NBA Season 2024-25

[Kernewek]

I don't see any reason why Luka would leave the Lakers. Luka + the city of LA + Lakers mystique will make the Lakers the #1 free agent / trade destination in the league. Luka can easily get running mates to come in and join him in LA after LeBron leaves.

The reason would be he doesn?t like the city or culture of LA, which many people have speculated as possible he has a similar personality to Jokic in a lot of ways. It?s also
Not he like can get a super max there either. Maybe you love LA but a lot of people don?t like it at all.

I haven't seen that speculation about Luka not liking LA.

I have seen lots of speculation that Luka might like LA too much. The party scene. The good times. And that his conditioning / professionalism may worsen in LA.

Luka has already said how happy he is to be living near the sea.

Also, people underestimate is just how often these guys are away from home. If you're an NBA player and really don't click with a city you don't need to spend much time there.

[Who]

Cam Whitmore check in.

17.5mpg 9.6ppg 3.2rpg

Good per minute production in scoring and rebounding. He averages about 1 assist and 1 turnover as well. Not good there. Still a black hole type player.

41.4% FG% 31.3% 3PT% 51.2% TS%

Terrible scoring efficiency numbers. Bad FG%, bad 3PT% and terrible TS%. League average is 57.4% so way below league average.

Exciting player but he still disappoints more often than he performs. A 2-7 FGA last night against GSW.

For a guy that athletic who can get anywhere he wants to go on the floor, he has gotta get more easy baskets at the rim. He settles for far too many contested jump-shots off the dribble. Almost half of his shots (8.7 FGA) are from three point range (4.1 3PTA). He did shoot 36% on threes last year on similar volume so maybe it is unfair to criticize him too much here. Perhaps he is a better shooter than he has shown this season (31%). A free throw rate of 17.5%. You would expect an athlete / slasher like him to be up around 28-30%. That is realistic for him. He is not getting to the line enough. Another reason for his bad TS%.

[Who]

Ben Simmons played backup center last night = point center. I didn't see the game but it looked like he was moving well and helping the team from the highlights.

12pts 7reb 6ast 3stl 1blk in 27min 4-5 FGA

Got himself some layups on drives, transitions and hanging out near the rim. Handled the ball well and passed well.

Clippers have no backup center. He could prove a good addition for them if he can maintain this. The Clippers seem to be willing to let him play his game as a ball-handling backup center. Utah's centers looked in rough shape trying to stop Ben's dribble penetration. Too quick off the bounce.

[Donoghus]

Golden State using robots to help during practices. This is pretty cool (if real)....until they turn on us and enslave us.

https://x.com/JoePompliano/status/1890509642800804138

[Who]

Clippers record without Kawhi = 21 wins 18 losses
Clippers record with Kawhi = 10 wins 5 losses

Kawhi was on a minutes restriction until these last 3 games. He was playing under 30 minutes a night until these last 3 when he played 30+ minutes.

Kawhi is averaging 26 minutes a night and putting up 16.3ppg 4.7rpg 2.3apg 1.0 steals. If you look at his per 36 minute numbers, he is scoring 22 points per 36 and his rebound & assist numbers are in line with his numbers from last season.

His efficiency / sharpness isn't there yet. His FG% is 46.4% which would be the lowest of his career. He has been over 50% for his last 3 years and is at 49.8% for his career. His 3PT% is 36% which would be the 2nd worst of his career.

His free throw rate is only 15% which would be the worst mark of his career. Clippers fans say he isn't beating people off the dribble as well as he used and he isn't elevating as well on his jump-shots as he used to. So not getting separation as well. Looks like physical decline but may improve some as he continues to get in better shape.

His TS% is only 54.4% which would be the lowest of his career. His previous low was 56.7% 10 years ago. His averages for the last 3 years were around 62.5% TS%.

Even so he appears to be having a good impact out there. Gives LAC a legit scoring option at forward. Someone the opposition has to be concerned about. Still able to play plus defense on the other end. Gives them some legit physicality at forward. The other guys are more finesse forwards (Derrick Jones Jr, Batum, Coffey).

[Goldstar88]

NBA rising stars game is about to start on TNT. Winner gets to play on Sunday?

[Goldstar88]

Keyonte George and Stephon Castle are going to be good players.

JD?s team is about to tip off.

[celticsclay]

I don't see any reason why Luka would leave the Lakers. Luka + the city of LA + Lakers mystique will make the Lakers the #1 free agent / trade destination in the league. Luka can easily get running mates to come in and join him in LA after LeBron leaves.

The reason would be he doesn?t like the city or culture of LA, which many people have speculated as possible he has a similar personality to Jokic in a lot of ways. It?s also
Not he like can get a super max there either. Maybe you love LA but a lot of people don?t like it at all.

I haven't seen that speculation about Luka not liking LA.

I have seen lots of speculation that Luka might like LA too much. The party scene. The good times. And that his conditioning / professionalism may worsen in LA.

Luka has already said how happy he is to be living near the sea.

Also, people underestimate is just how often these guys are away from home. If you're an NBA player and really don't click with a city you don't need to spend much time there.

I gotta disagree with you both here. In the past week alone we saw Beal refuse to waive his no trade clause because he refused to move his family again, Daniel theis turn down multiple nba offers cause he preferred living in Europe and doncic himself express being heartbroken and mentioning he had just bought a house.that all aside Brian windhorst himself said that Luka was Bo guarantee to resign with the lakers. I?m also a little baffled that Boston fans would say players don?t care where they play given the constant complaining we have all done about players signing in warm weather cities like la, Miami for decades. Feels like not being very objective here

[Phantom255x]

I expect Luka will stay in LA ultimately but I'm still not sure how that organization is going to be post-Lebron. Sorry, I don't buy at all that "LeGM" didn't have any clue about what was going on before the Doncic trade happened. This guy definitely has influence on that organization and front office. Pelinka isn't an idiot but Jeanie Buss definitely has no clue how to run a team and I think Lebron helps out.

When he retires, can they then put a roster around Doncic that can succeed? I'm not so sold. Plus I think some of the Lakers are performing well right now because there's a lot of emphasis on trying to guard Lebron. Doncic still needs to improve defensively otherwise he'll get picked on in playoff series. Lebron can help mask that for now.

People seem to think it's an automatic Giannis or someone similar is going LA but I think we're gonna see teams like Houston, OKC, etc. make "all-in" moves this summer. Those teams have way more assets to offer. The Lakers got Doncic in a fleece, BUT Anthony Davis isn't some scrub either. Now the Lakers don't have an AD-like asset unless people are suckered into thinking Reaves is some legit #2 option.

[Phantom255x]

I will say though, Dallas looks like even bigger morons for the trade and it's not just for the obvious reasons. I mean, how is it that AD plays one game in Dallas and suddenly he's out for "multiple weeks". AD was hurt right before the trade as well. Did they even do a physical on him?

Then you add in Lively, Gafford, etc. being hurt and yeah, Dallas is another team with no center just like the Lakers (but the Lakers have Doncic now) 

[celticsclay]

I expect Luka will stay in LA ultimately but I'm still not sure how that organization is going to be post-Lebron. Sorry, I don't buy at all that "LeGM" didn't have any clue about what was going on before the Doncic trade happened. This guy definitely has influence on that organization and front office. Pelinka isn't an idiot but Jeanie Buss definitely has no clue how to run a team and I think Lebron helps out.

When he retires, can they then put a roster around Doncic that can succeed? I'm not so sold. Plus I think some of the Lakers are performing well right now because there's a lot of emphasis on trying to guard Lebron. Doncic still needs to improve defensively otherwise he'll get picked on in playoff series. Lebron can help mask that for now.

People seem to think it's an automatic Giannis or someone similar is going LA but I think we're gonna see teams like Houston, OKC, etc. make "all-in" moves this summer. Those teams have way more assets to offer. The Lakers got Doncic in a fleece, BUT Anthony Davis isn't some scrub either. Now the Lakers don't have an AD-like asset unless people are suckered into thinking Reaves is some legit #2 option.

I encourage people to look at the lakers free agent signings between 1996 and 2018 when they got LeBron. They got Malone who could still play, but was 39 and a year away From retirement. They also got Ron arrest when he was good. Aside from that it was pretty brutal and some of the years they actually had money and spent it on guys like mosgov and deng cause nobody else would. Lamarcus Aldridge laughed at their presentation. Paul, George, Leonard, Carmelo all did not want to sign there when they were offered max contracts. Dwight Howard famously left them when they had take. Out billboards to keep him. Let?s stop rewriting history here guys https://clutchpoints.com/every-notable-los-angeles-lakers-free-agent-signing-by-year

[SparzWizard]

I expect Luka will stay in LA ultimately but I'm still not sure how that organization is going to be post-Lebron. Sorry, I don't buy at all that "LeGM" didn't have any clue about what was going on before the Doncic trade happened. This guy definitely has influence on that organization and front office. Pelinka isn't an idiot but Jeanie Buss definitely has no clue how to run a team and I think Lebron helps out.

When he retires, can they then put a roster around Doncic that can succeed? I'm not so sold. Plus I think some of the Lakers are performing well right now because there's a lot of emphasis on trying to guard Lebron. Doncic still needs to improve defensively otherwise he'll get picked on in playoff series. Lebron can help mask that for now.

People seem to think it's an automatic Giannis or someone similar is going LA but I think we're gonna see teams like Houston, OKC, etc. make "all-in" moves this summer. Those teams have way more assets to offer. The Lakers got Doncic in a fleece, BUT Anthony Davis isn't some scrub either. Now the Lakers don't have an AD-like asset unless people are suckered into thinking Reaves is some legit #2 option.

Reaves did put up 45 last weekend lol I'm sure there are teams out there who are suckered enough to think he is a legit #2 and willing to trade the farm for him. GMs like Dallas or the old Grizzlies who traded Gasol to them

[Who]

I encourage people to look at the lakers free agent signings between 1996 and 2018 when they got LeBron. They got Malone who could still play, but was 39 and a year away From retirement. They also got Ron arrest when he was good. Aside from that it was pretty brutal and some of the years they actually had money and spent it on guys like mosgov and deng cause nobody else would. Lamarcus Aldridge laughed at their presentation. Paul, George, Leonard, Carmelo all did not want to sign there when they were offered max contracts. Dwight Howard famously left them when they had take. Out billboards to keep him. Let?s stop rewriting history here guys https://clutchpoints.com/every-notable-los-angeles-lakers-free-agent-signing-by-year

I look at having a franchise player to build around as the #1 item in attracting a star to join your team. The Lakers have that in Luka. Lots of guys around the league will want to play with him.

And LA has all the rest (beyond Luka) in terms of warm weather city, sand sun and sea, LA star lifestyle, big market, and Lakers history. So I expect them to be successful in their pursuit of a star in FA.

The Lakers from 2000-2020 had limited ability to attract a star.

(1) They had Shaq and Kobe in place in the early years and had no money to attract an All Star. They got Malone & Payton as MLE and less guys. 

(2) Shaq left. They tried to get a FA in the following years. They hoped to attract Yao Ming from Houston or Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix. They struck out. Both guys had no interest in leaving. LAL got their next star in Pau Gasol in a trade shortly after. It was a 2-3 year period. I am not even sure which years they had a chance at having capspace in those years.

(3) Pau & Kobe era lasted from 2008 until 2012 or so. No capacity to add a big nam FA.

(4) Rebuilding around Kobe. The Lakers tried to add a major FA again. Like you mentioned above with LaMarcus Aldridge and others. LAL's problem was Kobe was too old. Younger stars / prime stars did not want to join up with an old star in his mid to late 30s. Kobe could not attract a star to join him. Not anymore. He was too old. Dallas had the same problem with Dirk. They did not want to join an old guy who was on their way out and then start a rebuilding process halfway through their new contract. Better to go elsewhere where they could join a longer term project.

This is not the issue with Luka. Luka is 26. Stars will pair up with him.

[RMO]

I encourage people to look at the lakers free agent signings between 1996 and 2018 when they got LeBron. They got Malone who could still play, but was 39 and a year away From retirement. They also got Ron arrest when he was good. Aside from that it was pretty brutal and some of the years they actually had money and spent it on guys like mosgov and deng cause nobody else would. Lamarcus Aldridge laughed at their presentation. Paul, George, Leonard, Carmelo all did not want to sign there when they were offered max contracts. Dwight Howard famously left them when they had take. Out billboards to keep him. Let?s stop rewriting history here guys https://clutchpoints.com/every-notable-los-angeles-lakers-free-agent-signing-by-year

I look at having a franchise player to build around as the #1 item in attracting a star to join your team. The Lakers have that in Luka. Lots of guys around the league will want to play with him.

And LA has all the rest (beyond Luka) in terms of warm weather city, sand sun and sea, LA star lifestyle, big market, and Lakers history. So I expect them to be successful in their pursuit of a star in FA.

The Lakers from 2000-2020 had limited ability to attract a star.

(1) They had Shaq and Kobe in place in the early years and had no money to attract an All Star. They got Malone & Payton as MLE and less guys. 

(2) Shaq left. They tried to get a FA in the following years. They hoped to attract Yao Ming from Houston or Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix. They struck out. Both guys had no interest in leaving. LAL got their next star in Pau Gasol in a trade shortly after. It was a 2-3 year period. I am not even sure which years they had a chance at having capspace in those years.

(3) Pau & Kobe era lasted from 2008 until 2012 or so. No capacity to add a big nam FA.

(4) Rebuilding around Kobe. The Lakers tried to add a major FA again. Like you mentioned above with LaMarcus Aldridge and others. LAL's problem was Kobe was too old. Younger stars / prime stars did not want to join up with an old star in his mid to late 30s. Kobe could not attract a star to join him. Not anymore. He was too old. Dallas had the same problem with Dirk. They did not want to join an old guy who was on their way out and then start a rebuilding process halfway through their new contract. Better to go elsewhere where they could join a longer term project.

This is not the issue with Luka. Luka is 26. Stars will pair up with him.

What is their cap situation?  Will they have the space to sign a free agent assuming they pay Luka the max this summer?  I have minimal understanding of how it works.

Lebron will eventually retire but I don't think it's as simple as that entire salary becoming available to spend dollar for dollar.

I think Reaves is alright.  Kind of overrated but he's on a really good contract.  Teams might consider that a value when trading for him.  Kills me that the lakers got him for cheap.  I wish another team had driven the price up when he was a restricted free agent, knowing that the lakers were going to match.

[Who]

I encourage people to look at the lakers free agent signings between 1996 and 2018 when they got LeBron. They got Malone who could still play, but was 39 and a year away From retirement. They also got Ron arrest when he was good. Aside from that it was pretty brutal and some of the years they actually had money and spent it on guys like mosgov and deng cause nobody else would. Lamarcus Aldridge laughed at their presentation. Paul, George, Leonard, Carmelo all did not want to sign there when they were offered max contracts. Dwight Howard famously left them when they had take. Out billboards to keep him. Let?s stop rewriting history here guys https://clutchpoints.com/every-notable-los-angeles-lakers-free-agent-signing-by-year

I look at having a franchise player to build around as the #1 item in attracting a star to join your team. The Lakers have that in Luka. Lots of guys around the league will want to play with him.

And LA has all the rest (beyond Luka) in terms of warm weather city, sand sun and sea, LA star lifestyle, big market, and Lakers history. So I expect them to be successful in their pursuit of a star in FA.

The Lakers from 2000-2020 had limited ability to attract a star.

(1) They had Shaq and Kobe in place in the early years and had no money to attract an All Star. They got Malone & Payton as MLE and less guys. 

(2) Shaq left. They tried to get a FA in the following years. They hoped to attract Yao Ming from Houston or Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix. They struck out. Both guys had no interest in leaving. LAL got their next star in Pau Gasol in a trade shortly after. It was a 2-3 year period. I am not even sure which years they had a chance at having capspace in those years.

(3) Pau & Kobe era lasted from 2008 until 2012 or so. No capacity to add a big nam FA.

(4) Rebuilding around Kobe. The Lakers tried to add a major FA again. Like you mentioned above with LaMarcus Aldridge and others. LAL's problem was Kobe was too old. Younger stars / prime stars did not want to join up with an old star in his mid to late 30s. Kobe could not attract a star to join him. Not anymore. He was too old. Dallas had the same problem with Dirk. They did not want to join an old guy who was on their way out and then start a rebuilding process halfway through their new contract. Better to go elsewhere where they could join a longer term project.

This is not the issue with Luka. Luka is 26. Stars will pair up with him.

What is their cap situation?  Will they have the space to sign a free agent assuming they pay Luka the max this summer?  I have minimal understanding of how it works.

Lebron will eventually retire but I don't think it's as simple as that entire salary becoming available to spend dollar for dollar.

I think Reaves is alright.  Kind of overrated but he's on a really good contract.  Teams might consider that a value when trading for him.  Kills me that the lakers got him for cheap.  I wish another team had driven the price up when he was a restricted free agent, knowing that the lakers were going to match.

LeBron's contract ends after next season along with a bunch of other contracts. The summer of 2026. The Lakers can have cap space to add a max contract player then.

Not this summer though. Only after LeBron leaves.