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02 May 2016 20:49:31
Sign Derozen, Whiteside, Dwight Powell and Allen Crabbe. (I'd prefer to have Barnes over crabbe but not sure they'll have the cap space)
Draft Ingram and Gary Payton ll
Don't sign clarkson.
Russell-Payton ll-Huertas
Derozen-Williams
Crabbe-Ingram-Brown
Randle-Nance
Whiteside-Powell-Black
Whiteside (26) is a perfect piece next to Randle. He'll immediately improve the lakers defense with his help-side rim protection. He's raw and has a lot of work to improve his overall defense but he can immediately slide in to a Deandre Jordan role with Russell at PG. He has a high ceiling and worth the gamble.
Derozen (26) is a more polished and consistent scoring threat next to Russell but doesn't need to dominate the ball. He's also a better defender than Clarkson and gives them some playoff experience.
Crabbe (24) Shot 40% from 3 this year. He can spread the floor as Ingram develops and puts on muscle.
Dwight Powell (24) is an athletic PF/ C that can play solid minutes off the bench and rebound well. As he gets stronger he can become a really good bench player.
Hopefully Randle can focus on becoming a more athletic blend of Zach Randolph and Draymond Green. Now that he's fully healthy he can utilize the offseason to improve his overall game.
A bench unit of Payton, Lou, Ingram, Nance and Powell would be athletic, long and could carry the team through the long season.
Luke doesn't have a ton of experience but he's coached the lakers D-leauge team where he had to develop young players and time with the Warriors where he learned a lot of what it takes to win. He has the potential to be a great coach for a long time as long as they add a good group of assistants around him to ease the transition.
As long as they focus on young talent and a balanced roster that will be very competitive in 2-3 years. The reason the Warriors are so good is because Curry struggle with ankle injuries the first few years of his career so he's making half as much as other super stars giving them roster flexibility to add more depth than they normally would be able to, the balanced second unit gives them a leg up on any other team they face. The lakers have such a young roster and plenty of cap space so I think they have a chance to do something similar.
western's banter posts with other poster's replies to western's banter posts
10 May 2016 22:13:22
The lakers biggest obstacle is going to be finding a Center to pair along side Randle.
The only solutions I've hear is Whiteside and occasionally Horford. There will be a lot of competition for Whiteside, he is by no means a lock to go to the lakers. Horford is 30 and a rebuild wouldn't be ideal for him.
They should explore possible trades for Embiid. He's a legit 7'0, 22 years old, he's added quite a bit of muscle since college and should be healthy for the start of the season. He's obviously gamble but has huge upside. He'd be a huge upgrade on both sides of the ball and immediately make life a lot easier for Randle, Russell and Clarkson with the potential to be their long term solution.
The 76ers have Noel (7'0), Okafor (6'11) and Dario Saric (6'10). The new GM will be looking to move on from the tanking mindset and find a more balanced roster with their current logjam in the front court.
The Lakers might have to give up their draft pick from this year but if it drops to #3 I think it makes the most sense since the top prospects left would be PG/ SG (In my opinion Bender has to many question marks without seeing more from him in team workouts) . The 76ers could draft Jamal Murray or Buddy Hield to immediately improve their back court.
Even before adding any free agents the lakers roster would be a lot stronger. Russell, Clarkson, Nance, Randle Embiid gives them one of the best young rosters in the nba and tons of flexibility in free agency to find the best talent available.
1.) 10 May 2016 23:42:22
After Whiteside, I want the lakers to go after Ezeli.
28 May 2016 15:35:42
Okafor and Randle would be a very poor defensive front court. Okafor be better at PF or with an athletic shot blocker next to him, which is exactly what he has in PHI. He has a lot of work to do on his foot speed with pick and rolls and team defense.
Lakers would be better off holding on to arguably their best asset who they intentionally drafted over Okafor. They can throw money at a center in free agency or bundle other assets in a trade for a young athletic center.
21 May 2016 20:55:45
Wolves would need a lot more in return for Wiggins and the #5 pick.
I think they are perfectly happy adding someone like Buddy Heild to stretch the floor for Wiggins and Towns. He's also ready to jump in the rotation and contribute right way. Labasierre is more of a project.
They could even add Kris Dunn or Jaylen Brown who have the potential to be elite defenders.
I do like the idea of going after a guy like WCS if they can avoid giving up Randle, they'd be a young balanced front court. WCS would immediately improve their defense. He has the length/athleticism to protect the rim plus quick feet to be elite on pick and roll defense.
11 May 2016 00:14:34
Nothing listed is even remotely possible.
The contracts are way bellow market value and the trades are extremely lopsided.
It makes me nervous that people think any of that outside of drafting Ingram would happen.