2018 Off-Season Thread

[Jeffx]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I'm looking at all the money Sam Presti is spending, and I'm saying to myself, why didn't he do this for James Harden? Am I missing something here? Help me out, guys.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I'm with Vni. Teams play 3-4 games a week, I don't care if it's on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the 3rd night of Hannukah, or whatever else. There's nothing special about any given day when teams play 82 games a year.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I'm with Vni. Teams play 3-4 games a week, I don't care if it's on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the 3rd night of Hannukah, or whatever else. There's nothing special about any given day when teams play 82 games a year.

Maybe it’s because I’m older but I’m with you.

Most of the time, the games end up being background noise on Christmas anyway. Can’t remember the last time we sat and watched every single minute of each game on Christmas

[d11king]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

The Lakers definitely should not wait.

This is the exact thinking that let PG slip through your fingers. Dont a assume that Kawhi is hellbent on going to the Lakers. Before you know it, he is re-signing with the team that traded for him, or the Clippers because he doesnt want to play with LeBron.

Get him now, young players be damned.

But why do the Lakers NEED to have Kawhi? I don’t understand this other than people being obsessed with the current “superteam” trend and wanting to see it come to fruition.

Houston has 2 stars, and they still lost. The only reason imo they were even a viable threat to compete with the Warriors is that they were a well rounded and deep team. Eric Gordon/Trevor Ariza/PJ Tucker/Gerald Green/Mbah-A-Moute... these guys were contributors and they were a very good team, top to bottom, whereas GS is top heavy, with Iggy and Livingston..

I think they key to beating GS is being a very good team throughout, not just having 2 superstars. The way the Lakers roster is set up now, they could very easily hang with GS in a best of 7, this season.. especially with Lebron. I’m not saying they would win, but I wouldn’t be surprised...

From what Magic and Pelinka have been saying since they’ve come into their positions, I believe they are comfortable with where they are now, and until Woj drops a bomb, everything I read sounds like a rumor and speculation that somebody created so they could write an article for views.

[ojandpizza]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I'm with Vni. Teams play 3-4 games a week, I don't care if it's on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the 3rd night of Hannukah, or whatever else. There's nothing special about any given day when teams play 82 games a year.

This is why it’s always odd to me what those arguments start popping up here especially when we follow and watch much more closely than most casual fans. If we don’t like the Christmas matchup it to me seems like a non issue because we likely watched the games that were on two nights before that, will be on two nights after that, and half the other games throughout the season as well.

As for the whole Toronto thing, they aren’t getting a Christmas game when they aren’t the best ticket item in just their conference much less the league as a whole. Being a first seed does nothing when a team like Boston or New York is halfway relevant, when LeBron James is on one of the other teams, etc. Also TNT is an American network, and most of the viewers on Christmas Day likely want to watch an American Team. It just is what it is. I don’t think it’s anything they should take offense to.




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[areobee401]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Celtics playing on Christmas Day remains a cool little achievement to me. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t see the national exposure the Knicks or Lakers do unless they are good. So I like at it as something nice to see and can understand a fan wanting their team to play on that day. Even if the chances of me watching live are slim thanks to the holiday always being hectic.

[ojandpizza]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Houston has 2 stars, and they still lost. The only reason imo they were even a viable threat to compete with the Warriors is that they were a well rounded and deep team. Eric Gordon/Trevor Ariza/PJ Tucker/Gerald Green/Mbah-A-Moute... these guys were contributors and they were a very good team, top to bottom, whereas GS is top heavy, with Iggy and Livingston..

This is absolutely not true at all because D’Antoni had shortened his rotation up to about 7 guys like he has always historically done in the playoffs. Before Chris Paul went down they only played 7 guys in that game 5 win, only played 7 guys the game before that they won as well with Green only playing 11 minutes. 4 starters played 40+ minutes, all of them but Capela.

What made them a threat was they had versatile defenders who could switch nearly 1-5 even with Chris Paul on the floor because he doesn’t give up ground. If Ariza can give GS so much fits on defense why the **** would you not want a Kawhi? That’s the whole point in anybody saying a trade should maybe happen. Nobody is saying guy the roster or give up on the youth. They are just saying insure that you get that piece because that’s the type of player you need more than anything.

I’m not saying you trade the whole youth, but if you could maybe swap Ingram, someone other than Kuzma, Deng contract, and a couple picks for Kawhi and Gerald Green I would absolutely do it. Green being another one of those defensive players and his contract expires this year just like everyone else the Lakers are signing. Who I believe is a better defender than even Ariza is.

Lonzo/Rondo, Green/Lance, Kawhi, LeBron every one of those players is the type of defender you want on the floor against them, the same model Houston followed. Biggest difference is both Kawhi and LeBron will be more reliable from an efficiency standpoint than Harden showed in that series, and none of those other guys are going to go 1/14 or whatever guys like Ariza shot from 3.

On paper that team is not nearly as good as Golden State obviously. But that’s the type of roster that gives GS problems. Until 4 other all-NBA guys walk in the door they aren’t competing with them on paper anyways, if you don’t take your advantages where you can get them you’re playing to lose.


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[23]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

The day only matters because its supposed to be

A National tv game - where a team like the Cavs were getting like 50 games out of the 82 alone.

A marquee matchup - which should be important seeing rivals or top teams going head to head

...but its been reduced to something else, now the players don't care and nor do the fans apparently.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

The Lakers definitely should not wait.

This is the exact thinking that let PG slip through your fingers. Dont a assume that Kawhi is hellbent on going to the Lakers. Before you know it, he is re-signing with the team that traded for him, or the Clippers because he doesnt want to play with LeBron.

Get him now, young players be damned.

Exactly what I've been saying. If the Lakers' plan is to get Kawhi and pair him with LeBron they need to do it ASAP. You're tempting fate by allowing another team to swoop in and snatch him or for the relationship to potentially heal with San Antonio.

By pretty much all accounts, this isn't just Kawhi suddenly decided he wants to be playing basketball in Los Angeles and so all this happened. The problem basically stems from comments made by Tony Parker and a few other people in the organization, but I'm pretty sure the Tony Parker ones were the most egregious to him. Essentially Kawhi is feeling disrespected by the Spurs and the fact that it isn't just the front office that he has an issue with, but the fact that it goes all the way down the ladder into the guys in the locker room as well is what's apparently broken the relationship. So now he wants out of SA and LA is the preferred destination. There are too many variables involved in that to just bank on Kawhi is going to just waltz to the Lakers next year.

This is why I keep taking issue with this Spurs have no leverage thing. The Spurs have ALL the leverage. They don't have to trade Kawhi to where he wants to go and as we get further into the season especially now that LeBron has helped them out by leaving the eastern conference what's to stop some team like Milwaukee from thinking they're a piece away from getting through the LeBronless-East and getting him at the trade deadline and kissing his *** enough that he gets the respect and love of teammates/organization that he's looking for and signing an extension? What if Ben Simmons goes down in January while the Sixers are rolling in first place in the conference?

Brandon Ingram is NOT a LeBron James talent or Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry. Some times, the move you don't make IS the best move. You don't have to be forced to take back bad contracts (Deng) and useless draft picks that are going to fall outside of the lottery just to say you didn't let somebody walk for free. That's ridiculous logic and part of why so many GMs in the league are complete failures. Nothing LA can give the Spurs will equal the value of the player they'd be losing and everything they take back will be just enough to keep them as a 7 or 8 seed and sitting in basketball purgatory too good to tank and too ****ty to win anything. Whereas you can wait until the deadline when some team gets desperate and wants to take the gamble of him not being hell bent to play for the Lakers (he could just sign with the Clippers for all we know, it's still being in LA) or you can keep him all year, let him walk away and properly rebuild your team by blowing it all up and starting from scratch.

But why do the Lakers NEED to have Kawhi? I don’t understand this other than people being obsessed with the current “superteam” trend and wanting to see it come to fruition.

Houston has 2 stars, and they still lost. The only reason imo they were even a viable threat to compete with the Warriors is that they were a well rounded and deep team. Eric Gordon/Trevor Ariza/PJ Tucker/Gerald Green/Mbah-A-Moute... these guys were contributors and they were a very good team, top to bottom, whereas GS is top heavy, with Iggy and Livingston..

I think they key to beating GS is being a very good team throughout, not just having 2 superstars. The way the Lakers roster is set up now, they could very easily hang with GS in a best of 7, this season.. especially with Lebron. I’m not saying they would win, but I wouldn’t be surprised...

From what Magic and Pelinka have been saying since they’ve come into their positions, I believe they are comfortable with where they are now, and until Woj drops a bomb, everything I read sounds like a rumor and speculation that somebody created so they could write an article for views.

The Lakers as is? Right now? On July 5th? With the roster they have? Can "very easily hang" with GS in a 7 game series? Man what are you smoking? LeBron hasn't very easily hung with them for two years now with a more talented and then a similarly talented team but they're going to do it with this squad? Damn bruh that's some kind of Laker blinders you're wearing.

[JazzMan]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Yeah I'm not taking this Laker team as it stands right now over any of GSW, HOU, Utah, or NOLA

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[ricky24]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Yeah I'm not taking this Laker team as it stands right now over any of GSW, HOU, Utah, or NOLA

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I’d add OKC too. Portland would probably also give them issues. Lakers are much closer to a first round exit than they are at competing with gsw.

[TMagic]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Yeah I'm not taking this Laker team as it stands right now over any of GSW, HOU, Utah, or NOLA

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We know [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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[JazzMan]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

We know [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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Just thought I'd let y'all know this week too [emoji23]

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[cima]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

We know [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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I'll take this Lakers team as constructed with LeBron over Cleveland last year with LeBron. Ball, Rondo, and Lance can all make plays. LeBron was literally the only one on Cleveland who could last year. That alone is huge. LeBron can still dominate pretty much anyone 1 on 1, so if he's got guys who can make plays for him, that'll be better than him having to do everything to try and get or wait for his shooters to get open.

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[King_B_Mack]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

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