Connecting with Players

[BlackStarMamba]

I think i figured it out. Over the past few years, theres been many discussions about missing the young guys or the lack of homegrown talent.

I think the major issue is the ability to connect with a player.
Anthony Davis is a great player, but his personality is dry. to me hes not connectable, i dunno. Despite his talent I do not think many people had him as one of their favorite non lakers prior.

Granted many of the Laker glory days included lifers like Magic, Kobe etc we have been able to connect with players that we havent drafted many times like Shaq, Pau, Metta, Odom, Ceballos. We have also had really true fan favorites like George, Shannon Brown, Sasha, Farmar, Jodie Meeks, Nick Young. These fan favorite even if they stink people still want them to see them play. ex. Lonzo ball, lol

even Steve Nash was welcomed with enthusiasm due to his personality

unfortunately the roster lacks much connecting personalities despite the greatness of the players

Lebron has also been polarizing, AD is dry. Rondo, Morris, JR Smith have been villains in the NBA
KCP, Bradley - dry

The only true fan favorite is Caruso. Kuz use to be until the young crew left for some reason..

nonetheless lets go for #18!!!!

btw I think Shroeder will be a fan favorite

[AFireInside619]

Kobe is a once in a 3 lifetime player. There won’t be a player like him for any organization. If you want to cheer for a homegrown talent with an unknown ceiling, cheer for THT. I never understood why LG went nuts for this kid when they hated DLO, Ingram, and Ball. After reading your post I may have finally figured it out.
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“You have to dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in.” - Kobe Bryant

[JamezAmp]

Dont care. RINGS
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824

[BlackStarMamba]

[Dr. Laker]

It's a different world. Those of us who are old enough to remember the days before true free agency can tell you about identifying with teams and their personalities through their players.

Bears - tough, toothless & nasty . . . Dick Butkus.
Celtics - arrogant ass clowns . . . Tommy Heinsohn.
Dodgers - technically perfect team . . . Sandy Koufax.
Raiders - we will do whatever it takes to beat you . . . Kenny Stabler.
Lakers - we're larger than life . . . Jerry West & Wilt Chamberlain.
Yankees - we're better than you . . . Joe DiMaggio.

Once players (rightfully) got a say in where they got to play, they stopped staying in places so long.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[Lakerwayne]

Caruso kuzma and tht are homegrown and are still developing

[activeverb]

[Runway8]

[kwase]

To me AD, Caruso and Kuz are quite likable people. I don't mind the soft-spoken and humble personality of AD. It's refreshing in the social media era. He reminds me of Worthy. I don't think there's ever been a Laker squad where I liked every single player, unless we go back to Showtime. I didn't like Glen Rice, definitely wasn't a fan of signing Rodman, didn't like Karl Malone, Jodie Meeks, Smush or Nick Young. With 15 players on the team there's bound to be someone you're not very fond of. Even LeMachine got on my nerves from time to time. But I get what you're saying...I think this era of players bouncing from team to team looking for the best shot at winning a championships is not only non-competitive, but it does a disservice to the fans. There's a reason why NBA ratings have been falling for many years. Things could change in 4 or 5 years though when this era of players retire. There's a lot of great young talent int he NBA now, they're just not getting any press.

[activeverb]

[Four Decade Bandwagon]

Not sure how much of “connecting” has to do with the personality of the player. Certainly a part of it for some players that have great personalities but for the most part it is the continuity of the team.

What is lost is watching the development of a young player and building of team chemistry and culture. Current “team building “ is done by creating super teams for a season or two then moving on to the next super team opportunity.

Simply, who do you root for when the team is constantly changing? Not just the role players but the stars. Look at the marquee players changing teams in just the last five years. In a few cases multiple teams. Hard for a fan to be “loyal” when every year your favorite player is just as likely to be on the move as being built around. Or your favorite team just went from contender to lottery as the marquee player leaves.

Just my own personal opinion but I think the increase in popularity of fantasy sports and video games where fans can be the GM and constantly plug and play players has added to acceptance of this mentality.

Not good or bad...just is what it is. Not likely to change either.

[LakersMD]

Free agency changed everything. The days of the player playing their whole or even 75% of their careers on one team are long gone. I used to hold it against LeBron when he left Cleveland but I now realize that he was the beginning of the trend. It’s good for the players though and I think player movement has been good for the league as well.

[BlackStarMamba]

[BlackStarMamba]

[oaktown_dimond]

AD seems like a super nice guy. just a bit shy. he's very likable IMHO.

[BlackStarMamba]

[BlackStarMamba]