FRpilot

Out of the other free agent stars this summer (other than Chris Paul), I think Dwight would have worked better with Igoudala than Smith. A few hours ago, I didn't like the GS' signing of Igoudala, but at the end of the day I'm warming up to it since we didn't get Dwight Howard either. It is an upgrade at SF after all.

The reason I didn't like it was because I felt GS put all their eggs in one basket and dumped $24M along with their 2014 and 2017 first rounders in "hopes" of getting Howard. These contracts were expiring anyways and 2 first rounders!! I guess getting Iggy is better than getting nothing. LBJ sure as hell ain't coming here. What good is cap space if no one wants to take your money. (haha Mark Cuban)

Now I'm hoping for an upgrade at Center. I hope for Cousins or Horford but realistically I wouldn't mind someone like Asik.

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jamg

its looking bleak for the lakers..

FRpilot

I'd like to see Kobe stay and play out his career with the Lakers... but if the Lakers don't get any talent quick, idk if it's fair for Kobe to stay, but first things first, let's if Kobe can even come back and play at the level he was playing at before injury.

oh btw, cheer up lakers fans.. it could be worse. you could be the Denver Nugguts.. Denver just lost the Coach of the yr, GM of the yr and their best player this offseason...

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zooopreme

I completely agree. I don't think the Lakers are going to purposely tank for draft picks but it's looking that way with the lack of acquiring talent and letting some go.

If I were the Lakers, I would have picked up Paul Milsap as their energy guy and a bully on the boards. But no...ATL picked him up.

Unfortunately, I don't have much faith in the front office and it's shown throughout my posts. Maybe 2014 will bring Lebron but I DOUBT that'll happen.

I believe the LAL destination luster has been thrown to the ground after Dwight decided to leave. And not even cap space is going to make them look appealing.

Denver is headed into a new direction and have tried to lighten their payroll. Igoudala wanted to play there but they did not offer him the money he sought for. I don't think they're worse than the Lakers. The Lakers have this messed up identity and a roster that is looking like Uncle Drew and his boys.

Iggy in GS is real lukewarm to me. He's not really an upgrade in my eyes from Barnes. As good as he is, I see him sacrificing a lot of his game as a secondary ball handler who can create his own shot, I'm not sure how well Iggy will adjust to them but we shall see, I could be wrong.

FRpilot

Nah, it's still LA. It beats playing in Milwaukee or Minnesota.

I think free agents would still consider LA after the Kobe era again when they start fresh. Someone like LBJ isn't going to go there to play with Kobe, but he might sign on if they cleared enough capspace to sign another stud or two along with him, like what happened with Miami.

Iggy WAS offered the money in Denver. I read they offered him $52M, but they weren't willing to match the Kings offer of $56M (avg 14M/yr). He said he wanted to think about joining a rebuilding project and when the Kings heard that they pretty much said "You don't want to take our money, FINE! it's off the table."

Then he somehow landed into GS lap at $48M ($12M/yr), which is much more reasonable imo.

Iggy is a great two way player and a great perimeter defender (All-NBA 2nd team) 2 years ago, can finish well, handle the ball, good athleticism, and pretty much an all around good role player. He's just can't handle being THE guy as seen in Philadelphia.

Barnes is good, but he's still young. He can probably become Igoudala or better in time. The Warriors pretty much had NO ball handler when Curry went out besides Jarrett Jack (that's why he got so many minutes), but with Iggy signing on it looks like Jack is gone (he posted something on twitter yesterday like "well, it's been fun"). So I think Iggy will be handling the ball quite a bit, especially when Curry takes a rest.

The only thing I don't see matching well is Iggy is 29 and in his prime. Everyone else is pretty much way younger than him except Bogut and Lee. Need to use him while he still has something left.

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FRpilot

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Gnnr

This is the most pathetic unenthusiastic post I've read. Are you kidding me? Iggy is a legit defender and he can score! They didn't pick him for the Olympic team because he's a scrub. He's a Gold Medalist, he knows what it takes. With Curry you should be fine. Curry is going to develop to be THE MAN on GS anyways.

The Lakers could tank. I mean they kept D'Antoni. They can just tell Kobe to take a year off. They have so much money coming off the books after next season. Also, no way the Lakers lost their appeal in the NBA. Maybe for people with short term memory, but it takes a lot to erase those championships. They've gone through these rough spots in each of the past few decades before and have come back.

In other news

Detroit Pistons give Josh Smith 4 years, $56M, sources say - ESPN

LMFAO

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FRpilot

It takes a lot more to get me excited. Iggy is not a scrub. Will he make a difference? Yes.. A huge difference? No... because we still have an injury prone center in Bogut and Lee who can't defend. Now if we can upgrade the frontcourt, then I will be happy. With Iggy, GS probably stays as a solid 4-6 seed team. Houston just leapfrogged them and I still see OKC, SA, LAC, and maybe even MEM (their front court will eat ours alive) as being better teams.

David Lee is good, but even GS management is looking into trading him for someone who can defend better and maybe a slightly smaller contract. I just don't see anyone out there who is good enough to outweigh all the things Lee brings to the table (scoring, jump shooting, high basketball IQ, ability to play the pick and roll, rebounds, hustle, etc.) so we will probably keep him. GS isn't going to trade Lee just to trade Lee.



Josh Smith might do okay with Monroe, but he should probably play with someone a little tougher inside. And there's no Calderon to handle the ball and give him easy lobs.

btw, I like Mark Cuban's strategy.

Plan A) Dwight Howard
Plan B) Jose Calderon

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tricky_ab

I'm late to the party, but I'm loving the fact that the Raptors got three picks for Bargnani (See you later!)

Amazing article from Woj:

Rockets give Dwight Howard what Lakers, Kobe wouldn't: unconditional love

Riq

There are a few things wrong with this. Yes the Lakers just came out of a decade that they won 5 Championships and were arguably the best run franchise in the NBA. But Jim Buss wasn't the leader of the franchise at the time. His father Dr. Buss was... Dr.Buss was one of the most well liked and respected NBA owners in history. They also had Phil Jackson managing Kobe and the roster instead of Mike "NBA2k easy mode" D'antoni. Kobe was in his prime which helped everyone forget how much of a cancer he was. People look at the Lakers today and see a franchise far removed from the days of a strong foundation. The problem begins with the ownership. No one trusts Jim and EVERYONE agrees that Jeanie should be running the show. Because of this, super stars will be turned off by the Lakers, no matter how much cap they have.

FRpilot

To add. I think almost everyone can agree that when Jerry Buss died the Lakers went with him... but I don't see how the allure of LA or any other big city can be smaller than a city like Milwaukee, Minnesota, or Detriot. If both Milwaukee and LA was offering you a $100M contract, where would you go considering both teams are rebuilding?

Look at the Clippers. They've sucked for their almost entire existence, but Kobe was considering it at one point. Baron Davis spurned the Warriors and went there. CP3 listed it as a place he wanted to be traded to. These examples are before the Clipper bandwagon days.

At worst, I think LA Lakers might be how GS was for decades where even if we had capspace, no one wanted to take our money. We couldn't lure Elton Brand or Gilbert Arenas with $80M or $100M offers. That changed with new ownership and I think guys are open to the idea to coming here now. Unfortunately, unlike the Warriors, the Lakers situation is the opposite in that they changed from good ownership to bad.

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Phlip

If the season started tomorrow, the Charlotte Bobcats might be left with starting Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon...
Knowing what I know about those individuals due to what they share in their makeup with me, I figured the Boobcats could use one of those lame-ass promotions in the arena and call their starting back court "Shottas."

... sadly, only one participant in this thread might catch that reference.

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Gnnr

Please, maybe their immediate appeal. But their reputation and legacy is intact.

In other news

Omer Asik wants trade in wake of Dwight Howard add; Houston Rockets say no - ESPN

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Dutchmalmiss

Kaman is now a Laker. At least the team's FT% is up haha.

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Pignose, biaaatch.

zooopreme

It went up as soon as Dwight left, man hahaha

Anyway, I'm not excited about Kaman but I'm accepting all the help the Lakers are going to get this coming season.

I know it's a long shot but I've been hearing rumors about a possible Lamar Odom return to the Lakers. I think that would be a good pick up if he could get over what happened in the failed CP3 trade.

Dutchmalmiss

Barring injuries (haha) Kaman is a decent big man if his minutes are well-regulated (haha again). Odom started to get back into shape late last-season so I'd welcome his return. Question would be if his mind would still be in the gutter.

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Pignose, biaaatch.

FRpilot

Asik has been demanding a trade since Howard decided to sign with Houston. I would too if I lost my starting job. The Rockets are hoping they can start together and form a mini-Twin Towers or Asik can play major minutes off the bench, but that's kind of wasting his talents imo.

He's a bargain at $8M/year and a legit center. There's rumors NO is interested in swapping Ryan Anderson for Asik, which I think is great for both teams. Anderson had a career year with Dwight in Orlando.


I thought he just wanted motivated in New Orleans and was optimistic that he would recover in Dallas with a change of scenery, but after seeing him play last season he's just a shell of his former All-Star self. Injuries really did him in. Good back up center for 20 mins a game though.

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enkei2k

Lakers will amnesty MWP...?

I always thought that Pau would be the one amnestied...guess LAL need to keep the big guy around with no D12 now.

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Ask enkei2k

xquizitditz

Phlip

Pau has trade value, Artest had none

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Phlip

Cavaliers make an offer to Andrew Bynum...
2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers starters:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Dion Waiters
SF: LeBron James
PF: Anderson Terwilliger
C: Andrew Bynum

LeBron will make good on his promise to bring a title to Cleveland.

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Gnnr

Is Dan Gilbert the owner and Mike Brown the coach in this scenario? Yeah, fat chance.

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Phlip

Didn't your parents teach you about feeding the trolls?
Now you have given me the rise I was aiming for.

If anyone in this thread knows that Cleveland as a sporting city is destined to fail it's me, because I look at and understand these things.

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FRpilot

One of best point guard ever is thinking comeback.
I'm sure Chris Paul is getting nervous.

Former Warrior hints at NBA comeback

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Gnnr

The Lakers make more sense than the Cavs, which is the new narrative I'm hearing.

See I can play. lol

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Phlip

You CAN play, and LA is where the money will be when the time comes with expiring contracts.
But, Dr Buss is not coming through that door until the Zombie Apocalypse.

The Lakers will not be better than a 7th seed until they Amnesty Jim Buss.
Unless, of course, they bring in the best PG in the history of ever and Max Deal "Boom Dizzle" as named above.

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Teddy Bruckshot

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Teddy Bruckshot

I loved boom in his prime. Sadly his health has deteriorated like so many before and after him.

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Phlip

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Phlip

Lakers rumored to be in talks with Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujačić...
Um, I don't know how I feel about this coming season. Can I have football now?

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zooopreme

They got Farmar and it's likely that Lamar may sign with us if the Clips snag Jamison. The Lakers are looking for short term players and it's just a coincidence that players from that 09-10 teams are free and able to play for whichever team.

At this point, I'll take what we can get. It's clear that Plan B is 2014.