The Mighty Lakers

[GusT15]

LeBron will assist more but AD has to carry them offensively and defensively if they want to achieve anything and he has a lot to prove after saying a while back that he's the best player in the game and requesting a trade. People will be all over AD not LeBron imo. I'm betting my money on AD. LeBron will take a step back and let AD shine just like Wade let him shine with the Heat. LeBron knows that if he doesn't do that they don't have much of a chance because he's not a spring chicken any more. LeBron has a high bball iq to know all these things.

I agree with you on how the Lakers will operate on the court.
My disagreement comes from the MVP voting method journalists have diplayed over the years.And as well as we both know,ESPN wants to keep pushing the LeBron GOAT narrative,so at least half of the voters will be biased to admit that Lebron is not even the MVP on his team.

Hence,votes will be split,or they will push the general narrative to another player as their focus.
So,imho,AD either is
a)gonna be the best player on a Lakers team that contends for the #1 seed-which means Lebron is close to 20-8-6.
b)gonna be the best player on a Lakers team that Lebron is struggling/injured so the Lakers are out of the top4 seed race.
c)gonna be underperforming cause LeBron is not gonna change his playstyle and he will turn into another Love/Bosh type player.
d)gonna carry a Lakers team without LeBron to a top3 seed.

The third scenario isn't as likely and the fourth is highly unlikely (cause the West is a bloodbath this year),but in the first 3,he's not going to have enough votes to win MVP.Cause of LeBron.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

My guess is that the Lakers will swing some deal mid-season to bring in another key player. They’ve gone deep to be successful so I think they’ll do all they can to win now before LeBron’s window closes shut. The worst managed team in basketball (except for the Suns perhaps) still gets what they want because of where and who they are.

And Cousins might return to form. He and Davis were pretty good on the Pels together...better than I thought they’d be. I’d love for the Lakers to suck, but my guess is that they won’t. Injuries will be key for a team with no true depth. We’ll see.

[GreekSpursfan]

I agree with you on how the Lakers will operate on the court.
My disagreement comes from the MVP voting method journalists have diplayed over the years.And as well as we both know,ESPN wants to keep pushing the LeBron GOAT narrative,so at least half of the voters will be biased to admit that Lebron is not even the MVP on his team.

Hence,votes will be split,or they will push the general narrative to another player as their focus.
So,imho,AD either is
a)gonna be the best player on a Lakers team that contends for the #1 seed-which means Lebron is close to 20-8-6.
b)gonna be the best player on a Lakers team that Lebron is struggling/injured so the Lakers are out of the top4 seed race.
c)gonna be underperforming cause LeBron is not gonna change his playstyle and he will turn into another Love/Bosh type player.
d)gonna carry a Lakers team without LeBron to a top3 seed.

The third scenario isn't as likely and the fourth is highly unlikely (cause the West is a bloodbath this year),but in the first 3,he's not going to have enough votes to win MVP.Cause of LeBron.

Unfortunately for us(lets not forget i still hate them) its gonna be the first scenario. Even as presently constracted i have them as the favorite to win it all. People forget who AD is and at his best he's better than anyone including Kawhi and Giannis and KD. Clippers have zero answer for him, nada, zilch.

[Bill Walton Saga]

The Lakers are 2-17 in their last 19 games against Portland...lol

[Ice009]

Unfortunately for us(lets not forget i still hate them) its gonna be the first scenario. Even as presently constracted i have them as the favorite to win it all. People forget who AD is and at his best he's better than anyone including Kawhi and Giannis and KD. Clippers have zero answer for him, nada, zilch.

I don't want to really admit this, but when Kawhi asked out, I tried to think of who in the entire NBA I'd want if I could do a straight up trade for anyone, and I told my friend Anthony Davis is the only guy in the NBA I'd want to trade Kawhi straight up for. I guess I sort of forgot about him a little bit the past year or so due to his teams not doing well in the playoffs, but yeah, the guy at his best definitely has the talent to be the number 1 player in the NBA.

[GreekSpursfan]

I don't want to really admit this, but when Kawhi asked out, I tried to think of who in the entire NBA I'd want if I could do a straight up trade for anyone, and I told my friend Anthony Davis is the only guy in the NBA I'd want to trade Kawhi straight up for. I guess I sort of forgot about him a little bit the past year or so due to his teams not doing well in the playoffs, but yeah, the guy at his best definitely has the talent to be the number 1 player in the NBA.

Right now i agree that AD is the only guy i would trade Kawhi for but if you have told me that a few years back when Giannis was 19 and Pop and his staff had a chance to develop him and not the worst coach in the NBA aka Jason Kidd, i would say Giannis because if Giannis would've been developed by the Spurs he would be the best player right now easily.

[GusT15]

Right now i agree that AD is the only guy i would trade Kawhi for but if you have told me that a few years back when Giannis was 19 and Pop and his staff had a chance to develop him and not the worst coach in the NBA aka Jason Kidd, i would say Giannis because if Giannis would've been developed by the Spurs he would be the best player right now easily.

A 19 year old Giannis developed by the Spurs would be the SF/PF version of Nephew (SG/SF),with the ability to guard 1-5 at a DPOY level,with a reliable 3pt shot and jumper-adding court vision+durability to Nephew's version.
That's an amazing player with GOAT potential.

[UZER]

Laker Lanny back to Laker Nanny.

[buttsR4rebounding]

My guess is that the Lakers will swing some deal mid-season to bring in another key player. They’ve gone deep to be successful so I think they’ll do all they can to win now before LeBron’s window closes shut. The worst managed team in basketball (except for the Suns perhaps) still gets what they want because of where and who they are.

And Cousins might return to form. He and Davis were pretty good on the Pels together...better than I thought they’d be. I’d love for the Lakers to suck, but my guess is that they won’t. Injuries will be key for a team with no true depth. We’ll see.

The Pels were 27-21 with Cousins and after he went down they finished 21-13. IMO the Lakers are an injury away from a 7th straight year of lottery Bingo.

[Ice009]

Right now i agree that AD is the only guy i would trade Kawhi for but if you have told me that a few years back when Giannis was 19 and Pop and his staff had a chance to develop him and not the worst coach in the NBA aka Jason Kidd, i would say Giannis because if Giannis would've been developed by the Spurs he would be the best player right now easily.

I can agree with that. Giannis would have been my second choice. When I was talking to my friend, you've also got to remember that it was over a year ago when Kawhi asked out, so Giannis wasn't even as good as he is now, but yeah, I'd take a 19 year old Giannis and maybe current Giannis in the Spurs system with the Spurs development staff over Anthony Davis too. It would have been even better to get a hold of him when he was younger, though, like you said. Good call. That would be about it, though, for players I would take in a straight swap. It really sucks losing Kawhi because there was hardly anyone in the NBA I even wanted if I could have traded (hypothetically) for whoever I wanted. I told my friend I really did not want to trade him because there is hardly anyone out there I consider as good/better when we were discussing it, so any trade, we're going to lose big on. It also sucks because he just got back into basketball after not following it for years and became a huge Kawhi fan and started following the Spurs (maybe due to Patty Mills at first because they are both part Aboriginal). He loved Kawhi.

[GreekSpursfan]

I can agree with that. Giannis would have been my second choice. When I was talking to my friend, you've also got to remember that it was over a year ago when Kawhi asked out, so Giannis wasn't even as good as he is now, but yeah, I'd take a 19 year old Giannis and maybe current Giannis in the Spurs system with the Spurs development staff over Anthony Davis too. It would have been even better to get a hold of him when he was younger, though, like you said. Good call. That would be about it, though, for players I would take in a straight swap. It really sucks losing Kawhi because there was hardly anyone in the NBA I even wanted if I could have traded (hypothetically) for whoever I wanted. I told my friend I really did not want to trade him because there is hardly anyone out there I consider as good/better when we were discussing it, so any trade, we're going to lose big on. It also sucks because he just got back into basketball after not following it for years and became a huge Kawhi fan and started following the Spurs (maybe due to Patty Mills at first because they are both part Aboriginal). He loved Kawhi.

Bottom line, we need a cornerstone piece even if its not AD, Giannis lvl to really contend. I really hope one of the young guys emerges into one but i don't see it.

[GreekSpursfan]

A 19 year old Giannis developed by the Spurs would be the SF/PF version of Nephew (SG/SF),with the ability to guard 1-5 at a DPOY level,with a reliable 3pt shot and jumper-adding court vision+durability to Nephew's version.
That's an amazing player with GOAT potential.

Agreed

[Ice009]

Bottom line, we need a cornerstone piece even if its not AD, Giannis lvl to really contend. I really hope one of the young guys emerges into one but i don't see it.

Yeah, I agree with that too. Who do you think of the current young guys has the most potential?

[Mr. Body]

My su ion is Anthony Davis will get sidelined by LeBron's playing style. AD is not actually a compe ive player and is probably okay with this, but his dominance may suffer. He'll get a lot of production out of dunks and put backs, but I don't see how the LAL are tons better. It's all down to role players.

[RC_Drunkford]

AD has played 7 seasons and got to the playoffs twice as the first option while having JRue Holiday on the team and for the 2nd playoff appearance Boogie before the injury as well. LaMarcus got teams to the playoffs by himself. AD is overrated

[GreekSpursfan]

Yeah, I agree with that too. Who do you think of the current young guys has the most potential?

Theoretically its Walker but Murray will have the ball in his hands more so i would vote him but Murray hasn't shown me a great bball IQ. White on the other hand has the best bball IQ on both ends out of the bunch but he has limited athleticism. Samanic is a project with the most upside. It's too early to tell. We have to see if they actually improved their game(Murray, Walker) against real compe ion to see if there is something there.

[exstatic]

Theoretically its Walker but Murray will have the ball in his hands more so i would vote him but Murray hasn't shown me a great bball IQ. White on the other hand has the best bball IQ on both ends out of the bunch but he has limited athleticism. Samanic is a project with the most upside. It's too early to tell. We have to see if they actually improved their game(Murray, Walker) against real compe ion to see if there is something there.

I'm really tired of this trope.

Colorado Guard Derrick White posted the second best three-quarter sprint time at 3.08 (97th percentile historically) and tied for the third best standing vertical leap at 35.5 (99th percentile historically). The D2 transfer combo guard was a rather unheralded prospect until this season. White measured 6'4.5 with shoes with a 6'7.5 wingspan which is very similar to the physical measurements of Chicago Bulls guard Jerian Grant, but his athletic testing results are very similar to those of Mike Conley's. - Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...k-White-95407/ ©DraftExpress

[Ocotillo]

I'm really tired of this trope.

You are right. Thing is, his game is smart, measured and he plays at a pace so his athleticism does not hit you between the eyes like it does Westbrook for example. Derrick should have a long NBA career because while he is athletic, he does not solely rely on it.

[GreekSpursfan]

I'm really tired of this trope.

In my eyes as a guard you've got to have an explosive first step in order to call you an above average and some cases elite athlete, i don't see it with him. Murray was more explosive than White when they went up against its other.

[gambit1990]

danny green is in this: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_5ZMOnfQj/

[exstatic]

In my eyes as a guard you've got to have an explosive first step in order to call you an above average and some cases elite athlete, i don't see it with him. Murray was more explosive than White when they went up against its other.

Thank you for admitting that you’ll ignore actual measurements in favor of your personal definitions

[Spurtacular]

I do think if AD stays healthy, the Lakers playoff-less streak will end at six.

https://ktla.com/2019/03/23/lakers-t...hises-history/

[Mr. Body]

I do think if AD stays healthy, the Lakers playoff-less streak will end at six.

https://ktla.com/2019/03/23/lakers-t...hises-history/

It should, but I don't see the load for LeBron to carry being any less than last year, maybe even more. He had to play tons, leading him to breaking down, and we've never seen Davis lead a team into a playoff hunt on his own other than maybe once or twice. Production for LBJ and AD will have to be very high and, more important, almost constant.

[Atl Spur]

Bottom line, we need a cornerstone piece even if its not AD, Giannis lvl to really contend. I really hope one of the young guys emerges into one but i don't see it.

No one thought he would either buuuuuuuttttt look at him now! Luka may not be finished growing and definitely isn’t a fully developed product skill wise! Give it a few.......

[MultiTroll]

danny green is in this: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_5ZMOnfQj/

nicely done