Since 1970 this Lakers franchise has hit an all time low point, in my 40+ years of following this team. I haven’t seen this teams roster be this bad since Kareem was acquired in that huge deal sending Junior Bridgeman, Dave Myers, Elmore Smith & another player for a young super star who was about 26 years old. At that time we filled our roster with an old players such as Lucious Allen, Don Chaney, Cazzie Russell & a drafted rookie Don Ford as starters. You all remember the rest & it was history in the making with new ownership & some great deals that brought us Magic & James.
We always had the opportunity to improve this team because we always had players we could move & an owner with the passion & desire to win! Now his son takes over & we are in disarray. I have NEVER ever seen a team with no coach before or after a draft, while trying to sign free agents (don’t wanna hear bout the super stars opinion of who cause Mitch keeps saying Kobe was never given that opportunity), going into summer league with no system, etc. Who in the world is gonna sign with us when they don’t know who’s going to coach them? We don’t even have more than 4 players signed to fill a starting line up, unheard of.
Face it, Lebron was never gonna sign here nor Melo for what it’s worth. I had so much confidence that we would acquire K. Love & or Irving after their rookie contracts or that group instead of all these rumors which are completely absurd of getting players who are already 30 years old & doing it all over again in 4 or 5 years. Haven’t they learned their lesson on acquiring older players or BUILDING a team like the Spurs, Suns, Raptors or OKC. I’d rather have 7 players making 7-8 mill a year instead of what they have done signing a once great player coming off a achilles injury who is 34 & has much mileage on his legs & body or sign another super star for another 22 mill & still not have the pieces to make the playoffs. We all know they over paid Kobe, he certainly isn’t worth 25 mill anymore & they could have given him 20 mill & either he takes it or walks!
Kobe has been great, but I’m a Laker fan far before & after. He is all about Kobe since his early days, the Piston Finals loss & since he forced Shaq out. The days of him isolating & hogging the ball were over 3 years ago, that’s why management should’ve known, even more with latest injury. I’m a fond believer in you don’t pay a player for the past you pay them for what you think they can contribute now & in future.
The Lakers have NO plan, I firmly believe that. Jimmy Buss is gonna Frank McCourt this team into the ground, Mitch’s hands are tied & he’s gotta be stressed out. This team, city & fans would be better off with new ownership! We are in a sad pathetic state right now, no room for improvement & players like Nash can’t be traded cause of age & contract.
I tell my son every week, stop getting your hopes up because they won’t show any improvement or get any better until Kobe is gone. They must rebuild this team not add huge salaries & old age to it. My years of knowing this team & years of cheers & jeers have taught me to not get over excited about this situation & according to these unbelievable rumors, hopes & threads are immune to emotion unless it is finalized.
I would like us to be respectable & sign players who play hard & understand the all around game. I thought the Meeks, Young’s, Johnson’s would do well here, but the last two coaches have ruined any young players ability to sustain production. I would love to see Jordan Hill come back & be given a chance to play 30 minutes a game if the training staff is sure his body is up to it, we need more compe ive players not selfish players.
Melo nor Bron was considering LA, many posts & concerns are obvious. I would like this team to move on & hire a coach immediately & get involved with the free agents that are NOT table scraps, because once again I believe that’s what were gonna end up with if they don’t start acting instead of pretending & creating their own fantasy team. Why is this so hard for everyone to understand?
I am so disappointed in ownership for this false conception & misleading of the fans, we are the laughing stock of the league right now. I just saw the Celtics make a trade for a decent player in Marcus Thornton, but we don’t have the pieces to even pull off a trade such as that because we have NO trad-able pieces, yes Pau should have been traded two years ago. I’d much rather be in the position of having a young super star at age 26 like Kareem & build a team, than add on older players. Like I said I really don’t see anything good in the next 2 or 3 years until Kobe’s is gone or retired & Nash are gone! Don't hold your breathe all, but I am not to optimistic about next two or three years. By saying that, it could be 3 or 4 years before Lakers basketball is relevant again. I certainly hope management proves me wrong?