KAWHI LEONARD THREAD (Woj: KL to sign with Clippers who get Paul George)
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MikeHoncho
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:07 am    Post subject:

dubaholic1 wrote:
golakersgo121 wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
Kawhi Leonard is never coming to the LAkers now that Lebron is here.

KL said it himself. He does not want to play on a super team.

Personally I much rather would have preferred to have KL over Lebron, if I had to choose.



I probably missed that interview


Source

Take it for what it's worth.


Playing with one other star does not constitute a super team.
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Killakobe81
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:49 am    Post subject:

venturalakersfan wrote:
babyskyhook wrote:
One thing that I haven't seen people talking about with PG is the timing of his interest in going back to OKC. We didn’t hear much about it until KL became a real possibility and the Lakers started pursuing him hard.

At that point, there was suddenly a lot of buzz about OKC really liking their chances to keep him. I don’t think the timing was a coincidence.

It seems PG was ok being the #2 guy, but did not want to be the #3.

KL is the much better player, so I’m glad the Lakers prioritized him. It will all work out in the end in the Lakers favor.


Actually we heard about George being interested in staying in OKC during the season, long before Leonard threw his tantrum. I guess it was just ignored by many. The FO didn’t prioritize Leonard over George, that is just a band aid. They didn’t shovel out over a half million dollars because they weren’t convinced they wanted George. They did, I did and most posters here did. He wasn’t sold by the FO and the team so he stayed in OKC. Can’t we just accept that and avoid the jilted lover syndrome?


Not me.I said it here and on Spurstalk that he was not worth a max contract and the playoffs just validated what I thought about George. We got KCP for what 9 million? PG isn't 20 million plus better than KCP. We would be paying 3 times as much for a player not even twice as good. No thanks. That is not revisionist history just facts.
And now that we have Lebron unlike most I am even happier we did not sign PG13. Because we sucked for 5 years everyone was treating George like his play hasn't slipped or that he didn't have a horrific injury that has sapped some of his athleticism.
Now that Bron is here let's find the right support pieces rather than being willing to settle for borderline all-stars being paid as franchise stars.
I wish PG all the best I actually like Westbrook (go Bruins!) but I think in the end Russ will be disappointed in his #2.
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venturalakersfan
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:53 am    Post subject:

George is actually a lot better than KCP. Much more well rounded game which is recognized by the NBA community.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:05 am    Post subject:

Joe Pesci wrote:
If I was a star player in the league, I wouldn’t want to play with James. If I were Leonard, I wouldn’t want to be here. That Raptors situation looks pretty damn good to me (if I were him).


The Raptors situation will keep him as a one-time champ as long as he's there.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:19 am    Post subject:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:
LongBeachPoly wrote:
Aeneas Hunter wrote:
LandsbergerRules wrote:
Since it seems like Kawhi's uncle calls the shots for him, I wonder what his #1 priority is? We rate high on giving KL money, a chance to win, and playing in a big market. The only thing we'd have problems with is if the uncle wants KL to be the center of media attention/face of the franchise/given the most credit for our resurgence. With Lebron here, that will be tough for KL to do and although he himself most likely doesn't care about that, it may be what Uncle Dennis wants above all. It would be great to get more insight into what that guy is thinking.


You may be right, but there is a natural tendency to demonize, or at least give too much importance to, the mouthpieces. At this point, Kawhi Leonard is a grown man with a mind of his own. I don't think his uncle is a puppeteer. (By the way, I expect this to be increasingly true for Lavar Balltic.) Again, you could be right, but there is a natural tendency to focus on the visible mouthpiece.

So the question is how Kawhi Leonard feels about playing for the Lakers with Lebron. My gut tells me (1) there is less risk of a Paul George scenario with Leonard in Toronto, (2) as a kid who grew up in Southern California, Leonard probably has the same attitude toward the Clippers as everyone else, so (3) our major competition is probably the Knicks and maybe some dark horse in a warm climate like the Heat or Suns. Given that Lebron is at the end of his career, I doubt that Leonard is worried about being overshadowed.


33 yrs old and the current best player in the world. I wouldn’t classify that as being at the end of your career


Lebron's birthday is in December. By the time that Leonard is making his decision next summer, Lebron will be coming up on 35. Lebron has been an incredible physical specimen and has just about defied the laws of nature. Just the same, I don't think Leonard is going to be worried about being overshadowed by a 35 year old guy.


It’s hard to age 2 yrs in a one yr time frame but you’ve managed to come up w/ a way.

By this logic, everybody’s got a bday coming up so just rd up for everyone.

So are you saying right now, LeBron’s not at the end of his career yet but next yr he will be?

What if Kawhi was traded here this yr? Then Kawhi would be worried?

This reminds m of the First Take debate where Max Kellerman kept predicting Tom Brady would fall off a cliff


Last edited by LongBeachPoly on Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:39 am; edited 2 times in total
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:25 am    Post subject:

venturalakersfan wrote:
George is actually a lot better than KCP. Much more well rounded game which is recognized by the NBA community.


Weren't you arguing you would much rather keep KCP than go after george 2 months ago
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LakerLogic
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:44 am    Post subject:

PG isn't really worth 30 million although I was have been happy if he signed.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:49 am    Post subject:

Chronicle wrote:
venturalakersfan wrote:
George is actually a lot better than KCP. Much more well rounded game which is recognized by the NBA community.


Weren't you arguing you would much rather keep KCP than go after george 2 months ago


No, I have wanted George ever since it was rumored he wanted to be here. I wanted to trade for him. It is no surprise he got a multi year deal while KCP got a one year deal. I like KCP but he isn’t the player that George is.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 12:27 pm    Post subject:

MikeHoncho wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
golakersgo121 wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
Kawhi Leonard is never coming to the LAkers now that Lebron is here.

KL said it himself. He does not want to play on a super team.

Personally I much rather would have preferred to have KL over Lebron, if I had to choose.



I probably missed that interview


Source

Take it for what it's worth.


Playing with one other star does not constitute a super team.


Lol.

You conveniently skip over the part that says...

"I don't think he's jumping for joy that LeBron James is in L.A. with the Lakers. If anything, that's going to make him look, maybe more, toward the Clippers because this is a guy that won Finals MVP against LeBron James. You think he's amped up and wants to join LeBron now? I think that's been overstated."


Now, the report may be BS, but Shams (like Woj) is usually pretty good about these sorts of things.


I think people need to accept the reality that some star players might not want to come play 2nd fiddle to LeBron, and everything that goes along with that (getting absolutely 0% of the credit if you win a championship, but getting 200% of the blame if you lose).

We saw Kyrie leave a contender in Cleveland to get away from LeBron (and now we learn that he may not have wanted him there in the first place).

We saw PG13 pick Westbrook/OKC and most likely NOT winning a championship over LeBron/Lakers and having his BEST chance at winning a championship in his hometown.

It's funny to me in a way because for the longest time one of the pro-LeBron/ant-Kobe arguments was how LeBron was such a great teammate and the reason nobody wanted to play with him was because he played in Cleveland. But if he was on the Lakers "everyone would flock to play with him."

Not everyone wants to come help LeBron enhance his personal legacy while getting pooped on by the LeBron-defending mainstream sports media and fans.
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lakerz32
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:26 pm    Post subject:

Batguano wrote:
MikeHoncho wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
golakersgo121 wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
Kawhi Leonard is never coming to the LAkers now that Lebron is here.

KL said it himself. He does not want to play on a super team.

Personally I much rather would have preferred to have KL over Lebron, if I had to choose.



I probably missed that interview


Source

Take it for what it's worth.


Playing with one other star does not constitute a super team.


Lol.

You conveniently skip over the part that says...

"I don't think he's jumping for joy that LeBron James is in L.A. with the Lakers. If anything, that's going to make him look, maybe more, toward the Clippers because this is a guy that won Finals MVP against LeBron James. You think he's amped up and wants to join LeBron now? I think that's been overstated."


Now, the report may be BS, but Shams (like Woj) is usually pretty good about these sorts of things.


I think people need to accept the reality that some star players might not want to come play 2nd fiddle to LeBron, and everything that goes along with that (getting absolutely 0% of the credit if you win a championship, but getting 200% of the blame if you lose).

We saw Kyrie leave a contender in Cleveland to get away from LeBron (and now we learn that he may not have wanted him there in the first place).

We saw PG13 pick Westbrook/OKC and most likely NOT winning a championship over LeBron/Lakers and having his BEST chance at winning a championship in his hometown.

It's funny to me in a way because for the longest time one of the pro-LeBron/ant-Kobe arguments was how LeBron was such a great teammate and the reason nobody wanted to play with him was because he played in Cleveland. But if he was on the Lakers "everyone would flock to play with him."

Not everyone wants to come help LeBron enhance his personal legacy while getting pooped on by the LeBron-defending mainstream sports media and fans.


yup you're right. every player is different, and some of the players would love to play with Lebron, while others probably wouldn't. same issue could have applied to Kobe, where I think some players would have loved to play with Kobe (I think the hyper competitors like Garnett or cp3), while others would hate it (Dwight, Dwight I always perceived as the guy that loved the superficial 'idea' of playing with Kobe, but would actually hate it if it became reality)

there are rumors floating that Kyrie may leave a contender in Boston to team up with another star (I dont personally believe it, but it is out there)

pg13, as you said, I believe didn't want the pressure that comes with playing Lebron. he went.for the comfortable situation, where he would be loved by the fans/organizations, and if they made deep playoff runs great, but if they failed, the blame would mostly fall onto Westbrook.

the Lebron factor + the lakers creates a pressure filled environment. as time goes by, I think Kobe's statement really holds true. "if I have to convince you to join the lakers, then the lakers isnt for you/you aren't the one." if players don't want to play with Lebron/lakers, because they don't want the pressure/media scrutiny, don't want to be blamed if they underperform or fail, or don't want to be 2nd fiddle, than those aren't the players I want on the lakers.

Lebron just averaged 34/9/9 in the playoffs. I remember he was scoring 40+ points consecutively, and then one game he dropped to like 33 points, and all the fans/media claimed he had a terrible performance. the pressure is always on Lebron, the expectations are so high, yet he consistently performs. Great players on contending teams will usually always be polarizing players, they will be blamed/loved/hated, this just comes with the territory when expectations are high. some players might just not be built for these expectations, or some players may not want the expectations at all

FWIW, presuming a healthy kawhi joined the lakers, I think as early.as year two in Lebron's contract, that kawhi could arguably be the better player. kawhi would definitely be the better two-way regular season performer at that time, and the one to win regular season mvp if it was rewarded to a laker. (Lebron would be 35, and kawhi 28)
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:57 pm    Post subject:

BigBallerBrand wrote:
babyskyhook wrote:
Guys- look at SDLaker’s post that I quoted a few posts up.

That looks at lot like what we saw with Lebron- not PG.


We r supposed to believe that a random dude on LG knows someone from KL’s group?


Believe what you want.

We saw similar stuff with Lebron. SDLaker doesn’t seem like he’s one of these wanna-be insiders who’s starving for attention. He seems like a solid poster who happens to know someone who’s got some info.

IIRC, the stuff his friend has told him about KL in the past turned out to be accurate.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:12 pm    Post subject:

If we can't land Kawhi, Klay or Durant next summer then we're better served by adding complementary pieces on reasonable contracts to surround the team, rather than overspending on a guy like Butler.

Assuming Deng is gone, split $30M between Vucevic and KCP; split the other $11M between Rondo and a guy like Ed Davis.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:15 pm    Post subject:

Batguano wrote:
MikeHoncho wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
golakersgo121 wrote:
dubaholic1 wrote:
Kawhi Leonard is never coming to the LAkers now that Lebron is here.

KL said it himself. He does not want to play on a super team.

Personally I much rather would have preferred to have KL over Lebron, if I had to choose.



I probably missed that interview


Source

Take it for what it's worth.


Playing with one other star does not constitute a super team.


Lol.

You conveniently skip over the part that says...

"I don't think he's jumping for joy that LeBron James is in L.A. with the Lakers. If anything, that's going to make him look, maybe more, toward the Clippers because this is a guy that won Finals MVP against LeBron James. You think he's amped up and wants to join LeBron now? I think that's been overstated."


Now, the report may be BS, but Shams (like Woj) is usually pretty good about these sorts of things.


Funny you mentioned Woj because the day after Sham’s report, Woj came out on his podcast and said the opposite.

Woj said that Kawhi is now less motivated to join the Clippers after LeBron had signed with the Lakers and that Lakers are still Kawhi’s preferred destination:

Quote:

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1014856605316329472?s=21



So unless we hear it straight from Kawhi’s own mouth, no one really knows what Kawhi really wants.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:18 pm    Post subject:

Hasn't the myth he won't play in TOR been debunked already by him posing with Masai pic?
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:22 pm    Post subject:

Big Shot Bob wrote:
If we can't land Kawhi, Klay or Durant next summer then we're better served by adding complementary pieces on reasonable contracts to surround the team, rather than overspending on a guy like Butler.

Assuming Deng is gone, split $30M between Vucevic and KCP; split the other $11M between Rondo and a guy like Ed Davis.


Would you really rather pay Vucevic and KCP a combined $30M than Jimmy Butler, a bonafide top-20 guy, $30M?

Jimmy isn’t my first choice next summer, but he’d be infinitely better than overpaying Vooch and KCP.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:28 pm    Post subject:

Hero Ball wrote:
Hasn't the myth he won't play in TOR been debunked already by him posing with Masai pic?


Presumably. Regardless, I had a hard time believing he would refuse to show up and play. Doesn’t make sense for him, even selfishly.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:31 pm    Post subject:

numero-ocho wrote:
This whole deep dive into the mind of Kawhi Leonard is just hilarious. [/i]


LOL! What else are we gonna speculate about until October?
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:36 pm    Post subject:

Rubin wrote:
Hero Ball wrote:
Hasn't the myth he won't play in TOR been debunked already by him posing with Masai pic?


Presumably. Regardless, I had a hard time believing he would refuse to show up and play. Doesn’t make sense for him, even selfishly.


He could have made a stand and TOR would have been wheeling and dealing, instead he decided to warm up in a cold place.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:58 pm    Post subject:

Saw him in a grocery store in San Diego today, it was pretty crazy. Walked by him and didn't notice at first He was keeping super lowkey and a lot of people seemed to not know who he was. I went up to him and he said no photos, and to keep it on the DL that he was in the store so that people don't come up to him...I guess he really doesn't like the attention at all
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Rubin
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:03 pm    Post subject:

Hero Ball wrote:
Rubin wrote:
Hero Ball wrote:
Hasn't the myth he won't play in TOR been debunked already by him posing with Masai pic?


Presumably. Regardless, I had a hard time believing he would refuse to show up and play. Doesn’t make sense for him, even selfishly.


He could have made a stand and TOR would have been wheeling and dealing, instead he decided to warm up in a cold place.


I mean, he could have, but I don’t think that was ever a real possibility. The guy is under contract. Holding out would be extremely foolish and low-class.

He can make it clear he doesn’t want to be there while still being a professional.
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LakerLogic
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:11 pm    Post subject:

I think we are all a bit gun shy after PG fiasco but I think Leonard is more serious about coming to the LA and the Lakers.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:20 pm    Post subject:

LakerLogic wrote:
I think we are all a bit gun shy after PG fiasco but I think Leonard is more serious about coming to the LA and the Lakers.


To that point: remember within hours of the trade last summer, PG posted a pic of Westbrook and himself on IG. Then once he got there, not a day went by when he didn’t tell a reporter how much he was enjoying it and how it checked all the boxes he wanted.

This situatiom with Kawhi feels MUCH different. Admittedly it’s still very early and lots can change, but he certainly seems far more likely than PG did.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:29 pm    Post subject:

Man you guys are depressing. No matter how much things get better, you always find something to be negative about. If he comes great! If he doesn't, we move on and will be fine.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:40 pm    Post subject:

Rubin wrote:
Hero Ball wrote:
Rubin wrote:
Hero Ball wrote:
Hasn't the myth he won't play in TOR been debunked already by him posing with Masai pic?


Presumably. Regardless, I had a hard time believing he would refuse to show up and play. Doesn’t make sense for him, even selfishly.


He could have made a stand and TOR would have been wheeling and dealing, instead he decided to warm up in a cold place.


I mean, he could have, but I don’t think that was ever a real possibility. The guy is under contract. Holding out would be extremely foolish and low-class.

He can make it clear he doesn’t want to be there while still being a professional.


The professional thing to do is be direct and honest.

Posing for that Masai pic while having no intentions on playing for them is a deceitful act.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:46 pm    Post subject:

Hero Ball wrote:
Rubin wrote:
Hero Ball wrote:
Rubin wrote:
Hero Ball wrote:
Hasn't the myth he won't play in TOR been debunked already by him posing with Masai pic?


Presumably. Regardless, I had a hard time believing he would refuse to show up and play. Doesn’t make sense for him, even selfishly.


He could have made a stand and TOR would have been wheeling and dealing, instead he decided to warm up in a cold place.


I mean, he could have, but I don’t think that was ever a real possibility. The guy is under contract. Holding out would be extremely foolish and low-class.

He can make it clear he doesn’t want to be there while still being a professional.


The professional thing to do is be direct and honest.

Posing for that Masai pic while having no intentions on playing for them is a deceitful act.



If he plays 0 games this season whether it is because of health or unhappiness with being in Toronto, will the Lakers offer him a max contract next summer?
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