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How do you rate the season? Lakers got 3rd seed and got eliminated from 6th seed, however the record was quite similar. All in all first round playoff respected the prediction but lakers and wolves serie. What do you think?

Rui and Lebron both need to play as the 4/PF and both are not agile enough to play the 3/SF. Loosing Rui would suck, but he and Luka are not as good of a paring as Reaves/Luka for the long run.

If we trade Reaves now for a 3&D 2/SG (Archetype-Examples: Grimes/KCP/Suggs), we are going to need an allstar level secondary ballhandler when LeBron retires in 2 years and those are few in numbers and even fewer want to play as a second option. (Archetype-Examples: Garland/Murray/Maxey)

Matchup-prediction:
Luka->second guard -------> Luka defending guards never works well
SG->best guard
LeBron->best forward -------> LeBron defending and having to be 2nd option = fatigue
Rui->second forward
Center->Center

If we trade Rui now for 3&D 3/SF (Archetype-Exaples: Herb Jones/DJJ/Bridges), we are going to need an allround forward when LeBron retires, which there are way more in the league that would play 2 second option to Luka. (Archetype-Examples: Giannis/JJJ/Zion)

Matchup-prediction:
Luka->second forward -------> Luka defending big forwards is usually the best use for him
Reaves-> second guard -------> Reaves defending the second guard is the best match up for him
SF->best guard
Lebron->best forward -------> LeBron defending and having to be 3rd option = less fatigue
Center->Center

Trading Rui makes more sense long-term, especially post-LeBron. Reaves is far more valuable for his offensive versatility and playmaking. Rui’s shooting is enhanced by Luka, but he's ultimately a complementary piece who plays the same position as LeBron and lacks off-the-dribble creation.

A 3&D SF who can defend elite guards would be the best upgrade now and would position the team better for the post-LeBron era, because allround forwards are easier to find and optain than secondary ballhandler guards.

P.S Shove your recency-bias up your ass, YES Reaves had a bad series and Rui did well, but last year and during the season it was the other way around.

Edit:
Its pain full to see that all of you casuals, dont realise Luka is not a defensive liability, if he is allowed to guard bigger and less mobile players and Reaves is not a defensive liability if he is allowed to guard the shooters instead of the shifty downhill guards. And both have really high BBIQ, so if they are allowed to roam and play help defense, Luka will get tons of steals and deflections and Reaves will take more charges and get more steals.

If the oposition has to first hunt for the right switches and then Luka or Reaves are able to funnel the quick and shifty guards into a good rimprotector the defense will be solid.
This season Luka had guard a shooter and Reaves had the shifty guards, because Rui had the forward. If you replace Rui with a quick POA defender and get a rimprotector, the defensive assignments would be fine and the defense solid.

Edit 2:
Seems like most of you cant read propperly, because all of you think I would want to trade Rui. This post is highlighting why I rather trade him than Reaves, not saying I would want to trade either, but when it comes to it he would be the one to trade IMO. He is a execptional shooter and good fit with Luka and if we keep him past the reirement of LeBron, he will be a perfect match with Luka.

First and foremost, Bam is an amazing player and I’ve watched bam throughout the years. My only concern with Bam would be, he is and will be undersized center if he came to LA. Seeing Bam at the 4 with Ware at the 5 is where you would want to utilize him most.

I know he’s All-nba defender but I just think about his presence in the paint, Bam is known for guarding 1v1 and being a very smart defender but not so much as a shot blocker which is kind of what this team needs.

Timeline:

2020/10/24:

"Can we add another really, really talented young player to run it out with AD if he chooses to stay as a free agent for five, six, seven, eight years?" Rob Pelinka

2023/04/11:

Nico Harrison emphasized the need to improve the team's defense and rebounding.

2023/08/13:

"Anthony Davis is a pillar of the franchise and again, exciting day for us to be able to know that we can build around him for years to come." Rob Pelinka

2023/09/20:

"Anthony Davis Was Arguably Best Player In NBA When Healthy Last Season" Jeanie Buss

2023/11/29:

"Anthony davis doesn't want to play center" Kendrick Perkins

2024/6/20:

"If JJ Redick is not thriving and Anthony Davis is not playing at an elite level and he's not happy, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants out of LA. I'm gonna give it til All-Star break."

2024/9/13:

Anthony Davis has ‘made clear’ to Lakers he wants to play with another center

2024/12/13:

"We need to make some changes. ... As Lakers fans, y'all are on the clock." Snoop Dogg Called Out Jeanie Buss And Rob Pelinka Amid Lakers Struggles.

2025/1/7:

Nico Harrison, Rob Pelinka seen meeting in person at Ascension Coffee in the lobby of the Hotel Crescent Court in Uptown Dallas.

2025/1/23:

“I’m a better player at the 4” – Anthony Davis sends strong message to Lakers front office to add a center

2025/1/29:

"Davis has made his stance known. He wants another starting-caliber center on the roster. Adding another big has become even more of a priority for the Lakers, according to team and league sources." Rob Pelinka

2025/2/2: Luka-AD trade

2025/2/9:

"If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win. And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks." Patrick Dumont

2025/3/5:

“Anthony Davis was complaining about where he was being played and he wasn’t happy,” Jeanie Buss

2025/4/30:

"No comment. My guy AD said what he needed, and then he was gone the following week." LeBron on the Lakers having no Center

He makes $16m next season. Has some history with the Lakers and also Luka… He’s getting old but has the experience. Last season he shot 39% from 3 on 8 attempts.

How would you feel about trading for him? We can potentially get a center too from them.

Yes, the Twolves were a bad matchup for the Lakers, but this roster should not have gone 1-4.

I put this on JJ's gameplan, his lineup choices, the resulting lack of defensive close outs, and horrible defensive rotations.

We criticized Hamas for things that JJ also did. The only change is JJ went so far opposite like it was some PTSD from playing the wrong players like Hamas, to playing 45 minutes for the players that "should" be on the floor.

Why did JJ deviate from the constant subs he did during the regular season? The gameplan was fairly simple: have a high-motion offense with multiple actions and screens, and rotate defensively while limiting threes and crashing the boards.

JJ's lineups were atrocious, leaving AR, Doncic, and LBJ out there to score because with Jaxson in, "we simply couldn't score." How the fuck is scoring the problem when you have those three and have practiced a slew of offensive schemes during the regular season. The Lakers flat out gave the Twolves free reign on second chance opportunities or easy drive and dumps to Reid, Rudy or Daniels. This was done simultaneously while AR was doing his iso game and getting nowhere, instead of a fast motion offense.

Defense and schemes in playoff basketball is almost a different game compared to the regular season. It comes down to execution at this point but also how the coach makes adjustments.

To make this not a complaint post, here are some of the solutions:

-Adopt a three rotation lineup that focuses on one or two of AR, Lebron, or Doncic leading the offense. Each rotation would focus on Vanderbilt and DFS as the centerpiece to their defense. Their job is to ensure Randle and Edwards were switched on, living with any mismatches and forcing them to iso ball early. If Reid wants to shoot the three, let him, he always has been the guy who pushes the Twolves past the line, which he hasn't done consistently enough. When he underperforms, they lose, when he knocks them down, they are an insanely strong team. He is not a great rebounder and he does not have a developed inside game.

-Force the pick and roll with Jaxson Hayes and Lebron or Doncic just so you can have a defensive presence on the inside that can rebound. Why this wasn't used beyond the first 5 minutes of game 1 was beyond me. You're telling me Doncic can't make use of a 7-foot lob threat to a point where it is serviceable, and neither can Lebron? Doncic was already knocking down his bullshit threes while double teamed, why do you need Jaxson to score? You have Rui actually showing up along with Vincent clearly showing he can knock down key shots, and there is no motion for any of them to do, no off ball screens or pin downs, no high post give and gos, no switches to abuse Divincenzo or Conley?

-Run a small ball line-up with Vincent and foul heavily when trying to rotate on the Twolves size and speed. Sure Randle, Daniels, Gobert, and Reid have size, with Edwards being the driving threat he is, but then you just close out intensely and focus on rebounding and limiting offensive output for the Twolves. The whole goal of this would be to bank on Lebron or Doncic having legs to close out the game

-Play AR at the end of the game. Why was there zero adjustment to him getting Daniels stuck on him or any of their athletics guards/small forwards. It was clear that Chris Finch did not want AR to have even an inch of space, instead he was kept in and devolved into some chucking traffic cone that lost all confidence. We've seen he doesn't need to warm up as well as his ability to knock down iso shots, why not do this when you run the Twolves out of the gym with the Lakers defensive hustlers, which is damn near all of them besides AR and Doncic, at least when they take games seriously. We've seen it all year long when everyone has been healthy, serious defensive intensity and strong rotations, all while crashing the board, which you could clearly see was going to be the deciding factor, not "scoring" like JJ focused on.

Just a terrible performance from JJ. When AR, Doncic, or Lebron get beat off the line, they just give up and hope they can outscore the Twolves? Great gameplan.

Kawhi, when he was FA, was probably the biggest name and star. Everyone wanted him to join their team.

He did tease Lakers a lot and finally joined Clippers, for whatever reason. It could be because of LeBron and maybe Kawhi knew that with LeBron he would never get the keys to the franchise.

But if he would have joined LeBron and AD, I am pretty sure that trio could have ended with 2 rings at least.

However, since joining the Clippers, they haven't done anything significant. Except for those gimmicky battle of LA and the worst, streetlights over spotlight.

Say LeBron takes $50M and lakers don’t have access to the full MLE or BAE. What does a realistic off season look like for us? Trading a lot of players for one only leaves us with more holes and no way to fill Them.

Saw some posts mentioning wiggins could be traded this summer. Makes sense as I think miami is going to try for kd and wiggins would probably be needed in that trade. I don't think the suns neccesarily want wiggins so a 3 team deal or en extra trade where te suns trade wiggins away could very well happen.

This got me thinking about wiggins to the lakers. Not sure if I would want it tbh. But he is capable of scoring and defending. Was worth the conversation imo.

of Gabe, kleber, and knecht and a maybe second would that be enough?

Edit: ofcourse we would need bigs first. I meant after that if we still got assets left.

Since our guys got knocked out already I'm really loving the paper clips getting destroyed by three nugs. Not a fan at all of Denver but I do like joker and it's nice to see them eliminate the other la team.

Lakers season is over. Talk about the other playoff series, what offseason moves we should make or whatever you want.

How would you rate his season? Would you want him back on the team next season. Do you rate him higher than Rui and Vando? Did the Lakers win the Dlo trade?

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile and I actually think there’s some serious merit to it, try to hear me out before jumping to conclusions

Ayton clearly has talent, on top of that talent he’s usually pretty healthy, which is super rare for a big AND he probably has one of the most ideal center bodies we’ve seen in awhile

He’s shown flashes of what he can do, it’s definitely within him, it just hasn’t been sustained up to this point

I can remember long ago, him and Luka were actually pretty friendly, I feel like at the very least, he’s a great rebounder and can absolutely finish lobs and layups around the basket, that’s the absolute floor

At best? At best you genuinely can’t even put a cap on it, he’s still young and has all the tools, he’s just lacked motivation and drive to this point… maybe being a featured piece on the lakers of all teams with a peer who would spoon feed him on offense gives him some motivation?

Before I get to the potential packages, I’d like to mention another MASSIVE reason this makes so much sense to me is because of how little Portland actually needs Ayton. They have Robert Williams, Donovan clingan, and duop reath. They do not need Ayton at all, getting an asset in return would be much more worth it for them.

I’m gonna lay out 3 different packages and yall can let me know which you’d prefer(if any)

Option 1: maxi, vando, Vincent, Milton, the 2031 first, and a 2028 swap for Ayton -this may seem like a lot, but I think consolidating all these lower level players with bigger contracts makes a lot of sense, the 2031 first is the price you pay for Ayton and dumping them on Portland

Option 2: rui, maxi, vando, shake, 2028 and 2030 swap for Ayton -this scenario you keep the prized 2031 first and go with two swaps, because you’re adding rui for more value going out, you also retain Gabe

Option 3: dalton, rui, maxi, shake for Ayton -this option loses zero draft capital in exchange for dalton and rui.

Honestly I lean option 1 or 3 personally, thoughts?

How many Laker championships have you witnessed in your lifetime, and which one is your favorite?

Blessed to have witnessed 6 in my lifetime. 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020.

Favorite is 2010 (F*ck Boston), but 2020 actually comes second for me.

What about you?