Lakers vs. Celtics

[tankcity!]

After yesterday's win the Lakers are 7-5 and imo their young prospects are their best players. They are the cause for these wins. This is the opposite of the Celtics, who's victories are based on veterans like Thomas and Bradley, and role players like Crowder and KO. Also, the Lakers have built this team without using their landscape, which has always been an advantage.

So my question is who is the better GM? Ainge of Kupchak? Kupchak seems really underrated to me. He also drafted Bynum #10 overall and then smartly traded him for Howard when he realized the kid had knee issues.

Unlike Ainge, Kupchak went with Scott as his coach and tanked before hiring Walton. Ainge went the opposite route.  So who do you think has done a better job? And which team has a brighter future?

[manl_lui]

After yesterday's win the Lakers are 7-5 and imo their young prospects are their best players. They are the cause for these wins. This is the opposite of the Celtics, who's victories are based on veterans like Thomas and Bradley, and role players like Crowder and KO. Also, the Lakers have built this team without using their landscape, which has always been an advantage.

So my question is who is the better GM? Ainge of Kupchak? Kupchak seems really underrated to me. He also drafted Bynum #10 overall and then smartly traded him for Howard when he realized the kid had knee issues.

Unlike Ainge, Kupchak went with Scott as his coach and tanked before hiring Walton. Ainge went the opposite route.  So who do you think has done a better job? And which team has a brighter future?

Kupchak seems to have drafted better based on position

Russell/Randle are both excellent picks given their position

Okafor was highly thought to be at least the top two pick, and it seems like the Lakers made the right choice with Russell. Randle is just a physical beast down low with probably better gifted body than Smart (though still undersized for a PF), but big strong, can rebound. Though I would still take Smart though, you are right that the Celtics went with a whole different approach, that Ainge decided to tank just one year and compete making good trades and try to draft good role players

The Lakers more or less used the 76ers strategy of tanking but in my opinion, probably has better management than the 76ers. We have yet to see how Ingram will fare against Brown, but that's another story. Hiring Walton was a good choice in my opinion, and it is showing what the Lakers can be post-Kobe.

[slamtheking]

what you're missing is the fact Ainge set the C's up to have another team donate their high picks to the C's while the C's can continue building towards a contender.  LA had to outright suck to get high picks and is going to likely lose a lottery pick to the Sixers this year. 

let's not overlook that Boston landed the second best FA on the market this year, not LA, based on how the team is being run and where they are in their climb to the upper echelon of the league

Ainge is doing the better job by far.

[apc]

Lou Williams is one of their top players so far.

[Chris22]

F the Lakers.

[Ogaju]

why do you want to Fool the Lakers?

[manl_lui]

what you're missing is the fact Ainge set the C's up to have another team donate their high picks to the C's while the C's can continue building towards a contender.  LA had to outright suck to get high picks and is going to likely lose a lottery pick to the Sixers this year. 

let's not overlook that Boston landed the second best FA on the market this year, not LA, based on how the team is being run and where they are in their climb to the upper echelon of the league

Ainge is doing the better job by far.

that's also true! and I agree, by Ainge's approach, selling high on 3 veterans for their high draft pick, the Celtics can compete while actually have a lottery pick. Because of this fact, the Celtics were able to make some good trades for practically nothing and compete at a high level, and also because of that, Al Horford even chose to come here and Durant putting us on his shortlist to talk to.

The Lakers chose the 76ers way of tanking so no elite FA decides to even give them a meeting. We will see who gets back to the finals quicker which in my opinion is fun

[tankcity!]

Lou Williams is one of their top players so far.

\\

Sure, makes sense since they are a 7-5 and not a contender. But the main guys this year are Russel, Randle, and Clarkson. Ingram is right around where Brown is for our team.

[tankcity!]

what you're missing is the fact Ainge set the C's up to have another team donate their high picks to the C's while the C's can continue building towards a contender.  LA had to outright suck to get high picks and is going to likely lose a lottery pick to the Sixers this year. 

let's not overlook that Boston landed the second best FA on the market this year, not LA, based on how the team is being run and where they are in their climb to the upper echelon of the league

Ainge is doing the better job by far.

This is why I'm asking. If it weren't for the Bklyn picks then this wouldn't be up for debate. Do we think those picks will pan out? If so then yeah Ainge will do a better job, but the way the Nets are playing, it's hard to imagine it being a top 5 pick this year.

[nickagneta]

Its really early in the season. If Horford and Crowder come back, the Cs stay healthy and the Celtics win 50+ games while LAs youth hit a wall and the Lakers end up in the lottery where they will lose their pick, then this whole discussion is mute.

[tankcity!]

Its really early in the season. If Horford and Crowder come back, the Cs stay healthy and the Celtics win 50+ games while LAs youth hit a wall and the Lakers end up in the lottery where they will lose their pick, then this whole discussion is mute.

Sure, if Lakers don't keep up this pace then you're right. They play well together though and move the ball. I think Walton is a good coach.

[saltlover]

After yesterday's win the Lakers are 7-5 and imo their young prospects are their best players. They are the cause for these wins. This is the opposite of the Celtics, who's victories are based on veterans like Thomas and Bradley, and role players like Crowder and KO. Also, the Lakers have built this team without using their landscape, which has always been an advantage.

So my question is who is the better GM? Ainge of Kupchak? Kupchak seems really underrated to me. He also drafted Bynum #10 overall and then smartly traded him for Howard when he realized the kid had knee issues.

Unlike Ainge, Kupchak went with Scott as his coach and tanked before hiring Walton. Ainge went the opposite route.  So who do you think has done a better job? And which team has a brighter future?

You make it sound like the Celtics are an old team.  It's not like Thomas and Bradley are in their 30s.  Thomas is 27.  Bradley is 25 -- Jordan Clarkson, one of the Lakers "young guys" is 24.  And you completely ignore the existence of Al Horford, who is you know, an actual star in the prime of his career.

The Celtics and Lakers have a comparable amount of cap space next season.  The Celtics also have 5-6 1st rounders in the next three seasons, whereas the Lakers have one.  The Celtics also have two first rounders from the most recent draft biding their time overseas.  In other words, if, for some reason, Danny decided that the current core wasn't working, he could blow it up for a full youth movement that would completely surpass what the Lakers have done.  I don't think he would or should do that, but he could.

[apc]

Its really early in the season. If Horford and Crowder come back, the Cs stay healthy and the Celtics win 50+ games while LAs youth hit a wall and the Lakers end up in the lottery where they will lose their pick, then this whole discussion is mute.

Sure, if Lakers don't keep up this pace then you're right. They play well together though and move the ball. I think Walton is a good coach.

and Byron Scott will probably never coach again.

[GratefulCs]

Its really early in the season. If Horford and Crowder come back, the Cs stay healthy and the Celtics win 50+ games while LAs youth hit a wall and the Lakers end up in the lottery where they will lose their pick, then this whole discussion is mute.

Sure, if Lakers don't keep up this pace then you're right. They play well together though and move the ball. I think Walton is a good coach.

and Byron Scott will probably never coach again.

i disagree


He's one of the greatest tank commanders around

[alldaboston]

I'm a huge fan of what the lakers have done. They have a great coach in luke walton, and 4 quality young prospects in Russell, Ingram, clarkson, and Randle. They've also got a few solid role players in Nance, Black, and maybe Zubac. Quite simply, Kupchak has done an excellent, excellent job in the draft, even though a few of those picks were obvious picks. They also went out and got a few veterans to help the team grow over the season, and it's looked like a pretty decent investment (although I have to wonder if they'll be regretting paying Deng and Mozgov 4 years from now).

But Walton, man. He's the key to it all. I read something the other day: no Laker player is apparently averaging over 30 minutes per game this season. Yet, they still have a very good offense and their defense has also been decent (which was better than I expected it would be). They play with good ball movement, they swing the ball around, they find good looks. They're building their team as a replica of Golden State, with Russell playing their Curry (not completely unrealistic), Randle playing their Draymond (he seems to have the court vision and rebounding/bully ball aspect down, but not the J or the D), and Ingram as their KD (because, why not?).

I have to admit, I've been very surprised with how everything they've done has worked out, and I even find myself rooting for them this season too. They look legit. Like, I wouldn't be surprised to see them be a top 3 team in the west in a few years. Similar to how we felt that free agents should view us as a good young team on the rise, I really do feel like LA can get their big free agent this summer if things go right.

At times, I wonder whether I'd rather be in their shoes or not. Their future just looks so promising, and here we have to worry about whether Marcus can ever shoot, whether Brown can piece it all together, what's gonna happen to the Nets picks, are we gonna resign Avery and Isaiah.