Lowry trending on twitter

[Skeezo]

To be honest, I'm not sure how any of this helps us...

Does seeing the teams that passed on Lowry eliminated from the playoffs make me feel any better that we are still likely to lose Lowry for nothing this offseason? Not really...

Does the potential of Lowry's value going up, where the Raptors would now have to take back even more more money to make salaries match make a S&T any more feasible or plausible? Not really...

Yes, Masai may win some leverage points in future deals (that is if he stays with Tor), but in the short-term it's still feels like a missed opportunity

[PhilBlackson]

To be honest, I'm not sure how any of this helps us...

Does seeing the teams that passed on Lowry eliminated from the playoffs make me feel any better that we are still likely to lose Lowry for nothing this offseason? Not really...

Does the potential of Lowry's value going up, where the Raptors would now have to take back even more more money to make salaries match make a S&T any more feasible or plausible? Not really...

Yes, Masai may win some leverage points in future deals (that is if he stays with Tor), but in the short-term it's still feels like a missed opportunity

There's certainly a possibility of losing him for nothing but it was already put out that they're very likely to try and work out a S&T Kyle to one of those preferred destinations of his as the majority don't have the cap to sign him outright (MIA would likely need to sign another top FA on top so even they would still be a possible trade partner).

Not sure where you're coming up with us needing to take back even more when it's actually the opposite expected to happen even by Kyle himself...he was being paid $30M/yr and was seeking $25M, so it's LESS and that's just what he wants, he may have to settle at a slightly lower number which would make trading for him easier and more reasonable.

So yes in its entirety it MAY work out to our favor and definitely is leverage IF (def a big one) Kyle is willing to compromise on his price in order to get best of both worlds with a good pay day but still the ability to compete for a championship (which has publicly stated multiple times HE WANTS). But if he's set on that number, then he loses that opportunity and it's all about cashing in those last big cheques then hey everyone ends up the loser except his bank account.

[alpngso]

Would Lowry have swung the series for the Lakers? He woulda been much better than Schroeder but I don't think Lowry would have made much difference in that series.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Would Lowry have swung the series for the Lakers? He woulda been much better than Schroeder but I don't think Lowry would have mad much difference in that series.

i think it gives them stability and leadership. Lakers looked super discombulated half the time. and I think Lowry is a better floor general than Schroeder or Caruso. If Lebron isn't on the floor, Lowry would pick up the slack on making the right plays. i don't think those guys know how to run a pick and roll.

[Rob Diaz]

Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, D Lo, Nance, Zubac, Wagner.

3 all-stars, and a lot of NBA players.

Lakers have drafted and developed fine. They just sold the farm for the superstar.

Do people think that because they made it after they left that they wouldn’t have as Lakers?

And what have they gotten out of it. 1 championship, 1 first round exit and many years of missing the playoffs. Now LeBron is on his last legs. I don't feel confident they will win another championship.

On top of that - they never would have got LeBron if they weren't in LA.

1 championship is worth all that, easily.

Especially for the players mentioned, none of them are anything special. The closest would be Ingram and we don’t even actually know if he’s legit or not. He’s literally never played a meaningful basketball game in the NBA. We just saw how great Randle looked in meaningless games all season, only to get exposed in the playoffs.

[Rob Diaz]

Imagine wasting a year of Lebron's remaining career so you can keep THT. The Lakers are the definition of a dumpster fire organization. They won a title because Lebron decided he wanted to a film a movie (can't retire without having that on his resume...) and then called up his buddy to join him (who promptly forced his current team to trade him to the Lakers). They are the most undeserving fan base in the NBA.

Somehow many people have forgotten how much of a disaster the Lakers were before Lebron decided to make movies and bring Davis lol.

Kobe’s gigantic contract(which I understand, he earned it, but still set them back years and halted development), the Byron Scott years, they were the last franchise in the NBA to embrace analytics, the Jim Buss era, etc.

They had nothing going for them. People mention their young core, but we’ve seen what Ingram/Lonzo/Hart with Randle(Zion) looks like the past 2 seasons.

[alpngso]

Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, D Lo, Nance, Zubac, Wagner.

3 all-stars, and a lot of NBA players.

Lakers have drafted and developed fine. They just sold the farm for the superstar.

Do people think that because they made it after they left that they wouldn’t have as Lakers?

And what have they gotten out of it. 1 championship, 1 first round exit and many years of missing the playoffs. Now LeBron is on his last legs. I don't feel confident they will win another championship.

On top of that - they never would have got LeBron if they weren't in LA.

1 championship is worth all that, easily.

Especially for the players mentioned, none of them are anything special. The closest would be Ingram and we don’t even actually know if he’s legit or not. He’s literally never played a meaningful basketball game in the NBA. We just saw how great Randle looked in meaningless games all season, only to get exposed in the playoffs.

totally agree. the freaking Lakers went without trip to the finals for a decade. they totally went all-in and it worked.
definitely worth it. the picks? who cares about 29th pick? Lakers will be forever relevant especially next 2-3 years with Lebron and being in big market so the picks carry less weight anyways since they'll have bunch of players lining up to sign for the minimum.

[TravisScott55]

There is nothing from the Lakers I want. Maybe their picks.

[douggood]

And what have they gotten out of it. 1 championship, 1 first round exit and many years of missing the playoffs. Now LeBron is on his last legs. I don't feel confident they will win another championship.

On top of that - they never would have got LeBron if they weren't in LA.

1 championship is worth all that, easily.

Especially for the players mentioned, none of them are anything special. The closest would be Ingram and we don’t even actually know if he’s legit or not. He’s literally never played a meaningful basketball game in the NBA. We just saw how great Randle looked in meaningless games all season, only to get exposed in the playoffs.

totally agree. the freaking Lakers went without trip to the finals for a decade. they totally went all-in and it worked.
definitely worth it. the picks? who cares about 29th pick? Lakers will be forever relevant especially next 2-3 years with Lebron and being in big market so the picks carry less weight anyways since they'll have bunch of players lining up to sign for the minimum.

ring chasing vets/buyout players, i think we have to look past the names from now on, more or less there is a reason they are minimum players/bought out. birch turned out to be best bought out player.

how did wes matthews/drummond (benched) work out for them? even gasol?

lakers are going to find it difficult to improve team, they are going to be forced to resign schroeder, he has them over a barrel.

between LBJ, schroder (4 year 90ish mil), KCP, KUZ, they are near the tax line.
if they resign caruso, THT, harrel if he opts in, they are looking at near 90 mil tax bill.

bobby marks did a breakdown
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31559883/offseason-moves-los-angeles-lakers-limited-options-rebuild-roster

[Steelo Green]

It’s odd people are talking about selling the farm as a bad decision when they think the Raptors are a piece away.

Difference between the Raptors and the Lakers is they had Lebron and all those assets they traded to get AD were more valuable than anything the Raptors have to offer, and such a trade would decimate the Raptors. You’re not pairing X superstar with Lebron.

[Skeezo]

Sure the Raptors are going to say they are open to a S&T, they don't want to deal with the immediate blowback of losing an asset for nothing.

Second, any trade for Lowry prior to the deadline was for EXPIRING deals for the majority of Kyle's 30m... In other words Raps, keep cheap assets (draft picks) and still have their cap space to do what they want. Now the Raptors have to take back 25m of non-expiring deals in a S&T... I'm not sure how quick Masai wants to give up their cap space for trade fillers to give Lowry an S&T.

Third, teams like 76ers are going to have a very hard time not being hard-capped to even make a S&T possible. Miami doesn't need an S&T, and the Lakers don't have trade fillers pieces because DS, KCP are free agents.

To be honest, I'm not sure how any of this helps us...

Does seeing the teams that passed on Lowry eliminated from the playoffs make me feel any better that we are still likely to lose Lowry for nothing this offseason? Not really...

Does the potential of Lowry's value going up, where the Raptors would now have to take back even more more money to make salaries match make a S&T any more feasible or plausible? Not really...

Yes, Masai may win some leverage points in future deals (that is if he stays with Tor), but in the short-term it's still feels like a missed opportunity

There's certainly a possibility of losing him for nothing but it was already put out that they're very likely to try and work out a S&T Kyle to one of those preferred destinations of his as the majority don't have the cap to sign him outright (MIA would likely need to sign another top FA on top so even they would still be a possible trade partner).

Not sure where you're coming up with us needing to take back even more when it's actually the opposite expected to happen even by Kyle himself...he was being paid $30M/yr and was seeking $25M, so it's LESS and that's just what he wants, he may have to settle at a slightly lower number which would make trading for him easier and more reasonable.

So yes in its entirety it MAY work out to our favor and definitely is leverage IF (def a big one) Kyle is willing to compromise on his price in order to get best of both worlds with a good pay day but still the ability to compete for a championship (which has publicly stated multiple times HE WANTS). But if he's set on that number, then he loses that opportunity and it's all about cashing in those last big cheques then hey everyone ends up the loser except his bank account.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using RealGM mobile app

[Tacoma]

Let's be real here, 3 teams expressed interest at the trade deadline:

MIA: They literally got blown away by MIL. Having Lowry would not have made a difference to beating MIL.
LAL: If everyone were healthy, having Lowry would've made a difference, but without AD who's injured now, LAL have no chance with or without Lowry.
PHI: Lowry likely makes a difference but Embiid now has a meniscus tear in his right knee, which doesn't sound good. If he's out for an extended time, then PHI is done with or without Lowry.

LAC would've also been advantaged with Lowry but they weren't really in the picture as they didn't have any picks to trade away or young assets of interest.

[kalel123]

Would Lowry have swung the series for the Lakers? He woulda been much better than Schroeder but I don't think Lowry would have mad much difference in that series.

i think it gives them stability and leadership. Lakers looked super discombulated half the time. and I think Lowry is a better floor general than Schroeder or Caruso. If Lebron isn't on the floor, Lowry would pick up the slack on making the right plays. i don't think those guys know how to run a pick and roll.

Also the fact that Lowry gives them a shooter they have to at least respect, hence bit more spacing for LeBron and AD to operate, something none of the guys he would replace on the court provided.

[kalel123]

Let's be real here, 3 teams expressed interest at the trade deadline:

MIA: They literally got blown away by MIL. Having Lowry would not have made a difference to beating MIL.
LAL: If everyone were healthy, having Lowry would've made a difference, but without AD who's injured now, LAL have no chance with or without Lowry.
PHI: Lowry likely makes a difference but Embiid now has a meniscus tear in his right knee, which doesn't sound good. If he's out for an extended time, then PHI is done with or without Lowry.

LAC would've also been advantaged with Lowry but they weren't really in the picture as they didn't have any picks to trade away or young assets of interest.

I think Lakers would've had a legit chance against the Suns at least having been ahead like they were earlier in the series. Lowry would've at least made a difference in a game or two and they would at least still be alive giving AD a chance to recover and (hopefully) come back.

[BDDray420]

THT a guy barely averaging 5ppg in the playoffs is suddenly untouchable LOL. Imagine Masai accepting that trade we woulda got ripped off.

[Johnny Bball]

What did we want?

tht/schroder/pick?

Just THT and filler.

To match salary I think it had to be Schroeder, kCP and THT. There were a lot of reports that suggested we planning to flip KCP to the Nets for Dinwiddie to have his bird rights. So basically bird rights to two guys and rfa rights to THT.

Sorry, to be clear I considered Schroeder to be filler.

[Raptorfan2012]

Losing Lowry this offseason is actually not 'nothing''; we get a lot of cap space by just letting him walk. Not sure what pieces were offered for Lowry a few months ago, but pretty sure Masai was not going to accept any salary back (beyond this past season).

[Ado05]

Lakers still would've lost.

[Yeezus_]

On the Hoops Collective Podcast, Tim Bontemps was ripping the Lakers for not getting Lowry at the trade deadline. It happens right at the beginning

[Yeezus_]

How do you not make win now moves like acquiring Lowry when Lebron is 36? Why would anyone think it's a good idea to waste a year of LeBron thinking they had enough to win. I can't believe they were worrying about THT and some pick thats 7 years out when you're competing for a title today AND you have LeBron.