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[Dion Blaster]

"ESPN's LaMarcus Aldridge latest: Batum trade only latest signal of Aldridge's likely departure and sources say Lakers are moving up his list" -@ESPNSteinLine

If this is true the Lakers probably should deal their entire roster minus Kobe for Boogie.

This is why I wouldn't mind doing the Boogie trade. We finally have cap space and can fill out the roster through free agency over the next 2 years.

 

[LyleLanley]

Can LA even afford LMA?

edit: Stein - ESPN sources say Lakers appear to be passing Dallas on list of likely destinations for Aldridge should he leave POR. San Antonio still No. 1

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/los_angeles_lakers/

I'm pretty sure they can.

 

[TheSadRanger]

the 2, Randle and Clarkson is literally EVERYTHING we have so if that doesn't move the Kings there's nothing much else to discuss.

Yo Scooter what's your opinion of Porzingis? Was watching a vid on him during pro day, dude might be unproven but he looks a lot like a young Dirk and his game is very similar.

 

[Bowser]

We can squeeze in one max deal so long as we don't take back any salary in any future trades I believe. Then likely another max deal next offseason when Kobe comes off the books.

So Boogie and LMA are mutually exclusive, no? Or would a Boogie deal theoretically shed enough salary to still make this doable?

I suppose you could dump bad contracts on the Sixers of the world as well.

 

[MetalFearSolid]

People have to realize something Aldridge wants to play with a quality center. No more scrubs like Robin Lopez or Kaman.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

So Boogie and LMA are mutually exclusive, no? Or would a Boogie deal theoretically shed enough salary to still make this doable?

I suppose you could dump bad contracts on the Sixers of the world as well.

No. Even if we add Boogie's salary we can add LMA.

Even if a Boogie deal is a no go and completely off the table, this has to make Mitch give a hard look at Russell with the 2nd pick as most of the big FAs this year and next project to be bigs. I mean, if we are courting Love and LMA what do we want Okafor for?

Yo Scooter what's your opinion of Porzingis? Was watching a vid on him during pro day, dude might be unproven but he looks a lot like a young Dirk and his game is very similar.

I want to see how he does against Yi Jianlan's chair

 

[LyleLanley]

So Boogie and LMA are mutually exclusive, no? Or would a Boogie deal theoretically shed enough salary to still make this doable?

I suppose you could dump bad contracts on the Sixers of the world as well.

They could probably make it work with both of them but that's assuming they don't take back any bad contracts with Boogie since he'll be adding enough salary by himself in the trade.

Edit:

They'd probably have to get rid of Nick Young and replace everyone else on their roster not named Kobe, Boogie or Aldridge with complete scrubs.

 

[Doomsayer]

Yo Scooter what's your opinion of Porzingis? Was watching a vid on him during pro day, dude might be unproven but he looks a lot like a young Dirk and his game is very similar.

Porzingis is going to bust so hard. Keep him away, please.

They could probably make it work with both of them but that's assuming they don't take back any bad contracts with Boogie since he'll be adding enough salary by himself in the trade.

Edit:

They'd probably have to get rid of Nick Young and replace everyone else on their roster not named Kobe, Boogie or Aldridge with complete scrubs.

Our roster right now aside from zombie Kobe is pretty much trash. So what's the difference?

 

[Bowser]

No. Even if we add Boogie's salary we can add LMA.

Even if a Boogie deal is a no go and completely off the table, this has to make Mitch give a hard look at Russell with the 2nd pick as most of the big FAs this year and next project to be bigs. I mean, if we are courting Love and LMA what do we want Okafor for?

Agreed, although unfortunately the bigs likely to be LA FA targets are better suited to the 4 (LMA, Love). Lakers need a 5 too.

Edit: wonder if the Lakers would interested in a S&T centered around Monroe. Ship Randle off to Detroit. Lakers roll with Clarkson/Russell/Kobe/LMA or Love/Monroe next season. Dunno if that team makes any true noise in the West tho, but replace Clarkson and Kobe after next season with Russ and a FA wing and you could be cooking.

 

[LyleLanley]

Porzingis is going to bust so hard. Keep him away, please.



Our roster right now aside from zombie Kobe is pretty much trash. So what's the difference?

I'm too lazy to do the math but it may still require LMA to take a slight discount and again this is assuming the Lakers get rid of almost everyone without taking on any salary besides Boogie.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Agreed, although unfortunately the bigs likely to be LA FA targets are better suited to the 4 (LMA, Love). Lakers need a 5 too.

I don't think LMA and Okafor work well together. Hell LMA and Boogie probably don't either. I'm not a fan of signing LMA in general.

 

[MetalFearSolid]

I don't think LMA and Okafor work well together. Hell LMA and Boogie probably don't either. I'm not a fan of signing LMA in general.

I read Cousins is interested in moving to the 4. Kings experimented with Gay at 4 though.
Continue to piss him off Kings.
Playing heavy minutes at center in the West must do that to you.

 

[Soonri]

Yo Scooter what's your opinion of Porzingis? Was watching a vid on him during pro day, dude might be unproven but he looks a lot like a young Dirk and his game is very similar.

Until a dude actually produces like Dirk I'm skeptical. There's been 10 years of "OMG THIS GUY IS THE NEXT DIRK" and none have ever gotten close at all.

So naturally he'll suck his first year

 

[Bowser]

I don't think LMA and Okafor work well together. Hell LMA and Boogie probably don't either. I'm not a fan of signing LMA in general.

Okafor beasting in the paint and whipping passes out of double teams to Love on the perimeter would be pretty fun.

My god the defense out of that front court would be comical though.

 

[Wool]

He didn't work out for LA because he knows he is going first. You are reading way too much into it. It's not that he likes Minneapolis over LA, he just knows he is 100% going to Minnesota. I highly doubt there is a single player who will go in the first round who would pick Minnesota if given a choice of which team they are going to lol.

lmao that's the typical LA mindset right there. "If anybody had the choice to move to LA why would they go anywhere else?" Out of the top 4 lottery teams Minnesota has it's shit together the most. Where would he have a brighter future, playing with old man Kobe or ROY Wiggins? I'm not saying the Twolves aren't picking Towns, but I don't think it's always been a 100% sure thing. What if they took Okafor and Towns had refused to workout for LA? It kind of sends a message like he doesn't want to go there.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

lmao that's the typical LA mindset right there. "If anybody had the choice to move to LA why would they go anywhere else?" Out of the top 4 lottery teams Minnesota has it's shit together the most. Where would he have a brighter future, playing with old man Kobe or ROY Wiggins? I'm not saying the Twolves aren't picking Towns, but I don't think it's always been a 100% sure thing. What if they took Okafor and Towns had refused to workout for LA? It kind of sends a message like he doesn't want to go there.

LA would take him anyway. He worked out in LA in front of various scouts already last month he just didn't have a private workout with the Lakers or any other team because Minny already promised him they'd take him. Hell it was probably his agent that told him not to work out with anyone else they are the ones calling the shots on this kind of stuff.

 

[Hydrus]

Question for all of you! So what if timber wolves decide to draft okafor and towns falls to lakers, would you still want to trade for cousins or stick with towns?

 

[Bowser]

lmao that's the typical LA mindset right there. "If anybody had the choice to move to LA why would they go anywhere else?" Out of the top 4 lottery teams Minnesota has it's shit together the most. Where would he have a brighter future, playing with old man Kobe or ROY Wiggins? I'm not saying the Twolves aren't picking Towns, but I don't think it's always been a 100% sure thing. What if they took Okafor and Towns had refused to workout for LA? It kind of sends a message like he doesn't want to go there.

 

[darkside31337]

The next Dirk shit is so crazy. Dirk is one of the greatest in the history of the league. I feel bad for any extremely tall white dudes from Europe who have a nice looking shot (well as bad as you could actually feel for someone that lucky) because they automatically get compared to Dirk no matter what. You never see anyone saying a guy is the next Kobe or some other hall of famer because that would be ridiculous.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

The next Dirk shit is so crazy. Dirk is one of the greatest in the history of the league. I feel bad for any extremely tall white dudes from Europe who have a nice looking shot (well as bad as you could actually feel for someone that lucky) because they automatically get compared to Dirk no matter what. You never see anyone saying a guy is the next Kobe or some other hall of famer because that would be ridiculous.

Get ready for the next 10 years of any lightskin skinny guard with decent handles being "the next Steph"

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

lmao that's the typical LA mindset right there. "If anybody had the choice to move to LA why would they go anywhere else?" Out of the top 4 lottery teams Minnesota has it's shit together the most. Where would he have a brighter future, playing with old man Kobe or ROY Wiggins? I'm not saying the Twolves aren't picking Towns, but I don't think it's always been a 100% sure thing. What if they took Okafor and Towns had refused to workout for LA? It kind of sends a message like he doesn't want to go there.

I really like the Timberwolves. Please stop.

 

[Kickz]

Question for all of you! So what if timber wolves decide to draft okafor and towns falls to lakers, would you still want to trade for cousins or stick with towns?

Nah, Wolves are taking Towns guaranteed. Dude has been here all week in Minneapolis;

Pic with him/Flip/Owner/etc

 

[Lambtron]

Towns was only in Minneapolis this Friday/Saturday. He's back in New York now. I'm fairly certain the Wolves are picking him, and I think Rubio/Wiggins/Towns is a good start for a core going forward, but Flip is a fucking terrible coach and they have almost no one else on the roster worth a shit (Shabazz does shit, but he's a 6th man at best, and LaVine needs to gain a ton of BBIQ), and a black hole at the 4. If they can make some roster room, bring over Bjellica, and find a half decent backup PG they could be on the right path but they're in the lottery for at least a couple more years.

Still, after they draft Towns it'll probably the franchise's highest point since the 5 minutes after they drafted Rubio and before they drafted fucking Flynn.

 

[Forceatowulf]

Like I said in the other thread: I'm not willing to part with Clarkson, Randale, and the #2 for a player the coach hates, doesn't want to play for his current team, and has never done anything of significance in his NBA career.

Only way I pull that trigger is a package of the 6th pick along with Cousins. Anything more than that and they can shove it.

Edit- if Aldridge was a sure thing though... Maybe I would do it without the #6. Probably yeah.

 

[haZethew0rld]

Trader Danny is going to pull out some magic, just watch.

 

[Kastrioti]

I've read in this thread or the Offseason thread the Raptors GM (forget his name ex Suns dude) wants to blow up the team.

How likely is it they trade Jonas Valanciunas? Only 23 years old and a solid 13-14 pt, 10-11 rebound a game, center.

 

[HabeeNo]

Porzingis is the next Bargnani

 

[MetalFearSolid]

I've read in this thread or the Offseason thread the Raptors GM (forget his name ex Suns dude) wants to blow up the team.

How likely is it they trade Jonas Valanciunas? Only 23 years old and a solid 13-14 pt, 10-11 rebound a game, center.

First of all, the ex Suns dude is Bryan Colangelo. He was relieved of basketball operations 2 years ago and then stepped down. The Raptors GM now was his assistant at one point, Masai Ujiri. I appreciate that you think Jonas is a worthy asset perhaps there is hope for the Raptors after all. Masai Ujiri is officially on the clock he tried to give Bryan Colangelo's blueprint a chance and it failed. Everybody is available.

 

[Sandfox]

Based on everything we've heard about the Lakers-Kings situation I don't see a trade happening. I'm excited to see either Russell or Okafor on the team and there are some players late in the draft I would like to have as well.

 

[sf2fanatic]

Lakers definitely need a big man. That's how they'd won championships. With big guys, even with Gasol

 

[Darkman M]

Im probably in the minority, but as a Lakers fan I want nothing to do with Kevin Love.

 

[darkwing-buck]

Gonna be a looooooong day today.

 

[m3k]

When is the draft... How many days or hours. Ny got one first round pick lol its not enough lol

 

[wingwah]

Im probably in the minority, but as a Lakers fan I want nothing to do with Kevin Love.

Why? The entire team is filled with scrubs. What's the worst that could happen with Love on the team?

 

[GaimeGuy]

Nah, Wolves are taking Towns guaranteed. Dude has been here all week in Minneapolis;


Pic with him/Flip/Owner/etc

I'm sorry I'm too busy looking at the cutie in front

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Denver making Gallinari available for trade...lol. Guy is super injury prone, I doubt there will be much interest.

 

[Brinbe]

If the Lakers somehow get LMA/Cousins, fuck this league.

 

[ViciousDS]

Until a dude actually produces like Dirk I'm skeptical. There's been 10 years of "OMG THIS GUY IS THE NEXT DIRK" and none have ever gotten close at all.

So naturally he'll suck his first year

Mirotic so far is the closest we have had to Dirk in rookie form correct? He's the only overseas player I've seen that actually produced pretty damn good in his first year. I'm more excited for a new offensive coach to use Mirotic correctly.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

lmao lakers fans are nuts

We just want Kobe to win his last ring without trash around him.

lol you think any team wants Trashy P? C'mon son.

No, but his ass needs to be off the team. Dude is high trash and I'm sick of him. Cancel him from the team or send him packing to the D-league.

Clarkson's decent but the league is full of decent point guards, I wouldn't let him and Randle get in the way of Boogie. I assume you're joking about Swaggy P.

I think Clarkson is decent but he is still slowly shaping up. I hate that they could lose him to another team where he could become a star but maybe that is good for them. We'll see. I'd rather get boogie and send away Randle at least

 

[Sandfox]

Clarkson's decent but the league is full of decent point guards, I wouldn't let him and Randle get in the way of Boogie. I assume you're joking about Swaggy P.

Apparently Randle has been blowing minds in workouts.

 

[neptunes]

If the Lakers somehow get LMA/Cousins, fuck this league.

Why? Stern basically fucked them out of a CP3 trade years ago.

It's only fitting.

 

[friskykillface]

If the Lakers somehow get LMA/Cousins, fuck this league.

Spurs in 6

 

[StriKeVillain]

Today should hopefully be nuts. At least it'll be over soon.

 

[MetalFearSolid]

To that end also hearing that the Rockets are likely to try to trade Terrence Jones as part of today's draft proceedings

Terrence Jones has injury concerns but I would love to have him on my team.

 

[Hyperactivity]

Terrence Jones has injury concerns but I would love to have him on my team.

If we could get a good PG from him and a couple other things, I would be really happy

 

[otapnam]

Why? Stern basically fucked them out of a CP3 trade years ago.

It's only fitting.

That was probably the most ridiculous thing to happen within 12 hrs or whatever it was.

 

[Crimson_Gold]

If we could get a good PG from him and a couple other things, I would be really happy

That'd be the only way I'd be OK with this

 

[MetalFearSolid]

Sources: Sacramento making calls on possibility of moving back in the Top 10. If Kings stay at No. 6, Mario Heznoja is the strong target.

Thus, another pick that fails to liveup to the bill in Sacramento.

 

[spyder_ur]

I like Jerian Grant, good defender with size. Takes care of the ball. He can shoot the ball. I would be happy with at 20 for the Raptors. I don't know about Wright, he seems to be a good backup that is for sure. Don't know why the Celtics need him. What I like about both players how they don't force a bad play and do all the little things. Wright has great size as well, which gives him some promise, he does all the other stuff as well when it defending and getting rebounds.

Celts don't necessarily need any of them, I am pretty comfortable with their backcourt rotation moving forward, but I think they all have the potential to be very solid value picks. Combo guards, tweeners, and other players with traditional size or position challenges are finding prevalent roles as more and more teams experiment with smaller, more versatile lineups.

Interested in Richaun Holmes. He is the ideal compliment for JV, and good rim protector and he can bring some versatility for the small line up. Good shooter as well of course. Problem is we have Patrick Patterson, who brings similar skillset withour the defense of course.

Don't know anything about him, will check him out, thanks.

Rondae Hollis Jefferson, RAPTORS NEED A WING DEFENDER. Ross isn't that guy no matter what we try to make him as. Ross is Ross. I think Rondae can guard PGs if need be. If he can improve his jump shot then damn.. He is already a decent slasher.

Cauley Stein reminds me of Amir Johnson early days. Because I see him as a Faried and Noah like defense. Clearly, he would be lethal on pick and rolls. Amir Johnson had similar promise before his ankles gave out.

About Russell, I think he will be a good, dude has great handles and has the size to play some 2, plus can guard both positions. He has good passing as well. I see why the 76ers would want him.

Agree on all those. Really do love RHJ. Seems like he can immediately make an impact defensively, and he can do a number of things well - defense, versatility, athleticism, passing, and ball movement. Obviously he can't shoot, but guys that tend to do a lot of things well but might be limited positionally and/or by lacking a specific skill (shooting in this case) tend to slide too far in the draft. I'd be perfectly happy with him at 16. He doesn't really fit a need and I hate to bring in another non-shooter, but I like the player.

Agree on WCS, but he has, what, 3-4 inches on Johnson. Big difference.

Also, I am a fairly big Portis fan as well.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

I hope that Kobe accepts his now eternal scrub status and no decent player goes to LA because Basketball Reasons