Playoffs Thread

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Taker597

It would just make the Boogie trade even worse.

---

Something tells me Del would have traded whoever it was (Buddy, Murray, Lebron, etc.) in order to get Boogie. Jeez, Demps was a moron

Refs make a good game ugly. Screw the NBA and this narrative.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

Refs make a good game ugly. Screw the NBA and this narrative.

---

It was so terrible!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

Something tells me Del would have traded whoever it was (Buddy, Murray, Lebron, etc.) in order to get Boogie. Jeez, Demps was a moron

---

Dell was mandated from above to win now above all else

Lakers made the finals. I'll admit, when this season started, I did not predict this to happen: I thought they'd get bounced in the second round maybe.

In fairness, there's a lot of weirdnesses with this year's playoffs that change things, but you also have to give credit to AD for having what might be literally his best career shooting stretch of all time in these playoffs.

Usually when you get AD settling for 20 foot jumpers, you're happy as a defense because he never really shoots much better than low 40%s on that shot. He's shot 52% on them in these playoffs, I think. 33% shooter from 3 all year, 36% in the playoffs. Been awesome on defense.

Combine that with Lebron playing mostly pretty well, as well as not having to deal with travel or anything, and the Laker's outlook changed and they've made the most of it. Good for them.

Still want to see them get smashed by the Heat though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Lakers made the finals. I'll admit, when this season started, I did not predict this to happen: I thought they'd get bounced in the second round maybe.

In fairness, there's a lot of weirdnesses with this year's playoffs that change things, but you also have to give credit to AD for having what might be literally his best career shooting stretch of all time in these playoffs.

Usually when you get AD settling for 20 foot jumpers, you're happy as a defense because he never really shoots much better than low 40%s on that shot. He's shot 52% on them in these playoffs, I think. 33% shooter from 3 all year, 36% in the playoffs. Been awesome on defense.

Combine that with Lebron playing mostly pretty well, as well as not having to deal with travel or anything, and the Laker's outlook changed and they've made the most of it. Good for them.

Still want to see them get smashed by the Heat though.

---

Who do you think has the best chance against the Lakers?
That's who I want to proceed to the Finals.

I think Miami is the best match up.
Bam on Davis while Crowder and Butler on LeBron.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Who do you think has the best chance against the Lakers?
That's who I want to proceed to the Finals.

I think Miami is the best match up.
Bam on Davis while Crowder and Butler on LeBron.

---

Miami. At least partially because Spoelstra would have the clear, enormous coaching advantage. Stevens is good but he's not quite in that top top level: Spo might well be top 5 all time as a coach.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Miami. At least partially because Spoelstra would have the clear, enormous coaching advantage. Stevens is good but he's not quite in that top top level: Spo might well be top 5 all time as a coach.

---

Yes and he would know Lebrons game better than Stevens.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Yes and he would know Lebrons game better than Stevens.

---

It's difficult because on one hand, the Celtics probably have a better defensive wing rotation than the Heat, who mostly have Butler (who is great) but then guys like Robinson who are really mediocre and guys like Iguodala who are kind of past it, and against a Lebron team defensive wings are very important.

But then, the Celtics have a lot of trouble when it comes to interior defense: Theis is very good, but Kanter is very much not and Williams is hit or miss. Grant is good when he gets those minutes but he's a rookie and besides, Stevens barely plays him anyway. On the other hand, the Heat have Bam there who is fantastic.

The main issue I have with the Heat is that they've used a lot of Zone these playoffs and I feel like Lebron is precisely the kind of passer who can dismantle a zone without difficulty: but then, Spo is smart enough to know that Lebron was always likely for them if they made it to the finals and therefore I'd be shocked if he didn't have some sort of plan in mind, and it's not like the Lakers have a million shooters if the Heat decide to go paint packing. In fact, packing the paint was where Denver had the most success against LA on defense.

Ultimately I feel like Miami have a better shot at winning, but I wouldn't put it past the Celtics either. The Finals should be tough for LA either way.

Bam is so good.

Bam now has at least 20pts and 10rbds for the 7th time this playoffs.

Last time a Heat player had more in a single playoff run was Lebron in 2012.

Heat to the Finals, after going 12-3 through the East.

Bam finished with 32/14/5 on 11/15 shooting and 10/11 from the FT line.
19/5/7 from Herro, even if it wasn't his most efficient night.
Butler's shooting was bad but he was generally good elsewhere.

This Heat team is for real. Gonna be a slugfest in the finals as long as the reffing is anywhere remotely fair: Heat have the better depth, and the better coach, but Lebron is Lebron and AD is still a top 10 player even if he doesn't have a real argument for top 4 anymore.

Also watching Bam:

Draft Okongwu you cowards

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Also watching Bam:

Draft Okongwu you cowards

---

Okongwu is #2 on my board, so I love him. But I dont get this comp. What separates Bam is his ball handling and playmaking and that is not Okongwu's game at all. To me, he is more skilled, bigger Thunder Ibaka.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

Okongwu is #2 on my board, so I love him. But I dont get this comp. What separates Bam is his ball handling and playmaking and that is not Okongwu's game at all. To me, he is more skilled, bigger Thunder Ibaka.

---

Okongwu is smaller than Ibaka.

I think you have to project a little because Bam also didn't show the ball handling and playmaking at anything like this level when he was in college: he was on a Calipari team, so that's no surprise. One of the largest critiques Cal gets as a college coach is that he doesn't really tailor his strategy to fit his players, he just kind of runs stuff. Same reason KAT basically never shot threes in college and then suddenly became arguably the greatest shooting big of all time in the NBA.

Okongwu wasn't used in a ballhandling role this year, and that's understandable, but he did show positive passing flashes particularly on the roll. While Bam is an upper end outcome (obviously, he's amazing) I do think Okongwu could be a sort of Bam-lite outcome without it being too unreasonable. Given his mobility and his touch I wouldn't be shocked if he had some handling and passing equity in the league even if it takes a few years to get there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Okongwu is smaller than Ibaka.

I think you have to project a little because Bam also didn't show the ball handling and playmaking at anything like this level when he was in college: he was on a Calipari team, so that's no surprise. One of the largest critiques Cal gets as a college coach is that he doesn't really tailor his strategy to fit his players, he just kind of runs stuff. Same reason KAT basically never shot threes in college and then suddenly became arguably the greatest shooting big of all time in the NBA.

Okongwu wasn't used in a ballhandling role this year, and that's understandable, but he did show positive passing flashes particularly on the roll. While Bam is an upper end outcome (obviously, he's amazing) I do think Okongwu could be a sort of Bam-lite outcome without it being too unreasonable. Given his mobility and his touch I wouldn't be shocked if he had some handling and passing equity in the league even if it takes a few years to get there.

---

Bigger as in more filled out...broader than 19/20 year old Ibaka.

And Bam might not have shown the ballhandling, but he had it. Cal said he handled the ball like a guard. Has that quote about him saying exactly that. Cal just dont know how to use those guys.

And seeing that almost nobody in the league at his size has that combination of handling and passing, I would heavily bet against Okongwu (or anyone else) having it one day. You dont just develop outlier skills.

Again, I LOVE Okongwu, but that would be similar to me saying "We need a guy like Tyler Herro...we should draft Deni Avdija!" I mean, yeah Avdija might turn into an elite shooter, but thats not his game now or even close. Just different skill sets. But I do agree with your main premise -- draft Okongwu!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

Bigger as in more filled out...broader than 19/20 year old Ibaka.

And Bam might not have shown the ballhandling, but he had it. Cal said he handled the ball like a guard. Has that quote about him saying exactly that. Cal just dont know how to use those guys.

And seeing that almost nobody in the league at his size has that combination of handling and passing, I would heavily bet against Okongwu (or anyone else) having it one day. You dont just develop outlier skills.

Again, I LOVE Okongwu, but that would be similar to me saying "We need a guy like Tyler Herro...we should draft Deni Avdija!" I mean, yeah Avdija might turn into an elite shooter, but thats not his game now or even close. Just different skill sets. But I do agree with your main premise -- draft Okongwu!

---

Gotcha, fair enough about Ibaka. I just took size as referring to frame, height, wingspan, that kind of thing.

As for betting against Okongwu ever developing quite to Bam's level, I think scepticism is absolutely warranted, but that's kind of why I said Bam-lite in that second post. That is to say, not quite on Bam's level, but good enough for it to be a functional skill.

Still, ultimately the point is draft Okongwu he's good. We agree on that much.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Heat to the Finals, after going 12-3 through the East.

Bam finished with 32/14/5 on 11/15 shooting and 10/11 from the FT line.
19/5/7 from Herro, even if it wasn't his most efficient night.
Butler's shooting was bad but he was generally good elsewhere.

This Heat team is for real. Gonna be a slugfest in the finals as long as the reffing is anywhere remotely fair: Heat have the better depth, and the better coach, but Lebron is Lebron and AD is still a top 10 player even if he doesn't have a real argument for top 4 anymore.

---

It's going to be a real chess match, but I think Lak3rs completely wrecked the Heats zone defense.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Taker597

It's going to be a real chess match, but I think Lak3rs completely wrecked the Heats zone defense.

---

Sure but I don't think Spoelstra is a one trick pony as a coach. He's one of the few coaches that I expect to adjust the gameplan: it's one thing to wreck a defense in one game in the regular season, it's another thing to wreck it 4 times out of 7 in the playoffs. Even Denver's defense had started to come around on the Lakers offense in their last few games, the lopsided reffing just made it a moot point.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Sure but I don't think Spoelstra is a one trick pony as a coach. He's one of the few coaches that I expect to adjust the gameplan: it's one thing to wreck a defense in one game in the regular season, it's another thing to wreck it 4 times out of 7 in the playoffs. Even Denver's defense had started to come around on the Lakers offense in their last few games, the lopsided reffing just made it a moot point.

---

IDk... the match up that I'm seeing is tailor made for Lebron to put up crazy stats. Lebron pandering going to be an all time high after this series. Be watching this dude cry while he's allow to hack everybody. I'm so sick of him

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

Refs make a good game ugly. Screw the NBA and this narrative.

---

I've been watching hockey the past month as my team, the Stars, had a great run and was getting livid with the officiating. Which has never really happened with me and the NHL before. NBA and NFL, absolutely. US World Cup, oh yeah. But never the NHL.

Which brought me down this train of thought that I always had trouble seeing really clearly what was happening in the hockey match. The picture used to be fuzzier. Colors would blend together. But now TVs are bigger, picture is much clearer, more cameras leads to more angles. It's like, is the officiating really getting this much worse throughout the sporting world or are we just actually able to finally see how bad it's been the entire time?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Lakers made the finals. I'll admit, when this season started, I did not predict this to happen: I thought they'd get bounced in the second round maybe.

In fairness, there's a lot of weirdnesses with this year's playoffs that change things, but you also have to give credit to AD for having what might be literally his best career shooting stretch of all time in these playoffs.

Usually when you get AD settling for 20 foot jumpers, you're happy as a defense because he never really shoots much better than low 40%s on that shot. He's shot 52% on them in these playoffs, I think. 33% shooter from 3 all year, 36% in the playoffs. Been awesome on defense.

Combine that with Lebron playing mostly pretty well, as well as not having to deal with travel or anything, and the Laker's outlook changed and they've made the most of it. Good for them.

Still want to see them get smashed by the Heat though.

---

Mid-season I was thinking that the wheel would fall off of the LAL bus. They were running AD and Bron on some massive mins and both of those guys tend to wear down. They were also playing hard. Maybe not full playoff mode but harder than the other superstars. I felt like one or both would fade out in the playoffs. I think the break GREATLY benefited them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by msusousaphone

Mid-season I was thinking that the wheel would fall off of the LAL bus. They were running AD and Bron on some massive mins and both of those guys tend to wear down. They were also playing hard. Maybe not full playoff mode but harder than the other superstars. I felt like one or both would fade out in the playoffs. I think the break GREATLY benefited them.

---

Absolutely. Even during the Denver series, Lebron looked absolutely gassed at points. Which isn't surprising, he has more minutes on his body over the last 15 years or so than literally anyone, and he's done so many deep postseason runs that it's absurd: 10 finals trips now. Giving them literally months off to recover did wonders for Lebron: if the normal schedule goes ahead, I don't think LA gets past Denver.

Heat in 7, only the strong survive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by msusousaphone

Mid-season I was thinking that the wheel would fall off of the LAL bus. They were running AD and Bron on some massive mins and both of those guys tend to wear down. They were also playing hard. Maybe not full playoff mode but harder than the other superstars. I felt like one or both would fade out in the playoffs. I think the break GREATLY benefited them.

---

i think the 4 month layoff benefitted AD the most because it kept AD healthy for the playoffs and you see the results....

First half was mixed back.

On one hand, it's clear the Heat were trying out a bunch of stuff to see what works. Bam+Dragic PnR? Works. Super small wing lineup? Doesn't seem to work. That's cool, it's the first half of game one.

On the other hand, both Butler and Dragic got injured so that's probably the series lol

Bam injured too.

Lebron's 4th ring incoming

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It just sucks, I hoped it was going to be a good competitive series (and yes, I wanted Miami to win but I wouldn't have even minded LA winning too much cause I do think Lebron is the GOAT and him getting another ring helps that argument, so there was always upside there) and that potential has basically just been ruined.

Jimmy's going to play because he's Jimmy but he was visibly hurt after that ankle sprain and it's probably going to impact him all series.
Bam's shoulder took him out of Game 1, no idea how/if he'll be for the rest of the series. Again, he'll probably play but who knows if it will seriously impact his play.
Dragic's probably out for the series.

Gentleman's sweep by the Lakers is what it's looking like, and I only say that because there'll be some random game where Herro and Duncan combine to shoot 14/20 from 3 or something and just steal the game.

It really is awful because in the first quarter, sure both teams were unrealistically hot from the field but it was looking like there was going to be some fun in this series. The Heat looked to have a few things LA was struggling with, and then pffft. Series over.

AD's decision to essentially just have the hottest shooting stretch of his career in these playoffs helps, tbh. 66.3% TS in the playoffs prior to this game.

AD's regular season shooting percentages:

0-3 feet: 75.8%
3-10 feet: 41.3%
10-16 feet: 41.2%
16-3pt line: 32.2%
3pt: 33.0%

AD's shooting percentages in the playoffs:

0-3 feet: 83.1%
3-10 feet: 53.8%
10-16 feet: 39.1%
16-3pt line: 56.9%
3pt: 36.6%

Just clear, huge increases everywhere except that short-midrange, where he's slightly worse but not by enough to make it a huge deal. Just absurd efficiency all around. Combine that with >80% FT maintained, as well as having his best passing post-season ever and being the clear best defender on the Lakers, there's a strong argument to be made that he's been the best player on the floor for the Lakers much of this post-season. Even his self-creation is at all time high levels for him: only about 59% of his shots from 2pt range are assisted. In his last post-season run with us, that was about 79%.

Miami's Goran Dragic has suffered a plantar tear of left foot, source tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2020

welp

Wow, LeBron gets to experience what all three titles were like for Steph in one series. Everybody on Miami dropped dead AND he doesn't have to be the leading scorer to win

— ������������ ���������� ���� (@Cavsanada) October 1, 2020

lmao

Let’s be honest- the Clippers were the only team that could’ve stopped the Lakers and they blew it by throwing away a 3-1 lead to Denver. It just sums up how perfectly everything fell into place for the Lakers. They played everyone 40 minutes a night in the regular season but guess what- none of that matters because of Covid. Two month break and a good chance for everyone to rest up. And even now that they don’t need any luck, the Heat drop like flies. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s fate

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JJackisangry

Let’s be honest- the Clippers were the only team that could’ve stopped the Lakers and they blew it by throwing away a 3-1 lead to Denver. It just sums up how perfectly everything fell into place for the Lakers. They played everyone 40 minutes a night in the regular season but guess what- none of that matters because of Covid. Two month break and a good chance for everyone to rest up. And even now that they don’t need any luck, the Heat drop like flies. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s fate

---

Heavy disagree.

I think a fully healthy Heat team stood a chance, I think Boston would have had a much better shot than most people are willing to acknowledge, and I think Toronto would have given LA fits. People forget Toronto because they didn't make it to the conference finals but they honestly were incredible; they just met their Achilles heel matchup early in the playoffs. Against an LA team that has limited creators and competent ballhandlers, they would have had a good time of it.

The reality is that the Lakers, by playing Portland in the first round and now an injured Heat in the finals, have had a relatively lucky run to the championship.

Now, I don't count that against them. I don't give rings asterisks. The advantage of being in the Finals every year is that you're there to take advantage of the softballs when they come along: Lebron has earned that right by always being in the mix.

But that doesn't change the reality that we're in, and that reality has the Lakers coming up against a softball Finals matchup.

Congratulations Anthony Davis.

the whole thing just pisses me off. I don't like the lakers, and I hated the trade because I knew this would happen. And it did. Now it sucks.

What else is there to say?

We get to watch the Lakers and Lebron and AD celebrate a title....that sucks. And the pelicans are the ones who made it happen.

People here have been spinning it a number of ways- but BI is excelling, but the draft picks, but but but.....no **** that- what matters is Lebron and AD are
going to be laughing and mugging for the camera after a couple to few more games and the pels let that happen. I'm supposed to be content in getting a
non-difference making stats guy(BI) and some unknown quality future picks to watch that happen? ******** no......

Look at the last two finals winners- Toronto with KL(who was obviously the difference for them) and the Lakers with AD(ditto). Two cases where a player wanted out, had one year remaining until FA so the team controlled them, and the team trades them to the team that wins it all.

I would much rather, certainly in KL's case and even in AD's case although I know thats a different return, just stuck it to the player and made them waste another year of their prime than give in and trade them. In the case of KL, the return was total crap so you aren't even losing anything. And while the return was a lot better in the AD case, unlike in the KL case he got to go to his preferred team and the team most of our fans didn't want him to go to.

People will say "oh if you did that to AD then you would get a bad reputation and top free agents wouldnt want to come in the future". LMAO....we are the freaking pelicans. Half of casual nba fans don't even know what city we play in(they probably get us and charlotte confused). We are a damn dumpster of an organization in terms of name rec, drawing power, ability to attract difference making free agents. Nobody is going to come to us anyways who is a true difference maker in free agency, so get out of here with that crap......

What we did have is some leverage to not let this ******** happen this year. Maybe it would have happened next year anyways after he picked a FA destination....maybe not though after another year. But we damn sure controlled it this year, and we just gave in to him and took up it up the ****** and now we all get to watch them win another title because of it.....the hell with that

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JJackisangry

Let’s be honest- the Clippers were the only team that could’ve stopped the Lakers and they blew it by throwing away a 3-1 lead to Denver. It just sums up how perfectly everything fell into place for the Lakers. They played everyone 40 minutes a night in the regular season but guess what- none of that matters because of Covid. Two month break and a good chance for everyone to rest up. And even now that they don’t need any luck, the Heat drop like flies. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s fate

---

Yeah I said the min the Clippers went down it was the Lakers to lose. LeBron is too great to lose at this stage of his career.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tacosman

the whole thing just pisses me off. I don't like the lakers, and I hated the trade because I knew this would happen. And it did. Now it sucks.

What else is there to say?

We get to watch the Lakers and Lebron and AD celebrate a title....that sucks. And the pelicans are the ones who made it happen.

People here have been spinning it a number of ways- but BI is excelling, but the draft picks, but but but.....no **** that- what matters is Lebron and AD are
going to be laughing and mugging for the camera after a couple to few more games and the pels let that happen. I'm supposed to be content in getting a
non-difference making stats guy(BI) and some unknown quality future picks to watch that happen? ******** no......

Look at the last two finals winners- Toronto with KL(who was obviously the difference for them) and the Lakers with AD(ditto). Two cases where a player wanted out, had one year remaining until FA so the team controlled them, and the team trades them to the team that wins it all.

I would much rather, certainly in KL's case and even in AD's case although I know thats a different return, just stuck it to the player and made them waste another year of their prime than give in and trade them. In the case of KL, the return was total crap so you aren't even losing anything. And while the return was a lot better in the AD case, unlike in the KL case he got to go to his preferred team and the team most of our fans didn't want him to go to.

People will say "oh if you did that to AD then you would get a bad reputation and top free agents wouldnt want to come in the future". LMAO....we are the freaking pelicans. Half of casual nba fans don't even know what city we play in(they probably get us and charlotte confused). We are a damn dumpster of an organization in terms of name rec, drawing power, ability to attract difference making free agents. Nobody is going to come to us anyways who is a true difference maker in free agency, so get out of here with that crap......

What we did have is some leverage to not let this ******** happen this year. Maybe it would have happened next year anyways after he picked a FA destination....maybe not though after another year. But we damn sure controlled it this year, and we just gave in to him and took up it up the ****** and now we all get to watch them win another title because of it.....the hell with that

---

The trade wasn't very strategic IMO. You don't give a top 3 player another top 15 player when a major part of the return is future draft compensation. Those picks are far more likely to be in the high 20's than lottery picks. We should have traded him to the Knicks. A historically ********-poor run organization that may have seen Davis opt out after a year anyways. Sure nobody on their roster had Ingram's raw talent, but Barrett, Smith Jr, Robinson and future draft picks/picks swaps look a hell of a lot better than the Ingram(who was coming off of blood clots and is due a new contract) Ball, Hart, and future picks/pick swaps trade we got from the Lakers.

The Knicks had a ton of cap space this past offseason and no star player went there. Say what you will about the mental state of Durant and Irving but both guys chose to play basketball in New York, but neither wanted the Knicks. The Knicks signed like 4 PF/C's with the cap space.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by da ThRONe

The trade wasn't very strategic IMO. You don't give a top 3 player another top 15 player when a major part of the return is future draft compensation. Those picks are far more likely to be in the high 20's than lottery picks. We should have traded him to the Knicks. A historically ********-poor run organization that may have seen Davis opt out after a year anyways. Sure nobody on their roster had Ingram's raw talent, but Barrett, Smith Jr, Robinson and future draft picks/picks swaps look a hell of a lot better than the Ingram(who was coming off of blood clots and is due a new contract) Ball, Hart, and future picks/pick swaps trade we got from the Lakers.

The Knicks had a ton of cap space this past offseason and no star player went there. Say what you will about the mental state of Durant and Irving but both guys chose to play basketball in New York, but neither wanted the Knicks. The Knicks signed like 4 PF/C's with the cap space.

---

The picks were far enough out that Lebron is likely to be gone when at least one is conveyed. And look at history -- what happens the year after Lebron leaves a team? Best record the year after was 37 wins (Heat). The two Cavs teams he left were among the worst in the league

So, it was actually very strategic. Griff is betting on Lebron to leave by or before 2024, and for the Lakers to do what all Lebron teams do after he leaves

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

The picks were far enough out that Lebron is likely to be gone when at least one is conveyed. And look at history -- what happens the year after Lebron leaves a team? Best record the year after was 37 wins (Heat). The two Cavs teams he left were among the worst in the league

So, it was actually very strategic. Griff is betting on Lebron to leave by or before 2024, and for the Lakers to do what all Lebron teams do after he leaves

---

The Lakers are the premiere FA destination of the league. They'll probably grab a 3rd star this off season or next when they're a really top tier FA class. The Knicks aren't the worst but they have become bottom 10 free agency destination.

Put it this way which teams pick is far more likely to be top 5 over the next 6 or 7 years LA Lakers(which are about to win 17 title) or NY Knicks. It's insane some of the discussions that take place here sometimes. Even if LeBron falls off a cliff after next season they'll be stars wanting to take his place especially if Davis signs his extension(which at this point is a far gone conclusion). Hell Bradley Beal just purchased a house out here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by da ThRONe

The Lakers are the premiere FA destination of the league. They'll probably grab a 3rd star this off season or next when they're a really top tier FA class.

---

Which free agents and with what money?

The Lakers already have $119m tied up next season. They will not be making any big FA signings this year, certainly not for stars. The following year becomes a touch more likely, but by that point Lebron will be 37 and AD would have signed his next big deal, meaning there will be upwards of $80m tied up between those two alone, which probably only leaves about $30m total for the entirety of the rest of the roster. That's not going to be enough to sign someone like a Giannis, for damn sure.

The thing about being a premier FA destination is that it helps you get FA's when you have the money to sign free agents. It doesn't magic up cap space for you when you're already close to $90m in the hole (Lebron's $41m that year + AD's big payday + the $5m a season they'll still owe Luol Deng at that point).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by da ThRONe

The trade wasn't very strategic IMO. You don't give a top 3 player another top 15 player when a major part of the return is future draft compensation. Those picks are far more likely to be in the high 20's than lottery picks. We should have traded him to the Knicks. A historically ********-poor run organization that may have seen Davis opt out after a year anyways. Sure nobody on their roster had Ingram's raw talent, but Barrett, Smith Jr, Robinson and future draft picks/picks swaps look a hell of a lot better than the Ingram(who was coming off of blood clots and is due a new contract) Ball, Hart, and future picks/pick swaps trade we got from the Lakers.

The Knicks had a ton of cap space this past offseason and no star player went there. Say what you will about the mental state of Durant and Irving but both guys chose to play basketball in New York, but neither wanted the Knicks. The Knicks signed like 4 PF/C's with the cap space.

---

So what were you going to force the Knicks to give us? Reportedly they were not even willing to part with the #3 pick in the deal.

I have no problem with the Lakers draft picks. As has been pointed out, if any of them turn out to be a late first it will be the first one we receive. The rest of the picks should be fine, and if BI and Hart continue to progress the picks will only put this over the top (rather than be fair for both teams). The assets that we have received are great for us, and only hamper them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Which free agents and with what money?

The Lakers already have $119m tied up next season. They will not be making any big FA signings this year, certainly not for stars. The following year becomes a touch more likely, but by that point Lebron will be 37 and AD would have signed his next big deal, meaning there will be upwards of $80m tied up between those two alone, which probably only leaves about $30m total for the entirety of the rest of the roster. That's not going to be enough to sign someone like a Giannis, for damn sure.

The thing about being a premier FA destination is that it helps you get FA's when you have the money to sign free agents. It doesn't magic up cap space for you when you're already close to $90m in the hole (Lebron's $41m that year + AD's big payday + the $5m a season they'll still owe Luol Deng at that point).

---

Freeing up cap space isn't impossible we've seen it done and really there's no big time star coming free this off season. But the following year assuming Davis opts in to his last year LeBron has a player option and can sign a deal to create space for a 3rd star and he's the only one under contract pass 2021. MM mentioned the goal was the 2024 pick. Unless something goes terribly wrong they'll transition to the next core group by then as LeBron fades.

Long story short Lakers are setup to be contenders for the next 4-7years. Could thing go horribly wrong sure, but it not very likely.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PELICANSFAN

So what were you going to force the Knicks to give us? Reportedly they were not even willing to part with the #3 pick in the deal.

---

And you believe that why?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

I have no problem with the Lakers draft picks. As has been pointed out, if any of them turn out to be a late first it will be the first one we receive. The rest of the picks should be fine, and if BI and Hart continue to progress the picks will only put this over the top (rather than be fair for both teams). The assets that we have received are great for us, and only hamper them.

---

What do you mean by fine? They'll all be likely be late 1st. Honestly they'll end up as Lakers late picks because they'll be no need to swap picks. You think the Lakers won't land another star to pair with Davis once LeBron slows down?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by da ThRONe

What do you mean by fine? They'll all be likely be late 1st. Honestly they'll end up as Lakers late picks because they'll be no need to swap picks. You think the Lakers won't land another star to pair with Davis once LeBron slows down?

---

I don’t think it, I guarantee it.

Prior to Lebron going there (for Hollywood, not basketball reasons) nobody wanted to go to LA unless they didn’t have anywhere else to go (see Luol Deng). There is a reason that there was a drought for so long between the Showtime Lakers to Shaq/Kobe and Kobe to Lebron, nobody wants to go there. Now with Lebron there they can’t afford super stars unless those guys go there on the cheap (and we can see that none are willing to do that). Nothing about that front office or coaching staff gives me (or anyone else for that matter) that their operations aren’t held together by anything but gum, string, and Lebron’s knees. Nothing there exudes confidence past Lebron.

If you want to say that they will get a star to put next to AD need I remind you that stars didn’t come to New Orleans to play with him unless it was via trade.Nobody is going out of their way to team up with AD, and even if they did, they would have to go there via free agency as the Lakers’ assets are tied up to the Pels. So putting a Superstar next to AD won’t he easy (unless Klutch will do the Lakers a solid and tank a players value). If AD doesn’t have a Super Star next to him he will be the New Orleans’ version of AD, and while he might be a threat, he is hardly a guy you want to build a franchise around.

So yeah, I’m at a good place with those Laker picks, and would be fine if you pinned this post of me saying that 2 of those Laker picks will be lottery picks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by da ThRONe

Freeing up cap space isn't impossible we've seen it done and really there's no big time star coming free this off season. But the following year assuming Davis opts in to his last year LeBron has a player option and can sign a deal to create space for a 3rd star and he's the only one under contract pass 2021. MM mentioned the goal was the 2024 pick. Unless something goes terribly wrong they'll transition to the next core group by then as LeBron fades.

Long story short Lakers are setup to be contenders for the next 4-7years. Could thing go horribly wrong sure, but it not very likely.

---

I don't believe this is accurate.

Firstly, Lebron has never been the type of guy who signs smaller deals to free up space for a 3rd star. There are few things you can say have been as constant throughout Lebron's career as his desire to maximise his income. If there is any possible way for him to get LA to give him another max, he will get them to give him another max and that's what he will sign. Lebron is not doing a Tim Duncan discount; there has never been any indication in his entire career that he would be willing to do such a thing.

Secondly, you say that they'll transition to the next core group by then. My question is, where is this group supposed to come from? They can't trade for promising young players: they have nobody under contract long term and no picks. They can't draft those young players, they have no picks. They're not getting those guys flocking to them in FA because they have no money and, as Lebron ages over the next few seasons, there's no real reason to go there; players don't flock to play with AD, as we've seen.

You can argue that maybe players will just go there because it's LA, but then you have to ask why nobody was doing that for the last 7 years before Lebron showed up. If players want to go to a destination city to live the high life, they're just going to go to Miami, which at least has some good young prospects and has been consistently good for years.

Thirdly, while we've seen freeing up cap space happen, there are circumstances where that's harder than usual. It's easier to free up cap if you have a few overpaid middle-tier players and you can attach picks to move them, or you can can stretch contracts, or whatever. It's very difficult to do that when you have two separate guys earning over $40m a year: we call this the Westbrook/Harden dilemma.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tacosman

the whole thing just pisses me off. I don't like the lakers, and I hated the trade because I knew this would happen. And it did. Now it sucks.

What else is there to say?

We get to watch the Lakers and Lebron and AD celebrate a title....that sucks. And the pelicans are the ones who made it happen.

People here have been spinning it a number of ways- but BI is excelling, but the draft picks, but but but.....no **** that- what matters is Lebron and AD are
going to be laughing and mugging for the camera after a couple to few more games and the pels let that happen. I'm supposed to be content in getting a
non-difference making stats guy(BI) and some unknown quality future picks to watch that happen? ******** no......

Look at the last two finals winners- Toronto with KL(who was obviously the difference for them) and the Lakers with AD(ditto). Two cases where a player wanted out, had one year remaining until FA so the team controlled them, and the team trades them to the team that wins it all.

I would much rather, certainly in KL's case and even in AD's case although I know thats a different return, just stuck it to the player and made them waste another year of their prime than give in and trade them. In the case of KL, the return was total crap so you aren't even losing anything. And while the return was a lot better in the AD case, unlike in the KL case he got to go to his preferred team and the team most of our fans didn't want him to go to.

People will say "oh if you did that to AD then you would get a bad reputation and top free agents wouldnt want to come in the future". LMAO....we are the freaking pelicans. Half of casual nba fans don't even know what city we play in(they probably get us and charlotte confused). We are a damn dumpster of an organization in terms of name rec, drawing power, ability to attract difference making free agents. Nobody is going to come to us anyways who is a true difference maker in free agency, so get out of here with that crap......

What we did have is some leverage to not let this ******** happen this year. Maybe it would have happened next year anyways after he picked a FA destination....maybe not though after another year. But we damn sure controlled it this year, and we just gave in to him and took up it up the ****** and now we all get to watch them win another title because of it.....the hell with that

---

You mad that a farm team is being a farm team?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by da ThRONe

And you believe that why?

---

Do you have anything that would indicate that it was reported incorrectly by the usual insiders? I believe Woj even reported the Knicks were not willing to part with much in the way of assets for AD. Unfortunately, we had no other real suitors than the Lakers given that AD and Klutch contaminated the waters.