Kind of silly if KG is there either Towns or Okafor should be wanting to play for Minny. I hated some of the fake toughness KG bought to the court later in his career but the guys skill level, knowledge of the game, his intensity is something that is just not there as much as it used to be in the league. I would take a prime KG as my PF on my "all-time" team - dude was such a beast. Reading about his return to Minny it seems all the young guys on that team have started to follow his leadership and mentorship. KG could do wonders for a guy like Towns or Okafor -- at the very least we'll know how mentally strong the kids are if KG gets into their heads in their first practice
Well..I don't see how a frontcourt of Randle and Okafor can weild good results next season to get them in the POs. the defence will be awful. But I also don't think that the Lakers will wait long and let their youngsters grow, they will go for the stars asap. From young and upcoming teams my valuation of the young cores is : 1) Jazz. Amazing prospects at every position except for SG. They need to find a young back up C or a good PG to teach Exum . Also consider trading Burke away. 2) Bucks. 2-4 set with good prospects with star potential.1 is a questionmark and need a good starting Center in the next 2 years. 3) Orlando. Good talent but they are bad fitting so far. They NEED a good coach and someone to teach them team defence. With Winslow they will have the luxury to either let Harris go or better S+T him for some other asset. They are in the East and with good team defence they can reach the PO next season. 4) Philly. Russel + ?? + Convington + Noel + Embiid (saric 6th man ) all depends on Embiid obviously but if he is the historical good prospect at Center as many believe he will be and if his stress fractures don't repeat Philly will rise fast and noone will laugh at them anymore. Depending on next season and what he shows on the court they can rise fast on top of this list. 5) Wolves. Rubio + Lavinne + Wiggins + Shabbaz + Towns with Dieng and Bennet coming off the bench. Has a lot of growing to do and smh convince Pekovic to retire for medical reasons. The reason I put it at 5th is because their management and FO has proved that they are imbeciles but I hope this change. Also they need a better coach next season but I don't see it happening. 6) Detroit. Hoping that Drummond can get some post moves, they trade Jennings and KCP and the shooter they draft can contribute. They are in good hands with their coach/gm though. 7) Charlotte...poor drafting and needs shooting. Bad Coach. Hope they can keep Biyombo and Vonleh shows smth next year. Also MKG learns to shoot. 8) Celtics. No amazing prospect so far . Tons of picks though and I don't think Ainge will waste his time for long and will look for a quick fix fast. I think the Jazz have a very good chance to be in the playoffs in the WEST next season. Don't sleep on them. (i know many of you hate them tho). The Kings should be added somewhere in that list but not sure where because of FO questions and Cousins questions. Will they stick with him and build around or look to trade? Also the Wizards to me have surpassed the rebuilding level and have reached contender status -for East standards ofc.
I'd rather dig the upstart Bucks. The Greek, Parker, Middleton, Henson, and Carter-Williams all under 25. Went from 29 to 2nd in defensive efficiency with Kidd at the helm. Already a playoff team in the east. Could be contenders in 2-3 years if all goes well.
Lakers have a good prospect in Jordan Clarkson. When they injected him as a starter, he was pretty damn good. In 38 games as an NBA starting point guard he put up: 15 ppg 5 assist 4 rebounds 45% shooting 31% from 3 84% from FT Towards the end of the year though he had raised it to 19 points per game, 47% shooting, 34% from 3, 6.8 assists, 4.6 boards. Thats indicative of a really good young talent, he's a very efficient guard, and was playing the last 38 games of the season with Ryan Kelly, Jabari Brown, Wes Johnson and Tarik Black alongside him logging big minutes. Basically, he was by far the only offensive threat and was still able to score effectively and efficiently. That shows future all-star potential.
Clarkson doesn't play defence. At all. But yes good find for the second round. If you listen to some Lakers fans they trully believe taht Randle will come in next year and dominate the league with 18 pts 8 rbnds 2 blks and Clarkson will end up the best pg under 25. It makes for quite the entertainment. [-obligatory rep to ghettocheeze ]
There are possibly 9 NBA starting centers available in free agency this year (Al Jefferson, Marc Gasol, both Lopez's, Deandre Jordan, Greg Monroe, Roy Hibbert, Omer Asik, Tyson Chandler). If you are LA, is Okafor or Town's potential really much better for your franchise than signing Deandre Jordan or Greg Monroe? Everyone knows centers are a crapshoot, why is an unproven 19 year center better than a proven 24 year old or 26 year old center? Lakers could sign Jordan to a max deal, draft Russell, have a core of Russell/Clarkson backcourt and Randle/Jordan frontcourt for the next several years while they become a pretty attractive destination for the upcoming star free agents in 2016 and 2017. LA has always been the place to play in but now they could actually have a pretty talented core to go along with it for a superstar to walk into.
Well....considering that Jordan will most likely reup with the Clippers at the max and that he needs an excellent pg to set him up and that Monroe is a lock to sign with the Knicks and that his defence is problematic.. But is a MUST for the Lakers to come out of this summer with something other than their rookies. That's the only way to sign stars in next summer. Otherwise they won't be able to sell to their star targets the idea of " competing for a championship" with only Clarkson Randle and Okafor in the roster. If I were the Lakers gm I would pick Russel too. He has more star potential than Okafor in my opinion. And then Kobe can mentor him. Then sign Robin Lopez or Koufos at a nice contract and use the rest of the max space to try lure Aldridge. btw Jefferson has opted in so he's not a FA. And Hibbert looks to do so as well. Okafor is a nice talented center that his game doesn't suit the modern NBA.
Shouldn't be tough for LA to nab a player or two in FA. I think the Kevin Love scenario also a possibility, Lakers could snag Love in FA if he opted out, sign Lopez, then deal Randle for a solid piece. The Russell route makes so much more sense for LA, allows for more flexiblity. Also another reason LA may just forget Okafor, he's basically Andrew Bynum 2.0. Not in persona, but in his game, if any organization knows the risks of a young center who can't play defense its the Lakers.
You are forgetting that Lakers are the only franchise along with Knicks who **** on analytics. They will likely see Okafor like the center of the future and go and nab him. I think that Gasol Aldridge and Jordan won't go to LA because they will have to take less money/years AND be in nba hell of rebuilding. At least the rest of their suitors can pitch them contention. Then the top RFAs will all be resigned with the possible exception of Tobias Harris who will have to be paid at least 13+ mil per. So the best case for them is either Love who has links to them or Rondo at 10 per + two third tier FAs. And next year trade Randle plus some other assets for a second star. Young's contract is a course to their capspace and limits their options.
