Lakers have a scary good future....

[SwishSquared]

Yep...and that is why they should have at least tried to tank the season. They might anyway, but if Kobe gets hot for a month or something they won't keep their pick.

There was just no upside to refusing to hard tank.

But my god...you give this team the first pick next year and they hit with it? And they are the Lakers?

Yea...12 plus year great run coming. We'll see what happens though...losing this pick to the Sixers with it being like 5 would be brutal.

Even if they finish with the worst record, there's a ~35% chance of them losing the pick. It's good for them that they've started out this poorly because 76ers, Nets, and T-Wolves (in addition to others) will continue to lose. Those odds tilt in 76ers favor with each LAL victory, of course. Lakers might be the 3rd worst team in the NBA, by record, which is scary for their future.

I think people overreact like crazy, especially on this board. Lakers fans need to hope that Scott lets the young guys play meaningful minutes. Literally nobody else on this roster matters for their future. These guys need to learn how to play NBA ball. Not to mention showcasing their talent is a much bigger draw for free agents than Kobe's former glory.

If they land Simmons/Skal/Ingram, then they look to be in really good shape in terms of hitting on picks and building for their future. Maybe they try to trade for Cousins again or some other established player.

[Naero]

Nothing is going to bode well for the Lakers until the front office can impersonalize their parameters for decision-making--especially for coach-hiring. The coach--an inherent leader of a team in any sport--is easily the hardest piece of the puzzle to hunt for, and it's painfully self-evident that they've had a string of miscues ever since they lost GOAT-candidate Phil Jackson.

We can embellish the young players all we want; even if the right nucleus of players is in place (though D'Angelo Russell definitely has no shortage of workmanship to continue proving), we lack any viable player-development coach. Byron Scott yanking out the younger players no matter how hat-handed they are at the juncture and publicly chastising them without any self-accountability is not lending them the positive reinforcement that they need to shine dazzlingly, nor does it represent a healthy culture to allure other big-time free-agent signees to join.

[fpliii]

The reality is that the Lakers are one of those teams.

I feel like some of that is coaching (I guess Byron will probably make it through the season though). Like right now, it seems like Brooklyn is a lock to finish with a worse record.

Problem is for me, if there's even one more team that's definitely worse than LA, it's going to be very hard to hold on...I don't have any data on this (though it would be easy to look up I guess), but I feel like in most years a non-bottom 3 team will jump into the top 3.

[Uncle Drew]

Right now it's way too early to think of a bottom 3 record. There are some very, very bad teams in the NBA right now. Brooklyn isn't going to win 10 games.

And the Lakers are one of them. The only two teams I'd say are worse, are the Sixers and the Nets. Other than that, teams have more talent than LAL.

[fpliii]

And the Lakers are one of them. The only two teams I'd say are worse, are the Sixers and the Nets. Other than that, teams have more talent than LAL.

If we can say the Sixers are clearly worse as well, then I think that's problematic in terms of keeping the pick. I'd guess the chances of being bumped from the bottom 3 are greater than jumping from 3 -> 1 or 2.

[Bless Mathews]

Op is a punk bitch that is too scared to Poast in the football forum.

Dats what he really meant.

[buddha]

don't forget Ben Simmons.

Lakers will probably get a top 5-10 pick in 2017 too.

D'Angelo Russell
Jordan Clarkson
Ben Simmons
Julius Randle
(2017 lotto pick)

[FireDavidKahn]

I really like Russell's potential.

I see some Nash in him.

Serious question, has Nash ever had a 0 assist game?

[AirTupac]

Serious question, has Nash ever had a 0 assist game?

Nash had a whole rookie season at the age of 22 averaging 3.3 ppg. Your point?
Does this mean D'Angelo is already way better than Nash?

[StephHamann]

Nash had a whole rookie season at the age of 22 averaging 3.3 ppg. Your point?
Does this mean D'Angelo is already way better than Nash?

Nash played behind Jason Kidd and Dennis Johnson in his rookie year.

Russells competition is who? Clarkson is playing SG and Kobe is playing lot of SF, i don't even know the Lakers guards outside of Clarkson and Russell.

[DaOldLion]

Nash played behind Jason Kidd and Dennis Johnson in his rookie year.

Russells competition is who? Clarkson is playing SG and Kobe is playing lot of SF, i don't even know the Lakers guards outside of Clarkson and Russell.

who was he playing behind when he played 30 mpg and shot 36% for the season at age 24?

[24-Inch_Chrome]

I really like Russell's potential.

I see some Nash in him.

[Gus Hemmingway]

[buddha]

I don't see Russell having the work ethic to improve to an elite level. at best he'll be solid.

[SwishSquared]

don't forget Ben Simmons.

Lakers will probably get a top 5-10 pick in 2017 too.

D'Angelo Russell
Jordan Clarkson
Ben Simmons
Julius Randle
(2017 lotto pick)

That pick is only top 3 protected in 2017 if it doesn't go to Philly this year.