Didn't it seem like Thompson was destined to sign with the Lakers and Lebron James this off-season? Don't you think he would have if Harrell hadn't signed there?
I seriously wonder if Thompson will bring a major chip on his shoulder into the season, especially going against the Lakers.
Goes to show you that Lebron doesn't have all the power with the Lakers like he did back with the Cavs
No it’s just that him and his agent have made up 75% of the Lakers as Clutch Sports clients 🙄
Lebron is absolutely running the show in LA.
You sure? I think its up to a limit.
If Lebron had such control, explain why they didn't bring in his boy Thompson. They had the money and instead signed Harrell
I mean, I think he would be a Laker right now if Lebron really only wanted his guys. Getting Harrell not only makes a rival weaker but Harrell is a much more productive offensive player.
but he is a mediocre defender in the playoffs. He was benched in 2nd half of games vs the Nuggets for a reason
yeah because he couldn't guard a massively stronger and bigger player that just happens to be elite. That was much more about the Clippers terrible roster construction than anything else. Harrell would have been fine if he was guarding someone like Millsap, but he couldn't handle Jokic. That will be much less an issue for the Lakers where Harrell will be on the floor with a legit 7 foot elite defender basically at all times (either Davis or Gasol).
confused
why couldn't the Clippers play Zubac and Harrell?
Even if Jokic is bigger, Harrell lacked "fight". No clutch offensive rebounds. No boxing out harder to get inside position
He was just roaming out on the perimeter on the offensive end. Can't even shoot the 3 very well
On defense he would let Jokic do whatever he wanted. He didn't really go up to his face to bother him. He was guarding him in no mans land. Jokic will torch you then
because Zubac isn't good enough to play much against good teams and then they can't have PG or Kawhi on the floor since they can't really play SG. It was a Clippers roster problem, the Lakers don't have that problem.
I wonder why you're blaming Zubac when he was the only big who was capable of defending Jokic. Given how slow and ineffective Gasol looked against the Celtics, what makes you think that he's good enough to fill the void Dwight will leave. Besides Harell may be better on offense than Thompson but he's worse on defense based on his performance in the playoffs.
I wasn't. I was just pointing out facts. Neither Zubac or Harrell could effectively guard Jokic, but that is all the Clippers had available to try and they couldn't really play them together because they don't fit and then you have to take Kawhi or George off the floor.
The simple reality is the Clippers had a big time roster flaw and they had it all year. They had enough talent to get by in the regular season, but not in the playoffs. Ibaka is a better fit for them than Harrell was, so I think they will be better next year, but they also still have a terrible backcourt and not much size (Zubac and Ibaka are it). Frankly, they have many of the same issues the C's have in the front court and also having their two best players both being natural SF's. When crunch time comes against great teams, you are always going to have at least 1 guy playing out of position, and that is problematic long term.