[HitsterParticipant]

With Frank Vogel gone, LBJ going into the last year of his deal and AD increasingly injury prone what do the Lakers do?

They have traded away a lot of picks and would be stupid to game for a short term fix for next season. Westbrook might be bought out/traded but his huge salary would be hard to move. King James turns 38 this year and will be going into his 20th NBA season. The career points record is within his grasp if he stays sound next year but what will the future hold beyond next summer?

Getting AD sound is perhaps the biggest need, he will be their future building block and is still only 28. At worse if LBJ did finish or move on the Lakers would have cap space for another top FA next summer and a team like that and the location would always be a big draw but it would need AD to stay strong.

Post Kobe the Lakers tried to rebuold via the draft but the picks idn’t quite work out and eventually they made the big moves to get AD and thus sign LBJ.

I think they need a name coach unless they want to do a longer term rebuild but who. One interesting name linked is John Calipari who although not having reached previous heights in recent years has the ego to think he could do a job like the Lakers and coached AD during his year at UK. Also John has links to a lot of NBA stars so might be a good option that way and at 63 years old might fancy another crack at the NBA before he retires.

[armchairgmParticipant]

Out of the names I’ve seen linked to Lakers job I would rank them in terms of who I would hire if you could get them: Nick Nurse, Mike Brown, Doc Rivers, Quinn Snyder, Juwon Howard, Phil Handy, David Fizdale, Kurt Rambis, Steve Clifford, Kenny Atkinson.

[OhCanada-Participant]

I think the real question is which of those coaches would be stupid enough to join the Lakers? I mean its nice to get paid and coaches get alot more than back in the day but I mean lets be real here… your not coaching Lebron. Now AD see’s that and all of a sudden your also not coaching AD. Then the whole team see’s that and at that point your barely coaching. The media is on your ass every single day for the most petty shit. You have no say in that dysfunctional organization.

So to answer your question I think maybe Phil Handy might want HC money. Most of those are laughable though and honestly I just don’t understand how Lakers fans believe half of these reports. I mean do the people that make these reports even follow basketball or are they just picking names out of a hat? Its nuts. Nick Nurse coaches Team Canada. He’s basically untouchable here. To even put his name in a link suggesting he would leave to play in LA is just so ridiculous.

[armchairgmParticipant]

Yeah I think Lakers end up with Mike Brown as of right now and Sacramento hires D’ Antoni.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

The Lakers got burned in a few ways. They assembled too many older role players. Melo and Bradley were fine, but Howard, Jordan, Ariza, Bazemore, and Ellington did not offer much. They needed young players to help get them through 82 games and ended up rolling the dice on two-way guys. They also got little from Talen Horton-Tucker and nothing from Kendrick Nunn. At this point, one has to assume Davis and LeBron are going to miss regular season games, and they ended up carrying more than half a roster worth of guys who were either unavailable or not good. Westbrook was an easy target, because he is not who he once was. Then again, he was not much different than who has was the previous couple years. The problem comes when they needed him to be what he once was because he is on the court with Stanley Johnson, Austin Reaves, Malik Monk, THT, etc. It is unfair to criticize Austin Reaves. He probably played himself into sticking in the league, but he played 1400 minutes. Only 12 guys who were drafted last summer played more.

The Lakers can rebound if they better assemble their roster. It won’t be easy with minimal cap space and no picks, but they have the money to buy a 2nd rounder or two. It is also a draft class where there are older prospects who can be functional to quality role players. The international market has been slow to bounce back from the pandemic, and the questionable status of Russian teams in European competitions means even more guys might head back stateside when the availability of guaranteed money there is in less supply. The Lakers don’t need big money players. They need defenders, shooters, and young legs.

It is probably a long shot to deal Russell Westbrook without attaching a future pick (which I don’t think they should). I think Charlotte, New York, and Sacramento would be the only possibilities. Charlotte has multiple years left with Hayward and Oubre. Maybe they opt for one year of Westbrook. The Knicks might look to get out from under the Evan Fournier contract. Sacramento would be the longest shot, but Holmes has a lot of years left on a deal. Depending on how much they want to get out from under it, they have other contracts that could make it happen.

[HitsterParticipant]

Moving Westbrook would be very hard unless they added assets. Houston have had him once so any swap with Wall would make little sense for him. The Lakers could look for a buyout for Westbrook and to stretch his deal but that would eat up future cap space post LBJ era.

Bringing back a coach you’ve already dismissed once would never make sense to me. Mike D’Antoni is nearly 71 also so would only be short term.

Nick Nurse has a title he must be nearly God like status in Toronto and has the Team Canada gig too so I cannot see him jumping.

Even the top college coaches may shy away from the Lakers unless they got total control over roster or were offered mega money. When you have a great gig for 40 odd games you’d want pro rata for 100 plus game season or 82 game season if Melo is on the roster.

That is the one good point for Lakers that Melo knows all the best places to visit before the schools finish and the contending teams finish in the play offs.

[canadabasketballisrisingParticipant]

Moving westbrook won’t be easy- but he only has 1 bad year left- there are lot’s of teams who take that for multiple bad years. Deals like Hayward and Rozier for Westbrook, THT,. 2027 first; or Hield, Brogdon, for westbrook, THT, 2027 first. seem feasible. Not ideal- but they would fix issues potentially. Hornets may not want to lose rozier- but Jordan is very hesitant to pay luxary tax- and bridges will and bnall will be getting big contracts next few years.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

I don’t think the Brogdon and Hield thought is feasible. Brogdon alone is worth a 1st rounder. He is still an asset. If available, Indiana will be able to get a 1st rounder before 2027.

[HitsterParticipant]

Hield I’d think with his decreasing contract and 3 point range would be of interest to a number of teams if not next season then certainly the year after as an expiring deal. He’d be a nice 3rd option or as an impact 6th man on a contender to help spread the floor. Although he turns 30 this year he hasn’t that many miles on the clock and as a shooter could play good ball well into his 30’s if not improve like JJ Reddick did.

I could see a team looking to create cap space taking Westbrook to get rid of longer term deals if they wanted to rebuild but this wouldn’t really help the Lakers.

I guess the :Lakers perfect scenario would be Westbrook decides he has some pride and tries to join a team who’d want him long term and opts out. But he’d be leaving a lot of money on the table.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Dantoni to Philly Doc to LA. Heard it here first.

[armchairgmParticipant]

That scenario has been reported in the media pretty heavily ever since Harden went to Philly.

[HitsterParticipant]

Would Doc want to be involved in the Lakers issues unless he a big say over team matters? D’Antoni to Houston with Harden and Morey link would make sense.

[OhCanada-Participant]

I think the Dantoni to Philly rumor happens and after that I think Doc doesn’t let it go. Wants to come back ASAP. Playing with Lebron probably becomes his only immediate option to coach for a team with championship expectations. What other options would he have…Orlando? For LA it makes a ton of sense, at least this way your guaranteed to get a coach and not someone Lebron can just walk all over.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

I liked Kenny Smith’s pick for the Lakers tonight for HC – Mark Jackson.

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