his skill set but whether or not he can stay focused throughout the course of the season. They're having fun now but how is he going to respond when the team goes through a rough patch?

In this scenario Lou will be the odd man out and I'm completely fine with that. With Nick and Lou there's only room room in he rotation for one of them and I like how Nick fits with this team.

Nick has needed to go for a long time. He's not worth a fraction of his contract, which isn't something you can say about Lou. Who cares about fit? We're not trying to make a title run this year. Young is exactly the type of player you don't want on a rebuilding team with young players. Get rid of him now. Hold onto Lou, a solid bench scorer on a contending team with a good contract, and as such a very valuable chip at the trade deadline.

What does contract matter? You're paying for him whether you like it or not. Unless you trade him, but even if you do, you have to match up contracts so you're paying the same amount either way. For what? What do you get? Plus, you can't play Lou on this roster. Aside from a couple stretches here and there he is either incapable or completely unwilling to play defense as a starter. He's constantly in the wrong spots during the offensive sets. He tends get to a spot on the floor and once he's there he is unwilling to move (which he did a lot of last year too).

For him to be effective he needs the ball in his hands and he needs to put up a lot of shots and draw a lot of fouls. Or, you can play him in very short stretches as a spot up shooter.

We don't have to play him for him to be a "very valuable chip at the trade deadline". The only reason we were playing him is because we had no one else. Is there off court risk with Nick? Maybe. But you cant let the possibility of something "maybe" happening make all your decisions for you. Nick is absolutely, by far, the better player right now. As such, he deserves to play. You can like Lou all you want but if he ain't doing his job he DOESN'T deserve to play.

I'm going to leave it at one more post, because this is so ridiculous that I can't imagine actually informing you.

Yes, trading him is the entire reason his contract matters. Actually read my previous post.

We pay for him to have been one of the only good players on our team last year. Incapable or unwilling to play defense? Hi, welcome to the new Lakers (and the fact that you're concurrently arguing in favor of NICK YOUNG is hilarious). Let's get realistic. He scores, and he does a better job at it than anybody left on the team. Twice as well as Nick. He gets to the line better than most players in the NBA. He did that 4 times better than Nick. He's actually capable of passing the ball, something Nick is and has always been historically bad at. He even shoots the 3 better than Nick, which seems to be the only reason the latter was ever rostered in the NBA in the first place. Don't bother bringing up minutes; there's a reason Lou played more than Nick did, and he was better in every area on a per minute basis anyway.

Talk all you want about what a bad fit he is. Again, this team has zero chance of making the playoffs. Fit is irrelevant. One player is a valuable trade chip that we can move to a contending team. Nick is coming off a season where he shot less than 34% from the field (and understandably, because his shot selection looks deliberately terrible at times), didn't pass the ball and was the worst defender on the worst defense in the league. Off-court issues aren't a "maybe" with Nick. They're proven over and over again. He's literally one of the last players in the NBA that I'd want on my team, contending or rebuilding, and the fact that you're arguing you'd rather have him on the team than Lou seems to spit in the face of the idea you watched any Laker games last year.

[crazyeights]

It seems like you haven't watched games this preseason so far.

Also, if a team is rebuilding fit is irrelevant?

How are you supposed to learn the play the right way if you're pairing Russell with a poor-defender and guy whose game disrupts the flow of the offense? Lou's great at getting to the line, but means he has to drive. Which means he's ball-stopping. If Lou's not hitting spot-up 3's then he's a drag on the starting lineup.

Nick actually might pair better with Russell than Lou. Also, Nick's contract is essentially a rookie-scale deal which looks great after the cap shot up. Next year's a player option and if he sees time this year he could very well play his way out of that.

[lake_show]

What does contract matter? You're paying for him whether you like it or not. Unless you trade him, but even if you do, you have to match up contracts so you're paying the same amount either way. For what? What do you get? Plus, you can't play Lou on this roster. Aside from a couple stretches here and there he is either incapable or completely unwilling to play defense as a starter. He's constantly in the wrong spots during the offensive sets. He tends get to a spot on the floor and once he's there he is unwilling to move (which he did a lot of last year too).

For him to be effective he needs the ball in his hands and he needs to put up a lot of shots and draw a lot of fouls. Or, you can play him in very short stretches as a spot up shooter.

We don't have to play him for him to be a "very valuable chip at the trade deadline". The only reason we were playing him is because we had no one else. Is there off court risk with Nick? Maybe. But you cant let the possibility of something "maybe" happening make all your decisions for you. Nick is absolutely, by far, the better player right now. As such, he deserves to play. You can like Lou all you want but if he ain't doing his job he DOESN'T deserve to play.

I'm going to leave it at one more post, because this is so ridiculous that I can't imagine actually informing you.

Yes, trading him is the entire reason his contract matters. Actually read my previous post.

We pay for him to have been one of the only good players on our team last year. Incapable or unwilling to play defense? Hi, welcome to the new Lakers (and the fact that you're concurrently arguing in favor of NICK YOUNG is hilarious). Let's get realistic. He scores, and he does a better job at it than anybody left on the team. Twice as well as Nick. He gets to the line better than most players in the NBA. He did that 4 times better than Nick. He's actually capable of passing the ball, something Nick is and has always been historically bad at. He even shoots the 3 better than Nick, which seems to be the only reason the latter was ever rostered in the NBA in the first place. Don't bother bringing up minutes; there's a reason Lou played more than Nick did, and he was better in every area on a per minute basis anyway.

Talk all you want about what a bad fit he is. Again, this team has zero chance of making the playoffs. Fit is irrelevant. One player is a valuable trade chip that we can move to a contending team. Nick is coming off a season where he shot less than 34% from the field (and understandably, because his shot selection looks deliberately terrible at times), didn't pass the ball and was the worst defender on the worst defense in the league. Off-court issues aren't a "maybe" with Nick. They're proven over and over again. He's literally one of the last players in the NBA that I'd want on my team, contending or rebuilding, and the fact that you're arguing you'd rather have him on the team than Lou seems to spit in the face of the idea you watched any Laker games last year.

Yall gotta get off of last year, or the year before. Right now, today Nick is a better defender, and passer, and shooter than Lou. That's the point. I was ready to get rid of him during to off season too. Hell, I would've done it for nothing. Hell, I'll do it now. Problem with your post is you never answered my question. What do you get? What do we get in return?... I have no problem with trading Nick, or Lou or half this roster honestly. Point is - What do we get in return? I don't know what you've been watching but Lou has been horrible during the preseason except for the 1 game where he scored 25pts. While Nick has been great every game he's been in. If we're going to trade then lets trade, but if one of them has to play I'll go with the guy who's played better.

I don't know what you're arguing. I don't know if you're arguing for a trade or if you're arguing for Lou to get more playing time. If you're arguing for a trade then Nick getting more minutes helps you out because it ups his trade value. If you're arguing for Lou to get more playing time then, ok. What do you want me to tell you?