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Aloha,

Well free agency is pretty much over for the Lakers. They do have one move they could make. They have until July 24 to waive Shake. That would free up a roster spot and 3 mil in cap space. I expect them to do it but I don’t know if they will sign anyone else.

All in all they came out okay. Losing DFS was a blow but if he hadn’t walked we may not have been sign any center. All our targets signed deals larger than we could have offered. Even with all of the flaws in his game, Ayton was the most talented center in the Lakers price range. He is much better than a 8 mil player. I think he may have a good year. Actually he has to if he ever wants to get another big pay day. He has the talent, hopefully he will have the motivation. I also liked the Laravia signing. He is a good young player with a lot of upside.

After that weird 7 team Durant trade which for some unknown reason the Lakers had to be part of, we are now free to sign Adou. They may not immediately. There is a chance that his rights could be part of a trade. Once he is signed they still could because he’s a rookie but not for 30 days.

Coming into free agency we heard that DeAnthony Melton was a Laker target. If he is recovered from his December surgery he would be a huge upgrade, especially on a minimum deal. He is a high end defender that can hit the 3 and the only reason he’s in the bargain bin is because of the injury. He was supposed to be ready for the season but his name has been mentioned at all in connection to anyone. It makes me wonder if he had a set back in his rehab.

I am not expecting much else to happen. Yes there still could be trades. But there is a lot of problems in or trade situations. We lack draft capital that would be needed to grease the wheels on any meaningful trade. We have expiring contracts but don’t want to take on money beyond 2 years in return. And of course most teams don’t want to help the Lakers and if they do a trade they want to screw us.the only way I see a trade is if each team has a need that a trade would fill.

I believe this is a good team. I never was so delusional to believe we could build a true contender in one summer. How good really will come down to internal growth. That would have still been the case even if we hit a home run.

Having a full training camp with Luka will definitely help. While we did a good job incorporating him for the most part, it was apparent that they needed more time together for it all to really work.

All of our young guys will have to have good growth spurts. Bronny took a big one last year from where he started to where he finished. I’m happy that we still have Dalton. I think he will be much improved. He isn’t exactly the 1st rookie to struggle defensively. I like Jake’s upside as well as Godwin’s. And our rookie Adou will have to hit the ground running. I have a really good feeling about him.

As for the Vets, Vando has to find his offense. He has in spurts but all the injuries really set him back. But this is the first summer in two years he was healthy enough to work on his game.

Gabe was either really good or invisible last year. We need consistent really goods from him.

Can Jaxon actually learn to play the position? He still relies strictly on his athleticism. It would be nice if he could learn shot blocking and rebounding angles.

One thing that many people missed, I’m thinking of you Tom, was Rui’s overall improvement on defense and rebounding. That was something JJ repeatedly pointed out. With the way he shoots, another step on the defensive end will make him a lot of money next summer.

Austin has improved every single year and will need to again. Any defensive improvement would be huge.

Can Luka adapt to a more ball movement oriented offense? He’s never played with this many playmakers before. Last year he would slip into his one on one mode too often. A full training camp will help. The word is he’s getting into tremendous shape. Hopefully that’s translates into better perimeter defense.

And finally. Does Lebron have one more year like last year in him? For us to have a chance he has to.

Even if all these things happen it’s probably not enough to get past OKC and the Rockets. But you play the games for a reason. A lot can happen in a season.

Regardless, I still think this will be a fun team to watch.

LAKERS BELIEVE THEIR COACHING STAFF CAN GET THROUGH TO AYTON

Summer musings

BEN SIMMONS AS LAKERS POA GUARD!

LAKERS TRADE FOR BITADZE & ISAAC!

Donnie Nelson reuniting w/Luka & working for Slovenian National team