Aloha,

In the media and the blogs people are doing Chicken Little in mass. But the sky isn’t falling. It crashed two years ago and it actually began its decent a few years before that. The Lakers demise is squarely on the shoulders of The front office and our brilliant newly extended GM. I have little faith that this mess will be turned around because Jeanie doesn’t trust anyone other then her friends and that’s been a disaster.

The more I watch this team, the more I’m convinced that we should not waste our future on a trade that won’t do much more then possibly get us into the play in. But the more I watch the more convinced that we will make a panic trade, dooming the team to mediocrity or worse for years to come.

For this team to win we need both LeBron and AD playing at a high level. Against Denver AD was decent but LeBron was mediocre at best. His 8 turnovers and 2 for nine 3 point shooting was a big reason for the 30+ fast break points Denver laid on us. In this game AD sat out for the first of what will probably be many games and LeBron proved that he just isn’t the force he once was. We got another good defensive effort but LeBron couldn’t carry the team as he has in the past. Yes he had 28 points but on 10 for 24 shooting and another dismal game from 3. 1 for 6 to be exact.

Now I came into the year with little hope for a fast start. With a new squad and a tough schedule I thought we would be 1 and 4, with an outside chance at 2 and 3. But Ofer isn’t really surprising.

I’m still convinced that we will be better then our start as long as the defense holds up. No one is shooting their career average yet from 3 so that should pick up. And I think Russ is useful when coming off the bench. He’s allowed to play his game when LeBron sits. Still unless LeBron and AD are dominant it will be hard to win. I mean even with a trade it’s hard for me to see us in the play in unless both those guys are playing at a high level.

I do hope they follow through on their commitment to hold off on a trade for awhile. At least wait until we see what we have when the team has played enough together to jell. The longer we wait the better the odds are of more favorable deals materializing.

Next summer we would have enough cap space to put a better supporting cast on the floor. Currently we are the only non rebuilding team with projected cap space which would be an advantage. But I fear the allure of a potential 8th seed will be too great and we will make another bad trade and have another year of mediocrity at best. We will make a trade that will eat up that cap space and we will be going up against teams with deeper, better rosters. But that seems to be the Lakers way now.

Aloha,

I don’t believe I have ever seen an entire teams shooting collapse like this team. We shot poorly in 5 of 6 preseason games and all 3 regular season games so far.

No one believed this would be a good shooting team. But it was hard to envision it would be this bad. For the most part most of the players are not even close to their career averages. Even Russ is bad for Russ from 3.

Russ seems to be taking a lot of heat for this. And there is no mistake his offense has sucked the last two games, but if we even shot in the high 20’s from 3 we would be 3 and O.

Now the defense has been better then I expected. And the team plays extremely hard, but unless the team can start making a few 3’s it’s not going to matter who we trade for. If the others can’t at least shoot their career averages, we are in big trouble.

I believe collectively it’s become a psychological thing. Even guys like Nunn and PatBev that have been proven shooters cant shoot. I don’t believe coaching or reps is going to solve this problem because as a team I think we are thinking too much. We need a shrink or perhaps Phil can come in with a few zen sessions. We need something.
Hopefully we can maintain this defensive intensity and guys will begin to drift up to their career averages. If not, it’s going to be an ugly season.

Aloha,

Well we saw the way will have to play to win last night. We had a great defensive effort, played with energy and had this never give up attitude, while this team doesn’t have great shooters, the guys we do have are not this bad. I doubt we will see many games where, PatBev, Westbrook and Nunn go for a combined 1 for 17. Our first unit won again by 17. Although Kawhi came off the bench, which helped our first unit and helped the Clippers second unit.

Our first two games have come against arguably the two best teams in the west and the effort we have displayed will lead to wins against lesser squads. That said, it also demonstrated how far away from true contenders this team is. You just had to look at the stream of long forwards with size that the Clippers trotted out there to understand that we have a size issue on the wing.

I’m hoping AD is okay. Again he had another tumble. Yes it was something that happens in basketball but the guy seems to draw these mishaps like a magnet. If there is a definition of typical basketball injury, AD’s picture is next to it. He does look ready to dominate at the five. But can he stay on the floor.

Westbrook could not make anything. The only thing that gave me some hope is, this is the most effort I have seen him give on the defensive end since he became a Laker. He is not a good shooter but again he is not that bad.

Walker IV was really good on both ends of the floor. We saw the upside that the Lakers see in him and perhaps they were right in giving him the MLE. Still he has flashed potential his entire career so far, can he be consistent.

Wish Austin would look to score some. We need him to shoot.

I am so impressed with coach Ham. He certainly was the right hire. Still, After watching these first two games our lack of shooting and size on the wing is glaring. I knew those would be issues but these games have underlined them in red. I believe any trade should focus on those deficiencies. I still would not give up two unprotected picks in a trade. It really would need to be for a star player to even consider it. Simply stated. There could be trades out there, but it’s hard for me to imagine a trade that would elevate this group into the top 4 or 5 in the west and certainly not up to the level where the Warriors and Clippers reside. Trading away those unprotected picks would be a waste. I had us losing the first too, let’s see what happens next.

Aloha,

Highlights from tonight.

The Pels crushed the Nets Brandon Ingram 28, 7 and 5

Portland beat the Kings
Josh Hart 19, 7 and 5

The Wizards beat The Pacers Kuzma 22 13 and 2 blocks.

Myles Turner sprained his ankle in warmups and did not play.

Aloha,

Playing the world champion that have been together a long time in the first game was a lot to ask, considering we trotted out a lot of new guys. I know it didn’t feel like it but our starting unit actually won the match up. Unfortunately the Warriors 2nd unit crushed ours.

I really want to see Nunn get more then 23 minutes. 13 points and 3 for 6 from 3 was a good result. I to keep him with the 2nd unit because he is the only reserve that can score a lot.

Again with the 3rd quarter. 9 turnovers. Enough said.

LeBron looked really good but I’m not comfortable with him taking 10 3’s.

AD came out strong but he faded some as the game progressed. He didn’t shoot well but as usual he dominated inside.

Russ was decent 19 and 11. A couple of Russ style turnovers but over all if we can win some games with his play if we can get more from the others.

The defense wasn’t bad but when you give up 27 points off of turnovers, that’s going to run up the score.

Like I’ve been writing, we will only go as far as the others can take us. And we have a long way to go. Hopefully we can tighten it up with some playing time together.

Aloha,

Well it’s that time again, and as I look at the road ahead, like last year, I’m not optimistic. It’s a pretty dark road indeed. Last year After the front off shed the key members of our number 1 ranked defense my main concern was defense. This year the defense should be improved after they have a chance to gel but now I’m concerned with the offense.

Like I have written before, everything will fall on the shoulders of the other guys. Regardless of whether there is a trade or not, several of the new guys will have to step up in order for this team to even make the play in.
Even if a star were to shake loose and we landed him, the supporting cast would have play above their perceived ceilings.

But we are at a cross roads at this stage what I see is a couple years of mediocrity followed by another painful rebuild. I hope I am wrong. I would love to eat a big plate of roasted crow but I’m not optimistic. When you look at our options it’s not really encouraging. Why? Because the way the front office has bungled the roster, next year there will be another new roster.

Now next year if we don’t make a trade we will have about 35 mil in cap space, and if done right we could possibly have the full MLE available as well as the bi annual exception. That’s 49 mil in spending power. Currently there is only 8 teams with projected cap space and the Lakers are the only team that’s not rebuilding. While 35 mil won’t get you a super star there is a number of quality players that we could sign. Jamari Grant, Trent Jr and Kuz come to mind. But there will probably be a trade and that cap space will disappear.

There is a lot of talk about a Turner/Heild trade. I personally think this would be a bad trade at the Pacers current asking price. While Turner is an upgrade over Bryant and Jones, he doesn’t address our biggest needs. A 3 and D wing with size is our number one need. Because AD is one of the 3 best centers in the NBA I look at Turner as a luxury. His trouble defending defending the wing will result with AD playing a lot of center and like with the Pacers reduce his minutes like with the Pacers. A unprotected first is a lot to pay for what he brings to the table. As for Buddy, he is a great shooter but he completely one dimensional and probably would be coming off the bench as well. He is over paid at 20 mil. While there are a few teams that could use both of them. I think it’s telling that nobody has been rumored to be talking with the spacers. That’s because of the asking price. If the Pacers want to move they will have to lower their asking price.

I’m glad that Rob is finally taking his time . It’s important to see see how this group does before making a trade. Why even make a trade if the supporting cast isn’t performing. Like I stated earlier, even landing a super star will not matter if the other can’t support the stars at a championship level.

So I will be watching hoping for the best. We have a tough opening schedule. The only good news, is it seems like the biggest upsets seem to happen early. Every year there are bad teams that have decent starts. So I’m rooting that several of these young guys have breakouts like Malik had, because that’s what it will take.

Aloha,

Now that was ugly. Overall the preseason was a bust. Injuries, and holding guys out for precautions? Anyway, again we were unable to really see what this team is going to look like in the real season.

AD dominated at center but what’s up with the back? I’m leaning towards precautions but with his history it’s unsettling to see him out this early.

LeBron also looked good at the 4 doing LeBron things. But after that we saw some good things at times from a few other guy, but little consistency. Waiting for you PatBev to show up.

Now of course in the regular season it will be different. If healthy, big if, either AD or LeBron will be on the court most of the time and there will be much tighter rotations but this roster is screaming for help.

And there is the rub. This teams biggest need is a wing with size that can defend and knock down a 3. Unfortunately with the exception of Crowder who we don’t have means to trade for, there isn’t another guy out there. At least publicly. Of course we could also use another guy, that can, you know, shoot.

I think it would be easy for Rob to overreact and swing a trade that may not address our biggest need. I think the smart play is to wait and see how the season unfolds and if any useful player comes on the market. At this point I feel the worst thing we could do is to give up those picks on players that are not going to make us contenders. And as far as I can see, those players are not on the market yet.

Aloha,

It’s just preseason but it was a nice to get a W. I have seen a lot to be encouraged by so far. I don’t know how good this team will be, but they will play hard. The level of hustle has been so encouraging. The big difference from last years squad is like night. It’s amazing what difference young legs make. They make but they are giving 110% on the court.

Right now it’s obvious that coach Ham is in the lab, experimenting with different players and combinations. I think we will see more of what the rotations will look like.

There were a few standouts for me. It start at Center. AD has looked in mid season form. I am curious to see how much center AD plays this year. Up to this point he has played a lot at the 5. I’m completely okay with that. He’s only a top 3 center in the league.

Does anyone still want to trade Nunn? After AD he’s been the our most impressive player. Like Malik he’s a 3 level scorer but he also can defend. I’m thinking he will come off the bench. We will need a corer for the 2nd until. Now if he can only stay healthy.

Matt Ryan sizzled tonight. 20 points in 20 minutes. He hadn’t shot well until today. If that’s sustainable we could really use a sharp shooter off the bench.

Walker Jr took another step forward. 14 points and 3 for 6 from 3. He also flashed some quality defense. It’s early but if he keeps it up, giving him their mid level will look pretty good.

Aloha,

When I saw that the Lakers were not playing any of their top players I didn’t have any illusions as to the outcome of the game. Most of the guys that played will either spend most of the season in the G league or will not be with the Lakers at all.

It was hard to watch the brick fest at times but there were a few silver linings of merit.

I thought JTA looked good again until he left the game with that contusion. Hopefully it won’t linger long.

Walker looked decent for the first game back from that ankle injury. He looked incredibly quick and athletic. Hopefully he will look better as he gets more run.

Thomas Bryant was the player that stood out the most. 18 points, 7 boards and a block in 24 minutes was a very good result. He has a reputation as one of the best bigs in the game at running the floor, and that was on full display as he often was one of the first guys down the court. This was his first extended run of the preseason and I was impressed. I have a feeling that he will win the starting spot at center if they keep AD at the 4 to start games.

I have believe the rotation players will get most of the run in the remaining games and we won’t see much of most of the guys that played last night. And that’s a good thing.

Aloha,

Yes I know the Suns won but our guys that are going to play beat their guys that are going to play. It seemed Monty wanted to win more then coach Ham because he kept.CP3, Booker and Ayton in until the 5 minute mark of the 3rd and we still led my 7. The unit that lost were guys who will either be playing in the G league or off the team completely.

While LeBron was on fire the 2 guys that stood out to me where Austin and Nunn. While Austin only scored 6 points, he had 7 boards, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals.

I guess Jamie had a talk with Coach Ham and he brought Nunn off the bench. He could be this years Malik Monk, with better defense. Nunn had 21 points in 19 minutes and was 4 for 7 from 3. So many people were trying to trade him because they didn’t seem him play, but I kind of felt all along that he would surprise a lot of people. There was the same buzz around him last year before he was hurt. If he stays healthy he could be huge for this team.

And Russ has played two games now and the apocalypse hasn’t happened yet. He did Russ things, some good and some bad but he plays hard. Effort won’t be a problem.

We still are yet to see Walker and Brown. I will be interested to to see what they bring to the table.

Tonight LeBron was at the 4. That’s his best spot on the defensive end. I actually hope to see more 3 guard line ups with Austin at the 3 and AD at the 5. AD is one of the top 3 centers in the league and it think we are better when LeBron can play the 4.

Not too worried about AD. They said that he would have played if it were the regular season. I’m okay with them being cautious. He look really good that first game.

Considering the Suns are a true contender and played their main guys a lot of minutes I was more then pleased with the effort tonight’s

Aloha,

I gave up trying to figure Rob and the Lakers out. Rob did learn a couple of things from last year. Defense matters and young legs are a good thing. Apparently 3 point shooters and size on the wing didn’t sink in. Of course our limited cap space made it impossible to accomplish everything. So when you have Lebron and AD concentrating on defense makes sense. And we will be better defensively.

It’s also finally clear what the Lakers strategy is. They are willing to give up the picks only for a star. I understand that. While adding a couple of decent role players would help it wouldn’t push us into the contender conversation. By waiting they can A. Find out they have and what they will need. And B. Perhaps a star becomes available and C. The asking price for role players could come down.

I was never a fan of bringing Russ back but I never believed he would destroy the team either. He has a lot to play for. He will play hard and probably try hard not to become a distraction. His next pay check depends on it.

So for me I am no longer concerned with trade speculation. A trade could happen quickly or not at all. My focus are on the guys we have. Of course nothing will matter if we are not healthy so that’s a given. Here are a few of the things I will be watching.

3 point shooting. While a sniper may not emerge, we will need to get at least average 3 point shooting from several guys. Troy Brown is a career 35% shooter. It would be helpful if he could add a couple of percentage points to that. Austin’s shot didn’t look broken and he shot the 3 much better in college. I’m actually expecting in big jump from his 31% last year. Walker was a 35% shooter until he had an off year last year. It would be great if he could get back to at least average. Nunn and PatBev both have been able to knock down 3’s so if we can get multiple guys shooting a decent percentage that would be huge.

I’m really interested in who starts at center. Before he injured himself Thomas Bryant had proven himself a to be an NBA starting center. He a ferocious rebounder with a high motor and is a 35% 3 point shooter. The reports have been positive. He he can come back fully he could be as big of a steal as Malik. So far Damien Jones has been playing with the starters. He is very good shot blocker, rebounder and something that can’t be over looked is his ability to guard the perimeter. If his 3 point shot is real, he could play some.

Which brings me to the 4. Where’s our depth? I guess it’s Gabriel. He did show me something at times last. Hopefully he can bring it more on a consistent basis. There is Swider. He he can prove to be a taller version of Buddy and do a little more then shoot, maybe he will be like Austin who received a full contract in the preseason. All though there is no rush, we have him for 50 games before we have to do that.

I’m really excited about the reports on Nunn. He had the same glowing praise last year before he hurt himself. All the focus was on LeBron and AD, Nunn’s injury was also a blow last year. If he could stay healthy it could be huge.

Speaking of PG. WTF? We trade for PatBev but didn’t trade Russ, then we sign Dennis and still don’t trade Russ. At least unlike last year if Russ isn’t doing the job we have plenty of options. Both Nunn and Pat can play the 2 but they are both undersized and should be out there with a bigger guard. I think we have a chance with health and a couple of break outs to make it into the 5th or 6th seed. But barring a unexpected big trade, we are a long way from contention.

Aloha,

Looks like everyone is attending Lebrons camp. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Dave McMenamin

@mcten
The Lakers’ players-led minicamp tipped off in San Diego this morning. Every player on the roster is present, sources told ESPN. Training camp opens up officially on Monday with Media Day in El Segundo.

Aloha,

What is the most important thing for Laker fans? Being a little better then last year, or building a team with a chance to contend. I think the Lakers have chosen the build option. When you look at the available trades, they make us a little better. But we also would have to take back salary, that would make it difficult to add the pieces we need to compete. When LeBron signed it was said that he understood that it will take time. And it will.

I believe going into the season with this roster isn’t a terrible thing. It’s not going to win any rings but we will be able to see what we have in these kids. One thing that is for sure is we will be a much better defensive team. If you have a solid defense built around two scores like LeBron and AD, you will win some games.

There have been some upgrades. Last year we really only had Russ at the point. We signed DJ at the deadline but we pretty much was stuck with Russ. Now we have Beverly and Nunn. Both guys are better equipped to play with LeBron. Both defend, play off the ball and shoot. I’m happy to hear the praise Coach Ham has been giving Nunn. It appears he’s fine and the team is just being cautious. There is no reason for 5 on 5’s until camp. I think Russ will be better then last year if LeBron and AD stay on the court. But if he’s not we have options this year.

We have also upgraded the 5. The plan last year was to play AD there and why not? He’s a top 3 center in the league. but unfortunately he was hurt. If they want AD back at the 4, we have a guy in Thomas Bryant that could step in and give us quality minutes. Before the injury he was a rising star. He rebounds 5.7 in 20 minutes a game, blocks shots, 1.1 in 24 minutes his last healthy year, can shoot the 3, .350 for his career, but most importantly he has a motor that doesn’t quit and he is one of the best bigs at running the floor in the league. Perfect for The way coach Ham wants to play. The good news is he has also been getting rave reviews from the coach. You also have Damien Jones back. A guy every one wanted to keep last time.

We will need some of these young guys we signed to step up there shooting. I think Austin can be one. He’s another player that has been singled out for looking great in practice. His 3 point stroke, didn’t look broken last year so I wouldn’t be surprised if he brought his percentage up.

While we won’t win a ring with this group, we won’t win one with the available trades either. We can tread water with this team. See who steps up and see what trade become available as the season progresses. We do do a wing with size for sure. The longer we go into the season, the less we will have to give up in a Russ trade. And if we end up not making a trade we could have 35 mil in cap space, not to mention the full MLE and the bi annual exception. We could fill out a pretty competitive team with those tool. So let’s wait and see what this group looks like. With health they wii be a fun group to watch.

Aloha,

I know what you are saying, not another Pacer trade😡 Sorry, it can’t be helped. There is some chatter out there about the Raptors, revisiting Turner to fill their gaping hole at center. The Raptors have a quality 24 year old 3 and d Small forward with a still very high ceiling that the Lakers desperately need in OG Anunoby. He also happens to want out. And with Barnes rising star, they don’t need him. P The Pacer have asked for a 1st round pick for Turner. The Raptors send OG to the Lakers and a first to the Pacers . The Lakers send Russ and a 1st to the Pacers. The Pacers send Buddy to us and Turner to the Raptors. The Pacers get their picks. The Raptors get their center and the Lakers get a shooter and the 3 and d wing defender they desperately need. Everyone is happy! Except maybe Tom. Lol.

Aloha,

I’m sure everyone is hungry for a post on the a merits of a Buddy and Myles trade, I’m not going there. Sorry, it can’t be helped. The Stein article about helping to facilitate a Knicks Jazz trade was of interest to me because it, well, presented something different, from the same ole same ole.

The Lakers have stated that they will not give up both first round picks unless it catapults them into contention. Well if that’s the case, there won’t be a trade. Because frankly, there isn’t a known deal that does that. Unless of course some of the others have big break out years.

But what if the Lakers could grab a couple of young players with upside that they could build with. Would they be willing to give up those picks? To make room for Mitchell the Knicks would more than likely send out Fournier, Toppin and Reddish.

If I were Robb, I would say, yes we will take Fournier but we also want Reddish and Beasley from the Jazz. While I’m not a huge fan of Fournier, he is 6’ 7” and can play either wing spot. While he’s not quite the shooter Buddy is, he has shot .381 from 3 for his Career. He is overall a better player than Buddy.

Malik Beasley would be much better than Buddy. He actually defends, what a concept and he has shot better from Buddy from 3 for the last 3 years on 8 3’s a game. At 25, he still has room to grow. And if he doesn’t work out, there is a team option on his contract the following year.

Cam Reddish is a guy that the Lakers have been interested in for a while now. He’s a 22 year old, 6’ 8” SF with real 3 and D potential.

I actually like this better than the Buddy and Myles. You bring in 2 players better than Buddy and also address our biggest weakness, a defensive wing with size. I think this a bigger net gain, than Myles could provide. AD will more than likely be on the floor at the 5 to close games. So you won’t see a center in crunch time.

The one player we have that I’m the most curious about is Thomas Bryant. His star was rising before that injury, which caused him to miss the majority of the last 2 seasons. When he came back toward the end of last year he didn’t looks like himself. Which is understandable. Actually that injury is the only reason we could afford him. And he took less to come back to LA. If he does gets back to where he was, he is better then Myles in a few categories. First he is a better rebounder. He’s averaged 5.7 boards a game in 20 minutes. Myles has averaged 6.7 in 30 minutes. He also runs the floor better than Myles. He was recognized as one of the best bigs in the game at running the floor. He’s also know for his motor. It’s always 100mph. We saw that when he was a Laker. And has slightly better from 3 than Myles over his career. Last year returning from injury was his down year. And Myles has dropped. He has averaged only .333 over the last 3 years. While Myles is the best in league in blocking shot, both Bryant and Jones aren’t bad. Thomas averaged 1.1 blocks in 24 minutes his last healthy year. That’s about 1.6 with starter minutes. And Damien is slightly better than than that.

Overall I think that this Jazz trade would actually improve the team more than the Pacer trade would. It maybe the reason there has been no movement with the Pacers.