Shams: LAL acquires Walker Kessler

[Vermont Green]

I don't like where LAL is going.  They have lost Smart and LeBron.  Two tough, hard-nosed players.  Kessler may turn out to be good, but there is plenty of risk there.  And I am not 100% sold on Reaves either.  I guess this is the team that Luka wants.

[Who]

Updated roster for the C Sexton and Q Grimes signings

LA Lakers

G: A Reaves, C Sexton, Bronny
G: Q Grimes, Cameron Carr
F: Luka Doncic, A Thiero, Knecht
F: Mamu, LaRavia, Vanderbilt
C: W Kessler, D Ayton

[Who]

LAL would have been better off paying Hachimura than signing Mamu & Sexton.

[boscel33]

LAL acquires Walker Kessler, we get Robinson.

Bleh

Brad is being passed by other GMs in the league.

[Vermont Green]

So I presume this means Utah will start Nurkic now.

G: K George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Markkanen
F: Jaren Jackson
C: Nurkic

Then they have Filipowski off the bench. Nurk will probably only play 20-25mpg. They can play Markkanen (PF) and JJJ (C) together for a good chunk of minutes. That will be their closing combination. Filipowski to get the remaining big man minutes.

If it was me, I would start and finish with Markkanen at PF, JJJ at C, and play one of the young wings or get a vet wing.  CLE played Markkanen at SF too, but this make no sense to me.  It seems that PF is his natural position.

[Donoghus]

LAL acquires Walker Kessler, we get Robinson.

Bleh

Brad is being passed by other GMs in the league.

Not really

[Who]

So I presume this means Utah will start Nurkic now.

G: K George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Markkanen
F: Jaren Jackson
C: Nurkic

Then they have Filipowski off the bench. Nurk will probably only play 20-25mpg. They can play Markkanen (PF) and JJJ (C) together for a good chunk of minutes. That will be their closing combination. Filipowski to get the remaining big man minutes.

If it was me, I would start and finish with Markkanen at PF, JJJ at C, and play one of the young wings or get a vet wing.  CLE played Markkanen at SF too, but this make no sense to me.  It seems that PF is his natural position.

Both JJJ and Markkanen are PFs.

I like JJJ to spend his time 50-50 between PF and C positions. I do not like him as a full time center. His rebounding is too bad. He also does worse as a sole defensive anchor. He is much more comfortable playing alongside a fellow big man. It allows him to play riskier defense without being punished as much.

[Vermont Green]

LAL acquires Walker Kessler, we get Robinson.

Bleh

Brad is being passed by other GMs in the league.

Think of it this way, LAL gave up Smart and LeBron for Kessler.  I know it isn't exactly that, but it kind of is.

BOS had no chance at Kessler.  His contract ended up over the $27M TPE value so no way BOS could bring him in at that contract unless the trade involved White or Brown.  I am not sure this deal is going to age well for LAL.  Kessler may be a budding star but there is no certainty.  Danny Ainge did not seem to think he was a budding star our they would have kept him.  UTA clearly believes that $32M or whatever is an overpay for Kessler.  He is a young player who has not done all that much and is coming back from a major surgery.  A lot of risk/uncertainty. 

And, only a 54.5% career FT%.

[Celtics2021]

LAL acquires Walker Kessler, we get Robinson.

Bleh

Brad is being passed by other GMs in the league.

Not really

Seriously.  Kessler is double the salary, cost two unprotected firsts and two unprotected swaps, and missed virtually all of last year.  Sure, it could work out better for them than us, but given the cost, it has a far higher chance of blowing up in their face.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

LAL acquires Walker Kessler, we get Robinson.

Bleh

Brad is being passed by other GMs in the league.

Not really

We have Robinson and Queta at like 19m a year for our 48 minutes of center production.

They have Kessler and Ayton at what will likely be a total of over 50 million for their 48 minutes of center production.

I would venture a guess that our guys will end up being just as productive.

[Who]

Are the Lakers any better now than they were last season?

Incoming: Walker Kessler, Mamu, Quinten Grimes, Colin Sexton
Outgoing: LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes

Are they worse?

That is more outgoing talent than incoming talent. LeBron far and away the most talented. Kessler clearly 2nd. Hachimura clearly 3rd. Then you have Grimes, Smart, Sexton all around the same level. I'd put Mamu and Kennard around the same level. Then you have Jaxson Hayes.

5 rotation players out, 4 rotation players in.
2 starters out (LBJ, Rui), 1 starter in (Kessler).
3 bench players out (Smart, Kennard, J Hayes), 3 bench players in (Q Grimes, Mamu, Sexton)

[Vermont Green]

So I presume this means Utah will start Nurkic now.

G: K George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Markkanen
F: Jaren Jackson
C: Nurkic

Then they have Filipowski off the bench. Nurk will probably only play 20-25mpg. They can play Markkanen (PF) and JJJ (C) together for a good chunk of minutes. That will be their closing combination. Filipowski to get the remaining big man minutes.

If it was me, I would start and finish with Markkanen at PF, JJJ at C, and play one of the young wings or get a vet wing.  CLE played Markkanen at SF too, but this make no sense to me.  It seems that PF is his natural position.

Both JJJ and Markkanen are PFs.

I like JJJ to spend his time 50-50 between PF and C positions. I do not like him as a full time center. His rebounding is too bad. He also does worse as a sole defensive anchor. He is much more comfortable playing alongside a fellow big man. It allows him to play riskier defense without being punished as much.

All true but doesn't that make you wonder why they let Kessler go?  Isn't he theoretically perfect to play alongside JJJ?  In my view, either Markkanen or JJJ can play center, they are both more natural PFs but these days the distinction is less important.  Maybe they still trade Markkanen and play with JJJ and Filipowski.

I would still be open to Markkanen and Keyonte George for Brown.

[Celtics2021]

So I presume this means Utah will start Nurkic now.

G: K George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Markkanen
F: Jaren Jackson
C: Nurkic

Then they have Filipowski off the bench. Nurk will probably only play 20-25mpg. They can play Markkanen (PF) and JJJ (C) together for a good chunk of minutes. That will be their closing combination. Filipowski to get the remaining big man minutes.

If it was me, I would start and finish with Markkanen at PF, JJJ at C, and play one of the young wings or get a vet wing.  CLE played Markkanen at SF too, but this make no sense to me.  It seems that PF is his natural position.

Both JJJ and Markkanen are PFs.

I like JJJ to spend his time 50-50 between PF and C positions. I do not like him as a full time center. His rebounding is too bad. He also does worse as a sole defensive anchor. He is much more comfortable playing alongside a fellow big man. It allows him to play riskier defense without being punished as much.

All true but doesn't that make you wonder why they let Kessler go?  Isn't he theoretically perfect to play alongside JJJ?  In my view, either Markkanen or JJJ can play center, they are both more natural PFs but these days the distinction is less important.  Maybe they still trade Markkanen and play with JJJ and Filipowski.

I would still be open to Markkanen and Keyonte George for Brown.

Honestly, I think Ainge is just so obsessed with getting the best deal always.  He did not like Kessler at the price Kessler was getting from other teams that he took the picks and moved on.  I think he knows how to collect assets but has lost sight how to build a cohesive team.  All the individual moves are correct, but taken together they do not fit.

[No Nickname]

So I presume this means Utah will start Nurkic now.

G: K George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Markkanen
F: Jaren Jackson
C: Nurkic

Then they have Filipowski off the bench. Nurk will probably only play 20-25mpg. They can play Markkanen (PF) and JJJ (C) together for a good chunk of minutes. That will be their closing combination. Filipowski to get the remaining big man minutes.

If it was me, I would start and finish with Markkanen at PF, JJJ at C, and play one of the young wings or get a vet wing.  CLE played Markkanen at SF too, but this make no sense to me.  It seems that PF is his natural position.

Both JJJ and Markkanen are PFs.

I like JJJ to spend his time 50-50 between PF and C positions. I do not like him as a full time center. His rebounding is too bad. He also does worse as a sole defensive anchor. He is much more comfortable playing alongside a fellow big man. It allows him to play riskier defense without being punished as much.

All true but doesn't that make you wonder why they let Kessler go?  Isn't he theoretically perfect to play alongside JJJ?  In my view, either Markkanen or JJJ can play center, they are both more natural PFs but these days the distinction is less important.  Maybe they still trade Markkanen and play with JJJ and Filipowski.

I would still be open to Markkanen and Keyonte George for Brown.

Honestly, I think Ainge is just so obsessed with getting the best deal always.  He did not like Kessler at the price Kessler was getting from other teams that he took the picks and moved on.  I think he knows how to collect assets but has lost sight how to build a cohesive team.  All the individual moves are correct, but taken together they do not fit.

Agreed.  Ainge likes to play Monopoly and hord his assets.  Kinda like Scrooge McDuck swimming in his pot of gold.

But the purpose of this game is to win a championship.  Not "be the best dealer."

[jambr380]

LAL acquires Walker Kessler, we get Robinson.

Bleh

Brad is being passed by other GMs in the league.

Not really

Seriously.  Kessler is double the salary, cost two unprotected firsts and two unprotected swaps, and missed virtually all of last year.  Sure, it could work out better for them than us, but given the cost, it has a far higher chance of blowing up in their face.

Yeah, people here are upset about the Lakers, but they were always going to have cap space after letting Lebron go.

How high would the Lakers have had to go before the Jazz definitely wouldn't have matched? If that number was like $40M/yr, was it really worth it to trade all of your future picks so that you could land a player like Mamu?

This is good news if you're a Lakers hater. They no longer have picks to trade and they are locked in to a roster that has its limitations. Funny enough, the Sexton deal is my favorite one for them.