**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

619destroyer858 said:
and The Lakers Mentality,"we dont REBUILD we RE-LOAD"
Click to expand...
This is true. But this isn’t the worst team we had. This is the best team with the biggest upside.

This was the worst team. I don’t mind waiting
5EBC368E-CDF3-4E3E-AE20-38D5E4185D67.jpeg
 
This year’s team fully healthy for 82 would have won 45 games. We were ROLLIN before IT Zo Hart and BI went down

Damn.
 
Just so I'm clear, is Kawhi not available after next season? :lol:


You guys are making it sound like he MUST be traded.
 
As long as we get better and are competitive each season. I’m cool with waiting 2-3 more years.

Hell we would have made the playoffs this year if it wasn’t for imjuries
 
There's not even a guarantee Kawhi is available this summer. Spurs are going to likely offer him 219 million. We'll see if he has the fortitude to walk away from that.
 
MVP said:
There's not even a guarantee Kawhi is available this summer. Spurs are going to likely offer him 219 million. We'll see if he has the fortitude to walk away from that.
Click to expand...

We don't know that though. We don't know what the status of Kawhi's relationship with the organization is. Also, the Spurs are known for wanting their stars to take discounts, I don't think its a guarantee that they're gonna offer him a 5 year/$220 mil contract
 
So what happens when we trade players and assets for him, the team isn’t nearly as good as expected and he pulls a Dwight Howard and dips after one season?
 
Y’all think FO dumb enough to get Kawhi without assurances he’ll re-sign? Lol I guess it’s possible
 
Video of interviews, courtesy of /u/CaCHooKaMan:




Julius Randle:

  • Julius Randle said Magic and Rob Pelinka congratulated him on his play throughout the season. They told him they’ll "be in contact with my agent" about what comes next.
  • Playing all 82 games was “really good” for Randle. He credited all the work he did with his trainer in the offseason for steeling his body to be able to go through an entire NBA season without missing a game.
  • Randle: “I feel like there’s so much room for me to grow as a player and build on what I did this season.”
  • Randle on upcoming (restricted) free agency and if he wants to stay with the team that drafted him: “I love it here. It’d be amazing to be here, and hopefully both sides can come to something."
  • Randle: "I have a foundation for how I want to play. Everybody has tendencies. Probably 2/3 years ago, Kobe told me, if you want to be ungaurdable, the trick is for everyone to know what you want to do and you still can’t stop it. I have my foundation and I can build off that."
  • Julius' thank you message: https://streamable.com/a8vbw


Brandon Ingram:

  • Magic and Pelinka’s message to Ingram: “How this could be a big offseason for me especially. Transformation of my body. How I could see myself next year and how we play. And of course trying to make the playoffs.”
  • Brandon Ingram says he saw himself "grow" over the course of the season. Wished he could've played a bit more, though #Lakers
  • Brandon Ingram said his season was a process of learning what he needed to do on both ends of the floor, but that “I felt myself getting better each and every game. I saw myself grow over the season."
  • Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma discuss the Lakers' future semi-often. “Me and Kuz have talked about it before. He talks about it the most," Ingram said.
  • “I think I fit in fine” Ingram said smiling when asked about fitting in with big name free agents.
  • Brandon Ingram said he has the confidence that he’ll turn into an All-NBA level player. Believes he can continue to be “A two-way player, a guy who can do everything on the basketball floor.”
  • Brandon Ingram doesn't believe free agency rumors distracted the team. “I don’t think it was ever distracting. I rarely heard guys in the locker room talking about it. We continued to play the way we played," he said.
  • Brandon Ingram, now meeting with reporters, said adding strength was brought up at his exit meeting. “This could be a big off-season for me, especially the transformation of my body,” he said.
  • How does Ingram close the gap on the two-way All-Star players of today? “How I can be consistent. Being the same guy every night. Knowing the moves (I want to go to). Having the effort and energy every single night.”
  • Ingram on the Kuz vs. Ball feud on social media: “I think I’ll go with Kyle.”
  • Brandon Ingram on who should shoot with the game on the line: "Maybe whoever is hot...At that time I would like that chance to shoot that shot."
  • BI says thank you: https://streamable.com/6haxp


Brook Lopez:

  • Brook Lopez, a free agent, on L.A.: “I love what’s going on here. A great foundation. A lot to be said for continuity as well. I think when we were healthy, we could compete with anyone on any given night. I think it’s a great place to be moving forward for any free agent."
  • Brook Lopez: “I think this is a great place to be going forward. Not just for myself but any free agent looking to sign somewhere.”
  • Brook Lopez on the Lakers young care: “Look at what (three) rookies and a second-year guy did for this team was astonishing, really. When you have that kind of foundation playing with the right kind of mentality (where it’s) about the team, it’s special."
  • “Yeah, I think so obviously. If that were the situation and it looked like the team was an absolute contender than that’s hard to pass up.” Lopez on taking less to play with the Lakers if they were a contender
  • "There’s going to be a lot of success in the future because of the way those guys approach the game. It’s not about me me me. They put team first. With that mentality and the talent they have, that’s how you build a championship team." -- Brook Lopez on Kuz/Zo/BI
  • Brook says thank you: https://streamable.com/cxp0h


Lonzo Ball:

  • Lonzo Ball on the message from Magic/Pelinka/Luke: "It’s the biggest summer of my life. Looking forward to it, ready to put in the work and get after it.” Added that he “definitely” needs to get stronger, and is looking forward to the work.
  • Ball on his shooting: “Just shoot it with confidence … just keep putting the work in.” Magic/Rob/Luke told him they're fine with his shot, they just want him to keep working.
  • Lonzo Ball: "You want to be a good shooter. You gotta shoot."
  • Lonzo said that his main focus this summer is scoring from all levels, especially off of the pick & roll.
  • Lonzo says he doesn’t plan on changing his shot form this summer: “I’ve been shooting this way my whole life.”
  • Lonzo says he never told Lavar to be quiet after his critical comments about Luke Walton in January, just quieted down on his own.
  • Ball asked if he was surprised that he played well defensively as a rookie: “No. I know I can play defense. It’s all about heart."
  • Lonzo on playing without Ingram: “Brandon made a huge jump ... he’s motivation for me to how much this summer will help ... I loved playing with B.I.”
  • Lonzo Ball on summer league: "They want me to play I’ll play."
  • Lonzo Ball on LeBron James, Paul George, and anyone else watching the Lakers: “If they liked it, they liked it. If they didn’t, they didn’t.”
  • Ball is excited about the future with this young core. He’ll be in the gym with Ingram, Kuzma, Hart and Co., just like he was last summer, and thinks he will really benefit from the knowledge of what it actually takes to play an NBA season.
  • Zo: "The way I play is just to help my team win. ... Whether it be LeBron, Paul George, whoever. If they liked it they liked it. If they didn’t, they didn’t. I can’t do anything about it now."
  • Lonzo thanks the fans: https://streamable.com/cmqed


Kyle Kuzma:

  • "I really wanted to prove that I could be at this level, prove that I belonged. Over the course of the season I think I did that."
  • Kuzma will work on more than just PF skills this summer, having gotten some time on the wing, he'll also be working on guard skills
  • Kyle Kuzma thinks the young Lakers have shown themselves to be legit moving forward: “If guys want to come here, they come, but if not, we’re not depending on that. We want to be those great players, max level guys. We just think about how can we make the team better.”
  • Kyle Kuzma: "Who wouldn't want to play in LA? There's women here. Sunshine, you know."
  • Kuzma on the message from Magic, Pelinka and Walton: “They don’t want me to be average, they want me to be a great player, as I want to be. The message was work as hard as possible.”
  • Kuzma said he's not sure if he's gonna play in Summer League.
  • "If guys want to come here they come. If now we’re not, per se, depending on that. We want to be those great players. We want to be those max level guys."
  • Kyle Kuzma on Lonzo Ball's plan for the summer: “I think he’s going to attack. No matter who comes here, everything is going to fall on his head. For him and us, we all know he has to bring it next year. And he will for sure.”
  • "I kind of have to because Lonzo is 14 and BI has said 10 words all year. I’m the most vocal out of everybody. I feel like I can start helping them develop being talkative being loud and talking about things." - Kyle Kuzma on speaking up
  • Kuzma on trying to be an all-around player: “I’ve never really been a numbers guy … I like to score, for sure … but my main thing is I want to win. I want to be a complete player. All the top guys are complete players, and if I’m not, I won’t be there.”
  • Kuz says thank you: https://streamable.com/k8dbp


Tyler Ennis:

  • Lmao like you're actually interested in this. Bathroom break.


Josh Hart:

  • When you're doing exit interviews but you know Fortnite is waiting to be played at home
  • Josh is rocking a “Shoot Hoops, Not Guns” shirt
  • Josh Hart: “We played hard, we competed. I think that was the biggest thing. As a whole, I think that was successful. We’ve got a lot of momentum going into the offseason and next year.”
  • Josh Hart: "I want to be on the court and I want to win. If you play defense, if you can rebound, knock down shots and play make, you’re always going to be on the court."
  • Josh Hart said that he's "gonna work his butt off" at improving his on-ball game over the course of the summer.
  • Hart mentioned how much his parents have meant to him as being his collective “rock,” allowing him to focus on what he needs to and have confidence in himself.
  • Josh Hart talked about seeing an article early in the year that listed the "young core" as Ingram, Ball and Kuzma. A few months later he saw a similar story, nearly the same premise, except this time the young core included him. He liked that.
  • Josh Hart on pre-draft advice from his college coach, Jay Wright: “Don’t let anyone put a label on you. Don’t let anybody call you ‘just a 3 and D guy.'”
  • “I think Summer League would be a great chance to showcase what you’ve been working on the whole offseason.”
  • Quote on his team mates
  • Josh says thank you: https://streamable.com/d6box


Ivica Zubac:

  • Zubac was asked if he was disappointed with how this season went for him, and he said "a little bit, yeah." Said he was happy with how he played when he got into the rotation at the end of the season.
  • Zubac said the biggest thing front office wants him is to work on his body.
  • Very honest answer from Zubac, who said he had a lot of responsibility for how his year went, particularly early. Said he didn't prepare properly in the summer, and it cost him. Now he knows what it takes, and says it's his job not to let that happen again.


Thomas Bryant:

  • TB on altercation with Sam Dekker in Clippers game: "I'm just not gonna let anybody push me around."
  • Some areas Thomas Bryant wants to focus on this offseason: "Lateral quickness, core. Being in the best condition I can be in. Getting stronger as well."
  • Thomas Bryant said Lakers front office told him they see him as a four/five.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/8bud98/lakers_exit_interviews_2018/
 
I don't want to blow up the team or get rid of our young talent as much as any of you, all I am saying is we have options for once. Not saying I am for or against but it is something to think about. Yes, we could be giving up on a future allstar in the making, but having a finals MVP and top 5 defensive player in the league in return def makes up for it.

Does that benefit outweigh the risk? Does Magic have a trick up his sleeve? We will see....instead of trying to woooo FAs with the glamour of playing in LA, we show a ton of potential for once.
KL contract is 20 mil 2018-2019 and 21 mil 2019-2020 (PO)
deng contract is 18 mil 2018-2019 and 19 mil 2019-2020

only way I see this happening is if KL tells the front office I'm done with SA and I will only resign if I head home to LA. The outside chance of having KL, eLBJay, and PG13 on one team in this new NBA where positions really don't matter anymore is intriguing to say the least. Regardless, signing FAs, making trades, or staying put the future is bright fam.
 
Options and flexibility, that’s the name of the game and WE GOT THAT.

Plus young talent and draft picks.

Deng is the only thorn in our side
 
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