Official 2016 Free Agency Thread

Okay. After two the point is Lou isn't a rebuilding chip, and he's worse than DD.

 

That was SAS a couple weeks ago. He blows a lot of smoke, so who knows if this one is true? Again though I'm fine with it. DeRozan is a vast upgrade from what we've got going on right now.

 

Gotcha. I dunno though, we'll see how this season goes. If he wants to leave right when the Lakers are actually going to be good that'd be kind of a waste of his time. I think he appreciates that the Lakers like him and wanted him around when few other teams did. I think he likes LA. We'll see how it works.

If the Lakers can get DeRozan and Noah and maybe another solid piece so they're competitive next season, then things could change very quickly.

 

My ultimate point is that Lou isn't a reason to avoid DD. I don't dislike Lou. He's a less effective JR Smith with a better attitude.

 

Gotcha. The only really good reason not to pursue DeRozan is because he struggles shooting from deep. That's a legit argument, but one that I think is outweighed by his other positives. Lou has nothing to do with DeMar. In fact I'm pretty sure they're buddies.

 

I know that's a year old already, but it's the reason why Noah is such a great fit. I don't know what kind of athleticism is left in his body, but he's a willing defender and a superb passing big man. Pay attention to his ability to find guys on the back cuts and backdoor lobs. That's stuff that should be open a LOT in Luke's offense. As long as we've got depth behind him, Noah is nearly a perfect fit into what Luke wants from his Center. Here's some highlights from last season before he got hurt:

 

I see the Lakers targeting Horford and Noah over Whiteside. I've been a big Whiteside proponent, but the writing on the wall that I'm seeing is that Miami is not alone in worrying about his commitment to the sport/improving.

 

Agree... Noah will provide what Bogut does for the Warriors. Equal amounts of weirdness too. Seriously, the only question is his health. If I were to pick between him and Horford...I'd go with the latter since he can provide a bit of offense.

 

Yeah no doubt Horford is the better pick, but I like Noah a ton as a fallback option if we can figure out a way to lure him to a rebuilder. If we could get Horford and DeRozan or something like that we'd at least be a playoff contender searching for that 8th seed.

I'm really loving the idea of Noah though being that veteran guy who can provide energy, defense, and passion. He's a terrific fit and you just make sure he's only giving you around 25 minutes a game or so that way you can protect him from himself. Tarik Black would be a great b-option behind him in my opinion. Tarik I think has the ability to approximate Ezeli's impact. The only problem with that is Tarik is two inches shorter than Festus with three inches less on the wing-span. Tarik didn't do the vertical testing at the combine so I don't know this, but I think he could be a better athlete than Festus so at least there's that.

 

The Lakers just read the expert analysis of Savory Griddles.

 

How could we ever doubt your abilities?

 

I don't know but I am not too keen on Ezeli but I think Black on board will help Noah stand up through a long season. Black would fit well with Walton's space and pace offense. The only likely issue with Noah with Randle is that defenses will collapse the paint...leave them open for the J's. With Horford you can't... On the money side, Noah will likely command less $$$ than Horford.

A 3 that can hit the outside shot would help...

 

Black = Ezeli in terms of impact in a GS style offense. It would be a different type of impact, but the same type. Black will also cost 1/3 the price.

Noah has a decent little jumper. I mean he's not out to 3 point range, but he hits them. Horford is a max player though. Noah, with all his injuries is not. I'm not sure why we wouldn't look at Pau Gasol. You know he'd love to come home, and he'd do it for a discount I'm sure. He has enough left in the tank to play a solid 24 minutes or so at the PF and center spot. He's a really good passer. Great role model. He has love for the city and the team. I just don't get why Gasol isn't talked about more around here. We're talking about Noah, but if I were a betting man, I'd probably bet on Gasol playing more minutes than Noah next season.