NBA General Discussions | Lakers Trade Ideas/FA Discussions

[bladefd]

I saw that too. If they can lock him up early they should be able to bring in others to help too. Shaq was saying that he thought more than just George would end up signing here. He wasn't insinuating Lebron necessarily. It was just his opinion but this time around the Lakers do actually feel like a good destination for free agents.

I am of the belief that LeBron is going to the Knicks. They just hired LeBron's buddy Fizdale, and Porzingis is rehabbing for return too. They have Tim Hardaway jr, who is a decent scorer. Frank Nilikina is solid defensive pg. They have to move couple of contracts to make room for LeBron's max. Maybe Cavs will sign-and-trade LeBron to Knicks for 10 cents on the dollar out of desperation.

[dd24]

The current Knicks roster vs the current Cavs roster isn't any better. I don't see that making sense for him.

[tamaraw08]

The current Knicks roster vs the current Cavs roster isn't any better. I don't see that making sense for him.

I strongly believe that a lot will depend on what will happen in the playoffs.
So far so good for them and it seems like he will advance again to the Finals.
The winner of the WCF might be so bruised up esp if Houston finds a way to upset GSW. I don't see Curry or CP3 being near 90% when they face Lebron.
If Love and company steps up to force game 6 or 7, even though I heard James hate the owner's guts, I can see him staying over for 1 year.
If I put myself in Lebron's situation, Philly, having 2 "more ready" allstars, and also avoiding the tough Western teams in the playoffs, would be an ideal situation IMO.

[dd24]

Right now it looks like neither team in the East has a chance in the Finals. Philly seems like the best idea for Lebron. The one thing that kind of doesn't make sense is Simmons is such a bad outside shooter and that would be the one thing that makes it a tough fit. Lebron has said he wants to play off the ball more so Simmons being PG makes sense, it's just his horrible outside shooting. The other option that is his best outside of that is the Lakers right now. It would just all depend on who he could bring here with him. If he feels like he can get the guys here that can compete with the Warriors I could see him doing it.

[bladefd]

Right now it looks like neither team in the East has a chance in the Finals. Philly seems like the best idea for Lebron. The one thing that kind of doesn't make sense is Simmons is such a bad outside shooter and that would be the one thing that makes it a tough fit. Lebron has said he wants to play off the ball more so Simmons being PG makes sense, it's just his horrible outside shooting. The other option that is his best outside of that is the Lakers right now. It would just all depend on who he could bring here with him. If he feels like he can get the guys here that can compete with the Warriors I could see him doing it.

Sixers would have to change everything including the system to get LeBron in. I don't like that scenario tbh. Same thing for the Lakers.. We would have to alter everything to get LeBron in..

Considering everything, I personally doubt he comes out West. If he did, he would have to forget about easy trips to the finals every year. In the East, he only has to worry about Celtics and Sixers (inexperienced), maybe Indy. West would be GSW, Rockets, Jazz, Twolves, Spurs, Pelicans..

[tamaraw08]

Sixers would have to change everything including the system to get LeBron in. I don't like that scenario tbh. Same thing for the Lakers.. We would have to alter everything to get LeBron in..

Considering everything, I personally doubt he comes out West. If he did, he would have to forget about easy trips to the finals every year. In the East, he only has to worry about Celtics and Sixers (inexperienced), maybe Indy. West would be GSW, Rockets, Jazz, Twolves, Spurs, Pelicans..

Change EVERYTHING? I disagree esp about the Sixers. Simmons and Embiid are really versatile and they did pretty well in the regulars and vs Miami but their inability to read and adjust to Brad Steven's defense was the main reason they lost IMO. And rookies tend to do that and make some dumb mistakes including Ben making a nonchalant pass late in the game.
I think of Giannis his first time in the playoffs who averaged 11 pts, 2 assists/2 TO's, and shot 36%FG.
or Jaylen Brown who averaged 5 pts last year in the playoffs.
Lebron shot under 29%, 2 of his first 3 yrs in the playoffs.
The key is finding a way to resign Redick and another shooter who will practice a ton of corner 3's just like the present Cavs' teammates have been doing.
Almost everyone declared CP3/Harden combo will not work and yet it did. I see Lebron letting Simmons run the offense and conserve energy and shoot more perimeter shots. etc.
Yes, I agree they will need to make changes but I am not sure they have to change everything to make it work.

[bladefd]

Change EVERYTHING? I disagree esp about the Sixers. Simmons and Embiid are really versatile and they did pretty well in the regulars and vs Miami but their inability to read and adjust to Brad Steven's defense was the main reason they lost IMO. And rookies tend to do that and make some dumb mistakes including Ben making a nonchalant pass late in the game.
Yes, I agree they will need to make changes but I am not sure they have to change everything to make it work.

I think you misunderstood my point. If they add LeBron, only then would they have to change everything for the reason of fitting in LeBron.

-LeBron ball would take the ball out of Simmons hands
-Simmons has no range or ability to shoot if he plays off ball
-LeBron is high volume shooter so it would take shots away from other young guys
-LeBron would dictate all the terms from top to bottom of organization, bringing his own guys in. Whole baggage that comes with LeBron
-Coach would instantly drop on totem pole
-Media circus and pressure would be on the forefront

They would change how they do things or would have to change things with LeBron at the wheel. So the whole point is relevant only if LeBron goes to Sixers. If he doesn't go to Sixers then they would not have to change anything .

[dd24]

I totally agree with Tamaraw08. Lebron has said he doesn't want to bring the ball up every time anymore. So he wouldn't take the ball out of anyone's hands. I think part of his thought process is how can he age more gracefully. He wants younger guys he can depend on so he isn't carrying an entire team anymore. Simmons would be the best person to do that for him. The one thing that doesn't fit is Simmons still can't shoot a basketball. Not even a little bit. He has to learn how to. I'm not even sure if he ever will. That guy has been playing basketball his entire life with great people to learn from. His father was a pro. How on earth did he never learn how to shoot? One would think he would at least have a mediocre shot. When Lebron got in the league you could tell he would end up with a better jump shot. I'm not sure Simmons will.

[tamaraw08]

I totally agree with Tamaraw08. Lebron has said he doesn't want to bring the ball up every time anymore. So he wouldn't take the ball out of anyone's hands. I think part of his thought process is how can he age more gracefully. He wants younger guys he can depend on so he isn't carrying an entire team anymore. Simmons would be the best person to do that for him. The one thing that doesn't fit is Simmons still can't shoot a basketball. Not even a little bit. He has to learn how to. I'm not even sure if he ever will. That guy has been playing basketball his entire life with great people to learn from. His father was a pro. How on earth did he never learn how to shoot? One would think he would at least have a mediocre shot. When Lebron got in the league you could tell he would end up with a better jump shot. I'm not sure Simmons will.

It just makes sense for Lebron to have those plans. Just 3 years ago, he shot a low 31% from the 3pt area and has improved to 36.7%.
I can see him letting Simmons do most of the dribbling and setting up. Lebron would read and either cuts and penetrate or shoot from his sweet spot. Saric and TJ shot 39 and 43% from the 3pt area. They would try hard to retain JJ who shot 42%, if not, bear in mind that they have assets which can used as trade assets including the current high pick and Fultz for a legit shooter/s. Yes, Simmons defender would probably sag but there are other ways to counter that just like what Doc did with Rondo and Tony Allen or Phil with Odom who had a career % of 31% from the 3pt area.
Staying in the East and avoiding GSW,Houston, Spurs would make sense IMO.
About Simmons, Reggie Miller said it best, it doesn't have to be a 3 pt shot right away, he can start developing that 15-17 footer, yes, his form is bad but compared to Lonzo.. .

[qrich]

According to NBADraft.net, Lakers have promised Mitchell Robinson with #25.

[dd24]

Risky, but you have to take risks that far in the draft. He could have been a lottery pick if he played. Who knows if his heart is in it though.

[bladefd]

According to NBADraft.net, Lakers have promised Mitchell Robinson with #25.

Isn't that against the nba rules? To be guaranteed that pick because now he will refuse to workout for anyone and won't accept any meetings or attend the combine. He is essentially off the grid now.

[qrich]

Isn't that against the nba rules? To be guaranteed that pick because now he will refuse to workout for anyone and won't accept any meetings or attend the combine. He is essentially off the grid now.

Not at all. Players get promised all the time, such as the Clippers did with Yaroslav Korolev, and so forth.

Another example is Amare Stoudemire, who Phoenix promised at #9, who, then, refused to work out with the Clippers who held #8. Clips threatened to take him anyway, didn't meet much resistance and took .357 (Chris Wilcox) instead.

[BallsOut]

Do any of you guys ever think about what would be if we'd draft Tatum instead of Ball?

If Ball's shooting never improves, it would likely be a huge mistake as we could've had true positionless basketball:

PG: Ingram
SG: Tatum | Hart
SF: George or Kawhi
PF: Kuzma
C: Randle | Big physical body for certain matchups ala Baynes

1-5 can switch everything

[bladefd]

Do any of you guys ever think about what would be if we'd draft Tatum instead of Ball?

If Ball's shooting never improves, it would likely be a huge mistake as we could've had true positionless basketball:

PG: Ingram
SG: Tatum | Hart
SF: George or Kawhi
PF: Kuzma
C: Randle | Big physical body for certain matchups ala Baynes

1-5 can switch everything

Only thing is that if we drafted Tatum, we would not have taken Kuzma. It would have been foolish at the time for Lakers to take Tatum+Kuzma with Ingram on the roster too. Keep in mind this was a long-term investment so why put all of your eggs in 1 position basket? You want to spread your investment in as many areas. We definitely would have passed up on Kuzma if we took Tatum, I have no doubt about it.

Would you rather have Tatum/some nobody/Hart or Lonzo/Kuzma/Hart?

We would still be searching for a pointguard today if we took the former path.. Also note that we didn't know back then what we know now about Tatum - hindsight is 20/20. Let's also not count Lonzo out yet. He is as good of a defensive player, if not slightly better, than Tatum. Lonzo has a complete all-around game top to bottom but only missing ability to shoot/score.