Random Thoughts, strictly Text

S

SunConjunctUranus

Well-known member
Were you aware that the Lakers had D’Angelo Russell but traded him? :devil:

It’s been a dream season for D’Angelo Russell on the eve of free agency. He made the all-star team in the East, he’s leading the Nets back to the NBA playoffs. He threw a signature performance onto the pile of goodness on Tuesday, too: Russell scored 27 in the fourth quarter to lead a 28-point Nets comeback on the road against the Kings to get Brooklyn back above .500.

Were you also aware that Russell was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but that Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka traded him to open up salary cap space eventually used for one-year rentals for Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Beasley, JaVale McGee, and Lance Stephenson? It’s true.

Russell finished with 44 overall, a career high. His thirst for buckets in the fourth was legitimately unquenchable: he shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 4-7 from behind the arc. And don’t get it twisted: the Kings weren’t tanking. They have no reason to do so, even though they’re are out of the playoff race in the West. Russell did this to De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield and the rest of the Kings starters, for the most part.

He didn’t do it himself, though. Jared Dudley hit the three to give the Nets the lead with a minute left. After Sacramento equalized, it was Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who hit the game-winning layup with a second left.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1108223434922835968

And then Russell talked that talk.

Embedded video

SportsCenter
✔
@SportsCenter
"I'M BUILT FOR THIS S---!" 🔥

Big mood after leading the largest comeback in team history

36.1K
11:50 AM - Mar 20, 2019
6,110 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Meanwhile, the Lakers lost to the Bucks by 14 to fall to 31-39 on the season.

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/3...russell-nets-comeback-kings-lakers-trade-gmib
 
S

SunConjunctUranus

Well-known member
Lakers need winning offseason to move forward

They’ll finish the season with a losing record and without a playoff spot as their legendary superstar deals with failure and their fan base does a collective head scratch over what went wrong and what size hammer just hit them.

But all that has happened to the Lakers in 2018-19 doesn’t qualify as devastation.

No, devastation will be if they have a dreadful summer.

Lost in the turmoil of getting swept by the Knicks, LeBron James' groin pull, Lonzo Ball's ankle sprain, Brandon Ingram's blood clot and fallout from the proposed Anthony Davis trade is the forgotten reality that the Lakers were never built to do anything special this season. Challenging for a championship or even reaching the conference finals was never the goal or purpose. This team wasn’t built that way. This was never a “win-now” project, as much as the noise perhaps led you to believe.

This was always a “win-in-July-2019” project.

This season was an embarrassment, nothing less and certainly nothing more. Missing out on the playoffs was unexpected, but not damaging in the big picture. All it did was give talk shows some meaty material, mainly because LeBron was involved and for the first time since 2006 the game’s best player won’t be in prime time this spring or summer. That’s all.

But if the Lakers lose big this summer, it could have far-reaching implications for LeBron, the franchise -- and all of it would be bad. There would be justifiable second-guessing, blown opportunities, broken promises, a front office under fire, maybe a strong reaction from owner Jeanie Buss and a fan base in uproar.

Most or all of the above will follow the Lakers into next season if they don’t win the offseason. Plenty is riding on president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka making the right moves to maximize the remaining three years on LeBron’s contract and make the Lakers title contenders. The Lakers do have certain factors in their favor -- ample cap space, the charms of LA, the presence of LeBron and just being a destination franchise -- and so it could work out.

There’s also a worst-case scenario that would be nightmarish for all involved should all of the following happen this summer:

Anthony Davis Isn’t Traded To The Lakers

The primary target in the Get Help For LeBron effort was always Davis, for understandable reasons. He’s a generational talent who’s still in his prime, he has already stated a desire to play for the Lakers and among superstars he’s unassuming and therefore probably the best fit to play in the shadow of LeBron, which can be overwhelming for some.

The drawback is Davis, unlike a handful of other A-list players, isn’t a free agent this summer. And while he has some leverage in where he plays next, the Pelicans own his rights for one more season and the ultimate decision rests with them.

Evidently, they believe they can get a better package for Davis than the Lakers offered at the trade deadline, perhaps because someone else whispered in their ear (cough ... Celtics, Knicks ... cough). The Pelicans are looking for a haul in order to save face and reshape a losing team and this summer buys them time and a clearer market.

The Lakers suffered a blow in the upcoming Davis auction when Ingram suffered his injury, which required surgery. Does that devalue Ingram to a degree in the eyes of New Orleans? Perhaps. And the Lakers don’t have anyone to replace him in any proposal, since Ingram was the centerpiece to any proposal.

The Lakers Don’t Get A Top-Three Draft Pick

The odds of them landing at or near the top spot in the June draft isn’t very high, and will be probably be less than 10 percent once the draft order is determined in May. It’s just that with a high pick, the Lakers will own an asset to keep or trade for Davis. If there was ever a team that could use a frozen envelope, it’s the Lakers. Oh, wait: The Knicks are back in the lottery, too. Never mind.

Kawhi Leonard Signs With The Clippers

This would qualify as a double-whammy. It would cross a free agent off the Lakers' list and meanwhile they’d watch him go to the crosstown Clippers. What’s more, it would mean Jerry West one-upped his former team. Make that a triple whammy, then.

Kevin Durant Re-Signs With The Warriors

Not only would the Lakers miss out on the top free agent on the market and someone who’s almost guarantee a changing of the guard in the West if not the NBA, KD staying with the Warriors would mean the Golden State dynasty continues. Therefore, even if the Lakers did get Davis (and strip themselves of a supporting cast in the process) they would still trail the Warriors in terms of star power.

Klay Thompson Re-Signs With The Warriors

This would be Durant Lite in terms of impact, but still.

Jimmy Butler And Kyrie Irving Sign With Anyone But The Lakers

He’s probably not a game-changing player and might not be the best fit next to LeBron. Still, while Butler isn’t the most attraction option, he is a good one, and maybe a necessary one if the Lakers strike out in other places. Butler would be better than nothing. Meanwhile, it’s hard to envision Irving reattaching himself to LeBron when he escaped LeBron three summers ago (and still hasn’t given a coherent reason for doing so).

And that’s it. Should the Lakers whiff on three or more of these players, times will get tense in L.A.. Yes, there are solid free agents such as Kemba Walker, Khris Middleton, DeMarcus Cousins and others available this summer, and Mike Conley could be available in a trade. Yet they qualify as fallback Plan B players, not gotta-have players.

Remember, the Lakers and Magic gambled heavily just to put themselves in position to seize the summer of 2019. They traded D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets because the Nets also agreed to take Timofey Mozgov’s massive contract (in addition to sending a No. 1 pick to LA which became Kyle Kuzma). They didn’t re-sign Julius Randle, their former lottery pick from two years ago. They also bailed on Lou Williams and traded promising young center Ivica Zubac, all because they didn’t want to commit to any long-term money beyond 2018. Well: Randle, Russell and Williams are having career years and Zubac might be a starter next season. Not to mention, Brook Lopez is succeeding on the best team in the East.

Suppose the Lakers did all that … and didn’t maximize the cap flexibility that came in return? It will have all been a waste, and a costly one at that.

Should the Lakers endure a summer to dismember, then they’ll be forced to scramble to pad the roster, pray that LeBron’s body won’t fail him again as he turns 35 and hope Ball, Ingram and Kuzma produce breakout seasons. That’s a lot of positive projections. It would be a best-case scenario on the heels of a worst-case scenario.

If you think the Lakers are catching hell now, well, a poor summer would mean there’d be hell to pay.[/SIZE]

https://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2019/03/23/lakers-need-winning-offseason-move-forward-54887
 
Y

ynnest

Well-known member
SunConjunctUranus said:
"Now with the help of God, I have discovered these matters which have been treasured up in darkness.

For my part, my plan—generous from the start—has been to preserve my exposition as secret and hidden, because of the multitude of the unworthy."

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/r/rileymt/Vettius Valens entire.pdf
Click to expand...

You know I have always liked frogs jumping onto leaves and then splashing into the rainforest lakes that sippers through the mountain passages.

Y
 
Y

ynnest

Well-known member
SunConjunctUranus said:
I just sleep with pluto though.
Click to expand...

Yeah and I love painting these amazing bordeaux paintings at my gallery in the northern hemispheres of the dry landscapes of the French little treasures with Neptune and Pluto combined in a wine glass made for one when I am singing Britney Spears "crazy" dancing on my pet bison named Joe. And so on and such.


Y
 
D

david starling

Well-known member
Dog/god
Mood/doom
Star/rats
Live/evil
Dab/bad
Level/level
Pots/stop
Deer/reed
May/yam
Bat/tab
Pan/nap
Time/emit
Now/won
Tub/but
Strap/parts
Golf/flog
Step/pets
Moor/room
Eros/sore
Ram/mar
Snip/pins
Snub/buns
 
Last edited:
Top