Although Lakers big man Anthony Davis was cleared to return for Game 6 vs. Phoenix, he clearly wasn’t himself on Thursday night, leaving the game for good midway through the first quarter due to his strained groin. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Davis’ injury didn’t get any worse on Thursday, but his pain intensified whenever his mobility was tested.
“It never really felt good, but the competitive nature in me wanted to go out there and help the team as best as I could,” Davis said following the loss that ended the Lakers’ season (Twitter link via Mark Medina of USA Today). “My body didn’t agree.”
The Lakers’ loss on Thursday ended a season of “what ifs” for the franchise, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic. After flying out of the gates to a 21-6 start, the team dealt with lengthy injury absences to its two stars (Davis and LeBron James), while other key players were affected by COVID-19 (Marc Gasol and Dennis Schröder). Los Angeles never regained its early-season momentum. After winning 21 of its first 27 games, the club won just 21 of its next 45 to finish the regular season, then was eliminated in short order in the playoffs.
It was the first time in LeBron’s 18-year career that he has been knocked out in the first round of the postseason, and while the four-time MVP was disappointed with the loss, he’s looking forward to taking full advantage of a longer offseason. According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), James suggested after Thursday’s game that he won’t participate in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Dennis Schröder reportedly turned down a four-year extension worth over $80MM earlier this year, but he said on Thursday that his desire to remain with the Lakers remains strong and is “not even a question,” as Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times details. “It wasn’t about money, because everybody who knows me, it’s not about money either,” he said. “Of course, you want to be fair. But at the end of the day, not everything is about money — for me and my family. At the end of the day, if everything is good, we gonna come back and win a championship next year.”
- Sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN that some people in the organization were frustrated by Schröder’s play on the court this season, prompting the team to include him in trade talks for Kyle Lowry at March’s deadline.
- The Lakers will have to determine which players are their top priorities in free agency, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link), who notes that Schröder is just one of several rotation players up for a new contract. Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, Andre Drummond, and Markieff Morris are among those headed for unrestricted free agency, and Montrezl Harrell could join them by declining his $9.7MM player option.
- The Lakers need to upgrade their supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis this offseason, but don’t have a ton of tools at their disposal to do so, says John Hollinger of The Athletic. The club projects to be over the cap and has already traded multiple future first-round picks.
- Asked after Thursday’s loss about his history of injuries, Davis replied, “I don’t need to prove anything to anyone that’s outside this Lakers organization,” per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. However, Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times argues that Davis’ health and James’ age are growing concerns for the franchise.
CP3 will sign with the Lakers this off-season. Especially if he wins a Chip with PHX
Why would he do that? He has a great situation in PHX with a coach he likes and a talented cast of young players who are clearly better than the Lakers.
LOL Sun’s are not better than the Lakers early exit cuz of injuries period
Lakers coach Frank Vogel: “I do think we had a group that could repeat if not for the injuries.”
SUCH CRAP.
EVERY TEAM HAS INJURIES.
DEAL WITH IT.
INJURIES ARE NOT AN EXCUSE !!
They are a factor… Klayless GSW are a play in team. Same w ADless Lakers. Few teams have the depth to replace a key player like the Nuggets did.
If you are a 76er fan you will experience it without Embiid being injured for the playoffs. I was hoping he would be healthy because 76ers could go all the way if Embiid is healthy. I don’t think Simmons can carry the team.
yes they are better. Same as I saying the warriors were better than the lakers because they were down 3 starters and almost beat them in the bubble. When your team loses move on. Suns have a great young team so don’t do a Lebron and run to the locker room. Give the suns the praise they deserve.
The Suns are definitely better than the Lakers even if everyone is healthy. But aside from that, why would Paul want to go there when the Lakers core is two aging veterans in LeBron and Davis, both of whom are coming off injury-plagued seasons? Suns’ present and future is much brighter than the Lakers.
How you figure.. lakers were up 2-1 with ad playing… he got hurt again..
Chris Paul was clearly less than 100% in the two games the Lakers won.
The two games the Lakers won, Chris Paul was hurt or not playing. Suns are a better team now and will be going forward as well.
Yea Chris Paul isn’t taking a veterans exception for 8-9 mil to go there. He’s not turning down a 44 million dollar option to take less than half to go to LA. They can’t even fit that into the cap.
Paul always wants money over ring
He would lose at least $60 million if one of the Lakers stars is injured
Lakers start to decline because of salary cap
The Lakers are done! James has has done the same thing to the Lakers as he did in Cleveland and Miami! Mortgage the future and get me what I want now! James is now old and a spoiled sore azz loser! Davis is now back to his oft injured self! The cap is fully blown and the roster is getting older! Stick a fork in them, they are done! Watch for James to want out and go somewhere else where the roster is stacked! James is a joke!
The Lakers are the Lakers we’ll never be “done”
Exactly.
Lakers have the 2020 Bubble Gum title then 2010 prior. It’s not like the Ops staff has been over-stretched hanging banners these last few years…
I was born in 1983 so I’ve seen 9 championships in my lifetime. Every team has to rebuild/retool but when you can count on your team making a few runs per decade you’re happy as a fan.
LMAO you were absolutely worthless from 2013 til Lebron, you were totally done then and youre done now, now you have no cap room or draft picks to trade.
Lebron wrecks another teams future and then leaves, just like he’s done THREE TIMES before.
To be fair, the Heat only had problems because of injuries, and losing Chris Bosh twice to blood clots
We have this years 1st.. the draft picks have protections and swaps included.. they only have to give up 2 more picks.. they find talent in the 2nd round.. tht, clarkson, Thomas bryant were all 2nd round picks
“Wrecked your future” he won the Lakers a ring you clown. Just like he did in Cleveland and Miami. I have news for you: AD is signed to a max deal and they have a new banner up. He didn’t wreck a thing.
Another clown talking about the Lakers hahaha, Lakers always find a way to win rings Sun’s won’t win anything we lose cuz of the injuries that’s it
Well, 2 months ago, I picked Phoenix to win it all, if they could stay healthy, which is obviously currently a question with Chris Paul, although they do have multiple guards that can theoretically still help them deal with it a bit…I feel like it’s really close between Phoenix, Denver, and Utah, but think Phoenix edges them out slightly
As a Lakers fan I tip my cap to the Suns and hope they finish strong. They deserved to beat us for sure and look like a strong unit. I’m a fan of sports just as much as I am a fan of my teams, wish more folks on this site could look at it the same way
You sure are talking big when you you did this
2013-14 to 2018-19: routinely in LAST PLACE.
What was GSW doing in that time? Exactly.
Step aside, you are DONE. Lebron in a bizarre season structure was the only way you could have won that title, now you will go back to being nonfactors like you were pre-2013.
How can the Lakers be done? Didn’t they win the championship just last season? That’s hardly done.
“One year removed of winning the whole thing is not done.” – Gary 6:4
Its done when your star player is pushing 40 and you have no draft picks left to trade.
Thanks brother, Marty here does his best to try and make everyone hate Warriors fans but I know they aren’t all morons lol
Drummond is gone because it was reported he wanted max and Lakers may offer vet min
Harrell is a bad fit
Schroeder salary would cost Lakers $80 million
Salary $22 million plus luxury tax 58 million
So the Lakers have to get rid of Tucker and Caruso to save tax
Schroeder is gone but with money saved they will sign Caruso. Harrell may use his option. Tucker is the guy they want to sign. Drummond will be gone and Gasol too.
Do we want caruso back at over 10 million.. he’s a hustle guy but can orchestrate the offense, not great offensively and always hurt due to his style of play
Isn’t Gasol on a 2 year deal?
Oh boy it’s gonna be just like 2019. People writing a team with LeBron and AD off. Yeah it’s health permitting which is like 60/40 odds. The haters are not aware Lakers were 23-7 this year when they were healthy. But hey I’m sure a team with 2/10 best players in the sport is “done”.
Who wrote the Lakers off after getting AD? Nobody wrote them off they were picked to win it all. You sound like a drama queen. So please post who wrote the Lakers off after getting AD. ESPN gushing all over the Lakers.
Half this thread is people saying the Lakers are done despite having AD and LeBron
Not sure why you get angry about post from unknown strangers. Nobody that post here is a expert or been right 100% of the time. Just people posting stuff. Many just post to tick people off. Lakers are not done but its going to be a tough year with how many players could leave. Their strength was their bench and able to bring in good vets. Now the cap will do to them like it did to GSW.
GSW have 2 players on a max deal plus Dray at 90. Lakers actually have cap room for one more big contract.
Please don’t use such broad generalizations they offend experts like me who have a proven track record of being right and a top commenter
Lakers are def not done.
The league dodged a bullet this year.
Time for the Lakers/NBA to get together on another lopsided trade to benefit the Lakers this off season.
The Lakers got a lop sided trade for Davis trading Ingram, Randle, ball and hart plus draft picks for an injury prone Davis, you are a typical factless hater.
Lol. It would take to long for u to understand to even bother explaining it.
Pau is the reference
Pau got the grizzlies Marc
When that trade was made, Marc was over 400 pounds, and not considered a real prospect. It just worked out for Memphis that he got himself in shape over time, and became what he did, but that wasnt originally expected when he was included, and it also took a long time for that to happen
@ Zod They just got Ingram, Ball and Hart with a few draft picks. Maybe it’s not lopsided if AD isn’t as good as people think he is….
I think he was talking about the CP3 one….oh wait……
I’d trade LeBron for a similar package of Wiggins, Wiseman and Wolves pick
Not to the Warriors
Just an example
What?? Rofl
Where are those Laker fans now? Like I said from the start of the season there is no true #1 team in the NBA this year. There are 6 teams that could win the championship. I am still going with Utah. Lakers will not be getting better next year since they will be losing a big part of the bench. It was do or die for lakers this year and they died.
Right, they are my favorite to win it next year. When they don’t have to start the year after 7 weeks after title. You think we stop being Laker fans or something?
Warriors went to the finals 5 years in a row and you could tell they were tired after the 4th year. The short turn around is no excuse because other teams in the west has improved in big ways.
It wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Lakers to lose their bench next year. When Davis went down, who on the bench stepped up? Nobody.
arc, you know I’m not a Laker fan, but watching the series against Phoenix just shows the reality.
watching the playoff you can tell there are better teams. Utah is tough. Give Nuggets respect down 1 of their top 2 and still beating a good trail blazer tear. grizzlies are up and coming. Suns will get even better. Mavs are solid.
Grizzlies just need a solid #1.
Morant and Brooks are great but they need that #1 consistent guy like. Bradley Beal.
they have room under the cap to do things.
Morant will be that guy and then some. He’s just young. He has that fearless attitude like Dame. Barring injury he’ll be one of the top 10 or so players in the league.
Yes on the Nuggets !! Can you believe them.., and without Star guard Jamal Murray? Fantastic job.
Nuggets did better than I expected without one of their top 2 players. Got to give them props for not making excuses to win a tough series.
Yeah man our bench was absent. Even with a couple of superstars healthy you need your role players to chip in
GSW was that team (with Klay).
AD got hurt you genius. But hey pretend they don’t easily win the series with him playing. It’s makes the comeback next season even sweeter.
@amk Lakers will need a lot of shake up if they want to comeback next year. There’s never any continuity with these Lebron & AD Laker teams. Every competitive team is going to come back stronger and with more depth next season. Gonna be tough for y’all
They were on a tear to open the season. When you watched them play before the injuries you saw a team that looked poised to push for a repeat. Once everyone finally got back from being injured they seemed to have lost that connection. It happens. We had a very short offseason and LBJ is getting old and AD needs to heal. We will be back in the hunt next year and until then, best of luck to all of these up and coming teams who are bringing some excitement and freshness to the league
Right here laker fan, the league jobbed us and Miami with the short turnaround, don’t worry title 18 coming next year.
It’s funny, Tats was on here all week saying the league was going to make sure the Lakers won, and now you’re on here saying its’ the league fault the Lakers lost.
They need to give respect to the Suns. They were hungry and played a much better game. Lakers all year showed weakness in their team with inconsistent play and trouble with smaller teams.
I love the fact that the Lakers got bounced in the first round and everyone outside of LA knows that their ring and the Dodgers ring from last year are total jokes.
What advantage did the Lakers and Dodgers have over the other teams last year? Wasn’t everybody in the same boat? Can’t stand arguments like that.
There’s NEVER an asterisk for any championship at any time. Every team is in the same boat with injuries or short schedules or whatever.
The only Advantage a team may have such as Los Angeles is the big city draw some players may be attracted to. That’s about it.
I’m not saying they had any advantages, I’m saying a 60 game baseball season doesn’t carry the same weight as a 162 game season. I don’t remember how many games the NBA played, but I know the bubble was lame. Deep down, Lakers and Dodgers fans know those rings are cheaper than the ones won during real seasons.
Because of everything that was going on in 2020, these championships felt better than any normal season.
It felt special and also a return to normal.
A reminder that not everything was bad in 2020.
I wouldn’t trade 2020 rings for 10 “normal” championships.
Stay jealous
@tedtheodorelogan… No one does!!!
Only you in your warped mind, right?
BTW I ain’t a LAL or Dodgers fan, but * don’t exist in sports, dude, only haters & sore losers like yourself, right?
Nah, the NBA season last year was a joke, half the teams literally opted out and they didnt play 82. The gap alone..I was screaming the entire time to not even bother with the playoffs, just cancel the postseason, for this exact reason.
As for MLB, we all know we NEED 162 games to fully get who the best teams are, and we reward health to those who stay healthy for most if not all the season, so playing only 2 months worth of games aint it, and not to mention the absolutely pathetic scheduling, so teams basically ONLY played their own division – I can totally get behind the Dodgers title being on the * side.
I acknowledge the titles happened, but they are kinda BS ones.
Astros have an asterisk on theirs, in my mind.
Lakers and Dodgers don’t because as you said, it was an equal playing field for everyone in 2020.
Clown take. The NBA basically played a full regular season last year. The ring doesn’t count because they played at a neutral site? You’re delusional if you that makes a big impact. If anything it hurt the Lakers more since they were going to be the #1 seed. And the Dodgers won more playoff games than any champ with the added round. It’s only joke rings when your team got knocked out.
A joke? EVERY team had to go through the exact same circumstances and had the exact same opportunity to win those titles in their respective leagues. I’m sure if your team won it would be a different perspective
Did it to themselves. Signed Drummond for no reason, when they needed wing help. Started Drummond when they had a good big rotation already, and likely would need to bench someone for the playoffs anyway, and go smaller, especially in certain matchups. Refused to use players that would help in what was already a tough matchup, and insisted on sticking with certain guys. I picked Phoenix to beat them 2 months ago in 6, although I thought it was a close matchup that LeBron and/or Davis could win for them, so it’s not surprising for them to lose, but they just helped it happen…
not sure they should keep Schroder, but they might have to for cap reasons. THT should have played more in this matchup. Not sure what their options are for keeping him, but he would be higher priority than Schroder, if it were me. I would lean towards keeping Caruso for now. Not sure about Markieff Morris, but if they could keep him cheaply, they could use the depth he gives them. They should let Drummond walk for anything above the minimum, and if Harrell opts out, maybe they can get him to work with them on a sign and trade to get them something useful, and consider seeing what they can get from Devontae Cacock as an energy big off the bench to replace him. Probably grab a cheap backup rim protector, with Drummond walking, and have Gasol/Cacock/whoever they get as their 5s behind Davis, with Morris or LeBron also being able to give them minutes there in small lineups…they need to grab at least 2 wing players, 3 if they lose Wes Matthews and/or THT
Drummond sounded good on paper but when I watched him play he looked clunky and didn’t seem to work well with our guys. I think he’d be a decent big off the bench to burn up some minutes and clog the paint but I would’ve preferred we stuck with Gasol and Trez coming off the bench first…we definitely needed wings that.could shoot
Lakers got cooked but…they did win a title! less than a year ago.
I know AD was injured throughout the season, but even when healthy, he didn’t seem “right” – certainly not dominating games like he used to. Perhaps a career’s worth of injuries is catching up to him?
Probably because he shouldn’t be playing the 4 at this point
Cant beleive what I’m hearing today about Lebron leaving to join the Nets. Miami was bad enough. Then you got Anthony Davis is LA, now the Nets? Unreal!
Are you kidding that’d be epic
He’s not going to the Nets lol
Restructuring the Lakers for next year is obviously a bit of a crapshoot. They have two max contracts in LBJ and AD (regardless of past injuries); their 2nd best defensive player and best true point guard, Caruso (who sees 2 passes ahead of playmaking he starts) they unquestionably need to sign-and start. He was also their best 3 point shooter – the LEAGUE’S best 3 point shooter – midway thru the season. And his +/- singly and in combo with LBJ and /or AD is off the charts plus they love having him on the court…as does Vogel. And he’s a team leader now – a very vocal veteran quarterbacking guy from both sides of the floor…and the bench. PS I was SHOCKED that he was not even mentioned when he left with an aggravated ankle strain he’d been playing through. When the Suns lead was down to 10 he could have made a huge difference in the outcome!
Schroeder sees HIS pass but no further with no court vision; his streaky scoring doesn’t compensate, and he’s possibly their worst defensive player – even behind the ushers! He turned down an extension when he was playing “ok” and his weid Cid-19 situation and confusing, stubborn answers about it & inoculations was bizarre- I hope the Lakers don’t even match any offers he gets in free agency – just let the doorknob hit him in the butt.
I like Drummond, and he’s young and shouldn’t cost a mint to keep. He simply never had time to get into the Lakers’ offensive and defensive schemes and learn the other players’ tendencies . He’s also averaged a double-double every previous year except his rookie season. He’s a keeper and could be with them for years.
Kuuuz has not panned out. No idea why, as he started out so well from his rookie season the the next couple, then started seriously backsliding offensively; his defense has improved, but the front line defense is covered with AD, Drummond, and AC effectively guarding big men on switches. He’s become expendable trade bait.
THT is inconsistent but jeez, he’s only in his 1.5 or so year! A keeper off the bench for now; future starting off guard and co-point (don’t forget that except for center – sometime = the Lakers play a modern positionless game).
KCP is streaky but another keeper if possible. Even when not hitting he’s excellent as Caruso’s 2nd or 3rd-pass guy and has seriously improved on offense.
Harrel was in a tough spot because of Gasol but Gasol will be gone…hopefully (his 3 point shooting is fun but the rest of his game has mostly left him). He’ll fit better next year and do what he did with the Clips!
Virtually every other player was an old guy on a minimum as filler; one of their 2-ways,; problem children cast off by other teams; or single skill players who weren’t panning out on their old teams. In most cases – buh-bye.
They need to build this team around the players who work together and are defensive powerhouses- AD, LBJ ( LBJ not so much on defense)AC and Drummond, and keep the few solid or developing guys they can afford – Harrel, KCP and THT.
Those are your 6 core players. And that’s a damned strong core.
But they still need one consistent 20-30 point 3 point sharpshooter. The rest can be role players, but without ONE consistent outside shot guy they may be 3rd or 4th…or worse if they get hit by injuries, quarantines or similar like this year. Without the injuries IMO they would have been the favorites.
Nice post –
I disagree on some but your write up on Dennis was on point IMO –
Rob is going to have one of the toughest off-season’s of any GM no doubt –
I think LeBron eats up like 50% of Schroeder’s value playing alongside him…. Dennis is a solid player at 100% value at 50% he would be a huge huge overpay….. A S&T is ideal but Im kinda at the point of taking the Let him walk route rather than eat tax money and stay route; even if it means letting him walk for nothing…..
They will have to know they can get a PG on the vet min or MLE (don’t see many great options MLE ) for this tho……….. Tough range / Tough call
I worry on THT…even a 4/50 is risky…fun player for the fans, we love the drafted in org guys forever and always it seems, but his game plays kinda backwards in todays modern NBA
I think Trez declines knowing he’d probably be traded on an expiring if he opts in …Least he can chose location this way, money should be near same
Key to the off-season will be finding better shooting, quicker defenders, and reliable bench depth. All at low cost. Not easy.
RIP Lakers, everyone talks about how “screwed” GSW is, but the Lakers are 1000000x worse
So unless they decide to do a rebuild now and trade away AD and Lebron the future looks bleak for them. Tucker is their only real young player with a future. Lost of mediocre players and 2 stars. No future draft picks to build on. They went all in this year and came up way short.
The mental gymnastics Laker haters have to do is comical. They are “screwed” despite having two top 10 players in the sport. Yeah sure. And they were “all in” on this year despite having AD/LeBron both signed long term. They were all in because they rented Dennis Schroder for a season???? lmao.
LeBron is not going to get better with age. His body will break down more and more. AD is shown as a injured prone player. Kuzma is a bench player. The west is only getting younger and stronger. Lakers are going to need to have a great draft and pick up some unpolished gems. That is a lot to ask for.
Player I’d like to see the lakers go after is Norman Powell.. kid is younger and just entering prime. He can flat out ball and has championship dna
It was just a matter of time before LeBron lost a first round series in the West after being a big fish in a small pond (aka the eastern conference) all those years he dominated during his prime. If the Lakers manage to return to the playoffs in 2022 there’s a very good chance they will get bounced once again by one of the top 4 teams making his record 1-2 in the first round against the vastly superior West.
How about last year when he went 12-3 in the west playoffs. I don’t want to hear about the bubble or how the Clippers choked. It’s basketball at the end of the day.
Pelinka did a good job the past two seasons in “zero + 2” based team building around LBJ and AD. Certainly some guys didn’t work out, but overall he improved the roster from what it would have been by trying to just run it back. He’ll have to it again. He starts with 120 mm on the cap, and only 6 bodies. Bird Rights on DS and Caruso. RFA (EB) rights on THT. Does have his 1st (20th?). Likely just the Tx-MLE.
I think the Lakers bring back Drummond for cheap, he can take a beating grabbing boards which will be less wear and tear for AD, Schroeder is gone though, have a feeling it’ll be a sign and trade so they get at least something back for him. I could see them going after Lowry who could help and won’t be too high of a salary cap hit. Curious to see how this offseason shakes out. It’s really weird to me how nobody in the media seems to be talking about how the Lakers and the Heat both had similar seasons after reaching the finals and it’s obvious it’s due to them rushing the start of this season and those teams not getting nearly enough of a offseason to rest their bodies. Next season they’ll be back. All this talk I’m seeing if their window closed is ridiculous
I wonder if the lakers miss Julius Randle yet??? You could see he was ascending to allstar status in L.A and now he’s an allstar, most improved, has muscle and isn’t a skinny weakling and yes of course….he knows how to stay healthy!
Julius is balling for sure but when you have a chance to get a star like AD you take it. It’s such a crap shoot to sit on prospects and hope they turn into stars that can carry a team, so many many teams have fallen on the sword trying to do that with their homegrown talent. For those that are pushing the league being lopsided and gifting players to the Lakers are complete trolls. The talent the Lakers gave up for AD has turned out to be a pretty massive haul.
Feels like Xmas in here for a lot of posters with enough emotional drivel to fill the Ellen show up till she rides off into the sunset
Rob was praised almost unanimously in the offseason; the mix didn’t work, it happens, time to roll up the sleeves and get back to it again
They have plenty of options via trade, S&T and bird rights…
One thing Ill say , like it or not, the Lakers will 100% need to Load manage AD and LBJ next year BETTER ….It was admirable to me LBJ was at perfect attendance the game before the AS break (as an old school guy) but its just not the right move today
Congrats to the PHX Suns……altho injs are huge it was apparent from jump street this team played with more heart, hustle, and had a greater grasp on their identity going in ….the better team won for 2021,,,,thats cool, de Nada, Lakers will be back Fresh, strong and with a new cast of characters 22
Just saying that this year was their best chance to win. Its only going to get tougher with 4 or 5 teams that are young and should improve. They will need to give up some of their bench which will put even more pressure on LeBron. They should deal Kouzma but his trade value is way down. I don’t see players signing with them for a ring because thee will be teams with better chances. It will come down to Schroder or Caruso getting a contract. I doubt both will sign.
They will fine next year
For those who care not to be emotion based on LeBron watching you can see he’s somehow become smarter on the court every year and now is subbing things like flying thru the air for bully ball….
The huge drop-off just isnt there, and his game ages REALLY well if you care to watch with an unbias eye.
I understand why people dont like LeBron off the court (Im not huge on him either), ill never argue them, but between the lines after tip…???… Your missing a special player, and I think it’s a mistake
Re-tool- Load manage the 2 thru the year- They will be fine for the 22 playoffs. The doom and gloom is all hyperbolic but have your day if you must
Once the suns started double team LeBron he became a passer. He is like all stars needs to have great players around him. The older you get the harder it is to keep playing at a superior level. He was injured almost half of the regular season off so what happens next year if he plays a long season? His coaches better play him about 30 minutes a game even if it means a lost in the regular season.
Who was he passing to? Our bench left him high and dry and without AD on the floor all they needed to do was double LeBron and that was a wrap
1 Knock I will add tho Arc is that I believe LeBron made a major mistake not taking a Tom Brady discount for his last title runs (regardless of team)
I can understand why 98% of players will not/ and should never take a discount but getting AD alongside this should have been about Legacy not dollars for LBJ his last contract ink … I wonder what Curry will do next, ….
Nobody knows what Curry will do at this time. Like Lebron he is set for life so having the biggest contract shouldn’t be a thing unless its about pride. Is curry worth a max deal is the question? Next 2 years but after that he will go down in value. That is why I don’t want them to trade draft picks. Will they be good in 2 years?
He is def worth max, his game will age well
The thing is, will he willingly take less like Brady did to possibly heighten his chance at a ring in the future
LBJ makes 100 mill per yr; I wonder if going from 37 to 25 on Lakers payroll ever crossed his mind even
He might take less but not a lot less. More likely I am betting he doesn’t take all the years. I doubt he goes more than a 4 years deal.
I might sound crazy but during the Lakers Warriors series I called Steph coming to LA. Something just hit me and I got a weird feeling about it. It’s wishful thinking but it would be pretty cool. I’m sure the Warriors fans are going to go nuclear on this take but it’s just a gut feeling that I had while watching those play in games
Lakers are going to be one of the top teams next year for sure if Davis and Bron are healthy. But at the same point, you have to expect some blowback considering some of the takes posters on here have had to listen to all year.
Not talking you…Not talking AMK.
But you gotta get it.
Totally get the blowback, and much/fairly deserved, but the lack of basketball IQ presented is staggering
I get the LeBron hate, but at some point if your a fan of basketball it just doesn’t make that much sense to at least not tune into the basketball genius he still brings to the floor these last years .
100 percent agreed.
There is so many teams that could get better next year in the West. Suns, Mavs, Nuggets, and Jazz will bring back most of their team. Grizzlies are young and can get better with cap room. GSW will have Thompson, Wiseman and 2 draft picks on top of most players back but Oubre. Lakers have a bunch of tough decisions. So does the trailbalzers. Clippers a lot of decisions to make. T-wolves should be healthy. There is 10 teams that all could be top team if things go right. right now you couldn’t pick who is the best team for next year because its a guess.
Every team has their share of biased and insane posters behind them. Not all of us Lakers fans are completely clueless and some of us like myself respect the game just as much as we love our team. The Lakers got beat and the Suns were the better team but those that are saying the Lakers won’t be back in the hunt next year are just trolling
Lakers should have done way more resting mid season when everyone was hurting. Probably would have netted more wins if they just let everyone make a full recovery instead of running out Bron and AD at 50% over and over.
S&T Schroder. Re-up THT and Caruso. Montrezl declined his option.
Sign Victor Oladipo using the MLE. Sign Harkless, two of Howard/Boogie/Whiteside to min deals.
Trade Kuzma and a 1st for Malik Beasley.
That’s at least a start. Beasley, Dipo, LBJ, AD, Howard/Boogie/Whiteside.
THT, Caruso, Harkless and one of the centers off the bench.
They can also insert THT into the lineup and AD to the 5.
KCP off the bench too.
I don’t know if they would want that much risk involved in VO
THT and Kuzma in a S&T for Lowry makes sense for both sides – 2/50 for Lowry
Lowry is old idk why ppl think signing him to a big deal is a good idea.
I would love to have Dwight back. I don’t blame Rob for going after Trez but Dwight just knew how to play with Bron and AD and I remember watching games during the bubble and thinking to myself that they wouldn’t be playing as well without Dwight. He outshined Kuz as their “3rd option” and when he wasn’t brought back it hurt us
I’d keep THT and Caruso out of that group of free agents. Alex you can get for cheap and THT needs to start next year.