This team needs another trip to the lottery

Boybees · Star Player Joined: 13 May 2001 Posts: 1161

I’ve been saying this consistently for the past year now. We need talent, we need NBA starter level players. We’ve only got two on the squad right now (Kobe, Lamar) and maybe a third (Mihm).

The lottery is the best way to add talent, either through spending the high draft choice on a player who’s ready to contribute, or packaging the pick in a trade to return a starter-level player.

Would I like to see the Lakers squeak into the playoffs this year? Of course. Do I think getting thumped out the first round by Dallas or San Antonio will help this team more than getting a lottery pick?

No. The quickest path back to championship contender runs through the lottery. This Laker team won't tank, but missing the playoffs has a silver lining.

Oh, and another thing that will help is spending our MLE on a player who can actually contribute. Has any team in the history of the NBA had worse luck with MLE signings than the Lakers over the past two seasons? I don’t think so.
_________________
Jerry Buss made the Lakers into the crown jewel of the NBA.

Lionel The Laker · Star Player Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 2660

Unless its a top 10 pick we don't have a lottery pick this year. So if this team barley misses the playoffs no lotto for us.

Sage_10 · Star Player Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 6668

They just need a more defensive point guard that won't be broke down by smaller point guards.

LAL25 · Starting Rotation Joined: 03 Jun 2002 Posts: 885

I don't agree, basically because this year is pretty damn thin in the lottery and 2007, well, Oden is the key player but you have to be the worse team in the league and then have luck on your side.

What I do agree is that it is key that this team drafts well for the next 3 years. 2007 is a big year, it would be nice to have 2 1st round picks there.

Savory Griddles · Starting Rotation Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 920

Savory Griddles · Starting Rotation Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 920

Vlade · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:32 am Post subject:

Sage_10 · Star Player Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 6668

Boybees · Star Player Joined: 13 May 2001 Posts: 1161

The Mike · Star Player Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 1126

If we did get a 10 lottery pick, who is to say the Mitch will not draft another project that can't help us to the degree we need.
_________________
"Kobe Bryant is an absolute nightmare. You can hold your breath, send for help, sacrifice a chicken, it won't matter. Kobe Bryant is coming for you. He's got the ball and he's going to score...some way, some how."
Dancing Barry

NOODLESTYLE · Star Player Joined: 24 Apr 2005 Posts: 2977

Isn't Tiago Splitter or something available this upcoming draft?

kells1220 · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:47 am Post subject:

Lionel The Laker · Star Player Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 2660

Smush is a good defender at Rucker Park.

lionballer7 · Star Player Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 1684

Maybe we can trade Bynum for Oden in 2007

ThePageDude · Star Player Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 2593

I think laying the entire blame for our poor perimeter defense, and guard penetration, on Smush, is extremely unfair.
He's not a great defender, true. He is not the worst either.

He and Kobe are both getting exposed by our poor paint defense - Kwame and Cook make for an extremely porous interior. Between them they provide:

- zero shotblocking, neither Kwame nor Cook brings any
- weak team defense, because Kwame is poor on anticipation and rotation
- weak team defense, because Cook is a mediocre all-around defender i.e. weak lateral movement, inability to deny position etc. so team-defense tries to cover for him, and "exposes its flank" so to speak.

Through December and January, we were high in defensive rankings ... much better than last year. Phil was getting kudos for re-introducing the Lakers to defense. What happened? Mihm got hurt, our only shot-blocking threat, and decent all-around defender.

Replacing Smush with a better "defensive" guard will improve things, but not solve them. We need great interior defense just as much, if not more, than a Smush replacement.

-ThePageDude

venicebeach · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:18 pm Post subject:

another one year without PO is not possible for Kobe and the Lakers

LA4Life · Star Player Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 1349

Trip to the lottery for what, so Mitch can draft some soft ass no talent bum like he has been doing since he took over? :roll:
_________________
David Stern and NBA Officials <-- 2004 NBA Champions

sodapoppenski · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:31 pm Post subject:

TACH · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:42 pm Post subject:

sodapoppenski · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:47 pm Post subject:

Exactly Tach.

Not to mention the only thing worth "tanking" a season for is that rare ONE
player that comes along (like LBJ a couple years ago).

There is no such player in the entire 2006 draft.

If you wanted to tank for the 2007 draft, for Greg Oden - that might make
more sense.

But that's why it's a lottery - even if you get the worst record in the
league there's still a solid chance you end up without the first pick.

Tanking = not only dishonorable, but terrible strategy.

Smel Counts · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:59 pm Post subject:

The ridiculous Buss mandate of guaranteed playoffs is hurting us IMO. And it's only a result of whiny, spoiled, brainless fans that he did it.

Everyone seems to agree that the Lakers play for titles. PERIOD.
It's also understood that getting to the second round of the playoffs this year would be an official miracle and only as a result of the stupid seeding rules.

I'm not saying tank games. What I'm getting at is we should have acknowledged that we have no chance at a title for this year (and due to the B. Grant contract, probably next year as well). Hence, we need to begin implementing a strategy of building around Kobe and the triangle to contend for championships ASAP without completely leveraging our future. How does this happen?
1)The Odom, Walton, and Brown experiments are over.
LO will never be the right fit for us, especially at his salary (Larry Brown wants him-so get expiring contracts and triangle friendly youngens with heart and character for him-it doesn't have to be Frye).
And if Kwame ever does begin to realize any of his potential, it won't be for at least 2-3 more years. His hands and salary are also not worth the risk. (Chicago is desperate for young bigs and have the types of players we want/need and high lottery picks).
Losing these two players puts us as much as $25 million under the cap for '07.
Are there franchise type FA's available then? Probably not, but we at least can properly use a little of that $ instead of begging for scraps (McKie, Vlade, Kwame, etc.) like we've been doing until the following year when some do become available.

2) Any players other than Kobe and Bynum are publicly on the auction block and available for the right price-ala Ron Artest. Damn their feelings, if they can't live w/ pressure then we don't need them. Nobody wants to do the Lakers any favors, so we turn the other teams against each other in bidding wars.
Mihm will be worth huge $ after next year and most likely not resignable.
(again, Chicago is just one example of a team that would pay handsomely for Mihm especially in a bidding war).

3) Devin and Slava's contracts should have been moved already and definitely must be moved before the deadline. Screw first round elimination, this year means nothing. Get anything you can for our expiring contracts (Darko should have been ours folks) We don't owe Devean any favors, even though he plays hard sometimes.
As a result of these moves, our young players (Smush, Sasha, Cook, Wafer, Green, Bynum, and Turiaf need the kid gloves removed and should start getting real minutes. They need as much real-time triangle and game experience under their belts as possible before '07.
We need a college type of energy/passion/spirit that's perfectly exemplified by Turiaf, Bynum, Sasha, Cook and Kobe. True fans can accept losses if they know our team wasn't outhustled/outworked. Laid back types need to go, permanently. No exceptions..

If we had aborted this year's stupid "playoff's guaranteed" plan, we would have moved/been moving Slava, George, Odom, Mihm, McKie, Walton, and Kwame (if we would have ever acquired him). None of them will be with us after '07 anyway.

In their place would be young, fire-eating, triangle-friendly, high-character guys who would walk through walls to please Kobe and the Staff.
If the next two years are a little painful, so be it. Some might consider it tanking, I don't. Some might consider it wasting Kobe's prime, I think it would more than make up for it in the near future. Kobe deserves better energy than what our current team gives.

Who needs the playoffs when we can own the league?