The fact is this team has a lotta soft players and a stubborn coach. The defense is awful, we’ve stuck with the same, predictable scheme for just about 2 years now. The zone we use is so much better than our switching, not sure why that’s not the go-to. Vando may be a negative offensive player but he plays twice as hard as just about everyone else not named Smart or LaRavia on D. Yet he barely sees the floor. Not really expecting much more out of the season , at this rate I’ll be astounded if we make the conf. Finals but you never know. No way we best Boston or Detroit in a 7 game series so it all feels kinda moot.

19 of the 26 games left are against teams with winning records. After 15-4 start, Lakers went 19-18. If they lose 19 of the next 26 games, they will finish at 41-41, the ultimate .500 team.

Only way this deadline was excusable is if the second the season ends, Rob Pelinka is unemployed and Jeanie is either gone or purely governor by title and has ZERO influence on basketball operationsGiving those two morons another summer to fuck this roster up is not it— erSources CEO | Adou Thiero FC (@pelinkaburner) February 5, 2026

The site? Yeah, I’ve noticed it’s really wonky on Chrome these days…

I would say that, to this point, the Lakers have taken care of business as expected. We’re not built to be an elite defensive team but to outscore teams. The problem is, as you pointed out and I’ve been harping on for the last couple weeks, is that a huge chunk of our points comes from the stripe. That ship won’t sail for very long, even in the regular season.

At some point we need to run plays for Rui and Ayton. Hachimura is a prisoner of his own deference, a huge reason I don’t think we’ll extend him and makes him harder to move except his $$$ expires this summer.

Our 2 best guys play the “he fouled me when I drifted into him!” game, that’s a problem and I wish they would just take the ball to the rim a lot harder rather than try and bait the D.

The bench is a bigger issue in the regular season, but it’s a big one. We saw how few guys Redick is comfortable playing in the playoffs so not too worried about Jax, Knecht, etc.

OKC has a decent FRP coming via the Clippers this summer. They’re a huge problem for the next decade and no single trade can or will address it. Better to see what shakes loose when a team or 3 inevitably blows it up this summer.

Great post, Mongo. Lakers definitely have their kryptonite.

Lakers are what they are. Their need for a trade to plug their major holes is going to become more apparent as we get deeper into the schedule. I agree 100% that we should not use our draft capital for anybody over 30, including Giannis.

I’m also starting to believe the key to having a chance to build a roster to compete with OKC is prioritizing free agency rather than trades. What depth we create last offseason was due to not having to give up players and picks in free agency.

Right now, we need to let LeBron and maybe Vincent and Kleber walk away for nothing to open up mega cap space. There aren’t any superstars but there are some elite role players, which is exactly what we need to surround Luka with to win.

Boston can get healthy, that’s a year out. Lakers with LeBron are too top heavy/old. Minny made us look slow and weary and OKC just ran them into the dirt.

The CBA has changed the definition of “Dynasty”. Teams have about 3 years tops now. Then it gets too costly and punitive. The key guys are SGA, J-Dub, & Chet. Caruso has a loonngg deal already. They’ll probably have to replace everyone else (losing Dort will be painful)….that’s where all those picks factor in.

Also, if Giannis lands in the West then that can shake some things up too.

Having said all that…still don’t see the Lakers realistically bypassing them in the next 2 years.

Technically Magic traded Zubac but not understanding the value of Caruso…after winning the title…is a heinous crime that shall never be forgiven, IMO.

Everyone trying to elevate Rob and JJ before they’ve done anything worthy of real praise. Like saying yes to the superstar handed to you on a platter isn’t something anyone with the job would have done. Same goes for Reddick. He got to the 3rd seed with a mostly healthy roster and was subsequently out-coached in every aspect by Finch…who isn’t even all that great of a coach himself.

Throw in the fact that we’re going to tether our wagon to LeBron until he hangs them up and you can easily see 2-3 seasons of essentially this. I understand, and to some degree even agree with, the Lakers stratagem of being the Elephant Graveyard for NBA Super Stars…but it does have drawbacks.

The problem would be easy to fix but I doubt it will ever happen. Jeanie is the problem. She is so insecure that she surrounds herself with a committee. In a way I feel sorry for Rob. Most GM’s make moves and the owner signs off. Robb has to run it by Jeanie’s posse. I mean why does Linda Rambus have a say in basketball decisions? The solution is turn the basketball decisions over to Jessie and Joey Buss. Dr Buss had them interning with Mitch when they were teens. They have grown up in the basketball operations side. They put together and run one of the best scouting departments in the NBA. I wonder how they felt about drafting Bronny. Probably bleed from biting their tongues so hard. Anyway they probably have more basketball knowledge than most owners around the league. I know Jessie admired the Spurs organization and fought hard to build a scouting department. With development more important than ever because of the CBA I really think they would do a good job. But like I said, it probably will never happen.

lmao….and just in comparison: Presti & OKC just picked up Caruso & Hartenstein while losing Josh Giddy and ZERO DRAFT PICKS. Hell, we can’t even find coaches to fill out the staff for JayJay The Basketball Messiah. It really feels like the rest of the league knows we’re running a clown operation right now. Hurley was smart not to fall for the bullsh!t.

Damn.

Folks like to make excuses for Rob (much like Broussard did in this clip) and I get it. Good looking, slick talking dudes of a certain persuasion often get a pass that others don’t (we’re gonna see it ALOT with JayJay The Basketball Messiah over the next few years). I didn’t expect many free agency moves from us simply because of our salary & roster construction right now. Lebron gave a ray of hope but as I said above…it’s turning out not to be as simple as it first seemed. But Rob put himself in that predicament! He’s not a victim of circumstance or some sort of unforeseen calamity; he did this sh!t on purpose! The thing we’re most desperately missing is a grown-up in the room and that’s the main difference between Dr Buss & Jeannie. He knew his own shortcomings and the value of hiring folks who knew more than he did. That’s a component of leadership that alotta folks in those positions never grasp.