[valentine]

During their meeting with LaMarcus A, the basketball department didn’t even get to speak until more than an hour into the marketing presentation.

Ten bucks says Russell was drafted by the marketing oriented ownership, leaning on the basketball underlings to make the business decision.

Could have had Andrew Harrison or Marcus Thornton from William and Mary in the 44-45 range of the second round.

 

 

 

 

[Prime TimeParticipant]

 From a marketing stand-point, it wouldn’t make sense not to draft the player who’s been considered a high-level prospect his whole career and recently just won an NCAA championship.

Instead, the Lakers might’ve chose D’Angelo Russell because the NBA is currently ran by guards, and he happened to put up 19/5/5 in the Big 10 while shooting over 40% from deep and having one of the highest basketball IQs in the draft.

[Prime TimeParticipant]

 From a marketing stand-point, it wouldn’t make sense not to draft the player who’s been considered a high-level prospect his whole career and recently just won an NCAA championship.

Instead, the Lakers might’ve chose D’Angelo Russell because the NBA is currently ran by guards, and he happened to put up 19/5/5 in the Big 10 while shooting over 40% from deep and having one of the highest basketball IQs in the draft.

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

  – he’s a media creation who avg 15 ppg on 44% shooting in a terrible conference & the only time he faced an NBA level talent Ronda Hollis-Jefferson shut him down so thoroughly it was shocking… Russell isn’t just a below par athlete – he’s a horrific athlete… & he’s very slightly built. He bulked up to 193 lbs for the draft but he played at less than 180 Lbs in college… Everything he does is in slow motion… People comparing him to Steph Curry are clueless – Curry avg 30+ ppg & shot 50% in college… Russell can not get his own shot, his handle is weak & he has Zero first step, his only move is a jab step into a long back step to gain space for a shot but he’s not a great shooter & the move itself is weak, he’s often off balance, it’s a mess. On defense, he can’t guard Anyone, he’s a human turnstile… I wanted to luv Russell & I wanted to not like Okafor b/c I’ve been reading about his incredible post game & Bull like strength for two + years, but in the SL he was the ONLY player who drew a double team Every time he touched the ball. He was so strong, he established position deep in the paint. Even the time he was blocked (look at the replays) he’s almost under the basket & the whole team is collapsing on him defensively – he’s a complete disruptor… And on defense, the opposing centers could never establish position. Everyone has a fetish for blocked shots & so do I, but when you push your man 18 feet from the basket & he settles for 20 ft jump shots like Porzingus & Upshaw did, you really don;t need to worry about blocking shots… I have read several reports on L.A. Lakers web sites claiming that now that some time has passed & Russell has looked so inept in the SL, there are leaks from the Lakers that Kupchak wanted Okafor all along & believed if they took Russell at #2 they could strong arm Philly into returning the Laker’s 1st round pick… Cleveland tried something similar a year ago at the 2014 Draft when they thought Phila was hot for Wiggins & Cleveland still wanted Embiid but did not want the Publicity hit of Drafting an injured player # 1 after the Anthony Bennet debacle. But Sixers GM Hinke will not budge & many believe he floats these leaks that Phila wants Wiggins & Russell just to UCK w/ other teams in the Lottery… Word out of Phila was when L.A. took Russell, cheers could be heard in Phila’s war room & they drafted Okafor instantly… If these stories are true & if Russell continues to get abused this will be a P.R. nightmare for L.A. b/c if RHJ could completely destroy Russell at Both ends, what so people think will happen the Guards in West get a crack at him….

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

  – he’s a media creation who avg 15 ppg on 44% shooting in a terrible conference & the only time he faced an NBA level talent Ronda Hollis-Jefferson shut him down so thoroughly it was shocking… Russell isn’t just a below par athlete – he’s a horrific athlete… & he’s very slightly built. He bulked up to 193 lbs for the draft but he played at less than 180 Lbs in college… Everything he does is in slow motion… People comparing him to Steph Curry are clueless – Curry avg 30+ ppg & shot 50% in college… Russell can not get his own shot, his handle is weak & he has Zero first step, his only move is a jab step into a long back step to gain space for a shot but he’s not a great shooter & the move itself is weak, he’s often off balance, it’s a mess. On defense, he can’t guard Anyone, he’s a human turnstile… I wanted to luv Russell & I wanted to not like Okafor b/c I’ve been reading about his incredible post game & Bull like strength for two + years, but in the SL he was the ONLY player who drew a double team Every time he touched the ball. He was so strong, he established position deep in the paint. Even the time he was blocked (look at the replays) he’s almost under the basket & the whole team is collapsing on him defensively – he’s a complete disruptor… And on defense, the opposing centers could never establish position. Everyone has a fetish for blocked shots & so do I, but when you push your man 18 feet from the basket & he settles for 20 ft jump shots like Porzingus & Upshaw did, you really don;t need to worry about blocking shots… I have read several reports on L.A. Lakers web sites claiming that now that some time has passed & Russell has looked so inept in the SL, there are leaks from the Lakers that Kupchak wanted Okafor all along & believed if they took Russell at #2 they could strong arm Philly into returning the Laker’s 1st round pick… Cleveland tried something similar a year ago at the 2014 Draft when they thought Phila was hot for Wiggins & Cleveland still wanted Embiid but did not want the Publicity hit of Drafting an injured player # 1 after the Anthony Bennet debacle. But Sixers GM Hinke will not budge & many believe he floats these leaks that Phila wants Wiggins & Russell just to UCK w/ other teams in the Lottery… Word out of Phila was when L.A. took Russell, cheers could be heard in Phila’s war room & they drafted Okafor instantly… If these stories are true & if Russell continues to get abused this will be a P.R. nightmare for L.A. b/c if RHJ could completely destroy Russell at Both ends, what so people think will happen the Guards in West get a crack at him….

[CoachWyersParticipant]

They chose Russell because he is going to be the best player out of this draft.

[CoachWyersParticipant]

They chose Russell because he is going to be the best player out of this draft.

[TankensteinParticipant]

 I think they are totally stunned they failed to land one of the star bigs in free agency. That said, I don’t think they regret picking Russell one bit. 

[TankensteinParticipant]

 I think they are totally stunned they failed to land one of the star bigs in free agency. That said, I don’t think they regret picking Russell one bit. 

[EndlessknightParticipant]

 I think drafting Russell had more to do with the Lakers thinking they were going to sign LMA than anything else. 

[EndlessknightParticipant]

 I think drafting Russell had more to do with the Lakers thinking they were going to sign LMA than anything else. 

[Rip255]

Its a perimeter players league. Big men need to be able to set picks on the 3pt line and either make jumpers  or run hard to the rim. Okafor wont be effective at either. 

 Even the best post-up players score less efficiently than an average pick&roll play. Check the stats…its not even close. If a big cant space the floor in offense or protect the rim in defense, hes just clogging the lane and taking low % shots. 

[Rip255]

Its a perimeter players league. Big men need to be able to set picks on the 3pt line and either make jumpers  or run hard to the rim. Okafor wont be effective at either. 

 Even the best post-up players score less efficiently than an average pick&roll play. Check the stats…its not even close. If a big cant space the floor in offense or protect the rim in defense, hes just clogging the lane and taking low % shots. 

[tuck243Participant]

I think if LeBron had help then the Cavs would’ve beat the Warriors.  LeBron is the Greatest player on earth, but he still had to get a post game in order to win it all.  The Warriors are an anomoly in that they were extremely deep last year and didn’t have to face any injuries.  They also managed to take advantage of teams that did.  Not to be a negative guy, but the Warriors this year was the first team to win a championship without a low post presence since Isiah Thomas and the Pistons.  When the playoffs come you need easy buckets..  

Chris Paul JUST managed to get into the second round consistently with the help of Blake Griffin.  

The problem IS these post players aren’t getting in the paint with their back to the basket.   A jumper period is a bad shot compared to a 60% FG from 5 feet in the lane.   Taking the ball from behind the NBA 3pt line to the cup is also one of the longest drives to make.  Ask LeBron how far he got doing that his entire career before getting easier buckets.  The league changed it’s rules in 2004…  Without a legit post presense history shows it’s RARE to win it all.  

I truly hate how this is a copy cat league.  Teams are willing to ditch everything and copy other teams.  You know how many teams tried to draft a "LeBron" type player after he came into the league?  

 

 

(PS…  Big men back in the day could spread the offense and hit 15 foot shots.  I don’t know why people think this is a "NEW" thing)

 

 

 

 

  

[properbreaksParticipant]

Thank you!!! You just said all the things that I’ve been telling my friends. Golden State shoots a lot of 3s because they have the BEST SHOOTING guard duo ever. They were supposed to shoot 3’s, it was their strength. The Lebron thing is the perfect comparison. People looked at Miami and said you know what. “if they won two titles with small ball, I think we should play small ball too.” But that wasn’t it, the point was they had Lebron James AND Dwayne Wade AND Chris Bosh. If they had too good big men, they might have played Chris Bosh at the 3, Wade at the 2 and Lebron at 1 and still would have won. THe point is these teams just played to their talent.

[properbreaksParticipant]

Thank you!!! You just said all the things that I’ve been telling my friends. Golden State shoots a lot of 3s because they have the BEST SHOOTING guard duo ever. They were supposed to shoot 3’s, it was their strength. The Lebron thing is the perfect comparison. People looked at Miami and said you know what. “if they won two titles with small ball, I think we should play small ball too.” But that wasn’t it, the point was they had Lebron James AND Dwayne Wade AND Chris Bosh. If they had too good big men, they might have played Chris Bosh at the 3, Wade at the 2 and Lebron at 1 and still would have won. THe point is these teams just played to their talent.

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 No one decided hey let’s go to small ball… Talent goes in cycles & Dominant Big men are Very, Very rare… Tim Duncan should have won the MVP in the 2013 Finals b/c his Rim protection is what wrecked Miami… And Gloden State doesn;t get enough credit for being a legit great team – I still think Cleveland beats them if they are healthy b/c Lebron & Kyrie are World Class talent… OKC has world class talent & people can’t seem to get it thru their head that Steph Curry is World Class talent – he is a Totally unique player & there is NO ONE else like him – he has the quickest shot release in the History of the NBA & b/c of that he is unguardable & his range stretches out the defense… Basketball at the highest levels is a Very simple game & it comes down to how many disruptors do you have on your team – meaning do you have a player that forces the opponent to Double or even Tripl team him b/c that creates open space for teammates… It’s why Draymon Green looks so good in Golden State… Golden State has Steph Curry & honestly they got a bit lucky not playing a Healthy OKC, San Antonio or Cleveland… But no team in the League has multiple players that force help defense except OKC & Cleveland (when healthy)… Even if you look at the Clippers, Blake Griffin has NO back to the basket post game, he does not command a Double. Chris Paul is the man who makes that whole team work b/c no one can guard him 1 v 1… Houston has Harden but honestly he’s a reg season star – he is guardable & he gets zero help from Howard who is a joke b/c he has not ONE post move… Howard should have been able to hang 50 a night on Draymon Green & forced G.S. to double but b/c he never cared about getting better, G.S. could just stick one man on him & even if he did get 20 pts & 15 rebounds, they still never needed to double him b/c he can’t consistently score in a half court set (whuch the playoffs turn into Every year) like a Tim Duncan or a Shaq….

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 No one decided hey let’s go to small ball… Talent goes in cycles & Dominant Big men are Very, Very rare… Tim Duncan should have won the MVP in the 2013 Finals b/c his Rim protection is what wrecked Miami… And Gloden State doesn;t get enough credit for being a legit great team – I still think Cleveland beats them if they are healthy b/c Lebron & Kyrie are World Class talent… OKC has world class talent & people can’t seem to get it thru their head that Steph Curry is World Class talent – he is a Totally unique player & there is NO ONE else like him – he has the quickest shot release in the History of the NBA & b/c of that he is unguardable & his range stretches out the defense… Basketball at the highest levels is a Very simple game & it comes down to how many disruptors do you have on your team – meaning do you have a player that forces the opponent to Double or even Tripl team him b/c that creates open space for teammates… It’s why Draymon Green looks so good in Golden State… Golden State has Steph Curry & honestly they got a bit lucky not playing a Healthy OKC, San Antonio or Cleveland… But no team in the League has multiple players that force help defense except OKC & Cleveland (when healthy)… Even if you look at the Clippers, Blake Griffin has NO back to the basket post game, he does not command a Double. Chris Paul is the man who makes that whole team work b/c no one can guard him 1 v 1… Houston has Harden but honestly he’s a reg season star – he is guardable & he gets zero help from Howard who is a joke b/c he has not ONE post move… Howard should have been able to hang 50 a night on Draymon Green & forced G.S. to double but b/c he never cared about getting better, G.S. could just stick one man on him & even if he did get 20 pts & 15 rebounds, they still never needed to double him b/c he can’t consistently score in a half court set (whuch the playoffs turn into Every year) like a Tim Duncan or a Shaq….

[tuck243Participant]

I think if LeBron had help then the Cavs would’ve beat the Warriors.  LeBron is the Greatest player on earth, but he still had to get a post game in order to win it all.  The Warriors are an anomoly in that they were extremely deep last year and didn’t have to face any injuries.  They also managed to take advantage of teams that did.  Not to be a negative guy, but the Warriors this year was the first team to win a championship without a low post presence since Isiah Thomas and the Pistons.  When the playoffs come you need easy buckets..  

Chris Paul JUST managed to get into the second round consistently with the help of Blake Griffin.  

The problem IS these post players aren’t getting in the paint with their back to the basket.   A jumper period is a bad shot compared to a 60% FG from 5 feet in the lane.   Taking the ball from behind the NBA 3pt line to the cup is also one of the longest drives to make.  Ask LeBron how far he got doing that his entire career before getting easier buckets.  The league changed it’s rules in 2004…  Without a legit post presense history shows it’s RARE to win it all.  

I truly hate how this is a copy cat league.  Teams are willing to ditch everything and copy other teams.  You know how many teams tried to draft a "LeBron" type player after he came into the league?  

 

 

(PS…  Big men back in the day could spread the offense and hit 15 foot shots.  I don’t know why people think this is a "NEW" thing)

 

 

 

 

  

[T Rex]

 Even if they didn’t want Okafor, Porzingis and Myles Turner are as good or better as 3 point shooters, and at 7 feet tall can get their shot off at will. In addition to their rim protection, while Russell is a one way player and is going to get torched by the perimeter players who dominate the league.

Russell is a handsome, well-spoken, flashy player, and the Buss brats probably grew up learning that Magic sold way more jerseys than Kareem, and Kobe sold way more jerseys and merchandise than Shaq.

Sneaker companies finally learned that point guards sell a lot more shoes than most every big man, because fans can relate to the smaller players.

Russell will sell a whole lot more jerseys, sneakers, posters, and tickets than Porzingis or Okafor or Turner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

 Even if they didn’t want Okafor, Porzingis and Myles Turner are as good or better as 3 point shooters, and at 7 feet tall can get their shot off at will. In addition to their rim protection, while Russell is a one way player and is going to get torched by the perimeter players who dominate the league.

Russell is a handsome, well-spoken, flashy player, and the Buss brats probably grew up learning that Magic sold way more jerseys than Kareem, and Kobe sold way more jerseys and merchandise than Shaq.

Sneaker companies finally learned that point guards sell a lot more shoes than most every big man, because fans can relate to the smaller players.

Russell will sell a whole lot more jerseys, sneakers, posters, and tickets than Porzingis or Okafor or Turner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 I agree that the Lakers were looking to sign a big in FA, they are likely to get Roy Hibbert in the end so perhaps they were sold on Russell more than Okafor.

We don’t know exactly how workouts for Okafor and Russell went in LA, who in the Lakers organisation made the final choice etc. It was a flip up between Okafor and Russell at picks 2 and 3 IMO. We don’t know how much the rumours that Philly wanted Russell swayed the Lakers etc.

One view I’ll throw in is that Byron Scott took PG lead teams in the Nets and New Orleans to success with Jason Kidd and CP3 so maybe it was felt that Russell would be the best fit under him or he expressed a view he thought Russell was the best player to draft.

The Lakers make so much money that decisions would not be based on getting a marketable draft pick IMO.

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 I agree that the Lakers were looking to sign a big in FA, they are likely to get Roy Hibbert in the end so perhaps they were sold on Russell more than Okafor.

We don’t know exactly how workouts for Okafor and Russell went in LA, who in the Lakers organisation made the final choice etc. It was a flip up between Okafor and Russell at picks 2 and 3 IMO. We don’t know how much the rumours that Philly wanted Russell swayed the Lakers etc.

One view I’ll throw in is that Byron Scott took PG lead teams in the Nets and New Orleans to success with Jason Kidd and CP3 so maybe it was felt that Russell would be the best fit under him or he expressed a view he thought Russell was the best player to draft.

The Lakers make so much money that decisions would not be based on getting a marketable draft pick IMO.

 

 

 

[Author]

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