Should the Lakers trade their depth/future for a 3rd star to counter Net's move?

[DrCoach]

Im not sold on Kyrie

[iamworthy]

Can't ignore the fact that the Nets have three of the top-10 offensive players in the league if they gel.

Also can't ignore that the Lakers have limited trade assets.

The problem is there is only 1 ball and all 3 need the ball in their hands. Image the ego battles between Kyrie and Harden then KD does his passive aggressive stuff.

What a circus that will become. Who is going to play D and who is going to defend the rim now? The loss of Allen is HUGE!!

The Warriors made it work with Steph, KD and Klay. I'm assuming these Team USA guys will play nice with one another. They do need some depth and defense, but good luck trying to guard those three at the same time. You're talking about Harden drawing doubles and kicking out to Durant for open looks. They need Deandre Jordan to get engaged and play well on both ends.

With D'Antoni on the Nets' bench, there's a lot of potential to make this work.

I'd leave the warriors out of the conversation, nets dont really compare to them.

[TheGOATWill]

Won’t matter. Heat or Philly in 6.

[DNice68]

Can't ignore the fact that the Nets have three of the top-10 offensive players in the league if they gel.

Also can't ignore that the Lakers have limited trade assets.

The problem is there is only 1 ball and all 3 need the ball in their hands. Image the ego battles between Kyrie and Harden then KD does his passive aggressive stuff.

What a circus that will become. Who is going to play D and who is going to defend the rim now? The loss of Allen is HUGE!!

People claiming this is like KD with Steph and Klay are in for a surprise. They were unselfish. This is KD with two ball hog head cases who don’t play D. They may not even make it to the finals!

[levon]

no doubt, or at least try to reduce the loss of Howard / Javale, I think they lost a lot of size and that could make a difference in the playoffs

What if I told you that blocks are up and shots at the rim are being deterred at a higher rate this year? Also that opp fg% at the rim is down this year?

it's interesting, although I prefer to wait at least half the season to check those numbers.

Fair, but I don't expect it to change. They're blocking by committee, and Marc is a way better rim deterrent than the guys they lost, who would often bait people to the rim so they could block them, and wouldn't always succeed.

Moreover, they're ranked first in DRTG.

I think they're still missing wing defense though.

[Memories]

Is this thread a joke? Lakers have two top 5 players in the NBA with depth up the freaking wazoo. Top 5 in offense and defense.

They are fine the way they are lol. If they had to get ANOTHER piece (which is crazy with how stacked they are), probably a bigger wing player? But that's pretty much it. They are perfect otherwise.

Nets have to worry about actually playing together as a team first before Lakers have anything to worry about.

[AUnit1390]

Do they need... absolutely not. They are still odds on favorite to win the title. Should they... well if they can get a 3rd star and not gut their team sure but I think they stand pat. The nets offer a tough challenge but my money would be on the Lakers.

[FNQ]

The problem is there is only 1 ball and all 3 need the ball in their hands. Image the ego battles between Kyrie and Harden then KD does his passive aggressive stuff.

What a circus that will become. Who is going to play D and who is going to defend the rim now? The loss of Allen is HUGE!!

The Warriors made it work with Steph, KD and Klay. I'm assuming these Team USA guys will play nice with one another. They do need some depth and defense, but good luck trying to guard those three at the same time. You're talking about Harden drawing doubles and kicking out to Durant for open looks. They need Deandre Jordan to get engaged and play well on both ends.

With D'Antoni on the Nets' bench, there's a lot of potential to make this work.

I'd leave the warriors out of the conversation, nets dont really compare to them.

Right? how insulting..

W's were built on a system of moving the ball to get wide open shots, elevating lesser players to passable and good players to great. KD wasn't necessary - he's an elite ISO player. Harden is an elite ISO player. Irving is a somewhat elite ISO player. Our team worked because we did our best to make KD bend to that, and he sometimes did. And we also let him run the 2nd unit so he could get his ISOs in as well.

If MAD gets these guys to play like the Warriors did, the league really is done, because there's so much raw talent there. But he won't, because these guys love to hear themselves dribble. And they'll still be a great team, but there's a reason why KD isn't on LeBron's level, and why the other 2 wont even come close - LeBron creates and elevates, consistently.

[JB2]

No. They should enjoy their summer league title from last year and let LeBron age gracefully into the sunlight while getting beat down by KD in the finals for his few final years.

You're full of gems but seems like when it comes time to talking LeBron and/or Lakers, your Bron hate has you looking like a fool. Might want to re-calibrate your viewpoint.

Here are some more of your previous gems.

Regarding AD declining a mex offer from Lakers in Jan 2020:

He gone.

Lakers playing the Rockets:

The Rockets absolutely terrified me as a Warriors fan. The only team over our 3 year run with KD that I was legitimately scared would beat us. Every game was full of anxiety and felt like could go either way.

If I were a Lakers fan I would be legitimately concerned.

If the lakers would win a title:

If you think this Lakers team is staying healthy enough to win a title you are dreaming.

The entire team is injury prone.

Should the NBA be scared of the lakers:

Bradley, Rondo, and Howard are possibly the 3 most injury prone players in the entire league.

There is a 0% chance the Lakers will have all 3 available going into the playoffs. The Laker team you see next summer will be LeBron and AD dragging complete scrubs to the playoffs. It isnt gonna be enough.

Lakeres interviewing Juwan Howard:

Sad. Lakers are a storied franchise and let a 35 year old LeBron at the tail end of his career come in and completey take over the organization, like they are the Sacramento Kings or something.

Poor Laker fans. Dont worry, only 3 more years of LeBron and the circus he brought to town.

On whether the lakes (pre-AD) should have considered trading LeBron:

Bron is just an empty stats guy at this point. His time has come and gone. Fans really need to lower their expectations.

[Quiet-Dude]

Lakers are still the team to beat, KD doesn't have Iggy, Green, or the length inside to contain James. Harden is fat and mental case got hold down to more field goals than points by Brogdon and 33 years old George Hill... Who is going to guard AD on the Nets? DJ? Jeff Green?

[Grahf]

Absolutely not. The Harden/Durant pairing has immense potential, but my money's on the Lakers if those two teams meet in the Finals.

Maybe the question should be: Now that the Nets have added Harden, do they still need to add a third star to win it all? Who knows what they get from Kyrie the rest of the season.

Edit: Don't mean to sound like I'm hating on the Nets. Harden/Durant + a few other guys have the talent to beat anyone, and if they stay healthy are probably the favorite in the East. But the Lakers have already won it all and are more of a sure thing.

[iamworthy]

The Warriors made it work with Steph, KD and Klay. I'm assuming these Team USA guys will play nice with one another. They do need some depth and defense, but good luck trying to guard those three at the same time. You're talking about Harden drawing doubles and kicking out to Durant for open looks. They need Deandre Jordan to get engaged and play well on both ends.

With D'Antoni on the Nets' bench, there's a lot of potential to make this work.

I'd leave the warriors out of the conversation, nets dont really compare to them.

Right? how insulting..

W's were built on a system of moving the ball to get wide open shots, elevating lesser players to passable and good players to great. KD wasn't necessary - he's an elite ISO player. Harden is an elite ISO player. Irving is a somewhat elite ISO player. Our team worked because we did our best to make KD bend to that, and he sometimes did. And we also let him run the 2nd unit so he could get his ISOs in as well.

If MAD gets these guys to play like the Warriors did, the league really is done, because there's so much raw talent there. But he won't, because these guys love to hear themselves dribble. And they'll still be a great team, but there's a reason why KD isn't on LeBron's level, and why the other 2 wont even come close - LeBron creates and elevates, consistently.

Im glad you went into detail because I was just going to let it go. Curry and Klay are two of the best players to move without the ball of all-time. Anyone that watches basketball understands this. Im not even going to get into the warriors roll players that played a major part.

[Dr Aki]

I agree with OP.

Just say the magic words Giannis

[phanman]

Lakers are fine with the team they have now. They already emptied their draft pick assets in the deal for Anthony Davis. It's only a 12 game sample and all their perimeter guys are hitting all their 3's and the team is 1st in DRTG @ 104.6: Bron 36%, Schroder 37.5%, Kuzma 38.6%, KCP 53.6%, Wes 41% and Caruso 47.4.

[Gert42]

None of those three can guard LeBron or AD every possession in the 4th quarter of games.

I'm not saying the Lakers should stay stagnant, but this is still a matchup that is difficult for the Nets.

[donkki]

Randle?

[Michael Lucky]

Not really. The nets trio is a disaster waiting to happen. It will eventually implode.

[og15]

Why? Why did you determine they need to counter even? Who said the Nets are even as good, let alone better than them because of the trade?

[Up-And-Coming]

:lol: Lakers will be fine as is.

Yep. No need for a splashy panicky move. Though I would like another 3-D player.

I agree. I really like our team and we’re starting to fit in. Kuz so far has also improved in terms of fitting our offense and defense. He’s strictly becoming a 3 and D forward with the occasional floater and has focused on making the right pass and rebounding. Hope he keeps it up.

The playoffs are about matchups and having another 3 and D forward with size to play against KD and Harden would probably fill the biggest need against the Nets and Clippers. If I was the Lakers and Pelinka I would keep my eyes on Ariza

[lonzo_pelota]

this is today in a nutshell

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