….we’ve reached the portion of the program where we’re now gonna trash Coach D.Ham for being stupid & clueless. Such is the state of sports blogging I guess.

Just for context, we’ve had more starting lineup configurations than any other team in the league; so it ain’t like he’s being rigid or stale. Fact of the matter is that there’s precious little time to find a rotation that clicks (which is why these same type of moves shoulda been made last summer). We’ve already wasted the 1st two games of this new “era” by not having Lebron or Bamba available…so we’re still just whistling in the wind so far.

If Ham makes some changes (like Beez & Vando starting) and they don’t win immediately then you’ll have one faction of idiots screaming that he needs to make more changes and another faction of idiots screaming that they need more time. If he stands pat (with Dennis & Rui) you’ll have the same factions screaming the same idiotic things.

And if AD doesn’t regain his form or LBJ has lingering foot issues then none of this will matter anyway….smdh

Their superstar went off for 40 against our full contingency of guards. Our superstar got 19 against them without their starting center & power forward. Cull the stats anyway you choose but that ain’t good from any angle.

But I didn’t get too high about the GSW win & ain’t gonna get too low after this blowout loss. It’s gonna take time to get 5 brand new top rotation guys sorted out and still nobody’s played with Lebron on the court. Right now we’re just treading water until he decides to come back. But there isn’t a whole lotta time for this thing to gel. Some experimentation and trial & error are unavoidable. with this many new moving pieces.

One other point to take into consideration; the West is so tightly bunched that much of the seeding will come down to tiebreakers. Right now we’ve got more conference losses and more division losses than anybody above us….that ain’t good either.

I didn’t see the game..but did Zub really hang a damn near 30/30 on our big man savior Myles Turner?

YOU

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thank you for coming to my TED talk

So I’ve been watching alotta different teams on League Pass so far this season a question has popped into my head.

How many teams in the league would trade places with us right now?

I’m not talking about the LA market or the history or all the titles and HOFers. I’m talking about this roster, the future picks, trade assets, the front office, the ownership. The entire CURRENT situation.

I could count them with only one hand and I’m not even sure i need to use all 5 fingers. Would OKC take that offer with all those young potential stars and all those picks? I wouldn’t. Sacramento might even have something cooking in Cowtown with Fox, Malik (that one stings), & Sabonis. Even freakin Orlando seems to have found a stud in Banchero. Houston has a buncha young studs trying to find their way. Pistons too. What we got? An aging, ailing big 2 whose window has closed and….and…..a few of our own picks? If I’m any of those teams I stick with the hand I’ve already got.

Maybe Spurs, Hornets, Nets (just because of all the turmoil there), and ??? Everybody else has some combination of current stars, a buncha upcoming picks or young potential stars. We’ve got neither and then you throw in the disfunction of Jeanie & Pelinka and the surrounding opinions in the room and you’ve got an unfavorable situation.

LeBron James reportedly didn't apply pressure to the Lakers' front office to make the Pacers trade.https://t.co/41KxF4kON0 pic.twitter.com/N7H3BU7LdB

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) October 5, 2022

In addition, James has shown support publicly and privately to integrating Westbrook and playing with the former league MVP again this season, and multiple sources said he applied no pressure to the Lakers front office to do the Pacers’ deal. Seven months have passed since James’ tweet supporting the “f— them picks” approach of Rams GM Les Snead led some to wonder how he saw the Lakers’ strategy, and sources say he remains supportive of the current regime. And while Pelinka made it clear on media day that he’s willing to trade precious picks in the right deal, that time has yet to arrive.

As was noted, LeBron made his feelings clear months ago with that Les Snead tweet, but it seems as if he understands the Lakers’ approach this offseason and is embracing it. As Pelinka noted during Media Day, the Lakers have one chance to make a huge deal with these two valuable picks and a massive expiring in Westbrook and they have to get it right.

As good as Turner and Hield are, they simply are not gamechangers, which is what Pelinka is likely targeting in such a deal. In signing that contract extension, James made it clear that he believes the Lakers is the best place for him to win another championship and now he is, smartly, giving them time to make the right move to hopefully make that happen.

After a preseason last year in which the vibes were awful, the Lakers head into this preseason in need of much improvement. @LakersSBN https://t.co/nrwOqLvQMG

— SB Nation NBA (Click the pic to read 🔽) (@SBNationNBA) October 3, 2022

Last season, the Lakers navigated through the preseason by losing every game and having rather bad vibes throughout the way. In hindsight, it was an ominous start to a doomed season, one that foreshadowed the struggles with injuries and inability to get wins.

On this week’s episode of “Can U Dig It,” a podcast by the Silver Screen & Roll network, Honi Ahmadian and I preview the start of the preseason schedule with Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Before we talk any of that, though, I welcome Honi as the new co-host of the podcast ahead of what will certainly be another interesting season for the Lakers.

That intrigue comes as a result of the Lakers feeling like an incomplete team with a Russell Westbrook trade still not having been made. The Lakers have put talks on hold for a deal despite the possibility of a trade with the Indiana Pacers still seemingly being an option.

Perhaps because of that and perhaps because of how things played out last year, it’s been hard to get excited about the Lakers so far during training camp. Even with a new-look lineup and practice footage from the weekend, the excitement and anticipation feels muted.

I just can’t with this dude anymore.

Despite lower back tightness, Anthony Davis is listed as probable by the Lakers for their exhibition opener Monday against Sacramento. https://t.co/W91pa8AqKH

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 3, 2022

Can anybody explain to me what Rob is doing? This can’t possibly be the roster we’re going into training camp with…can it? 1st preseason game is 2 weeks away. Really don’t understand bringing in PatBev & Dennis if Russ is still gonna be on the team. Now we’re pushing Reaves to small forward? You gotta move Russ for any of this to make sense…don’t you?

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!!!

It kinda comes down to a few definitive questions of the FO for me.

Do you believe you can actually contend this season with Turner & Buddy?
If so, make the deal and give em the 2 picks. We’ll deal with 2029 somewhere down the road.

Do you think you can land Kyrie next summer?
If so, then why send away picks for Turner/Buddy if you’re gonna have to let them go at the end of the season for cap space anyway? Keep both picks, punt the season, give D.Ham a redshirt season, and go for broke with Kyrie.

I’m not really considering the flotsam & jetsam from the Jazz & Knicks…that mess doesn’t solve anything.

Also…none of these decicions are “fatal”. We were the worst team in the league for 5 years before we ended up with Lebron & AD and that bogus tournament win. Time marches on and The Lakers will still be here long after we’re all dead & buried. The franchise ain’t gonna disband if we have to suffer through a bad season with Russ. We’ve done it before (and worse). And don’t forget…these are the same people who wasted multiple years of Kobe in his prime and towards the end of his career as well. If they did it to Kobe, they’ll have no problem doing it to Lebron…nor should they.

As I’ve said…I love chaos. I even loved K.A.O.S. when Siegfried was in charge (you’ve gotta be a certain age to get that one…lol). So how about this…let’s say Lebron decides to wait on signing that extension. If I’m an up & coming team (or maybe even an established contender), I start looking at how to make sure I have cap space next summer juuuuust in case. If things don’t pan out for the Lakers this season, could Lebron be looking to move on to…say…Memphis or New Orleans for his final year or two? Just something that popped into my head during the sports wasteland of August…

pic.twitter.com/GaXhYSMHSV

— who gonna (@whogonna1) July 30, 2022