Aloha,
I was just thinking about Rondo if we do indeed add him. While I’m okay with having Rondo, if he ends up playing a lot of minutes something is terribly wrong. I look at him as insurance policy for injuries to Westbrook or even LeBron. But I’m wondering how we will utilize Nunn. He is a terrific scorer and an underrated defender. But he is basically an undersized SG. I didn’t see him starting because we would have an extremely small back court. I saw him spending a lot of time running with LeBron when Westbrook rests. Sort of the same role Avery Bradley played. LeBron was the point guard on offense while Avery defended the point. And I really hope that is how it plays out because Rondo while a pesky defender, isn’t the defender he once was and he is no where near the scorer that Nunn is. How they use Nunn is an intriguing question for me.
I have also been pondering out defense. While the offensive fire power that we added will make being the top defense in the NBA less important we will still need to be a top 10 defensive team to sniff another championship. And we have issues there. We lost several top notch defenders in KCP, Caruso, Kuz and Wes. Even Dennis was very good on ball with the speed and quickness to stay with his man full court. And also keep in mind that both KCP and Alex were both 6’ 6” which gave us a lot of defensive versatility. Also Kuz has been developing in a very good defender over the last 2 seasons and at 6’ 9” he presented a lot of problems for the opponents wings. None of the players we added are as good defensively as the player they replaced with the possible exception of Bazemore. And if we do start LeBron at the 4 it will mean we will have an undersized wing at the 3. I know Trevor has been a great defender and brings a lot of experience but his best days as a man defender are past him plus we lack depth at the 4 as well so he will be needed there at times. Scheme will be everything this year.
I’m hoping THT takes a leap, actually it maybe more important for him to take a leap as a defender then as a 3 point shooter. He is long with a sturdy body to bang with so I think he may see even more minutes at the 3 then the 63% he played there last year. He showed signs of being a very good on ball defender last year. His problem has been in his rotations which isn’t unusual for a young player. I really believe THT could be breaking out by mid season this year. I won’t expect him to break out before he can legally buy a drink in November. I remember watching Randle and Ingram struggle early on but when you watched them you could see the talent oozing out of them. I see the same thing in THT, we lucked out getting a lottery talent in the 2nd round. And I don’t see him being part of any realistic mid season block buster trade because we just ran out of other trading chips and the chips we do have isn’t going to get us anyone much better. I think we will hold on to THT because 1. We have 3 superstars already 2. We can’t land another with what have to trade and 3. It’s very hard to sustain a dynasty without some home grown talent that you can go over the cap with. Hopefully we can find one or two more diamonds in the rough. We will need to.
Aloha, Michael…
Excellent points. I’m in favor of signing Rondo because the Lakers need playmaking as much as they need 3-point shooting during the long regular season. And Playoff Rondo has shown he can be an elite playmaker and dead-eye 3-point shooter in the playoffs. Will there be a point where he won’t be Playoff Rondo? Some will say that was the last playoffs on the Clippers but again, that’s on the Clippers, which is not the same as on the Lakers playing with LeBron. To me, it was more the great play and shooting of Reggie Jackson that kept Rondo off the floor more than his poor play.
Where will Rondo’s minutes come from? I would see him as the primary backup to Russell Westbrook. Assuming Russ starts and closes games and plays 30 minutes per game, that would leave 18 minutes for Rajon as backup point guard, which is about how long you would want him to play. You and everybody seem to be assuming that LeBron will play some minutes at point guard, which I don’t think will happen as often as others expect. I think the goal of the Lakers is do play LeBron and AD as the primary front court tandem because those are their best positions and make up the Lakers best lineups. Will LeBron have the ball in his hands a lot? Yes, but I think it will be Westbrook and Rondo who will be feeding him and AD the ball in the post. The Lakers are going to use LeBron and AD at the four and five to bully and physically bash opposing defenses. I think the Lakers realize the solution to create opportunities for shooters is for having their superstars play in the front court.
I’m not worried about our defense. Like our offense, it will depend on LeBron and AD remaining healthy. If they are healthy, then we have the anchors to our defense. I also think Russ will be fine defensively on the Lakers. He will follow LeBron and Anthony and focus on defense first. D is going to be what ignites our transition game. When you have 3 superstars who can play defense like the Lakers Big Three, that’s a huge plus over any other team’s Big Threes. I also think the addition of Dwight, Ariza, and Bazemore will more than make up for losing Caruso, KCP, and Kuzma. Our offense will be twice as good as last year and our defense a little better because of LeBron and AD playing major roles instead of being injured.
I share the same hopes for THT having a break-out season but think it’s his 3-point shooting that is still the key to his ceiling being a star or superstar. Just too great a need to have whoever plays the two or three be a high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter. Can’t waste one of your two non-superstar positions on a player who can’t shoot over 30% from deep. Shooting will be so important to THT that he could easily be trade bait at the deadline if he doesn’t show improved long-range shooting. He and Nunn are our only two trading chips that are not minimum contracts. Talen has dodged trades so far but he better start hitting those threes or he could find himself in another uniform at the deadline.
It’s hard not to envision the Lakers pushing hard to win this season and almost taking the approach that this might be the last realistic opportunity to win another championship for LeBron. His window may be closing faster than expected, especially if the Brooklyn Nets Superstar Big Three can stay healthy. It’s obvious to me that the Lakers believed they couldn’t win running it back or without a third superstar. That means they’re not going to hesitate to trade THT at the deadline. He’s their single most important trading chip.
Really have to disagree Tom on Rondo. I don’t want Rondo running the offense unless both Russ and LeBron are resting. LeBron is the best point guard on our team and still a top five point guard in the NBA. LeBron is at his best when he handles the ball and makes plays. Would you take the ball out of Magic’s hands? LeBron is the modern day magic. They wanted more playmaking to lesson LeBron’s load and so the offense wouldn’t fall apart when LeBron rests. You don’t take away what separates LeBron from everyone else. You will see a lot of LeBron running the offense, he’s one of the best to ever do it.
Keep in mind that LeBron was the leading candidate for MVP last year before he got hurt. I don’t think you ask a player not to play like the MVP when he still can. Will Russ lighten his load? Of course. Will LeBron still get plenty of action running the offense? Absolutely. It would be a total waste of his talent if he didn’t.
What you’re conveniently ignoring, Michael, is the Lakers obvious decision to take the ball from LeBron James as he approaches 37-years old. Right or wrong, the Lakers have decided to try and limit the workload on LeBron to keep him fresh for the playoffs and extend his career.
Yes, LeBron can be the best point guard on the Lakers. Well, he can also be the team’s best shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center. Maybe it’s now the right time to have LeBron play the four full time and dominate other bigs with his power game.
The Lakers obviously want to reduce the workload on LeBron at this point. The trade for Russ was step one in that objective. Signing Rondo could be step two.
Does that mean LeBron won’t still be an elite playmaker? Or that he won’t end up with the ball in his hands on lots of possessions? Of course not. The idea is use Russ and Rondo to run the offense and get the ball to LeBron and AD in situations where they can get easy dunks and layups.
Personally, I like the strategy. At 37-years old, LeBron does not need the wear-and-tear of being the team’s defacto point guar. We saw how valuable Rondo was in the bubble. Having two point guards like Russ and Rondo will free LeBron to become a dominant inside player for the Lakers.