I started the summer with one thought. Punt. Just by looking at the rest of the West (no need to look East cuz we aint getting to the finals to see them), our salary situation, our trading assets, roster construction, rookie head coach, Rob’s ineptitude, Jeanie’s “thriftiness”, etc…I just couldn’t see us being in any kinda real contention. So why throw good money after bad? Take a redshirt year, keep the picks, grind our teeth thru Russ’ contract, and regroup for 2023/2024. It’s just my immature side coming out…if I can’t win I don’t wanna play. Probably why I only played 1 season of Little League baseball and gave up on the guitar after a handful of lessons. I’m flawed…what am I gonna do…lol.
But hold the phone! Kyrie is a possibility? Alright then, I can maybe get down with that. If we’re gonna lose at least lose spectacularly! It wouldn’t be boring, that’s for sure. And with Kyrie you never know..it could be a season where the planets are aligned and something happens in the space/time continuum where this dude decides to actually play basketball at the level he’s capable of and we make some noise. But alas…it was all just a mirage.
But wait! There’s more! You mean this long rumored deal with Indy for Turner & Hield might actually be a possibility? OK, I can roll with that. Two FRP’s down the road? Sure, why not? With a healthy LBJ & AD and now PatBev we could maybe do a little damage. Oh wait…I forgot about Rob’s ineptitude & Jeanie’s “thriftiness”. I also forgot about my own looking around at the rest of the Conference. Injuries aside, that roster probably is still a 6th seed and 2nd round exit. And it’s not as compelling or exciting as the Kyrie spectacle woulda been.
So now as we head into training camp, I’m back to where I started. Full on Punt mode. Don’t throw away assets just to field a mediocre team. We went through 5 years of futility to amass the capital that led directly to obtaining AD. Looks like maybe Rob has painted us into that corner again.
Oh well….at least the fishing was absolutely phenomenal this summer!!!
I was gonna ask about the fishing on the Smokey comment. Glad the sea was kind.
I’m there, too, Mongo and have been for awhile. Keep the line open, see what’s available between 12/15 and the trading deadline, but the best option could very well be just to sit tight. None of the proposed trades I’ve seen move the needle a lot. Frankly, not much does if AD can’t be Bubble AD more often than not.
LeBron may have stepped into Kobe’s shoes more than intended. By that I mean the way Kobe’s career ended. Mediocre teams, guy with all world talent in an aging body that just isn’t quite up to the task the way it used to be.
The way teams are locking up superstars these days our best option might even be to draft the next great Laker…
HaHa…probably the best local fishing I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. Started with huge White Sea Bass in the spring, then Blue Fin Tuna, and tons of Mahi Mahi (Dorado) the past few weeks. All within a day off our coast when usually we have to venture down to San Diego or even Mexican waters. Probably a bad sign for the planet tho because it means the water temperature has risen dramatically but again…what am I gonna do? Our generation haven’t been very good guardians of the planet but I’m hoping the young folks are able to cure our screw-ups.
The Lebron/Kobe thing is very accurate. The crazy part is that Rob witnessed the Kobe thing up close as his agent and is still making similar mistakes from the other side.
Yeah, Rob hasn’t been all that awesome. Lucked into the Bubble title, not much to show for it.
In terms of the planet. It’ll be fine, we’re the ones who will suffer lol. In all seriousness, it’s one of the things my wife and I seriously debated before having a kid. Do we really want to add to this/force someone to suffer through a world essentially burning us off of it’s surface? Where’s McLyne32 when you need an opposing conservative view point…
Witcha JS. The world will change (for the good). Tech moves on whether we like it or not. Who has a CD player in their car now? Who has a home phone now? Who has antenna TV now? ETC.
I have cd players in both cars. Radios too! But they’re old…like me 🙂
Loved the post, Mongo. You have a unique and engaging voice. Thanks.
Great compilation of the rising and falling hopes and fears that come with almost every Lakers’ offseason. Man, no franchise loves drama more than the Lakers.
What do we know? Kyrie is out for now. Utah wants too much for too little.
What do we still hope? Turner and Hield seem like the last hope. Lakers talking about adding a pick swap. Ironically, the only pick swap the Lakers can offer due to the Septian rule is the 2029 pick. That’s probably our win-win trade, where we dump Russ and get back solid players like Turner or Bogdabovic.
When I look back at all of the posturing released and leaked by the Lakers, I’m impressed. They really have done a great job of muddying the waters so that nobody really knows what they’re going to do. I’m still hoping Rob’s weird decisions and Jeanie’s budget brain have receded and the Lakers are just negotiating tough with the Pacers with a goal of getting the best possible deal for Turner and Hield.
“Take a redshirt year, keep the picks, grind our teeth thru Russ’ contract, and regroup for 2023/2024.”
That is all I have saying all along.