NBA 2018-2019

[Melancer46]

thomas bryant has really come into his own in washington

not to rub it in, lakers fans, but you could have had a long term center duo of bryant and zubac

Julius Randle might have been the 2nd best player on the Lakers had they brought him back this year too. And Brook Lopez could have been as well. I'll never ever understand the decision to let Brook walk. He's a good player and an absolutely perfect fit with LeBron and they chose to let him walk to sign bad veterans instead.

 

[OrangeDW]

Julius Randle might have been the 2nd best player on the Lakers had they brought him back this year too. And Brook Lopez could have been as well. I'll never ever understand the decision to let Brook walk. He's a good player and an absolutely perfect fit with LeBron and they chose to let him walk to sign bad veterans instead.

And Russell is an all star in Brooklyn.

 

[moqui]

And Russell is an all star in Brooklyn.

lakers' skill at identifying/drafting young talent is surpassed only by its willingness to give it away

 

[Cusefan0307]

Julius Randle might have been the 2nd best player on the Lakers had they brought him back this year too. And Brook Lopez could have been as well. I'll never ever understand the decision to let Brook walk. He's a good player and an absolutely perfect fit with LeBron and they chose to let him walk to sign bad veterans instead.

Lebron isn’t a good GM and terrible judge of talent.

 

[OrangeDW]

Lebron isn’t a good GM and terrible judge of talent.

Yeah. Though the Russell trade happened before LeBron.

I have to note that I said on here(and to anyone else who would listen in real life) that I wasn’t sold on Ball over Fox, and that I thought Fox was going to be very good.

I still like Ball and still think he’ll be a good player, but so far Fox is better.

 

[Knicks411]

Julius Randle might have been the 2nd best player on the Lakers had they brought him back this year too. And Brook Lopez could have been as well. I'll never ever understand the decision to let Brook walk. He's a good player and an absolutely perfect fit with LeBron and they chose to let him walk to sign bad veterans instead.

Obviously Brook's 3 point explosion couldn't have totally been predicted, but he still took 4.5 per game last year and made 34.5%. Their plan of getting lots of bad shooters didn't work. Who could've guessed?

 

[moqui]

Lebron isn’t a good GM and terrible judge of talent.

the magic & rob tandem hasn't exactly distinguished itself in those categories, either

 

[OrangeDW]

the magic & rob tandem hasn't exactly distinguished itself in those categories, either

Frankly I’m starting to think both are in over their heads.

Let Magic be the charismatic public face of things. He’s still a magnetic, likable, motivating personality. Let him be the Pat Croce (of late 90s Sixers revival “fame”), get rid of the agent/Jimmy King’s backup and bring in a proven front office stud.

 

[moqui]

Frankly I’m starting to think both are in over their heads.

Let Magic be the charismatic public face of things. He’s still a magnetic, likable, motivating personality. Let him be the Pat Croce (of late 90s Sixers revival “fame”), get rid of the agent/Jimmy King’s backup and bring in a proven front office stud.

two years ago, i won an auction for "your kid on the field" at dodgers stadium. came with 2 seats behind home plate, admittance to batting practice (prime autograph territory) and my son got to go to 3rd base to meet justin turner as he took the field. it was an awesome experience just at that. but when we got to the stadium at 3:00 (for a 7:10 first pitch), i mentioned to the host that this was my son's first ever game.

after all the festivities, he's sitting there with autographed balls from turner & seager and a justin turner jersey . . . and magic himself appears at our seat with a bag of swag (couple of bobble heads, foam finger, etc) and a certificate commemorating his first game, which is signed by magic himself. now my son doesn't know magic from adam (but he is awed into near silence by his size and his presence) but of course i do. and so does everyone else around us - it's a high rollers section including larry king, mary hart, nigel lithgoe was there that night - and magic just electrifies the place. everyone wants a piece of him, and many get it, but first he gives my boy 3 minutes of one on one time that even he realized was special. now, i'm a life long mets fan, but he turned me into a not-so-grudging dodger fan that night.

he's a natural at that kind of stuff & what he should be focusing on for the lakers.

 

[Knicks411]

Frankly I’m starting to think both are in over their heads.

Let Magic be the charismatic public face of things. He’s still a magnetic, likable, motivating personality. Let him be the Pat Croce (of late 90s Sixers revival “fame”), get rid of the agent/Jimmy King’s backup and bring in a proven front office stud.

Magic is incredible at being Magic Johnson. It's a perfect role for him.

(That could read as an insult, I don't mean it that way. being Magic Johnson is a hell of a job!)

 

[OrangeDW]

The Chris Bosh jersey retirement stuff was great.

A few years have really put things in perspective...he was only 31! Still a very good player. Really unfortunate situation. I’m glad there was no disaster and that he’s still with us.

I have an affinity for the unselfish star level player who takes a backseat and effectively plays that not so easy #3 guy role on a championship team. Lamar Odom did it for my Lakers, and Bosh certainly did it for the Heat.

 

[Knicks411]

The Chris Bosh jersey retirement stuff was great.

A few years have really put things in perspective...he was only 31! Still a very good player. Really unfortunate situation. I’m glad there was no disaster and that he’s still with us.

I have an affinity for the unselfish star level player who takes a backseat and effectively plays that not so easy #3 guy role on a championship team. Lamar Odom did it for my Lakers, and Bosh certainly did it for the Heat.

It's such a sad thing the way it all went down. If not in the prime of his career, not far off. And based on a few interviews/stories I've seen/read of him, he seems like a really cool guy

 

[Shark58]

Porzingis to the Mavs!?

Report: Porzingis accused of rape in New York

 

[moqui]

race for the west 5 seed is going to be great
utah with a half game lead, 3 of their last 6 on the road.
clippers have 4 of their last 5 at home

final game of the season is utah @ clippers

 

[Newhouser]

Report: Porzingis accused of rape in New York

so if he had paid she wasn't going to the police?

 

[longislandcuse]

So KP raped someone hours after tearing his ACL, then a year later she goes to the police after he decided not to pay her brothers college tuition?...

Alright.. I suppose we shall see what happens here.

 

[Shark58]

so if he had paid she wasn't going to the police?

looks like

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

So KP raped someone hours after tearing his ACL, then a year later she goes to the police after he decided not to pay her brothers college tuition?...

Alright.. I suppose we shall see what happens here.

Hopefully, he did nothing, (likely, given the sequence of events) and she goes to jail.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The whole "1st year as a Laker was never really going to matter" narrative is such crap.

If that was true, they would have just rolled with the young guys and let them develop. Instead they let Lopez and Randle walk and signed a bunch of crusty vets that took minutes from the youth.

King James got pwned by the WC. Pretending that was the plan or that it doesn't matter is hilarious. The guy that actively asked his franchise to mortgage their future with the promise that he could get them to win now suddenly decided a year towards the end of his career didn't matter?

 

[MikeSU02]

The whole "1st year as a Laker was never really going to matter" narrative is such crap.

If that was true, they would have just rolled with the young guys and let them develop. Instead they let Lopez and Randle walk and signed a bunch of crusty vets that took minutes from the youth.

King James got pwned by the WC. Pretending that was the plan or that it doesn't matter is hilarious. The guy that actively asked his franchise to mortgage their future with the promise that he could get them to win now suddenly decided a year towards the end of his career didn't matter?

I still don’t see how this gets much better next year.

I don’t see Kawhi, KD, Kyrie or Klay signing with the Lakers (maybe Kyrie long shot).

Maybe Jimmy?

If they get AD, they’ll have to trade everyone with any value.

So maybe the get into the bottom half of the playoffs? Will Bron play 78 games or so next year?

It’s not like he signed a 1+1.

Guess they have this year’s draft pick as an asset though. Trade or maybe get lucky and get a high pick.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I still don’t see how this gets much better next year.

I don’t see Kawhi, KD, Kyrie or Klay signing with the Lakers (maybe Kyrie long shot).

Maybe Jimmy?

If they get AD, they’ll have to trade everyone with any value.

So maybe the get into the bottom half of the playoffs? Will Bron play 78 games or so next year?

It’s not like he signed a 1+1.

Guess they have this year’s draft pick as an asset though. Trade or maybe get lucky and get a high pick.

I think they should think about trading him.

 

[chugg21]

I still don’t see how this gets much better next year.

I don’t see Kawhi, KD, Kyrie or Klay signing with the Lakers (maybe Kyrie long shot).

Maybe Jimmy?

If they get AD, they’ll have to trade everyone with any value.

So maybe the get into the bottom half of the playoffs? Will Bron play 78 games or so next year?

It’s not like he signed a 1+1.

Guess they have this year’s draft pick as an asset though. Trade or maybe get lucky and get a high pick.

Yeah, I think Jimmy Butler or Kemba along with an AD trade is the only hope they have whatsoever of mattering next year. They add 2 of those pieces and KD and Kyrie head to NY then the entire league is wide open at that point. Would be kind of fun to see. Would also be just as fun to see them strike out.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Yeah, I think Jimmy Butler or Kemba along with an AD trade is the only hope they have whatsoever of mattering next year. They add 2 of those pieces and KD and Kyrie head to NY then the entire league is wide open at that point. Would be kind of fun to see. Would also be just as fun to see them strike out.

Love it.

When LeBron came, with all due respect to Kemba, the dream wasn't Kemba.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Man, that Eastern Conference playoff race is really something.

The Pistons, Nets, Heat, Magic and Bobcats all had game action tonight with the chance to solidify their position in the playoff chase, and... they all lost.

 

[chugg21]

Man, that Eastern Conference playoff race is really something.

The Pistons, Nets, Heat, Magic and Bobcats all had game action tonight with the chance to solidify their position in the playoff chase, and... they all lost.

Live an hour from Orlando and haven't seen/heard anyone care at all about the Magic at work or anywhere else. It's kind of depressing. With that, moving to Texas in a few months and will be about an hour and a half from Houston and 3 hours from both Dallas & San Antonio. Have been trying to figure out who I am going to root for out there. Houston is logistically a lot easier to get to but 90% sure I'm hoping on the Mavs bandwagon. Hopefully Luka, KP and hopefully they squeeze into the top 5 and keep their pick.