Russ and OKC now discussing a trade before the season. Good idea, just let Gilgeous-Alexander be your PG from Day 1.
Iggy will if he's bought out, but Memphis wants to trade him instead. The Lakers don't seem to have much of anything to trade.
Those same Warriors lost to Cleveland in the finals, and the Spurs still had Duncan, Ginobli, and Tony Parker. All were old or getting old, but that’s a lot of talent and a ton of experience/leadership. It’s also hard for me to lend much credence to the “might have won if” argument without any history to fall back on. With the Warriors this year, we can point to the last two seasons. In the 2016 Spurs’ case, it’s actually the opposite, as the team they lost to also won it all the previous year. The Raptors weren’t slouches either besides Kawhi, but I agree the Philly win was impressive. Who knows what might have happened had that shot bounced out. The Bucks win wasn’t as impressive to me. Everyone knew Giannis didn’t have a jumper, and I was not as high on them as a lot here. I agree he’s the real deal. I’m just hesitant to say he instantly makes his team the title favorites just by being on the team, which is where a lot of people seem to stand now.
Yeah, I read they aren’t buying him out. I assume they’ll bring back Rondo. I don’t know if they’ll pick up Korver. Big time defensive liability.
I really like the Cousins pick up. Do they start him at the 5, Davis at the 4, and bring Kuzma off the bench? Or do they bring Boogie off the bench for a solid scoring option down low?
I think we will see a lot of LeBron at the point this season. Would be interesting to see him transform his game into even more of a distributor and slightly less of a scorer.
It's not about just him. They're just probably the only team out there that has (i) a top-five player, (ii) another top 10-15 player and (iii) an actual roster around them that isn't just supremely flawed/old buyout guys. They're younger, healthier and deeper than the Lakers are, most likely, but it will be an interesting battle between the LA teams.
No one should (at least without also getting picks), especially the Knicks, but that doesn't mean they won't.
Honestly, Westbrook's is the type of contract that the Lakers would take on, and he's from LA, but I'm not sure they can actually make that work under the cap.
What’s their answer for AD? I’m not saying they don’t have one - just asking because I don’t know. A big question for this Lakers squad will be whether Kuzma can take it to the next level defensively. Seems like he will have an opportunity to really lean into a defensive role this season, and it will be especially important if/when they play the Clippers.
I'd laugh. They would probably make the playoffs with him since the east is still terrible, but that's about it.
Kawhi and PG are going to try to beat LeBron for the next 3 years and then move to the Lakers when LeBron leaves/retires. It's brilliant.