Yes, I feel the same way because we don't have homegrown talent (outside of Reaves and THT) and there's no real personal connection with the players. We are shifting in and transferring out players every year.
the FA age makes everything so fluid with personnel changing every season. Maybe its a mix of identifying "real laker" with someone playing hard and well, who happens to be on the team (a fan favorite?). Its funny that Dwight is viewed as a real Laker now, he was hated here just a few years ago. Hard play and effort makes up for alot.
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:03 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
Outspoken wrote:
activeverb wrote:
RusselDoeee01 wrote:
He said, I love my lakers but nobody on this team I see as real lakers… then proceeded with examples such as Kobe, magic, Shaq, Horry, Fisher…
That's an interesting perception.
Shaq took a team to the finals before he became a Laker, and he won a ring after he left the Lakers.
Horry won rings with teams before and after he was a Laker too.
Both of them were as much mercenary as anyone on the current squad. Both left here under angry circumstances.
Yet they are "real Lakers."
Yes, because we built a personal and emotional connection with them.
So winning a title dedicated to Kobe on the year he past and to tie Boston for the most did not build a personal or an emotional connection. Specially being a Kobe fan?
Hmmmmmm… Shaq, Horry, Kareem were not real Lakers before they started winning as Lakers.
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:25 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
activeverb wrote:
RusselDoeee01 wrote:
He said, I love my lakers but nobody on this team I see as real lakers… then proceeded with examples such as Kobe, magic, Shaq, Horry, Fisher…
That's an interesting perception.
Shaq took a team to the finals before he became a Laker, and he won a ring after he left the Lakers.
Horry won rings with teams before and after he was a Laker too.
Both of them were as much mercenary as anyone on the current squad. Both left here under angry circumstances.
Yet they are "real Lakers."
I get what he's saying. Pelinka churns the roster every year. 12 of these guys weren't here last year, and there's a good chance that most of them won't be here next year. Lebron and Westbrook won't be remembered as Lakers. Davis is the only guy on the roster who might end up being remembered as a Laker.
This is the consequence of turning the Lakers into the latest franchise for Team Lebron. This strikes different people in different ways. I was never comfortable with it. Other people were willing to accept anything to get past the malaise of the post-Kobe era. For some people, the bubble title justifies everything. For me, it was the minimum acceptable result, but that's about it. _________________ Internet Argument Resolved
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:53 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
Aeneas Hunter wrote:
Lebron and Westbrook won't be remembered as Lakers.
It depends on if they win any more titles, and on how long they continue playing.
Certainly we don't think of Jordan as a Wizard because he was a shell of himself and the Wizards were going no place. Ewing as a Sonic, or Hakeem as a Raptor is the same thing. But I would imagine a lot of people think of Wilt as a Laker even though it was a team he joined in his latter years. Kareem is certainly remembered as a Laker even though he won a title in Milwaukee.
Lebron still has a couple years left on his contract, and will likely extend beyond that while he chases Kareem. If he plays another three seasons that would be six seasons in a Lakers uniform. He won two titles with the Heat, one with the Cavs, and one with the Lakers.
For Westbrook it will depend on how long he remains a Laker. Unless they trade him (unlikely) he would only have been a Laker for two seasons and would certainly be remembered for his Thunder days. If the Lakers can win another title though and Westbrook plays for several more seasons, similar to Lebron the team he closes his career with and has the most success with might be the lasting memory.
I understand what you are saying. I feel less connection to this team than any Laker team in decades. I hope that having back Ariza (former Laker champion), THT (Laker draftee), Ellington (former Laker), and Nunn (promising young player who we can perhaps keep a long time) will help.
And also, let's try to remember that Russ played high school and college in L.A. and presumably was a Laker fan now returning home. Also that both LeBron and AD strongly wanted to come here.
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:53 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
J.C. Smith wrote:
But I would imagine a lot of people think of Wilt as a Laker even though it was a team he joined in his latter years. Kareem is certainly remembered as a Laker even though he won a title in Milwaukee.
Kareem played the majority of his career as a Laker. I'd be surprised if many people would regard Wilt as a Laker, except that his prime years as a Warrior and a Sixer were so early in the history of the league that there isn't a lot of footage of him in a Philadelphia or San Francisco uniform.
Maybe one day people will feel differently about Lebron and Westbrook, if they stay long enough. But I'm responding to the sentiment expressed by the OP. As of right now, they don't really feel like Lakers. Some people will feel differently, and that's fine. I get what the OP is saying, though. _________________ Internet Argument Resolved
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:11 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
RusselDoeee01 wrote:
My dad brought this up to me tonight and i resonated with it and was wondering if you guys feel the same.
He said, I love my lakers but nobody on this team I see as real lakers… then proceeded with examples such as Kobe, magic, Shaq, Horry, Fisher…
I do think our current team can win the title but I still don’t get the same feel with any of these players that they are actual lakers.
Is this a product of todays game or more so something else?
On the current roster, there maybe is only 2 players that give me that laker feel… melo and Dwight.
Tell your dad give them some more time. It took time but the real lakers loyalty your dad is looking depends on how LBJ, AD, RW stay as a Lakers and what they accomplish together. Trading players has always been with us, I love Eddie Jones, Nick the quick but we eventually traded them away. I consider those guys Real Lakers back then, but now just a former Lakers because of the event that happened.
Guys like Magic, Kobe, etc. are the exception, not the rule. Look at how many teams KD/LBJ have been on, and they are this generation's top 3 players (along with Steph, who is the exception too).
I wish we had homegrown talent, but at the end of the day, the best talent wins regardless of whether it was homegrown.
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:47 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
miggz23 wrote:
Outspoken wrote:
activeverb wrote:
RusselDoeee01 wrote:
He said, I love my lakers but nobody on this team I see as real lakers… then proceeded with examples such as Kobe, magic, Shaq, Horry, Fisher…
That's an interesting perception.
Shaq took a team to the finals before he became a Laker, and he won a ring after he left the Lakers.
Horry won rings with teams before and after he was a Laker too.
Both of them were as much mercenary as anyone on the current squad. Both left here under angry circumstances.
Yet they are "real Lakers."
Yes, because we built a personal and emotional connection with them.
So winning a title dedicated to Kobe on the year he past and to tie Boston for the most did not build a personal or an emotional connection. Specially being a Kobe fan?
Hmmmmmm… Shaq, Horry, Kareem were not real Lakers before they started winning as Lakers.
As a fan, we know Shaq, Horry, Kareem as Lakers. They spent most their career as a Laker. We re-live their monumental moments as a Laker. If the Lakers win this year, and Rob doesn't shift the roster around; like he does every year, then it may be different. but as it stands right now, we know Lebron mostly for Miami and Cleveland, AD mostly for the Pelicans, Melo mostly for the knicks, Westbrook mostly for OKC, Rondo for the Celtics......
Last edited by Outspoken on Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:52 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35857 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:49 am Post subject:
Yup. I have this same feeling.
LeBron is a Cav first and then a Heatle Threetle second. AD is a Pelican. Westbrook is a Thunder legend. Dwight will be remembered as a member of the Magic. Melo as a Nugget. Rondo as a Celtic. DeAndre Jordan as a Clipper.
Only player who feels like a “real” Laker is Ariza, and even he only played two of his first sixteen seasons with us.
It’s like a basketball supergroup of stars from other teams. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Fwiw if you get too attached to these players, not winning is even more painful. Guys like Malone, Stockton and Patrick Ewing played on the same team forever and never won anything. For a more modern example, the Clippers had CP3, Blake, DeAndre, etc. and never even made the third round.
We have Elgin Baylor in our team history. GREAT player no rings. West won a ring but it’s a major disappointment he didn’t win more with all the opportunities he got.
Those of us who are younger Laker fans are spoiled having seen the more recent stars win.
I see it the exact opposite actually. You draft a player, he has no choice but to play for your team. Who knows whether he really wants to be there. But these guys all chose to come to the Lakers. They wanted to be here, wanted to play for this team. I appreciate that greatly.
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144474 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:48 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
Aeneas Hunter wrote:
activeverb wrote:
RusselDoeee01 wrote:
He said, I love my lakers but nobody on this team I see as real lakers… then proceeded with examples such as Kobe, magic, Shaq, Horry, Fisher…
That's an interesting perception.
Shaq took a team to the finals before he became a Laker, and he won a ring after he left the Lakers.
Horry won rings with teams before and after he was a Laker too.
Both of them were as much mercenary as anyone on the current squad. Both left here under angry circumstances.
Yet they are "real Lakers."
I get what he's saying. Pelinka churns the roster every year. 12 of these guys weren't here last year, and there's a good chance that most of them won't be here next year. Lebron and Westbrook won't be remembered as Lakers. Davis is the only guy on the roster who might end up being remembered as a Laker.
This is the consequence of turning the Lakers into the latest franchise for Team Lebron. This strikes different people in different ways. I was never comfortable with it. Other people were willing to accept anything to get past the malaise of the post-Kobe era. For some people, the bubble title justifies everything. For me, it was the minimum acceptable result, but that's about it.
They make so many personnel changes that it takes 2 months of the season to figure out who is who. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 8:24 am Post subject: Re: Real Lakers
Aeneas Hunter wrote:
activeverb wrote:
RusselDoeee01 wrote:
He said, I love my lakers but nobody on this team I see as real lakers… then proceeded with examples such as Kobe, magic, Shaq, Horry, Fisher…
That's an interesting perception.
Shaq took a team to the finals before he became a Laker, and he won a ring after he left the Lakers.
Horry won rings with teams before and after he was a Laker too.
Both of them were as much mercenary as anyone on the current squad. Both left here under angry circumstances.
Yet they are "real Lakers."
I get what he's saying. Pelinka churns the roster every year. 12 of these guys weren't here last year, and there's a good chance that most of them won't be here next year. Lebron and Westbrook won't be remembered as Lakers. Davis is the only guy on the roster who might end up being remembered as a Laker.
This is the consequence of turning the Lakers into the latest franchise for Team Lebron. This strikes different people in different ways. I was never comfortable with it. Other people were willing to accept anything to get past the malaise of the post-Kobe era. For some people, the bubble title justifies everything. For me, it was the minimum acceptable result, but that's about it.
That's a good point.
We've gotten stars before, but Lebron is different. He already won three rings with other teams, and we knew the Lakers were just his latest pitstop. He's as much a brand as the Lakers are.
Shaq was sort of the same way, but he didn't have any real success before joining the Lakers and it wasn't quite as obvious how much of a mercenary he was at first.
I see it the exact opposite actually. You draft a player, he has no choice but to play for your team. Who knows whether he really wants to be there. But these guys all chose to come to the Lakers. They wanted to be here, wanted to play for this team. I appreciate that greatly.
Yep. A bunch of these guys aren’t just willing to join the Lakers, but are willing to make sacrifices for the team
AD’s starting at the 5 in the regular season. Westbrook is getting less touches night to night. Melo, Monk, Nunn etc all could’ve gotten bigger contracts. Rondo isn’t even in the rotation. These are guys that want the best for the Laker team
I might be biased because I never saw the Kobe/Shaq Lakers in their prime, but it feels like a real Laker team to me _________________ #18 next...
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