Lakers OFF-SEASON IS A WRAP

nycknicks105 said:

I see Westbrook possibly coming to the Lakers, but not so sure about KD. Seems like he's going back home to DC.

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nycknicks105 said:

I see Westbrook possibly coming to the Lakers, but not so sure about KD. Seems like he's going back home to DC.

A team with Boogie, LMA and Westbrook is pretty awesome.

Jeez, how do you guys retool so quickly? What kind of sorcery you guys got going on?

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KingJaffeJo said:

So where are these reports that LMA is coming to us this summer in FA???? Or is everyone in here assuming things.

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KingJaffeJo said:

So where are these reports that LMA is coming to us this summer in FA???? Or is everyone in here assuming things.

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ComptonPrince said:

Who y'all want Love or LMA?

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ComptonPrince said:

Who y'all want Love or LMA?

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nycknicks105 said:

Jeez, how do you guys retool so quickly? What kind of sorcery you guys got going on?

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Lakers Drawing Closer to Drafting D'Angelo Russell to Lead Team into Next Era

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — If the Los Angeles Lakers draft Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell on Thursday night, as is the increasing likelihood, it will be for one simple reason.

They believe he is a star.

Although the Lakers respect Jahlil Okafor's size and skill (his defensive potential, not so much), momentum and consensus have been growing in the front office that Russell, not Okafor, is the special one.

It's not really so much the shift of the modern game toward the perimeter. This massive decision was always going to be about specific individuals, not the positions they play, and the vibe from Russell has been that he fits the mold of a leader, a winner and a Laker.

It didn't help that, according to team sources, Okafor's second predraft workout with the Lakers was a distinct drop-off from the first—whereas Russell was channeling Stephen Curry's velvety stroke in his follow-up workout with the team.

As trite as it might sound given Curry's unquestioned popularity as MVP and champion right now, the Lakers believe the comparison is legit.

And they love that Russell freely puts it forth. "I see a great resemblance," he said of himself and Curry after his first Lakers workout.

Russell's magical pass-or-shoot feel for the five-on-five dance and the two-inch height advantage he has on Curry make it easy to envision Russell fitting right in with all the NBA guards of this generation who dictate play.

But the idea that he will be better than the rest is why the Lakers have come around more toward him than Okafor.

Possessing a slight build, like Curry, Russell comes from the land of the underrated and overlooked. His own family never even projected he'd be good enough to turn pro after one college season.

Russell has been under the radar, having struggled to find the proper point guard platform to showcase all he can do until his one brilliant season at Ohio State. Despite not being as heralded as many prep prospects, Russell somehow has managed to build the ideal sort of confidence, one that he is perfectly willing and able to articulate. It's a trait that draws people to him.

And while Russell sees a comparison to Curry in his work ethic, it is that sense of charisma where the comparison is clearest. And it's that kind of charisma that has helped memories of Russell's 4-of-17 shooting debacle against Mitch Kupchak's alma mater, North Carolina, fade.

Ultimately, it will be the Lakers general manager's call with the No. 2 overall pick. As Kupchak said, "It doesn't have to be a consensus. Really, it's going to be my decision, with the support of ownership."

As of Thursday morning, the possibility also existed that the Lakers can put a deal in place with the Sacramento Kings, to be executed next month, to acquire disgruntled center DeMarcus Cousins using this No. 2 overall pick. But the Lakers' unwillingness to trade last year's seventh overall pick, Julius Randle, who has been an absolute beast already in summer workouts, makes it tough to see how a trade can happen.

Even if Randle and Okafor might not be the most sensible best frontcourt tandem, Russell would be a bold choice...particularly after Kupchak invoked the name of Michael Jordan as the example of when you might want to decline hard-to-find size in the draft and take a guard.

Jordan went No. 3. Chris Paul went No. 4. Dwyane Wade went No. 5.

Russell would be going No. 2.

And with all due respect to second-round find Jordan Clarkson—and no matter how much Randle has always revered Kobe Bryant—Russell would be the one expected to follow in a legend's footsteps, those of a guard with unrelenting drive.

Russell even made plain in an interview with Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski that he would relish the chance to come from Kobe's shadow and carry the Lakers' legacy.

Longtime Shaquille O'Neal fan Okafor wants that, too. But it's up to the Lakers to determine in whom they truly believe.

Passing on Okafor could lead to him dropping past the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3 and into the lap of Phil Jackson with the New York Knicks' No. 4 pick. That could be an even better situation for Okafor, his sublime post game being installed in Jackson's triangle offense the way O'Neal's once was.

But Russell wouldn't need to take any theoretical torch from Bryant.

Byron Scott's last season as an NBA player was spent tutoring a rookie Kobe. If Russell is the choice Thursday night, Bryant's farewell season would be spent in a similar fashion, sharing the backcourt with the symbol of the next Lakers era.

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denni5themenace said:

kind of find it funny that people are bashing duke for not producing any players in the pros, but are totally forgetting ohio state hasn't exactly produced much either.

to be honest, the only program i trust is kentucky

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MR J 858 said:

Ever hear of The World Wide Leader In Sports ?

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Essential1 said:

Take Okafor for Goodness Sake..

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Mamba MVP said:

[emoji]128529[/emoji][emoji]128551[/emoji][emoji]128545[/emoji][emoji]128544[/emoji]

Just take Jah you fools.

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ComptonPrince said:

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Mamba MVP said:

It's not like D'Lo is by far and away the better player, I don't even think he's better at all.

Guards are way easier to find than good big men are.

Russ is coming in 2017.

It's quite silly how a guy who's been the consensus #1 guy from his Jr year of high school up to laten Feb somehow has become an afterthought.

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Mamba MVP said:

It's not like D'Lo is by far and away the better player, I don't even think he's better at all.

Guards are way easier to find than good big men are.

Russ is coming in 2017.

It's quite silly how a guy who's been the consensus #1 guy from his Jr year of high school up to laten Feb somehow has become an afterthought.

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