Magic Johnson Discussion

We couldn't keep Randle last summer and still have a shot at FAs this summer. It was one or the other.

I think even if Russell was on this team, offering him a max would be foolishly tying up our cap space, based on the way he plays.

 

how much different is Russell to Kemba? Some here dont seem to mind offering him the max which is millions higher than Dlo potential max

 

There's a significant difference. Don't have the time to get into why, but maybe someone else can fill in.

 

You know I don’t do analytics and advanced stats. And why are they no good? So then we should just get disregard all per game averages for everyone then? His 20.7ppg and 6.9apg are what it is.

As he is ranked 17th in assists there are a dozen players who are averaging his assists or better and at 37th in scoring there are a dozen guards/players who are scoring as good or better. Why you trying to make it so complicated?

I was responding to this quote:

And then you moved the goalposts.

 

1. who says we needed that money for this summer?
2. who says randle wouldn't be easily tradeable on that contract should we need the money?

you mean well? seriously, though, you didn't address the point that had we never had russell, he'd be discussed as a FA target. i mean, we've discussed middleton. and there's a pretty good chance he'll be better than however we end up using our space this year.

 

It crushes me hearing West, because in reality I would love to have him and Ryan heading up our franchise.

Magic and Rob need their time to bring in their vision, but god damn.

 

What like one of the two is more expensive and headed toward latter downward slope of career vs the opposite with DLO? I supported the trade BTW and where they f***** up was not retaining Randle and Brolo. Don't buy that Moz could have been moved the following summer just like that with all the other teams always looking to help the Lakers get good again, or that we'd get a pick back that brought us someone as good as Kuzma or an NBA Big Man all star. The stars aligned on that one. But the way DLO is finally playing with his prime several years off, it's certainly no slam dunk as you allude that Walker is the better choice going forward.

 

Ooof.
So who wants to help me build a time machine?

 

Hi fam



Coulda had me, jus sayin

 

Not trying to be a wise guy, but you ever build anything before? Ideally you do it from scratch. But if not, you address the impedence and build once that has been addressed. Building around it isn't necessarily doing you any favors.

It took one season to clean and build rapport with certain agents (or destroy it in the case of Mintz)...then another season to bring in one of the best players on the market.

Bron/Klutch could usher in a new star that will carry the torch Kobe left behind. If that's AD, Simmons or someone that still remains anonymous is one element...but the other is to get a team on equal footing with the rest of the field.

Teams that have locked up their cap and consistently pay the luxury tax and/or come close to the threshold is a team that has been realized.

Once we lock up our cap for the foreseeable future, the FO's vision will be realized. Then it's up to "that" team to reveal if it's a success or not.

The dubs been paying tax and have 5 Allstars on the roster taking up significant cap space for several years now.

On the flip, OKC recently locked up their capspace and paying a tax and is currently in 8th. They have 2maxstars, they have an Aquaman...they've also had injuries, but neither of their top 2 guys have been out for a lengthy portion of the calendar. Compare that team of last year (43-29 1yr ago) to this team currently (42-30)...but I guess it was still all Melo's fault. Or I guess Roberson the real MVP.

Still, that team can't be blown up till they consistently struggle to advance in the postseason tho. If they end up struggling, then Presti (who has been widely seen as a shrewd GM) has then been put in place to let Harden and KD go for relatively a minimal return and has now been in charge of having a Russ/Paula/Aquaman led team not be serious title contenders if they continue to struggle.

At that point, imo his job needs to be called in question. But that's just one example.

Rob/Magic aren't even close to being in that position yet. However, it's time for them to resign according to most of you. I'm sorry, that's just as premature as how most of you claimed DLo's exodus was.

Btw: Magic set a timeline to lock up "a" max free agent star over the 2018 & 2019 summers. He did that and came good on his word. Some of y'all need to go back and read his actual quote...and that's part of the problem. Some of y'all ain't conducting the proper research/due diligence before making your points.

Anyways to Magic's biggest critics, he just needs to clap em with the good ol' Kobe 5 finger salute! It's interesting that West says stuff about the Lakers and it's posted all over the place, but Kob says something and it's critics...uh crickets.


Hey cLips, y'all got Lee Jenkins telling your stories, while we're good with the Mamba telling ours. Let's see who gets to a championship first...and in y'all case, that should be taken literally.

Btw, someone should tell West that Bron's Finals bound Cleveland team last year shot 33% from 3 in the playoffs and were 2nd to last in that category...which is exactly what this year's Lakers team is shooting from 3. Also the year Bron's Cavs beat the dubs, they shot 33% to the dubs 37% from 3...ie they won by not out-Golden State'n Golden State.

https://stats.nba.com/teams/traditional/?sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1&Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&DateFrom=06/02/2016&DateTo=06/19/2016

 

so buried in there is the short answer: when the cap is locked up.

so...that means as long as we kick the can down the road each year, the plan has never been fully realized. nevermind the 95% roster turnover and soon to be 100% turnover in coaching staff. if that's not ripping down to the studs, i'm not sure what is.

i don't really care what magic's promise is or was. that's not really for him to stipulate. if kawhi, kd, klay, or kyrie doesn't walk through that door in july, he should be out on his a**. that's the only thing worth yet another embarrassing, largely unwatchable season of basketball.

they've already tacitly acknowledged that the previous front office's master plan (home run swings!) was the correct one (i disagreed then and now), so the argument is that they sucked because they swung and missed. shouldn't the same logic apply now?

 

I’m still not sold we are completely out of the running for big time free agents. I think the media is just piling on Magic and LeBron. People are particularly firing on LeBron because they haven’t been able to in years.


Criticism aside, We’re still in a position to make moves this summer.

 

1 max FA wasn't Magic "plan/promise"....he certainly didn't make all these trades and 1yr signing for 1 max guy, so saying Magic accomplished his goal is quite disingenuous

 

With the previous regime, the logical thing to do was to not ostracize Shaq in the public forum and give him an extension, then move him for better pieces. I loved LO as a Laker, but what came along was Caron Butler for 1 season and Brian Grant in a salary dump by Riles. You wanna talk sunk cost with potential all-star DLo...what about 3peat champion future HOF Shaq?

The logical thing was to also have a clear line of communication and not ostracize another future HOFer in Payton, which enabled Boston to amend that deal when he didn't report.

The logical thing was to prolong West's Shaq & Kobe core, but instead let's max out George and Space Cadet for 5 years at the full mle instead of thinking more proactively towards adding pieces around them.

The logical thing to do was to have better communication with your governess when she's at a lockout meeting in dealing with a NBA owned franchise at the time... instead they went ahead with the Cp3 deal. Then when it fell apart, the logical thing was to reapproach the CP3 deal with appropriate tweaks...instead they ostracized their 6th man of the year and sent him away for...cap space.

The logical thing to do was to give a team with triangle savvy players like Kob & Pau and potential triangle focal point Dwight a coach willing to play that style...instead let's make our 38 year old creaky backed PG the focal point and run an aging high miled Kob into the ground, all while ostracizing 2x title winner Pau and 10x winning coach Phil. Oh and let's allow that center we should have highlighted to walk away for nothing along with Pau.

Logical thing to do was to not put Chaz the bartender in a key role of your scouting dept and undermine/impede the potential of your own younger brother in the process.

Logical thing to do was not MozDeng your books after years of botching free agency presentations.

Yet we gave those dudes plenty of time and opportunity to express their vision before it became blatantly obvious, moving on from them was the logical choice.

I like West alot too and he does scare me this off-season with what he might be able to do for the cLips, but like him too, let's stop ostracizing LakerLegends and folks associated to them. Magic and Rob should be given every opportunity to see this through. They don't even have their own pick at coach for Phil sakes. It's illogical to send them into exile prematurely.