i can understand the hate for the lakers... i’ve gotten over that since kobe isn’t playing for them anymore...
hate them or not, lebron + kawhi would be some beautiful ass basketball TBH.
Clippers made the playoffs without Kawhi - they could load manage him as having him for 65 games is better than what they had last year and they were good enough for the playoffs then...
If they had Kawhi 65 games last year? You’d think they would have even more wins, no?
i can understand the hate for the lakers... i’ve gotten over that since kobe isn’t playing for them anymore...
hate them or not, lebron + kawhi would be some beautiful ass basketball TBH.
a LOT of smoke about him going to the lakers though... hard to ignore
How many wins did they end up with? You are probably right. They did quite well without him, so yeah, they probably would end up a darn good record if he can at least play 65 games.
So what is everyone's gut reaction here? Where do you guys think he will go?
starting to think lakers tbh
Well, I'm not a Lebron fan like you are. I think he is a great player, but a total when it comes to winning. He always wants stacked teams if he can do it. Plus I think he sucks in crunch time and never had what Jordan or even Tim Duncan and prime Manu had when the games were on the lines (balls and toughness to take and make the game winning shot). He shied away from it for a long time. He's gotten better with the game on the line, but I always thought he was shaky in those situations. He completely bricked and choked those two shots in the 2013 NBA finals and I feel we let him off the hook. He should only have one ring. It could have changed the whole narrative and history of his career had those last 27 seconds not gone down the way they did. I'd piss me off if Kawhi goes there and he ends up with 5 or 6 rings.
I hate Kobe, but I actually respect him more than Lebron. He didn't really out in any of the battles against the Spurs. He also didn't have super stacked teams like Lebron is always trying to get/do.
I know there is a lot of smoke about Lakers, but it doesn’t make sense knowing what we know about Kawhi. It’s been Clippers for nearly 2 years and don’t think anything is changed. I also think if it’s not Clippers then somehow TOR managed to do unthinkable and convinced Dennis to stay.
Of course it’s hard to just ignore all the Lakers rumors coming from everywhere and I think Kawhi’s team is talking to Lakers; but I don’t get the sense that he’s that jazzed about joining Bron * Shrugs *
i agree that clips seem more logical
Hopefully what you say is right, but yeah, there is so much rumours coming from everywhere like you said, or at the very least, the media, fans and even ex-players seem to all be trying to push him there if those rumours aren't legit.
Has it actually been reported that he's going to take a few days to decide?
And it’s not just logic IMO. There has been stuff out there (whether people choose to believe it or not) that Clippers and Kawhi’s camp have been in constant communication for quite a while. Even this year while winning in TOR.
I don’t think it’s a lock as evidenced by it not being done yet, but I don’t know what changed from the past 2 years other than TOR shocking the world and winning a le.
Maybe getting AD and Lakers getting that 3rd max spot? Maybe that is enough to entice Kawhi to team up with other stars where before just playing with Bron was not appealing? Not sure.
Yeah - Haynes from Yahoo said that.
Crap. So we're going to have to wait a few days. Oh well, as I said, I hope it's either the Raptors or Clippers. Interesting take about him maybe changing him mind with the Lakers getting AD. You might be right that he had no interest in just teaming up with Lebron, and it was just the Clippers all the way, but maybe with the Lakers getting AD and opening up a 3rd max slot, that may have very well made him and his uncle pause a bit and now seriously consider the Lakers.
I think that is the situation. Lakers are a threat but I dont think they are THE threat to Clippers. They might be if LA is still the end all be all (which I think it is). But I feel TOR is really the threat and if that is the case I still think Clippers get him.
Cool. I hope you are right. I'd feel better about the Spurs being forced to trade him if he ends up at the Clippers.
He really loves dragging things out, though, as it's going to be a ty few days waiting to see where he ends up.
I also think much of this is Uncle Dennis/His Agent doing everyone a courtesy as well. Lakers don’t want to be embarrassed like they were with LMA, PG, etc...even with AD they have a lot riding. Dennis and Co want Kawhi in LA but don’t want burned bridges and are trying to build their clientele beyond just Kawhi.
Getting in good with everyone is a way to help that...Just pure speculation on my side, but a small thing.
The raptors did survive, given they managed to get 2nd seed even with his load management. The way both rosters were constructed last year, the raptors would’ve handled it better than the clips. That being said, the internal growth and improvement also needs to get factored in. If clips got Kawhi this year and their youngsters improve AND get another guy to help carry the load then then getting 3rd or 4th seed wouldn’t be too farfetched. Then again, with the clips.. it’s a lot more ifs compared to the raptors. I do hope that he stays with the raps or go to the clippers should he leave.
Lakers obviously feel like they are in for a really good shot. They have 32mil to spend and all good free agents are gone.
Theyll probably get kawhi,iggy and jr smith
Or Kawhi played them for fools. By stalling and letting the market take all the net positive roleplayers off the board, he just ensured LeBron and AD would have the toughest time making the finals. Kawhi killed LeBron's chances at a ring even before the regular season began. That's some Sun Tzu wisdom Pop would spout in his film sessions.
The core of the Clippers pitch was using their two max slots to pair Kawhi with another star, since Kawhi wants championships but also needs to load manage. Well, there are no longer any stars available. Woj hinted a Butler and Kawhi duo was the ideal scenario planned by Jerry West. Butler is now locked into Miami. Clips are out of the running, leaving only one outcome for Kawhi.
Cory Joseph got 3/37 from the Kings
sacto is the worst managed team in the league besides New York tbh. they also gave Dedmon 3/41, gave Harrison Barnes 4/85, and Ariza got 2/25. why they're paying vets like ariza/joseph/dedmon those contracts when they werent even a playoff team is baffling. tying up cap space on guys like that.
Giannis and Bud in 2021 dream is on![]()
That's actually a pretty good point. If they didn't think they have a very, very good chance to get him, wouldn't they have used the money already? What other reason/s would they have to hold onto it? The other thing is, is if this announcement is supposed to be in a few days, that kind of lines up with July 4th, and that sounds like a Lebron type of spectacle to me.
Maybe the feel adding these vets to their youth you push them over the top into a well balanced playoff team? I actually like what they've done. I don't like the Harrison Barnes contract, but Dedmon and Ariza are good players and the length on their contracts isn't too bad at all. Not sure why the signed Cory Joseph for, though as they already have point guards that project to get a lot of court time. Interesting that he ends up in California as he's pretty good friends with Kawhi.
Last edited by Ice009; 07-01-2019 at 03:40 AM.
CIA Kawhi. By holding out and giving the Lakers hope he destroys their chances to sign any other relevant FA, until he signs with the Clippers finally... weaken the local rival.
/bluefont
That's possible too, but looking at the list of free agents left, do you guys really think the Lakers are holding onto that money to give to guys like Marcus Morris, Demarcus Cousins, Seth Curry etc.? Split all that money between those 3 guys? Maybe they are planning on doing that if they miss out on kawhi, sign all those guys for one year contracts, but I am starting to think they're holding onto that money because it's for Kawhi.
I really hope Kawhi is playing them, though. I really do.
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