Lakerholics

A Lakers Fan Community

Los Angeles Lakers

The Future of the NBA Is On the Line. Just What is Adam Silver Going to Do?

By 1 Comment

Barring a devastating reignition of the coronavirus pandemic, the good news is the NBA is going to resume the season. The bad news, however, is nobody knows what the resumption of the season is going to look like.

Fortunately, it looks like we’re not going to have to wait much longer to find out exactly how, where, and when the league will resume the season as the Board of Governors will approve plans to proceed this coming Thursday. The league surveyed teams’ general managers whether to finish the regular season with more games, conduct a play-in tournament, or go straight into the playoffs and whether to seed the playoffs or stick with conferences.

While nobody knows for sure what Adam Silver will recommend, Twitter is flooded with rumors as to what his plan will include. Using that info and common sense, here’s my take on what Silver’s plan might look like:

What do we know?

  1. The teams are ready to approve the plan commissioner Adam Silver recommends. The owners understand this a challenging time for the league and completely trust Silver to make right decisions.
  2. The season is scheduled to resume on Friday, July 31st, which gives the league time both to prepare to play as well as time to finish the playoffs and offseason in time to start next season on Christmas Day.
  3. Disney World in Orlando appears to be the likely venue for all games to be played to create a controlled bubble where players, coaches, key personnel, and their families can be safely isolated and protected.

What can we surmise?

  1. There’s a good chance there will be some form of play-in tournament, most likely involving the two teams holding the eighth playoff slot in each conference and the six teams who are within six games of them.
  2. There’s a good chance playoff teams will be seeded 1–16 based on record regardless of conference since five of the six team within six games of a playoff spot are in the West and only one in the East.

What remains unknown?

  1. Whether there will be additional regular season games to meet the 70-game minimum on team local television contracts since most teams had only played 63 to 66 games before the season was suspended.
  2. Whether playoff rules will be changed so teams can carry two-way players in addition to the 15 players on the roster and whether teams can designate more than the 13 players to be active for games.

Who wins and who loses?

  1. The winners would be the six teams — Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, Suns, and Wizards — who get a shot at making the playoffs and the Lakers, who will be in a separate bracket from the Bucks and Clippers.
  2. The Losers would be the Grizzlies and Magic, who instead of making the playoffs would now have to participate in an 8-team play-in tournament and the Bucks and Clippers who will be in the same bracket.

Five Reasons Lakers Should Pursue Sign-&-Trade Deal for Fred VanVleet!

By 1 Comment

Toronto Raptors’ free agent point guard Fred VanVleet was looking forward to getting paid this offseason after enjoying his best season in the NBA by averaging a career best 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game.

Unfortunately, timing is everything and despite being one of the players leading the Raptors to the second best record in the East and third best record in the NBA, Fred’s chances of a big pay day don’t look promising. Currently making less than $10 million per year, VanVleet’s hopes for a multi-year contract paying more than $20 million per year may have been crushed by the league’s mounting losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Complicating the situation even more, the Raptors may not be willing to pay Fred the $15 to $18 million that most pundits are predicting he’s likely to be offered on the free agent market by teams like the Detroit Pistons. After signing Pascal Siakam to a max contract, the Raptors are looking to clear cap space to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo next offseason and aren’t willing to sign long term contracts with any player other than OG Anunoby.

With the Miami Heat being the only non-losing team with cap space to sign VanVleet to big contract, there might be an opportunity for the Lakers to swoop in and steal Fred VanVleet in a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto. While the Lakers don’t have the cap space to sign Fred as a free agent, here are five reasons why they should pursue a sign-and-trade deal to send Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, and their 2020 first round draft pick for VanVleet:

1. Championship Point Guard

Fred VanVleet proved in last year’s NBA Finals that he is a championship caliber point guard, averaging 14.0points, 2.2assists, and 2.7rebounds while shooting 44.4/40.0/85.7% and even receiving a vote for Finals MVP.

2. Proven Clutch Scorer

VanVleet was the star in the Raptors series clinching win in Game 6 of last year’s finals when he scored a career playoff best 22 points including 12 clutch points in the fourth quarter to lead Toronto to their first title.

3. Tough Relentless Defender

Fred VanVleet is not just a one-way player as he proved in last year’s Finals when he hounded and harrassed Warriors’ superstar Steph Curry in the Raptors 4–2 triumph forcing him into tough shots and turnovers.

4. Has Not Reached His Peak

Just a 26-year old who has improved every major stat in each of his four NBA seasons, VanVleet could give the Lakers a second young star to play with LeBron James and create a bridge to the future with Anthony Davis.

5. Trading Chip for Giannis

Giving VanVleet a 3-year contract at $20 million per year would help the Lakers’ chances of winning championships plus give them an valuable trading chip in a potential sign-and-trade deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

While Fred VanVleet wants to get paid, I believe he also wants to win. To me, that means he would likely be very interested if the Lakers were to approach him about a possible 3-year sign-and-trade deal for $60 million. Since Green’s $15 million expiring contract wouldn’t hurt their plans to chase Giannis, the Raptors would get a young star in Kuzma plus a first round draft pick for a player they were going to let walk for nothing.

Meanwhile, the Lakers would upgrade their roster with a talented two-way point guard who would fill their urgent need for a third scorer and second playmaker to complement superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Why Winning Championship Is Key to the Legacies of LeBron, AD, & Lakers!

By 3 Comments

Pro sports is replete with key moments or tuning points that transformed careers and changed legacies of players and teams. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves at one of those moments.

With the coronavirus pandemic not only threatening the current season but also the future of how we watch and enjoy NBA basketball, the legacies of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers are on the line. Whether they have an opportunity to resume play and how they perform under unexpected and unpredictable situations will go a long way towards determining how sports history views them as players and as a team.

For 35-year old LeBron James, missing a golden opportunity to win his first championship as a Laker and fourth overall would be a big disappointment while winning would add major credence to his drive to be the best ever. And it would unlock the door to the possibility of winning a second and third championship in purple and gold to not only solidify James’ position as a Lakers great but also launch him on a path to replace Jordan as GOAT.

Meanwhile, winning his first championship would solidify chances Anthony Davis would sign with the Lakers long term and give him a boost in the competition to assume the crown as the best player of the next decade. Helping lead the Lakers to the championship over the Clippers and Bucks could elevate Davis to the level of the Leonard and Antetokounmpo and give him a head start on surpassing them in the race for 2020’s supremacy.

As for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning their 17th championship would tie them with their rival Boston Celtics for the most NBA championships and make them the odds on favorites to repeat and attract another superstar. The Lakers winning could also conceivably trigger Giannis Antetokounmpo to decline a supermax offer from the Bucks this offseason to become a free agent the following offseason and possibly sign with the purple and gold.

Every great superstar legacy and franchise dynasty has been launched by a memorable title triumph and winning a championship this season could be the key to unlock the door to greatness for LeBron, AD, and the Lakers.

Who’ll Take the Throne from LeBron? Is Zion Williamson the Crown Prince?

By 1 Comment

This is the last in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here are links to our five previous articles covering Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Luka Doncic.

Heralded by everyone as the next LeBron James coming out of high school, the 6′ 6″, 280 lb 19-year old Zion Williamson has the freakish athleticism and otherworldly physicality the NBA has not seen since LeBron James.

The challenge for Zion to become the new king of the decade is he’s just 19 years old, not even a full season out of high school, and is likely going to need a few years to develop his game and grow into a legitimate superstar. The torn meniscus he suffered in his right knee that cost him half of his rookie season only added to the concerns certain experts had about his possible propensity to get injured because of his style of play and weight.

Despite missing the first half of the season and playing in only 19 games before the season was suspended, Zion Williamson gave fans good reasons to believe all of the hype about him being the next LeBron James were real. He not only showed flashes of the athleticism and physicality that had made him the unquestioned number one pick in the draft but also an impressive ability to shoot well from three-point range he never displayed in college.

While it may take some a couple of years to get going, Zion has the raw physical talent and athleticism to elevate his game to a level few superstars could match and is surrounded on the Pelicans by a talented young roster. Five years from now, it’s possible he could be the best player and the Pelicans one of the best teams in the league but prevailing as best player of the decade won’t be easy playing in a small market like New Orleans.

As the assumed heir apparent to LeBron James, many NBA pundits believe uber talented Zion Williamson is destined to take over the throne and rule the decade of the 2020’s much as the King presided over the 2010’s.

Who’ll Take the Throne from LeBron? Can Luka Doncic Make the Big Leap?

By 1 Comment

This is the 5th in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here are links to our four previous articles covering Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis.

Luka Doncic looks more like the NBA version of ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ than a legit candidate to defeat an elite cast of athletically gifted superstars like Giannis, Kawhi, and KD to become best player of the next decade.

But looks can be deceiving and the 6′ 7″, 230 lb 21-year old Luka’s dramatic rise to superstar status and head-to-head exploits against proven superstars like LeBron, Giannis, and Kawhi in two short seasons have turned heads. Luka could finish the decade in the heart of his prime while competitors could be winding down their careers, bolstering the idea Doncic could be the dark horse winner in the race to be king of the NBA for the 2020’s.

To reach those heights, the Luka and KP Mavericks are going to have show they have the talent and drive to compete with championship competitors in the Wild West like the LeBron and AD Lakers and Kawhi and PG Clippers. The road for Luka Doncic to earn the title of king of the next decade not only requires multiple MVP awards and multiple NBA championships for the Dallas Mavs but also goes directly through the city of Los Angeles.

Luka Doncic is already putting up near triple-double superstar numbers in only his second season and nobody really knows how high his ceiling as a player may be since he is still only just 21-years old and not near his peak. Already averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8,7 assists, Luka’s best could be something we haven’t seen in today’s modern NBA and could set new standards for what qualifies as superstar performance in the future.

While he might lack the supernatural physical talent of other candidates competing for king of the 2020’s, Luka Doncic with his savvy court sense and smarts might turn out to be the best basketball player of the decade.