Lakers get Davis

[Walker11]

Pffffffft

Ainge would've traded DeRozen's horrific contract in a second.

Of course. But I still like the line. And Ainge did have the best trade assets to land PG, AD and Kawhi. Big risks, and the fact that it worked out for the Thunder and Raptors is meaningless.

 

[superjohn]

Ainge did the rental thing. He got Irving for 2 years. You're killing him now for not doing rentals when they're in a less than ideal position because one of the ones he did do backfired.

Ainge's biggest failure is not marketing/networking Boston enough as a destination that these free agents could be forcing themselves to, not away from.

He gave something like $35 mil per year to Gordon Hayward and then balked at dealing for Kawhi because he wasn't willing to part with Jaylen Brown or Tatum, he balked again when it came to Anthony Davis. I don't have to kill him, he had an abundance of riches to bring in free agent stars and they are left with no stars.

 

[UconnU]

Pelicans should package these picks or trade a pick and player/s and try to move into the top 3 to land Morant or Barrett. They have so much flexibility with all these picks. Big talent drop off at 4.

 

[Walker11]

Pelicans should package these picks or trade a pick and player/s and try to move into the top 3 to land Morant or Barrett. They have so much flexibility with all these picks. Big talent drop off at 4.

Not worth it. Neither the Knicks or Grizz would trade out when it's considered a 3 player draft unless the Pels greatly overpay

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Jesus Lakers. He was coming there the following year anyways! Those pick swaps are probably worth another 1st round pick together, considering the franchise's next likely rebuilding timeframe.

They couldn't risk wasting another of Lebron's final seasons.

 

[UconnU]

Not worth it. Neither the Knicks or Grizz would trade out when it's considered a 3 player draft unless the Pels greatly overpay

Worth a shot. They have so many picks they can afford to overpay.

Also, If im a team I am 100% taking Barrett over Morant. Barrett is a sure thing. Morants shooting troubles scare me.

 

[superjohn]

Worth a shot. They have so many picks they can afford to overpay.

Also, If im a team I am 100% taking Barrett over Morant. Barrett is a sure thing. Morants shooting troubles scare me.

What? Morant is probably a better shooter than Barrett.

 

[UconnU]

What? Morant is probably a better shooter than Barrett.

The eye test and scouting report says otherwise. Barrett was playing against far better competition and taking more 3s.

 

[Dogman69]

The eye test and scouting report says otherwise. Barrett was playing against far better competition and taking more 3s.

Morant is a much better shooter. test. Facts.

 

[superjohn]

The eye test and scouting report says otherwise. Barrett was playing against far better competition and taking more 3s.

Again, what? Barrett shot 31% from three and 66% on ft's.

 

[Walker11]

The eye test and scouting report says otherwise. Barrett was playing against far better competition and taking more 3s.

Respectfully, I think you just be confusing the players. This is literally Barrett's most commonly mentioned flaw.

 

[UconnU]

Respectfully, I think you just be confusing the players. This is literally Barrett's most commonly mentioned flaw.

I know exactly who the players are. Morant was worse from 3 as a freshman than Barrett was; on fewer shots against terrible competition who all play way off him. Goes without saying that Barrett is a better defender and has a better NBA body profile. Morant is still easily the 3rd best prospect. Morant isn’t the shooter you guys are making him out to be.

 

[navery12]

The eye test and scouting report says otherwise. Barrett was playing against far better competition and taking more 3s.

Sure, he took more 3's and missed most of them

 

[navery12]

I know exactly who the players are. Morant was worse from 3 as a freshman than Barrett was; on fewer shots against terrible competition who all play way off him. Goes without saying that Barrett is a better defender and has a better NBA body profile. Morant is still easily the 3rd best prospect. Morant isn’t the shooter you guys are making him out to be.

Barrett shot 30.8% from 3 and Morant shot 30.7% from 3 as a freshman. Stop it

 

[auror]

He gave something like $35 mil per year to Gordon Hayward and then balked at dealing for Kawhi because he wasn't willing to part with Jaylen Brown or Tatum, he balked again when it came to Anthony Davis. I don't have to kill him, he had an abundance of riches to bring in free agent stars and they are left with no stars.

You'd run your team into the ground in 2 seasons if you were a GM in an ill-fated attempt to win now during the height of the Warriors dynasty. Yes, Raptors were successful. They needed insane injury luck to do it (4 of top 6 Warriors got hurt). And they're going to be hot garbage in 2 years. It's fine they're going to be bad, because they won the title. And even more, it was the right move for them, because of where their franchise was. That's not the position the Celtics were/are in.

Gordon was free from an asset perspective and there was basically no cap opportunity cost because they went over the cap with the Kyrie trade and re-signings after that (so Kyrie would have eaten the cap space if they didn't sign someone that summer). Kawhi and AD cost 6-8 years of prime Tatum/Brown plus several 1st round picks for 1 year of play. And Ainge still might have made the Davis trade if Kyrie didn't announce his intention to leave. Remember, they couldn't do the trade until the summer because of the designated player rule, and by that point Kyrie already indicated he was out. Tatum just turned 21 and you have his rights for another 8 years (3 of which are on rookie scale).

They still own 3 first round picks from other teams (plus all their own) over the next 3 years. They still can choose to trade someone. The opportunity to acquire a star has not past, and Tatum himself still has a good chance to become one.

 

[Sonofabeach]

 

[Edward Sargent]

Report: LaVar Ball visibly upset after learning son was traded to Pelicans

LaVar Ball did not have the best reaction upon learning his son had been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, according to one observer. Los Angeles-area

larrybrownsports.com

Can't forget LaVar.

Hopefully LaVar goes with the son

 

[Mazhude]

Hopefully LaVar goes with the son

Ha. Poor guy. Who now thinks the dad tries to force a trade to get his son out of NO?

 

[djct1999]

This can also open things up for Jeremy Lamb’s market. If the Lakers miss on Kemba and Jimmy Butler, Lamb could be in play. Same in New Orleans. He would be a nice addition there on an improved team.

 

[awfuldan]

Huge haul for Pelicans with all those pick swaps. They have so many assets right now, plus some legit good players. And the Lakers have none, outside Kuzma, who apparently they were dead-set on keeping for some reason. Good trade for Lakers either way though, that team should be amazing next year and I don't particularly like any of the guys they got rid of.

 

[awfuldan]

Also would love to see Kemba join Lebron. He would have so many open shots. He would be on one of the biggest stages available in basketball. Could be a really great thing for him.

That said, someone has to make a sacrifice in that scenario. Someone has to play the Kevin Love/Chris Bosh role as third option. We know AD isn't sacrificing and I doubt Lebron will either. Is Kemba willing to do that? I'm guessing yes, but I'm sure it's something he needs to think about either way.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Never serious? He's been after Davis for years. He just figured the way to get and keep him was to have Kyrie resign, and Kyrie has left Boston twisting in the wind.

Still, rumor has it Ainge was willing to include Tatum but ownership shut him down

Sorry, I didn’t mean truly “never”. I just mean these most recent rumors of ongoing Celtics involvement. I know they had wanted him up there for a while. You could argue the “rebuild” and the stocking of assets was all a long-game play to get AD there, all to watch Bron, Pelinka, Rich Paul, and lottery luck snatch him away in the span of 4 months.

Who knows how AD would feel about Boston if Ainge didn’t let Isaiah Thomas kill himself over a fruitless playoff run and then kick him to the curb so as to never get his pay day

 

[Walker11]

Also would love to see Kemba join Lebron. He would have so many open shots. He would be on one of the biggest stages available in basketball. Could be a really great thing for him.

That said, someone has to make a sacrifice in that scenario. Someone has to play the Kevin Love/Chris Bosh role as third option. We know AD isn't sacrificing and I doubt Lebron will either. Is Kemba willing to do that? I'm guessing yes, but I'm sure it's something he needs to think about either way.

Kemba will also get roasted every time the Lakers lose. I do want him to leave but I think he would also be a lot of fun on the Mavs.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Kemba will also get roasted every time the Lakers lose. I do want him to leave but I think he would also be a lot of fun on the Mavs.

You just want to see more Chuck Norris references here

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Lakers are holding a clinic in franchise destruction.

Ironically, I thought signing Lebron was a great move with the team the Lakers had at the end of 2018 season. That team had won 35 games despite playing Lopez and Randle nominal minutes, and had a good young core that just needed to plug in a superstar. Fourteen months later, they have mortgaged their future for a one year rental and a superstar that is going to turn 35 next season. Lebron is not in his prime, and his injuries are going to keep coming, especially if the Lakers don't have a bench to keep Lebron's minutes down.

While LA is an attractive destination for free agents, I think some top tier free agents are going to be reluctant to commit to a long term deal with the Lakers when they could be by themselves in LA 2 years from now on a franchise that has no potential to get better. Utah and Indiana may not be sexy destinations, but those are good teams that have a lot of runway ahead of them.

The Lakers need to convince a top tier free agent to take a huge risk. Good luck with that.