- Feb 5, 2013
- 39,364
- 40,821
**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by licensed to ball,
- Start date
- Sep 5, 2010
- 92,811
- 129,125
Trae missed last game so you know what that means.
- Sep 5, 2010
- 92,811
- 129,125
You can make trades to incrementally improve (without giving up 2027/2029) or set up for next season.
- May 17, 2007
- 25,132
- 23,960
We have a lot of 2nd rounders we can trade. There are a lot of good trades to make.
Rob just isn’t good at it.
Rob just isn’t good at it.
- Sep 19, 2012
- 7,730
- 10,704
There are probably some trades that the team can make, but this isn’t the time of the year where any deals are normally made.
- May 17, 2007
- 25,132
- 23,960
I’m not saying they have a make a trade today. It must be done before the deadline though.
None of these teams in the west are that good.
None of these teams in the west are that good.
- Jan 18, 2006
- 40,372
- 45,126
Getting rid of Bev and Nunn would for sure make us better but who takes them and what do we get back?
We are screaming trade and saying Rob sucks but I have seen any trade posted in here that makes sense.
We are screaming trade and saying Rob sucks but I have seen any trade posted in here that makes sense.
MVP
Supporter
- Feb 28, 2008
- 83,036
- 85,628
Imagine any other teams supposed best player getting this pass. Man, what?
darthska
Staff member
- Apr 30, 2004
- 46,983
- 31,608
It bottles my mind that people still think we should build around him.
- Jan 18, 2006
- 40,372
- 45,126
What other star gets to miss 30 to 40% of the teams games every year and gets a pass for it?
Giannis, Joker, Joel....they ain't getting that pass.
MVP
Supporter
- Feb 28, 2008
- 83,036
- 85,628
We're more handicapped by his *** not being available to play for damn near half the games the last few seasons. And yes it's kinda his job to play at an MVP level cause his talent warrants it. He's only done that for a season and a month since getting traded here.
- Apr 24, 2006
- 18,754
- 13,106
Rob is so good at getting players no one else wants. Add Beverly to that list
- Sep 19, 2012
- 7,730
- 10,704
- Sep 19, 2012
- 7,730
- 10,704
- Feb 5, 2013
- 39,364
- 40,821
i dont see myrie or miles bridges on our team
- Feb 17, 2019
- 16,717
- 17,709
Additionally....Rumor has it there's folks out there, aka GM's, who don't like working with Pelinka, which goes back to his days as an agent
- Jan 2, 2010
- 82,792
- 118,328
I see your 30-40% and raise you 50-60%
And the answer is…
I was bout to say.
Kawhi been getting that pass for like 4 years
- Sep 5, 2010
- 92,811
- 129,125
- Feb 29, 2000
- 88,762
- 47,972
hope lebron can atleast get a win for his birthday today
- Jan 18, 2006
- 40,372
- 45,126
Remember I said Trades that make sense...
Not the nonsense he posts.
- Sep 19, 2012
- 7,730
- 10,704
Of course I’m joking
MVP
Supporter
- Feb 28, 2008
- 83,036
- 85,628
With LeBron James’ 38th birthday approaching, he was asked an open-ended question about the current scope of his mindset.
His answer revealed what has clearly been bubbling for weeks.
“I have multiple thoughts,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 112-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday. “I think about the day-to-day of how we get better throughout the course of the season. But how we get better from game to game. I think about how much longer I’m going to play the game. I think about that I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level from a team aspect. I’ll still be able to compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces.”
It’s apparent, based on both the results (the Lakers are 14-21 and 13th in the West) and James’ recently critical postgame remarks, that James doesn’t believe the Lakers have the right pieces to maximize his skill set and compete for a championship this season.
James, who turned 38 on Friday, has become increasingly direct about his dissatisfaction with the Lakers’ struggles. He intentionally mentioned his future — both in the NBA and as a Laker. His well-known desire for the organization to upgrade the roster, already lurking beneath the surface of the season, has emerged since Anthony Davis’ right foot injury two weeks ago.
When James speaks, it is calculated. His voice carries more weight than arguably any athlete in North American sports. And he’s been applying pressure through his media availabilities.
He’s making it clear that despite the perception that winning isn’t his priority in Los Angeles, he still deeply cares about competing for championships as his career winds down.
“I’m a winner and I want to win,” James said. “And I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships. That has always been my passion, that has always been my goal since I entered the league as an 18-year-old kid out of Akron, Ohio. And I know it takes steps to get there, but once you get there and know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA. It’s not in my DNA anymore.”
When James signed an extension with the Lakers on Aug. 17, the assumption was that he was prioritizing lifestyle, convenience and financial security — not basketball.
The Lakers were coming off a 33-49 season in which they missed the Play-In Tournament. The disastrous Russell Westbrook trade limited the team’s ability to markedly improve the roster. If James wanted to compete for titles, the thinking went, he’d likely have to go elsewhere.
James has strategically used contracts to his advantage over his franchise in the past, most notably during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But he’s taken a different route in Los Angeles, signing longer-term deals and refraining from some of his previous strong-arming tactics. By signing the extension, James essentially punted on his leverage over the organization. He could no longer force them to make a trade (if he even could in the first place).
James is slated to be a Laker through at least the 2023-24 season, with the opportunity to become a free agent during the 2024 offseason if he declines an estimated $50.6-million player option. He’s ineligible to be traded this season because of the timing of the extension.
In that sense, James can voice his displeasure as much as he wants, but he is fundamentally trapped — at least through the rest of this season — due to mistakes made by both him and the Lakers.
James had a heavy hand in the Westbrook deal — a move that everyone has retroactively tried to wipe their hands clean from — and has signed off on a lot of the team’s previous moves. Nearly half of the Lakers’ roster shares the same representation as James (Klutch Sports). The benefits have outweighed the cons, of course, highlighted by the Davis trade and the James- and Davis-led 2020 NBA championship. But there have been some decisions that haven’t panned out (Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker) and it has cost the Lakers precious roster-building resources.
On the Lakers’ side, they haven’t held up their end of the bargain this season (or last season, for that matter). The 2021-22 and 2022-23 supporting casts have been much worse than the 2019-20 and 2020-21 versions, featuring smaller players who are both worse defenders and shooters. Los Angeles had limited means to enhance the roster without making a trade — and they haven’t yet.
The Lakers decided not to move Westbrook ahead of the season, and now appear likely to either sit out the deadline entirely or make a move closer to Feb. 9 — at which point the Lakers could realistically be a half-dozen games (or more) out of the Play-In Tournament mix depending on Davis’ health.
Their inactivity has looked worse in recent weeks as a quote from Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka at the team’s media day has resurfaced. Pelinka said that the Lakers were planning to honor James’ commitment to the franchise with a commitment of their own to upgrade the roster and help build a contender.
“Let me be abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game, and he committed to us on a long-term contract, a three-year contract,” Pelinka said. “So, of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals to give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organization. That’s got to be a bilateral commitment, and it’s there.”
Pelinka mentioned the possibility of trading the organization’s first-round draft picks (2027 and/or 2029) unprompted. The question he was responding to was regarding Westbrook’s future and the Lakers’ commitment to their polarizing star point guard. It wouldn’t make sense to bring up that possibility if it wasn’t something the Lakers were strongly considering internally.
At the same time, Pelinka, shortly after in the same response, clarifed that the Lakers are going to be judicious in their pursuit of an upgrade via trade.
“You have one shot to make a trade with multiple picks,” Pelinka said. “So if you make that trade, and I’m not talking about one particular player on our team, but it has to be the right one. You only get one shot to do it. So we’re being very thoughtful around the decision on when and how to use draft capital in a way that will improve our roster. And again I started the question by saying we are committed to doing everything we can to put the best team around LeBron as long as it’s a smart trade, because of the limitations caused by the Stepien rule and the implications of that.”
Being in business with James has almost always meant focusing on the now — not the later — and removing the long-term thoughtfulness that Pelinka noted. The Lakers are trying to strike the right balance, but things have clearly tilted more toward the future, when James will be in his early 40s and the Lakers will likely be in a different phase of team-building (or at least building around Davis and/or another star).
That’s obviously been frustrating to James, who is still performing like a top-10 player in the league. This season, he’s averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game — numbers that are rarely seen after a player turns 30, let alone one who is approaching 40. James has upped his averages over the past eight games, posting 31.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists. James had a relatively slow start to the season by his standards, but he’s generally maintained the level of play necessary for a deep postseason run.
Additionally, he isn’t used to being on sub-.500 teams. From a win-loss perspective, James has never endured a rough patch like his five-year stint with the Lakers, which could feature three seasons in which he missed the postseason.
“I do know how much I put into the game,” James said. “I know how much I put into my body and my mind and things. But I kinda surprise myself sometimes, just at the level — when you look at the history of the game … It doesn’t seem like many have played at this level with this many years and this many miles and things on their resume. So I’m just — I’m just very humbled, at the same time. To be able just to play the game that I love still at this level and still be a focal point of opposing teams.
“When they look at who they’re going against, I’m still up there at the top of, ‘This is how we need to stop him or neutralize what he does,’ and things of that nature. That’s something I pride myself on, on being that level of player every single night when I’m on the floor.”
In a December interview with German journalist Maximilian Haupt, Lakers guard Dennis Schröder, speaking in German, said that James told him he wants to play for five to seven more years, up to age 45. Other than 45 being a nice, clean integer, it’s notable because James has long revered Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who is still playing in the NFL at 45.
James clarified he doesn’t have a number in mind in terms of seasons played or the age of retirement, but that it’ll come down to how competitive of a situation he’s in and if his mind feels rejuvenated.
“I don’t have a number,” James said. “I know as long as my mind stays in it, I can play at this level for a minute. Now, that’s up to my mind. My body is going to be OK because if my mind is into it, I will make sure my body is taken care of and I’ll continue to put in the work.”
Moving forward, the Lakers’ activity ahead of the trade deadline will likely be an inflection point of the James-Lakers partnership. Both parties have benefited from the relationship, with the 2020 title making this era a success, regardless of some of the recent embarrassing lows. But their desires might be diverging.
James has made his stance evident. He wants the Lakers to make a trade and upgrade the roster, to give him and Davis a legitimate shot to make noise in the postseason, almost certainly through the Play-In Tournament. Now, the pressure is on them to either honor their commitment to building the best possible roster — even if it comes at the expense of the franchise’s future draft capital — or to play hardball and call James’ bluff.
There isn’t much James can do other than express his frustration. He has committed through his 21st season, but he could push for a trade this summer —or the organization could pivot and trade him, though that is obviously less conceivable. James could also leave the Lakers in free agency in 2024 or, more dramatically, retire, though that seems unlikely given his stated preference to play with his eldest son, Bronny, who is eligible to play in the NBA in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are trying to properly balance their short- and long-term future. They haven’t made trades at the past two deadlines and there’s a growing likelihood that they pull off a hat trick, bowing out of the Feb. 9 deadline despite this being the worst start of any James-led Lakers season.
The Lakers are still awaiting clarity on Davis’ timeline, which will undoubtedly affect their approach. Then there is also the matter of which teams become sellers at the deadline, and what the price ultimately is for any difference-making players that become available. There is still plenty to sort through.
But what’s become clear is that the stakes are set: the Lakers’ decisions over the next six weeks could not only determine the rest of their season but their future fate with James.
“We’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years,” James said.
His answer revealed what has clearly been bubbling for weeks.
“I have multiple thoughts,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 112-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday. “I think about the day-to-day of how we get better throughout the course of the season. But how we get better from game to game. I think about how much longer I’m going to play the game. I think about that I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level from a team aspect. I’ll still be able to compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces.”
It’s apparent, based on both the results (the Lakers are 14-21 and 13th in the West) and James’ recently critical postgame remarks, that James doesn’t believe the Lakers have the right pieces to maximize his skill set and compete for a championship this season.
James, who turned 38 on Friday, has become increasingly direct about his dissatisfaction with the Lakers’ struggles. He intentionally mentioned his future — both in the NBA and as a Laker. His well-known desire for the organization to upgrade the roster, already lurking beneath the surface of the season, has emerged since Anthony Davis’ right foot injury two weeks ago.
When James speaks, it is calculated. His voice carries more weight than arguably any athlete in North American sports. And he’s been applying pressure through his media availabilities.
He’s making it clear that despite the perception that winning isn’t his priority in Los Angeles, he still deeply cares about competing for championships as his career winds down.
“I’m a winner and I want to win,” James said. “And I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships. That has always been my passion, that has always been my goal since I entered the league as an 18-year-old kid out of Akron, Ohio. And I know it takes steps to get there, but once you get there and know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA. It’s not in my DNA anymore.”
When James signed an extension with the Lakers on Aug. 17, the assumption was that he was prioritizing lifestyle, convenience and financial security — not basketball.
The Lakers were coming off a 33-49 season in which they missed the Play-In Tournament. The disastrous Russell Westbrook trade limited the team’s ability to markedly improve the roster. If James wanted to compete for titles, the thinking went, he’d likely have to go elsewhere.
James has strategically used contracts to his advantage over his franchise in the past, most notably during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But he’s taken a different route in Los Angeles, signing longer-term deals and refraining from some of his previous strong-arming tactics. By signing the extension, James essentially punted on his leverage over the organization. He could no longer force them to make a trade (if he even could in the first place).
James is slated to be a Laker through at least the 2023-24 season, with the opportunity to become a free agent during the 2024 offseason if he declines an estimated $50.6-million player option. He’s ineligible to be traded this season because of the timing of the extension.
In that sense, James can voice his displeasure as much as he wants, but he is fundamentally trapped — at least through the rest of this season — due to mistakes made by both him and the Lakers.
James had a heavy hand in the Westbrook deal — a move that everyone has retroactively tried to wipe their hands clean from — and has signed off on a lot of the team’s previous moves. Nearly half of the Lakers’ roster shares the same representation as James (Klutch Sports). The benefits have outweighed the cons, of course, highlighted by the Davis trade and the James- and Davis-led 2020 NBA championship. But there have been some decisions that haven’t panned out (Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker) and it has cost the Lakers precious roster-building resources.
On the Lakers’ side, they haven’t held up their end of the bargain this season (or last season, for that matter). The 2021-22 and 2022-23 supporting casts have been much worse than the 2019-20 and 2020-21 versions, featuring smaller players who are both worse defenders and shooters. Los Angeles had limited means to enhance the roster without making a trade — and they haven’t yet.
The Lakers decided not to move Westbrook ahead of the season, and now appear likely to either sit out the deadline entirely or make a move closer to Feb. 9 — at which point the Lakers could realistically be a half-dozen games (or more) out of the Play-In Tournament mix depending on Davis’ health.
Their inactivity has looked worse in recent weeks as a quote from Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka at the team’s media day has resurfaced. Pelinka said that the Lakers were planning to honor James’ commitment to the franchise with a commitment of their own to upgrade the roster and help build a contender.
“Let me be abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game, and he committed to us on a long-term contract, a three-year contract,” Pelinka said. “So, of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals to give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organization. That’s got to be a bilateral commitment, and it’s there.”
Pelinka mentioned the possibility of trading the organization’s first-round draft picks (2027 and/or 2029) unprompted. The question he was responding to was regarding Westbrook’s future and the Lakers’ commitment to their polarizing star point guard. It wouldn’t make sense to bring up that possibility if it wasn’t something the Lakers were strongly considering internally.
At the same time, Pelinka, shortly after in the same response, clarifed that the Lakers are going to be judicious in their pursuit of an upgrade via trade.
“You have one shot to make a trade with multiple picks,” Pelinka said. “So if you make that trade, and I’m not talking about one particular player on our team, but it has to be the right one. You only get one shot to do it. So we’re being very thoughtful around the decision on when and how to use draft capital in a way that will improve our roster. And again I started the question by saying we are committed to doing everything we can to put the best team around LeBron as long as it’s a smart trade, because of the limitations caused by the Stepien rule and the implications of that.”
Being in business with James has almost always meant focusing on the now — not the later — and removing the long-term thoughtfulness that Pelinka noted. The Lakers are trying to strike the right balance, but things have clearly tilted more toward the future, when James will be in his early 40s and the Lakers will likely be in a different phase of team-building (or at least building around Davis and/or another star).
That’s obviously been frustrating to James, who is still performing like a top-10 player in the league. This season, he’s averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game — numbers that are rarely seen after a player turns 30, let alone one who is approaching 40. James has upped his averages over the past eight games, posting 31.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists. James had a relatively slow start to the season by his standards, but he’s generally maintained the level of play necessary for a deep postseason run.
Additionally, he isn’t used to being on sub-.500 teams. From a win-loss perspective, James has never endured a rough patch like his five-year stint with the Lakers, which could feature three seasons in which he missed the postseason.
“I do know how much I put into the game,” James said. “I know how much I put into my body and my mind and things. But I kinda surprise myself sometimes, just at the level — when you look at the history of the game … It doesn’t seem like many have played at this level with this many years and this many miles and things on their resume. So I’m just — I’m just very humbled, at the same time. To be able just to play the game that I love still at this level and still be a focal point of opposing teams.
“When they look at who they’re going against, I’m still up there at the top of, ‘This is how we need to stop him or neutralize what he does,’ and things of that nature. That’s something I pride myself on, on being that level of player every single night when I’m on the floor.”
In a December interview with German journalist Maximilian Haupt, Lakers guard Dennis Schröder, speaking in German, said that James told him he wants to play for five to seven more years, up to age 45. Other than 45 being a nice, clean integer, it’s notable because James has long revered Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who is still playing in the NFL at 45.
James clarified he doesn’t have a number in mind in terms of seasons played or the age of retirement, but that it’ll come down to how competitive of a situation he’s in and if his mind feels rejuvenated.
“I don’t have a number,” James said. “I know as long as my mind stays in it, I can play at this level for a minute. Now, that’s up to my mind. My body is going to be OK because if my mind is into it, I will make sure my body is taken care of and I’ll continue to put in the work.”
Moving forward, the Lakers’ activity ahead of the trade deadline will likely be an inflection point of the James-Lakers partnership. Both parties have benefited from the relationship, with the 2020 title making this era a success, regardless of some of the recent embarrassing lows. But their desires might be diverging.
James has made his stance evident. He wants the Lakers to make a trade and upgrade the roster, to give him and Davis a legitimate shot to make noise in the postseason, almost certainly through the Play-In Tournament. Now, the pressure is on them to either honor their commitment to building the best possible roster — even if it comes at the expense of the franchise’s future draft capital — or to play hardball and call James’ bluff.
There isn’t much James can do other than express his frustration. He has committed through his 21st season, but he could push for a trade this summer —or the organization could pivot and trade him, though that is obviously less conceivable. James could also leave the Lakers in free agency in 2024 or, more dramatically, retire, though that seems unlikely given his stated preference to play with his eldest son, Bronny, who is eligible to play in the NBA in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are trying to properly balance their short- and long-term future. They haven’t made trades at the past two deadlines and there’s a growing likelihood that they pull off a hat trick, bowing out of the Feb. 9 deadline despite this being the worst start of any James-led Lakers season.
The Lakers are still awaiting clarity on Davis’ timeline, which will undoubtedly affect their approach. Then there is also the matter of which teams become sellers at the deadline, and what the price ultimately is for any difference-making players that become available. There is still plenty to sort through.
But what’s become clear is that the stakes are set: the Lakers’ decisions over the next six weeks could not only determine the rest of their season but their future fate with James.
“We’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years,” James said.
- Mar 24, 2001
- 44,833
- 66,536
If the front office doesn't care about this season then why should the fans?
MVP
Supporter
- Feb 28, 2008
- 83,036
- 85,628
