[NBA] Comments that don't warrant a thread (TDOS)
- Thread starter Mr. S£im Citrus
- Start date
Double-K
Starter
Actually, it looks to me like they are picking up all these hard-nosed strong-character guys to send a message to Ball and Ingram and the kids that the organization wants to see real improvement this year. None of those vets are brought in to mentor them, they are all fighting for the youngster's spots. Especially seeing that they casually traded Clarkson and Lance, and let Randle walk, shows that no one is too good to be immune from being traded. Unlike last year when no one will question if Ingram or Ball are starters, this year they gotta fight for their spots. I think this coming year is the make or break year for Ingram and Ball.
Padrino
All-Star
And that’s absolutely crazy. It’s Ingram’s third year. It’s Ball’s second. No player should be entering a “make or break” phase that early in their career, and no promising young talent should be shoved to the side in favor of Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, and Javale McGee at this point in their careers. It’s kind of amazing, really. As good as Lebron is, it seems like he’s attracted nothing but has-beens and also-rans for the majority of his career, the Heatles era excepted. And the roster the Lakers are going to field this coming season has managed to up the ante on the knucklehead scale, to boot. What a locker room that’s going to be.
But as someone who delights in the Lakers’ failures, my hope is that Magic and Pelinka are sacrificing youth and stability for a few years of Lebron hype that will, as a best case scenario, end in playoff exits at the hands of the Warriors. With this practically parodical cast of characters, they’ll be lucky to make the playoffs at all this season. And every year that follows is a notch in Father Time’s belt, as Lebron’s body gets closer to breaking down. He’s been the Bionic Man across the last few years, but all the money and manpower and machinery in the world won’t stop the relentless effects of age, which doom every player eventually, even the greatest of their respective generations.
So, I’m all-in on the LAbron era, because it seems to me that there’s a much-better-than-zero chance it ends like the Kobe-Nash-Howard era; that is to say, in flames.
Double-K
Starter
The thing is, Lakers have always been that kind of team. They rarely build on their own rookies. I didn't mean that Ingram and Ball will have the ultimate challenge of fighting their spots with the likes of Rondo and Stephenson. I meant after this coming year, once Rondo and gang's contracts run off. Ingram and Ball will be evaluated and decided on their fate based on how they perform this year. If they rise up to the challenge, they'll be worthy of being Lebron's teammate. If not, then their hard work this year will be bargaining chips to trade for some win-now players. And if Rondo and gang end up doing really well with Lebron, they'll be kept as back up for whomever they try to lure into joining the year after next. Let it be Kawhi Leonard, or (dare I say) Kevin Durant...
Padrino
All-Star
The thing is, Lakers have always been that kind of team. They rarely build on their own rookies. I didn't mean that Ingram and Ball will have the ultimate challenge of fighting their spots with the likes of Rondo and Stephenson. I meant after this coming year, once Rondo and gang's contracts run off. Ingram and Ball will be evaluated and decided on their fate based on how they perform this year. If they rise up to the challenge, they'll be worthy of being Lebron's teammate. If not, then their hard work this year will be bargaining chips to trade for some win-now players. And if Rondo and gang end up doing really well with Lebron, they'll be kept as back up for whomever they try to lure into joining the year after next. Let it be Kawhi Leonard, or (dare I say) Kevin Durant...
Yeah, but the shine's mostly off that diamond. Free agents don't flock to LA the way they used to. Though many star talents prefer to play in big markets, the internet age has basically obliterated the necessity of those talents residing in LA or New York for the sake of visibility and "brand" management. The Lakers--mismanaged for a half-decade prior to the Magic/Pelinka partnership--had been shunned time and again across the last few seasons as a result.
Given this new reality for the Lakers, their revamped front office had initially seemed to be approaching their rebuild deliberately, with the intent to develop talent in-house. Though I'm not entirely convinced about Brandon Ingram's potential, and though I've never been Lonzo Ball's biggest fan, I'm annoyed to say that I thought the Lakers were on the right track. They were making smart moves with a long-term vision in mind. Undoing all of that for the sake of a bit of short-term, short-lived glory seems like a trainwreck waiting to happen, and I've got my tub of popcorn at the ready.
That said, you're absolutely right: with Lebron in tow, all it would take is Kawhi Leonard arriving in Los Angeles via free agency next offseason to return the Lakers to contender status. Personally, I do not think that the first year of the LAbron era is going to go particularly well. The Western Conference is a f***ing meat grinder compared to what the King was used to dealing with back East, and Lebron & the Shaqtin'-A-Fool-All-Stars aren't going to make much of a dent in year one of this little experiment. Fortunately for the Lakers, Kawhi seems hell-bent on playing in his hometown, regardless of how well the team is constructed. If Toronto can't imitate Oklahoma City's success in retaining Paul George, then there's really no other team that's likely to sign Leonard except the Lakers.
In that scenario, Lebron would still be a year closer to retirement, but Leonard would be able to take much of the pressure off him, and Lebron could coast a bit, potentially prolonging his effectiveness. And when the playoffs finally rolled around, the time of the year when Lebron finally revs up his engines, they'd become the most devastating wing pairing... well, maybe ever.
To be fair, we had three national TV games, and they were against the Pelicans (Boogie returning), the Lakers (big TV draw) and the Warriors (big TV draw). The cards were definitely stacked in our favor on those.
Telemachus
Starter
Keep it down. We want more National broadcast games in the future. Play up the numbers.
I mean, who wouldn't want to watch the Kings? A young core with a top young PG in his second season, the #2 overall pick in the draft, AND a sophomore coming off of a rehab season who was originally projected as the #1 player in his class? Add in one of the top European players in recent years and a dead-eye three point shooter with an infectious smile? Captained by Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic as they try to bring the championship to Sacramento that they couldn't quite grasp in the early 2000s? This team projects to win the hearts of sports fans across the country! It's going to be an absolute MANIA, I tell you!
Telemachus
Starter
Now that's more like it!
Telemachus
Starter
It's not really a new trend. Been going on for years. Many Kings fans like to think it is just a Kangz thing with Vlade.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
Sure, it's been going on but not necessarily with much success as of late.
Telemachus
Starter
It all depends on the GM and the circumstances. I think the book is still open on Vlade. He was asked to succeed one way and then had to switch course half way through.
Joe Dumars was successful initially, but then everything went down the drain.
Isaiah Thomas was a disaster twice. It took a few years to find that out the first time.
MJ didn't fair too well.
Danny Ainge got off to a rough start, took a huge gamble that paid off better than anyone imagined and has done very well since then.
In Atlanta, the GM (can't think of his name at the moment) was doing great untill a scandal uprooted him.
That is off the top of my head. I'm sure someone could fill in some I'm missing.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
Jason Kidd had GM duties with the Bucks if I remember correctly. Sean Marks. Ernie Grunfeld, albeit he's been the GM for the Wizards a long time but has minimum success
Kings did it once and it turned out so bad that it is scrubbed from that legendary player's wikipedia where he is listed as the coach.
I seriously got Mandela Effected into questioning my own memory but I was 13 or 14 so pretty sure I didn't just drink myself to near death during this period.
I seriously got Mandela Effected into questioning my own memory but I was 13 or 14 so pretty sure I didn't just drink myself to near death during this period.
