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On Tuesday, on the occasion of the revelation of the NBA's lottery order, it was expected that the Lakers would reach choice number 11. Instead, they jumped up to peak 4. It's was obviously a huge development and this could mean a new way for Anthony Davis to negotiate.
The Pelicans, who have surprisingly won the # 1 overall stand despite a chance of only six per cent, now have the rights to the # 1 spotlessly-tight selection, Zion Williamson, and they will surely use it as a new asset to try to convince Davis to stay in New Orleans. But if it does not work and the Pels eventually separate from Davis, do the Lakers suddenly have the best package?
If the Lakers had finished No. 11, as expected, it was not a much better commercial chip than the No. 14 choice that the Boston Celtics got on Tuesday. But No. 4 is a big difference from No. 14. Add to that the fact that Jayson Tatum has impressed no one with his playoff performance, let alone all the uncertainty surrounding Kyrie Irving and the possibility that he stays with Boston. and, suddenly, the Lakers package seems much better than it was perhaps at the trading deadline.
Do not look now, but the Lakers may end up doing things right. It was a full-fledged circus along the way, but here they are with LeBron James, a strong, young, polarizing core, the # 4 pick in this year's draft and plenty of room to add a free agent maximum this summer. Things could certainly be worse for a team that has just won 37 games. In fact, it's hard to see how things could be too good for a team that has just won 37 games.
Now, if they have the organizational skills to take advantage of this opportunity, that's another question. We will come back soon. For the moment, through the most optimistic goals, suppose the Lakers accept this free agent at the maximum level. Add to that number 4, and they will likely form one of the top four teams in the Western Conference.
"They would have been in the top four conversation [in the Western Conference] this year without injuries, "said a League scout recently at CBS Sports. Anyone who does not believe that it does not pay attention to them. "
We know that the class of free agents this summer is stacked. Kyrie Irving would have "had discussionsAbout the meeting with LeBron on the Lakers Jimmy Butler was eliminated in the second round and is a wild-card to return to Philadelphia Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker are present Kevin Durant is a shot from a distance, and Kawhi Leonard was more tied to the Clippers, but Leonard's interest in coming back to Los Angeles was well described, you put Kawhi with LeBron, forget him, he's a champion contender, and even the Lakers do not can not ruin everything.
Reaching a max player through a free agency is, of course, a big if. The Lakers are not considered the favorite of the big names. But even if that does not happen, the Lakers have many opportunities to go to a second star, even outside of Davis. That choice # 4 would look better for the Cavs, maybe for Kevin Love, or the Wizards for Bradley Beal, or maybe you're in Mike Conley's business with the Grizzlies winning the pick No. 2, which could mean keeping Ja Morant's future.
The LeBron James-for-Ben Simmons commercial rumor This will never happen, but a Simmons-centric package for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and a first-round pick should be considered by both sides.
Of course, all this would require clever and clever manipulation of many moving parts with great uncertainty, and the Lakers would have really proved that they were still stable enough with a team smart enough to make the decision to remove all that. of? A review of their recent front-office story would suggest no. In fact, with hindsight and a good deal of simple logic, the Lakers have done almost nothing good.
Where do we begin?
They gave Kobe Bryant a heap of money that was no good, a nice gesture for his years of service in the Hall of Fame, but a clear package for the following years. They awarded Magic Johnson a position on the iron throne for which he was unreservedly sad, if he was interested in one day doing the endless and incredibly complicated tasks of such work.
Under Magic, they chose Lonzo Ball rather than Jayson Tatum and D & # 39; Angelo Russell. They played publicly in the Anthony Davis trade saga when they should have known that they would never have had a realistic chance of concluding this deal, not with Boston's potential bid – which should be center on Tatum, the guy the Lakers could have just written – still sitting there and considered by EVERYONE as a far superior package. But they went anyway, because they were desperate, and ended up sabotaging a season probably already hollow thanks to a misaligned alignment designed on the arrogant whims of the Magic man.
Jeanie Buss and the Lakers received a gift when Magic left. They would never have canned it. It was a chance to really search for a true leader in the front office with, you know, a proven track record in building good basketball teams. Instead, they did the laziest thing possible and entrusted the tasks of Magic to Rob Pelinka, who also has no point in his resume suggesting that he's good at this area that strengthens the team spirit.
So now, after falling asleep in the Magic replacement process, they have expanded this exposure of unfitness and apathy by completely yawning the search for Luke Walton's replacement. First and foremost, they tried again to make the most lazy possible by simply hiring LeBron's type at Tyronn Lue, but then, to try to denounce the notion that they were simply bending over. LeBron's altar (that's exactly what they did.), They decided to play Fake Hardball with Lue.
Stating that Lue had lost influence when Monty Williams, considered at the time as Lue's main competition, had accepted the terms of the contract with the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers tried to silence Lue for decades. years, giving a NBA championship coach a three-year contract when John Beilein, who has never coached an NBA game in his life, has just received five years of Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers also tried to push their man, Jason Kidd, on Lue as an assistant coach. Read is not fooled. He was David Blatt 's assistant in Cleveland, and he saw with his own eyes how a high – flying assistant is only a barely veiled replacement who is waiting behind the scenes for the first time. use chaos as a ladder.
So now, Lue is out. This is a chance to really open the search, right? Not really. It turns out that every prospective coach with whom the Lakers speak speaks of "making a strong impression". They look like a first homebuyer who is so anxious to get out of an apartment that they immediately fall in love with the first house they 're looking at, and then when that deal breaks down because it' s not the same. they are starting to be difficult at the last second, they, I can not wait to make an offer for the next house because they simply can not live without this kitchen.
The contract name is Frank Vogel.
With Jason Kidd as co-signer.
This is not meant to hit Vogel, as hired randomly as he seems to be. "This is a solid coach," said a East Conference scout at CBS Sports. "But being a strong coach and the right coach for LeBron are two different things."
The fascination with Kidd is an entirely different thing. What's the proof that he's more than just a trainer? While coaching the Milwaukee Bucks, Kidd asked Khris Middleton to intentionally miss a free throw while he was ready by three, with 1.4 seconds to play. Subsequently, Kidd stated that he was guarding against a potential four point play. It did not matter if his players were able to lie down on the field and fall asleep at four o'clock. Pretty hard to taunt when you take a nap. But whatever. Maybe it was a blunder once and Kidd was just trying to explain his miscalculation.
Except in another case, while the Bucks have won four points against Detroit and he only has 9.6 seconds left, Kidd has intentionally ignited the Pistons to send them on the free throw line. Seriously. He purposely gave a team of four with less than 10 seconds to take advantage of the opportunity to reduce the score to a possession without taking the slightest time.
Two years ago, Kidd guided the Milwaukee Bucks to a first-round loss. This season, Mike Budenholzer guided the Bucks, who have not yet added a single All-Star member, to the league's best record and, at worst, to a conference finals qualification. You say that Kidd is good at developing players? Middleton became a star player the year he left. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been transformed into MVP. It's a multi-level conversation and, of course, some of that growth took place under Kidd, but the Budenholzer system, on both sides of the pitch, has clearly unlocked this team and its best players. a way that Kidd never did.
That's Mark Jackson and the Warriors everywhere. Jackson's supporters will tell you that he laid the foundation for what Golden State has become. There's some truth to that, but there's a lot more truth to the fact that Jackson just entrusted an underperforming team to a better coach with a better system. Under Steve Kerr, Curry was turned into an MVP and the Warriors, like the Bucks, went from the first round to the best basketball record, with pretty much the same composition, the next season.
According to some reports, the Lakers believe that Kidd can contribute to the development of Lonzo Ball, which makes sense at first sight. Kidd was, in theory, a playmaker very similar to Ball – a great general on the first floor with an elite vision and a sense of court sense and a sneaky shot. But will Lonzo even stay long in this team? They have already tried to exchange it once. If he's part of the team, he will not be the main caretaker in a way that, it seems, could really serve him as a guardian. If the Lakers have learned anything this season, it 's that they can no longer play in LeBron' s skin, unless they sign Irving or Walker or whatever. one of them also steals Ball 's thunder.
Will Kidd teach Ball how to space the floor?
All the while, we're talking about three times more Kidd than Vogel, and do not play stupid here. It's pure drama waiting for his turn. The second thing is not going well under Vogel, or LeBron is seen talking to Kidd on the side, rumors will begin, that Kidd is here to take Vogel's job. After all, it's not like Kidd had never played power games. When Kidd was in Brooklyn, he more or less tried to overthrow the entire front office to put himself in a position to become a total authority. From the Chicago Tribune:
Four years ago, Kidd became owner of Brooklyn Nets and asked for full control of basketball operations shortly after a tumultuous first year as a coach. When this request was denied, the Bucks – at the time and now co-owned by a longtime Kidd confidant, Marc Lasry – called the next day to ask permission from the interviewer.
It was a bold move when Kidd left the city, resulting in many salacious headlines in the New York tabloids. But it was also a reminder of something else. Each stage of Kidd's remarkable basketball career over the past 25 years – from the University of California to the four teams he has played during his Hall of Fame career – ended with a bridge burned after the 39; another. its wake.
It is not surprising that his end in Milwaukee followed the same pattern.
All this begs the question: If they think that Kidd is an essential element to bring this team to a championship level, why not just make it the leader and at least eliminate the potential for a resumption of the second drama of last year things are not going well? Luke Walton has never had the opportunity last year. He was the most predictable scapegoat you could imagine. Even if they publicly support Vogel when and if things go a little wrong, nothing will stop the speculation. Why embark on another public relations challenge?
It does not make much sense. Frankly, almost nothing has been done by the Lakers recently. But again, they are in a good place and with the number 4 choice in their pocket, they are a very realistic addition to being in a good place. These are the Lakers for you. It is there that the arrogance of the brand sounds right. They can make mistakes that other organizations can not and always end up on the third base. If they can get success to bring something meaningful to the house, we will have to wait and see.
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