@donatasfanboy I don't see the lakers getting a major piece though. A decent amount of teams are tanking. And while bad, the Lakers will be semi-decent. They may snag a nnice player, but not one who will attract a major FA.
By the way, I'm not thinking about these rookies in terms of attracting a major FA. I don't think any rookie, even a super hyped rookie, can do much to attract an established NBA star. LA's pitch won't be "Hi, come to play with Jabari Parker." Anyway. Back to the draft. I don't know why the Lakers would be decent. I think they are a high lotto team. If they win over 30 games, I'll consider that amazing. I guess maybe they'll still make some moves. But right now the Lakers look like an unintentional tank.
They'll be bad no doubt. but I think gasol and kobe will put them in the mid lotto area. I think they're better than the cats, bucks, 76ers, magic, and kings. And maybe on par with utah, new orleans, and Boston. That puts them in the 5-10 range. I think they win about 35 games.
Total fantasy post but It would be soo sick if LeBron passed over the Lakers too three peat with Houston
Mid lotto looks very good next year, btw. A team that drafts ~no.7-8 will likely be very happy. I just don't expect Kobe to be very good. Look at Larry Bird, he went from a 30 pt / Harden-like efficiency to 24 pt / middling efficiency player after his Achilles surgery. And Kobe is planning to come back quickly, too. Good luck with that. It will be interesting to watch, never say never. But if I'm making a prediction, I think the more reasonable prediction is that he's not an All Star caliber player next year. Then the rest of that roster is still not particularly healthy. They have some depth on paper but considering how many health issues and older players they have, I don't think they'll be a deep team in reality.
Kyrie will be better than anyone Miami or LA can offer. I think Lebron will be a Cav again, and not for sentimental reasons. Only because they will offer him what he wants: rings. If Bennett pans out, it's going to be tough for him to turn down Cleveland.
If Kobe was unenthusiastic about playing with Dwight, imagine what he thinks about LeDiva or Marshmallow joining the Lakers.
I can see Melo going to LA only for his "BRAND," but LeBron will not deal with the douchelord of a person that is Kobe Bryant. As much as I despise his antics, what he says and how he thinks of himself, Kobe will go down as one of the best EVER. LeBron wants the same, but if he continues to go to teams that have the player personnel to win a championship within a season, his legacy as a GOAT will be tarnished. After his stint with the Heat, and maybe one more title (I hope not), I think LeBron needs to come full-circle. I think he needs to return to Cleveland, put the weight of the team and city on his shoulders (again) and take them to the promised land WITHOUT the help of Superfriends. If he can do that, his legacy may be even better than Kobe's. I don't even like LeBron for reasons similar to Kobe, but I respect how great of a player he is. I respect him for those years when he led the Cavs to the playoffs and even the Finals with a mediocre roster. Really..Zydrynas (sp?) ? Delonte West? Boobie? SideShowBob Varajeo? Antawn Jamison (old version)? Donyell Freaking Marshall? Those were not special teams. I think I am inaccurate on this one, but I can only recall one year that Kobe led the Lakers to the playoffs with a crappy roster. (Crappy is subjective, of course) I'm talking about the Smush Parker, Kwame, etc year(s) Other than that, homie has had Shaq (no need to explain), Pau Gasol (all-star years), Lamar (when he was still productive), DFish--err flopper, Dwight, Ron-Ron (still very good) and a multitude of players that were much better than what LeBron had to play with in Cleveland. Kobe's legacy is solid, unless something drastic happens. However if he and LeBron team up, it's arguable that they weren't able to rise to the occasion and completely take their team to winning a game 7. Melo is a different story. He hasn't won anything, yet he's had some INCREDIBLE talent around him. If you can't go far with Amare in your gang, I don't know what the hell is wrong. That's a character flaw to not share the ball with a PF (when healthy) that can take over a game. Pairing that up with Melo (possibly the best pure scorer in the game now) should have already had the Knicks fighting for a Finals appearance. For the Lakers sake, I hope they rot in mediocrity and dysfunction for all the crap the rest of NBA fans have had to deal with over the last decade +. Hitler Stern is gone, so I don't care if anyone saves the Lakers. Let Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake show the world that they are on Raymond Felton's level.
I can't even see Melo leaving for his brand's sake. NY already has all that. He's East coast thru and thru. No reason to join the Lakers just for the fame. The ONLY reason I can see Melo leaving NY is if there arises another situation in which he can chase a ring AND look like the top dog doing it. Right now LA can't offer any hope of a championship. They're essentially in Houston's shoes from two years ago in that they need a first superstar to commit. Their biggest problem is that they already have a resident would-be superstar who is refusing to sacrifice money or his shots per game. Unless they part ways with Kobe, I truly see no bounceback for LA in the near future. Dwight Howard signing with us was a total coup, mostly for helping us return to greatness, but also for dealing a multiple-year deathblow to the Lakers.
Lakers can forget about Paul George next summer. He and the Pacers will finalize a max deal before the season. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/61788/george-not-planning-leaving-indiana
IMHO everyone's selling the lakers way too short, they'll be in the upper part of the lottery 10-14 range, like when they got Bynum. They might even be good enough to squeak into the playoffs as an 8th seed, I think healthy Kobe+Gasol is still good enough to compete in the league. Which is actually good because I don't want them to get a good piece in the draft lol.
LeBron has dirtied himself once by leaving Cleveland. They are building a nice Dynasty in Miami. IMHO the only please LeBron goes is back to Cavs. LA are no chance whatsoever
To me there's no chance Melo leaves NY because it's basically his team there. He's the boss, and gets a say in who comes and who goes(remember Lin?). Lakers management has already shown that only Kobe get this type of treatment there. Not even Dwight Howard, 27yr old best center/top-5 player even has a bit of say in management. As long as the Lakers management won't treat superstars(Kobe excluded) like superstars, then stars won't go there. Every star has a huge ego and that includes asking to be treated like royalty. You can't get superstars to go to your team without kissing their behinds.
Lol, I remember when players were dying to get to the Lakers. Now it's not even a smart move to go to the Lakers. Not that it matters, of course Paul is going to say "I love it here." etc etc...but for him to say "It's not even a smart move." I wonder how many players look at it that way now. I think in this day and age, you can be a star any where as long as you are a great player and marketable.
I agree. With the internet and the sport's growing popularity overseas, it's not hard to become a household name, so long as you have the talent.
