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Arm chair GM’s

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Aloha,

Well the NBA 2nd season has begun, also known as the arm chair GM season. We just won a ring but you always want to do what you can to improve your. While we don’t have a lot of amo to work with, either does our major competitors.

First I want to say, I love this team, it’s the best defensive team in the league, with two of the best offensive players in the NBA. It’s deep and versatile. We can play any style of basketball. I believe if we brought back the exact team we would be even better and win it all again.

Continuity is very important. And it’s easy to forget how many new players we added. One of the big surprises for me was how much we won early. We were winning ugly, but still winning. As the season went on, we just got better and better as a team. With a year under our belts, I can’t see a reason why we wouldn’t continue to improve. I watched Kuz after the early injuries begin to develop into a very good defender and play maker. All he really needs to do is correct his 3 point shot. If he can get it back to where it was as a rookie he is going to be a terrific player, and he will continue to improve. He could develop into a guy that can guard the big wings in the league and at 6’ 9” he taller than most of them. He actually showed that ability multiple times in the playoffs.

Alex also grew tremendously over the course of the season, with his defense and hustle he could actually grow into a star. I actually like him better now than Lonzo. He became better at running the offense as the season progressed and he has an undeniable chemistry with LeBron. Again, if he improves his 3 point shot the sky’s the limit. I would actually like to see Alex and KCP start with Avery and Danny coming off the bench. That’s a terrific rotation.

I’m also excited by THT. The kid showed me a lot and he doesn’t turn 20 until next month. He is only 6’ 4” but plays bigger with his fullback body and huge wing span.

But you can always improve the roster. A lot will depend on what Rob wants to do. Chase a 3rd star next year or keep a 2 star system, with a deep roster of quality role players. Personally I like the later. So if we stay the course, who could we bring in? Like Tom my vote goes with Christian Wood. His youth and upside is intriguing. It would be nice to have a little more youth on the roster. He can learn from AD and LeBron and from our secret weapon. Phil Handy, the best player development coach in the NBA. In a tight money market we might be able to land him with the MLE. And worst case he would still be better than Javelle. If we can’t get him, I would make a play for Joe Harris and his 44% 3 point shooting. He’s also a decent defender. In this market he also might be had for the MLE. I would then try and Land Boogie for the minimum or bi annual at center.

Speaking of the bi annual exception I hope we could keep Morris with that. Now we have bird rights on KCP, Rondo and Avery so we can go over and sign them. I still kind of think McGee will opt in. Even if we resign Rondo, I would look at Teague or Augustine for a veteran minimum contract. With Rondos injuries it would be a nice insurance policy. If Rondo leaves I definitely think we need one of those two.

I don’t think we need to do a lot to repeat. So we will have to wait to see what Rob thinks.

5 Things: Permanent Changes

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OK. Here we are. Again. The dreaded NBA Dog Days where all and every shred of potential information will be over-analyzed, over-debated and over-discussed. I will say these are my happiest dog days in nigh a decade. Since we won it all and such. Before we forget about everything we saw and heard in the Bubble I wanted to revisit a few of the things I really liked about Bubble play.

  1. The extra space on the base and side lines. I can imagine the owners not liking the idea of moving back the court side ($$$) seats, the camera guys being annoyed at having to get great action shots from an extra 15 feet away and folks up on the stanchion seats not getting to watch the under the basket battles rage. Frankly, it should be worth it. The first thing and best thing I feel about how the play in the Bubble was different was all the extra out of bounds space. It allowed for more athletic drives, more aggressive pass interception attempts and generally added to the excitement. While I don’t expect the space to remain it tops my list of favorite things about the in-game experience.
  2. Microphone on the lead official. Honestly, why hasn’t this already been done? We already mic up random players from each team, drop a mic into the coaches huddle, interview the coaches from the sideline and we added a pregame interview with X factor players that also was some danged boring TV. But you know what I really appreciated (when they remembered to turn them on) was hearing the rules explained from the official in real time. That was cool and I wish they would do it over the in-arena sound system like in the NFL, as well.
  3. Bigger bench area. It was cool for the players not playing to add to the fun with cheering, jeering and cavorting when they weren’t on the floor. Lighting the entry tunnels in team colors was really cool, too. While some of these things (especially the added room for the bench players) will likely disappear as the threat of COVID does (should that ever happen…) I sure hope they allow for the excitement the bench players being able to stand and cheer their teammates on introduced during the bubble.
  4. Virtual fans. You might be asking your self…how? How would this be accomplished in arenas where there are live fans and furthermore…why? I’ll admit that this one is a bit shaky. Assuming that, even in a world and an NBA season that exists within COVID-19 and that the NBA is somehow going to go ahead and bring some fans into arenas somewhere and there will be humans paying to watch other humans play basketball. Watching the World Series makes me think they should have just kept the cardboard cut outs…it’s like you turned on a minor league game that got moved to a too big stadium. If you want to have folks fill out the arena in a socially distant way…indoors…you’re going to have a very small amount of people. So why not have the virtual fans in places where people wouldn’t want, or be able to, be seated? Keep the intensity at a higher level. Keep fans into the game, and besides it’s cool to see who on planet Earth is tuning in.
  5. Saved the best for last: keep the BLACK LIVES MATTER on the court, every court in every arena. Keep the jersey messaging, keep all of the social justice line items, keep it all. The fans you lose aren’t worth the tears or energy it would take to make them understand why this is important. When they come around, if they come around, we can welcome them back with open arms. But the fact that a multi-billion corporate entity in America is lending it’s voice to a movement for social justice is a big deal. This is not a gimmick, this is a movement and every voice behind it makes it louder. The NBA is an amplifier, it is not the message. Keep the messaging.

Those are the things I would love to see carry over, in some fashion or other. The only one of those I truly expect to make it is the social justice messaging, I think the players will demand it to the degree that they can. The space…probably won’t make the cut, those are high dollar inches and feet. Refs might stay mic’d up, not likely to be like the NFL. Anyhow, here’s hoping that some of the cooler things from the Bubble stick around.

Why Christian Wood Should Be the Lakers’ Top Priority in Free Agency!

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I think it’s a question of whether he starts and plays starter minutes versus just being part of the rotation as a 7th or 8th man. Considering how good Talen is playing at 20, he’s going to be a game changer when it comes to the Lakers roster and rotations.

If he grows enough to be a starter, that opens up great opportunities for the Lakers going forward. He opens the door for the Lakers to put together a trade package that could include Schroder, KCP, and Kzma for a third superstar.

Of course, the grand prize is Talen becomes that third superstar. That’s what the Lakers believe is possible considering how great he is playing at just 20 years old. Imagine him two or three years from now. He’s like the Lakers getting a top five pick in the second round.