Lakers get Davis

[djct1999]

Seriously?

This board sometimes.

To play devil's advocate, they haven't been considered a smart franchise since Dr. Buss died. But there is a reason why every smart person in basketball media likes this trade for the Lakers
[/QUOTE]
Exactly. They have been a laughing stock for the past five years and those same smart people think the Pelicans got max value in this deal. This is also based on the assumption they sign another max guy. With the timing of the deal and ADs unwillingness to forgo his trade bonus, that seems impossible.

 

[djct1999]

Seriously?

This board sometimes.
[/QUOTE]

I don’t know what NBA you are watching but most people consider Ainge smart and the Lakers a joke the past five years. This board sometimes.

 

[superjohn]

Seriously?

This board sometimes.

I don’t know what NBA you are watching but most people consider Ainge smart and the Lakers a joke the past five years. This board sometimes.
[/QUOTE]

Don't understand how people in this thread are praising Ainge and ripping on the Lakers. The Lakers are supposed to be this big laughingstock and a year ago they had nothing, now they have Lebron, AD, and will most likely be adding another star. Just a year or so ago people were talking about the Celtics being on the brink of a dynasty.

Who is better positioned to win a championship now?

 

[Rocktheworld]

1 and 3 go hand and hand. Kemba’s only priority should be locking in the best deal possible, which is in Charlotte. It’s simply too much money to pass on and the difference would never be made up at age 33 or 34 and his next deal.

Kemba’s family is good for at least the next two generations, no matter where he plays, barring some horrific career-ending injury. He will continue to make great money after he retires regardless; he is insanely marketable, and this is a big reason people say he should get the hell out of Charlotte.

How much money he makes after he retires can come down to his basketball legacy, which is going nowhere in Charlotte. He will fizzle as a basketball player and as a personality, and we will be less likely to continue to see him if he stagnates in Charlotte for the next 5 years, after which, who knows where he will be wanted. Kemba’s already in the big leagues, but this is his one chance to be a star on the biggest stage.

 

[djct1999]

Kemba’s family is good for at least the next two generations, no matter where he plays, barring some horrific career-ending injury. He will continue to make great money after he retires regardless; he is insanely marketable, and this is a big reason people say he should get the hell out of Charlotte.

How much money he makes after he retires can come down to his basketball legacy, which is going nowhere in Charlotte. He will fizzle as a basketball player and as a personality, and we will be less likely to continue to see him if he stagnates in Charlotte for the next 5 years, after which, who knows where he will be wanted. Kemba’s already in the big leagues, but this is his one chance to be a star on the biggest stage.

This is really easy to say when it’s not your money. When you factor in the extra year and CA taxes the net value is enormous. He can essentially double his net worth by staying. That is a big ask for any athlete.

 

[djct1999]

I don’t know what NBA you are watching but most people consider Ainge smart and the Lakers a joke the past five years. This board sometimes.

[/QUOTE]
It cost the Lakers half their roster and a good portion of their future for a player they would have signed next year anyway. Ainge got Kyrie for two years and it cost much less. Any way you look at it, Ainge was smarter.

 

[navery12]

It cost the Lakers half their roster and a good portion of their future for a player they would have signed next year anyway. Ainge got Kyrie for two years and it cost much less. Any way you look at it, Ainge was smarter.
[/QUOTE]
Just like the Lakers were smart for not trading assets for Kawhi and Paul George because they were coming in FA

 

[superjohn]

It cost the Lakers half their roster and a good portion of their future for a player they would have signed next year anyway. Ainge got Kyrie for two years and it cost much less. Any way you look at it, Ainge was smarter.
[/QUOTE]
Again, the Lakers were a laughingstock and they now have Lebron, AD, and will most likely get another star. Celtics were supposed to be on the verge of a championship/possible dynasty.

Which team is better positioned to win a title now?

 

[Rocktheworld]

This is really easy to say when it’s not your money. When you factor in the extra year and CA taxes the net value is enormous. He can essentially double his net worth by staying. That is a big ask for any athlete.

You know that Kemba was dancing in the Apollo before coming to UConn, right? He is made for an entertainment city like LA, and he absolutely could be in Hollywood. I’m not saying Kemba would be dancing in his late 30s, but if he balls out in LA and wins a championship with Bron and AD, the endorsement and professional possibilities outside and after basketball are endless, especially with Magic and now LeBron there.

Kemba puts all his proverbial eggs of the future in the basket of Charlotte’s payroll if he stays there.

My angle is: What does Kemba do after basketball if he mires in mediocrity for 5 more years in Charlotte and never gets past the second round of the playoffs, versus if he goes to LA and wins a championship with the Lakers in his prime? I would agree with you that most players in his situation should stay and just bank on basketball. But Kemba has so much more than basketball talent.

Kemba indicated last week that he was willing to not take the super max to allow Charlotte to spend and build around him anyway, so you know he is not just thinking money. Well, that team is now made for him in LA...

 

[tzznandrew]

A healthy LeBron-AD combo is going to be killer.

They need a third player and a serviceable bench.

They also need to hope for health. James was a tank for a while, but you have to imagine that he's at an age where he's going to be less indestructible.

Davis...well, Davis has missed 18, 15, 14, 21, 7, 7, 28 games respectively. That has to worry a team as thin as this Lakers team is now.

(To be clear, you absolutely trade for him, though they may have given away too much in the back end...)

 

[djct1999]

It cost the Lakers half their roster and a good portion of their future for a player they would have signed next year anyway. Ainge got Kyrie for two years and it cost much less. Any way you look at it, Ainge was smarter.

Again, the Lakers were a laughingstock and they now have Lebron, AD, and will most likely get another star. Celtics were supposed to be on the verge of a championship/possible dynasty.

Which team is better positioned to win a title now?
[/QUOTE]
I think I will wait until the end of free agency before I answer that. And since you are judging the Celtics after the fact, I will wait atleast two years before I proclaim the Lakers geniuses.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[zls44]

 

[auror]

The Lakers are smart enough to know you win with stars. Every time it's looking like they're going to start sucking they make bold moves to get superstars and they win championships.

Back in the day they knew they had a bunch of good but unspectacular players who couldn't win it all so they cleared everything out to get Shaq and boldly took high schooler Kobe in the draft. Later on they had nothing surrounding Kobe so they went out and got Gasol and won 2 more championships. They had good but unspectacular young players and 1st round picks (cr@p shoot) and instead went bold and got Anthony Davis, while still having the space to bring in another star free agent.

Lakers will be a contender for the championship, the Celtics won't.

You're ignoring all the details that separate a place like LA from a place like Boston.

The Lakers can get AD because he wants to sign there long term. Kawhi wants to sign longterm in LA (with the Clippers). Neither wanted to sign longterm in Boston. I've said in this thread before that the biggest mistake Ainge made is not cultivating that city desirability. Well it was kinda here when Stevens had his mythos going and Ainge's reputation was more smart than cutthroat, but the history of racism in Boston isn't going away, and Kyrie destroyed whatever else of it remained (plus Ainge's IT heartlessness didn't help)

You just can't compare LA's ability to draw free agents with Boston's. The playing field isn't level. 70 degrees and sunny weather and Hollywood don't exist in Boston. LA can get the free agents for the longterm. Boston can get them for 1 season. And they both give up the same amount of assets to do it. It's pretty easy to see why one way makes sense and the other doesn't, especially when you have alternatives.

Again, you're acting like Boston is done making moves and they no longer have the ability to get a star.

 

[djct1999]

A healthy LeBron-AD combo is going to be killer.

They need a third player and a serviceable bench.

They also need to hope for health. James was a tank for a while, but you have to imagine that he's at an age where he's going to be less indestructible.

Davis...well, Davis has missed 18, 15, 14, 21, 7, 7, 28 games respectively. That has to worry a team as thin as this Lakers team is now.

(To be clear, you absolutely trade for him, though they may have given away too much in the back end...)

I agree that they had to make this trade in large part because they were a dumpster fire and this at worst makes them relevant. But the NBA is going away from the mega team model and without depth, there are three or four teams in the west that may very well be able to outlast the Lakers in the playoffs. That’s assuming health. If either player misses twenty plus games next season, they may miss the playoffs entirely. Realistically, they will have 23 mil in cap space. That won’t be enough to get another max guy. Their roster is so thin, I am not sure that’s enough to beat some of the better teams in their conference.

 

[superjohn]

Again, the Lakers were a laughingstock and they now have Lebron, AD, and will most likely get another star. Celtics were supposed to be on the verge of a championship/possible dynasty.

Which team is better positioned to win a title now?

I think I will wait until the end of free agency before I answer that. And since you are judging the Celtics after the fact, I will wait atleast two years before I proclaim the Lakers geniuses.
[/QUOTE]
Judging the Celtics after the fact?

It's a simple question, who do you think is currently positioned better to win a championship?

 

[superjohn]

You're ignoring all the details that separate a place like LA from a place like Boston.

The Lakers can get AD because he wants to sign there long term. Kawhi wants to sign longterm in LA (with the Clippers). Neither wanted to sign longterm in Boston. I've said in this thread before that the biggest mistake Ainge made is not cultivating that city desirability. Well it was kinda here when Stevens had his mythos going and Ainge's reputation was more smart than cutthroat, but the history of racism in Boston isn't going away, and Kyrie destroyed whatever else of it remained (plus Ainge's IT heartlessness didn't help)

You just can't compare LA's ability to draw free agents with Boston's. The playing field isn't level. 70 degrees and sunny weather and Hollywood don't exist in Boston. LA can get the free agents for the longterm. Boston can get them for 1 season. And they both give up the same amount of assets to do it. It's pretty easy to see why one way makes sense and the other doesn't, especially when you have alternatives.

Again, you're acting like Boston is done making moves and they no longer have the ability to get a star.

The biggest mistake Ainge made is not being willing to trade Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum for superstars.

 

[djct1999]

I think I will wait until the end of free agency before I answer that. And since you are judging the Celtics after the fact, I will wait atleast two years before I proclaim the Lakers geniuses.

Judging the Celtics after the fact?

It's a simple question, who do you think is currently positioned better to win a championship?
[/QUOTE]
As of today, neither. Without question, I would trust Danny Ainge over Rob Pelinka and I will wait until the end of free agency before I answer that. It would not surprise me at all that when the chips settle, the Celtics are still the better team. The Lakers might not even be the best team in their arena.

 

[navery12]

More annoying than this argument is the fact that people apparently can't use the quote button correctly

 

[Walker11]

More annoying than this argument is the fact that people apparently can't use the quote button correctly

It was caused by 1 mis-post by SJ and now it has a mind of its own.

 

[superjohn]

Judging the Celtics after the fact?

It's a simple question, who do you think is currently positioned better to win a championship?

As of today, neither. Without question, I would trust Danny Ainge over Rob Pelinka and I will wait until the end of free agency before I answer that. It would not surprise me at all that when the chips settle, the Celtics are still the better team. The Lakers might not even be the best team in their arena.
[/QUOTE]
Neither doesn't make any sense.

 

[superjohn]

It was caused by 1 mis-post by SJ and now it has a mind of its own.

Watch "Jim Calhoun - "I Up"" on YouTube

 

[GemParty]

Why can’t Ainge grab Kemba to replace Kyrie?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

It cost the Lakers half their roster and a good portion of their future for a player they would have signed next year anyway. Ainge got Kyrie for two years and it cost much less. Any way you look at it, Ainge was smarter.

Again, the Lakers were a laughingstock and they now have Lebron, AD, and will most likely get another star. Celtics were supposed to be on the verge of a championship/possible dynasty.

Which team is better positioned to win a title now?
[/QUOTE]

Of course the Lakers are better positioned in the immediate term, but it's a short window and they're also not guaranteed to land a third superstar, particularly given the timing and mechanics of the Davis trade. I don't follow this with any sort of expertise but my understanding is they're going to have significantly less than max money to throw at someone, so we'll see who they can get.

Good deal for both sides given their respective goals, but a hell of a haul for New Orleans.

 

[nomar]

I'll say it again, Ainge wouldn't part with Jaylen Brown or Tatum to get Kawhi and he wouldn't part with Tatum to get Anthony Davis. You win in the NBA with stars and despite being positioned the best to get a couple of stars the Celtics don't have one.
He's been great at accumulating good but unspectacular wings who do the same things though.

In hindsight he should've gotten Kawhi, but to top what the Lakers got would have absolutely GUTTED the roster. Considering any chance of resigning AD went out the window when Kyrie flaked out, you'd have to be nuts to top best the Lakers did.

I'd be shocked if Ainge said he'd never include Tatum in a deal; I think Griffin was looking for a lot more so it was a non-starter.