Joined: 16 Apr 2014 Posts: 1526 Location: Vancouver BC
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 11:59 am Post subject:
I think the FO is doing it all wrong. I dont mind the Lin trade but I do mind the cap flexibility BS even despite the new CBA.
Its an approach thats never worked for us. I just dont understand how they are so content to throw away year after year.
I was very critical of Mith until the Pau trade, the Ariza trade, Shannon trade...it seemed like he finally figured it out at that point and he's been excellent for a while after that but at a certain point, he just started doing one bad move after another.
What they should have done IMO is instead of re signing Young and Hill, they should have added most talent possible and try to assemble the team as competitive as it can be.
That means signing a big time FA like Greg Monroe, Lance Stephenson, maybe even Parsons. You can't go wrong with players like them.
Insteas the Lakers re signed 2 lesser players for approximately the same money.
Young is very replacable no provides very little impact.
Jordan Hill is alright but not sure if he is good enougy to be a starter.
I hope it all works out but I hate the way they operate.
They are willing to sacrifice the quality of the roster by having Hill be a placeholddr or whatever without going for any player who may demand a long term contract and YET....they don't wanna a rookie coach, they want an experienced coach?
For crying out loud, it makes no sense!!!! You dont hire Fisher who's got the potential to be an excellent coach but you have no problem deliberately sacrificing roster quality and throwing away a year like that?
Joined: 16 Apr 2014 Posts: 1526 Location: Vancouver BC
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 12:08 pm Post subject:
Signing either LeBron or Carmelo, especially both was very unrealistic from the get go. I am glad they have explored those options because they are the Lakers, they can hope for something like that to happen but players like Greg Monroe were much more realistic targets.
Monroe will likely be an all star next year, he won't play for Detroit and we will likely regret not even trying to sign him.
Their plan was all or nothing. It turned out to be nothing. On paper, we have a lottery team again or we're a borderline playoff team.
Everything could've and should've been handled much better.
Lakers management has been awful for a long time now.
Signing either LeBron or Carmelo, especially both was very unrealistic from the get go. I am glad they have explored those options because they are the Lakers, they can hope for something like that to happen but players like Greg Monroe were much more realistic targets.
Monroe will likely be an all star next year, he won't play for Detroit and we will likely regret not even trying to sign him.
Their plan was all or nothing. It turned out to be nothing. On paper, we have a lottery team again or we're a borderline playoff team.
Everything could've and should've been handled much better.
Lakers management has been awful for a long time now.
Monroe is middling talent. Not worth the max money or the long-term commitment. _________________
Just joined this thread, frankly I don't even care to read any of the other posts with the way things have gone these past few days. I just needed 30 seconds to vent.
It's clear that the front office is and has been in reactionary mode this entire time. Every move that has been made so far is completely void of any semblance of strategy, outside of the Lin deal which I will say was solid. But for that to define what has gone well for us during this year's off-season is not what this franchise or it's fans are accustomed to, given the flexibility we had to put a contending team on the court and the disgraceful execution in attracting free agents that has ensued.
True, the new CBA has basically hamstrung teams that have players on their roster that demand market value (i.e. Kobe, and nobody can blame him for it). I get it, but even with that, I don't see a clear commitment to any one direction (unless that direction is tanking yet another season?). Jim, Mitch and company have made a series of tactical moves that amount to an unbalanced, under-powered, remedial, 35 win lineup at best.
The Lakers have lost all identity and allure. Everything is cyclical, and right now we are unfortunately going through a period in Laker history that will setup and define our next era... an era no-where near on the horizon, and one that quite frankly may demand new ownership/leadership to materialize.
The day the Buss family passed on bringing back Phil Jackson was the day they spit in the face of the culture we had built, a winning culture that brought us years of championships and memories. _________________ The Good Lord and four disciples couldn't beat the Lakers tonight. - Chick Hearn
The only way this offseason makes any sense is if the Lakers are bad enough to finish in the top 5 lottery next year.
If the Lakers had signed Parsons or Stephenson, those guys would have been good enough to ensure that there was no way they’d get a top 5 pick. So if the Lakers manage to be bad enough and get a top 5, then passing on those guys would have worked out.
However, if the Lakers do not get the top 5 pick and have to forfeit it to Phoenix, then this offseason would have been one of the worst in Lakers history.
The argument I've heard for passing on Parsons or Stephenson based on what – $4-5 mils of future cap space – assuming people are ok giving them $8 or $9 mils – but not 13 or 14 – makes no sense at all for two reasons. #1. The cap will go up in the future. #2. You need those types of quality players ALREADY ON THE TEAM to attract max level superstars that you clear the space for.
Teams need not just cap space, but young talent, and vision. They need all 3 of those things to attract a superstar.
Lakers have no young talent.
Jim Buss/Mitch cant sell any vision.
But sure, they got cap space. So do many other teams in the league. It takes no GM skill to clear cap space and not sign anyone.
And for those that cant fathom giving Chandler Parsons what he makes per year. Um Hello. I’ll take 1 Chandler Parsons over Nick Young + Jordan Hill (two guys that put up numbers on bad teams who will never be part of winning anything).
I hope Laker fans boycott Staples this upcoming year. The Lakers have a standard of excellence, and Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak have ruined it. Kupchak should be fired. If it wasnt for a gift of Kwame Brown for Pau, he'd be up there as one of the worst GMs in franchise history.
Heh, someone hopes this all will turn out okay? Well it won't for Lakers' fans. Maybe it will work out okay for the rest of the league that is howling in laughter about the Lakers.
I have one question that no one has answered:
Who's plan was it to load up the team last season with one year scrub contracts in order to open up plenty of cap room for LBJ, Melo, Love, or any other free agent this summer?
Was that Jimbo's plan? Or was it Mitch's plan?
Because that plan has failed.
Otherwise, there is exactly ONE asset on the Lakers right now and his name is Kobe Bryant. He's one of the biggest stars in the NBA. Of course you pay him. Jeanie told Jim and Mitch that whatever they need to win again, they have. Money is no object. So Kobe's contract is not the issue here. The issue is the Basketball Operations that is killing this team.
The rest of the league will be losing millions and millions of dollars having the Lakers being a crappy team. Thats a fact. I myself will not watch one single game this year they are not getting my dollar.
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:20 pm Post subject: The Lakers will not be a premier FA destination until Jim Buss steps down and Kobe Bryant retires.
I opened a poll earlier but a mod decided there was too much thread laying around discussing the same topic and that it seemingly had an agenda. Can't win with a mod that thinks opening a poll where EVERYONE CAN VOTE has more "agenda" than just posting straight up and pointing the fingers at the individuals. So here you go mod.
It's a poll for crying out loud. I opened to poll to see who people thought is the one person you can pin point that is causing this mess. I mean cmon, 2 summers and 2 airballs in free agency? It's not like were asking those guys to sign for the MLE to begin with. We have the money! So why are we getting snubbed?
We keep selling FAs the idea that we are "The Market" that we have banners hanging up on the rafters and that we have a proven track record of building championship teams. But I think that Lakers Mystique is covered with a lot of clouds right now.
When Dr Buss was alive HE WAS THE FACE OF THE FRANCHISE. He was very well respected and revered around the league both among co-owners and players. Now if you ask who is the Lakers face of the franchise you pretty much have to go through a list where some will say its Jim Buss. Some will say it's Jeannie. Maybe it's both or neither one of them? Maybe it's Mitch. Or to some, Kobe. There is just not 1 definitive person that says "LAKERS". Before Phil Jackson got hired by the Knicks, Magic brought up the idea that the Lakers hire Phil to be the face of the franchise. Maybe the choice is not as popular with the Jim Buss faction. But they should have taken a hint out of that suggestion. YOU NEED A NEW FACE OF THE FRANCHISE.
Barring any polls, I think the Buss Family is the ultimate reason why we are no longer the premier destination. I believe the power sharing idea that Dr Buss had is a recipe for disaster and PLAINLY THE WRONG MOVE. Jeannie handles the business side pretty well. But she admits she doesn't know much about the basketball side. It's too bad because the basketball side is the main driving force of the franchise. It's the multiplier! You fail on the basketball side and everything else falls apart including the money side of it. It's just confusing to keep up with the Busses. Jeannie handles the business operations which when you think about it is really a lesser role than the basketball side. Yet Jeannie sits on the board of governors instead of Jim. Jeannie proclaims SHE IS THE BOSS yet the decisions for the franchise basketball-wise ultimately falls on Jim's hands.
I think the Lakers should consider re-organizing that hierarchy. Sorry Dr Buss. It's just not gonna work. Enough of the bull crap Jeannie as the VP business and Jim as the VP basketball and both at the same level. Ask Jim Buss to step down immediately. Have Jeannie assume the role of TEAM OWNER/PRESIDENT/SUPREME GODDESS. Whatever way you want to call her. She should sit at the top of the hierarchy period!
Then promote Tim Harris to manage the business operations (the Chief of Business Operations - CBO) and don't try to treat it like it's at the same level of the basketball side. It really isn't! Then appoint Mitch Kupchak as the VP of Basketball Operations/General Manager. Get Jim Buss off his back and let Mitch do what Jerry West has trained him to do. Mitch reports directly to Jeannie along with the new CBO . Jeannie assumes the Jerry Buss role. Now if there are crucial decisions to be made, Jeannie can consult WITH THE FAMILY (Jim, Joey etc). But it should ultimately be Jeannie's decision. I think if they follow this dynamic, there is direct accountability on every line. There's no second guessing between what the business side does vs what the basketball side decides. It's a single line up! That is key.
Now on the Kobe Bryant front. Yes he's worth every money he's earned and will be earning. Dr Buss even said in an interview before that during Kobe's peak he was probably worth in the upwards of 40-50M for the franchise and maybe more with all the stuff he brings on and off the court. But taking that $23M deal means his ego still needed to get fed. He wants to say I am still the MAN. Look at the last 4 champions (Mavs, Heat, Heat, Spurs?). All 4 teams won because their players who are obviously worth more than they got, sacrificed enough and took less. The stars from the 4 teams knew the CBA has changed the landscape of the NBA. And that if they continue to relate their egos to the level of $$$ they are getting, then they'd all be non-champs. Just because they offer you $23M doesn't mean you take it. You step back and say, if I want to win maybe 1 or 2 more rings, how does taking this $23M help me and the team?
Kobe's argument is that "well they offered it and I took it". Cmon. We all know Kobe is smarter than that! Yes he doesn't have a college degree. But he knows better. People will say HE TOOK AS DISCOUNT. But cmon! Can't we say MELO also took a discount? At the end of the day he is still going to be the MOST PAID PLAYER ACROSS THE NBA. And that is after coming from 2 major injuries. Him taking that deal sent the message out to all the other big name free agents that if you want to come to the Lakers, you'd have to come for whatever they offer you. Coz I am taking my $23M. That is a bad message to send out. In fact if let's say Kobe took about $8M less. That's money that could have easily gone to Pau along with the max offer for Melo AND they would still have room to round up the roster (the Jordan Hill money?).
So to close I think it's 2 things. One the Buss family need to clean up their organizational hierarchy. Clean it up ASAP so that by the summer of 2015/16 comes, you are now in position and that the big time FAs will look at this organization as legit. Give them the impression that we have finally corrected the dynamics of the franchise since Dr. Buss' death.
Then there's the Kobe factor. You think KD will want to come here while Kobe through his actions/decisions continue to proclaim this is HIS TEAM and HE IS THE MAN? In the waning years of his career he has to dial down that ego and treat it like he's keeping the seat warm for the next LAKERS KING. He may surprise us all next year and go on a tear. But the fact remains that he is closer to the end that the beginning (his words himself!). So the sooner he lets it go the better for us. He should approach courting the big time free agents not to teach them to be a champion (aka Dwight Howard) but say this is all yours and this franchise will nurture you and take care of you as they did to me. Enough of the "let me teach you" ish! Great players, if it's written in their stars that they'll be champs will find their way to be champs. It doesn't always have to be the Kobe way.
Sorry for the long post errr blog. But thanks for reading! _________________ The road back to the top...
Joined: 12 Jan 2005 Posts: 4921 Location: Sactown California
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:31 pm Post subject:
Expecting anyone to turn down 23 million is unrealistic. The Lakers shoulda have came to Kobe with a 2year/28-30 million dollar deal. It is what it is now but we already gave Kobe his lifetime achievement contract when we gave him 3years/90 milly. _________________ 14 till 17
I can't believe u write this long of an article just saying something that won't happen, kobe will be gone in two years, but jimmy won't step down, why would he?
I can't believe u write this long of an article just saying something that won't happen, kobe will be gone in two years, but jimmy won't step down, why would he?
They need to rethink that. Unless they want to run the risk of coming up empty again in the summer of 2015 and 2016. Every now and then organizations need some shaking up. The Lakers are no exception. _________________ The road back to the top...
Cool story ... I think I have heard this a thousand times before. What's new?
Shut it Down. _________________ "If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear". Ive always loved that quote. Thats "mamba mentality" we don't quit, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer.
You know what this site really needs after this? A thread about how Kobe doesnt pass the ball. That would be SUPER! And after that, why Kobe and Shaq didnt like each other. I know its been 10 years but why not talk about the past some more. _________________ www.blacksaltfilm.com
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