If the Lakers do land Rondo and maybe Love this offseason, the Lakers will absolutely compete for a title next year. I doubt Love will leave Cleveland but even a lineup of Rondo, Kobe, Randle, Okafor and let's say Leonard or whoever they pick up is a far better team then the Celtics. If we make the playoffs, we can kiss any chance of drafting an impact player and we will probably see mediocre for several years.
I wish somehow some way we could get Wiggins and Davis, imagine the Celtics with Thomas, Smart, Wiggins, Davis and whoever we can get at center. Wishful thinking but I could see a dynasty.
In a soon to be released story excerpted on the SI site:
"The tide has turned in Los Angeles. Once considered the No. 1 destination for NBA free agents, the Lakers have struggled in recent years to find marquee players to pair with star Kobe Bryant.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes, who played alongside Bryant for two seasons with the Lakers, has a theory about his former team’s recent rut.
The common misconception is that players cower at the idea of playing with Kobe due to his ultracompetitive nature, says Barnes. But the onus is actually on the front office, Barnes recently told SI.com's Chris Ballard for an upcoming feature story.
The reason people don’t want to go to the Lakers is because of management,” Barnes tells SI.com. “Kobe can be the scapegoat all they want but if you play hard, Kobe likes you. And if you bulls--- around, he doesn’t. It’s plain and simple. He’s not a vocal leader. He just expects you to play as hard as you can every minute on the court, like he does.” ..."
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I said as much in an earlier post in this thread. All the BS fantasies/fears about the Lakers somehow drawing all this talent like a magnet is no longer the way the world is. OTOH, guys coming to the Cs are getting their careers rejuvenated, the Cs have a far better ownership/GM/head coach situation (Lakers ranked 28th of 30 teams), and we've got better talent and picks (Lakers lose two future firsts starting either this year or more likely next). Lot of teams have money to spend so why does a player jump at the opportuity to go with the Lakers (or the Knicks which has Dolan running the show).
These are not the guys we are competing against in the near future in the quest to attract talent.
