The Lakers‘ addition of Russell Westbrook should ease the burden on LeBron James as a playmaker and scorer. The newest Laker sees that as his main role with the team, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.
“Bron is one of the best players to play this game, and his ability to be able to kind of do everything on the floor allows me to be able to just figure it out,” Westbrook said. “I’m coming to a championship-caliber team and my job is to make sure that I’m able to make his game easier for him, and I’ll find ways to do that throughout the game.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers are negotiating with Miles Simon to become the head coach of their G League team, the South Bay Lakers, ESPN’s Zach Lowe tweets. Simon would also retain a role on Frank Vogel‘s staff, Lowe adds.
- The Warriors didn’t make a splashy move for a veteran guard and they’re looking at Jordan Poole to play a prominent role, particularly until Klay Thompson is ready to return to the starting lineup. according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Being able to bring someone back of that type of caliber, it’s going to separate us,” Poole said of Thompson. “We don’t want to rush him back. Whenever he’s healthy and able to benefit, we will jump to another level as a team.” Poole, who averaged 12 PPG last season, is entering his third season.
- Reggie Jackson‘s new contract with the Clippers includes a 15% trade kicker, Lowe reports in another tweet. Jackson received a two-year, $22MM deal to remain in Los Angeles.
- Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss most or all of next season as he recovers from knee surgery. However, the Clippers won’t be able to apply for a $9.5MM disabled player exception for Leonard because he entered free agency and re-signed since suffering the injury, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
I’d start Iguodala not Poole
Temporary starters
Curry
Iguodala
Wiggins
Bjelica
Green
Looking to trade Wiggins, Wiseman and Moody for two good players via third team
Why do want to trade Wiggins, Wiseman, and Moody? They won’t make the playoffs this decade if you do that.
Howie, the warriors can’t go through another season of Andrew Wiggins. I will hide in the basement if I have to watch him shoot Flatline jumpers one minute and amazing spin moves to the hole for a layup the next. You just don’t know what you’re getting from this guy and if there going to be a playoff team you can’t have Andrew Wiggins on the floor in crunch time. And for 30 million bucks he’s not going to sit. He has to have one foot out the door and the other foot on a banana peel as far as I’m concerned.
With James Wiseman you have to give up something to get something so he’s probably going to be shown the door as well. That’s IF there’s someone available between now and the trading deadline. If not, they develop him and see what happens. Same with Moses Moody. You have to give up something to get something. (Jonathan kuminga is going nowhere he is their stud of the future.)
So, you are like Marty McRae. You would like to see the Warriors spend the next decade losing. I realize Silli-boy is from Afghanistan, and wants to piss people off. But, why do you people in Boston want to annoy actual Warrior fans.
So Howie, you think the Warriors are all set with this roster right here? This is how they’re going to run the season? I think they can still improve and I think they’re working hard how to figure out how.
And Howie there’s no way you could possibly be a Western Conference Finals team with Andrew Wiggins as your small forward. There’s just no way. He has to go. Even people in Boston know that and even me in California knows that.
And Howie925, are you old enough to remember when pickup basketball was amazing on Bollinger Canyon at Central Park in the 90s and 2000’s? People would roll up at midnight on a Monday and call next. Good Times.
San Ramon is hardly basketball paradise. The Warriors won with Harrison Barnes; I don’t see why they can’t win with Andrew Wiggins…I grew up in the poorer part of the County.
Not “is”… “WAS.” 90’s. They took away the basketball courts and put in a skate park. Go figure.
@Gary
Admittedly, I probably haven’t seen as many games as you have but at 48%/38%/71% it appears that he tends to make an above average % shots. HE CAN improve, especially from FT but his averages are not that far from him being a 50% from the floor and 40% from the 3 shooter. what’s the beef?
KnicksCavsFan, Wiggins is more in the mold of DeMar DeRozan and Tom Chambers and Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen. NOT in the mold of Kyle Lowry and Charles Barkley and John Stockton and Michael Jordan.
The first group are allstars but with the game on the line they don’t come through. They’ll dribble off their foot and sprawl out on the ground while everyone is running the other way, or miss a key 18-foot jump shot or some other costly play in make or break time.
The second group, you just give them the ball and get out of the way. Something good will happen with two minutes left in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.
Andrew Wiggins is in the first group. He can get you 20.., but he can’t get you 2. Just my opinion from watching Andrew Wiggins. He’ll Amaze you then he’ll have you pulling your hair out. I don’t want him on the Warriors any more, he has to go. I can watch him the first three quarters but after that forget it.
You say he can improve but on those numbers I don’t know. It’s possible and what do I know? A lot of nothing LOL. But with that flat jump shot I don’t think his percentages will rise. I think the 20-21 Wiggins was the best you’ll ever see from him. He’s 26 and the development has crested. It’s all about execution now and that’s what separates group a from Group B. Not sure you can learn that at a high level. You either have it or you don’t. Just my opinion of course. I’ve seen you here for years and you know more basketball that I do that’s for sure.
Sillivan, I think the Warriors will be sitting right next to the phone all the way up to the trading deadline. They’ve got a lot of assets and they’re pretty deep. They’ve got Youth and veterans.
I don’t think Andre Iguodala starts on this team even with Klay Thompson out for now. They’ll probably start Wiseman Green Wiggins Curry and Otto Porter Jr. Iggy will be saved for the playoffs and crunch time.. if the Warriors make it that far. With green starting you got to have a shooter out there and that’s NOT Andre Iguodala. The last 2 minutes of the game you need defense out there and that IS Andre Iguodala.
I would start Poole better playmaker and shooter, unless you need defense.
Jordan Poole plays when Curry sits with perhaps a few overlapping minutes if Poole can be trusted with the starters for periods of time.
The Warriors are short of ball handlers at the guard spot so I don’t think you can start Jordan Poole. That would mean way too many minutes for him at this point.
It’s probably really good for you that Kuminga fell then cause so far in summer league since he looks more than capable of handling the ball. Problem is turnovers, 13 in 3 games. He’ll figure it out but makes you wonder if Kerr will let him play through them or not. (My guess is yes?)
Got to ask you though as a warriors fan, after seeing how great Mitchell has looked in summer league so far, do you regret them not taking him especially with backup guard being position of need?
Sexland, I think the consensus was that Mitchell would be ready to go right now. It’s just that what you see now is probably what you’ll get 3 years from now, four years from now. He’ll be a “good” player. Some of these other guys will be amazing players “possibly.” And that’s a big if, but it’s enough of a chance to take the pic over Mitchell.
Yeah that’s fair, I mean potential is what drives most draft picks. Kuminga looks like he could be great. And the fact he has Draymond to be his mentor for defense and passing and then Steph for shooting, this kid should be set up for success. And same with Moody. Great pick at 14.
Warriors aren’t trading Wiggins and certainly not Wiseman. Iggy will be a bench guy, he can’t score. Poole perfect for the 2.
Finally someone who get’s it!
Fire bob meyers. Fire bob meyers. Should replace warrrriorrrrs as the crowd chant this year
Moody is looking good this summer league. Not sure about Kuminga: The warriors are still a ways from having a quality bench. They still don’t have Shaun Livingston, David West, and Prime Iggy.
I’d give a 1st to get Kyle Anderson on this dubs team. He’d replace a lot of what Livingston brought but more size, younger, and a better scorer. I’d imagine Bjelicia is effectively their David West. Otto Porter is their new Iguodala, as he’s been watching Iggy film from 2015-2018 and wants to help in a similar way.
Jordan Poole is more Barbosa/Jordan Clarkson than Iggy/Livingston, but it’s not easy to find guys like that. The dubs are already top heavy so it made sense not to trade the depth they just got for a Beal or Simmons as that’d make them a 7/8 seed due to having the same problem they did last year: no depth. This team finally has some depth. Avery Bradley would be nice, but a
Steph/Lee/Wigs/Dray/Loon
Poole/Porter/JTA/Bjelicia/Wiseman
Iggy/Moody/Kuminga with Klay on the horizon looks so much better than
Steph/Baze/Wigs/Dray/Loon
Poole/JTA/Mulder/Nico/Bell(the last two not getting playing time). We had an 8man rotation a mont and a half before the playoffs even started. That was an enormous problem. Porter is an upgrade over Oubre and fits a lot better. Bjelicia, Moody, Iggy and a healthy Damion Lee are better than Bell, Bazemore, Nico and Mulder. While Bazemore would’ve been nice to have back, we wouldn’t have the role we had for him this year and Lee does a lot what he did, just without all the fouls. Even the Dubs LockedOn podcast preached starting5 other Wiggins(Otto at the 3) or Lee+Moody at SG so your 2nd unit remains consistent. With Iggy/Poole/JTA/Bjelicia/Wiseman.
I have high hopes Poole+Wiseman can put on a taller(6’4/7’) version of LouWil/Trez(6’1/6’7). Especially consistently going up against backups and opposing 2nd units. While Patty Mills/Austin Rivers/Kemba/Raul Neto would’ve been fiiiine additions as 2nd unit PG’s, I think the idea is that Iggy+Poole bring about as much playmaking as an average backup PG, which isn’t so far fetched. This team is a LOT better than last years, and I expect Wiggins to have an even better yesr(last month and a half+w/Canada he was 21/5 and 41% from 3) with his first non COVID off season/training camp and having Otto Porter/Poole/Lee/Moody/Eventually Klay(Not Oubre) and Looney/Bjelicia(Not Wiseman) on the court to aid with spacing as opposed to destroying the spacing. It wouldn’t shock me if Wiggins went from last year’s 19ppg to a 21ppg and had an extra assist a game and shot around 39-40%.
Still just 26 years old until February, he got better as the season went on and was damn near elite once Bazemore and Looney replaced Oubre and Wiseman as starters. A healthy Porter is a better player than Bazemore and Oubre, and a healthy Bjelicia is much better than Wiseman(right now, though I have high hopes he figures it out eventually…unless Detroit wants him for Saddiq Bey. I’d do that in a heartbeat.)
Apologies for the length. Enjoy the rest of your day good sirs.
NOT a lot of spacing in that lineup. It’s almost 100% going to be either Steph/Poole/Wigs/Dray/Looney OR Steph/Wigs/Porter/Dray/Looney. Iggy is at NO POINT in his career to get more than 15 minutes a game, LET ALONE START. His signing is little more than symbolic. Also, the ENTIRE point of Porter’s role(per interviews he’s had)is that he wants to essentially replace the role Iggy had back in 2015. Porter’s a far better fit than Oubre was on the roster, due to being an elite shooter(40%+).
The reason they got Iggy is to aid in the leadership factor so you at home don’t have to see Steph yell at teammates on the sideline. In all seriousness, Damion Lee and Moses Moody have the best odds of playing Klay’s role the best,as Lee is a 38% outside shooter as a Warrior, Adams Moody js more or less played Klays role the last 5 years.
While Moody’s looked good in summer league, to say that Kuminga has been anything less than impressive is bonkers and I’d love whatever you’ve been smoking. Kuminga was supposed to look really bad. The fact he’s shown flashes of why he was considered a top 5 talent and the athleticism he’s displayed at 18 years of age is extremely impressive. Everyone writing about or talking about or within the Warriors has been ecstatic with Kuminga as he has ONLY EXCEEDED expectations based on how he was supposed to look.
He’s 6’8/220 at 18 and has been shouldering big men with one side of his body and completing layups with the other. 18 year old DONT DO THAT♂️ That’s what you expect from KD/Kawhi/Ben Simmons/Giannis/LeBron, not an 18 year old. His NBA ready body and hustle alone has earned him a role on this team. Not as the backup 3/4, but a role. Moody, however, is of course more ready-as per everyone who had eyes prior to the draft. His long wingspan will help him defend at the NBA level immediately, which is why I believe starting him and Lee at SG will provide a nice balance until Moody can be a consistent shooter.
I don’t mind starting Poole, however it was my assumption they’d want to keep him in his role all year as opposed to shuffling him back and forth between 1st and 2nd team based on Klay’s health. A 2nd unit of Iggy/Poole/JTA/Bjelicia/Wiseman is great for everyone. Iggy and Poole=one NBA backup PG’s worth of playmaking between the two of them, JTA’s Swiss Army knife versatility should do him fine there, and Bjelicia will aid Wiseman TREMENDOUSLY. There’s a reason the Steph/Oubre/Wigs/Dray/Wiseman lineup was near the bottom and Steph/Baze/Wigs/DrayLoon was Top10. Now there are more players that compliment each other better.
I’d still give Avery Bradley half the MLE but if they’re comfortable right now then whatever. A Poole/Bradley/JTA/Bjelicia/Wiseman 2nd unit and a Steph/Wigs/Porter/Dray/Loon with Iggy/Lee/Moody/Kuminga and an extra guy until Klay’s back is a MUCH deeper team than last year.
However any iteration of Lee/Moody/Avery Bradley/Wiggins starting at SG bodes well for a team that appears to rely on Jordan Poole to generate offense for the 2nd unit.
An Iggy/Lee/JTA/Porter/Wiseman 2nd unit would be nice too, for sure, and I’m sure we see iterations of these lineups throughout the first few weeeks to see what works but I think their goals are:
1. for Iggy to help out as a PG/playmaker for every one of the 14 minutes Steph isn’t in the game
2. For Wiseman to destroy backup centers across the league
3. For Porter to reinvent himself as a 3 and D/6th man/SF-PF
4. for Jordan Poole to further his Jordan Clarkson Impression.
5. For Moody and Kuminga provide replacement level 10 minutes a night, that’d mean the world, however I believe the Dubds have fallen in love with Kuminga and his output in summer league provide zero reasons to believe anything otherwise. They project him as a guy that can play SF/PF/C and needs to work on long passes and long shots but his body is ready for this league, his mind is not.
Again, right now the best fits to start alongside Steph/Wigs/Dray/Looney are Lee, Moody, and Porter. Poole absolutely fits, however idk how that works for his development late in the season when Klay returns to the starting lineup, unless they insert Klay as a 6th man.
Iggy is 2+ years removed from being capable of starting regardless of team. If he plays more than 17 minutes a game it’d be nothing less than a miracle. Iggy’s job is more or less to lead the locker room and help Moody/Kuminga/Wiseman(&Porter/Bjelicia to a lesser degree) figure out the system and develop into key role players throughout the season. I’m not saying Bjelicia won’t see time with the starters, however I believe they got him to play a lot of stretch 4 next to Wiseman on the 2nd unit to provide another veteran on the bench. Even getting Avery Bradley to start would be a great grab as he’s still just 30 and brings an element this team lacks in everyone not named Gary Payton II- above average point of attack defense. Steph showed last year he’s not a negative on defense, but Bradley allows Steph to not guard Dame/Kyrie/CP3/etc.
I wish we could’ve nabbed Patty Mills/Austin Rivers/Kemba Walker or Raul Neto(or Reggie Jackson/Dennis Schroder ofc) but they didn’t so oh well. I’d take Bradley’s 3 and D over an Elfrid Payton/Isaiah Thomas/Dante Exum/Dennis Smith Jr type. Frank Ntilikina would be fun though, as he brings some potential and elite defense as well, but Bradley brings reliable shooting and defense, albeit in a PG’s body. Unfortunately he’s not a playmaker like the others listed but I do believe Iggy can run the second unit for stretches at a time, and I’m sure they expect some 2ndary creation from guys like Porter, Lee, Poole and JTA.
Are you trying out for a job with trade rumors?…..jeesh
Didn’t say anything of importance. And certainly doesn’t know Warriors.
Marty you going to let this pass lol ????
Or is this you,……..
Wow that’s huge. Clippers could’ve used that money to sign a decent player. Even one who gets bought out later. Clippers will probably be 7-5 seed without Kawhi. They will be dangerous with Kawhi in Playoffs. Imagine them as 7th seed. Going to get interesting.
I have this weird feeling that the Clippers will come out of nowhere and be really good, like a 2,3,4 seed, without Kawhi. Totally a gut feeling though, I have nothing to support this argument.
The first sentence of this article might be the most “captain obvious” statement I’ve ever read… like yeah I would think that adding a guy who can score, averages a tripe double and plays point guard might in fact ease the burden on LeBron James to be a playmaker and scorer hahaha. I mean no offense I understand the point being made but I just find it funny… like I would hope so!!
I also laughed, but mostly at how mad Lebron fans are going to get at it, as it implies Lebron is not the GOAT and needs help and that playmaking and scoring is somehow a “burden” for him now, doesn’t sound like the GOAT to me? Steph had to do everything last year, and didn’t even have AD!
LeFraud always shows through…
I’m a big Westbrook guy. Him being from LA. I know he will do all he can to fit in. Bron will only need to lead team to close gms out. Or if they really need him. If AD has an MVP type season. Then Bron will be needed more in playoffs . To me the Lakers weakness will be their bench. That’s where we will have to monitor team. I know players who get bought out. Will want to join Lakers. So they will have options all thru the year.
Their bench won’t be a problem. Haha.
If anything the fit of their starters could be a problem, but their bench is really good.
Westbrook will definitely ease the burden on LeBron to fill up his scoresheet. Lakers fans will enjoy watching their new guy trying to get triple-doubles at the cost of their team winning games. It’s futile to expect otherwise from one of the most selfish and obstinate players in the history of the game. Have fun going in the toilet Lakers.
I think at age 33 Westbrook has come to the realization that he can’t do everything himself. I think this will be a success in many different ways.
As opposed to everyone standing in the corner and watching James Harden dribble
At least we didn’t take 4 first round picks and CP3 for him lol
Who’s left from your Harden Westbrook dynasty team? Coach? Front Office? Players?
Be lucky your owner didn’t sell the team after that disaster.
Ben Gordon
Eric Gordon ??
RIP Wall?
Whether the Lakers win it all or not, it’s going to be fun watching them anyway. Just sit back and have some fun.
Well shiz , he sure said all the right things
A+ on the forever meaningless presser
LeBron’s gotta bite the apple as well tho.
Statistically (on the aggregates ) this should be his worst season ever, and he should be making peace with that now, rather than @ X-mas time
I love Jordan Poole, who btw, looks HUGE now?? Dude went to the gym the second they got knocked out, which is a big thing, because we just saw what happened when Steph finally bulked up this season…dominance. Poole got the goods, he could be a real factor this season.
The problem isn’t making Poole replace Klay for a while, its who replaces Poole in the second unit, unless GSW breaks with its weird minutes restrictions on all of their plays (no 40 MPG ever unless extremely undermanned), they need someone else to step up down the line. Hopefully Moody can be that guy right from Day 1.
Warriors need Kuminga and Wiseman to have good yrs. We all hope Klay will be back strong for second half. No need to rush him. Unless they make a big trade. These two are the ones. Who can up their gm and help Curry, Wiggins. Put the Warriors back on the playoff map. Warriors should be stronger and better for playoffs.
Be nice to see Wiggins score 20 a gm again.
Warriors made a smart move keeping their young guys. Kuminga and Wiseman will be a stars. With Wiseman, Poole, Moody and Kuminga that is a nice young core to have as Steph, Kay and Draymond age. Wiggins is still only 26. And Otto Porter Jr and Bjelica should help with depth this year