Aloha
OKC and the Nuggets made a very interesting trade. The Nuggets sent their protected 2029 1st round pick to OKC for the 37th pick this year plus the least favorable of OKC’s 4 first round picks and another 2nd next year. It makes sense for both teams. OKC has more draft picks than they can possibly use, s they are looking down the road. While the Nuggets are looking to add some cost controlled depth to their roster. I wonder if the Lakers would consider a move like that.
It’s a possibility if the Lakers have identified somebody they don’t want to use #17 to get but would be gone by #47.
I think it’s more likely that the Lakers keep and use the pick for a potential star player at either center or small forward. Really Lively or one of the dozen rare 3&D wing prospects this draft has. They know this is a rare opportunity to get a player they normally would never have a shot at. In the end, I think that’s the goal…unless the player(s) are gone by #17.
There’s also a chance they may trade the pick to get a player they want like Turner. That’s probably the only player I’d trade #17 for right now. Of course, that could change after #16 is picked.
I corrected your post, Michael as the pick was 2029. Makes the question different. I guess it’s a unique way of getting more draft help earlier. Wonder what an unprotected 2029 FRP from the Lakers might be worth to the Thunder? Interesting idea.
Nuggs are in a much different position from where we sit. Their top 4 guys are locked down for multiple years and all under 30. Their window is open right now and probably for another 5 years at least so they wanna bring in those young, cheap role players immediately to build out the roster. The future is now.
Our best guy will be done in 2 years and who knows how many games is sidekick will show up for each season. Don’t trade away the future trying to prolong this thing. When you’re in the rebuilding process you need to bring in as many bodies as possible to sift through the inevitable duds.
The most remarkable stat from these playoffs is that Murray and Jokic now rank as the two players with the greatest increase in ppg from regular season to playoffs in NBA history.
Playoff Murray and Playoff Joker were #1 and #2 in upping their points in the playoffs. And Lakers could have beaten them if Russell had not tanked with his worst 4 games ever.
While some decent games from DLO certainly would have made a difference it wasn’t just him. AD was every other game AD as he went 10 for 30 in two of the losses. LeBron was 3 for 19 from 3 in 3 of the losses and Dennis average 5 points in 3 of the losses. And with the exception of Rui we got very little production from our 2nd unit. You have to give the Nuggets some credit but there were also a lot of missed shots that guys normally make, that was especially true with AD. He missed a lot of bunnies. Come to think of it LeBron missed more layups then I have ever seen him miss. Honestly, like Kareem mentioned, they looked gassed after having to play playoff intensity basketball for months. Adding depth this summer will be key.
Hi, Michael. I am in complete agreement with your analysis. But what I would like to add is that even though I get frustrated with AD’s uneven production from game to game I have come to realize that it is hard to engage 100% on defense and be 100% effective on offense in terms of energy. Defense requires more energy than offense.
AD has been a catalyst on defense throughout the playoffs. But to carry that same amount of energy from defense over to offense on a nightly basis requires determination and extraordinary strength. Not that it is undoable but it is extremely hard to sustain. Take for example AD is a very good free throw shooter but he misses more free throws at the end of the game than at the start. That is because he is gassed. Besides, a player expends more energy on defense than on offense. Others would argue that we don’t feature him on our offense in the second halves of games. I will not disagree with that but there were nights when he scores just 4 points in the first half.
So naturally he would not have the energy offensively occasionally but still very stout on defense. That same lack of energy is what we see in LeBron’s tendency to miss simple layups although some might attribute that to his age. That’s undeniable. The truth is we have been playing playoff basketball from the time we were number 13th seed all the way to number seven. That, in itself, takes a toll on your star players and especially your players with a high usage rate.