Just watching them against us a few nights ago, it became obvious they are in full tank mode right now. They are definitely aiming for that number 1. My question is if they are going to keep that pick or trade it for another player to put next to Kobe. Interesting
Depends on what they're planning. If they're delusional enough to think they're in a reloading phase, then they may trade the pick for a more established player. If they concede they're rebuilding(which is where they're really at right now), they use the pick and then look ahead to the 2015 free agent class. I still can't believe they handed Kobe that massive extention.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>D'Antoni putting Kendall Marshall's eye-popping numbers in perspective: "You're not a very good player if you don't win"</p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/statuses/436936817078583296">February 21, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kobe is out another 3 weeks. http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...os-angeles-lakers-another-3-weeks-doctor-exam
Ever since the beginning of the bling bling free agent era starting in the late 1990's, the Lakers have never been a team that used the draft to help their team. I mean, they drafted Bynum the year after they missed the playoffs when Shaq left, but I don't think he was all that big of a factor to the two rings he possesses. And yes, they acquired Kobe in a draft day trade for Vlade Divac who they groomed and turned into their franchise face. But for the most part, the Lakers have essentially utilized free agency to rebuild/reload. The Lakers are the Harvard of the NBA. As much as it is a relic of a time when only rich kids were educated, top students bend over backwards to have a taste of being called a Harvard man...and NBA players do the same to one day become a Laker. The Lakers don't play by the same rules as other NBA teams so the rules of rebuild and acquiring assets to get lucky don't exist. And for those that think that the Lakers are idiotic for giving Kobe the big payday, Jeanie Buss said it all when she said one of her biggest regrets in life was not having a tribute season for Magic Johnson. The team made sure Kobe was paid for everything he contributed for the team and will make sure he's sent off in a manner he is deserving at all costs. If it means having 2 or 3 bad years, it's worth it. The franchise is all about class and will not stray away from it to make economic decisions. There will be no Kobe in Toronto in a circus show tour like the Rockets did to Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem made like $4mil per season in those seasons. Is that really the right treatment of the greatest player in your franchise history?
Chicago, Los Angeles, New York... Lakers can still dream about Love ... After the league endured the “Dwightmare” and “Melodrama,” get ready for “Lovesick.” The six-year veteran, only 25 years old, is the apple of just about every team set to have cap space in the summer of 2015’s eye. Love has one year left on his contract with the Wolves and by the time the regular season closes, will have gone 0-for-6 in making the postseason with the team that traded O.J. Mayo for him back on draft night in 2008. Timberwolves president Flip Saunders will do everything he can to keep Love, who is fourth in the league in scoring at 26.3 points per game and third in rebounding at 12.6 per game this season. And Minnesota will have the advantage of being able to offer a five-year extension, versus a four-year deal from any other team. But if Love makes it clear that he has no intention to re-up with the Wolves, Saunders will be forced to shop Love or risk seeing him walk for nothing in return. Which is where the Lakers come in. Love’s ties to L.A. are undeniable. He went to college at UCLA. His father, Stan, played for the Lakers -- and coincidentally was on the 1974-75 team, a.k.a. the worst team in Lakers history up until this season, so his son could help make up for that. And Love was born in Santa Monica, to boot. “You know, my parents live there and they had me there,” Love said of L.A., after his Wolves beat the Lakers for the third time in four tries to win the season series Friday. “It’s not my fault. So, I don’t really care about that right now. I just go out there and play and don’t think about it.” ... ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported Friday the Lakers would be willing to trade their upcoming pick in the heralded NBA draft -- likely to be in the top half of the lottery -- to land Love. While Minnesota could certainly decide to go that route and hit the restart button, there is no assurance that the Lakers are truly Love’s most desired destination. A source familiar with Love’s thinking told ESPNLosAngeles.com that it’s not just L.A. that is appealing to Love; he’s enamored with the idea of being “big time in a big city,” and that list of potential places he’d seek includes New York and Chicago, as well. Love himself told GQ in February that his situation in Minnesota might be better than L.A. could offer anyway. “People think it’s so far-fetched that I would stay in Minnesota,” Love told the magazine. “And I’m not s------- on the Lakers, but we have the better team, the better foundation. I’m having fun.” ...
not the same franchise after the loss of Dr. Jerry Buss. the Lakers are no longer in a league of their own. I tried telling Laker fans this- they are fans of an average team that won't win many titles in the next decade. get used to losing, rebuilding, losing, making the playoffs, and losing more! that's what it's like to be a fan of about 25 out of 30 teams in this league. there is nothing spectacular about this franchise any longer. they can throw all the money and build all the statues of their beloved 20 years loyal franchise superstar. that doesn't make their economic decision to stranglehold the franchise a good one. NBA Free Agents will go to Los Angeles for the money and money only. not for the winning culture.
I have clippers season tickets, but I'm not delusional and think that my seats are more valuable than the same ones for the lakers just because we have a better record and 2 top 10 all star players. All the celebrities still congregate at the lakers games and that us where casual fans will flock to. Brand name means something to the masses in big cities. Much like the Brooklyn nets will never be the main show in New York even if they won five titles and the Knicks were a lottery fixture, the Lakers will always be the first choice in the city where most nba superstars live in the offseason. Plus, nba stars like to see themselves as celebrities too so hanging out with rappers and actors make them feel more important.
NBA cant have LA in this situation. This is a business decision. the nba, stern, and this new silver guy- they are going get LA the numebr #1 pick I guarantee it
