Report: Kevin Love will seriously consider opting out, maybe to join Lakers

[Roy H.]

I didn't get past "Sam Smith".

[LooseCannon]

How shocked would you be if Leonard came to the Celtics?  Could we make it happen? 

I'd be pretty shocked because Leonard will be a restricted free agent and that would mean San Antonio is unwilling to match a max contract for Leonard.

[Endless Paradise]

Would that not be an ideal spot for Leonard?  It looks better than an aging Spurs ... team.

No, it doesn't.  That aging Spurs team has the unquestioned best coach in the game with whom he just won a championship and Finals MVP.  This Celtics team has a largely unproven coach from the college ranks.  That same aging Spurs team may very well no longer have their oldest players Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili this time next year, anyway.

[celts10]

So Kevin Love is the 2nd big time free agent to be rumored to be heading to the Lakers.  Didn't see that one coming.  Bravo.




TP bet time:


Name the third big time free agent that will be rumored to be going to the Lakers this offseason.


Whoever is the first to guess the name (once the rumor comes out to check) I will give them 20 TPs.

Jason Terry.

[pearljammer10]

Who's to say he wouldn't consider the Celtics?

There's no real reason for him to leave from a basketball perspective. There's no real reason for him to leave in regards to friends and family. All we have going for us is that we're not Ohio.

Of course there is. Love could be the number one option on a team that consists of a re-signed Rondo who is the NBA's best passing point guard, a legit number two scorer in Jeff Green that can guard the opposing teams best wing/forward and take pressure off Love on offense, above average wing defenders in AB and Smart, if we turn Sully into a defensive center there'd be no reason for Love to turn down that chance from a basketball perspective.

You forgot the locker room meltdown it would take in Cleveland for that to even be considered.

And Sully/Love would work about as well, if not worse, as love and Peckovic

Which is why I suggest trading Sullinger for a defensive center.

If answering the question on solely basketball purposes, KLove could be "the man" while playing alongside the leagues best passer with adequate role player to fill the holes. From a "basketball perspective" that's an incredible fit regardless of how far fetched it may be.

[pearljammer10]

So Kevin Love is the 2nd big time free agent to be rumored to be heading to the Lakers.  Didn't see that one coming.  Bravo.




TP bet time:


Name the third big time free agent that will be rumored to be going to the Lakers this offseason.


Whoever is the first to guess the name (once the rumor comes out to check) I will give them 20 TPs.

Asik.

[D.o.s.]

Who's to say he wouldn't consider the Celtics?

There's no real reason for him to leave from a basketball perspective. There's no real reason for him to leave in regards to friends and family. All we have going for us is that we're not Ohio.

Of course there is. Love could be the number one option on a team that consists of a re-signed Rondo who is the NBA's best passing point guard, a legit number two scorer in Jeff Green that can guard the opposing teams best wing/forward and take pressure off Love on offense, above average wing defenders in AB and Smart, if we turn Sully into a defensive center there'd be no reason for Love to turn down that chance from a basketball perspective.

You forgot the locker room meltdown it would take in Cleveland for that to even be considered.

And Sully/Love would work about as well, if not worse, as love and Peckovic

Which is why I suggest trading Sullinger for a defensive center.

If answering the question on solely basketball purposes, KLove could be "the man" while playing alongside the leagues best passer with adequate role player to fill the holes. From a "basketball perspective" that's an incredible fit regardless of how far fetched it may be.

Oh, ok, sure -- my notion of 'there's no real reason for him to leave' is that he's unlikely to find a team that's better suited towards contending for a championship, based on all rosters as they are right now/in the foreseeable future.

[TheFlex]

So Kevin Love is the 2nd big time free agent to be rumored to be heading to the Lakers.  Didn't see that one coming.  Bravo.




TP bet time:


Name the third big time free agent that will be rumored to be going to the Lakers this offseason.


Whoever is the first to guess the name (once the rumor comes out to check) I will give them 20 TPs.

How shocked would you be if Kawhi Leonard bolted SAS for them?

If Love goes to LAL, I think they'll really look to lock up Rondo and probably succeed.

Imagine if they get a top 3 pick and select, say, Karl Towns. Then sign Love and Rondo? Wow.

Rondo
Kobe
A Ham Sandwich
Love
Towns


Yikes. Then Kobe comes off the books and your core becomes Rondo/Love/Towns, using cap space to build a great supporting cast. If that happened I'd go on like a good karma spree doing community service and singing Christmas carols on people's doorsteps to make sure those Nets picks all land in the top ten.

It'll never happen though.

How shocked would you be if Leonard came to the Celtics?  Could we make it happen? 
Jeff Green will likely opt out.  We will likely get a lottery pick and have the Brooklyn picks and other picks.  Philly and other poor teams have young centers.  So we might be able to trade up to get Towns/Okafor.
We would have a team that looks like this:
Rondo, Smart
Smart, Bradley
??, Young, Wallace
Sully, Olynyk
Towns/Okafor, Olynyk, Zeller

Would that not be an ideal spot for Leonard?  It looks better than an aging Spurs or a crappy Lakers team.  I believe we would have around $30m to sign Rondo and Leonard and we could easily dump Turner and could probably dump Wallace by giving up a pick to create more salary cap space.

Unfortunately it'd probably take a dispute between Leonard and Pop/management for them to not believe he's worth the max. Even without Leonard though, I think our Cs have a bright future. I agree with you that we have a real shot at Towns/Okafor either via the draft or trade.

[Endless Paradise]

Who's to say he wouldn't consider the Celtics?

There's no real reason for him to leave from a basketball perspective. There's no real reason for him to leave in regards to friends and family. All we have going for us is that we're not Ohio.

Of course there is. Love could be the number one option on a team that consists of a re-signed Rondo who is the NBA's best passing point guard, a legit number two scorer in Jeff Green that can guard the opposing teams best wing/forward and take pressure off Love on offense, above average wing defenders in AB and Smart, if we turn Sully into a defensive center there'd be no reason for Love to turn down that chance from a basketball perspective.

You forgot the locker room meltdown it would take in Cleveland for that to even be considered.

And Sully/Love would work about as well, if not worse, as love and Peckovic

Which is why I suggest trading Sullinger for a defensive center.

If answering the question on solely basketball purposes, KLove could be "the man" while playing alongside the leagues best passer with adequate role player to fill the holes. From a "basketball perspective" that's an incredible fit regardless of how far fetched it may be.

Oh, ok, sure -- my notion of 'there's no real reason for him to leave' is that he's unlikely to find a team that's better suited towards contending for a championship, based on all rosters as they are right now/in the foreseeable future.

This.

[pearljammer10]

Who's to say he wouldn't consider the Celtics?

There's no real reason for him to leave from a basketball perspective. There's no real reason for him to leave in regards to friends and family. All we have going for us is that we're not Ohio.

Of course there is. Love could be the number one option on a team that consists of a re-signed Rondo who is the NBA's best passing point guard, a legit number two scorer in Jeff Green that can guard the opposing teams best wing/forward and take pressure off Love on offense, above average wing defenders in AB and Smart, if we turn Sully into a defensive center there'd be no reason for Love to turn down that chance from a basketball perspective.

You forgot the locker room meltdown it would take in Cleveland for that to even be considered.

And Sully/Love would work about as well, if not worse, as love and Peckovic

Which is why I suggest trading Sullinger for a defensive center.

If answering the question on solely basketball purposes, KLove could be "the man" while playing alongside the leagues best passer with adequate role player to fill the holes. From a "basketball perspective" that's an incredible fit regardless of how far fetched it may be.

Oh, ok, sure -- my notion of 'there's no real reason for him to leave' is that he's unlikely to find a team that's better suited towards contending for a championship, based on all rosters as they are right now/in the foreseeable future.

This.

And I can certainly agree with that. He'd be crazy to leave playing alongside the best player in the game.

[loco_91]

join the lakers? cmon now. The Cavs will be good, remember when the Heat started like .500 for their first ~20 games? Blatt is a great coach and that roster is beyond loaded. I have no doubt that Lebron-Love is a great pairing, if anything Kyrie is the troubling fit as he is weak defensively and only average off the ball offensively. But that kind of talent tends to just work out.

[Hawkeye199]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/10/report-kevin-love-will-seriously-consider-opting-out-maybe-to-join-lakers/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

Thoughts?

Lol who would he be playing alongside with if he goes to La La Land...Kobe is becoming a year older. The rest of the Lakers look like scrubs at this point.

 well there is a rumor that the lakers are going after rondo. if they get rondo by packaging randle, and picks, then the starting pf position would be wide open for love. they would probably need  some other pieces. but the chance to play with kobe on his last year in the nba. while going home to bring them a championship. It is something worth considering.

[Rondohara]

REPORT: Love's agent wants to make sure max contract offered, floats random idea that he will go to the Lakers.

More like, Love sends a message to coach/teammates/organization: Do as I say or  bye bye

Or some guy is just making stuff up.

[pearljammer10]

Report: NBA players like testing out their options to make the most money in the best situation possible!!

[pearljammer10]

How shocked would you be if Leonard came to the Celtics?  Could we make it happen? 

I'd be pretty shocked because Leonard will be a restricted free agent and that would mean San Antonio is unwilling to match a max contract for Leonard.

So shocked that I don't even see it as a plausible option.