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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
I hear all the time that if LeBron wants to win another ring he needs to take a pay cut. That would be great next year when a boatload of quality free agents will be available. This year? Not so much. There are only a couple of guys that would help us and LeBron would have to give up way more than is reasonable to land them. Now if he gave up enough for us to use our full MLE, Alexander-Walker would be a great fit but I don’t know if LeBron would consider him. He’s not a Klay Thompson.
But there will be guys that could help this team for the tax payer MLE. Actually there will be a few guys that may help at the vet minimum. The new CBA has led to some pretty good players slipping through the cracks.
If you have been wishing we had perimeter defenders like the Pacers and OKC there is a guy that plays like that. Deanthony Melton will be a free agents and he plays like that and also shoots 37% from three. But there is risk involved. He only played 38 games 2 years ago and just 6 last year before tearing his ACL in November. He would be risky but that’s the only reason he will be available for the tax payer MLE. He should be at least close to ready by the beginning of the season.
Bruce Brown is another guy that should be available. He was set to sign the MLE with the Lakers until the Pacers over paid. Two underwhelming, injury riddled seasons later he is going to have to regain his value. He played pretty well for the Pels at the end of the year. He would be a good inexpensive pick up.
I fully expect the Lakers to pursue a starting level center in a trade. But it doesn’t mean they will be successful. If not Clint Capela is the best guy out there for the money we have to spend. He still rebounds, protects the rim and is a good roll man and lob threat. He is good enough to make us a better team. I like Steven Adams as well but Clint is a better fit with Luka.
I expect to see several guys for the minimum that can help us and with Luka and Lebron, I think we will be a preferred destination for those players.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
Again putting words in peoples mouths Tom. That’s a bad habit that you have. The title of the post was free agency, not what the Lakers should do this summer. I’m sure Rob will be aggressive on the trade market. The players I listed can help the Lakers whether Rob can make a trade or not.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Two nights after Shai got hunted and cooked on defense. Has anyone seen the media mention any of this, or play the videos on a loop?? Is the gaslighting/brainwashing only reserved for Slovenians?? pic.twitter.com/ARoxDLYsRQ— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) June 8, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
GAME 2 TONIGHT 🍿Tyrese Haliburton's incredible game-winner helped the Pacers complete their 5th 15+ point comeback this postseason to win Game 1 and take a 1-0 lead.Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder even the series 1-1, or will the Pacers go up 2-0?Game 2 of the… pic.twitter.com/0UL77rA4mJ— NBA (@NBA) June 8, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Shai’s not just chasing greatness…he’s chasing Kobe. 🐍🔥“That’s probably my favorite player of all time. I never got the chance to meet him… but his influence has gone through the roof… Hopefully I’m somewhere close to that as a basketball player one day.” — Shai… pic.twitter.com/PUBgr9S7Rk— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 8, 2025
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
If you live in Paramount be careful people. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say LA is under siege it feels like it’s the next closest thing.
What a time to be alive…
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
It’s so crazy.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
The first order of business Tom is a center or two that can protect the rim. The wings you mentioned have one thing in common, they have rim protection behind them that allows them to be super aggressive. You could add any of the guys you mentioned and they would not be as good with the Lakers without rim protection. First order of business is get that center and go from there.
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![Profile picture of MongoSlade]()
You can’t take shortcuts to build a roster similar to what OKC & IND is putting out on the floor right now. This ain’t a video game. These teams have intangibles that don’t just come together in a single off-season. We don’t have the culture, the structure, the continuity, the camaraderie, the coaching, the player development….nunna that. We don’t even know how to properly utilize LeBron and Luka on the floor together. It’s more than just plugging in stats and hitting the play button. If we keep Reaves and/or Rui, we ain’t winning the title next year. And if we get rid of them, we most likely ain’t getting enough back in return to win it all either. Pick your poison.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
RUMOR: The Lakers will bring back the 23-24 city edition jerseys this upcoming season per @JerseyArchive Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/kg8KuKGtnI— LakersMuse (@LALMuse) June 7, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
How Austin Reaves For Jalen Suggs Trade Makes Lakers & Magic BetterHere's a trade where the Los Angeles Lakers make an offense for defense trade with the Orlando Magic.The Lakers send offense-first players Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dalton Knecht to the Magic for… pic.twitter.com/ptCab0ftVx— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 7, 2025
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
I don’t think Suggs is a 35 mil player. By the way you have Kleber not Dalton in your trade proposal.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
My bad. Lakers keep Knecht and first round pick. This is straight up trade that addresses both teams’ needs. Lakers have always coveted Suggs and have the offense for him to be a better fit than with offensively challenged Magic. Win-win Trade IMO.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
I think you are about the only person left that views Rui as a one way player. He made tremendous strides as a defender this year. JJ said this
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
Redick was asked about several topics during his exit interview with reporters. One reporter asked the former NBA guard to speak about Rui Hachimura’s season and Redick didn’t hold back in his answer.
“I thought Rui had an outstanding season,” Redick said. “And he was incredibly important to what we were able to do this year. He was a vital cog on both sides of the ball. The games that he missed, it was apparent to the coaching staff how valuable he was. Particularly in the last two games, I thought he played extremely well in the playoffs.
“I’m excited to see his growth. I think some of that is paint decision making, some of that is working on his handles and his closeouts. But for a guy, of all the guys that we laid out what we expect from them, what we’re asking them to do and starring in their role, he’s up there at the top of the list. That’s embracing that and starring in that role all year.”
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![Profile picture of MongoSlade]()
I don’t know if we should keep trading 2 starters and only getting 1 back in return.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
We’re trading three one-way players for two two-way players.
We have three guys starting who should not be starters. -
![Profile picture of MongoSlade]()
I think folks are selling Rui way too short. I agree that Luka & Reaves aren’t a great fit and AR needs to be replaced but I don’t like throwing Rui in the deal and creating another hole in the lineup. We threw Christie in that Luka deal and now realize he isn’t that easy to replace. We went into last summer with smaller needs…a backup center, a couple of wing defenders off the bench. Now after a blockbuster trade, we still need those same wings in addition to a starting center and a starting guard to pair with Luka. And with every new guy we bring in, we get further away from being a cohesive unit who can realistically contend next season. It’s extremely difficult to switch out 7 guys (including 3 starters) in a 10 man rotation and have it all fit together in a year. But…this is the situation we find ourselves in right now.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
I really don’t consider Suggs a two way player 41% from the field, 32% from 3 and 3.3 assists to 2.2 turnovers does not scream two way. At 35 mil, he is overpaid. And of course if after this trade you not only still need a starting center but you also need to find a quality combo forward with no assets. Good luck with that.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Suggs would fare much better playing with Luka and LeBron. His shooting was much better last season when he shot 39.7% on 5 threes per game.
Suggs still averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebound, 3.7 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 1.5 steals in just 28.6 mpg. Very close to Reaves production.
Jalen is clearly a two-way player and a far better fit next to Luka Doncic than Austin Reaves. He is probably a top-10 point-of-attack defender.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
The problem with Rui is he’s a power forward being asked to play small forward because LeBron James now needs to play power forward. While his defense is not terrible, he is an offense-first player who has to guard smaller quicker players and thus his disadvantage.
Lakers need exactly what the Pacers have in Nembhard and Nesmith to complement Haliburton, a legitimate 2-way starting 3&D shooting guard and small forward. Lakers need to get two players like that and Reaves and Hachimura are not Nembhard and Nesmith.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
Those stats are from the year before. It’s the only time he’s done that. He got his big extension based on that one year and flopped and went back to his normal output. And yes it would be great to have what the Pacers have, we do not have the assets. Giving up two of our best players for an over priced guard and a back up center doesn’t do it. We just don’t have the assets to fix things in one off season. Alexander-Walker would be better than Suggs and at half the price.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
PACERS BEST 3-POINT SHOOTERS IN PLAYOFFSThere's a reason why the Indiana Pacers are the only playoff team shooting over 40% from deep, why it seems like they have a half dozen different players who could suddenly get hot and start raining threes. The Pacers are 11th in 3PA, 6th… https://t.co/eloUjdKRzO— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 6, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
THIS IS HOW A STAR BECOMES A SUPERSTARWe've seen this movie before. Young star does something nobody has ever done before. Then does it over and over. No doubt about it. We're watching a star player make the leap to superstardom. What an NBA playoffs. No major market… https://t.co/E5EaCPCzLg pic.twitter.com/APCOpUJaln— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 6, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
65.8% (!) of IND’s playoff FGM are assisted…This is the highest percentage of any team in the playoffs. All while producing a 117.1 ORTG and shooting 61.2 TS% as a collective. Truly playing team ball to the maximum degree. pic.twitter.com/teWlzC1vGf— NBA University (@NBA_University) June 6, 2025
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"Tyrese Haliburton is unequivocally having the greatest run of clutch shooting we have seen in the history of the sport."Brian Windhorst on Hali coming through for the Pacers again in the clutch in Game 1 of the NBA Finals 🗣️(via @GetUpESPN)pic.twitter.com/gR6VBxb7zz— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 6, 2025
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Hali is now 13 of 15 on these super clutch shots this season. I can’t believe this is real https://t.co/wRtiEaN2ph— Mr. Statistician Face Man (@tomhaberstroh) June 6, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
NEMBHARD & NESMITH DIFFERENCE MAKERS!The Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith are the kind of legitimate two-way 3&D starting shooting guard and small forward the Lakers need to trade for to replace one-way offense-first players like Austin Reaves and Rui… https://t.co/kK436ZiURD pic.twitter.com/fo1YmJIWtE— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 6, 2025
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Teams were 0-182 in the NBA Finals entering Thursday in this scenario.Now, 1-182..@TyHaliburton22 built differently. #OverratedMyAss pic.twitter.com/8XxGt2KodH— Ryan Rueda (@iDude14) June 6, 2025
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Lakers would jump at a chance to trade Reaves for either Nembhard ($18M) or Nesmith ($11M). There are quality starters the Lakers could acquire in a trade for Austin Reaves. If they want to compete for a championship next season, the Lakers need to replace Austin Reaves with a… pic.twitter.com/hHe3gIvrkF— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 6, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
NBA finals: Indiana Pacers stun Oklahoma City Thunder in final second to win Game 1 thriller https://t.co/S8siATaMA6— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 6, 2025
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INDIANA NEVER HAD THE LEAD UNTIL THE FINAL 0.3 SECONDS 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/xKo0QobAvZ— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 6, 2025
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Remember what I said… the Pacers beat every team they’ve faced on the road during the Playoffs and they kept that streak going tonight against OKC! https://t.co/XXVozlNCVA— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 6, 2025
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LakerTom wrote a new post
WHAT THE HELLY-BURTON 🤯TYRESE HALIBURTON IS PLAYING LIKE PRIME KOBE 😱 pic.twitter.com/3Rh3H4ERy5— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) June 6, 2025
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TRUE IDENTITYThe Pacers come back from being down 15 in the 4th Quarter to STUN the Thunder 👀 pic.twitter.com/16Mh1izPjn— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 6, 2025
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HE IS THE MOMENTTyrese Haliburton pushes the Pacers ahead with 0.3 seconds to go and the Pacers steal Game 1 🚨14 points10 rebounds6 assists pic.twitter.com/ra7Uh9lqy1— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 6, 2025
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The Thunder held their largest lead of the game with 9:32 remaining…The Pacers outscored them 32-16 to steal Game 1 on the road 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aepbMJ0zky— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 6, 2025
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I sure hope Rob Pelinka has more ambitious goals for the Lakers offseason than you do, Michael, but I worry you might be right. Despite the pressure from Luka and LeBron, Rob is likely to make minor moves and postpone anything big until opportunity knocks. He’s always chasing the best deal rather than the best player. He needs to cash in Austin Reaves this summer imo.